Joanne Ramos Knows She’S Living What Is Supposed to Be the American Dream

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KIRKUSVOL. LXXXVII, NO. 9 | 1 MAY 2019 REVIEWS

Joanne Ramos knows she’s living what is supposed to be the American dream. But her debut novel, The Farm, is a story about capitalism and the human costs that make it possible. p. 14 from the editor’s desk:

Chairman May Books That Stand Out HERBERT SIMON

President & Publisher BY CLAIBORNE SMITH MARC WINKELMAN #

Chief Executive Officer MEG LABORDE KUEHN [email protected] Photo courtesy Michael Thad Carter Editor-in-Chief Sisters and Rebels: A Struggle for the Soul of America by Jacque- CLAIBORNE SMITH lyn Dowd Hall (May 21): “A history of 20th-century sisters who [email protected] Vice President of Marketing SARAH KALINA bore witness to Southern culture, politics, and values. In 1973, Hall, [email protected]

director of the Southern Oral History Program at the University of Managing/Nonfiction Editor ERIC LIEBETRAU North Carolina, interviewed two sisters, ‘improbable voices from [email protected] Fiction Editor the deepest South,’ who each had grappled with her heritage and LAURIE MUCHNICK was shaped by a “maelstrom of historical events and processes.” [email protected] Children’s Editor Grace Lumpkin (1891-1980) and her younger sister, Katharine Du VICKY SMITH [email protected]

Pre Lumpkin (1897-1988), are the central characters in a sweeping, Young Adult Editor Claiborne Smith LAURA SIMEON richly detailed intellectual and political history of America from [email protected] Editor at Large the 1920s to the 1980s, an absorbing narrative based on impressive scholarship.” MEGAN LABRISE [email protected] Rabbits for Food by Binnie Kirshenbaum (May 7): Vice President of Kirkus Indie KAREN SCHECHNER “A writer experiences a breakdown and ends up hos- [email protected] Senior Indie Editor pitalized; against all odds, hilarity ensues. ‘The dog DAVID RAPP is late,’ says Bunny, ‘and I’m wearing pajamas made [email protected] Indie Editor MYRA FORSBERG from the same material as Handi Wipes, which is [email protected] reason enough for me to wish I were dead.’ Bunny Associate Manager of Indie KATERINA PAPPAS is seated on a bench in a psych ward waiting for the [email protected] Editorial Assistant therapy dog to arrive. It never does. After a New CHELSEA ENNEN Year’s Eve breakdown, preceded by months of severe [email protected] Mysteries Editor depression—she found herself unable to leave her THOMAS LEITCH Contributing Editor apartment or sleep or eat or shower—Bunny has GREGORY McNAMEE

Copy Editor landed in a Manhattan hospital surrounded by the BETSY JUDKINS

fellow patients she refers to, variously, as inmates, Designer lunatics, psychos, and loons….Surprisingly, the book ALEX HEAD Director of Kirkus Editorial LAUREN BAILEY is hilarious….Kirshenbaum is a remarkable writer of [email protected]

fiercely observed fiction and a bleak, stark wit; her Production Editor CATHERINE BRESNER latest novel is as moving as it is funny, and that—truly—is saying something.” [email protected] Creative Lead ARDEN PIACENZA The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer (May 7): “An elegant, meditative novelistic [email protected] reconstruction of critical years in the life of Varian Fry, the American classicist who Website and Software Developer PERCY PEREZ is honored at Yad Vashem as ‘righteous among the nations’ for his work rescuing [email protected] Advertising Director victims of the Holocaust. Focusing on the era that informed her first novel, The MONIQUE STENSRUD (2010), Orringer opens with an encounter in which Marc Chagall, [email protected] Invisible Bridge Advertising Associate TATIANA ARNOLD one of the most beloved of modern artists, figures. He is living in Vichy France, [email protected] convinced that because it is France he will be kept safe from the Nazis….Altogether Graphic Designer LIANA WALKER satisfying. Mix Alan Furst and André Aciman, and you’ll have a feel for the territory [email protected] Controller in which this well-plotted book falls.” MICHELLE GONZALES [email protected] for customer service or subscription questions, please call 1 800 316 9361 Print indexes: www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/print-indexes Submission Guidelines: www.kirkusreviews.com/about/submission-guidlines - - - Kirkus Blog: www.kirkusreviews.com/blog Subscriptions: www.kirkusreviews.com/subscription Advertising Opportunities: www.kirkusreviews.com/about/advertising- Newsletters: www.kirkusreviews.com/subscription/newsletter/add Cover photo by opportunities John Dolan

2 | 1 may 2019 | from the editor’s desk | kirkus.com | you can now purchase books online at kirkus.com contents fiction INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 4 The Kirkus Star is awarded REVIEWS...... 4 to books of remarkable EDITOR’S NOTE...... 6 ON THE COVER: JOANNE RAMOS...... 14 merit, as determined by the SASKIA VOGEL GIVES PERMISSION...... 24 impartial editors of Kirkus. MYSTERY...... 35 SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY...... 40 ROMANCE...... 43

nonfiction INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 47 REVIEWS...... 47 EDITOR’S NOTE...... 48 RICHARD HOLBROOKE & THE AMERICAN CENTURY...... 62 WHY YOU SHOULD TURN OFF THE GPS...... 68

children’s INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 75 REVIEWS...... 75 EDITOR’S NOTE...... 76 BROOKE BOYNTON-HUGHES’ SMALL ACT OF BRAVERY...... 92

young adult INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 112 REVIEWS...... 112 EDITOR’S NOTE...... 114 ZACK SMEDLEY’S HEARTBREAKING NOVEL...... 120 Jean Reidy and Lucy Ruth Cummins intro- SHELF SPACE: LITERATI BOOKSTORE...... 124 duce a small tortoise who has an uncommonly big heart. Read the review on p. 104. indie INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 125 REVIEWS...... 125 EDITOR’S NOTE...... 126 INDIE Q&A: AMY A. BARTOL...... 132 Don’t wait on the mail for reviews! You can read pre-publication reviews as they are released on kirkus.com—even before they are published in the magazine. FIELD NOTES...... 146 You can also access the current issue and back issues of Kirkus Reviews on our website by logging in as a subscriber. If you do not have a username or password, APPRECIATIONS: WOLF HALL TURNS 10...... 147 please contact customer care to set up your account by calling 1.800.316.9361 or emailing [email protected].

| kirkus.com | contents | 1 may 2019 | 3 fiction These titles earned the Kirkus Star: GIRLS LIKE US Alger, Cristina Putnam (288 pp.) TELL ME EVERYTHING by Cambria Brockman...... 8 $26.00 | Jul. 2, 2019 978-0-525-53580-5 THE BODY IN QUESTION by Jill Ciment...... 10 KING OF THE MISSISSIPPI by Mike Freedman...... 16 An FBI agent stumbles into a cess- pool of police corruption and dead girls NEVER LOOK BACK by Alison Gaylin...... 16 after the death of her father, a Long Island homicide detective. DELAYED RAYS OF A STAR by Amanda Lee Koe...... 21 After scattering the ashes of her father, Martin, Nell Flynn heads to his COSTALEGRE by Courtney Maum...... 24 South Fork home to sift through his possessions after a motor- HUE AND CRY by James Alan McPherson...... 25 cycle crash took his life. Nell is on leave from her job in D.C. as a member of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit after she killed MAGGIE BROWN & OTHERS by Peter Orner...... 30 a member of the Russian Mafia in the line of duty and got a bullet to the shoulder for her trouble. Nell mourns her father but THE JOURNAL I DID NOT KEEP by Lore Segal...... 31 also looks forward to moving on and never looking back at a JACOB’S LADDER by Ludmila Ulitskaya; trans. by Polly Gannon... 33 town that holds nothing but bad memories, including the brutal murder of her mother, Marisol, when she was only 7. But getting THE GOLDEN HOUR by Beatriz Williams...... 34 out of town soon isn’t in the cards for Nell. When her old friend Lee Davis, a newly minted homicide detective, asks for her help WANDERERS by Chuck Wendig...... 42 solving a series of gruesome murders, Nell is intrigued. A young girl, shot, dismembered, and wrapped in burlap, has been found buried in a local park, and she bears a striking resemblance to a young Latina found the previous summer. Nell soon learns that a mansion near the burial is the site of lavish parties attended by Washington elites, where possibly underage girls are provided for entertainment. Nell’s digging leads to young Latina escorts afraid to come forward for fear of deportation and the wrath of their pimp, who is working with some of the most powerful men in New York. When a local landscaper is arrested, Nell isn’t convinced he’s the killer, and disturbing secrets about the local police—even her father—are rising to the surface. Nell carries a palpable sadness and is still haunted by her mother’s murder and her complicated relationship with her father. She has a vulnerable, empathetic core that will pull readers in, and Alger has a feel for small-town dynamics. The tension becomes nearly unbearable as Nell realizes she truly can’t trust anyone. Readers can expect a few genuine surprises, and the light Alger shines on society’s most vulnerable members is an important one. Melancholy and addictive.

DELAYED RAYS OF A STAR Lee Koe, Amanda Talese/Doubleday (400 pp.) $27.95 | Jul. 9, 2019 978-0-385-54434-4

4 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | THE WIND THAT LAYS WASTE from mismatched parts, but hers are found in a highly advanced Almada, Selva lab whose real goal is not to offer parts for Kelly’s private proj- Trans. by Andrews, Chris ect but to market the first caregiver AI: a robot intended to pro- Graywolf (136 pp.) vide meaningful companionship to lonely or ill people and even $15.00 paper | Jul. 9, 2019 pass for human in close interactions. The trouble starts when 978-1-55597-845-7 Kelly is too good at her own job: She not only gives Ethan access to the entire internet, but also spends every day with him—with Sturm und Drang on the pampas. nearly fatal repercussions: She falls in love with her creation. Argentinian fiction writer and poet In her debut novel, Archer concocts an endearingly unlucky- Almada makes her English-language at-love heroine, although one beset with the social awkward- debut with a slender tale redolent of ness of the stereotypical engineer: Relentlessly reminded by Flannery O’Connor—and, at some turns, her mother that, at 29, her marriageable days are waning fast, Rod Serling. An itinerant preacher, one of those hands-on, evil- Kelly dreads every family dinner and blind date. And although spirits-out kind, is on the road with his 16-ish daughter, her her best friend, Priya, is a man magnet, Kelly is more likely to mother a long-distant memory in the rear-view mirror. The get pickpocketed than picked up at a nightclub. With Archer’s daughter, Leni, is full of doubts, sheltering herself with a music wry tone, Kelly’s social flubs set up her fall into AI love. And player on which she’s promised dad to “listen to Christian music, while she is surprised to find herself falling for Ethan, the reader nothing else,” but instead has been catching hints of the bigger spotted it long ago, when Kelly chose the fancy lavender eyes world outside. When their car breaks down, the Rev. Pearson instead of the utilitarian brown for her plus one. Indeed, read- and Leni wind up in El Gringo Brauer’s garage. If the Rev. is ing between the lines reveals that in assembling Ethan, Kelly

a fire-and-brimstone true believer, Brauer is just as dedicated young adult an atheist: “Religion was for women and the weak,” he thinks. Meanwhile, his assistant, a motherless boy about Leni’s age named Tapioca, is proving susceptible to the preacher’s blan- dishments. “Now he was thinking that perhaps he should have warned the kid about the stories in the Bible,” thinks Brauer— since, after all, “It wouldn’t be so easy to get that stuff about God out of his head.” If Leni would just as soon be dancing to disco music, Tapioca is ready to follow the Rev. Pearson out of the backwater and see the world, joining the crusade. Brauer objects, naturally. Well, what are the angels of good and evil supposed to do? Wrestle with each other, of course, in an apocalyptic rainstorm of a kind that levels crops, knocks down power poles, and fries someone with righteous lightning. Almada’s story, fueled by alcohol, religious symbolism, and doubt, feels a touch incomplete; she might have given a little more space to the things that make each character tick. Still, the story packs a punch in its portraits of a man who exalts heaven and another who protests, “I don’t have time for that stuff” while confused youngsters watch and wait. A welcome new voice in Latin American storytelling.

THE PLUS ONE Archer, Sarah Putnam (336 pp.) $16.00 paper | Jul. 2, 2019 978-0-525-53917-9

Gorgeous, thoughtful, intelligent, sexy, supportive—Ethan is everything Kelly has ever wanted in a man. Too bad he’s a robot. Pressured to find a date for her sister’s wedding, robotics engineer Kelly Suttle stumbles upon the perfect solution: She builds her own. Like Victor Frankenstein, Kelly cobbles her creature together

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 5 rita awards’ lack of diversity continues

When the Romance Writers of has attended to rather intimate details, making some of the America announced the finalists scenes between the two a bit uncomfortable. But the real for their RITA Awards in March, question is: Will Kelly be able to turn Ethan off after the wed- there was a glaring problem: Out of ding? Or will robot love spiral out of control? A fun story that will appeal to geeks and beachgoers 77 books, only three were written alike. by women of color: Bad Blood by M. Malone, My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma, and Long Shot by LAYOVER Kennedy Ryan. After a similar result Bell, David Berkley (416 pp.) last year, the RWA tried to change $26.00 | Jul. 2, 2019 the judging process to encourage a more inclusive list of 978-0-440-00086-0 finalists, but clearly they didn’t go far enough. If you’d like to check out these three books, author An airport meet-cute goes south Courtney Milan and others are organizing a book group, in Bell’s (Somebody I Used to Know, 2018, Romance Sparks Joy, to read them together, beginning etc.) new thriller. Poor Joshua Fields. All he does on May 15 with My So-Called Bollywood Life. You can find is travel for his job as a real estate the discussion on Twitter at @sparkjoyromance as well as developer with his father’s company. on Goodreads and Reddit. He’s tired, bored, and ready to settle down. Enter Morgan And if you’d like to Reynolds. After meeting Joshua at an airport gift shop in Photo courtesy Andrea Scher read some of the books Atlanta, she agrees to get a drink with him. Who is this tall, ridiculously beautiful woman in the hat and giant sunglasses? that should have been fi- Joshua plans to find out. After a drink and a bit of conversa- nalists, you could start tion, Joshua is properly starry-eyed, and when Morgan plants with two books that a passionate kiss on him, he’s truly a goner. So, it’s a bummer were on Kirkus’ list of when she firmly tells him she has to go and that they won’t be Best Romances of 2018, seeing each other again. Most people would count the expe- by Jasmine rience as an oddity and get on with their lives, but not our The Proposal Joshua. He throws caution to the wind and changes his flight, Guillory and A Princess but Morgan pretends not to know Joshua when he confronts in Theory by Alyssa Cole. her on the plane, making him feel like an “aggressive creep, I just read The Proposal Jasmine Guillory a stalker, a weirdo.” Well, if the shoe fits. When he touches and went on to devour down in Nashville, Joshua sees Morgan’s face on TV, and when Guillory’s other two books, and he looks her up on Facebook, he’s stunned to see a post head- The Wedding Date The lined “Have You Seen Morgan? Missing Person.” After telling Wedding Party—which doesn’t come out until July 16—in his story to the airport police, he decides that Morgan surely less than a week. Cole didn’t publish an installment of needs his help and sets off to find her. Meanwhile, in Laurel her Civil War–era Loyal League series in 2018, so none Falls, Kentucky, Detective Kimberly Givens is on the hunt for of them were eligible for the RITA, but you could check Giles Caldwell, a prominent local businessman who has disap- out An Unconditional Freedom, which came out in Febru- peared, and the trail leads to Morgan Reynolds. Nearly every- ary. Our starred review calls it “a sumptuously written one involved in this paper-thin thriller, with the exception of Detective Givens, seems to be suffering from an alarming lack and meticulously researched tale of a country at war with of common sense, and they’re not nearly interesting enough itself and two damaged people who find themselves in to make up for it. Bell makes a lot of hay over Joshua’s need each other’s arms.” to break free of his everyday grind, but that doesn’t excuse Author Helen Hoang wrote on Twitter that she didn’t his going to such great lengths to follow a woman after she submit her first book, , for the RITA, repeatedly brushes him off. Readers desperately hoping to be The Kiss Quotient rewarded with a few shocking revelations upon reaching the saying: “Until the judging process has been fixed and a end of this dull cat-and-mouse game will be disappointed. black author has won this award, RITA finalist/winner This flight never gets off the ground. Hopefully Bell is not something I want on my bio.” Hopefully the RWA will return to form next time. board will find a way to make their award something all writers can be proud of by next year. —L.M.

Laurie Muchnick is the fiction editor.

6 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | ALPHA a smuggler to start his wife and son on their journey to France. Bessora Six months later, Alpha sells his cabinet shop to pay yet another Illus. by Barroux smuggler in hopes of following his family’s path. The book has Trans. by Ardizzone, Sarah the appearance of a photo album, most pages presenting a stack Bellevue Literary Press (128 pp.) of two equal-sized, rectangular images with a short paragraph $24.99 | May 1, 2019 of Alpha’s deeply human narration beneath each illustration, 978-1-942658-40-5 documenting his journey. As Alpha quickly learns, the road out of Africa is beset with con men, drunken soldiers, endless dusty This graphic novel from author Bes- desert, and death—but also kindred spirits. Barroux’s illustra- sora, illustrator Barroux (How Many Trees?, tions have a deceptively simple quality, with heavy lines and 2019, etc.), and translator Ardizzone fol- people with dots for eyes and bulbous, shiny noses; that sim- lows a migrant’s arduous journey from West Africa to Europe. plicity makes an ill migrant’s hollow stare or the stiff joints of a Alpha is a cabinetmaker in the Ivory Coast who wants to body left to rot all the more haunting. Bessora is a fiction writer take his family to visit his sister-in-law in Paris, but he runs whose work “is underpinned by extensive research,” according into a mountain of red tape when applying for a visa. “When to the author bio, though the origin of this story is unspecified. you leave the consulate, one thing’s for sure—you understand It is a compelling tale, though major events transpire in the that Côte d’Ivoire loves France more than France loves Côte text-only epilogue, which is delivered by an omniscient narrator d’Ivoire,” explains Alpha, before wryly adding, “But, seeing rather than Alpha, robbing the conclusion of some of its heft. as Côte d’Ivoire doesn’t love its own people very much either, Heartbreaking and timely. Ivorians still flee for Europe.” So Alpha goes into debt to pay young adult

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 7 TELL ME EVERYTHING shenanigans—wild parties, drunken hookups, last-minute study Brockman, Cambria binges—before moving in together. But Malin can see the Ballantine (368 pp.) cracks in their friendships from the beginning: how John bul- $27.00 | Jul. 16, 2019 lies Max; how Gemma drinks herself into oblivion to avoid her 978-1-9848-1721-1 loneliness; how Khaled needs constant reassurance; how Ruby bows to John’s every wish. And then there’s Malin herself, top A tight group of college friends fight student on campus, the silent witness to so many conflicts. All to keep their relationships from splin- six of the friends have secrets. By senior year, each of them is tering under the pressure of secrets in buckling under the twin pressures of loyalty and knowledge. Brockman’s debut. Will they make it out alive? By telling parts of the story out of When Malin’s parents drop her off sequence, Brockman successfully builds each character in frag- at Hawthorne College, her father whis- ments, preventing us from seeing the full context until close to pers one word of advice: Pretend. Malin has always been quiet the end. The college-centered plot is reminiscent of many nov- and introverted, but this self-imposed separation has given els that have come before about quirky kids forming a family her ample opportunity to hone her perception and observa- of sorts only to destroy each other—Tana French’s The Likeness, tion skills. Deciding to branch out and find some friends in Donna Tartt’s The Secret History—but the development of Malin order to keep her parents happy, Malin chooses Ruby to be as a narrator is truly inspired. While French and Tartt use the her best friend. Pretty, outgoing, and athletic, Ruby is Malin’s outsider-as-narrator to further emphasize the group’s isolation way into a small but insular group: Gemma, Max, John, and and the narrator’s failure to find true acceptance, Brockman’s Khaled. During freshman year, the six survive the usual college Malin draws riveting attention to humankind’s vulnerability to

8 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | A brisk, witty tale of saving your life by finding your voice. death and other happy endings

evil. She is a shadowy figure; an unreliable narrator we get to RIOTS I HAVE KNOWN know through subtle hints and slanted comments in addition Chapman, Ryan to flashbacks. Simon & Schuster (128 pp.) A truly chilling thriller with a twist so quiet, you never $24.00 | May 21, 2019 hear it coming. 978-1-5011-9730-7

A hyperliterate prisoner who is bar- DEATH AND OTHER ricaded in his sanctuary while a riot HAPPY ENDINGS unfolds writes his last words. Cantor, Melanie Well-versed pop-culture writer Chap- Pamela Dorman/Viking (352 pp.) man (Conversation Sparks, 2015) offers $26.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 a debut novel that is as eccentric as it 978-0-525-56211-5 comes but also fitfully funny and murderously wry in its humor. Our imprisoned narrator is, as happens in a lot of transgressive When 43-year-old Jennifer’s doctor comic novels, nameless but for his prison moniker, “MF.” There’s gives her only three months to live, she really no character here—we only learn our nameless narrator is resolves to write candid letters to the an immigrant from Sri Lanka whose previous gig was working as a three people who broke her heart, stand- doorman in New York City—but he serves as a convenient cipher ing up for herself at last. who allows the author to wax poetic about the role of literature Devastated by the diagnosis of a mysterious blood disorder in society and the blunt cruelty of the American prison system

(Jennifer herself only catches the suffix “-osis”), she confides in young adult her best friend, Olivia, who encourages Jennifer to take this last chance to really open her heart. So letters go out to Andy, Jenni- fer’s philandering ex-husband, who left her for another woman while Jennifer was still reeling from a miscarriage; Harry, the ex-boyfriend who restored Jennifer’s trust in men only to pull the rug out from under her again when he, too, cheated on her; and Isabelle, her older sister, who stole from Jennifer everything from wallpaper patterns to lovers. Almost immediately upon deciding to tell off the loved ones who wronged her, Jennifer casts further caution to the wind, impulsively kissing and falling into the arms of a handsome stranger she meets in the park. The contrast is a relief—from the first page of this, her debut novel, Cantor sets up Jennifer as a funny, compassionate, yet deeply wronged woman who does not deserve these horrible people in her life, much less her death sentence. But Jennifer fails to give the handsome stranger her phone number, choosing instead to tie up the loose ends of her life. And here is where Cantor’s conceit hits pay dirt: Even though Andy, Harry, and Isabelle seize the opportunity to reconcile with Jennifer, no fairy-tale endings ensue because these cads remain as flawed and self-centered as ever. And when Jennifer’s diagnosis alters, she has the chance to transform her life entirely. A brisk, witty tale of saving your life by finding your voice.

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 9 while enabling his capricious doppelgänger to pen arch reminis- THE BODY cences of his paramours. These include the now-bitterly despised IN QUESTION Betsy Pankhurst, with whom, in a flashback, the narrator has an Ciment, Jill intimately described conjugal visit, and a fellow prisoner named Pantheon (192 pp.) McNairy, with whom he has what he calls a “meet-cute.” It turns $24.95 | Jun. 11, 2019 out that our narrator is the editor of a popular prison journal 978-1-5247-4798-5 aptly dubbed The Holding Pen, and apparently one of his missives has triggered the very riot that now threatens his life. The book Two sequestered jurors on a tab- is purposefully messy—the prose is breathless, meandering, and loidworthy Florida murder trial tumble riddled with pop-culture references and responses to real-time into an impassioned, illicit affair in this events on platforms like Instagram and Reddit, which the nar- engaging, empathetic novel. rator has access to as editor of the paper—but Chapman demon- In a jury holding room, waiting to be strates an arch humor that mimics French existentialism as much called into the courtroom for a voir dire, two prospective jurors, as it does traditional American satire. It’s even easy to gain an odd identified for most of the book only as C-2 and F-17, begin a affection for our superarrogant narrator despite his supercilious flirtation that rapidly grows into a full-blown love affair. C-2 is a tone and his sentence, which is, as we learn late in the game, for 52-year-old female photographer of some renown. Having shot doing something genuinely terrible. This is certainly not a book portraits for magazines like Rolling Stone and Interview early in for casual readers, but those who appreciate a genuinely original her career, she eventually concluded she was interested in peo- stylist and acidly dark humor will find it an odd treat. ple not as individuals but as a species, and she turned her lens A frenzied yet wistful monologue from a lover of litera- to other subjects, such as war and animals. C-2 is married to ture under siege. a much older man, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who is now 85. Their once-ardent relationship has evolved, and she is increasingly aware of the toll time is taking on their lives and bodies. Now, intensely attracted to F-17, a professor of anatomy in his early 40s with a pitted complexion, piercing blue eyes, and “beautiful feet,” C-2 finds herself hoping for “one last dal- liance before she gets too old.” As the affair plays out against a backdrop of a gruesome, sad, and unsettling murder trial (a teenage girl stands accused of killing her toddler brother, but is the real culprit her twin sister?) and the shabby Econo Lodge accommodations and unappetizing luncheonette meals the court has arranged for the jurors during their sequestration, C-2, as both a lover and a juror, must weigh issues of guilt and inno- cence, loyalty and betrayal, life and death, passion and compassion. Ciment (Act of God, 2015, etc.) lays out the plot—part love story, part whodunit, part coming-of-old-age tale—with gentle sensitivity and straightforward intelligence, approaching complex emotions and conflicting loyalties as might a good juror: observing her characters’ behavior with an open mind and heart, an ability to consider context and varied perspectives, an appreciation for the evidence, and a notable lack of judgment. This honest, mature look at life and love adds to a growing body of evidence leading to a decisive verdict: Ciment is an author well worth reading.

10 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | Dennis’ debut collection delves into the humanity and pain of highly flawed characters. here is what you do

HERE IS WHAT YOU DO the city only for tensions to boil over with his wife and with the Dennis, Chris religious neighbors he bought it from. “This Is a Galaxy” tracks Soho (216 pp.) the son of a gay Turkish immigrant who finds himself violently $16.00 paper | Jun. 25, 2019 orphaned and working in a butcher shop. One story, “In Motel 978-1-64129-036-4 Rooms,” is told from the point of view of Coretta Scott King, hounded by the FBI and carrying the burdens not only of the Dark, visceral, and wide-ranging, Jim Crow South, but of family duties and activist organizing Dennis’ debut collection delves into as her husband has an affair. While King is written with more the humanity and pain of highly flawed empathy and care than the other female characters in the book, characters. it can be argued that Dennis, a white man, is not the person In the title story, a young man in who should be telling the story of a black woman’s domestic prison on a drug charge develops an pain. The stories in this collection are often bloody, brutal, and intimate yet violent relationship with his cellmate. A widowed sad. The protagonists’ hopelessness (and the author’s inclina- woman with a self-destructive streak finds herself on a yacht off tion toward the grisly) is clear in one character’s observation the coast of Mexico outrunning a tsunami in “In the Martian that “it felt as if every animal were designed to be disassembled.” Summer.” “The Book-Eating Ceremony” follows a jaded lesbian The relationships are dysfunctional and the interior lives of the academic with a deep resentment for her girlfriend (and her characters scalding, the sex brutal, and the trauma acute. Dark girlfriend’s gaggle of dogs) as she attempts to write a book about corners of complicated people are on full display. misogynist gynecologist Albert H. Decker while grieving her With a fearless voice and a diverse array of characters, mother and obsessively pining for another woman. In “Nettles,” Dennis’ debut delivers strong prose but tips toward the

a husband buys a slaughterhouse and moves his family out of overly morbid. young adult

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 11

WE WENT TO THE WOODS owned by Louisa’s family. Despite the fact that it’s winter, and Dolan-Leach, Caite regardless of the lack of winter plumbing, they eagerly move in Random House (368 pp.) to their respective cabins on the farm and start making plans $27.00 | Jul. 2, 2019 for planting crops and raising chickens and regularly swapping 978-0-399-58888-4 beds. Their lives become complicated as they interact with the residents of the more organized and far more radical commune Five young people set up an idealistic next door, led by the charismatic Matthew, who spends his time living experiment in upstate New York journeying among a network of collectives he has established. in this tantalizingly mysterious second Mack—observant, curious, and apt to leap to unwarranted novel by the author of Dead Letters (2017). conclusions—makes a likable and understandably unreliable Mack, the narrator, has good reason narrator. While the characters are not as well-differentiated as for heading off the grid with four attrac- they might be, the setting, traced through a year of seasons, is tive semistrangers. A former Ph.D. candidate in anthropology, richly realized, with believable details about the difficulties of she has been thrown out of her program after a scandal involv- farming with little resources and less knowledge. Dolan-Leach ing a reality TV show, and her middle-class parents are getting grounds the contemporary story in references to earlier Ameri- tired of her bumming around their house in Ithaca. So when can attempts to “go to the woods” by Thoreau and the many she meets wealthy Louisa while helping to cater a party for a founders of intentional communities in the area in which this local land trust and Louisa introduces her to charming Beau, one is located, though her attempt to integrate passages from sweet Chloe, and enthusiastic Jack, Mack jumps on the chance the diary of a fictional resident of one such community into the to join them in setting up a homestead on an abandoned farm novel fizzles out.

12 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com |

This first novel is a bibliophile’s delight. the last book party

Equal parts slow-burning thriller and intelligent anal- TEMPER ysis of the pros and cons of intentional communities, the Fargo, Layne novel will appeal to those who would rather read about Scout Press/Simon & Schuster (352 pp.) such endeavors from a safe distance than be immersed in $27.00 | Jul. 2, 2019 their messy reality. 978-1-9821-0672-0

The theater is a tempestuous, bloody THE LAST BOOK PARTY place to be in Fargo’s prickly debut. Dukess, Karen The struggle is real for 30-some- Henry Holt (256 pp.) thing stage actress Kira Rascher. She $27.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 lives hand to mouth with her best friend 978-1-250-22547-4 (with benefits), Spence, works a day job she hates, and auditions for theater roles every chance she gets. A young woman with literary aspi- She longs to star opposite the enigmatic Malcolm Mercer, who rations jumps at the chance to become runs Chicago’s Indifferent Honest Theater Company alongside a summer assistant for a prestigious his partner, and platonic roommate, Joanna Cuyler. Auditioning author in Dukess’ bittersweet coming- for Malcom for a new two-person play called Temper is a visceral of-age debut novel. experience, but not just for Kira. Joanna hates Kira on sight, It’s June 1987, and Eve Rosen is star- pointing out that “she’s beautiful, to be sure, but in an obvi- struck as she walks up the driveway of the summer home of ous way. Nearly vulgur.” Kira gets the part, opposite Malcolm,

New Yorker writer Henry Grey, for the guests are “Truro’s sum- young adult mer elite, the writers, editors, poets, and artists who left their apartments in Manhattan and Boston around Memorial Day and stayed on Cape Cod into September.” An editorial secretary at Henry’s New York publisher, Eve is thrilled to meet the man whose correspondence with her, however brief, is the highlight of her job. She is also dazzled by Henry’s attractive son, Franny, and Henry’s aloof wife, the poet Tillie Sanderson. With dreams of becoming a writer, yet lacking confidence, Eve longs to join this world, so very different from her Jewish parents’ suburban, middle-class lifestyle. “I was buoyed by a sense of possibility. A tentative belief that I could have a creative life too.” Return- ing to Manhattan, Eve meets her boss’s new literary discovery, snobbish Jeremy Grand, who went to school with Franny. Jeal- ous of Jeremy’s connections with the Greys and his early success, Eve reads his unpublished novel and is stunned by the power of his voice. Her doubts about her own abilities grow, but when Eve is bypassed for a promotion, she quits her job and accepts Henry’s offer to work as his research assistant for the summer. Her decision leads her to some hard (if somewhat predictable) truths that are exposed at the Greys’ annual book costume party. Eve is an appealing protagonist, naïve and yet assertive in trying to find her own voice as an artist. Written with fresh confidence and verve, this first novel is a bibliophile’s delight, with plenty of title-dropping and humorous digs at the publishing scene of the 1980s. The lyrical evocations of the Cape Cod landscape will also enchant readers seeking that perfect summer read.

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 13

INTERVIEWS & PROFILES Joanne Ramos

IN RAMOS’ DEBUT NOVEL, WOMEN WHO NEED MONEY BEAR CHILDREN FOR WEALTHY WOULD-BE MOTHERS WITH NO TIME FOR PREGNANCY By Rachel Sugar

Photo courtesy Danielle Siess I’ve been told I was the American dream,” she says. “But at Princeton, I was like, what does that mean?” It was clear to her, for the first time, that the playing field wasn’t equal, that there are various roads that lead to America’s most elite institutions, and some have to do with “deserv- ing” things and some don’t, at all. And then she moved into finance and it struck her again: “Do I deserve this nicer lifestyle because I made it to finance?” she asked herself. She’d worked hard, yes, but wasn’t it also a func- tion of luck? It was a question she couldn’t resolve and couldn’t escape. By her 30s, she was the one raising a family in Man- hattan, and she was the one whose kids had all kinds of advantages. “What does it mean to be a meritocracy, when certain kids at such a young age get so much more? Including my kids, because all of sudden, I was in this world.” It struck her, too, around then, that the only Fili- pinas who were part of her day-to-day life in New York were “caregivers, nannies, baby nurses, all the people I got to know in my new orbit of being at the parks and the playgrounds.” But they were employees, and she was an Joanne Ramos knows she’s living what is supposed to be employer, and that difference didn’t make any particular the American dream. sense to her either. Her family moved to Wisconsin from the Philippines “I don’t know if all immigrant communities are like when she was 6, and they worked hard, and she worked this, but certainly in the Filipino community, you cel- hard, and her resume is evidence that everything works ebrate other Filipinos’ success,” she says. Some of the like it’s supposed to: Midwest middle-class to Princeton; nannies she’d gotten to know had since become friends Princeton to Wall Street. “Without any explicit memo- and “would say to me, ‘You’ve made it, we’re so proud ries of my parents saying to me, ‘You’re expected to move of you!’ And I just…I questioned that.” Because they’d on and move up,’ we always kind of knew it,” she says. made it, too, hadn’t they? They were also here, in New And she did, and her presence—an anomaly in the world York, “working as hard as I ever had,” Ramos says. “It’s a of high finance—only proved that the system worked, very different path because of luck and happenstance as how you can, if you’re smarter and work harder, gain ac- much as merit.” And so she was thinking about all that cess to a rarified world. “I was taking private jets every- when she sat down to write what would become The where; there was a private chef that made us meals. It was Farm (May 7). really kind of a mind-blowing experience.” Jane, the Filipina immigrant at the heart of the book, And isn’t that the national promise? That you can isn’t lucky. A young single mother with a 6-month-old, come here and work hard and climb up? “Most of my life, she’s living with her cousin, Ate, an enterprising baby

14 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | nurse, at a dorm in Queens. Ate understands what Jane upward mobility, and the costs that make it possible. “Do doesn’t about the intimate dynamics of domestic labor, things change?” Ramos wants to know. “If you’re coming and when Jane loses a plum nannying job, it is Ate who to this country, if you’re someone from the bottom, can has a solution: Golden Oaks, a luxury facility housing sur- things change? Does the dream still work? Does it work rogates carrying the children of the ultra-elite. The mon- for a few of us enough to…distract from the fact that it ey is too good to pass up—game-changing money—and doesn’t work for most of us?” so Jane leaves her daughter with Ate, nine months away At the risk of a spoiler: She doesn’t have the answers. for the promise of a better life. Are most of the surro- But still, she’s obsessed with the questions. “If anything, gates low-income immigrants of color? Yes, but not all. Is they’re even farther from being resolved.” it exploitation? Mae Yu, the ambitious Chinese-Ameri- The day we talk, like the world had planned it, the can MBA whose career rests on the venture, doesn’t think news is saturated with headlines about the college admis- so. As she explains to one potential “premium” host—a sions scandal, in which wealthy parents were found to white, pretty Duke graduate with moral reservations— have paid millions of dollars in bribes to get their kids it’s simply free trade, which is, by definition, mutually spots at elite colleges, and it’s shocking not because we beneficial. “It isn’t like we force our Hosts to be Hosts,” didn’t know the system was rigged, but because it’s so Mae says. “They choose to work for us freely—I’d argue: rare to see the rigging laid bare. “Had I made it up in the happily. They’re treated extremely well, and they’re com- book, it would have sounded stupid. Like, Ehhhh, that’s pensated more than adequately for their efforts.” a bit much,” Ramos laughs. “I could have written another “I wanted it to be a world that was immersive, so peo- book on that and fictionalized it and explored many of ple could really sink into it and then come out of that the same issues, right?” world at the end of the book, and say ‘Huh, that made me feel uncomfortable, and yet it’s only inches away from Rachel Sugar is a writer living in New York. The Farm the world we’re in now,” Ramos says. It’s not a dystopian received a starred review in the Feb. 1, 2019, issue. novel; it’s just reality turned up half a notch. Ramos hadn’t written a novel before. She hadn’t, in young adult fact, written any fiction in 20 years. “It just wasn’t in my head that you could do that,” she says. When she left finance, it was for financial journalism. “I was too scared to go into writing fiction,” she says. Except then she turned 40. “I was like, What do I really want to do?” she recalls. “Do I really need to prove myself anymore? And the answer was no, I just wanted to try writing about all this.” And she’d been trying to write about “all this,” with “stories about dog walkers to wealthy people, or nannies, or an Amazon fulfillment center, and it just wasn’t working.” Then she happened upon a brief article in the Wall Street Journal about surrogacy in India, and it unlocked a whole world. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Ramos says. “I really wanted to talk about not just inequality, but how we fail to see each other when we have such different lives.” She was thinking about her own position, being someone “who can hire a Filipina nanny.” She was thinking about what it would be like to leave your own child “halfway around the world” so you could support them by taking care of someone else’s. And she had her way in. There aren’t any villains in The Farm, not really. “It’s a work of fiction meant to explore the mythology ofa country that has given me everything. Everything,” Ra- THE FARM mos says. It’s a book about surrogacy, but it’s not a book Ramos, Joanne about surrogacy; surrogacy is a vehicle for the question, Random House (336 pp.) not the question itself. The question is bigger than that. $27.00 | May 7, 2019 At its core, it’s a book about capitalism, the promise of 978-1-9848-5375-2

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 15 and to say the two have chemistry would be an understate- KING OF THE ment. The script is very physical, and Malcolm is a merciless MISSISSIPPI taskmaster willing to go to ridiculous lengths to squeeze the Freedman, Mike best from his actors, including inviting Kira’s horrid, simpering Hogarth/Crown (256 pp.) ex-boyfriend to rehearsal as a tactic to stoke her rage. Mean- $26.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 while, the self-contained Joanna stews in a brew of jealousy and 978-0-525-57378-4 wasted opportunity, doing all the grunt work for the company while the odious Malcolm stirs the pot and beds his co-stars. Two alphas battle to be top dog at a All this tension would drive anyone crazy, but for these two global consultancy in this amusing satire women, it’s bound to get messy. Fargo’s propulsive writing style on business, ambition, and entitlement. and Joanna’s and Kira’s dueling narratives drive the increasingly Brock Wharton, at 33, reckons he has frenzied chain of events that play out in the lives of two very logged “a lifetime of doing everything different women who find themselves at an inevitable breaking right.” Quarterback at the University of Texas, married money, point. While certainly effective, the finale isn’t shocking, espe- Harvard Business School, and on the fast track to becoming cially after getting an eyeful of two otherwise intelligent women managing director of Houston-based Cambridge Consulting seething under the toxic spell of such an insufferable man. Group. But while interviewing new hires, he meets his nemesis, This caustic passion play may not knock your socks off, Mike Fink, who seems comfortable being all wrong for CCG. but Fargo is an author to watch. Weak GPA at Tulane, majored in English literature, and sarto- rially unsplendid: “Navy double-breasted suit he wore as if he were a redneck admiral at a regatta that Wharton would never STAY AND FIGHT enter.” But Fink’s resume includes serving as a Green Beret in Ffitch, Madeline the Middle East. So while Wharton thinks of the military as Farrar, Straus and Giroux (304 pp.) “the last stop for the talentless,” CCG’s managing director feels $27.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 that “in our post 9/11 world, these heroes are a lot more real to 978-0-374-26812-1 clients than another fresh-faced MBA.” Wharton soon realizes Fink is no hick. During a session with client Dr. Pepper, Whar- On their Appalachian homestead, an ton spouts CCG’s usual mix of jargon, arrogance, and newish unusual family struggles with the wilder- ideas. The wily Fink undermines his slideshow and charms the ness, society, and each other. CEO with a paean to corporate tradition. Freedman (School Lily and Karen are a couple living near Board, 2014), a former Green Beret himself, uses Fink to skewer the West Virginia border on the Women’s the style and substance of consultancies, Houston’s moneyed Land Trust. When their son, Perley, is class, and male egos in general—the novel’s women barely rise born, they know they’ll be forced to move within five years, as above cliché. The scattershot satire can be rough or forced, but the land is designated as women-only. To their surprise, Helen, it has a compelling energy, like Rodney Dangerfield’s shtick. a Seattle transplant who lives in a camper on 20 acres of land Freedman’s debut was a broadly comic look at business inter- nearby since being abandoned by her boyfriend, invites them to ests in Houston’s politics as a charismatic teen vies with an oil build a home with her; the three women, plus baby Perley, live executive for a school board seat. Maybe there’s another city together as a motley, but largely content, family. Lily, Karen, and portrait in the works, something akin to William Kennedy’s Helen approach their homesteading life with varying degrees of Albany novels. commitment and dogmatism. Each week they play Survival Dice A solid entertainment from a writer of considerable tal- to determine whether they’ll get food from the grocery store ent and promise. (Lily’s preference) or live only off what the land can provide (Kar- en’s and Helen’s). As Perley grows up, he becomes accustomed to foraging for acorns, shoveling piles of “humanure,” and sharing NEVER LOOK BACK his home with tenacious black rat snakes. However, when Per- Gaylin, Alison ley decides at age 7 that he wants to attend school, the women’s Morrow/HarperCollins (368 pp.) unconventional lifestyle is suddenly on display, and when an $16.99 paper | Jul. 2, 2019 accident draws the attention of Children’s Services, the family is 978-0-06-284454-5 threatened by forces bigger than any they’ve faced before. Ffitch (Valparaiso, Round the Horn, 2014), who has a long track record as A young man seeking catharsis an environmental activist, has crafted a story that is unabashedly probes old wounds and unleashes fresh political. But what could have been a didactic or strident novel is pain in this expertly crafted stand-alone rendered, through its multiple first-person perspectives, with wit from Edgar finalist Gaylin If ( I Die and nuance. And Ffitch has surely created one of the best child Tonight, 2018, etc.). narrators in recent memory with the charming Perley. Quentin Garrison is an accomplished A cleareyed, largehearted take on the social protest true-crime podcaster, but it’s not until his troubled mother, novel. Kate, fatally overdoses that he tackles the case that destroyed

16 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | A vibrant parable of abuse and survival. blood

his family. In 1976, teenagers Gabriel LeRoy and April Cooper terrorism attempts to point up connections between violence murdered 12 people in Southern California—Kate’s little sis- in personal relationships and other, larger scenarios. Lurid and ter included—before dying in a fire. Kate’s mother committed breathless, driven by galumphing characters and some belly suicide, and her father withdrew, neglecting Kate, who in turn laughs, this furious tale of brutal times and remedies doesn’t neglected Quentin. Quentin intends for Closure to examine the quite make that link, but the wild ride, underpinned by its killings’ ripple effects, but after an interview with his estranged author’s sharp perceptions, entertains quite a bit. A horror grandfather ends in a fight, he resolves to find a different angle. movie–esque last act sees the family coming together to defeat When a source alleges that April is alive and living in New York oppression and Monica transformed at last from lone warrior to as Renee Bloom, Quentin is dubious, but efforts to debunk the larger-than-life local hero. Even if the novel can seem unsettled, claim only uncover more supporting evidence, so he flies east to she’s irresistible. investigate. Renee’s daughter, online film columnist Robin Dia- A vibrant parable of abuse and survival, stronger on the mond, is preoccupied with Twitter trolls and marital strife when family front than the national one. Quentin calls to inquire about her mom’s connection to April Cooper. Robin initially dismisses Quentin but, upon reflection, realizes she knows nothing of Renee’s past. Before she can ask, a violent home invasion hospitalizes her parents and leaves Robin wondering whom she can trust. Artfully strewn red herrings and a kaleidoscopic narrative heighten tension while sow- ing seeds of distrust concerning the characters’ honesty and intentions. Letters from April to her future daughter written

mid–crime spree punctuate chapters from Quentin’s and Rob- young adult in’s perspectives, humanizing her and Gabriel in contrast with sensationalized accounts from Hollywood and the media. A mind-bending mystery, an insightful exploration of parent-child relationships, and a cautionary tale about bit- terness and blame.

BLOOD Gee, Maggie Fentum Press (324 pp.) $15.95 paper | Jul. 8, 2019 978-1-909572-12-6

What should Monica Ludd, the fearless sister to five other Ludd siblings, do when she finds their horrible father beaten to a pulp? And what does the dysfunctional Ludd family’s predicament tell us about Brexit Britain? “The Ludds. Artistes of awfulness” is how noted British novelist Gee (Virginia Woolf in Manhattan, 2014, etc.) introduces the bizarre family around which she builds her tragicomedy of revenge. Monica, 38, 6-foot-1, “an amazon, strong, deep- chested, solid haunches,” narrates the book, haunted by the fearsome childhood she endured. Her twin brothers, Boris and Angus, “two jut-jawed Herculeses,” their wand-thin model sister, Fairy, and another sister, glamazon Anthea, lived in dread of their cruel father, Albert, whose pitilessness forced the last child, Fred, into the army; he was killed in Afghanistan. But for all her power, Monica is not quite as tough as she seems. Dis- covering Albert’s bloody, smashed-up body after a party to celebrate Fred’s life, she flees, beginning a chain of farcical events that exposes both her resourcefulness and her vulnerability. The Ludds live in Thanet, a spit of land in southern England, “the end and beginning of Britain,” and Gee’s nonstop procession of grotesques, slapstick, and sideswipes at Brexit and domestic

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 17 YOU’VE BEEN VOLUNTEERED “a freak among its peers.” Traveling to Leap’s Island, the half A Class Mom Novel siblings hope to gather Ian’s possessions and find answers to Gelman, Laurie their lingering questions. Elsa believes Ian committed suicide, Henry Holt (288 pp.) but Nolan is adamant he didn’t. They both wonder if their $26.00 | Jul. 23, 2019 own failures, inadequacies, and mistakes caused their father 978-1-250-30185-7 to withdraw from the world. Elsa and Nolan must also grapple with their fraught relationship—full of taboos, secrets, and Max Dixon is in third grade, and his abandonment issues. Playing with time, memory, and point of mother has been roped into active duty view, the novel is structurally ambitious, though sometimes again. to its own detriment. Its strongest parts are its ruminations The subtitle of this sequel to Gel- on the Grey family dynamics, so the portraits of the islanders man’s (Class Mom, 2017) maiden foray feel expendable. Hauser’s ability to render the complexities of into the wilds of elementary school volunteering indicates family relationships with radical honesty is a feat. When Elsa that Jen Dixon, room parent extraordinaire, is in it for the thinks back on her childhood, Hauser writes, “her father had long haul. Good thing. Dixon’s emails to and escapades among been taken from her over and over again, and Elsa was tired the concerned parents of Kansas City have the same anodyne of coming up with new ways to suffer in his absence.” A lesser quality as an old-fashioned television sitcom, with a pratfall, writer would not be able to deliver the disturbing and weird a wisecrack, and a chuckle every few minutes like clockwork. with the grace that Hauser does. This year, Dixon is trying to use the SignUpGenius software to A unique, poignant, and slightly taboo novel about fam- organize the refreshments for “that Fyre Festival known as cur- ily, biology, and evolution. riculum night,” has been charged with supervising the morning safety patrol, and is coping with the effects of a nasty new kid and his tight-ass mom on the peanut-free ethos of William Taft BREATHE IN, CASH OUT Elementary. Her mom has recovered from breast cancer, her Henry, Madeleine husband, Ron, is trying to woo an investor to help him expand Atria (304 pp.) his sporting goods business, her adult daughters are having boy $26.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 troubles, and Jen herself has discovered the transcendent joys of 978-1-982114-53-4 spin class. The plot gambols along from one parent missive to the next—“Exciting news from Mrs. Randazzo! She has finally An investment banking analyst dreams decided on a field trip for our offspring. About time, am I right?” of becoming a yoga teacher, but that’s eas- “I’m sure by now you’ve all heard what happened at safety ier said than done. patrol today so let me just state the obvious: this cannot hap- Allegra hates her job. That’s not say- pen again”—takes a quick, boozy detour to Vegas, and winds up ing much, since everyone at Anderson with everything just fine, sitcom style. Shaw, the most prestigious investment Just add chardonnay. bank on Wall Street, hates their job. It involves pulling constant all-nighters, doing busy work at a moment’s notice, and working such long hours that a steady stream of caffeine is the only FAMILY OF ORIGIN way to survive. But Allegra has a secret: Unlike her co-workers, Hauser, CJ she doesn’t dream of moving up the banking ladder and mak- Doubleday (304 pp.) ing a seven-figure salary. Allegra’s passion is yoga, and as soon $26.95 | Jul. 16, 2019 as she gets her yearly bonus, she plans to quit Anderson Shaw, 978-0-385-54462-7 take a yoga training program, and become a teacher. The only problem is that her job is killing her. After one impulsive night In the wake of their father’s death, away from the office leads to unknowingly sleeping with her two half siblings confront their pasts and new boss, Allegra’s at rock bottom—stressed, unhappy, and try to rewrite their futures. in awful physical shape from sitting hunched over a computer Hauser (The From-Aways, 2014) returns all day. That’s when she runs into her idol, an Instagram yogi with a strange and heartbreaking novel named Skylar Smith. Skylar wants to help Allegra break out of about what it means to be a family. When her terrible job and into the world of yoga, but some of Sky- their estranged father, Dr. Ian Grey, drowns while conducting lar’s suggestions (such as fasting for 48 hours) actually create research, adult half siblings Elsa and Nolan Grey are brought major problems for Allegra at work. Eventually, Allegra starts together for the first time in years. Ian, along with other pecu- to realize that she doesn’t fully trust Skylar’s intentions, and she liar scientists and researchers, lived on Leap’s Island in the might just have to take more drastic action to get her life back Gulf of Mexico, where he studied the undowny bufflehead, on track. Debut author Henry has a background in both invest- a duck species that seems to be evolving backwards. Before ment banking and yoga, and she imbues the story with believ- his death, Ian had become obsessed with one duck, Duck able and horrific details that perfectly illustrate how cutthroat Number Twelve or the Paradise Duck, which he described as and all-consuming the world of banking is (employees having

18 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | seizures after working too long without sleep or passing out VINCENT AND ALICE after overdosing on caffeine pills). Allegra’s work life is an end- AND ALICE less stream of misery, but, luckily, on the page it’s much more Jones, Shane entertaining due to her profane inner monologue that points Tyrant Books (265 pp.) out the ridiculousness she encounters in both the banking and $16.95 paper | Jul. 9, 2019 yoga worlds. 978-0-9992186-7-9 A sharp and funny look at an unhappy woman’s quest to manifest a better life. An artist-cum-bureaucrat gets his wife back (or a version of her) in Jones’ (Crystal Eaters, 2014, etc.) fourth novel. It is a summer of thunderstorms and xenophobic unrest in A-Ville, but Vin- cent, a former painter who works for the state, hardly notices. He’s reeling with depression because his wife, Alice—fed up with Vincent’s emotional enslavement to the retirement package (still hypothetical and more than 20 years away) that keeps him from quitting his job and leaving A-Ville—has divorced him. Then Vincent is asked to participate in PER, a program run by Ronald Reagan worshipper Dorian Blood, who promises that PER will allow Vincent to “live a fulfilling existence while being young adult

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 19 a productive worker”; in other words, it will distort his experi- earns his pension—if the scenes that describe it, which are ence of reality so that he can work with “stunning proficiency” jocular and cartoonish, didn’t feel written solely to have exactly while “physically interacting with the life [he’s] always wanted.” that moral effect. However, Jones is an acute cultural observer Vincent has reservations, but Jones wouldn’t have a book if Vin- and a very funny aphorist—“Anger is lazy”; “Men are brave but cent didn’t acquiesce, so he does, only to discover that his ideal only inside cars”; “Everything makes sense if you let it”;—and life consists of just one change: It includes Alice. An uneasy his book, despite its faults, contains many delights. mishmash of social satire, moral fable, dystopian sci-fi, and An intelligent, entertaining, and yet unconvincing love story, Jones’ novel slides between the influential shadows mashup of Office Space, A Scanner Darkly, and A Clockwork of writers like Anthony Burgess, George Saunders, Philip K. Orange. Dick, and Don DeLillo while never quite cohering into a convincing shape of its own. This is, in part, because the world— a twist and shake different from our own—feels incompletely RAISED IN CAPTIVITY built. PER Alice, for example, is never quite convincing as an Klosterman, Chuck entity, mostly because we don’t know the metaphysical rules of Penguin Press (320 pp.) her existence: Sometimes she’s visible and audible to others— $26.00 | Jul. 16, 2019 when she answers the telephone, her words are heard—and yet 978-0-7352-1792-8 she’s also a nontangible figment of Vincent’s memory. Similarly underdeveloped are A-ville’s violence and racism, the existence Thirty-four wry bits of metafiction of which would powerfully indict Vincent’s solipsism—people from the eternally ironic Klosterman are attacking Muslims while he perpetuates his fantasies and (Chuck Klosterman X, 2017, etc.). Billed as “Fictional Nonfiction,” in this we get more echoes of the creative process behind Gen X icon Klosterman’s two absurdist novels (Downtown Owl, 2008, and The Visible Man, 2011) than we do from his tart essays and meandering nonfiction. It kicks off with an interesting scenario in “Raised in Captivity,” in which a nominally successful dude is presented with an existential crisis when he discovers a puma in an airplane bathroom. It’s a bit worrisome that the collection is absolutely laced with confessions—the perp being interviewed in “Experience Music Project,” the dying father in “To Live in the Hearts of Those We Leave Behind Is Not to Die, Except That It Actually Is,” and the guy who swears he didn’t kill those people in “Execute Again,” to name just a few—but they’re acidly funny. Even stranger: The serial attacker in “Cat Person,” who...rubs cats on people, is drawn in glorious noir-tinged prose. Klosterman not only excels at character and dialogue, as the people and conversations in the book seem very organic, but he’s also keen on setting up off- beat scenarios, which often drift toward the bizarre. In “Every Day Just Comes and Goes,” a regular Joe finds himself arguing with a time traveler. There’s a surreal conversation about magic in “Tricks Aren’t Illusions.” A terribly polite housewife hires an overeager hit man in “Not That Kind of Person.” Elsewhere, Klosterman savages political correctness in “Toxic Actuality,” conjures up a band with a hit single that’s superracist in “Bliz- zard of Summer,” and imagines a death cult in Silicon Valley in “What About the Children.” Armed with everything from existential crises to a robot dinosaur, there’s really something for everyone in this crisp collection of imaginative snippets. A colorful, somewhat wicked collection of stories that are touching as often as they are laugh-out-loud funny.

20 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | Lee Koe’s novel follows the intersecting lives and careers of three 20th-century film greats. delayed rays of a star

DELAYED RAYS OF Rilke to her every Sunday, and she’s cared for by a Chinese maid A STAR named Bébé, who has fled her rural village in Taishan and a pros- Lee Koe, Amanda titution ring in Marseilles. Anna May wrestles with her romantic Talese/Doubleday (400 pp.) feelings for Marlene after a brief post–Press Ball tryst as they co- $27.95 | Jul. 9, 2019 star in Shanghai Express, and she battles against regular takedowns 978-0-385-54434-4 in the Chinese press, her laundry-owning parents’ disapproval of her career, and Hollywood’s—and the world’s—limited roles and Lee Koe’s (Ministry of Moral Panic, expectations for a Chinese-American woman. “And where are 2013) decade- and continent-spanning you from? Los Angeles, Anna May said. Before that? Anna May novel follows the intersecting lives and shook her head, repeated herself: Los Angeles. But where were careers of three 20th-century film greats. you born? Los Angeles, she said.” Leni Riefenstahl shoots her At the Berlin Press Ball 1928, three film Tiefland in the Bavarian Alps, using Roma and Sinti extras young women meet: Anna May Wong, an up-and-coming Chi- from a concentration camp while navigating her relationships nese-American actress in Hollywood; Marlene Dietrich, a loud- with Hitler and Goebbels, and eventually faces public vitriol and mouthed German trying to break into the business; and Leni rape threats for those Nazi ties. For a novel so dense with histori- Riefenstahl, a striving director just embarking on a career making cal fact and larger-than-life celebrity cameos (everyone from John Nazi propaganda films. From there the narration branches out, in F. Kennedy to Walter Benjamin to David Bowie), its portrayals alternating, braided sections, to trace the arcs of their lives. An are nuanced enough that each character comes off as deeply octogenarian Marlene, bedridden in a Paris apartment, receives human regardless of their fame or importance to the novel’s plot. flirtatious phone calls from a mysterious young man who recites “In retrospective appraisal, [Marlene] divided her affairs not by young adult

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 21 gender or duration, but those for whom she’d cooked pot-au-feu up with God. So after eons—or at least after three previous and those she had not.…Marlene would not have guessed that she Testament installments—he decides to organize the Fallen to had one more pot-au-feu left in her, and for an anonymous caller “begin their final assault on Heaven.” Of all possible places in no less.” It’s the steady accumulation of intimate details like these the universe, this plot involves climbing out a hole in the Syr- that creates a sweeping sense of history that feels truly alive. ian island of Arwad. Their biggest obstacle is not the creator Expansive, complex, and utterly engrossing. himself but “the accursed Shaw family…the only humans with the knowledge and power to defeat his purpose.” They are the siblings Emma and Bravo Shaw, who are Gnostic Observatines. THE SUM OF ALL SHADOWS The Principal Resident wants to drive a wedge between brother Lustbader, Eric Van and sister, who may not be wholly human. Their great-great Forge (352 pp.) grandmother Chynna Sikar had mated with the Fallen Seraph $28.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 of “Unparalleled Glamour,” Leviathan. He is “something out 978-0-7653-8863-6 of a lunatic’s nightmare: a six-winged beast with red and gold eyes, a bestial snout, and ears like a bat’s wings.” Adding to the Heaven and hell duke it out once charm, he likes chowing down on human bones and surrounds again in this fourth religious fantasy himself with an armada of buzzing flies. So what’s not to like? thriller in the author’s Testament series And there’s Oq Ajdar, a chimera that changes from a dragon to (Four Dominions, 2018, etc.). a sea serpent to an eagle in a few blinks of the eye. Even good Lucifer, the Principal Resident of guys take strange form, as Emma is rescued from certain death hell and the Sum of All Shadows, is fed by a big frog wearing a waistcoat, formal jacket, trousers with a satin stripe, and “jaunty silk ascot.” At least he wasn’t holding a martini glass. The premise is a highly imaginative take on the eternal conflict between good and evil, and just because this novel has a satisfying conclusion doesn’t mean that Lucifer, like Schwarzenegger, won’t be back. Readers able to suspend great gobs of disbelief will enjoy this yarn, but they might do well to read the books in order.

DEEP RIVER Marlantes, Karl Atlantic Monthly (736 pp.) $28.00 | Jul. 2, 2019 978-0-8021-2538-5

Marlantes (What it Is Like To Go to Wa r , 2011, etc.) moves from the jungles of Vietnam to the old-growth forests of Washington in this saga of labor and love. It’s the late summer of 1901, and Aino Koski is learning to read and write courtesy of a schoolteacher boarding with her family in the Finnish backwoods, his textbook of choice The Communist Manifesto. Soon she’s a socialist, and so she will remain, even as her neighbors and siblings follow other beliefs and courses. Escaping the Russian occupation of her country, Aino and others in her community move across the waters to Washington state, where, despite her hope that America will prove a socialist paradise, any utopianism is worn away by the realities of endless hard work in the forests and mills: “Aksel’s hands,” Marlantes writes, “work-hardened since he was a boy, still blistered from the nine-pound splitting maul and eight-foot-long bucksaw.” Aino devotes herself to labor activism while members of the Finnish immigrant community work, build families and lives, grow old, and die. Aino hardly has time to take a breath, but she still finds room for agonies of secret-charged love that stretch out over

22 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | the decades, until fate finally allows some measure of happiness: THE DREAMING TREE “He leaned over and smothered his face in her hair,” Marlantes Mather, Matthew writes poetically of Aino’s husband-to-be, who has followed a Blackstone Publishing (412 pp.) hard path of his own, “and the pain and the disappointment $26.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 poured out as he said her name over and over.” The story is long 978-1-5385-8941-0 and has its longueurs, but Marlantes carefully builds an epic world in the forests of Scandinavia and the Northwest, taking In a world where people can be pains to round out each character, especially the long-suffering swapped into new bodies to keep them Aino. Drawing on his family history, he weaves themes from the alive, do you ever really know who you Kalevala, the Finnish national epic—as he writes, the paterfa- are? milias has named all his children after the mythological heroes After a car accident that could have and heroines in its pages—as well as real-world events in the killed him, Roy Lowell-Vandeweghe annals of the early-20th-century labor movement. wakes up to discover a fate he feels is A novel that sometimes struggles under its own weight worse than death. His wife, Penny, and his wealthy mother have but that’s well worth reading. teamed up with Eden Corporation to give Roy the first-ever full body transplant. The groundbreaking and potentially sinister Dr. Danesti has been paid a sum of—well, Roy doesn’t even want to know how much, to ensure that Roy survives, though maybe the doctor is keeping him alive just long enough to access his trust fund. Since Roy wasn’t close to either his wife young adult

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 23 a debut novelist’s attempt to write “the least sensational book about sex possible”

In Saskia Vogel’s debut novel, Permission (May 7), erot- or his mother before the accident, he’s not quite sure why he’s ic Los Angeles comes alive for Echo, a struggling actress been kept alive and isn’t satisfied by the nonanswers he’s given. grieving her father’s fall from a sea cliff near the family His restlessness and curiosity lead him to return the phone call home. of Suffolk County Police Department Detective Delta Dev- lin, who’s tracking a serial killer in the Hamptons. Something “I enjoyed putting these two Photo courtesy Fette Sans in Roy is triggered by her quest: Could the body he’s currently forces of nature together, the land- tenanting be that of the man who committed the crimes? Roy, scape and the erotic,” says Vogel, unable to rest until he knows the truth, hires a detective of his an LA–born, Berlin-based English- own to uncover the facts behind his medical miracle. As he to-Swedish translator and writer learns more about Eden Corporation, Dr. Danesti, and the man whose criticism focuses on gender, behind his second chance at life, Roy’s sure of only two things: That he’s on to something dark and that he may be the very power, and sexuality. person he can’t trust. “In Wallace Stegner’s ‘Wilder- Piling on questions about who we are and how we know ness Letter,’ he talks about the wil- it, Mather (Polar Vortex, 2019) is more successful when he derness as the force against which concentrates on his twisted take on Frankenstein’s mon- human nature, or a character of a ster, even though this leaves his serial-killer subplot less people, is shaped,” she says. “What fleshed-out. if you take away the patriarch, the Saskia Vogel force against which Echo and her COSTALEGRE mum have shaped their lives?” Maum, Courtney Grief over the missing man further divides Echo from Tin House (240 pp.) her mother, “whose refusal to be pleased was a form of $19.95 paper | Jul. 16, 2019 tyranny,” Vogel writes. Seeking 978-1-947793-36-1 solace in Orly, a local domina- A young girl follows her mother and trix, she reconsiders her sense a wayward group of artists into the Mexi- of place, relationships, pleasure, can jungle on the eve of World War II in and pain. this spare, enchanting novel. “Only after I met Orly and Fourteen-year-old Lara Calaway just understood that loving in the wants her mother to notice her. Instead, way you love is not enough— Leonora, a wealthy New York socialite, is more interested in collecting members of the avant-garde. There’s Konrad, a trau- you have to pay attention to matized painter, whom Leonora marries; C., Konrad’s longtime how people need and want to be lover, a forceful and dedicated writer with hair that “floats loved—did I come to realize that around her face like an evil halo”; and the loathed Hetty, “the [my parents] were blind to each only other woman with us in Mexico…[who] is just horrible.” other,” Vogel writes. Maum (Touch, 2017, etc.) depicts Lara’s curiosity and longing in Kirkus calls this stimulating exquisite, diary-style vignettes, sketches, notes, and unsent let- story “an intimate study of pow- ters. “He’d be so beautiful if he were happy,” she muses about Konrad, her new stepfather. “Sometimes at the parties when er within two of the relation- I catch the way he is with C., I hate my mother for the way ships that define us most precisely—that of lover and that she has to have the things that everybody likes.” According to of child.” Maum, Leonora and Lara Calaway are based loosely on Peggy “My goal was to write the least sensational book about Guggenheim and her daughter Pegeen while the artists who sex possible,” Vogel says. “I want to open up the kind of make up “the entire bin of loons” at Costalegre are compos- space where we can actually think about sex and sexuality, ites of surrealists like André Breton, Leonora Carrington, and Djuna Barnes. Lara makes for a fine narrator—young enough think about the erotic…and look at what kind of insight to be both enchanted and annoyed by the strange collection of is available to us when we don’t shove sex into a corner of, adults that surround her and old enough to explain her frustra- ‘It’s either erotica or porn, or it’s literature.’ ” —M.L. tions with heartbreaking clarity. Only occasionally does Maum allow her teenager to really sound like a teenager, and then it’s Megan Labrise is the editor at large and co-host of Kirkus’ Fully played for laughs. “If she ends up putting her museum here,” Booked podcast. Permission was reviewed in the March 1, 2019, Lara writes of Costalegre and her mother, “I am going to die.” Occasional theatrics aside, Lara blooms when she encounters issue. a Dadaist sculptor from Germany, moved by his work and his

24 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | ability to really see her, “you know, in that way that feels like DRAGONFLY something has been thrown directly toward you, as if you’re on Meacham, Leila the other end of a straight line.” The novel closes as quickly as it Grand Central Publishing (576 pp.) opens, in a moment of teenage confusion, rage, and hope. $28.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 A lush chronicle of wealth, art, adventure, loneliness, 978-1-53873222-9 love, and folly told by a narrator you won’t be able to forget. During World War II, five Ameri- cans head to Nazi-occupied France on a HUE AND CRY secret mission for the OSS, but only four McPherson, James Alan return. Ecco/HarperCollins (304 pp.) Twenty years later, OSS case offi- $16.99 paper | Jul. 19, 2019 cer Alistair Renault finds a clue in a 978-0-06-290973-2 history book that the missing member of their group might have survived after all. He flashes back to the beginning of the Short stories reach across decades operation, when he first assembled the team he dubbed “Drag- of racial upheaval and social transforma- onfly”—three men and two women who were chosen for their tion to reaffirm what remains human and special skills and secret connection to the war. The five recruits vulnerable in all of us. bond in training, but once on their mission, they split up to McPherson (1943-2016) was the first avoid being caught by the enemy and communicate by making African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize marks on a mural painted on the courtyard wall of a convent.

in fiction, which he received for his 1977 collection of short young adult stories, Elbow Room. Nine years earlier, the Savannah-born McPherson, who held degrees from both Harvard Law School and the University of Iowa (whose storied Writers Workshop he later directed), published this, his first and only other short- fiction collection. Upon reading this new edition, it somehow isn’t enough to say that the stories “hold up well.” Their blend of grittiness and sophistication, compassion and common sense, measured observation and melancholy humor can still profoundly move and illuminate. “Gold Coast”—which was later included in The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike—manages to compress whole contradictions of personality, ethnicity, and class into the seemingly discursive but poignant reminiscences of a young black janitor’s apprenticeship to his building’s embittered and elderly Irish super- intendent. With similar incisiveness and sensitivity, the title novella dissects the vagaries of interracial romance. McPher- son’s keen ear is perhaps most evident in “A Solo Song: For Doc,” which uses the irascible first-person voice of a 60-something Pullman waiter to recount the life of a similarly testy co-worker whose supreme competence and fierce dedication couldn’t protect him from bigotry or arbitrary dismissal. “Of Cabbages and Kings” evokes some of the darkly comedic paranoia of the 1960s while “An Act of Prostitution” puts the edgier comedy of the legal system up front. The collection remains an exemplar of humane, tough-minded grace while anticipating much of the trenchant, boundary-breaching fiction by young African-Amer- ican writers emerging so far this century. Half a century ago, Ralph Ellison was excited by the prodigious talent on display in this collection, and it can still galvanize contemporary readers.

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 25 Their cover stories offer surprising glimpses of daily life for THE CUBAN COMEDY the French and their German occupiers. (And a character list Medina, Pablo at the beginning of the book helps keep their real names and Unnamed Press (192 pp.) aliases straight.) Christoph Brandt, a track-and-field coach who $16.99 paper | Jul. 9, 2019 couldn’t be drafted to the American military due to his miss- 978-1-944700-87-4 ing thumb, learns firsthand how the Hitler Youth are taught to bully. He ingratiates himself with the Nazis by tutoring the A young poet’s muse is slowly stifled son of the head of the Abwehr German intelligence agency in as the Castro regime takes power in France. But the Nazis won’t be fooled for long. Civil engineer Cuba. Samuel “Bucky” Barton risks being discovered by Christoph’s If this novel by the veteran poet, nov- old friend from his hometown who betrayed his country to elist, and translator (The Island Kingdom, join the Third Reich. Working side by side with the enemy, the 2015, etc.) qualifies as a “comedy,” it’s Americans are surprised to learn that some of the Nazis are not of the most melancholy and bittersweet sort. Its hero, Elena, what they seem. Tired, disillusioned, and looking for redemp- has grown up in a rural patch of the island, the daughter of tion, they blur the line between friend and foe, giving Dragonfly the maker of an infamously potent firewater. Dad suggests both a way into the organization and a way out of the war. that her budding love of poetry at 17 is the real danger, though. Complex, epic, and rich in historical detail—an uplift- She’s “infected with something more terminal than death,” and ing story of finding friendship behind enemy lines. he means it: Elena’s verse for a time turns the town into sex- obsessed layabouts and catches the attention of Daniel, a mes- merizing “Bard of the Revolution” who awards her a national poetry prize. In the interior and for a time in Havana, Elena’s life feels charmed and strange in ways that evoke the 1960s Latin Boom. Her father’s cousin is a healer who speaks in a patois of Latin, Spanish, French, and English; she falls for a comically well-endowed man who quits his firewater habit before they marry, have a daughter, and he dies; in Havana, she’s taken in by a couple that keeps a coop full of pigeons and a parrot with the fraught name of Pity. The peculiarity of the narrative becomes deliberately straightforward, though, after she marries Daniel and he falls afoul of Communist leaders and is detained by State Security. Tales of lust and exorcism and flight fade from the narrative, replaced by Elena’s despair that poetry gained her only “a husband in jail and the sword of the state dangling over her.” Rather than get into particulars of how everyday life changed in Cuba by the early ’60s, Medina memorably conjures a stark change in atmosphere. A bleak fable that honors the poetic spirit, recognizing lyricism and metaphor as dangerous tools of defiance.

INHABITATION Miyamoto, Teru Trans. by Thomas, Roger K. Counterpoint (320 pp.) $16.95 paper | Jul. 9, 2019 978-1-64009-217-4

In 1970s Osaka, a young man moves out of his mother’s home and is consumed by thoughts of life, love, and an impaled lizard. Stretching from the cherry-blossom spring of one year to the spring of the next, this novel follows the passionate preoccupations of graduating college student and part-time hotel bellboy Iryō Tetsuyuki. Miyamoto (Rivers, 2014, etc.) published this novel in 1984—straight after the release of his novel Maboroshi no hikari but before it had found fame as

26 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | An engaging chuckle about an elderly man who fights to regain the autonomy he deserves. the great unexpected

the film Maborosi—but its themes are timeless. Sometimes lit- THE BURNING CHAMBERS erally and always figuratively feverish, Tetsuyuki struggles with Mosse, Kate the tangible aspects of adult life: finances, collegiality, romantic Minotaur (608 pp.) love, filial obligations. The book’s Japanese title,Haru no Yume— $27.99 | $61.99 audiobook | Jun. 18, 2019 Spring Dream—gives a good sense of Tetsuyuki’s tenuous grasp 978-1-250-20216-1 of reality as he comes of age. A perceptive if judgmental charac- 978-1-250-22396-8 audiobook ter, Tetsuyuki can be a deeply exasperating protagonist, though he’s portrayed with just enough sympathy and fascination to Mosse returns to Languedoc, her keep the reader engaged with his constantly shifting resolu- favored historical territory, for a swash- tions. Through this balancing act and his clear prose, Miyamoto buckler about a purloined inheritance shows why he is respected in Japan, if little-known abroad. and religious persecution. Somehow, Tetsuyuki’s feelings toward his girlfriend, the finan- The main plot of this series launch— cial debt he inherited from his father, his relationship with his set in 1562, during the regency of Catherine de Medici—has all mother, the profound nature of existence, and various concepts the ingredients of a fairy-tale adventure. Mosse’s young heroine, of reincarnation are all bound up with Kin-chan, the lizard he Minou Joubert, daughter of a Carcassonne bookseller, is actually accidentally nailed to a pillar on his first night in his own place. of noble birth. Puzzling out exactly how this came to be is the A cast of characters at the Osaka hotel and around the Kansai book’s main agenda. The principal players are Minou, her father, region also provide foils for Tetsuyuki’s developing sensibility Bernard, her brother, Aimeric, and younger sister, Alis. All are and counterexamples for many of the relationships he is trying Huguenots, members of the often persecuted French Protes- to develop. tant minority. They find an ally in Piet, a Protestant soldier of

A fascinating exploration of early adulthood in Japan. young adult

THE GREAT UNEXPECTED Mooney, Dan Park Row Books (368 pp.) $15.99 paper | Jun. 25, 2019 978-0-7783-0858-4

In his 70s, Joel Monroe proves he has plenty of life left in him despite being held “prisoner” at the Hilltop Nursing Home. Joel shared a room at Hilltop with his wife, Lucey, until he awoke one morning to her unexpected death. When Lucey’s bed is given to Mr. Miller, a man in a coma, it only adds to Joel’s grief and loneliness. When Miller dies, Joel is not ready to share his life, such as it is, with a new roommate, let alone flamboyant Frank de Selby, a soap opera actor of bygone years. But Frank’s not one to take rebuffs seriously, and, after a rough start, the two became unlikely friends. They share heart-wrenching secrets while fighting the powers that be at Hilltop with cranky defiance and passive resistance, pulling off applauseworthy antics such as sharing a pint—or several—at various pubs around town. Mooney addresses issues of aging—and life in general—with humor. Yet at times, while championing issues the elderly face— feeling infantilized, marginalized, hopeless, and forgotten—he delivers a subtle, perhaps unwitting, parody of the aged, painting with a soft stereotypical brush, on occasion making some look silly. Thankfully the characters fall short of becoming caricatures, and the strong message that there is life and value in older folk resonates loud and clear and encouraging. This is a testimony to the powerful medicine that a friend can be. An engaging chuckle about an elderly man who fights to regain the autonomy he deserves.

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 27 fortune. Piet and Minou are struck by un coup de foudre—love there’s time for a few profound philosophical observations of at first sight. The villains are Blanche, who is the third wife and the sort one would hope for from a (modest, Tesla-free) French- now widow of Lord Bruyère of Puivert, whom, italicized pas- man. “Passion is a no-man’s-land, a bombed out warzone situ- sages reveal, she poisoned. Blanche hopes to retain the Puivert ated somewhere at the intersection of sorrow, madness and lands and titles by producing an heir, although she is pregnant death.” Tell it, brother. not by Bruyère but by her lover, Vidal, a priest (who also hap- Sacré bleu! pens to be Piet’s estranged friend). Vidal hopes Blanche’s influence can help him usurp a bishop’s throne, and he also plots to take credit for recovering the stolen Shroud of Antioch, even THE GHOST CLAUSE if it means passing off a fake relic as the real thing. Blanche is Norman, Howard desperate to locate, and destroy, a will that is the sole evidence Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (256 pp.) of a competing claim to her late husband’s estate. Amid battles, $27.00 | Jul. 2, 2019 Inquisition torture sessions, massacres of Huguenot civilians 978-0-544-98729-6 and collateral Catholic damage, the complex tale spreads ten- tacles throughout the Midi region of France. The exposition is A young couple adjusts to life in a somewhat heavy-handed as characters discuss political upheav- rural Vermont farmhouse and the spec- als, military factions, and religious strife past and present— ter of the novelist who once lived there. including the purge of the Cathar heresy. However, the history Norman’s fiction My ( Darling Detec is engrossing and goes down easy thanks to the hurtling plot. tive, 2017, etc.) is death-stalked stuff: Mosse has successfully cornered the Midi market. His novels are suffused with the ghosts of spouses and parents, murders around hotels and lighthouses, and downcast observations of the somber, foggy Northeast. THE REUNION Though nobody would confuse him for a horror writer, he has a Musso, Guillaume keen eye for the way loss uneasily sticks with those left behind. Trans. by Wynne, Frank This time he lets the dead do the talking. Simon, the narra- Little, Brown and Company (288 pp.) tor, is a novelist who died of a heart attack on a ferry in Nova $28.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 Scotia and who’s returned to his home in Vermont to observe 978-0-316-49014-6 its new occupants: Zachary, a private detective, and Muriel, a scholar of Japanese poetry. The two are suspicious of a strange A high school reunion on the Côte presence; the alarm in their library keeps getting set off, a book d’Azur brings together murderers who by Wallace Stevens (that most metaphysical of modern poets) haven’t spoken to each other in years. can’t stay in one place, and the home’s deed has a “ghost clause” The latest novel to be published that obligates the prior owner to buy back the home in case of a in English by France’s No. 1 bestselling “malevolent presence.” But the home is stressed enough already, author, Musso (The Girl on Paper, 2012, etc.), features Thomas as Zachary works on the case of a missing girl that’s torn up the Degalais, a bestselling French author. Perhaps this is why Musso town and sends him down a series of false leads. This isn’t a plot feels compelled to reveal in an author’s note at the end of the so much as a kind of atmosphere; Simon observes frustrations, book that he personally has never walled up a body in the gym. losses, and elisions, from miscarriages to missed leads to his Many others in this book have, and now that gym is slated for widow, Lorca, deep in mourning. Yet, like the poet Muriel stud- demolition as part of a new building initiative at the school. ies, who tucks erotic parentheticals into her mordant poems, Ruh-roh, to quote Scooby Doo via Felicity Huffman. The mys- a little light slips into the story, resolving both the case of the tery aspect of this novel is ridiculous to say the least—based on missing girl and Simon’s uneasy sense of place. What opens as unbelievable premises and getting crazier all the time, as both a ghost story turns out to be something of a love story instead. the dead bodies and responsible parties pile up. The main rea- Familiar turf for Norman’s longtime readers, but he son to read this novel is to marvel at the amazing conglomera- still has a knack for finding emotional resonances in muted, tion of American and French pop-culture knowledge that the unlikely scenarios. average French reader must have at his or her fingertips. While one character has “become a Laura Palmer-like character in a remake of Twin Peaks set on the Côte d’Azur,” others look “a little like Lauryn Hill when she was with the Fugees” or “Jer- emiah Johnson in pursuit of a ghostly grizzly bear.” Still another is “like an American,” because “he brazenly flaunted his success” and “bragged about the merits of his Tesla.” Ouch! Just as fast and thick come references to French writers, music, fashions, and celebrities that will be inscrutable to most American readers but add a little Gallic je ne sais quoi. Somehow, amid the mayhem, the suspense, and the ongoing pop-culture avalanche,

28 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 29 MAGGIE BROWN & taciturn mother: “She didn’t bother to speak to my father any OTHERS more than absolutely necessary. Words were energy and she was Orner, Peter storing them up for another life.” A couple in therapy in “Rhine- Little, Brown (336 pp.) beck” goes to a theater after their sessions and sits through any $27.00 | Jul. 2, 2019 movie that happens to be playing, “all the way through the cred- 978-0-316-51611-2 its when there are no more names to thank and the whole deal stops....Anything not to go home.” A tone of wistful and often In these 44 stories and a novella, Orner comic nostalgia pervades many of the stories, for Orner has a (Underground America, 2017, etc.) concen- sharp eye for absurdity and a discerning ear for dialogue. The trates on small perceptual moments, espe- narrator of “The Captain” finds himself “thinking about periph- cially those involving knotty problems in eral people in my life, people I hardly knew”—people, in other relationships. words, like the title character, a drug dealer who dresses up like Orner’s stories range from one paragraph to several pages, Captain Kangaroo. The longest piece here is Walt Kaplan Is so he scarcely gives himself enough time to develop conflict and Broke: A Novella, but even here Orner breaks his narrative into character. Instead, he focuses our attention on small epiphanies 30 chapters, using a small but recurring cast of characters in his and suggests that these moments of insight, if they come, might microfictive world. be all we can expect in this circumscribed world. Orner tends Insightful, rueful, and often humorous, this collection to direct our attention to both domestic and family relation- holds a mirror to contemporary life and gives the reader ships, both of which are found wanting. In “Visions of Mr. Swi- much to reflect on. bel,” the narrator explains the communication strategy of his STILL I MISS YOU Pedrosa, Inês Trans. by Rosenberg, Andrea AmazonCrossing (298 pp.) $24.95 | Jul. 1, 2019 978-1-5420-9333-0

Two former lovers address one another after one of them has died. Any and every novel will ask that, while reading, you suspend your disbelief. A novel in which one of the main characters has already died, and continues to speak from beyond the grave, asks with a bit more urgency. That’s the conceit of Pedrosa’s (In Your Hands, 2018) latest novel to appear in Eng- lish. There’s no plot here, no real action. Instead, in alternating chapters, a man and a woman—formerly lovers—address one another in long, stream-of-consciousness passages that describe their relationship, their lives, and quite a few more abstract ideas, too. It’s the woman who has died. “I died when a drifter got lost on the way to my uterus,” she explains. “I died because my body decided to produce a new life and screwed it up.” And her counterpart? “Did you think about me as you were dying?” he asks. But most of the novel is far less straightforward. Both characters trade in lyrical abstractions as they wax on and on about whatever comes to mind. A typical passage: “Through you, I existed before I was even born, in the harsh, secret vocabulary of a war that no longer belonged to me….” These medita- tions grow tiresome rather quickly. Unsupported by any action, the weight of the novel sags heavily in the middle. Pedrosa has worked as a journalist in her native Portugal: Some journalistic precision might have helped sharpen this hazy novel, at least enough to bring it into focus. An excess of navel-gazing quickly grows tiresome.

30 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | Segal is a monumental writer, one of the finest of her generation. the journal i did not keep

LOCK EVERY DOOR isn’t her chosen vocation; it’s just what she does to pay rent, buy Sager, Riley groceries, and pick up vintage tchotchkes at thrift stores. She Dutton (384 pp.) lives with a woman named Alix who is her sexual and roman- $26.00 | Jul. 2, 2019 tic partner, but Ella doesn’t like to think of herself as part of a 978-1-5247-4514-1 couple. When a retired carpenter named Bryn hires Ella to care for his mentally impaired wife, Jill, Ella becomes a part-time Another homage to classic horror member of their household. There isn’t a lot of dialogue in this from a bestselling author. novel, nor is there much in the way of action. What there are, Sager’s debut novel, Final Girls (2017), mostly, are third-person descriptions of what’s going on inside wasn’t so much a horror novel as a com- Ella’s head as she cares for Jill, gets to know Bryn, and watches mentary about horror movies in novel the pair interact. Ella has a number of revelations about love form. It was clever but also very well- and life. Mostly, she thinks about herself. This is true of most crafted. The author tried to do something similar with The people, probably, but it doesn’t make for much of a story unless Last Time I Lied (2018), with significantly less satisfying results. you find Ella as fascinating as her author does. The most inter- This new novel is another attempt to make the model work. esting aspect of this novel is the weird relationship between the Whether or not it does depends on how invested one is in protagonist and the narrator. Consider this passage: “Ella was formula for the sake of formula. Jules Larsen is getting over a ashamed of how her own beauty comforted and seduced her; breakup and the loss of her job when she finds a gig that seems she visited it like a secret lover, she stroked it softly like a young too good to be true: The Bartholomew, a storied Manhattan boy watching television, one hand tucked into his pajama bot- building, wants to pay her thousands of dollars to simply occupy toms, fondling his small, flaccid treasure.” This very long sen-

a vacant—and luxurious—apartment. Jules soon gets the feeling tence contains what is surely one of the most awkward similes young adult that all is not as it seems at the Bartholomew, which is, of course, in contemporary fiction, but it also shows us an author who is a perfect setup for some psychological suspense, but the prob- maybe a little bit too in love with her heroine, not to mention a lem is that there is little in the way of narrative tension because bit too in love with her own voice. Jules’ situation is so obviously not right from the very beginning. A tedious first novel that might have been a rich short While interviewing for the job, she’s asked about her health his- story. tory. She’s informed that she is not allowed to have guests in the apartment. She’s warned that she must not interact with or talk to anyone else about the building’s wealthy and famous THE JOURNAL I DID inhabitants. And she learns that she will be paid under the table. NOT KEEP While this might not be enough to deter someone who is broke Segal, Lore and desperate, it does mean that Jules should be a bit more con- Melville House (432 pp.) cerned than she is when the really scary stuff starts happening. $28.99 | Jun. 25, 2019 It’s possible to read this as a parody of the absurdly intrepid hor- 978-1-61219-747-0 ror heroine, but, even as that, it’s not a particularly entertaining parody. Jules’ best friend makes a reference to American Horror A retrospective collection from an Story, which feels less like a postmodern nod than a reminder illustrious writer’s long career. that there are other, better examples of the genre that one Segal (Half the Kingdom, 2013, etc.) could be enjoying instead. was 10 when she was sent, by Kinder- Lacking in both thrills and chills. transport, from Vienna to England. Eventually, she and what was left of her family made their way to New York. Now in her 90s, Segal’s still there and long SAY SAY SAY overdue for a retrospective of her writing. This is a spectacu- Savage, Lila lar volume. It collects excerpts from Segal’s major novels with Knopf (176 pp.) short stories and essays, some new, some previously uncollected. $24.00 | Jul. 11, 2019 Throughout her long career, Segal has returned again and again 978-0-525-65592-3 to the biographical impetus that launched it: Her first novel, Other People’s Houses (excerpted here), draws directly from her A millennial adrift learns about life childhood flight to England and subsequent life with various while caring for others. foster families. Other pieces reflect an abiding interest in Jane Anyone who has ever worked in the Austen, racial inequality, and aging: One particularly delight- helping professions knows that these ful story describes an elderly woman at a party for which she jobs can create strange intimacies. This is can’t quite remember the occasion, or the hostess. As it turns potentially fruitful territory, but whether out, it’s not a party after all. In all of these pieces, Segal’s prose or not this novel works depends very much upon how one feels is exquisite—crystalline, clear, and utterly unsentimental. In a about its protagonist. Ella is almost 30. After dropping out of chapter excerpted from her 1985 novel, Her First American, Segal her graduate program, she started working as a caregiver. This describes a group of friends—some black, some white—who

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 31 summer together in a large house in the 1950s. These scenes REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL can be wickedly funny, and excruciatingly awkward, as the well- Stibbe, Nina intentioned white characters bumble around. Segal is critical of Little, Brown (288 pp.) liberal white hypocrisy but never cruel to her characters—what- $26.00 | Jul. 23, 2019 ever their race or religion. 978-0-316-30937-0 Segal is a monumental writer, one of the finest of her generation; this lovely collection is a fine introduction to Quirky, British, and on the cusp of her work. adulthood, Lizzie Vogel is starting a new chapter of her life, which will include guerrilla dentistry, her first dinner party, LET’S HOPE FOR THE BEST and possibly a romance with Andy Setterwall, Carolina Nicolello, whose mother may be even Trans. by Wessel, Elizabeth Clark more eccentric than her own (“Mine: drunk, divorcee, nudist, Little, Brown (384 pp.) amphetamine addict, nymphomaniac, shoplifter, would-be nov- $27.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 elist, poet, playwright”). 978-0-316-48962-1 In two earlier volumes, Stibbe (Paradise Lodge, 2016, etc.) has traced the chaotic but disarming history of the Vogels as In this debut from Stockholm-based experienced by middle child Lizzie. Now 18, Lizzie no longer writer Setterwall, a real-life relationship works part time at the Paradise Lodge old people’s home, hav- becomes the basis of a novel about anxi- ing accepted a proper job as assistant to hateful, racist dentist JP ety, motherhood, and trauma. Wintergreen. The position comes with an apartment over the Carolina is an adventurous concert practice, and Lizzie encounters the mixed blessings of freedom promoter who falls fast and hard for quiet Aksel, a freelancer. and loneliness there; she finds solace reading women’s maga- “I’m thirty, and my love life is a mess,” she admits, detailing her zines, which inspire dreams of a future, in London, writing col- failed relationships and attempts to address bad romantic pat- umns of her own like “Eleven Warning Signs that Your Husband terns in therapy. An anxious but eager girlfriend, she pushes the Is Bored with His Food.” Deadpan yet droll, and no kind of two across milestone after milestone while circumspect Aksel rebel, Lizzie is taking her first unsteady steps into adulthood— agrees to be pushed. “If I just wait a few hours, you come back,” learning to drive, buying a clingy dress (to be worn without she muses. “I’m starting to learn your patterns. I’m starting to panties), and exploring the possibility of intimacy with hand- figure out how to exist in your world.” But things shift when some yet diffident Andy. Andy works for the Mercurial Dental the new couple moves into their suburban Stockholm apart- Laboratory, so is always dropping in, but the couple bonds over ment and Carolina admits to wanting a baby. Despite Aksel’s the use of Lizzie’s Hoover Aristocrat washer/dryer and a spot of hesitations, Carolina resolves to find a way to both have a child illegal dental work to help out a friend of her mother’s. Stibbe, and keep Aksel in her life. “Our negotiations are not beautiful,” a master of low-key observation and throwaway punchlines, she recalls. “Neither of us ever leaves the kitchen table feeling captures Lizzie’s romantic uncertainty and open, sometimes- good.” Then, when their son, Ivan, is only a few months old, wounded heart while also pointing up the intermittent absur- Aksel dies suddenly in his sleep. To cope with her grief, Carolina dity and restrictions of life for women in provincial England in chronicles their relationship, from the day they first met until the early 1980s. their son turns 2 and romance finds her yet again. Addressed An idiosyncratic, bittersweet coming-of-age tale that directly to Aksel, the twin narratives of excitement and grief certainly justifies its title. depict Carolina’s obsession with both being and having this particular partner. Like grief itself, the narrative is exhausting and exhaustive, as Carolina accumulates details to learn more about THE EXPECTATIONS her need to control relationships in the face of real or manufac- Tilney, Alexander tured chaos. Her sentences are spare and simple, and they reveal Little, Brown and Company (320 pp.) a portrait of anxiety and control, grief and abandonment, that $27.00 | Jul. 16, 2019 lasts for many painful years. “How can I hold onto you when 978-0-316-45037-9 you’re not here?” she asks. “How can I move on without the approval of the people in our life who matter the most to me? Prep school isn’t what it used to be, The equation seems unsolvable.” as Ben Weeks discovers during his first An occasionally moving and tender work of autofiction year at the elite St. James School. that depicts the obsessive interiority of grief. Debut author Tilney deftly limns the unchanging eponymous expectations: that students will graduate to the Ivy League and real-world leadership; that while at St. James they will uphold such dubious traditions as ferocious competitive- ness in sports and brutal hazing of new students. But Tilney

32 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | A sweeping, ambitious story reminiscent at times of Pasternak in its grasp of both history and tragedy. jacob’s ladder

also nails the changing social climate of the mid-1990s, when the rooms in which they live. But Cale herself is inaccessible; as Ben arrives more than 125 years after the first Weeks attended a character, she is aloof and taciturn, and as a narrator, she is the St. James. There are female students now as well as students same. We rarely, then, understand who she is, what she wants, from such previously unheard-of places as Dubai, like Ben’s or why she does what she does. This blurriness of character roommate, Ahmed. Ben eagerly looks forward to following in seems meant to resolve itself the closer Cale comes to finding the footsteps of just-graduated older brother Teddy, legend- the truth about Penny, but somehow, even as Cale tries to solve ary for his rule-breaking panache, and he’s also excited to join the mystery, she remains one herself. the school’s equally legendary squash team. So he’s mortified Tomar is unafraid of aesthetic and emotional difficulty, by Ahmed, whose clothes and accessories are too obviously but the main character’s inscrutability can sometimes expensive for the school’s ostentatiously modest ethos and who undermine the story’s power. calmly walks out of the hazing ceremony, incurring the malice of a clique of upperclassmen determined to “hold the line” for “our kind.” They are the cool kids Ben is desperate to be accepted JACOB’S LADDER by, his insecurity exacerbated by the knowledge that his father Ulitskaya, Ludmila is in financial trouble and hasn’t paid his tuition. He engages Trans. by Gannon, Polly in some petty cruelty and stupid escapades, but he also feels Farrar, Straus and Giroux (560 pp.) grudging admiration for Ahmed’s ability to simply be himself. $35.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 Tilney’s inexperience occasionally shows as he cogently traces 978-0-374-29365-9 Ben’s trajectory toward his own version of that self-assurance. The third-person narrative is mostly from Ben’s perspective but Voices whisper, fearful and secretive,

from time to time pulls back jarringly to tell us what another across the generations in Russian nov- young adult character is thinking or to offer an Olympian overview of the elist Ulitskaya’s (The Kukotsky Enigma, shifting social landscape. Despite such infelicities, the novel 2016, etc.) latest. paints a compassionate portrait of a confused young man grop- Nora Ossetsky is a Soviet icon of a ing for maturity and comes to a trenchant conclusion about St. kind, a single mother who resolutely raises her child alone while James: “The school’s ethics were a scrim over its animal need to working to advance the cause of the fatherland. But, alas, in survive. Just manners over its unforgiving appetite.” those days of Brezhnev and an arteriosclerotic state, she’s a bit Smart, shrewdly observed, and highly readable. of a bohemian, involved with a brilliant theater director who has decided that it would be better to wait out the repression back home with his wife in Tbilisi, a defeated retreat from Mos- A PRAYER FOR TRAVELERS cow after a staging of Chekhov is shut down on the eve of its Tomar, Ruchika premiere, having enraged “the ministerial special forces, the Riverhead (352 pp.) Party hacks” with its subtly subversive staging. Russian theater $27.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 lies at the heart of Ulitskaya’s richly detailed story, which takes 978-0-525-53701-4 its title, subtly as well, from the musical Fiddler on the Roof, but so too do epic, multigenerational works of fiction—for underly- A teenager in a small desert town des- ing Nora’s story are those of her parents and grandparents, the perately searches for her missing friend latter from the revolutionary generation. The patriarch of the in this debut novel. family is the watchmaker Pinchas Kerns, who has emigrated Cale Lambert was born at the center from Switzerland in time to watch the first stirrings of the anti- of a mystery: Her mother abandoned czarist uprisings; largely indifferent to politics—“He remained her as an infant at the local hospital, a craftsman all his life, and never quite grasped the finer, or even and she was raised with no real knowledge of her parents by cruder, points of communism, much less capitalism”—Pinchas her maternal grandfather, whom everyone calls Lamb. As the and his children are nevertheless swept up by events: war, the novel begins, Cale is up against another mystery: Her friend, rise of the Stalinist state, and soon enough the gulag. “Even such Penny Reyes, has vanished, leaving behind her cellphone, her a giant among men as Dostoevsky feared the horror of loneli- emergency cash, and a smear of blood on her freezer door. In ness!” writes Nora’s grandfather Jacob, in a diary that tracks the chapters that are numbered out of order like a shuffled deck of horror not just of loneliness, but of being separated from family cards, Tomar flicks back and forth between the present, which and society for the crime of being one whose “thinking was out includes Cale’s search for Penny, her dealings with the town of step.” Life improves for Nora with the end of the USSR, but sheriff, her life at home with a cancer-riddled Lamb, and the even in 2011, at the end of the book, when “old age caught up recent past, when Cale uncovers secrets about the circles Penny with her,” the fear remains. ran in and gets drawn into the danger herself. The further Cale A sweeping, ambitious story reminiscent at times of goes on her desperate quest, the more she understands the ways Pasternak in its grasp of both history and tragedy. that violence and trauma can engulf a life like a wildfire. Tomar is a superb writer of place, whether describing the tiny desert town her characters inhabit, that “sprawl of dirt and char,” or

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 may 2019 | 33 MURDERABILIA father, though her mother had always claimed not to know who Vonderau, Carl he was. Turns out he was wealthy, and he’s left her something in Midnight Ink/Llewellyn (408 pp.) his will. At the lawyer’s office, she meets the rest of the family, $16.99 paper | Jul. 8, 2019 her half-aunts, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, some 978-0-7387-6130-5 welcoming and others decidedly not. Nina wants no part of this family. Who cares what her father might have left her? No A respected banker’s buried past thanks! And then another intrusion appears in the form of a makes him and his family the target of an handsome man, captain of a rival trivia team. He’s too showy for obsessed copycat killer. Nina, and besides, he knows all the sports category answers, so Personal banker William McNary, she pegs him as a nonreader, a big turnoff. Nina wants only to be who narrates in a somber first person, left alone. But Nina is not all rules and solitude. She has a spark, harbors a dark secret: His father, Harvey an imagination, and a sense of humor that make you want to Dean Kogan, was the infamous serial killer dubbed The Preying sit with her and observe people over a cappuccino and pastry... Hands. Kogan targeted women who abused children and turned while making wisecracks. She of course grows and opens her their dismembered bodies into artful photographs. Though life to new experiences—her new family and, maybe, the trivia McNary’s a law-abiding family man, it disturbs him that his past guy. Waxman (Other People’s Houses, 2018, etc.) skillfully shows as a photojournalist in war-torn Algeria obliquely ties him to his Nina’s changing mindset in the hilarious schedules, complete father. An even more troubled past is unearthed when a menac- with meal plans and shopping lists, she makes each day. If you ing man calls claiming to be McNary’s brother, then later tapes love writing plans and sticking to them, you’ll love Nina Hill. If an envelope to the front door of his home. Inside is a picture of you roll your eyes at people who make daily schedules, you’ll Leslie Miller, Kogan’s last victim. When the police don’t imme- love Nina Hill, too. diately respond to McNary’s call, he huddles with his family— Waxman has created a thoroughly engaging character wife Jill, young children Garth and Frieda, and sister Polly—and in this bookish, contemplative, set-in-her-ways woman. Be braces for more ominous contacts. The police finally do -ask prepared to chuckle. McNary to come in to the station, but only to interrogate him about the brutal murder of Elizabeth Morton, Jill’s friend and fellow teacher. After a review of some forensic evidence impli- THE GOLDEN HOUR cating him and some aggressive questioning that triggers his Williams, Beatriz anger, they arrest him for the murder. Flashbacks meanwhile fill Morrow/HarperCollins in sad details of his childhood and his time in Algeria. His father (480 pp.) went to prison when he was 8, and they haven’t seen each other $26.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 since. Once McNary’s abrasive lawyer, Marta Gutierrez, man- 978-0-06-283475-1 ages to get him out on bail, he struggles to figure out how to catch the madman and protect his family. This debut eventually To a portrait of the Duke and Duch- loses some steam, as if Vonderau lacked the expertise to portray ess of Windsor, this historical novel adds its psychological twists with greater depth or complexity. two grand fictional passions: one begin- An explosive premise, intermittent chills, and a clever ning in Switzerland in 1900, the other solution. in the Bahamas in 1941, both involving a ginger-haired Brit named Thorpe. The first scene of Williams’ The( Summer Wives, 2018, etc.) THE BOOKISH LIFE OF latest novel introduces the resourceful and wonderfully articu- NINA HILL late Lulu Randolph Thorpe, “a pedigree twenty-five-year-old Waxman, Abbi feline, blessed with sleek, dark pelt and composure in spades.” A Berkley (352 pp.) columnist for an American women’s magazine stationed in the $16.00 paper | Jul. 9, 2019 Bahamas in the early 1940s, Lulu reports on the doings of the 978-0-451-49187-9 former Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson—scrupulously avoiding all mention of the thicket of political corruption and racial Introverted Nina Hill, the only child tension that surrounds them. But to us, Lulu tells all, going back of a single mother, is pulled—both kick- to how she dispensed with her first husband, the problematic ing and screaming and passive-aggres- Mr. Randolph, and continuing through her current mission—to sively resisting—into a new family and a spring her second husband, British undercover agent Benedict new relationship. Thorpe, from a German prison camp. A second narrative set Nina likes “pinning things down,” being prepared in advance, 40 years earlier focuses on Elfriede von Kleist, a new mother and making a daily schedule. After working in the bookstore, from rural Westphalia with postpartum depression so severe she goes home to her cat, Phil, where she reads and bones up for she has attempted suicide, causing her husband, the Baron, to her next trivia contest. Her static, well-regulated life is turned dispatch her to a clinic in Switzerland. There she meets a young upside down when a lawyer contacts her with news about her Londoner named Wilfred Thorpe, interrupting his grand tour

34 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | of the continent to recover from pneumonia—but never to recover from meeting Elfriede. The portrait of wartime Ber- mystery muda and the awful Windsors, observed and reported by Lulu, is original and fascinating. Lulu herself is an excellent creation, tough, smart, sexy, and ruthless. While the secondary Elfriede THE SHAMELESS plot adds interesting complications to the historical puzzle, it Atkins, Ace doesn’t have quite as much verve. Putnam (464 pp.) A fresh take on the WWII love story, with a narrator $27.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 who practically demands Myrna Loy come back to life to 978-0-525-53946-9 play her in the movie. As if Mississippi’s Tibbehah County didn’t have enough present-day mal- COPPERHEAD feasance to keep Sheriff Quinn Colson Zentner, Alexi hopping, a cold case brings the custom- Viking (368 pp.) ary pot of criminals and misfits to yet $26.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 another boil. 978-1-9848-7728-4 Newly married to Maggie Powers, Quinn would like nothing better than to take a break from his hometown’s constant A slow, gritty coming-of-age story in diet of organized and disorganized crime and begin adoption which class, racial, and family tensions proceedings for Maggie’s 8-year-old son, Brandon. Not hap-

come to a head in one long weekend. pening. His attention is demanded by another Brandon, who’s young adult It’s a snowy November Friday in suddenly captured the imagination of Thin Air podcast reporter upstate New York, and Jessup is 17, smart, Tashi Coleman and her producer, Jessica Torres. They’ve made and a fine linebacker who may be- tack the trip down from New York at the behest of Shaina Taylor, ling for Yale next year. In a playoff game, he makes a crushing whose brother vanished in the wilderness 21 years ago before hit and scores. But in the parking lot later, the black player he turning up shot to death a week later. Brandon Taylor, the cold- took down, Corson, confronts Jessup, who is white, and terrible case publicity hounds announce, has waited long enough for events are set in motion that will leave Corson dead and Jes- justice, and they aim to camp out in Tibbehah County, asking sup mired in a coverup that spotlights his dark family history. awkward questions and bedding the locals, until they’ve gotten His brother, Ricky, is serving a 20-year sentence for killing two to the truth. Does this mean that franchise villains like Fan- black men four years earlier when they attacked him because of nie Hathcock, the county’s premiere supplier of sweet young racist tattoos on his torso. Jessup’s stepfather, David John, went female companionship, and the syndicate she’s in bed with to prison on a lesser, related charge and is just out. The fam- will wither from neglect? Not a bit, because they’re all tied in ily attends the Blessed Church of the White America, where to Brandon Taylor’s long-ago shooting, U.S. Marshal Lillie Vir- the elders “have been promising a racial holy war.” The police gil’s recent arrest of fugitive Wes Taggart, and the race-baiting go after Jessup as an obvious suspect in Corson’s death, and a gubernatorial campaign of state Sen. Jimmy Vardaman. When media-savvy church member sees a martyr who can rally more Taggart, who hints that he knows where the bodies are buried, whites to the cause. Jessup is a likable but painfully ambivalent is shot to death in his cell by a pair of hired killers who man- young man, closely tied to his family yet silently opposed to age to infiltrate the jail, his murder raises what ought to be the their racist credo and desperate to escape their trailer home, pivotal question of “why his sorry ole ass was so important to their muddle of virtues, and vile racism. It’s a stretch for him to the Syndicate boys.” But the furious torrent of crimes past and have a black girlfriend but more implausible for her to not know present and revelations about same keep any one question or of his family history before they become intimate. Zentner plotline from rising above the fray. (The Lobster Kings, 2015, etc.), a Canada-born novelist, has writ- Like James Lee Burke’s Louisiana, Atkins’ violent Mis- ten two literary works under his own name and four thrillers as sissippi idylls seem more and more clearly shaped as install- Ezekiel Boone. His characters here are well-drawn, though the ments in an ongoing serial drama, and this one, ending story has some weak spots and his bedeviled linebacker is prone with both a bang and a whimper, seems mainly intended to repetition that can sound at times like whining. to set up the next. A persuasive take on a familiar theme: the venomous prejudices lurking in small communities.

| kirkus.com | mystery | 1 may 2019 | 35 WATCHERS OF THE DEAD 2018), she never thought she’d end up staying. The town’s magnifi- Beaufort, Simon cent Barton mansion needs little work to become a tourist attrac- Severn House (256 pp.) tion, and a storm recently revealed that downtown Asheboro has $28.99 | Jul. 1, 2019 lovely Victorian buildings hidden under modern excrescences. 978-0-7278-8891-4 So Kate hopes to reinvent the town as a living history area, like a pint-sized Colonial Williamsburg. Since Asheboro’s broke, Kate A reporter’s work in the African devises a plan to get all the merchants on board and come up with Colonial Service offers him insights into the money for restoration. She calls in archivist Carroll Peterson a series of murders reportedly commit- to root through the treasure trove of papers found in the Barton ted by cannibals. mansion in hope of finding things that could help her both- his At the opening of the Royal Courts torically and financially. Kate’s boyfriend, Johns Hopkins profes- of Justice in 1882, Alec Lonsdale learns sor Josh Wainwright, who serves as the mansion’s caretaker while that Alexander Haldane, barrister and newspaper owner, has working on a project in his field of 19th-century industrialization, been hacked to death in the basement. This is just the first of is more than willing to help. So is her landlord, attorney Ryan several deaths attributed to the Kumu cannibals brought over Walker, her old high school squeeze. Having received permission from Africa to spice up the opening of the British Museum’s to use the town library, which is currently closed, to organize the Natural History Branch. Tim Roth, Lonsdale’s friend from paperwork once it’s moved from the mansion, she and Carroll Africa, has not breathed a word of this story, but Hulda Frie- stop in to check out the space only to find a dead body partially derichs, Lonsdale’s clever and ambitious fellow reporter on buried under a fallen bookcase and piles of books. Because she’s the Pall Mall Gazette, somehow knows about it. Lonsdale is no more persuaded than the police that the death was an accident, constantly dogged by Henry Voules, whose wealthy father got Kate adds sleuthing to her list of things to do. She continues to talk him a job on the Echo, a rag willing to print his ridiculous stories, to everyone she can find who has knowledge of Asheboro’s past, including a pack of lies about Roderick Maclean’s recent escape when Barton’s shovel factory was the biggest employer in the area. from Broadmoor, where he was confined after trying to shoot The key to both her plans and the murder are to be found among Queen Victoria. Lonsdale, who lives with his barrister brother, the secrets in the abandoned factory. Jack, is becoming more uncertain about his feelings for Anne, The murder plays second fiddle to the exponentially the fiancee he fears is becoming more like her narrow-minded more fascinating hunt for historical data that will reveal sister, Emelia, Jack’s fiancee. He’s also being pressured by their all the answers. father, Sir Gervais Humbage, a snob who abhors Lonsdale’s profession. The next victim is professor Dickerson, who brought the Kumu from the Congo and squired them about the coun- CLAUSE & EFFECT try. Despite the mounting pile of bodies, all killed the same way, Dunnett, Kaitlyn Scotland Yard insists they were not murdered and assigns the Kensington Books (304 pp.) case to their dullest detective. Lonsdale, Hulda, and Inspector $26.00 | Jun. 25, 2019 George Peters, the Yard’s star detective, quietly continue to 978-1-4967-1257-8 investigate. At least four of the murdered men were members of the Garraway Club, which includes a group calling themselves A retired teacher’s unwanted project Watchers, who rumor suggests are preparing a nasty surprise for leads her to a killer. Christmas. Returned from Maine to her child- Beaufort’s second puzzle for his journalist sleuths hood home in Lenape Hollow, New York, (Mind of a Killer, 2018) is thronged with real-life characters Mikki Lincoln became a freelance editor and almost too many twists and turns for comfort. to pay for some urgently needed repairs and immediately stumbled into a murder (Crime & Punctua tion, 2018, etc.). Now her old friend Darlene Uberman and her KILLER IN THE frenemy Ronnie North are pushing her to spruce up a play for CARRIAGE HOUSE the town’s quasquibicentennial. The original script was written Connolly, Sheila 25 years ago for the bicentennial by high school teacher Grace Minotaur (336 pp.) Yarrow, who had theatrical ambitions and hasn’t been seen in $26.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 town for years. The town council and the historical society 978-1-250-13588-9 would love to take advantage of an increase in Catskills tourism generated by a new casino and nearby Bethel Woods, the site of A small Maryland town struggling for Woodstock, now home to a museum and popular concert venue. survival becomes a magnet for murder. When Mikki arrives at the historical society to read the only When unemployed Kate Hamilton copy of the script, which is badly written and factually incorrect, was asked by a former high school friend director Gilbert Baxter refuses to let her take it home. So she to come up with ideas to help save their returns the next day just in time to join the repairmen work- hometown of Asheboro from extinction (Murder at the Mansion, ing to fix a wall watch it collapse, revealing a semimummified

36 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | A divorce and a life change turn out much weirder than a new B&B owner could ever have imagined. peach clobbered

body hidden in a closed-up fireplace. When the body is iden- PEACH CLOBBERED tified as Grace Yarrow’s, Mikki resolves to help Detective Gerard, Anna Hazlett despite his warnings of danger. After all, she’s one of Crooked Lane (320 pp.) the few townsfolk with an alibi, since she was living in Maine $26.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 when Grace was killed. Rumor has it the teacher spread her 978-1-64385-006-1 favors around pretty freely, from high school boys to married men. Although Mikki wasn’t on hand to watch or listen, many A divorce and a life change turn out of her friends were, and some had reason to hate Grace. Even much weirder than a new B&B owner while overhauling the play, Mikki finds enough sleuthing time could ever have imagined in this series to make her the target of someone who will go to any length, kickoff from the prolific GerardFool’s ( including more murder, to hide past secrets. Moon, 2018, etc.). Dunnett’s new heroine has charm and smarts. Using her settlement from her golf pro ex-husband, Nina Fleet buys a lovely Queen Anne house in Cymbeline, Georgia, where she lives with her Australian shep- STONE COLD HEART herd, Mattie, who protects her from the likes of Harry West- Frear, Caz cott, who claims his great-aunt was planning on leaving the Harper/HarperCollins (368 pp.) place to him. Arriving at Nina’s house wearing a penguin suit $26.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 on a 90-degree day, he passes out on her porch. It turns out 978-0-06-284988-5 that he’s the mascot of the Taste-Tee-Freeze Creamery, a hunky if annoying guy who claims to be an actor. Although he appre-

Detective Cat Kinsella of London’s ciates Nina’s hospitality, Harry still plans to see her in court. young adult Metropolitan Police returns to solve the Meanwhile, Mayor Melissa Jane Green, who’d refused to grant murder of a young Australian woman Nina a zoning change to start a B&B, asks if she can open the in Frear’s (Sweet Little Lies, 2018) latest business the very next day to accommodate some nuns kicked procedural. out of their convent by developer Gregory Bainbridge. After Cat’s still spooked from the fallout hustling to prepare the rooms, Nina joins the nuns’ protest of the Maryanne Doyle case; it brought her and Aiden Doyle against Bainbridge the following day. During their lunch break, together, sure, but she can’t tell anyone about their romance. Still, a tourist begs Nina to help another man dressed as a penguin she and her partner, DS Luigi Parnell, are on good working terms, who’s been stabbed in a nearby alley. Once the paramedics cut and the rest of the team is holding their own, with beautiful, the suit off, they realize the victim is Gregory Bainbridge. So unpredictable DCI Kate Steele still making everyone’s life hell was the killer after Harry, who claims he’s being stalked by a but also keeping them to high standards. Called to a crime scene, crazy fan, or Gregory, who’s crossed many of the town’s citizens? they find the body of a young woman. Of course, the layers of Even though she’s a newcomer, Nina manages to pick up plenty lies and family tension quickly mount: Naomi Lockhart, the dead of gossip and assistance when she decides to do a little sleuth- woman, was temping at a recruitment firm owned by Kirstie Con- ing. Harry needs a place to stay in town and strikes a deal with nor, whose husband, Marcus, runs a charity for ex-felons, includ- Nina to move into a tower room she didn’t know existed, and ing Naomi’s roommate. Marcus’ sister, Rachel, is married to the delightful nuns have a lot of insight to offer even though Joseph, who has made no secret of his numerous infidelities and they’re all suspects. actually had propositioned Cat several months before. And then Filled with Southern charm and enough ditzy charac- there’s Rachel and Joseph’s daughter, an aspiring forensic investi- ters to keep readers guessing and laughing. gator. As the detectives scramble to find evidence that proves the guilt of the prime suspect, they find more and more inconsisten- cies in all these stories. Throughout it all, Cat struggles to keep ONE LITTLE SECRET her mind clear and her personal relationships solid; Aiden resents Holahan, Cate the fact that she won’t introduce him around, and her dad’s old Crooked Lane (320 pp.) “colleague” Frank Hickey is making ominous suggestions of black- $26.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 mail. He will expose what Cat has done to protect her father if 978-1-68331-972-6 she doesn’t help him in return. The characters’ banter is a delight. Frear writes scenes of conversation between the detectives that A domestic thriller that’s actually make them all feel like familiar old friends—to each other but filled with lots of secrets, some of them also to the reader. The mystery, however, is less compelling in this pretty big. second outing. Ultimately, the discovery of the perpetrator feels Their kids safely packed off to sum- a bit obvious and anticlimactic, not so much careful police work mer camp, three couples—ER physician as a story in need of better editing. Louis Murray and his wife, orthopedist- The emphasis on the minutiae of the investigation will turned–TV sports commentator Jenny Murray; indifferently be interesting, perhaps, to fans of CSI, but even they may successful writer Ben Hansen and his wife, Rachel Klein, a law- chafe at the slow pace. yer; and venture capitalist Nadal Ahmadi and his wife, Susan,

| kirkus.com | mystery | 1 may 2019 | 37 whose own law career is on hold while she home-schools their put a brief romantic interlude aside to pursue a less fraught autistic son and supports her husband’s app Doc2Go, with friendship, though Tom may be interested in revisiting their which he hopes to make a killing—head to an unseen Hamp- past. Roxane and Tom connect Addison’s presence at Andrew’s tons rental for some R&R. What they get instead is instant to the Nightshade Club across the street, where Addison was a disappointment with the lodgings (though there’s a great view sometime DJ, and to the BusPass dating app. Just as things start of the beach), enough wine to take the edge off their sorrows, to go Roxane’s way in the investigation, Mickey Dillman, a for- an escalating round of spats and accusations, and sudden death. mer cop connected to the case, turns up dead, bringing Roxane When Rachel turns up strangled and drowned at water’s edge, back to square one and Andrew into police custody. suddenly every little twitch of the survivors looks suspicious. Lepionka’s keen eye for integrating national news and Recently promoted DS Gabriella Watkins is pulled away from technology into her developing characters’ plotlines pro- a party-rape accusation to the crime scene because the vic- duces a story that’s timely in more ways than one. tim’s torn swimsuit suggests the kind of assault Gabby’s good at investigating. Not surprisingly, she finds beneath the vaca- tioners’ moneyed veneer a roiling stew of sins—adultery, abuse, BETRAYAL IN TIME threatened lawsuits—that make everyone look guilty, even if McElwain, Julie not of this particular crime. The surprise is that the alibi of Ben Pegasus Crime (400 pp.) Hansen, whose heated quarrel with his wife sent her flouncing $25.95 | Jul. 2, 2019 off to the beach, never to return, depends on his presence at 978-1-64313-074-3 the very party Gabby had been investigating, the one at which 18-year-old au pair Mariel Cruz woke up naked next to surfing A time-traveling FBI agent is more banker Andrew Baird with no memory of how she’d ended up celebrated for her forensic skills than her there. social ones. Holahan deploys a before-after-during-after-before- Even though it’s no picnic to be and-so-on series of perspectives that go a long way toward stuck in 1816 England, Kendra Donovan dissipating the suspense they’re presumably meant to is fortunate to have become the ward of intensify. But her gimlet eye for the foibles of this particu- the Duke of Aldridge, who passes her off as the daughter of an lar social set is as unforgiving as in the much superior Lies old friend and the lover of his nephew, Alexander Morgan, the She Told (2017). Marquis of Sutcliffe, who is indeed keen to marry her. Both men, fascinated by her knowledge, try to help her adjust to a very different world in which her outspokenness often lands THE STORIES YOU TELL her in trouble. Having already solved one murder case (Caught Lepionka, Kristen in Time, 2018), she’s a natural choice for Bow Street Runner Minotaur (352 pp.) Sam Kelly to call on when Sir Giles Holbrooke is found naked $26.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 with his tongue cut out in an abandoned church. Sir Giles was 978-1-250-30935-8 both a spymaster and an adviser to the prince regent, and his death is sure to cause shock waves. His body was covered with Things get much too personal when a a crosslike symbol written in invisible ink that became visible private eye’s brother is implicated in the only when the heat of the lanterns used during his autopsy disappearance of a local DJ. brought them out. Reporter Phineas Muldoon hints that poli- Not a sound sleeper, especially when tics and the Irish problem may be involved. Then again, Gerard she’s over at her girlfriend Catherine’s Holbrooke, a spoiled young man deep in debt, may have killed place, Roxane Weary is roused in the his father to escape being shipped off to India. The sleuths dis- middle of the night by a frantic call from her brother, Andrew. cover that Sir Giles’ long friendship with the family of apoth- Andrew is panicked that he might be in trouble—real trouble, ecary Bertel Larson ended in disaster when Sir Giles convinced more than his home stash might otherwise get him into. He their brilliant son Evert to spy for him and he was killed in an tells Roxane the story: Addison Stowe, a girl he once knew, came incident in France that left Lord Eliot Cross and Capt. Hugh by his apartment in a state of terror, made a phone call, then dis- Mobray the only survivors. Kendra finds both the parents and appeared into the night. Now Addison’s missing and Andrew’s their son David bitter over Evert’s death. When Cross is mur- the last person to have seen her. He knows he needs an ally like dered in the same way as Sir Giles, the members of the Larson Roxane if the cops come knocking because he has a suspicious family become prime suspects. But Kendra senses something scratch on his face that suggests he might’ve been more than fishy about the story of how Evert died and knows she must dig just a potential safe harbor to Addison. But Andrew claims he deeper in search of the truth. hadn’t seen or heard from Addison for ages before this last visit. A much improved mystery, a touch of history, and the Roxane wants to protect Andrew, whom she trusts in spite of obligatory romance combine for a pleasing read. his unconvincing story. She reaches out to Tom Heitker, a friend on the force who was her late father’s closest friend, to ask for his help and also because, well, she’s missed him. The two have

38 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | EVERGREEN initiated. When Cash (Murder on the Red River, 2017) attends a Owen, Howard meeting called by the guidance counselor, Mrs. Kills Horses, to Permanent Press (254 pp.) launch a new college chapter of the Indian Studies Association, $29.95 | Jul. 1, 2019 the other students who turn out seem to be on another planet. 978-1-57962-573-3 When she wants to test out of her entry-level English class because the simple assignments bore her, professor LeRoy, the Richmond crime reporter Willie department chair, acts as if she can’t be serious. The activities Black accepts a commission to clean up most congenial to her—picking farmer Milt’s sugar beets and his unknown father’s grave and ends by loading them on a truck, shooting pool at Shorty Nelson’s bar, cleaning up a whole lot more. drinking beer with her married ex-lover, Jim Jenson, smoking a Willie’s never known much about million cigarettes—are all things she did long before she arrived Artie Lee, like where he’s buried or when at Moorhead State. Not even the request by Sheriff Dave and how he died. So when his cousin Philomena Slade, brought Wheaton, who plucked the 3-year-old Cash from the wreck to a hospital she’s clearly not going to leave, says she wants to that killed her mother, to speak with the parents of vanished talk to Willie about his father, he has decidedly mixed emotions. classmate Janet Tweed seems to lead anywhere. Only the unher- Of course he’s going to do whatever he’s asked by his cousin, one alded return of Mo, the brother she’d long since forgotten, from of the few truly decent people in his family tree. But clearing his stint as an Army medic to Cash’s place, where he promptly Artie’s plot at Evergreen Cemetery turns out to be only the tip installs himself, awakens much of a response, and it’s one that’s of the iceberg, for Willie can’t rest until he finds out what put not entirely positive. Nothing will get Cash’s engines revving, it his father there in the first place. A series of conversations with seems, but being snatched and imprisoned along with Janet and

the surviving members of the Triple-A’s—Artie’s ancient friends half a dozen other cheerleader types. Unfurling her secret weap- young adult Arthur Meeks and Arkie Bright—reveals mainly that they really ons—the ability to take a beating and a dead-eyed determina- don’t want to talk about the one-car encounter with a tree that tion to be accountable to no one but herself—she methodically killed Artie back in 1961, when his son was just learning to walk, plans an escape that will be capped by Mo’s remark: “What’d I and his dying newspaper’s files add precious few details. Willie’s tell you? White slavery.” big discovery concerns the aftermath of a Ku Klux Klan rally the The furious intensity of the heroine’s simmering energy year before, when a car bombing killed married police officer overshadows most of the cast. It’s a particularly nice touch, Phillip Raynor and his companion, 22-year-old Julia Windham, though, that the kidnapper, once identified, is never seen whom friends said he’d offered shelter from a thunderstorm again, vanishing as completely as last week’s trash. that the weather pages from that date don’t mention. Unearth- ing the connection between their murders and Artie’s death six months later would be a challenge under ideal conditions, and MISS PINKERTON Willie’s conditions—working 57 years later under the watchful Rinehart, Mary Roberts eye of Benson Stine, yet another know-nothing representative Penzler Publishers (264 pp.) of the conglomerate owner MediaWorld, who loads him with $25.95 | $15.95 paper | Jun. 18, 2019 new responsibilities and forbids him to spend any time working 978-1-61316-138-8 on his own concerns during the paper’s time, which is all the 978-1-61316-269-9 paper time—are anything but ideal. Middling for a series (Scuffletown, 2019, etc.) whose most When an aged matriarch’s unloved distinctive features are its sharp eye for the mixed-race nephew is shot to death, Inspector Pat- hero’s heavy burdens, including, but not limited to, the ton sends for Hilda Adams to nurse the decline and fall of print journalism. matriarch and incidentally keep her ear to the ground for clues. Did Herbert Wynne shoot himself without leaving any gun- GIRL GONE MISSING powder marks on his forehead? Did the gun go off accidentally? Rendon, Marcie R. Or was he murdered? The firm that recently sold him a life Cinco Puntos (208 pp.) insurance policy worth $100,000 would love to believe the first $15.95 paper | May 14, 2019 alternative, which would allow them to deny his estate’s claim 978-1-947627-11-6 on the money. His imperious, fading aunt, Juliet Mitchell, and everyone else who knew him—Miss Mitchell’s last surviving In her second outing, Cash Black- servants, Mary and her husband, Hugo; her attending physi- bear goes off to college and finds herself cian, Dr. David Stewart; her lawyer, Arthur Glenn, and his sec- embroiled in the mystery of a missing retary, Florence Lenz; and Herbert’s fiancee, Paula Brent, who classmate. seems to be in love with someone else—would rather believe “I’m not used to folks treating me like the second, which would reassure them about their own safety. I’m stupid,” says Cash. But Moorhead And of course genre fans everywhere will avidly seize on the State is another world, one slow to disclose the secrets of its third. “I’m no detective,” Nurse Adams tartly tells Patton, and

| kirkus.com | mystery | 1 may 2019 | 39 she certainly has a point; when he finally reveals the solution This is Mississippi, the dazed heroine keeps reminding to the mystery, she’s flabbergasted. But her unmistakable tal- herself with every new twist. Maybe, maybe not—but it’s ent for drawing people out, overhearing revealing snatches of a triumphant return of this sorely missed franchise either conversation, and stumbling on and sometimes over physical way. clues makes her a nondetective well worth rooting for in this reprint of a 1932 novel. As Carolyn Hart’s introduction points out, Rinehart was the founder and leading exponent of the had- I-but-known school, distinguished by the narrator’s frequent coy hints of impending doom (“sleep she did, for at least part of science fiction a night which was to be filled with horror for me”). But Nurse Adams is so levelheaded, focused, proactive, and omnicompe- and fantasy tent in the face of mounting threats and scares that not even the moment when she’s accused of killing her patient can slow her down for long. More creaky and less gripping than its sequel, Haunted Lady (1942), but still a welcome resurrection of its prolific, THE REDEMPTION OF TIME bestselling author’s only continuing detective. Baoshu Trans. by Liu, Ken Tor (272 pp.) PAPER SON $26.99 | Jul. 16, 2019 Rozan, S.J. 978-1-250-30602-9 Pegasus Crime (320 pp.) $25.95 | Jul. 2, 2019 A strange hybrid of a yarn that seeks 978-1-64313-129-0 to embellish and extend a universe created by another writer—in this case, After a hiatus in this series (Ghost Cixin Liu’s superb Three Body Problem Hero, 2011, etc.) that’s felt like forever, trilogy, which culminated in Death’s End Lydia Chin’s formidable mother, who’s (2016). never approved of her work as a private Baoshu’s tale began life as online fan fiction, and it shows eye, packs her off to the Mississippi in a confusing opening. Trilogy readers will need to recall that Delta for the best and worst reasons. a dying Yun Tianming allowed his brain to be captured by an The first time Lydia ever hears of her cousin Jefferson Tam approaching alien Trisolaran fleet. He hoped to trick the invad- is when her mother tells her that he’s been arrested for stabbing ers, who are constitutionally unable to lie and cannot under- his father, Leland, ne Lo-Liang, to death. He was found bending stand subterfuge. Instead, they trap him in a virtual reality, and over the dead man, his fingerprints on the murder weapon, but eventually, the aliens force him to help them subjugate human- he’s obviously innocent, and Lydia and her partner, Bill Smith, ity. Yun survives. Much later, long after both Earth and Trisolaris have to exonerate him. Lydia’s pleasure that her mother needs have been destroyed, a consciousness calling itself the Spirit of her professional skills, from which she’s always recoiled in the the Master arrives. The Spirit needs Yun’s help to locate the past, is undercut by her own deep reservations about leaving Lurker, an evil entity that threatens to destroy what’s left of Manhattan for the Deep South. Despite the hospitality of Jef- the universe. But, as Yun eventually comes to understand, the ferson’s uncle, the gambler Capt. Peter Tam, Clarksdale feels Spirit’s plan involves rewinding everything to zero, followed impossibly foreign to her even though her great-grandfather’s by another Big Bang and a rerun identical to the current ver- brother Chin Song-Zhao, aka Harry Tam, settled there long ago, sion. And what, Yun wonders, would be the point of that? The masking his identity by the time-honored method of bribing entities at odds since the beginning of time bring to mind the naturalized Chinese-Americans to file false information iden- creation story in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. The universe- tifying him as their son. Barely have Lydia and Bill arrived than engulfing struggle recalls John C. Wright’s astonishing multi- Jefferson escapes from police custody, eliminating any lingering book Eschaton saga. And the whole has a transcendental quality doubts deputy Bert Lucknell might have had about his guilt. that might earn a nod from William Blake. Baoshu writes pow- The case immerses Lydia and her Kentucky-born partner in erfully about difficult concepts (one such is the self-explanatory an exotic landscape stuffed with eminently recognizable local “ideabstraction” in Liu’s felicitous translation), and his central types and three generations of knotty family history, appropri- thesis, involving dimensional collapse as the key to explain- ately climaxed by an interview with a dotty old lady who has ing the evolution of the universe, is an absolute stunner. None no idea that she holds the key to the riddle. But Rozan is far of this will mean anything, though, unless you’re very well- too conscientious a plotter to settle for detective tourism, and acquainted with the original trilogy. the solution manages to be both utterly predictable in its broad A narrative that assumes far too much previous knowl- outlines—even the book’s title is a broad wink—and mind-bog- edge but ultimately finds an identity all its own. glingly complicated in its details.

40 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | An intriguing debut from a writer with the skills to create weird and wonderful worlds. the border keeper

PROTECT THE PRINCE don’t lie. Even an accidental untruth can lead to brutal pun- Estep, Jennifer ishment. Meanwhile, Vasethe’s mortal body will lie sleeping at Harper Voyager (448 pp.) the border keeper’s house, where the Ageless are approaching $16.99 paper | Jul. 2, 2019 the fence, testing the strength of Eris’ wards. The underworld 978-0-06-279764-3 created here is rich and strange, populated with children transformed into translucent crabs, armored, cloven-hooved bird- Estep returns to the fantasy setting faced creatures carrying masked riders, and glittering parties established in Kill the Queen (2018) to fol- where the wrong word can kill. But debut novelist Hall throws low the new queen as she embarks on a readers a little too far into the deep end, offering almost no reign complicated by treachery and duty details about who Vasethe and Eris are and what they want, alike. which makes them hard to connect with. The bones of a great Previously, Evie claimed the crown story are here, but too much becomes meaningful only in hind- of Bellona after she killed her cousin Vasilia in vengeance for sight, when key information is finally revealed. Vasilia’s orchestrated butchery of most of the royal family. But An intriguing debut from a writer with the skills to cre- keeping the crown will be the hard part. Evie and the nobles of ate weird and wonderful worlds, this one is almost great. Bellona struggle to get along—Evie certainly remembers every insult she ever received as a girl who was 17th in line to the throne and had only meager magical abilities. Now, she must earn the nobles’ respect and keep them from outmaneuvering her—especially into a marriage with one of their families. That’s

in addition to making peace with neighboring Andvari, which young adult lost a prince to Vasilia’s attack; fighting off more assassins from the evil kingdom of Morta; and daydreaming about handsome, brooding Lucas Sullivan, her friend...and the bastard son of Andvari’s king. It’s a lot to handle; sadly, the plot doesn’t always manage it. A sham betrothal to the other prince of Andvari does nothing but drive a gratuitous rift between Lucas and Evie—it’s not clear why Evie feels it’s necessary to use her betrothal to lure out assassins when they’ve already tried to kill her several times by then. Of course, the best way to fight magic-using assassins is just to be immune to magic: Evie’s secret gift, which grows only stronger in this book. The thin plot is somewhat redeemed by a genuinely poignant twist, but it’s fighting uphill against monotonous setting descriptions, a clichéd romance, and the notion that high-stakes courtly intrigue is best shown by peppering dialogue with f-bombs. The second book of the trilogy struggles with its own expectations, just like the heroine herself.

THE BORDER KEEPER Hall, Kerstin Tor (240 pp.) $14.99 paper | Jul. 16, 2019 978-1-250-20941-2

A journey into an underworld filled with gods and demons, beauty and danger. The border keeper lives in solitude on the shadowline between Ahri, the realm of the living, and Mkalis, the spirit realm, until a man named Vasethe arrives and calls her Eris, a name she hoped had been forgotten. He’s come to travel into Mkalis. A woman he loved is dead, and Eris can guide him through the underworld to find her. He just has to follow a few simple rules—don’t eat or drink anything, and

| kirkus.com | science fiction & fantasy | 1 may 2019 | 41 DRAGONSLAYER drunk, seeking solace at the bottom of a bottle. Five years of Hamilton, Duncan M. almost constant inebriation has turned Gill into a shadow of the Tor (304 pp.) man he once was. But when a dragon starts terrorizing nearby $27.99 | $17.00 paper | Jul. 2, 2019 settlements and killing its inhabitants—though the beasts were 978-1-250-30672-2 believed to be extinct—Gill is forced out of his alcoholic stupor. 978-1-250-30673-9 paper When he is told by the king to kill the creature, he accepts the mission—but is unaware that he is a pawn in a much larger game Set in the same pseudo-medieval being played by an evil Prince Bishop who is secretly plotting for European world as some of his previous magic use to become legal and culturally acceptable again. The works, the first installment in Hamilton’s addition of Solène, a young woman persecuted because of her (The Blood Debt, 2017, etc.) Dragonslayer innate magical abilities, introduces another layer to the story. series is a fantasy adventure chronicling But while the writing is certainly fluid, the storyline is banal one man’s redemptive journey that involves slaying a mythic and filled with numerous sequences that come off as contrived beast—and quite possibly changing the course of history for all (like Gill’s stumbling across a rare artifact that just happens to the kingdoms in the entire Middle Sea realm. be monumentally significant to the story). Additionally, the Lord Guillot—who is the Seigneur of a small village of Vil- characters are all stereotypes with no emotional connectivity. lerauvais—was once a great swordfighter. He is, in fact, the last The novel feels like a story that fantasy fans have read countless surviving Chevalier of the Silver Circle, a legendary fighting times before; two-dimensional characters, a predictable plot, force that protected the kingdom from its enemies. But after and an unsurprising ending make for a forgettable read. the tragic death of his wife, Gill, as he is called, has become a Uninspired.

WANDERERS Wendig, Chuck Del Rey (800 pp.) $28.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 978-0-399-18210-5

What if the only way to save humanity was to lose almost everyone? This was kind of inevitable: Wen- dig (Vultures, 2019, etc.) wrestles with a magnum opus that grapples with culture, science, faith, and our collective anxiety while delivering an epic equal to Steven King’s The Stand (1978). While it’s not advertised as an entry in Wendig’s horrifying Future Proof universe that includes Zer0es (2015) and Invasive (2016), it’s the spiritual next step in the author’s deconstruction of not only our culture, but the awful things that we—humanity—are capable of delivering with our current technology and terrible will. The setup is vividly cinematic: After a comet passes near Earth, a sleeping sickness takes hold, causing victims to start wandering in the same direction, barring those who spon- taneously, um, explode. Simultaneously, a government-built, wickedly terrifying AI called Black Swan tells its minders that a disgraced scientist named Benji Ray might be the key to solving the mystery illness. Wendig breaks out a huge cast that includes Benji’s boss, Sadie Emeka; a rock star who’s a nod to King’s Springsteen-esque Larry Underwood; a pair of sisters—one of whom is part of the “herd” of sleepwalkers and one who identifies as a “shepherd” tending to the sick; and Matthew Bird, who leads the faithful at God’s Light Church and who struggles with a world in which technology itself can become either God or the devil incarnate. Anyone who’s touched on Wendig’s oeuvre, let alone his lively social media presence, knows he’s a full-voiced political creature who’s less concerned with left and right than the chasm between right and wrong, and that impulse is fully on

42 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | display here. Parsing the plot isn’t really critical—Wendig has SWEET HEAT stretched his considerable talents beyond the hyperkinetic hor- Day, Zuri ror that is his wheelhouse to deliver a story about survival that’s Dafina/Kensington (384 pp.) not just about you and me, but all of us, together. $7.99 paper | Jun. 25, 2019 Wendig is clearly wrestling with some of the demons of 978-1-61773-429-8 our time, resulting in a story that is ambitious, bold, and worthy of attention. Two competitors duke it out at a tele- vised cooking contest in LA, but their hearts are soon on the line as well. A trained chef who’s tired of working as an assistant cook and living with his romance parents, Marvin Carter is determined to win first place in the Food Truck Bucks challenge. Naomi Carson learned her way around the kitchen from her grandmother, but she has every intention of turning ANDREW professional by topping the competition and claiming the grand Beckstrand, Jennifer prize of a food truck and $50,000. When Marvin bumps into Zebra/Kensington (352 pp.) Naomi on Day 1 of the contest, they know they are rivals but are $7.99 paper | Jun. 25, 2019 drawn to each other’s quick comebacks and smack talk. Marvin 978-1-4201-4771-1 is also attracted to the full-figured, self-confident Naomi, and

they start what feels like a casual fling. Matters turn more seri- young adult A pregnant young prodigal daughter ous when she sees how kind he is to her grandmother and his returns to her Amish hometown and acts family starts to like her. Apart from the professional battle that as a lightning rod for the community is already an obstacle to their happy ending, Day (Sin City Vows, even as a handsome, confused neighbor 2019, etc.) piles on several external conflicts, like scheming, falls for her. catty women interested in Marvin, Naomi’s ex, a false accusa- “After not seeing her family for two tion during the competition, and a medical scare. Despite those years, she’d shown up wearing jeans and a elements of unnecessary tension, she ably executes the central Maroon 5 T-shirt. And pregnant….She should have thought that narrative of a romance unfolding amid the pressure of a high- one through a little better.” You think? When Mary Coblenz stakes tournament and livens it up with humorous, occasionally shows up at her Amish home, her mother closes the door in her bawdy, banter between the couple. While the story could have face, so Mary plods down the road in her flip-flops to her neigh- been told more tightly, and a moment where Naomi apologizes bor Bitsy’s house. Bitsy—who married into the community and for having a stalker strikes a sour note, the rich portraits of the still sports brightly colored hair and nail polish—takes her in, central characters and the detailed depictions of their families and Mary moves back with her head held high. Some neigh- and larger African-American community in LA makes for enjoy- bors, the nice ones, show her love and acceptance, while mean, able reading. judgmental neighbors shun and shame her. Meanwhile, the A fun, flirty third entry in the Blue-Collar Lover series. rascally 8-year-old Petersheim twins decide to engage in some matchmaking for their older brothers. First up is Andrew, who leans toward the camp that feels a little disturbed that Mary THE WEDDING PARTY “didn’t see the need to repent.” Until she convinces him that she Guillory, Jasmine doesn’t need to repent. Until another neighbor convinces him Berkley (352 pp.) that she does. Until his mother convinces him….On the surface, $15.00 paper | Jul. 16, 2019 the book has amusing elements—those impish twins! And deep, 978-1-984802-19-4 spiritual conversations—shouldn’t Mary be ashamed? Didn’t Jesus die to take our sins away? But at heart, the book feels like A one-night stand slowly evolves an oversimplified morality play the rest of the world worked into a long-term relationship in Guil- through decades ago; Mary seems wise when she needs to be lory’s (The Proposal, 2018, etc.) third book for the plot but ridiculous many other times (see first line of featuring an interconnected group of this paragraph); and Andrew comes across as a man who doesn’t friends. know his own mind until his mother guides him to the right Maddie Forest and Theo Stephens answer. have never liked each other. Maddie thinks Theo is annoying If it’s your thing, you’ll be entertained. and arrogant, and he thinks she’s a vapid party girl. However, having the same best friend, Alexa Monroe (heroine of The Wed ding Date, 2018), means they have no choice but to see each other socially. After years of terse interactions, Maddie and Theo have a one-night stand after his birthday party. The beginning

| kirkus.com | romance | 1 may 2019 | 43 crackles with promise, but then they drift into a monotonous are in full force, with many characters returning from the four monthslong secret affair which consists solely of them hanging prior installments of the Mile High series to offer support, out in Theo’s apartment, eating pizza, and having sex. Neither witty repartee, and, when necessary, a kick in the Wranglers to Theo nor Maddie wants to tell Alexa they’re hooking up, and the main protagonists. when she asks both of them to be members of her wedding A fast-paced, emotional romance with lots of family party, they decide the wedding will be the end point for their drama. affair. As time passes, they share with one another their professional hopes and aspirations about making the world a better place. Theo is working to pass a statewide pre-K initiative, and PROJECT DUCHESS Maddie dreams of landing a gig as a TV stylist for women re- Jeffries, Sabrina entering the workforce after having gone through homelessness Zebra/Kensington (352 pp.) or rehabilitation. When Theo’s pre-K rally takes an implausible $7.99 paper | Jun. 25, 2019 turn, they double down on secrecy even though it’s clear their 978-1-4201-4855-8 feelings have changed. Ultimately, the characters display a per- plexing lack of initiative as romantic partners: Everything hap- After his stepfather’s death, a duke pens to them, they rarely stop to examine their feelings, and with complicated family ties must face they are too afraid to share the truth in their hearts. The sheer his difficult past, especially if he hopes lack of action brings the romance to a grinding halt as Maddie to win the special woman he meets when and Theo wait for someone else to arrive and propel them into his mother summons him to the funeral. the next stage of their relationship. The Duke of Greycourt doesn’t know Likable characters trapped in a plodding, directionless how to feel when he learns that his step- romance. father—his mother’s third husband, who’d recently inherited a dukedom and returned to England after years serving abroad as a diplomat—has died. Maurice was the closest thing to a father THE TROUBLE WITH he’d ever had, but his relationship to him, his mother, and his COWBOY WEDDINGS four half siblings was strained when Grey was sent back to Eng- Helm, Nicole land to be raised by his father’s brother when he was 10, a pain- Zebra/Kensington (304 pp.) ful, tense situation that Grey is still working through. Spending $7.99 paper | Jun. 25, 2019 time with his loving but challenging family makes Grey recon- 978-1-4201-4696-7 sider his feelings, but meeting Maurice’s niece Beatrice is truly life-altering. Immediately attracted to her, he offers to help her A marriage of convenience to save prepare for a long-delayed season and soon is completely smit- the farm forces two lifelong friends to ten, though it takes him a while to figure it out. Meanwhile, it confront buried feelings in this contem- becomes clear that Maurice’s death wasn’t an accident, and his porary Western. son—Grey’s half brother and Beatrice’s cousin Sheridan—is Louisa Fairchild has had a rough increasingly convinced her brother Joshua was responsible. life. Abandoned by her parents at age 9, Grey and Beatrice seek the truth and fall in love, but the road she was raised on her grandparents’ ranch outside of Gracely, to happiness has a few bumps along the way. Jeffries begins a Colorado. And since her cheating ex burned her barn down, new series with a large, charming cast and a unique backstory she has physical scars to match her emotional ones. Still, Lou plus subtle hints at future pairings. Readers will love Grey and prides herself on her resilience and runs a successful flower Beatrice, and the nicely paced, intriguing plot will keep them farm on the Fairchild land. But when her widowed grand- engaged, though the core conflicts lack bite and the intensity mother insists that Lou find a husband or lose the ranch to her and immediacy of the couple’s sexual awareness feels slightly deadbeat father, she’s at a loss. Gavin Tyler’s big, boisterous modern for the rest of the story. family owns the neighboring ranch. Good-natured and loyal, An appealing historical romance from a fan favorite. he’s a middle son, eager for the chance to run a big operation on his own rather than play second fiddle to his older brother. More importantly, Gavin has been quietly in love with Lou since they were teenagers. He offers his hand in fake marriage, and Lou grudgingly accepts, but the charade becomes all too real when affection turns to burning passion. The rushed marriage feels unnecessary, and the resulting compressed timeline makes Lou’s shift from “the snarly angry caricature of herself she’d become since the fire” to an open, loving companion difficult to accept. HelmHomecoming ( for the Cowboy, 2019, etc.) excels at deep emotional exploration, though, and this is angst-y without being melodramatic. The Tyler family bonds

44 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | A delightful romance that’s both cheerful and heart-wrenching. sweet wild of mine

SWEET WILD OF MINE parenting books and kept a thick binder of important informa- Kerr, Laurel tion. When Abby receives news of her declining fertility at the Sourcebooks Casablanca (416 pp.) age of 30, she feels like her time to be a mom is now or never. $7.99 paper | May 28, 2019 The only problem is that she’s unattached and is having difficul- 978-1-4926-7088-9 ties deciding on a sperm donor. Marcus Ross is Abby’s roommate and best friend. He’s also hopelessly in love with her. He’d A curmudgeonly Scottish author vol- do anything to make her dreams a reality and agrees to help her unteers to work at a small zoo to get his get pregnant. They get on well together, but he makes it clear career back on track and is soon reluc- that he won’t allow Abby to be a single mom. He wants to be just tantly falling in love with the town, the as involved in raising her—their—child. However, the notion of animals, and the local tea shop owner. co-parenting as best friends while keeping things strictly pla- Magnus Gray’s life choices have tonic is easier said than done. Abby’s chutzpah in taking con- included remote locations and minimal trol of her future is commendable. The main issue with the human interactions, balanced by an affinity for animals. When book is that neither Abby nor Marcus seems mature enough to his memoirs become bestsellers, he moves to London, but handle parenthood; when they begin their romance, it feels as his acerbic urban commentary falls flat with fans. To revive if they’re hurtling toward a huge mistake. Their apartment can’t his career, Magnus volunteers at the zoo in Sagebrush Flats, accommodate a baby in addition to Abby’s work from home, as U.S.A., where the first person he meets is June Winters, the her bedroom is also her gaming studio. They ignore a doctor’s town’s resident blonde bombshell, sunny personality, entre- advice on having legal precautions in place and attending coun- preneur, and busybody. June is used to men falling all over her seling to make sure they’re on the same page about parenting

and prefers a different type from Magnus: “Yes, June enjoyed styles. The forward momentum hinges on Abby’s tunnel vision young adult handsome, debonair men….In contrast, the scowling Mr. Rude for a baby and Marcus’ being too much of a doormat to his best looked like a grumpy Paul Bunyan.” Still, she’s intrigued by the friend’s whims to speak up. glowering Scotsman. Magnus just wants to be left alone, but an A friends-to-lovers setup that’s overshadowed by a very unexpected side effect of June getting his hackles up is that it bad idea. mitigates his speech disfluency, and her own family’s experience with stuttering turns into the foundation of a growing friendship. The two become helpmates and confidants, leading to a UNDER CURRENTS passionate love affair, but June’s deep need to meddle may drive Roberts, Nora them apart. Kerr’s (Wild on My Mind, 2018) sophomore effort, St. Martin’s (448 pp.) the second title in her Where the Wild Hearts Are series, main- $28.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 tains the poignancy and originality of the first. Polar cub Sorcha, 978-1-250-20709-8 Magnus’ complicated childhood, and June’s elderly grandmother provide an emotionally complex spectrum of issues and An abused boy fights back, escapes, events that June and Magnus navigate. Revisiting Sagebrush then returns as an attorney to his beloved residents, animal and human—especially another feisty honey hometown, but just as he’s falling in love badger—is an added treat, though Kerr’s excessive, sometimes with a transplanted landscaper, a series unwieldy, use of simile and metaphor weighs down her other- of attacks from shadowy enemies jeopar- wise great writing. dizes their happiness. A delightful romance that’s both cheerful and “From the outside, the house in Lakeview Terrace looked heart-wrenching. perfect.” Which of course means that it wasn’t. We’re introduced to the horrifying Dr. Graham Bigelow, who beats his wife and, increasingly as the boy gets older, his son, Zane. On the UNEXPECTED night of Zane’s prom, a particularly savage attack puts him and Rimmer, Kelly his sister in the hospital, and his father blames Zane, landing Harlequin HQN (384 pp.) him in jail. Then his sister stands up for him, enlisting the aid of $7.99 paper | May 28, 2019 their aunt, and everything changes, mainly due to Zane’s secret 978-1-335-50495-1 diaries. Nearly 20 years later, Zane leaves a successful career as a lawyer to return to Lakeview, where his aunt and sister live The relationship between best friends with their families, deciding to hang a shingle as a small-town Abby and Marcus becomes complicated lawyer. Then he meets Darby McCray, the landscaper who’s when Abby decides to fulfill her dream of recently relocated and taken the town by storm, starting with becoming a mother and Marcus agrees to the transformation of his family’s rental bungalows. The two play sperm donor. are instantly intrigued by each other, but they move slowly into Abby Herbert is a popular video game a relationship neither is looking for. Darby has a violent past streamer. While it’s a dream job, Abby’s of her own, so she is more than willing to take on the risk of real goal is to become a mother; she has even amassed a pile of antagonizing a boorish local family when she and Zane help an

| kirkus.com | romance | 1 may 2019 | 45 abused wife. Suddenly Zane and Darby face one attack after another, and even as they grow ever closer under the pressure, the dangers become more insidious. Roberts’ latest title feels a little long and the story is slightly cumbersome, but her greatest strength is in making the reader feel connected to her characters, so “unnecessary details” can also charm and engage. Another success for the publishing phenom.

SPITFIRE IN LOVE Ronin, Isabelle Sourcebooks Casablanca (416 pp.) $7.99 paper | May 28, 2019 978-1-4926-6196-2

A classic new-adult story set on a college campus, where a beautiful, broken hero and a spunky heroine with trust issues can’t resist each other. Kara Hawthorne and Cameron St. Laurent are college students in Manitoba, Canada, whose paths cross when Kara’s younger brother wrecks Cameron’s motorcycle. Cameron is a varsity athlete who hides his wealthy background as closely as he does terrible secrets from his broken childhood: “There is a darkness lurking inside me.…I knew most people couldn’t handle or accept the real me.” Kara has an absentee mother but comes from an otherwise close-knit working-class family. She’s never dated, preferring to stick to her goals, which require holding down multiple jobs while going to school full time. Cameron is gorgeous and sexually experienced, but he is intrigued by the guarded and “feisty” Kara, whose “jagged edges could cut like a chainsaw to wood.” When she offers to have the bike repaired for free at her father’s garage, he ups the ante by demanding she drive him around in the meantime. Ronin (Always Red, 2017, etc.) began writing serialized stories on a social media site, where a version of this novel was first published. A plot that might be right-sized in smaller chunks feels unnecessarily attenuated thanks to frequent emotional reversals and too many details of daily life. The book’s strength is its depiction of the likably complex Kara and Cameron, both working through issues from their childhoods while trying to navigate the adult world in which they now find themselves. Although the ending is optimistic enough to please readers, a sequel to this chaste story is planned. Ronin creates believable characters and puts them in a well-drawn social world. The effect of the typical high angst and emotional upheavals of new-adult fiction is blunted by an unnecessarily drawn-out romance plot.

46 | 1 may 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | nonfiction PLACES AND NAMES These titles earned the Kirkus Star: On War, Revolution, and Returning PLACES AND NAMES by Elliot Ackerman...... 47 Ackerman, Elliot Penguin Press (256 pp.) ARE WE THERE YET? by Dan Albert...... 48 $26.00 | Jun. 11, 2019 978-0-525-55996-2 THE VOLUNTEER by Jack Fairweather...... 54 A memoir of the war you can’t leave SCHOLARS OF MAYHEM by Daniel C. Guiet & behind. Timothy K. Smith...... 58 For Ackerman (Waiting for Eden, 2018, etc.), a former Marine who earned the

CULTURE IN NAZI GERMANY by Michael H. Kater...... 63 Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart, and so many young adult of the others he met during his return to the battlefronts of the THIS LAND by Christopher Ketcham...... 64 Middle East, there was no good reason for them to be drawn back there other than the feeling that war had given their lives UNDERLAND by Robert Macfarlane...... 66 purpose and that civilian life offered no fulfilling substitute. “If purpose is the drug that induces happiness,” he writes, “there THE MOON by Oliver Morton...... 69 are few stronger doses than the wartime experience.” The equation of war with happiness may jolt readers who haven’t seen OUTPOST by Dan Richards...... 71 combat, but the power of this memoir comes from the author’s illumination of paradoxes and contradictions that provide a GEORGE MARSHALL by David L. Roll...... 71 common emotional denominator for soldiers who previously found themselves in wars where they discovered more than two sides. “For a moment we sit, three veterans from three different sides of a war that has no end in sight,” writes Ackerman of his UNDERLAND bonding with two friends who might have been categorized as A Deep Time Journey Muslim terrorists, one of whom would later ask him to be best man at his wedding. “Not the Syrian Civil War, or the Iraq War, Macfarlane, Robert Norton (496 pp.) but a larger regional conflict,” one in which they discovered “a $27.95 | Jun. 4, 2019 unifying thread between us: friendships born out of conflict, 978-0-393-24214-0 the strongest we’ve ever known.” Throughout the poignant narrative there is a sense that the Americans for whom the author has fought have misunderstood the Muslims that he has fought against and that the boundaries dating back to the colonial era have never reflected the ethnic geography of those who inhabit the region. A story in which Ackerman made new friends and confronted old ghosts culminates in a flashback to the Battle of Fallujah and his memories of what took place. A profoundly human narrative that transcends nation- ality and ideology.

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 47 down with the blues Photo courtesy Leah Overstreet “I never intended to have any- ARE WE THERE YET? thing to do with the blues,” writes The American acclaimed Memphis-based music Automobile Past, journalist Stanley Booth in his new Present, and Driverless Albert, Dan collection of essays, Red Hot and Blue Norton (304 pp.) (May 7). “They came into my life $26.95 | Jun. 11, 2019 through my bedroom window when 978-0-393-29274-9 I was a child. It wasn’t a matter of choice. What I learned I paid for in With driverless cars on the way, a journalist asks, is America ready to experience at the school where they accept them? arrest you first and tell you why later.” One way to begin formulating an answer is to examine the Readers will be thankful that even if he didn’t seek car culture that has defined America since the 1920s, when out the blues, the blues found him, as the author has Henry Ford turned his “missionary zeal for low, low prices” spent decades writing about the ever elusive genre as into the country’s first line of affordable automobiles. In his well as other strains of Southern and roots music, includ- debut book, Albert, who writes about cars for n+1, provides a witty history of the automobile and a look at the future. ing jazz and rock. Though he’s written only three books, He takes readers on a fascinating journey covering a lot of Booth is a legendary music writer, having penned numer- ground: the earliest battery-powered electric vehicles of the ous significant articles about a wide variety of landmark 1890s; Ford’s first big triumph with the 1909 Model T; Alfred artists, including Furry Lewis, Blind Willie McTell, Ma P. Sloan Jr., “the most important CEO in GM’s history,” who Rainey, James Brown, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Elvis introduced car loans in the 1920s to encourage repeat buying; the birth of America’s interstate highway system in the 1950s, Presley, Gram Parsons, and, of course, the Rolling Stones, “by any measure the largest government project in American the subject of Booth’s long-gestating, classic 1984 book, history”; and the push for smaller and more environmentally Dance with the Devil. friendly vehicles in the 1960s and ’70s, thanks in part to Ralph As our reviewer notes, Booth’s characteristic style is Nader. All of this leads to an incisive analysis of the current on full display from the beginning of Red Hot and Blue: culture, in which young people would rather call an Uber than “Plunging in with a humorous—somewhat salty—indict- own a car, and the question of whether driverless cars really will achieve their promise of fewer accident-related deaths. A ment of contemporary music journalism, so-called au- late chapter on the author’s auto-repair prowess feels airlifted thorities on American musical train from another project, but the narrative is still an entertain- ditions, and the slick treatment of ing exploration of American vehicle culture and American the blues by modern media, Booth culture in general. Along the way, Albert can’t resist political stakes his ground, imparting the jabs, most of them directed at the right, as when he writes, “America First types may be disappointed to learn that it was value of essence over image in mu- France that had the first car culture.” He also notes a few facts sic writing.” that may surprise—that supposedly safe SUVs, among the In addition to some of his most profitable vehicles on the market, “tip over at twice the most well-known pieces—e.g., rate of cars.” “Furry’s Blues” (about Memphis An exceptional work of scholarship about “our rela- bluesman Furry Lewis) and “Situ- tionships to cars and through cars and the stories we tell about those relationships.” ation Report: Elvis in Memphis, (15 illustrations) 1967”—there are numerous other gems to be found in a collection that should be in any blues lover’s library. Indeed, this is “further entertaining testimony from a music journalist whose writing pulsates with the same blues rhythms as the soil and streets in which they were born,” our reviewer writes. —E.L.

Eric Liebetrau is the nonfiction and managing editor.

48 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | Focusing on black feminism, Allred builds a thorough and detailed critical study of how Beyoncé’s catalog reflects, connects to, and is informed by literary and theoretical work. ain’t i a diva?

BURN THE ICE AIN’T I A DIVA? The American Culinary Beyoncé and the Power of Revolution and Its End Pop Culture Pedagogy Alexander, Kevin Allred, Kevin Penguin Press (384 pp.) Feminist Press (392 pp.) $28.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 $18.95 paper | Jun. 11, 2019 978-0-525-55802-6 978-1-936932-60-3

A back-of-the-house, behind-the- Brooklyn-based educator and speaker scenes look at new restaurants and pas- Allred delivers a book-length extension of sionate chefs. a college class he designed, “Politicizing Making his book debut, James Beard Beyoncé,” including texts, references, and Award–winning food journalist Alexander offers an energetic, broader theoretical frameworks. scattered chronicle of the food world from 2006 to 2017, a This project fits in the educational tradition of including decade, he asserts, when “independent, chef-owned, casual fine- analysis of popular culture as a teaching strategy, now widely dining restaurants” created a culinary revolution. He locates regarded as an access point for students to engage with critical the revolution’s birth in Portland, Oregon, where a young chef theory. Focusing on black feminism, Allred builds a thorough named Gabriel Rucker opened a small restaurant, Le Pigeon, and detailed critical study of how Beyoncé’s catalog reflects, generating hype that “morphed from local buzz into a national connects to, and is informed by literary and theoretical work. fever pitch,” putting Rucker—and Portland—on the map of He interrogates Beyoncé’s music and videos to explore the

culinary stardom. Rucker, writes the author, invented a new young adult aesthetic: “the mismatched chairs, the Goodwill plates and sil- verware, the lack of tablecloths,” along with “scratch-kitchen- level food made by hand using local ingredients.” Rucker is one among the many individuals Alexander profiles, gleaned from nearly 100 interviews with cooks, chefs, and bartenders whose ambitions, challenges, successes, and failures add up to “a mosaic of the last decade’s sprawling, mercurial, pyrotechni- cally creative culinary ecosystem.” There’s Tom Colicchio, who learned how to cook by working at top New York restaurants. At 26, he earned a three-star review from the New York Times, soon opened Gramercy Tavern with prominent restaurateur Danny Meyer, and went on to establish his own restaurant, Craft, “radical in its simplicity.” When reality TV producers wanted a chef to judge a food competition show, Colicchio was high on the list; the show was Top Chef. There’s Anjan and Emily Mitra, who struggled to open an Indian restaurant in San Francisco and ended up so overwhelmed by their success that they lost sight of their original motivation to share the texture, balance, and “crazy versatility of flavors” of South Indian food. There’s Phil Ward, innovator of the craft cocktail movement that spread across the country. Alexander’s choice of characters seems random, and their stories, though engaging, don’t cohere into an overarching analysis. Initially claiming that the revolution is over, the author concludes that “a fresh torch” is likely to be lit. A colorful yet rambling history of transformations in the food world.

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 49 complicated spaces where racism, sexism, and capitalism col- with unbearable fidelity the moments of internal tumult that lide. Using the singer’s work as a canon, Allred analyzes how mark every human life.” At times, he gets “furious” with Wil- her lyrical and visual texts handle such themes as self-definition, liam Stoner the “perfect martyr,” the “hardcore masochist.” He love, and resistance. With a referential scope that includes discusses the novel’s “unrelieved narration,” or “plain style,” as Sojourner Truth, Zora Neale Hurston, Audre Lorde, Toni Mor- Williams described it, and its portrayal of a wrecked marriage, rison, Alice Walker, bell hooks, the Combahee River Collec- the nasty world of academic in-fighting, and the challenges of tive, and many others, Allred effectively demonstrates how child-rearing. Almond argues that Stoner is both an anti-war Beyoncé’s work aligns with and advances many elements of novel and, with its detailed portrait of the “collision of poverty black feminism. Throughout, the author offers well-grounded and privilege,” a “radical social novel.” insights into the political and cultural significance of Beyoncé’s A concise, useful examination of a novel that, at its heart, work and provides an expansive base from which to view it. Yet is a “wise and merciful book” about the love of teaching. the enthusiasm that may spark lively class discussion does not necessarily translate onto the page, and offering a single class as an academic model may work against the broader purpose DON’T WAIT UP of accessibility common to pop-culture pedagogy. While Allred Confessions of a cites the work of the African-American women and scholars Stay-at-Work Mom examining Beyoncé’s feminist influences and appeal, this text Astrof, Liz functions more as monologue about a class than a dialogue with Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster the current rich scholarship on the topic. Still, the author’s (320 pp.) emphasis on instructional methods positions this work amid $26.00 | Jul. 30, 2019 important existing trends connecting education to contempo- 978-1-982106-95-9 rary society. Acclaimed poet and black feminist activist Cheryl Clarke provides the introduction. A producer and comedy writer for 2 An asset for educators interested in feminism and pop- Broke Girls and The King of Queens, among culture pedagogy. other programs, brings her humor to the homefront with these essays about her childhood and raising her own children. WILLIAM STONER AND THE Given Astrof’s extensive background in comedy, readers BATTLE FOR THE INNER LIFE will expect humor throughout, and the author delivers with Almond, Steve one punchline after another. The author clearly loves her chil- Ig Publishing (168 pp.) dren, but she prefers to leave the details of raising them to $14.95 paper | Jun. 18, 2019 her husband. She shares a wide, wacky variety of stories: how 978-1-63246-087-5 she avoids returning home until she knows her kids are safely tucked in bed, how she handled a weekend at Great Wolf Lodge, Literary criticism/memoir regarding an indoor water park where signs warned swimmers not to an overlooked American novel. enter the pool with “active” diarrhea (“I could only speculate In the latest volume in the publisher’s as to what ‘active’ meant to the legal team…but mostly, I was Bookmarked series, Almond (Bad Stories: grateful that I wouldn’t have to so much as dip a toe in that shit What the Hell Just Happened to Our Coun river”), how she reacted when her stash of candy dissolved while try, 2018, etc.) delivers an energetic discussion of Stoner, the 1965 on vacation in Mexico; why she is convinced she’ll be murdered novel by John Williams (1922-1994), who won a National Book while on a work-related weekend with fellow writers; why a “fun” Award for Augustus (1972). The Bookmarked series encourages trip to the mall with her kids is anything but; and how an idyllic authors to personally engage with the works they are champion- vacation in Hawaii turned into a fiasco thanks to one errant text ing, and Almond delves into personal failures and accomplish- message. Underneath the comedy, however, are details about ments as well as relationships with family, friends, and students, the author’s difficult childhood living with verbally abusive par- all through the prism of Stoner. Though some readers may find ents who fought over her custody. She also grew up with weight this approach disruptive, it results in a sensitive and perceptive and self-esteem issues and still has trouble with both concerns reading of a novel Almond first read when he was a struggling as an adult. The juxtaposition between the absurdity and the 28-year-old writer. He has since read it innumerable times, each reality of Astrof’s life creates a mostly effective balance, which time learning more about the novel and himself. Stoner, which pushes this book beyond the slapstick visible at the surface and has been reissued a few times, is a quiet, reflective tale that into a more reflective realm. recounts the life of a rural farm boy who becomes an English Droll wit and profundity swirl together in a revealing professor, husband, and father. Almond offers this “peculiar memoir from a successful comedy writer. pint-sized ode” to a novel that has become for him a manual for “living.” A “literary novel” that is also “subversive,” Stoner “casts a piercing light upon the worship of power and wealth that has corroded our national spirit.” Almond loves how it “captures

50 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | THE LAND OF decision with the insidious rise of dark-money groups, empow- FLICKERING LIGHTS ering billionaires to manipulate campaigns and legislation. Restoring America in an Age “Citizens United, quite simply, has warped the character of our of Broken Politics political system,” writes the author. So have individuals now in Bennet, Michael power, notably Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. Bennet Atlantic Monthly (304 pp.) aptly characterizes McConnell as Machiavellian: “patient, stra- $27.00 | Jun. 25, 2019 tegic, undistracted, impervious to give-and-take (except when 978-0-8021-4781-3 he is taking everything)—and, in a political sense, ruthless.” The author underscores Trump’s ignorance of foreign policy, A Colorado senator sees the country his nurturing of “ugly nativism,” and his shocking denial of cli- at a historic turning point. mate change, to name just a few of his shortcomings. “Income Making his book debut, Bennet offers a strident critique inequality, stagnant social mobility, and inadequate access of our current rancorous, ineffective government that has to health care and education” are overarching problems that betrayed the Founders’ visions and is “desperately out of sync” need vigilance and action, Bennet argues, urging Americans to with the nation’s needs. Like the late congressman John Ding- muster confidence in themselves and one another: “Only citi- ell (The Dean), Bennet’s fellow legislator—and echoing other zens,” he writes, “can answer the fire bells in the night.” He pro- recent political analysts—Bennet laments the destruction of poses four values that can lead us into the future: freedom to bipartisanship, the corrupt influence of wealthy donors and rise, which requires decent health care, equitable tax policies, lobbyists on politicians, and the rise of “an insurgent faction of and a safety net for the vulnerable; freedom from ignorance, Republicans.” He credits the Supreme Court’s Citizens United which requires strong public schools and financial support for young adult

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 51 A useful book for newsrooms and journalism students. automating the news

students; freedom from violence, including the “insidious vio- AUTOMATING THE NEWS lence” flourishing on social media; and freedom to govern our- How Algorithms Are selves, which requires citizen engagement and participation in Rewriting the Media public life. “The loss of faith in our governing institutions, and Diakopoulos, Nicholas in one another,” Bennet writes, “is a death spiral.” Harvard Univ. (304 pp.) A forceful argument that patriotism, hard work, and $29.95 | Jun. 10, 2019 belief in the common good can revive a prosperous and 978-0-674-97698-6 powerful democracy. Can machines take over the job of human reporters? Increasingly, they’re INSIDE THE FIVE-SIDED BOX doing just that. Lessons from a Lifetime of Machines are already hard at work Leadership in the Pentagon putting together the morning paper or news broadcast, writes Carter, Ash Diakopoulos, the director of Northwestern’s Computational Dutton (480 pp.) Journalism Lab. At the Associated Press, for example, “every $30.00 | Jun. 11, 2019 fiscal quarter automated writing algorithms dutifully churn out 978-1-5247-4391-8 thousands of corporate earnings articles.” Such articles were the stuff of drudge work once assigned to cub reporters, but The former secretary of defense now machines can parse corporate reports, extract the required delivers a lucid explanation of how the information, and put it into readable form. By the author’s Department of Defense operates. account, this is a positive development; it allows news organi- A theoretical physicist who became zations to publish quickly, and it gives seasoned human jour- interested in international affairs, Carter (Director/Harvard nalists the raw material to dig in and do data-rich interpretive Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International work. Just so, he notes, at least a quarter of all Bloomberg News Affairs; Keeping the Edge: Managing Defense for the Future, 2001, reports are done by computers in whole or part. Algorithms, he etc.) entered government service in 1993 as President Bill Clin- writes, “are suffusing the entire news production chain.” Some- ton’s assistant secretary of defense for international security times they weigh whether one headline is more effective (and policy and eventually became President Barack Obama’s sec- clickworthy) than another, and other times they data mine to retary of defense in 2015. Specializing in international security, support investigative reporting, sorting through vast bodies nuclear policy, and weapons procurement, the author considers of material to dig out the ones that are truly relevant to a case himself a technocrat rather than a political operative. Though and, of particular interest, “claim-spotting” with computational he was first appointed by a Democrat and was never appointed tools as an aid to fact-checking. Diakopoulos counsels that this by a Republican, he accomplishes the impressive feat of sooth- algorithmic wealth will be put to work in situations that are sub- ing conservatives by emphasizing that private enterprise is the sidiary to human journalism. Though one wonders whether the most efficient source of our military’s goods and services. “Busi- bosses might not like machines that can replace human editors, ness is business,” he writes, “and if they are to succeed…they the author argues that these modern machines belong in the need to mind their bottom lines. The taxpayer shares an inter- realm of telephones, cameras, and other technological adjuncts est in their viability.” Carter also soothes liberals by agreeing to journalism that have come along in the past, for the work that, absent strict government oversight, companies pad their of reporting and writing is really itself the realm of human cre- profits, drag their feet, and have no objection to bribery if it is ativity. “Rare is the algorithm that can surprise and delight in deemed useful. Even out of office, he provided expertise to all entirely unanticipated ways,” he writes—rare, but not entirely administrations and remained on good terms with even highly out of the question, for which reason he urges news organiza- conservative leaders. His evaluation of all presidents since Ron- tions to get busy developing “their own competitive strains of ald Reagan is never less than mildly favorable, with one excep- algorithms and AI for knowledge production.” tion that will surprise few readers. His major criticism of Donald Despite all the troubling possibilities, Diakopoulos Trump is that he despises experts who disagree with him. Read- predicts a thriving future for machine algorithms. A use- ers will squirm to learn the difficulties of keeping our nation ful book for newsrooms and journalism students. secure, which, even in the good old days, was hobbled as much as helped by members of Congress who gave their own interests priority over the nation’s and journalists who preferred scandal to substance. Today, with Congress nearly paralyzed and journalism dumbed down by the internet, it’s even more difficult. An illuminating if unsettling account of what it takes to run “the largest and most complex organization in the entire world.”

52 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | FIRE IN THE SKY how much truth there is to these narratives. In short, how Cosmic Collisions, Killer much should we worry? Regarding the chance of an impact, Asteroids, and the Race to he offers an alarming conclusion. “It’s not a question of if,” Defend Earth he writes. “It’s only a question of when. And at this point, we Dillow, Gordon L. can only hope that the world will be ready.” Using his own Scribner (288 pp.) research and numerous interviews with scientists and other $27.00 | Jun. 4, 2019 experts, the author provides an elegant overview of the his - 978-1-5011-8774-2 tory of terrestrial collisions and breaks down what governments are doing to prepare for another—and whether that According to scientists, it’s inevitable preparation is good enough. From asteroid hunters to plan- that a giant piece of space rock will even- etary defense officers, a cadre of specialists are working to tually hurtle toward Earth: “So where do identify threats and devise realistic plans to neutralize them. we currently stand in terms of planetary defense against Earth- Dillow explains the science behind these efforts in plain lan- impacting asteroids?” guage and, despite the sometimes-weighty subject matter, We’ve all seen the movies in which an asteroid is on a col- good humor. He also engagingly describes his awe in con- lision course with our planet and we have scant time to devise sidering Earth from a new perspective, that of a vulnerable, some way to destroy it or change its path. In this entertain- smallish planet flying through a crowded solar system. One ing book, Dillow (co-author, with Charles Campisi: Blue on medium-sized asteroid (never mind a comet) slamming into Blue: An Insider’s Story of Good Cops Catching Bad Cops, 2017, Earth could easily destroy a city, a country, or even most of etc.), a veteran reporter and war correspondent, investigates mankind. After all, it’s generally accepted that a 6-mile-wide young adult

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 53 An inspiring story beautifully told. the volunteer

asteroid wiped out almost every living thing on the planet 65 Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and million years ago, including dinosaurs. the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism, 2010) sets out to identify Dillow threads a lovely history of asteroid impacts into how these two forces related through the so-called Ameri- an urgent call to arms, and the result is a thrilling read. can Century. Though his lengthy study does not necessarily prove an organic relationship between oil and faith—in many instances, the connections were simply caused by the omni- ANOINTED WITH OIL presence of Christianity in a culture in which oil was asserting How Christianity and Crude itself—the author ably shows how these connections shaped Made Modern America American history. Beginning with the oil discoveries in Penn- Dochuk, Darren sylvania after the Civil War, which solidified John D. Rocke- Basic (672 pp.) feller as the paragon of Eastern oil barons, Dochuk explores $35.00 | Jun. 4, 2019 the first “wildcatters” who set out to compete with Rocke- 978-0-465-06086-3 feller’s Standard Oil, resulting in a continuous cycle of booms and busts. Eventually, with oil discoveries in Texas and Okla- A history of America’s oil industry homa, the center of the industry moved west. At every step, with an emphasis on its interplay with the church was present in these new settlements, attempting Christianity throughout the decades. to curb the wild influences of oilmen. At the same time, many Asserting that both oil and faith of the industry’s leaders were committed Christians, seeing in shaped the United States significantly through its years of their work a divine calling and often using their wealth to sup- ascendancy, Dochuk (History/Univ. of Notre Dame; From port religious causes. The philanthropy of the Rockefellers, the Pews, and others remains as a testament to these convictions. As the power of American oil waned after World War II, its influence became more centered upon political movements and the rise of Evangelicalism. Dochuk notes that evangelist Billy Graham was funded by oil figures early in his career, and the industry has been involved in the development of countless organizations, from the Fuller Theological Seminary to Oral Roberts University. The Bush family’s oil ties round out this intriguing book. A sweeping tale that uses both oil and faith to paint a panoramic portrait of post–Civil War American history.

THE VOLUNTEER One Man, an Underground Army, and the Secret Mission to Destroy Auschwitz Fairweather, Jack Custom House/Morrow (528 pp.) $28.99 | Jun. 25, 2019 978-0-06-256141-1

One man’s remarkable heroism in the face of Nazi terror. Nothing about Auschwitz is pleasant reading. Thankfully, Fairweather (The Good War: Why We Couldn’t Win the War or the Peace in Afghanistan, 2014), a former correspondent for the Washington Post and the Daily Telegraph, delivers a well-written, riveting work. The protagonist is Polish resistance fighter Witold Pilecki (1901-1948), part of Poland’s cavalry reserves, much of which was decimated by the blitzkrieg’s main panzer thrust. With Warsaw surrounded, most military leaders left the country, but Pilecki and another officer banded together and organized the remaining soldiers. During this time, Germany continued to pit ethnic groups against each other and, mostly, against the Jews. Nationalism was flourishing, and attacks on

54 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | Jews escalated. When Pilecki tried to fuse their group with the most susceptible targets, writes Fazzini, are banks, which are mainstream underground, his partner asked him to form a new probed and tested every waking moment for weaknesses from group—in Auschwitz, to fight from the inside. Once inside, a every corner of the globe, all good reasons for being hypervigi- Polish work foreman got him a builder’s job, which allowed lant about online transactions and remembering to change your him to start developing resistance cells among prisoners. In password regularly. addition to some brave locals, newly released prisoners passed Good reading for anyone contemplating a career on his reports to Warsaw and then to London. The camp doc- in cybersecurity and a useful tool for turning people’s tor saved Pilecki’s life more than once, but in many of his thoughts in that direction. (first printing of 100,000) messages, Pilecki begged to have the camp, arsenals, and rail- ways bombed. Despite his messages, the Allies made excuses, claiming that winning the war was the only way to control the camps. Based on the reports from Pilecki, they certainly knew that Auschwitz had become a death camp. Using myriad sources to paint the pictures of the camp’s horrors, including the prime source, Pilecki’s memoir, which has only recently been translated, Fairweather shines a powerful spotlight on a courageous man and his impressive accomplishments in the face of unspeakable evil. An inspiring story beautifully told.

KINGDOM OF LIES young adult Unnerving Adventures in the World of Cybercrime Fazzini, Kate St. Martin’s (240 pp.) $28.99 | Jun. 11, 2019 978-1-250-20134-8

A breezy exploration of the many bad guys who lie in wait out on the other end of the cyberwire. “What makes cybersecurity complicated is the complexity of human beings,” writes Fazzini, a former Wall Street Journal reporter who is now the cybersecurity reporter for CNBC. The hacker community, for instance, is hardly a community at all: There are people who hack computers in just about every human community, period, and not all of them are up to no good. It’s against the ones who do have nefarious ends that the cybersecurity community has evolved, and again, it’s a rather motley congregation, with few Lisbeth Salanders among it; indeed, as Fazzini writes, only 9 percent of the workers in the field are women. “I know a lot of them,” she notes, “maybe because we are such a rare lot.” They need to be less rare, she adds, because there’s greater demand than supply for cybersecurity experts, and that need will only grow, requir- ing people who are risk-averse, hypervigilant, and imaginative in thinking of scenarios that few other people would consider— “three characteristics of so many new mothers,” she concludes. Threats come from all sides. Some of the author’s cases in point are pimply experimenters; some are very thoughtful, technologically adept sociopaths; some are the agents of unfriendly governments such as Russia and Iran, about the second of which she describes the countermeasures taken by one lonely white-hat hacker: “As the suits pile in, act interested, and watch Carl sit at the computer and fight the Iranian Army every fuck- ing day, as he becomes more detached and more alone.” The

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 55 The author tells Skelly’s story well, presenting him as an enterprising and resourceful trailblazer. superpower

WAFFEN-SS “brownshirts”) in the so-called Night of the Long Knives on Hitler’s Army at War June 29, 1934, the elite Schutzstaffel became the “prime arbi- Gilbert, Adrian ter of violence in Nazi Germany.” Himmler envisioned a group Da Capo (512 pp.) with “a confirmed Aryan pedigree and a high level of physi- $32.50 | Jun. 25, 2019 cal fitness”—education was not a priority—forged into “a 978-0-306-82465-4 vanguard of political soldiers for the Nazi cause.” Of course, the men would be inculcated in racial doctrine and develop an An in-depth examination of the elite intense sense of comradeship. Gilbert explores the competi- group of soldiers originally designed tive dynamic between the Germany army and the SS and the as Hitler’s bodyguards and carefully army’s attempts to undermine the SS and its various splinter groomed and trained by Heinrich Him- groups. While Himmler pursued his vision of an ever larger mler for murderous duty. role for the SS—as the racial war against the Jews and Slavs British military historian and broadcaster Gilbert (Chal progressed—Hitler “did not favor diluting its special charac- lenge of Battle: The Real Story of the British Army in 1914, 2014, ter through mass recruitment.” As Nazi expansion continued, etc.) offers a nuts-and-bolts, chronological study of the so did the widening makeup of the SS, and the group began Waffen-SS, from the time of Himmler’s assumption of its to incorporate mercenary Dutch, Finns, Norwegians, and command in 1929 through training, successes, atrocities on Danes. With the Germans increasingly desperate, “the once the Eastern and Western fronts, and to its bitter defeat in fixed racial lines were also becoming…blurred, something 1945 (and resurrection in a postwar loyalists’ group). After not lost on bemused Waffen-SS veterans.” Ultimately, the Hitler’s elimination of Ernst Röhm and his thuggish SA (the organization fought until the bitter end. Of the “more than 900,000 men [who] passed through its ranks,” writes Gilbert, “...300,000 were killed or died of their wounds.” A fairly technical study featuring some riveting revelations about the diverse makeup of the notorious Nazi organization.

SUPERPOWER One Man’s Quest to Transform American Energy Gold, Russell Simon & Schuster (320 pp.) $27.00 | Jun. 25, 2019 978-1-5011-6358-6

A profile of an ambitious and persistent entrepreneur and a revealing look at the complex issues involved in the process of transitioning to renewable energy sources. Gold (The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World, 2014), a Gerald Loeb Award–winning reporter for the Wall Street Journal, chronicles the efforts of Michael Skelly, an infrastructure builder, to create an interstate transmission superhighway to bring direct high-voltage electrical power from the balkanized world of solar and wind farms to cities thousands of miles away. Unlike many present-day journalists, the author keeps himself mostly out of the story, with Skelly and his colleagues and adversaries front and center. Before getting into the story of Clean Line Energy, Skelly’s company, Gold shows him working in the late-1990s for a tiny, aggressive company in the rapidly growing wind industry in Houston, developing wind farms. In 2007, when the firm had become a major wind power producer and was bought and remodeled by Goldman Sachs, Skelly quit the wind business and ran for Congress. As a Democrat in a heavily Republican district, he lost. “From despondency comes inspiration,” according to Skelly, and

56 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | it was then that he conceived of Clean Line Energy. The or custom, he seemed energized by “an electric current.” Kelp, long process of trying to turn his concept into a reality is seawort, ant eggs, and grasshoppers are just a few of the ingre- the subject of the second half of the book. The narrative is dients he tried out, which for Redzepi “exemplify all meanings sometimes mazelike, full of sharply depicted players, cor- of the word ‘wild’ ”—“flavors and textures of the untamed.” porate strategies, funding problems, struggles against long- A vivid chronicle of a rare culinary adventure. (16 b/w existing utilities determined not to lose control of the grid, photos) politicians and their personal preferences, misconceptions by lawmakers, the parochial interests of individual states, court cases, outdated statutes, and confused or fearful citizens. Ultimately, despite the complexity, Gold shows clearly the myriad daunting problems facing an entrepreneur in the renewable energy business. The author tells Skelly’s story well, presenting him as an enterprising and resourceful trailblazer.

HUNGRY Eating, Road-Tripping, and Risking It All with the Greatest Chef in the World

Gordinier, Jeff young adult Tim Duggan Books/Crown (288 pp.) $26.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 978-1-5247-5964-3

A renowned chef reveals his appetite for risk—and edible insects. In 2013, Copenhagen’s dining sensa- tion, Noma, hit a serious snag: an outbreak of norovirus that threatened the restaurant’s future and the reputation of its world-famous chef, René Redzepi. When Esquire food and drinks editor Gordinier (X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft but Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking, 2008, etc.) met Redzepi in 2014, the chef felt burned out, looking for new inspirations and, as he wrote in his journal, “scared of losing the precious worldwide attention we’d stumbled into.” Eager to reinvent himself and invigorate his cooking, he decided to travel in search of new ideas, and he invited the author to come along to share in and write about the journey. At his own crossroads—depressed over his failing marriage— Gordinier saw Redzepi’s invitation as a gift, a recognition of his talent, and a chance to join the “fierce, focused crew” that made up the chef’s entourage. The search for flavor took the group to Sydney, arctic Norway, Copenhagen, and Mexico, where Redzepi planned a pop-up, Noma Mexico, to investigate “the complexity of Mexican cuisine,” flavors that long had haunted him. The author reports the chef’s ecstatic response to the lush abundance of the markets: tripe, blood sausage, bags of chicken hearts, wild cherries, prickly pears, avocado leaves that smelled like licorice, wondrous tropical fruits, and “galaxies of chiles, oceans of nuts, pyramids of palm sugar, lakes of tamarind paste.” “To watch Redzepi in a Mexican market- place,” Gordinier writes, “…is like getting a contact high from somebody else’s peyote trip.” Redzepi’s “kinetic fixation on propelling himself forward” characterizes the author’s portrait of him: restless, “allergic to inertia,” easily bored. When- ever Redzepi discovered an unfamiliar ingredient, technique,

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 57 Any World War II buff will love this tale of heroism. scholars of mayhem

READING BEHIND BARS she admits, not even fully understanding what a “correctional A Memoir of Literature, facility” really entailed. In a forthright, gently told memoir, the Law, and Life as a Prison author portrays herself as both naïve and well-intentioned as she Librarian deals with inmates—mostly serving time for drunken driving Grunenwald, Jill charges or drug convictions—for whom a prison library meets Skyhorse Publishing (360 pp.) a range of needs. Some read local newspapers, some consult law $25.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 books or, with limited access, LexisNexis; one inmate confesses 978-1-5107-3706-8 that he wants to read the books he should have read in high school; a few take the opportunity to hide behind bookshelves A newly minted librarian discovers to masturbate—one of the many infractions that Grunenwald the importance of reading for prison must report. The library also serves as a place of respite. For inmates. inmates who work as library assistants as well as for those who In 2008, with a fresh degree and few job prospects, Grun- come to read, the library is “a unique pocket of freedom” within enwald (Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the the highly regimented and surveilled prison. What Grunen- Pack, 2017) took her first professional position in a men’s mini- wald encountered on her first day was a huge mess: outdated mum security prison in her native Ohio. Although she came to reference books, mixed-up encyclopedia volumes, inadequate her new job with part-time experience in public libraries and shelving, unprocessed donation books, and two computers for a master’s degree in library and information science, she felt inmate use, one of which was continually broken. In addition, completely unprepared for the restrictive prison environment. she confronted a plethora of rules that governed inmate behav- “I had neither intended nor set out to become a prison librarian,” ior, movement, and her own responsibilities. Quickly, she had to establish her authority. “Power in prison is in constant flux,” she notes, with inmates having the power “to inspire fear within the staff.” After 20 months, “tired and burned out,” Grunen- wald left for another job, hoping she helped some inmates to develop a real love of books. A compassionate perspective on prison life.

SCHOLARS OF MAYHEM My Father’s Secret War in Nazi-Occupied France Guiet, Daniel C. & Smith, Timothy K. Penguin Press (272 pp.) $28.00 | Jun. 4, 2019 978-0-7352-2520-6

A remarkable World War II story of an American within the French Resistance. Guiet teams up with former Fortune senior features editor Smith to tell the story of Guiet’s father, Jean Claude Guiet (1924-2013). At the outbreak of war, Jean Claude and his brother, Pierre, got stuck in France for a year, giving them valuable experience in French life. Fluent in idiomatic French, they were prime targets for recruitment by the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA. OSS head Bill Donovan drew up the plan for American spy services with Britain’s Special Opera- tions Executive. Both brothers were sent to England, Pierre to a desk job and Jean Claude to rigorous training in codes, wireless operations, parachuting, and unconventional warfare. Then he was assigned to an operations group named “Salesman II,” along with three others: Violette the messenger, Philippe the leader, and Bob the explosives expert (last names were never used). The authors make it absolutely clear that they were not spies but rather secret agents, trained for mayhem. Their job was to organize and galvanize the “maquisards,” the guerrilla

58 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | army, to create havoc, and to prevent Nazi troops and materiel WRITING TO PERSUADE from reaching the D-Day landing sites. Though poor weather How to Bring People Over to delayed their arrival in Limoges until the day after D-Day, they Your Side wasted no time finding the maquisards. The problem was to Hall, Trish convince them all to work together. Communists, socialists, Liveright/Norton (256 pp.) and anarchists all disagreed and often trusted no one. Philippe $26.95 | Jun. 11, 2019 managed to pull everyone together, which left the matter of get- 978-1-63149-305-8 ting Allied equipment where it was needed. Those drops were epic in their volume, one involving 72 plane loads; another fea- From the former editor of the New tured tricolor parachutes, which incurred Nazi wrath. In this York Times op-ed page, a book that is part page-turning, exciting book, the authors demonstrate an eye memoir, part self-help, and part writing for significant details and a strong feel for the players. guide. Any World War II buff will love this tale of heroism. At its core, Hall’s text is about becoming a better listener, friend, partner, and citizen. Readers looking for tips on how to run the editorial gauntlet of the New York Times or other top national publications will find a few here. Unfortunately, some of the determining factors are beyond the fledgling writer’s control. As the author clearly shows, your work is more likely to be read by an editor if you are a celebrity, a writer with a following, or someone referred by a journalistic colleague. For those without such advantages who young adult

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 59 A welcome addition to the literature of Castro and Cuba. young castro

hope to rise above the slush pile, the advice is fairly routine: Focus 1956 with the intention of engendering a communist regime— your piece, write clearly and conversationally, tell stories, be spe- only later, because he was shunned by the U.S., did Castro make cific, have a different perspective or experience, surprise the edi- his alliance with the Soviet Union. Castro believed fervently that tor with your story, and delight her with the quality of your prose. Cuba was ripe for revolution and emancipation, and in the disci- Beyond such standard advice, the worth of Hall’s counsel extends plined, restless, and ultimately lucky Castro, the country found well beyond writing, as she illuminates the types of attitudes and its leader at last. While the early period of Castro’s life is not approaches that might make others more receptive or resistant the most exciting, the details in the makeup of the man come and how crucial it is to find common bonds or frames of reference, together for an engaging, astute character study. to engage rather than antagonize. In these times of political polar- A welcome addition to the literature of Castro and ization, she suggests that it’s still possible to find common ground Cuba. (16 pages of b/w photos) and to talk to each other rather than shout past each other. This may not result in publishable opinion pieces or help you persuade anyone of anything, but it might make for a more civil, polite soci- NORMANDY ’44 ety. Near the end, the author offers a helpful section called “How D-Day and the Battle for to Write and Pitch an Op-Ed,” including the advice, “you need to France offer an opinion, not just an analysis of the problem or applause for Holland, James someone else’s solution.” Atlantic Monthly (720 pp.) A lucid book about building bridges through commu- $35.00 | Jun. 4, 2019 nication along with some interesting behind-the-scenes 978-0-8021-2942-0 background at the NYT. A fine account of the familiar but eternally fascinating 1944 Normandy YOUNG CASTRO landing and campaign. The Making of a Veteran military historian Holland Revolutionary (Big Week: The Biggest Air Battle of World War II, 2018, etc.) knows Hansen, Jonathan M. the drill but doesn’t hesitate to wander from the script. He begins Simon & Schuster (496 pp.) with the massive planning of the invasion, emphasizing that $35.00 | Jun. 18, 2019 previous Allied seaborne landings were disasters (Dieppe), near 978-1-4767-3247-3 disasters (Salerno), or disorganized efforts against weak opponents (North Africa, Sicily). According to Allied intelligence, A sympathetic portrait of the younger Normandy would be a far greater operation against a prepared years of the quixotic Cuban “liberal enemy. “Ensuring enough men and materiel were landed quickly nationalist.” enough…before any concentrated enemy counter-attack could Hansen (Latin American History/ be mounted was the absolute number-one priority,” writes the Harvard Univ.; Guantánamo: An American History, 2011, etc.) author. In fact, Germany lacked the resources to fortify more underscores Fidel Castro’s (1926-2016) rise in terms of Cuba’s than 1,000 miles of Atlantic coast, and Holland delivers an expert long, frustrating wait for emancipation from foreign powers. account of their efforts. German Gen. Erwin Rommel, the com- “When Cubans thought they had [independence] in their grasp mander in Northern France, wanted to fight at the beaches; his in 1898,” writes the author, “the United States snatched it away, superiors, including Hitler, wanted an organized defense inland. inaugurating six decades of political and economic subservience Since historians usually prefer Rommel to Hitler, they look that haunts Cuba to this day.” Castro always had a larger vision in kindly on his plan, but it’s unlikely either would have worked. mind, from growing up the son of a “hardworking, serious, unaf- The Allies achieved complete surprise, and success was never in fectionate” farmer near Santiago de Cuba to his education next to doubt. Historians concentrate on the carnage at Omaha Beach; the Havana elite and his immersion in the violent revolutionary Holland points out that the defenders inflicted terrible casualties push back of the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship. Castro believed from their bunkers, but all they could do was shoot. They had that because of his “record of sacrifice” and unswerving dedica- no tanks or reinforcements for a counterattack, and Allied naval tion to the cause that he alone should be the legitimate leader gunnery pounded them mercilessly; they were doomed. Focus- of the revolutionary struggle. Hansen frames this story of young ing on the landing, the Allies paid little attention to what might Castro around the letters the author was granted access to by follow, and it took nearly two more months of bloody fighting the aged Naty Revuelta, a like-minded revolutionary who shared before the Wehrmacht collapsed. A skillful writer, Holland deliv- a two-year mostly epistolary affair with Castro while he was in ers the occasional jolt, such as a mild rehabilitation of Field Mar- prison after the attack on the Moncada military barracks in San- shal Bernard Montgomery. Even contemporaries criticized his tiago de Cuba in July 1953. Sharpening his skills as a leader and careful preparation and slow advances, but the author points out envisioning a new government for Cuba, Castro needed books; that this took maximum advantage of superior Allied resources in particular, he asked Revuelta for books on Franklin Roosevelt’s and saved lives. New Deal. Hansen emphasizes that Castro did not head to Cuba Far from the first but among the better histories of the from exile in Mexico with his ragged band of revolutionaries in Allied invasion of Europe. (maps and photos)

60 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | THE TRUFFLE UNDERGROUND Tasting a white truffle, Jacobs reports, proved so intense that A Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, he felt transported, “momentarily, into an alternate universe, a and Manipulation in the place where flavor mattered more than truth and virtue.” Of Shadowy Market of the the hundreds of truffle species, only a handful are edible, and World’s Most Expensive of these, only two generate passionate “culinary fervor”: the Fungus rare, pale white truffle, “the culinary holy grail,” and black win- Jacobs, Ryan ter truffles, “the crown jewels,” which sell for an astonishing Clarkson Potter (288 pp.) 500 to 1,000 euros per kilo. The truffles’ rarity and scarcity are $16.00 paper | Jun. 4, 2019 the result of a complicated botanical process: Truffles’ spores 978-0-451-49569-3 emit a musk that attracts forest animals, which ingest them and release them as defecation on the forest floor. The spore A rare fungus inspires rapture, deceit, cluster then needs to find a particular tree root in order to ger- and stealth. minate, a process that can take decades; when it burrows into In an entertaining, revealing book debut, Pacific Standard the root’s outer cells, a symbiotic relationship between tree deputy editor Jacobs brings his considerable skills as an inves- and fungus begins, and through several seasons, if temperature tigative reporter to the fiercely competitive business of - mar and moisture are optimal, the truffle produces its edible fruit. keting truffles. Coveted by chefs and wealthy diners, truffles Truffle hunters rely on specially trained dogs to sniff out their inspire rhapsodic descriptions of their earthy aroma and taste. buried quarry, dogs that are vulnerable to stealing or poisoning “There’s something about them that is very primal,” one chef by competitors. Truffles can be farmed as well as hunted, but notes. “They get your attention at a very deep emotional level.” competition is just as furious and “suspicion and paranoia” just young adult

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 61

INTERVIEWS & PROFILES George Packer

HIS BIOGRAPHY OF RICHARD HOLBROOKE IS THE RIVETING LIFE STORY OF A DEEPLY FLAWED DIPLOMAT By Gregory McNamee Photo courtesy Michael Lionstar talking” during peace negotiations in Afghanistan, they shattered him. The quoted words appear in Our Man: Richard Hol brooke and the End of the American Century (May 7), the latest book by George Packer, a staff writer for the New Yorker and author of such politically incisive books as The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America (2013). Perhaps concerned that his place in history wouldn’t be properly recorded, Holbrooke called Packer one day and began to talk. “I was slightly acquainted with him,” Pack- er tells Kirkus. “I was one of the journalists he thought could be of use to him, and he was never shy about being in touch with people he wanted to talk to.” Having made half a century’s worth of enemies and friends in and out of various governments around the world, Holbrooke fell ill not long after his unhappy encounter with Clinton, dying in 2010. “Could Holbrooke have solved Afghanistan?” asks Packer in Our Man. The answer? “I don’t think so,” Packer says. “The best ideas are useless without the ability to bring them into the world.” Having influenced presidents and government officials from the time of John F. Kennedy onward, Hol- brooke had lost his sway by the time of Barack Obama’s second term—but even so, and even if President Obama himself characterized Holbrooke as “disruptive,” Secre- tary Clinton made sure that Holbrooke stayed in govern- Richard C. Holbrooke was a man of parts, a literate ment, sure that he would be useful somehow. and erudite man who, it seems, read everything and knew Was he disruptive? Certainly. But, says Packer, “Hol- everyone. As a diplomat, he traveled the world, pro- brooke was also larger than life. I see him as a 19th-cen- jecting American power, resolving international crises, tury picaresque figure, a man who wanted to be on the soothing ruffled feathers, cajoling, wheedling, sometimes same level as his heroes, statesmen like George Kennan bullying. He helped negotiate treaties and alliances. Per- and Dean Acheson.” Those men saw the world and expe- haps most important, having learned the wasting powers rienced danger and adventure in the service of their coun- of meaningless wars in Vietnam, he brokered a peace in try, and Holbrooke certainly wasn’t shy, either, about put- Bosnia, forcing unwilling enemies to the table to end a ting himself in the line of fire to find out what was hap- bitter ethnic war. pening in the world and put his stamp on it. He was also a pill, impatient, difficult to deal with, in- Packer was working on The Unwinding, absorbed by secure, hurt that he was not elevated to the upper reaches what appeared to be a growing conflict between politi- of power. Small blows amounted to huge assaults on his cal factions and social classes in this country, when re- ego, and as for the larger slights, as when Hillary Clinton nowned policy mavens Strobe Talbott and Les Gelb sug- said that “it wasn’t at all certain he would be doing the gested that he write a biography of Holbrooke. “I decided

62 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | to take it on,” says Packer, “with the condition that there be no strings attached—I would write what I saw.” Next thing he knew, his home office in New York was filled with the contents of Holbrooke’s office across town, file cabinets, boxes of paper, books. “I could barely get to my printer,” Packer says, “but even so, I didn’t get to the Holbrooke papers for three years.” Then he started reading Holbrooke’s journals and letters, one by one, page after page, and, Packer says, he was as pervasive. France and Italy produce the most coveted truf- hooked: “He convinced me posthumously by being so fles; some experts look for “the specific aroma that the Italian brilliant and interesting.” Drawing on that vast archive, terroir imparts,” but other traders are not so particular, knowing that they can sell inferior truffles from Morocco, Tunisia, China, Our Man is filled with smart insights into how govern- and Romania, passing them off as higher quality to buyers who ment and diplomacy work as well as astute observations desire “the appearance of wealth.” on the psychological costs of working in public service, A deftly crafted tale of obsessions and true crime in the a sometimes-thankless, always stressful occupation at culinary world. the higher levels of statecraft. For all that, and for all the weight of the world that Holbrooke carried on his shoul- CULTURE IN ders, Packer also finds in him a character full of life and NAZI GERMANY zest, someone who well deserves that “picaresque” label. Kater, Michael H. Richard Holbrooke is gone, but parts of his legacy live Yale Univ. (472 pp.) on—for one thing, the peace still holds in the former Yu- $35.00 | June 4, 2019 goslavia, for the most part, a quarter-century later. Much 978-0-300-21141-2 of his hard work, though, has been undone in the wake A much-needed study of the aesthet- of the neo-isolationist government now in power. “Hol- ics and cultural mores of the Third Reich, brooke loved America,” writes Packer, adding that what with often surprising turns. we call the American century, a time of “overwhelming Kater (Emeritus, History/York Univ.; young adult evidence that this was a great and generous country,” was Hitler Youth, 2006, etc.), a widely published scholar of the Nazi era, begins with the premise that “in order for a new Nazi type really just a half-century, and one that overlapped in large of culture to take hold, the preceding forms first had to be part with Holbrooke’s working life. wiped out.” These forms were those presumed to be “non-Ger- “Holbrooke would be horrified at what’s going on man” and, indeed, were largely Jewish or African: jazz, modern- now,” says Packer. “He was a liberal internationalist, the ist art, anything smacking of the avant-garde–ism of the Weimar exact opposite of what we have now. He believed that era. Joseph Goebbels was among many Nazi officials who took the lead in bringing music, film, architecture, and the like under we have a responsibility, with all our might and wealth, the control of the regime. Though Hitler had a thorough cul- to be a global leader. Trump is the stake in the heart of tural program in mind, his tastes were not always predictable that idea, and even though we can still be involved in the or widely shared: He may have revered Wagner, but he wasn’t world in a positive way, this is something that I fear will much of a Beethoven fan even if, in 1934, Goebbels, always be a permanent historical shift. My book is a history of pressing for a “German” art, “cut down on the political crudi- something that’s over.” ties and embarked on a campaign of promoting serious music, beginning with a Beethoven cycle in February, followed by rich programs of music by Bach, Handel, Mozart, and Bruckner.” Gregory McNamee is a contributing editor. Our Man received Hitler, like so many readers of German fiction, was a fan of the a starred review in the March 15, 2019, issue. pseudo-Westerns of Karl May, but he had no special interest in farming and so paid little attention to his regime’s emphasis on “blood and soil” novels celebrating farming and the outdoor life. Nazi officials spared a few Jewish practitioners of the arts, but most suffered the same fate as Jews everywhere in the Reich. In a narrative rich in detail and documentation, Kater examines such matters as the plotlines of films in the wake of the defeat at Stalingrad, competition among various Reich figures and min- istries to take the lead in cultural matters, the flight of German intellectuals such as Thomas Mann to the U.S., and the general mediocrity of Nazi art. “The relation between culture and tyranny is a complex one,” Kater concludes. Indeed, and his book does much to make it comprehensible.

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 63 A sad and uplifting, ultimately poignant exploration of a tiny world within a bigger, harsher, and crushing world. this land

THIS LAND oversight, caving to demands of oil, gas, mining, and lumber How Cowboys, industries to “defund and defang” environmental laws, “lead- Capitalism, and ing always to the transfer of the commons into the hands Corruption are Ruining the of the few.” In Utah, “rabid Mormons” stridently insist that American West the “entire federally managed commons” are constitutionally Ketcham, Christopher illegal. Latter-day Saints, Ketcham asserts, are anti-science, Viking (432 pp.) deny climate change, and hold “naked contempt” for envi- $29.00 | Jul. 16, 2019 ronmental regulation. But they are not alone: Enormously 978-0-7352-2098-0 wealthy—and federally subsidized—cattle ranchers, who dominate millions of square miles of public land throughout How arrogance and greed are eviscer- the West, viciously attack lawmakers and activists who dare ating public wilderness. to stand up to them, refuse to acknowledge endangered spe- Making an impressive book debut, journalist Ketcham, a cies, and mount sadistic hunts for wolves and coyotes that, contributor to Harper’s and National Geographic, among other they claim erroneously, threaten their cows. Grassland has publications, reports on his journeys throughout the West been degraded by overgrazing and watersheds contaminated investigating the state of public lands: 450 million acres of by bacteria from cattle waste. Republican and Democratic land—of which national parks are only a minor portion— administrations—including “self-proclaimed protectors” like that are “managed in trust for the American people” by the Barack Obama—have repeatedly betrayed their mandate to U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Both protect the environment. Wildlife Services, a Congressional agencies, argues the author persuasively, have shown inept agency, “kills anything under the sun perceived as a threat to stockmen.” The Nature Conservancy, likewise, has bowed to corporate power, and federal funding has compromised the missions of well-meaning nonprofits. “To save the public lands,” the author maintains, “we need to oppose the capitalist system.” Echoing writers such as Bernard DeVoto, Edward Abbey, and Aldo Leopold, Ketcham underscores the crucial importance of diverse, wild ecosystems and urges “a campaign for public lands that is vital, fierce, impassioned, occasionally dangerous, without hypocrisy, that stands against the tyranny of money.” A sad and uplifting, ultimately poignant exploration of a tiny world within a bigger, harsher, and crushing world.

A DEATH IN THE RAINFOREST How a Language and a Way of Life Came to an End in Papua New Guinea Kulick, Don Algonquin (288 pp.) $26.95 | Jun. 18, 2019 978-1-61620-904-9

How a culture withers and its language is rendered mute. Kulick (Anthropology/Uppsala Univ.; Travesti: Sex, Gender, and Culture Among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes, 1998, etc.) wears his scholar’s hat casually in this deeply personal, engaging inquiry into a “tiny windless slit in the rainforest [of Papua New Guinea]…surrounded on all sides by massive trees rooted in a vast, seemingly boundless swamp.” A small village of roughly 100 people, Gapun has its own unique language, Tayap. The author renders his academic research in a light, almost novelistic style, with plenty of drama and heart- ache. He invokes anthropologist Margaret Mead’s conviction that we should “learn from difference.” From 1985 to 2014, Kulick lived in the village seven times, once for 15 months. The

64 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | villagers called him Saraki and thought him a dead person, a expectations low, and your heart open.” It is advice she tries white ghost, a “harbinger of the change they want so badly.” He to follow in mothering her recovering son, and she maintains immersed himself in their lives and culture and learned their an open-hearted compassion toward mothers battling similar unique language, later writing a grammar. The linguistic part of addictions. At the same time, she shows just how tough some the book may be a bit much for some, but Kulick does a fine job decisions can be when lives are on the line. describing the language’s origins, how he learned it, and how In a concise book, Lamb ably demonstrates the chal- it differs from the country’s national language, Tok Pisin. The lenges and pitfalls of passing judgment in such an imper- author discusses their cuisine, especially their main staple, sago, fect world. a raw form of flour, maggot stew, and chewed betel leaves; how they educate and raise their children, never hitting them; their sex practices; and creative swearing, which is mostly done by women. Kulick also recounts a harrowing episode when gun- men from outside tried to rob him and a villager was killed. He understands that they want to change, but he wonders, at what cost? Few now speak their precious and irreplaceable language: The “mighty tree that once was Tayap has been whittled down to a skinny toothpick.” A sad and uplifting, ultimately poignant exploration of a tiny world within a bigger, harsher, and crushing world.

THE NOT GOOD young adult ENOUGH MOTHER Lamb, Sharon Beacon (216 pp.) $24.95 | Jun. 4, 2019 978-0-8070-8246-1

A psychologist often hired as an expert witness to judge the suitability of other mothers develops doubt about her own mothering. As the person who is often put in the position of deciding whether a child should remain in a foster home, be placed for adoption, or returned to their birth parents, Lamb (Counseling Psychology/Univ. of Massachu- setts Boston; Sex Ed for Caring Schools, 2013, etc.) has long recognized that such decisions aren’t as black-and-white as courts would like them to be. So many of the parents have had issues with addiction, and the author knows well that relapse is usually part of recovery and that lying is a frequent character trait that further confuses the issue. Her understanding of addiction has been deepened by her own experience as the mother of an addict whose deception long fooled her, whose recovery has been punctuated by relapse, and who has left her feeling guilty about whether she is a good enough mother. “Why didn’t I just take over his life then and there, put him on one of those toddler leashes I used to look at with disgust?” she asks after her son suffered another life-threatening relapse. “The average number of relapses for opiate abusers,” she writes, “is seven to nine, and…it takes a while to get clean and stay clean.” Ultimately, she asks, “is it the pattern of standard recovery or of repeated failure?” While lawyers hire her to determine what’s best for the child in a given situation, she knows from her own experience that there is only so much anyone can predict or control. She has learned from Alcoholics Anonymous that the best strategy is to “keep your boundaries high, your

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 65 A treasure all its own. Anyone who cares to ponder the world beneath our feet will find this to be an essential text. underland

UNDERLAND “was found to possess its own weather system,” with layers A Deep Time Journey of dank cold mist that never see sunlight. From there, the Macfarlane, Robert author moves on to other places that require us to “go low,” Norton (496 pp.) into places that humans usually venture only to hide things— $27.95 | Jun. 4, 2019 treasure, sacred texts, bodies. Now that many such places 978-0-393-24214-0 are making themselves known, exposed during construction excavations and unveiled by melting permafrost, “things that An exploration of the little-vis - should have stayed buried are rising up unbidden”—treasure ited realms of the Earth, from deep sometimes, more often just bodies. All of this is occasion for caves to bunkers, trenches to Bronze Macfarlane, a gifted storyteller and poetic writer, to ponder Age burial chambers, courtesy of an what historians have called “deep time,” the time that is accomplished Virgil. measured in geological rather than human terms and against Macfarlane (The Lost Words, 2018, etc.), who has pretty which the existence of our kind is but a blip. Even places well well revived single-handedly the fine British tradition of known or celebrated in antiquity—from the underworld of literary natural history writing, can usually be found atop The Epic of Gilgamesh to the Iron Age mines of the Mendip mountains. In his latest, he heads in the opposite direction, Hills of southwestern England—are recent points on the probing the depths of the Earth to find the places in which map of that ancient landscape. As he moves from continent humans have invested considerable imaginative attention to continent, Macfarlane instructs us on how to see those yet fear to tread. He opens with a cave network discovered places, laced with secrets and mysteries (“all taxonomies in China’s Chongqing province only a few years ago that crumble, but fungi leave many of our fundamental categories in ruin”). Wherever he travels, he enhances our sense of wonder‚ which, after all, is the whole point of storytelling. A treasure all its own. Anyone who cares to ponder the world beneath our feet will find this to be an essential text. (24 illustrations)

THIS LAND IS OUR LAND An Immigrant’s Manifesto Mehta, Suketu Farrar, Straus and Giroux (320 pp.) $27.00 | Jun. 4, 2019 978-0-374-27602-7

Mehta (Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found, 2004), an immigrant from India who now teaches journalism at New York University, turns in a powerful defense of movement in search of better lives. “Why are you in my country?” So asked an exasperated Briton of Mehta’s grandfather, who had come to London. The answers were several, not least of them the fact that the British had, of course, come unbidden to India, and the same question applied to them: “They stole our minerals and corrupted our governments so that their corporations could continue stealing our resources.” More to the point, though, the author—who notes that at least a quarter of a billion people now live in countries other than the ones in which they were born—writes that immigrants bring economic vitality, diversity, and cultural health to the places to which they come. Sometimes, they’re not coming in the numbers that one might desire, as in the case of Indians who choose to remain at home rather than staff the depleted ranks of IT workers in Germany, a place that, like so many other European nations, is now experiencing nativist resentment and the far-right politics that ensue. Why move there, asks Mehta, to a place where hatred and division reign? It’s not

66 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | just Donald Trump’s America, though Trump’s America is a was unsafe and would only get less safe as the economy grew poster child for this sort of intolerance: Mehta notes that more dependent on technology. This was classic market fail- Indians fear Bangladeshis, South Africans fear Zimbabweans, ure, compounded by political failure.” and so on. Even so, and despite obstacles, the author writes A quick tale of black hats and white hats, with a lot of that “mass migration is the defining human phenomenon of gray area in between. the twenty-first century,” probably one that cannot be contained. Nor should we want to, for, despite Trumpian pro- testations that the country is full, Mehta counters, “America has succeeded, and achieved its present position of global dominance, because it has always been good at importing the talent it needs.” An intelligent, well-reasoned case for freedom of movement in an era of walls and fences.

CULT OF THE DEAD COW How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World Menn, Joseph

PublicAffairs (256 pp.) young adult $28.00 | Jun. 4, 2019 978-1-5417-6238-1

Computer pranksters and the internet come of age together, as the former become the leading security experts on the latter, joining forces with and against corporations and governments alike. “In its earliest days, the chief moral issues for the teens in the [hacking collective] Cult of the Dead Cow were how badly to abuse long-distance calling cards and how offensive their online posts should be,” writes Reuters technology reporter Menn (Fatal System Error: The Hunt for the New Crime Lords Who Are Bringing Down the Internet, 2010, etc.). “But as they matured, the hackers quickly became critical thinkers in an era when that skill was in short supply….They all helped push a realistic understanding of security challenges and ethical considerations into mainstream conversations in Silicon Valley and Washington.” The author narrates a fast-paced story about how a little-known movement that could trace its roots to the psychedelic rock of the 1960s—one visionary was the son of the Jefferson Airplane’s drummer while another was a lyricist for the Grateful Dead—would eventually serve as security advisory for the Pentagon, the cybernet - ics industry, and geopolitical forces around the globe. Menn introduces many characters who were formerly anonymous or deeply underground, known only by their “cDc” monikers, the names by which they posted during the days before the World Wide Web, when bulletin boards attracted kindred spirits. The group had its genesis in the remote outpost of Lubbock, Texas, but its influence eventually extended from San Francisco to Boston and beyond, as computer technology triumphed over geographical logistics. They recognized the porousness of the web’s security because they had pen- etrated it, and they knew that those insisting that information was secure were in denial. They knew that “everything

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 67 in m.r. o’connor’s wayfinding, there’s a clear lesson: turn off the gps

Some years ago, a British university issued a study of EYES IN THE SKY children’s geographical knowledge of the areas around The Secret Rise of Gorgon Stare and How It Will Watch their homes. In the 1960s, when all kids had bikes and Us All no instructions other than to be home at suppertime, Michel, Arthur Holland children knew the contours of an area extending four Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (336 pp.) or five miles in any given direction. In the 2000s, with $28.00 | Jun. 18, 2019 fearful parents who ferried them around amid over- 978-0-544-97200-1 managed schedules, that territory had shrunk to two or A look at airborne spycraft and how, three blocks. “someday, most major developed cities… That’s a tragedy in the making, will live under the unblinking gaze of because new places mean new expe- some form of wide-area surveillance.” Drone surveillance unsettles civil liberties advocates, but riences mean new knowledge. New they will have much more to discuss regarding an eye in the sky knowledge means a better workout that observes everyone all the time. That all-seeing entity is for the hippocampus, the part of the subject of this disturbing account from Michel, co-director the brain that governs our memo- of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College. The military mostly employs drones for observation, but their cam- ries and our abilities to plan ahead. eras are helpless against improvised explosive devices planted A bigger hippocampus means a along roads. Dealing with IEDs requires 24-hour surveillance more active mind. The converse, of huge areas. Suspicious actors can be followed. Once an IED of course, is true as well, yielding a M.R. O’Connor explodes, one simply rewinds the tape, watches insurgents plant the bomb, and then retraces their steps to the base of operation. world of dullards. Cameras with this ability require immense computer power and “The number and complexity of navigational tasks expensive technical backup, but diligent research has produced a person practices influences the amount of gray- mat several systems now deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. ter,” writes Brooklyn-based journalist M.R. O’Connor in The cameras remain a work in progress. The author excels in her new book explaining their bumpy development but reveals little about Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How their effectiveness on the battlefield; this is classified informa- Humans Navigate the World (April 30). That’s a conclusion tion, so spokesmen provide only vague, optimistic details. What she happened on while researching her book, which was Michel makes vividly clear is that civilian authorities yearn for born, she says, by way of a chance this technology, and entrepreneurs supplying the military are meditation on technology. “I anxious to branch out. The FBI and many police departments are flying prototypes, which have sometimes proved success- looked at my phone one day, and I ful in tracing criminal activities. Is this a preliminary to the thought, Wow, I used to not have all-seeing eye of Nineteen Eighty-Four? “To be sure,” writes the this thing and had to get around author, “aerial surveillance can certainly be used for purposes we on my own. Now I have this piece can all agree upon….But there is a very real line beyond which the all-seeing eye becomes a dragnet that is incompatible with of technology, and I use it all the the tenets of civil liberty.” So far, public opposition has quashed time. I don’t have to think about local efforts at permanent surveillance, but this will change as getting places. Isn’t that interest- accuracy improves and law-and-order advocates extol the ben- ing? I wonder what it’s doing to efits. Michel concludes with a review of legal safeguards that, in a perfect world, will accompany these programs. my brain.” A skilled, mildly alarmist overview of another dazzling The lesson from O’Connor’s if intrusive technology. (26 b/w illustrations) book, a model of scientific journalism, seems clear: Turn off the GPS and the phone, grab a map, head out the door, explore at leisure, stretch your brain and your spatial memory—and grow your freedom. —G.M.

Wayfinding received a starred review in the Feb. 1, 2019, issue.

68 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | Accessible, informative, and entertaining— first-rate popular science reporting. the moon

THE MOON of the Dream: Why School Integration Works, 2019, etc.) shows A History for clearly how Donald Trump, with his “intentionally nonlin- the Future ear presidency,” established a Cabinet consisting of crucially Morton, Oliver inexperienced individuals in public service, each remarkably PublicAffairs (352 pp.) unqualified to assume key pivotal decision-making roles in $28.00 | Jun. 4, 2019 politics. In an assembly both “overwhelmingly male, and over- 978-1-5417-7432-2 whelmingly old,” each member was lauded for their elite status and financial worth and, to the author, “wealth that was tacky An engaging, multifaceted view of and vulgar, wealth desperate for recognition, wealth that could the moon. only have been an insult to the average citizens whose tribune British science writer and editor Mor- Trump vowed to be in Washington.” Nazaryan provides glaring ton (The Planet Remade: How Geo-engineer examples of the rampant conflicts of interests and ethical red ing Could Change the World, 2016, etc.) provides an account that flags by meticulously detailing the head-scratching nomina- is not only rich in facts, but leavened with fiction, for the author tion hearings of Betsy DeVos, a fundamentalist conservative seems to have read widely in the literature of science fiction to Christian with a skewed view of an education official’s priori- show the interest, ideas, and fantasies people have had about our ties; Steve Mnuchin, secretary of the Treasury, who filed false nearest companion in the solar system. To show how the moon financial asset disclosures upon his appointment; Rick Perry, has been perceived by humans over the centuries, he draws on the Department of Energy secretary who was blatantly unsure Renaissance paintings, Victorian works, music, Robert Hein- of what his position actually governed; wealthy investor–cum– lein’s novels, and transcripts of conversations between Apollo commerce secretary Wilbur Ross; and Department of Housing

astronauts and mission control in Houston. A respected writer and Urban Development nominee Ben Carson, who lacked any young adult on a variety of space-related topics, Morton presents solid facts governmental or federal agency experience whatsoever. While about the moon, including its size, mass, surface features, orbit, this type of bureaucratic runaway train is not news to political atmosphere (or lack thereof), and, importantly, light. As the watchdogs, the author manages to put a fresh spin on a dire sit- subtitle suggests, the author also looks at the future, and he uation with snarky humor and wince-inducing facts, though his reports that although a half-century has passed since man first intense contempt at times borders on unnecessary mudsling- walked on the moon, its exploration is far from over. In fact, he ing. While he also identifies countless other impurities infil- writes, “a flotilla of robotic payloads is slated to beach up on trating the political stream—Priebus, Pruitt, Spicer, Bannon the lunar surface in the next five or so years, some from estab- et al.—thankfully, he balances these out by documenting how lished spacefaring powers like China, India and American, some imprudence and circumstance caught up to the pack and an from newcomers, such as Israel and Canada. Some will be paid incremental exodus ensued. Many others surprisingly remain in for as business investments, and some as philanthropy, instead power, and Nazaryan is pleased to call out the remaining politi- of by governments, and some by money from all those sources. cal “backbenchers of public and private life” whose tenures con- Some will get there under their own steam; some will pay for a tinue to crumble beneath the weight of unmet expectations. ride on another company’s, or country’s, bus. Some will be given A dizzying, tragicomic crash course in contemporary their rides for free.” The author also explores moon-mining, the political incapacities. production of solar energy, and space tourism. He predicts that humans will likely return to the moon, perhaps to stay, maybe even setting up bases and villages; indeed, the moon could well OUT OF THE SHADOWS become a steppingstone to Mars. Reimagining Gay Men’s Lives Accessible, informative, and entertaining—first-rate Odets, Walt popular science reporting. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (368 pp.) $28.00 | Jun. 4, 2019 978-0-374-28585-2 THE BEST PEOPLE Trump’s Cabinet and the A San Francisco–based clinical Siege on Washington psychologist explores how gay men Nazaryan, Alexander construct fulfilling lives through self- Hachette (304 pp.) acceptance and an awareness of their $28.00 | Jun. 18, 2019 individual core instincts. 978-0-316-42143-0 With an understanding of the difficult challenges gay men face in America, Odets (In the Shadow of the Epidemic: Being HIV– A disheartening portrait of the alter- Negative in the Age of AIDS, 1995) shares case studies and personal nately incompetent and corrupt Cabinet stories from his years working during the AIDS epidemic and the of the current administration. aftermath. These serve as examples to help gay men consider how In his scathing critique, Yahoo News they can move beyond negative family and societal influences to national affairs correspondent Nazaryan (co-author: Children live more satisfying lives. The author views gay men as living in

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 69 “tripartite communities, with significant psychological and social surely have killed myself,” she writes. “The landscape of self- differences that define each group”: older-group, middle-group, loathing I traversed was so treacherous that the only thing that and younger-group men, each defined by age and social awareness could have possibly saved me were those moments of beauty in relation to the AIDS epidemic, from the often fatal trauma I hunted—accidentally at first, and then deliberately, and in of the early years to the introduction of highly active antiretro- earnest.” In recounting her stories and her various emotional viral therapy in 1996 and to the more technologically advanced states, Pastiloff’s prose is occasionally overwrought. Though present era. Odets closely examines the negative impacts of early her followers will surely relate to most of the author’s stories, life experiences, often triggered by a lack of family and/or com- newcomers may find her style heavy-handed. Eventually, after munity acceptance, and stresses the need for self-acceptance training to become a yoga instructor, Pastiloff began to find her in order to move forward. “Self-acceptance allows realistic self- calling, and elements of her platform emerged. At this midway confidence, which is significantly unhinged in adulthood from point in the text, the narrative gains more energy and substance. the expectations and approval of others,” he writes. “In the end, Though still reliant on feel-good aphorisms—chapter headings authentic self-acceptance—or lack of it—is almost the entirety include “Embracing Change” and “Make Room for the Possible of what defines a life.” The author’s writing is perceptive and hon- and the Impossible”—the author ultimately clearly conveys her est, as he openly discusses relationships and sex and accurately authentic intentions. By the end, many readers will admire her relates the struggles each generation has experienced. These tenacity and open-hearted mission. reflect both similarities as well as differences and the difficul- For self-help fans and seekers of self-empowerment, ties in finding a genuine sense of community, especially within this is an inspiring memoir with tips for overcoming and urban gay meccas. Odets convincingly argues for the benefits of maybe prospering from the chaotic or disappointing ele- talk therapy, with each story revealing how some level of personal ments that comprise an imperfect life. growth was achieved. One issue: Though his cases reflect a broad range of ethnic and racial examples, the overwhelming majority of his profiles are about affluent individuals, all of whom can THE STORY OF THE afford years of ongoing therapy. DINOSAURS IN 25 Though it could have been even more diverse in its pre- DISCOVERIES sentation, this is an encouraging and deeply compelling Amazing Fossils and the study of how gay men can build meaningful identities. People Who Found Them Prothero, Donald R. Columbia Univ. (488 pp.) ON BEING HUMAN $35.00 | Jul. 16, 2019 A Memoir of Waking Up, 978-0-231-18602-5 Living Real, and Listening Hard A smooth education on dinosaurs Pastiloff, Jennifer through the history of the discovery of Dutton (336 pp.) their bones. $27.00 | Jun. 4, 2019 Paleontologist and geological researcher Prothero con- 978-1-5247-4356-7 tinues his series of books on significant scientific discoveries, following The Story of Earth in 25 Rocks (2018) and The Story An inspirational speaker and yoga of Life in 25 Fossils (2015). The author begins in England. Since instructor shares her life story along with the Bible describes human giants, those were considered the motivational tips and exercises from her source of most of the large bones that were unearthed, until popular workshops. the turn of the 19th century. Many of these old bones ended Over the past several years, Pastiloff has built an abundant up in Oxford’s anatomy collection, where, in 1818, the famous international following for her On Being Human workshops, French anatomist George Cuvier took a look and decided they inspiring retreat gatherings in which she offers a fusion of were the remains of a huge lizard. “Huge lizard” in Greek is yoga movement, motivational writing, and communal sharing. megalosaurus, the first dinosaur to be named. European natu- In her debut memoir, she digs into the significant life events ralists began turning up impressive numbers of fossils, but that led her to this unusual entrepreneurial opportunity. She they were soon trumped in post–Civil War America, where reflects on childhood and family dynamics, personal losses, the famous “bone wars” saw two wealthy paleontologists con- past boyfriends, her struggles with depression and increasing duct a vicious competition to exploit massive fossil beds in hearing loss, and day-to-day encounters while waitressing at a the West. In his chapters on the 20th and 21st century, Pro- restaurant in Los Angeles. Though her career steps may seem thero describes a stream of new finds revealing larger, smaller, unremarkable on the surface, the author stresses her evolving and weirder dinosaurs who could have been brightly colored, talent for remaining receptive and present throughout these feathered, warmblooded creatures moving in herds and car- experiences, enabling her to recognize beautiful moments as ing for their eggs. Despite the cheery title, generous illustra- they occur. “It was there at the restaurant that I first began tions, and plethora of anecdotes about eccentric bone hunters, to pay attention to the beauty, because if I hadn’t, I would this is a serious primer on dinosaur science. Readers will learn

70 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | Readers who prize outdoor experiences—and tiny houses and the simple life—will find this book a source of much pleasure, bears and all. outpost

how studying bones determines what is and isn’t a dinosaur. GEORGE MARSHALL Ancient reptiles that flew or swam in the ocean don’t qualify, Defender of the but modern birds do. Determining what extinct creatures Republic looked like remains difficult; the heads are often missing, the Roll, David L. skeletons incomplete, and the discoverers too opinionated. At Dutton Caliber (704 pp.) the end of each chapter, the author provides a useful list of $34.00 | Jul. 9, 2019 books for further reading. 978-1-101-99097-1 Solid proof that dinosaurs through scientific eyes are no less fascinating than they are in the movies. (illustrations An overdue, authoritative biography of throughout) one of America’s greatest soldier-statesmen. Roll (The Hopkins Touch: Harry Hop kins and the Forging of the Alliance to OUTPOST Defeat Hitler, 2013, etc.) emphasizes that George Marshall Richards, Dan (1880-1959), a brilliant staff officer, always impressed his supe- Canongate (288 pp.) riors. A favorite of Cmdr. John Pershing, he became aide-de- $28.00 | Jul. 2, 2019 camp when the general served as Army Chief of Staff from 978-1-78689-155-6 1921 to 1924, and few were surprised when Marshall attained that office in 1939. The author excels in describing the period Literate journeys to some of the from Germany’s 1939 invasion of Poland until Pearl Harbor, world’s less-traveled places, seen through when Marshall urged rearmament and Franklin Roosevelt,

an unusual lens. aware that most voters opposed it, proceeded too cautiously young adult British travel writer Richards (Climb for his taste. Opposition vanished after Pearl Harbor, to be ing Days, 2016, etc.) comes by his wan- replaced by questions of strategy, and here, Marshall’s record derlust naturally. Before he was born, his is spotty. He advised defeating Germany before taking the father spent time in the remotest reaches offensive against Japan and invading France in 1942 or 1943 of Svalbard, the Arctic island chain, from which he brought instead of expending resources on the periphery: North home a polar bear’s pelvis. As he writes in an arresting open- Africa and Italy. Always congenial, Roosevelt agreed and then, ing, the object fascinated Richards, but more so the thought after listening to public opinion, Churchill, and other advis- of living in a shelter such as the one his father called Hotel ers, changed his mind. After the war, President Harry Truman California, which a bear would probably tear apart in a minute. sent Marshall to China to end its civil war in what everyone “An unremarkable garden shed, the only thing that makes it a agrees was an impossible assignment. Appointed secretary of shed of note is the fact it’s there, stood on Svalbard,” he writes state in 1947, he vigorously supported the European Recov- before embarking on a fascinating series of journeys. There are ery Program, which became known as the Marshall Plan. He the literarily famous sheds, of course, such as Thoreau’s cabin resigned in 1949 but returned as secretary of defense in 1950 at Walden Pond and the one Jack Kerouac scaled a mighty during the nadir of the Korean War, when he helped restore Cascade peak to groove in, guided by Gary Snyder. Richards confidence in the armed forces. He resigned permanently in climbed the same mountain, having eaten a burger the night 1951 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953, the only serv- before with the admonishment that the joint would be dead, ing military officer to do so. Roll admits that America would “D.E.D. Ded,” in a quarter-hour, “the most American thing ever have won World War II even with a less competent chief of said.” The author also traveled to Iceland to visit “houses of staff, and many of his decisions remain controversial, but he joy,” which serve as “refuge stations for travellers crossing the was a thoroughly admirable, surprisingly quirk-free figure who, hinter/highlands,” joy-giving spots that offer shelter from the even during his life, seemed larger-than-life. storm, “modern bunkhouses on ancient foundations.” Some of Despite not straying far from the almost universal ven- the sheds, huts, and shelters Richards chronicles are works of eration, this is a definitive, nuanced portrait. art, literally, such as a Danish construction called Shedboatshed: “I liked it the moment I saw it as a shed at Tate Britain and took an even greater pleasure in it once I’d learnt its backstory.” Oth- ers are invested with meaning, such as the Japanese mountain stronghold called Nageire-dō, “the Oz of shrines.” The author was also able to travel to Svalbard to have a look for himself. Readers who prize outdoor experiences—and tiny houses and the simple life—will find this book a source of much pleasure, bears and all.

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 71 THE BEAUTIFUL NO Starr (Sociology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.; Rem And Other Tales of Trial, edy and Reaction: The Peculiar American Struggle over Health Care Transcendence, and Reform, 2011, etc.), the co-founder and co-editor of American Transformation Prospect magazine and winner of both the Bancroft Prize and Salata, Sheri the Pulitzer Prize, returns with a scholarly look at “entrench- Harper Wave/HarperCollins (288 pp.) ment,” which he defines as “the making of changes [in our polit- $26.99 | Jun. 4, 2019 ical and social systems] that then become hard to undo and that 978-0-06-274319-0 increase the resistance to stress at the foundations of society.” His organization is conventional and historical: He defines the The story of one woman’s reinven- terms, distinguishes between various methods of and paths to tion after a 20-year career as an executive entrenchment, and examines the effects of power and wealth, producer on the Oprah Winfrey Show. stories of slavery and immigration, and the power of rules estab- After two decades working alongside one of the most lished by the powerful (rules designed to retain power—e.g., the famous women in the world, Salata, who eventually became cutting of taxes on the wealthy, the control of voting rights, the the co-president of Harpo Studios and OWN, was ready for a appointment of like-minded judges). The author also discusses change. Despite her impressively successful career, the author, the entrenchment of—and threats to—social welfare programs, moving toward her late 50s, felt unfulfilled, and she had the feel- and he comments on the notion that some deserve health care ing that there was more to come. She had dreams that had been and public assistance while others do not. He also looks at two shelved for years and knew it was time to dust them off. First, dire threats: “oligarchy and populist nationalism.” Although however, she needed to reconcile issues with her past, primar- Starr’s principal focus is the history of the United States, he also ily her weight fluctuations and her romantic relationships. “The leaps across the pond occasionally to comment about similar reckoning—my reckoning, your reckoning—is not about self- situations in the U.K., France, Scandinavia, and other countries judgment,” she writes. “It’s about hope. It’s the beginning of the dealing with similar issues. He initially avoids any specific refer- stirring up of possibility. It’s the seed of the tiniest momentum ences to the current political situation in America, but by the that propels you beyond the ruts you are stuck in, the routine end, he lands on Donald Trump, who “embodies this fusion of you have so dedicatedly constructed over decades.” The author oligarchy and populism and the simultaneous pursuit of enrich- blends moments of humor—e.g., her stint at a spa that featured ment and entrenchment.” The final pages are admonitory—and “daily colonics,” a liposuction episode—with memorable advice apprehensive—as the author expresses a sober concern about she has absorbed from 20 years working with Oprah and her the survival of American democracy. innumerable guests. Salata shares how she and her good friend, An erudite book featuring important concepts and con- who was also looking for a life change, made a commitment to vincing research, but it’s a text whose diction and political support each other unconditionally, and she stresses the impor- leanings will appeal primarily to like-minded academic tance of such valuable friendships, especially later in life. The readers. author does meander a bit—she gives readers an inside look at life with her dogs and how she went from being an employee at a convenience store to eventually snagging her dream job—but THE KENNEDY HEIRS on the whole, the narrative maintains a steady beat of useful John, Caroline, and the New advice coupled with honesty and wit, making this an empower- Generation—A Legacy of ing read for women of all ages but especially those 50 and above Triumph and Tragedy who are seeking a change. Taraborrelli, J. Randy Honest reflections on a life well-lived and how the next St. Martin’s (624 pp.) chapter looks to be even better. $29.99 | Jun. 11, 2019 978-1-250-17406-2

ENTRENCHMENT The prolific celebrity biographer Wealth, Power, and the delivers another Kennedy family saga, Constitution of Democratic this time focusing on the 29 individuals Societies comprising the “third generation” of the famed clan. Starr, Paul In this sprawling post-Camelot account, Taraborrelli (Jackie, Yale Univ. (280 pp.) Janet & Lee: The Secret Lives of Janet Auchincloss and Her Daughters $28.50 | Jun. 25, 2019 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill, 2018, etc.) details 978-0-300-23847-1 the lives of the third generation—the grandchildren of Joe and Rose Kennedy—as they have tried to live up to Kennedy val- An examination of how democracies ues (honor, family, loyalty) while failing to cope with the mur- have had difficulty rising, have endured ders of John F. (1963) and Bobby (1968). Growing up in families threats of all sorts (wars, economic cri- that never discussed the assassinations among themselves and ses), and now face new and perhaps even more ominous threats. offered few healing mechanisms to their children, the young

72 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | A brisk study of the history and meaning of an especially contentious punctuation mark. semicolon

heirs often self-medicated with alcohol and drugs. Innumerable from chapter to chapter, she brings a gadfly’s spirit to the infidelities, confrontations, and divorces run through this soap proceedings, thoughtfully lobbying for written English that opera, which teems with intimate views of angry, heavy-drink- resists restrictions and recognizes that “rules will be, just as ing matriarch Ethel, mother of Bobby’s 11 children; Ted, who they always have been, inadequate to form a protective fence kept the family together, and his wife, Joan, both “unpredict- around English.” The value of the semicolon may be no clearer able, alcoholic parents”; and the smiling, seemingly happy chil- by the end. But then, it’s a form of punctuation defined by dren, who struggled inside, some wanting “anything other than ambiguity. to be Kennedys.” Taraborrelli rehashes Bobby’s son Michael’s Sprightly and scholarly, this will appeal to grammar affair with a 16-year-old babysitter; the murder conviction geeks who are patient with Watson’s free-range sensibility. of Ethel’s nephew Michael Skakel; David Kennedy’s death by cocaine overdose; JFK Jr.’s death in a plane crash, and so on. “Terrible things have happened to the Kennedys,” writes the THE POWER OF HUMAN author, “sometimes by fate and circumstance, sometimes by How Our Shared Humanity their own volition.” Taraborrelli’s depictions of Caroline’s ther- Can Help Us Create a Better apy as a child and the family’s expectation that Bobby Jr., who World made drug runs to Harlem, would run for president, are unset- Waytz, Adam tling. All of this is recounted against the glitz, wealth, and his- Norton (272 pp.) torical role of the family, the ever present paparazzi, the family $26.95 | Jun. 25, 2019 pressure to excel, and the children’s careers in politics and other 978-0-393-63476-1 fields. No scandal or luxurious dining room goes overlooked.

A doorstop of a melodrama. Kennedy die-hards will It’s hard work being human—and young adult love it. (16-page color photo insert; 16-page b/w insert) putting up with other humans. How- ever, writes social psychologist Waytz (Northwestern Univ.), it’s necessary in the face of creeping SEMICOLON dehumanism. The Past, Present, and Future In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, calls have of a Misunderstood Mark come for increased attention to civility and empathy toward Watson, Cecelia those who didn’t vote the way we did. The enmity, writes the Ecco/HarperCollins (224 pp.) author, comes from not “seeing human,” not admitting the $19.99 | Jul. 30, 2019 humanity of the other—and never mind, as the writer Chi- 978-0-06-285305-9 mamanda Ngozi Adichie observed, that “the responsibility to forge unity belongs not to the denigrated but to the denigra- A brisk study of the history and tors.” Waytz enumerates the many ways in which we regularly meaning of an especially contentious dehumanize the other, as drone pilots call the children they’ve punctuation mark. bombed “fun-sized terrorists,” pornography turns sexuality What is a semicolon for? What rules into something clinical, and the like. He observes, for instance, guide its usage? Consensus is hard to come by. Indeed, as Wat- that between 1970 and the present, the number of people who son (Language and Thinking Program/Bard Coll.) explains in responded positively in a poll to the proposition that humans this informed and witty book, efforts to pin the semicolon can be trusted has declined precipitously—a decline that he down have only made it slipperier. A 15th-century Venetian links, but not as closely as one might wish, to income inequal- publisher introduced the mark at a time when punctuation ity. Reversing trends of polarization and stratification will be was employed more loosely, to signal pauses and underscore important in maintaining any semblance of a civil society, he rhythms rather than serve grammatical correctness. Since writes. Observing that people “behave more morally toward then, despite diktats from the Chicago Manual of Style and individuals than groups,” the author counsels applying the elsewhere, satisfying guidance remains fleeting. Fittingly but “power of human” of his title, working under the assumption also a bit frustratingly, the author structures her book in a that we are all more influential than we might think in model- semicolon-ish way; the chapters are loosely related but not ing behavior—for, as he writes, “fitting in with others, by doing always closely connected. A history of the semicolon gives way what they do, feels good.” Still, Waytz allows that “empathy is to an extended digression on squabbles among 19th-century cognitively demanding because getting inside of another mind grammar gurus; a discussion of how semicolons impacted Bos- draws on finite working memory, our capacity to hold and pro- ton drinking laws and a death sentence gives way to an op-ed cess information,” which is already overtaxed. It is especially riff on the messiness of legal interpretations; close analyses demanding on those whose work requires “emotional labor,” of passages by Raymond Chandler, Irvine Welsh, and Her- such as first responders, teachers, and service personnel. man Melville flow into Watson’s own usage advice and cri- An interesting foray into the realm of emotional intel- tiques of the perceived snobbery of high style in general. If ligence, with good questions raised if not always entirely the author isn’t padding, she sometimes seems determined to answered. stretch the scope of the book beyond its stated subject. Yet

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 may 2019 | 73 CITY OF OMENS ELVIS IN VEGAS A Search for the Missing How the King Reinvented the Women of the Borderlands Las Vegas Show Werb, Dan Zoglin, Richard Bloomsbury (304 pp.) Simon & Schuster (304 pp.) $28.00 | Jun. 4, 2019 $28.00 | Jul. 23, 2019 978-1-63557-299-5 978-1-5011-5119-4

An epidemiologist investigates the In a spectacular Las Vegas show, Elvis rash of female deaths in and around Presley (1935-1977) revived his flagging Tijuana. career. For the past decade, Tijuana has Entertainment journalist Zoglin (Hope: seen a drastic uptick in crime, most notably in the deaths and Entertainer of the Century, 2014, etc.) uses Elvis’ 1969 comeback to suspicious disappearances of women. After completing his recount a history of Las Vegas from 1931, when Nevada became doctorate in epidemiology and biostatistics in 2013, Werb trav- the first state to legalize gambling, to its current iteration as a vaca- eled to the city to “dive into the purgatories Tijuana could pro- tion destination boasting lavish, theme park–like hotels, designer duce,” including the region’s sex trade at Zona Norte and the shops, gourmet restaurants, blockbuster performers (Celine arid, festering River Canal area. The author began his probing Dion, Elton John, and Lady Gaga, to name a few), and high- examination with a visit to a needle-exchange initiative. As a tech, hugely expensive extravaganzas, such as Cirque du Soleil. white Canadian, Werb stood out as he was escorted through Before focusing on Elvis, the author reprises stories about “the the toxic cityscape to meet the indigent and drug-addicted boozing, macho Rat Pack” and many other headliners who people who call the storm drainage shafts and canal tunnels drew crowds at the city’s glitziest hotel, the Sands. “Sinatra was home. The author’s steely focus and smooth, vivid prose make the king,” Zoglin writes, “Vegas’s undisputed Most Valuable his encounters, which are often heartbreaking, come fully to Player,” selling out his shows and attracting wealthy gamblers life. He writes about how overdoses, murder, and rampant, to the casinos. The 1960s, though, saw a “seismic shift, in music untreated HIV have caused unprecedented deaths and disap- as well as in the rest of the culture”; along with the advent of pearances in recent years, much akin to a surge that occurred rock ’n’ roll and the Beatles, tumultuous political events such as in the late 1990s, when women vanished or were found dead Vietnam, anti-war protests, and civil rights activism all affected by the roadsides. Illuminating the desperation of the area, the Vegas strip. Elvis, too, had gone through “a rough decade… Werb profiles a variety of residents—e.g., an aged sex worker in many ways a disastrous one.” His early trajectory to fame participating in drug-injection studies and an elderly “shoot- had been interrupted by two years of military service. When he ing gallery” gatekeeper—and chronicles his collaborations with returned in 1960, at the advice of his domineering manager Col. public health officials. The author also identifies known infor- Tom Parker, he gave up live performing, instead appearing in mational roadblocks, such as Tijuana’s health care bureaucracy a spate of lackluster movies. By 1969, writes the author, both and police and amorphous Mexican cartel syndicates. Very Elvis and Parker agreed that he needed to return to the concert little of Werb’s spadework “tracking deaths backward in time” stage—beginning with Vegas. Drawing on scores of interviews, makes for easy reading, but his text shines a necessary light on Zoglin paints a vibrant picture of Elvis’ thrilling, electrical pres- Tijuana’s epidemic of “femicide” and its unrivaled drug and pov- ence: “everyone was dumbstruck,” one woman said. “It was one erty problems. While the statistics are increasingly staggering, of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen.” Elvis’ performance, writes the author, utilizing his epidemiological expertise, was able to the author, “set a new standard for Las Vegas. The star was now uncover a “new syncretic agent of death” in the form of a lethal his own spectacle.” Sadly, success proved brief: Less than a variety of street heroin. decade later, the star was dead. Werb cuts through the desolation to get at the truth of An enthusiastic portrayal of an iconic performer. the region’s vexing problem, but the solutions remain frustratingly elusive.

74 | 1 may 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | children’s ALL IN A DROP These titles earned the Kirkus Star: How Antony van Leeuwenhoek Discovered an THE FIRST by Katherine Applegate; illus. by Max Kostenko...... 76 Invisible World COREY’S ROCK by Sita Brahmachari; illus. by Jane Ray...... 78 Alexander, Lori Illus. by Mildenberger, Vivien LIBERTY ARRIVES! by Robert Byrd...... 80 HMH Books (96 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 6, 2019 SPOT & DOT by Henry Cole...... 82 978-1-328-88420-6 JUST LIKE BEVERLY by Vicki Conrad; illus. by David Hohn...... 83 CAPTAIN ROSALIE In the latter half of the 17th century, by Timothée de Fombelle; Antony van Leeuwenhoek devised his illus. by Isabelle Arsenault; trans. by Sam Gordon...... 84

first microscope by cleverly grinding a bit of glass into a near- young adult GINNY GOBLIN CANNOT HAVE A MONSTER FOR A PET spherical shape and mounting it into his own custom-made by David Goodner; illus. by Louis Thomas...... 87 frame. It would change his world. By grinding his lenses nearly ONE SHOE TWO SHOES by Caryl Hart; round, he stumbled upon the secret to creating a substantially illus. by Edward Underwood...... 89 more powerful microscope than the few then currently in MY TINY PET by Jessie Hartland...... 89 use. With his ability to take a clear look into the microscopic world, he became the first to identify microbes, organisms NOT IF I CAN HELP IT by Carolyn Mackler...... 96 far too small to be viewed with the naked eye. Although other scientists initially rejected the concept—and he was unwilling VROOM! by Barbara McClintock...... 96 to share his microscope design to help them make their own QUEEN OF THE SEA by Dylan Meconis...... 97 discoveries—an English scientist was later able to replicate his THE MAGNIFICENT MIGRATION work using his less-sophisticated microscope. Still, Antony’s by Sy Montgomery; groundbreaking studies seemed to spark little enthusiasm in illus. by Roger Wood & Logan Wood...... 98 others for further research. It would be well over 100 years GIVE ME BACK MY BONES! by Kim Norman; later that Louis Pasteur finally realized that some microbes illus. by Bob Kolar...... 99 caused disease. As Alexander describes him, “Antony watches patiently, thinks deeply, and reports carefully.” By breaking his GROUNDBREAKING GUYS by Stephanie True Peters; work down into simple, understandable steps and incorporat- illus. by Shamel Washington...... 101 ing Mildenberger’s delicately childlike cartoon illustrations TALLULAH THE TOOTH FAIRY CEO by Tamara Pizzoli; to complement the present-tense narration, this effort makes illus. by Federico Fabiani...... 101 Antony’s life’s work accessible to a young audience that is sure to be intrigued and inspired. Excellent backmatter rounds out HARRY HOUDINI by Kjartan Poskitt; illus. by Geraint Ford...... 102 this fascinating tale. Methodical young scientists will see themselves in the STAY by Bobbie Pyron...... 103 “Father of Microbiology.” (Biography. 8-11) THE MAGIC FLUTE adapt. by Chris Raschka...... 103 HATS ARE NOT FOR CATS! by Jacqueline K. Rayner...... 104 TRUMAN by Jean Reidy; illus. by Lucy Ruth Cummins...... 104 COLORS by Shelley Rotner & Anne Woodhull; illus. by Shelley Rotner...... 106 BRAVE THE PAGE by Rebecca Stern; illus. by Grant Faulkner...... 108 YOU ARE HOME by Evan Turk...... 109 THE RANGER by Nancy Vo...... 110

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 75 international picture books of spring 2019

Photo courtesy Leah Overstreet It’s the beginning of May, which THE FIRST means that I am in the thick of work- Applegate, Katherine ing on books that will hit the shelves Illus. by Kostenko, Max in fall 2019. Before we say goodbye al- Harper/HarperCollins (400 pp.) $17.99 | May 7, 2019 together to spring, let’s look back at 978-0-06-233556-2 some of my favorite international pic- Series: Endling, 2 ture books of the season. Goliath, by Ximo Abadía. Al- In this second installment, the dairne though the author/illustrator is a Byx’s quest is far from over. Spaniard, this book comes to the U.S. Applegate continues her otherworldly saga in this second installment of the from Germany. It’s a visually stunning Endling series. (Yes, the second book is called The First, while the meditation on difference and perspective. Through the ex- first book was calledThe Last. Just go with it.) Here readers follow periences of protagonist Goliath, depicted as an enormous doglike Byx and her companions—humans Khara and Renzo, cat- all-red figure, as he struggles to find a place for himself in the like Gambler, and the small and furry Tobble—as they attempt to world, readers see how a shift in the way one sees oneself in find the traveling island of Tarok and, they hope, more dairnes, saving Byx from being the last of her species. Along the way, relationship to others can change everything. Applegate shifts focus from the first outing and uses Byx’s nar- Una Huna? What Is This?, by ration to explore Khara’s transition from a young girl to a leader. Susan Aglukark and illustrated by This change serves the story well, pulling readers further into Danny Christopher and Amanda the political turmoil of the land. The current reigning dictator, Sandland. Nunavut-based Inuit au- the Murdano, will soon be under attack by the no-less-vicious Kazar Sg’drit, who is enslaving other sentient species in his thor Aglukark bases this story on her quest to build an army. Against this backdrop, Khara must rise own recollections of the impinge- as a leader and raise an army to stop a war even as Byx evolves ment of the West on her commu- from a pup to a leader in her own right. Themes of conservation, nity’s culture and traditions. Little war, and human trafficking are skillfully interwoven into a world Ukpik is playing with her new puppy of magic and wonder. This second installment will have read- when a trading boat docks bearing goods that initially excite ers salivating for a third. Khara is explicitly described as having brown skin; absence of such specificity implies Renzo’s white. her but then unsettle her; it is her grandmother’s wisdom Simply sublime. (Fantasy. 8-12) that restores her sense of balance. When Spring Comes to the DMZ, by Uk-Bae Lee and translated by Chungyon Won and Aileen Won. In this mov- THE DRONE PURSUIT ing South Korean import, each season, elderly Grandfather Appleton, Victor Aladdin (144 pp.) visits the DMZ separating North and South Korea to look $17.99 | $6.99 paper | Jul. 2, 2019 across at his unattainable homeland. As he does, he observes 978-1-5344-3631-2 the plants and wildlife that flourish there and freely cross the 978-1-5344-3630-5 paper border, offering both ironic commentary and a sense of hope. Series: Tom Swift: Inventor’s Academy, 1 Vanishing Colors, by Constance Ørbeck-Nilsson, illustrated by Akin In a relaunch of the venerable Tom Swift series, Tom returns as a middle Duzakin, and translated by Kari Dick- school student at the Swift Academy son. This surreal Norwegian import, of Science and Technology, funded by illustrated by a Turkish-Norwegian his father, Tom Swift Sr., with profits from his company, Swift artist, visits a war-torn city, juxta- Enterprises. posing its protagonist’s memories of Tom and his best friend, Noah Newton, have modified and reprogrammed a drone that they test in the halls of their school peacetime with terrifying images of between classes. But while they’re in class—watching a docu- the current chaos. An enormous mi- mentary on infamous hackers, including one who looks like their gratory bird offers both readers and school custodian—the drone goes missing from its hiding spot. protagonist a vision of the future. Using his VR headset, Tom tracks the drone to the custodian, so Read these and bring the world a little closer. — Tom and Noah enlist their pals Amy Hsu and Samantha “Sam” V.S. Watson to retrieve it from Mr. Conway’s locked room in the basement. In the process they begin to suspect the custodian Vicky Smith is the children’s editor.

76 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | Chock full of fascinating facts about fireflies and how to help them. bug off!

is responsible for a computer virus that hit the school’s net- EXPLORING ACCORDING TO work—which is tied into the servers at Swift Enterprises. The OG THE FROG relatively simplistic mystery rests on red herrings and functions Birney, Betty G. as a setup for fun scenes of sneaking about and even-more-fun Putnam (144 pp.) drone-chase sequences. Though some parts of the story don’t $16.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 withstand lengthy scrutiny, the overall quick pace and focus on 978-1-5247-3997-3 the child protagonists make it an accessible choice for reluctant Series: According to Og the Frog, 2 readers. With the relatively low stakes, this realistic update doesn’t rely on nostalgia. Tom and Sam present white; Noah A gentle read that delivers a frog’s- presents black, and Amy presents Asian. eye view of the world. A kid-friendly aspirational series relaunch. (Science Og the frog and the students of fiction. 8-12) Longfellow School are back again for another interspecies romp. Og monitors the goings-on of Room 26 with amphibious aplomb as he observes the inter- BUG OFF! personal struggles and social challenges faced by the students. A Story of Fireflies and Fans of Birney’s According to Humphrey series will recognize Friendship several plot points from Trouble According to Humphrey (2007), Best, Cari this time written from Og’s perspective. Og takes a cue from Illus. by Plecas, Jennifer his fellow class pet, hamster Humphrey, and tries to make a Farrar, Straus and Giroux (32 pp.) positive impact on the students he comes to know. Inspired to

$17.99 | Jun. 25, 2019 young adult 978-0-374-38062-5

Lessons about friendship and inclusion complement lessons about insects and bugs when Maude tries to join Louise’s Bug-of-the-Month Club. Maude is new to country life, and she is fascinated and delighted to see her first lightning bugs. “They sparkle like little firecrackers,” she says, “but without all the noise.” Maude is undaunted when she learns that the first step to auditioning for neighbor Louise’s club is to prepare a speech about a bug. She happily researches fireflies at the library and presents awell- researched speech to Louise and the other club members. From the start, only Louise acts cool toward Maude. That coolness evolves into hostility when Louise insists that the other members list all the reasons that fireflies are not technically bugs… and then summarily releases Maude’s 11 coddled fireflies. Sweet- natured Maude channels her anger at Louise into an inspired campaign to protect fireflies, and by the end of the story, even Louise has become an ardent champion of the cause. This is more an illustrated story than a picture book, with a text chock full of fascinating facts about fireflies and how to help them. The cartoonlike children exhibit various skin tones, hair types, and eye shapes, and they are set against uncluttered, pleasant outdoor backgrounds; Maude has beige skin and extremely curly brown hair while Louise’s skin is pale and her blonde hair is straight. Both text and art evoke the best of Charles M. Schulz’s “Peanuts,” with a 21st-century, environmentalist twist. (Picture book. 5-9)

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 77 A tale lyrically told, dressed in sublime illustrations. corey’s rock

explore by tales of human and frog adventurers, Og manages RABBIT, HARE, AND BUNNY to make forays outside of his tank in between helping children. Broder, Robert Og even spends several weekends at the home of principal Mr. Illus. by Langdo, Bryan Morales and his family, who sprinkle some Spanish words into Ripple Grove (40 pp.) their dialogue. No other clues around culture or ethnicity are $17.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 given for the Morales family—or other characters in the story— 978-0-9990249-6-6 so readers are left to guess at the significance of this addition. Og encounters several students who show characteristics of “Rabbit is neat [and] Hare is orga- neurodiversity, and he accepts and encourages them when their nized,” but Bunny is messy, loud, and teachers do not. Punctuated by Og’s froggy songs and poems as inconsiderate, which makes for a tough well as homespun wisdom from his very own Granny Greenleaf, co-living arrangement. the story hops along at a familiar pace. Rabbit and Hare use devices to listen to their favorite music Readers craving more about Room 26 will enjoy the privately while Bunny dances around the house loudly strum- green frog with a heart of gold. (Fantasy. 7-11) ming his banjo. Bunny neglects his share of household chores, leaving the others to pick up the slack. He interrupts them when they have visitors and makes noise when they need to con- COREY’S ROCK centrate, and he hogs their shared facilities. Frustrated and exas- Brahmachari, Sita perated, his roommates ask Bunny to leave. Bunny moves back Illus. by Ray, Jane home with his parents, but the readjustment is difficult. Rabbit Otter-Barry (96 pp.) and Hare’s search for a new roommate is just as unsuccessful. $16.99 | Jun. 1, 2019 They discover they miss one another, so Bunny moves back in 978-1-91095-997-8 with a better attitude, and Hare and Rabbit are more tolerant of his quirks. These anthropomorphic leporidae present as male Traversing the territory of grief, young adults. Their appearances and personalities are distinct young Isla and her parents seek renewal and amusing in Langdo’s bright ink-and-watercolor illustrations, in change. complementing and enhancing the text with detailed vignettes Isla clings to her parents while they of the action. Broder keeps the tone light in this gentle lesson in toss petals into the sea, one for each year of the five that her tolerance, consideration, and getting along. But the concept of brother, Corey, was alive, after they move to the small Scot- living with roommates instead of their families will probably be tish island where her mother grew up. Isla dreams of the sel- foreign to many young readers and outside their developmental kie, imprinted in her psyche from the selkie story her dad has comfort zones; these are not child stand-ins à la Frog and Toad told her. It, the ocean, and Corey converge in her dreams, as she but rather young, independent adults. feels lost in her grief. Isla and her father walk along the beach A sweet tale but not in the audience’s developmental each day to her new school, and they stop to sit on Corey’s rock wheelhouse. (Picture book. 7-9) each time they pass it. Isla resents having left Edinburgh to start a new life without Corey and her friends. But on her first day of school, she meets her first new friend, Magnus, who welcomes MICHAEL COLLINS her warmly while other new classmates (all are white) quiz her Buckley Jr., James on her origins: “But where are you really from?” The child of Aladdin (160 pp.) an interracial marriage, Isla is biracial, with a white mother and $17.99 | $6.99 paper | Aug. 27, 2019 a black father, both Scots. Brahmachari delicately weaves sel- 978-1-5344-2480-7 kie lore into Isla’s free-verse narration as she considers identity 978-1-5344-2479-1 paper and grief, while Ray’s delicate watercolors seamlessly transition Series: Discovering History’s Heroes between folklore and real life. A tale lyrically told, dressed in sublime illustrations A profile of Apollo 11’s pilot as a hero that brilliantly depict the fragility and beauty of life, lost who “just did his job.” in the landscape where myth and sea converge. (Verse/fiction. Buckley’s account is shot through 9-12) with references to working, having jobs to do, and tackling “chore after chore.” It covers Collins’ test- pilot and astronaut trainings, his experiences in space both in Gemini 10 and as the third man aboard Apollo 11 (where, at times, in lunar orbit, “he was the most isolated person in human history”), plus later gigs as writer, artist, and Smithsonian administrator. Though pointedly noting that NASA didn’t hire an astronaut of color until 1967 nor a woman until 1978, the author generally steers clear of controversy, even quoting Armstrong’s line as “That’s one small step for a man” without comment. He

78 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | also presupposes so little prior knowledge from his intended MOONLOCKET audience that along with minimizing technical details he feels Bunzl, Peter compelled to explain who Adam and Charlie Brown are. With Jolly Fish Press (384 pp.) the lack of illustrations further distancing modern readers from $12.99 | Aug. 13, 2019 events, the resulting narrative reads as a bland tribute, particu- 978-1-63163-375-1 paper larly next to Bea Uusma Schyffert’s lively The Man Who Went Series: Cogheart Adventures, 2 to the Far Side of the Moon (2003) and Collins’ own memoir for younger readers, Flying to the Moon and Other Strange Places (1976; Robert, Lily, and Lily’s mechanimal republished in 2019 as Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut’s Story). wind-up fox, Malkin, have been living Serviceable but sparkless. (endnotes, bibliography) together since the adventures that killed (Biography. 9-11) Robert’s father and revealed Lily’s mechanical heart (Cogheart, 2018). Lily is practically Robert’s family, and he has nearly settled down to that reality, but how can he completely when there are so many questions about his own life? Where is his mother, Selena, who vanished when Robert was just a baby? Why is vicious escapologist and diamond thief Jack Door on the lam from prison, lurking around the ruins of Robert’s old home? Why is Jack so interested in Selena? Perhaps Robert can find some answers in a half-moon locket he discovers, a portrait of young adult Celebrated GRAPHIC NOVELS

Ages 13-18 PB: $9.99

Ages 9-14 “Grossly fabulous.” PB: $11.99 —starred, Kirkus

“Heartfelt and heartwarming.” —starred, Kirkus

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| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 79 his mother within and odd letters engraved on the moon’s face. LIBERTY ARRIVES! Lily is always happy to help, especially if it means dangerous How America’s adventuring aboard zeppelins with inadequate adult supervi- Grandest Statue Found sion. There are plenty of cinematic adventures in this seemingly Her Home all-white Victorian England (including a death-defying drop Byrd, Robert from the skies and a well-paced sewage flood), and there’s Illus. by the author enough information for readers to decrypt some of the codes. Dial (40 pp.) With lots of thrilling dashing about, fleeing from blackguards, $17.99 | Jun. 18, 2019 and enjoyable wordplay, this should satisfy genre fans. 978-0-7352-3082-8 You know it’s a “tockingly” good steampunk mystery when the dastardly escaped criminals who stole from Lady Liberty’s arrival almost didn’t Queen Victoria are somehow connected to the hero’s mys- happen. terious, long-lost mother. (glossary) (Fantasy. 10-13) Intended as a 100th-birthday gift from France, the statue was the brainchild of a French judge who envisioned a symbol of friendship between the two nations and hired sculptor A GOOD TEAM Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi to create it. After choosing its New Burnell, Heather Ayris York Harbor site, he fashioned numerous, ever larger models Illus. by Quintanilla, Hazel and chose copper for its light weight. Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel Scholastic (64 pp.) devised an “iron skeleton” to support Liberty, and then the com- $15.99 | $4.99 paper | Jun. 25, 2019 pleted statue was exhibited in Paris; parts of it had already been 978-1-338-32905-6 shown in the States. A pedestal was designed—with no funds to 978-1-338-32904-9 paper build it. Nonetheless, Bartholdi had the statue’s pieces shipped Series: Unicorn and Yeti, 2 in crates to America nine years after the centennial. Finally, Joseph Pulitzer successfully encouraged Americans to donate; Pals Unicorn and Yeti return for a Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus” was initially written second, teamwork-filled adventure! as a fundraiser. In a crowded field, Byrd’s signature narrative and In the first of three short chapters, Yeti, who is good at kick- artistic styles elevate this effort. Pages with type set in newspa- ing, invites Unicorn to play ball. As it turns out, Unicorn is not perlike double columns feature outsized, capitalized headlines so good at kicking. Unicorn thinks they’re better at bouncing, and datelines denoting years and places. Spreads include mas- but, sadly, the ball just gets stuck on their horn. When Yeti pulls terly ink-and-watercolor illustrations with details that invite the ball off the horn—POP!—the ball turns into a ring. The pair readers to pore over artwork. The author’s awestruck writing, maintains their positivity by switching to a ring-toss game. In featuring punchy, taut sentences, makes for fast-paced reading, subsequent chapters, Unicorn and Yeti try a racing game (once as do dramatic page turns, and it emphasizes the grandeur of they can agree on the method) and ice skating (once Unicorn the enterprise; fascinating, quirky facts abound. In most illus- figures out bipedal movement). Throughout, they stay on mes- trations, persons default white. sage: The best fun happens with strengths-based collaboration. A book worthy of the statue herself. (measurements, Excluding a sentence that sets the scene and a short narrative timeline, facts about the statue and historical figures, action sequence, the majority of the story is told through dia- author’s note, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 7-11) logue. As with the first book, dialogue is color-coded (purple for Yeti; orange for Unicorn). The comic-book format mixes panel shapes and sizes, at most six per double-page spread. Repeti- WHAT’S YOUR tive dialogue helpfully recycles phrases and never exceeds three FAVORITE FOOD? short sentences per speech bubble. Some words are bolded for Ed. by Carle, Eric emphasis. Yeti is identified with the masculine pronoun, but Godwin Books/Henry Holt (40 pp.) Unicorn is ungendered. Quintanilla’s colorful, expressive art $18.99 | Jul. 23, 2019 and Burnell’s infectiously whimsical tone make their own good 978-1-250-29514-9 team. The final page includes instructions on how to draw Yeti and a short creative prompt. Fourteen renowned author/illustra- More sparkly, delightfully silly fun for Unicorn and tors share musings about their favorite Yeti fans. (Graphic early reader. 4-7) foods. In this follow-up to What’s Your Favorite Color (2017), a variety of children’s-book creators present one double-page spread each about their favorite meal, snack, or dessert. Each is done in the artist’s characteristic style, from Dan Santat’s close attention to detail to Isabelle Arsenault’s painterly presentation. The text varies significantly as well. Some entries are brief, like Misa Saburi’s entry on strawberry daifuku: “Mochi stuffed with

80 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | The text is cordial and playful. little juniper makes it big

/ sweet azuki paste / and a fresh strawberry / is quite magical!” LITTLE JUNIPER MAKES IT BIG Others are more informative, like Eric Carle’s opening descrip- Cassie, Aidan tion of tannen honig, or pine honey, and some are funny, like Illus. by the author Laurie Keller’s assertion that French fries come from the sun. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (40 pp.) Greg Pizzoli inserts a sly admonition to vegetarianism, saying $17.99 | Jul. 23, 2019 that “what I like most of all / is that nothing in my bowl / had 978-0-374-31045-5 parents.” The final two pages show photographs of the authors (majority white and also majority women) as children with A youngster deals with the persistent their biographies. While this collection is enjoyable enough, impatience that attends wanting to grow it remains to be seen whether children will be curious enough bigger. about the topic (especially given children’s general lack of name Juniper, an anthropomorphic raccoon with two parents, recognition) to warrant rereading. does not like being little, so she is frustrated when, “three days Good for young audiences and their grown-ups looking later,” her mother’s assurances to have “patience” don’t pay off. for something quick, enjoyable, but not too filling. (Picture Feeling dwarfed by objects around her house, she goes on a book/poetry. 5-8) spree, building height-extenders to fix her dilemma, manifested in a succession of hard-to-reach cookie jars (of which there are a surprising number for one raccoon family). At school, Juniper feels more at ease because there, she is “average.” She makes friends with a new student, Clove, and is impressed by the squirrel’s acrobatics, which make up for her diminutive size. young adult

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 81 Inevitably readers will dawdle and dream about each tiny circumstance. spot & dot

Clove invites her to a sleepover, and it turns out that a young SPOT & DOT raccoon is about the size of adult squirrels, so Juniper loves Cole, Henry being “adult-size” in a house where she can easily reach the box Illus. by the author of cookies on the top shelf. But there are some drawbacks, like Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (32 pp.) how “hide-and-seek [is] unexpectedly quick.” Juniper returns $17.99 | Aug. 13, 2019 home with a new appreciation for things as they are. The text is 978-1-5344-2555-2 cordial and playful, including alliteration for her various inventions that all “fell short.” Cassie’s drawings resemble black pen A cat trails a runaway dog on a gleeful and watercolors. Most of the items populating the friendly cast sprint through a bustling city. of woodland creatures’ homes are all-natural, aligning with the Just as Spot (the cat) sees a new neighbor kid pinning up woodsy color palette. a “Lost Dog” poster, the feline also notices that very dog (Dot) Fetching in words and pictures, this story shows how pawing through trash down the street. When Dot takes off, sometimes all one needs is a growth in perspective. (Picture Spot decides to follow. Keeping up with them in Cole’s stagger- book. 4-8) ingly detailed urban scenes couldn’t be more breathlessly fun— or more challenging. Squinting eyes inevitably settle on myriad vignettes embedded within the double-page, full-bleed, black- DANCING WITH DAISY and-white spreads of exacting ink crosshatches and linework. Coates, Jan L. Life happens everywhere (in apartment windows, at the bak- Illus. by Bisaillon, Josée ery, on the street, inside the library, at the dog park, in the flea Running the Goat (44 pp.) market). People and animals wave, sneer, smile, pull, lift, doze, $14.95 paper | Jun. 25, 2019 fetch, paint, read, and wag and flick tails within these wonder- 978-1-927917-20-6 fully congested urban scenes. Interpreting quotidian moments as a voyeur feels immensely pleasurable, and inevitably readers In 1962, Hurricane Daisy hit Nova Scotia. will dawdle and dream about each tiny circumstance—but then When Liam asks about an old photo, Grampy, with his bald remember Spot and Dot and get back to work looking for the pate and white beard, begins to spin a tall tale. “There’s a story oval markings on the creatures’ flanks that distinguish them goes along with that photograph, a story about a nasty, wild girl from all the other cats and dogs. So many cats and dogs! When in search of a dance partner.” Grampy narrates his encounter they both return home, there’s palpable relief on their owners’ with the storm, personified as a forceful woman. Ghostly hands faces and in readers’ hearts. and a spectral body whirl through the multimedia illustrations, An extraordinary search-and-find that delivers the with crayon and paint creating eddies of movement in the hum and intrigue found in a city’s multitudes and also the scenes. Liam probes about the experience’s effects: Grampy’s singular feeling of returning to one’s individual place in twisty hands, lack of hair, loss of teeth. His grandpa explains the world. (Picture book. 4-10) that Daisy tried to take hold of his hands while he clung to a tree, making his hands “as gnarled and crooked as that branch.” Then “her army of seagulls plucked me like a daisy” (causing WHAT DOES AN Liam to recall a “mean” hair-pulling female classmate). Even ANTEATER EAT? after Grampy returns home, Daisy still pursues him, “wailing Collins, Ross like a jealous banshee” before Nana successfully fends her off. Illus. by the author There’s an appealingly close bond between Grampy and Liam Nosy Crow/Candlewick (32 pp.) (and both child and grandparents present white in the illustra- $16.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 tions), but while the folkloric text sweeps readers along with 978-1-5362-0591-6 its playful allusions, the persistent evocation of Daisy as both woman and threat palls. As Grampy draws to a close, Liam says, A peckish anteater wonders what to nosh on…. “I hope I never meet a wild girl like that!” An anteater wakes up hungry, sets off to find some yums, Family history and legendary exploits in a memorable and comes upon a sloth. “Good morning. I know this sounds setting, but the remarks about the dangerous behaviors of odd, but do you happen to know what an anteater eats?” The women and girls pile up. (Picture book. 6-8) lazing sloth says it’s too busy to answer, so the anteater moves on. A toucan suggests the anteater have some watermelon, but the anteater’s mouth is too small. A lumpy python with a rather nauseated look on its face confesses it doesn’t know but advises chewing food well. An alligator offers old fish (which is “delicious”)…the anteater declines. The bats are too busy hunting dinner to help, and the cheetah thinks the anteater looks yummy. When the anteater finally asks some seriously busy ants what to eat, their panicked response says everything… kind of. The ants flee, and the anteater enjoys the bananas

82 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | they were carrying back to their hill. Collins’ cartoon illus- DINOSAUR FARM! trations in watercolor and charcoal are bright and engaging. Dale, Penny Ants march along the bottoms of most double-page spreads Illus. by the author as the anteater moves through a generic forest landscape look- Nosy Crow/Candlewick (32 pp.) ing to find breakfast. Listeners will giggle all the way through $15.99 | Jun. 4, 2019 because they know the answer. The text is made up entirely 978-0-7636-9936-9 of dialogue, the anteater’s set in boldface roman type and the other animals’ in italics. Dinos plow, fertilize, harvest, herd, The silliness should have little listeners asking for pick, pull, pack, and build on the farm. repeat readings. (Picture book. 2-6) The prehistoric crew from Dinosaur Pirates! (2017) and its predecessors fire up the farm machinery and roar off to tend fields and livestock, put up fence posts, lay JUST LIKE BEVERLY down fertilizer, and, when the time comes, gather in a bounti- A Biography of Beverly ful harvest of lambs and piggies, fruits and veggies to display at Cleary a “farm show.” To jagged lines of alliterative text that are big on Conrad, Vicki sound effects—“Dirty dinosaurs digging, digging up the muddy Illus. by Hohn, David carrots. The muddy carrots to be washed and weighed. Clatter! Little Bigfoot/Sasquatch (48 pp.) Clatter! Clatter!”—Dale pairs rural scenes crowded with mod- $18.99 | Aug. 13, 2019 ern farm animals seemingly unfazed by the more or less human- 978-1-63217-222-8 sized dinos who, many sporting impressive dentifrices as well

Series: Growing to Greatness young adult

A picture-book biography that illustrates how Beverly Cleary created art from her life. Beverly grew up on a farm near Yamhill, Oregon, feeding the chickens—her friends in lieu of nearby playmates. As she grew, books became her close companions, and the few she had, her mother read to her repeatedly. Beverly’s hunger for new stories prompted her mother to start a children’s library in town. The family moved to Portland when Beverly was 6, and there she finally had playmates. She started school at Fernwood Grammar School, but as a struggling reader and a left-handed writer, Beverly found first grade challenging and unpleasant. She fell further behind when she got smallpox and finished first grade barely able to read. But a wonderful second-grade teacher helped her learn to read and to enjoy school, which changed everything. This informative and visually appealing account of Beverly Cleary’s path to children’s librarian and then author includes humorous details from her childhood that found their ways into the tales of her beloved characters. Cleary was determined to pursue the profession she had dreamed of since childhood, as explained in the backmatter and timeline. Hohn captures her lively spirit through illustrations, reminiscent of those by Alan Tiegreen for Cleary’s own books, that will keep young readers entertained. All characters depicted are white. A loving and informative tribute worthy of celebrating Cleary’s 103rd year of life. (Picture book/biography. 5-10)

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 83 as a dazzling array of skin colors and patterns, are hard at work THE PENNYPACKERS GO all around. It’s a little odd to see relatively tiny, toothy thero- ON VACATION pods operating relatively large farm equipment, but once read- Doan, Lisa ers become used to it, it’s hard not to get a chuckle out of two Illus. by Kissi, Marta reptilian farmers trading waves as they till their neighboring Roaring Brook (272 pp.) fields. Two little pigs sneak out of the pen in the first full scene, $16.99 | Jun. 25, 2019 and readers will enjoy spying them in unlikely places in the sub- 978-1-250-15411-8 sequent ones. Labeled galleries fore and aft identify both the 10 dinosaurs and the nine types of harvesters and other heavy A young boy vacations on a boat full machines that feature in the illustrations. of misfits. Both dinophiles and lovers of big machines will dig this Growing up with a miserly father, natural storytime companion to Frann Preston-Gannon’s Charlie Pennypacker has never taken a Dinosaur Farm (2014). (Picture book. 3-6) real vacation outside the staged ones in their backyard. Over time this embarrassment cost him his best friend, Gunter, who exposed his fake vacations to his classmates. After his profli- CAPTAIN ROSALIE gate lawyer mom demands a real family trip, his father surpris- de Fombelle, Timothée ingly complies, booking a Disney cruise in the Caribbean. But Illus. by Arsenault, Isabelle when they arrive it turns out not to be Disney but a “Wisney Trans. by Gordon, Sam Cruise,” a worn-down fishing boat staffed by a less-than-enthu- Candlewick (64 pp.) siastic staff. To Charlie’s chagrin, Gunter also appears. It turns $15.99 | Jun. 11, 2019 out Charlie’s dad agreed to babysit Gunter for $30 a day. Just 978-1-5362-0520-6 when it seems things can’t get worse, Charlie and Gunter witness ship’s captain Wisner narrowly escaping two men in black A young child undertakes a “secret suits who threaten they’ll catch up to him eventually. Suspect- mission” while her father is away at war. ing the mob, the former friends temporarily set aside their dif- First published from a French original in the 2015 collection ferences to find out Wisner’s troubles. Doan sets up a promising The Great War: Stories Inspired by Items from the First World War adventure with plenty of extreme personalities and outlandish but presented here in a small, neatly formatted volume with situations. Unfortunately each player ends up defined by their new illustrations, the tale features 5½-year-old Rosalie, who quirks, disallowing any growth or a chance for readers to enjoy spends her days at the back of the one-room school while her the humor in the situation. Charlie, his family, and the captain mother is off at work. The older children and the teacher, a vet- are illustrated as white while Gunter is biracial, with a Korean eran who’s lost an arm, think she’s just dreaming and drawing dad and (default-white) German mom. pictures, but she’s actually engaged in a mission: “One day I’ll A misadventure that misses the boat. (Fiction. 9-12) be awarded a medal for this. It’s already gleaming deep within me.” The nature of that mission comes clear one day when she sneaks home and discovers that she can finally read for herself PAINT THE TOWN PINK the letters her father had been sending from the front—but Doody, Lori instead of the optimistic, loving missives her mother had been Illus. by the author “reading” to her, she discovers them to be dark cries of anguish Running the Goat (40 pp.) and despair. That very day a final letter arrives…from the Min- $12.95 paper | Jul. 10, 2019 istry of War, with a medal enclosed. Rather than end with that 978-1-927917-21-3 crushingly ironic twist, though, de Fombelle leaves Rosalie smiling, through her tears, at a friend and regarding the medal not as A town flocks together to welcome a dead thing but something alive. The bright red hair of Rosalie an unexpected fuchsia visitor. and her mother seems to glow in the gray, wintry light of Arse- Rose, a new flamingo in town, travels nault’s village scenes, likewise offering hints of life and warmth through the pages “in search for a flock even in the face of terrible loss. Everyone in view is white. of her own.” Her bright color makes her a good fit in a bridal A spare tale likely to engender deep, complex responses. party. Her flair allows Rose to be admitted in a flamenco dance (Historical fiction. 10-14) troupe. And the flamingo’s iconic standing position qualifies her for a yoga class. As Rose searches for a family, readers are prompted to see which of Rose’s qualities make her both fit into each particular group and stand apart from them. Although she’s a good candidate for multiple groups, “none of them felt quite right.” The whole town becomes invested in making Rose a part of their flock, and townsfolk begin, as the title indicates, painting it pink to make the flamingo feel welcome in their society. Pink foods, pink yarns, and pink landmarks are all part

84 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | There is excellent research here. union made

of the town’s efforts to maintain their most “flamboyant” visi- A Jewish immigrant, Gompers had learned cigar-making in his tor as a permanent resident. Doody’s (Mallard Mallard, Moose, London home and continued to work at this trade as an adult in the 2018, etc.) playful illustrations elicit sympathy from readers as U.S. His interest in unions sprang from his experiences with frater- Rose searches for a place to belong, delicately lined cartoons nal organizations and his growing convictions that “the only way depicting the multiracial residents of this small Newfoundland to improve working conditions was peacefully within the capitalist city interacting with the bird. The backmatter, although con- system.” In 1881, Gompers helped found the Federation of Orga- cise, provides interesting facts about flamingos such as their life nized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada span and the origin of their pinkish hue. (later reorganized into the AFL), which promoted the eight-hour A heartening, sweet, and distinctive look at one unusual day, limitations on child and convict labor, cash payments for sala- migrant’s successful quest for a new home. (Picture book. 3-7) ries, and strict immigration laws, a policy that Gompers strongly believed in and the irony of which receives scant comment from Finkelstein. In this fact-filled but interpretation-light account, LAIR OF THE BEAST Sam Gompers was a workaholic and a person who loved public Epstein, Adam Jay speaking. Readers get little sense of Gompers as a person, and they Imprint (256 pp.) may struggle with his dismissive attitude toward unskilled workers, $16.99 | Jun. 4, 2019 his realpolitik approach to race, and his hypocrisy toward immi- 978-1-250-14695-3 grants. There is excellent research here, but the lackluster writing, Series: Snared, 2 the double-column format, and the hazy quality of some of the black-and-white archival photos produce an unexciting volume; A young prince sets out on a quest some gaps in the index further limit its use.

for a legendary beast to save his kingdom young adult from an army of evil mages in this sequel to Snared: Escape to the Above (2018). Wily Snare, former dungeon trap- smith–turned–heir to the throne of Panthasos, defeated the Infernal King with his ragtag group of adventurer friends and long-lost mother, but war still threatens. Stalag, the evil cavern mage who raised Wily, plots to unleash a force of indestructible stone golems across the land. If Wily is to have a positive legacy, he must find someone to tame Palojax, the only beast able to overpower the golems. All odds stand against Wily, and the fear of failure weighs heavily on his shoulders. Valor Pelage, a Quellmaster of the Roamabouts, joins the quest to protect the animals of Panthasos. Epstein pits her against elf Odette, the other “alpha female” in the party. The heavily plot-driven story shoves the characters from one conveniently solved conflict to the next on a journey that feels like a drawn-out travel montage. As in the first book, the final fight has a hasty resolution, and once again, Stalag escapes capture, which hints that more battles are to come in future books. Wily presents white while Valor has olive skin; Odette is pale with blue hair. A tiresome errand that lacks the satirical charm that started the series. (Fantasy. 8-12)

UNION MADE Labor Leader Samuel Gompers and His Fight for Workers’ Rights Finkelstein, Norman H. Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills (112 pp.) $17.95 | Jun. 11, 2019 978-1-62979-638-3

A biography of Samuel Gompers, leader of the American Federation of Labor.

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 85 Offers much-needed mirrors for black and brown children. sweet dreams, zaza

This comprehensive but pedestrian biography will be change in tone works surprisingly well at first, but in its later fairly useful for school reports but is unlikely to inspire chapters, the book becomes a comic adventure, with Grandpa 21st-century labor activists. (author’s note, timeline, source giving Andy tips on how to woo his crush, and then, abruptly, notes, bibliography, index) (Biography. 11-14) a thriller, complete with an evil phantom who threatens said crush. This figure appears and, literally, disappears with so little warning that the novel turns into a cartoon, but Krac’s surreal, SWEET DREAMS, ZAZA smudged gray-black drawings are so disturbing that they add a Freeman, Mylo whole layer of menace to the story. Unfortunately, they don’t Illus. by the author make the underwritten love interest any less of a cliché (or the Clavis (24 pp.) cast less uniformly white). Gadot leaves too many plot points $14.95 | Aug. 15, 2019 unexplained—perhaps to set up later books in the trilogy—but 978-1-60537-461-1 in its slowest, most nuanced scenes, this story about ghosts Series: Zaza shows the entire richness of life. A paranormal that’s at its best when it’s real. (Supernatu As effectively as Good Night Moon ral adventure. 8-12) and Grandfather Twilight, this book will help children get ready for sleep. When it’s Zaza’s bedtime, her six stuffed-animal friends STAR STORIES get individual attention as she tucks them in for the night. Constellation Tales from George Giraffe is so long he requires two beds, over which Zaza Around the World stretches his soft blue body out for a rest. The spotted and flow- Ganeri, Anita ered Bobby gets a tummy tickle; Mo, the snake, hears a song; Illus. by Wilx, Andy and Pinkie, the rabbit, gets cuddled. Red bear Rosie, Zaza’s Running Press (96 pp.) favorite, receives the most special attention. All of this love $19.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 gets showered back on Zaza when Mommy enters. Mother and 978-0-7624-9505-4 daughter both have deep brown skin and natural hair. Zaza’s afro puffs encircle her head, and Mommy wears a full Afro— A collection of international stories about the stars, retold offering much-needed mirrors for black and brown children. by veteran children’s author Ganeri. Despite the quietude of this good-night story, the bold, solid- In this unusual compendium, Ganeri gathers traditional colored, bright background for each image and the contrast- stories about the cosmos from across six continents. Unlike ing busy patterns on the stuffed animals and Zaza’s bedspread other star-lore collections that focus solely on ancient Greek make it feel like a wide-awake story until the final, soothing- folklore and nomenclature, Ganeri features tales from Inuit, pink background lulls readers to sleep. Observant children will Incan, Maori, Sumerian, and other societies, occasionally high- also notice that the eyes of the stuffed animals open and close— lighting the names of constellations as they are known from suggesting that they might be as alive as Zaza. that culture’s perspective. Each story is introduced by a brief A wonderful depiction of a daily bedtime ritual for a contextualizing paragraph and is accompanied by illustrations family that happens to be black. (Picture book. 2-4) from multidisciplinary artist Wilx, whose work employs bold outlines and rich colors. Laudable in its scope, the collection reminds young readers that the stars were not only observed SUPERNATURAL HERO from a Western vantage—for example, the three stars that Gadot, Eran ancient Greeks saw as Orion’s Belt are known to Tongans as Illus. by Krac, Salit “Alotulu, ‘three in a boat,’ ” and Orion himself was known as Trans. by Kahn-Hoffmann, Gilah Osiris to ancient Egyptians. However, Ganeri’s narrative style Beyond Words Publishing (176 pp.) fails to captivate over the 23 tales, and there are no appendices $7.99 paper | Jun. 11, 2019 on further reading and reference materials. Many Indigenous 978-1-58270-688-7 oral traditions place high significance on the storyteller’s sources and ability to contextualize tales; these aspects are Remarkably, this ghost story is much notably absent. sadder before Andy’s grandfather dies Like a meteor shower on an overcast night, this book’s than afterward. dazzling premise is ultimately obscured by a few fatal flaws. This middle-grade fantasy opens by (Folktales. 6-11) showing the full pain of losing someone to cancer. At the funeral, in a lovely moment, Andy thinks, “I can’t tell if they’re all crying for Grandpa or if other people have died as well and they’re also being buried today. I don’t dare ask anyone.” But when Grandpa comes back as a spirit, the book turns instantly hopeful. He’s smiling, and he promises never to leave his grandson. The

86 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | GINNY GOBLIN Young audiences will love playing spot-the-twins (those huge CANNOT HAVE A white hair bows are hard to miss), who can be seen peering out MONSTER FOR A PET from their hiding places in each double-page spread. The imp- Goodner, David ish children, dressed in old-world finery, are reminiscent of Sen- Illus. by Thomas, Louis dak’s child characters, with rounded, slightly overlarge heads HMH Books (40 pp.) atop stout bodies. The digitally colored mixed-media artwork $17.99 | Jul. 23, 2019 of soft and hazy dark blues and purples sets the atmosphere for 978-0-544-76416-3 late-night fun and games in the deliciously creepy setting. The children are all shown as white. The lovable, green-skinned imp has Just the thing for a rainy day lap-sit storytime. (Picture returned following her introduction in book. 3-8) Ginny Goblin Is Not Allowed to Open This Box (2018). The first page establishes the fact that Ginny Goblin loves animals and that goats are among her favorites. The grinning, SCOUTS big-eyed toddler stands atop a similarly featured goat. The page Greenland, Shannon turn reveals why goats are not good house pets: Five comical Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown (272 pp.) goats are wreaking havoc in a dining room. The fun begins when $16.99 | Jul. 23, 2019 the narrator naively says, “Maybe if we help Ginny Goblin find a 978-0-316-52478-0 pet, she’ll stop trying to herd goats through the house.” The art perfectly complements the imaginative, absurd text, as Ginny— Sixth grade is out, and Annie is about

defying authority—tries to acquire a pet through such means to have the camping adventure of a life- young adult as a bear trap, military tank, submarine, and rocket ship. No time with her three best friends. hermit crab or bunny for her! Just enough shiver accompanies The Scouts have been friends since the text and comical art’s introductions to such creatures as a kindergarten, but Annie’s mom isn’t kraken, a dragon, a basilisk, and a space monster. Even as Ginny happy that she only hangs out with boys. is depicted doing the things she is not allowed to do, the text Beans is a near genius with a burdensome secret. Handsome poses the frightful consequences: “If Ginny took her basilisk to Fynn has started to like girls. Rocky is coping with his widower school for show-and-tell, her whole class would turn into stat- dad’s entry into the dating market. Their friend group is under ues.” The text further accommodates little ones by frequently stress, and Annie feels jealous of Fynn’s older cousin, Scarlett, invoking the title; its tongue-in-cheek humor and clever word- who has tagged along on their trip. But when they witness play will keep more sophisticated readers engaged. The surprise a UFO crash in the woods near their campsite, they get their ending will elicit both a smile and a wink from all. problems moving, hoping the adventure will strengthen their Ginny is becoming a symbol of toddler power. (Picture relationships. They encounter bat-infested caves, a near drown- book. 3-7) ing, a black bear, a human skeleton, and a stranger named Edge as they seek the mysterious silver object and try to resolve their growing pains. A stereotypical hillbilly family known as the HIDE AND SEEK Mason Mountain Clan and a wrongheaded legend about Cher- Green, Katie May okee gold are two of the weaker storylines in the meandering Illus. by the author tale. With a Cherokee mom, biracial Annie knows to call out Candlewick (32 pp.) that legend, but neither her heritage nor Rocky’s (his mom was $16.99 | Jul. 16, 2019 Vietnamese) is explored in any depth, and the book otherwise 978-0-7636-9606-1 adheres to a white default. This adventure tale about a UFO, set in 1985 Tennes- The slightly spooky dark-haired see, sensitively explores the changing nature of adolescent twins of Green’s Seen and Not Heard (2015) return for a moonlit friendships—but its subplots not so much. (Historical fiction. romp. 8-12) “Right at the top / of Shiverhawk Hall / live children in pictures / on the wall. / Peeking out, woken gently / by a midsum- mer moon, / they spot something strange / about their room: / the twins have vanished / from their picture frame!” And so begins a lively midnight game of hide-and-seek and youth- ful shenanigans. The frolicking seekers are accompanied by a menagerie of critters. A sly black cat, a little brown dog, a trio of white mice, and a pair of owls participate in the fun. The book invites poring over every detail: statues that appear to move, the mice playing their own game of hide-and-seek, and clothing that becomes gradually dirtier as the night wears on.

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 87 DUMPSTER DOG! help her make a racing suit to impress her hero. However, her Gutman, Colas plans are thwarted when Sagittaria reveals herself to be far less Illus. by Boutavant, Marc than heroic, stealing Kirja, Nebekker’s bonded dragon, kept in Trans. by Charette, Allison M. & Bedrick, secret outside of town. Silver also meets and bonds with Kirja’s Claudia Zoe baby, whom she names Hiyyan. The bond between a human and Enchanted Lion Books (64 pp.) dragon is so strong that “you would do anything the other needs. $14.95 | $8.95 paper | Jun. 11, 2019 Even die for each other. And when the day of death comes for 978-1-59270-235-0 one, the other cannot live.” Silver, Hiyyan, and Brajon’s quest to 978-1-59270-252-7 paper rescue Kirja takes them to Calidia and readers on a rip-roaring Series: Adventures of Dumpster Dog adventure. Halbrook’s worldbuilding includes a rich taxonomy of water dragons who are fully realized, with emotions, loyalty, A homeless dog is on a mission to find an owner in this first and aspirations. The history of water dragons and the geopoli- entry of a chapter-book series from France. tics of the Desert Nations are smoothly woven into her adven- Dumpster Dog is smelly, looks like an old rug, and can’t ture plot. Halbrook, who is of Lebanese descent, injects cultural tell left from right. This pup of indeterminate breed may not details readers familiar with the Arab world will recognize. be very smart, but he has a kind heart. Dumpster Dog shares For readers who enjoy a fantasy-filled world of adven- his garbage can with his friend Flat Cat, who was run over as ture. (Fantasy. 9-12) a kitten and is indeed flat. When Dumpster Dog expresses his longing for an owner, Flat Cat encourages the down-on-his-luck pooch to go out into the world and find one (along with a bicy- CAPE cle pump “to re-inflate” his feline pal). Like his fan club of flies, Hannigan, Kate misadventure follows Dumpster Dog everywhere. Just when Illus. by Spaziante, Patrick the hapless Dumpster Dog thinks he’s found his owner, the Aladdin (336 pp.) man takes him to the butcher to be made into sausage. Fortu- $17.99 | Aug. 6, 2019 nately, Dumpster Dog isn’t very appealing! (But the poodle and 978-1-5344-3911-5 basset hound are destined for somebody’s dinner, a detail the Series: The League of Secret Heroes, 1 text elides.) He escapes only to come up against a trio of greedy, burgling kidnappers. Can Dumpster Dog save the day? And will Superheroes, spies, puzzle solvers— Flat Cat ever be reinflated? Independent readers will delight in or all three? Dumpster Dog’s tongue-in-cheek escapades; the book is also It’s World War II, and Zenobia, suitable as a chapter-per-night bedtime story for pre-readers. Black Cat, and the other superheroes The full-color artwork is rendered in a 1950s cartoon style with vanished from the streets of Philadelphia a couple of years ago. ironic touches that complement the action. Humans are shown Josie, a white Irish immigrant, is despairing, with a war on and as white. her beloved heroes all missing. At least Josie can do her part for It’s a good thing more books are on the way. (Animal fan the war effort, since a call has gone out for puzzle-solving and tasy. 6-10) mathematically inclined kids. Just when it looks like Josie won’t be able to help—are her excellent ciphering skills going to be ignored just because she’s a girl?—a mysterious woman solicits SILVER BATAL AND THE the help of Josie and two other puzzler girls: Akiko, a Japanese- WATER DRAGON RACES American girl whose family is in an internment camp, and Mae, Halbrook, K.D. a black girl whose grandmother is a librarian, both also cipher- Illus. by Gort, Ilse and comics-loving superhero fans. And somehow, when the Henry Holt (336 pp.) three of them get together, they have powers! Like the heroes of $16.99 | Jun. 4, 2019 their favorite comics, the girls whoosh through the skies, caped 978-1-250-18107-7 rescuers fighting Nazis. Along the way they meet and rescue Series: Silver Batal, 1 the women who are the first computer programmers. Mae and Akiko encounter a smidgen of racism, although far, far milder Thirteen-year-old Silver Batal lives than accuracy would call for; this is a superhero/puzzling/Nazi- in the desert town of Jaspaton and wants thwarting tale, not historical fiction. With interwoven action only to go to the capital city of Calidia to sequences told in comics panels, the tale has the exciting pace race water dragons. of a superhero adventure. She is meant to follow in her family’s legacy and become Puzzles readers can solve are the icing on this cake. a jeweler, but she secretly plans to leave Jaspaton when she (historical note, further resources) (Historical fantasy. 9-11) learns Sagittaria Wonder, “the best and most brilliant Desert Nations water dragon racer in the whole world,” will be visiting. Only her cousin Brajon, also 13, knows her secret. She befriends elderly and mysterious Nebekker, who promises to

88 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | Underwood’s skillful compositions and expressive characters propel the sequencing of events. one shoe two shoes

ONE SHOE TWO SHOES elephants), and the book’s fresh storyline exposing the tiny world Hart, Caryl of tardigrades will have an undeniable appeal to young readers Illus. by Underwood, Edward (and may inspire adoptions of microscopic pets). Visually, crisp Bloomsbury (32 pp.) dialogue bubbles mix with text and full-bleed illustrations to $17.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 create a lively, engaging presentation (including an author’s note 978-1-5476-0094-6 with tardigrade fun facts). The narrator and parents are shown as white with other characters illustrated in various skin tones. A playful pup, 10 mischievous mice, Original, superinteresting, expertly presented. (Picture and some fashionable footwear unite in book. 4-8) this seemingly simple counting book. Hart pays homage to One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish with clever rhyming text that channels the classic on its open- FANTAIL’S QUILT ing spreads. But in lieu of fish are shoes as seen from a dog’s- Hay, Gay eye view as footwear of varying styles, shades, and purpose Illus. by Tolland, Margaret step past the frolicking pup on its walk. Home again, canine Starfish Bay (36 pp.) curiosity is piqued as mice scramble and scurry, one by one, to $16.95 | Aug. 1, 2019 occupy the various shoes. Onomatopoeia offers clues as to the 978-1-76036-071-9 mice’s whereabouts, and readers will delight in the floppy-eared dog’s search for them. With one lick it scatters the plump white After her first nest is invaded by a rat, rodents before heading out on another walk. While the nonlin- a mother fantail bird begins again, constructing a soft, warm

ear text begs to be read aloud, it’s Underwood’s skillful compo- nest where new eggs hatch successfully. young adult sitions and expressive characters that propel the sequencing of Fantails are tiny New Zealand birds, adapted to living in a events, bringing the tale full circle. Done in pencil and marker variety of habitats, including suburban parks and gardens, and with paper and digital collage, the graphically simplified shapes not particularly frightened of humans. Because of their famil- showcase the artist’s ability to execute form and design. Remi- iarity, they’re a relatively common subject for children’s books niscent of M. Sasek, Mary Blair, and other artists influenced by there. For American readers, though, much about fantails and post–World War II optimism, Underwood’s nostalgic interpre- their environment will be new, and the attraction here may well tation of modern living channels a visual style associated with be the visual presentation of that different world. The simple feelings of opportunity and prosperity, appealing to readers of story is related in short bits of alliterative text plus sketches all ages. on panels that mimic quilt patches, complete with “stitching” A must-read-aloud text with memorable characters— in different colors around the edges. These are set directly on Underwood and Hart make a perfect pair. (Picture book. 3-6) spreads painted mostly in greens and browns showing natural shapes from the birds’ world as well as more fantails in various postures. The endpapers provide a key to the plants and other MY TINY PET animals Tolland pictures. These include a morepork (a type of Hartland, Jessie owl), a rat, a grasshopperlike tree weta, and a red admiral but- Illus. by the author terfly as well as some ferns, flowers, leaves, and a tree. A few fast Nancy Paulsen Books (32 pp.) facts at the end offer more information about fantails. $17.99 | Aug. 6, 2019 Honored as a finalist for a New Zealand illustration 978-1-5247-3753-5 award when it was first published in 2012, this story of determined bird parents can nest safely on American A young child finds the perfect pet for a downsized lifestyle nature shelves as well. (Informational picture book. 4-7) in this picture book. What’s a kid got to do to get a pet when the parents subscribe to the tiny house philosophy? The young narrator used to live “in LIFESIZE DINOSAURS a ginormous house…with six poodles, ten cats, a tarantula…”— Henn, Sophy and the pet list goes on in a delightfully rippling fashion. But Illus. by the author when the child’s parents decide to “downsize!” and “simplify!” the Kane/Miller (32 pp.) pets are given away and the family moves to a tiny house in the $17.99 | Jun. 1, 2019 woods. “All is good,” the narrator says in the casual, friendly tone 978-1-61067-885-8 that distinguishes the narrative, “except I really want a pet.” The parents are adamant: no pets. In science class, however, the child A rare opportunity to go nose learns about the microscopic tardigrade—the “water bear”—and to nose with Diplodocus, measure a is convinced it would make the perfect tiny pet. Author/illustra- human shoe against the fossil footprint of Allosaurus, and like tor Hartland’s ingenuous gouache illustrations are chock-full dino-encounters. of playful, humorous details (such as specialized pet products Following her up-close survey of modern creatures in Life that include mouse Halloween costumes and toothpaste for size (2018), Henn goes prehistoric in the same 1-foot-square

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 89 Playful, cartoon illustrations effectively employ graphic-novel techniques to amp the chuckles. the evil princess vs. the brave knight

format. She alternates big, broadly brushed images of fossil or THE EVIL PRINCESS VS. THE fleshed-out body parts (or a gathering of eggs on one spread) BRAVE KNIGHT with pulled-back views of each creature in a broader setting Holm, Jennifer L. accompanied by breathless commentary: “To be this com- Illus. by Holm, Matthew pletely GINORMOUS Diplodocus had to eat A LOT.” Said Random House (40 pp.) commentary is light on specific facts (though she does properly $17.99 | $20.99 PLB | Aug. 6, 2019 note that Pteranodon and Albertonectes were reptiles but not true 978-1-5247-7134-8 dinosaurs), but she closes with a slightly more informative mini- 978-1-5247-7135-5 PLB gallery. A particularly sharp-looking Utahraptor claw (“OUCH!”) and multiple appearances or mentions of Allosaurus lead up Royal sibling rivalry. to a climactic gander at the toothy grin of Tyrannosaurus rex— The Evil Princess torments her brother in fulfillment of her placed on a double gatefold and therefore a full 4 feet long. “Say moniker, going so far as to select a book from the castle library cheese!” Although several of the creatures are depicted with entitled 101 Spells to Torment Annoying Brothers for inspiration. Her feathers, Henn’s palette mostly hews to mud and moss colors, brother, for his part, tries to be brave, but the Magic Mirror, who so despite the stunning close-up views, the book has an overall acts in loco parentis throughout the story, sends them both to subdued look. their rooms when their conflict gets out of hand. Once isolated, The sharply defined realism of Steve Jenkins’Prehistoric both children end up deciding that it’s no fun being evil or brave Actual Size (2005) may be absent, but young dinophiles will all alone. The Brave Knight suggests a quest, and they go to save still roar. (Informational picture book. 5-9) “a damsel in distress across the moat” (their black cat, who is “perfectly comfortable,” napping in the bathroom). Alas, this brief episode of teamwork can’t overpower their historical rivalry: The MIGHTY READER AND THE Evil Princess pushes her brother into the bathtub, and he (finally) BIG FREEZE retaliates. “Their Magic Mirror was not amused,” reads the droll Hillenbrand, Will text, and they again must join forces—this time to clean up. This Illus. by the author is sure to elicit laughs from readers through its humorous text Holiday House (32 pp.) and playful, cartoon illustrations that effectively employ such $18.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 graphic-novel techniques as dialogue balloons and sound effects 978-0-8234-3992-8 to amp the chuckles. The princess has light skin and straight, dark hair while the knight has brown skin and dark, tightly curled Learning to read isn’t so scary when Mighty Reader’s around. hair. The text never comments on this, instead focusing on their Shy, new student Hugo—a brown puppy with black ears— rivalry; in doing so, it provides a welcome, rare, and inclusive mir- searches for a friend on the bus. He ends up in an open seat ror for many children in similar families. next to bulldog Barkley, who’s reading a book about a super- The Holm siblings strike again! (Picture book. 4-8) hero named Mighty Reader. When the canine students get to school, substitute teacher Ms. Wulff (a wolf, naturally) prepares the students for an author visit—from Will Hillenbrand. When SCHOOL-TRIPPED Ms. Wulff asks Barkley to read the visiting author’s latest book, Holm, Jennifer L. & Holm, Matthew Spring Is Here (a real book from 2011), Barkley freezes. Sensing Illus. by Holm, Matthew distress, Hugo heads to the dress-up center and secretly dons a Random House (208 pp.) Mighty Reader costume. As Mighty Reader, Hugo offers Bark- $13.99 | $16.99 PLB | Jul. 9, 2019 ley encouraging advice: “Look for words you know,” or “Think 978-0-399-55444-5 about what is happening in the pictures.” Barkley regains con- 978-0-399-55445-2 PLB fidence and finishes the read-aloud just as Hillenbrand (asa Series: Babymouse Tales from the Locker, 3 schnauzer) introduces his work and artistic process. The comic- book layout, with at most four panels per page, combines mini- When Babymouse’s class goes on a mal narration with speech bubbles. Hillenbrand’s expressive trip to the city museum, things go hilari- canine cartoons, boldly outlined in black against solid-color ously awry. backgrounds, practically jump off the page. Some sentences are In her third middle school adventure, the larger-than-life on the complex side, but the strong picture-to-text relationship and full-of-big-ideas Babymouse is overjoyed to hear about the will aid in decoding. Though the metafictive elements smack of upcoming field trip to the art museum. Before her permission gimmickry and self-promotion, readers may enjoy spotting the slip is even signed, Babymouse is already daydreaming scenarios covers and pages of Hillenbrand’s other texts within this one. that see her art framed among the masterpieces. True to character, An em-paw-ering read for young pups. (Picture book. 4-7) Babymouse is quickly distracted and does not even make it out of the museum gift shop before ill-advisedly following frenemy Feli- cia and her cronies as they set out to skip the trip and explore the big city. Babymouse and her friend Penny soon lose Felicia in the urban hustle and bustle—but they find a lost kitten. They devote

90 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | the rest of their day to reuniting the adorable kitty with its owner FABIO THE WORLD’S for a promised reward. Predictably, Babymouse and Penny have GREATEST FLAMINGO one outrageous and exciting experience after another as they DETECTIVE navigate the vast and unfamiliar city without any technological The Case of the Missing assistance (Babymouse drops and breaks her phone...again). Will Hippo the friends be able to maneuver the metropolis, return the kit- James, Laura ten, and make it back before their bus leaves? Told through a fizzy Illus. by Fox, Emily Jane mix of black-and-white comic panels and illustrations alongside Bloomsbury (144 pp.) prose, this installment has a delightful throwback feel, showing $16.99 | Aug. 6, 2019 kids that they can be independent and self-reliant without smart- 978-1-5476-0217-9 phones and/or the internet. Fun, fun, fun. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. -7 10) How does a hippo go missing? Fabio and Gilbert are on the case! Bright pink Fabio is the world’s greatest flamingo detec- I AM SOMEONE ELSE tive, and his favorite place for a pink lemonade, taken in the Poems About Pretending company of his giraffe sidekick, Gilbert, is the Hotel Royale Ed. by Hopkins, Lee Bennett on the shores of Lake Laloozee. But all is not well there. Smith, Illus. by Hsu, Chris the vulture who runs the place with his sister, chef Penelope, Charlesbridge (32 pp.) is none too keen on her daughter’s ideas to bring in more cus- $16.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 tomers: Violet wants to have a talent contest. When head con-

978-1-58089-832-4 test judge Daphne, a rhino who goes by “the General,” catches young adult cold, Fabio takes her place…and then contestant Julia the hippo “Imagine! Wish! Support! Invent!” vanishes—from the stage. Was it a rival contestant? A crooked Hopkins organizes this brief, thematic anthology into three judge? Or is the disappearance connected to the strange events sections under the larger umbrella of imagining: “Wish! Be a at the Gold Cup athletic competition, where many of the con- Storybook Character”; “Support! Be a Person Who Helps”; and testants seemed strangely sleepy? No need to fear with dapper, “Invent! Be a Person Who’s a Maker.” Each of the collected poems superobservant Fabio investigating. With this caper, James, is written in the first-person, and Hsu’s energetic, cartoon-style British author of the Adventures of Pug chapter books, kicks digital illustrations depict the diverse children as the individual off a new series of easy-reading mysteries peopled with jungle speakers. Words and pictures alike often upend stereotypes and animals. Fox’s cartoons are offset by an arresting design that gender norms. For example, a poem about pretending to be a incorporates copious applications of bright pink and electric mermaid by Janet Clare Fagal depicts a brown-skinned child green. Characterization is broad: Fabio is quite self-assured and with tight, close-cropped curls wearing a green, striped T-shirt Gilbert, gangly and bumbling. as the voice of the poem, allowing children of varying gender Young sleuths will enjoy the easy mystery and the identifications to see themselves. Hopkins’ introductory state- cheeky illustrations. More cases on the way! (Fantasy/mystery. ment affirms that “There is nothing better than being yourself,” 6-10) which doesn’t undermine the title in the least since he goes on to affirm the fun in pretend play. Sometimes such play is aspirational, and the poems included in the categories “Support!” and A FRIEND FOR BENTLY “Invent” by authors such as Douglas Florian, Prince Redcloud, Keiser, Paige and Joan Bransfield Graham (with the standout offering “Nurse: Illus. by the author Healing Hand”) give voice to career ambitions. Others, such as Harper/HarperCollins (40 pp.) the aforementioned “A Mermaid’s Tale” and Lois Lowry’s “Big $17.99 | Aug. 6, 2019 Problems” (about the challenges of being a giant’s wife), offer up 978-0-06-264332-2 more fanciful imaginings. A good collection, for real. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8) A lonely, crossword-loving pig finds an unexpected friend in a baby chick. This heartfelt story shares the joy of easing the loneliness of another. Bently is the one and only pig on Sunset Farm. Although Daisy is not introduced until Page 7, readers will see Bently through her eyes. Noticing that the other farm animals do not care for his piggy ways, Bently rejoices when he hears a faint “Oink!” coming from the meadow (hand-lettered onto the white space of the page). But it is not a pig but little chick Daisy, pretending to be a pig: “They have way more fun.” Bent- ly’s disappointment is transformed as he teaches his new aco- lyte porcine habits: to roll in mud, to prefer slop over worms,

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 91 INTERVIEWS & PROFILES Brooke Boynton-Hughes

READERS STRUGGLING WITH SHYNESS WILL FIND INSPIRATION IN BOYNTON-HUGHES’ PLUCKY HEROINE By Megan Labrise

Photo courtesy William Hughes “I spend so much time working by myself in my studio” at home in Colorado, she says, “that to go out to these conferences full of people and social interactions can feel like a lot.” Introverts will readily relate to the quiet, creative young heroine of Boyton-Hughes’ first author-illustrated book, Brave Molly (April 30). The poignant story sprang directly from her sketchbook at an SCBWI conference held in Los Angeles not long ago. “I drew a picture of a girl walking, looking discour- aged, with her head down, which was how I felt at the time,” she says, “and then some little thumbnail sketches of her being followed by this dark shape. I began to wonder what her story was, and it grew from there.” Molly’s story begins in her comfort zone: her bedroom. She’s reading a book on a half-moon window seat, watching as three kids her age walk to a bench down the street. Once settled, they’re joined by a monster that, seemingly, only Molly can perceive. “I call them shadow monsters,” Boynton-Hughes says of the creature and its ilk, who personify Molly’s feelings of shyness, anxiety, and self-doubt. “What I was thinking about when I created this story were the things I struggle with, but I hope each reader can in- terpret them in a way that is meaningful to them.” When the children leave a book behind, Molly sets out to return it. To succeed in her quest, she must For Brooke Boynton-Hughes, attending the Soci- elude multiple shadow monsters, locate the owner, ety of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ annual and, perhaps most fearsomely, utter Brave Molly’s only conferences constitutes a small act of bravery. word: “hi.” “I love going to SCBWI conferences—I’ve learned “I would say in general I love wordless books be- so much there and really I owe my career to having cause I’m much more comfortable with the visual than attended,” says Boynton-Hughes, who’s illustrated with the written word,” says Boynton-Hughes, a long- books by six authors and counting, including Angela time fan of The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher by DiTerlizzi (Baby Love, 2015) and Dolly Parton (Coat Molly Bang (one of the people to whom Brave Molly is of Many Colors, 2016), “—but they can also feel over- dedicated), among others. “It was liberating for me to whelming and exacerbate my social anxiety.” rely on what I feel is my strength as opposed to trying

92 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | to find my way to the words.” Presented in pen-and-ink, watercolor, graphite, and colored-pencil illustrations with eye-catching depth, Brave Molly gently conveys its subject’s hard- won triumph over anxiety and self-doubt. “The artwork itself feels bashful, with soft colors and plenty of white space,” Kirkus writes in an admiring review that concludes, “Brave indeed.” and to solve crossword puzzles. Keiser’s cheery watercolors “I hope that other kids who struggle with being are outlined with sketched pencil markings, and the double- shy or struggle to find their own voice will see them- page barnyard spreads are calming, keeping the story light and approachable. Yet with scant transition, Daisy grows out of selves in Molly’s story and recognize that they too can her piggy ways. With intended compassion, she wins Bently be brave,” Boynton-Hughes says. “And for kids who a replacement friend in a crossword-puzzle contest. This don’t relate to Molly, who are extroverted and don’t emotional complication can prompt discussions around kind- struggle with making friends, I hope they see that, for ness and outgrowing a friendship. But the worrying issues of commodifying friendship and staying with one’s own kind are some people, saying ‘hello’ can be a struggle. equally present. The pacing and text, unfortunately, leave open “Sometimes acts of bravery are small,” she says. a wide range of interpretations. “They don’t look like something big and heroic, just a While comforting to some, this well-intentioned story moment in someone’s day where they’re trying to do with engaging illustrations may prompt questions from others. (Picture book. 4 8) something that’s difficult for them.” - SAVE YOUR FRIENDS! Brave Molly was reviewed in the March 1, 2019, issue. Kyung, Hyewon Illus. by the author Greenwillow (32 pp.)

$16.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 young adult 978-0-06-268315-1

After a large fishhook dangled by a passing vessel becomes stuck in its mouth, a shark swims through a group of marine animals, accidentally swallowing several. The animals—a clownfish, a puffer fish, a seal, and more— and their worried friends and parents enlist readers’ assistance to free them. “Hello, friend! I need your help. Please turn the page. SAVE ME” reads one representative plea, and sure enough, on the next spread, that fish is free on verso while another one is stuck in the shark’s maw, which gapes open on recto. While the major elements of compositions are static, Kyung keeps pages fresh with humorous dialogue and expressive faces on her sea creatures. The shark initially comes across as a bully, but by the end, readers learn that its mouth is open due to the hook, and like the other animals, it needs their help. Once the hook is free, the shark thanks its new “friend”—and then playfully chases a sea turtle. The backmatter, entitled “Save the Sharks!” consists of a series of shark facts in speech balloons, like the rest of the book’s text. These include their sizes, diets, habitats, and physical peculiarities, but there is no mention of why the shark needs saving. Given the shark’s dilemma, readers may be puzzled not to see fishing addressed at all. Children will enjoy the interactive nature of this funny book during storytime or while sitting in a lap. (Pic- ture book. 3-7)

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 93 Back-and-forth questioning moves the action forward but also prompts musings on belief and story. the playgrounds of babel

THE FOUR GUARDIANS sticky situations. Narrator Lexie never misses an opportunity to Laney, Matt use numbers in storytelling (“three-inch trickles of sweat were HMH Books (368 pp.) dripping down my back”), making for a well-executed, funny (if $16.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 hyperfocused) voice. Readers are subtly given opportunities to 978-1-328-70738-3 solve problems while reading. Full-page drawings and smaller Series: Pride Wars, 2 spot illustrations break up the text in each chapter, depicting Lamar with brown skin and Lexie as white; both appear some- Following the events of The Spinner what older than readers might expect. A depicted trio of three- Prince (2018), leonine Prince Leo Kahn eared rabbits looks unfortunately like stereotypical Native goes on a quest to find his mother, deep Americans. The math will be enough to draw some readers in in enemy territory among the Maguar, while the action-packed story will keep the math-averse read- and save the world. ing—and perhaps occasionally flexing their math muscles too. Accompanied by three of his allies, Stick, Anjali, and Zoya, Book 2, Planet of the Penguins, publishes simultaneously. narrator Leo both seeks his mother and flees his usurping older This playful math series is overall a valuable addition cousin Tamir, the self-ordained supreme military commander of to the chapter-book shelf. (Fiction. 7-11) (Planet of the Penguins: the Singa Royal Army. Prince Leo is the true heir to the throne, 978-1-4549-2922-2) but his cousin wants him dead. On their journey, Leo learns the source of his powers as a Truth Teller—he can summon things from fiction into reality—as well as a startling revelation about THE PLAYGROUNDS OF BABEL his lineage. The prince and his friends attempt to win over the Lawson, Jon & Arno Lawson Maguar by warning them about Tamir’s intention to free the Illus. by Grobler, Piet sea demon Hasatamura, imprisoned in the Great Mountain, by Groundwood (32 pp.) waging war—it is bloodshed that has the power to release Hasa- $18.95 | Aug. 6, 2019 tamura. Everyone will suffer if the prides cannot band together, 978-1-77306-036-1 Leo argues. Laney’s worldbuilding is baroque, leading to a narrative festooned with capitalized jargon. It is also appropriative, A new take on the Babel tale featur- with embedded folktales and characters’ names drawn from ing friendship, song, and a dragon. many different cultures and sources, including Cherokee, Bud- Two children on a playground over- dhist, and Ghanaian, among others. hear an old woman telling a story. Since one child doesn’t The fantasy storyline gets lost in the collision of too understand her language, the other takes on the storytelling. many cultures, with appropriation that is both meaning- The story differs from what the listener—and perhaps read- less and confusing. (character list, story sources, author’s ers—is familiar with: After the people of Babel built their tower, note) (Fantasy. 10-12) “God sent a dragon to destroy the tower, and then God made it impossible for people to understand each other—by making new languages for everyone.” The translating child continues, I WAS AN describing how sudden linguistic barriers did nothing to dim OUTER-SPACE CHICKEN the friendship between two young girls of Babel. Through song, LaRochelle, David the two discovered how to communicate once more. Conveyed Illus. by Gorman, Mike entirely through dialogue, back-and-forth questioning between Sterling (96 pp.) listening child and translating child moves the action forward $6.95 paper | Jul. 2, 2019 but also prompts musings on belief and story. “None of it is real- 978-1-4549-2921-5 istic. It’s a story, not reality.…No one’s asking you to believe, just Series: Alien Math, 1 imagine.” Grobler’s mixed-media work illustrates the narrative layers. He sticks primarily to an inky palette for the playground Lexie and Lamar are practicing for action while illuminating the Babel tale with bright watercolor their math tournament when they are and colored pencil. Just as the skeptical child concedes, “That abducted by a creature from another sounds realistic,” the illustrator injects color into the play- planet. ground. Languages are denoted by different symbol sets rather Fooz thinks that Lexie and Lamar are chickens, since that’s than lettering, and the cast of characters is diverse in skin color what they called each other just before she abducted them. and dress, including both pairs of friends. Since chickens have “extremely low” intelligence, Fooz con- A conversation starter. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8) ducts a discreet intelligence test involving problem-solving and math to determine whether they are in fact not chickens. Solv- ing problems under time pressure livens things up for Lexie and Lamar, who love to use numbers, as well as for readers. But proving their humanity is no help when they are kidnapped. Again and again, math, logic, and numbers get Lexie and Lamar out of

94 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | THE TWELVE limiting (since grandmas can like dump trucks and tractors, Lin, Cindy too!); also, young children can indeed handle big words through Harper/HarperCollins (384 pp.) context clues and illustrations. It’s unclear at times whether $16.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 this advice is satirical or serious. The mixed-media illustrations 978-0-06-282127-0 are a bit too simplistic and caricatured in style, though they do present a diverse cast of characters. And yet the self-referential To save her friend and sister, a young cover image seems to indicate the book’s obsession with its girl embarks on a treacherous mission. own cleverness. The protagonist appears to be a child of color, Just five years ago, the island of with medium-brown skin and straight brown pigtails that stick Midaga was protected by the Twelve, straight out. warriors endowed with a magical trea- Not really enough of a story for telling a story about sto- sure and animal power from the Asian rytelling. (Picture book. 4-8) zodiac. But then the villainous Dragonlord took control, eliminating the Twelve and their apprentices, or Heirs. Since then, all individuals with zodiac powers have been hunted or THE TIME MUSEUM forced into hiding. When Usagi’s sister, Uma, and friend Tora Loux, Matthew are kidnapped by the Dragonlord’s men due to their powers, Illus. by the author she joins forces with a group of bandits who turn out to be ren- First Second (208 pp.) egade Heirs trained by the last surviving Warrior, Horangi the $14.99 paper | Jun. 11, 2019 Tigress. Usagi, endowed with powers of the wood rabbit, finds 978-1-59643-850-7

herself torn: Should she immediately rescue her friend and Series: Time Museum, 2 young adult sister or prove her worth by climbing Mount Jade and training to become an Heir? Rumors that the Dragonlord plans to A mission back to 18th-century execute his weak captives accelerate everything, cutting short France traps Delia Bean and her Epoch her training and sending Usagi and the Heirs to infiltrate Squad in a time loop from which they the Dragonlord’s lair. Although this fantasy is not based on a have to be rescued by their later selves. specific culture, the majority of characters’ names have East Hidden agendas and wheels within wheels begin to emerge Asian derivations. Unfortunately, other aspects of the world- in this follow-up to the 2017 opener as the newly fledged squad building are not so solid. Oddly for a book set on an island, for is trained by genial time traveler Richard Nixon (“They always instance, there’s no mention of the ocean or ports and very guess JFK!” he booms) in various seemingly random skills that little consumption of seafood. Obstacles are frequent but turn out to be oddly useful later on. They are then sent to a ball resolve quickly, limiting suspense but keeping pages turning. in 1778, where their mysterious nemesis, the Grey Earl, first A mostly promising debut. (Fantasy. 8-12) traps them, then secretly allows them to escape as part of some larger scheme. Meanwhile, nascent romances bloom and wilt, troubling revelations about the Time Museum’s origins come LOOK! I WROTE A BOOK! to light, and the squad shows its mettle in first battling a plant (And You Can Too!) monster and later an outsized armored warrior. Though his Lloyd-Jones, Sally panels tend to be small and tightly packed, Loux shows rare tal- Illus. by Layton, Neal ent for depicting thrillingly dangerous-looking adversaries and Schwartz & Wade/Random (40 pp.) cranking up both action and comedy with close-ups of wide- $17.99 | $20.99 PLB | Jul. 23, 2019 eyed, wide-mouthed faces. Nixon, who often looks more like 978-0-399-55818-4 Bob Hope (and behaves more like Robin Williams), is a scene 978-0-399-55819-1 PLB stealer, but Delia and her team are lively enough to keep the plot moving along briskly. Except for new addition Pauline, a From inspiration to finished tome, a dark-skinned British rock guitarist with a thing for Delia, diver- child author demystifies the process. sity markers are present but barely visible in the cast. Part tongue-in-cheek commentary and part literary DIY, More excitement in the time stream—but always with this book features witty tips and tricks for generating ideas, time to party in between. (Graphic science fiction. 10-13) turning them into stories, and then publicizing your work, all based on the narrator’s own, albeit naïve, experiences. Starting with “a Good Idea,” the child guides aspiring authors through choosing a title, crafting the parts of a story, and inventing an ending, even covering the crucial revision process. Particularly helpfully, the narrator explains how fiction means “you made it up” and nonfiction means “you ABSOLUTELY didn’t make it up.” Some of the advice, however, falls a bit short: In 2019, a traditional, gender- and age-based interest in story content seems

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 95 EMPEROR OF THE UNIVERSE support in her corner from professionals, family, and friends. Lubar, David Mackler describes the way Willa experiences the world so that Illus. by Larkum, Adam readers intimately perceive how it feels in her body. Refresh- Starscape/Tom Doherty (368 pp.) ingly, the adult characters treat the children as mature, capable $13.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 people, including them in decisions. There are also ringing 978-1-250-18923-3 truths to life as a kid of divorced parents that lay no blame and Series: Emperor of the Universe, 1 connect emotionally. The story focuses on working through tough changes, even when it is hard. A seventh-grader stumbles into some A quality, truthful portrayal of the general challenges intergalactic shenanigans. that come with different experiences of the world, whether Nicholas V. Landrew is a typical mid- personal or familial. (Fiction. 8-11) dle schooler, with little about him people might find remarkable or unusual. But once Nicholas is beamed aboard a Craborzi spaceship he becomes quite distinct to the larger universe. HOAX FOR HIRE With his beloved gerbil, Henrietta, and a package of ground Martin, Laura beef as traveling companions, Nicholas zips across the galaxy Harper/HarperCollins (320 pp.) trying to get back to his parents before he gets in trouble. The $16.99 | Aug. 27, 2019 ensuing novel wears its debt to Douglas Adams on its sleeve, 978-0-06-280380-1 mixing a zany adventure with humorous asides that open up the author’s peculiar and silly version of the known universe. Read- Can Grayson extricate himself from ers looking for the standard middle-grade adventure story will the family’s monster-making business? find plenty to enjoy here, but the author elevates the material Twelve-year-old Grayson McNeil loves by crafting his novel with the Douglas Adams’ toolbox. There’s his camera, which is never allowed on an odd remove from the novel’s expected course of events that hoaxes, the family business. For genera- puts everything just left of center, with the author letting read- tions the McNeil family has orchestrated ers know that this is all just a bit of fun that only the written elaborate scams for pay, bringing “to life” the Chupacabra, Big- word can create. Nicholas’ character does get a bit lost in the foot, Mothman, and various sea monsters. Grayson has secretly shuffle, creating a novel that won’t emotionally engage readers applied to prestigious Culver Academy for a scholarship in hopes but will poke at their intellects here and there. Larkum depicts of escaping a life as a hoaxer. When his dad is arrested in Scotland Nicholas as white in his frequent black-and-white cartoons. and Gramps vanishes, Grayson and his 16-year-old brother, Cur- A Hitchhiker’s Guide for the middle school set. (Science fiction. tis, must complete the hoax their family’s been hired to pull, but 9-12) a rival hoaxing family plans to steal this hoax and eliminate the competition all at once. Can the boys beat the baddies and complete their dad’s contract? Martin’s cryptid caper joins a flooded NOT IF I CAN HELP IT field of similar tales, but it holds its own. Grayson is an engaging, Mackler, Carolyn Everyboy narrator, and the cryptozoological factoids are legion. Scholastic (240 pp.) As with many others of the subgenre, readers must check their $16.99 | Jul. 30, 2019 credulity at the door whether they believe in crop circles or not; 978-0-545-70948-4 it’s the mundane events of the story that can cause the head- scratching. The cast is largely white. Change is hard for most people, but The combination of adventure and light humor makes it’s especially tough for Willa. for a pleasant diversion—best where there is strong inter- She and her best friend, Ruby, are est in imaginary zoology. (Fantasy. 8-12) very different. Willa is 11, white, book- loving, tall, and vegetarian, and she unashamedly loves LEGOs and dogs. VROOM! Ruby is (a smidge) younger, short, sporty, Indian-American, lac- McClintock, Barbara tose intolerant, and anxious. Willa also has sensory processing Illus. by the author disorder, but she staunchly prefers to keep that side of herself Farrar, Straus and Giroux (32 pp.) “private,” just among family. They are in the same fifth-grade $17.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 class, and they initially connected over a love of gummy bears. 978-1-62672-217-0 They also both happen to have divorced parents. Now Willa’s dad and Ruby’s mom tell the girls they’ve been dating for some The title says it all. time, and they’re “sure [they’re] in love.” Despite what every- Her auburn hair billowing behind like a second cloud of one else says, Willa knows this is “terrible, terrible news!” She exhaust, little Annie peels out of her bedroom window in a sil- already has to cope with the upcoming move to middle school, ver bullet of a car. Helmet and gloves in place, she takes straight and now this. Willa’s family is comfortably off, and she has solid roads past fields of grain, twists up snow-capped mountains,

96 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | Meconis’ humor and storytelling gifts wed seamlessly with her evocative pen-and-ink and gouache illustrations. queen of the sea

zooms through deserts and woods. In the city, traffic slows her AS WARM AS THE SUN down for a second, and then she’s winning races, ultimately McMullan, Kate ending safely back home in a familiar room. “Tomorrow would Illus. by McMullan, Jim be another fine day for a drive.” Writing with cadences plucked Neal Porter/Holiday House (32 pp.) straight out of Sendak’s playbook, McClintock never wastes a $18.99 | Aug. 13, 2019 syllable. Annie’s journey encapsulates “hot and dry” deserts 978-0-8234-4327-7 and a “cool, damp forest.” The book allows kids the exhilara- tion of escape, coupling speed and danger with a warm bed A French bulldog named Toby adjusts and cuddle after a long day. Vast panoramic vistas from on high to the arrival of a new dog, a female contrast exquisitely with intimate shots like that of Annie’s named Pinkie, and the pair quickly face in her rear-view mirror. Little details include the hubcaps become best friends. that adorn Annie’s bedroom wall or the bald eagle peeking out Toby is a sedate, rusty-orange dog who has his favorite spots of a tree as the girl whizzes past. The book doesn’t just put in his house, all denoting warmth and safety. He loves his special readers in Annie’s shoes. It dares them to find shoes of their patch of sunlight on the carpet and the warm lap of his owner, a own and let their imaginations take the wheel. Annie and her white teenager who likes to read. When Pinkie (with distinctive family present white. pink ears) arrives on the scene, she immediately takes over the Max had his wolf suit and Llama Llama his red pajamas; house, leaving Toby displaced and depressed. He slinks down to Annie has her racing togs. She fits right in.(Picture book. 3-6) the basement to hide in a corner, but Pinkie follows him, and her concern leads to a quick rapprochement, with the two dogs suddenly pals for life. Pinkie’s approach to Toby—she sidles up

THE OCEAN DISASTER “against his rump”—may set off some questions or giggles, with young adult McElligott, Matthew its focus on dog rear ends. The metaphor of their canine com- Illus. by the author panionship as the new sunshine in Toby’s life will likely go over Crown (40 pp.) the heads of the intended audience. Watercolor illustrations $17.99 | $20.99 PLB | Jul. 9, 2019 once Pinkie arrives have a rather dark, foreboding air to con- 978-1-5247-6719-8 trast with the sun and light elements, and the dogs often seem 978-1-5247-6720-4 PLB posed and static. Series: Mad Scientist Academy The McMullans have won legions of fans with I Stink! (2002) and its sequels, but their dog characters fail to exert Dr. Cosmic takes his students on an the same snappy appeal. (Picture book. 3-7) underwater adventure using a specially designed underwater vehicle he calls a SKWID. McElligott explores the ocean depths in this fourth title in QUEEN OF THE SEA the Mad Scientist Academy series, STEM-friendly science fan- Meconis, Dylan tasies reminiscent of Ms. Frizzle’s Magic School Bus trips but Illus. by the author with less text and a more modern approach. Sequential panels Walker US/Candlewick (400 pp.) and occasional full-page illustrations, done with ink, pencil, and $24.99 | Jun. 25, 2019 digital techniques, show red-haired, green-skinned Dr. Cosmic 978-1-5362-0498-8 and his species-diverse students: a robot with pageboy hair, a bat-winged vampire, a zombie, a wolflike creature, something A young orphan’s and an exiled reptilian, and something faintly insectoid, characters first queen’s fates intertwine on a remote introduced in The Dinosaur Disaster (2015). His new assistant, island. Professor Fathom, is a dark-skinned mermaid with long black Loosely based on the childhood of hair. Using student questions and an intriguing gadget they call Elizabeth I, Meconis’ rich historical fan- a handbook that unfolds to offer encyclopedialike fast facts and tasy centers on young Margaret, an orphan taken while a baby interesting details, the author smoothly weaves solid informa- to live on a nearly forgotten island in the kingdom of Albion. Its tion into his narrative. He describes sonar and echolocation; only inhabitants are a small order of nuns dedicated to helping how animals get oxygen; food energy, producers and consumers, anyone “whose life or love is at the mercy of the sea,” a hapless and the food web; phyto- and zooplankton; toothed and baleen priest, a couple servants, some farm animals, and a cat. Marga- whales; sperm whales and squid. There’s even a reminder of ret, who’s been on the island for six years, thrives in the simplic- the need for a clean-energy source for their vehicle: Its biofuel ity of her idyllic existence. Nevertheless, she eagerly anticipates is made from seaweed. All these concepts become part of the the semiannual visits of the lone ship that docks on the island’s story, making this tale a surprisingly well-constructed teaching shores and finds her prayers for companionship answered when vehicle. Endpaper sketches detail Dr. Cosmic’s latest inventions. a young boy and his mother are sent to the island for opposing Information and entertainment in an appealing comic the king. Margaret then slowly learns the true nature of the con- format. (more ocean organisms) (Graphic science fantasy. 6-9) vent’s existence and begins to question her own lineage when a mysterious visitor named Eleanor is banished to the island by

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 97 A climax that would be unbelievable in fiction. the magnificent migration

her sister, the queen, and kept under constant watch. Meconis’ THE MAGNIFICENT humor and storytelling gifts here wed seamlessly with her evoc- MIGRATION ative pen-and-ink and gouache illustrations, which are rendered On Safari with Africa’s in warm earth and sea tones and brim with movement, expres- Last Great Herds sively capturing even Margaret’s interior monologues. Montgomery, Sy With its compelling, complex characters and intrigue- Photos by Wood, Roger & Wood, Logan laden plot, this will have readers hoping it’s only the first HMH Books (176 pp.) of many adventures for Meconis’ savvy heroine. (Graphic $24.99 | Jun. 11, 2019 fantasy. 10-adult) 978-0-544-76113-1 Montgomery journeys into the heart of the wildebeest SMALL WORLD migration with a wildlife biologist who has been studying these Mercurio, Ishta African mammals for more than 50 years. Illus. by Corace, Jen Eleven chapters and a reflective epilogue chronicle a two- Abrams (32 pp.) week visit to Tanzania’s northern plains with a small group $17.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 led by Richard Estes, “the guru of gnu.” Montgomery, who 978-1-4197-3407-6 has described many remarkable scientific field trips for the Scientists in the Field series, aims this report at older readers A young girl discovers her world as who can take in and act on her underlying message: “Through- she grows up. out the Serengeti, our kind threatens the very survival of the Little Nanda’s world begins in her migration we’ve come so far to witness.” Tension heightens as mother’s arms when she is a small baby. As she grows, her world the wildebeest hordes elude them for days. Finally, a dramatic expands too. From friends and family to new places and new car breakdown in the wilderness is followed by “immersion” in discoveries, Nanda pushes the limits of her world as much as an ocean of migrating gnus—a climax that would be unbeliev- possible—until one day, she realizes her world is the same as able in fiction. Setting this particular safari in a larger context, it was when she was a baby in her mother’s arms: “safe, warm, and heightening the suspense, are interspersed short segments small.” Rich, imaginative text paints a beautiful picture of Nan- about Serengeti wildlife, poachers’ snares, the role of fire, “other da’s life and generously weaves in figurative language (“It soared magnificent migrants,” and more. The overall design is inviting through a symphony of glass and stone. / It spooled through and appropriate to the subject. There are maps, plentiful pho- spirals of wire and foam”). It is also refreshing to see Nanda tos of African animals, and pictures and minibiographies of depicted as a strong South Asian girl protagonist who blends Montgomery’s all-white safari companions, both American and in and yet stands out. Unfortunately, some of the text and the Tanzanian. Montgomery touches on the white-directed nature broader underlying concept of the book—which takes her of much scientific research in Africa as well as pressures from through college and beyond to a career as an astronaut—may colonialism and climate change but keeps her focus tightly on be hard to grasp for the target preschool audience. Corace’s the wildebeest. illustrations, created using gouache, ink, and acrylic, effort- A splendid wildlife adventure skillfully conveyed. lessly show Nanda’s curiosity and the diverse world we all live in (acknowledgments, selected bibliography, note on wil- today. Attention to detail and authenticity in the illustrations is debeest conservation and tourism, photo credits, index) evident on each page. (Nonfiction. 11-adult) A thought-provoking and evocative book that may unfortunately fail to pique the interest of its target audience but may also provide a fresh substitute for Oh, the Places POSITIVELY TEEN You’ll Go come graduation season. (author’s note) (Picture A Practical Guide to a More book. 4-8) Positive, More Confident You Morgan, Nicola Poppy/Little, Brown (208 pp.) $17.99 | Jul. 16, 2019 978-0-316-52888-7

A wide-ranging guide to harnessing the brain’s awesome powers on the journey through adolescence. De-emphasizing bodily changes, the brain takes center stage as the key to understanding individual differences, identifying character strengths and personality traits that affect how we experience the world, maintaining a positive mindset, focusing on what we can control, and letting

98 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | go of what we can’t change. Confidence-building quizzes, tips, GIVE ME BACK and online resources aim to help readers manage setbacks MY BONES! through cultivating a growth mindset, managing stress, and Norman, Kim improving sleep. Techniques for improving one’s learning offer Illus. by Kolar, Bob useful, practical advice. The message that, at the fundamental Candlewick (40 pp.) level of brain structure, individuals are more alike than not is $16.99 | Jul. 16, 2019 comforting. The book touches only lightly on topics of gender 978-0-7636-8841-7 and sexuality. Many of the recommended activities are geared to middle-class readers with considerable autonomy and finan- In a watery anatomy lesson, a pirate cial resources. The dietary guidelines reflect a Western diet, skeleton gathers up and reconnects its scattered bones. although there is mention of vegetarian and vegan lifestyles. As it goes, Norman’s rollicking rhymes cleverly incorpo- Exercise (including suggestions for those with disabilities), rate each major bone’s common and formal names: “Collar me reading (and what to do if you don’t enjoy it), sensible social a collarbone, / the way-down-where-I-swaller bone, / a handy media use, and cultivating empathy are also covered. The text parrot-hauler bone— / I claim my clavicle.” She tracks her skel- is broken up into manageable chunks utilizing a variety of fonts, etal buccaneer’s sandy-bottom reassembly from skull to “fair and the chatty style is accessible. Despite some limitations, this phalanges.” Sandwiched between visual keys on the endpapers presentation of growing up through the angle of brain devel- (in separate pieces in the front and assembled and accoutered opment sends a positive message: Everyone’s different, but the in the rear), Kolar scatters simplified but recognizable body upheavals of adolescence are universal. parts (plus the requisite peg leg) across sea beds well-populated An upbeat, reassuring tool kit for tweens and young with colorful tropical fish and other marine denizens. Several teens. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14) of these pitch in to help before the narrative leaves the finished young adult skeleton posing heroically atop a sunken ship with a spyglass clutched in its metacarpals: “There’s treasure to be found here— TWO BROTHERS, ONE TAIL / I feel it in my bones!” Budding biologists as well as general fans Morris, Richard T. of pirates, poetry, and wordplay will agree—and it makes a fuller Illus. by Fleck, Jay (and less freighted) alternative to Bob Barner’s Dem Bones (1996) Philomel (32 pp.) and other versions of the old teaching spiritual. $17.99 | Aug. 27, 2019 Both macabre and cheery—a rare treat. (Picture book. 6-8) 978-1-524-74085-6

The unconditional love and compan- THE RIGHT ONE FOR RODERIC ionship between a boy and his dog are celebrated in a poetic ode. Noy, Violeta Though physically different in obvious ways—one has two Illus. by the author hands, the other four paws; one has 10 fingers, the other 10 Templar/Candlewick (40 pp.) claws—emotionally, they are one and the same, with an insepa- $16.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 rable affection for each other. Throughout the day as they lie 978-1-5362-0572-5 on the grass together, share an ice cream, sing and croon a tune, enjoy a car ride, run and play, and eventually wind down with The smallest ghost in the family a good read in bed, the unnamed dark-haired, beige-skinned yearns to be noticed. boy and the beagle remain devoted to each other as playmates, Little Roderic feels small and overlooked by his family. friends, and, yes, brothers. Minimally detailed, curved pencil Wanting to be seen, he decides to try changing his appear- drawings with digitally added color and texture achieve a bold ance. On top of his standard white sheet, he adds a hat…and outlined style and provide sweet visuals with a flat perspective. then another and another. But that doesn’t work out. Nor does The rhymed text of short quatrains mostly reads aloud with a scarf. He tries taking off his white sheet (revealing his green, ease. “Two brothers one coat / Two brothers with hair / Two ectoplasmic essence) and changing his entire wardrobe, but brothers one sheds / Two brothers who cares!” Devoted dog that doesn’t go over well with the family. “Ghosts just don’t owners who encourage a siblinglike relationship between child dress like that,” his elders say. He tries going to the city, where and pet will readily identify. perhaps people will notice and appreciate his fashion. But “they A gentle and loving illustration of the absolute bond [don’t] even see him.” So he returns home, where he has been between a boy and his canine buddy. (Picture book. 3-6) missed, and the family drapes him in another white sheet, but he doesn’t settle for that. Roderic finally happens upon an outfit that feels just right, and he tells his family, “I am going to be different!!” Not only is he accepted, but his family is inspired to experiment too. The simple digital illustrations effectively use color and composition to set the endearing protagonist against unwelcoming crowds, including the city’s multihued sea of people, and to highlight his mostly lonesome journey.

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 99 Though the message is nothing new, the moments of Guglielmo Marconi. She promotes him as both a pacifist (not- humor and emotional resonance in this brave little ghost’s withstanding his visions of particle-beam superweapons) and a story make this one worth a read. (Picture book. 3-8) conservationist whose experiments with wireless power transmission were spurred at least in part by environmental concerns. Without psychologizing she also notes his secretive nature, his TITANS tendencies to live beyond his means and to con investors, his O’Hearn, Kate now-disturbing eugenics theories, and his nomadic last years as Aladdin (496 pp.) a reclusive urban pigeon feeder. Period photos and patent draw- $18.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 ings depict the hawk-nosed inventor, his work, his rivals, and his 978-1-5344-1704-5 friends, and there are further resources aplenty at the end for Series: Titans, 1 curious or tantalized readers. Young experimenters hoping to fire up megavolt blasts of sparks or light bulbs held in their bare A spinoff of the Pegasus series star- hands as Tesla did will be disappointed by the inserted projects, ring plucky young heroes trying to save which begin with generating static electricity on a balloon and the world of Titus from an existential go on to demonstrations of magnetic fields and electromagne- threat. tism, writing an autobiography, and suchlike depressingly non- Titan Astraea and best friend Zephyr, hazardous activities. her winged equine (she is not a “horse”!), are starting at a new, Overall, a winning tribute to a scientific dreamer who integrated school for both Titans and Olympians, established to was both a man of his times and, often, well ahead of them. help ease tensions between the two peoples now that they share (index, timeline, endnotes) (Biography. 11-13) one world. A conflict with an Olympian student lands them in detention right away, where they discover a forbidden human boy, Jake. Jake’s not the first human to mysteriously appear BROWN on Titus lately, and so they, along with silver-skinned Tryn, a Øvreås, Håkon fellow new student who is half human, half Rhean, keep Jake Illus. by Torseter, Øyvind concealed while trying to find his missing sister and to discover Trans. by Dickson, Kari who is bringing humans to Titus. Their investigation uncovers a Enchanted Lion Books (136 pp.) sinister plot, with highly dangerous invaders already infiltrating $16.95 | $9.95 paper | Jun. 4, 2019 the highest levels of society. The writing is simplistic and easy to 978-1-59270-212-1 follow, though the story rhythm is disrupted by repetitions and 978-1-59270-251-0 paper reminders of plot points that pad out the page count. While Series: My Alter Ego is a Superhero characters from O’Hearn’s Pegasus series are mentioned many times and appear briefly, saving the day this time is up to a new Bullies spur a lad and two new friends crop of heroes who must learn to work together. In a sharp pace to dress up as secret superheroes in this trilogy opener from change, the sequel-prompting climax (after the 400-page mark) Norway. is rushed. Both blond, Astraea and Jake present white. Encouraged by the spectral figure of his just-deceased For fans of world-hopping adventure flavored with grandpa, Rusty sets out for payback after three punks—iden- mythology, magic, and pretty wings on characters. (Fantasy. tified throughout as “Anton, Ruben, and the minister’s son”— 8-13) wreck the clubhouse he and his friend Jack have laboriously constructed from scrap. As “Brown,” dressed in a brown cape and mask, he sneaks out into the night to slap brown paint NIKOLA TESLA FOR KIDS on Ruben’s bicycle. Shortly after Rusty tells Jack about the His Life, Ideas, and feat, another masked marauder, “Black,” repaints Anton’s bike. Inventions, with 21 Activities Joined by a third confidante, styling herself “Blue, or the Blue O’Quinn, Amy M. Avenger,” the trio sets out on one more nocturnal mission… Chicago Review Press (144 pp.) only to discover that most of the stash of blue paint has disap- $16.99 paper | Jul. 9, 2019 peared. Still, there’s enough to repaint the bikes of all three foes 978-0-912777-21-4 blue. The next day Rusty, overcome by guilt, is on the verge of Series: For Kids confessing…when he learns that his nemeses are now in deep doo-doo for several acts of mischief, notably splashing the local A searching portrait of the troubled, visionary Serbian- church’s spire with blue “rude words.” Off the hook! Small, fine- American inventor, with simple hands-on projects that touch lined ink drawings with color highlights on nearly every page on his life and interests. supply this tongue-in-cheek escapade with evocative vignettes O’Quinn describes in some detail the achievements for depicting Rusty’s flights of fancy, quizzical-looking parents and which Tesla is best remembered—from the Tesla coil and the other grown-ups, and masked prowlers in homemade outfits. practical generation of AC electricity to an advanced type The cast defaults to white. of turbine—as well as his conflicts with Thomas Edison and Chucklebait for Wimpy Kid fans. (Fiction. 9-11)

100 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | An off-topic complaint about the lack of diversity makes an opening for important conversations with young readers. tallulah the tooth fairy ceo

TRICERATOPS STOMP Malala Yousafzai’s dad and champion, Ziauddin, transgen- Patkau, Karen der activist Kylar W. Broadus, and socially conscious creative Illus. by the author artists including Lin-Manuel Miranda and Kendrick Lamar. Pajama Press (32 pp.) Though intent on highlighting good works, the author doesn’t $17.95 | Jul. 17, 2019 shy away from personal details—she identifies six entrants as 978-1-77278-079-6 gay and one, Freddie Mercury, as bisexual—or darker ones, such as Harvey Milk’s assassination and Anthony Bourdain’s suicide. Triceratops babies have an eventful Washington works with a severely limited menu of facial expres- day after first hatching. sions, but each subject in his full-page accompanying portraits Tucked away on the forest floor is a clutch of eggs. Readers radiates confidence and dignity. can see tiny cracks beginning to form. Sounds jostle from the Pure gold for readers in search of role models who buck pages: “Tap-tap. Peck-peck. Crack. Crack. Crack.” After some conventional masculine expectations. (source notes) (Col picking and poking, out tumble triceratops babies! They “wrig- lective biography. 11-14) gle-wriggle” and “S-T-R-E-T-C-H” as they gain their footing and look at the world around them for the first time. What do these babies want to do? Eat, of course! “Chomp-chomp. Munch- TALLULAH THE TOOTH munch. Gulp-gulp-gulp.” But suddenly, a loud “ROARRR!” FAIRY CEO interrupts their meal. A T. Rex is coming. “Thud-thud. Thud- Pizzoli, Tamara thud. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.” The tiny babies don’t know what Illus. by Fabiani, Federico to do. Luckily, their mother is close by. Never underestimate the Farrar, Straus and Giroux (40 pp.)

protective nature of a mother, even a reptilian one. The layered $17.99 | Jul. 30, 2019 young adult greens and muted browns of the digital background highlight 978-0-374-30919-0 the tiny red mouths of the babies, who are continuously crying, biting, or yawning—and making a whole lot of noise. Although A tooth-fairy mogul wrote the man- the dinosaur sounds may be hypothetical (Would they “cheep?” ual, but even the expert can be caught off Did they “bellowww?”), dino fans will delight in this onomato- guard. poeic romp. Extra information about other dinosaurs found Tallulah, CEO of Teeth Titans Inc., gives readers a sneak throughout the story is appended at the end. peek into her glamorous life. The wry narrative mimics the tone Fill your storytime with prehistoric sound. (Picture book. of many an inspirational biography, informing readers that Tal- 2-5) lulah works hard to strike “a healthy balance between the three Ps: passion, purpose, and what pays.” From yoga to museum visits, Tallulah seems to have a full schedule, but she still makes GROUNDBREAKING time to hire and train tooth fairies for the entire world. Expert GUYS Tallulah has all the answers—or so she thinks until the night she 40 Men Who Became gets a surprise from a little boy. Ballard has lost his tooth—liter- Great by Doing Good ally—and leaves an explanatory note under his pillow in place Peters, Stephanie True of the missing item. This triggers an emergency board meeting Illus. by Washington, Shamel that features remarkably realistic dialogue. Tom, a white man Little, Brown (96 pp.) and the only board member who is not a woman of color, wears $16.99 | Jun. 11, 2019 an #AllFairiesMatter T-shirt; his off-topic complaint about 978-0-316-52941-9 the lack of diversity makes an opening for important conversations with young readers. Tallulah is black and sports a volu- Single-page profiles of men who were guided by their better minous purple Afro; Tom is the sole white character. Details in angels. both Pizzoli’s text (Tallulah’s also the founder of the National “History books are full of men who have made their mark,” Association for the Appreciation and Care of Primary Teeth, or Peters writes. “But these great men were not always good men.” NAACP-T) and Fabiani’s matte illustrations (a series of enor- So this atypical gallery focuses on men who served communi- mous, Warhol-like prints of Tallulah adorns her walls) will set ties, demonstrated real respect for others, or otherwise acted adult readers chuckling. on worthy principles. With one exception, men presented were Funny and provocative. (Picture book. 6-10) born in or at least lived into the 20th century. That exception, John Stuart Mill, leads off for his then-radical notions about human (including women’s) rights and the “tyranny of the majority.” The ensuing multiracial, multinational roster mixes the predictable likes of Cesar Chavez, Thích Nhåt Hąnh, and Roberto Clemente with Chinese diplomat Feng-Shan Ho (who helped “hundreds, and possibly thousands” of Jews escape Nazi- occupied Vienna), Indian child-labor activist Kailash Satyarthi,

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 101 Focuses as much on conveying the distinctive character of its subject as on public achievements. harry houdini

PROFESSOR RENOIR’S strong and very bendy” performer hung about with shackles COLLECTION OF ODDITIES, or posing with his closely knit family. (With the exception of CURIOSITIES, AND DELIGHTS the occasional child of color in a contemporary scene, char- Platt, Randall acters depicted are white.) In line with the series premise and Harper/HarperCollins (416 pp.) overall informal tone, the author refers to him throughout as $16.99 | Jul. 23, 2019 “Harry” (his stage name). Andrew Prentice does likewise for his 978-0-06-264334-6 free-spirited subject in the co-published Amelia Earhart (illustrated by Mike Smith), taking “Amelia” (or, in childhood chap- A 19th-century girl with an unusual ters, “Millie”) from homemade backyard roller coaster to final physique makes herself a life. disappearance. Both profiles open with fictive but revealing Babe was born “right as rain” in 1882 introductory exchanges, and both focus as much on convey- in a tiny Idaho town, but she grew atypi- ing the distinctive characters of their subjects as on their pub- cally. Now 14, she’s 6 feet, 9 inches and 342 pounds. Pa, greedy lic achievements. Prentice adds a closing gallery of renowned and cold, sells her to a carnival, where the carnival master prom- women aviators, from African-American Bessie Coleman to ises she’ll be a “uh, strongwoman act.” She is, in fact, extremely Jerrie Mock, who, like Earhart, was white. strong, but he forces her into fakery (like all his acts) and harsh, Together with its companion, stimulating portraits brash showmanship. Babe’s time in the cruel titular carnival— of two colorful, driven historical figures. (timelines, and after leaving it—show her as dogged, thoughtful, and loyal, glossaries, reading lists) (Biography. 10-12) (Amelia Earhart: with a tenacious sense of justice and a fierce protectiveness 978-1197-3741-1) toward “critters.” (Readers sensitive to animal pain should gird their loins.) The text humanely characterizes people perceived as freaks but undermines this with frequent objectification, IF PLUTO WAS A PEA spotlighting Babe’s gigantism and her enemy-turned-friend Prendergast, Gabrielle Lotty’s dwarfism: “the dwarf and the giant stared each other Illus. by Gerlings, Rebecca down”; “Nothing was more clumsy than a dancing giant with McElderry (40 pp.) an awkward dwarf ducking in and out of her legs”; “the odd $17.99 | Aug. 20, 2019 sight of a dwarf, a giant, and an elephant.” The m-word, identi- 978-1-5344-0435-9 fied as a slur for dwarfs, is nevertheless frequently used. Babe’s self-proclaimed “hick-like” speech is part lower-class stereotype This first picture book by novelist Prendergast Pandas( on (“libarry”), part creative (“ookus” for money). Everyone appears the East Side, 2016, etc.) explains the relative sizes of the planets to be white. in our solar system. A heart-rending and memorable picture of 19th-cen- Two children camp out in a backyard, a black child with tury challenges for girls with unusual bodies—and for cornrows and afro puffs and a white child with freckles and captive animals—though the narration sometimes uses glasses. Armed with a book about the solar system, they explore carnival lenses itself. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-13) Pluto’s status as a dwarf planet by using the refrain “if Pluto was a pea” as a point of comparison. Each spread compares a pea-sized Pluto to another object in the solar system. “The sun HARRY HOUDINI would be a tent”; “Mercury would be a marble”; etc. The final Poskitt, Kjartan comparison is to smaller objects—Pluto’s three moons. On each Illus. by Ford, Geraint spread, the newly named object appears, sometimes with the Abrams (160 pp.) last object or a pea in the picture too. In the digital illustrations, $9.99 | Aug. 13, 2019 the background alternates among the night sky, the inside of 978-1-4197-3862-3 the tent, and simple white space; the last unfortunately detracts Series: First Names from the cohesive feeling of the story as a cozy campout. An effort is made to keep the objects in proper proportion; this The life and eye-widening feats of is not always the case though, and the inconsistency can cause a showman who was “always hungry confusion. Both metric and English measurements are given for for adventure, challenges, fame, and each item for the mathematically minded; as the text is stolidly success.” repetitive, it’s hard to imagine other sorts of readers for it. Warning would-be imitators away A good idea with execution that leaves much to be as needed (“Absolutely Do Not Try desired. (Informational picture book. 4-8) This!”) Poskitt offers an animated account of Houdini’s career and lifelong devotion to topping his own seemingly impossible tricks and escapes, punctuating it with explicit side explanations of how many of them were done. Along with helpful diagrams and cutaway views, Ford adds frequent depictions of gobsmacked crowds, despairing rivals, and scenes of the “very

102 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | STAY this parable is hammered home by its last line: “No trees were Pyron, Bobbie harmed in making this story.” The Spanish publisher has used Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins a special “stone paper” made with calcium carbonate and high- (320 pp.) density polyethylene. This paper feels lovely in the hand, and the $16.99 | Aug. 13, 2019 pastel illustrations, done in vivid, if synthetic, colors, show off 978-0-06-283922-0 beautifully. But librarians should weigh the advantages and disad- vantages of this paper, which is advertised as durable, waterproof, A small dog, the elderly woman who and photo degradable—that is, the art may fade in time. While it owns him, and a homeless girl come lasts, though, it will make a conversation-provoking read-aloud. together to create a tale of serendipity. Goran presents white. The Spanish edition is also available. Piper, almost 12, her parents, and Best when shared with early elementary schoolers by an her younger brother are at the bottom adult with time and tact for the discussion that will surely of a long slide toward homelessness. Finally in a family shelter, follow. (Picture book. 5-9) (El último árbol: 978-84-16733-45-3) Piper finds that her newfound safety gives her the opportunity to reach out to someone who needs help even more. Jewel, mentally ill, lives in the park with her dog, Baby. Unwilling to THE MAGIC FLUTE leave her pet, and forbidden to enter the shelter with him, she Adapt. by Raschka, Chris struggles with the winter weather. Ree, also homeless and with Illus. by the adapter a large dog, helps when she can, but after Jewel gets sick and is Richard Jackson/Atheneum (48 pp.) hospitalized, Baby’s taken to the animal shelter, and Ree can’t $17.99 | Aug. 13, 2019

manage the complex issues alone. It’s Piper, using her best inves- 978-1-4814-4902-1 young adult tigative skills, who figures out Jewel’s backstory. Still, she needs all the help of the shelter Firefly Girls troop that she joins to A favorite Mozart opera presented in a achieve her accomplishment: to raise enough money to provide retelling by a master of the picture book who is also an opera lover. Jewel and Baby with a secure, hopeful future and, maybe, with Nobles fall in love, and commoners fall in love. A Queen of their kindness, to inspire a happier story for Ree. Told in the the Night and a king of the day rule their kingdoms. Snakes and authentic alternating voices of loving child and loyal dog, this lions appear, as do Wise Boys and Temple Priests. Characters tale could easily slump into a syrupy melodrama, but Pyron lets face trials and tribulations in order to prove their worthiness. her well-drawn characters earn their believable happy ending, Folk are not necessarily what they first appear to be. The titu- step by challenging step, by reaching out and working together. lar instrument, bells, and horns sound their beautiful notes. And Piper, her family, and Jewel present white; Pyron uses hair and at the conclusion of this frequently performed and very melodic naming convention, respectively, to cue Ree as black and Piper’s musical comedy, “Beauty and wisdom are crowned!” In this labor friend Gabriela as Latinx. of love, Raschka begins by (thank goodness) providing a cast of Entrancing and uplifting. (Fiction. 9-12) characters. Each scene of the two acts is introduced in regular typeface while graphic panels in fluid watercolors, replete with hand-lettered conversation bubbles, provide close-ups of the THE LAST TREE quickly moving action. The performers vary in color from stark Quintana Silva, María white to green to midnight blue. Raschka’s art, in vibrant yellows, Illus. by Álvarez, Silvia blues, and greens, is more than an accompaniment, turning his Trans. by Jon Brokenbrow staging into a stellar performance of dialogue and scenic design. Cuento de Luz (32 pp.) This last opera composed by Mozart, really a singspiel, is often $16.95 | Jun. 4, 2019 presented with colorful costumes and a host of puppets. Reading 978-84-16733-46-0 this title and listening to the music are the perfect introduction to an enjoyable family outing. What if all the world’s trees Love, adventure, and enchantment artfully cast their disappeared? spell. (Picture book. 8-12) The fear of being burned or cut to pieces convinces the trees in Goran’s world to pull up their roots and depart, taking the shade, the birds, and the animals and leaving behind a “thick, grey smog.” Remembering all the ways he’s enjoyed the tree in his garden, Goran worries that it will leave too. He convinces it to stay and sleep through the winter while he and his friends replant the forest and pick up trash. In spring, the tree wakes to a better world. Quintana Silva, who described a refugee experience in Kalak’s Journey (illustrated by Marie-Noëlle Hébert and also translated by Brokenbrow, 2018), here introduces children to another distressing issue: deforestation. The obvious lesson in

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 103 HATS ARE NOT stuttering her amazement at his brave feats, is just right. Sarah FOR CATS! and her mother have pale skin and straight, black hair; other Rayner, Jacqueline K. city dwellers are diverse. Peaceful and pensive like Truman him- Illus. by the author self, this book charms; there’s just something uplifting and won- Clarion (32 pp.) derful about the whole package. $17.99 | Aug. 20, 2019 Never underestimate the feats an animal will brave in 978-1-328-96719-0 order to be reunited with their loved ones. (Picture book. 4-8) Who should wear hats? Dogs or cats? A cat wearing a fez is admonished by a dog in a top hat: TURTLE AND TORTOISE ARE “Hats are not for cats.” The dog goes on to catalog the types of NOT FRIENDS hats that just don’t work for cats: “Not hats that are festive or Reiss, Mike hats that are fun. / Not hats for the cold or hats for the sun. / Illus. by Spires, Ashley Not hats that are fussy or hats that are frilly. / Not hats that are Harper/HarperCollins (32 pp.) serious… / or hats that are silly!” Heedless, the cat keeps try- $17.99 | Jul. 23, 2019 ing on different hats as it bounces through the pages, but every 978-0-06-074031-3 fashion choice is nixed by the hound. After the exhaustive list—capped by an enormous, spread-dominating eruption of Two eggs find themselves in the same pen in a London zoo, “HATS ARE NOT FOR CATS!”—the gray puss begs to differ… and when they hatch, a turtle and a tortoise emerge. and brings a parade of hat-wearing cats by to prove that hats are The turtle and tortoise think of all the fun they’ll have for everyone (including turtles, ducks, and canaries). Rayner’s together. “We shall be best friends,” they agree for a quick sec- inclusive celebration of chapeaux is a delightful debut. The big, ond, until the turtle dubs them “the Terrible Turtle Twins!” Sud- shaggy dog and fluffy puss speak in color-coded dialogue bal- denly, the tortoise is affronted. “I’m not a turtle,” he says, and loons, providing all the text of the tale. The scribbly, smudgy goes on to explain that “a turtle is a horrid beast with rough skin figures appear to be done in watercolor and charcoal and are and a hard shell,” whereas he, the tortoise, is “a handsome crea- placed on expansive white space. Although they speak, show ture with a hard shell and rough skin.” The turtle and tortoise emotion, and wear hats, they are not otherwise anthropomor- decide it would not make sense for them to be friends given their phic, and the sight of these four-legged critters in the various differences, and they spend many years apart and resolutely do hats amps the silliness. not talk to each other. When their lives are (literally) upturned An exuberant update on the theme of cats in hats. (Pic one day, the question arises: Can the turtle and the tortoise ture book. 2-6) overcome their differences to help themselves and each other? Reiss’ subtle wit (which takes ample advantage of tortoise and turtle racing speeds) and Spires’ nearly identical turtle and tor- TRUMAN toise highlight the absurdity of what it means to be different. Reidy, Jean The passage of time is marked by the fashion of passers-by, who Illus. by Cummins, Lucy Ruth grow more diverse with the decades. Although some readers Atheneum (48 pp.) may take exception to the zookeeper’s unexplained assertion $17.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 that “all tortoises are turtles,” the book’s underlying message of 978-1-5344-1664-2 tolerance and acceptance is worth sharing. Humorous and deep. (Picture book. 4-7) A tiny tortoise discovers just how brave he is when his girl unexpectedly takes a bus headed away from home. THE BOY WHO Truman, like his girl, Sarah, is quiet, “peaceful and pensive,” CRIED WEREWOLF unlike the busy, noisy city outside their building’s window. In Reynolds, J.H. just the first few spreads, Reidy and Cummins manage to cap- Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins ture the close relationship between the girl and her pet, so it’s (160 pp.) understandable that Truman should worry when he adds up the $16.99 | $5.99 paper | Jul. 2, 2019 day’s mysterious clues: a big backpack, a large banana, a bow in 978-0-06-286935-7 Sarah’s hair, extra green beans in Truman’s dish, and, especially, 978-0-06-286934-0 paper Sarah boarding the No. 11 bus. He’s so worried that he decides Series: Monsterstreet, 1 to go after her, a daunting feat for a tortoise the size of a small doughnut. Cummins’ gouache, brush marker, charcoal, colored A weekend getaway takes a hairy turn pencil, and digital illustrations marvelously convey both the big when a full moon invites werewolves to play. picture of Truman’s navigation of the house and his tortoise’s- Twelve-year-old Max Bloodnight is wary of meeting his eye view of things. And the ending, when Sarah arrives home grandparents for the first time and staying with them alone. in time to scoop him up before he slips under the front door, They live in a dilapidated log cabin in the middle of the forest

104 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | This middle-grade adventure starts slow but ramps up into a tale of maternal and brotherly love that’s never mawkishly sentimental. changeling

in Wolf County, which means no cell service and no electric- CHANGELING ity. But meeting the grandparents also means getting closer to Ritter, William Max’s late father, who died in a mysterious hunting accident in Illus. by the author the area. Max’s grandparents only have one rule in their house: Algonquin (272 pp.) “Don’t cross the barbed wire fence into the eastern forest.” Max $16.95 | Jul. 16, 2019 quickly breaks this rule when he helps Jade Howler, his grand- 978-1-61620-839-4 parents’ young neighbor, search for her missing dog. The forest Series: The Oddmire, 1 proves to be as monstrous as his grandparents warned. Can Max learn the truth about his father and the disappearances in Wolf A human boy and a goblin changeling County, or will he become the next to vanish? More Scooby are raised as brothers. Doo mystery than bone-chilling horror, Reynolds’ debut series Thirteen years ago, a goblin out of entry is a fast-paced, cliffhanger-heavy creature feature. Thanks the Wild Wood brought a doppelgän- to plenty of carefully laid clues, discerning readers will solve the ger to exchange for a human infant—then had to dash away to mystery long before Max does. The predictable, trope-filled escape detection, leaving both infant and changeling behind. plot and medium scare factor offer nothing new but may appeal Though everyone knows one of the babies must be a changeling, to the Goosebumps crowd. A stand-alone sequel that stars a dif- their mother insisted on raising Tinn and Cole as twins. Now, ferent main character, The Halloweeners, publishes simultane- years later, they’re inseparable, and both drive their mother to ously. The cast assumes a white default; Max is vegetarian. distraction, playing in the quarry and swapping the salt for the Serviceable scariness for series seekers. (Horror. 8-12) sugar. But one day the boys receive a mysterious letter explain- (The Halloweeners: 978-0-06-286938-8, 978-0-06-286937-1 paper) ing that if the changeling child doesn’t join the goblin horde,

all the magical creatures will die. Neither boy knows who the young adult real changeling actually is, and though they’re mischievous and JOHN MADDEN irreverent, they each want what’s best for one another. Thus Richmond, Peter begins Tinn and Cole’s quest through the Wild Wood, past the Random House (144 pp.) Oddmire, and beyond the Deep Dark. They’ll encounter not $13.99 | $16.99 PLB | Jul. 30, 2019 just goblins, but also a hinkypunk (a grieving will-o’-the-wisp 978-1-63565-246-8 with a candle in his beard), the Witch of the Wood, and a feral 978-1-9848-5211-3 PLB little shape-shifting girl their own age. Apparently set in the Series: Game for Life, 1 same fantastic, alternative bygone America as Ritter’s Jacoby series for teens, this middle-grade adventure starts slow but “Doink!” A biography of sports icon ramps up into a tale of maternal and brotherly love that’s never and train lover John Madden, who, at his mawkishly sentimental. core, is still just a big fan himself. A delightful series opener. (Fantasy. 9-12) “Madden NFL” is not John Madden’s sole accomplishment, and many of its contemporary players may wonder about their beloved video game’s namesake. This THE PAWED PIPER middle-grade biography follows Madden from his childhood Robinson, Michelle days playing sports in empty lots through college play and a Illus. by Lee, Chinlun brief stint with the Philadelphia Eagles, ending in injury. The Candlewick (32 pp.) real legacy unfolds through his tenure as one of the youngest $16.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 coaches in NFL history (for the Oakland Raiders) and as an 978-1-5362-0165-9 accessible broadcaster with an unforgettable role in a beer com- mercial. Journalistic writing blends with narrative elements as Who will help the book’s young nar- Madden is described as a curious, empathetic sports lover who rator get a dearly desired cat? loved winning and still loves the game. The only named woman “I wanted a cat to cuddle. A great big in the book is Madden’s wife, Virginia Fields, who, like Madden, furry fluff ball, like the cat in my book.” To attract one, the child is white; race in the NFL is only briefly discussed. Along with sets out all sorts of things cats like: yarn, bowls of milk, jingle the development of Madden’s career, readers gain a crash course balls, and cushions. No cats come, so the child consults Granny, in other familiar names, the history of the NFL, and the world who has a black-and-white puss named Hector. The child of sports broadcasting. Via Madden’s unconventional career, acquires the suggested catnip and cardboard boxes and news- kids who are sports fans can discover that there are paths to papers…but still no cat. Hugging the cat book, the child falls greatness beyond scoring as an athlete. This play-by-play biog- asleep—to be woken in the morning by Hector, who’s brought raphy, peppered with quotes and stats, will delight enthusiasts. several friends—a lot of friends! There are 67 in all. The child For football nerds who wonder about the “Madden” spends the day playing with them all but likes the one sleep- behind their favorite video game. (index, author’s note, ing in the sock drawer best. However, in taking Hector back to photos) (Biography. 10-12) Granny’s, the child notices a well plastered with lost-cat post- ers—they all belong to other people. They must return to their

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 105 Rotner’s photographs are crisp, glowing, and crystal clear, bursting with nature and joy, making daily objects gorgeous. colors

homes, but the cat in the sock drawer has a surprise for her: a photograph replacing one square. For green, that square is a kittens! And there is one kitten who stays. Robinson’s tale of a frog photo. Green’s second spread presents text inside a rect- kitty-wish fulfilled will brighten the hearts of young cat lovers. angle—“Green grass grows. Green peppers, leaves and peas. The soft tones of Lee’s watercolor-and-pencil illustrations of a Lizards and limes, green eyes”—and varying sizes of rectangular, white-presenting family (and a passel of pusses of every color) close-up photos. Neat green borders glue the photo rectangles are an excellent match for Robinson’s gentle story of pet love. together, leaving no white space. Other colors follow the same Too many cats may be a possibility—but never too many format. The verbs don’t connect to their hues inherently— books celebrating feline companionship. (Picture book. 2-6) “blue floats” mightn’t work out of context—but the black girl in the turquoise swimsuit floating blissfully in blue water provides all the sense in the world. Rotner’s photographs are crisp, JUST FOR ME glowing, and crystal clear, bursting with nature and joy, making Rolli, Jennifer Hansen daily objects gorgeous. A yellow slicker and a sunny-side up egg Illus. by the author positively glisten; an orange sunset almost requires sunglasses. Viking (40 pp.) The children (a multiracial cast) vary between facing the camera $17.99 | Jul. 16, 2019 and doing their own thing, like blowing up a purple balloon or 978-1-9848-3527-7 licking an orange Popsicle. There are plenty of picture books about colors, but When Ruby has something special, they’re not all love letters. This one is. (Picture book. 2-5) it’s hard for her to share. Ruby, who appears white, likes to say “Just for me!” about all her special things: her dolly, a castle built of blocks, sprin- WISH ON ALL THE STARS kles on cookies, a turn at the mirror with Daddy’s shaving Schroeder, Lisa cream. When her brown-skinned friend arrives—“a friend just Scholastic (224 pp.) for me”—Ruby continues to smilingly declare ownership of $16.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 everything. The two-wheeler and the bubbles don’t cause much 978-1-338-19577-4 trouble, but when Ruby tries to grab the tiara off her (unnamed) friend’s head, she isn’t smiling—and soon, neither is her friend. Juliet and her new friends have A broken tiara teaches Ruby to use the words “for me and you,” founded the Starry Beach Club to dis- leading to “a good-bye hug just for you.” A silhouette of her tract them from their problems and parents walking with her on the last spread shows readers that grant wishes to those in need. her Mommy and Daddy are “just for” Ruby…but only “for now.” In See You on a Starry Night (2018), Visible paint strokes and strong colors make for textured and narrator Juliet’s parents divorced and dynamic illustrations, though a too-varied color palette keeps she and her sister moved with her mother to San Diego from the book from settling into a particular tone or mood. Ruby’s Bakersfield, California. Juliet frets that everything back home is possessiveness will be familiar to many a toddler, and while changing. Her best friend is starting to like coffee and dancing, the final image may need to be explained to younger readers, and her father has started dating a woman from his work. She her turn-around is as instructive as it is intended to be. While attempts to distract herself with new friends Carmen, who is Ruby’s claiming her friend as “just for [her]” is true to toddler Latinx, and Emma, who is white, like Juliet. Understanding that development, that Ruby seems white and her friend appears happiness comes by helping others, the three of them decide black is quite unfortunate. to work together to save the Mission Beach bookmobile. But There are better books out there on the sharing theme, as they develop their plan to raise money with a neighborhood but this one will do in a pinch. (Picture book. 2-5) art fair, Juliet realizes Carmen has secrets that can’t compare to her own. Can she use her writing skills to help her new Guate- malan friend, whose mother might be deported? And can she COLORS find the courage to use her painting skills to sell artwork at the Rotner, Shelley & Woodhull, Anne fair? A breezy read with fine pacing, the story doles out plenty Photos by Rotner, Shelley of wisdom about overcoming one’s fear of failure. With social Holiday House (32 pp.) activism, kindness to others, and compassion for those in need, $17.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 Juliet sets a fine example of what it means to be a friend. 978-0-8234-4063-4 A story that tackles immigration issues as part of a simple yet appealing plot. (Fiction. 8-12) Explore colors through photographs. Detailed in succinct, subtly poetic text, the six core spectrum colors plus black and white each receive two full-bleed double-page spreads in a row. Each col- or’s initial spread names it and assigns it a verb—“green hops”— across from a checkerboard of many shades of that color, with

106 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | HOW TO BE ON THE MOON defined in brief callouts, with several pages devoted to “going Schwarz, Viviane public.” Jennings’ cartoons add to the approachability of the Illus. by the author text, which is sprinkled with quotations and fun facts, including Candlewick (32 pp.) an entertaining look at what it’s like to work at the Googleplex. $16.99 | Jun. 4, 2019 However, the author’s lionizing account sidesteps the recent 978-1-5362-0545-9 controversies around tax avoidance, antitrust laws, consumer privacy, censorship, racial diversity, and treatment of women Adventurous Anna and cautious employees. It also skims over the roles that extraordinary Crocodile take a trip to the moon and women such as Susan Wojcicki and Marissa Meyer played in back to Earth. Google’s success while ignoring many others, reinforcing the Anna wants to go to the moon, but Crocodile warns, “It stereotype of “brilliant men with big ideas”; “Larry and Sergey” will be almost impossible.” Undeterred, Anna responds, “I like are both white. that.…Let’s go!” Crocodile finds a hold-up at every turn. They An engaging but unduly lopsided history for budding need “special skills,” like math. Luckily, Anna can count back- tech entrepreneurs. (timeline, sample interview questions, ward from five. They need lots of patience. (“And now?” appears source notes, bibliography) (Nonfiction. -9 12) opposite “No” or “Still not” nine times in funny, eye-catching columns.) Anna figures Crocodile’s patience can do for them both. Crocodile makes the sandwiches while Anna builds the MY CORNER OF THE RING rocket, and they blast off. They play a game in the no-gravity A Memoir from a Champ zone, and after a short nap, they land on the moon. From the Silva, Jesselyn with Stevens, Brin

moon, Anna decides that “Poor Earth” misses them, and they Putnam (256 pp.) young adult head back home. Watercolor illustrations show brown-skinned, $17.99 | Jun. 4, 2019 puffy-black-haired Anna, green-skinned Crocodile, and their 978-0-525-51840-2 colorful, patchwork confection of a rocket against white space at home and against deep, dark, star-studded skies on their jour- At only 12, Jesselyn “Jesszilla” Silva is ney. The moon and Earth are rendered in intriguing textural and in the ring to win Olympic gold, no mat- color combinations. The contrast between Anna’s and Croco- ter how many hurdles get in her way. dile’s personalities allows audiences of different inclinations a Jess tells readers she knew she wanted way into the story. to be a boxer from the age of 7. With The story is fun—and the artwork shines. (Picture book. too-big gear and fierce determination, Jess started down a road 3-7) that will hopefully take her all the way to Olympic gold. Read- ers might think that the hardest part about being a girl boxer would be the uphill battle of proving herself tough enough, but FROM AN IDEA TO GOOGLE while that can be a challenge, the bigger complication for Jess How Innovation at Google is simply finding other girls her age to fight. This is important, Changed the World she tells readers, because Jess needs to be a registered boxer and Sichol, Lowey Bundy to have fought in five registered bouts in order to qualify for Illus. by Jennings, C.S. the Junior Olympics, and sparring fights with boys her age don’t HMH Books (128 pp.) count. Jess is a smart, strong Latinx girl with a fierce determi- $15.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 nation, and readers will root through her wins and losses, ups 978-1-328-95491-6 and downs, all the way to the 2018 Junior Olympics. While the Series: From an Idea to writing can be a bit uneven, young girls will be able to relate to Jess and will be inspired by her fighting spirit. Her loving rela- An illustrated narrative of Google’s tionship with her father and the support of her coach give an growth from a doctoral thesis topic to a emotional weight to the story. tech giant; the latest in a series of nonfiction business books Readers will come away believing nothing is more for children. important than knowing you have people in your corner. Sichol (From an Idea to Disney, 2019, etc.) starts with the early (Memoir. 9-12) experiences of the founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both gifted children growing up in intellectual families who encouraged their interest in computers. She recounts their odd-couple meeting at Stanford University, their eventual partnership to create a search engine, and their persistence through initial setbacks. From there, it’s a breezy journey through raising initial funding; turning a profit from ads; growing the business through hiring, innovation, and acquisition; and, finally, restructuring. Business terms such as “invest” and “acquire” are

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 107 SOCCERVERSE the writer is ready to tackle NaNoWriMo—to write a novel in Poems About Soccer four weeks—to fend off discouragement, each week’s guidance Steinglass, Elizabeth is prompted by a “PepTalk” written by different bestselling Illus. by Ikê, Edson authors, including Daniel José Older, Celia C. Pérez, and Jen- Wordsong/Boyds Mills (32 pp.) nifer Niven. $17.99 | Jun. 4, 2019 Though specifically targeting young writers, this 978-1-62979-249-1 upbeat handbook is a wonderful instruction guide for writers of any age as well as a perfect text for any creative-writ- Twenty-two poems celebrate, from a ing classroom. (Nonfiction. 10 & up) young person’s perspective, the beautiful game that is soccer. Two poems offer the viewpoints of a pair of shin guards— MY NAME IS one of them left on the field by accident after the last game. A WAKAWAKALOCH! wry observation about “Fans” is spot-on: “I like it when my par- Stiefel, Chana ents come. / I like that they are near. / But when they yell instruc- Illus. by Sullivan, Mary tions, / I pretend that I can’t hear.” A poem for two voices in HMH Books (40 pp.) which one player speaks Spanish and one English happily con- $17.99 | Aug. 27, 2019 cludes: “Si! Juguemos! / Yes! Let’s play!” (The Spanish voice uses 978-1-328-73209-5 English punctuation conventions.) A player contemplates the difficulty of offering a handshake to an overly aggressive oppos- Wakawakaloch is very upset because ing player at game’s end. Another, carded for an infraction, is others cannot correctly pronounce her relieved to have his apology accepted. Ikê’s digitally created name. art is stylized and full of motion. His lighthearted illustrations The illustrations depict Wakawakaloch living in a quasi– incorporate some poetic fantasy elements and flourishes, such Stone Age community à la the Flintstones’; her home is in a cave as an inventor creating a perfect teammate: mostly feet for a dwelling, but her parents have laptops. After their distraught field player; hands for a goal keeper. Most of the players display daughter declares, “Me changing my name to Gloop!” (or some- a range of skin colors and hair colors and textures; a preponder- thing else she might find on a T-shirt), Wakawakaloch’s parents ance have short hair. Each poem uses one or more of 13 poetic decide that she needs to see Elder Mooch, who is described as forms described briefly in an author’s note—something that “the wisest Neanderthal in the village.” While the child stresses will surely charm teachers and aspiring poets. over the mixed message given to her by Elder Mooch—to be A pitch-perfect ode to the details and delights of play- both a “forward thinker and a backwards seer”—Wakawakaloch ing soccer. (Picture book/poetry. 6-10) is inspired by her ancestor of the same name, who performed brave and heroic acts for the tribe. Wakawakaloch decides to do the same, embracing her namesake by helping others and BRAVE THE PAGE selling T-shirts that celebrate names at the big Roll-the-Boul- Stern, Rebecca & Faulkner, Grant der tournament. In Sullivan’s cartoons, these Neanderthals Viking (304 pp.) are a multiracial bunch; Wakawakaloch and her parents have $13.99 | Aug. 27, 2019 light skin, and she wears her supercurly red hair in two puffs. 978-0-451-48029-3 The stereotypically primitive speech patterns used in dialogue will set some readers’ teeth on edge. On the other hand, Wak- A NaNoWriMo primer for young awakaloch’s frustrations surrounding the mispronunciation of writers. her name will resonate with many, and her taking inspiration This instructional guide begins with from her ancestor is a lovely touch. an introduction from Jason Reynolds This bombastic main character allows the story to and an inspirational chapter assuring shine. (Picture book. 5-8) kids that their stories matter and are needed by the world. The following chapters provide step-by-step instruction to get a writer at any level ready to tackle the blank page. The chapter “Determine What Type of Writer You Are” provides a quick tutorial that affirms a diversity of writing habits that can be tamed to fit each individual’s writing practice. Once the writer is primed to begin, the next set of chapters helps lay the groundwork to write the novel: crafting the story plan and flesh- ing out characters as well as deconstructing the mechanics of plot and worldbuilding. Many chapters offer a “Dare Machine,” a series of writing exercises so varied that a young writer at any stage can easily engage with confidence and excitement. Once

108 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | Much like the parks they celebrate, each majestic spread in this book holds wonders. you are home

THE LIFE HEROIC Jennifer Lawrence, while also providing a spotlight for those Svoboda, Elizabeth who mastered their talent by perseverance, such as Serena Wil- Illus. by Hajny, Chris liams, the Brontë sisters, and David Beckham. Though this Zest Books (160 pp.) self-help book has good intentions, however, it is a little heavy- $16.99 paper | $37.32 PLB | Aug. 6, 2019 handed on the perpetuation of an achievement-oriented life. 978-1-942186-25-0 paper Perhaps it is also good to acknowledge that not everybody need 978-1-5415-7860-9 PLB aspire to someone else’s definition of greatness. Maybe it’s “awesome” to be average. (Nonfiction. -9 13) Svoboda’s inspirational offering begins with the story of a high school senior who bravely took the wheel of a school bus after FOLLOW THAT MAP! the bus driver had a heart attack while driving. The author then Tan, Sheri asks her young readers to imagine what they would have done in Illus. by Ng-Benitez, Shirley that situation. Lee & Low (32 pp.) In an easy-to-read narrative, readers learn the myths of $14.95 | $5.95 paper | Jun. 18, 2019 heroism and how it is truly the everyday acts of heroism that 978-1-62014-569-2 don’t make the news that matter. This book is for those that 978-1-62014-570-8 paper aspire to help the world, and it acts as a guide, providing chap- Series: Confetti Kids ters such as “Recognize Your Hero’s Journey,” which presents a condensed version of Joseph Campbell’s take on a hero’s evolu- Sometimes getting there is half the

tion. Further chapters stress the importance of role models, giv- fun! young adult ing examples of those that have already answered the call, like Pablo and his friends Henry, Lily, Phillip Zimbardo, who started the Heroic Imagination Project, Mei, and Padma (the kids present as Latinx, white, black, Asian, which teaches young people to actively and confidently “do the and South Asian, respectively) decide to go to Coney Island as right thing” when others are in need. The most inspiring chap- a fun way to end the summer. Pablo’s dad, who, like his son, has ter, “Transform Pain into Heroic Purpose,” coaches young peo- brown skin, agrees to accompany the children. “But how do we ple facing difficulty to transform their struggles into purpose by get there?” asks Lily. Pablo suggests that they use maps, and sharing their experiences in ways that can help others who are then he excitedly plots out their journey: First they will walk to going through similar challenges. the bus stop; then they will take a bus to the subway; then they Though there’s little new in this middle-grade self- will arrive at Coney Island. A true cartophile, Pablo experiences help book, this strategic, confidence-building read is just a moment of worry that his friends won’t “think it [is] fun to enough to energize a young person who still feels hope to follow a map,” but his map-reading expertise ends up helping change the world one day at a time. (Nonfiction. 10-14) the children be patient as they traverse the city. The best map of all is the one that shows all of the fun rides on Coney Island. An activity suggestion in the backmatter prompts readers to YOU ARE AWESOME make maps of their own neighborhoods, potentially extending Syed, Matthew this title’s use beyond its accessibility and support of emergent- Illus. by Triumph, Toby literacy skills and into the realm of map-reading, too. As in her Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (160 pp.) other work in this series, Ng-Benitez’s warm, engaging illustra- $14.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 tions help define the individual, diverse characters while creat- 978-1-4926-8753-5 ing a sense of vibrancy and excitement in the urban setting. For readers who are going places. (Early reader. 5-7) Champion table tennis player Syed begins this encouragement book by chronicling his own story of how he YOU ARE HOME grew up believing he was average until he An Ode to the National began to master the sport. Parks The goal of this book is to help kids realize that they needn’t Turk, Evan necessarily be born with a certain gift or talent—that maybe Illus. by the author success is a combination of hard work, the right mentors, and Atheneum (56 pp.) a strong support system. In the chapter “What’s Holding Me $18.99 | Jun. 4, 2019 Back?” Syed offers a variety of ways a young person can begin to 978-1-5344-3282-6 reflect on who they really are and define what their true passion may be. The following chapters stress the importance of prac- From Acadia in the east to Olympic in the west, Turk pres- tice, coping with pressure, and honoring mistakes as human ents an artistic and inclusive ode to America’s national parks. rather than failure. Throughout the book, Syed highlights those Readers who pick up this 12-inch-square book will be he terms “Famous Failures,” including Steve Jobs, Jay-Z, and immersed in nature and art even before they open it, as they

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 109 Vo employs color, plot twists, and dramatically changing perspectives to elicit surprise and maintain suspense. the ranger

share an adult and child’s view of mountains, flowers, stream, IMAGINE THAT and sky. Much like the parks they celebrate, each majestic Voss, Jonathan D. spread in this book holds wonders for the eye to explore, with Illus. by the author one or occasionally two parks represented per spread. Well- Henry Holt (40 pp.) known and lesser-known parks alike are featured, whetting $17.99 | Jul. 16, 2019 readers’ appetites to learn more and explore. From close-up 978-1-250-31455-0 views of animals—pronghorn amid prairie grasses, bison in a Series: Hoot & Olive, 2 snowy oasis, a bobcat in the dark—to children and their families—city children and farm children, immigrants and Indige- What to do when imagination fails on a rainy, indoor-play nous, all joyously diverse—the text repeats the soothing refrain day? to all: “you are home.” The art is created using pastel on black That’s the dilemma Olive faces when her best pal, stuffed- paper, which produces a deep feeling of purpose behind each toy-owl Hoot, can’t enter her flights of fancy when she wants stroke and swath of color. The art could stand alone, but the to play pretend. Is Hoot’s imagination lost, broken, jumbled, words manage to add even more weight, pinpointing the feeling gone? Olive proposes inventive scenarios the pair can enact— familiar to many nature lovers: “a sense of belonging, / sung by their house floating away, a lurking giant, fairies in the cellar. the streams, / from valleys to peaks, / over thousands of miles, / She offers Hoot a colander (as an “antenna” to unscramble through millions of hearts.” Perusing this book induces a long- mixed signals) and poufy earmuffs (to prevent “leaks”). Nothing ing to go outside and travel but also to create art of one’s own. works. When a dejected Hoot mentions his heart hurts, there’s Masterful. (Picture book. 5-adult) an aha moment: Olive remembers one must use the heart to imagine. Hoot does, and an imaginative play day ensues. In an aw-shucks ending, Hoot suggests he and Olive imagine being THE RANGER friends forever. The premise positions literal-minded Hoot as Vo, Nancy “broken” and inferior, a troubling notion that the obscure assur- Illus. by the author ance that imagination springs from the heart does not dispel. Groundwood (44 pp.) Furthermore, readers will recognize that Olive and Hoot are $17.95 | Aug. 6, 2019 already besties, so they won’t see the need for them to imag- 978-1-77306-128-3 ine continuing their friendship. Overall, the amusing, energetic Series: Crow Stories, 2 pen-and-ink–and-watercolor illustrations fare better than the thin, unengaging text. Olive and Hoot are endearing, though Following The Outlaw (2018), this Olive (who presents white) isn’t very expressive. A variety of second title of a trilogy offers a new character to ponder. perspectives throughout and lots of white space focus readers’ Various elements link this to the first book, such as the pac- eyes on the protagonists. ing; limited palette, with an abundance of gray, green, and black; One needn’t imagine there are better books about incorporation of newspaper fragments and 19th-century fabric using the imagination. (Picture book. 4-7) patterns. Nevertheless, such knowledge is not necessary for comprehension. Readers first see the back of the protagonist— a figure rendered in watercolor that bleeds into the scene, mask- HONEYBEES AND FRENEMIES ing identity. The page turn reveals a female of indeterminate Wientge, Kristi race with long black braids. Vo employs color, plot twists, and Simon & Schuster (256 pp.) dramatically changing perspectives to elicit surprise and main- $16.99 | Jun. 4, 2019 tain suspense. While moving through the forest, Annie discov- 978-1-5344-3815-6 ers an orange fox, trapped and suffering. She releases the animal and binds its wound but resolves not to tame it. Her emotional When 12-year-old Florence Valand- position is underscored by her physical one. Seen from the hingam is forced to jointly compete with fox’s perspective, Annie appears as tall and unapproachable as her archenemy in the local Honey Festi- the parallel tree trunks disappearing off the page. The creature val, she learns important lessons about accompanies the ranger on her journey; when a bear attacks and friendship, trust, and belonging. Annie is knocked unconscious, she is cared for by a mysterious Flor is having the worst summer ever. woman, dressed in orange, casting the shadow of a fox. The Her best friend, Brooke, is going away to band camp just when ranger must then come to terms with her stubborn stance on the two of them are old enough to enjoy a modicum of freedom. independence in the face of friendship’s rewards. Her parents, who used to get along, can’t stop fighting. Worst of A restrained text fuses with visually arresting and enig- all, Flor is forced to jointly compete with Candice, her nemesis, matic interactions to open a welcoming space for contem- for the title of queen at the Honey Festival. At first, Flor is sure plation. (Picture book. 4-7) that their history will make it impossible to compete: When Florence beat out Candice for the title of queen in third grade, Candice told everyone it was because the largely white town had to pick a person of color or biracial Flor’s parents—her dad

110 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | is white and her mom, South Asian—would sue. But as the two THE BIG BOOK OF BIRDS girls get to know each other, Flor starts to believe that she and Zommer, Yuval Candice might not be the worst team—especially when both Illus. by the author of them realize that they are competing not to beat the other Thames & Hudson (64 pp.) entrants but for the futures of their families. Narrator Flor’s $19.95 | Jun. 4, 2019 voice strikes just the right balance of naiveté and sarcasm, ren- 978-0-500-65151-3 dering it authentic and fun to read. Wientge seamlessly weaves issues like racism, economic stability, and environmental dev- Zommer surveys various bird species astation into a clear, engaging plot. While the book moves at from around the world in this oversized a good pace, the last third feels a tad rushed—a small quibble. (almost 14 inches tall tall) volume. A sweet and satisfying read about friendship, sister- While exuberantly presented, the hood, and change. (Fiction. 8-12) information is not uniformly expressed from bird to bird, which in the best cases will lead readers to seek out additional information and in the worst cases will LITTLE RED READING HOOD lead to frustration. For example, on spreads that feature mul- AND THE MISREAD WOLF tiple species, the birds are not labeled. This happens again later Wilson, Troy when the author presents facts about eggs: Readers learn about Illus. by Campana, Ilaria camouflaged eggs, but the specific eggs are not identified, -mak Running Press Kids (32 pp.) ing further study extremely difficult. Other facts are mislead- $17.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 ing: A spread on “city birds” informs readers that “peregrine

978-0-7624-9266-4 falcons nest on skyscrapers in New York City”—but they also young adult nest in other large cities. In a sexist note, a peahen is identi- “Don’t judge a book by its cover” fied as “unlucky” because she “has drab brown feathers” instead meets “Don’t believe everything you read.” of flashy ones like the peacock’s. Illustrations are colorful and Loving the color red, reading, and a hood from her grandma mostly identifiable but stylized; Zommer depicts his birds with earns this white, redheaded, bespectacled heroine the name of both eyes visible at all times, even when the bird is in profile. Red Reading Hood. Grandma is sick, so Red packs a “treat” and The primary audience for the book appears to be British, as goes to find her. Encountering a wolf, she remembers all the some spreads focus on European birds over their North Ameri- advice she’s read on wild animals, from “stand tall” to “throw can counterparts, such as the mute swan versus the trumpeter rocks.” But this wolf is after more than dinner. At Grandma’s, swan and the European robin versus the American robin. The unable to hold himself back, the disguised lupine pounces on backmatter, a seven-word glossary and an index, doesn’t pro- the book in Red’s bag, upsetting the usual fairy-tale format. vide readers with much support. All ends happily with a storytime (the real Grandma emerging Pretty but insubstantial. (Nonfiction. -8 12) from a wardrobe), though there is a near decapitation thanks to an overzealous man with an axe. Book-smart Red’s—and readers’—expectations are challenged in the face of this unusual bibliophile. Building on this, the simple cartoon art excels in its depiction of the villain. Many a book lover will identify with the wolf rolling on a book like a cat in catnip, reveling in its “new book smell.” Kids familiar with the original tale will find much to enjoy in these unexpected twists and turns. No shade on books, but it’s real-world experience that saves the day in this alternative fairy-tale romp. (Picture book. 4-7)

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 may 2019 | 111 young adult

These titles earned the Kirkus Star: QUEEN OF RUIN Banghart, Tracy E. Little, Brown (336 pp.) THE BECKONING SHADOW by Katharyn Blair...... 112 $17.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 978-0-316-47145-9 ALL OF US WITH WINGS by Michelle Ruiz Keil...... 116 Series: Grace and Fury, 2

Sisters unite in their battle both for their own lives and freedom for all of Viridia’s women. Following the events in Grace and Fury (2018), newly exiled Nomi arrives at Mount Ruin to discover her polished, feminine sister, Serina, has developed into a revolutionary warrior in the coup that overthrew the prison island’s guards. With their newfound agency, the female prisoners must decide firstly what to do with their remaining guards and, ultimately, if their next step should be staying on the island or commandeering a boat either to seek asylum in Azura (personal safety) or return home (social reform, casualties guaranteed). Nomi wants to rally them to overthrow sociopathic Asa, but the women aren’t eager to trust any Virid- ian men they help in an uprising not to keep the oppressive, male-privileging system intact. The storylines diverge: Serina grows through newfound leadership obligations to her fellow prisoners, and Nomi looks to redeem herself and assuage her guilty conscience over her role in Asa’s schemes by working to oppose him. Now that Asa has the power he wanted, he’s let the charming facade drop. While both sisters have their romantic storylines, the male leads are mostly in support roles while the women make decisions to control their own fates, and a third main romance is between two women. While both sisters face dangers and obstacles, there are no real surprises or twists in the straightforward plot. The primary cast reads as white. Empowerment-flavored brain popcorn. (map) (Fantasy. 12-16)

THE BECKONING SHADOW ALL OF US WITH WINGS Blair, Katharyn Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins Keil, Michelle Ruiz (480 pp.) Soho Teen (360 pp.) $17.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 $18.99 | Jun. 18, 2019 978-0-06-265761-9 978-1-64129-034-0 Series: Beckoning Shadow, 1

A girl with magical powers enters a brutal tournament, trying to win a chance to rewrite her past.

112 | 1 may 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | As a child, Vesper loved stories about the Oddities and WE WALKED THE SKY their magic. Then she became one. She’s a Harbinger, capable Fiedler, Lisa of manifesting people’s fears. Ever since a horrifying incident Razorbill/Penguin (304 pp.) borne of her lack of control, Vesper’s been a runaway loner. $17.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 After landing in San Francisco, she crosses paths with fellow 978-0-451-48080-4 Oddities and learns about a high-stakes cage-fighting tournament; the winning Oddity gets $1 million and one unraveling In a story told in two voices, several (undoing something that has happened, altering the past). She generations of women in VanDrexel’s doesn’t know how to fight and is scared of her own dangerous Family Circus learn how and when to be powers but badly wants to undo her damaging past. Vesper solo acts—and when to trust the net. teams up with Sam, a nonmagical Baseline human, who over- When the circus comes to Brooks- sees her rigorous training at an MMA gym. The deal is that she vale, Massachusetts, in the spring of 1965, gets the cash prize, and he gets the unraveling to correct where a wealthy 16-year-old seizes the chance to escape her abusive things went wrong in his last relationship two years prior. Even father. Renaming herself Victoria, she joins the circus, planning while planning to betray him and claim the unraveling, Vesper to leave once she’s far enough away to build a stable, indepen- begins to fall for Sam. All storylines—the tournament, what dent life for herself. She doesn’t plan to become a tightrope happened with Sam’s ex, why the rules of magic are changing— walker, and she certainly doesn’t plan to fall in love….Half a tie together through flawless pacing and well-balanced action, century later, 16-year-old high-wire star Callie and her mother, leading to revelations that foster character growth. While Ves- Quinn, leave the circus after Callie’s secretive grandmother per and Sam are assumed white, secondary characters have vary- Victoria dies. Quinn’s new job at an animal sanctuary in Florida

ing skin tones. puts Callie’s career on hold, and she reluctantly enrolls at the young adult An extraordinary debut packed with richly drawn char- local high school. Against Victoria’s captivating and emotional acters in a sure-to-entertain storyline. (Fantasy. 14-adult) narrative, Callie’s resistance to a settled life reads as less sympathetic and her conflict as lower stakes, even after the discovery of an old box of keepsakes from Victoria’s transformative and PAST PERFECT LIFE tragic young adulthood changes Callie’s life. Victoria, Callie, Eulberg, Elizabeth Quinn, and those closest to them are assumed white; nonwhite Bloomsbury (336 pp.) characters are extremely marginal. While Victoria briefly men- $18.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 tions the “ugly din” of “riots” in Harlem and Birmingham, spe- 978-1-5476-0092-2 cific social and political movements go unaddressed; Callie’s voice is similarly disconnected from current events. When you realize your life is a lie A compelling story of identity and family that reso- fabricated by your dad, the daunting task nates most powerfully in its historical voice. (Fiction. 12-18) of facing college applications suddenly loses its severity. Ally Smith lives a financially humble FINALE but socially rich life with her single dad Garber, Stephanie in a small Wisconsin town. She’s an unofficial member of the Flatiron Books (416 pp.) Gleason clan (the first family of Valley Falls) and an official top- $19.99 | May 7, 2019 notch student vying for college scholarships. But those applica- 978-1-250-15766-9 tion essay questions are the worst—particularly the one about Series: Caraval, 3 a significant life event. Ugh. As a dorky, predictable creature of habit routinely indulging in Taco Tuesdays and Football Sundays Picking up just after the end of Leg with her dad, there’s nothing blockbuster about her life’s lovely endary (2018), Garber continues to build little cadence. A red alert shatters Ally’s same-old existence the world of Caraval with a final install- when her social security number on a college application is ment, this time focusing equally on both revealed to be falsified. Confusion evolves to anger as she learns Dragna sisters’ perspectives. that her father has kept a life-shattering secret from her—and After they released their long-missing mother from the the changes that follow force Ally to leave behind everything Deck of Destiny, Scarlett and Donatella hoped to rebuild their she knows. This novel takes the self-identity trope and intensi- relationship and gain a new sense of family. However, Legend fies its scope, layering in the mature navigation of family rela- also released the rest of the Fates, and, much to their dismay, the tionships. An honest pace, salt-of-the-earth protagonist, and Fallen Star—essentially the ur-Fate—is only gaining in power. sympathetic, well-rounded characters keep the conflict from As the Fates begin to throw Valenda into chaos and disarray, the being hyperbolic even though Ally’s story becomes national sisters must decide whom him to trust, whom to love, and how news. Ally, friends, and family are presumably white. to set themselves free. Scar’s and Tella’s passionate will-they-or- Family melodrama in theory, genuine identity crisis in won’t-they relationships with love interests are still (at times, execution. (Fiction. 14-18) inexplicably) compelling, taking up a good half of the plot and

| kirkus.com | young adult | 1 may 2019 | 113 who is ya for?

On Goodreads and other so- ly question societal norms, cial media sites, I infuriating- posing challenging ques- ly encounter adults criticizing tions that we would all YA titles and their characters do well to ponder. Check for being “immature” and us- out the graphic novel Kiss ing other terms that indicate a Number 8, by Colleen AF lack of awareness that these ti- Venable, illustrated by El- tles are intended to be develop- len T. Crenshaw (March mentally appropriate for teens. 12), for a great example. With a stunning absence of in- There are many things sight, one adult on Goodreads slammed an ALA– teens are experiencing award winning nonfiction title for 10- to 14-year- for the first time, roman- olds because it didn’t contain anything new that tic love with all its complications not being least she—the grown-up who was possibly old enough among them. They are developmentally able to to have lived through the events depicted—didn’t contemplate questions of identity across many di- already know. mensions in a much deeper way than during child- Of course, there is no universal experience of hood. The depth and intensity of the feelings adolescence, any more than there is of middle- these firsts bring about cannot be underestimat- age. YA is commonly understood to span ages 12 ed. Love from A to Z, by S.K. Ali (May 7), explores to 18, relatively few years, but ones in which peo- all of this beautifully. ple undergo an astounding degree of physical and Many adults remem- emotional change. Many young adults shoulder ber what it felt like to adult-level responsibilities and have already expe- be an adolescent with a rienced a lifetime’s worth of sorrows. Others have freshness that belies the had the privilege of travel and other experiences years that have elapsed. many adults never get to enjoy. These individuals write Age is not a single determining factor any more (or read) YA novels with- than gender or race, but still we classify some out demanding that the books as being particularly well-suited to teen au- characters behave like diences. What do the ones written with the gen- adults or judging them eral developmental needs of teens—rather than for being anything oth- the interests of the legions of adults who enjoy er than what they are. It YA—have in common? is the job of the adoles- Certain characteristics—compelling plot, viv- cent to be an adolescent; id sense of place, engaging dialogue—apply re- teens are not imperfect or unfinished adults. The gardless of age. What is critical in YA is a deep best YA books never forget that. —L.S. respect for people whose lives are exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure (sometimes in the Laura Simeon is the young adult editor. space of a single lunch period), who are often ste- reotyped and underestimated purely due to their age, and who are consciously navigating major life transitions that frequently lead them to incisive-

114 | 1 may 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | balancing out the large-scale power games with more domestic SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW ones. Much like the previous two, this third book in the series is Goo, Maurene overwritten, with overly convenient worldbuilding that strug- Farrar, Straus and Giroux (336 pp.) gles nearly as much as the overwrought prose and convoluted $17.99 | May 7, 2019 plot. While those who aren’t Garber’s fans are unlikely to pick 978-0-374-31057-8 up this volume, new (or forgetful) readers will find the text rep- etitious enough to be able to follow along. A K-pop star finds love and adven- For fans, a finale that satisfies.(Fantasy. 14-18) ture with an aspiring photographer in this modern retelling of Roman Holiday. Lucky, a Korean-American K-pop TEEN TITANS star suffering an existential crisis over Raven her career, plays hooky one night after Garcia, Kami a big concert in Hong Kong, escaping her handlers and body- Illus. by Picolo, Gabriel guard in search of a hamburger. Woozy on anti-anxiety medi- DC Ink (176 pp.) cation and sleeping pills, she loses her way only to be rescued $16.99 paper | Jul. 2, 2019 by Jack, an attractive stranger and fellow Korean-American 978-1-4012-8623-1 who at first has no idea who she is and is struggling through his own personal crisis over whether to study banking to please Mother. Gone. Memory. Gone. Sev- his parents or pursue the photography he’s so passionate about. enteen-year-old high school senior Raven As Lucky and Jack adventure through Hong Kong, they begin

rebuilds her life in New Orleans after a car to fall for one another, but their budding connection is threat- young adult accident takes away everything she knows. ened by the lies they’ve told one another: Lucky hides her Raven now lives with her late mother’s sister, a voodoo real identity, pretending to be an ordinary girl who is on tour priestess and “the Mother of Souls,” and her daughter. Raven with her church choir, while Jack has secret plans to sell pho- searches for clues to her past while navigating conventional tographs of their day together to a tabloid to help launch his teenage social problems: a mean girl and a cute boy. She also career. Narrated in short chapters that alternate between Jack’s contends with other people’s emotions invading her mind and and Lucky’s first-person perspectives, Goo The( Way You Make the tricky tendency for her own mean thoughts to manifest Me Feel, 2018, etc.) develops each character’s voice with clarity. into reality. While she cannot remember anything from before A quick-paced, entertaining plot, witty banter, and expert char- the accident, she suffers continual nightmares featuring a acterization make this a light and satisfying read, and a wealth multieyed spirit. A compelling storyline pulls readers into of local details effortlessly immerse the reader in the worlds of Raven’s turmoil, guiding them competently through the float- Hong Kong and K-pop stardom. ing panels of expressive artwork. The muted palette pairs per- Charming and swoonworthy. (Fiction. 14-18) fectly with the noir tone of Raven’s search for her origins. The respectful but not extremely nuanced inclusion of matriarchal African heritage religions such as voodoo is more empowering WARHEAD than campy. In one notable scene, the spirits of dead “moth- The True Story of One Teen ers, daughters, sisters, and grandmothers, voodoo queens and Who Almost Saved the World warrior women of O’rleans” are called forward to gather and Henigson, Jeff vanquish evil alongside Raven. Picolo’s (Icarus and the Sun, 2018, Delacorte (352 pp.) etc.) ghostly images of girls and women from different eras $17.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 erupting from their graves to surround and support their earth- 978-0-525-64790-4 bound sisters elicit good chills. The diverse cast is indicated through names and variations in skin tone. A cancer survivor looks back on how Well-paced and thrilling; readers will fly high with personal and family issues affected his Raven’s tale. (Graphic fiction. 14-18) diagnosis, treatment, and aftermath. Though debut author Henigson does go over the discovery of his brain tumor in 1986 at age 15 and the symptoms, surgery, ensuing courses of chemo and radiation, and then a quixotic journey to Moscow, thanks to the Starlight Children’s Foundation, in hopes of discussing nuclear disarma- ment with Mikhail Gorbachev, the fuel powering his narrative is a blend of smoldering anger at his cold, distant father, weary acceptance of his mother’s emotional dependence, and wran- gles with adolescent libido and depression. Consequently, and notwithstanding worthy views on the arms race and a cogent insight that “battling” cancer is an invidious metaphor (“I

| kirkus.com | young adult | 1 may 2019 | 115 Birdbrained, in a good way. the confusion of laurel graham

wasn’t one of the combatants. I was the battlefield”), he comes ALL OF US off as a self-centered and not particularly reflective teen more WITH WINGS interested in grinding axes against his neurologist, a certain Keil, Michelle Ruiz unsympathetic teacher, and, most particularly, his dad than in Soho Teen (360 pp.) offering comfort, coping strategies, or even reassurance that $18.99 | Jun. 18, 2019 he ultimately found ways of moving past his anger. His account 978-1-64129-034-0 cuts off abruptly with his entry into college and an exclamatory letter of praise from a Russian fan. Xochi, a teen runaway, is contracted Cancer fiction with young characters abounds, but by 12-year-old Pallas and her polyam- memoirs are rare—so it’s unfortunate that when one does orous family to be their governess. come along, it’s neither particularly current nor much The night of an after-party dur- more than self-therapy. (Memoir. 13-18) ing the vernal equinox, Xochi and her charge conjure two fey children bent on punishing all who have wronged the older girl. Debut author Keil paints San Francisco THE STORM CROW in both specific and broad strokes—the music scene, fashion, Josephson, Kalyn and lack of modern technology hint at a possibly historical set- Sourcebooks Fire (368 pp.) ting. The worldbuilding falls somewhere between the danger- $17.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 ously thrilling and dark urban fantasies of Holly Black and the 978-1-4926-7293-7 magic-infused, sweeping romances of Anna-Marie McLemore. Series: Storm Crow, 1 The writing soars, especially at the sentence level, alternating effortlessly between past and present and the perspectives of A familiar premise enlivened by some multiple protagonists, including a bookstore cat with ties to the surprises. faery world. The secondary characters are multidimensional Princess Anthia has been depressed and bring their own storied pasts, which will draw readers to since the military might of neighboring this loving and unconventional family. The often flippant dia- kingdom Illucia destroyed her nation’s logue helps to break up some of the heavier, more painful, and magical crows and killed her mother. Months later, about to rawer passages. Xochi’s reckless decisions, especially a taboo be married to the Illucian prince, Thia discovers one surviving sexual relationship and high-chasing drug use, aren’t played crow egg. This gives her the strength to become angry and fight for drama or effect—they exemplify a truly traumatized teen her depression, fomenting rebellion (and falling in love—but on the path to recovery and healing. Through risky and some- not with the prince). There is diversity in this world; the king- times-empowering behavior, she learns to forgive and love her- doms vary in culture, values, and appearance. Thia and her peo- self. Xochi is biracial (Mexican-American and white); she is also ple are brown-skinned while her best friend is blonde and likes queer, as are multiple secondary characters. girls, something the text treats as unremarkable; the wicked This tale of found family and recovery weaves an Illucians are also fair-skinned. While the racial differences have unforgettable punk rock–infused spell. (Magical realism/ some parallels to real-world power structures, the story never urban fantasy. 15-adult) examines race in any meaningful way. Sadly, the worldbuilding is also reductive; as the backmatter makes clear, the values of the kingdoms are indistinguishable from the characteristics of THE CONFUSION OF the citizens. Pedestrian writing, particularly the overreliance on LAUREL GRAHAM clichéd similes, further detracts from the strengths. The por- Kisner, Adrienne trayal of depression feels clinical rather than emotionally reso- Feiwel & Friends (288 pp.) nant. Still, the formula of feisty female lead overcoming military $17.99 | Jun. 4, 2019 might in a diverse world a lá Leigh Bardugo or Sabaa Tahir has 978-1-250-14604-5 plenty of sticking power, so this is likely to find some readers. Debut author Josephson may have potential but she’s Field journal notes from the epony- not there yet. (map, guide to characters/setting) (Fantasy. mous 17-year-old—from April 29 through 12-18) Sept. 5—include a beloved, critically injured grandmother; a man-obsessed mother; a budding same-sex romance; and the fight to preserve a nature reserve in Shunksville, Pennsylvania. From the title onward, the text is full of references to birds. (The collective noun for warblers is a “confusion.”) Laurel, like her grandmother, is an avid bird-watcher, environmental activist, and photographer. When Gran—Laurel’s “constant in this world”—is hit by a vehicle while in foolhardy pursuit of a bird, Laurel erroneously blames herself. She compartmentalizes her

116 | 1 may 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | guilt remarkably well, adding hospital visits with her comatose THE BEST LIES grandmother to her internship responsibilities at Birdscout Lyu, Sarah Nature Center: leading tours, reading to youngsters, cleaning, Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster (352 pp.) and policing the bratty Birdie Bros. The latter share Laurel’s $18.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 goal of winning a photographic prize from Fauna magazine. 978-1-4814-9883-8 After cleared-up misunderstandings, Laurel’s relationship with hot co-worker Risa heats up simultaneously with local politics. When a friendship turns sour and a Sneaky politicians and developers are working on a deal to boyfriend ends up dead, what will it take build a school on protected land. Laurel and Risa are joined by to unravel the reasons why? other nature lovers—including feisty little Karen and her two When Remy Tsai meets Elise Ferro, mothers—as they try to win time for proper consideration of all she wants is to be friends. Elise is the project. Meanwhile, is Gran’s spirit inhabiting an unusual, confident, fierce, and strong—ready to elusive birdl? The many subplots intertwine gracefully through defend anyone from injustice, either with a few choice words Laurel’s strong, humor-inflected voice and have realistic resolu- or with a carefully planned act of revenge. Remy wants to be tions. The book follows a white default. just like her. Elise offers an escape from Remy’s fighting parents, Birdbrained, in a good way. (Fiction. 12-16) from Remy’s perfect brother, and from Remy’s other friends, who are growing distant. But beneath Elise’s brazen exterior, she has her own wounds. As their friendship intensifies, Elise begins to clash with Remy’s boyfriend, Jack. When Jack is shot and killed, Remy must sort through abuse, guilt, and love young adult

| kirkus.com | young adult | 1 may 2019 | 117 to understand what happened. Was it self-defense, or did the DESTROY ALL MONSTERS differences between Elise and Jack finally become too much? Miller, Sam J. Remy and Elise’s sometimes-electrifying, sometimes-toxic rela- HarperTeen (400 pp.) tionship is explored in detail, making both girls’ actions under- $17.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 standable, if still reprehensible at times. Though the drama is 978-0-06-245674-8 extreme, the trauma Elise and Remy both carry is explored deftly, and Elise’s hold on Remy is tantalizing throughout. Remy Four years ago, when best friends is Chinese-American, has another Asian-American friend, and Solomon and Ash were 12, something notes that her schools have become more diverse, though most happened that neither remembers. of the other characters, including Elise, are white. The two reacted in very different A gripping story of love, obsession, and the space in ways: Ash struggles with depression, and between. (Thriller. 13-18) Solomon has succumbed to serious men- tal illness. He dwells in Darkside, where dinosaurs live alongside humans and othersiders, humans with magical powers. In THE CHANGELING OF Darkside, Ash is a Refugee Princess under a spell, and Solomon FENLEN FOREST has a crush on her bodyguard, Niv, who for safety has moved Magyarody, Katherine her from one undisclosed location to another ever since the Great Plains Publications (224 pp.) riot when othersiders and humans clashed. In Ash’s reality, she $14.95 paper | Jul. 1, 2019 attends Hudson High, where her Solomon sometimes attends 978-1-927855-97-3-1 class and his stepfather, hunky Mr. Barrett, is football coach and vice principal. She also hooks up with Connor, Solomon’s An old forest encloses mysteries stepbrother. In Solomon’s world, a wave of anti-othersider vio- both fantastical and personal. lence coincides with vandalism and dangerous pranks in Ash’s, When Elizabeth was small, she cried and the time the friends spend together in both places jars out in loneliness and a unicorn came memories of the traumatic event that shattered their lives. Is it to protect her through the dark night. possible that their struggling friendship could be instrumental From then on, she has had a special ability for finding the crea- in saving two worlds? Miller (Blackfish City, 2018, etc.) delivers tures and an affinity for the forest in which they live. Having a tale of friendship and dovetailing realities: Each teen narrates been abandoned by her father, Elizabeth and her mother take from their own reality in alternating chapters, and the two nar- to scavenging for naturally shed unicorn horns, using them to ratives bleed into one another in a way that at times borders on make a miraculous medicine they sell to support themselves. A confusing. The worldbuilding in Darkside will feel familiar to unicorn brings Elizabeth a sickly foal to raise, and she names fans of fantasy. Ash is white; Solomon is white and Jewish. her Sida. When Sida wanders too far into the forest on her A darkly complex read. (Fantasy. 15-18) own, Elizabeth, now 17, follows and accidentally discovers a small community of people who speak a different language and harbor a surprise discovery. In this fantasy world, there EMMIE AND THE TUDOR KING are wild beasts, blooming romance, an uncanny doppelgänger, Murray, Natalie disjointed time, and a culture where women are expected to be Literary Crush Publishing (304 pp.) domestic. Characters seem to default to white. The story subtly $12.99 | Jun. 11, 2019 morphs halfway through, once Elizabeth becomes lost in the 978-0-9984484-7-3 forest, and, unfortunately, after that point feels a bit scattered; Series: Hearts and Crowns, 1 later elements don’t always flow naturally from earlier ones and the tale becomes somewhat disjointed with an unresolved Time travel enables a seemingly ending. impossible romance. Readers looking for an escape will probably tolerate Emmie’s mind is on creating a piece the story’s weaknesses, but there is little here to lift this of jewelry that will get her into a presti- beyond run-of-the-mill fantasy. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-17) gious London design school, not on her friends or the end of high school. When she spots an unusual blue ring at a yard sale, she buys it—not realizing that when she falls asleep wearing it, she will be transported 400 years into the past, to the time of Nicholas the Ironheart, the last Tudor mon- arch of England, adding alternate history to time travel in this soft sci-fi. To Emmie’s surprise, Nick isn’t just the bloodthirsty maniac of history books; he’s handsome and dotes on his sister, Kit. But Emmie knows it’s Kit’s murder that will set Nick on his notorious historical path. As she falls in love with Nick, Emmie tries to protect Kit and to figure out whether she can give up

118 | 1 may 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | A worthy coming-of-age story. german calendar no december

the freedoms of the 21st century for love in the 16th. Even referred to as “Oyinbo,” and Olivia dislikes the way it marks before the constant crisscrossing trips across time and the lies them as different. Sent to boarding school in Lagos, she is to cover up her absences, Emmie is a wishy-washy, reactive char- immediately othered and treated poorly because of her mixed acter. The alternate history angle isn’t fleshed out sufficiently, heritage. Her fantasies of jolly adventures are quickly dashed and the time travel is overused. Worst of all, the romance is by the realities of oppression and hazing. Hoping to put that hard to stomach, especially with Nick’s jealous temper. mistreatment behind her, she finds her way to Hamburg, Ger- Any potential the story had is let down by the execution. many, to attend university. Her arrival is less than pleasant after (Romance. 14-18) being questioned by a customs agent and embarrassing herself on an escalator. And she quickly learns that while in Nigeria she wasn’t black enough, in Germany she isn’t white enough. MINUS Among her multiethnic co-workers at a bakery she finds a fam- Naffziger, Lisa ily and a purpose, but it isn’t enough to shield her from harsh Illus. by the author realities. Illustrations of birds interspersed throughout the Iron Circus Comics (178 pp.) story represent Olivia’s need to escape the familiar and seek $15.00 paper | Jun. 15, 2019 what the rest of the world has to offer. Weyhe (Arbeit, 2018, 978-1-945820-32-8 etc.) infuses West African–style figures and art executed in simple lines with an orange, brown, and green color palette. A convoluted graphic novel thriller Her expressive faces pair well with the honest, straightfor- about a teen discovering the dark and ward text, bringing to life the journey of a young woman seek- twisted secrets of her childhood. ing acceptance and belonging.

Beck, a brown-skinned young woman A worthy coming-of-age story about resilience. (Graphic young adult with straight black hair, is en route by fiction. 13-adult) car with her father to begin her first year at the University of Chicago. The excitement of leaving her isolated home-school environment is abruptly derailed when a routine stop at a gas sta- BLOODY SEOUL tion turns fatal. Beck flees, and a concerned woman drives her Patel, Sonia into the city, but urban Chicago is bewildering for Beck, who Cinco Puntos (224 pp.) is accustomed to rural living. This chance encounter with a $17.95 | Jul. 2, 2019 seemingly random stranger later proves pivotal when Beck 978-1-947627-20-8 learns about mysterious circumstances from her past. An innocuous stuffed toy holds clues to Beck’s deep family secret Sixteen-year-old Rocky is the son and sets off a chain of events that forces two men in her life of one of Seoul’s most powerful crime to confront one another. Themes of social media and surveil- bosses. lance, complicated familial relationships, and so much more Not yet old enough to join his are overshadowed by hasty plot twists, lackluster characteriza- father’s organization, he runs his own tion, and a polarizing conclusion. The dark vector-style illus- high school gang, terrorizing and bully- trations, heavy with deep crimson and indigo, are reminiscent ing the kids at school, until he begins to see the truth of who of Faith Erin Hicks. Variations in the panels add visual inter- his father really is. Rocky initially longs to join his father in the est. The cast is ethnically diverse. Three Star Pa gang’s glamorous world of power, danger, and The disturbing and rushed ending may baffle some luxury, but when he starts to recognize his father’s moral bank- readers while opening up discussion for others. (Graphic fic ruptcy, he begins to question all his assumptions. As his eyes tion. 12-14) open to his father’s alcoholism and dark moods, Rocky unearths memories of his loving mother, who disappeared 10 years earlier. He discovers ugly truths about his parents’ relationship and his GERMAN CALENDAR mother’s disappearance and starts digging deeper. Patel’s (Jaya NO DECEMBER and Rasa, 2017, etc.) staccato first-person prose, liberally inter- Ofili, Sylvia spersed with flashback scenes and gratuitous similes, creates an Illus. by Weyhe, Birgit emotional distance for readers. Rocky’s personal transforma- Cassava Republic Press (192 pp.) tion from brutal bully to lovesick teen may also feel a bit too pat $24.95 | May 8, 2019 to be entirely realistic, exemplified by his 180-degree change 978-1-911115-61-8 of heart toward the Indian-Korean girl he had been torment- ing at school. Rocky’s friendships with his gang members, who Ofili’s debut teaches readers that turn out to be the steadying foundation for his new life, are the moving forward is the only option. strongest element of his journey. Olivia Evezi wants to find her place Readers who are drawn to the darker side of Korean in a world where she never wholly belongs. In her home pop culture will enjoy this archetypal, yet solid, redemp- of Warri, Nigeria, her white German immigrant mother is tion story. (Fiction. 13-18)

| kirkus.com | young adult | 1 may 2019 | 119 INTERVIEWS & PROFILES Zack Smedley

IN DEPOSING NATHAN, TWO TEENS BECOME AS CLOSE AS TWO BOYS CAN GET—UNTIL ONE STABS THE OTHER By James Feder Photo courtesy Peter Konerko Deposing Nathan (May 7), Zack Smedley sets out to offer a new perspective on two communities whose stories continue to be told in ways that have been depicted narrowly: bisexuals and religious folk. Growing up, Smedley knew that he was attracted to both men and women. “But,” he recalls, “I was not familiar with the term ‘bisexual’ until sophomore year of college.” Immediately, he says, he recognized himself in the word, and he came out as bisexual three weeks later. Given the complicated and often dismissive attitude toward bisexuals both within and outside the LGBTQ community, Smedley’s delayed introduction to the concept should not, perhaps, be too shocking. Things are changing, of course. “Re- cently, I’ve come across young adult books that have a lot of mentions of bisexuality, and validation of it,” he says, “but that isn’t the same as exploring it head-on in the first person.” For Smedley, then, it was crucial to write Deposing Nathan in first person. A blossoming friendship between teens Nate and Cam becomes increasingly fraught in the novel as they begin to understand their attractions toward one another. While Cam is able to quickly incorporate his sexuality into his broader identity, Nate For a long time, the narratives woven around struggles. His main sticking point is his Christian LGBTQ characters in literature dealt with sexuality faith—or his reading of his Christian faith. as an obstacle, as something that needed to be ad- “I wanted to explore the different sides of the ar- dressed and overcome in order to allow for accep- gument of sexuality versus religion,” Smedley ex- tance to be obtained from the self, the family, or the plains. “So many think they repel each other, but I community. Recently, there’s been a trend in young was raised Christian, and to me, it made all the sense adult fiction to present sexuality as just one part of in the world that if you were LGBT that would only one’s identity rather than the defining struggle of serve to strengthen your relationship with your faith, one’s life. However, this movement toward diversi- so as to be more in tune with who you are.” He admits fying the stories being told about LGBTQ people that writing Nate’s character proved more challeng- has largely been constrained to dealings with cisgen- ing than expected given how different his own expe- der, secular, gay male characters. In his debut novel, rience was.

120 | 1 may 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | Nate’s shame, reinforced by a strict interpretation of religion peddled by his aunt Lori (a stand-in for his deceased mother and, according to Smedley, organized religion), causes Nate’s emotions to swing back and forth with increasing volatility, which strains his friendship with Cam. Eventually, confusion, hurt feelings, and misplaced anger boil over NO ESCAPE into an altercation in which Cam stabs Nate with a Scarrow, Alex shard of pottery. This criminal element—the book Sourcebooks Fire (384 pp.) is structured around Nate’s lengthy deposition— $10.99 paper | Jul. 2, 2019 978-1-4926-6026-2 provides a high-stakes backdrop to Smedley’s care- Series: Plague Land, 3 ful and nuanced exploration of sexuality and faith, which remains the heart of this story. Complete assimilation is the name of the game in the final installment of “I wanted to write something where the main Scarrow’s Plague Land trilogy. character is unironically a person of Christian faith Shortly after the events of Reborn (2018), siblings Leon and Grace and and trying to reconcile that with their sexuality their friend Freya become separated. Freya is on a U.S. Navy and who ends up doing it,” Smedley says. “My hope ship bound for Cuba, aka the New United States, along with would be that readers come to the realization that Leon and Grace’s father, Tom, who is desperate to locate his children. Leon is still in the U.K. with a small band of survi- it’s possible to have a relationship with God and be vors after having fled the chaos that befell their last refuge, Christian and still be queer. I think,” he adds, “and and Grace, who is now infected and more than human, is on a this applies to God and to family—if you feel that Chinese carrier carrying a shocking message. Over two years ago, the world was invaded by the horrifying virus that liqui-

there’s a rubric you have to meet in order for some- fies its victims, and though the discovery that salt water is an young adult one to love you, then something’s not right.” effective weapon has offered hope, it hasn’t been enough to stop the ruthless otherworldly intelligence that makes it clear that assimilation is humanity’s only choice. Is there a way to James Feder is a writer based in Tel Aviv. Deposing Nathan stop the takeover before humankind is annihilated? Scarrow’s devastated landscape and the terrifying entity that has taken recevied a starred review in the March 15, 2019, issue. it over are vividly rendered, and the plentiful, visceral imag- ery of bodies in various states of transformation is not for the squeamish. The conclusion may prove divisive among series fans, but it will linger. Main characters are assumed white, but there’s some diversity in the international supporting cast. Adrenaline-laced post-apocalyptic fun. (Horror. 14-18)

VIRTUALLY YOURS Tash, Sarvenaz Simon & Schuster (368 pp.) $18.99 | Jun. 4, 2019 978-1-5344-3666-4

NYU freshman Mariam Vakilian is at a crossroads. Socially adrift, unsure about her major, and still grieving the end of a three-year relationship with her boyfriend, Caleb, who is attending UC Berkeley, Mariam signs up to try HEAVR, a virtual reality dating app. Reviewing her top three matches, she immediately recognizes—and impulsively chooses—Caleb. Creating an avatar and using an alias to disguise her identity, she goes on virtual dates with him, hoping he will fall back in love with her. Just to complicate things, another one of Mariam’s dating app matches is her new real-life friend Jeremy, with whom she’s becoming increasingly close. Muddling through all this confusion forces Mariam to work through some of her anxiety and self-absorption to truly connect and build honest relationships with family, high school friends, and her college circle.

| kirkus.com | young adult | 1 may 2019 | 121 Tash (The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love, 2016, etc.) presents STEALING HOME readers with a young woman navigating life’s risks and rewards Wallace, Becky in a way that will resonate with many readers. Although the Page Street (320 pp.) pacing lags at times, smooth writing and lively banter elevate $17.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 this deceptively light novel. Mariam is the daughter of Iranian 978-1-62414-764-7 Muslim immigrant parents, and Persian cultural elements add texture and interest to the story. Caleb is implied African- Ryan’s passion is her Texas family’s American, Jeremy is half-Mexican and half-Italian, and Mari- minor league baseball team in this sat- am’s white lesbian roommate has a French-Canadian girlfriend. isfyingly, utterly predictable saga of girl- A sincere story of self-discovery. (Fiction. 14-18) meets-boy (whom she should not fall for but does). Ryan is focused on running the Buck- CONTAGION ley Beavers, which used to be a mom-and-pop organization. But Terry, Teri since Mom and Dad divorced, she’s shouldering extra responsi- Charlesbridge Teen (432 pp.) bilities, including picking up Sawyer Campbell, the No. 1 draft $18.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 pick, at the airport. He arrives just in time to puke all over Ryan; 978-1-58089-989-5 the meet-cute requirement is met, and all ensuing expectations Series: Dark Matter Trilogy, 1 of the genre follow, including the embarrassing almost-naked moment and being forced to spend time together by clueless An unusual plague sweeps across adults. Little baseball is in evidence, and the business side of Scotland in this trilogy opener. sports is the mechanism for the developing romance as mascots, In the opening pages, 12-year-old Cal- on-field promotions, chasing of sponsors, advertising, and spe- lie Tanzer is being experimented on by cial events run rampant. Ryan fights for the survival of the team scientists in biohazard suits in an under- while her mother threatens to sell out her share to heartless cor- ground bunker. She dies after being consumed by fire. Now porations. Both Ryan and Sawyer know that a relationship is a she’s a ghost witnessing the spread of a sickness that is soon let bad idea—not to mention against the rules—but the kiss at the loose into the wider population of Scotland and beyond. Being end is foretold from the beginning. Ryan and Sawyer are white, a ghost is frustrating, but Callie’s determined to find her fam- and Ryan’s wealthy best friend, Mia, is Latinx. Sawyer’s twin ily, including her half brother, Kai, who has been obsessed with brother has cerebral palsy and seems to stand in as a symbol locating her after she disappeared a year ago. Enter Sharona signaling Sawyer’s goodness rather than being a well-rounded “Shay” McAllister, who contacts Kai with information about character. Callie’s disappearance (Shay conveniently has a photographic For die-hard fans of the genre. (Romance. 14-18) memory—it’s been a year, after all). It’s insta-sparks for Kai and Shay, but there’s no time for character development, because the epidemic, dubbed the Aberdeen flu, starts killing off friends MAYBE THIS TIME and neighbors. Luckily, Kai and his mother, an epidemiological West, Kasie researcher, are immune. Shay gets sick and survives, but survival Point/Scholastic (368 pp.) comes with creepy abilities. Survivors are now being hunted, $17.99 | Jul. 9, 2019 and Callie is consumed by the need for revenge. Shay and Kai 978-1-338-21008-8 fall in love laughably quickly, and the plague’s origins take a back seat to navel-gazing and improbable plot twists. All main char- Enemies unconvincingly become acters seem to be white. Fans of the genre deserve better than lovers. this. Judgmental and with a chip on her Boilerplate apocalyptic fodder. With kissing. (Dystopia. shoulder, Sophie wants nothing more 12-18) than to escape her small Alabama town for design school in New York. To make money, she works for the local florist/party planner, which also lets her spend time with her best friend, Micah, a waitress for her father’s catering company. When Micah’s father is picked for former celebrity chef Jett Hart’s small business mentorship program, it brings Sophie into contact with Jett’s son, Andrew— a guy who rubs her the wrong way with his city manners and hes- itation to stand up to his mercurial father. Over the course of various events throughout the year—a format working against narrative flow, not to mention romance—Sophie struggles to get some inspiration for her design portfolio, cope with family issues, and not let Andrew get under her skin, even as she

122 | 1 may 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | Honest, satisfying, and surprisingly original. impossible music

starts seeing other sides of him. It takes fighting with Micah and a good, hard look at herself for Sophie to take a chance with Andrew, just in time for a new year to begin. The episodic format doesn’t jibe with the small-town setting—how can Sophie only see Andrew at events? Most characters are assumed to be white other than Micah, who is black. This stop-and-start romance doesn’t come together. (Romance. 12-16)

IMPOSSIBLE MUSIC Williams, Sean Clarion (320 pp.) $17.99 | Jul. 2, 2019 978-0-544-81620-6

When Adelaide musician Simon experiences sudden deafness, he struggles to find where, or if, he belongs in the hearing and Deaf worlds.

Narrated from 18-year-old Simon’s young adult point of view, this novel explores the anger, frustration, grief, and fear of two teens dealing with unexpected hearing loss and follows them as they learn what it means to be d/Deaf. Simon awakens one morning to find that he can’t hear: A stroke has left him with an extremely rare case of corti- cal deafness. In Australian Sign Language class, he bonds with G, another teen dealing with her own recent deafness. Simon and G begin to build a relationship while trying to adjust to life without hearing and nursing a glimmer of hope for cures to their conditions. The author has taken a protagonist cut from the same cloth as many others —a moody teenage boy—and made him sympathetic and relatable. The search for identity is a universal theme, yet Simon’s story of confronting deafness and Deaf culture feels fresh. Though the story centers on Simon’s struggle to accept his deafness, it does not paint being deaf as a torture to be endured. It avoids both condescending pity and inspirational fluff, instead offering an unpretentious look at the process of losing and finding oneself after a life-changing event. Simon and G are white, and there is some ethnic diversity in secondary characters. An honest, satisfying, and surprisingly original coming-of-age story. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-adult)

| kirkus.com | young adult | 1 may 2019 | 123 Shelf Space

Q&A with Mike Gustafson, Co-Owner of Literati Bookstore By Karen Schechner Which was your favorite event and/or most memorable disaster? The day we opened, we ran out of receipt paper. Neither of us (my wife and fellow co-owner, Hilary) went to business school, so that makes sense. I drove too fast to buy more, because the next day was April Fool’s Day and I couldn’t stomach the cruel joke of a bookstore handing out post-it notes as receipt paper because it didn’t anticipate anyone would actually buy anything. My favorite event was hosting Patti Smith at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Valentine’s Day. Smith, who lived in De- troit, read and sang songs with her family on stage. One of the songs she sang was an audience sing-a-long of “Can’t Help Fall- ing in Love With You,” which was coincidentally our wedding song. Hilary and I slow-danced in the back of the theater, and I mentally took as many snapshots as I could, trying as hard Literati Bookstore might have broken a record. Hilary and as I could to slow down time while simultaneously bathing in Mike Gustafson opened their Ann Arbor, Michigan, bookstore in it, realizing in that moment that nothing would ever top that 2013 and within six years won ’s prestigious Book- Publishers Weekly experience, booksellingwise. store of the Year award. Since its inception, the bookstore has seen rapid growth in size (now 4,000 square feet), events (about 200 an- How does the bookstore reflect the interests of nually), and offerings (they added a coffee shop). Mike also pub- your community? lished a book about the store, Notes from a Public Typewriter, which I don’t think any independent bookstore our size could survive if was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered. The general book- it didn’t reflect the interest of the community. Beyond specified store sells new books and specializes in categories like literary fic- curation, since we are downtown, we host many events as well as tion, poetry, and cookbooks. Here, Mike talks about hosting Patti book clubs like our Feminist Book Club and Eco Book Club. Ann Smith, eco and feminist book clubs, and a resident ghost. Arborites love to learn, so as part of our Local Learning at Literati Series, we invite local experts to teach the community their skills, How would you describe Literati Bookstore to like calligraphy or drawing the human form. the uninitiated? Literati Bookstore is a general interest, small-but-mighty, curated, What trends are you noticing among young readers? events-focused bookstore in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor, The resurgent interest in analogue among younger people is Michigan. We occupy all three floors of a historic brick build- real and powerful. I’m old enough to remember when people ing, one of which definitely has a ghost. (As far as we can tell, the said email would kill off cards. Cards are one of our bestselling ghost does not handsell.) items. Or when people said the word processor would eliminate the need for journals and notebooks. Journals and notebooks sell If Literati Bookstore were a religion, what would be its very well among younger people. Younger readers are passion- icons and tenets? ate about new voices and new ideas but also about real, physical We unintentionally opened on Easter, so this question is uninten- books and real, physical bookstores. They take photos of books. tionally funny to me. I think most who visit us can witness first- They create bookstagram accounts. They build bookshelves in hand that the book is not dead. Obviously, all who enter are ex- their apartments. They enthusiastically celebrate the beauty that pected to click-clack something on our public typewriter and be- is the physical, analogue book. I’m not sure that was predicted hold the smell of new books and hot coffee. At night, sometimes 10 years ago. words are spoken into microphones, people applaud, floors creak, pages turn, and the typewriter click-clacks away….Wait, independent bookstores aren’t a religion? Karen Schechner is the vice president of Kirkus Indie.

124 | 1 may 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | indie These titles earned the Kirkus Star: I HOPE IT’S A PUPPY! Achtman, Lindsay Illus. by Morosan, Andra LIFE AS TRAUMA by Sarah Z. Mitić...... 140 Self (32 pp.)

MY SISTER’S MOTHER by Donna Solecka Urbikas...... 145 A young girl tries to identify the creature that’s growing inside her pregnant mother in this picture book. The narrator’s mother is having a baby, and while everyone tells the girl it’s a surprise, she proudly proclaims, “I’m super great at guessing!” Based on how “soft and fluffy” her mother’s body feels, the girl first predicts the infant will be a

puppy. When the baby kicks, it reminds the narrator of a uni- young adult corn’s horn. But since the infant is hiding inside, perhaps it’s a shy bunny. The girl’s animal guesses continue as noises and the way her mother moves inspire additional speculation. With each creature, the narrator envisions what fun they will have together. When her mother finally provides an ultrasound, the girl realizes that the baby will be a tiny human who will be her friend forever. Achtman’s (The Day the Swing Stopped, 2018) rhyming, child’s-eye-view text mimics the imagination of a pre- schooler perfectly (though this precocious narrator is already studying math). Morosan’s (Good Morning, Mirror!, 2019, etc.) big-eyed white characters and delightful animals are cartoonish with soft edges. And the boisterousness of the girl’s creativity is presented beautifully in her hoped-for adventures. For parents introducing the idea of a new child’s joining the family, this playful tale offers a joyful and effervescent celebration of siblinghood.

PERCEPTION A Photo Series Adams, KC HighWater Press (120 pp.) $34.00 | Sep. 24, 2019 978-1-55379-786-9

A collection of photographs that MY SISTER’S MOTHER challenges cultural stereotypes of Indig- A Memoir of War, Exile, enous people of Canada. and Stalin’s Siberia Canadian First Nations artist Urbikas, Donna Solecka Adams has personally witnessed the stigma and ignorance Univ. of Wisconsin (312 pp.) that her country’s Indigenous people face daily. During her $26.95 | $19.95 paper | $11.99 e-book long, successful career, she’s worked in a wide variety of dif- Apr. 27, 2016 ferent media, including video, paint, ceramics, and beads. But 978-0-299-30850-6 in this anti-racism project, she felt that no other medium but 978-0-299-30854-4 paper photography could capture the raw, intense emotions that played across her First Nations subjects’ faces. By placing

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 may 2019 | 125 on consignment

Whether traditionally or inde- two stark, black-and white photos of each subject side by side, pendently published, most authors Adams effectively forces viewers to reconsider their assump- want to see their books on the shelves tions, resulting in powerful shifts in perception. In the first of their neighborhood bookstores. photo, the subject was told to pose how they believe other Traditional publishers vie for valu- people perceive them, and in the second, they presented themselves how they wanted to be seen. For example, readers able shelf space, but many indie au- see a portrait of a serious-looking woman, and, above her, are thors can opt for a simpler route—a the words “Welfare Mom?” Then, just below that term, read- consignment program. Authors pay ers are reminded to “look again.” The second image shows the a small handling fee, and participat- same woman, radiant and smiling, with words that describe ing bookstores stock several copies who she is, including “Mother,” “poet,” “activist,” and “Ban- of their books (as long as said books nock Lady” (bannock is a kind of quick bread). Each subject described themselves in their own words, which offers read- meet certain reasonable criteria), paying authors after ers striking insights into their lives. The art project was so their books are sold. successful that, in 2015, a campaign was launched to stage Bookshop Santa Cruz, the portraits across Winnipeg, Manitoba; the faces were then in Santa Cruz, California, seen on buses and billboards across the city. In this beauti- launched their current con- fully understated collection, the images are preserved in book signment program, which is form, which readers may use as a tool to combat discrimina- part of their larger publish- tion. In the foreword, Canadian poet Katherena Vermette, who is of Métis descent, sums up the book’s spirit: “it’s about ing program, more than a de- looking again, looking deeper, and to me, it’s also about kind- cade ago, and it’s very popular. ness.” Indeed, the potential lasting impact of this collection “Our consignment program is can’t be underestimated; this is socially engaged art at its best. one of the most robust pro- A simple but persuasive presentation that encourages grams of its type,” said Sylvie thoughtful reflection. Drescher, Bookshop Santa Cruz’s Publishing & Local SASSIE’S NEW HOME Author Coordinator. “Since Albright, Erin 2009 we’ve consigned books Illus. by Hombs, Alexandra from over 1,100 Bay Area authors and have at any given time Albright Creative (20 pp.) between 200 and 300 active participants in the program.” $22.95 | $14.95 paper | $4.99 e-book At Village Books, in Bellingham, Washington, their Jan. 29, 2019 consignment program is also the blueprint for a positive 978-0-578-45681-2 978-0-578-44332-4 paper partnership between the bookstore and indie authors. Owner Paul Hanson said, “Authors receive a contract, and In Albright’s debut picture book, a mother explains the con- we pay our bills to them on a regular basis. We treat them cept of heaven to her young daughter after their beloved dog dies. as we treat all the other publishers we work with. We want Light-skinned Lanie and her small, black-and-white dog, them to work with us as professionals.” Sassie, have always been good friends, playing together and Watermark Books and Café, in Wichita, Kansas, sharing snacks. One day, Lanie’s light-skinned mom tells her that Sassie has died and gone to heaven. She describes the launched its consignment program about eight years wonderful things that Sassie will find there, such as dog treats ago. Watermark was a pioneer of the comprehensive lo- growing on trees. She also explains how dogs befriend people cal author program, which is similar to those listed above. who arrive in heaven and help them navigate it. Now, Lanie’s They’ve tweaked their program and instituted a $50 stock- mom says, Sassie is “helping other people who need to feel ing fee for five books. Watermark owner Sarah Bagby said, the joy and enthusiastic welcome that only a dog can provide.” “We have a good relationship with local authors because we That night, Lanie dreams of playing with Sassie, saying good- don’t send anybody away. Sometimes we have to explain bye to the dog, and watching her head toward her new “job.” Albright has the mother express some truly poignant senti- why we have to have a fee to stock the book, but once we ments, such as “It is important…that we hold onto all those do, it’s usually all good with the author.” —K.S. happy thoughts to help us remember her.” Other statements are somewhat puzzling, though, such as that Sassie “is SO spe- Karen Schechner is the vice president of Kirkus Indie. cial and loves us SO much that she ages faster than we do.” However, the book’s overall message may provide comfort to kids dealing with a pet’s death. Debut illustrator Hombs’

126 | 1 may 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | A smart, action-oriented middle-grade series that’s designed to keep kids’ attention. bear company

bright images feature engaging details, including textured THE FINAL WARS BEGIN trees and clouds. Youngsters will enjoy the depictions of vari- Asthana, S.A. ous dogs. Self (192 pp.) A well-meaning story with universal appeal. $0.99 e-book | Mar. 1, 2019

In this debut sci-fi novel, a mili- BEAR COMPANY tary officer wanted for murder in the Alexander, Cameron early 23rd century tries to prevent a war Bickering Owls Publishing (152 pp.) between human colonies. $6.99 paper | $2.99 e-book | Jul. 9, 2017 Lt. Gen. Bastien Lyons is hiding in 978-0-9991138-1-3 New Paris, the human colony on post– World War III Earth. After defying an In this middle-grade novel, artifi- order that would have resulted in the cially intelligent teddy bears protect the deaths of innocents, Bastien resisted arrest and killed five men son of a kidnapped scientist. in self-defense. But the individuals who finally capture him Dr. Peter Barnes is being held against don’t take him to the Martian colony, Port Sydney, where his his will in a secret lab beneath the Arc- superior, Gen. Crone, awaits. Bastien instead is the prisoner of tic tundra. His kidnappers—referred New Paris’ Queen Marie Dubois. She attained her royal title to as “government agents”—know that by killing her father, and now Marie wants to use Bastien to he’s mathematically proven the existence of other dimensions assassinate her elusive sister, Belle, the throne’s rightful heir.

besides our own. They want him to create a portal to one of Not handing over Bastien—a wanted criminal—to Crone vio- young adult those dimensions, and they’re willing to harm Peter’s 10-year- lates the colonies’ treaty, which also includes Nippon One on old son, Timmy, if he doesn’t cooperate. Timmy, whose mother Earth’s moon. The breach could ignite a war with Port Sydney, died four years ago, is an excellent student—in large part which is exactly what Marie wants. When Belle gets wind of her because his and his father’s frequent moves have kept him from potential assassin, she intends to turn Bastien against Marie, having a social life. Peter often takes work-related trips, leaving primarily to maintain peace between the colonies. But Cube, Timmy with a nanny. He’s never been gone for a month before, a humanoid robot Crone sends to hunt Bastien, is a 7-foot-tall however, and the new nanny, Ms. Gertrude, isn’t too friendly. In snag in everyone’s plans, and war may be unavoidable. In this captivity, Peter creates a blue-lit portal that releases hundreds first installment of a trilogy, Asthana deftly manages multiple of monstrous, shadowy beings, led by an imposing entity named characters in a sci-fi–flavored espionage story. Motivations, Total Dark, who wants to rule our dimension. Total Dark, for example, make sense, particularly the reasons both sisters who’s also capable of absorbing other objects and using them use Bastien rather than simply attacking each other. Alternat- as weapons, detects that Peter has a son. It sends its minions ing perspectives showcase superb characters, with Marie and after Timmy in order to coerce the doctor into opening an even Cube as standouts. Cube attempts to comprehend human feel- larger portal so that thousands more shadows may cross over. ings through music while its own emotions appear as data files In response, Peter remotely activates Bear Company—five (“>EMOTION = frustration.dat”). Marie is a metal-tentacled robotic teddy bears in his house, each programmed with a dif- cyborg who, in her opening scene, kills and cannibalizes her ferent specialty to protect Timmy. For his debut novel, Alexan- lover. Although this book is a quick read, the author packs the der launches a smart, action-oriented middle-grade series that’s narrative with plot developments: shifting alliances, shocking designed to keep kids’ attention. His flair for fun description deaths, and scenes unfolding on all three colonies. At least one pops up in lines such as “this underground base…makes Area 51 of those deaths is disappointing, but that won’t likely dampen look like a candy shop.” Vocabulary words, such as “rendezvous,” readers’ expectations for the sequel. are defined in context and spelled phonetically (“ron-day-voo”) Extraordinary characters steer a taut, rousing futuris- to boost the educational experience. Timmy also refreshingly tic tale. uses a library—not just the internet—to begin his search for his father. The bears are color-coded and have names such as Bruiser and Sneak, which emphasize their capabilities. Adults may also notice Alexander’s cleverness in naming the humorous medical bear “Patch,” after famous real-life physician Hunter “Patch” Adams. An adroitly conceived series opener that’s tailored to action fans.

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 may 2019 | 127 THE LAST CHANCE LAWYER CHRISTIANITY’S RELEVANCE Bernhardt, William FOR TODAY Babylon Books (344 pp.) A Personal Perspective $14.99 paper | $4.99 e-book Block, Russell C. $16.99 audiobook | Feb. 22, 2019 LifeRichPublishing (232 pp.) 978-1-948263-36-8 $33.95 | $16.99 paper | $3.99 e-book Nov. 7, 2018 Bernhardt (Justice Returns, 2017, etc.), 978-1-4897-0884-7 known for his long-running Washington, 978-1-4897-0883-0 paper D.C.–set Ben Kincaid courtroom-drama series, returns with a new attorney in a A longtime minister offers a mani- different city. festo on faith. Lawyer Daniel Pike has always done things his own way, and Debut author Block, who has been involved in pastoring and that’s made him one of the top criminal defense attorneys in community activism for over six decades, provides a lifetime’s St. Petersburg, Florida. But when Daniel’s violent client Emilio worth of lessons about Christianity, Scripture, and the church. Lòpez, whom he’d just saved from conviction, gets involved in He necessarily begins with a brief autobiographical essay, pro- a deadly shootout, the lawyer’s white-collar firm fires him. This viding readers with an idea of the author’s overarching frame of leaves the arrogant attorney adrift, but then he meets an attrac- reference. From there, Block goes on to produce an outline of tive woman named Maria Morales in a bar, and she invites him the Christian Bible, describing it in progressive and intellectu- to a mysterious meeting. At that gathering, the shadowy “Mr. K” ally rich terms. For instance, in discussing the Tower of Babel, asks Daniel to join the Last-Chance Law Firm. His new asso- he takes the intriguing step of comparing the tale to Mary Shel- ciates include strategist Maria, researcher Garrett Wainwright, ley’s Frankenstein: “Human beings trying to play…God, while and facilitator Jimmy Armstrong. Daniel’s first case involves creating their own nemesis.” In discussing the New Testament, arranging the adoption of Esperanza Coto, a 9-year-old orphan he extends a universalism to the story of Jesus, noting that “I who’s about to be deported to El Salvador. But this is compli- fully believe also that God speaks to…people who profess other cated by the fact that Esperanza’s guardian, Gabriella Valdéz, religions…and even no religion.” The author addresses what he has been charged with murder in the aforementioned shoot- views as misuses of the Bible, instances in which Scripture has out. As Daniel investigates the case, he learns that the woman been cited to support everything from racial and gender inequal- is enmeshed in a much larger conspiracy. He’s going to need to ity to holy wars and the rejection of scientific findings. Finally, solve this puzzle quickly to save Gabriella and Esperanza from he commits a lengthy portion of his reflections to the subject of grim fates. This novel is, first and foremost, about Daniel’s the church. His ideal view of the church is an open and liberal- moral evolution. In the beginning, the self-centered attorney ized one in which social activism is thoroughly coupled with a has no qualms about representing a “walking waste product” dedication to doctrine and evangelization. He also reviews the like Emilio; he even turns away a woman seeking help for her ministerial profession, with the benefit of a lengthy career’s abused sister (“Too messy. Not profitable”). But as he takes up worth of experience. Block is a clear and accessible writer who the cause of Esperanza and Gabriella, he comes to realize that is frank, introspective, and well-read. But his opinions will not the downtrodden have more urgent need of his services. Also, find agreement from the full range of readers. The author takes Bernhardt shows how Daniel was previously a lone wolf who a thoroughly modern view of Scripture, studying it critically felt that he didn’t have to answer to anyone, but, thanks to his and proclaiming, for instance, that “one mistake is to maintain Last-Chance Law Firm partners, he comes to appreciate the that the Bible…is automatically to be taken as the direct and value of teamwork. Overall, the author’s narrative maintains a literal word of God.” He quotes widely from progressive—and fast pace as Daniel discovers possible suspects before it reveals even controversial—authors like Eckhart Tolle, Bart Ehrman, the unlikely killer. and Marcus Borg and thoroughly discounts a literal reading of A brisk tale with a surprisingly sympathetic protago- such traditional tenets of the faith as Jesus’ virgin birth. Still, his nist who should be able to sustain another winning series. tone is generous and inviting throughout, endearing his writing to those who agree and disagree alike. Progressive and modern in approach, an engaging appeal to the future Western church.

128 | 1 may 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | HUNDRED PERCENT CHANCE SKYWAVE Brown, Robert K. Donoghue, K. Patrick Self (266 pp.) Leaping Leopard Enterprises (324 pp.) $16.95 paper | $9.99 e-book | Jan. 9, 2019 $29.99 | $17.99 paper | $4.99 e-book 978-1-79343-149-3 Dec. 14, 2018 978-0-9997614-2-7 A man recalls his college battle with 978-0-9997614-0-3 paper leukemia in this debut memoir. February 1990. College junior A sequence of clicks in otherwise Brown was enjoying a year abroad mundane radio signals may indicate the in Lancaster, England, when he felt presence of aliens on a Jovian moon uncharacteristically winded after a mile- in Donoghue’s (UMO, 2018, etc.) sci-fi long jog: “It’s been at least the past few days—or maybe closer series entry. to a week, I don’t know—that I’ve been feeling more beaten Aerospace engineer Kiera Walsh’s former roommate asks down than normal. Nothing obvious, nothing specific, just her to meet with a man named Ajay Joshi. He’s an accountant steadily higher levels of crushing fatigue.” Then the bruises by trade, but he’s also an amateur astronomer who’s made a dis- started appearing on his body: on his calf, his thighs, his right covery that Kiera has trouble believing. Specifically, he’s found hand. There was blood in his spit and then in his urine. A visit periodic clicking noises in readily available NASA recordings of to the school infirmary turned into a trip to the local hospi- Jupiter’s radio waves. Most people claim that these are merely tal, where samples were taken and tests were done. After a few interference, but Ajay surmises that the clicks, which occur in

days, he received the news: He had leukemia. He was quickly a pattern, are an alien broadcast to Earth from Callisto, one of young adult flown home to Seattle to undergo treatment—his condition, Jupiter’s moons. When Kiera peruses the recordings, she finds acute myeloid leukemia, was particularly fast-acting—includ- some validity in Ajay’s claims. She and fellow engineer Dante ing chemotherapy and bone marrow biopsies. Then more Fulton relay the information to billionaire Augustus Amato, chemo. As this happened, Brown was visited by his family whose company, A3rospace Industries, is focused on deep-space and friends from high school, causing him to look back on his exploration. Amato responds by expediting a mission to Cal- memories with renewed gratitude for what he had seen and listo; he suspects that if NASA makes it there first, there will be done. Throughout, he had his doctor’s words on his life expec- a coverup. Apparently, NASA has plenty of secrets, including a tancy at the front of his mind: “Your odds aren’t ten percent, failed space mission to Callisto 23 years ago and the discovery or twenty, or even fifty. You either survive or you don’t. Period.” of alien beings there, known as UMOs (“unidentified magnetic Brown’s writing is lively and lyrical, with moments of intense objects”). Soon, the race to Callisto becomes a tense standoff. description offset by humorous ones. He often imagines his Donoghue’s multigenre approach to his series opener is a tri- life as though it were being made into a film: “This brief hospi- umph. Although it’s primarily science fiction, the story also tal stay in London is as good a place as any for a rapidly-edited boasts thrillerlike suspense (Amato is threatened with impris- montage. No words necessary, saving the cost of paying actors onment at one point) and mystery (very little is known about and actresses portraying the hospital staff for speaking lines the UMOs, which appear as light). Numerous characters evolve in what, ultimately, will be a cameo appearance in my life.” over the course of the story even though it’s only Book 1: Ajay The author’s bout with leukemia was relatively compressed turns out to be more than just an internet conspiracy theorist, (though subsequent brain infections required a second hos- and NASA’s chief administrator, Dennis Pritchard, begins as pitalization), allowing him to methodically document each Amato’s ally, but circumstances change their relationship. The development, treatment, and result. For those interested in narrative is largely driven by dialogue—intelligent, engrossing seeing the toll leukemia can take on a young, healthy person, discussions of such subjects as probe launching and how the Brown’s account offers the details in searing prose. UMOs’ behavior is akin to that of Earth’s bees. This approach An intense, deftly composed cancer narrative. results in minimal action scenes, but the ending promises further adventures with these well-drawn characters. A promising, if chatty, first installment in a spacefaring adventure.

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 may 2019 | 129 Brisk action and pitch-perfect Sherlock-ian aplomb. sherlock holmes and the case of the undead client

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE RIVER RULES CASE OF THE UNDEAD CLIENT Fischer, Stevie Z. Downing, M.J. Green Writers Press (240 pp.) Burns and Lea Media (270 pp.) $19.95 paper | Apr. 23, 2019 $10.99 paper | $4.99 e-book | Jun. 1, 2019 978-1-73274-347-2 978-0-9995083-4-3 A colorful cast of characters unites to Zombies take on the Victorian stop one of their own from exploiting a supersleuth in this debut homage to the small New England town’s land and water. Arthur Conan Doyle detective series. Brock Saunders is a blight on the It’s 1888, and Sherlock Holmes, community of Bridgeville, Connecti- assisted by newlywed John H. Watson cut. After ripping off the town’s farm- and a posse of street urchins, comes to the aid of Anne Prescott, ers with a Ponzi scheme, he moved into the shadows, helping a nurse whose sister and fiance have disappeared. In improbably to facilitate the construction of an eyesore fuel-cell site and short order, he figures out the basics of the mystery: Mad scientist working as a consultant for the “New England Council Con- Emil LaLaurie is using a brain-destroying infection, assisted by sortium,” an organization out to monetize the land at the the voodoo rituals of his confederate Alcee Sauvage, to turn slum expense of its people. Peter Russo knows well what it’s like dwellers into zombies. The ensuing struggle to stop the villains is to run afoul of Brock. Not only did he rob Peter’s brother a well-rendered tribute to the Conan Doyle classics that retains and father, but he also raped his dear friend Nancy, an assault the original style while updating the sensibility with combat fem- she has never gotten over. Though still quite active in his 50s, inism, queasy sex, and torrents of gore. Roaming a foggy, atmo- Peter will have to look to his friends, family, and fellow towns- spheric London, Holmes is his old self, bursting with know-it-all folk for aid as a conspiracy by Brock and the consortium to sell pedantry (“It is perhaps a compound word from several terms in the area’s water rights to the huge company Eautopia is slowly West African Kikongo…‘nzambi’ and ‘zumbi’ ”), unlikely deduc- uncovered, a plot that the group is willing to kill to protect. tions (“The particular callous patterns on the man’s right hand, Despite the high stakes of Fischer’s debut thriller, the book is the many injuries to his left, and the discoloration of his trouser often quite lighthearted. Peter’s “revenge” on Brock includes legs all speak of a man accustomed to repairing shoes”), and curli- merely planting flowers around the ugly power station, and cued trash talk (“I wish to assure you…that I am the least worthy he’s aided in his fight with colorful characters ranging from of the agents of justice who will fall upon you soon and take you a part-time private investigator and yoga-obsessed British ex– down to ruin”). But he’s also modern enough to declare that “it police officer to an obnoxiously loud ambulance chaser of a is high time, Watson, that we treat women as our equals” and to lawyer. Peter’s other allies are fully drawn individuals dealing insist that Anne get samurai training. The latter comes in handy with many of the modern challenges familiar to small com- as the heroes confront hordes of rotting, snarling, brain-eating, munities; his niece, Rachel, is attempting to stay clean after galumphing undead and mete out old-school dismemberments opioid addiction; his ex Carmen, whom he still holds a torch and beheadings. The grisly violence—“The meaty ‘snick-snack’ for, lost her daughter to similar challenges; and most of the sound of a razor-sharp blade slicing through flesh and bone came community suffers under a bureaucratic kleptocracy that isn’t from my right….The head spun for a second in the air above the answerable to its neighbors. Chapters are short but never creature’s torso, and a weird giggle escaped my lips”—darkens rushed, and the dialogue is natural and funny, slang-filled and Downing’s vigorous series opener. So does Watson’s agitation as prone to friendly swearing and good-natured insults between he conceives an ungentlemanly desire for the gorgeous Anne that close friends. As with any small town, there’s a lot of history to only grows more intense as she gradually zombifies after getting cover both about the area and among the characters, but even bitten. Holmes fans may find the video game carnage and Wat- this is introduced organically, with details left to be fleshed son’s somber obsessions to be a tonal clash with the Conan Doyle out later on, feeding the story’s intrigue. aesthetic of cerebral cool, but the brisk action and pitch-perfect Modern economic scheming versus provincial loyalty Sherlock-ian aplomb make for a page-turner. makes for an endearing thriller. A gothic, ghoulish, but enjoyable version of Holmes.

The Roaring ’20s come alive through A high-stakes thriller focuses on a the pages of an old yellowed manuscript banker’s painful journey. that reveals a long-buried, sordid tale of Money can’t buy happiness, but it love and betrayal among society’s finest can purchase liquor, prescription drugs, in Wilmington, North Carolina. and a Fifth Avenue apartment with a In Flinn’s (Allegiance, 2016, etc.) cleverly designed novel Central Park view. For Harrison Stock- within a novel, four friends come together on Anne Borden ton, that’s almost the same thing. But getting fired from his “AB” Montgomery’s front porch to read a story written in 1930 investment banking firm seems like rock bottom, especially and recently found among some of AB’s old papers. Attached when home offers only cold comfort from his kids, Brenton and to the manuscript was a letter from its author, Perry Whit- Gracie, whom he barely knows after years of long nights away, more, to AB’s mother, Sylvie Meeks. Perry, a friend of Sylvie’s and his wife, Helene, for whom he’s ceased to be good enough. brother Kip, explains that he composed the novel from letters But he quickly finds himself in the hospital with liver disease, he received from Kip during the summer of 1928 and Sylvie’s one problem he truly can’t buy his way out of. With this setup

diary (given to Kip in 1929) covering the same period. Kip and alone, the novel could have come across as a simple parable, young adult Sylvie provide the manuscript’s alternating voices. AB and her as Harrison gets his just deserts for taking his life of privilege three companions (80-year-old Bernard May and 30-some- and the wealth of possibilities for happiness for granted until things Elle McLarin and Nate Aldridge) take turns reading it’s too late. Nevertheless, even in the early sections of the tale, Perry’s novel aloud over successive summer nights. It begins Harrison is surprisingly sympathetic. While his “extracurricular when Sylvie and Kip go to a Saturday night dance at Lumina, activities” certainly will raise readers’ eyebrows, the vivid por- the Wrightsville Beach pavilion “Palace of Light,” in May 1928. trait here is not of an evil man but one torn between striving They run into Catherine and Clifton Carmichael, another sib- for his own advancement and providing for his family until a ling duo, whom they have known since childhood. The Car- haze of pain-killing vice takes everything from him. Or almost michaels, sitting at the top of Wilmington aristocracy, and the everything. As part of his severance package, Harrison receives Meeks, merely a family of means, move in different circles. But the titular Desire Card, offering “any wish fulfilled for the right this fateful summer, the magic of music and dancing leads to price.” When his last hopes dry up and he’s cheated out of a risky romance—and violence. Flinn’s evocative prose re-creates black market liver, the Desire Card is all he has left. But the the era: “Cicadas cranked up their song as a backdrop to the city price for such a request is all too high, and the shadowy cabal noises, of the trolley bell clanging, train whistles blowing, auto- behind the Desire Card begins threatening people he cares mobiles rumbling along, dogs barking, and the occasional clip- about. Harrison must make the ultimate choice between every- clopping of a horse-drawn cart.” She captures the exuberance thing he could want and the people to whom he owes so much. of the decade’s dance, fashion, and changing social conventions Goldberg (The Mentor, 2017, etc.) delivers a thoughtful exami- as well as the more sinister underbelly of the Jim Crow South. nation of human selfishness in this series opener. The- mov Catherine’s sordid backstory, only partially disclosed before the ing story is a modern-day devil’s bargain, twisting and turning manuscript’s dramatic denouement, skirts the edges of credu- through an understandable fight for survival and a more com- lity but nonetheless packs a shocking punch. The evolving rela- plex view of the morality of a system where anything can be had tionships between AB and Bernard and Elle and Nate create a for a price, a more literal and explicit version of the landscape satisfying narrative symmetry between the two storylines—one readers live in each day. past and the other contemporary. A taut, emotional tale that portends an even deeper An engaging, often tender tale filled with vibrant exploration of this world in the sequel. period details.

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 may 2019 | 131

INTERVIEWS & PROFILES Amy A. Bartol

THE BESTSELLER MOVED FROM SELF-PUBLISHING AS A LAST RESORT TO BECOMING A BESTSELLING SELF-PUBLISHER By Rhett Morgan

Photo courtesy Lauren Perry of Periwinkle Photography child, they became an escape for me. When those novels ended, I never wanted to leave their worlds behind, so I’d spend days dreaming up new adventures for my favorite storybook characters. The thought of writing a book became a constant drip in the back of my mind. In the end, I told myself that I was going to write a book as an experiment to see if I could do it.

What drew you to the sci-fi and fantasy genres? Um…they’re badass! I mean, c’mon! Nothing’s better than sci-fi and fantasy. Worldbuilding alone in these genres is challenging. It’s like its own separate character. If I can create intricate, multilayered environments with unusual political structures, deep states, secret societies, and more that readers can smell, touch, taste, see, and feel, then I’ve done something extraordinary, haven’t I?

What do you think particularly attracted readers to your Even though she never expected anyone to read it, Secondborn series? Amy A. Bartol wrote and then rewrote her first manu- I think readers are drawn to the Secondborn series be- script, Inescapable, at least 100 times before self-publish- cause it’s a fast-paced futuristic adventure written in a ing it in 2011. After releasing several sequels, starting a Muhammad-Ali rope-a-dope style where I show you one second series, and hitting bestseller lists, Bartol signed a fist but hit you with the other when you least expect it. It deal with Amazon’s sci-fi and fantasy imprint, 47 North, leaves readers reeling but wanting more. in 2015 and has since continued to excite YA readers eagerly awaiting June’s release, Rebel Born. The third volume As an author working in YA fiction, what do you think is in Bartol’s hugely successful Secondborn series, it brings exciting teen readers today generally? readers to a world inspired by China’s one-child policy, I think teen readers crave something new—something blending political intrigue, secret societies, and a diaboli- truly mind-bending—like augmented realities that blend cal deep state with a forbidden, star-crossed love affair. compelling bits of prophecy with science. Recently, I’ve become fascinated with synthetic biology and the idea of When did you first want to be a writer? reinventing nature. I touched on those concepts in the I grew up in a family where violence and alcoholism were Secondborn series and especially in my book Rebel Born, part of my everyday life, so when I found books as a young but there’s so much more to explore in that arena. One of

132 | 1 may 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | my favorite things to do is to dream up technology and a lexicon that don’t exist.

When did you first decide to try self-publishing? Self-publishing was a last resort for me that evolved into the best decision I ever made. I thought my mom would probably buy 25 copies of …and then I’d cele- Inescapable MATERIAL VALUE brate my literary obscurity with a cheap bottle of cham- More Sustainable, Less pagne scraped from the meager profits. And that is pretty Wasteful Manufacturing of much what happened the first month. But then, in the Everything from Cell Phones to Cleaning Products second month, I’d sold a couple of hundred copies....I Goldstein, Julia was able to release my second novel, Intuition, a few Bebo Press (240 pp.) months later in December 2011. Sales went ! I was $24.99 | $8.99 e-book | Apr. 22, 2019 crazy 978-0-9995956-2-6 selling thousands of books a month. An engineer explains how to make products less toxic and more sustainable. What has worked best for finding an audience of In this debut science book, Goldstein takes readers into the younger readers? realms of manufacturing and recycling to explore how things— Amazon Publishing & Marketing has been crucial in this particularly consumer goods—are made, how the process can be improved, and what happens when they move into the area. Their mailing lists are second to none. The best way recycling system. Capsule portraits of entrepreneurs involved to find young readers is to interact with them on social in different aspects of sustainable manufacturing (a project media sites like Instagram. I cross-promote with other manager who maintains a database of construction materials and their ingredients, a distributor of compostable flatware and authors in a group called #FantasyOnFriday. Every Fri- packaging) appear throughout. These are woven into a narra- young adult day, we talk about novels in our genres that we’ve read tive that includes a concise history of plastics from Bakelite to the present; Nike’s shift toward corporate social responsibility; or that will release soon. It’s a great way to interact with and a visit to a steel plant. The book does a particularly good the book community. I consider myself a book blogger job explaining the complicated world of recycling, where both now because I read and discuss a lot of different books economics and feasibility limit the materials that can be pro- ductively broken down and reused. That section concludes with and I try to give back to the readers that have given me examples of cutting-edge techniques that offer new recycling so much. possibilities. Goldstein frequently refers to earlier works on the subject, showing how sustainable manufacturing has evolved over the past decade. And she makes a compelling case for its Rhett Morgan is a writer and translator living in Paris. eventual mainstream viability, drawing connections between lean manufacturing strategies and a more efficient use of raw materials, for instance. The book is well-written, with enough detailed information to engage knowledgeable readers but without technical jargon or minutiae that might overwhelm a novice. The tone is casual and intimate (“It’s great to have flatware that composts, but not if it falls apart when we’re using it”), and the author often uses her own experiences as a source of examples and anecdotes. While the volume maintains an upbeat perspective, Goldstein acknowledges the challenges of bringing sustainability to the manufacturing process and offers a candid evaluation of the effectiveness of each technology discussed. Readers will be left with the sense that although sustainability is not an easy feature to add to the manufacturing process, it is indeed possible to do so with both ecological and financial benefits. An engrossing, comprehensive overview of sustainable manufacturing and recycling and the challenges to expanding their adoption.

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 may 2019 | 133 The author sidesteps the typical fretting over paradoxes when her characters travel back in time, instead allowing the girls to simply have fun. the time travel team: the great historic mystery

THE TIME TRAVEL TEAM is mirrored by Isaac Newton, offering a lesson for readers of all The Great Historic Mystery ages. By the end, everyone on the team has her own Idea Note- Hadden, Jordyn book to inspire future adventures in the series. Windjammer Adventure Publishing A winsome tale with a reverence for science and the (353 pp.) humanities. $19.99 paper | $8.99 e-book Oct. 11, 2018 978-0-9994812-2-6 LOW COUNTRY BLOOD Hinkin, Sue Hadden’s YA fantasy debut features Literary Wanderlust (344 pp.) a group of teens who are tasked with sav- $17.99 paper | $7.99 e-book | Apr. 1, 2019 ing the world by some of history’s great- 978-1-942856-33-7 est thinkers. Fourteen-year-old Tyme Newton lives in Chagrin Falls, An African-American investigative Ohio. Her father, Benjamin, is president of the town’s vaguely journalist hunts her cousin’s killer and described “mechanical engineering” factory. One day, in her then becomes a target herself in this father’s office, she discovers an old wooden crate containing Southern thriller. a first edition of Philosophæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica by Beatrice “Beazy” Middleton, freshly her ancestor Isaac Newton. It also astoundingly contains a laid off from her reporting job in Los note, intended for his descendant, which reads, “you have come Angeles, drives her silver Beemer cross- upon the beginning of a mystery.” The back of the book holds country to visit her family in Savannah, Georgia. Halfway there, four “time crystals,” each supposedly able to power a trip back her brother, Luther, a sheriff in rural Georgia, calls to say their in time. Later that night, Tyme considers testing the crystals, 15-year-old cousin, Jayden, was murdered. Jayden, a musical but before she does, she remembers her Grandma Isabelle, prodigy, played fiddle and organ, and he “had the voice ofa who died three years before. Outside, a storm interrupts her young Stevie Wonder.” Emad Al Alequi, whose father, Farouk, thoughts, and lightning hits the O’Connells’ house across the heads an Afghan heroin ring, recognized Jayden’s talent and was street. Afterward, 14-year-old Zina O’Connell searches for her working as his manager. Marcus “Muhammed” Trotter, hired by parents, but they seem to have disappeared. While wander- Farouk to be his son’s handler, knew if Emad got overly involved ing around the property, Zina finds a stone with carvings that with Jayden, it would interfere with the family’s drug trade. If read, in part, “To find your parents you will need… / A watch, a Trotter couldn’t deter Emad, he could stop Jayden—with a bulb, a brush, a kite.” Tyme and her friends Luna Edison, Avia “9mm hollow point, Teflon-tipped” bullet. It turns out Trotter’s Wright, and Olympia Van Gogh, have these things, but they history of being a very bad dude stretches back to high school, have no idea of Zina’s plight. In fact, they’re beginning their when he assaulted Beatrice, who was rescued by Luther’s best own time-hopping mission. They soon receive guidance from friend, Rio Deakins. Trotter relishes the chance to hurt Bea- their relatives Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, Orville Wright, trice again while Rio, now a “goddamned gorgeous” motorcycle- and Vincent Van Gogh, who’ve joined forces in a dimension riding college professor, comes back into her life and may be called Intelligentsia. Only these geniuses’ descendants can stop the perfect man for her—despite his fiancee. Hinkin’s Deadly( a cosmic generator from overloading and causing Earth’s doom. Focus, 2018) second Vega and Middleton Mystery, which, like Hadden is clearly enamored with all things scientific, and the first book in the series, stars only one of the titular charac- she strives to instill her passion for learning and the arts in ters and reads like a thriller, successfully blends multiple ingre- her YA readers. The resulting adventure focuses on the heroic dients: fast pacing, romance, danger, humor, and a crazy wild teens’ ancestries to kick the plot into high gear, and she adds a ending. Nice details pepper the story: For example, a character suspenseful, four-day countdown until the electricity machine in a coffee shop insists “on stabilizing the table with a couple of will destroy the world. The author sidesteps the typical fretting sugar packets,” and the female redheaded police detective has over paradoxes when her characters travel back in time, instead skin “the color of cream with cinnamon sprinkles.” Other pas- allowing the girls to simply have fun—as when Olympia suggests sages border on the poetic, such as Beatrice’s thoughts as her a title for her ancestor’s latest work: “Well, it’s a night sky full of car races like a swift, sleek panther home to Georgia: “Licking stars. You know, a starry night.” Tyme’s grandfather, Henry, fre- my lips, I sought the briny tang of the Pacific, but it was gone. quently offers complementary notes of wisdom, as when he says, Other flavors were on the rise. I took a long swig of water. I was “We cannot live in the future, worrying about what lies ahead, or good. A little anxious, but good.” in the past....We must live now.” Coded ciphers and puzzles add A spirited reporter dealing with her past and helping further dimension to the narrative, as the girls must solve them police solve a murder in the family makes this novel hard to discover crucial details of their mission. Even famed diction- to put down. ary compiler Noah Webster makes an appearance. Hadden’s core message, however, is the importance of teamwork and humility; Tyme’s ego—and her penchant for keeping secrets— nearly undoes the group and the mission, and her poor behavior

134 | 1 may 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | BUILDING THE furnishes a vivid sense of the man’s character and his private MODERN WORLD life as a “good, if often distracted, father and a devoted paterfa- Albert Kahn in Detroit milias to his extended clan.” Hodges includes pages and pages Hodges, Michael H. of gorgeous photographs of Kahn’s buildings that capture their Painted Turtle (240 pp.) magnificence and, even more than this intelligent biography, $39.99 | $24.99 e-book | Apr. 16, 2018 establish his undeniable stature as one of the finest architects 978-0-8143-4035-6 of his time. A remarkable study of an architect’s works, both a his- A biography examines architect torical and visual feast. Albert Kahn’s underappreciated legacy. According to Hodges (Michigan’s Historic Railroad Stations, 2012), Kahn’s indelible imprint on modern architecture has OFF THE WELL-LIT PATH been overshadowed by his prolific industrial work. Today, he Holm, M.S. is most remembered for the factories he built for the automo- Sentry Books (128 pp.) tive industry giants Henry Ford and Packard Motors, but his $8.00 e-book | Aug. 16, 2019 designs reverberate through the whole expanse of architecture and even manufacturing. His “daylight factories” became a A desperate man tries to recover his model to be emulated by everyone. The author expertly traces teenage daughter, kidnapped in Mexico. the remarkable arc of Kahn’s life, from his early years in Ger- Bob Rugg and his 13-year-old daugh- many and Luxembourg in a large and culturally vibrant family ter, Rose, travel to Mexico together with

and his experiences as a financially straitened immigrant in plans to relax on a sun-drenched beach. young adult Detroit to his successes as a globally renowned architect. He But they’re intercepted by gangsters who began his career inauspiciously—he was fired from his first steal Rugg’s truck and abscond with Rose. apprenticeship when he was about 13 years old, and while he Rugg, shot and left for dead, somehow survives. He’s brought was a gifted draftsman, he was artistically limited by a total col- to a hospital, where one of his legs is amputated. Hobbled orblindness. Nevertheless, despite an education that concluded but determined, he takes it upon himself to track Rose down, in elementary school, he would eventually design the build- afraid that if he reports the crime, he’ll forfeit his only real ings that have become symbolic of Detroit’s iconic modern- advantage—the gangsters don’t know he’s alive and coming for ism, such as the General Motors building, the Fisher building, them. Rugg only has the most meager of leads. For example, he and the Detroit Athletic Club. Kahn was also devoted to the remembers that a young thug with a pronounced limp lifted his war effort, “knee-deep in equipping the United States to win wallet. Holm (Driller, 2016) alternates between two dueling nar- the Second World War,” and worked as a consulting architect ratives: a third-person perspective that focuses on Rugg and a on the Soviet Union’s inaugural Five-Year Plan. Hodges makes first-person account from the perch of Rayo, a newly recruited a compelling argument that Kahn was not only an important gavillero under the rule of El Sin, the crime boss who runs the architect, but also a historically significant steward of an embry- outfit that abducted Rose. The author artfully swings between onic modernity: “Unseen and largely unanticipated, the modern two viewpoints worlds apart, capturing the vulnerabilities Rugg world was already in gestation but needed the skilled hands of and Rayo share: Both submitted to the despotic calculations of Albert Kahn to give it form and substance.” El Sin. Rugg takes extraordinary risks to find his daughter and The author artfully brings to fruition his intention to pro- finds that the line that separates law enforcement from orga- vide an “accessible introduction for the nonarchitect, nonaca- nized crime is capriciously drawn. demic layperson.” Even the more technical discussions, like Holm beautifully combines two typically incongruent fic- the ways in which Kahn and his brother Julius revolutionized tional genres: a gripping, action-packed novel and an emotion- the use of reinforced steel, are presented in plainly simple and ally astute drama. His writing is poetically austere at times, sometimes elegant prose. Hodges covers an extraordinary invoking the hard-boiled prose of Cormac McCarthy: “The expanse of historical and architectural ground in a short work— streets daylit. Rugg saw laborers with bundled lunches and his powers of synopsis and distillation are impressive. He allows water jugs, some riding bicycles, their lives lived beyond his himself some speculation—for example, how Kahn managed troubles. Their troubles borne beyond what his life would the unrepentant anti-Semitism of Ford—but always displays know.” The author refuses to traffic in facile caricatures or easy admirable intellectual discipline, avoiding precipitous infer- moral distinctions: Rayo is a sympathetic character because of, ence. The author’s overarching case that Kahn is unjustly under- not despite, his imperfections, and even El Sin, as dastardly estimated by scholars—he “virtually epitomized the historical as he is, is permitted a human side. And Rugg is a deliciously figure who is famous while alive yet vanishes the minute he’s in complex character—a former pilot and soldier, he radiates the ground”—is persuasively made. By the end of the book, it’s a grizzled toughness and a cynical wisdom born of loss and hard to disagree with the view of historian Wayne Andrews that despair. Holm could have made him into a formulaic action even Kahn’s “factories were often works of art.” The architect hero—cinematically invincible—but he avoids that shopworn was a maniacal workaholic, and so it makes sense that Hodges trope. And the surfeit of action the book does deliver unfolds focuses on his professional achievements. But the author still in captivating language, the violence terrifyingly real, the

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 may 2019 | 135 An immersive re-creation of life and death on the Western Front. austin in the great war

danger sickeningly ubiquitous: “The desert without gully or AUSTIN IN THE GREAT WAR outcrop. A vanished sea had left Rugg no concealment beyond A Nebraska Farm Boy in the the holes of long dead foraminifera, their benthic shells 12th Balloon Company crunching under his feet. He ran with his mouth blooded and Johnson, Robert Eugene agape, as though in astonishment at a newly broken world, one WordHawk Publishing (530 pp.) where masked marauders set a man free so that they might $49.95 paper | Oct. 16, 2018 shoot him in the back.” This is certainly not a feel-good story 978-0-9996347-1-4 or for those in search of lighthearted entertainment. Holm asks a lot of his reader, both to understand the plot and to The carnage of World War I scars an stomach the violence. But the author repays that labor with a American doughboy in this debut histor- memorable literary experience. ical novel based on the life of the author’s father. A thrilling and moving story of love and desperation. Johnson deploys exhaustive historical research—along with invented dialogue, composite characters, and dramatically imagined scenes—to flesh out his father Austin’s experiences THE COORDINATE fighting with the U.S. Army in France in 1918. Austin is assigned Jacobs, Marc to a unit that mans large hydrogen balloons—tethered to the Manuscript (212 pp.) ground—that float high in the air, reconnoitering enemy movements and correcting the aim of artillery. While that might Two teenagers embark on a school sound like a safe, even frolicsome, way to fight a war, it is any- project that turns into an exciting, dan- thing but. High winds toss the pilots in the baskets, who feel gerous, and globe-trotting adventure in “like thistledown in a hurricane” after landing; German planes this YA sci-fi novel. and artillery relentlessly attack them; and any stray bullet can For 17-year-old Logan West, an turn an explosive balloon into a miniature Hindenburg disaster. upcoming history project represents Aside from one nauseating trip aloft, Austin works with the a chance to reconnect with fellow stu- ground crew, but that still exposes him to shelling, gas attacks, dent Emma James. He’s had a crush on and, on one occasion, a rain of flaming rubber after a balloon her since second grade, when they were close friends, but they explodes. But quieter interludes are more harrowing as his out- lost touch as they grew older. Now they’re both seniors at Jer- fit passes through French villages demolished by years of war sey North High School, and they’ll soon be going their separate and populated by stray animals or through an old battlefield ways. But first, they’re partnering up to research the Secret turned by shell craters into a biblical “abomination of desola- Chamber of the White-Eyed Star God in the Copán Temple tion,” sterile moonscapes from one horizon to another. Worst in Honduras. Its smoothly curved cave walls are inscribed with of all is Austin’s temporary reassignment to a “Sanitary” unit Mayan hieroglyphs—myriad four- to seven-digit numbers that tasked with identifying and bagging the dead after combat, experts still don’t understand. Logan and Emma soon discover which takes him into a “Death Valley” where American and a major obstacle to the project—all the web links to images of German corpses lie in heaps. the numbers are now dead. The determined teenagers soon Through Austin’s story, Johnson presents an immersive launch a search that sends them deep into the darknet. Along re-creation of life and death on the Western Front, espe- the way, they find out the secret of the Mayan numerals, involv- cially among the seldom-sung balloon squadrons. (The author ing a mysterious Norwegian named Albo, and go on a journey includes many photographs and long historical notes; the lat- across America and abroad. Dangerous international criminals ter, while interesting, are inserted in the main text and tend to and U.S. intelligence operatives also pursue these secrets, but break up the narrative flow.) He grounds the absorbing novel in they have no concept of what the shocking truth means for realistic detail: camp routine and soldiers’ equipment; mud and humankind. In his debut novel, Jacobs tells a Dan Brown–style fleas; the procedural of balloon maneuvering and maintenance; adventure story for a high school audience—one that’s full of the exact sound a gas shell makes when it bursts, alerting men to puzzles to decode and bold, perilous actions. There’s plenty of scramble for their gas masks. But in Austin’s narration, the tale room for reader skepticism, and the central premise, in paris also a spiritual odyssey. Beneath his seemingly stolid Nebraska ticular, requires some suspension of disbelief. Nevertheless, the farmer’s exterior, he’s an observant, sensitive soul shaken by the story holds together thanks to some good mathematical puzzle- violence he encounters. He notes the shellshocked psychiatric solving and insights by both Logan and Emma, who make an cases among his comrades and feels ever more shadowed by excellent team. Jacobs keeps the plot moving throughout by the mayhem, unable to brush it off as the fortunes of war. He introducing unexpected twists and developing relatively minor prays for a dead German, refuses an order to run his truck over characters, such as a comic-book store manager. a live mule, and becomes increasingly haunted by nightmares. Entertaining on several levels and sure to win fans for Johnson’s prose is straightforward and naturalistic, but through a planned series. Austin’s laconic prairie twang, he conveys deeper emotional impacts, from the grotesqueness of death (“He was strung up across” the barbed wire, “twisted, face sideways….His left arm was broke and slung backwards to the ground strange, like he

136 | 1 may 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | was trying to grab something from it”) to a mother’s muted THE ECLIPSE DANCER anxiety over a draft notice (“She put her arms around me and Koerber, Laura hugged me tight with her head sideways against my chest”). The Who Chains You Books (200 pp.) result is both richly textured and moving. $12.97 paper | $3.97 e-book A fine evocation of the face of war and the hidden Dec. 3, 2018 wounds it leaves. 978-1-946044-40-2

A Midwesterner recalls her semien- GET IT ON THE PAGE chanted childhood. Top Script Consultants Show This latest novel from Koerber (I You How Once Was Lost but Now I’m Found, 2017) Kellem, Craig & Hammett, Judy with tells the complicated family history of Bailey, Amy a 65-year-old woman named Andy. She lives in sleepy Allen- Illus. by Tokar, John burg, Iowa, “a small market town in the Midwest, surrounded CreateSpace (191 pp.) by puppy mills, factory farms, and meth labs. And cornfields. $14.95 paper | $6.99 e-book Lots of gravel roads and lots of cornfields.” Andy looks back Apr. 6, 2019 on her life growing up in this quiet, peaceful backwater, living 978-1-5355-7544-7 with her brother, Danny, and her caustic, bitter mother, Cindy (her father, scorned by Cindy, left long ago). Andy and her Two seasoned Hollywood script con- mother enjoy chain-smoking and trading barbs. When she’s

sultants offer a crash course on how to turn one’s ideas into a 13, Andy meets her “fairy godmother,” Alana, and, intrigu- young adult polished screenplay. ingly, the label in the girl’s reminiscences seems as much Debut co-authors Kellem, a former development execu- literal as figurative. Alana introduces Andy to the world of tive at Universal Television and 20th Century Fox Television, Algonquin folklore, which she eagerly absorbs: “She wanted and Hammett, a former employee at Universal Studios and to understand the words of the oldest jiibay, or fairies, from the Agency for the Performing Arts, currently run Holly- back before they learned Native words and long before they woodScript.com, a boutique script-consulting service. In this started speaking English.” Andy’s memories move forward in entertaining, to-the-point debut—written with screenwriter time to encompass her mother’s failing health and her own and producer Bailey and contributing writer/producer Mark C. relationship with her daughter, Bridget. Koerber balances her Miller, with occasional illustrations by Tokar—these industry narrative’s relaxed and direct pacing with frequent, evocative pros walk readers through the nuts and bolts of writing scripts descriptions of the seasonal beauty of the Midwest, which that will catch the eye of Hollywood decision-makers. The first Andy always remembers warmly: “The grass in the yard was section focuses on prep work—time spent reading other peo- silvery, the trees a strange dense black flecked with the star- ple’s scripts, “playing in the sandbox” of developing ideas, and light that reflected off the leaves. She felt the night air wrap fine-tuning a concept and story. Those tempted to skip straight itself around her, heavy as a wool blanket.” The tale progresses to pounding out dialogue do so at their own peril, the authors naturally through Andy’s memories as she recalls encounter- argue, noting that pros spend most of their time prepping: “the ing more clues as to the nature and whereabouts of her missing only writers who get the chance to write without preparation father. The author smoothly works in light fantasy elements, are those who are not getting paid,” Hammett writes. The sec- touching on the fairy kingdom that’s always adjacent to the ond part covers “Drafting and Crafting,” offering helpful advice, real world. “Aunty” Alana tells Andy stories about that jiibay although the authors do it in fairly broad strokes. Don’t expect a realm and its ways. The resulting gentle mix of small-town life deep analysis of why the final scene inChinatown is so powerful; and glamorous fairies is ultimately enchanting. instead, Kellem provides such nuggets as “Less is almost always A charming, readable tale about a resilient woman’s better” and “Surrender to the fact that writing is rewriting,” and search for her family—both regular and supernatural. Hammett offers brief explanations of why screenwriters should embrace stage directions. The final section discusses marketing and selling a script; in it, Kellem explains why sending less- than-perfect work is a big mistake: “After all, who wants to buy a brand new Mercedes with a dent?” They’re also helpfully candid about the bumpy, often frustrating path to production. Overall, this insider’s look at the industry is invaluable, although it may throw cold water on some readers’ Tinseltown dreams. That said, the book is also full of encouraging asides, and the authors seem dedicated to using their extensive knowledge to help others succeed in a truly competitive business. A frank, funny introduction to the realities of making it as a screenwriter.

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 may 2019 | 137 Long’s prose captures the wonder, fear, and excitement of his nerdy protagonist. genesis dimension

SAME TIME YESTERDAY GENESIS DIMENSION Lilo, Jami Long, J. Boyd Self (214 pp.) Mad Goat Press (330 pp.) $11.99 paper | $2.99 e-book | Feb. 3, 2019 $28.00 | $16.95 paper | $3.99 e-book 978-1-79515-174-0 Feb. 18, 2019 978-1-948169-08-0 In Lilo’s (The Mermaid Upstairs, 2018, 978-1-948169-07-3 paper etc.) second novel, a teenage girl and her family relive the same weekday. In this debut sci-fi novel, a man Fifteen-year-old Catelyn starts her day investigates the interdimensional secrets like any other, taking care of her grand- of the evil corporation that employs him. mother, Nana, who’s partially paralyzed Other than his micromanaging boss, from a stroke and can only say “Fee ne ne.” Her twin brother, Quentin James enjoys working in the IT department of IBZ Camden, is always getting into mischief, and their mom, Carla, Energy, one of the world’s largest oil companies. But when he an aspiring writer, struggles to pay the bills with a series of temp is asked to open an encrypted file for one of the company’s top jobs. At school, Catelyn wistfully remembers how her friend- executives, he sees that it contains photographs of IBZ security ship with her former best pal, Olivia, ended; then Catelyn gets contractors murdering oil pipeline protesters. Hoping to blow drenched when a minor fire occurs. Soon, she learns that some- the whistle on the company’s crimes, he and his friend Eissa go one is threatening to expose a friend’s secret, and on her way in search of the DimGate, which Quentin believes to be some home, she accidentally rips her jeans, which she can’t afford to sort of secret hard drive. But they end up being trapped in a replace. A mishap befalls Nana’s videotape of her favorite base- mysterious locked room in the COO’s office: “In the center of ball game, and sparks fly when Catelyn meets Ben, the president the room was a door. It was flanked by a large gray box on each of the high school video editing club, who helps her with the side, which sat perpendicular to the door. It looked like some- tape. But the day gets worse when Carla has a meltdown over a one had taken two industrial breaker boxes and used them to manuscript rejection and a tragic accident befalls someone that hold up the door like giant bookends.” The DimGate turns out Catelyn knows. Before bed, Nana insists that the family listen to be a portal to other dimensions, and after Quentin and Eissa to a special record, and they all feel better. The family mem- are forced to use it to escape detection, they find themselves in bers wake up the next day and find that everything is exactly an alternate version of 2015 where electricity hasn’t been dis- the same as the day before, like in the movie Groundhog Day. covered and the United States is at war with the Native Ameri- The classroom fire happens again, as do the same conversa- can tribes that rule the territory west of the Mississippi. There, tions. However, Catelyn and her family can’t help making some Quentin learns that IBZ is a subsidiary of the interdimensional changes to improve things this time around. Overall, this book DimCorp—and it’s been up to a lot worse than just “killing a few is a charming look at the world of a teenage girl. Catelyn is a protesters.” In this series opener, Long describes the mechan- great character whose worries about friendships and boys ring ics of the world with clarity and humor. His prose captures the true. She also has a special but frustrating relationship with wonder, fear, and excitement of his nerdy protagonist: “What a her Nana. Other family members are also compelling charac- noble cause, and what an adventure it must have been,” thinks ters; Camden, for instance, is a loose cannon who’s surprisingly Quentin after learning about a small interdimensional resis- kindhearted, and their mom just wants to follow her dream of tance to DimCorp. “The last clear thought he had before drift- becoming a published author. The plot device of time travel ing off to sleep, was that he, too, was on an adventure, and it helps with the overall characterization, as everyone in the fam- was fantastic.” The portal-based world-hopping should appeal ily experiences it, not just Catelyn. Readers will be excited to to the general sci-fi crowd, and the book’s themes—which take find out how events will unfold. a critical view of the greed and power of international corpora- A sweet, well-paced time-travel story about a teenager tions—lend a deep relevance to Quentin’s quest. dealing with everyday challenges. A fast-paced portal adventure with some well-integrated social commentary.

138 | 1 may 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | STATUS: MISSING that time. The end result is this colorful account (Martel calls it Maroney, D.W. a “graphic narrative”) full of vibrant illustrations and the artist’s State of Mind Publishing (304 pp.) conversational notes, from diagnosis to life after cancer. There $11.99 paper | $5.99 e-book will be no girly pink for this survivor—she prefers, instead, the Jan. 22, 2019 motto “Fuck Cancer.” But who can blame her? The author suf- 978-1-73278-393-5 fered severe side effects from chemotherapy and radiation, like mouth sores, hemorrhoids, nausea, bone-crushing fatigue, and In Maroney’s debut techno-thriller, peeling/burning skin. This unblinking cancer journey is full of a U.S. task force investigates a series of sarcastic wit and dark humor, as when Martel jokingly compares missing planes. her radiation peel to a bad sunburn at Chernobyl. At times, her Maj. Megan Sloan of Air Force Intel- words have a poetic feel. In a meeting to discuss her life choices, ligence manages the Drone Theory task she writes that “the words skim off my skin and swirl around the force. Three planes have vanished in the last year, and the team room.” The author also describes insensitive comments she had theorizes that someone somehow hacked the aircrafts’ onboard to endure, including people who told her stories about others computers. A few years back, the Iranian government recov- who had died of cancer. Still, she’s thankful for the supportive ered a lost American drone and sold the technology to other folks in her life, such as friends, family, and her loving husband, countries. Sloan was a part of the failed mission to retrieve Doug. Ranging from dark to playful, Martel’s vivid artwork is the drone—a mission she only narrowly survived. She gets her memorably edgy; for example, a collage of women’s legs in trash chance to possibly end the hijackings when she receives a satel- cans symbolizes a bad chemo day. In contrast, a pair of animal lite phone call from Secret Service Agent Liam Donovan. He’s print heels at the book’s conclusion has a much more upbeat,

traveling with a nuclear-arms negotiating team, and someone kicking-cancer’s-ass feel to it. Newly diagnosed readers may be young adult has hacked the plane’s controls, redirecting it to Pyongyang. terrified by some of the gritty medical details, like the 12-inch North Korean leader Choi Min-ho is probably responsible, but fluid drain inserted into her arm. But the author’s strong spirit it may be someone wanting America to blame North Korea and is undeniably inspirational. retaliate, thereby starting World War III. In either case, Sloan A beautifully sassy survivor tale with a punk rock vibe. and the task force set out to regain control of the plane as well as locate the remote hijacker to prevent a potential catastrophe. Maroney generates action with abundant dialogue; characters COLLECTED WORKS work under intense pressure and time constraints, and their Volume I: Thirty Years of rapid-fire communications require quick decisions and concise Photography 1987-2017 details. Friction among characters further bolsters the tension: Miesch, Deanna Donovan, who’d had a previous relationship with Sloan, left her Photos by the author for dead during the botched mission, and a hacker working for DNA Publishing (232 pp.) Choi covertly tries aiding Americans. The story, inspired by the $59.95 paper | Nov. 20, 2018 real-life disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, is real- 978-0-368-52302-1 istic—the task force doesn’t always save everyone. Regardless, Sloan is tenacious and coolly nonchalant: “I took a couple of An overview of three decades of art photography, encom- rounds a few years ago. Messed some stuff up pretty bad. They passing elegant black-and-white images, multiple-exposure patched me together. Said I was good to go.” manipulations, and bright, natural landscapes. A rugged, indelible heroine headlines a riveting tale. The digital realm may be the default medium of most contemporary photographers, but Miesch hardly needs it. As she describes in her introduction, film “accepts perfection or NOT IN THE PINK imperfection, cause or effect, and nature or nurture as inevi- Martel, Tina table elements of the human experience.” In the 229 images Illus. by the author here, she begins with accomplished black-and-white street Self (192 pp.) scenes from 1987 New Orleans, begins to experiment with text 978-0-9939548-0-1 and in-camera manipulation, and, by the late ’90s, settles firmly into vividly colored landscape work with occasional portraits This debut illustrated memoir tells the and figure studies. Miesch’s frequent manipulations follow a story of an artist’s battle with breast cancer. path first cut by Anton Giulio Bragaglia, which he called “pho- When Martel walked the annual Run todynamism” in his 1911 book Fotodinamismo Futurista. Indeed, for the Cure in honor of her mother’s Miesch’s work is the future of Bragaglia’s dreams. The vortex of fight with cancer, she had no idea that in swirling stars in “It moves & I grow unsteady” and “…and I see less than a year she would return to the event to commemorate double” recall Linda Connor’s images of trailing starlight, but her own battle. Diagnosed with stage 2B breast cancer, the Cana- in full color, with deepening scales of blue and a heavy frame dian artist documented her cancer bout by creating drawings, of tree silhouettes. “Garage land” and “D & J Stor” pay homage photographs, and paintings that expressed her feelings during to Ralph Eugene Meatyard’s frightening Halloween masks but

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 may 2019 | 139 Mitić shows a knack for relating vivid details of the wounded, of families’ suffering, and of her devoted colleagues. life as trauma

create more urgent effects with images of arrows, grimaces, and Mitić shows a knack for relating vivid details of the wounded, a striking red door. Multiple exposures render Texas foliage hal- of families’ suffering, and of her devoted colleagues. She also lucinogenic in “Hot Springs Canyon” and double the colors of unflinchingly sketches her own extended family’s haunted his- Sonoma rocks in several series centering on an abandoned mine tory. Readers interested in the strife and unrest of the Balkan called The Cedars. At their least potent, these experiments can region, its divergent politics and populations, and the plights of resemble wayward family snapshots, as in the raft trip of “Lady- its refugees will find Mitić’s narrative illuminating. bird mind.” But at their best, these transpositions are surprising. A commanding chronicle of focused leadership and By positioning her lens left and low for one exposure, right and admirable humanity. high for the next, Miesch makes the Torre del Mangia—an old chestnut of a subject—into something eerie and mysterious, as a rising tower haunts another already risen. Readers may crave SILVER LOVE more street photography in the latter sections; Miesch’s early Murray, Josette work in that genre is so intriguing that readers will be naturally Sapphire Books Publishing (334 pp.) curious to see what she’d do with it now. However, most of the $16.95 paper | $8.99 e-book | Mar. 15, 2019 later images are successful on their own terms. 978-1-948232-51-7 A remarkable gathering of experimental scenes from a master photographer. In Murray’s debut novel, four lesbian friends navigate the romantic landscape of their senior years and support one LIFE AS TRAUMA another through hardships. The Wartime Journals A group of women takes a trip to of an Anesthesiologist New Orleans, expecting an invigorat- Mitić, Sarah Z. ing weekend of good food and music, and although their ages Unwritten History (354 pp.) range from 58 to 69, they all share a passion for life. Dory and Robby have been romantic partners for more than 20 years; the A war doctor shares her battlefront former is spontaneous and sometimes absent-minded while the journals describing aiding military and latter is practical and protective. Charlene is a down-to-earth civilian casualties during the 1990s Bal- former judge from humble beginnings who’s now running for kan wars. State House representative; at the French Quarter Music Fes- Belgrade-born Serbian physician, anes- tival, a romance blossoms between her and a courteous woman thesiologist, and debut author Mitić’s time as a trauma physician named Lee Childs. Jill Hunt, the youngest and wildest of the after the historic breakup of Yugoslavia is on brilliant display in group, is a sharp-witted woman with an inheritance who’s cur- these meticulous journals. Her journey began when she heard rently seeing a much younger woman. However, it soon becomes about the war in Yugoslavia while vacationing with her husband apparent that the women have secrets involving the success of and two small daughters in Greece in 1991. “The people in Kra- Dory’s new book, the details of Jill’s money management, and the jina are fighting for their lives and they need help desperately,” legitimacy of Charlene’s past employment. As the women face wrote the determined Mitić, who rushed home to Smederevo the consequences of deception, betrayal, and blackmail, their to make plans to travel to the war-torn region of Knin—even bonds become more important than ever. Murray alternates the though her mother and brother both disapproved. She arrived focus among the four main women, extensively developing each in Knin the next year and began working immediately at a hos- character. Her depictions of their interactions, both platonic and pital where “the wounded, the dying, and the dead are arriv- romantic, make for entertaining reading. The romantic moments ing from all directions.” At this early point in Mitić’s powerful vary in tone, from the serious, steadfast intimacy of established narrative, she begins incorporating stories and profiles of the partners to the infatuation of a casual affair, enlivened by several medical rescue staff and of the grisly casualties. As explosions explicitly erotic scenes. Despite the gravity of the characters’ situ- reverberated throughout the region, and civilian anger and ations and their resulting emotional lows, the tone of the book is confusion at the disintegrating multinational army seethed, she ultimately optimistic. Along the way, the author provides bits of saved lives—Croatian children, countless anguished soldiers, a casual wisdom; for instance, in the subplot about Dory’s journey suicidal young mother. Her humanitarian determination kept as an author, Murray comments on the difficulties of breaking her working in the hospital despite exhaustion and sleep depri- into publishing. The text is also self-aware of how stories about vation. Further travels brought her to a Kosovo clinic, where older lesbians don’t tend to receive a lot of mainstream attention. there was tension with arrogant Albanian staff; and to central An older demographic may be this book’s main audience, but it Croatia, where “life [was] disappearing fast.” Mitić struggled to merits consideration by adults of any age. manage casualties while ensuring her own safety, harrowingly A refreshingly energetic novel featuring lovable heroines. depicted in an account of an assault by an agitated sniper. The final section finds the author back at home dealing with a cata- strophic personal tragedy. At times, the book’s graphic depiction of violence and bloodshed can be arduous to read. However,

140 | 1 may 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | SLOWBOMB to a neighboring farmer. He resides there with his partner, Ivy, Nee-Nee although the two have been having relationship troubles of La Maison Publishing (123 pp.) late. Strange things have been happening in the area, as well; for $2.99 e-book | Mar. 24, 2018 example, a mysterious, large hunting dog, which seems to have come from nowhere, is stalking around the area, and Del’s one In Nee-Nee’s debut coming-of-age true local friend, English transplant Peter Fawcett, recently YA novel, the fates of two teenage boys hanged himself. The death causes Del to question how much he diverge as they deal with the poverty and really knows about the town where he lives—a place where “the violence that surround them. locals…always asked for but did not easily disclose personal infor- The book’s narrator, 14-year-old mation.” At an auction of Peter’s things—his wife is selling their Brian, lives with his mother and older place and returning to Great Britain—Del finally meets the well- half brother, Jason, in Slowbomb—a dangerous, low-income to-do farmer who rents his fields, a giant of a man named Walter housing project where delivery services won’t go and where Stevens. Walter tells the story of Del’s land, which was long the “There are certain rules that we live by in order to, well, live.” property of the local Romanoff family—and its scion, the unsta- These rules include turning a blind eye to sex-for-drugs trans- ble Hunter Romanoff, has sworn to get it back. Del comes to real- actions in the school hallways and never naming the perpe- ize that Edgeworthy has secrets that he may not be able to crack. trators of beatings and killings. “This is what it’s like living in Norman’s prose is deceptively simple in style, painting the subtle- the projects, if you could call this living,” Brian narrates. With ties of Edgeworthy and its people in direct, muscular language. Jason’s help, Brian avoids trouble, using the street-smart sur- He particularly excels at dialogue: “You’ll like him,” one charac- vival skills that Slowbomb kids learn early, but things become ter says to describe another, “eventually. Most people do. Men,

especially difficult when his brutal father is in town. A talented anyway.” It’s an intriguing take on the genre of the small-town young adult artist, Brian works with little kids in a local sports program, has novel, in which a brooding, silent figure is both the protagonist a girlfriend he loves, and hopes to help his hardworking mom and a newcomer; indeed, the ways in which Norman shows these move to a better neighborhood. But, because he feels resigned qualities to be weaknesses are surprising. Readers will experience to spending his future in Slowbomb, he dismisses an opportu- a ghostly pleasure in watching Del move around the cold prairie nity to go to an arts-centered high school in Michigan. “We’re locale in this slow-paced narrative, seeking answers to questions not meant to have more than this. This is as far as people like that are, in large part, about himself. us go,” says Kenny, who’s on his own self-destructive trajectory. A moody, finely textured literary work. The relationships and daily struggles of the novel’s adult and teen characters ring true, as does the grimness of the world that they inhabit. The author consistently focuses on how life ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND in Slowbomb is shaped by abject poverty. Intermittent descrip- MAKING A CASE tions of violence and sex are explicit but not gratuitous. At Roda, Joseph F. another point, Brian movingly remembers when he was a child AuthorHouse (224 pp.) and “ignorance was bliss”—when he rode in grocery-cart races, $26.99 | $15.99 paper | $3.99 e-book played around open fire hydrants in the summer, and sledded Nov. 17, 2018 and made snowmen in winter. The tragedy that eventually 978-1-5462-6393-7 overtakes Brian feels inevitable, and as he considers an action 978-1-5462-6394-4 paper that could have irrevocable consequences, readers will become invested in his journey—and pull for him to succeed. A debut scholarly work explores A gritty, heartfelt novel with an authentic voice from an Abraham Lincoln’s remarkable talent for author to watch. rhetorical persuasion. Lincoln’s meteoric rise to political prominence was an unlikely one—he was born to uneducated farmers; his politi- NOT MY DOG cal accomplishments prior to the presidency were modest; Norman, Gregg and he was an uncommonly awkward, even unattractive man. Self (244 pp.) But Roda argues he was also a brilliant wordsmith, preternatu- $14.99 paper | $2.99 e-book rally capable of changing the opinions of others through the Mar. 20, 2019 eloquence of his speeches and writings. The author diligently 978-1-09-096862-3 tracks Lincoln’s evolution as a public speaker, beginning with an impromptu debate he had at age 21 with an itinerant preacher Debut novelist Norman tells the in 1830. A year later, Lincoln moved to New Salem, Illinois, story of a couple who attempt to make a and joined a debating society. He honed his skills not only as home in a town with a dark history. a politician, but also as a lawyer—over the course of his legal The independently wealthy Delano career, he was involved in more than 5,000 extraordinarily “Del” Grainger lives outside a Canadian diverse cases. Despite the brevity of the book, Roda provides prairie town called Edgeworthy, on land that he also rents out an impressively synoptic account of Lincoln’s rhetorical career,

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 may 2019 | 141 spanning his courtroom experiences, chief speeches, including FROM DARKNESS his inaugural addresses, and his famous debates with Stephen A Novel of the Ancient Douglas. In addition, the author charts the transformation of Roman World Lincoln’s style from flowery flourishes to one more restrained Ruppelt, C.K. and elegant. Roda ably makes the case that Lincoln’s achieve- Self (428 pp.) ment as a persuader of others is historically unmatched: “Abra- $16.99 paper | $5.99 e-book ham Lincoln may be the most accomplished advocate the country Oct. 30, 2018 has ever produced. There have been many Americans adept 978-1-73290-760-7 at making a case, to be sure, but who has accomplished more at this than Abraham Lincoln?” The author’s research is painstak- A debut historical novel captures the ingly meticulous, and the conclusions he draws are cautiously last years of the Roman Republic from judicious. And while he concedes that the work’s “facts are not varying perspectives. new” and “can be found in any number of books and articles The story opens in Rome in 90 B.C.E. with the young about Lincoln,” he supplies an analysis of the president’s ora- Julius Caesar being tutored on the fall of the ancient empires torical prowess as astute as any other single-volume treatment. of the Mediterranean. The narrative charts Caesar’s develop- Moreover, Roda also helpfully anatomizes Lincoln’s rhetorical ment from eager scholar to esteemed soldier who was awarded success into five distinct virtues: “credibility, clarity, fact, logic, a civic crown for saving the lives of his fellow fighters. The and emotion.” The author’s study is a valuable resource for his- story of Caesar’s ongoing rise to power is but one thread in a torians and rhetoric scholars alike. larger fabric. Ruppelt recognizes that “a huge part” of Caesar’s An incisive Lincoln survey accessible to amateur “fighting force and camp followers consisted of people from all historians. walks of life and all over the Mediterranean.” He therefore sets about creatively reimagining the lives of these individuals. The novel tells the story of Ozalkis and his nephew Adherbal, two Numidian archers who join the Ninth Legion after their family is slaughtered during a tribal raid on their home. The two men are assigned to Hispania, where they are to fight the Celts. The author also examines the theater of war from a Celtic perspective with a focus on female warriors such as Aina, who is battling for her clan’s survival. Other characters, like Timon, a slave, allow Ruppelt to explore a broad cross section of Roman society, from the most powerful to the most vulnerable. This This Issue’s Contributors ambitious epic of more than 400 pages skillfully manages an # extensive and diverse cast of characters to illuminate a complex, multicultural Roman world. The author has an exceptional eye ADULT Colleen Abel • Paul Allen • Mark Athitakis • Joseph Barbato • Amy Boaz • Jeffrey Burke • Lee E. Cart for detail, and his corresponding depth of research is particu- Kristin Centorcelli • Devon Crowe • Perry Crowe • Dave DeChristopher • Kathleen Devereaux larly evident when describing Celtic combat training, where Amanda Diehl • Bobbi Dumas • Daniel Dyer • Kristen Evans • Mia Franz • Dan Friedman • Katrina Niidas Holm • Natalia Holtzman • Dana Huber • Jessica Jernigan • Jayashree Kambel • Paul Lamey future warriors are instructed on the “twelve doors to the soul.” Ruth Langlan • Tom Lavoie • Louise Leetch • Judith Leitch • Angela Leroux-Lindsey • Chelsea Leu To discover one of these vulnerable points in their opponents, Elsbeth Lindner • Michael Magras • Don McLeese • Gregory McNamee • Clayton Moore • Sarah the young boys and girls are instructed: “Feel the back of your Morgan • Jennifer Nabers • Christopher Navratil • Sarah Neilson • John Noffsinger • Mike Oppenheim • Jim Piechota • William E. Pike • Steve Potter • Margaret Quamme • Carolyn Quimby skulls, where the bone ends, and the soft tissue starts. Yes, that’s Amy Reiter • Bob Sanchez • E.F. Schraeder • Gene Seymour • Rosanne Simeone • Linda Simon the point.” Ruppelt’s use of informative and plausible dialogue Wendy Smith • Margot E. Spangenberg • Claire Trazenfeld • Jessica Miller • Wilda Williams • Kerry heightens the narrative effect, transporting readers to the train- Winfrey • Marion Winik ing ground. It is only on occasion that conversations betray a CHILDREN’S & TEEN contemporary tenor, for example when the “newly minted com- Autumn Allen • Elizabeth Bird • Marcie Bovetz • Christopher A. Brown • Shauntee Burns-Simpson moner” Pulcher comments: “I partied with his younger sister.” Timothy Capehart • Ann Childs • Alec B. Chunn • Amanda Chuong • Jeannie Coutant • Erin Deedy Luisana Duarte Armendariz • Eiyana Favers • Ayn Reyes Frazee • Laurel Gardner • Carol Goldman Nevertheless, this book, illustrated with maps, diagrams, and Melinda Greenblatt • Julie Hubble • Shelley Huntington • Kathleen T. Isaacs • Betsy Judkins a family tree, is a thorough and refreshingly far-reaching inter- Deborah Kaplan • Megan Dowd Lambert • Lori Low • Wendy Lukehart • Kyle Lukoff • Meredith pretation of Roman society that should be of great interest to Madyda Joan Malewitz • Gauri Manglik • Michelle H. Martin PhD • Kathie Meizner • Daniel Meyer J. Elizabeth Mills • Katrina Nye • Hal Patnott • Deb Paulson • John Edward Peters • Susan Pine aficionados of the genre. Rebecca Rabinowitz • Asata Radcliffe • Kristy Raffensberger • Nancy Thalia Reynolds • Erika Rohr- A lavishly detailed, character-driven tale about the bach • Leslie L. Rounds • Hadeal Salamah • John W. Shannon • Rita Soltan • Mathangi Subramanian Roman world. Jennifer Sweeney • Deborah Taffa • Lavanya Vasudevan • Tharini Viswanath • Angela Wiley Bean Yogi

INDIE Alana Abbott • Kent Armstrong • Jillian Bietz • Julie Buffaloe-Yoder • Darren Carlaw • John Cotter Michael Deagler • Stephanie Dobler Cerra • Steve Donoghue • Megan Elliott • Lynne Heffley • Justin Hickey • Ivan Kenneally • Maureen Liebenson • Barbara London • Dale McGarrigle • Tara Mcnabb Randall Nichols • Joshua T. Pederson • Jim Piechota • William E. Pike • Alicia Power • Sarah Rettger Elisa Shoenberger • Holly Storm

142 | 1 may 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | Scary ideas for young readers, but Ojala’s images make them more approachable. one too many

RAGGED ISLAND and assorted other gear.” Supporting characters also stand Scott, Darcy out—most notably Al Freeman, who, along with his late wife, Maine Authors Publishing (197 pp.) raised the abandoned Tiffany as his own. $6.99 e-book | Mar. 20, 2019 An exceptional whodunit that simmers with mystery and suspense. A university professor with secrets gets entangled in a murder mystery in Scott’s (Margel’s Madness, 2015, etc.) lat- MUMMY IS SICK, est series thriller. BUT I LOVE YOU Middle-aged Gil Hodges, director Slade, Cheryl of the University of Maine’s School of Illus. by Majan, Daniel Forest Resources, finds a severed finger XlibrisAU (28 pp.) in his office. As a police detective starts an inquiry, Liz Hor - $24.14 paper | $4.99 e-book vath, a retired professor of psychology and counseling, shows Feb. 14, 2019 up to talk to Gil about Tiffany Burgess, one of her patients. 978-1-984504-73-9 Gil met Tiffany three years ago, when she was 15 and living on Matinicus Island, off the Maine coast. He hasn’t seen her In this debut picture book, a mother reassures her child since, but he knows that the eccentric teen has been peri- about her own illness. odically breaking into his campus office, taking insignificant Slade tells a story of a sick mother helping her young son items, and later returning them. He suspects Tiffany of giv - understand her treatment. She tells him that “Mummy” must

ing him the severed finger and also of surreptitiously enter- visit many doctors; she’ll be tired and might be sad or angry; young adult ing his condo and stealing a small safe. But Gil doesn’t impart she’ll sometimes stay overnight at the hospital; and she’ll look this information to authorities—even after Tiffany subse- different. But in each case, the narrator assures her child that quently appears in his classroom. It turns out that the two she loves him and that when she’s better, they’ll have fun. “I share a potentially dangerous secret regarding some deaths love you,” she repeats, and concludes, “I know you still love me”— back on Matinicus. Gil surmises that Tiffany’s presence in even if he feels sad or angry, too. In Majan’s (Aidyn the Magical Maine is a vague threat, because the secret involved the pro- Frangipani Tree, 2018, etc.) somewhat stiffly posed illustrations fessor lying to quite a few people. But then she asks for his of a white family, the mother appears fairly robust, even when assistance in getting back her daughter, whose custody she her hair has fallen out. One nice feature is how the boy’s stuffed lost. On the pretense of a family emergency, Gil takes leave bunny appears in every scene and often echoes his moods. from the university and heads to Matinicus to help, which Another good idea is how the mother offers alternatives; for may result in him finally telling the truth about what hap- instance, although Mummy can’t play on the floor, she can still pened three years ago. But it isn’t long before a likely staged read books in a chair. The book’s affectionate tone is evident, suicide puts everyone on the island under suspicion—with and Slade echoes professional advice about expressing hope and outsider Gil at the top of the list. soothing fears. However, Slade doesn’t have the mother use the Readers need not be familiar with Scott’s preceding word “cancer” or reassure the child that the illness isn’t his fault, novels, which also star Gil, to enjoy this third installment. which experts also recommend. Although the story heavily references an earlier book, the Warmhearted and sensitive, although it could be more prologue offers some clarification for new readers. The pro- complete. fessor isn’t a particularly likable protagonist; he’s known for having inappropriate relationships with his female college students, for example. But he also seems invested in his search ONE TOO MANY for redemption—persistently struggling to improve on what Smith, Linda Grace he calls “the old me.” Gil also becomes more sympathetic Illus. by Ojala, Emmi as the story progresses; for example, he keeps his secret not Peppermint Toast Publishing (41 pp.) only due to self-preservation, but also because he believes that the truth will endanger many others. In addition to vari- Debut author Smith and illustra- ous mysteries (whose finger is that, anyway?), there are some tor Ojala (Eggs, 2014, etc.) highlight the genuinely chilling moments, as when Gil, at one point, sees needs of children that are being unmet. signs that a stranger has been inside his home. The conclu- Smith introduces the problems of sion does deftly reveal the killer’s identity, although the per- children without homes, food, or water; son’s motives are a bit convoluted. Still, Scott offers sharply who face abuse and abandonment; and defined characters as well as effervescent detail: “The harbor who are denied access to good hygiene, medical care, and edu- opens up as we round the breakwater—a semi-circle of small, cation. In each case, the author repeats, “As long as there’s one” weathered homes revealing themselves alongside work- child with that problem, “there’s one too many.” These are shops dotted with propane tanks and outhouses; finger piers scary ideas for young readers, but Ojala’s images make them crammed with wire traps, gaggles of lobster pots, coiled line, more approachable. While sad and serious, they have the effect

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 may 2019 | 143 of reducing feelings of tension and fear; in the image of abuse, title poem, which opens: “Dear Father, / I am alone this evening for example, a girl faces only a looming shadow, and through- as every, / alone. An artist of imperfect / mind is endeavoring to out, soft, white outlines provide hints of solutions (a home, a extract / harmonious discords out of a cracked / piano just at friend, and so on). After one child helps a homeless boy find a my left. Life here / is of the plainest, I might say, / of the hard- home, those two kids provide spare clothing and resources for est kind.” Stever (The Lunatic Ball, 2015, etc.) is mainly repro- another girl. With each solution, the number of children grows, ducing the work of her ancestor here, but it’s a wonder what a until finally, nine are solving problems as a team. Although the few deftly placed line breaks can do for emphasis. Taft’s letters issues are all solved rather quickly, the concept of taking on one are the foundation of this elegantly rendered book, but Stever problem at a time will encourage young readers that they can angles away from them in a variety of dazzling and unexpected make a difference. Ojala’s character depictions are quite diverse, ways. Some tropes repeat: human cruelty, the distance between showing that children of all ethnicities face challenges. madness and genius, motherhood, the uniqueness of Ohio. Sev- An accessible introduction to the rights of children and eral poems seem to be one-offs, though no less valuable because social responsibility. their concerns are tangential to those of the other pieces. “Raven’s Rock,” about three ghosts that haunt the countryside near Sleepy Hollow, New York, features the following: “What is CRACKED PIANO a raven but a bird, a ghost / but a raven bird, and the ghosts of Stever, Margo Taft three women / ravenous, waiting at Raven’s Rock / for a single CavanKerry Press (96 pp.) man to pass by.” Stever’s kneading of the single word “raven”— which morphs from noun to adjective to proper noun while hid- A veteran poet ruminates on soli- ing in “ravenous”—is an act of faith and skill few rookie poets tude, insanity, deviance, and health in could pull off. But Stever is anything but a novice; she is a vir- this collection. tuoso, and it’s a joy to see her perform. Roughly 140 years ago, Peter Taft— A seasoned poet working at the peak of her craft. half brother to a future U.S. president—was shut away in the Cincinnati Sanitarium. The exact reason for his SMOKE AND KEY institutionalization remains unclear to this day, but readers Sutton, Kelsey do know that his time in the asylum was intensely stressful. Entangled Teen (304 pp.) His sense of isolation was acute, and whatever treatments he $9.99 paper | Apr. 2, 2019 received did little to assuage his pain. Readers know all this 978-1-64063-600-2 from Taft’s letters, which are lovingly reproduced by his great- granddaughter as found poems and which serve as the core of Sutton’s (Gardenia, 2017, etc.) para- this moving, masterful tour de force. Taft is a poet in spite of normal YA thriller sees a young woman himself—or perhaps in spite of his circumstances—and his mis- trapped in an afterlife realm, trying to sives read like poignant verse. The most affecting is, aptly, the solve the mystery of her own death. As the story opens, a young woman wakes in a dark, confined space. Let“ me KIRKUS MEDIA LLC out!” she screams before falling into a dirty cavern. After orient- ing herself, she meets a handsome young man holding an unlit # cigar who introduces himself as “no one,” adding that “We’re all Chairman HERBERT SIMON no one.” She learns that he goes by the name Smoke; she soon meets another girl named Doll, after her one possession. The President & Publisher MARC WINKELMAN young woman has a key around her neck, so this becomes her name. It turns out that a small village of people live in “Under,” Chief Executive Officer MEG LABORDE KUEHN in homes fashioned from dirt. Nobody recalls their lives before # they arrived there, but everyone maintains the markings (or col- oration) that they had when they died; chillingly, Smoke has a Copyright 2019 by Kirkus Media LLC. slash across his throat. When a frightening man named Splinter KIRKUS REVIEWS (ISSN 1948-7428) is published semimonthly by Kirkus Media LLC, accosts Key, Smoke saves her, and she goes on to befriend a girl 2600Via Fortuna, Suite 130, Austin, TX 78746. Subscription prices are: named Ribbon as well as a man named Journal, from whom she Digital & Print Subscription (U.S.) - 12 Months ($199.00) borrows books. Yet how did books—and other objects, such as Digital & Print Subscription (International) - 12 Months ($229.00) beds—come to be in Under? An even graver puzzle confronts Digital Only Subscription - 12 Months ($169.00) Single copy: $25.00. Key when Splinter is found burned to a crisp. In this moody YA All other rates on request. fantasy, Sutton offers a propulsive, multilayered mystery: How POSTMASTER: did her characters reach Under, and what’s the tangled nature of Send address changes to Kirkus Reviews, PO Box 3601, Northbrook, IL 60065-3601. their relationships? There’s also a quiet sensuality to Key’s nar- Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin, TX 78710 and at additional mailing offices. ration, as when she notices that, “Every line of [Smoke’s] body

144 | 1 may 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | A realistic depiction of the effects of evil. my sister’s mother

is elegant, and my fear is overpowered by admiration.” The plot A painfully beautiful portrayal of an indomitable, lov- slowly tiptoes forward as Key receives notes from an unknown ing mother’s survival. scribe; one says, “Swim across the river,” which turns out to refer to a “river” of twisted tree roots. Sutton takes this dreamlike atmosphere a step further when Key begins to remember her OILY former existence. More burned bodies appear, details of char- Woodward, Angus acters’ lives creep in, and pressure mounts for Key to stop the Spaceboy Books (242 pp.) carnage. The superior pacing during the final third makes the $13.95 paper | $2.99 e-book ending hit like a slow-motion cannon blast. Oct. 15, 2018 An excellent supernatural tale with a unique premise 978-0-9997862-4-6 and indelible characters. In Woodward’s (Americanisation, 2011, etc.) sci-fi comedy, a New Orleans couple MY SISTER’S MOTHER must prevent aliens from exterminating A Memoir of War, Exile, the human race. and Stalin’s Siberia College writing instructor Warren Urbikas, Donna Solecka Avon spots what appears to be a “long, black acorn” while walk- Univ. of Wisconsin (312 pp.) ing near his home. It’s actually a tiny spaceship containing Jerry $26.95 | $19.95 paper | $11.99 e-book and Phthsspitty-snapp, aliens from the planet Xxzzrrrva. The Apr. 27, 2016 former is a scientist on his 29th planetary mission, and the lat-

978-0-299-30850-6 ter, an intern on her first voyage. Their probe of Earth, which young adult 978-0-299-30854-4 paper they call “Grawgraw-3,” is halted when Warren captures their ship, so Jerry initiates communication with the human. As In this heart-wrenching debut mem- he relates their mission, he takes the opportunity to ask War- oir, a mother and child survive Stalin’s ren about Earth. Jerry finds out that petroleum is a valuable work camp then struggle to find inner calm in America. local fuel, and he’s sure that Xxzzrrrva’s Exploratory Board As a child growing up in 1950s Chicago, Urbikas longed for will destroy humanity to keep them from wasting it. The two a “normal” mom. Instead, her Polish-born mother, Janina, often aliens, along with Warren and his wife, Penny, devise a plan to told gruesome war stories and talked to herself in the mirror. But stop Jerry’s superior, Councilor Hmmm, from authorizing man- as Urbikas matured and suffered her own hardships, she began kind’s eradication. This isn’t an easy task, especially after Jerry to understand her mother’s need to recount her past. On the inadvertently blows up an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The extremely cold morning of Feb. 10, 1940, Communist soldiers group also faces another seemingly impossible task—to some- pounded on Janina’s farmhouse door near Grodno, Poland, and how convince humans to use alternative fuel sources. Unusually, informed her—a young, single mother—that she was sentenced Woodward structures his entire novel as a “TERMS OF USE” to 10 years of hard labor. She and 5-year-old daughter Mira agreement. However, this agreement also includes excerpts were stuffed into lice-ridden train cars and taken to a remote from a book (with Warren listed as its author) that advance logging camp in the Siberian wilderness. Fed little and plagued the more traditional story in a chronological manner. This off- by vermin, disease, and blistering cold, Janina lugged a heavy ax beat approach is frequently hilarious, as when the agreement 4 miles to and from work every day, where she chopped thick includes an example of plagiarism that simply changes the char- branches off trees. Meanwhile, poor little Mira was left by her- acters’ names (“Jerry,” for instance, becomes “Larry”). Surpris- self to wait in agonizing bread lines, often unsuccessfully. After ingly, though, the agreement’s constant interruptions are never years of torture, Janina and Mira—helped by a Polish army jarring. Although the short novel doesn’t delve deeply into its officer who eventually married Janina—escaped to England characters, they are distinctive; for example, Penny suffers and then America. Urbikas’ flashbacks are seamless as she alter- from a mysterious ailment that results in conflicting diagnoses. nates chapters between her mother’s and sister’s stories—writ- The narrative also often provides memorable descriptions, as ten in third person—versus her own first-person account. With when Warren explains fishing boats to Jerry. The Terms of Use many vivid sensory details—like “the grainy taste of…coarse rye are more formal in tone but take comical turns; the agreement bread”—the author’s lyrical prose instantly transports readers discourages loaning the book to others, offering “strategies for to the labor camp. This gripping page-turner is also filled with deflecting loan requests.” stark contrasts. For example, in the camp, Mira and Janina sleep A straightforward sci-fi story in an unorthodox but together on a dirty, bedbug-infested cot, and when Janina feels a entertaining package. rat scrabble across her chest, she can barely lift her tired arm to heave it onto the floor. In contrast, one of Urbikas’ biggest worries is making the majorettes team in her American high school. A realistic depiction of the effects of evil, Janina’s and Mira’s experiences are sometimes overwhelming. In one scene, a tiny girl drowns and nobody helps.

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 may 2019 | 145 Field Notes

By Megan Labrise Photo courtesy Sarah Huny Young Photo courtesy Weston Heather

“If Woody Allen won the slam dunk contest in the McDonald’s All American contest, you’d be like, ‘Holy s—.’ That doesn’t fit....I think, with this book, people “...[N]arrative has enormous author- might be surprised by how deep and how vulnerable and how much I talk about ity for us even when it is designated that anxiety and nervousness and self-cautiousness. I come in a different package. as fiction or even when people rec- Those neuroses are not unique to white people or upper-middle-class people.” ognize it as false. Our politics has —Damon Young, author of the memoir What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker, at always been about who tells a better the Undefeated story, but now you see with immigration, for one example, that the “He would say things like, ‘I expect Photo courtesy Timothy Greenfield-Sanders storytelling from the Trump adminis- you to change the world,’ because tration is rife with demonstrable lies, he wanted to do that and I was yet it still exercises enormous power.” kind of his protégé. There’s a story —Susan Choi, author of Trust Exercise, in where we were on vacation and I was the LA Times being a jerk and complaining about things. And he said to me, ‘Looking at you is like looking into a dirty mir- “[T]he whole shape and form of the ror.’ I remember that stinging in the novel, that just felt like I had not read moment, and stinging when I was anything like that before. It felt like it writing it. It shows that he wanted “Faulkner and Joyce don’t get dis- had stripped away everything boring me to be a mirror image of himself, missed for their difficulty; they’re about a novel and just let in the stuff but was disturbed when it actually praised for it. Morrison’s difficulty as that was actually good. And it was looked like him.” a writer is neither coy nor glibly aspi- really like: Oh my God. We don’t have —Erin Lee Carr, author of All You Leave rational. It is an ethos.” to write the boring bits.” Behind, a memoir of her relationship —Namwali Serpell, author of The Old Drift, with her father, former New York Times “On Black Difficulty: Toni Morrison and —Sally Rooney, author of Normal People, reporter and memoirist David Carr, in the thrill of imperiousness,” at on reading Sheila Heti’s How Should a Slate the Times Person Be?, at The Cut

146 | 1 may 2019 | field notes | kirkus.com | Appreciations: Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Enters Its Second Decade

BY GREGORY MCNAMEE Photo courtesy John Haynes “Beneath every history, another history.” So writes the English novelist Hilary Mantel in Wolf Hall, published in 2009, the opening bolt in a projected trio of books that show how political power really works: through violence and intrigue, sure, but also through the network of who knows whom and who knows what. The great knower in Wolf Hall and its 2012 successor, Bring Up the Bodies, is Thomas Cromwell, a poor man who rises to the heights of power. Thomas, ver- satile and intelligent, is the son of a London blacksmith and sometime brewer who had no small experience with power himself, having been hauled up before the magistrates at least four dozen times for offenses ranging from assault to watering down his beer. Escaping his father’s beatings, Thomas runs away from home and makes his way over much of Europe, serving as a soldier in France and Italy and, by a circuitous path, becoming a lawyer skilled in commerce and fluent in several languages. young adult Enter a cleric who, upon Thomas’ return to England, approaches him and asks for his help doing an end run to secure funds for a church. Thomas knows something of the weaknesses of the tightfisted pope, hav - ing deduced that weakness is the key to the soul, and he cajoles his way to a successful resolution. From then on out, anyone in power in England knows to go to him. His is not a pretty business. As Mantel writes, “That was the way of the world: a knife in the dark, a movement on the edge of vision, a series of warnings which have worked themselves into flesh.” Thomas also comes to understand that no matter who may profess to be his friend or ally, flesh is weak and bonds are loose. Soon Thomas is working for Cardinal Wolsey, the clerical powerhouse who sits at the right hand of the ambitious Tudor king, Henry VIII. And soon enough, Wolsey having displeased the king, fatally, Thomas is working for Henry directly, a fixer who forges settlements here and dispensations there but who can’t quite pull off the ultimate legal coup, engineering a divorce for the king that the pope will approve. Presto: Out with the old church and in with the new, one headed by the king in the ultimate expression of l’état c’est moi. It’s not a spoiler to predict that, Mantel being scrupulously true to history while endowing it with elegance and drama in her storytelling, the series will not end well for Thomas Cromwell. He will have his revenge, though, through an indirect descendant, Oliver, who will break the back of a royalty gone broadly murderous through the reigns of Henry and his daughter. Henry called Thomas “the most faithful servant I ever had,” but Mantel knows that the dead haunt the living for their crimes—and in Wolf Hall, the dead mount in great heaps. When Thomas asks at the end of the book, in a moment that flashes back to his 6-year-old self, why coffin lids are nailed down, his father’s apprentice answers, “It’s so the horrible old buggers don’t spring out and chase us.” Verily.

| kirkus.com | appreciations | 1 may 2019 | 147 A STORY OF FRIENDSHIP, FIRST CRUSHES AND OPERA

 “Pitch perfect.” — Booklist, starred review  “Brimming with raw emotion.” — School Library Journal, starred review