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FEATURES: DEBUT FICTION BODY/MIND/SPIRIT TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT: LGBTQ+ + MAY/JUNE 2021

Celebrating Five Years in Children’s Book Publishing Fifteen Years in Performing Arts Education and Theatrical Productions for Children

2021 TITLES Frontlist & Featured

FREE TEACHER GUIDES AUDIO-VIDEO BOOKS Curriculums and Worksheets for the visually and hearing impaired anchored by SEL Standards, produced in partnership with US / State Core Curriculum and Imagination Videobooks and a grant from Social Justice Standards NOTABLE TITLES the US Department of Education Foreword INDIES – 5 Finalists + Silver & Bronze Moonbeam - Gold - Best Picture Book Series Purple Dragonfly–Silver • Royal Dragonfly–Gold Critically Acclaimed and Featured by Kirkus Reviews Foreword Reviews - Starred + Clarion 5 Stars

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FOREWORD AD.indd 3 4/12/21 12:34 PM Become more balanced, con dent, & joyful in your professional life

ISBN: 9781951075651 | Publication date: February 22, 2021 “Shout this from the mountaintop: “SOUL! is a must-read If you touch the life of for school and district staff.” a child as a teacher, —Daniel Cohan, chief of secondary paraprofessional, schools, Jeffco Public Schools, Colorado coach, principal, or counselor, you must read this book!” —Thomasenia Lott Adams, associate dean for research and “This amazing book touches faculty development, College of the core of our being Education, University of Florida and helps us ful ll the promise of our professional lives.” —Denise M. Walston, director of “SOUL! is engaging, mathematics, Council of the Great emotionally healing, City Schools, Washington D.C. and truly a gift for all educators.” —Jennifer Deinhart, K–8 “It is quite simply a masterpiece mathematics specialist, Fairfax of storytelling.” County Public Schools, Virginia —Brian K. Butler, author and educational speaker

The highly anticipated companion to the wildly popular book, HEART!

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MAY/JUNE 2021 VOLUME 24 • NUMBER 3

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COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 5 EDITOR’S NOTE by Michelle Anne Schingler May the Wild Be with You 6 GIFT IDEAS FORESIGHT & SPOTLIGHT FEATURES 8 BODY/MIND/SPIRIT by Melissa Wuske ON THE COVER Find Your Way Back Cover image from R is for Rainbow by Kim Ferreira. Used with permission from Peter E. Randall Publisher. 12 DEBUT FICTION Image above right from Grow Wild: The Whole Child, Whole-Family, Nature-Rich Guide to Moving More by Katy by Eileen Gonzalez Bowman. Used with permission from Propriometrics Press. Their Time Has Come Image below from We Want a Dog by Lo Cole. Used with permission from Sourcebooks. 16 TRAVEL by Kristine Morris Journeys of the Imagination 20 GRAPHIC NOVELS 44 CHILDREN’S PICTURE EXCERPT by Peter Dabbene BOOKS, MIDDLE GRADE, LASTING IMPRESSIONS YOUNG ADULT 76 22 CLIMATE CHANGE Old Ireland in Colour by Rachel Jagareski REVIEWS by Sarah-Anne Buckley, John Breslin LGBTQ+ SPOTLIGHT 54 ADULT FICTION 27 FIFTEEN REVIEWS 67 ADULT NONFICTION FICTION / NONFICTION

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Your book matters, let’s make it your way. Visit www.outskirtspress.com or call 1-888-OPBOOKS Save 10% - 55% by ordering through the Outskirts Press direct bookstore: www.outskirtspress.com/bookstore Visit us on social media: Outskirts Press books are available from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Ingram, and Baker & Taylor EDITOR’S NOTE

® MAY THE WILD BE WITH YOU

MICHELLE ANNE SCHINGLER

The word kept jumping out at me: Wild. Living with it, encountering it, fostering it—book after book in this issue rushed to embrace the outdoors. Nights beneath stars, hikes PUBLISHER through vast landscapes, reverence for nature, and the food that grows in shadowed, Victoria Sutherland distant places: they’re all here, arising in section after section, even beyond the climate change books—those titles that beg us to reconsider how we treat the troubled earth. CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER There’s sensuality and romance around this expansive concept of wildness, but also Brandon Frohs knowledge of our place in something greater. EDITOR IN CHIEF Matt Sutherland While I’m hardly the gorp-making, backpacking type, I must admit I’ve been missing the wild myself. I wouldn’t mind taking some of the advice that Susan Joy Paul dispenses in MANAGING EDITOR her woman-centered guide to wilderness adventures (featured among the gift books in this Michelle Anne Schingler issue). I also wouldn’t mind a nighttime trek in pursuit of an owl’s hoot, or the other starshine- COPY EDITOR led activities suggested in Chelsea Green’s Wild Nights Out. In the past year, “wild” has Danielle Ballantyne become such an internal experience: of being unmoored from friends and familiar activities, of not really knowing what’s to come. Our concepts of time have changed; our hair has DESIGN become unruly, and the walls of our homes have felt too close. I’m ready for the reversal. Barbara Hodge SALES EXECUTIVE This issue embraces iterations of wildness, and we Stacy Price hope that you find books among those covered that untether your expectations, too, or SOCIAL MEDIA & SALES that reorient your perception of what’s Kathy Young possible, and of what’s to come. We INDIES AWARDS hope they help to invite the wild back Michele Lonoconus in. There are surprises throughout: a history book that treats world conflicts through the unex- Foreword Reviews is published bi-monthly by Foreword Magazine, Inc., 413 E. Eighth Street, Traverse City, MI pected, fascinating lens of two 49686. Copyright ©2021, all rights reserved, ISSN 1099- popular perfumes; a comedic 2642. Periodicals postage at Traverse City and additional novel that approaches Brexit mailing offices. Subscription $29.95/year in the United States, $39.95/year in Canada, and $59.95/year in complications through the Europe and Asia. Includes shipping. All rates in US dollars. story of a disinterred saint. Postmaster send address changes to: Foreword Reviews, A Theater for Dreamers is 413 E. Eighth Street, Traverse City, MI 49686; telephone a sun-soaked novel set on (231) 933-3699. Orders, claims, and circulation inquiries should also be sent to the above address. The publisher Hydra that reintroduces accepts no responsibility for review books, other review famous personalities materials, or manuscripts. who many of us probably

The publisher reserves the right to reject advertising not thought we had figured out; in keeping with the publication’s standards. Acceptance Charlie Brown’s America of an advertisement does not imply endorsement reveals that the comforting of the product or service by Foreword Magazine, Inc. Advertiser and advertising agency assume all liability cartoon was actually quite for the contents of advertisements. Published in subversive. Such revelations Michigan, USA. Please contact the publisher for reprint are startling and delightful. permissions and inquiries about licensing content. We’re wild about them, and For advertising inquiries, please contact stacy@ forewordreviews.com or [email protected]. we know you will be, too.

forewordreviews.com 5 GIFT IDEAS EXCEPTIONAL GIFT BOOKS

WOMAN IN THE WILD GROW WILD JUST LIKE US The Everywoman’s Guide to Hiking, The Whole-Child, Whole-Family, Nature- H A Veterinarian’s Visual Memoir Camping, and Backcountry Travel Rich Guide to Moving More of Our Vanishing Great Ape Relatives Susan Joy Paul, Falcon Guides (MAY 1) Softcover Katy Bowman, Propriometrics Press (MAY 3) Rick Quinn, Jane Goodall (Contributor) $24.95 (264pp), 978-1-4930-4974-5, ADVENTURE Softcover $31.95 (408pp), 978-1-943370-16-0 Girl Friday Books (APR 20) Hardcover $34.95 FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS Susan Joy Paul’s Woman in the Wild is the perfect (246pp), 978-1-73488-021-2, NATURE guidebook for any woman longing to get outdoors. Pandemic parenting. Zoom meetings. Virtual Rick Quinn’s Just Like Us presents each of Earth’s Whether they’ve never set foot on a trail, or simply school. If you’ve coped with looking at devices all great ape species in their natural forest settings want to enhance their outdoor education, women year, Katy Bowman’s Grow Wild will strike you as through extraordinary photographs and an elu- will find what they’re looking for here. a gentle, cautionary guide about kids’ “super-sed- cidating, entertaining account of the Canadian This book is a thorough tour through every- entary” environments, and how it’s countercul- veterinary opthamologist’s own education about thing a woman must think about before embark- tural, yet urgent, to start changing these. our nearest relatives. ing on an outdoor adventure. If she hasn’t A biomechanist, Bowman encourages recon- During this memoir, Quinn moves from curious thought of it, Paul sure has. Whether she wants necting with movement and nature, not only for ignorance to uncomfortable awareness. His trans- to backpack solo, tackle a day hike with friends, their health benefits or evolutionary ties, but formation into a conservationist includes wry jokes or try winter camping, this book is instructive, in for longer-term family and community vitality. at his own expense and meaningful reflections on part because of its direct, palatable language. Rather than outlining specific exercises, her holis- the cost-benefits of great ape tourism. It covers what gear is suitable for different tic approach spans everything from choosing With a cogent breakdown of human habitu- trips, what to wear, what to eat, how to train, and footwear and flexible clothing, to setting up move- ation and its effects on various great ape pop- how to go to the bathroom. Paul goes through the ment-friendly indoor spaces, to adding motion in ulations, Quinn addresses the human threat to intricacies of backpack fitting and the ins and outs natural stages. Its methods dovetail with activities great apes’ survival with insight and compas- of water purification, and teaches everything from we’d be doing anyway, such as making food. sion. He notes that our destinies are intertwined, preventing dehydration to treating snake bites. Color photographs of real families and allo- not only because the human fight for survival Paul is clearly a professional adventurer. With parents supplement the book’s personal stories often infringes on great apes, but because of our her guidebook, she hopes to empower women to about engaging wild and urban spaces. These many biological similarities. feel confident in the outdoors. Throughout, she inspire ways to rethink how we use our settings. Quinn is humble in narrating his fish-out-of- shares profiles of women adventurers, making Logical, persuasive, and compassionate argu- water story, which emphasizes the apes them- the book not only a how-to, but a celebration of ments make this a timely resource: we’re all selves and the crucial, often invisible frontline what women can do. culpable of sitting around too much, but we’re work of the civilian and medical personnel living MOLLY SPRAYREGEN all capable of redefining our modern mold, too. closest to these species. At its heart, Just Like KAREN RIGBY Us is an invitation to connect to the natural world with action and hope. LETITIA MONTGOMERY-RODGERS

6 May/June 2021 COMING THIS JULY! The eagerly anticipated sequel to the critically beloved and bestselling Autopsy of a Boring Wife. FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S THE DINÉ READER FORGOTTEN HOUSE An Anthology of Navajo Literature How an Omission Transformed the Esther G. Belin, Jeff Berglund, Connie A. Jacobs, Architect’s Legacy Anthony K. Webster (Editors), The University of Nicholas D. Hayes, University of Wisconsin Press Arizona Press (APR 20) Softcover $24.95 (432pp) (APR 27) Hardcover $29.95 (200pp) 978-0-8165-4099-0, LITERARY COLLECTIONS 978-0-299-33180-1, ARCHITECTURE For too many people, Diné or not, Diné writing In Frank Lloyd Wright’s Forgotten House, remains invisible within the greater literary land- Nicholas D. Hayes recounts his purchase of a scape. The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo home designed by the famed architect. Located Literature changes this. Its vibrant catalogue of in Shorewood, Wisconsin, the Elizabeth Murphy literary works, including poems, short stories, House is indeed a Wright original, even though and novel excerpts that are accompanied by Wright refused to acknowledge its existence. author interviews, makes it an essential addition Hayes and his wife, Angela, bought the Murphy to university libraries and literary curricula. House in 2016, a century after it was built. Hayes Diné have always had a deep and intricate details Wright’s involvement in a partnership to relationship with language. “Understood more produce “Ready-Cut” homes, designed in his dis- fully, ‘Diné bizaad’ [the Navajo language] means tinct style. With all materials and plans provided, ‘Diné their language, languages, voice, voices, the understated elegance of a Wright house could word, words, etc.’” It’s through the development be available to the discriminating masses. of written stories, which “directly correlates With historical intrigue, Frank Lloyd Wright’s to The People’s history with Western, formal Forgotten House reveals Wright’s connection to versions of education,” that those outside of Diane is back, the Murphy “Ready-Cut” bungalow, and why The People first became aware of this culture’s he abandoned the project. Wright’s visions of literary richness. turning fifty, and “organic integrity” are defined, as is how the From unascribed poems composed in Indian experience of living in a Wright house can be boarding schools to Blackhorse Mitchell’s setting off on a both a joy and a pragmatic challenge. Miracle Hill to work by contemporary authors, A guiding list of owners, historians, architects, the legacy of Diné writing is long and impressive. and builders involved is included, along with Suitable as an academic textbook, library refer- new journey for reproductions of original floor plans and recent ence, or lay primer, The Diné Reader reclaims restoration photographs. Frank Lloyd Wright fans, Diné voices, giving them the showcase they romance. or “Wrightophiles,” will delight in this saga of a deserve: as works of literary merit, worthy of small but mighty house, and the exasperated scholarship and celebration. genius behind its design. LETITIA MONTGOMERY-RODGERS MEG NOLA

HOUSEOFANANSI.COM @HOUSEOFANANSI

Photo from Just Like Us: A Veterinarian’s Visual Memoir of Our Vanishing Great Ape Relatives, by Rick Quinn, Jane Goodall (Contributor). Used with permission from Girl Friday Books. Photo credit: Rick Quinn.

forewordreviews.com 7 FORESIGHT BODY/MIND/SPIRIT

FIND YOUR WAYBACK nternal care and awareness Ican lead to peace, balance, and a sense of purpose. But such contentment is not just an end result—it’s in every step along the way. Like childhood wandering, learning, and love, seeking har- mony as an adult involves won- der and experimentation. These books are an invitation to return to that free way of being today.

MELISSA WUSKE

8 May/June 2021 THE HEARTBEAT OF TREES MYSTICAL STITCHES Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Embroidery for Personal Empowerment Forests and Nature and Magical Embellishment Peter Wohlleben, Greystone Books (JUN 15) Christi Johnson, Storey Publishing (MAY 25) Hardcover $26.95 (264pp), 978-1-77164-689-5 Hardcover $24.95 (208pp), 978-1-63586-334-5 NATURE CRAFTS & HOBBIES The nature essays of Peter Wohlleben’s The Christi Johnson’s Mystical Stitches encourages Heartbeat of Trees beckon people into the woods, spiritual forms of artistic expression. Part arts for their own good and for the good of trees. and crafts book, part meditative spiritual guide, A follow-up to The Hidden Life of Trees, this it reveals the power of symbols, showing how to collection showcases the interconnectedness create them through fiber arts. of humans and nature. It begins by addressing The book centers on crafting a unique talis- a troubling polarity in modern thought: there’s man, or “a physical representation of the changes growing knowledge about how humans need we wish to call into our lives.” It explores the heal- nature, but also unprecedented depletion of the ing, affirming power of symbols, meditation, and natural world at the hands of human beings. The the creative process itself, drawing on Johnson’s book urges leaning into the former, for the bene- lifelong love for handcrafted fiber art. Its work is fit of nature and ourselves: quite simply, it says, packed with practical tools, from stitch instruc- we need each other. tion to a treasury of symbols, including shapes The essays delve into the physical, mental, like the circle and ankh, zodiac signs, and sym- and emotional connections that people expe- bols representing natural elements and forces. rience with nature, asking direct, unexpected Its larger projects include bags, clothing, and questions, like “Why do we see trees in color?” jewelry. All have free-spirited styles. While every The answer lies in the science of the human eye, stitch is done with excellence and care in mind, but the book also goes much deeper in getting the final results are rugged in their beauty. there. Beginning with chapters on each of the These projects accommodate crafters of a five senses, it looks at the power trees have over range of skill levels because of their detailed human enjoyment, health, and life. Then, it goes directions and insights into art basics, like how beyond the physical senses to the inner sense to choose colors. The stitch key at the end of of perceiving, emotional responses, and the the book is thoughtful and clear, helping to spiritual depth that is elemental and ingrained explain every shape and symbol in the book. in people. Nature, the book says, even has an Throughout, the book invites deep self-expres- impact on human relationships: a chapter on sion that embodies, through tangible visual sym- walking in the woods with children, letting them bols, the power of the spiritual imagination. dictate the pace, is a particular highlight. The welcoming illustrations and photographs Wohlleben takes a multidisciplinary balance softness with bold colors, showing med- approach, incorporating history, science, itative concepts at work in the final projects, medicine, and mysticism. He balances poetic from yoga-inspired stretches to the intricacies descriptions with analytical thoughts; beauty of different types of stitches. They are easy to is at the heart of both. The result is a text that understand, helping novices to gain crafting is full of wonder and insatiable curiosity, and confidence. that invites love for humanity and the natural The fiber arts crafting book Mystical Stitches world, understanding that the two are insepara- has deep spiritual roots. bly linked—and valuable. The nature essays of The Heartbeat of Trees reveal the humanity-saving power of natural conservation.

forewordreviews.com 9 FORESIGHT BODY/MIND/SPIRIT

THE GREAT GUIDE TURNING DOWN THE NOISE THE FULL SPIRIT WORKOUT What David Hume Can Teach Us about The Quiet Power of Silence in a A Ten-Step System to Shed Your Self- Being Human and Living Well Busy World Doubt, Strengthen Your Spiritual Core, Julian Baggini, Princeton University Press (MAY 25) Christine Jackman, Murdoch Books (MAY 18) and Create a Fun and Fulfilling Life Hardcover $24.95 (304pp), 978-0-691-20543-4 Softcover $20.99 (320pp), 978-1-911632-93-1 Kate Eckman, New World Library (APR 27) Softcover PHILOSOPHY SELF-HELP $16.95 (288pp), 978-1-60868-721-3, SELF-HELP Julian Baggini’s The Great Guide approaches Heartfelt and with touches of humor, Christine Kate Eckman’s self-help text The Full Spirit Workout David Hume as an example for living a rich life. Jackman’s Turning Down the Noise showcases suggests ways to shed one’s inner baggage. Rooted in a biography of Enlightenment phi- the inviting power of silence. Whether they realize it or not, the book says, losopher David Hume, this detailed book focuses The book tracks Jackson’s growth into appre- many people live lives based on competition and on his insights into human nature. It showcases ciation of the practice of silence. Her develop- fear, but without getting the results that they the unity between Hume’s philosophical work and ment happened in fits and starts—a lifelong want. Enter “Coach Kate,” whose book is packed his day-to-day life, called “equal parts of a harmo- quest that intensified in recent years as she com- with wisdom to make inner fitness a priority. This nious whole.” While the book presents Hume as a panioned her aging father through illness. Her work starts with realizing that “inner pounds” guide, it also draws on Hume’s idea that “‘custom’ honest narrative includes insights to motivate have the same impact as physical weight, lead- or habit ‘is the great guide of human life;’” this others toward a similar learning process. ing to exhaustion, anxiousness, and depression. proves to be a practical insight when it comes to Silence itself is tangible in the story, almost The book’s ten-step system is comprehen- replicating Hume’s fulfilling lifestyle. like a person or place that Jackman is trying to sive about transforming inner lives, covering The narrative is methodical about unpacking find. Her narrative shows that seeking silence is mental, emotional, and spiritual health. It begins years of Hume’s life, covering his words and not a means to enlightenment or wisdom, but is with common wisdom: step one is “stretch your actions, what others said about him, and scholarly a worthy end in itself. While her story centers on comfort zone.” After these vital stepping stones, insights into his times. It evinces deep, contagious adulthood, the book shares the tantalizing idea it ventures into bold new territory: step six, admiration for Hume, but still tells his life story that “the memory of silence lingers” from child- “boost your mental metabolism,” shows how to with texture and nuance, covering his difficulties hood and before “in our unconsciousness.” In “convert thought patterns into energy,” covering and complexities, in addition to his successes. fact, Jackman’s pursuit began when she stayed planning for success, adapting to challenges, The book closes with Hume’s own assess- behind, outside in the quiet, while her kindergar- and looking beyond oneself. The process prom- ment of his character—an honest, self-effacing, ten class left its recess. ises to result in resilience and fulfillment. and even humorous account. It draws some Jackman’s storytelling is strong. Her descrip- Eckman uses her own story to bolster her conclusions about how Hume’s decisions can tions are paced out, and her voice is compelling; advice. Her experiences as a leadership coach be replicated to direct other people’s thoughts she has a good sense of others. Her calm tone and a spiritual personal trainer give the book and actions. Still, much of the book’s application permeates the book, so that even the process of depth and strength. Like physical exercise, she angle is open-ended: readers are directed to reading it ushers in mental quiet. shows, building spiritual strength takes time and ruminate on Hume, allowing his wisdom to inter- While Jackman’s narrative is central to the intention. Her comparisons of physical and spiri- sect with their own humanity. book, it also contains practical takeaways for tual training make the process easy to understand The appendix breaks Hume’s impact into calming inner and outer noise, including seeking and visualize: here, spiritual exercise pays off in pieces for maximum impact, collecting dozens out natural surroundings, paying attention to the form of a life that attracts the good it desires. of Hume’s maxims about what it means to live breathing, and engaging the wisdom of monks, The Full Spirit Workout deviates from standard well, and covering topics like knowledge, charac- gurus, and other practitioners of silence across spiritual approaches in welcome ways. Its work ter, and doubt. This portable, powerful wisdom generations. It closes with a how-to guide to help will be easy for driven people to grasp. Each chap- includes the encouragement to “Assume no others embrace the countercultural practice ter closes with journaling, exercises, meditations, more and no less than you have to assume,” of pursuing silence, which begins with small and affirmations. Throughout, the tone is encour- and the idea that “Ethics without empathy is a moments—three slow, deep breaths; smiling aging—especially true of the book’s “Coach Kate contradiction in terms.” while waiting or facing frustration—before mov- Check-Ins,” which are heartfelt and gritty. The Great Guide is the biography of a ing on the larger silences of nature walks, tech- The Full Spirit Workout is a self-help road map philosopher that has practical, life-changing free bedtimes, and silent retreats. to spiritual fitness. applications. Turning Down the Noise brings the gift of silence into everyday life.

10 May/June 2021 Congratulations to our INDIES Award finalists from Indiana University Press and Red Lightning Books!

Diana K. Shah Donald R. Prothero James H. Madison Daniel Kraft, Gregg Hertzlieb, and Jim Ross Autobiography & Memoir Science & Technology History Art

iupress.org redlightningbooks.com

COMING SOON A beautifully written, profoundly moving tale told in the literary style of a bildungsroman, The Essence of Nathan Biddle is unforgettable.

“Mesmerizing”—SAN FRANCISCO BOOK REVIEW “Eloquent, provocative, and beautifully written, The Essence of Nathan Biddle is like discovering The Catcher in the Rye all over again” —DAVID ARMSTRONG, AUTHOR OF THE RISING PLACE

AVAILABLE FROM YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL INDEPENDENT BOOKSHOP

forewordreviews.com 11 FORESIGHT DEBUT FICTION THEIR TIME HAS COME Writing a book can take years, or even decades, of dedication. To accomplish such a feat—and to imbue the end product with delicate, compelling portraits of loss and loneliness, of stifling traditions and liberating secrets—is nothing short of extraordinary. From Canada to Egypt, and from Nigeria to Australia, these works represent the best of a new generation of writers from around the world.

WINTER IN SOKCHO Elisa Shua Dusapin, Aneesa Abbas Higgins (Translator), Open Letter Books (APR 27) Softcover $14.95 (160pp), 978-1-948830-41-6 TRANSLATIONS

In Elisa Shua Dusapin’s novel Winter in Sokcho, a young woman has a fateful encounter with a man who is as lost as she is. Sokcho, a Korean beach resort, has little to offer tour- ists during the off season. But one tourist comes: Kerrand, a French comic book artist in search of inspiration. He becomes a source of reluctant fascination for the narrator, a new employee at the isolated guest house where Kerrand is staying. Each of them seeks some- thing undefinable from the other, even as it becomes apparent that they will not find it. The narrator is not close to her mother or her boyfriend, and she knows nothing of her father, save that he is French. Perhaps that is what draws her to Kerrand: he embodies something she lacks. Or perhaps it is his drawings, always so stark and always destroyed by morning, that attract her, even as his behavior repels her. The narrator’s languor is heightened by the fact that Sokcho, in her view, is a dead end. Yet Sokcho has beauty that she cannot see: colorful buildings, mountain vistas, beaches, even the fleet of fishing vessels that light up the dark sea. Nor does she see her own beauty: those around her suggest that she get plastic surgery, and she struggles with disordered eating, even as she tries to persuade the dismissive Kerrand to try her cooking. In Sokcho, everyone is in a holding pattern. The country waits for the war with the North to reignite. The town waits for warm weather and the tourist season. Kerrand waits for just the right spark of inspi- ration. And the narrator waits for she knows not what: perfection, happiness, freedom…or maybe just simple acknowledgement. ELISA SHUA DUSAPIN Winter in Sokcho is a spare novel about existence in the between spaces of identity and passion.

12 May/June 2021 THE SON OF THE HOUSE H Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia, Dundurn, (JUN 1) Softcover, $18.99 (288pp). 978-1-4597-4708-1, LITERARY

While being held for ransom, two Nigerian women discover a life-changing connection in Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia’s novel The Son of the House. Nwabulu and Julie have an unlikely friendship. Julie manipulated her way into wealthy widowhood, while Nwabulu endured unspeak- able hardship before finding success as a fashion designer. And yet, something more than friendly feelings binds these two women. Their secrets may have remained with them forever if they were not kid- napped and held captive together—and now those secrets threaten to rip them apart at the moment when they need each other most. Despite their differences, Nwabulu and Julie have endured more than their share of hardship. For Nwabulu, having a son brought ruin and tragedy; for Julie, not hav- ing a son was just as disastrous. In their experience, the wants of men always supersede the needs of women, making for an intertwined narrative that is at times infuriating and always affecting. As they await their fate in a small, dark room, each woman tells her story. Nwabulu relates a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her stepmother and employers, followed by a cathartic and well- earned contentment. Julie, though not always proud of the mea- CHELUCHI sures she took, is not ashamed, ONYEMELUKWE-ONUOBIA either. Their heartbreak and their resilience ignites every page. Metaphors add a poetic quality to the smooth, immersive prose. As the story progresses, it is only a matter of time before the women’s secrets are revealed. The story flits around the issue, brushing against it but delaying the ultimate confronta- tion. Tension mounts with the knowledge that, when the secret finally comes to light, it will add a devastating new dimension to Nwabulu and Julie’s experiences. The Son of the House is a compelling novel about two women caught in a constricting web of tradition, class, gender, and motherhood.

forewordreviews.com 13 FORESIGHT DEBUT FICTION

AT THE END OF THE WORLD, TURN LEFT Zhanna Slor, Agora Books (APR 13) Hardcover $25.99 (289pp), 978-1-951709-25-9, GENERAL

Two sisters seek personal freedom and the truth in Zhanna Slor’s novel At the End of the World, Turn Left. Masha hasn’t been back to Milwaukee since she moved to Israel five years ago. Now, she returns because her younger sister, Anna, has disappeared, and their father has asked Masha to find her. As Masha assembles clues to her sisters whereabouts, she starts to ques- tion everything she thought she knew about her family. Masha comes to realize that Anna has been completing a puzzle of her own. Masha’s homecoming is tense for multiple reasons. After Israel, the seamy section of Milwaukee is a jarring change. Painful reminders of her wild youth are everywhere, forcing her to confront old pains even as she tries to focus on Anna. Meanwhile, Anna, who always forced herself to be the well-behaved daughter whom Masha was not, found that a lifetime of being browbeaten by her parents left her vulnerable to other people’s dangerous ideas about happiness and justice. She learns to listen to herself, and only to herself; doing so is necessary if she is to be at all satisfied with her life. The story switches between Masha’s investigation and accounts of what happened to Anna months before. Both of ZHANNA SLOR their voices are infused with subtle sarcasm; they make poignant observations about immigration, religion, and rebellion. Despite never speaking or meeting within the story, Masha and Anna are bound by more than blood: the same curiosity, the same stub- bornness, and the same determination to make their own way, no matter the price, runs through both of their veins. At the End of the World, Turn Left is a novel about the irresist- ible, even destructive lure of the past.

KEVIN HOLOWACK LIGHT ON A PART OF THE FIELD Kevin Holowack, NeWest Press (MAY 1) Softcover $16.95 (344pp), 978-1-77439-014-6, LITERARY

In Kevin Holowack’s novel Light on a Part of the Field, members of a flawed, dysfunctional family pursue their separate destinies, even though they cannot break their bonds with each other. Ruth and Al’s marriage was unusual, marked by long separations, unfinished creative projects, and uncelebrated holidays. Now, a year after Al disappeared without warning, their daughter Gayle runs away with a boy she barely knows. As all three cope with their new lives, they find their own voices for the very first time. Each member of the family struggles to make themselves understood by the others. All hold a part of themselves in reserve, always looking for something they can’t name and can never find, no matter how far they go. Al writes books of poems dedicated to his wife, but he never lets her read them. Distant Ruth always has more time for her paintings than for Gayle, who struggles with self-destructive tendencies. Gayle didn’t make friends until she met Lewis, the boy she runs away with. After spending so long on their isolated British Columbian farm, neither Ruth nor Gayle is prepared for how the world greets them. As Gayle and Lewis, who is sickly, eke out a living with the help of a generous new friend, Ruth stumbles into artistic fulfillment and human connections for the first time. Even as Al slips further from them, his wife and daugh- ter learn how to cope with the shadows in their lives. They remain unconventional to the last moment, when, for the first time, they learn to be comfortable with who they are. Light on a Part of the Field is a quiet novel about traveling one’s own path, no matter how winding or bitter it may be.

14 May/June 2021 KAVITA BEDFORD FRIENDS AND DARK SHAPES Kavita Bedford, Europa Editions (APR 27) Softcover $17 (224pp), 978-1-60945-664-1, LITERARY

In Kavita Bedford’s novel Friends and Dark Shapes, a bereaved woman struggles to determine her place in the world. After her father’s death, a woman moves into a borderline questionable Sydney neighbor- hood with three housemates. The year that follows is a difficult one, marked by the constant threat of losing jobs, money, and loved ones. She contemplates how the diversity and dispari- ties in her hometown contribute to her sense of disconnect, and considers the impermanence of life itself. The unnamed narrator and her friends, though they’re all from different backgrounds, live with the constant, nagging sense that they are not living up to some unspoken standard. They are constricted by low-paying jobs and family expectations, yet they feel guilty about complaining when others are worse off. At the same time, they are so overwhelmed by disasters and tragedies that they are no longer as empathetic as they once were. Each chapter is almost a story onto itself. They are given to highlighting aspects of the narrator’s growth. Her job as a freelance journalist forces her to confront big issues, like the war in Syria and Australia’s cruel immigration policies. But to her, the little things, like memories of eating gelato with her father, or struggling to sell the bicycle that her ex-boyfriend gave her, make just as big of an impact. There are no easy answers to the woman’s troubles and questions. She misses her father, and she remains uncertain about what the future holds. But thinking about and spending time with loved ones brings her to an important realization: she does not have to be certain of her place in the world to be a part of it. Friends and Dark Shapes is an unflinching novel that cap- tures the isolation and emotional overload of modern life.

SLIPPING Mohamed Kheir, Robin Moger (Translator), Two Lines Press (JUN 8) Softcover $16.95 (260pp) 978-1-949641-16-5, TRANSLATIONS

A depressed journalist finds himself on a strange journey in Mohamed Kheir’s haunting novel Slipping. Seif’s heart has not been in his job of late, so he is surprised to receive an important yet mysterious assignment: he must accompany Bahr, a strange man who spent years abroad and has returned to Egypt in search of something. What it is, and why he chose Seif to help him, Bahr will not say. All Seif can do is follow along and hope he will find the answers he seeks. Seif and Bahr have both suffered devastating losses. Their travels bring to mind memories of the women they’ve loved and lost, and of how their lives have not gone according to plan. In between these segments lie seemingly unconnected, even inexplicable stories: a mother receives visions from her dead hus- band, a man awakes far from home with no memory of the past three days, and an inspector happily rents a room in a building that the tenants decry as unlivable. Each lyrical vignette conceals as much as it reveals. Then, one by one, the threads are woven together into a tapestry of grief and indifference. Kheir’s masterful storytelling not only encourages, but almost necessitates, rereading. Seif’s journey takes him around Egypt, but his sorrows are not so easy to leave behind. He keeps his innermost thoughts to himself, hiding his weaknesses. And yet, even if Seif were to share his troubles, those around him prove just as vulnerable as he. The closer he gets to the truth of things, the more it becomes apparent that there is no truth, and that there is no one to prevent him from slipping further into unreality. Slipping is a novel about the fragility in all things: society, love, even reality. MOHAMED KHEIR

forewordreviews.com 15 FORESIGHT TRAVEL

OF JOURNEYS THE

16 May/June 2021 IMAGINATION

ravel changes us, BLUE whatever its impetus. In Search of Nature’s Rarest Color These travel memoirs Kai Kupferschmidt, The Experiment (JUN 8) Hardcover $24.95 (224pp) T 978-1-61519-752-1, NATURE show how our perspectives Human beings have been obsessed with the color blue for thousands may be impacted; how we of years, and in Blue, science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt travels the may find love in unexpected globe to discover why it has always been so special. Strange as it may seem, science is only beginning to understand blue. places; and that we may The rarest color in nature, its perception is an intricate collaboration confront our own mortality between a human being and what is being looked at. Kupferschmidt draws attention to just how special that collaboration is, in the hopes in the process. that people will learn to look at the natural world with fresh eyes, appreciating “the beauty, fragility, and sheer improbability of our blue planet and the responsibility we bear toward it.” With travel restrictions Central to the book is chemist Mas Subramanian’s 2009 accidental in place, schlepping our discovery of the first new blue pigment in two hundred years. Dubbed “YinMin” for its components (yttrium oxide, indium oxide, and manganese oxide (YInMn), its stunning, pure bodies and baggage across color thrilled artists, entrepreneurs, and industry people alike. continents may have to But this text is not all about happy coincidences. From the earliest cave paintings to the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs to Japanese scientists’ current obsession with creating a blue rose, the book tracks the good, the wait, but good books can bad, and the ugly about blue. The same pigment component that allowed Van Gogh to create his star-filled sky is also a cruel poison, hydrogen cyanide, he says. And there are many other surprises along the way: that still carry us to distant places ancient sculptures and buildings thought to have always been white were once colorful; that birds can see and help us see our homes ultraviolet light; and that sea mammals, like whales, cannot see blue light, though they are surrounded by it. Kupferschmidt’s global quest follows his lifelong obsession with blue, taking him to the core of what it with new eyes. means to be human.

SOBREMESA H A Memoir of Food and Love in Thirteen Courses Josephine Caminos Oría, Scribe Publishing Company (MAY 4) Hardcover $24.95 (400pp), 978-1-73530-518-9, AUTOBIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR Josephine Caminos Oría’s memoir Sobremesa is warm and nourishing, KRISTINE MORRIS covering family, food, love, and heritage. It is also a romantic, bicultural coming-of-age story with a touch of magical realism. When Oría, a first-generation Argentine American from Pittsburgh who felt torn between two countries and cultures, traveled to her family’s homeland, she expected to unearth some family secrets. What she did not expect was to find her true home in the arms of Gastón, the young man charged with managing the family’s estancia. Surprised by love, she learned that the world can tilt on its axis from one moment to the next, demanding choices and commitments that shape the course of the future. Also unexpected, but welcome, were the visits of the ghost of an elderly man who appeared to be watching over her. Here, Argentina is presented as a passionate and exuberant place—a country of tango, full-bodied Andean Malbecs, asado (Argentine barbecue), vast open plains, and hard-muscled gauchos who can eat, drink, and play hard after a day of wrangling livestock. And the Argentine sobremesa is presented as much more than a meal. It’s a gathering of family and friends that lasts for hours, and that meets two essential human needs: to be fed, and to belong. Engaging it requires being fully present with others, and lingering at the table long after the food is gone. Central to Oría’s personal discoveries were her family’s culinary secrets—an alchemy of love, passed down through generations of women. The dishes shared in her book beg to be tried. The memoir Sobremesa is a reminder of a slower time, an exuberant, passionate place, and love as vast as the Argentine pampas.

forewordreviews.com 17 FORESIGHT TRAVEL

THE PASSENGER THE END OF THE WORLD FOR THE LOVE OF COD H How a Travel Writer Learned NOTWITHSTANDING A Father and Son’s Search for to Love Cruises & Other Lies from a Stories I Lived to Tell Norwegian Happiness Sinking Ship Janna Goodwin, Travelers’ Tales (APR 19) Softcover Eric Dregni, Eric Dregni (Translator) Chaney Kwak, Godine (JUN 8) Hardcover $18.95 $16.99 (200pp), 978-1-60952-201-8, ESSAYS University of Minnesota Press (APR 27) Hardcover (160pp), 978-1-56792-697-2 The humorous essays of Janna Goodwin’s The End $22.95 (200pp), 978-1-5179-0893-5, TRAVEL AUTOBIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR of the World Notwithstanding concern the joys, In For the Love of Cod, Eric Dregni goes on a On a placid cruise along the Norwegian coast perils, and absurdities of being alive on a small blue quest to discover why Norway—with its long, to gather material for a magazine feature on the planet that’s whirling its way through space. dark winters, reserved citizens, and no native Northern Lights, travel writer Chaney Kwak’s Based on a solo comedy performance, word for “happy”—often tops the “Happiest boredom turned into terror. The Viking Sky sailed Goodwin’s stories cover encounters with fire, a Country in the World” charts. into treacherous waters, assaulted by a furious tornado, snakes, stinging insects, wild boars, Eager to introduce his Norwegian-born storm. The Passenger is his story, as it happened. and creepy men with sex on their minds. While teenage son, Eilif, to his heritage, Dregni, an With screams piercing his cabin walls, and appearing lighthearted, they’re laced with the American of Norwegian descent, decided that water glasses flinging themselves against the terror about what could happen. Goodwin’s the best way to learn about Norway was to go door as if possessed, Kwak confronted not only mind, gifted with a “heightened sense of risk,” there together, hear from its citizens whether or his own mortality, but his family history, his goes where most minds don’t (or won’t admit to not they were happy, and unearth the country’s failing relationship, and the meaning of his life going), from killer garage doors, to a cataclysm dark side, if there was one to be found. and work. Under a bruise-colored sky, the ship, predicted for the Pacific Northwest, from which What they learned astounded them. Some of it carrying 915 passengers and 458 crew, pitched she expects a tsunami to engulf the motel where made the US look backward: Norwegians get gen- through sixty-foot waves, lashed by horizon- she’s on a three-day vacation. Underlying all erous vacation time—even farmers take off and tal rain driven by eighty-seven-miles-per-hour is the inconceivable thought that she will one head south in the winter as substitutes care for winds. Floors and walls became indistinguish- day cease to exist. “Surviving is harder than a their flocks and crops. New parents get a year’s able as the ship heaved and dropped, until person might think,” Goodwin writes. “Life is parental leave at full pay. Norwegian parents sudden silence gave notice that all four engines everywhere on this planet—if nowhere else in believe in “free upbringing:” they disapprove of had stalled, leaving the ship at the mercy of the universe—and it all wants to eat you.” scolding, and their kids roam freely. Women feel the sea’s muscular undertow. When a powerful A Wyoming native, Goodwin has an ear for safe walking alone at night. And while Norway is swell hit the ship high and hard, the sea rushed the spicy, sagebrush twang in the speech of one of the most expensive countries in the world, in, leaving it floundering a mere half mile from dusty cowboys. Her first story covers a solitary generous social services mean that Norwegians the jagged shoreline. Kwak voice-messaged his writing retreat near the Medicine Bow National experience the highest quality of life. No one fears parents, Koreans who survived their own hell. Forest, where she felt hog-tied by indecision as going bankrupt over medical services or student He said nothing about the danger. to whether to leave or stay as a large column loan debt; hospital treatment and education are When rescue finally came, the cruise line’s of smoke bore down. Her frantic questions got free. Take a deep breath. Imagine what living CEO promised everyone another Viking cruise, one response: “Idunno.” Even Goodwin’s hus- without those stresses would feel like. free of charge. Kwak declared there was “no band’s expected approach is startling: “I jolt vio- But Dregni learned that it isn’t just less way in hell” he’d get on another cruise, but the lently, emitting a yip like a nearsighted, coked-up stress that makes Norway’s citizens happy. He book makes it obvious that he left the Viking Chihuahua who catches a glimpse of itself in expresses delight that Norwegians always began Sky a changed man—still funny, still conflicted the hallway mirror.” While such descriptions are their answers to his questions with “we” rather about the future, but aware that he had choices, hilarious, they also invite compassion. than “I.” Instead of basing their happiness on and that he had the courage to make them. The End of the World Notwithstanding is a how well they are doing compared to others, he The Passenger, with its bare-bones honesty quirky essay collection in which people, and says, Norwegians are happy when everyone is and dry, cynical humor, reveals that when all is life itself, are absurd. Goodwin’s travels result in doing well. Take another breath. Imagine that. said and done, it’s the little things that matter: exuberant gratitude and suggest a possible cure Honest, funny, and down to earth, For the small acts of courage and kindness, words of for anxiety: laughter. Love of Cod is an eye-opening look at how love, and gratitude for the gift of another day. Norway discovered the key to real happiness.

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forewordreviews.com 19 SPOTLIGHT REVIEWS GRAPHIC NOVELS

GRAPHIC NOVELS Embodied H An Intersectional Comics Poetry Anthology Wendy Chin-Tanner, Tyler Chin-Tanner (Editors), A Wave Blue World (MAY 18) Softcover $16.99 (200pp), 978-1-949518-13-9 Verse and visuals meet, with spectacular results, in the graphic anthology Embodied. Poetry is a visual medium, not just an oral one: the placements of words and blank spaces are often intended to appeal to the eye, and they affect the interpretation and enjoyment of a poem. This book makes full use of the opportunities for color and page design that are inherent to comic books—here, used to maintain or enhance the impact of poems. The poems and their graphic interpretations come from a lineup of award-winning women, trans, and nonbinary creators. After each artist’s adaptation, the original text-only version of the poem is included, allowing for inter- esting comparisons. Some adaptations preserve the original appearance of the text, while others take a different tack, splitting or combining lines for a particular effect. The art is attractive and imaginative. In “Bassam,” a metaphor is depicted as something more than just a figurative truth: “Each morning my heart is / a vulture beating its wings for scraps,” it says. The words are accompanied by images of a scavenger alighting on a shoulder. Images from the poems are given form and shape, sometimes with daring, unexpected approaches, and always in ways that are complementary. The variation among the art and writing styles keeps every segment fresh and exciting. A study guide forwards two stimulating questions about each poem, regarding their subjects, tech- niques, and interpretations—enough discussion material to fill a university-level course. Also included are rough sketches from the various adaptations—a fascinating glimpse into artistic processes. This book bridges the gap between comics and poetry, combining the best of both worlds. With a portion of the proceeds benefiting the International Women’s Health Coalition, Embodied is a wonderful book that’s well worth engaging.

The Flutist of Arnhem A Story of Operation Market Garden Antonio Gil, Dead Reckoning (MAY 21) Softcover $24.95 (152pp) 978-1-68247-463-1 Antonio Gil’s graphic novel The Flutist of Arnhem tells the story of World War II’s Operation Market Garden, a 1944 Allied attack in the Netherlands that met with mixed results. The big successes of Allied efforts in World War II get plenty of attention, but not every plan worked out: Operation Market Garden didn’t succeed in its attempt to create a path to Berlin through the Netherlands, but it did free several Dutch cities and towns. Drawing on meticulous research, this book utilizes a large cast to portray the leaders, soldiers, civilians, resistance fighters, and agents of espionage who were involved. A flute serves as the crucial link between the modern day and 1944, framing the story through the eyes and fading memory of Harry, a veteran of the operation. As a young soldier, Harry is ordered to find and retrieve his father, John—a spy who’s hiding out in Holland with secret documents that provide important intelligence about the German army. A relentless Gestapo agent pursues John, while the German military machine makes every movement life-threatening. With an ambitious sense of scale, the book includes many views of, and perspectives on, the proceedings. At times, it is dense and overloaded. But most of the book strikes an effective balance between maps and military plans on one hand, and the actions and emotions of the characters on the other. The art is notable for its attention to detail, from uniforms and equipment to fine-tuned facial expressions. The Flutist of Arnhem is an epic, exciting tale from World War II.

20 May/June 2021 Artemisia Nathalie Ferlut, Tamia Baudouin (Illustrator), Maëlle Doliveux (Translator), Beehive Books (JUL 13) Hardcover $25 (100pp) 978-1-948886-11-6

The life of seventeenth-century Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi is recounted in the graphic novel Artemisia. Raised by her father, an accomplished artist himself, Artemisia took to painting from a young age. At eighteen, her father entrusted her to the tutelage of Agostino Tassi, known both for his painting skills and his questionable morals. Tassi forced himself on Artemisia, though. Her father, who was only interested in painting, refused to recognize what was happening. When Artemisia’s father was confronted with the truth, he brought a court case against Tassi, despite his daughter’s wishes. She was forced to endure intrusive examinations and questioning. As a result of the trial, her reputation Black Star was soiled along with Tassi’s. Facing an uncertain future, unable even to purchase paints and canvases without a man, Artemisia married and moved from Rome to Florence. She broke free of her husband’s Eric A. Glover, Arielle Jovellanos (Illustrator) restrictions and found success painting, and living, on her own terms. Abrams ComicArts (MAY 4) Hardcover $24.99 The book relies on invented dialogue, and it’s an effective tactic that maximizes the impact of (172pp), 978-1-4197-4228-6 its dramatic moments. Artemisia’s life resonates not just because of her artistic accomplishments, Black Star is a fast-moving, twisting futuristic but because of the social obstacles and unequal treatment she was forced to navigate on her way to thriller about a woman-versus-woman contest eventual independence. From simple condescension to the burdens of bringing an accusation of rape, of survival. unfortunate aspects of her story still echo today. Harper, a prominent and dedicated scientist, The book’s art is outstanding, showing many qualities of fine paintings itself, from composition, to is sent with a crew to a far-off planet, Eleos, to contours, to colors. A section at the book’s end includes images of some of Artemisia’s most famous retrieve samples of a flower with therapeutic paintings. Artemisia is the informative, compelling graphic biography of an inspiring artist. properties. When the ship crashes on the plan- et’s surface, Harper sets out alone on a 187-kilo- meter trek to reach an auxiliary shuttle—her only hope of escape. Madame Livingstone Harper’s plan grows more complicated, how- The Great War in the Congo ever, when it’s revealed that she’s not the only one who survived the crash. She’s being pursued Christophe Cassiau-Haurie, Barly Baruti (Illustrator), Ivanka by Parrish, the survival expert she left trapped Hahnenberger (Translator), Catalyst Press (JUN 8) Softcover $19.95 on the ship; Parrish, motivated by revenge, (132pp), 978-1-946395-47-4 blames Harper for the death of a beloved crew- Madame Livingstone uses a World War I conflict in the Congo as mate. Clever narrative use of the ship’s computer the backdrop for an exciting adventure, glimpsing into the coun- interface, Guardian, results in flashbacks that try’s history of colonial exploitation. show the unvarnished truth. Based on the efforts of Belgian and Congolese soldiers to Through heat, flooding, wildfires, and other drive Germans from Lake Tanganyika, the book focuses on two obstacles, Harper and Parrish battle to outwit men: a lieutenant in the Royal Belgian Army, Gaston Mercier, each other and reach the shuttle, which can and a “half-breed” Native guide who claims to be the son of only carry one of them to safety. Their story is the explorer David Livingstone. Called “Madame Livingstone” filled with action, but also addresses intriguing because of his affinity for wearing a Scottish kilt, the guide is unpredictable but invaluable, speaking questions of morality. Harper claims to have several languages and possessing keen insights about how to accomplish the Belgian goal of finding put the medical mission, with its hope of saving and sinking the German warship Graf Von Goetzen. many lives, first, but Parrish sees her actions Although Livingstone is helpful, Mercier is forced to question his loyalty. A confrontation between as a betrayal and a sign of cowardice. Harper, the two results in greater understanding about the uncertainty and resentment that Livingstone feels meanwhile, suspects that Parrish’s outrage is as a man trapped between two colonial powers. As Livingstone says, “This is my country, I go where motivated not just by a sense of justice, but by I like. The borders are your doing.” The book’s conclusion is a thrilling and moving testament to the Parrish’s financial interests. It’s easy to root for, power of friendship. and against, both characters at different times, Madame Livingstone is a rousing historical tale. Its excellent, authentic art is attentive to details when making for a complex, engrossing tale. picturing boats, airplanes, uniforms, and Congolese clothing and landscapes. A “Studies and Research” The book’s art is excellent, capturing an array section includes sketches, historical documents, photographs, and other information that influenced the of natural vistas and technological features in story; perhaps most interesting is its explanation of the origins of the titular character, whose story is based creative, colorful ways, helping to make Black within the artist’s own family history. Star an impressive science fiction graphic novel.

Art by Morgan Beem from Embodied: An Intersectional Comics Poetry Anthology, by Wendy Chin-Tanner, Tyler Chin-Tanner (Editors). Image used PETER DABBENE with permission from A Wave Blue World.

forewordreviews.com 21 SPOTLIGHT REVIEWS CLIMATE CHANGE climate change RACHEL JAGARESKI

Our Changing Menu Climate Change and the Foods We Love and Need Michael P. Hoffmann, Carrie Koplinka-Loehr, Danielle L. Eiseman, Comstock Publishing Associates (APR 15) Softcover $21.95 (264pp), 978-1-5017-5462-3 SUSTAINABLE LIVING Warming temperatures may benefit a few animals and plants, but human-driven climate shifts threaten most of the species that humans depend on for food. Our Changing Menu is a detailed, lively overview of how the world’s most popular eats arrive to the table under more and more challenging conditions. In “setting the table,” the book reveals the global food system’s exten- sive links with local environments and economies. It notes that 40% of the world’s work force is employed in food production, and that only seventeen plant and animal species constitute 75% of the world’s food supply. Food security, then, even for the world’s richest countries, is under siege. The book’s concise analysis of climate science and its effects on water, soil, pests, pollinators, and pathogens is engaging and accessible. The focus turns to the myriad cli- mate-driven problems faced by farmers, fishers, and on down the food supply chain, which are organized in a snappy menu format of some of the most common comestibles. From favorite alcoholic beverages to avocados and chicken, to beloved chocolate and coffee, the book articulates how foods have been traditionally made, how conditions are changing, and some innovative ways producers are adapting. Sidebar examples personalize climate effects on local producers, covering the lobster woman who is offsetting her dwindling catch with a sideline oyster farm, and outbreaks of rodent-borne hantavirus that are ravaging Brazilians who live near expanding sugarcane fields. The book’s exciting information about climate-smart farming and other innovations and technologies leads into a call for more investment in agricultural research. There’s no way around heeding its clarion call for tackling cli- mate change on both macro- and micro-levels. Our Changing Menu concludes with important suggestions for ways consumers can make behavioral changes to nurture, rather than squander, Earth’s formerly bountiful resources.

Diary of a Young Naturalist Dara McAnulty, Milkweed Editions (JUN 8) Hardcover $25 (224pp) 978-1-57131-180-1, AUTOBIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

Diary of a Young Naturalist covers a transformative year in Dara McAnulty’s life, following his move to a new home, school, and wilderness haunts in Eastern Ireland. McAnulty is a perceptive, introspective narrator whose descriptions of seasonal changes in the natural landscape are crystalline. His autism turbocharges his angst, and his intense reflections about the differences he feels in and out of his natural world refuge are self-aware. He proves best able to “uncoil” when he is outdoors, away from the sensory barrage of traffic, bright lights, and other human clatter. Throughout his book, he focuses on birds, insects, and other wildlife; his “brain camera” enables him to recall huge swathes in minute detail. Imbued with poetry, Irish literature, and lore, the text is eloquent as it relates stories about place names and their connections to saints and mythical figures; it combines scientific observations with lovely language and imagery. It runs from spring, whose “newness is always tender,” through autumn, where McAnulty’s “sapling stage” ends, and his self-con- fidence grows; he finds outlets for his passion, and camaraderie as he works with research scientists, students, and conservation activists. Winter rounds out the text with its special beauty in the “absence of abundance,” revealing the contours of the land and trees and the “fragility of the air.” Despite his discomfort with the spotlight, and his preference for hanging out in the woods, Dara McAnulty’s talent, and outrage about environmental apathy, have made him a prominent, inspiring environmental voice. Diary of a Young Naturalist is an exquisite text that encourages harnessing one’s love for animals, plants, and local environments into actions to protect them.

Photo from Diary of a Young Naturalist, by Dara McAnulty. Used with permission from Milkweed Editions.

22 May/June 2021 The Humane Home Easy Steps for Sustainable and Green Living Sarah Lozanova, Princeton Architectural Press (APR 20) Hardcover $25.95 (168pp), 978-1-61689-850-2, SUSTAINABLE LIVING

While some may dream of homesteading, most seek less dra- matic, more sustainable, ways of living. The Humane Home sug- gests many ways to green things up, whether one lives in an urban apartment or on sizeable rural acreage. Sarah Lozanova first discusses the big picture: how to assess one’s existing lifestyle, and change it, to live in a way more attuned to Earth and her finite resources. She discusses options as dispa- rate as voluntary simplicity, remote work, tiny houses, and commu- nal living options, all laid out under the principle of finding the best fit for one’s individual aspirations, budget, and location. The focus shifts to subjects of home building and renovation, energy and water use, food, landscaping and gardening, and the polluted status of our indoor air. Each section describes residential projects and changes in habits that seem accessible; they stack up to Dead Serious make significant improvements in reducing waste and improving the health of the human and natural Wild Hope Amid the Sixth Extinction worlds. Whether through simple steps like cleaning furnace filters and refrigerator coils, or larger Eli J. Knapp, Torrey House Press (SEP 14) Softcover investments of time and money, like raising chickens or replanting lawns with native plant species, the $18.95 (280pp), 978-1-948814-40-9, ESSAYS message is that working toward a greener life is fun and rewarding. Clever prose and gifted storytelling enliven Eli J. Accented with colorful illustrations, recipes, quotes, and sidebars of examples of sustainable projects, Knapp’s Dead Serious, a weighty book about how from installing rain barrels in the Virginia countryside to concocting homemade cleaning products to the species are being steamrolled toward extinction story of a Chicago family who fundraises to install solar systems on public school rooftops, the book and that nonetheless argues that a better future is its inspirational asides reinforce the premise that sustainable living is achievable on many different levels. possible. Packed with accessible information and ideas, The Humane Home would be a terrific graduation or Knapp, a self-branded “nature snoop” who housewarming present, but it’s also an appealing resource for anyone interested in scaling down their always has his binoculars on hand, organizes his personal carbon footprint, wherever they call home. stories around the eighteen extinction factors out- lined in an influential 1983 essay by Michael Soulé. His diverting descriptions of flora and fauna lead into captivating lessons about biological principles, Swimming to the Top of the Tide all of which are embellished with humor and per- Finding Life Where Land and Water Meet sonal anecdotes. A dramatic account of seeking Patricia Hanlon, Bellevue Literary Press (JUN 8) Softcover $17.99 scenic beauty, and ending up camping near the (224pp), 978-1-942658-87-0, AUTOBIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR hibernation site of timber rattlesnakes, is used to discuss rarity and species’ habitats, for example. Forty years of living and boating around New England’s largest Elsewhere, a backpacking trip in Hawaii that stretch of salt marsh gave Patricia Hanlon good familiarity with included the observation of honeycreepers is her local environment. However, it wasn’t until she was immersed used to illustrate the notion of the reduction of in the habitat as a swimmer that she understood the ecosystem mutualist populations: the birds and a single well. Her amphibious view opened up new understanding of the lobelia species evolved to be mutually depen- fertile ecology, imparting greater appreciation for its beauty. dent on each other for food and pollination, Beginning with a beguiling account of a year of swims around Knapp shows. Accounts of years spent studying marshlands in Massachusetts’ Cape Ann region, Swimming to the and living in the Serengeti, meanwhile, balance Top of the Tide starts in summer and evokes the delights of the Knapp’s passion for wildlife conservation with “frictionless, weightless bliss” of swimming with the tide, uncov- his understanding of how poachers and subsis- ering details of the geography and human and natural history of tence farmers live adjacent to animal preserves this “diffuse, squishy, soggy meeting between land and sea.” that need better economic supports. As air and water temperatures cool, there are frequent, expensive trips to the dive shop for insu- Also present are tales of popular megafauna, lating wet suits and other gear. There’s concerning frisson in reading about Hanlon’s plunges into icier like cheetahs and rhinoceroses, and endearing waters, more so when she must steal time for her slushy forays after work, when daylight is scarce. creatures, like pileated woodpeckers and giant tor- The book funnels Hanlon’s observations about salt marshes into wider discussions of their impor- toises. Vibrant accounts from Knapp’s academic tance in sustaining vital food chains, sequestering carbon, protecting shorelines during storm surges, career are mixed with tales about other naturalists’ and filtering water. She is as skilled at demystifying complex scientific concepts as she is in portray- discoveries, including those of Charles Darwin, ing gold-spangled waterline sunsets and muted winter compositions of marsh grasses. The whole is Thomas Jefferson, and Teddy Roosevelt. enriched with personal reflections on raising a family, aging, and the changing nature of marriage. Though it admits that there is much to be The final section builds upon Hanlon’s in-depth explorations of the ecosystem to discuss other alarmed about when it comes to the sixth extinc- marshlands and how they are impacted by climate change and other human alterations of the earth. tion, Dead Serious is a rousing read that expresses Swimming to the Top of the Tide is a personal evocation of a natural landscape, naming many reasons hope that there is still time to work to restore the why it must be protected. balance between the human and natural worlds.

forewordreviews.com 23 Meet the next big thing.

My First Time In Charge The Way to the Shining City Stop worrying – Start performing Practical Guide A Story Of The Early Mormons In Missouri And for New Managers Nauvoo, Illinois Daniele Matteucci Elaine Stienon Daniele Matteucci discusses the rational and Love and violence on the American frontier emotional areas of being a manager. This practical characterize this exciting novel about the early guide offers pragmatic tools and frameworks to Mormons and their search for a place of peace and help new managers as they take on their new role. religious freedom. $17.23 paperback $15.19 paperback 978-1-5462-9934-9 978-1-4567-5416-7 also available in ebook also available in ebook www.authorhouse.co.uk www.authorhouse.com Randy Tai Chi Manages General Diabetes Ralphie And Friends Featuring the Amazing Grandma & Dr. B. Better Barbara Tufford Dr. Maurice R. Olfus Ralphie And Friends follows the adventure A Tai Chi instructional book made for children. of a dog and his friends Foofy, Teeter, Dr. Maurice R. Olfus demonstrates how it is done and Halley as they have so much fun in to help families achieve the health benefits of everything they do. such practice. $20.99 paperback $20.99 paperback 978-1-7283-6467-4 978-1-7283-3058-7 also available in ebook also available in ebook www.authorhouse.com www.authorhouse.com Ralphie’s Adventure Continue From Beaton’s to Beach Haven B. Tuff A Cat Ghost, BH G Ralphie loves his friends and making new ones. William W. Fortenbaugh Filled with adventures and challenges — all in a This is a story of a sailboat built of wood by dog’s perspective — join Ralphie as he travels the craftsmen, its success on the race course and the world and beyond. crew who devoted themselves to sailing fast. $20.99 paperback $44.99 paperback 978-1-7283-7270-9 978-1-5434-2802-5 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.com www.xlibris.com The Destiny and Signs of God With Tangra Against The Wind Spiritual Psychoanalysis Captain Nikolay Djambazov Ionel Rotaru With Tangra Against the Wind is the story of the The time has come to interact with the universe best Bulgarian singlehanded circumnavigator who and communicate with the one who can give you competed in the renowned OSTAR 80 and sailed the best advice on how to fulfill your destiny. around Cape Horn. $28.99 paperback $19.99 paperback 978-1-6632-0361-8 978-1-9845-7910-2 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.iuniverse.com www.xlibris.com

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Real Authors, Real Impact Visit us on Facebook & Twitter new from WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS HOW OTHER WHEN THE PEOPLE MAKE HEART NEEDS LOVE A STUNT Stories by DOUBLE Thisbe Nissen Poems by Diane DeCillis 5.5x8.5, 208 pages, $18.99 6x9, 112 pages, $16.99 “These stories provide exactly what the title “Diane DeCillis is the promises: they help us rare poet for whom understand how other nothing is impossible. people love—or do not Her poems can fi nd love—each other, how Neruda in the kitchen and why they marry or in one moment, and divorce, how they do or dive into a black hole do not cope with a loved the next, pivoting from one’s illness. Whether rich humor to heartache with or poor, urban or rural, remarkable ease. This gay or straight, religious an electric collection, or unbelieving, female or full of wit, wisdom, and male or nonbinary, Nissen treats her characters with generosity depths of feeling.” —MATTHEW OLZMANN, AUTHOR OF and compassion.” —EILEEN POLLACK, AUTHOR OF CONTRADICTIONS IN THE DESIGN THE PROFESSOR OF IMMORTALIT

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forewordreviews.com 25 Gloria Mundi NEIGHBORHOODS DESTROYED. Come to my funeral dressed as you a time in between. Our moment here is FAMILIES DISPLACED. would for an autumn walk in the woods. small. I am too—a worldly thing among worldly STERILIZATION Arrive on your schedule; I give you things— JUSTIFIED. permission to be late, even without good cause. one part per seven billion. Make me smaller “Rest will come still. by never resting.” If my day arrives when you had other plans, Repurpose my body. Mix me with soil and please seed, proceed with them instead. Celebrate me compost for a sapling. Make my remains there—keep dancing. Tend your gardens. useful, Live wondrous. Let me bloom and recede, grow well. Don’t stop. Think of me forever assigned and decay, let me be lovely yet temporal, like memories, like mahogany. to a period, a place, a people. Remember me in stories—not the first time we met, not the last,

From Worldly Things by Michael Kleber-Diggs (Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 2021). Copyright © 2021 by Michael Kleber-Diggs. Reprinted with permission from Milkweed Editions. milkweed.org

In 1977, a thirty-nine-year-old Italian American professor of Renaissance literature, A. Bartlett Giamatti, was chosen as the next president of Yale University, a radical act that was immediately perceived as a threat to the university’s embedded, eugenics- driven, Anglo-Saxon mentality.

“Bumpus’s exploration as an “… a shining American abroad will draw in those who hunger for travel as achievement.” much as they hunger for flavor... —NICK KOTZ, PULITZER PRIZE– brings the heart of Italy to WINNING REPORTER AND AUTHOR tables around the world.” —Foreword Reviews carolebumpus.com neilthomasproto.com ISBN: 978-1-631527272 4/27/21 | Distributed by Ingram Publisher Services

26 May/June 2021 A FOREWORD REVIEWS

® SPOTLIGHT

LGBTQ+ SPRING 2021 TITLES

forewordreviews.com 27 SPOTLIGHT LGBTQ+ FICTION

THE CLEVELAND HEIGHTS A DOOR BEHIND A DOOR DOUBTING THOMAS LGBTQ SCI-FI AND FANTASY H Yelena Moskovich, Two Dollar Radio Matthew Clark Davison, Amble Press (JUN 8) ROLE PLAYING CLUB (MAY 18) Softcover $16.99 (188pp) Softcover $16.95 (272pp), 978-1-61294-199-8 Doug Henderson, University of Iowa Press 978-1-953387-02-8, LITERARY LITERARY (APR 15) Softcover $16 (252pp), 978-1-60938-756-3 Happiness is a horror when you don’t believe Doubting Thomas is a harrowing novel in which HUMOR you deserve it; so an immigrant learns in Yelena Thomas, a gay teacher, is falsely accused of An all-LGBTQ+ Dungeons and Dragons group finds Moskovich’s daring literary novel, A Door inappropriate touching. the drama of their latest campaign bleeding into Behind a Door. Thomas is a fourth grade teacher at a pres- the real world in the novel The Cleveland Heights Olga, who grew up on a struggling Soviet tigious private school. He is dedicated and well LGBTQ Sci-Fi and Fantasy Role Playing Club. block, now lives in desperate love with beautiful, liked, and his teaching methods are innova- Every Thursday night, magic and mayhem play accomplished Angelina in Milwaukee. Theirs is a tive. But he’s also recovering after his ex-lover, out in the back room of Readmore Comix and relationship that Olga treasures, but feels unwor- Manny, left when his work visa ran out. Games. There, listless, twenty-five-year-old Ben thy of. She does not tell Angelina about her feel- After a fundraiser, a boy alleges that Thomas escapes into a fantasy world where druids and ings of “anachronistic dread.” She is haunted by touched his pants in class. As liberal and as bards battle an evil cult. Because he lives at home, memories of a kind woman who was murdered in LGBTQ+ friendly as the school is, it renders where he nurses his broken heart and dodges a vicious, senseless fashion. Thomas a victim of the community he once his mother’s pestering about his future plans: Because Olga is used to light disappearing, loved. He loses his job and his best friend; he Readmore is the only place where Ben feels in love and fear occupy equal space in her mind. is forced to defend himself as he tries to rebuild control. But then his character is killed off, and a And then her dread is justified: a three a.m. his life. He struggles to determine who he is handsome newcomer, Albert, joins his D&D group. phone call from Nicky, who committed the mur- amid his losses, and he makes mistakes in the Albert works at the local record store; he der that stained her childhood, shoulders her process of rediscovery. is coworkers-with-benefits with Ben’s former with saving her brother, Moshe, from the dark- Thomas is also faced with one brother’s crush, Jeff. After being rejected by Jeff in a ness that may have marked him, too. cancer diagnosis and other family complica- humiliating fashion, Ben thinks he’s given up on Olga and others narrate the tale in evoc- tions. His brothers, Jake and James, are very his love life, which now exists only in the stuffy ative, needful micro bursts. But as the book different: James is an accomplished New York back room of Readmore. But threats, including progresses, it seems increasingly likely that the doctor; Jake is a recovering addict with a young from homophobia and a rival vampire role play- others are part of a bleak fantasy, borne of son. Though their family is close, Thomas rebels ing club, push him to reclaim his confidence and Olga’s terror. She failed to save her brother against the old, acquiescent version of himself come into magic that’s all his own. once; now, she’s positioned to both spare him as he works through his anger about what’s The D&D campaign is narrated throughout from a murder rap and assuage her old guilt. happened to him. the text; it’s a nail-biting story-within-a-story, Meanwhile, stabbed women, an ancient dog, The book jumps time; its chapters cover a though it sometimes overwhelms the story’s and an ethereal, brutal guardian float in and out three-year period, but focus most on the period real-life predicaments. Some characters play to of her awareness. The murdered woman speaks, after Thomas is accused. Glimpses into his past stereotypes, including Ben, a gamer who lives expressing empathy for her killer. And as her add context to the story line, while Matthew in his family’s basement, surrounded by dirty understanding of life’s fragility, and of the fickle Clark Davison’s clear prose highlights Thomas’s clothes and dirtier dishes; and the book’s sex- nature of human circumstances, crystallizes, external challenges and internal struggles. After ual innuendos and descriptions are sometimes Olga wonders if the darkness that consumed in his troubling experiences, redemption comes gratuitous. But spots of humor, and one fierce, Nicky and Moshe lives in her, too. only when Thomas is able to acknowledge and sarcastic character, Valerie, help to retain a “I know that I am a pure and loveable soul,” honor his own truths. whimsical atmosphere in this story about finding Olga insists early in the book—but knowing is In the riveting novel Doubting Thomas, an your people and never letting go. not believing, and her salvation is evasive. A ex-teacher learns about the dangers of masking Doug Henderson’s novel is sure to delight Door Behind a Door is an excruciating novel in who you are to appease others. proud nerds with its story of a young man which love can be undone by stabs of self-doubt. MONICA CARTER searching to belong against a backdrop of mis- MICHELLE ANNE SCHINGLER chief and magic. DANIELLE BALLANTYNE Image on previous page from RuPaul: Little People, Big Dreams by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Wednesday Holmes (Illustrator). Used with permission from Frances Lincoln Children’s Books. Reviewed on page 44.

28 LGBTQ+ 2021 New Paperback August

2021 ONE ELM BOOKS Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-947159-242 $16.99 Softcover ISBN: 978-1-947159-259 $9.99

ONE ELM SUMMER OF HUSH BOOK TWO BOOKS R.L. MERRILL “I was hooked…from page one. …It’s honest, A rock star with a secret is moving, and full of surprises.” —Bennett Singer, co-author of LGBTQ Stats and injured in a freak accident. co-director of Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin A single-dad Navy corps- man comes to his aide. “Touching and unforgettable.” ONE ELM BOOKS —Kirkus Reviews Neither expected romance “Welcoming and inclusive.” to bloom, but now that it —Foreword Reviews has, will their secrets end it before it begins? “…an array of positive alternative role models…” — Booklist “... EXACTLY WHAT DON’T FORGET THE SEQUEL A GOOD ROMANCE Coming August ’21 Hardcover ISBN: BOOK SHOULD BE.” 978-1-947159-65-5 $16.99 280 pages —BooklLife Prize eBook edition available “…a fun, tender, and important story about the best things in life: family, “... CONSIDERABLE friends, community, and all the ways they intersect.” SKILL AND STYLE.” —Amy Oelkers, Youth Services —Kirkus Reviews Librarian, Washington County, MN

AVAILABLE ONLINE AND AT Distributed by Lerner Publisher Services rlmerrillauthor.com 800-328-4929

forewordreviews.com 29 SPOTLIGHT LGBTQ+ FICTION

HERE IS A GAME WE THE QUEEN HAS A COLD BEFORE STONEWALL H COULD PLAY Jane Kolven, Bold Strokes Books (APR 13) Softcover Edward M. Cohen, Awst Press (JUN 15) Softcover Jenny Bitner, Acre Books (MAY 15) Softcover $19 $16.95 (264pp), 978-1-63555-878-4, ROMANCE $24 (230pp), 978-1-73676-590-6, SHORT STORIES (232pp), 978-1-946724-40-3, LITERARY In Jane Kolven’s romantic comedy The Queen The short stories of Edward M. Cohen’s collec- In Jenny Bitner’s Here Is a Game We Could Play, Has a Cold, true love blossoms in a tiny European tion gather electric, humane scenes from New twenty-four-year-old Claudia is trapped on the country. York City’s mid century gay community. banks of the Susquehanna River, in a town too Sam arrives at graduate school eager to start An aspiring playwright basks in the warmth of full of people to be a ghost town, yet too stripped her PhD program in gender studies. The first day near success; it’s a moment he’ll always remember, of opportunity to be truly alive. Here, people is marked by a chance encounter with a snob- even after its promise evades him. A young actor “thought the river … had the power to bring us bish European, Remy. In a tender meet-cute, accepts a night job grifting for a furrier, watching something larger than this town: God, a story, a Remy breaks Sam’s lamp, and the two head as his boss pantomimes the sexual expressions way out.” So Claudia watches the people, the to dinner and Target for a replacement. Both he avoids. A morning quarrel over insecurities river, and the contents of her own mind as some- have their emotional shields up, but a surprise devolves into thrown fists, while snippets from one who’s trying to belong, perhaps to no one so connection kindles a flame that neither is able or McCarthy’s hunts play in the background. much as herself. willing to snuff out. In these and other tales, and from childhood The book is written to a potential lover about But a phone call summons Remy home to into old age, gay men are forced to conceal their the games entailed in their courtship, but it also Montamant, a tiny nation where the queen has truths. They publicly act in the ways that others slips in and out of Claudia’s real-life relation- a cold and is unable to perform an important demand; in private, they struggle to shake those ships with family, friends, and lovers. Labeled ceremony. Remy rushes to help, but as an inter- shells. Men who have, for their whole lives, as games, the chapters have headings such as sex princess, they’re fearful the people will not skirted open conversations with their families “Pillows,” “Listen,” and “Earlobes.” The power accept them. watch as their parents fade and pass; they deal of the games themselves exists in their haunting Remy and Sam’s unlikely relationship offers with guilt over halted gestures, and conceal blend of lucid dreaming and vestigial memory. both a sense of relief while they’re at the royal their pain at having not been seen or accepted. As the games morph in response to the more palace. The country is modernizing, but not fast Some men choose art over professional artifice, traditional narrative that precedes or follows enough to provide a haven for Remy. A political but are still pushed toward confining, stultifying them, they reveal Claudia’s needs and fears, rival introduces a bill to force the royal family to social roles. Time passes; changes come, but suggesting her differences and obsessions are prove that their heirs fit into the gender binary; true freedom lies out of reach. Some men flail. both endemic and etiological. it’s a last-ditch attempt to destabilize the country. Some fade. Some wear their costumes well. In particular, Claudia’s obsessed with poi- Sam and Remy have an undeniable chem- While many of its characters face similar soning, and is sure “there is poison somewhere istry, but several obstacles block them from circumstances, this is a subtle and diverse col- in me, but I don’t know what or where it is.” diving in. Sam’s fierce independence drives a lection. It’s set in the neighborhoods and subcul- Rather than trying to categorize poison, Bitner wedge between them, even as she comes to tures of New York City, where young artists have plays with its omnipresence and fluidity. As in terms with Remy’s royal duties and difficulties to hustle, where appearances must be kept up, most industrial towns, poison is everywhere, its being accepted as they are. A historical mystery and where the police and other officials, across presence literal, hypothetical, and metaphori- waylays their relationship, and the monarchy the decades, lie in wait to expose, and punish, cal. Whether dangerous or delicious, poison just threatens to crumble, taking Remy’s beloved men for their deviations from reigning norms. is—a fact that’s as much a part of the novel’s country along with it. The fate of Montamant Cohen’s images are acute, and his insights embodiment as Claudia’s fears. seems tied up with Remy’s relationship in the on people’s behaviors—their cruelties, their Capturing just how much belonging shapes a cathartic conclusion, which brims with warmth, yearning, their play acting—are sharp. Before person, in its absence as much as its presence, the tenderness, and comedic wit. Stonewall is a precise, evocative short story col- novel strains between those two poles; like any true The Queen Has a Cold is a nonconforming lection that centers the lives of queer men who connection, it is a “terrible and beautiful thing.” romance that’s fun and lighthearted. were otherwise relegated to the shadows. LETITIA MONTGOMERY-RODGERS JOHN M. MURRAY MICHELLE ANNE SCHINGLER

30 LGBTQ+ 2021 “At a time where issues of social justice are Pow ered by often deemed either overin ated or ‘solved,’ IN S IG H T S Lee Wind makes a powerful case that queer C REAT historical erasure is an ongoing issue.” —Foreword Reviews &IV IT Y

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forewordreviews.com 31 SPOTLIGHT LGBTQ+ NONFICTION

HILLBILLY QUEER THE DARING LIFE AND THE INVENTION OF OSCAR J.R. Jamison, The Facing Project Press (MAY 11) DANGEROUS TIMES OF EVE WILDE Softcover $19.95 (242pp), 978-1-73455-816-6 ADAMS Nicholas Frankel, Reaktion Books (JUN 10) AUTOBIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR Jonathan Ned Katz, Chicago Review Press (MAY Hardcover $25 (272pp), 978-1-78914-414-7 BIOGRAPHY “Denying parts of who we are can create accep- 18) Hardcover $30 (240pp), 978-1-64160-516-8 tance, and it can also tear us apart”: this conun- BIOGRAPHY In The Invention of Oscar Wilde, Nicholas Frankel drum is central to J.R. Jamison’s memoir Hillbilly Jonathan Ned Katz’s The Daring Life and examines Wilde’s life from a new perspective. Queer, about how accompanying his father to Dangerous Times of Eve Adams is the biography Oscar Wilde is an icon to both writers and his fifty-fifth high school reunion became a per- of a queer Jewish woman whose life sheds light the LGBTQ+ community. He assumed many sonal window into the national political divide. It on the times. roles throughout his life: poet, art critic, dandy, reconstructs Jamison’s understanding of where The short, fascinating story of Eve Adams, Englishman, self-promoter, playwright. He also he’s from, as well as of his own history. born Chava Zloczewer, is presented in full, rich had many roles assigned to him by others: copy- Jamison’s dad is described as a “man’s terms, showing how she was affected by the cat, poseur, genius, defendant, convicted crim- man,” while Jamison is a “gay-as-the-day-is- world, and was affecting in turn. Adams, who inal. Frankel unpacks and examines each of long” man. Their relationship is set up as a emigrated to the United States from Poland these labels, how they interacted with each microcosm of national politics. As they travel during the 1910s, lead a fierce, unapologetic other, and how they have continued to influence from Indiana to Missouri, Jamison sees himself, life in a country that could not accept her as public perception of Wilde’s legacy from his his father, and the people and places they visit Jewish, as a lesbian, or as an anarchist. She was death to the present day. facing decline. Though his observations often deported from the US, forced to make another Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born rely on knee-jerk assumptions that he overturns life in Europe. She died at the hands of the Nazis. into a celebrated but troubled family. He began with surface musings, his experiences soften Many others play into Adams’s story, including the process of reinvention at Oxford, where he him, and he’s able to connect with other people’s activists, bureaucrats, politicians, and artists. came under the influence of brilliant intellectuals frustrations, hopelessness, and hospitality. She moved alongside cultural movements and and cast off both his Irish accent and all but two of At its best, Hillbilly Queer picks at the historical events; these are covered to contextual- his names. He would reinvent himself throughout American cultural fiction of a monolithic heart- ize her story, and they make evident the insepara- his life, even incorporating the creative endeavors land filled with stereotypical blue collar peo- ble nature of human beings’ separate lives. of others—from classic poets to those who paro- ple. Underneath the scab of his own childhood Adams’s own writing—especially her short died Wilde himself—into his own image. Changes alienation, Jamison is able to rediscover nuance story collection, Lesbian Love, which is attached in Wilde’s image became no less dramatic after in what he’s left behind. His own prejudices to the biography as an appendix—is significant his death, with modern scholars finding in his are reformed as he discovers that the people not only because it was an early representation works and persona an important precedent to and places he’s fossilized in his memory have of queer Jewish life, but because Adams’s story modern gay rights and feminist movements. continued to change and move on, just like he could not be complete without her telling some of Frankel employs close readings of Wilde’s has—albeit in ways that depart from, and con- it in own words. She is seen facing hardships relat- works to reveal the impact of the people, events, verge with, his own choices. ing to her lack of money, sexuality, and religion, and revelations that shaped him throughout Jamison states that his greatest wish is to as well as her radical leftist political beliefs, all his life. Pictures of Wilde, and of contemporary “cause harm to no one.” Thus, the memoir lends of which contributed to her struggle with the US satirical portrayals of him, demonstrate this link itself to the idea that unity and reconciliation immigration department, where some members between man and image. Even those who already require letting go of accountability. While this developed a vendetta against her. But Adams know Wilde’s story by heart will enjoy Frankel’s strategy works in the narrative in regards to his remained creative, brave, and exuberant. Though detailed analysis of the way Wilde influenced, and father-son connection, it’s suspect to extrapo- her death was tragic, her story, as told here, is not. was influenced by, those around him. late it much further. However, when it’s paying The Daring Life and Dangerous Times of The Invention of Oscar Wilde shows how the homage to Jamison’s relationship with his father, Eve Adams is the biography of a queer Jewish famous writer and aesthete built up his public Hillbilly Queer hits its stride. artist who tried to live honestly in a world that image so successfully that it still resonates today. LETITIA MONTGOMERY-RODGERS resisted her. EILEEN GONZALEZ MICHAEL ELIAS

32 LGBTQ+ 2021 RAISING LGBTQ ALLIES A BETTER LIFE WATER I WON’T TOUCH A Parent’s Guide to Changing the Randall Mann, Persea (APR 6) Softcover $15.95 H Kayleb Rae Candrilli, Copper Canyon Messages from the Playground (104pp), 978-0-89255-531-4, POETRY Press (APR 20) Softcover $16 (96pp) 978-1-55659-617-9, POETRY Chris Tompkins, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers In poems both elegiac and snarky, Randall Mann (MAY 14) Hardcover $22 (240pp) questions what makes a better life for a mid- “Haven’t we all chewed / through something 978-1-5381-3626-3, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS dle-aged gay man living through the historic tough and survived?” asks poet Kayleb Rae When it comes to raising queer kids, families need days of Covid and a federal assault on LGBTQ+ Candrilli in their collection Water I Won’t Touch, true acceptance to thrive, but getting there can be rights. The poems, though focused through the an intimate exploration of gender. a challenge. Raising LGBTQ Allies helps schools, lens of the poet’s life, engage larger issues, like Candrilli’s writing is poised yet vulnerable, mental health professionals, religious leaders, late-stage capitalism, the lingering and forever always suggesting that the tender petal of a and families understand and create new LGBTQ+- impact of AIDS on the gay community, and the flower flutters just under the narrator’s gruff, friendly spaces in a heteronormative culture. insistence of aging. ultra capable, rabbit-hunting, gun-loading, Parents and family members of LGBTQ+ Mann begins the book with “A Better Life,” truck-driving exterior. Layered images of nature youth who are not members of the queer com- writing, “It’s silly to think / fourteen years ago and casual brutality permeate the unrhymed munity themselves may struggle to understand / I turned thirty.” The clever line break that stanzas. In “Sand & silt,” a boy seizes the nar- what real allyship looks like. This book points out begins the poem is typical of Mann’s work: rator’s ankles in the black silt of the cattail flats. that “the microaggressions LGBTQ youth face on start with a smirk, and continue the thought— The violence of this act is inextricable from both a daily basis, including homophobic bullying, het- here, the ridiculousness of aging, moving from the land and the violence of manhood, which, eronormativity, and not being accepted by family being a teenager who stuffed dirty pictures in the poem suggests, inflicts pain on others as or peers, is itself trauma.” Identifying, healing, his Trapper Keeper to a man who now must much as the person who carries it. Elsewhere, preventing, and mitigating that trauma are key mourn his friends, as in a palindrome poem for a this dichotomy of delicacy and danger is woven elements of raising happy, healthy people. beloved friend, Michelle Boisseau, and a wistful into “Echo,” where a pre-op sonogram identifies This important guide empowers allies to take elegy for Kevin Killian. the healthy movement of the narrator’s aorta. steps to engage with homophobic and transpho- The poems tend toward short, athletic lines These elegant poems play with the paradoxes of bic beliefs in culture and themselves. Its exercises that run down the page, often accented with beauty and hideousness, suggesting that they for meditation and visualization are designed internal rhymes and a great deal of metrical are not opposites, but proximal. to instill empathy. The book is also packed with awareness. They sing in their forms, whether With frequent nods to alcoholism and a family scientific research about the outcomes of bigotry, they are lamenting the way America encourages history of addiction, the collection has plenty to from conversion therapy to bullying. people to hide who they truly are, or are celebrat- say about stereotypes of rural America. When The book emphasizes that homophobic vio- ing sexual intimacy between men. As the poet the narrator’s awareness of their gender, and lence is insidious, pervasive, and difficult to call considers his own aging and the world that was the necessity of hiding it, becomes apparent, out. This guide gives allies a lens to really see allegedly going to be the place where things did they struggle with drinking, displacement, and what LGBTQ+ kids experience, and a language get better, the past returns—in poems about the naming their desires. However, in spite of this, to move from “acceptance” to true affirmation. 1980s, the Stonewall Riots, Madonna LPs, and the collection can be lighthearted, too. Several It includes candid discussions of the conse- Playboy. Mann straddles pop and high culture poems include conspicuous references to pop quences of staying quiet or looking the other in poems as easily as he navigates between free culture, such as “My partner wants me to write way, such as the prevalence of substance abuse verse and formal tension. them a poem about drew barrymore” and “My in the LGBTQ+ community, its drinking and A Better Life is a poetry collection that is hon- partner wants me to write them a poem about drug culture, and intergenerational, unhealed est and funny. Mann uses his own history to inter- sheryl crow,” suggesting that home is not merely shame and trauma. These topics are expressed rogate the experience of American life beyond a physical location, but a time, a place, and a in informed but authentic language that always the cis, white, heteronormative bubble, and he shared sense of community for which one yearns. centers the needs of the child. imbues his questions with humor and rhythm. Water I Won’t Touch loops through the eddies Raising LGBTQ Allies is a courageous, neces- CAMILLE-YVETTE WELSCH of transgender experience, finding solace and sary, big-hearted book with a vision for a more surprises at the intersections of illness, transfor- loving future for kids who inhabit every part of mation, connection, adaptation, and joy. the identity rainbow. CLAIRE FOSTER CLAIRE FOSTER

forewordreviews.com 33 SPOTLIGHT LGBTQ+ COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS / YOUNG ADULT

SEXUALITY GIRL IN THE WALLS NEVER KISS YOUR A GRAPHIC GUIDE Katy Michelle Quinn H ROOMMATE Meg-John Barker, Jules Scheele Clash Books (JUN 1) Softcover $14.95 (130pp) Philline Harms, Wattpad Books (JUN 1) Icon Books (JUN 15) Softcover $19.95 (176pp) 978-1-944866-85-3, YOUNG ADULT FICTION Softcover $10.99 (352pp) 978-1-78578-653-2, COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS 978-1-989365-81-6, YOUNG ADULT FICTION In Katy Michelle Quinn’s visceral, fervent novel Sexuality: A Graphic Guide blends narratives with Girl in the Walls, the only queer kid in a traditional In Philline Harms’s young adult novel Never Kiss theory and considers how society’s understand- town finds a balm in an otherworldly ally. Your Roommate, two new students at an atyp- ings of sexuality have evolved. When Vernon’s family relocates from Seattle ical school find out that, when the paths of the The book’s core message is that sexuality “is to a small town, their developing self-awareness desperate and the avoidant collide, the stakes socially constructed,” rather than timeless and is squashed flat. Vernon loves their pink highlights are perilous. static. A whistle-stop tour of our understanding and purple nail polish, and is willing to tolerate Perched above the town of Gloomswick, of human sexuality through history, from the daily bullying in order to express themselves, Seven Hills is a modern international boarding power dynamics of sodomy in the ancient world but in their new town, their tiny toehold on their school that’s “a little less Hogwarts and a lot via the centuries-old stereotype of feminine pas- identity is taken away. Vernon is miserable, and more Dracula.” While some of its students are sivity to scientific studies by the likes of Freud reverts to self-injury as a coping mechanism. As driven to succeed at all costs, others are desper- and Kinsey, indicates sexuality’s shifting nature. they cut, the marks on their skin open a hole in ate to avoid the past—and no student is outside Only with the emergence of homosexuality as an their bedroom wall. A girl, Violet, is waiting inside, the purview of the Chitter Chatter, the school’s identity in the twentieth century did heterosexu- and her friendship with Vernon creates a connec- anonymous gossip blog. ality become a social norm. Bi erasure, unhelp- tion to Vernon’s inner self that is unaffected by the Seven Hills’ students aren’t a monolith of ful binaries, suspicion of kink and polyamory, pressures and fears of the real world. heteronormative, upper class whiteness. In whorephobia, and confusion around consent Vernon’s comfort in Violet enables their sur- fact, it’s just the opposite. Different cultural remain problematic issues today. vival, but is also inextricably, problematically backgrounds, various degrees of passing, and Such topics fill the thoughts and conversa- linked to self-injury. Vernon has a few adult allies; family structures all influence the students’ tions of the four young characters who meet most of these are bumbling and out of touch. experiences of big tent identity categories like in a vintage haunted house. Fun house mirrors An English teacher, for example, comes out to race and gender. Throughout, the book captures are effective symbols of self-perception, while Vernon, who is offended that they are perceived the messy ways that identity and experience “real monsters” like patriarchy, heteronorma- as “gay.” The subtle social interactions of middle fuse with hormones and high emotions. As a tivity, and white supremacy supplant harmless, school are written well, evoking the genuine result, each character is complex and deep, white-sheeted phantoms. In a black-and-white cringiness of early adolescence. whether they’re displaying great insights or mak- style reminiscent of Archie and Scooby-Doo, Although the book leans on stereotypes, ing tremendous mistakes. illustrator Jules Scheele makes the four—two including oversized, bullying jocks and effemi- Though the book includes pop cultural, male and two female; two white and two people nate gay boys, its language is rich and intense. gothic noir, and romance elements, the inter- of color—stand for different identities, including Vernon’s angst is palpable and unsettling; scenes personal, contemporary issues that its focal asexual. Contributing factors, including weight, of their self-injury are so vivid that they are nause- students, Evelyn and Seth, navigate are quintes- disability, and trauma, also appear. Though used ating. As Vernon navigates the landmines of their sentially young adult ones. As they come out to as emblems of “benign diversity,” the protago- gender and the implications of transition, they each other, make friends, reflect on family, and nists also have distinctive character arcs. struggle with self-harm so severe that they end fall in love, they stutter-step their way toward Expository writing prefaces scenes from pop up hospitalized. “I wanna be myself,” they say, vulnerability, self-acceptance, and trust. Even in culture or the characters’ lives. A third strand but figuring out how to do that without causing the midst of fizzy romances, they validate each is critical theory, delivered by academics and permanent damage seems to elude them. others’ experiences and model consent––not writers in speech bubbles. Compared to many A brutal coming-of-age story, Girl in the Walls just about how to be queer, but in the difficulty graphic novels, the work is information-heavy; is a dark fairy tale about the struggle of claiming and necessity of unlearning the shame around it. its monochrome design and preponderance of queer identity. For all the queer people who fell in love talking people will make it appealing to gender CLAIRE FOSTER with, and felt betrayed by, books about magical studies students. boarding schools, Never Kiss Your Roommate is Sexuality is an erudite, eye-opening primer the book they’ve always deserved. Here, the real on our “fluid and ever unfolding” identities. magic is that queer love is very, very real. REBECCA FOSTER LETITIA MONTGOMERY-RODGERS

34 LGBTQ+ 2021 Change your POV again and again.

Diminished Capacity All Israel Shall Be Saved A Novel Of Legal Suspense Installment II of Chasing Truth, Leighton Rockafellow A Detailed Discussion of Romans 9-11 Up-and-coming lawyer Larry Ross takes just about Joel Zao any case that walks through his door. In this first-rate Paul provides a detailed status report on Israel, legal thriller from Leighton Rockafellow, intrigue, including their temporary fall from grace, followed by murder, and mystery combine to captivate you. the wondrous time when they will return to God when All Israel Shall be Saved. $16.95 paperback 978-0-5955-0385-8 $19.99 paperback also available in hardcover & ebook 978-1-7960-7117-7 www.iuniverse.com also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.com Grammy Said, “NO!” Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Lucy Geddes From Disability to Possibility In this delightful tale, Grammy soon realizes that Hanneke Boot sometimes “No!” may not be the best response and Presented in diary format, this memoir shares the sometimes it is the perfect response. author’s challenges with a physical disability while fostering her talent for painting with her mouth. $12.99 paperback 978-1-6641-4400-2 $30.26 paperback also available in hardcover & ebook 978-1-7283-9824-2 www.xlibris.com also available in ebook www.authorhouse.co.uk Emperor’s Eyes Break the Cycle George Vasil I Was the Mistress Before I Was the Wife; Romanos’ power is tenuous. He summons two Now I’m the Ex-Wife, Too soldiers to a secret meeting and hatches a plan Ros B to save Constantinople. Their chances are slim. A woman who inadvertently falls for a married man Enemies inside the Empire outnumber those without. embarks on a painful journey of self-discovery where $23.95 paperback she finds the strength in God and within to heal. 978-1-4620-1237-4 $16.99 paperback also available in hardcover & ebook 978-1-6641-3946-6 www.iuniverse.com also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.com Drifting into the Light Angola How the Pandemic Changed Lives Forever The Battle of Kifangondo, 1975 J.B. Harris Miguel Junior During the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic Angola: The Battle of Kifangondo, 1975 covers and global shutdowns, a niece shares her uncle’s some armed conflict of Angola which took place remarkable adventures, the influence he had on in the period between 1975 and 1976 that has since others and his final journey into the light. been called a “battle.” $14.35 paperback $12.90 paperback 978-1-6655-8013-7 978-1-7283-9679-8 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in ebook www.authorhouse.co.uk www.authorhouse.co.uk

The Lance In Clouds of Fire George Vasil A Story Of Community Follow ten relic hunters in this historical thriller Elaine Stienon as they scramble through Istanbul and beyond to This is a tale of love, violence and death. It explores possess the Roman lance that pierced Jesus’ side the diversity of people who were attracted to the early at his crucifixion. Mormons and the groups from which they came. $20.99 paperback $20.95 paperback 978-1-5320-4411-3 978-1-4184-4767-0 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in ebook www.iuniverse.com www.authorhouse.com

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ADULT NONFICTION

HUMOR RELIGION The Meat and Potatoes of Life Another Life Is Possible My True Lit Com Insights from 100 Years of Life Together Lisa Smith Molinari Clare Stober and Danny Burrows (photographer) 256 pages, $26.95, 9781934617540 320 pages, $40.00, 9780874863161 “A truly American story.” “Hilariously A window into the Bruderhof, honest, beautifully engaging.” “Pure an intentional community that has Erma Bombeck.” stood the test of time for 100 years. ELVA RESA PUBLISHING PLOUGH PUBLISHING HOUSE 800.888.4741 (IPG) • elvaresa.com plough.com/en/topics/community/another-life-is-possible

MULTICULTURAL SELF-HELP A Gazelle Ate My Homework Awakenings A Journey from Ivory Coast to America, from A Life’s Journey African to Black, and from Undocumented to Doctor Shane Sacha Habib Fanny 102 pages, $18.99, 9780228843436 264 pages, $17.95, 9781944934941 A true tale of soul searching From Ivory Coast to American and empowerment. What have physician, Habib Fanny journeys you got to lose besides your insanity! across continents and cultures. TELLWELL PUBLISHING THORNTREE PRESS barnesandnoble.com • bookshop.org thorntreepress.com

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES SELF-HELP Bombarded Smile More Stress Less How to Fight Back against the Online A Playful Method to End Anxiety, Be Calm, Assault on Democracy & Achieve Happiness with Awareness Cyrus Krohn Geoffrey Saign 260 pages, $18.21, 9781641465328 212 pages, $9.95, 9798698293187 From disinformation to political My go-to guide!—Dr. Charlene riots, this book outlines what we Myklebust, Psy.D., Educator of can do to shape our future. the Year NAMI Minnesota MADE FOR SUCCESS PUBLISHING GEOFFREY SAIGN 425.657.0300 • amazon.com/bombarded-against- audible.com • amazon.com/smile-more-stress-less- online-assault-democracy/dp/1641465328 happiness/dp/B08N3K5D9D

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES SELF-HELP The Battle to Stay in America The Emotion Solution Immigration’s Hidden Front Line Change Your Consciousness, Change Everything Michael Kagan Fred Carlisle 280 pages, $27.95, 9781948908504 109 pages, $16.95, 9781734670103 Inside look at the complex cruelties Resolve emotional conflict through of immigration policy and a accessing the transcendent community’s efforts to respond. consciousness of your higher self. UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA PRESS FRED CARLISLE MEDIA unpress.nevada.edu/books/?isbn=9781948908504 fredcarlisle.com

POPULAR CULTURE TRAVEL Catland Yellowstone Treasures The Soft Power of Cat Culture in Japan The Traveler’s Companion to the National Park Sarah Archer Janet Chapple, Jo-Ann Sherwin, 192 pages, $19.95, 9781682684733 Beth Chapple (editor) An irresistible and colorful 400 pages, $24.95, 9781733103206 celebration of Japan’s Spot wildlife, catch geyser eruptions, thriving cat culture. stay safe, and escape the crowds. New COUNTRYMAN PRESS photos and maps. wwnorton.com/books/9781682684733 GRANITE PEAK PUBLICATIONS 800.888.4741 • yellowstonetreasures.com

FOREWORD’S BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS ADVERTISEMENT

ADULT NONFICTION / CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS / JUVENILE FICTION / GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS

WOMEN’S STUDIES PICTURE BOOKS Stolen Motherhood Rupert’s Snowman Surrogacy and Made-to-Order Children Phillipa Warden and Grace Ward (illustrator) Maria De Koninck 46 pages, $19.99, 9781948604710 196 pages, $24.95, 9781771862240 It’s Christmas Eve and a Surrogacy subjects women to perfect snow day, or so it seems. fulfilling a reproductive role to PURPLE BUTTERFLY PRESS satisfy sponsors. It is unacceptable. phillipawardenbooks.com BARAKA BOOKS barakabooks.com/catalogue/stolen-motherhood

JUVENILE FICTION PICTURE BOOKS, EARLY READER A Little Noble Courtney Figures It Out Janet R. Macreery James W. Lewis 200 pages, $14.95, 9781977228352 26 pages, $16.95, 9781734707403 Stranded in Scotland in 1694, Courtney Figures It Out is the 13-year-old Mercy must find a story of a resourceful girl who way fulfill her family’s mission. brings a blue heron to school. OUTSKIRTS PRESS LEWIS CONSULTING janetmacreery.wordpress.com bookshop.org • ingramcontent.com

JUVENILE FICTION PICTURE BOOKS, EARLY READER Second Dad Summer The Garden and the Glen Benjamin Klas and Fian Arroyo (illustrator) A Fable about Character and the Courage to Be Different 224 pages, $16.99, 9781947159242 Elizabeth Moseley and Maggie Green (illustrator) 13-year-old Jeremiah wants a normal summer but learns the 97 pages, $27.99, 9781732844308 surprising forms of being a family. The Garden and the Glen portrays ONE ELM BOOKS the magic we find when we’re brave 800.328.4929 • redchairpress.com enough to be our unique selves. LENOX STREET PRESS gardenandglen.com

JUVENILE FICTION GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS Some Pigtails The Photographer of Mauthausen A Lola Jones Books Salva Rubio, Pedro J. Colombo and Jonathan Eig and Alicia Teba Godoy (illustrator) Aintzane Landa (illustrators) 96 pages, $12.99, 9780807565643 112 pages, $19.95, 9781682476277 Lola has a mind of her own, and she “[A]n inspiring historical learns how to use her determination graphic novel.” —Foreword Reviews to right a wrong at school. DEAD RECKONING ALBERT WHITMAN & COMPANY deadreckoning.org albertwhitman.com

PICTURE BOOKS GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS A Mystery in the Forest The Stringbags Susanna Isern; Daniel Montero Galán (illustrator) Garth Ennis and P. J. Holden (illustrator) 32 pages, $16.95, 9788416733927 192 pages, $29.95, 9781682475034 Deer loves to cook with all The Stringbags is a triumphant graphic the ingredients that he collects novel about World War II heroism. every morning. —Foreword Reviews CUENTO DE LUZ DEAD RECKONING cuentodeluz.com deadreckoning.org

FOREWORD’S BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS FOREWORD’S BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS Your daily dose of “must read.”

8 Minutes a Day to Make an A! Bad Chemistry Walking on the Water The Pinkerton and the Wizard Quick Change Your ADHD Child Now! Paul Stephen Hudson Aimy Ellen Harvey Hetrick Pamela L. Johnson, B.S. Education This exciting well written thriller tells a tale of In this testimony of a miracle survival and recovery, Mythological wizard Merlin time travels from the Pamela Johnson shows you and your ADHD child greed, intrigue, murder and mayhem that will take Aimy Ellen invites others to grow in their journey 12th century to the 19th century and covertly proven techniques to attain high grades and you across four nations following an anti-hero with Christ and believe in God’s power and angles assists a Pinkerton detective and a Lloyd’s consistently follow routines at home! succeeding against formidable odds. are real. insurance detective with their investigations. $13.99 paperback $32.99 paperback $13.99 paperback $13.99 paperback 978-1-5462-4482-0 978-1-6641-2415-8 978-1-5462-6911-3 978-1-6632-0089-1 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.com www.xlibris.com www.authorhouse.com www.iuniverse.com

The Second Arrow EasyTalk - Advanced Remembering a Great American Hero Abraham Lincoln’s Path to A Book of Illustrated Poetry A Dictionary Aid for Using American English Marian Anderson Reelection in 1864 Sahli A. Cavallaro Tom Dillman “The Lady from Philadelphia” Our Greatest Victory This a book of many themes, Buddhism, LGBTQ EasyTalk – Advanced: A Dictionary Aid for Using Emile Henwood Fred J. Martin, Jr. Issues, Politics, Environmentalism, and personal American English organizes the fascinating Remembering a Great American Hero: Marian Extensive research coupled with study of history liberation. Lots about non human beings and the American English for tens of millions of inquiring Anderson is a condensed chronological narrative and politics by Fred J. Martin, Jr., reveals how dire dire consequences of not saving them, love minds by using and simplifying phonology for compilation, amply illustrated by engaging photos, Abraham Lincoln’s words speak liberty, equality and poems, confessional to a degree. Lots of irony in everyday communications around the world. that shares the teachable lessons of Anderson’s justice with moral clarity and vision in our times. this book. $32.99 paperback well-lived long life — especially important today. $15.95 paperback $12.99 paperback 978-1-6655-0333-4 $16.99 paperback 978-1-4918-3531-9 978-1-6641-3751-6 also available in hardcover & ebook 978-1-6641-4966-3 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.com also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.com www.xlibris.com www.xlibris.com The Making of a Physician Arlen’s Gun Ceasefire! Valley of the Shadow —This Was My Calling— A Novel of Men at War The Ivan Molloy Story An Account of American POWs of the Japanese Harry L. Graber, M.D. F.A.C.C. Edgar Doleman Ivan Molloy Whitney H. Galbraith An accomplished cardiologist ruminates on his life Arlen, a gunner on an AC-47 gunship in Vietnam, A true story of an Australian family’s 100-year Valley of the Shadow joins a fraternity of published in The Making of a Physician, a debut memoir that is caught up in desperate battles where he involvement in War, Terrorism, Political and Social first-person accounts of the fall of the Philippines, stresses the importance of one’s environment in gradually discovers that brotherhood, not his self- Cold War Conflict - and the deadly consequences including the surrender of Corregidor during World the formation of one’s character. centered alienation is the path to life. of this. Read on! War II. $15.99 paperback $20.99 paperback $20.99 paperback $23.99 paperback 978-1-5245-1279-8 978-1-6655-0860-5 978-1-7960-0882-1 978-1-9845-3592-4 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.com www.authorhouse.com www.xlibris.com.au www.xlibris.com Instinct or Learned? Nighttime Fantasy Quotes from the Quiver Loving Sadie E. Glenn Tickner Suzanne M. Shields Dante P. Galiber, MD, FACC Joyce Bunch A psychiatrist discovers an unlikely surgery to This fantasy tale identifies the universal fear of Inspired by time, space, and human interaction, In this children’s story, a mailman helps take care remove a small part of a patient’s brain housing an monsters and the dark manifested by children. Quotes from the Quiver offers a series of original of a dog with a hurt owner and discovers that he evil personality in which he discovers the answer It aims to help parents and children discuss the and thought-provoking ideas and quotations needs the love of a dog in his life. to the question of instinct or learned. fear of bedtime. designed to uplift and enlighten. $14.99 paperback $17.99 paperback $16.99 paperback $22.99 paperback 978-1-6641-4382-1 978-1-6641-5125-3 978-1-7283-7284-6 978-1-5462-2702-1 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.com www.xlibris.com www.authorhouse.com www.authorhouse.com

Dr Maya Naples, Florida, COVID-19 Terror Tale Bobby the Bear and Towhead and the Paintbrush Protecting You Protecting Us E. E. Hunt His Missing Dinner Helen L. Merrell & Rita K. Fisher Dr Kadiyali M Srivatsa Four vacationing Americans are invited to enjoy Ryan O’Connor Towhead’s best friend and companion is his dog Learn to differentiate common from serious a vacation in Naples that will soon turn into a Bobby the Bear, with the help of his friends, Sammy he would be lost without Sammy. illness and prevent complication. Knowledge of tough assignment involving a terror attack and a searches for his missing dinner; along the way, Their story shows the love that can exist between health is knowledge of life. Empower to think pandemic. Read on! he helps a friend learn the importance of not a boy and his dog. like a doctor, reduce wasted consultation, $16.99 paperback stealing and being honest. $17.99 paperback cross infections and cost. 978-1-9845-8835-7 $12.99 paperback 978-1-5049-3241-7 $24.56 paperback also available in hardcover & ebook 978-1-6641-3212-2 also available in ebook & audiobook 978-1-5246-2971-7 www.xlibris.com also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.com also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.com www.authorhouse.co.uk

Real Authors, Real Impact Visit us on Facebook & Twitter Your daily dose of “must read.”

8 Minutes a Day to Make an A! Bad Chemistry Walking on the Water The Pinkerton and the Wizard Quick Change Your ADHD Child Now! Paul Stephen Hudson Aimy Ellen Harvey Hetrick Pamela L. Johnson, B.S. Education This exciting well written thriller tells a tale of In this testimony of a miracle survival and recovery, Mythological wizard Merlin time travels from the Pamela Johnson shows you and your ADHD child greed, intrigue, murder and mayhem that will take Aimy Ellen invites others to grow in their journey 12th century to the 19th century and covertly proven techniques to attain high grades and you across four nations following an anti-hero with Christ and believe in God’s power and angles assists a Pinkerton detective and a Lloyd’s consistently follow routines at home! succeeding against formidable odds. are real. insurance detective with their investigations. $13.99 paperback $32.99 paperback $13.99 paperback $13.99 paperback 978-1-5462-4482-0 978-1-6641-2415-8 978-1-5462-6911-3 978-1-6632-0089-1 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.com www.xlibris.com www.authorhouse.com www.iuniverse.com

The Second Arrow EasyTalk - Advanced Remembering a Great American Hero Abraham Lincoln’s Path to A Book of Illustrated Poetry A Dictionary Aid for Using American English Marian Anderson Reelection in 1864 Sahli A. Cavallaro Tom Dillman “The Lady from Philadelphia” Our Greatest Victory This a book of many themes, Buddhism, LGBTQ EasyTalk – Advanced: A Dictionary Aid for Using Emile Henwood Fred J. Martin, Jr. Issues, Politics, Environmentalism, and personal American English organizes the fascinating Remembering a Great American Hero: Marian Extensive research coupled with study of history liberation. Lots about non human beings and the American English for tens of millions of inquiring Anderson is a condensed chronological narrative and politics by Fred J. Martin, Jr., reveals how dire dire consequences of not saving them, love minds by using and simplifying phonology for compilation, amply illustrated by engaging photos, Abraham Lincoln’s words speak liberty, equality and poems, confessional to a degree. Lots of irony in everyday communications around the world. that shares the teachable lessons of Anderson’s justice with moral clarity and vision in our times. this book. $32.99 paperback well-lived long life — especially important today. $15.95 paperback $12.99 paperback 978-1-6655-0333-4 $16.99 paperback 978-1-4918-3531-9 978-1-6641-3751-6 also available in hardcover & ebook 978-1-6641-4966-3 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.com also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.com www.xlibris.com www.xlibris.com The Making of a Physician Arlen’s Gun Ceasefire! Valley of the Shadow —This Was My Calling— A Novel of Men at War The Ivan Molloy Story An Account of American POWs of the Japanese Harry L. Graber, M.D. F.A.C.C. Edgar Doleman Ivan Molloy Whitney H. Galbraith An accomplished cardiologist ruminates on his life Arlen, a gunner on an AC-47 gunship in Vietnam, A true story of an Australian family’s 100-year Valley of the Shadow joins a fraternity of published in The Making of a Physician, a debut memoir that is caught up in desperate battles where he involvement in War, Terrorism, Political and Social first-person accounts of the fall of the Philippines, stresses the importance of one’s environment in gradually discovers that brotherhood, not his self- Cold War Conflict - and the deadly consequences including the surrender of Corregidor during World the formation of one’s character. centered alienation is the path to life. of this. Read on! War II. $15.99 paperback $20.99 paperback $20.99 paperback $23.99 paperback 978-1-5245-1279-8 978-1-6655-0860-5 978-1-7960-0882-1 978-1-9845-3592-4 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.com www.authorhouse.com www.xlibris.com.au www.xlibris.com Instinct or Learned? Nighttime Fantasy Quotes from the Quiver Loving Sadie E. Glenn Tickner Suzanne M. Shields Dante P. Galiber, MD, FACC Joyce Bunch A psychiatrist discovers an unlikely surgery to This fantasy tale identifies the universal fear of Inspired by time, space, and human interaction, In this children’s story, a mailman helps take care remove a small part of a patient’s brain housing an monsters and the dark manifested by children. Quotes from the Quiver offers a series of original of a dog with a hurt owner and discovers that he evil personality in which he discovers the answer It aims to help parents and children discuss the and thought-provoking ideas and quotations needs the love of a dog in his life. to the question of instinct or learned. fear of bedtime. designed to uplift and enlighten. $14.99 paperback $17.99 paperback $16.99 paperback $22.99 paperback 978-1-6641-4382-1 978-1-6641-5125-3 978-1-7283-7284-6 978-1-5462-2702-1 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.com www.xlibris.com www.authorhouse.com www.authorhouse.com

Dr Maya Naples, Florida, COVID-19 Terror Tale Bobby the Bear and Towhead and the Paintbrush Protecting You Protecting Us E. E. Hunt His Missing Dinner Helen L. Merrell & Rita K. Fisher Dr Kadiyali M Srivatsa Four vacationing Americans are invited to enjoy Ryan O’Connor Towhead’s best friend and companion is his dog Learn to differentiate common from serious a vacation in Naples that will soon turn into a Bobby the Bear, with the help of his friends, Sammy he would be lost without Sammy. illness and prevent complication. Knowledge of tough assignment involving a terror attack and a searches for his missing dinner; along the way, Their story shows the love that can exist between health is knowledge of life. Empower to think pandemic. Read on! he helps a friend learn the importance of not a boy and his dog. like a doctor, reduce wasted consultation, $16.99 paperback stealing and being honest. $17.99 paperback cross infections and cost. 978-1-9845-8835-7 $12.99 paperback 978-1-5049-3241-7 $24.56 paperback also available in hardcover & ebook 978-1-6641-3212-2 also available in ebook & audiobook 978-1-5246-2971-7 www.xlibris.com also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.com also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.com www.authorhouse.co.uk

Real Authors, Real Impact Visit us on Facebook & Twitter SPOTLIGHT REVIEWS CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS

CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS

Pablo Rascal, Gecko Press (MAY 4) Hardcover $16.99 (32pp) 978-1-77657-324-0

Utilizing black-and-white illustrations with bold shapes and sharp contrasts, Pablo is a sparse story about breaking out of your shell—literally. Pablo’s big day has arrived: he has grown too big for his shell, and he is now ready to spread his wings in the world, albeit cautiously. With a touch of color at its close, the book reminds children that, even as they grow and change, a piece of home is always with them.

R is for Rainbow Kim Ferreira, Peter E. Randall Publisher (JUN 7) Hardcover $19.50 The Boy Who Knew Nothing (32pp), 978-1-942155-39-3 James Thorp, Angus MacKinnon (Illustrator) Templar (MAY 11) Hardcover $17.99 (48pp) A troupe of animals guide children through the alphabet, show- 978-1-5362-1713-1 casing valuable lessons and unlikely partnerships. Here, N is for “never giving up,” while C—“cupcakes and carefully planned After a boy finds a strange pink creature in his getaways”—is paired with a whimsical illustration of a raccoon dress-up box, he goes on a quest to find out what stealing a cupcake from a fox, with some aerial support from a to call his new friend, but is dissatisfied with every group of chickadees. A soft palette and visible brushstrokes make answer he receives. Bold black lines divide a whim- learning the ABCs feel like a walk through a fine art museum. sical palette of green, purple, rust, and neon pink in illustrations bereft of color blending, evoking the flat, layered sensibility of a mural that depicts his epic journey. The boy who knew nothing reminds us all there’s no shame in a “silly” question. RuPaul Little People, Big Dreams Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Wednesday Holmes (Illustrator) Frances Lincoln Children’s Books (MAY 4) Hardcover $15.99 (32pp) 978-0-7112-4681-2 The renowned children’s biography series Little People, Big Dreams is back, and its latest installment showcases the indomi- table, illustrious RuPaul. With bright colors reflective of RuPaul’s signature style, the book follows as RuPaul struggles with finding himself and his “people,” breaking new ground for the LGBTQ+ community along the way. Children will take away important les- sons about self-love, as well as a reminder to always send down a ladder once you make it to the top.

Some Creatures Have All the Luck! The Crow and the Peacock Antonio Vivaldi (Little Stories of Great Composers) Jo Fernihough, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (APR 27) Hardcover $17.99 (32pp) Ana Gerhard, Marie Lafrance (Illustrator), Colm Feore (Narrator) 978-0-8028-5568-8 I Musici de Montréal (Contributor), The Secret Mountain (MAY 1) Hardcover $16.95 (36pp), 978-2-92477484-7 Electric splashes of color light up this tale about celebrating your innate gifts, rather than indulg- Minim is a mouse who loves music and cheese. In this adventure, ing in envy. Crow is a happy bird—until a dove’s he runs through a cold Venetian night to perform the duties of a bright feathers make him self-conscious. The tooth fairy at a girls’ school—but he doesn’t expect to run into a dove, in turn, envies the nightingale’s magnif- cat! While escaping, he happens to hear the great Vivaldi direct a icent trill. Jealousy trades from one bird to the movement of The Four Seasons. The book’s cheerful cartoon illus- next, until Crow ends up before the beautiful trations are complemented by a narrated reading (with music); it’s peacock, whom he thinks must be happiest available for download, and on CD in the book’s back flap. bird of all. From his cage, the peacock reverses Crow’s expectations, teaching him to be happy wherever he alights.

44 May/June 2021 A Poem Is a Firefly Charles Ghigna, Michelle Hazelwood Hyde (Illustrator), Schiffer Kids (MAY 28) Hardcover $16.99 (32pp), 978-0-7643-6108-1

A cheerful woodland menagerie gathers around a little bear and his big red book to ask an important question: just what is a poem? Bear directs them to look around them: a poem can be anything, from the sound of an owl’s hoot to thoughts unspoken; it’s flowers in fields and the glow of the moon. His wide answer inspires greater attention to the rhythms of the world; the animals’ wide, smiling faces reflect the new wonder they feel.

We Want a Dog Lo Cole, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (JUN 8) Hardcover $17.99 (32pp), 978-1-72823-817-3

A hodgepodge of pooches are the focus of this jaunty picture book that begins with a decision: “We want a dog!” But what kind of dog—farty? Barky? A shedder? A sharp dresser? The possi- bilities are many. The prospective pups are pic- tured in collage, cutout form, in a parade of red, black, and white, with sharp patterns and clean edges. Children will find the ultimate conclusion of this happy search somewhat unexpected— but as warm and cuddly as desired! DANIELLE BALLANTYNE and MICHELLE ANNE SCHINGLER

Image from A Poem Is a Firefly, by Charles Ghigna, Michelle Hazelwood Hyde (Illustrator). Used with permission from Schiffer Kids.

forewordreviews.com 45 SPOTLIGHT REVIEWS CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS

Brave Adventures, Little Girl Iresha Herath, Oscar Fa (Illustrator), Little Steps Publishing (JUN 1) Softcover $9.99 (52pp), 978-1-912678-15-0

Anika looks forward to visiting her grandparents each Sunday: she gets dressed up, receives lots of hugs, and helps in their warm kitchen. But today, Anika makes a confession: she doesn’t think that she’s brave. Her grandfather uses his globe-trotting stories to teach her that “brave” has many meanings, and some fit cheerful four-year-old girls! With watercolor sensibilities and stylized faces half in shadows, but always smiling, the illustrations are calming and playful in this appealing picture book that celebrates trying new things. Bear’s Bicycle Laura Renauld, Jennie Poh (Illustrator) Beaming Books (APR 20) Hardcover $17.99 (32pp) Family Reunion 978-1-5064-6569-2 Chad Richardson, Dad Richardson, Ashleigh Corrin (Illustrator) Barefoot Books (MAY 1) Hardcover $16.99 (24pp), 978-1-64686-218-4 Bear is training hard for the woodland’s community bike ride, Summer Scoot. But he can’t seem to find With an emphasis on the sanctity of family reunions in Black his bicycle legs, even though he is using the same American families, Family Reunion is a sweet story about open- instructional book as everyone else. After run- ing yourself up to new experiences—and finding unexpected ning—and crashing—into some friends, he sees delights. A young boy would rather stay home and play video that, by combining their strengths, they can find a games than attend his family reunion, but somewhere between way to learn that works for everyone. The illustra- the cooking competitions and dance-offs, he discovers joy that tions encapsulate summer fun, with bright bicycles only family can bring. Sketch-like illustrations emphasize the unique to every character’s personality, and the diversity of American families, while the matching red shirts sig- final pages provide a primer on bicycle safety. nify connections that persist above all.

How It Works Rocket Amelia Hepworth, David Semple (Illustrator), Tiger Tales (JUN 1) Hardcover $9.99 (10pp), 978-1-68010-652-7 Prepare to blast off to the stars—and with the knowledge of the equipment necessary to get back to Earth—with this eye-catch- ing board book that reveals the mechanics behind the magic of going into space. Cutout forms reveal the process of interstellar travel layer by layer, from the launchpad to the moon, and then back again, shedding bits of the ship along the way. The parts of the rocket are well labeled and surrounded by fun details and excited astronauts in this imagination-sparking book. More than a Little M.H. Clark, Cecile Metzger (Illustrator) The Pocket Chaotic Compendium (JUN 29) Hardcover $14.95 (48pp) H Ziggy Hanaor, Daniel Gray-Barnett (Illustrator) 978-1-970147-44-5 Cicada Books (APR 6) Hardcover $16.95 (32pp) 978-1-908714-80-0 An adoring red fox heaps encouragements upon a fluffy-tailed squirrel in this lovely rhyming picture Alexander is a joey who loves his mother and the familiar comfort book about sending littles into the world with of her pouch, but who finds that it is getting rather crowded as of confidence, because each one adds something late. Handfuls of sweets, a toy car, and a recorder are just some to it that no one else can: themselves! This wood- of the things Alexander finds cluttered around him. As his frustra- land pair picnics and gallivants with other forest tion mounts, can his desire for his own space overcome his fear friends, hopping across lily pads and reaching for of growing up? Pops of golden yellow dominate the watercolor, the stars. The nature-attentive illustrations make ink, and pencil illustrations of this tongue-in-cheek story about use of a soft palette and whimsical details, result- helping children embrace their independence. ing in a story that’s soothing and light.

46 May/June 2021 Kuan Yin The Princess Who Became the Goddess of Compassion Maya van der Meer, Wen Hsu (Illustrator), Bala Kids (MAY 4) Hardcover $17.95 (32pp), 978-1-61180-799-8 With intricate illustrations reminiscent of Chinese paper cuts, the origin story of a beloved Buddhist saint is reimagined for a new audience. Princess Ling’s beloved sister, Princess Miao Shan, does not want to marry and rule her father’s kingdom, instead wishing to pursue spirituality and find ways to bring love and peace to all living beings. When the king attempts to sabotage her, Miao Shan flees, devastating Ling, until she discovers the truth her sister always understood: that love conquers all.

Anita and the Dragons H Hannah Carmona, Anna Cunha (Illustrator), Lantana (APR 6) Hardcover $17.99 (32pp) 978-1-911373-63-6

A Dominican girl with rosy cheeks and a wide imagination narrates this gentle, emigration-cen- tered picture book. She watches ships from her seaside rooftop, and ducks when the shadows of dragons move overhead—even when her brother reminds her that they’re just airplanes. No matter: Anita knows how to dream. This helps her to move toward life in a new land, and to say goodbye to the home she treasures. Muted chalk illustrations with spare details help to capture Anita’s world and future home.

Image from Anita and the Dragons by Hannah Carmona & Anna Cunha (Lantana, 2021). Illustration © Anna Cunha. Used with permission from Lantana.

forewordreviews.com 47 SPOTLIGHT REVIEWS MIDDLE GRADE

Maud & Addie Rea and the Blood of the Nectar The Girl’s Guide to Building a Fort Maureen Buchanan Jones, Fitzroy Books (MAY 6) The Chronicles of Astranthia Outdoor + Indoor Adventures for Softcover $16.95 (240pp), 978-1-64603-060-6 Payal Doshi, Mango and Marigold Press (JUN 15) Hands-On Girls Hardcover $19.95 (352pp), 978-1-64543-763-5 Filled with adventure, discovery, and a splash Jenny Fieri, Alexis Seabrook (Illustrator) of sibling rivalry, Maureen Buchanan Jones’s A twelve-year-old in Darjeeling encounters a Andrews McMeel Publishing (MAY 4) Softcover historical novel Maud & Addie includes sweet magical world when she sets out to rescue her $14.99 (224pp), 978-1-5248-6117-9 messages about the importance of family. twin in Payal Doshi’s original, girl-powered novel Jenny Fieri’s The Girl’s Guide to Building a Fort Though they are less than a year apart in age, Rea and the Blood of the Nectar. is part field guide, part activity guide for the girl Maud and Adelaide could not be more different. When Rea’s brother, Rohan, vanishes after a who wants to try everything. Maud likes adventure; she dreams of finding cricket match, she suspects that her mother and The guide covers science, the outdoors, ath- pirate treasures. Addie likes dresses; she dreams grandmother know more than they’re saying. She letics and games, building projects, art, and of being as classy as her mother. After a summer and her new friend, Leela, visit a fortune teller in cooking. Each chapter provides supply lists, boat ride goes wrong, the sisters are stranded on hopes of finding answers. Deciphering clues from interesting facts, detailed how-tos, and plenty of a deserted island. It takes all of their wits to sur- Rea’s nightmares, they pass through a banyan tree activities to combat childhood boredom. vive, and courage to face the secrets they uncover portal into Astranthia. In this bright, verdant land In this girl-positive book, kids are depicted as they learn to work together. where the magic is based on a royal blood line, as curious, resourceful, strong, and unafraid to Bold imagery is used to describe the island’s the girls find helpful locals and face a cruel queen. tackle anything, from baiting a hook to handling wide variety of plants and animals, and this Rea’s sibling relationship is realistic, marked a hammer. Instructions include practical lessons contributes to the book’s plausibility: Maud and by both affection and jealousy. It grounds the like tying a bowline knot for your hammock, Addie are not just two children who somehow novel, which also covers a family’s power dynam- changing a bike tire, and self-defense moves. happen to survive, but are smart, brave girls ics and rift. Rea and Rohan learn their true They explain how to safely handle a knife, as well who make the most of their available resources. identities and work to inhabit their new roles; as the differences between dicing and julienn- The isolated island is an ideal setting for their they face tough challenges in doing so. As South ing. But while the book puts a wide array of skills self-discovery and reconciliation. Asian earthlings whose hometown backdrop into girls’ toolboxes, many of its step-by-step With examples of the bickering common to includes work at a tea plantation and Diwali, instructions are challenging to follow without siblings of any era, the story is a heartwarming they’re intriguing leads. Leela is a heartwarming illustrations. Parents also should be aware that reminder that the bonds of sisterhood are stron- character, too: her rational outlook often calms some of the activities, like building fires, require ger than any differences. Both Maud’s daring Rea. Friends in Astranthia, including a pari (fairy) adult supervision for safety reasons. and Addie’s imagination play crucial roles in the whose job is foliage reporting and a boy with The book sparks interest by diving below the girls’ survival. When Maud’s life is threatened, his own reasons for wanting to rebel, stand out surface into more uncommon facts. (Did you Addie learns that she, too, can be brave, even because of their openminded risk-taking. know the Big Dipper rotates around the North if that bravery looks different from that of her The adults’ favoritism toward Rohan, the boy Star like a clock? Or who the artist Joan Mitchell auburn-haired sister. in their clan, leads to valuable character growth: is?) Projects cover everything from how to play While the tension between the sisters is Rea acknowledges Rohan’s good traits while also Crazy 8s to how to make a rain cloud out of shav- resolved, the ending of the novel is rushed, with claiming more of her own. Rohan’s rescue requires ing cream, so that the guide can be approached the story of the girl’s guardian only brushed both Rea’s pluck and aid from loved ones, while based on the whims of a given day. Girls are upon. The racial tensions that first estranged crossovers between the children’s old and new cheerfully encouraged to investigate it all and the family are unaddressed, though Maud and worlds promise further series adventures. find their passions, with expansive opportunities Addie both exemplify wholehearted acceptance Rea and the Blood of the for them to do so. of all people. Nectar is an extravagant and The Girl’s Guide to Building a Sure to enchant, Maud & Addie is a touching rewarding fantasy novel Fort is a passionate and encourag- novel complete with old skeletons, new friends, involving floral world ing text that celebrates the fact that and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood. building and child- girls are smart, inspired, and capa- VIVIAN TURNBULL hood bravery. ble of learning and doing anything. KAREN RIGBY BRANDEE GRUENER Middle Grade 48 May/June 2021 Sometimes the Big Bad Wolf doesn’t live in the woods. The Street Belongs to Us The Underfoot Karleen Pendleton Jiménez, Gabriella Godoy Into the Sun A powerful and (Illustrator), Arsenal Pulp Press (JUN 1) Softcover Ben Fisher, Emily S. Whitten, Michelle L. Nguyen $12.95 (216pp), 978-1-55152-840-3 (Illustrator), Oni Press (APR 20) Softcover $14.99 unique story of (176pp), 978-1-62010-853-6 Karleen Pendleton Jiménez vivifies a 1984 Los violence in the home Angeles summer in The Street Belongs to Us, a Intelligent hamsters fight a destructive threat to nostalgic novel about friendship and family. themselves and their animal friends in the fun and the healing Best friends Alex and Wolf thrive on Muscatel graphic novel The Underfoot: Into the Sun. Avenue. When a construction project to add side- The result of human experiments in genetic that is possible. walks to their Mexican American neighborhood modification, the Hamster Aquatic Mercenaries stalls, it leaves open trenches behind, one of which (H.A.M.) and the Hamster Airborne Paratroopers the duo claims as their headquarters. With few (H.A.P.) now inhabit a post-human world. The cars to bother them, and the adults away at work, exact cause of the disappearance of the “Giants- they embark on a friendly battle with other kids. That-Were” is unknown, but the hamsters have Tomboy Alex goes along with being Wolf’s adapted human technology, thriving through a  comrade-in-arms, though she’s also discom- barter system of favors with other modified ani- forted by her changing body—a reality that plays mals, including squirrels, hummingbirds, and “Masterfully done.” against light background themes surrounding cats. The animal groups each have their own ver- gender questioning and gender identity. She sion of the events that gave rise to their societies. misses her father, too, who left. Wolf still grieves When items go missing around the hamsters’ — Kirkus Reviews, his mother’s death, and retreats by playing at home, it’s the first step in a plot by lizards, wasps, STARRED REVIEW being a soldier. and other unrevealed masterminds to destroy the At once tender about how its characters accept hamsters and claim their territory. The hamsters each other’s concerns without question, and work with other hamster groups and non-hamster humorous about their everyday adventures, this allies to launch a mission to foil the plan. sweet portrait of an impromptu summer deepens The book features a large cast of heroes and through the children’s awareness that their families villains, all of whom are distinctive in the art. don’t always resemble what they’d hoped for, but Creative science fiction extrapolations of natural that love and safety still surround them. animal and insect adaptations give this fantasy Alex’s Nana, who lived through the Mexican world life. The many action scenes deliver thrills Revolution, is a standout character. She encour- while putting the storytelling first, ensuring a ages Alex and Wolf, mixing her childhood stories clear, smooth panel flow. with background information about the Chicano The book’s details have a cumulative effect, movement, all of which fuels Alex’s imagination. and include a hamster-versus-hamster battle that Nana’s optimistic, magical perspective of the is conducted using sticks topped with safety pins, earth, and pride in her heritage, are reassuring and the hamsters’ airship, which is held aloft notes amid Alex’s worries. by salvaged balloons that read “It’s a Girl!” and Gabriella Godoy’s cheerful illustrations “Happy Birthday!” Each chapter is preceded by depict Alex and Wolf with gentle humor, along- emails and other notes from the human era that side their trench and a wash that’s a setting further illuminate the backstory; also included for their journeys. Because of its wise inter- are dossiers on the hamsters, from files kept by play between the duo’s spontaneous last hurrah their matriarch, which give a fuller sense of the before adolescence, and the ways in which their personalities and abilities of each. families anchor each other, The Street Belongs to The Underfoot: Into the Sun elaborates on a Us is endearing middle grade novel. fun, smart mythology with charm, depth, and KAREN RIGBY adventures. GROUNDWOODBOOKS.COM PETER DABBENE @GROUNDWOODBOOKS Artwork from The Girl’s Guide to Building a Fort: Outdoor + Indoor Adventures for Hands-on Girls by Jenny Fieri, Alexis Seabrook (Illustrator). Used with permission from Andrews McMeel Publishing.

forewordreviews.com 49 SPOTLIGHT REVIEWS YOUNG ADULT

Sedition Down with This Ship Euphoria Kids E. M. Wright, The Parliament House (MAY 18) Katie Kingman, Flux (JUN 8) Softcover $9.99 H Alison Evans, Echo Publishing (JUN 1) Softcover (400pp) $14.99, 978-1-953539-84-7 (344pp), 978-1-63583-067-5 Softcover $15.99 (304pp), 978-1-76068-585-0

In E. M. Wright’s steampunk, alternative-past In Katie Kingman’s humorous novel Down with In Alison Evans’s fantastical novel Euphoria Kids, novel, humans become biomaton slaves when This Ship, a high school junior who leads a dou- three LGBTQ+ teenagers learn about the magic their body parts are replaced with mechanical ble life as a blogger is exposed. But in this sweet stirring in the forest around their Australian home. ones, and their brains are changed to suit their exploration of ambition and romance, the intro- Babs is made of fire. When she was small, she new stations by dampening or removing all human verted, panicky girl discovers that her escapist was cursed by a witch. Now, she is often invis- emotions. In this devastating dystopia, biomaton passion is valuable, and that she’s more capable ible. Lonely Iris was born from a seed. Saltkin, Taryn hides who and what she is to keep herself than she believed. one of the fae that lives in their mother’s garden, from becoming enslaved and losing all sense of Kole is a fan of The Space Game. Her fanfic- gives them a rose quartz with a spell to find self. Fast-paced, clever, and allegorical, this novel tion ships its television characters, and her posts friends. On the bus, Iris sees Babs for the first considers what makes people human after all. are popular. After her story garners the Best time. The two are soon joined by a shy new boy in Set in Victorian England, the story begins with Ship 2019 award, one of her Crystal Lake Prep school who does not yet know his name. a house fire that destroys six-year-old Taryn’s arm, honors-writing classmates discovers her side- As the friendship between the three teen- necessitating its replacement with a mechanical line and threatens to out her. Amid self-doubt agers grows, they begin to explore their own arm that appears as if flesh and blood. The story about commenters’ critiques, interest in her powers. Their faerie friends warn them that fast forwards to Taryn’s teenage years, where neighbor, exchanges with her class’s aspiring there are cold fae moving in the forest, and that she’s in the household of a local lord and edu- valedictorian, and coping with a bully’s over-the- the witch who cursed Babs has returned. But cated alongside his son, neither of whom know top demands, Kole learns to defend herself. the three are undeterred. They set out to learn Taryn as anything other than human. This fact Kole’s personal concerns are spliced with her as much as they can, and to come to terms with would destroy her education as a mechanic, her soapy blog posts. They center on fielding outside their magical lives. home, and her future. An unexpected encounter pressures and her discomfort with the spotlight. Euphoria Kids is a remarkable story. Its focus threatens to upend her entire life and reveal her When the lines between her secret and everyday on its young LGBTQ+ leads, who navigate per- identity as a biomaton—a part of a larger, darker worlds cross, her peers start “shipping” her with ilous situations in the process of self-discovery, plot that’s tied to the years prior to her twelfth boys at school. This inspires a tangle of emotions, is directed by positivity. All three characters are birthday, years that she can’t remember. and the novel blends the fervor of fandom with loving, gentle, and accepting. They are sensitive The action explodes with careening air ships, the embarrassment of being singled out. Its is a to one another’s feelings and prove strong, brave, castles filled with malice and brainwashing, and lucid, light portrayal of high schoolers targeting and willing to own the truths of who they are along automatons crafted as weapons. Taryn’s world one another that features oddball situations. Kole’s the way. Likewise, their parents and teachers treat is rich with parallels to historical injustices, but older brother and friends are supportive, and they them with kindness and respect. Entertainment also ingenious steampunk details that highlight help sharpen Kole’s perspective and self-esteem. comes in the form of the book’s dryads, faeries, a cross between the rigor of clockwork mechan- The book’s upper-crust setting, where SAT and magic spell books, but its important message ics and the power of fantasy. But the conclusion words and Ivy League aspirations saturate the about individuality and acceptance is what will resolves few of the questions that were raised every day, leads to some stereotyping. Kole’s nem- most resonate with other young adults. by the rising action, instead suggesting a sec- esis is an uncomplicated troll, both online and off. Euphoria Kids is a wonderful fantasy novel ond volume to come. Still, Sedition is powerful But when Kole’s methods of resolving her prob- whose diverse cast learns an important, real- because of its social commentary, compelling lems lead her to visit a niche convention for The world lesson. setting, and unexpected heroine. Space Game, the portrayal is more than accurate. CATHERINE THURESON CAMILLE-YVETTE WELSCH Down with This Ship is a delightful novel that is wholehearted in embracing geek culture. KAREN RIGBY VIRTUAL EVENT JUNE 8 9

Connect with your peers The People We Choose Unwritten Katelyn Detweiler, Margaret Ferguson Books (MAY 4) The Zweeshen Chronicles #1 authentically, Hardcover $18.99 (304pp), 978-0-8234-4664-3 Alicia J. Novo, INtense Publications (MAY 8) rejuvenate your Softcover $16.99 (324pp), 978-1-947796-65-2 Family, friendship, and love convene in The People We Choose, Katelyn Detweiler’s sensitive Alicia J. Novo’s fantasy novel Unwritten stars a soul after a novel about a teenager’s revelatory summer. fiery heroine. challenging year, Not long before she turns eighteen, Calliope Beatrix has a problem. Not only do books starts dating Max, her new artistic neighbor; their whisper to her, branding her a freak in her father’s and learn about relationship leaves her less time for her child- eyes, but her grandfather—the one person who hood best friends. At the same time, Calliope made Beatrix feel wanted—has died, and the tools to make must decide whether or not to contact Mama and spell cloaking her magical Furie is fading. your life easier. Mimmy’s IVF sperm donor. Having never known Desperate for answers, Beatrix is transported her father, she is curious and anxious. When the to the Zweeshen, the magical land where book sperm donor turns out to be Max’s dad, the shock- characters live. But even there, Beatrix is scorned. ing coincidence leads to painful reckonings with Mystery shrouds her past, and dark rumors what biological and nontraditional families mean. stain her mother’s name. Even worse, an evil The moral taboo of Calliope and Max being Charmancer is burning books, closing their worlds half-siblings is navigated via mature, emotional forever. With the help of new friends, Beatrix races calibrations, such that their anguish is tem- to uncover the truth before her own world is lost. pered by Calliope’s practical upbringing. Her Beatrix’s magical Furie is representative of two mothers’ beliefs that handling problems is her self-loathing. Over the course of the story, she better than avoidance, and her friends’ under- comes to accept who she is, and the Furie begins standing, guide the teenagers toward a peaceful to respond to her commands. Themes of self-con- resolution. Max’s family, which suffered from its fidence and personal acceptance lead to import- own griefs, leading to their abrupt move from ant messages for teenagers, magical or not. Philadelphia to Green Woods, has to do its own The book’s colorful cast includes groups healing as each member copes with the news. of knockoff Sherlocks who roam the streets, a The subtler facets of tending to one’s roots well-connected Elizabeth Bennett, and Emma, reinforce the book’s themes, including the grad- a handful of a girl whose book is unfinished. ual renovation of Max’s house; background pas- Beatrix’s romance with a mysterious protector, sions, including a friend’s cello composition William, is expected but sweet. that’s played in response to unrequited feel- The Zweeshen is described with bold details. ings; and the confrontation of tough memories. Its clever features, including Prolog mentors Throughout, Calliope is an appealing narrator and the Bookends Cafe, are charming, even whose generous, forthright nature invites others though Beatrix’s situation is grim. Magic is abun- REGISTER TODAY to reframe their outlooks, too. dant, but easy to understand; the book asks Wise about irrevocable facts, The People We for a willing suspension of disbelief, and offers Choose is a modern novel in which love expands a nail-biting adventure in return. Still, the con- to encompass once-strangers and friendships clusion leaves questions unanswered, including that are close because of honesty. about how Beatrix’s mother met her father, and KAREN RIGBY of whether William will break his curse. The door is left open to future adventures. Fascinating and magic-filled, the fantasy novel Unwritten promises adventure right up to its final page. VIVIAN TURNBULL abovethetreeline.com/bookfest

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forewordreviews.com 53 REVIEWS ADULT FICTION

FANTASY GENERAL GENERAL

Sirgrus Blackmane Demihuman Blind Ambition Buy Me Love Gumshoe and The Dark-Elf Lutishia Lovely, Danfina (MAY 25) Softcover $15.95 Martha Cooley, Red Hen Press (JUN 1) Softcover William Schlichter, BHC Press (MAY 27) Hardcover (288pp), 978-1-4967-2446-5 $17.95 (266pp), 978-1-59709-120-6 $26.95 (212pp), 978-1-64397-183-4 A mother’s sudden death leads to the uncover- In Martha Cooley’s novel Buy Me Love, a wom- In William Schlichter’s hilarious detective novel ing of shocking family secrets in Lutishia Lovely’s an’s lottery win reveals her complicated relation- Sirgrus Blackmane Demihuman Gumshoe and intriguing novel Blind Ambition. ships with money, family, and art. The Dark-Elf, a dwarf solves a murder in a city Drained from a grueling divorce and wanting Ellen and her brother, Win, were raised by that’s rotting from within. to change things for herself and her son, Chantel a father who was a world-renowned, closeted Prohibition has the city of Quarter firm in its moves back to her Missouri hometown. She opera singer, and a mother who was an alcoholic. grip. Rum flows in and bodies flow out, prompt- takes a job as an editor with a local newspaper In adulthood, Win, a talented composer, surren- ing private eye Sirgrus to the city’s outskirts. and becomes a singer at a vibrant club in the ders to alcoholism himself after the death of his There, he finds the body of his human partner, city. But Chantel’s burgeoning singing career is fiancée in a Madrid train station explosion; Ellen, Mason, abandoned in the middle of a smuggling only a shadow of what her estranged sister, Jett, meanwhile, becomes a poet, though writer’s block operation. Mason saved his life during the Great has accomplished. forces her to work as a freelance proofreader. War, so Sirgrus vows to find the killer. Before At their mother’s funeral, the sisters meet When a Brooklyn bodega owner suggests long, he’s swept up in a convoluted mess as the again. Jett rejects Chantel’s efforts at rekindling that Ellen buy a lottery ticket, she does, choos- city’s underworld fights to control the rum sup- their relationship, though Chantel uncovers dis- ing to play the digits of her childhood phone ply. Sirgrus finds more questions than answers turbing secrets that push them together anyway. number, which she’s just seen stuck to a subway as he faces his own painful demise. Still, their conflict is drawn out, and their rela- grate. Much of the book is devoted to the period The denizens of Quarter span the gamut of tionship exposes both sisters’ insecurities and between the time when Ellen learns that she won fantasy creatures. They include dwarves like hopes. Jett is a typical Hollywood star who sac- the lottery, and the deadline for collecting her Sirgrus and titanic rock monsters serving as rifices her relationship with her family to pursue winnings. In that period: she becomes involved mob goons. But magic is dying out, relegated to her music career. She uses her cautious, distant with Roy, the adoptive father of a boy whose life, selective uses, as with mages employed by the attitude to guard herself against the possibility like Win’s, was changed because of a train-related government who wield arcane arts in the pursuit of betrayal in the competitive music industry. accident. Her father dies, and she travels to Italy of justice. Veterans of the war suffer from horrific Unlike Jett, Chantel is forgiving and keen on to meet his lover and receive her inheritance. flashbacks, and modern life threatens to leave developing a relationship with her sister; she is And her life intersects with that of an anarchistic them behind. The world building is rich, letting also fascinated by Jett’s rise to stardom. transgender art warrior, Blair, who is scarred by unusual fantasy elements compete with realism, The book’s brazen narration, which includes an incestuous childhood relationship. as with agents who use cars instead of dragons, abrasive comments, is distracting in places, The book’s expository dialogue, combined and with revolvers that supplant wands. especially with the incessant use of “bitch.” with Ellen’s tortuous indecision over whether Sirgrus’s wittiness is in evidence while he’s Still: an intriguing, drawn out mystery develops or not she should claim her winnings, results in dodging bruising hits from massive trolls in his when a mysterious blackmailer plays on the some frustrating moments. Nevertheless, Ellen’s attempt to solve his friend’s murder. His allies sisters’ secrets. They threaten to publicize the good heart, and the bond that she develops with can’t stand him, and his enemies can’t wait for revelations, which could ruin Jett’s career. In Roy and his son, makes hers a warm and hopeful an opportunity to wipe him from the face of the the process of determining the blackmailer’s tale, if one that concludes with a reminder that earth. No one in the city is clean, and Sirgrus identity, Jett is forced to face her agonizing past. life can be changed by ironic developments. begins to suspect his partner hid more from him Though its mystery takes a long time to be Buy Me Love is an unusual novel about a than he realized. solved, Blind Ambition is a moving novel that woman whose lottery win brings her to a deeper Sirgrus Blackmane Demihuman Gumshoe applauds sisterhood and family over personal understanding of herself and what is important and The Dark-Elf is a unique blend of fantasy and aspirations. to her. noir that is, at turns, hilarious and painful. EDITH WAIRIMU RANDI HACKER JOHN M. MURRAY

54 May/June 2021 GENERAL GENERAL A magical culinary memoir that serves up a must-taste of Argentina...

NEW RELEASE: Sobremesa: A Memoir of Food and Love in Thirteen Courses by Josephine Caminos Oría

EARLY PRAISE “. . . a cross between magical realism and the food section of the New York Times. Delicioso!” —Beth Ostrosky-Stern

“A delight to read that will warm your corazón.” The Book of Otto and Liam Watkins Glen —Allie Lazar, creator Paul Griner, Sarabande Books (APR 13) Softcover Eleanor Lerman, Mayapple Press (JUN 21) of Pick Up The Fork $16.95 (352pp), 978-1-946448-76-7 Hardcover $22.95 (220pp), 978-1-952781-01-8 With foreword by Sofía Pescarmona, CEO and Owner, Lagarde Winery. In his heartwrenching novel The Book of Otto and In Eleanor Lerman’s resonant novel Watkins Liam, Paul Griner traces the hard-fought healing Glen, an estranged brother and sister reunite to On Sale Date: May 4, 2021 of a school shooting victim’s father. deal with illness, aging, and memories. ISBN: 9781735305189 Hardcover: $24.95 The story is told through short snippets Susan and her older brother, Mark, led Biography & Autobiography / Culinary, 400 pages and vignettes. It starts on an anniversary of very different lives. Still a free spirit in her six- Distributed to the trade by IPG the event, shrouding the emerging story line in ties, Susan often thinks of herself as rootless. Publicist: Smith Publicity mystery. Hoaxers, who believe that the school When she receives a call about Mark’s unusual Published by: Scribe Publishing Company massacre was staged as part of a government behavior, she drives to his Brooklyn apartment. scribe-publishing.com conspiracy to take guns away from citizens, pre- Mark, a retired teacher, is now obsessed with Available on Edelweiss+ and NetGalley vent its full media coverage. Otto narrates; he is painting strange portraits and landscapes. He the father of Liam, one of the injured children, has Alzheimer’s disease, and his compulsion is whose recovery process is fragile. Otto’s mar- attributable to Acquired Savant Syndrome. riage disintegrates, and he is plagued by letters Susan lives upstate, near Watkins Glen, a and pranks accusing him of being a crisis actor. rural tourist town that hosts auto racing events. Between work, bouts of despair, and hunting for It’s a town that’s peopled with quirky charac- the hoaxers’ leader, Otto finds a new love. ters, including Grateful Dead-loving Marlee, who The novel’s colorful scenes are as intricate owns a gift shop, and Ted, the “one-man taxi,” and painstaking as the sketches that Otto makes who shuttles around in his dilapidated Honda. for his graphic marketing business. A shooting Susan and Mark spent their childhood vacations range, a bakery run by ex-prostitutes, fishing there while their father, Dave, took part in the trips in Vermont, and evenings binge drinking in local drag racing subculture. Liberated from jazz clubs are among the many vibrant scenes. the family upholstery business, Dave drove with Otto’s imaginative renderings add a dreamy, “animal energy” to escape his urban existence. often alcohol-soaked, element to the story. As The novel’s beautiful arcs of prose include his art aids his turnaround from avenger to lover Susan’s recollection of her father’s racing adven- and trusted friend, the book lifts the soul. tures, as of his car rushing into a night that Dark humor, as with Otto’s plot to gift hoaxers “sparkled with stars and fireflies and cigarette a pile of pink dildos, results in eerie unease, a embers.” Susan and Mark’s idyllic summers are reminder of the fine line between victims and per- also contrasted with their present life, as the A POWERFUL petrators, justice and injustice. Letters from hoax- region’s fierce winter brings frozen lakes, snow, ers reveal the enemy’s humanity, as well as their and “icicle teeth.” Once Susan becomes Mark’s PERMISSION MANIFESTO evil. With interim chapters that cite school shoot- caretaker, she struggles with the responsibility “This is a book of depth, a journey into ing statistics, the book rides the line between fact at times, trying to manage her own life as well the soul — a journey into discovering and fiction, asking pointed questions about race, as Mark’s erratic behavior. However, as “one who you truly are and giving yourself guns, violence, and forgiveness that sometimes old runaway daughter and an even older math permission to be all that you came reach beyond the scope of its story. teacher with a terrible affliction,” they confront here to this planet to be.” The Book of Otto and Liam is a biting literary an uncertain future with humor, leaning on their ‚ from the foreword by novel that protects a fragile truth with its endear- unique bond. MARGARET PAUL, PHD, ing story of fatherly love. With its surety of setting and reflective can- bestselling author of Inner Bonding MARI CARLSON dor, Watkins Glen is a distinct, intricate novel that avoids sentimentality in favor of a compas- sionate tone. MEG NOLA www.newworldlibrary.com ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN EBOOK

forewordreviews.com 55 REVIEWS ADULT FICTION

HISTORICAL HISTORICAL HISTORICAL

Frieda’s Song Lemons in the Garden of Love Tante Eva Ellen Prentiss Campbell, Apprentice House Press Ames Sheldon. She Writes Press (MAY 11) Softcover Paula Bomer, Soho Press (MAY 18) Hardcover $26 (MAY 25) Softcover $27.99 (294pp) $16.95 (248pp). 978-1-64742-048-2 (264pp), 978-1-64129-222-1 978-1-62720-323-4 The two story lines of Ames Sheldon’s historical Paula Bomer’s stark historical novel is set among The lives of two women become intertwined novel Lemons in the Garden of Love focus on the detritus left behind when the Berlin Wall fell. across generations in Ellen Prentiss Campbell’s important eras for women’s rights. After World War II, Eva and her husband, historical novel Frieda’s Song. In 1977, Cassie, who just married traditional Hugo, made the natural choice to live in the In 1935, Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, a Jewish Martin, is living in Minnesota and searching GDR, reasoning that communists saved him psychoanalyst, leaves Nazi Germany for the for a subject for her women’s history doctoral from the Nazis, and that the GDR’s promise that United States, where she builds a new life in dissertation. While researching, she discovers none would go hungry was a gift after years of Rockville, Maryland. In 2009, Eliza, also a psy- the artwork and diaries of Kate Reed Easton, her deprivation. They raised their daughter in this choanalyst and the single mother of a trou- great-grandaunt. In the early 1900s, Kate was would-be paradise, teaching her to be wary of bled teenage son, moves into the house Frieda a original founder of the Birth Control League the trappings of capitalism. Still, their friend- built. By accident, she discovers Frieda’s diary. of Massachusetts. She lived an unconventional ships with artists and exiles placed them under Thereafter unfolds a story of how, for one sum- life as a wife and artist. When Cassie is beck- the Stasi’s constant watch. mer, the women’s lives mirrored each other, oned home to Massachusetts for her younger By the time the Wall falls, Hugo is dead; Eva has despite a difference of decades. sister’s wedding, she learns more about Kate retired from nursing. Eva lives in a crumbling build- Frieda’s story is based in truth; through her from stories, diaries, and photographs—relics ing, depending more on a troubled young neighbor work at Chestnut Lodge, she introduced psycho- that belong both to her family, and that she finds than she’d like to; she avoids the neighborhood analysis into the treatment of schizophrenia and while researching at Smith College. skinheads, and waits for visits from her married, bipolar disorder. Her thoughts and experiences As Cassie reads through Kate’s diaries, she untrustworthy lover, Hans. She drinks too much; are woven into Eliza’s in a masterful fashion. questions the choices she’s made so far in her she remembers more than she’d prefer. Asking more questions than it answers, the story life, including around her fraught relationship Eva works to maintain empathy for strangers, develops into a meditation on the ambiguities of with her mother, who favors her younger sister; and to tamp down her resentment over past motherhood, the helplessness of parenthood, her love for her husband, after she reconnects betrayals, both by people and the state. When and the frustrations caused by the clashes with her ex; and the disappointment of learning her radical American niece, Maggie, announces between professional ambitions and professional that she is pregnant. Later, she endures trage- that she’s moving to Berlin, Eva is ecstatic. But realities. It also reveals how people need mentors, dies that further complicate her life. meeting grown-up Maggie corrodes the stories regardless of their ages and positions in life. The novel is compelling as it compares and she’s told herself about her family and her past. With a sharp eye for the contradictions contrasts women’s social roles across time. Kate Bomer’s novel is incisive in cataloging the inherent to every person, the same events and Reed Easton’s diary entries are full of verve and consequences of war, and of the restrictive personality traits are viewed from three differ- determination, and the women’s movement of political systems that lead to, or follow from, ent perspectives: Frieda’s, Eliza’s, and Eliza’s the 1970s is reflected in era-specific details, it. For Eva, condemning the Nazis was easy; teenage son Nick’s. These tie together through though its characters are not as well realized as acknowledging the shortcomings of communism carefully placed narrative touching points. The their older historical counterparts. Nonetheless, is less so. She proclaims herself not political, but complete picture of what is happening emerges Lemons in the Garden of Love is a rich historical is conscious of state surveillance. She proves between the lines. But although it is acknowl- novel that examines the slow acknowledgement gifted at simultaneous recognition of other peo- edged in her diary, Frieda’s Jewish identity is of women’s rights through its lead character’s ple’s hubris, and at concentrated denial of the written as if from the outside, sans her deep family stories. flaws of those whom she loves. Though true knowledge of the Torah and the Talmud; the MONICA CARTER happiness evades her, she is meticulous about values that would have come with her political ensuring her own survival. affiliation on the far left are also missing. Tante Eva is a sensitive, startling novel about Frieda’s Song is a powerful historical novel post-Soviet existence. in which women across generations share deep MICHELLE ANNE SCHINGLER experiences. ERIKA HARLITZ KERN

56 May/June 2021 HISTORICAL HUMOR

—AM Publishers

The Hot Summer of 1968 Anyone for Edmund? Viliam Klimáček, Peter Petro (Translator) Simon Edge, Lightning Books (MAY 1) Softcover Mandel Vilar Press (MAY 11) Softcover $19.95 $15.95 (256pp), 978-1-78563-191-7 (312pp), 978-1-942134-71-8 Simon Edge’s rollicking novel Anyone for Viliam Klimáček’s historical novel is both heart- Edmund? romps through Medieval British his- breaking and hopeful as it shares the stories of tory with style. families displaced by the Soviet occupation of A team of archaeologists discovers the bones Czechoslovakia. of St. Edmund, the English king and martyr, When the Warsaw Pact countries invade beneath tennis courts that are near the ruins of Czechoslovakia in August of 1968, Alex and an old abbey in Suffolk, England. Hannah, a dig Anna; their daughter, Petra; Anna’s sister’s fam- volunteer, is excited to participate in unearth- Just off the road homeless, in ily; and the family of Petra’s close friend, Tereza, ing the long lost bones of the patron saint of feel as if their home has been stolen. Russian England, which have been buried since the days gritty New York City, Charmay tanks move down their roads, and people they of King Henry VIII. singer songwriter is haunted know are emigrating to Israel, the UK, and the In her excitement, Hannah shares the news US. The violence, oppression, and blackmail with her aunt, who then shares it with her son by assault and addiction, and commanding their lives drive some of these Mark, an aspiring political aide. Desperate to gets lost in a spiral of deceit, characters to leave, too, but others are trapped save his flagging career, Mark offers his demand- under the thumb of the Soviets. Scattered across ing boss, MP Marina Spencer, a way to appeal passion, and manipulation. the world, these individuals work to rebuild their to an inflamed post-Brexit electorate. He sug- livelihoods, and cling to those with them in gests touting the English-born St. Edmund as a remembrance of those they left behind. potential patron saint for the United Kingdom. To These realistic, complex characters endure appease non-English residents in Ireland, Wales, difficulties unique to refugee experiences. Petra and Scotland, Mark takes advantage of the fact and Tereza are strong, pushing to better them- that little is known about Edmund; he creates selves in the face of opposition, but they have fraudulent evidence on Wikipedia. Mark’s plot weaknesses that peek through their vigor. Alex, soon unravels as suspicions mount. Deadly reper- Anna, and others who struggle under the emo- cussions result from the unleashing of the super- tional weight of separation may meet tragic natural powers of the disinterred saint. Mark, his ends, but their inner strength and purposeful cousin Hannah, Hannah’s archaeologist friend “A REAL-LIFE PORTRAYAL choices show that they possess grit, too. Daisy, and a wise old monk worry over reining in OF A WORLD GONE Despite the heavy subject matter, the book the destructive forces that have been awakened. is light in tone. Its friendly, omniscient narrator This clever comedy pokes fun at the cut- OFF ITS ORBIT.” often breaks the fourth wall to make jokes that throat atmosphere of contemporary political —Cornelia St. Books are both self-deprecating and that poke fun at life, which it juxtaposes with the life-and-death the characters’ quirks; they also make poignant maneuverings of medieval rivals. Its settings comments about the complexity of society in are detailed in rich terms, conveying the atmo- “A STUNNER.” 1960s Eastern Europe. Humor and heartache spheres of an archaeological dig, within the halls —Stacey Donovan, author of take turns dominating the mood of the story, of power, at a shabby monastery, and in a regal following the characters as they separate from cathedral. Lighthearted and highly entertaining, Dive, Red Shoe Diaries Series each other for an indefinite period of time, some it captures the mood of Edmund’s freshly freed reuniting, some dying before getting the chance medieval ghost and today’s attitudes. “HOT AND COOL.” to see their loved ones again. Led by flawed, lovable characters, Anyone The Hot Summer of 1968 is tactful and for Edmund? is a consumable novel that delivers —BF Productions humorous about bringing to life the calamitous a dose of history with flawless comedic timing experiences of Slovakian people during the fall and pacing. of communism. WENDY HINMAN maggiemoorartist.com AIMEE JODOIN

forewordreviews.com 57 REVIEWS ADULT FICTION

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A Theater for Dreamers Barcelona Dreaming Bone Broth Polly Samson, Algonquin Books (MAY 11) Hardcover Rupert Thomson, Other Press (JUN 1) Softcover Lyndsey Ellis, Hidden Timber Books (JUN 1) $26.95 (336pp), 978-1-64375-149-8 $15.99 (272pp), 978-1-63542-042-5 Softcover $16.95 (274pp), 978-1-73655-190-5

Polly Samson’s escapist novel A Theater for Linked by incisive narrators and chance encoun- Lyndsey Ellis’s thoughtful multigenerational Dreamers is set in 1960 on the quaint Greek ters, Rupert Thomson’s alluring novel Barcelona novel Bone Broth is set during the days of the island of Hydra—a haven detached from the Dreaming braids three stories into a lush explo- Ferguson protests. rest of Europe, where artists roam free and ration of love and unmet longings. Justine and Wesley moved to the suburbs to unencumbered. In “The Giant of Sarriá,” Amy, a British expat, escape the traps set for residents of the Pruitt- After eighteen-year-old Erica loses her becomes entranced by a Moroccan immigrant Igoe projects. But decades later, Wesley has mother, she finds an unopened package, sent who is half her age after she hears him cry- died, and their once up-and-coming neighbor- to her mother, holding a copy of an old friend’s ing in the street. Amy invites him inside. From hood is no longer considered desirable. It’s a new book. The book is set on a Greek island, this kindness, passion blooms, until a prejudiced change that Justine resents—just as she resents and comes with an open invitation to come visit. neighbor threatens the couple. In “The King of the protests that come in the wake of Michael Desperate to get away from her abusive father, Castelldefels,” Nacho, the alcoholic ex-husband Brown’s murder, which are a painful reminder of Erica, her brother, and her boyfriend travel to of Amy’s friend, recalls his failed loves, and the idealism of her youth. Hydra for the summer. expresses newfound pride over a connection to a That idealism transferred to her eldest On Hydra, Erica meets an elusive circle of tal- Brazilian footballer; signs of domestic discord hint daughter, Raynah, an Oakland activist who ented artists and writers. She’s an aspiring novelist at Nacho’s part in eroding his current relationship. inherited her father’s house. Though Raynah herself, but shy. She becomes infatuated with the “The Carpenter of Montjuïc” takes a fable- is growing weary of uphill battles herself, she island and its eccentric denizens. Slipping into a like turn. Jordi, a translator who works with decides to transform the residence into a social fascinating clique, she observes unabashed drink- Nacho’s ex-wife, hears a neighbor’s tall tales justice museum. In the process, questions about ing, drug-taking, and sex. But Hydra is perhaps too about a chest; these overlap with stories of unre- her mother’s involvement in covert antiracist small to house so many stubborn creatives without quited love. Throughout, nocturnal enclaves are actions decades previous arise, complicating conflict. Over time, the illusion of this utopian moody backdrops for characters whose involve- their already tenuous relationship. bohemia crumbles, and Erica’s struggle to rise ment with strangers are both distractions and Meanwhile, Raynah’s sister Lois wrestles with above midcentury gender roles does not end once subtle awakenings. Minute details tie the stories the return of Ahmad, her childhood sweetheart she’s out of her father’s grasp. together, as do the characters’ siftings of time and the father of Quentin, who was also mur- As it turns out, the book’s free-spirited art- and the presence of mysterious bystanders, dered. Their politician brother, Theo, works to ists are not figments of Samson’s imagination. including a tall witness and a craftsman with an hide the truth about his sexual orientation, want- Rather, the book captures real people whose angelic name. Together, these elements result ing most to belong. Theirs are family troubles lives intertwined while they lived on Hydra, a in a 2000s version of a city that exists between that not even Justine’s famed bone broth—a young Leonard Cohen, an irreverent Axel hard social divides and dreamlike observations. delectable mixture with the power to both heal Jensen, and the married collaborators Charmian The book’s dense, multistrand accounts and poison—can assuage. Clift and George Johnston among them. The text encompass characters’ self-regard, as well as As much as this is a book that is set in motion is a glimpse at what the day-to-day lives of these their unwillingness, at times, to see their situa- by acts of entrenched racism and state-sup- luminaries might have been like. tions from afar. Jordi’s tale, in particular, stands ported violence against Black bodies, it is most a The novel’s meandering, dreamlike writing out. He’s a young man who’s too absorbed with story about family wounds. Even after he’s gone, style is delightful, comparing a sunburnt woman the lives of others, but who alters his own course Wesley’s internalized misogyny has reaching to “strawberry ice cream, a morning calamine in time. His story line includes a fascinating story- consequences for his wife and children. It rep- ghost,” though some descriptions are bela- within-a-story about psychological intimidation. resents freedoms lost, loves departed, secrets bored, dragging out the already slow-moving Barcelona Dreaming is an astute novel in buried, and artifices that carry a high cost. Ellis plot. Still, A Theater for Dreamers embodies which adults risk being vulnerable, all while writes with a keen sense of history and a dis- a summer vacation, capturing the essence of dangerous secrets lead to spontaneous actions. cerning eye, revealing the family’s triumphs and Hydra in vibrant, saltwater-scented impressions. KAREN RIGBY heartbreaks at an intermittent, wrenching pace. AMANDA SILBERLING Bone Broth is a nuanced, compassionate story set during troubled times. MICHELLE ANNE SCHINGLER

58 May/June 2021 LITERARY LITERARY “A powerful and engaging story … a must read.” —SONIA CHOQUETTE, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Catch the Rabbit Ever Rest Lana Bastašić, Restless Books (JUN 1) Softcover Roz Morris, Spark Furnace (JUN 3) Softcover $11.99 $18 (256pp), 978-1-63206-289-5 (312pp), 978-1-909905-88-7

In Lana Bastašić’s inventive, passionate novel In 1994, Ashten Geddard, the front man of the Catch the Rabbit, childhood friends reunite for a popular UK band the Ashbirds, disappeared road trip from Bosnia to Vienna. while attempting to climb Mount Everest. That’s Sara fled Bosnia to build a new life in Dublin how Roz Morris’s excellent novel Ever Rest with her boyfriend, Michael. Ensconced in an begins—before jumping eighteen years into the apartment with Leonard Cohen records and a future, to look at how Ashten’s disappearance stubborn avocado tree, Sara is now a writer and continues to shape the lives of people connected translator, while Michael writes computer code. to him. These characters have their own mem- When Sara receives an unexpected call from orable stories; each explores their complicated her childhood friend, Lejla, it lures her back to relationships with Ashten, music, and grief. Bosnia, and to drive across Eastern Europe and This applies to Elza, Ashten’s girlfriend at the visit Lejla’s exiled brother, Armin. time of the mountaineering accident. Now dating The women travel the Bosnian countryside, a new man, she still struggles with the fame their “exquisite prose” including the village where they grew up, on their relationship brought, and with the paparazzi who way to Zagreb and Vienna. Though they were still take an interest every time a frozen body on —DEBRA PONEMAN, FOUNDER AND inseparable when young, Sara is now startled by Everest might turn out to be Ashten’s. And there’s PRESIDENT, YES TO SUCCESS, INC. her wild, impulsive friend, with her “fake blonde Hugo, who was not only Ashten’s Ashbirds band hair” and “icy throne.” One night, Lejla con- mate, but a friend since their school days. Hugo This life-changing book vinces their kind hostess that Sara doesn’t speak helped to get Ashten involved in music, and he Bosnian, and then offers mutilated English trans- survived the same attempt at summiting Everest. illustrates the amazing way the lations that mock the woman. And Robert, who briefly worked with Ashten on Universe orchestrates our lives In powerful flashbacks, Sara reconsiders her some unused Ashbirds songs, is in the process of toward a state of healing, school days, and her infatuations with both Lejla getting the funding to record a new album under and Armin. The foreboding scenes include a the band’s name. wholeness, and love—whether crushed sparrow, poisoned dogs, and a stolen These three characters drive Ever Rest, with we are aware of it or not! bunny. Walking the streets where she grew up, the details of their relationships with Ashten Sara notes the darkness is a “living, tangible revealed as the book goes along, and their inter- substance,” and that the street lamps flicker like actions with each other in the present under- “… an example for us to the “shy girl at a nightclub.” The book’s images scored by his loss nearly two decades earlier. A are evocative and captivating: supporting cast contributes to the small conflicts explore our own wounds Memories might be like a frozen lake to that keep the story moving at a brisk pace. While … and find forgiveness.” me—blurry and slippery—but every now there’s sadness at the heart of the book, it also and then there’s a crack in its surface and captures the joy of making music, the struggle —LISA GARR, HOST OF I can put my hand through it and catch a to create memorable art, and the challenge of THE AWARE SHOW detail, a recollection in the cold water. keeping one’s inner self private while dealing with Set against the striking backdrop of post-war public scrutiny. The result is a strong novel that #1 Bestseller Bosnia, Catch the Rabbit is a poignant, wrench- fits its pieces together into a meaningful whole. ing novel about the power of memory and the JEFF FLEISCHER AVAILABLE FROM YOUR LOCAL challenges of knowing another person. KRISTEN RABE BOOKSHOP OR ISBN 978-1734835014 judimiller.net

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Hashtag Good Guy with a Gun My Good Son Pleasantview Jeff Chon, Sagging Meniscus (MAY 1) Softcover Yang Huang, The University of New Orleans Press Celeste Mohammed, Ig Publishing (MAY 4) Softcover $21.95 (258pp), 978-1-952386-02-2 (APR 29) Softcover $18.95 (256pp) $16.95 (240pp), 978-1-63246-202-2 978-1-60801-201-5 Packed with violence and mordant humor, Jeff Through the interlocking stories of Pleasantview, Chon’s novel Hashtag Good Guy with a Gun About difficult and rewarding connections Celeste Mohammed creates a microcosm of a is unsparing in delivering cutting commentary across generational and cultural divides, Yang Trinidad rarely seen by tourists. about contemporary America. Huang’s novel My Good Son is a captivating Sunil, an escaped prisoner; Consuela, the When Scott, a disgraced former high school masterpiece centered around a father and son prostitute he loves; Mr. Jagroop, Consuela’s teacher, invades a pizza parlor with a gun, in post-Tiananmen Square China. influential client; Omar, Mr. Jagroop’s he’s convinced that the establishment houses Despite Mr. Cai’s best intentions to give his employee; and Ivy, a domestic-turned-self- a pedophile ring. Instead, he stumbles into a son, Feng, an education and the opportunity for styled-“seer,” are a few of the characters who hostage situation and ends up shooting the hos- a more prestigious career than his own, Feng has appear in subsequent narratives. Although the tage-taker. He becomes an unlikely celebrity, his own plans. Mr. Cai responds to Feng’s rebel- characters vary in age, socioeconomic status, inspiring the hashtag #goodguywithagun and lion by meddling in his son’s love life and career, and ethnicity, they are all connected, in some setting off a series of comic and tragic events. only further aggravating him. way, to the Syrian Mr. H., an aspiring politician The novel is most concerned with the Then a neighbor girl, Jiao, returns home from notorious for his sexual appetites. American male psyche under siege. As the 2016 college with tales from the thick of the democ- While Mr. H. exerts his power by forcing him- presidential election unfolds, a host of men who racy protests in Tiananmen Square. Mr. Cai is self on whomever he pleases, other characters, are deluded, adrift, or both are introduced. Elderly shocked that she, a woman, is so passionate including Gail, a young woman raped by Mr. H. Jae, a former IBM employee, is off the deep end about politics, unlike unambitious Feng. Thus, while in his employ, and Luther, a Trinidadian in and on the run, convinced that a Korean envoy in a display of the striking food symbolism that New York City in need of a green card, attempt to of death is pursuing him. Scott’s former student runs throughout the book, he cannot stomach use their sexuality for personal betterment. When Blake is a buffed-up white supremacist incel the cherries Jiao offers him; he finds them, like Gail finds herself pregnant with the married Mr. who’s bent on revenge against Scott for sleeping Jiao herself, unpleasant and saccharine. H.’s child, she thinks she has it made: “No more with his mother. Scott’s ne’er-do-well half brother Enter Jude, a stylish, artistic American with stepping over shit-smelling drains, no more bullets Brian is still coming to terms with childhood sex- a secret. In Jude, Mr. Cai sees an opportunity to popping all hours of the night.” But, of course, ual abuse and his father’s religious cult, which get Feng a coveted sponsorship to work in the things aren’t that simple. An assassination occurs, claims that an apocalypse is nigh. US. In Mr. Cai, Jude sees a father figure who’s and its repercussions are far-reaching. Chon’s punchy, acerbic prose weaves these kind in comparison to his own Texan father, While each chapter is self-contained, recur- people and narratives together, skipping back- whom he cannot confide in. As Mr. Cai and Jude ring characters and a consistent setting create wards and forwards in time. The result is a chain scheme for Feng’s future, they forge an improb- a sense of unity. Even those who leave, like Mr. of angst and aggression that seems unbreakable, able friendship; the novel parallels parent/child H.’s often mentioned daughter Kimberley, who in which bloodshed only begets more bloodshed. relationships in compelling ways. has been living in Barbados with a woman lover, He depicts a world spinning out of control, where Mr. Cai is stubborn to the point of being dog- return to the island. By the end, the novel forms an argument over Superman and the Hulk plants matic; he has an unwavering idea of what Feng’s a satisfying whole. the seeds for extremist rebellion, where Catcher life must be. Yet, when the traumas of Mr. Cai’s Luxuriant language provides the atmo- in the Rye is the basis for wild conspiracy theories, youth are revealed, the reasons for his incessant sphere. A variety of points-of-view and dialects and where Scott’s accidental heroism is coopted interference give him depth. differentiate characters and demonstrate versa- by right-wingers for their own ends. Earnest in its portrayal of complicated family tility. Occasional words in non-English languages Eschewing easy sympathy and tidy resolu- bonds, My Good Son is a resonant novel set and colloquial expressions help to recreate the tions to its dilemmas, Hashtag Good Guy with a during a turbulent time in China, wherein fam- multicultural vibe of the island. Details—man- Gun is a bracing, affecting novel that laments a ilies face the universal struggles of connection goes, iguanas, sea turtles, cinnamon bark, and society on the edge of madness. and commonality. calypso—evoke the sights, scents, sounds, and HO LIN PAIGE VAN DE WINKLE tastes of the island. In her virtuosic literary debut, Celeste Mohammed reveals the dark underbelly of a lush tropical island. SUZANNE KAMATA

60 May/June 2021 MYSTERY ROMANCE “DEVASTATING AND TRIUMPHANT …” —H H H H H FOREWORD CLARION REVIEW

Not the Real Jupiter A Proper Scoundrel Barbara Wilson, Cedar Street Publications (MAY 20) Esther Hatch, Covenant Communications (MAY 10) Softcover $16.95 (254pp), 978-0-9883567-6-4 Softcover $15.99 (256pp), 978-1-5244-1698-0

Amateur sleuth and literary translator Cassandra In Esther Hatch’s endearing romance A Proper Reilly returns in Barbara Wilson’s Not the Real Scoundrel, a railroad owner and a notorious Jupiter, an engrossing mystery about the secrets rogue fake a relationship, only to find the seeds behind a small Portland press. of love. Cassandra is translating the work of a fiery Diana is the successful owner of two railroad Uruguayan, Luisa, who dislikes how Entre Editions lines with plans of opening more. The main is handling her book. She agrees to advocate for obstacle is her unceasing cavalcade of suitors, Luisa. But Giselle, the publisher, is killed before most of whom hope to claim her wealth after Cassandra can meet her. In the course of her marriage. In a flash of inspiration, Diana realizes slow, chatty investigation, Cassandra uncovers that, if she ruins her reputation, no man will want Entre Editions’ heated employee relationships, her, leaving her free to conduct business. Diana which include lesbian love and financial mis- decides to turn to the legendary rogue Lord deeds; background about Giselle’s Québécois Bryant, who’s known for leaving a trail of ruined family; and a writer who knew Giselle’s mother. reputations across London. 2020 INDIES She juggles her own deadlines, too. Bryant is proud of his notoriety. His image Sophisticated humor follows from the ins- has been honed and cultivated, and he wears FINALIST and-outs of translation work. From managing it like armor. A trauma in his past broke him, projects like a difficult book about new moth- leaving him closed off to any possible future erhood, to competition, egos, and the annoying romance. Diana proves to be a balm for his soul. Two friends embark on a tendency of reviewers to make translators feel Bryant finds himself warming to the headstrong mission to discover the entire invisible, Cassandra’s work parallels her sleuth- woman who refuses to fall for his charm. The two ing in entertaining ways. Cold mothers and alien- engage in a relationship that kindles as a friend- truth, not just about one’s ated daughters also populate the book, tying into ship, but begins to evolve into something deeper. Giselle’s circumstances and revealed past in The book is populated by engaging char- murdered father, but the serendipitous ways. acters, including Bryant’s elderly butler, who’s corruption endemic in the Luisa’s periodic communications with eager to help his master, and Diana’s precocious Cassandra are a text highlight. She is brash but young nephews, who force her to voice a story- Central Valley. The Road to sensitive, a once-promising writer whose lack book. Bryant’s backstory is difficult, but the cou- of modesty is a source of levity. Portland area ple’s fast-firing, witty banter outshines his angst. Delano is the path they must highlights are featured as Cassandra peruses His legacy as a reputation defiler proves to be Powell’s, sleeps at the Sylvia Beach hotel, and grounded in a heartfelt attempt to prevent oth- take to find their strength, meets passionate writers, too. The particulars ers from enduring the pain he’s suffered. Diana their duty, their destiny. of the mystery are less compelling: key facts are believes she’s using him to scare men away, but divulged by people who are all too willing to talk, he’s eager to do that for women in similar posi- and the culprit is a shadowy background figure. tions. The chasteness and grounded warmth of “… keeps the reader’s Cassandra takes the spotlight as an uncon- their connection injects an emotional tone that ventional expat whose current flux hints at the is echoed in the book’s hopeful closing chapter. total attention from pitfalls and pleasures of a wandering life. A Proper Scoundrel is a clean romance with Not the Real Jupiter is a fascinating mystery deep-seated warmth and heart. cover to cover ...” novel that probes women’s stories and exposes JOHN M. MURRAY —MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW niche publishing corners in delightful ways. KAREN RIGBY rarebirdlit.com

forewordreviews.com 61 REVIEWS ADULT FICTION

ROMANCE ROMANCE SCIENCE FICTION

David and Ameena Isabelle and Alexander How to Mars Ami Rao, Fairlight Books (MAY 1) Softcover $15.95 Rebecca Anderson, Shadow Mountain Publishing David Ebenbach, Tachyon Publications (MAY 25) (400pp), 978-1-912054-27-5 (MAY 4) Softcover $15.99 (368pp) Softcover $16.95 (240pp), 978-1-61696-356-9 978-1-62972-847-6 Meatballs, free jazz, and subway singers? This Six bold adventurers leave Earth behind forever is a fine romance. A fanciful courtship flour- Though love often blooms in adversity, an in David Ebenbach’s droll science fiction novel ishes between two artistic loners in David and arranged marriage, class differences, and a sud- How to Mars. Ameena, whose leads deal with connections, den devastating accident all act as impediments Of the many applicants for a one-way excur- synchronicity, and cultural differences. to intimacy in Rebecca Anderson’s sweet clean sion to Mars, six are selected, both for their David and Ameena are first-generation immi- romance novel, Isabelle and Alexander. scientific acumen and for their telegenic quali- grants. He is a Lithuanian Jew, she is Pakistani- Isabelle comes into her own in the era of ties. Destination Mars! isn’t just a terraforming via-Manchester and Muslim. They form a England’s Industrial Revolution. She is not of aris- project: it’s a reality television show, sponsored winning combination of contrasts. In New York, tocratic birth, but her family does have money. by a corporation that’s in semi denial about its they’re free to unpack their family and cultural Her husband, Alexander, is a self-made man who godlike aspirations. baggage, and to explore their true passions: for owns mills in Manchester, the heart of indus- Though there are hard conditions to being a him, music, and for her, visual art. trial England. Though his rise left him rich, he’s part of Destination Mars!, the six agree to every David and Ameena are drawn together by a uncertain of himself in social circles. Isabelle was rule. When Jenny and Josh flip the script by get- series of shared, synchronous miracles. Raised untutored and unprepared for a reticent man; she ting pregnant, it sends their community into crisis to succeed, both struggle with the pressures finds it difficult to draw Alexander out. Just when mode. The danger is not just from within, or from of assimilation and the impossibility of fitting it seems that they might overcome their differ- the resentful organizers on Earth: the unseen in; they both toil in the marketing mines of ences, an accident derails their progress. Martians, who are already wary of their visitors, Manhattan, finding time to appreciate art in The book builds a world around its charac- are alarmed. They plot to reorganize the chaos. spare moments. In each other, they find muses, ters, drawing tension from history and including How to Mars is a raucous joyride across the red sparking each other’s curiosity and chutzpah. period details, as of how little was understood planet. It discombobulates for the fun of it, and is They also contend with deep prejudices and regarding medical diagnoses. It illustrates the sly in raising issues of voyeurism, consumerism, assumptions about one another, but these social supports available to women, which are and the unholy combination of moneyed interests beliefs are a small obstacle. integral to their successes in life and marriage, with science. Sweetness and melancholy wend Here, New York is detailed in rich terms that by focusing on Isabelle’s friends and house- into otherwise dire situations. A geologist learns range from the romantic to the ridiculous. From keeper. Such women also help Isabelle to assert to knit booties while the Martians try to make first local customs, like giving the intersection instead her independence, and her authority as wife and contact; a technical engineer flirts with anarchy. of an address of a meeting place, to urban leg- lady of the house. Also because of their interac- The search for life in Mars’s groundwater turns ends, like the accidental death of a starlet during tions, Isabelle transitions from an unaware, lei- up little; the six are overwhelmed by frequent, a romantic rendezvous, New York is alive. The sure-class woman to a more enlightened spouse unnecessary shipments of branded towels. And city’s role in the romance is satisfying. and supporter of the working class. though the days are long, there’s reason to stay While the chapters glimpse into the experi- Intimacy and romance develop between active: “Mars … may be dull, but only until your ences that influenced David and Ameena, their Isabelle and Alexander because of simple ges- oxygenator stops working.” behavior in the present is most fascinating. In tures, like a long look or a thoughtful gift, and Among scenes that find the six establishing New York, the novel insists, you can be anything their conversations. Their slow, stately courting mundane Martian routines come riotous clips or anyone. The ultra-modern architecture and is reader appropriate for any age or audience. from the Destination Mars! handbook, flash- culture of ambition are a powerful contrast to the Manchester also gets its due as a place of grit backs to the torturous tests that Destination couple’s ferocious grip on their pasts. and incredible production. Descriptions of bus- Mars! subjected its applicants to, and notes from In the end, New York is as breathtaking as the tling mills reveal their impact on the couple’s the field (both the Martian landscape, and the easy, sophisticated storytelling that brings David family and its fortunes. six’s internal topographies). The combination is and Ameena together under the cool shadows of Isabelle and Alexander is an intimate and irresistible fun. Through its heartbreaks and sur- Madison Avenue’s fairy tale spires. touching romance novel that focuses on women’s prises, How to Mars is an interplanetary delight. CLAIRE FOSTER lives in the business class of industrial England. MICHELLE ANNE SCHINGLER CAMILLE-YVETTE WELSCH

62 May/June 2021 SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORIES The Woman’s World Trilogy BY LYNNE HILL-CLARK

The Best of World SF: Echo Tree H Volume 1 H Henry Dumas, Coffee House Press Lavie Tidhar (Editor), Head of Zeus (JUN (MAY 4) Softcover $19.95 (416pp) 1) Hardcover $39.95 (624pp), 978-1-83893-764-5 978-1-56689-607-8 Although science fiction imagines diverse, With a new introduction by John Keene and a imaginative, and frightening futures, genre new foreword by editor Eugene B. Redmond, anthologies rarely achieve the brilliant range the second edition of Henry Dumas’s short and diversity of voices of The Best of World SF: story collection Echo Tree introduces his work Volume 1. Edited by Lavie Tidhar, this labor of to a new generation. love includes twenty-six stories that run the Black culture and manhood take center stage global gamut of contemporary science fiction’s in these stories. Men’s physicality, intellect, and best writers. From Ghana to India, from Mexico perception, along with the ways men code-switch, BOOK 1: to France, from Israel to Cuba, the stories are the ways they learn to navigate being at home and A WOMAN’S WORLD ambitious in breadth and vision; they portend in society, and how they develop strength and what’s still possible in the beloved genre. empathy, are explored in Dumas’s lyrical, brutal With contributions from Gerardo Horacio prose, which orients and propels his tales to reso- Porcayo, Kuzhali Manickavel, and Zen Cho, this nant endings, signaling a mastery of craft. anthology includes every conceivable iteration The stories follow an internal chronology of the fantastic future. Robots, spaceships, that’s unconstrained by their original publication weird stories, speculative and near-future fic- order. That chronology is reflected in the ages tion, and time travel are all reimagined in ter- of the lead characters, from boyhood to man- rifying, visceral ways. Each story is a gem that hood, and in moving from contemporary times contains unforgettable images. to the future. Some stories, like “Harlem,” are In these worlds, blood floats in jellyfish-shaped straightforward in interrogating the ways that zero gravity globules, and courtesans perform Black people have been exploited for economic BOOK 2: BOOK 3: snake dances with miniature albino sandworms. purposes, and have been made to believe that LOST A COLLISION In Chen Qiufan’s “Debtless,” space miners are social success can only be achieved through POWERS OF WORLDS enslaved to pay off inescapable “debt that is imitating the oppressors. Other stories, like “The encrypted and embedded in your genes.” In Aliette Marchers,” are allegories, approaching similar de Bodard’s “Immersion,” the future retains traces subjects from a different angle. Baya has prepared her of a rich cultural past that is just out of reach, smell- The dexterity with which Dumas handles his ing of lemongrass and fish sauce. Separated from themes transfers to the ways his stories take entire life for three trials. her roots, the narrator feels “like a field of sugar up space in several literary movements. “Echo If she survives them, the canes after the harvest—burnt out, all cutting Tree” and “Ark of Bones” find their footing edges with no sweetness left inside.” in the Southern Gothic tradition, calling forth real challenges will begin. By shifting the focus of “the future” from ancestors and ghosts of the past, and infusing New York or London, global science fiction hon- everyday, rural life with Black spiritualism. The ors a vast diversity of visions and experience, beginning shapes of Afrofuturism, blending the Nothing is what it backgrounds and culture. The anthology brings Black American experience and science fic- a fresh, revolutionary perspective in that its tion themes, take form in “The Metagenesis of seems, so don’t say I selections are intentionally curated to suggest Sunra,” an homage to the artist Sun Ra. that the horizon is both closer and brighter than With a sharp eye that is both a credit to the didn’t warn you. Western readers might think. original writing and the strength of its editing, Vital and exciting, The Best of World SF blows these stories connect the past to the present. the blast panels off the dusty, well-worn tropes Echo Tree is a vibrant short story collection. of popular science fiction and lets in a dazzling DONTANÁ MCPHERSON-JOSEPH LYNNEHILLCLARK.COM burst of lunar light. CLAIRE FOSTER

forewordreviews.com 63 REVIEWS ADULT FICTION

SHORT STORIES SHORT STORIES SHORT STORIES

In the Event of Contact Radium Girl These Americans Ethel Rohan, Dzanc Books (MAY 18) Softcover H Sofi Papamarko, Wolsak and Wynn Jyotsna Sreenivasan, Minerva Rising (MAY 3) $16.95 (200pp), 978-1-950539-26-0 Publishers (JUN 1) Softcover $18 Softcover $17 (212pp), 978-1-950811-06-9 (200pp), 978-1-989496-26-8 Distance, psychological and physical, runs The crafted stories of Jyotsna Sreenivasan’s col- through Ethel Rohan’s short story collection Plain language and straightforward writing make lection These Americans offer the perspectives In the Event of Contact. Here, contact, or the ambiguity the exception instead of the rule in of immigrant and native-born Indian Americans lack thereof, signals loss, emptiness, and need. Radium Girl. In twelve whiplash-fast stories, Sofi as they balance Indian culture with the expecta- Meanwhile, intimacy is a double-edged sword. Papamarko tackles belonging, grief, delusion, tions with American life. In settings including America to Ireland, and consent with deftness and unique situations. “Mirror” begins with a birth at an Ohio hos- Rohan’s characters negotiate treacherous emo- Breaking boundaries to explore ideas of oth- pital in 1967; the mother, Prema, is a recent tional distances in poignant ways. A man in San ering, “Margie and Lu” follows a set of con- immigrant with her husband. Beyond the stress Francisco who’s cheating on his wife bridles at joined twins who are trying to fit in with their of labor, Prema is upset that her obstetrician his Irish mother’s visit. A New York hairdresser young adult peers. The story culminates with an is a man. In India, she complains, only women discovers how deep her emotional rift is with impactful scene where one sister plunges their doctors assist with childbirth. Prema is given a her parents over the issue of children. In “In the shared body into a sexual encounter. mirror to watch the baby emerge—a notion that Event of Contact,” the youngest of three identi- A lighthearted, whimsical woman reaches she finds unnerving and immodest. However, cal triplets cannot bear to be touched, causing her breaking point in “White Cake,” taking once she allows herself to witness the delivery, the sisters to drift apart. an unlikely course in dealing with her foes. A she feels empowered and delighted by the arrival The stories’ women are burdened by their career-boosting dinner party spirals in “The of her “princess.” bodies and womanhood. The hairdresser ago- Pollinators” because of a relentless, obsessive As seen in Prema’s story, immigrants in the nizes over whether her marriage could withstand conversation and the alienated host’s sudden period before the internet had greater difficulty the abortion she had. A mother finally takes her disclosure of marital tribulations. transitioning to American life; outside of urban first flying lesson when her uterus hemorrhages. A family follows a nuclear attack sur- areas, Indian groceries were difficult to find, and In other stories, young women grapple with men vival guide to the letter in the fascinating tale cultural accommodations were rare. But subse- in sexualized encounters, when what they want “Something to Cry About,” filling a fallout shelter quent stories feature later generations and more is intimacy. Older women in “Collisions” and with food and water and preparing an exercise assimilation; their characters are often resistant “Any Wonder Left” feel desire, but not sexiness. program. A single missing item leads to the to Indian traditions. In “Mrs. Raghavendra’s By contrast, the men are less encumbered: family’s unmitigated fracturing and a bizarre Daughter,” Anjana hides her relationship with a boy gets into scraps because he wants to be revelation. “Radium Girl” is wistful, powerful, her American lesbian girlfriend, and wishes that Sherlock Holmes; a rural teenager lusts after and breathtaking—a fictionalization of real-life her mother would stop trying to arrange a con- an older, divorced lodger, sees her naked, and events and a tribute, all at once. Its cast works ventional marriage. In “Revolution,” twelve-year- has violent fantasies. Even when burdened by with the revolutionary material Undark. As they old Anita refuses to travel to Bangalore to visit physical conditions, as with a traffic warden in a fall ill, one by one, a young woman finds strength her father’s family, hoping to go to summer camp wheelchair and a priest suffering from dementia, in the radium, using it to defeat her oppressors. in Michigan instead. they manage to roam—the former through being Moving between Canadian and United States Though there are instances of racism, most nursed by a desirable woman, and the latter by locales, the stories are all distinct, yet share a of the characters in the book are welcoming wandering out of his house. tension and darkness that’s not always appar- and supportive. There are notable moments Rohan’s plain prose helps to feature the emo- ent at the outset. Hints of the supernatural of humor, as when a teenager tries to discuss tional earthquakes these characters undergo surprise, as in the changing photographs of the influence of Mahatma Gandhi with his while they’re navigating ordinary happenings, deceased parents whose deaths both devastate mercurial Indian grandfather. And there is the and her masterful use of Irish lilts and rhythms their daughter and release her from their expec- poignant “Hawk,” in which an accomplished helps to reveal intricate emotional distances tations. Attractiveness, inexperience, youth, and doctor reflects upon her life, her relationship between those who left and those who stayed women’s issues are frequent themes, but are with her daughter, and her devastating diagnosis behind, even as it nestles the reader deep into approached from dissimilar angles. of Alzheimer’s disease. her characters’ hearts and minds. Easy and engrossing, the short stories of Though there are subtle variations in tone ELAINE CHIEW Radium Girl provoke unease and careful thought and setting, the stories of These Americans form about diverse human experiences.. a cohesive, captivating collection. TANISHA RULE MEG NOLA

64 May/June 2021 THRILLER THRILLER A SPIRITED GUIDE

for aging folks and the people who love them

Dead Point Gumshoe in the Dark LaVonne Griffin-Valade, Severn River Publishing Rob Leininger, Oceanview Publishing (JUN 1) (JUN 15) Softcover (383pp), 978-1-64875-093-9 Hardcover $26.95 (336pp), 978-1-60809-433-2

In LaVonne Griffin-Valade’s spirited mystery Rob Leininger’s Gumshoe in the Dark is a twisty novel Dead Point, an officer carries the weight of mystery that benefits from dark humor and her town on her shoulders while trying to solve a unforgettable characters. gruesome series of murders. Mort is an ex-IRS agent and a current PI who After twenty years away, Maggie returns has a knack for finding high-profile dead bodies. to her hometown, John Day, as a sergeant for He’s on his way to a small Nevada town to find a Oregon’s state police. Most of the population hustler who stands to inherit over half a million keeps to itself, harboring simmering hatred of dollars when he encounters a half-naked girl authority figures. The lack of funding and per- with a gun on a lonely desert highway. Before sonnel leads Maggie to take on extra responsi- he knows it, he and the girl, Harper, are on the bilities, starting with monitoring hunting in the run from some very bad men. They get wrapped We all eventually have surrounding forests. An anonymous tip directs up in the disappearance of Harper’s mother, the her to two brothers who were seen skinning a Nevada attorney general. physical difficulties to deer. When the brothers are found murdered, Mort and Harper are attracted to each other, contend with. In three parts, Maggie tackles her first homicide investigation but he’s devoted to his wife, Lucy. With Lucy’s filled with humorous stories with a partner, Hollis. help, Mort vows to keep Harper safe. He contin- and tips on accessible The brothers’ murder reveals much about ues to chase down his quarry and uncover clues the town and the surrounding valley, including about what happened to Harper’s mother. But travel, accommodating the fact that violent crime is rare there, and that as the dead bodies start to multiply, Mort knows a loved one’s physical the people are interconnected. Maggie knew that his and Harper’s days might be numbered. challenges, and advice on the brothers; it becomes apparent that the killer This hard-boiled mystery is appealing self-care, No Spring is someone in town. Before long, more bodies because of the humble lead at its center. The stack up, motives are revealed, and several sus- outrageous banter and flirtation between Mort Chicken: Stories and Advice pects are named. and Harper give the book a satisfying air of from a Wild Handicapper Maggie’s investigation uncovers the good nostalgic unreality. Paired with Mort’s clear love on Aging and Disability and bad of her small town, in which gossip trav- for his wife, his new relationship has a playful, is accessible and wryly funny. els fast and everyone has secrets. As she works nonthreatening feel. to find the killer, sifting through all she’s pre- With several mysteries occurring at once, the A second book by Francine sented with to determine what gossip is correct, book reveals clues to each in almost every chap- Falk-Allen, a polio survivor and which secrets are relevant, Maggie’s limits ter. The ties between events start to combine in with a lifetime of experience. are pushed, and her morality is tested, but she the last quarter of the novel. When Harper and persists with grim determination. Mort run afoul of the bad guys, they’ve become The book’s colorful characters include a such distinct characters that concern for their friendly Scotsman who runs the feed store and well-being is almost palpable. Gumshoe in the Maggie’s protective landlady, who’s eager to see Dark is a wild, funny joyride of a mystery novel. IngramORDER Publisher TODAY! Services her married off. The violent nature of the crimes ANGELA MCQUAY are contrasted with the stark beauty of the www.ingramcontent.com land, the fierce independence of the town, and Maggie’s drive to keep John Day safe. Dead Point is an engrossing neo-Western She Writes Press thriller in which justice and morality clash. JOHN M. MURRAY PB 978-1-64742-120-5 $16.95 E 978-1-64742-121-2 $9.95

forewordreviews.com 65 REVIEWS ADULT FICTION/NONFICTION

TRANSLATIONS TRANSLATIONS

Among the Hedges Roundabout of Death Sara Mesa, Megan McDowell (Translator) Faysal Khartash, Max Weiss (Translator) Open Letter (MAY 8) Softcover $14.95 (120pp) New Vessel Press (MAY 18) Softcover $16.95 978-1-948830-39-3 (176pp), 978-1-939931-92-4

In Sara Mesa’s warm, nuanced novel Among the A heartwrenching and shocking work of his- Hedges, a friendship blossoms, defying cultural torical fiction, Faysal Khartash’s Roundabout expectations. of Death focuses on the human cost of Syria’s Every day, a thirteen-year-old girl skips civil war. “A go-to school, heads to the park, and spends time writ- Set in the coffee shops, apartments, and ing in her notebook, hidden by hedges and trees. street corners of Aleppo and Raqqa, the capital source for the An older man, later revealed to be in his fifties, of ISIS, the novel follows Jumaa, an unemployed fundamentals discovers her there and visits her. Though she is Arabic teacher who struggles to live peacefully at first suspicious and annoyed by this intrusion, in a dangerous city. The story revolves around of bringing the girl begins to enjoy his company. Calling each death, which comes in all forms: the deaths together CTE teachers.” other “Soon” and “Old Man,” the two develop of parents and children, the death of culture, rapport, but the threat of discovery looms over and the death of Syrian city landscapes. These —Barry Burke, former director their complex friendship. deaths are presented as artifacts of Aleppo, with of career & technology Knowing that most people would condemn its public hanging space, desecrated statues, education, Montgomery County her connection to Old Man, Soon recognizes the and bombed out apartments and city squares. potential for danger in her talks with him. She The book’s short chapters read like self-con- Public Schools, Maryland begins to see Old Man’s behavior, speech pat- tained stories about Jumaa, his family, intellec- terns, and single-minded obsession with birds tual friends who pass time in cafés, and notable and Nina Simone as unusual. But she is open to people in Aleppo and Raqqa, like the shabbiha “A thoughtful, what’s surprising and unconventional, and her militiamen who sport Russian firearms as they professional, and nonjudgmental nature reveals new worlds to her. loom in town squares and the corners of shops, Soon’s responses to Old Man are both per- and Miss Beauties, a woman who wanders the practical resource for ceptive and limited. She recognizes his essen- city, and who is raped and used by intellectuals CTE professionals!” tial kindness, but a poignant contrast emerges and shabbiha alike. between what she understands and what adults Khartash’s idiomatic expressions and —Chris Merrill, professor of would grasp about his character. The narration unusual sentence constructions preserve the technology & engineering education focuses on Soon’s thoughts and feelings, switch- culture and nuances of the source language, and STEM education & leadership, ing between interior and exterior views of her, making the text and, by proxy, the realities resulting in glimpses of how she sees herself and that so many people face, accessible. Precise Illinois State University how she appears to the world. language elucidates the book’s themes: when Tension builds as Soon misses more and Jumaa experiences Raqqa under ISIS rule, he more school, and as temperatures drop with hears a car “blasting religious anthems about Paperback $36.95 (192pp) the approach of winter. Uncertainty about the virtues of jihad.” This is juxtaposed with the ISBN: 978-1-949539-67-7 whether Soon’s parents will learn of her truancy, daily blasting of bombs, which interferes with the or whether the park maintenance workers will citizens of Aleppo’s daily lives. Other blasts are discover and report her and Old Man, results in seen during Jumaa’s stay in the city, too, high- ORDER TODAY almost unbearable suspense. lighting its dangers—not because of bombings, Among the Hedges is a daring, sympathetic but because of the religious extremism of ISIS. SolutionTree.com/CollabCTE novel about a friendship between two people Roundabout of Death is a powerful novel that whom society would prefer to keep apart. takes a humane view of Syria’s devastation. REBECCA HUSSEY GEORGE HAJJAR

66 May/June 2021 TRANSLATIONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR 2 Poets Laureate ALL 62 National Parks

ONE BOOK

Solo Viola: A Post-Exotic Seed to Dust: Life, Nature, and a H Novel Country Garden Antoine Volodine, Lia Swope Mitchell (Translator) Marc Hamer, Greystone Books (MAY 4) Hardcover University of Minnesota Press (MAY 11) Softcover $26.95 (416pp), 978-1-77164-768-7 $17.95 (112pp), 978-1-5179-1119-5 Marc Hamer’s Seed to Dust is a meditative Antoine Volodine’s superb post-exotic novel Solo account of a year in the twelve-acre British Viola imagines a society that’s one step removed garden he tended for decades. The seasons turn from reality. With a narrative spiced up by absur- with comforting regularity, assuaging the ache of dity and a dead serious message, this is a brisk, aging and bad memories. engrossing, and phantasmagorical take on tyr- Hamer’s account of his final year as a gar- anny and curbed freedoms. dener is loving. When he started, the site was a Taking place over a single day, this timely, London family’s weekend, countryside retreat. universal novel is split into two parts. Its first Rumor had it that his employer, the septuagenar- half plows forward in amusing fits and starts, ian Miss Cashmere, had been a spy during the introducing a host of characters: a trio of paroled Cold War. Hamer, in his sixties and slowing down prisoners who have good reason to loathe the due to heart problems and stiff joints, chronicles Poets Karla K. Morton and government; a mercurial viola player, Tchaki; an the garden’s progress and recalls a period of anthropomorphic bird fleeing the authorities; vagrancy after he left school at fifteen. Alan Birkelbachs’ journey to a rebellious clown; and a horse thief who gets Hamer begins with winter dreaming and celebrate our National Parks’ brainwashed by political rhetoric. Looming over preparation, but the book is soon overtaken them all are the Frondists, the all-seeing and by the hard labor of planting, mowing, prun- hundredth anniversary quickly all-knowing ruling party that governs the land ing, scything, and deadheading. The writing became something greater. Their with a cruel fist, subjugating minority groups like is infused with a deep knowledge of nature’s book is lavishly illustrated with the negs. When Tchaki’s string quartet sched- rhythms, including the flowers blooming, and ules a recital featuring pieces by neg composers, birds and insects flying, in a given month. Hamer gorgeous color photographs it sets off a devastating chain of events. These marks the solstice and writes of life cycles and of all America’s grand national are chronicled in the story’s second half, which is the legends associated with plants. told from the point of view of Iakoub, a writer who This is creative nonfiction, as the prologue parks, alongside poetry inspired himself specializes in the post-exotic. acknowledges: “in essence what is here is truth, from each park by these two Volodine’s arch, knowing prose chronicles although in fact it is often not.” The prose is adorned a world that’s a fun house mirror image of our with lovely metaphors: “I kneel, a gardener priest award-winning poets laureate. own, where hygiene patrols stamp out dissents, tending to my flock of dahlias” and “my jug of a chance encounters between characters lead head is empty and light to carry.” Black-and-white to comedy and calamity, and the political pow- woodcut-style illustrations by Jonathan Ashworth “… a feast for the ers-that-be ally themselves with a local carnival are a gorgeous addition. In places, though, the for a rally that’s fitting in its buffoonishness. By content becomes repetitive—a danger of the diary eyes and heart.” its second half, the novel moves beyond satire format. However, the book’s focus on emotions into tragedy: Tchaki’s concert is interrupted and self-perception is refreshing. —TCU PRESS by Frondist sympathizers, and all the narrative As it wanes, this quiet but exuberant book threads converge in a violent climax that ups the develops a melancholy afterglow: a way of life is AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON narrative intensity to a fever pitch. ending, yet the uxorious Hamer is content with Haunting and elegiac, Solo Viola has its share his home life. Seed to Dust posits nature and love AND AT TAMUPRESS.COM of whimsy, but it’s all in service of an earnest as consolations for life’s sadness. meditation on the dangers of fascism that lingers REBECCA FOSTER long after the story is concluded. A percentage of royalties HO LIN goes back to the National Parks

forewordreviews.com 67 REVIEWS ADULT NONFICTION

AUTOBIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR AUTOBIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR BIOGRAPHY

Wait for God to Notice We Are Bridges The Life and Times of Jo Mora: Sari Fordham, Etruscan Press (MAY 21) Softcover H Cassandra Lane, The Feminist Press Iconic Artist of the American West $19 (296pp), 978-1-73367-415-7 (APR 20) Softcover $17.95 (256pp) Peter Hiller, Gibbs Smith (APR 20) Hardcover $30 978-1-952177-92-7 (336pp), 978-1-4236-5735-4 Sari Fordham grew up in the Seventh Day Adventist Church as the child of missionaries; Cassandra Lane’s hybrid memoir We Are Bridges Peter Hiller’s illuminating biography The Life and her poetic memoir Wait for God to Notice is about incorporates imagined histories and evocative Times of Jo Mora tours the works of one of the her childhood experiences in Uganda, during Idi memories into its multigenerational tale of trauma. most productive, multitalented artists of twenti- Amin’s 1970s reign of terror. In the moment that Lane decided to have a eth-century America. The second child of an American father baby, she also became determined to discover Containing two hundred photographs of and a Finnish mother, Fordham moved with her the ancestral stories that she knew existed, but Mora’s work and excerpts from his journals, let- family to a country that was known to be dan- had no record of. She grew up in Louisiana as the ters, and published writings, this book is less a gerous, though she was too young to know that eldest girl of five children. As she wonders about personal biography than it is an exploration of at the time. Her childhood was at once idyllic the future of her unborn child, she reaches back Mora’s creative processes and output. Drawing and fraught with danger. She writes about her to memories of her maternal grandparents, Papa on the Jo Mora archives and his public and private mother, who she both knew and did not know; Houston and Grandmama Avis. Grandma Mary, writings, drawings, paintings, prints, sculptures, about how faith was the undercurrent of her Papa Houston’s mother, was the oldest relative and architectural adornments, this showcase of family’s life; and about adapting to the unfamiliar that Lane knew. Mora’s work reveals the artist as a man driven by and unforgiving environment. Drawing on family stories and scraps of truth, dedication to his family and his subjects. With humor and candor, Fordham discusses Lane reconstructs rich histories for Mary and Mora grew up in New York, New Jersey, and the political situation in Uganda and the nuances of her first lover, and for Papa Houston’s father, Massachusetts loving all things Western. He the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Scenes cover Burt Bridges. Her book’s short, emotive chap- moved West as a young man and wrote, photo- her mother’s neverending battle with tomato-steal- ters reimagine the pain and suffering that her graphed, sketched, and painted while visiting ing monkeys, the constant lookout for snakes, a great-grandparents withstood. Lane expresses the missions and the ranches of California. In viper in the laundry basket, and swarms of driver that she feels those bonds in her blood and bones, Arizona, he hunted with the Navajo and lived ants. The family also dealt with their inability to find and carries each family truth as a lesson of survival. for over two years with the Hopi. Excerpts from basic items like soap, an overabundance of finger The book discusses the inherited trauma of Mora’s journals show his drive to explore and to bananas, and a frightening visit from a soldier. Still, lynching, poverty, and being othered by a society record, in art and prose, much of what he saw. though they were out of their element, they came that valued Black Americans less. It questions the This work became source material for Mora’s to view Uganda as home. roles of men in the lives of the Bridges women, later painting and sculptures. The memoir also has a cathartic element, as including the men who left Lane’s mother, her As Mora matured into a professional artist, Fordham seeks to understand her mother and all grandma’s abusive husband, and the man whom married, and raised his children near Monterey, of her complexities. Letters from her parents to Lane divorced. Knowing about the struggles her he became well known for his detailed historical her grandparents are incorporated; from these matriarchs endured, Lane is reticent to become maps, creative drawings of clothed animals, pieces, Fordham constructs new understand- a mother herself; she weighs her decision to keep and paintings of cowboys, Native Americans, ings of her parents, and of the country that her baby. She also reaches for healing through her and Western settings. The book includes much became lodged in her psyche and in her heart. writing, as she covers her own wounds and those discussion and display of this work, while also Its language melodic, Wait for God to Notice of her ancestors. She winds up in a place of grace, covering Mora’s achievements in sculpture, is a compelling memoir. This ode to a childhood with hope for her son. including processes for developing such gran- spent in a foreign country doubles as a explo- We Are Bridges is an exceptional memoir diose and lucrative three-dimensional projects ration of, and reconciliation within, an intricate of self-discovery through family histories, even as the Junipero Serra cenotaph and a diorama of mother-daughter relationship. without official records. the Portola Expedition of 1769. HILARY DANINHIRSCH MONICA CARTER As a testament to, and investigation of, Mora’s “never diminished” creative drive, and as a contribution to a study of Western art, The Life and Times of Jo Mora, like the work of Mora himself, honors and dignifies its subject. JOE TAYLOR

68 May/June 2021 BIOGRAPHY COOKING

The Demon Slayer’s Handbook Series A game changer for anyone who suffers

CONQUER YOUR KARMIC RELATIONSHIPS: Heal The Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton How to Grill Vegetables: Spiritual Trauma to Open Neal Hutcheson, Reliable Archetype (MAY 1) H The New Bible for Barbecuing Your Heart and Restore Hardcover $45 (240pp), 978-0-578-65414-0 Vegetables over Live Fire Your Soul, Volume Three Steven Raichlen, Workman Publishing (MAY 11) “This should be mandatory Neal Hutcheson’s The Moonshiner Popcorn reading for anyone who Softcover $24.95 (336pp), 978-1-5235-0984-3 978-0-9963907-6-7 Sutton is the definitive biography of a famous wants to live a more $29.95 Appalachian moonshiner known for his home- Steven Raichlen’s How to Grill Vegetables is peaceful and joyous life.” made “likker.” Hutcheson, who first told the late an instant classic that brims with imaginative —Stephanie Chandler, moonshiner’s story on film, expands on his ear- treatments of fruits and veggies, whose natural lier account, compiling a high-quality scrapbook sugars reach “supernatural sweetness” when CEO of the Nonfiction about his subject. altered with smoke and fire. Authors Association Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton learned his distilling Plant ingredients muscle their way into this HEAL YOUR SOUL techniques from his father and grandfather, and most meatcentric cooking style, whether they’re HISTORY: Activate the was in demand for both his strong beverage and popped whole into embers, thrust on a spit, or True Power of Your the stills he used to make it. The book describes roasted in foil, though Raichlen underscores that Shadow, Volume Two his drive to perfect his craft, using Sutton’s own this book is not vegetarian, so much as “vegeta- words to capture his larger-than-life personality, ble forward.” The recipes include instructions for “An inspirational guide to using a soul’s long history which became a big part of his appeal. both wood and gas grilling, and most denote vari- 978-0-9963907-2-9 to combat present-day Sutton, whose health was in decline, com- ations for prepping ingredients ahead of time, or $16.95 negative forces.” mitted suicide in 2009 at the age of sixty-two, grilling hacks if one does not have all of the gear. —Kirkus Reviews just before beginning a prison sentence for sell- Most of the dishes seem easy to prepare, ing illegal liquor. Later, a distiller bearing his though a handful of time-intensive, accesso- name claimed to have used his recipes and pro- ry-necessary show stoppers are tucked in for MASTER YOUR INNER cesses, though Sutton remains something of an serious grillheads. Inventive flavor combinations WORLD: Embrace anti-establishment folk hero in his native North make the recipes distinctive. There’s delicious Your Power with Joy, Carolina and in moonshiner circles. nerdiness in the book’s deconstructions of par- Volume One Hutcheson’s book combines colorful inter- ticular grilling techniques or ingredients, as with views with Sutton, personal recollections of its rhapsodizing over the chartreuse fractals and “An encouraging meeting with him and creating the movie about mathematical structures of Romanesco broccoli. playbook for would-be him, and descriptions of how Sutton made his There are twists on familiar dishes, like Grilled demon-slayers.” —Kirkus Reviews 978-0-9963907-4-3 signature stills and beverages. It also includes Baba Ganoush, where eggplant, “that self-con- 978-0-9963907-7-4 an interesting chapter outlining the history of tained plant-based smoking system,” shines as (Spanish), $16.95 Appalachian moonshine from the nineteenth a dip for homemade grilled flatbreads and crack- century, putting Sutton in context of a regional ers. However, most of the book is made up of tradition that has changed a lot over the years, more unusual recipes—for grilled lettuce sal- RAINBOW WARRIOR but still retains its roots. ads, bacon and date kebabs, and the weird but ACTIVATION DECK The production of The Moonshiner Popcorn appealing eye-popper inspired by South Asian “A knock-out of the park Sutton is noteworthy as well: its beautiful layouts street hawkers, grilled eggs skewered in their activation deck for use and glossy paper will make it work as a coffee shells. These tempting grilled vegetable recipes during meditation, as table book and a keepsake. It features color trot the globe, culling flavors and techniques from well as shadow and photographs of Sutton at work and at home, of Armenia, Brazil, and Morocco, and also round 978-0-9963907-5-0 ascension work.” the Appalachian region where he operated, and the clock with ideas from breakfasts to desserts. $18.95 —Melinda Carver, of copies of newspaper stories and fliers about Their dry, humorous, staccato style replicates the moonshining legend. This is a comprehen- Raichlen’s tone on television cooking shows. Author & Columnist sive, enjoyable biography about a man and his How to Grill Vegetables is the perfect barbe- AVAILABLE FROM famous moonshine. cue cookbook for when we can all safely rejoice JEFF FLEISCHER in each other’s company again, sharing conver- newleafdist.com beaslayer.com sation, love, and vegetables seared to perfection. ingramcontent.com RACHEL JAGARESKI

forewordreviews.com 69 REVIEWS ADULT NONFICTION

COOKING CULTURE ESSAYS

Living Within the Wild: Personal Charlie Brown’s America: Lost in Summerland: Essays Stories & Beloved Recipes from Alaska The Popular Politics of Peanuts Barrett Swanson, Counterpoint (MAY 18) Hardcover Kirsten Dixon, Mandy Dixon, Alaska Northwest Blake Scott Ball, Oxford University Press (JUN 1) $26 (304pp), 978-1-64009-418-5 Books (APR 20) Hardcover $34.99 (304pp) Hardcover $34.95 (256pp), 978-0-19-009046-3 Barrett Swanson’s eloquent book Lost in 978-1-5132-6437-0 Blake Scott Ball charts the impact of the classic Summerland combines personal essays, journal- Kirsten and Mandy Dixon manage a set of family comic strip Peanuts on American culture, and ism, and travelogues into a memorable collection. businesses in Alaska, including two lodges, a vice versa, in Charlie Brown’s America. The book opens with “Notes from a Last café, and a cooking school. Living Within the Wild Peanuts is a cultural icon, but even with Man,” which at first seems to be an essay about collects rustic yet elegant recipes that serve as its sly humor inspired by changes in society, spending a winter in Florida instead of Wisconsin. “snapshots in time and place,” highlighting local such as Lucy’s “Psychiatric Help” booth, it’s not But as the piece unfolds, Swanson’s battle with ingredients and the melting pot of cultures. often considered a political strip, or one with an depression is revealed in subtle, descriptive When the Dixon family first moved to Alaska agenda. This book examines Peanuts in the light terms. It’s an indication of what’s to come: in in 1983, it was with the determination “to seek of the events that surrounded it, and considers this and thirteen other entries, personal recollec- a life lived close to nature.” They started a river the efforts of its creator, Charles Schulz, to make tions and reflections mix with on-site reportage, rafting company and added on other ventures. points through the strip when necessary, and resulting in compelling accounts of volunteering Mandy went to culinary school, returning after without alienating his audience. as a victim in a rescue worker training exercise, to help in the lodge kitchens. Their menus range The book discusses these topics alongside or of visiting a West Wing fan convention. Other from hearty feasts to simple meals that can be reprints of relevant strips, as with those from the subjects include a near fatal attack on Swanson’s cooked while camping. Wherever possible, the 1950s, when, in time with atomic age paranoia, brother, and that same brother’s later develop- Dixons use homegrown foods or ones they have Charlie Brown and Lucy play “H-bomb test,” ment of what he believes are spiritual abilities. foraged and caught. and Linus mistakes falling snow for nuclear fall- Serial killer conspiracy theories, social media, This humble, organic book takes a stand out. Snoopy’s fights with the Red Baron might OCD, a Florida social visionary, and veterans mak- against single-use plastics and food waste. A seem like humorous fantasies, but viewed in the ing a go of organic farming also appear. “stalks and stems sauce” for pasta is one of its context of their times, his battles with a deadly, The book’s wide, sophisticated vocabulary recommendations for using up leftovers. The unseen enemy are revealed to be a stand-in for makes even its most pedestrian statements and women are also committed to upholding local the Vietnam War. recounted dialogue enjoyable, though its com- food culture. In Alaska: seafood is abundant, and Elsewhere, Schulz’s faith, combined with plex wording leads to occasional obfuscation, salmon is a star ingredient. Various contributing increasing cultural emphasis on the commercial as when Swanson writes about a girl who once ethnicities are evident in the book: lentil “caviar” side of Christmas, inspired the casting of Linus saw “God’s light” in him, and admits to having served on blini evokes Russia, Yuzu dumplings as the voice of religion in the strip. And there wondered “what particular torsion of mind made and sushi sandwiches reflect Asian influences, are enlightening, moving excerpts from Schulz’s divine valences legible to her.” Uncommon syn- and there are Scandinavian and Native American correspondence with readers who lobbied for a onyms are also employed; whether these come traces in the red currant tart, and the black bean Black character. across as a matter of artistic license, or as impre- and reindeer sausage chili. In some places, the book argues that Schulz cise choices, will depend on the preferences and The section introductions include information might have done more. It includes strips that, predilections of the reader. on the daily running of the lodges, while short even today, are not easy to interpret, as when a Swanson’s perspectives are empathetic and preambles discuss the recipes’ inspiration, or give figure-skating Peppermint Patty ends an argu- honest. The people and situations he describes tips and serving suggestions. Vegetarian fare is in ment with Franklin, who’s practicing his ice are considered with the care of a sociologist, somewhat short supply, although there are appeal- hockey, with “How many black players in the but also a sensitive heart. The essay collection ing side dishes like a potato and smoked cherry NHL, Franklin?” Lost in Summerland forwards a smorgasbord of salad. The outside comes inside through desserts Charlie Brown’s America is a fascinating look ideas, people, and places, all filtered through the infused with spruce sugar, or topped with crystal- at the wider impact of Peanuts, one of the most perceptions of a skilled writer. lized cranberries that look frost-kissed. The food enduring, popular comic strips of all time. PETER DABBENE and landscape photographs are superb. PETER DABBENE The beauty of Alaska and its tempting culi- nary offerings come through equally in Living Within the Wild. REBECCA FOSTER

70 May/June 2021 ESSAYS HEALTH & FITNESS IS THERE A

W ARNINGT T THE MOMENT BEFO RE LIFE

Migratory Birds The Menopause Manifesto: Own SHATTERS H Mariana Oliver, Julia Sanches (Translator) Your Health with Facts and Feminism Transit Books (JUN 8) Softcover $15.95 (136pp) Jen Gunter, Kensington Books (MAY 25) Softcover IN T O 978-1-945492-52-5 $18.95 (400pp), 978-0-8065-4066-5 Part memoir, part history, and part travelogue, Jen Gunter’s The Menopause Manifesto is a self- Migratory Birds explores the vicissitudes of help guide through menopause for all women of PIECES? language. a certain age. Mariana Oliver touches down in vari- Menopause is commonplace and complicated A new perspective on ous times and places, showing how people at the same time. Shrouded in myth and peppered t h e V iet n a m w a r b y described their difficulties there and then, and with prejudice, it is not often spoken of, even Aw ard-w inning author revealing what changes in language arose from among women experiencing it, but Gunter is eager these events. From Normandy to Neverland, to set things straight. Through a combination of Libby Fischer Hellm a n n the through line of this excellent collection is personal anecdotes, hard science, and medical movement, and the essays meander around advice, she breaks menopause down into its com- history in an appealing way. ponent parts, robbing it of its shame and secrecy. The book starts with a short biography of inven- The biological mechanisms behind menopause tor Bill Lishman; most subsequent essays focus are revealed as matters of fact, as are the different on Germany after World War II. Two of the essays phases of menopause and their various symp- focus more on Oliver’s life and travels, with insights toms—including the fact that some women barely into why she focuses on travel and language else- notice that their bodies are changing, while others where. Her work about Germany rebuilding after are affected physically and mentally. the war, and dealing with the Cold War, emphasizes Gunter notes that patriarchal social struc- the fringe effects of global conflicts, especially in tures mean that a woman’s worth is weighed how people talk to each other every day. based on her youth and fertility, and that gen- The most moving essays in this book deal der and racial bias in the medical profession with the aftermath of crises and the task of also increase the risk of women with symp- using words to describe, with accuracy, the tragic toms of menopause being dismissed. Further, events taking place. In a piece about Cuba’s because hard facts are difficult to find, women Operation Peter Pan, Oliver follows the lost chil- are without the tools they need to stand up for dren of Cuba and addresses them as namesakes themselves and demand help. As a counter, she of the Lost Boys. Without insisting on the paral- discusses medical statistics in an easy-to-un- lels, the text acknowledges that the best way to derstand way, showing how they factor in to how connect with the children is through common women experience menopause, and how medi- stories. Alternatively, the essay “Trümmerfrauen” cal professionals treat them in the process. Her focuses on the microchanges that occurred in simple yet effective rhetorical device of gender the German language after the war, and how the flipping helps to further expose the hypocrisy German people rebuilt cities, brick by brick. that surrounds this natural biological process. Evincing reverence for language, the essays The book is organized in a way that makes it * Forew o rd Indies of Migratory Birds take a fascinating tour around possible to pick and choose what to read based F IN A L IS t the world, showing how historical events affect on need and curiosity. Each chapter ends with a the way we learn words. useful summary, and diagrams help to illustrate JULIA RITTENBERG the book’s statistics. Additional material toward the book’s end delves further into medications and science. The Menopause Manifesto is practical as it reclaims menopause from myths, educating and libbyhellmann.com empowering its audience in equal measure. ERIKA HARLITZ KERN

forewordreviews.com 71 REVIEWS ADULT NONFICTION

HISTORY HISTORY “... Weed Mom is a comprehensive, thoughtful, no-BS, easy-to-digest guide for modern canna-curious parents.”

Gossip Men: J. Edgar Hoover, Joe The Scent of Empires: Chanel No. 5 McCarthy, Roy Cohn, and the Politics and Red Moscow of Insinuation Karl Schlögel, Jessica Spengler (Translator) Christopher M. Elias, University of Chicago Press Polity (MAY 5) Hardcover $25 (220pp) (MAY 7) Hardcover $35 (288pp) 978-1-5095-4659-6 978-0-226-62482-2 Karl Schlögel’s cultural history The Scent of In his informative, entertaining history book, Empires tells the story of two perfumes that per- Gossip Men, Christopher M. Elias tracks the sur- meated portions of the twentieth century. veillance state of the latter half of the twentieth In 1913, French perfumers were commis- century to its roots in both a culture of gossip sioned to create a scent to celebrate 300 years and insinuation, and in a kind of performative of Romanov rule. But within months, the Russian masculinity practiced by some of the era’s key dynasty fell, and the world was at war. authoritarian figures. Notes for making the scent survived in Elias focuses on three men: J. Edgar altered forms. One debuted in Russia in 1925, Hoover, the director of the Federal Bureau of rechristened Red Moscow. Another version of Investigation; Joseph McCarthy, the Republican the formula made it to Paris, where Coco Chanel Wisconsin senator whose name has become asked perfumers to match her new, sleek cloth- synonymous with red-baiting witch hunts; and ing style. One of ten numbered bottles was cho- Roy Cohn, the lawyer and McCarthy ally who sen and introduced to the world as Chanel No. 5. 978-1646041213 made his name with the prosecution of the The process of imagining and composing Rosenbergs. He walks through each man’s scents is detailed; both Chanel and Russian per- PB, 288 pages, $13.89 career, tying them to themes of gossip—both fumers sought to capture the experiences of a innuendo that they spread, and that was spread particular time and place via their perfumes. about them and their sexuality. He shows that Schlögel is a knowledgeable guide through the Navigate the worlds of each tried to present himself as an archetypal eras covered, showing how the bottles for both cannabis and parenting male authority and makes a compelling case perfumes were redesigned to resemble spare, that the trio’s own insecurities manifested in square glass bricks, and Chanel’s “little black with this essential guide for their need to reveal others’ secrets, or to use dress” was likened to a Model T because it came untrue rumors to ruin lives. in basic black, embodied sophistication, and women interested in Elias addresses how Hoover’s upbringing could be worn by all. Red Moscow’s notes evoke influenced his rise to power: he witnessed the northern forests, while Chanel No. 5 incorporates learning more about THC, promotion of “G-man” to the status of a modern the freshness and excitement of champagne. dispensaries, micro-dosing, hero, and saw movies glorifying FBI agents, Both scents survived world wars, economic until he himself became a prominent persona depressions, political upheavals, and cultural edibles, and how to in that world. He also details McCarthy’s use of earthquakes; both remain on the market today. innuendo in his political races: he tried to come Schlögel’s work places each perfume in its incorporate it all into a across as a Midwestern tough guy, and used his cultural context. While Chanel is synonymous with healthy family life. nonexistent list of prominent communists as a No. 5, Red Moscow has no such lineage; its many tool to ruin numerous lives. He shows how Cohn creators fled communism, drifted into anonymity, hid his sexuality by cultivating an image based or vanished in successive purges. But their skill ORDER TODAY! on his habit of dating famous women. and artistry is a focal point here, including that Though these men’s public images ultimately of Polina Zhemchuzhina, who headed the Soviet unraveled, they left the United States with a sur- perfume and cosmetics industry and, despite her veillance legacy because of their gossip-driven achievements, ended up in a labor camp. Ulysses Press persecutions. Such revelations make Gossip The Scent of Empires views the twentieth ulyssespress.com Men an important, novel history text. century through the tantalizing lens of an iconic JEFF FLEISCHER perfume and its Russian rival. SUSAN WAGGONER

72 May/June 2021 NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY Dazzling, Daring Fiction

Wild Nights Out: The Magic of Work Will Set You Free: In the DPRK Exploring the Outdoors after Dark Ted Lau (Photographer), Yu-Ting Cheng (Contributor) Chris Salisbury, Chelsea Green Publishing (JUN 1) Zahra Amiruddin (Contributor), Daylight Books (MAY “A compelling novel about Softcover $19.95 (224pp), 978-1-60358-993-2 4) Hardcover $45 (96pp), 978-1-942084-95-2 two women caught in a con- Chris Salisbury’s Wild Nights Out is a fun, inven- Hong Kong photographer Ted Lau visited North stricting web of tradition, class, tive adventure guide about helping children Korea in October 2019, satisfying a long-held gender, and motherhood.” explore nature after dark. desire to see the controlled outlier nation. His — FOREWORD REVIEWS, This comprehensive handbook is loaded with colorful photo-essay about the “biggest social starred review activities and information to enrich children’s experiment of its kind on the planet” reveals experiences of the nighttime world. Detailed unusual landscapes and portraits of a proud instructions explain how to walk like a fox, prac- people with a unique style. tice “deer ears” to sharpen senses, watch for Lau was accompanied by Yu-Ting Cheng, owls, or play “bat and mouse” to learn about who notes that two “tour guides” oversaw their echolocation. Describing twenty-five outdoor movement, reviewed the photographs, and activities in all, the book urges parents, grandpar- sometimes requested the deletion of images if ents, and teachers “to pause and imagine what subjects were not looking their best. Cheng’s it’s like to be a child in an unfamiliar place, like a impression of North Korea is that it seems like forest, under the enchantment of nighttime.” a surreal 1950s movie set, reinforced in shots While some activities may require a road trip, of unpopulated downtown Pyongyang, with its most would work in a backyard or neighborhood vintage vehicles and crisply dressed residents, park. To spur confidence, the book includes many sporting old-fashioned haberdashery practical tips for tracking nocturnal animals, (Those fedoras! Those outsized soldier’s caps!). “Dark and a little absurd” observing constellations, and telling stories The trip was timed so that Lau could attend around the campfire. Who knew before that an the annual Airang Mass Games, featuring —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY otter’s scat smells like jasmine tea? Or that the 100,000 synchronized performers. They are cap- best time to view the moon’s craters is when it’s tured in vibrant, almost abstract compositions. waxing or waning, not when it’s full? Or that there Other, more subdued images of rural vistas, peo- are approximately 1.4 billion insects—many of ple tending plants, and streetscapes portray a them nocturnal–for every human being that’s serene atmosphere. Some photographs contrast alive? Or that a Finnish folk tale explains that a controlled group setting with an unguarded the northern lights are sparked by the tail of an glance toward the camera, like a sidewalk scene Arctic fox? Citing an array of science, lore, liter- where a uniformed guard stares at the lens while ature, and personal experience, the book makes two startled bicyclists whiz by in the background. a powerful case that darkness is essential to our Zahra Amiruddin’s informed commentary health and a full experience of life on this planet. follows the photographic plates, which lets audi- With engaging illustrations and a helpful list ences first interpret the photographs by them- of resources, Wild Nights Out provides tools and selves. Whatever preconceptions one may have instructions that will spur parents’ creativity and about this “highly sanitized country,” the scenes “Quirky and meticulous” help transform children’s perceptions of the nat- are free of the constant sensory assault of com- ural world. Its activities are a great excuse to turn mercial advertising; the trade-off is that public —FOREWORD REVIEWS off the television, set down smartphones, and spaces are watched over by CCTV, and there are explore the rich, mysterious world of darkness ubiquitous smiling portraits of Kim Il-sung and just beyond the back door. Kim Jong-il on billboards. Red badges sprout KRISTEN RABE from many North Korean shirts. For those who will never get the chance to visit North Korea, Work Will Set You Free docu- ments life in this enigmatic, original place. RACHEL JAGARESKI

forewordreviews.com 73 REVIEWS ADULT NONFICTION

POLITICAL SCIENCE SCIENCE TRAVEL

Faith, Nationalism, and The Kissing Bug: A True Story of Vintage Shops London: Featuring H the Future of Liberal a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s More than 50 Vintage Shops, Markets Democracy Neglect of a Deadly Disease and Stalls David M. Elcott, C. Colt Anderson, Tobias Cremer Daisy Hernández, Tin House (JUN 1) Hardcover Michelle Mason, Pimpernel Press (MAY 6) Softcover Volker Haarmann, The University of Notre Dame $336 (336pp), 978-1-951142-52-0 $18.95 (144pp), 978-1-910258-99-6 Press (MAY 1) Hardcover $40 (238pp) In The Kissing Bug, Daisy Hernández recounts Designer Michelle Mason, the cofounder of the 978-0-268-20060-2 watching her aunt die from a little known or East London vintage shop Mason & Painter, Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal understood disease. Years later, Hernández set delivers Vintage Shops London, a thorough intro- Democracy is an important text that sheds new out to learn more, and entered into a harrowing duction to where savvy shoppers can find “pre- light on the global political scene. medical mystery. loved” bargains. Arguing that it is important to separate Hernández’s memories of her aunt depict a Secondhand shopping is a win-win: not only those who claim religion as a shield from crit- vibrant, independent woman who was undone is it “an antidote to throwaway culture,” as Mason icism from those who practice religion as a by an illness that her doctors could not easily asserts, it’s also a way of supporting independent matter of faith, the book uses a recent protest identify. That infectious disease was Chagas, businesses. Plus, it allows customers to furnish in Germany as an example of how religious and Hernández writes that there are more than their homes and wardrobes with unique and inex- claims have been manipulated to authoritarian 300,000 cases in the US’s Latinx population pensive goods. The book details the locations, ends: Islamophobic marchers sang Silent Night alone, with six million cases total worldwide opening hours, and range of products of each of during the demonstration, but were present not (most are in South America). She delivers such the stores it covers. Vintage markets sell a little of to honor God; instead, they were pushing an information in clear terms, but also with a sense everything, while different shops might focus on illiberal, antidemocratic agenda. of urgency, as when she covers how Chagas is records, porcelain dolls, or chandeliers. Antidemocratic leaders and groups, the text transmitted: nocturnal insects bite at the lips Beyond fashions, glassware, and bric-a- shows, often co-opt religious language, traditions, and eyes of their sleeping victims, transfer- brac, there are unexpected specialties. Straw and history to drive their quests for power. Thus, ring parasites that colonize and devour human London’s baskets, hats, and bags are all made when Trump supporters hear the former president organs from the inside out, affecting the heart of straw, while Town House in Spitalfields talk about ending corruption, they understand and sometimes the digestive system. Hernández trades in hand-decorated pottery from France. that he means reversing the “moral failings” of describes seeing the thrashing parasites under a Bibliophiles are well catered to with secondhand the nation (like, from their perspectives, abortion microscope; it’s a bone-chilling scene. book vendors on the famous Charing Cross Road and gay rights), and not addressing grafts or dou- Written with compassion, but also drawing and Word on the Water, a bookstore barge. ble-dealing. And such rhetoric works, because on interviews and extensive research, the book Divided by geographical district, the book is “when faith is inextricably wedded to the polit- strikes political and sociological notes, reveal- an ideal resource for planning a day trip. Some ical realm, determining what is true and pure is ing ugly truths about how the medical system businesses have a tea or coffee shop attached, so enigmatic.” In this morass, everything becomes responds in different ways to well-off patients it’s easy to schedule breaks. Mason sprinkles in harder to understand—which is very much the and high-profile disorders, electing to overlook insider knowledge and tips. For instance, Tin Tin point of antidemocratic movements. less glamorous diseases that affect poorer, more (part of Alfies Antique Market) supplies the cast of The text is skillful when it comes to imparting a vulnerable populations, where the afflicted are Downton Abbey. “Be warned, this shop doesn’t do cogent, academic, and rich way of understanding less likely to arouse compassion. minimal,” she notes about Past Caring. how religion has been turned political weapon; Hernández asserts that there are no easy The book features inviting photographs of it gives significant advice about what to do to answers when it comes to Chagas. Even her a mixture of memorable facades (secondhand address the problem. It highlights the trends used aunt—who was a teacher, had health insur- furniture warehouse Vintique London is set in an to challenge Catholics, Jews, and Protestants ance for much of the time she was ill, and got old railway arch), interior scenes, and close-ups of across the world, from the US to Europe. Its work medical treatment from qualified doctors—was stock. There is a balance between overview shots is nuanced and informed, contributing toward its not cured, because she did not receive a timely and details, like a rack of tied-up rugs or a dis- ultimate call for liberal-minded religious people diagnosis or treatment. play of butterfly brooches. The book closes with to redouble their efforts to fight for social justice. The Kissing Bug is the engrossing account ideas for creating displays, grouping similar things This is a significant text that explains how of a family medical mystery that led to a com- together, and using vintage linens as backdrops. religious claims have been warped and under- passionate investigation of an underattended Vintage Shops London is an eye-catching tour stood to be more about belonging than believing. disease. through the capital’s secondhand emporia. JEREMIAH ROOD SUSAN WAGGONER REBECCA FOSTER

74 May/June 2021 TRUE CRIME WOMEN’S STUDIES The story of a tragic attempt to recapture a past best left alone.

Don’t Call It a Cult: The Male Chauvinist Pig: A History H The Shocking Story of Julie Willett, The University of North Carolina Press Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM (JUN 14) Softcover $22.95 (208pp) Sarah Berman, Steelforth Press (APR 20) Softcover 978-1-4696-6107-0 $17 (320pp), 978-1-58642-275-2 Historian Julie Willett chronicles the rise of the Journalist Sarah Berman brings her signature 1970s caricature of masculinity and sexism in gimlet eye and impeccable reporting to the story The Male Chauvinist Pig. of the NXIVM women in Don’t Call It a Cult, a This academic work dives into second wave chilling true crime account. feminism and the pop culture that surrounded Convicted in 2019 of federal crimes including it, beginning with misogynistic sitcom jokes sex trafficking, sexual exploitation of a child, and ending with the multifaceted cruelty of and conspiracy to commit forced labor, Keith Trumpism. It draws a straight line between the Raniere’s shocking abuses of the women who points, acknowledging how connected humor devoted themselves to him made headlines. and power are in American society. With the Sensational stories exposed the links between popularity of home televisions came the expec- the Seagrams heirs, a Smallville actress, and a tation that presidents would be personable and toxic “life coaching” program that drained mil- funny, which bloomed into chauvinism that fed lions of dollars from its victims. off of the idea of the feminist killjoy. Willett posits Tabloids emphasized Raniere’s manipulation that the current political climate is due, in part, of the women in his thrall, and the degree to to decades of ignoring the political power than “… a miracle of sorts … which they served him—including consenting arises out of such playboy ideology. such a beautiful work to being branded. Berman’s account centers Willett also makes important arguments the voices of the women who Raniere enslaved, about the fault lines between feminism and anti- by David Loux …” allowing them to explain for themselves why they racism, and the ways in which white feminism —MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW adored him. often excludes Black women. She explores the The book is a nuanced story that strays into linguistic history of the term “male chauvinist big questions. Berman interprets Raniere’s down- pig,” from the patriotic French soldier Chauvin to “A bittersweet story of fall as “a Rorschach test for what we see wrong the civil rights movement dubbing police “pigs.” tragedy, found family, with the world: the right of the political spectrum She goes into tertiary descriptors, too, dissect- sees liberalism run amok, the worst example of ing the main difference between a chauvinist and reconciliation.” moral breakdown among the monied elite; the left pig and a macho man: race. These points are —FOREWORD REVIEWS sees textbook toxic masculinity blown up to epic emphasized with references to Saturday Night criminal proportions.” His power was built over Live skits and other staples of American enter- time, by exploiting cultural norms and desires and tainment, showcasing how widespread such sex- “… Loux writes with preying on wealthy white or white-passing women ist and racist notions were, and continue to be. a grace and a clear love who were accustomed to private schools and Alongside Willett’s detailed recaps and anal- country clubs, where subjugation was an abstrac- yses of sitcom episodes and other television of language … ” tion more than a lived reality. Unprepared and appearances are stills from the shows, exhib- —KIRKUS REVIEWS vulnerable, these women recruited one another iting the buffoonery of this brand of sexism. into Raniere’s inner circle. The book explores the Meanwhile, the pig became an emblem of pride subtle power exchanges and struggles within the for many men, and with that came merchandise group; it uses victims’ stories to explain how each also photographed in the book—a tie, a pornog- AVAILABLE FOR PRESALE ON person became enmeshed in NXIVM. raphy cover, a ceramic pig crossing its arms. AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE Don’t Call It a Cult is the nightmarish, The Male Chauvinist Pig is a thorough aca- unflinching true story of the women who survived demic work that explores the history of the term NXIVM—and the women who didn’t. and identity that’s lived for decades at the cost CLAIRE FOSTER of women’s equality. WIREGATEPRESS.COM ASHLEY HOLSTROM

forewordreviews.com 75 LASTING IMPRESSIONS

SMILING AND CURIOUS c.1924, Great Blasket Island, Co. Kerry Two young girls from the Blasket Islands, which were inhabited until 1953 by an Irish-speaking population. At their height, the islands had 175 residents; there were twenty-two by 1953. Carl W. von Sydow, the photographer and father of actor Max von Sydow, was one of the world’s leading folklore scholars and encouraged the growth in comparative folklore studies from 1927 onwards. His trip to Ireland demonstrates the importance of Irish folklore studies at the time.

Excerpted from Old Ireland in Colour, by John Breslin & Sarah-Anne Buckley. Used with permission from Merrion Press.

76 May/June 2021 Great reads from great minds.

The Runecaster Airplane Stories and Histories A Tale of Ancient Germany Volume 1 Thomas White Norman Currey A story of a young German prince and his This book chronicles 200 years of aviation companion who will cause the greatest defeat highlights and discusses notable events and Imperial Rome has ever suffered. This will alter developments. It includes an extensive bibliography the world’s history. exploring subjects at greater depth. $23.99 paperback $51.99 paperback 978-1-7960-6471-1 978-1-5245-7369-0 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.com www.xlibris.com Hell on Horrsman Road Understanding the Principles of Honest Chunk Church Growth Sometimes, reality is worse than fiction. This story Professor Isaac O. Ojutalayo is about what Honest Chunk went through in one Understanding the Principles of Church Growth year. A chaotic hoarded, maddening ordeal and the presents the most important and necessary things horrible manners in which people treat each other. that church leaders should learn and practice to be fruitful and productive in the Lord’s work. $19.99 paperback 978-1-7960-9645-3 $17.23 paperback also available in hardcover & ebook 978-1-7283-8703-1 www.xlibris.com also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.co.uk History That Has Not Been Told Your, My, Our History The Cultural Experience of African Americans Names from History Listed Alphabetically from in America English into Chinese Rev. Emmanuel Lofton Forest Leigh Littke This book is designed to bring about an awareness With inspirational quotes and a fun workbook, of the cultural attributes of African Americans that this book will be a valuable resource for was excluded from history as taught in the public anyone who wants to learn more about the school systems. Chinese language. $13.99 paperback $39.99 paperback 978-1-6655-1187-2 978-1-6632-0028-0 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in ebook www.authorhouse.com www.iuniverse.com Unlock Potential – Right Now! Second Harvest Ken G Cooper Don Agey Discover how easily you can unlock your potential Second Harvest is a stew of different styles of and that of contacts, personal and professional, poetry; metric and free, and whatever other style in a practical and effective way. Overcome the that came to mind. There are also limericks and challenge of lockdown, right now! haiku; Japanese poetry. $14.35 paperback $19.99 paperback 978-1-7283-5254-1 978-1-7960-6868-9 also available in ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.co.uk www.xlibris.com

School Pets Alley Gator Goes to Kindergarten Rocket the City Joni DiCicco Marilyn Miller A keepsake book about a boy starting kindergarten In this children’s picture book, join Alley Gator as and how his School Pet, Rocket, shows him how he sets out on an adventure of a lifetime that will fun and exciting kindergarten can be. take him to a place he never counted on. $20.99 paperback $14.99 paperback 978-1-7283-3083-9 978-1-7960-8985-1 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in ebook www.authorhouse.com www.xlibris.com

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