Featuring 324 Industry-First Reviews of Fiction, Nonfiction, Children'sand YA books
KIRKUSVOL. LXXXVII, NO. 24 | 15 DECEMBER 2019 REVIEWS from the editor’s desk:
Our 2020 Wish List Chairman HERBERT SIMON
President & Publisher BY TOM BEER MARC WINKELMAN
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Chief Executive Officer MEG LABORDE KUEHN [email protected] John Paraskevas Editor-in-Chief Over the past few weeks, the staff of Kirkus Reviews has been enveloped TOM BEER in a golden nimbus of book love, as we presented our Best of 2019 lists in [email protected] Vice President of Marketing fiction, picture books, middle-grade books, nonfiction, and young adult SARAH KALINA books. In this issue we highlight 100 of the best Indie titles published this [email protected] Managing/Nonfiction Editor year. Books are wonderful, we feel worthy, and all is right with the world. ERIC LIEBETRAU Lots of heart emojis. [email protected] Fiction Editor But hang on just a moment. LAURIE MUCHNICK Kirkus sees thousands of books every year, and there’s plenty that we [email protected] Children’s Editor like. For every outstanding work of literature brought forth by the VICKY SMITH don’t [email protected] publishing industry, there are dozens of others that are forgettable, half- Tom Beer Young Adult Editor baked, or, occasionally, downright objectionable. We get it—this is a tough LAURA SIMEON [email protected] business without a surefire model for success, and publishers have to try a lot of different things Editor at Large to see what works. MEGAN LABRISE [email protected] But we’re critics first and foremost, and our job is to evaluate books honestly and fairly, good Vice President of Kirkus Indie and bad alike. (Any author who has received a negative review from Kirkus will not be surprised KAREN SCHECHNER [email protected]
to learn this.) So as we wind up 2019, we’re calling out some of the publishing trends we weren’t Senior Indie Editor DAVID RAPP so crazy about. [email protected]
Laurie Muchnick, Fiction Editor: Bland titles. Too many publishers go for them—and I Indie Editor MYRA FORSBERG do believe it’s the publishers, not the authors. When I got early galleys of Angie Kim’s Miracle [email protected] Creek—one of our Best Books of 2019—it was called Miracle Submarine. You might not know Associate Manager of Indie KATERINA PAPPAS what that means, but its intriguing, and you’d remember it, wouldn’t you? I’d like to see more [email protected]
publishers taking a chance on unusual book titles, especially after the success of Ocean Vuong’s Editorial Assistant JOHANNA ZWIRNER On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. [email protected] Eric Liebetrau, Nonfiction Editor: Blog Books. Now that seemingly everyone has a blog, Mysteries Editor many bloggers are publishing books, and most of them are disposable. If you can’t do more than THOMAS LEITCH Contributing Editor lift your blog material and shove it between two covers with an introduction, don’t bother. GREGORY McNAMEE Vicky Smith, Children’s Editor: The infestation of “Baby Shark” books. Books crafted Copy Editor BETSY JUDKINS around viral sensations are an inevitable phenomenon of our age, and far more often than not Designer they fail miserably at capturing whatever made their source material viral and sensational. “Baby ALEX HEAD Shark” books, for example, are impossible to enjoy without knowing the song. What’s a reader Director of Kirkus Editorial LAUREN BAILEY to do with lines like, “Baby shark! Doo doo doo doo doo doo!”? Without the tune, it’s just a lot of, [email protected] Production Editor well, “doo doo.” CATHERINE BRESNER Laura Simeon, Young Adult Editor: The gap in the market when it comes to younger YA [email protected] Website and Software Developer readers. Sixth graders are worlds away from 12th graders developmentally. They’re also differ- PERCY PEREZ ent from bright elementary kids who can “read up.” We can’t forget that YA covers a broad age [email protected] Advertising Director range and it needs to serve kids at the younger end as well as older teens who are more sensitive MONIQUE STENSRUD or otherwise want less intense and explicit materials and kids who struggle with or dislike read- [email protected] Advertising Associate ing and who deserve high-quality, accessible materials. TATIANA ARNOLD Karen Schechner, Vice President of Kirkus Indie: The New York Times’ practice of ignor- [email protected] Advertising Coordinator ing self-published books. In 2018, indie authors published 1.7 million books. The Gray Lady KELSEY WILLIAMS doesn’t have to sift through all of them; she can start in this magazine’s Indie section and pick [email protected] Graphic Designer a good one, like anything by Jacob M. Appel, or email me, and I’ll make a few suggestions: LIANA WALKER [email protected]. [email protected] Controller Now that we have that out of our system, here’s to more books we love in 2020! MICHELLE GONZALES [email protected] for customer service or subscription questions, please call 1-800-316-9361 for more reviews and features, Cover design by visit us online at kirkus.com. Liana Walker
2 | 15 december 2019 | from the editor’s desk | kirkus.com | you can now purchase books online at kirkus.com contents special issue: best books of 2019
best indie books of 2019 REVIEWS...... 4 EDITOR’S NOTE...... 6 15 december 2019 issue fiction INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 55 REVIEWS...... 55 MYSTERY...... 87 SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY...... 97 ROMANCE...... 99 nonfiction INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 102 REVIEWS...... 102 children’s INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 134 REVIEWS...... 134 BOARD & NOVELTY BOOKS...... 165 CONTINUING SERIES...... 177 young adult INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 182 REVIEWS...... 182 CONTINUING SERIES...... 195 indie INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 196 REVIEWS...... 196 INDIE BOOKS OF THE MONTH...... 215
| kirkus.com | contents | 15 december 2019 | 3 special issue: best books of 2019 indie THE PATRON SAINT OF HIGH DIVE LOST GIRLS Amon, Elizabeth Aitken, Maureen Manuscript Southeast Missouri State Univ. Press (172 pp.) A middle-aged woman considers what $18.00 paper | Oct. 8, 2018 constitutes infidelity in this debut novel. 978-0-9979262-7-9 As an award-winning photojournalist, Alex used to travel to war-torn parts of A short story collection recounts the globe to capture scenes of suffering, significant episodes in a young Michigan hoping to awaken the American pub- woman’s life. lic to problems that their government In this book, which won the 2016 helped create. Now, she’s a 43-year-old mother of two who pho- Nilsen Literary Prize for a First Novel, Aitken (Writing/Univ. tographs family portraits in her Westchester, New York, studio. of Minnesota) gathers both new and previously published short Her lawyer husband, Martin, tells people that she left her previ- stories into a singular anthology. The work centers on one char- ous job because she decided “It was time for something new”; acter: Mary, a spirited writer and artist born in 1960s Detroit. Berks, her fellow photojournalist and former lover, accuses her Although each piece can stand entirely on its own, together of selling out in exchange for stultifying suburban bliss. Alex these brief glimpses weave a rich tapestry of a life, incorporat- knows that neither description tells the whole story, but she ing themes of family and romance, work and destitution, inspi- isn’t quite sure how to frame her own life. She doesn’t miss the ration and addiction, determination and loss. Even the simplest danger of her past work, but she does miss its exhilaration and moments have a sense of gravitas and quiet beauty; for example, sense of purpose. When her glamorous older sister, Maggie, while remembering picking raspberries with her grandfather, casually mentions that their late father had an affair and that Mary comments, “As with the seasons before, I had only to look she herself is sleeping with a married man, Alex feels something his way and consider how his pale, steady hand coaxed the ber- spark inside her. She resolves to capture the essence of extra- ries away from their inevitable fall.” Indeed, Mary’s complex- marital affairs in photos, starting by taking covert pictures of ity as a protagonist will make it easy for readers to forget the Maggie and her boyfriend. But the project forces her to con- work’s fictional nature. Whether she’s struggling to find fulfill- front her motives as a photographer; maybe her new obsession ment in a career or attempting to navigate a romantic landscape with “cheating,” she thinks, is a function of her compulsion to full of bittersweet choices, her emotions resonate with aching “chas[e] after other people’s sadness.” A lesser novelist would familiarity. What makes her exceptional is the strength that draw clearer lines between career and motherhood, history and she demonstrates in the face of adversity, including a partner loyalty, desire and morality. Author Amon, however, effortlessly who’s addicted to heroin, a family member succumbing to can- balances such seemingly conflicting truths. She shows how the cer, and her sobering realization, as a child, of the abductions topic of infidelity shadows Alex’s own marriage as well as her and murders that plague the streets of her city. Aitken doesn’t protagonist’s interactions with her siblings and mother. Each shy away from difficult topics in these snapshots; instead, she conversation carries rich undertones of unspoken emotional thrusts them boldly into view: “When you reached Brooklyn baggage; the scenes with Berks are particularly loaded, featur- via Detroit, you had other stories, ones of yearning, of forging ing frustration, romance, comfort, jealousy, and admiration ahead, of seizing and tasting every drop you had left. You fought, within the span of a few paragraphs. Amon, in clean, polished with everything, to live.” Overall, the author delivers these sto- prose, poses messy questions: How do you enjoy your version ries with poetic grace, resulting in a book that will linger in the of happiness in a world full of misery? And how do you appreci- reader’s mind long after the final page. ate a person’s love for you when you see that his or her love for A moving work that demonstrates a nuanced under- someone else is greater? standing of the human condition. A layered and insightful exploration of how people seek meaning in careers and relationships.
4 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | THE TROUBLE AMAZING THINGS ARE WITH CHRISTMAS HAPPENING HERE Andrews, Amy Stories Entangled: Amara (400 pp.) Appel, Jacob M. $7.99 paper | $7.99 e-book Black Lawrence Press (152 pp.) Sep. 24, 2019 $17.95 paper | $ 0.99 e-book 978-1-64063-819-8 Apr. 15, 2019 978-1-62557-705-4 Fake relationships, art forgery, and tacky decorations abound in this small- Appel’s (The Cynic in Extremis: Poems, town Christmas romance. 2018, etc.) short story collection offers War hero and rancher Joshua portraits of people experiencing new Grady—known as “Grady” to his friends and family—is noto- revelations. rious in Credence, Colorado, for his grouchy demeanor, which In these eight poignant, insightful tales, award-winning increases tenfold at Christmastime. His feisty new tenant, author Appel—a physician, attorney, and bioethicist—contin- Suzanne St. Michelle, is a born-and-bred New Yorker who’s ues to address many preoccupations that he’s explored in ear- taking a breather from reproducing paintings for museums lier works. One of his most prominent themes is the human and collectors; unlike her affluent art-world parents, she’s a tendency to alter the truth—often less to gain an advantage big fan of the Christmas holiday. She doesn’t like Grady’s sour than to experience the sheer joy of invention. In the title story, attitude, but she finds that her long-dormant muse has been Carlo, a VA hospital nurse, notes that he’s long been “fasci- awakened by his perfect face and physique. When Suzanne’s nated by schemes and hoaxes”; when a patient goes missing parents decide to spend the holidays in Credence to revive (“We were short one lunatic”), he hatches a coverup plan, their marriage, she makes a deal with Grady; Suzanne will give which he embroiders beyond necessity: “fabricating Dunham’s him every painting that she’s made of him if Grady pretends to data—and pulling it off so effortlessly—was about as much be her boyfriend—who loves Christmas. He’s eager to possess fun as anything I’d done in years.” Several characters in other the artworks, which he considers embarrassing, and intrigued stories come to understand that human connection, like cre- by Suzanne’s beauty and grit, so he reluctantly agrees to her ativity, is a mysterious thing that can lead to unlikely attach- terms. As Grady and Suzanne’s mutual attraction flares and ments. In “Grappling,” Oriana Bingham, a wealthy young their false romance becomes reality, both rancher and artist woman, insists on marrying Jeb Moran, a “gator grappler” who special issue: best books of 2019 wonder if their relationship will last after the holiday deco- risked his life to save hers when she was 11; “A girl dreams that rations come down. Via alternating third-person perspec- a man will put his life on the line for her,” she explains. Oriana tives, Andrews gives Grady and Suzanne nuances, motivations, stays loyal to Jeb, even though he’s crude, abusive, and drinks, and backstories that clearly explain their characteristics and but rejects Arthur Dobbins, a much more suitable man. Other choices. Both are likable and frustrating, by turns, giving them stories similarly describe a loved one’s mystifying preference a feeling of humanity that one doesn’t always find in holiday- for someone unworthy. Illness, criminality, and broken lives or themed romances, and their chemistry is both sexy and sweet. dreams appear in “Dyads,” “Embers,” and “Live Shells.” The Scenes depicting acts of love and sex—everything from a hope of rescue, or at least comfort, underlies these tales, but simple, closed-mouth kiss to full-on intercourse—are vivid the author shows how hope can only go so far in the face of and sensuous, with occasional moments of silliness that keep sorrow, death, and bad decisions. Still, the stories are never the story grounded. Andrews has clearly done research on morbid, as the author effectively balances them with humor art reproduction, and Suzanne’s struggle to prove her worth and sharp observations about characters and settings. Some to her sculptor mother is the novel’s most compelling sub- pieces have a surreal tinge, but generally, they hew closer to plot. The ending will generate holiday spirit in even the most realism than Appel’s previous work. Scrooge-like reader. Mordant, humorous stories that display a fine under- A fun yet poignant story whose main characters are standing of the human condition. realistic and relatable.
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 5 best of indie 2019
Choosing the year’s best books EISENSTEIN’S is always a good time in Indieland. MONSTER We’re usually blessed with a couple Bach, A.V. of mordant short story collections Tetracules Press (566 pp.) $17.99 paper | $2.99 e-book that reflect on our mixed-up world, Oct. 27, 2016 like Jacob M. Appel’s Amazing Things 978-0-9976812-0-8 Are Happening Here, which views the human condition with appropriate Bach weaves a stunning debut out despair and levity, and Reuben “Tihi” of disparate parts, melding settings and Hayslett’s , whose black genres in this experimental literary novel. Dark Corners This novel refuses simple description. and brown and often queer cast faces “occasional erup- It follows its lead, Krishawn, who’s contending with a series of tions of madness and the macabre.” Memoirs always have progressively worsening brain tumors. But what emerges from a strong showing; this year’s standout is Unlikely Friends, his struggle is more than merely a meditation on the meaning in which poet and SF writer Judith Moffett recounts her of life. It’s a journey from hedonism to psychedelics to SF, traf- long friendship with Pulitzer Prize–winning poet James ficking not in fablelike metaphor but in nuanced, even esoteric, dialogue. The novel presents a morass of stories, covering sex, Merrill. But 2019’s most notable death, and the rest of human experience through its cast and books are about the human outli- multifarious settings, all of which inform each other, from a ers, those who’ve done the seem- mystical mountain-climbing expedition to an ambulatory phal- ingly impossible. lus and beyond, shifting in both content and tone throughout. Jared Beasley’s It’s fitting that Krishawn’s most concerning cancerous growths In Search of Al are pressing on Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, brain structures Howie tells the story of a Canadian responsible for speech and language development, respec- extreme-distance runner. In this tively, as many stories seem sparked by accidents of language: “quirky, captivating biography,” “Krishawn had always thought it funny how ontology and oncol- the jaw-dropping details quickly ogy were separated only by a ‘c.’ ” But again, reading this novel accumulate: To get to one multi- is not only a matter of interpreting the disparate vignettes of day race, Howie ran hundreds of the story as the degradations of a dying mind, drug-born hal- lucinations, or religious experiences pointing to larger universal miles, completed the race, and ran truths. Rather, they are all of these things and none of them, hundreds of miles to the next; he calling on the reader to find the connections among the ele- hydrated with beer. Our reviewer says, “Like a tour guide, ments of this pastiche and make of them both a whole and a Beasley explores the cloistered world of extreme-dis- sum of parts. Readers will find the novel challenging, but it’s tance running…where Howie became an icon but never never boring; it discards the willful obfuscation of many experi- mental novels in favor of a feverish pace and a wildly emotional a household name.” ride. Individual sections are readable on their own, and while Irv Broughton’s “big, satisfying book,” Where the the vocabulary may sometimes be obtuse, the structure and Wings Grow, comprises 29 interviews with women who context keep meaning within reach, and readers ultimately feel were the pioneers of domestic aviation. Our reviewer more like they’re being taught this unfamiliar vernacular than says, “These women broke barriers by being barnstorm- taunted with it. ers, aerial acrobats, bush pilots, flight instructors, and An incredible debut, as entertaining as it is outland- ish, with at least one thing (and most likely many more) participants in cross-country aerial races.” for everyone. Dr. Sarah Z. Mitić left her comfortable life (and a va- cation in Greece) to treat soldiers and civilians during the 1990s Balkan wars. Our reviewer says of Mitić’s memoir, Life as Trauma, “Readers interested in the strife and un- rest of the Balkan region, its divergent politics and pop- ulations, and the plights of its refugees will find Mitić’s narrative illuminating.” —K.S.
Karen Schechner is the vice president of Kirkus Indie.
6 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | THE BEAUTY QUEEN WILLOUGHBY’S WORLD OF BONTHE AND OF WONDER OTHER STORIES OF Barnwell, Stephen WEST AFRICA Illus. by the author Barnes, Gregory A. Antarctica Arts (182 pp.) CreateSpace (194 pp.) $19.95 paper | Jan. 1, 2019 $12.00 paper | $6.00 e-book 978-1-73396-490-6 Aug. 29, 2018 978-1-72192-656-5 This illustrated fictional reproduc- tion of a Victorian field guide helps iden- Africans and Westerners wrestle tify imaginary and legendary creatures. with sickness, culture clash, and the tur- According to the Introduction, said moil of decolonization in these richly to be written by Angus Willoughby, “CRYPTOZOOLOGIST imagined stories. AND NATURALIST,” this volume contains truthful accounts Barnes (Jane Among Friends, 2017, etc.), who worked for the “of the strange and unusual in the world of nature” so that read- Peace Corps in Africa, sets his tales in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, ers may be best prepared to encounter, propitiate, or avoid them. and other newly independent West African countries in the The beings are grouped into four kinds of Folk (Fey, Wee, Great, early 1960s as expatriates, villagers, bureaucrats, and beggars and Wyre) and five types of Creature: those that live with peo- cope with the ferment of change. In “Getting to Bo,” an Ameri- ple and those of the land, sea, air, and night. Each entry includes can builder has to choose between his efforts to keep his con- an illustration with size, habitat, and description. A Banshee, struction project on schedule and the pressing needs of a sick diamond miner. “The Legend of Death’s Staircase” follows an affluent expat couple, whose tidy marriage is shadowed bya tropical disease, as they’re drawn to the sinister remains of a slave market. Other tales feature a newly minted Nigerian offi- cial who takes over a government credit union from a British administrator, setting off a nerve-wracking turf battle among bureaucrats and politicians; a beggar afflicted with leprosy who struggles to get food in a world where every man’s hand special issue: best books of 2019 is turned against him; and a villager that takes advantage of a missionary’s generosity by reselling malaria pills on the black market, leading to a crisis of betrayal and redemption. And in the title story, a beautiful young woman gets a mysterious ill- ness, causing the Westerners around her—a priest, a doctor, a Canadian wanderer—to evaluate their relationships with her and their attitudes toward African culture. Barnes’ atmospheric yarns feel like a Graham Greene novel with aid workers instead of spies. He writes evocative descriptions of landscapes and village scenes peopled with a Shakespearean cast, from chiefs drenched in carefully calculated dignity to half-dead panhan- dlers to African and Western strivers tangled in bonds of mutual need and hostility, all illuminated by Barnes’ ability to fill a sin- gle sentence with a world of social and psychological nuance. (“Mrs. Flint wept harder; not the way his woman would weep, but as if she would rather burst than emit any sound,” an Afri- can man observes of a distraught white woman.) The result is a fine panorama of a complex, exotic yet startlingly familiar place. A superb collection full of color and subtle explorations of character.
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 7 Beasley achieves a fluid narrative that makes the pages fly by, like the miles beneath Howie’s feet. in search of al howie
for example, is 4 to 6 feet tall; its habitat is “Houses; Dark and poised to seize property in the area. Bee’s mother has plans for stormy nights”; and it “appears to those who are to suffer the her daughter to marry the government man—but Bee has her death of a family member.” Many entries include helpful infor- eyes on Miles, a big-shot government photographer, or perhaps mation: “Upon finding a Land Kraken in your barn or stable, it Torch, a boy who grew up with her “on the mountain.” is recommended that you drive it out as quickly as possible.” Battle’s storytelling will draw readers in from the opening While some beings are familiar from folklore (such as Elf, Sas- page: Why is Bee writing her daughter this letter—and who’s quatch, and Goblin), others are humorous inventions (Thinking Amelia’s real father? The novel draws, in part, on real-life Cap, Newsie, and Jackalope). An appendix provides an alpha- events; in the 1930s, Blue Ridge neighborhoods were indeed betical index plus Folk calendars, a bibliography, and an adver- cleared to make way for Shenandoah National Park. Battle tising section (for example, “Dr. Pythagoras’ Patented Pixilation spends some time re-creating the atmosphere of the “now- Cure”). Barnwell (Oneirognosis, 2015, etc.) is a professional art- vanished” area. Narrator Bee is a straight talker with an easy ist, printmaker, and illustrator whose work has been exhibited wit and a wry opinion on everything. When discussing Torch, internationally. The book’s images are perhaps the stars of this for instance, she notes, “We came up like brother and sister show—a brilliantly successful pastiche of Victorian engravings but once I sprouted hooters, he got it in his head he wanted in their exquisite detail, subtle tonal and shading techniques things to change.” The author effortlessly captures the timing such as hatching and crosshatching, and moodiness (romantic, and tenor of Appalachian speech patterns, and she conjures a whimsical, solemn, or eerie as suitable to the Creature or Folk world that may be unfamiliar to many, where the Hollow folk described). The Victorian style offers some especially amusing sing ballads and pass quart jugs of “white mule” (“that’s what us images; Cyclops, for example, is a prosperous-looking, bearded mountain folks called whiskey”). Readers are also introduced to gentleman with a better claim to his monocle than most. But unusual characters, such as Ruth Evers, described by Bee as a the text, which describes absurdities in all Victorian seriousness, “kind of goddess…of wild and helpless things,” who makes medi- has a delightfully wry undertone and sometimes veers from the cine for the community using mountain plants, such as “prince’s expected. Cyclopes, for example, “are cultured and civilized…. pine and deadly nightshade,” and secretly keeps stillborn babies Sadly, to date, elected office has eluded them.” in mason jars. The world that Battle creates is unnerving and A fanciful guide to nature’s wonders; beautiful, clever, enchanting in equal measure and always utterly beguiling. The and appealing in every way—a fine achievement. overall Southern drawl may grate on some, but those who are keen to burrow into the overlooked lives of mountain people will find satisfaction. GO DOWN A vivacious, absorbing, and accomplished debut. THE MOUNTAIN Battle, Meredith Mascot Books (224 pp.) IN SEARCH OF $16.95 paper | $6.99 e-book AL HOWIE Apr. 23, 2019 Beasley, Jared 978-1-64307-013-1 Rocky Mountain Books (272 pp.) $25.00 paper | $12.99 e-book Battle’s first novel tells the story of Oct. 8, 2019 a 1930s Blue Ridge Mountains commu- 978-1-77160-338-6 nity whose way of life is threatened by the government. An energetic work that chases the The novel opens with a letter from Bee Livingston to her legend and captures the life story of pre- 3-year-old daughter, Amelia, intriguingly stating that Amelia mier Canadian extreme-distance runner has been raised to believe that the wrong man was her father. Al Howie. By way of explanation, Bee shares her life story so that when In an eccentric sport, Howie stood out. He would run hun- Amelia is old enough, she can judge what kind of man her bio- dreds or thousands of miles cross-country to the starting lines logical father was, but she adds a warning: “You ought to know of multiday races—and then run to the next. Like a tour guide, there are some downright ugly secrets in this story about your Beasley (The Black Sheep, 2016) explores the cloistered world of own kin and your mama to boot.” Bee’s story begins in “the extreme-distance running—involving races longer than stan- Hollow,” the impoverished Blue Ridge region in Virginia where dard 26.2-mile marathons—where Howie became an icon but she was raised. Born Ada Anabelle, she was nicknamed “Bee” never a household name. In 2014, the author found Howie, a by her father, as she was always “buzzing around looking for... silent shell of his former self, at a group home for the mentally trouble.” When she’s still young, her father is killed when a reli- ill. During the runner’s final two years, Beasley teased out recol- gious snake-handling show goes tragically wrong. The girl is left lections while tracking down documentary evidence and How- in the care of her mother, but their relationship is like “oil and ie’s friends and relatives, charting a path through memories and water.” As Bee grows older, she’s told that her father was a gam- mythology. Howie, a native Scot, grew up in a hiking family and bler who took out three mortgages on the family home. The later enjoyed a hippie lifestyle before leaving his drug-addicted state government, in the shape of the repugnant Mr. Rowler, is wife with their preschool-age son. He moved to Canada, where
8 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | he was “on the run” long before his first race, which took place book is a collection of essays, but she uses fictional techniques after he was 30. His stamina, flowing hair, and penchant for when appropriate, and some chapters are given over to very hydrating with beer defined him. In 1989, he became first to impressive poetry. She poignantly evokes a happier past in her finish the 1,300-mile “Impossibility Race”—in 17 days, nine chapters about Geoff (they were separated at the time of his hours. In 1991, he ran 7,295 kilometers across Canada in 72 days, death) and their young family. And a chapter titled “The Myth,” 10 hours—still the record—and two weeks later, broke his own in which she asks Geoff questions directly, is exceptionally and 1,300-mile record. The book also reveals the relationships, per- deeply moving. There are even moments of goofiness in a chap- sonal demons, and twists of fate that shaped Howie, rendering ter on a graveside service (“Planting Iris”), which may take some the legend fully human—fearful and driven, flawed but likable. readers aback, although it’s clear that the author understood Beasley, an actor, director, and screenwriter, writes in a cin- the need for occasional levity. ematic fashion, interspersing flashbacks between chapters with A keeper of a book by a talented author. third-person snapshots of Howie’s signature trans-Canada run. He also seamlessly shifts focus from wide-angle settings to char- acter close-ups, packs details into scenes without slowing the pace, and uses the colorful runners’ vernacular that christens a competitor a “manimal,” “alien,” or “freak.” Some may find the style hyperbolic, but they’d likely concede that if the author described a smoke-filled bar, they’d smell it. He achieves a fluid narrative that makes the pages fly by, like the miles beneath Howie’s feet. A quirky, captivating biography.
THE RED RIBBON A Memoir of Lightning and Rebuilding After Loss Bills, Nancy Freund She Writes Press (216 pp.) $16.95 paper | $9.95 e-book special issue: best books of 2019 May 28, 2019 978-1-63152-573-5
A debut memoir that recounts a wom- an’s tragic loss and hard-won survival. On July, 23, 1994, lightning struck Bills’ husband and their son—pseudonymously called “Geoff” and “Teddy” here, respectively—as they were kayaking off the coast of Maine. The strike took Geoff’s life and nearly did the same to Teddy. The author and several members of her family, including Teddy’s older brother, “Simon,” and his wife, rushed to the hospital in the nearby town of York, Maine. It was ini- tially touch and go for Teddy, but he came through. Then, as Teddy recuperated physically, he and the author faced psycho- logical and spiritual recuperation—which sometimes seemed to be a matter of taking one step forward and two steps back. After this tragedy, death seemed to shadow the author for the next few years; her aged parents back in Montana passed away, as did her uncle and Geoff’s sister, who was such a rock for her after the lightning strike. These losses engender a booklong meditation on mortality. However, Bills does survive the ordeal, and an afterword lets readers know that today, she, Teddy, and Simon are all doing OK. Memoirs of loss and survival are rather common, but what sets this one apart is Bills’ extraordinary per- ceptiveness and writing talent, as when she notes that “I’m a woman with an emotional thermometer always in her mouth.” Bills also raises intriguing questions, such as whether the obitu- ary cliché “he died peacefully” is really ever true. Essentially the
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 9
ONE LESS RIVER Jetta is a Firedancer, the youngest ever Third Rank master. Blackhawk, Terry She can tame and vanquish fire with the power of dance—from Mayapple Press (64 pp.) infant flames to cunning hysths and even raging outbreaks of $16.95 paper | $9.99 e-book | Jul. 9, 2019 The Ancient itself. But Jetta’s reputation is tarnished. A year 978-1-936419-89-0 ago, fire claimed the village she was assigned to protect. Her life mate was killed and Jetta herself, injured. Although recovered Blackhawk (The Whisk and Whir physically, she has lost the unshakable confidence necessary to of Wings, 2016, etc.) offers a series of keep The Ancient at bay. Why then has the Circle of the Fire contemplative poems about solitude in Clans sent her and her childhood friend Setti (a mere Second nature and crowded city streets. Rank journeyman) to investigate outbreaks of fire in Annam The poet delicately embroiders Vale? Annam is home not only to Stone Delvers—a clan of themes of separation and retreat into giants who mine the mountains for fire-dousing containment this elegantly conceived collection. The first line of the open- stone—but also now to Windriders, whose presence could eas- ing poem, “The Door,” asks, “Why is it lately closed to me?” ily fan the flames of The Ancient. Tensions run high. Many of Although this immediately establishes a sense of being shut the Delvers welcome Jetta, but others distrust her, believing out, there’s no heavy sense of angst here: “I will not complain. her to be incompetent or even the cause of the conflagrations These grasses share the light. / They bend and catch the wind that she and Setti subdue. What’s worse, The Ancient grows gracefully.” There’s an easiness with this state of separation, shrewd. Fire has evolved and no longer bows to the traditional in part because it allows the speaker to receive gifts from forms of the dance. If Jetta is to save Annam, she must unite its nature that society can’t provide. The poem ends: “A sauna’s inhabitants and overturn an entire worldview. Bolich’s impres- slats, so fragrant, wrap me now. / I’ve crawled into a barrel on sive novel captures the best elements of fantasy writing while the hill.” The speaker enters the sensually evocative interior avoiding most of the pitfalls. This series opener, though prom- of the sauna as a hermit crab enters its shell—an image to ising further development, is self-contained, its worldbuilding which Blackhawk returns later in the collection. The poet is unobtrusive yet substantial. The characters are complex: Jetta a great observer of nature; in “The Woodcock,” for example, with her impetuous, strong will; faithful, lovelorn Setti; the she writes, “I loved the feathers’ / deckled edges and the light ethereal Windrider Sheshan (Jetta’s romantic interest); and weight it made / as I scooped it up and put it, limpsy and weak, down through the minor players. Their conversations, though / into an old canvas book bag.” This dazzlingly clever image stylized to an extent, are not stilted, and the conflicts and magnifies the bird’s wing by comparing it to the rough-cut dangers at Annam arise naturally from the scenario, not from page of a book before the bird itself is slid into a “book bag.” authorial trickery or incongruous decision-making. Readers Blackhawk is equally at home playing the flâneuse, observing will feel Jetta’s frustrations and uncertainty (“Those tunnels full a city, as in “Noon in a Corner Café: The Sign,” in which the of fire haunted her. The Delvers knew nothing of fire, had no miscellany of urban life parades before her: “cups, traffic, taxis, concept of the danger in leaving The Ancient fretting behind a / mopeds, their signature sounds.” But soon, the hard-edged, makeshift barrier of dirt. She pictured the Old Man patting at concrete metropolis melts into smooth natural imagery that his prison with hands of fire…searching restlessly for a way out”) looks beyond city living: “These stones / outlast us, pages / and her resolve. As the dance against The Ancient grows ever picked up by / the breeze can say almost / anything.” The poet more perilous, the audience will gladly journey with her. makes her literary influences explicit, referencing Walt Whit- A gripping fantasy full of magic and heart. man, Emily Dickinson, and others—but although she draws from the American romantic movement, she shows no need to imitate it. LOVE THIEF Refined, learned, and liberating poetry. The Legend of Ixmal the Healer Bolton, David FIRE DANCER Black Rose Writing (225 pp.) Masters of $17.95 paper | $6.99 e-book | Nov. 1, 2018 the Elements 978-1-68433-154-3 Bolich, S.A. B Cubed Press (383 pp.) In this debut ancient Mayan adven- $13.99 paper | $3.99 e-book ture, the son of escaped slaves chooses Mar. 6, 2019 nonviolence while his father prepares to 978-0-9989634-7-1 exact vengeance on his former masters. Seventeen-year-old Ixmal, of the highland jungle Ppentaca In this debut novel, a talented but people, visits an altar dedicated to Chac, god of rain. As his anguished master of fire must overcome father and village chief, Totec, prepares to march an army into her past failures and rally the inhabitants the Feathered Kingdom, Ixmal senses disaster ahead. Totec, of a beleaguered village. once a slave in the Feathered Kingdom, listens to the guidance
10 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com |
special issue: best books of 2019
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 11 An invigorating read in an age of political and cultural division. athena’s choice
of Hunapu, the village prayer-maker, that now is the time for the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence, the Third Core, retribution. To ensure victory, the warriors will sacrifice a child, enigmatically suggests to Bell’s supervisor that Athena is vital to which Ixmal says, “If you allow this slaughter, the cause is to solving the case. Meanwhile, Athena has been painting pic- doomed.” Disgusted with his son, Totec marches without him tures of a ruined, vine-covered building that’s stuck in her head. across the No Name River and into Kuma lands. Initially, the She soon travels to Chicago, the North American Union’s capi- force of 500 men encounters abandoned villages. Only when tal, for an interview with Capt. Bell. As Athena dreams of the the Ppentaca begin burning a path toward the Feathered King- mysterious building and of the phrase “Original Sin is Real,” she dom’s capital of Ocochac do opposing warriors attack. Totec grapples with being a “Lonely Heart”—a woman who yearns for and his army are destroyed. Shanti, Ixmal’s mother, allows the men to return. teenager to leave the village to settle his father’s spirit. He fol- Boostrom’s tale is fueled by sharp dialogue and challenging lows Totec’s trail, arriving in the village of a woodcarver named ideas, and it’s an invigorating read in an age of political and cul- Pich and his daughter, Sahache. After seeing Sahache perform tural division. His fictional world, with its population loss, nuclear a dance celebrating her passage into womanhood, Ixmal grows terrorism, and risen oceans, is futuristic but familiar; rather than enamored and decides to settle with Pich as a farmer, all the swiping right on a dating app, women swipe right in midair while while learning what he can of his father’s fate. Bolton offers a using a contact lens–based web interface to schedule fertility con- quiet thriller that will educate readers about ancient Mayan sultations. This future is also apparently much safer without men: culture and myth. He places a glossary before the novel featur- “Crime rates in the NAU were below 1%.” Boostrom frequently ing terms like “yollotl” (heart, soul), though it’s fun to decode references famous paintings to emphasize Athena’s chosen field; the Mayan vocabulary sprinkled throughout the narrative. Iku, his most poignant nod is to René Magritte’s Clairvoyance, which a Kumanian who dreams of an invasion, is an intriguing villain shows a man staring at an egg but painting a bird. According to who rises to prominence opposite Ixmal. The author roundly Athena, this man does what she lacks the talent to do—“he’s view- presents the inner lives of his cast, as when Pich wonders: ing all of the egg’s future-promise and potential, fully brought to “What quarrel” do the invaders “have with the Feathered King- life.” The first two-thirds of the novel are a taut SF mystery, but dom? That no elder had asked these questions troubled him.” the last portion fearlessly interrogates the roots of maleness. The Perhaps most affecting is that these characters’ lives revolve book presents 2099 as a near utopia, aside from a rising suicide around a harsh environment that, during stretches of drought, rate, which could imply that most women are saints but for the threatens society and any progress the enlightened king, Quet- evil to which men drive them; however, the author also has the zal the Young, might hope for. Third Core say that “some women will be more dangerous than An excellent tale that serves as both a thriller and the average man.” anthropological portrait. A daring book that will stay in readers’ minds long after the final page. ATHENA’S CHOICE Boostrom, Adam WHERE THE Time Tunnel Media (276 pp.) WINGS GROW $7.99 paper | $5.99 e-book | Jan. 18, 2019 Conversations With 978-1-79420-555-0 Pioneering Women Pilots Broughton, Irv In this SF debut, men have gone Open Look Books (586 pp.) extinct, and one woman must decide $29.95 paper | $9.95 e-book how society should continue. May 6, 2016 It’s 2099, and 19-year-old Athena 978-0-912350-54-7 Vosh lives in the Algonquin Forest Zone of the North American Union. Her main A collection of interviews with source of income is her Citizen’s Benefit stipend, but she wants female fliers from the early years of avia- to become a landscape painter. She lives with her partner, Nomi tion history. James, who designs computer programs for “massage implants.” This big, satisfying book from Broughton (The Levees That Both women routinely print clothing and food and interact with Break in the Heart, 2016, etc.) consists of 29 interviews that he con- their Advanced Artificially-Intelligent Scheduler and Home ducted over the past four decades with women who were, in their Assistant. But the strangest thing about their world is that there youth, rough-and-ready trailblazers in the realm of domestic avi- are no men in it. The last one died in 2051 from Y-Fever, a dis- ation. These women broke barriers by being barnstormers, aerial ease created to kill terrorists that mutated and killed every man acrobats, bush pilots, flight instructors, and participants in cross- on Earth, including transgender men, as well as some women. A country aerial races. One is the legendary stunt pilot Dorothy company called Helix has been trying to find a cure so that men Hester Stenzel, “a record holder in aerobatic flying, holding early might someday return. When someone steals an incomplete world records in loops and several other categories,” who was map of a fever-immune “Lazarus Genome” from Helix’s main- born in 1910; another is Kimberley Olson, who entered the U.S. frame, Capt. Valerie Bell of Public Safety investigates. Oddly, Air Force in 1979 and went on to become one of its eight female
12 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | flying squadron commanders. Olson recalls that, as a little girl, with a face that “suggests an intimacy with anguish.” The strik- she looked at contrails crossing the Iowa sky and told her mother ing woman is Colonna, a poet and widow of military leader that she’d like to be a pilot someday. In all of these interviews, Ferrante Francesco d’Avalos. Thoughtful and brilliant, she Broughton offers minimal exposition, setting up each segment was raised on the island of Ischia by Ferrante’s aunt, Costanza with basic biographical information—most begin with a photo d’Avalos. Colonna’s marriage to Ferrante cemented a political of the subject and occasional references to books they’ve writ- alliance between her family and King Ferdinand of Spain. Since ten—and then launching straight into a series of questions that Ferrante’s death, Colonna has lived in seclusion, writing poetry reveal his in-depth knowledge of each woman’s life and career. and preserving her husband’s legacy. She is reluctant to rejoin Throughout the collection of Q-and-A’s, he wisely steps back and society until a monk asks her to travel to Rome and advocate lets his subjects do most of the talking, showcasing their enor- for the Capuchin order. Michelangelo admires Colonna and mous personalities and often caustic wit. her poetry, and he asks for her advice interpreting the imagery The result is absolutely delightful. At one point, for exam- in the Last Judgment. From this collaboration, an enduring and ple, Broughton asks pioneering flight academy owner Claire loving bond develops between Colonna and Michelangelo that Walters when she first got into flying; she laughs and answers, “I sustains them through ongoing political and religious conflicts think it started when I fell out of my crib, the first time I fell on and personal tragedy. Cardillo’s (Island Legacy, 2017, etc.) latest my head. No, I was born this way, wanting to fly. I never planned book is a sweeping historical epic and a sensitively observed to do anything else.” National aerobatic champion Patty Wag- exploration of the passionate friendship between Colonna and staff recalls reading the flight-history novels of Ernest K. Gann Michelangelo. At one point the poet muses: “Michelangelo’s and noting ironically, “It’s funny because [he] was pretty sexist... conversational style is like that of a surgeon with a knife about the women in his books are flight attendants or babes.”- Vet to slit open my chest to observe my beating heart. I am both eran flight instructor Louise Prugh, born in 1916, responds to the interviewer’s calling her a pioneer with a simple humility of a kind that runs through most of the interviews here: “I just wanted to do it because I liked the world from the sky.” Brough- ton often showcases his subjects’ skills; when he mentions to flight instructor Amelia Reid that she must have come close to power lines during some of her woollier flights, for instance, she notes that she sometimes flew them. Over the course of
under special issue: best books of 2019 these interviews, Broughton uses playful tact and careful dili- gence to effectively bring the worlds of the various women to vivid life. A bit more interstitial narrative might have made for a smoother, more informative reading experience, along the lines of Keith O’Brien’s excellent 2018 book Fly Girls. However, the subjects here make such lively, funny, and wise company that readers will scarcely miss additional context. An often gripping account of some fascinating women of the air.
LOVE THAT MOVES THE SUN Vittoria Colonna and Michelangelo Buonarroti Cardillo, Linda Bellastoria Press (528 pp.) $19.95 paper | $5.99 e-book Dec. 1, 2018 978-1-942209-54-6
When poet Vittoria Colonna meets Michelangelo, they discover a deep and pro- found connection in this historical novel. Michelangelo is revered for his sculptures and paintings, and by 1534, his reputation is unparalleled. Summoned to Rome by Pope Clement VII, the artist prepares to work on the pontiff’s legacy, the Last Judgment, a fresco depicting the second coming of Jesus. One afternoon, Michelangelo encounters a woman
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 13 It’s a testament to Carter’s skill that even as McKnight descends into debauchery and deceit, readers will still root for him. the banker who died
fascinated and terrified by his questions.” Ambitious in scope, THE J HOROSCOPE the narrative covers 1500 to 1547, shifting between their rela- Chmielarz, Sharon tionship and Colonna’s childhood and adolescence on the island Brighthorse Books (100 pp.) of Ischia, her marriage to Ferrante and his betrayal of her trust, $14.99 paper | Jul. 1, 2019 and her development as a poet. While Colonna and Michelan- 978-1-944467-17-3 gelo’s friendship forms the emotional center of the novel, the poet’s story and her journey as a woman and a writer are dynamic These collected poems imaginatively and multilayered. The author also does a fine job exploring the take the viewpoint of J, one of four writ- religious views that inform Colonna’s and Michelangelo’s lives ers of the Bible’s book of Genesis. and works as well as the tension between the Roman Catholic Chmielarz (Little Eternities: Poems, 2017, Church and the writers and clergy who seek to reform it. etc.), an accomplished poet, initially pub- A stirring and emotionally resonant portrait of a piv- lished several of these poems in literary otal relationship in the life of Michelangelo. magazines, including Commonweal and The Hudson Review. This collection focuses on connections between contemporary expe- riences and those recorded in ancient biblical texts. According to THE BANKER the epigraph from the 1990 work The Book of J by David Rosen- WHO DIED berg and Harold Bloom, a hypothetical biblical writer called J was Carter, Matthew A. so named “for her intense interest in Yahweh’s character,” who Garin Ray Publishing House (450 pp.) was also called “Jahweh.” These poems are intensely interested $12.99 paper | $9.99 e-book in the stories that J allegedly collected and wrote down. They’re May 27, 2019 connected by 13 “intersections”—poems in italics that comment 978-1-73305-002-9 on or relate to the others. In “Intersection #1,” for example, the speaker considers mangoes, specifically their color and -sweet A young American international ness: “We danced to mango / close like lovers. Mango’s / sweetness melted banker is seduced by high financial us into life.” But experience can be bitter as well as sweet, as shown stakes—and multiple women—in this in the poem that follows, “Yahweh the Stork re the Family.” The debut thriller. narrating stork says, “I’ve seen it all—the father who killed his Despite the fact that his marriage is collapsing, Zurich-based son, / the sons who threw their brother down a well”; neverthe- investment adviser Stanley McKnight leaves his wife, Christine, less, “The next day I deliver another baby, a bundle / of trust”— to fly to Moscow with Frenchman Pierre Lagrange, the senior trust being the first, and first forgotten, “contract with the world.” managing director of the private Swiss bank Laville & Cie. “Be Other poems are based on specific biblical episodes, such as Lot’s careful in Russia,” Christine warns him, before he goes. “I’ve transformation into a pillar of salt, Noah’s Ark, Joseph’s betrayal, heard it can be dangerous. Especially for such a handsome Yan- and prophetic dreams, while others touch on primal experiences, kee.” Soon, McKnight takes over the Russian clients of another such as giving birth or experiencing a death in the family. banker, whose Maserati mysteriously flew off a mountain high- Several poems breathe freshness into old tales by center- way with him in it. Viktor Gagarin, one of the new clients, has ing on a woman’s point of view. In “The Boatman’s Wife,” for an estimated worth of more than $12 billion and, in Lagrange’s example, Noah’s long-suffering spouse wishes that she could words, “a definite tendency towards violence.” Gagarin wants fly away from “this whole mess”; her husband finds prophecy in to buy a new megayacht, and he wants Laville & Cie to conduct raindrops and lets his beard get scraggly while she’s “corralling / the deal, provide the loan, afford him anonymity in the transac- the stupid hens.” Yet her practical nature finds release, with the tion, and determine how to minimize his taxes on the purchase. poem ending in possibility: “At least she could save the birds. // Gagarin’s wife, Mila, meanwhile, sets her sights on McKnight. At least, this one dove—.” The dove becomes a potent symbol Although he’s had flings with Russian women, he knows that not just of hope, but of freedom—saved by the wife’s longing to Gagarin’s wife could mean the death of him. Nonetheless, an escape the ark and fly up into the wild sky. Several poems speak adventure involving fast cars, gold bars, betrayal, and torture of loss, which was the focus of Chmielarz’s 2015 collection, The lies ahead. Lust, intrigue, glamour, and danger fill the pages of Widow’s House. The six lines of “Where One Becomes Two” are Carter’s well-written book. The California-born author’s experi- haikulike in their concise linkage of image to consciousness: ence in the Swiss private-banking industry, his many years living “The old fox has died. / Now his mate is alone. / Now she must in Russia as an investment banker, and his fluency in Russian lend cross the river alone. // Look. / In the water. / Two foxes.” “Look” the novel a sense of authenticity. Amid all the banking maneuver- in the fourth line echoes the book’s epigraph, which begins ing, this rich story offers plenty of shady characters. There are “Look. A woman is writing on parchment,” which, in turn, calls also vivid descriptions (“The tie wagged its tail, briefly flashing to mind the more familiar translation, “Behold.” These connec- a Hermès label to the world”) and attention-grabbing dialogue tions, and the poem’s spare, stripped-down quality, demand that (“Sweaty is good,” says Mila at one point). It’s a testament to the readers pay attention to the numinous link between spirit and author’s skill that even as McKnight descends into debauchery body, so beautifully captured in the piece’s final line. and deceit, readers will still root for him. Thoughtful, bold, humorous, earthy, and humane—a An engaging read that’s right on the money. superb collection.
14 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | THE SPIRIT OF the few deep pleasures that the old man has left. The dynamic THE WAYNES between the father and son is thrown into stark relief: Wriston Cooper, Ethan loves Charlie, but he’s disappointed that he didn’t make it to CreateSpace (314 pp.) the top of the heap in his chosen field (“Charlie never emerged $14.00 paper | $2.99 e-book from the pack,” he reflects). Charlie, meanwhile, agonizes over Jun. 2, 2015 whether to stop Wriston from driving, but it’s taken out of his 978-1-5123-8409-3 hands when the elderly man’s health declines precipitously in a matter of weeks. Meanwhile, Charlie’s late-night wine drinking In Cooper’s (Smooth in Meetings, 2014, persists. The focus and interiority of this novel are truly won- etc.) novel, an unemployed, middle-aged derful, and Cooper takes his time exploring what goes through man with a possible drinking problem his characters’ minds—principally Charlie’s, but also Wriston’s must persuade his nonagenarian father as he carefully navigates his beloved Caddy from his home to to give up driving. the Publix supermarket. Cooper has the old man note every Wriston Wayne, the retired chairman of the Boreal Bancor- turn and every lane change; it should be maddeningly boring, poration, lives in Florida with his second wife, Cindy. Charlie, but instead, it gives readers a painful appreciation of a person his 50-something middle son and a real estate expert, has been who knows that he must be careful because his freedom is so unexpectedly laid off from TBF Bank in New York City. While tenuous. Interestingly, readers later get the same view of Char- he and his wife, Jane, are visiting Wriston and Cindy, the older lie running errands himself as he wrestles with painful issues man loses control of his Cadillac in the parking garage of their regarding his dad. condo building. Charlie fears that a serious accident could be A poignant exploration of the complicated dynamic of in Wriston’s future, but running errands in the car is one of fathers and sons. special issue: best books of 2019
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 15 A moving saga of a woman wandering the world in search of home. bowing to elephants
FROM DREAM DEAR JANE TO DELIVERY DelVecchio, Marina How To Do Work You Black Rose Writing (172 pp.) Love, Love What You Do and $16.95 paper | $5.99 e-book | Jan. 3, 2019 Launch Your Dream Project 978-1-68433-172-7 Daglow, Don L. Sausalito Media (523 pp.) In DelVecchio’s debut, an adopted $24.99 paper | $9.99 e-book teenage girl haunted by her past finds sol- Feb. 18, 2018 ace in the pages of a classic novel. 978-0-9967815-4-1 Elektra Koutros was renamed Kath- ryn and nicknamed Kit Kat when she was A Silicon Valley CEO–turned–com- adopted from Greece and sent to live with pany adviser uses the Socratic method to help readers clarify her new mother in Queens, New York. She has been looking for their ambitions, circumstances, and capabilities. her true identity ever since. Her adoptive mother, Evangelia “Ann,” Daglow begins each of six major sections in this debut busi- is a single Greek-American woman with no children of her own ness book with questions that address such topics as defining and a cold disposition. Her birth mother, Athanasia, was a prosti- projects, building teams, locating work sites, securing funding, tute. With the contrasting archetypes of the virgin and the whore managing risks, and thinking long-term. He asks readers to write for guardians, what Kit Kat longs for is a true mother figure. thoughtful answers to these queries before reading his commen- Instead, she finds Jane Eyre, the classic work of literature whose tary, which is filled with anecdotes, observations, and tips drawn heroine becomes her confidante and role model. Via diary entries from his experience leading video game makers Electronic Arts recounting her childhood through her college years, Kit Kat tells and Broderbund, founding game developer Stormfront Studios, her story in an earnest—and very strong—narrative voice as she and advising new and established companies. The format mirrors confesses her darkest secrets. Although Ann is a vast improve- his previous volume for video game designers, but the questions ment over Athanasia, who used to beat Kit Kat, her denial of and comments here are designed to apply broadly to anyone her adoptive daughter’s past creates a palpable distance between with a “Dream Project.” That said, they’re particularly relevant them. In one scene, Kit Kat sits at the dinner table so quietly she for tech-based startups. He explores issues related to new prod- can hear Ann’s stomach digesting her food: “The silences between ucts and services, retail shops, home-based solo operations, and us are now immeasurable, but the sounds of her fill every crack, new initiatives within large organizations. But although Daglow every possible place unoccupied by words.” Told from the teenag- addresses readers’ dreams, he’s no Pollyanna; he also warns read- er’s perspective, the story leaves Ann’s innermost thoughts unsaid, ers to conserve cash, avoid foolish risks, and not neglect family, and the effect is haunting. Did she truly believe Kit Kat was lying and his watchwords are “balance and common sense.” He calls about her past, or did she feel in over her head because the social his approach “The Passion-Process-Product Method,” which worker had told her the situation was better than it was? Some of considers an entrepreneur’s motivating passion to be founda- Kit Kat’s siblings—Maria, Nicholas, and Stavros—spent time in tional, and he offers practical steps toward achieving a profitable orphanages, the homes of relatives, and with Athanasia and her product. No single guide for entrepreneurs can cover everything, boyfriend, Kristos, but none of them followed her to America. but Daglow’s touches on many essential startup challenges. The She’s alone, angry, and, at one point, locked in the bathroom with author also excels at probing internal issues in a company, dis- a pair of scissors pointed at her own body. If her mother can’t cussing how one assesses commitment and prepares for failure. break the silence, she’ll have to do it for herself. His prose shows a clarity of thought and authority borne of With sophisticated prose, this gritty coming-of-age experience. Daglow suggests that readers “Think of this book as story blends the familiar and the unthinkable as the lead a private discussion between you and me.” Then he adds, “Wait, learns to use her voice. check that. Think of this book as a private discussion between you and you.” Those who combine introspection with his sea- soned counsel will gain not only a tutorial on business realities, BOWING TO but also insight into themselves. ELEPHANTS A comprehensive, easy-to-read manual for people Tales of a Travel Junkie launching new ventures. Dimond, Mag She Writes Press (256 pp.) $16.95 paper | $9.95 e-book | Sep. 17, 2019 978-1-63152-596-4
An American woman’s trips to foreign lands help her come to terms with a trou- bled past in this memoir. Dimond, a retired writing professor, juxtaposes scenes from her world travels with fraught episodes
16 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | from her personal life to tease out hidden resonances. She SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE begins with an account of a three-year teenage sojourn in Italy CASE OF THE UNDEAD CLIENT in the 1950s, during which she contrasts the warmth of the Downing, M.J. local culture with her chilly relationship with her mother, a Burns and Lea Media LLC (270 pp.) free-spirited artist, which left the young author feeling lonely $10.99 paper | $4.99 e-book and undervalued. Her adult travels took her to more exotic Jun. 1, 2019 locales, which she intersperses with more family memories 978-0-9995083-4-3 and Buddhist teachings that she adopted in maturity. At one point, for example, a nunnery in Burma evokes recollections Zombies take on the Victorian of a childhood girlfriend’s family, which was as welcoming supersleuth in this debut homage to the as her own was alienating. A 2013 visit to see Ho Chi Minh’s Arthur Conan Doyle detective series. miraculously preserved corpse on display in Hanoi takes her It’s 1888, and Sherlock Holmes, back to a similarly hallucinatory acid trip that she had during assisted by newlywed John H. Watson and a posse of street the 1967 Summer of Love. A 2010 encounter with an elephant urchins, comes to the aid of Anne Prescott, a nurse whose sis- herd in Kenya, in which the adult females vigilantly guarded ter and fiance have disappeared. In improbably short order, he their calves, provokes a recollection of a time in 1966 when figures out the basics of the mystery: Mad scientist Emil LaLau- she briefly abandoned her husband and 1-year-old daugh- rie is using a brain-destroying infection, assisted by the voodoo ter for a fling in Las Vegas. She closes with a long, Proustian rituals of his confederate Alcee Sauvage, to turn slum dwellers remembrance of her childhood hometown of San Francisco into zombies. The ensuing struggle to stop the villains is a well- that takes in bohemian North Beach, the bustling downtown, rendered tribute to the Conan Doyle classics that retains the and the Pacific Heights house where her grandmother led an elegant life that was full of disappointment. The author’s loose-limbed narrative moves back and forth in time, telling a tale that’s less about specific events than it is about shifting moods in shifting places—sometimes anxious, plaintive, or grief-stricken and other times brimming with inter- est and wonder. The prose is gorgeous and novelistic, vividly depicting the pitiless African savanna (“Greasy-looking black vultures swooped and hovered and swooped again, pecking special issue: best books of 2019 away at the sour-smelling carcass; they shrieked nervously”) and the mellow ambiance of Florence (“golden light reaching down and blessing an arched doorway, a cloud of cigarette smoke, as children scurried along with their soccer ball”). Much of the book’s sensuousness comes from its lavish descriptions of food, from elaborate feasts to a simple egg: “warm and comforting to hold in the palm of your hand, the creamy and sticky richness of the golden yolk, so good you must lick the little egg spoon clean.” At its haunted center is a wistful and wounded portrait of Dimond’s relationship with her mother, who is a changing landscape in her own right: She was movie-star glamorous in her youth, but the author describes how, in her decline, she had “the ugly wide calloused feet she tried to squeeze into pretty flats, the gnarled hands that she didn’t cherish anymore…her lipstick always seemed cracked.” Overall, this is not merely an account of strange lands and novel adventures, but also a moving saga of a woman wandering the world in search of home. A luminous, engrossing meditation on family love and loss.
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 17 The Aegis’ lavish, varied meals sound so absolutely mouthwatering that readers may wish for a cookbook tie-in. star-crossed
original style while updating the sensibility with combat femi- circumstances but even harder with Vela’s childhood crush nism, queasy sex, and torrents of gore. Roaming a foggy, atmo- competing. Not only that, a saboteur threatens the colony. spheric London, Holmes is his old self, bursting with know-it-all Vela must use her head and heart to make the right choices pedantry (“It is perhaps a compound word from several terms in on behalf of her people. Dunn (Seize Today, 2017, etc.) has an West African Kikongo…‘nzambi’ and ‘zumbi’ ”), unlikely deduc- inspired idea in focusing Dion’s society around issues of food tions (“The particular callous patterns on the man’s right hand, and eating, so primal yet seldom featured in SF. The Aegis’ the many injuries to his left, and the discoloration of his trou- lavish, varied meals sound so absolutely mouthwatering that ser legs all speak of a man accustomed to repairing shoes”), and readers may wish for a cookbook tie-in: “hummus and falafel curlicued trash talk (“I wish to assure you…that I am the least and anchovy salad with olives and onions. Squid ink paella worthy of the agents of justice who will fall upon you soon and and cod fish omelet….Ceviche and fried plantains.” The take you down to ruin”). But he’s also modern enough to declare power of this fundamental social divide is captivating, and that “it is high time, Watson, that we treat women as our equals,” it’s easy to see how it could lead to unrest, with have-nots and to insist that Anne get samurai training. The latter comes in growing, cooking, and serving meals they can’t even taste. handy as the heroes confront hordes of rotting, snarling, brain- Vela’s emotions are rendered in the melodramatic bodily eating, galumphing undead and mete out old-school dismem- overreactions common to YA fiction, and it’s easy to guess berments and beheadings. The grisly violence—“The meaty the villain, but Dunn’s entertaining storytelling compensates. ‘snick-snack’ sound of a razor-sharp blade slicing through flesh An unusual focus on food only improves this intriguing and bone came from my right….The head spun for a second in coming-of-age story. the air above the creature’s torso, and a weird giggle escaped my lips”—darkens Downing’s vigorous series opener. So does Wat- son’s agitation as he conceives an ungentlemanly desire for the THE LATE BLOOMER gorgeous Anne that only grows more intense as she gradually Falkin, Mark zombifies after getting bitten. Holmes fans may find the video Rare Bird Books (320 pp.) game carnage and Watson’s somber obsessions to be a tonal $16.95 paper | $13.99 e-book clash with the Conan Doyle aesthetic of cerebral cool, but the Oct. 16, 2018 brisk action and pitch-perfect Sherlock-ian aplomb make for a 978-1-947856-54-7 page-turner. A gothic, ghoulish, but enjoyable version of Holmes. Falkin (Contract City, 2015, etc.) syn- thesizes multiple unnerving apocalypse scenarios into something entirely new in STAR-CROSSED this horror novel. Dunn, Pintip Kevin March of Austin, Texas, is Entangled Teen (368 pp.) revealed to the reader in fits and starts. He was once a slacker, idly $17.99 | $7.99 e-book | Oct. 2, 2018 dreaming of being a published writer, who spent a lot of time smok- 978-1-63375-241-2 ing marijuana and got kicked out of a marching band. But later, he’s determined and forthright, trying to stay alive with Kodie Lagen- As unrest grows in a food-strapped kamp, the girl he loves, as they confront what appears to be the end space colony, a young woman slated for of the world. The novel is delivered in an epistolary style, ostensi- leadership must make a heart-wrenching bly a transcript of Kevin’s late-2018 voice recordings, detailing his decision in this YA SF/romance novel. journey. This conceit gives the novel a strong voice that ably con- When colonists arrived on their veys the terror and uncertainty of Kevin’s situation, as well as the new planet, Dion, 60 years ago, they bleak wonder of a rapidly changing and crumbling environment. expected to find a fully habitable environment. All but a few The novel’s style also highlights the protagonist’s flair for poetic terraforming pods sent ahead were destroyed, however, mak- language, and the overwhelming situation that he finds himself in ing survival tenuous. The colony adopted a drastic solution: allows readers to learn more about him as he sees deeper into him- the Aegis (people with suitable genes) receive a modification self. The apocalypse itself is a mystery that drives the entire story, to become food incubators, eating heartily six times a day so starting with a sound like whale song, a strange ripple in the Colo- that many more nutrients than they eat can be uncomfortably rado River, shadows cast by nothing, and a glimpse of an inhuman extracted from them in pill form. The other colonists con- monster in some trees. The crisis rapidly escalates as the adults sume only these pills, never tasting actual food. They, how - die off—choking on a strange, fiberglasslike substance or killing ever, live full life spans, while all the Aegis but the king lose themselves en masse, while young children change, becoming full 60 years each. To retain strong leadership, every five years, a of dark purpose and growing menace. Through all of this, Kevin strong, fit colonist is chosen to sacrifice his or her organs to has to contend with the possibility that survival is a false hope, but keep the king alive. Princess Vela, 17, of Thai descent, doesn’t he also finds that recording and remembering are acts of defiance always follow rules but still might be chosen over her sister in and of themselves. Readers will feel a rising sense of trepidation as their father’s successor. First, though, she’s charged with with every page turn, but the brisk pace ensures that they’ll keep administering this year’s Fittest Trials—agonizing in any moving forward despite the danger. The secondary characters can
18 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | sometimes feel slightly flat, as seen through Kevin’s eyes, but the the monarch’s future, that he’ll live to be 130. Yet Elberon thinks depth of his own development and that of the world around him mainly of the companions who’ll attend his birthday party in more than make up for it. nine days, including the warrior Amabored and his former love A compelling tale with a dynamic, engaging protagonist. Melinda the Blade. “When I finally get them all together,” he thinks, “I’m going to kill every last one of them.” He then begins detailing his youth among the Free Kingdoms of the Woerth and THE SCREAMING SKULL even the Multiverse after he told his father, King Olderon, that Ferguson, Rick he wanted to visit Redhauke, a cosmopolitan city ripe with crime Phabulousity Press (492 pp.) and opportunity. There, he met Amabored, the elf Lithaine, and $14.99 paper | $4.99 e-book the mage Redulfo. Given additional strength by the Girdle of Nov. 12, 2018 Gargantua, Elberon joined the trio, and they became guards for 978-1-73256-621-7 Saggon, Over-Boss of the Thieves Guild. But Saggon’s shipments of pipeweed contained a secret over which Melinda battled the In this debut novel, a so-called royal group. During this time, Elberon first encountered the Scream- hero reflects on his life as upheaval ing Skull (when Melinda attacked him with it) and became awaits on the horizon. embroiled in closing the Hellmouth beneath the Blue Falcon Inn. King Elberon, lord of the Tradewind Later, he drank a concoction called the Flaming Telepath, which Isles, is about to turn 65 years old. He’s brought him to the First Universe and a meeting with Jo Ki-Rin, led an illustrious life of adventure and just learned from his a chimerical creature who warned that Elberon must accept a friend Wilberd, who glanced through the Astral Telescope at quest to save all of creation. special issue: best books of 2019
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 19 The “monomyth” at the core of Ferguson’s series opener is And while the main characters riff humorously on archetypes— the same one that fuels innumerable fantasies, from Tolkien’s and the minor ones mock everything else (Father Frito of Lay, work to the Star Wars series. The winning difference here is for example)—they experience events deeply. Elberon’s regret the author’s tone, which would make the foulmouthed, fourth over cheating on average Melinda with gorgeous Cassiopeia wall–smashing Marvel character Deadpool proud. Elberon calls brings humanity to a cavalcade of gonzo exploits. Readers will Woerth a “chamber pot of competing cultures and religions likely return for the sequel, perhaps more for the king’s unpre- from dozens of different universes.” This gives the author the dictable narration than the plot itself. widest possible canvas on which to scribble his own multicol- A joyously coarse and self-aware epic fantasy. ored brand of mayhem—and the narrative leeway to quote Pulp Fiction. He discusses not only the Multiverse, wherein, most likely, “some pimply teenaged loser sits in his parents’ basement WHY I NEVER FINISHED drawing” dungeons “on graph paper and randomly inserting MY DISSERTATION monsters, traps, and treasure,” but also author Michael Moor- Foley, Laura cock, who deals vibrantly with alternate realities in his Elric Headmistress Press (108 pp.) series. Even Ferguson’s key villain, Koscheis, has echoes in “Sau- $15.00 paper | Aug. 18, 2019 ron, Voldemort, Lord Foul...or Vladimir Putin.” This isn’t to say 978-1-73353-451-2 that the story is complete silliness. The prose frequently lets rip some epic imagery, as when “a house-sized mushroom cloud of A collection of poetry offers a napalm condensed out of the atmosphere, balled itself up into detailed journey through the author’s a miniature sun, and surged forth with a massive sonic boom.” past. “Because I heard the wind / blowing through the sun, / I left the lecture / on mathematics.” These opening lines from the poem “Fractaliza- tion” epitomize Foley’s (WTF, 2017, etc.) approach to writing. She has no time for tedium; she refuses to feel trapped; and she is at home and inspired by natural, wide open spaces where indi- viduals “see beyond / the limits” of a mind “numbed by numbers.” Thematically diverse, her poetry is, in every sense, transport- ing. In “Little Rooms,” she describes herself as a fourth grader, carefully assembling a box to store her collection of gemstones. In “After,” she is a grandmother at a protest march wielding the placard “Queer Grannies Against Trump.” Other poems depict her family—“Rumpelstiltskin” captures her father’s rage when she tells him she is to marry “the hunchback Moroccan,” and the title piece recounts the poet’s first steps into parenthood with a toddler who “sits, / squealing in the mess.” Foley also leads read- ers through the corridors of a mental health facility, where she recalls visiting her sister: “Quiet as death, / our footsteps echo- ing against the scarred wood.” The masterful poetry in these pages is replete with elegant lines that beg to be underlined in pencil and returned to repeatedly. For instance, the love poem “Beyond” opens with the beautiful and timely statement: “I don’t think of her as woman, or man, / just as I don’t gender sun- light / on my face the first coatless spring day.” Foley’s writing may appear sparse and reserved but it harbors a subtle power. The poet’s greatest strength is her acute sense of observation. She possesses the ability to thread sensuousness into the fabric of everyday life, as in “What the Dead Miss,” which portrays a visit to a filling station: “I hear music in the liquid trickling, / filling my tank to the brim, / music in my steady footsteps.” After transforming seemingly commonplace sounds into audi- tory pleasures, she floors readers with the line “They say that’s what the dead miss most, / an ordinary day, spent like this.” This is a dazzling volume of poetry that delights in crisp imagery and tender recollections. Understated, courageous, and deeply insightful poems.
20 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | A highly effective blend of autobiography and spiritual manifesto. from cinders to butterflies
FROM CINDERS THE UNMARKED GIRL TO BUTTERFLIES Frontin, Jeanelle A Spiritual Journey Mark Made Group Ltd. (320 pp.) to Healing $9.99 paper | $4.99 e-book Fratianne, Richard B. Jun. 29, 2018 Franklin Street Books (196 pp.) $15.95 paper | Jun. 3, 2003 A debut YA novel sees a teen girl 978-1-59299-018-4 fight for acceptance in a world of ingrained prejudice. A burn unit doctor’s account of heal- The planet Mira is home to two ing and transformation. races—the sun-dwelling Photaks and Fratianne, an emeritus professor of the light-averse Skotads. Sixteen-year- surgery at Case Western Reserve University and the founder old Yara is a Photak, but unlike the rest of the burn center at Cleveland’s MetroHealth Medical Center, of her tribe, she has no birth markings. She was found as a baby combines his experiences as a physician with his unfolding faith in the Greens, a shadowy realm where no Photak can remain journey as a Christian in this debut, crafting a narrative that long without falling to Light Blindness. Yara can live in the light centers on the concept of personal development: “Most of us so she cannot be a Skotad. Yet she can never be a true Photak never fully know or appreciate the person we can become,” he either. Taken reluctantly into the tribe, she has remained an writes. “We do not fully explore our potential; our gifts and our outsider to be shunned, feared, and despised. Her adoptive par- talents or our qualities as human beings.” Fratianne and his team, ents love her, as do the younger children, but apart from them, which he calls his “extended family,” have treated many patients with pain and long-term trauma from serious burn injuries. In some ways, he says, the most challenging injuries are those to a victim’s sense of self. He notes how patients with scarred skin or deformed features felt afraid that they would be objects of pity or ridicule when they rejoined society. The stress of dealing with this brought Fratianne to the edge of quitting his job, but at this point in his story, he recounts a personal spiritual awak- ening—a sense that God was urging him to love his patients special issue: best books of 2019 despite the enormity of their needs. His first response to God, he writes, was “I can’t. I can’t. They need too much; much more than I can give.” The author employs a highly effective blend of autobiography and spiritual manifesto in these pages, revealing how transforming the lives of others became possible by using what he calls the “supernatural gifts” of faith, hope, and love. The religious elements of the memoir are skillfully interwoven with stories of the impressive achievements of the burn unit; specifically, he tells how the team worked wonders by always treating patients as beautiful people and by affirming every bit of progress that they made in their arduous journeys back to their everyday lives. Fratianne’s own health scare at the book’s climax only underscores the lessons that he so touchingly con- veys throughout. A straightforward and uplifting story of helping others through earnest Christian faith.
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 21 only Kristos, the Chief’s son, truly accepts her. Yara is training many veterans, he never talked about his Army days, and Judith to be a warrior with Kristos. Driven by the need to prove her- is intrigued. She eventually tracks Guy down. He is thrilled to self, she has become second to none in both the Photak fighting make contact but is adamant about not living in the too-painful techniques and her own secretly developed style that is “notori- past. However, the book explores their atypical connection. ously difficult to predict” (“The offbeat moves came with their Gabin’s is a quietly powerful book, and Part 2 is especially own rhythm, and from an outsider’s perspective, it looked like engaging—a study in long-lasting hurt. She is not a flashy writer— a dangerous, deadly dance”). On the Day of the Calling, Yara is no rococo flights to exploit and cheapen the pain. When Guy chosen from all of the graduating trainees to defend the tribe writes, “Your letter…brought back so many memories. It was in a ritual combat known as the inner fight. It’s her proudest a sorrowful and also a joyful time,” this is closer to Hemingway moment, yet even in victory she faces disaster. For, unbeknown than to Faulkner—as it should be. Guy is a gracious host but to Yara, her secret style mirrors that of the Skotads. Suddenly gets angry when Judith presses him too much about the past. all of the tribe’s doubts come flooding back. With even Kris- He can’t forget the pain of his stunted childhood, the Holo- tos now having second thoughts about her, Yara flees into the caust, the French collaborators, and his mixed feelings now for Greens—and meets a Skotad hunter who makes her question Ben, the “father” who abandoned him. But he refuses to wallow everything she’s been taught to believe. Frontin writes in the in it. Judith captures him perfectly as “this witty, sardonic, dam- third person, mostly from Yara’s point of view, and quickly con- aged man who drinks too much.” The mystery of Ben’s behav- structs an effortless blend of SF scenario, social allegory, and YA ior remains. Did he realize that he wasn’t the adventurer he’d coming-of-age adventure. The prose is simple but effective, and hoped to be? Did he use his promise to Sylvia as a cop-out? We the dialogue functional (although some of the monologues are only know that he made a comfortable living for the family as an a bit strained). But it is through characterization that the story accountant and that he and Sylvia retired to Florida—almost a soars. The plot spirals upward through broadly predictable yet parody of the dutiful burgher’s life. This, Gabin seems to be say- still personal and distinctive patterns on the back of its charac- ing, is how culture and experience shape a life. Ben perhaps was, ter moments. As the first installment of a trilogy, the book lacks in the final analysis, the typical well-meaning but naïve Yank. closure. Nevertheless, Frontin establishes Yara as a protagonist A thoughtful delineation of characters and a sensitive to follow and herself as an author to watch. study of a culture and an era. An engrossing SF/fantasy that breathes new life into old tropes. TWO LIKE ME AND YOU Gibbs, Chad Alan THE PARIS PHOTO Borne Back Books (250 pp.) Gabin, Jane S. $12.95 paper | $2.99 e-book Wisdom House Books (506 pp.) May 20, 2019 $18.99 paper | Nov. 1, 2018 978-0-9857165-3-0 978-0-692-09751-9 In this YA debut, a high schooler Gabin’s (American Women in Gilded befriends the class loner and a World Age London, 2006, etc.) character-driven War II veteran. novel is set in Paris in the 1940s and pres- Edwin Green is a junior at J.P. ent day. Hornby High School in Hornby, Ala- Ben Gordon is pushing 30 and itch- bama. His ex-girlfriend Sadie Evans ing for real life to begin. He enlists in the became a celebrity after improbable events, revealed later good fight against Hitler, gets engaged to Sylvia Stern, a nice girl in the novel, that happened on April 13, 2014, which Edwin from the neighborhood, and is off to France, assigned to a mili- calls “Black Saturday.” In the year since then, he’s been mak- tary postal unit. He was asked to look up a family in Paris, which ing YouTube videos in the hope of becoming famous himself is how he meets Simone Daval; her mother, Mira; and her young and winning her back. Then, one day in history class, Edwin’s son, Guy. Simone’s husband and her father, we eventually learn, sad life is graced by Parker Haddaway, a gruff girl whom the were lured away and killed in the camps. The Germans are now teacher makes his partner in a class project. They must ask on the run, but trauma remains. With their shared Jewish heri- someone who lived through World War II a series of ques- tage—they get by in Yiddish—a strong bond develops between tions—and luckily, Parker knows just the man to interview: Ben and the Davals. Ben, a real mensch, tries to fill the void as a 90-year-old Garland Lenox, who lives at the Morningview father figure for Guy and, inevitably, becomes something more Arbor rest home. They ask the cantankerous Air Force veteran than a friend to Simone. But he can’t bring himself to confess about the first time he heard the name Adolf Hitler, and he that he’s engaged. He is transferred to Frankfurt, and that is says, “Doesn’t ring a bell.” He’s teasing them, of course, but the last that the Davals hear from him. In Part 2, Judith Gor- the next time the teens visit, Garland has a serious proposal: don and her brother, Michael, are going through their father’s He offers Edwin $25,000 to help him secretly go to France and effects after his funeral when Judith finds Ben’s photographs reunite with his long-lost love, Madeleine Moreau. The notion taken in Paris. Ben married Sylvia and had a good life, but like is preposterous—but Edwin thinks that if they can complete
22 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | the mission, he’ll finally become world-famous. Gibbs adds TRIPS an unconventional sweetness, reminiscent of Jerry Spinelli’s People, Places, Poker 2000 novel Stargirl, to a tale of a trip to Saint-Lô, which the Goodhart, Arthur W. Allies bombed during WWII. Along the way, the author crafts The Gate Press (263 pp.) lines that effectively illuminate both his snarky characters $7.99 paper | $0.99 e-book and modern society. Edwin, for example, narrates, “for at least Nov. 23, 2018 half the famous people out there fame just fell on their heads 978-1-73128-961-2 like bird shit.” Garland, amid irreverent one-liners, provides a wealth of firsthand experience about the Second World War Poker becomes the key to under- and midcentury America (“I joined the Air Force to get out of standing life and history—though not to the damn woods and see the world”). Parker loves 1990s rap winning money—in this meditative gam- music, and Gibbs sprinkles lyrics throughout the story like bling memoir. confetti. As her fate intertwines with Garland’s and Edwin’s, Literary agent and novelist Goodhart (Cards, Kafka and the meaning of the book’s title comes into flower. In the end, Prague, 2016, etc.) entered Texas Hold ’em tournaments in Gibbs avoids easy, saccharine plot turns in favor of ones that Prague; Nottingham, England; and the French seaside resort strengthen his characters. of Deauville, pitting his eternal hopes against repeated, inex- A smashing debut that’s both intimate and epic. orable experiences of failure. Feeling overmatched by the obsessive young men in dark glasses and hoodies who domi- nate poker tournaments, he fortified himself with magical thinking—he found himself bargaining for divine assistance special issue: best books of 2019
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 23 The wonder-filled, terrible future the author invokes feels uncomfortably real, inhabited, and just around the corner. sunlight 24
by offering a percentage of the prize money to charity if he tri- the gray of her noisy radiator, extend beyond their characters or umphed—and conflicting advice from poker manuals, which objects to enhance the pages. had him lurching from his instinctive “tight weak” style of The dragons’ acceptance of the heroine’s reactions, “doing nothing” whenever possible to ill-judged “loose aggres- their solid advice, and a kid-friendly elephant children can sive” betting that occasionally won big pots but inevitably identify with should resonate with young readers strug- ended with him going bust. The author regales readers with gling to manage their emotions. engrossing poker play-by-play rendered in clipped but color- ful jargon—“I’m up against Ace, Queen and 7s, way behind, at least until the flop when 10, Jack, 10 gives me a huge lead”—as SUNLIGHT 24 he tries to figure the odds, suss out opponents’ thinking, and Graves, Merritt tame his own psychology as he veers between timidity and Time Tunnel Media (462 pp.) recklessness. (A glossary and appendix on the rules of Texas $14.99 paper | $2.99 e-book Hold ’em should help newbies decipher the goings-on.) He Jul. 31, 2019 fills in the downtime between hands with beguiling travel- 978-1-949272-02-4 ogues, snatches of history—he interprets the tragic miscalcu- lations leading to the outbreak of World War I as a kind of A jaded high schooler of the mid-21st botched poker game—and wide-ranging intellectual rumina- century commits risky suburban burglar- tions. (He imagines a lunchtime meeting between Einstein ies to pay for the physical and mental and Kafka that might bring out their clashing perspectives modifications needed to stay current in on the universe as a coherent expression of scientific laws or a technology-blighted society. a tissue of happenstance and enigma.) Goodhart infuses the Graves (Lakes of Mars, 2019) creates a memorably com- mechanics of poker hustling with philosophical and literary promised first-person narrator/antihero in Dorian Waters, an resonances—“Hansen counsels using my chips, making some alienated teenager in America circa 2030 (Oakland A’s refer- moves, stealing a few pots, going for it; Rilke suggests patience ences suggest a California locale), where advanced technology and discipline. Never listen to a poet”—in a piquant counter- comes with a high price monetarily—and in other ways. Robots point that’s both insightful and entertaining. and artificial intelligence have taken most jobs. Environmen- An engaging picaresque that explores the role of chance tal collapse has meant scorching sunlight most of the year and and fate inside the casino and out. the extinction of beneficial insects and most animal species. Humans have met the crises with nanotech and genetic modifi- cations, including their own. Drones shaped like birds and bugs ELLIE AND HER not only pollinate, but also provide constant, camera-feed sur- EMOTIONAL DRAGONS veillance everywhere. And people—if they are wealthy—may Goodrich, Joseph “Revise” on a cellular level, surviving outside without skin lotion Illus. by Van Wagoner, Traci and enjoying enhanced brainpower, stamina, musculature, and Wisdom House Books (34 pp.) beauty. The son of ill-paid civil servants, Dorian started in $19.99 | Nov. 16, 2018 school smart and athletic, but he has fallen badly behind, real- 978-1-73285530-4 izing he cannot compete—not in college, not in careers, not in romance—against expensively Revised upper-class kids. Tak- A young elephant deals with her feel- ing a cue from RPG-spycraft video gaming, Dorian maintains ings with the help of four tiny dragons a double life: hardworking student by day, burglar by night, who live in her closet in this debut pic- thwarting the ubiquitous monitoring devices of affluent sub- ture book. urbia while methodically robbing rich neighbors with a class- Ellie the elephant has four magic dragons: Naz, who assists mate as his partner in crime. Dorian wants to finance physical her when she’s afraid; Nali, who consoles her when she’s sad; and mental Revisions for them both and perhaps symbolically Tully, who helps her check her anger; and Hani, who shares her strike against the ennui and injustices of the system. Meanwhile, happiness. When Ellie is startled by sounds in her new home, police start to close in. Even worse, Dorian’s secret is known Naz tells her it’s all right to be scared and offers tips on how to to his 14-year-old kid brother, Jaden. Jaden is a self-diagnosed handle her fears. When Ellie is unhappy because her father goes psychopath, and if the authorities knew his mental state, there to work, Nali encourages her to draw a picture to lift her spir- would be harsh consequences for the household. Increasingly its. When a new friend rips her picture, Tully suggests she take resentful of Dorian, Jaden nurtures his own, much darker plans. deep breaths to calm down. In Goodrich’s clever tale about cop- Readers may be put in mind of popular YA dystopia authors ing, the dragons provide sound counsel (“We can always draw riffing on Orwellian conformity (usually with a female protago- another picture,” Tully asserts). Each dragon is in a bold color, nist); witness Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies trilogy and Veronica which Van Wagoner (Nelson Beats the Odds Activity Guide, 2019, Roth’s Divergent three-parter. But Graves, like bad-seed Jaden, etc.) uses to great effect in a paint-splatter style. The dragons is after bigger things (plus he wraps it all up in one sizable vol- leave trails of brilliant hues when they fly, but other colors in ume). While it may bear the trendy tag cyberpunk, this novel the beautiful illustrations, such as the purple of Ellie’s skin or is one specimen of the computer-hype-happy SF genre whose
24 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | grievances and characters would resonate with F. Scott Fitzger- KUMORI AND THE LUCKY CAT ald, who gets a shoutout here. The book’s facets include the ineq- Gray, Wendelin uities of class and wealth in America, the cri de coeur of young CreateSpace (244 pp.) have-nots against privileged elites, and the desperation of a $9.95 paper | $2.50 e-book | Jun. 14, 2016 member of this Kurzweilian lost generation to reinvent himself 978-1-5335-8213-3 (in a literally Edisonian sense, with neural links, surgical implants, and subdermal databases) for acceptance into a neo-aristocracy. In this literary dystopian novel, a These actions turn out to be as disastrous for Dorian as they young woman’s life changes radically as were for Gatsby (and, as with Gatsby, an unattainable girl pro- she listens to the advice of her Japanese vides added motivation and obsession). Unlike so much else in cat figurine. cyber-sploitation’s literary data archives, Graves does not con- After World War III in 2090, three centrate on virtual-reality FX blasts, awesome mechas, or cool super-states have gobbled up the globe. hacker tricks and capers. Yes, such ingredients are present, but The Reorganization that followed reshuf- the tropes never overshadow Dorian’s essential dilemmas, rela- fled the masses and worked to erase all memory of their cultural tionships, and dread, conveyed in a measured, sharply observant pasts. It’s now 2138, and 30-year-old Kumori Ando of the super- narrative that eschews merely fast-forwarding to the next act of state Eurasia lives in New Caledonia’s dreary southern sector, mayhem. The wonder-filled, terrible future the author invokes working a dull but reliable cubicle job. She has a rare memento feels uncomfortably real, inhabited, and just around the corner. from the old days, a cat figurine a few inches high with a beckon- Teen-centered, future-shock tragedy of a high order, a ing paw, red-flecked fur, and gold highlights. Dubbed Lucky Cat, literate upgrade over standard gamer-hacker SF. the figurine comes to life and talks to Kumori, often delivering special issue: best books of 2019
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 25 advice. Kumori discovers Chen Wei, a young man sheltering in a order to survive. Those who embrace a subsistence way of life dumpster, and brings him home. She learns he’s a member of the (either by choice or necessity) might seem poor to outsiders, but resistance movement, which aims to dismantle the Reorganization they “consider themselves the richest people in the world,” with and give people freedom again. Kumori wants to join the move- access to the vast variety of nature’s bounty, as Gulick explains. ment as well, but she’s soon embroiled in the machinations of the Her conversations with those who depend on salmon deftly secret police, whose ranks include her brother, Tsumori. He offers show how the fish are a vital link in the state’s environmental to get Kumori a good job and apartment in the cushy northern and economic systems but also how they bind families and com- district, and she agrees, hoping to work undercover for the move- munities together. Few who read this illuminating book or see ment. Her exposure leads to a violent confrontation in which the author’s awe-inspiring color photographs will fail to come Lucky Cat shows her supernatural powers, growing to a gigantic away with a sense that this is a way of life well worth preserving. size and destroying buildings. The adventure continues in further A rich, compelling look at a thriving yet increasingly volumes. Much dystopian fiction can be heavy-handed, but Gray threatened natural resource and those who depend on it. (Magic Hair, 2019, etc.) employs a spare, delicate style that’s effec- tive, whether describing an interrogation, quiet scenes, or a huge cat’s rage: “Lucky Cat tore her way through the top few floors of INDIA that building, smashed the glass façade of the police station…with In Search of the a kick of her hind leg and the whipping motion of her tail…shriek- Fourth Veda ing as she went.” But the romance between Kumori and Chen is so Gunderson, Phyllis understated as to seem anemic; what draws them together beyond Onesimus Publishing (237 pp.) happenstance? Chen’s comment, “Yeah, you’re cute enough,” is $12.99 paper | $3.99 e-book | Apr. 1, 2019 typical. 978-0-578-48110-4 An absorbing, well-written blend of SF, surrealism, and Japanese magical-girl fantasy. An American sojourner seeks to unlock the riddles of India by investigat- ing its mystical sciences in this scintillat- THE SALMON WAY ing memoir. An Alaska State In 1994, 50 years old and newly divorced, Gunderson trav- of Mind eled to the Indian city of Coimbatore to teach English and do Gulick, Amy anthropological research. There, she experienced both delight at Photos by the author the country’s vibrant culture and challenges to her Western sensi- Braided River (192 pp.) bilities. Hygienic standards—garbage piled in the streets for ani- $29.95 | May 1, 2019 mals to eat, cockroaches in hospitals—unsettled her. Pervasive 978-1-68051-238-0 sexism rankled: She was refused service at hotels and restaurants because a woman alone was considered a prostitute, and when A writer and photographer offers a thoughtful exploration she went horseback riding, irate men tried to unseat her. As a of the vital role played by salmon in Alaskan communities. window into the Indian mindset, Gunderson began studying the Gulick (Salmon in the Trees, 2010), whose work has appeared fourth Veda, an ancient primer on traditional practices—astrol- in Audubon and National Wildlife, follows up her preceding book ogy, palm reading, numerology, herbal medicine—that influence with this well-reported and gorgeously illustrated volume about much of Indian life. (Vedic astrology, she notes, can specify that a the intimate, complex relationship between salmon and the man “will suffer appendicitis in the 36th year of his life” and “be Alaskan people. Salmon is a gift, the author explains, and those accused of killing a cow”; many arranged marriages are aborted who receive it all share a “deep connection to these remark- when the couple’s horoscopes prove incompatible.) Gunderson’s able fish,” though they may sometimes disagree on the best consultations mix the uncanny with the comic. For example, two way to use and protect the prize they’ve been given. Alaska is astrologers divine that she is divorced and blame bad karma from one of the few places that still has a flourishing population of her past lives but can’t agree on whether she will die at age 67 wild salmon, Gulick asserts before interviewing people whose or 75. Written in rich, sensual prose—“fissures in the sidewalks very existence depends on the continued health of salmon runs. lead to open sewers, odor balanced by mounds of jasmine flowers Some are transplants who run the sport-fishing businesses that in the street strung like corn to wear in the hair”—Gunderson’s attract tourists to America’s last frontier; others are commercial memoir portrays the author as both ravished and appalled by the fishermen; and several are Alaska Natives who keep centuries- splendor and squalor of India. But she doesn’t exoticize the place; old traditions alive when they catch and preserve the flavorful she grounds her openness with a wry skepticism and an analytic fish. The author provides an up-close look at the“ salmon way” as eye that susses out social nuances and draws rounded, complex she ventures out on a fishing boat, travels by seaplane into the character studies of people she encounters. The result is a fine, wilderness, encounters bears, and sits down for many meals as evocative rendering of the clash of India’s grungiest material real- she gets to know “the salmon people of Alaska.” The result is a ities and its most rarefied spiritual aspirations. vivid portrait of a place that will likely be foreign to many read- A vivid, thoughtful, entertaining take on Indian soci- ers; 18% of the population still harvests fish, game, and plants in ety and religion.
26 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | Though the fast-paced narrative is brief, it proficiently displays Denver’s laudable qualities. denver moon: metamorphosis
THE ANGRIEST ANGEL DENVER MOON Halt, Christopher Metamorphosis CreateSpace (443 pp.) Hammond, Warren & Viola, Joshua $15.95 paper | $2.99 e-book Illus. by Lovett, Aaron Sep. 20, 2018 Hex Publishers (130 pp.) 978-1-72624-158-8 $26.99 paper | $0.99 e-book Dec. 18, 2018 A brilliant, reckless troublemaker 978-0-9997736-5-9 appears to be the only person immune to the mind-control camouflage of benign An ultracool Mars private eye works aliens dwelling incognito on Earth. a case of robocide in this SF prequel. An intro by the author’s psychiatrist Destroying a robot, or botsie, on Mars explains that Halt (Pillars of Amorum, is akin to murder and consequently a felony. When Jard Calder, a 2018, etc.) has ADHD and channels that disability into the botstringer who runs botsies for prostitution, loses several of them protagonist of this opener to an SF trilogy. That foreknowledge to robocide, he hires Denver Moon. Someone has pulled only a sets up expectations of a disease-of-the-week TV movie (or part or two from each botsie and stolen its chip as well. With help something akin to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo vs. the Flying from Smith, an artificial intelligence installed in Denver’s gun, the Saucers), which prove happily inaccurate. Caelans are not mon- detective surmises the murder weapon is a mining tool. As Den- strous space invaders but a human-appearing alien race, both ver injected Smith with a copy of her grandfather’s memories, the technologically and morally advanced well beyond Homo sapiens. AI often treats her like a beloved granddaughter and is protective Hidden in elite positions in society, they’ve studied humankind with fascination for more than 50 years. A vital distinction between Caelans and earthlings: the aliens’ mental “psy” pow- ers that they can use for protection and persuasion. This ability has kept the extraterrestrials’ secret—until they meet Chase Madison, an unstable Chicagoan diagnosed with ADHD. Chase has a history of violence but is also smart and fearless when it counts. Avery, a beautiful (but terribly naïve) Caelan scientist, and Nathan, her stolid fiance, try to evaluate Chase’s resistance special issue: best books of 2019 to psy. An even bigger threat, however, is that Caelans on Earth are falling prey to negative traits—jealousy, thirst for power, and especially anger—that their species seemingly overcame eons ago. The Caelan “Regulus,” or leader (the author cleverly sub- stitutes high-minded Latin for a purely invented alien language), having lost his wife, has literally gone mad with grief and is plan- ning the unthinkable. The author’s premise may remind genre readers of Zenna Henderson’s humanistic The People stories. Halt sets up rich, emotional character minefields and conflicts without letting his antihero’s pathology take the focus off the bigger picture. Much remains unresolved at the end (only the beginning of this saga). But readers of international SF who revere (deservedly) the Arkady and Boris Strugatsky classic Hard To Be a God will want to check out Halt’s thoughtful take on what can go wrong when incredible and supremely ethical outsiders try to blend in with the coarse natives. If Chase is a protagonist as volatile as Randle Patrick McMurphy, Halt’s prose stylings throughout are steady, sober, and finely honed, refraining from dropping Hollywood FX whammies in a man- ner more befitting Cylons than Caelans. An SF series opener with ADHD as a key component that deserves all the attention it can get.
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 27 of her. And she may need protection when her search for a murder and Hennessey isn’t returning Denver’s calls. With help from suspect leads her to Blevin’s Mine, where someone from Denver’s her trusty AI, Smith, who’s installed in her Smith & Wesson past is invested in seeking revenge against her. Fighting to stay alive revolver, Denver quickly finds a link between the bishop and soon takes precedence over the case before she ultimately ends up the aliens’ experiments on colonists. Rafe, however, is a menac- in Mars City’s precarious lower levels. This is where Denver unravels ing individual with botsies at his command, and the plot against the mystery, though the motive for robocide is not as straightfor- humans is bigger and deadlier than Denver anticipated. Ham- ward as she may have anticipated. This graphic novel by the team mond and Viola’s (Denver Moon: Metamorphosis, 2018, etc.) novel of Hammond and Viola (Denver Moon: The Minds of Mars, 2018, etc.) deepens an ongoing mystery within the series. New readers will is a collection of three comic-book issues. It’s an adaptation of the easily settle into the story, but it’s best read from the beginning. authors’ short story, which is included at the volume’s end, along The latest narrative deftly expands ongoing themes, from Den- with a gallery and concept art. Though the fast-paced narrative is ver’s relationship with her grandfather Tatsuo to her softening brief, it proficiently displays Denver’s laudable qualities. She’s coolly feelings toward botsies. In fact, botsie Nigel is her friend, and apathetic, suggesting Jard find another investigator if he’s unhappy the image of Denver carrying and conversing with his head— with her efforts, and composed even when certain she’s in danger. his torso is on backorder—is a definite highlight. Despite rela- Smith is a stellar companion, convinced that, despite being an AI, it tively few characters, there are surprising turns among allies loves Denver. Furthermore, the classic Smith & Wesson revolver’s and apparent foes. And the prose, as always, is well imagined: “cannon mode” transforms it into a more powerful weapon. The dia- “I closed my eyes against a blowback of detritus and sprinted logue is often brief but witty. Denver, for example, promises to buy as fast as I dared in the dark, a confetti made of charred leaves Smith a new battery if they survive men out for her blood. The short peppering my face and arms.” story’s descriptive prose is akin to the novel’s illustrations: A shot Another blistering installment with a cool, clever from Smith “sliced through” people, “scattering their lifeless bodies female lead. across the floor.” Lovett’s Boomer( and Friends!, 2017, etc.) exemplary artwork makes the white-haired Japanese heroine look both formi- dable and chic. Panels are likewise vibrant, from the shadowy, blue- ÁNDALE PUSS tinged lower levels to Denver’s monochromatic perspective in sharp Where to Next? black and white. Handley, Warren The skilled, perpetually poised detective shines Illus. by Gibbs, Erin brightly in this series, be it a novel, comic book, or any Manuscript other format.
A cat embarks on a journey and must figure out where she’s DENVER MOON arrived in this debut picture book. The Saint of Mars Ándale Puss is a gray, overalls-wearing cat who packs her Hammond, Warren & Viola, Joshua bag to travel the world. Parachuting into a new location, she’s Hex Publishers (220 pp.) not quite sure where she’s landed, only that she’s cold in the $26.99 | $14.99 paper | $4.99 e-book snowy environment. After encountering a local warthog who Jul. 9, 2019 kindly serves her borscht (“She dips in her tongue, and then 978-1-73391-772-8 her whole head. / Her kitty cat whiskers are turning bright 978-1-73391-770-4 paper red!”), some Matryoshka foxes startle her, causing her to flee into a bookstore. There, a sympathetic bear bookseller hands In the continuation of this briskly her works by Chekhov, Tolstoy, and Dostoyevsky. Later, Ándale paced SF series, Mars private investiga- Puss sees a sign for “Moskva” and realizes she’s in Russia. The tor Denver Moon investigates the possi- charming feline is an enthusiastic narrator, and debut illustrator bility that invaders on the red planet are Gibbs’ watercolors present her full of energy along with a cap- plotting to enslave human colonists. tivating cast of animals reminiscent in design, if not technique, Denver is working a case of missing persons when she stum- of Richard Scarry. Handley relates the humorous adventure in bles on an alien’s lab with human experiments. She’s already accessible and flowing rhyming couplets. The interjections of aware of nameless, shape-shifting invaders on Mars and their Russian script, with suggested pronunciations and the English attempts to control humans. But for now, Denver remains mum. translations below, help readers feel how strange it must be for The colony of Mars City needs the aliens’ tech for successful Ándale Puss to confront foreign phrases while exposing them to terraforming. She subsequently takes a case for Jard Calder, the sounds and shapes of another language. Endnotes describe who runs a botsie (robot) prostitution business. Church of how the author learned that a smile can bridge linguistic and Mars monks are disrupting his business, and Jard wants Denver culture gaps and help travelers make friends—a moral that the to get Bishop Rafe Ranchard excommunicated. That shouldn’t cat’s escapades wholeheartedly and effectively represent. be difficult since Denver previously had the bishop excom- Beautiful, kid-friendly images and a charismatic feline municated when she discovered he was embezzling. Why the narrator should hook young readers on this introduction church’s leader, Cole Hennessey, reinstated Rafe is a mystery, to Russia.
28 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | PUBLIC PARTS DARK CORNERS Harris, Joel W. Hayslett, Reuben “Tihi” Xlibris (598 pp.) Running Wild Press (102 pp.) $41.19 | $23.99 paper | $3.99 e-book $19.99 paper | $9.99 e-book Sep. 30, 2015 Feb. 15, 2019 978-1-5144-0600-7 978-1-947041-22-6 978-1-5144-0601-4 paper Racism and homophobia are among In Harris’ debut novel, a dutiful son the eerie phenomena haunting these wants to make an honest success of his tense stories. father’s auto parts business—but the In this debut collection, Hayslett’s mob may still be pulling strings behind the scenes. characters, most of them black, brown, Thirty-something Larry Levine has worked at his dad Big and/or queer, have their personal problems complicated by Moe’s Public Auto Parts in New York City since he was in col- their outsider status, by ominous politics, and by occasional lege. All of a sudden, Big Moe decides to retire to Florida, leav- eruptions of madness and the macabre. In “2016,” a black les- ing Larry holding a mostly empty bag. His dad not only left with bian copes with her sister’s troubled pregnancy, her father’s most of the company’s funds—he also left a lot of questions cancer diagnosis, and an increasingly crazy presidential cam- unanswered. For example, Larry wonders about the mob’s con- paign while a ghostly skull that only she can see gradually mate- nection to Public Parts when a sinister gentleman named Car- rializes over her face when she looks in the mirror. In “Money mine lets Larry know that he’s not his own man but an owned Men,” an Atlanta prostitute who passes the time watching man. Moreover, Larry finds out about the supposedly acciden- cable news while servicing her clients becomes obsessed with tal death of mobster Abe Reles 30 years before; the man fell to the Arab Spring revolutions she sees on TV. In the Twilight his death just as he was about to rat out several other criminals. Zone–ish “Super Rush,” a 35-year-old gay man begins an affair Does that fact have something to do with why Moe decamped with a 19-year-old version of himself whom he encounters at a so hastily? What’s in the wind all these years later? Although bathhouse; in “Denial Twist,” a gay man’s affair with a flamboy- Larry is desperate for answers, the old man is as cagey as ever. ant drag queen is derailed by homophobic violence; and in “A Then Larry meets Ann Riordan, with whom he falls instantly Step Toward Evolution,” a Native American gay man who feels and hopelessly in love—even though he’s a semihappily married slighted by white gay men who use and discard him initiates a man. Despite the turmoil caused by their relationship, Ann is germ-warfare campaign. And in the disturbing “Come Clean,” special issue: best books of 2019 also, as Larry’s executive assistant, the best thing to ever hap- two black children observe the bizarre changes in their mother pen to Public Parts. The climax of the book is Larry’s trial after after she is sexually assaulted by a white man and fear she is he’s framed for arson, receiving stolen goods, and other crimes. turning into a vampire. Hayslett paints this world in matter-of- How did he get into such a mess? Eventually, Big Moe—a wid- fact realism that’s trimmed with deadpan humor and knocked ower whose health is failing fast—comes clean, to a degree, only slightly off-kilter by incursions of the paranormal, con- about what happened way back in 1941. veying it all in brisk, evocative, grungily lyrical prose. “When This is a very impressive debut, and although its nearly 600- your husband finally tells you he’s fucking Celia Washington, page length may be daunting to some, it is, in fact, a brisk and your ears fill with room-tone…it’s the first time in six months straightforward read. The book doesn’t focus on a huge cast— he’s not grinning like a two-dollar-idiot, and your vision crisps just Larry, the narrator, trying to reform Public Parts while deal- so sharp you can see every scraggly outline of lint on his jacket, ing with his feelings for Ann and hers for him. These are, for the and his breath feels like ten thousand wet pellets splashing your most part, well-rounded characters, precisely because Harris face as he says I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry,” growls the narrator of takes his time to develop them. Ann is shown to be competent, “Hope It Felt Good” as a wronged wife begins a bizarre meta- enigmatic, and eerily perceptive; Big Moe could have easily morphosis. The author keeps the identity politics pervasive yet been a one-note character, but his love and care for his only son unobtrusive as his characters fight a twilight struggle against a show him to have some depth. Larry’s wife, Laurie, is a study world bent on erasing their realities. in exasperation, but she’s also there when the chips are down. A gripping collection of yarns in which social disadvan- The dialogue is crackling and sly, and the long trial section, fea- tages take on monstrous shapes. turing the colorful Bernie “the Attorney” Schwartz, is priceless. The novel also offers an intriguing hybrid of real and fictional characters. Reles, Meyer Lansky, Lepke Buchalter, and others are actual mob figures, but their stories mesh well with those of invented characters, including the Levines; Ann; the perky Dawn Sanders, who helps Ann out around the office; and the vengeful Detective John Mannion. Indeed, by the end of the novel, readers will find that the made-up characters feel like liv- ing, breathing people, as well. An entertaining literary work with realistic characters.
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 29 The author skillfully evokes varied voices, from washerwomen to drunken sailors to prim grandmothers. saint james infirmary
SAINT JAMES voice and your tank more full than empty.”) It’s not always clear INFIRMARY where Jim and Tom are headed, but readers who like superb Heslin, Michael prose and compelling characters will be happy to ride along. Three Knolls Publishing (170 pp.) A spellbinding road trip. $9.95 paper | $2.99 e-book | May 7, 2018 978-1-941138-92-2 AIR RAID A man and his buddy’s corpse journey A World War Two Murder through the South and its musical legacy Mystery in this novel. Hodgetts, Eileen Enwright It’s 1978, and washed-up folk singer Emerge Publishing (367 pp.) Jim Logan is hanging out in New $10.99 paper | $3.99 e-book Orleans with his friend and one-time guitar partner Tom Par- Feb. 26, 2019 rish when Tom up and dies. Fulfilling a promise, Jim sticks Tom 978-0-9982154-8-8 in a pine coffin, loads him into a 1951 Ford Country Squire sta- tion wagon, and sets out to drive him to Richmond, Virginia, An inexperienced British solicitor— for an improvised burial—all the while pursued by lowlifes tasked with recovering a prominent wom- in a Chrysler who want to retrieve a valuable diamond Tom an’s missing child—finds himself embroiled swallowed before he died. That’s all the plot device needed to in a murder mystery. propel this luxurious shaggy dog story onward as Jim drives In this novel set in England in 1952, Toby Whitby is a newly the back roads, observes the world passing by, and reminisces minted solicitor, awkward and less than inspiring, which makes about his past, goaded by mellow conversational interjections it all the more unusual when he lands a major case. Lady Sylvia, from the voice of Tom’s ghost. The loose-jointed tale unfolds countess of Southwold, wants to recover her daughter, Celeste, in episodic chapters, almost stand-alone short stories, that who she claims was abducted by Vera Chapman, a poor village girl. introduce Jim to people and places with a musical resonance. Lady Sylvia conceived the child with Jack Harrigan, an American He visits the grave of a Delta bluesman; bestows his guitar on Army officer who was killed in Normandy in World War II. Since a poor boy; gives a ride to a woman in red singing a mysteri- the countess cannot have another baby, Celeste is the sole heir to ous song; tours the Shiloh battlefield and discovers a Union the considerable Southwold estate. Lady Sylvia was falsely told soldier’s letter home describing the music of runaway slaves; the child died in an air raid during the war but later discovered and visits Elvis Presley’s birthplace, finding it a site of brisk otherwise and asked her lawyer, Robert Alderton of Champion commerce and heartbroken recollections for fans of the King. and Company in Brighton, to handle the legalities. But Alderton Jim also meets Chilly Antone, the once-well-known Senator of was found dead, violently murdered, and the file regarding Lady Western Swing, lobbying to get into the Country Music Hall Sylvia’s case is mysteriously missing. Since Toby is now the only of Fame; buys a banjo from a hillbilly luthier; spends an after- healthy solicitor at the firm—Edwin Champion is too unwell to noon with an old flame; and drinks with other women, hard- manage the matter—he’s saddled with this responsibility. Toby boiled and softhearted, in various bars where honky-tonk turns out to be smarter than first impressions would indicate, and jukebox soundtracks play in the background. he begins to suspect that Lady Sylvia’s story is apocryphal, espe- Heslin’s (The Collapse of the Broadway Central, 2018) atmo- cially after her disgruntled gardener, Sam Ruddle, claims the child spheric yarn is less a linear narrative than a collection of char- properly belongs to Vera. Shortly after, Sam is nearly murdered by acter studies, landscapes, and soundscapes tied together by a woman, hit over the head just as Alderton was. Whether or not Jim’s ruminations on his own and the nation’s souls. It takes in Lady Sylvia is telling the truth, she has a motive to lie. Without a an America of small-town cafes featuring seen-it-all waitresses, proper successor to the estate, it could become the property of stolid national park rangers putting a wholesome face on the her Australian relatives upon her death. Unmoved by tradition, bloody chaos of the past, and the ceaseless current of traffic on they would surely sell it for quick cash. highways washing past an archipelago of gas stations, set to the In this series opener, Hodgetts (Imposter, 2019, etc.) adroitly ubiquitous sound of pop, rock, and country and braying AM constructs a labyrinthine plot of the best kind—complexly disk jockeys. The author skillfully evokes all these varied voices, entangled enough to foil readers’ anticipations but not convo- from washerwomen to drunken sailors to prim grandmothers, luted or impenetrable. In fact, the story races to a stunning con- in vignettes that are by turns pungent, funny, melancholy, and clusion at a relentless pace, a peculiar but artfully plausible tale. wistful, all rendered in a wonderfully impressionistic vernacular At the heart of the narrative is Toby, a delicately drawn charac- that brings to mind a blend of Faulkner and Kerouac. (“In the ter: Diffident and bumbling, he’s also surprisingly perspicacious, middle of a thunderstorm, smack inside the corporate limit of charming, and even capable of great bravery. He was forced to Burma Shave, you pick up Bessie Smith and you think you must sit out the war because of his poor eyesight but still managed be drifting off, there’s been no broadcast since the chicken and to risk his life to save a group of children from perishing during cornbread at Pep’s Missing Link Cafe, forty miles or so, but an air raid. The author brilliantly inserts the conflict into the there she is, courtesy of a handful of watts somewhere, there mystery as well. The disappearance of the child revolves around she is on the outskirts of winter wheat with the victrola in her an air raid, and various characters remember that fateful day
30 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | and, by extension, the wages of war itself, in different ways. And job of the day comes when Grandma Pig Laura’s vehicle springs the entire ravaged country is a monument to those dark years, an oil leak; Howie fixes it, and she pays him in muffins. Later, something observed by Toby, who can’t wait to leave: “For the two turkey construction workers have trouble with their dump first time in years, Toby was able to assess his surroundings with- truck when the back of it comes loose, an artist iguana has a out a paralyzing sadness for the destruction of his homeland; flat tire, and vacationing Mr. Deer’s headlight goes out. Howie for the historic buildings that had been reduced to dust, for the fixes everything in time to snuggle with his lobster children at ruined beaches, and the shattered dreams of a generation.” bedtime. Howe’s rhymes are packed with humor, and the book An ingenious crime drama seamlessly woven into the should have lap readers and newly independent readers alike backdrop of post–World War II England. giggling about the crustacean mechanic’s antics. The author doesn’t seem to have rules about which of her fictional animals wear clothing, as some are fully dressed, and Howie only wears ROCK & ROLL WOODS eight yellow boots—but the kid-friendly cartoon style will Howard, Sherry likely keep young readers from questioning this stylistic choice. Illus. by Wolf, Anika A. They may also appreciate the realistic drawings of Howie’s tools Clear Fork Publishing (38 pp.) and how his tail looks like it’s on fire when he’s welding. $16.99 | Oct. 5, 2018 A fun and silly addition to titles about mechanics, help- 978-1-946101-68-6 ing others, and animal adventures.
When noisy new neighbors move into a bear’s quiet neighborhood, it takes AND THROW AWAY him time to adjust in this debut picture book from author How- THE SKINS ard and illustrator Wolf. Jones, Scott Archer Kuda, a brown bear, loves the soft noises that fill his neigh- Fomite (312 pp.) borhood, including a whooshing stream and the chirps of local $15.00 paper | $4.99 e-book birds. But during his walk, a new sound seems to attack him: Mar. 2, 2019 “BOOM whappa whappa.” When Kuda asks Rabbit where the 978-1-944388-61-4 noise is coming from, Rabbit explains that they have new neigh- bors. Kuda’s surprised that Rabbit, Owl, and Squirrel all like the A cancer patient searches for direc- special issue: best books of 2019 racket, and he soon goes home and buries himself in blankets tion and fulfillment in Jones’A ( Rising and ear muffs. When he finds an invitation to a “ROCK & ROLL Tide of People Swept Away, 2016, etc.) celebration,” however, he decides he’s had enough of being alone. novel. He sees friends dancing and playing music, and he slowly lets In 2008, following a breast cancer diagnosis, Rebecca “Bec” himself feel the rhythm, too. Soon, the new fox neighbor invites Robertson undergoes a double mastectomy and begins aggres- him to jam with them. Howard’s clever, onomatopoeic text is full sive chemotherapy. Her husband, William, is a chaplain in the of sound words that young readers will love, and her sensitivity U.S. Army serving in Afghanistan. Near the start of the novel, in portraying Kuda’s difficulty in trying something new will reso- William boards a plane from Dallas to begin a journey back to nate. An author’s note at the end describes sensory-integration Kabul, leaving his sick wife behind. As they part, there’s the issues and autism with clarity and compassion. Wolf’s adorable, sense that an emotional chasm is opening between them. Ever stylized cartoon animals and the rainbow-colored stream of the since Bec became ill, William has taken to treating her with music make the woods feel welcoming. excessive caution, and she senses his relief as they bid farewell A tale that offers a kindred spirit for readers who strug- to each other. Bec, meanwhile, feels a growing sense of detach- gle with change. ment from him and a nagging suspicion that her recovery may be “Easier alone.” Furthermore, the couple is in dire financial straits; Bec chooses not to burden William with the knowledge HANDY HOWIE that their money has “bled away” and that the bank is fore- Howe, Lizz closing on their house. Soon, she relocates to a cabin in New Illus. by the author Mexico. There, she meets an oddball set of locals—the first of Blurb (24 pp.) whom, Marcus, she finds sitting in her truck, expecting her to $12.50 paper | Jan. 9, 2019 drive him somewhere. The narrative also looks back over Bec’s 978-1-388-08065-5 grueling childhood, her courtship with William when they were both teenagers, and her stoic efforts to carve out a life for her- A debut picture book from author/ self after cancer—part of which may involve a relationship with illustrator Howe about a bright blue lob- an unpredictable former Marine named Michael. ster that would give Wreck-It Ralph’s Fix- Some readers may be unnerved by Jones’ unflinching It Felix Jr. a run for his money. descriptions of the physical realities of cancer treatment: Handy Howie is a lobster mechanic who affixes tools to his “Tribal marks, two slices of purple thread ruled out in straight tail in order to fix the cars of other animals in the area. His first horizontal lines below her chest….At least they had left the
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 31 The author’s admiration for these beautiful creatures is clear. the wild herd
muscles underneath, so she didn’t have craters.” These graphic THE WILD HERD revelations of the treatments’ brutal violence can be difficult to A Vanishing read; in Bec’s case, surgeons are said to have “Cut away hunks American Treasure of her body to fend off death.” Along the way, Jones vividly cap- Kalas, Deborah tures the character’s sense of emotional torment: “Sometimes Photos by the author she wanted something to blame, someone to scream at.” In her Val de Grâce Books (160 pp.) struggle for survival, Bec lives on a razor’s edge, and Jones subtly $65.00 | Oct. 15, 2019 charts her progress and psychological shifts—which, the author 978-0-9976405-9-5 points out, are also affected by medication: “At first, the ste- roids drove her crazy and the anticoagulants left her so vulner- A stunning photo essay illuminating the lives and behavior able she feared to touch anything. When her desire for intimacy of wild horses in the American West. returned, she couldn’t find William.” As the story progresses, Debut author and professional photographer Kalas owned readers will be drawn ever closer to Bec—they’ll gain a pro- her first pony at age 6. Now in her 60s, she still rides six days a found understanding of the challenges she faces and be awed week. She tracked groups of wild horses—mostly at Theodore by her spirit of survival. But there are also feelings of joy in this Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and at the Return harrowing novel, as Bec’s newfound conception of self arises to Freedom Sanctuary in California—to craft this exquisite from her sense of loss and despair. Overall, this novel offers a photographic record of a year in the horses’ lives. She intro- nuanced and thoroughly believable portrait of a cancer patient’s duces each seasonal chapter with brief observations on such everyday life that offers hope and sadness in equal measure. topics as the formation of family units and the struggle to find A deeply affecting and fearlessly descriptive story that food in winter, but it’s the photos that really tell the stories. charts the complexities of life with a potentially fatal illness. Readers see horses fighting, rolling in the dust, and sheltering under a rock ledge; at one point, a missing ear tip reveals the danger of frostbite. But there are comical moments, too, such KEEKEE’S BIG ADVENTURES as horses resting their muzzles on each other’s backs, magpies IN LONDON, ENGLAND perched on horses’ rumps, and a colt affectionately biting its Jones, Shannon mother’s ear. Kalas knows all of her horse subjects by name Illus. by Uhelski, Casey but avoids cluttering the pages with captions. Instead, iden- Calithumpian Press (40 pp.) tifying information, including birth years (and death years $16.99 paper | $9.99 e-book where applicable), is listed in an appendix that repeats images Nov. 19, 2019 as thumbnails. The author’s admiration for these beautiful 978-0-9990661-6-4 creatures is clear. Only once does she edge toward anthro- pomorphism, when she imagines that two horses “had a few A peripatetic calico cat visits London in this fifth picture words together.” The slightly ornate, italic typeface some- book in a series. times distracts. However, the lighting and definition are crisp KeeKee is a feline who travels the world by balloon, seeing throughout, with frozen motion injecting dynamism and the such famous cities as Paris, Rome, and, now, London. The cat colors of the scrub and hills often complementing the horses’ starts out with Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, where Will, a ram, markings. The photos are mostly shot at eye level, but they makes her feel welcome. He offers to show her around, and they occasionally employ unusual points of view, as when the pho- travel by double-decker bus and the Underground, visiting such tographer watches from above as horses move from the bot- tourist landmarks as Piccadilly Circus and the ravens at the tom left to the upper right of the frame. The landscape shots Tower of London. After a pub lunch, they watch the changing are just as impressive, and glimpses of a bison herd accentu- of the Queen’s Horse Guard and are invited to tea by the corgi ate the wildness of the setting. Kalas ends with notes on wild queen. KeeKee and Will look around the palace, then have a horse behavior and offers details of three organizations work- delicious tea. A London guide, glossary, and maps are included, ing to protect them. plus links for KeeKee fans. Jones (KeeKee’s Big Adventures in A gorgeous photographic tribute to striking animals. Athens, Greece, 2014, etc.) provides a good beginner’s introduc- tion to London that will be especially helpful for children visit- ing for the first time and needing orientation regarding lingo, food, and popular sights. Adults will enjoy in-jokes, such as the queen’s being represented by a corgi, the real-life queen’s favorite canine. Returning illustrator Uhelski’s illustrations are a huge plus, doing much to set the stage by depicting detailed landmarks and capturing KeeKee’s friendly personality. A charming, beautifully illustrated guide to the English capital for kids.
32 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | THE WORLD author takes pains to debunk some key concepts of contempo- PUSHES BACK rary child-rearing philosophy—the worst of which, she says, is Keizer, Garret the idea that one must compulsively and universally offer kids Texas Review Press (96 pp.) uninterrupted affirmation in order to build up their self-esteem. $16.95 paper | Mar. 26, 2019 Kennedy-Moore cites recent studies that hint at the problems of 978-1-68003-184-3 such an approach, and her tone is refreshingly blunt as she does so: “self-help gurus and inspirational articles often promote the A new collection of poetry from an idea that we have to love ourselves to have a happy, fulfilling award-winning author of prose. life,” she writes. “This is nonsense.” In the place of this concept, Keizer (Getting Schooled, 2014, etc.), a she lays out a comprehensive set of guidance tips, designed to Guggenheim Fellow for general nonfic- help parents to understand their kids’ needs and encourage tion, contributing editor for Harper’s, and them with direct communication and honest assessment—not the author of eight previous books, is best known as an accom- blanket assurances that everything that they do is perfect in plished prose stylist. However, during his decadeslong career, every way. Each of the book’s sections offers helpful subhead- he’s also released a modest number of poems, some of which ings, and a separate “Take-Home Points” graphic is designed to have appeared in such venues as the New Yorker, AGNI, and the summarize key items from the text as a whole. Kennedy-Moore Harvard Review. He collects many of them here in his first stand- addresses the topics of making parental connections, assess- alone volume of verse. Because the works cover a 40-year span, ing and building children’s competencies, and helping kids to there’s no clear throughline, but the fact that they read as mis- become more decisive and deal with bullying. Throughout, she cellany is no defect. Rather, it allows readers to observe a skilled employs a clear, concise prose style and an unfailing directness, writer and deep thinker as he roves far and wide with his insights. typified in lines such as “As parents, we can’t protect our chil- The passage of time is a recurring concern; in “Now and Then,” dren from having bad things happen to them.” for example, he thinks back to the days before the oppressive Kennedy-Moore has written many books on the subject of white noise of electricity: “How quiet they must have been, / parenting and is on the advisory board of Parents magazine, and the days before power / became so literally a household word. / I her expertise is obvious on every highly detailed page of this think that sounds were sharper / against that stillness, / bird songs smart and assured manual. She buttresses each of the book’s and piano chords, / the voice that called your name.” In this piece, subsections, and all of its points of contention, with ready cita- Keizer renders the author’s purest dream; after all, what writer tions as well as a comprehensive 19-page bibliography. On every doesn’t hope that his words might ring out more piercingly? Later, topic, from sibling rivalry to cyberbullying to proper hygiene, special issue: best books of 2019 in “My Daughter’s Singing,” he looks forward to a moment when the author’s tone is always staunchly realist (“Winning feels his child will have moved out of the family home: “already I am good, but it’s unrealistic for any of us to believe that we will win talking— / a year to go before she goes / to college, and listen to every contest”) and specifically practical (“To avoid [a] no-win me talking— / in the past tense as she sings.” It’s a poignant testa- battle, reach for the feelings behind the complaints, and try to ment to a father’s love, couched in a deft exploration of the future tie them to a particular situation or a specific time”). Along the anterior. In “My Daughter’s Singing,” time’s flow is lamentable, way, she always maintains the tone of quiet compassion that ani- but it’s also given readers this fine accretion of years of work. As mates the book throughout. The author’s focus returns again Keizer writes, “Eventually you find the rhyme / for every word.” and again to her conception of children’s self-esteem, which Here, he has, and readers will be grateful. aims to anchor their sense of self-worth more solidly that other Funny, touching, and addictively readable poems. parenting guides tend to do. As a result, crucial insights abound in these pages. For instance, Kennedy-Moore acknowledges the extensive research into what many parents already know—that KID CONFIDENCE children have the potential to be incredibly mean—and she Help Your Child Make offers several helpful tips on countering bullying. At the same Friends, Build Resilience, time, however, she stresses that children can also bully them- and Develop Real selves with a pattern of self-criticism and that parents can help Self-Esteem them to counter this tendency. Kennedy-Moore, Eileen A wise and realistic program for instilling genuine self- New Harbinger Publications (240 pp.) esteem in children. $16.95 paper | $13.55 e-book | Jan. 2, 2019 978-1-68403-049-1
A guide to increasing children’s con- fidence and helping them realize their full potential. In this book, clinical psychologist Kennedy-Moore (What’s My Child Thinking?, 2019, etc.) promises readers a wide range of practical and effective parenting strategies. But first, the
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 33 THINGS THEY BURIED DAHLIA IN BLOOM King, Amanda K. & Koehler, Susan Swanson, Michael R. Turtle Cove Press (152 pp.) Ismae Books (504 pp.) $12.99 paper | Jul. 10, 2019 $14.99 paper | $4.99 e-book 978-0-9859438-8-2 Feb. 14, 2019 978-1-73357-830-1 A young girl in Appalachia during the Great Depression copes with her family’s King and Swanson’s debut SF/fantasy move to a new farm in Koehler’s (The Com novel uses dazzling worldbuilding and plete K-5 Writing Workshop, 2013, etc.) novel. a hodgepodge of characters, cultures, Dahlia Harrell is an 8-year-old girl and fantastic species to tell a powerful, in a family of tenant farmers in the human story. foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Aliara and Sylandair had gotten out, or at least they thought It’s the 1930s, and though Dahlia is in a loving family, not they had. They were once slaves, but after their master, Kluuta everything is quite right. She has recently recovered from a Orono, apparently died in a catastrophic explosion, they escaped case of diphtheria. Money is tight. The family can eat what and never looked back. Now, in 2084, they’ve built a life for them- they grow and rely on the chickens and cow, Ol’ Rosie, but selves, trading on their wit, skill, and clout in the atoll of Dock- having cash in hand is rare. Dahlia thinks: “With enough haven. When rumors of the survival of their former owner reach money, a person could buy away any reason they ever had to their ears, they have little choice but to investigate for them- feel afraid.” Though Dahlia’s world is small, her life on Har - selves. Meanwhile, in the ramshackle port city, there’s a constant rell Mountain is full of wonder, mystery, and big dreams. Her buzz of tragedy; in particular, children have been disappearing. brother Charlie believes there is buried treasure on the prop- After the pair’s investigation turns up evidence of the cause of erty that will make them as rich as the Rockefellers. Grandpa these disappearances, it soon becomes clear that something far talks of the family’s history in the area as he and Dahlia lie darker is afoot. In this novel, the city of Dockhaven and the on the ground gazing at stars. But her father breaks the news world of Ismae are nearly characters themselves, and the authors that the family will be moving to a new farm, one owned by introduce a variety of unfamiliar humanoid species, such as the another family. He hopes it will improve their circumstances, scaly draas and the imposing karju, as part of the complex setting but to Charlie, it means giving up on the buried treasure, and as well as a nuanced mix of magic and science. The worldbuild- Dahlia can’t imagine living far away from her grandfather. ing is nearly flawless in its execution, which will entice readers But they do move—the girls in flour-sack dresses with corn- to immerse themselves in the story and acclimate themselves to husk dolls—and a relief society steps in to give the kids new its strangeness as they go. The novel also strikes a chord with its clothes for school. Nervous about her skills and fighting with characterization; Aliara and Sylandair are shown to be very much her sister, Dahlia worries about her grandfather and wonders in love, but they’re unscrupulous toward most anyone else and if she’ll ever be able to return to Harrell Mountain. Koehler’s willing to lie to, steal from, or sacrifice others when necessary. Depression-era novel is concise but effective and weighty. They’re extremely confident and skilled but also deeply scarred In a time of great change for Dahlia, Koehler paints a clear by their trauma at Orono’s hands, and they remember those expe- portrait of this family and their circumstances with writing riences as they go about their daily lives. Meanwhile, Schmalch, a that is subtle and strong. Dahlia’s world has just gotten much not-so-trustworthy thief for hire, offers an outsider’s perspective bigger, and her increasing awareness of herself as compared on the main pair as well as welcome comic relief. The intriguing with others is thoughtfully described. Rich details abound plot makes excellent use of its primary characters, resulting in a on everything from meals to economics to a precious missing breathtaking, harmonious read. doll, but it’s the author’s gift for making a specific story so An empathetic, complex, and offbeat tale. universal that stands out. A well-crafted, beautiful novel about a fraught child- hood moment.
34 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | Lanning’s tale will get the audience thinking seriously about the effect every human endeavor has on the ecosystem. listen to the birds
WILD HARE assignment: Infiltrate the facility at Amaethon Industries and, Koerber, Laura if the company is flouting the Animal Welfare Act, document it. Who Chains You Books Tim is not only a rookie, but also Jude’s sometime lover. When (184 pp.) reports from him suddenly stop, a worried Jude is off to Half $11.97 paper | $3.97 e-book Moon. Right off the bat, she is told that Tim has seduced young Jun. 12, 2019 Heather Buck and introduced her to heroin (Jude is incredu- 978-1-946044-51-8 lous, rightly so). But drugs are definitely a big thing in little Half Moon, and soon Jude is nosing around that dangerous scene. Koerber (The Eclipse Dancer, 2018, etc.) Meanwhile, residents are showing up with heavy bruising, nose- offers readers an embittered narrator, a bleeds that won’t stop, and similar afflictions indicative of blood dystopic near future, and an intriguing, thinners. Oh, and Jude is having attacks of vision loss. Animals nuanced treatment of magic, nature, and are suffering at Amaethon, but that may not be the worst of it. justice in this urban-fantasy tale. There may be a biotech disaster connected to the company’s Bob Fallon is half-human and “half-forest spirit from the experiments with “plant made pharmaceuticals.” The trials wild hare clan,” and he owns one of the last remaining bits may have somehow gotten out of control. Could the PMPs of forested land in northern Wisconsin. It would be easy for be causing the rampant hemorrhaging? Jude eventually figures him to dismiss humankind entirely—and on some days, that’s out who is to blame for the medical crisis and tries to bring the exactly what he wants to do. His clan’s mantra of “feed, fuck, bad guys to justice in the hair-raising final chapters. What most fight” has governed a lot of his life, and he can’t help but feel a impresses in Lamont’s (The Trap, 2015, etc.) third volume of her smoldering rage about the destruction of the forests and other Kinship series is that things and people are not what they seem. injustices in his surroundings. Koerber’s characterization of Could Tim be a double agent? And then there’s Heather: The Bob is perhaps the book’s strongest element; the protagonist’s Bucks think that their daughter is innocence personified. A jaded, acidic attitude will put readers perfectly into a noirish drug dealer named Bobby Gravaux is no saint, but is he a killer? mindset. At the same time, Bob does a great job of providing Jude even suspects kindly Dr. John Harbolt of wrongdoing. So context, both for the decaying world he inhabits and for his the author does a remarkable job of keeping readers off balance. own limited abilities: “since I’m a fairy, why can’t I fix things?” Lamont also clearly explains PMPs, a plot point that involves When Arne, one of his few friends, is jailed for failing to pay real-world science, not fiction, and teases readers with the side speeding tickets, Bob starts raising money for his release, but issue of Jude’s periodic blindness. In addition, the author can this is easier said than done, as Bob has spent years avoiding deftly summon up a clipped style that reveals character as much special issue: best books of 2019 townspeople, doing begrudging odd jobs for them, or outright as subject. Here Lamont describes a black mutt: “Very thin. stealing from them—and the state adds Arne’s room and board Very fearful. And in this state, very dangerous.” to the fine every day. Bob works inside and outside the law as A riveting thriller and a welcome third installment of a he runs afoul of local militia, a congressman with shady ties, series; the author is definitely a writer to watch. and a host of other fairies, spirits, and tricksters. Overall, the story manages to weave together a complex tapestry of themes, from climate change to poverty to what qualifies as morality in LISTEN TO THE BIRDS a world that’s facing catastrophe. The prose is clear and concise Lanning, K.E. throughout, giving readers a sense of each scene and character Time Tunnel Media (304 pp.) through the protagonist’s eyes. $4.99 e-book | Apr. 4, 2019 A wrenching, complex novel that any fantasy fan would do well to pick up. This last installment of an eco- fiction trilogy continues to explore the future history of an unfrozen Antarctica. THE EXPERIMENT In the not-so-distant future, the Lamont, Robin melting of the polar ice caps has left Grayling Press (288 pp.) Antarctica clear for human habitation. $12.95 paper | $2.99 e-book Many of the first-generation settlers, like May 16, 2019 President of Antarctica John Barrous, are hoping to build a fair, 978-0-9858485-8-3 democratic, and environmentally conscious society free of the powerful corporations that helped ruin the rest of the world. This novel poses two tantalizing With the help of the United Nations, hundreds of cold-climate questions: What happened to a young animal species have been relocated to Antarctica’s Concordia investigator, and why are people in Refuge, but they are now being threatened by poachers from a Half Moon, Vermont, having mysteri- breakaway Christian cult led by the mysterious Ivan Zoric: “The ous health problems? sparse information on Zoric portrayed a man of humble begin- Jude Brannock, a senior investigator at the animal rights nings morphing into an intelligent, charismatic fanatic. An group The Kinship, has given Tim Mains an undercover exquisite manipulator to be sure, but was he the madman others
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 35 rumored him to be?” John tussles with Zoric over a possible mur- or when Tony and Dink try to extricate themselves from unten- der investigation, but the issue is brought to a head when a team able situations. The denouement is very cleverly handled, and of scientists working on the refuge, including John’s daughter, it’s no spoiler to say that at least one major character winds up Ginnie, and his former girlfriend Lowry Walker, is kidnapped truly happy. by the cult. The quest to get them back alive will take John An excellent book about desperate people carefully out of the ordered streets of his capital, Amundsen, and into depicted in minute detail. the still-wild backcountry of the land he supposedly governs. Lanning’s (The Sting of the Bee, 2018, etc.) prose perfectly sum- mons her winter utopia—Currier & Ives filtered through Isaac WE GOT THIS Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke: “A late winter storm had dropped Solo Mom Stories of a blanket of fresh snow overnight. After lunch, the clouds broke, Grit, Heart, and Humor and the sunlight sparkled on the snow as she glided across an Ed. by Lindholm, Marika, & open snowfield on her hovershoes.” The attention paid to the Dumesnil, Cheryl, & Shonk, Katherine & technology, economy, and environmental science of John’s Ant- Ruta, Domenica arctica is far more compelling than one might think and helps She Writes Press (352 pp.) increase its verisimilitude. The plot unfurls slowly but delibera- $17.95 paper | Sep. 10, 2019 tively, and though it at times feels more like a Western than an 978-1-63152-656-5 SF novel, readers will always be along for the ride. Like the best eco-fiction, Lanning’s tale will get the audience thinking seri- Seventy-five writers share the expe- ously about the effect every human endeavor has on the ecosys- riences, hardships, and triumphs of sin- tem without sacrificing characters and story. gle motherhood. An imaginative, environmentally minded work of SF. In 2015, Lindholm, a contributor to and one of four co-edi- tors of this collaborative debut anthology, founded Empowering Solo Moms Everywhere, a social platform and “informative com- WALTZ AGAINST munity for single moms, who currently raise 22 million American THE SKY children.” This was the genesis for this collection, which seeks Larum, Glen to eliminate the stigma of solo motherhood by combatting out- Walking Three Bar T Publishing dated stereotypes. Along the way, the essays show the writers’ (400 pp.) grace, their humor, and even their mistakes. Readers will find $28.95 paper some of the authors’ names familiar, although their stories may 978-0-9966865-0-1 not be. Ariel Gore, the award-winning writer and founding edi- tor of the periodical Hip Mama, shares lies that she told in the Larum’s West Texas–based debut Sonoma County welfare office in order to keep both her child novel offers interconnected tales of mur- and her creativity alive. Iraqi writer Faleeha Hassan recalls flee- der and mayhem. ing her home country after appearing on dangerous militants’ Indian Springs is a place of cattle ranches and oil rigs. It’s the “death lists”; in Turkey, she struggled to enroll her children in current home of this novel’s large cast of characters, including school—not just for their education, but for the warmth that Evan Blaine, a talented reporter whom guilt and regret follow their unheated apartment couldn’t provide. Amy Poehler of Parks like a weather front; brothers Dink and Del Downs, the former and Recreation fame breaks down divorce with heartbreaking and an innocent and the latter a career criminal; Omero Valdez, a sidesplitting hilarity. Among these and other well-known names psychopath whom one character calls “a sly one, like a coyote”; are emerging writers, poets, and performers. They include writ- and naïve, young Tony Angione, who’s just passing through ers with ties to ESME, authors of color, military mothers, and while hitchhiking from New Jersey to California. The law is rep- LGBTQ parents and those who were raised by them. The well- resented by Sheriff Leo Blunt and, the next county over, Sheriff curated collection is divided into seven chapters with strict, but Brent Fulton and their underlings; some of them are truly bad never restrictive, themes, such as raising children, seeking help, to the bone, such as Chief Deputy Matt Ridgeway. The fates and dating while single. Readers will be able to revisit these essays of all these luckless people eventually converge: Valdez kills a for laughs, inspiration, or a cathartic cry. motel clerk in a $460 robbery, poor Tony gets picked up by the An engaging tribute to the heart, soul, and ingenuity of wrong people, and fugitive Del is caught while on the run. A solo moms. later jailbreak and a hunt across multiple counties for the escap- ees will keep readers riveted to the end. Larum had a career as a newspaper editor in the West, and it shows; it’s clear that he knows what the particular emptiness of the region feels like— and he makes readers feel it, too. Each chapter focuses on a par- ticular character; most are short but some not, as when Blaine’s past is explored or when Ridgeway and Deputy Jess Bruce track down the hapless Joe Dornick through mesquite on horseback
36 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | The sparkling anthology showcases the vividness of haiku’s stripped-down but potent imagery. the wonder code
THE AUSSIE THE WONDER CODE NEXT DOOR Discover the Way of London, Stefanie Haiku and See the Entangled: Amara (350 pp.) World With New Eyes $7.99 paper | Aug. 27, 2019 Ed. by Mason, Scott 978-1-64063-668-2 Girasole Press (371 pp.) $24.95 In USA Today–bestselling author 978-0-692-93035-9 London’s (How To Lose a Fiancé, 2019, etc.) latest romantic comedy, a hidebound The winsome Japanese verse form Australian cartoonist and his American can restore a sense of delight and cre- tenant find love. ative adventure to jaded hearts, according to this poetry primer Australian Jace Walters is a creature of habit. He eats plain and anthology. porridge for breakfast every day after surfing at the beach and Mason, a poet and editor of the online journal The Heron’s has gained a following for his comic strip series about a hermit. Nest, offers haiku as a cure for “the subtle ways in which our His mother understands his autism spectrum diagnosis, but she culture and times estrange us from wonder.” It’s a popular form also feels that he needs to leave his comfort zone; as a result, because of its friendliness to poets and readers alike: three brief Jace finds himself saddled with temporary custody of a family lines (or occasionally two or even one), with no confining rhyme friend’s two dogs. Meanwhile, American Angie Donovan learns schemes or meters. (The iconic 5, 7, 5 syllable pattern can be that her Australian visa is expiring in just two months. She feels broken at will.) The resulting bite-size poems go down eas- at home Down Under; she has money from a lawsuit settle- ily, but, the author argues, they pack great power within their ment to live on and loves her volunteer position in a nursing diminutive expanse. He discusses haiku in the framework of home. One possible solution remains: She can get married to an Zen aesthetics, illustrating with poems gleaned from The Her- Australian citizen. However, she had a lonely, traumatic child- on’s Nest. Haiku portrays the Buddhist principles of focusing hood, so she doesn’t want a cold, paper marriage—she wants on the ordinary and small-scale (“last night’s rain / cupped in to fall in love, even if she only has two months to do so. Angie a banana leaf / a small green frog” by Ferris Gilli) and finding a enlists Jace to help her find romantic prospects; soon, sparks world in a grain of sand (“city sidewalk / colors swirl in a bubble fly between them, and they begin a passionate sexual relation- / of spit” by Brenda J. Gannam). They capture life through rapt ship punctuated by picnics by the ocean and 1990s romantic- sense impressions (“autumn evening / the clink of carnival rings special issue: best books of 2019 comedy movie marathons. After Jace proposes, however, their / on empty bottles” by Chad Lee Robinson). Evanescent and bond begins to crack: Can spontaneous Angie live with Jace’s usually in present tense, they abide in the moment and evoke dependence on routine, and can he learn to compromise for the large meanings from concentrated images (“in the rest home woman he loves? Over the course of this book, London shows lounge / the silent piano / its line of cracked keys” by John that she truly excels at character development; she makes sure Hawkhead). And they traffic in everyday mysteries (“soap bub- that even relatively minor players, such as Angie’s yoga teacher, bles / how softly mother / bursts into laughter” by Kala Ramesh). Chloe Lee, and Jace’s flirtatious brother, Trent, are fully fleshed Mason situates haiku in opposition to a Western mindset that out. The realistic yet witty dialogue jumps off the page, and the perceives objects as discrete and atomized. Haiku, by contrast, two dogs in Jace’s care are lovable and endearing even when they flows from a holistic Eastern worldview that sees everything as misbehave. Jace’s high-functioning autism is never treated in a connected, in which “our perception of boundaries…starts to stereotypical manner; instead, it’s portrayed as something that give way.” the character realistically struggles with. The main characters Debut editor Mason includes nearly 500 poems in this have sizzling chemistry together, and they face believable hur- sparkling anthology, showcasing the extraordinary versatility of dles on the way to the inevitable happily-ever-after. moods and subject matter haiku can address and the vividness A sweet, sexy read featuring a couple that feels both of its stripped-down but potent imagery. There are many land- true to life and aspirational. scapes and nature scenes (“winter hills / with each boot crunch / the scent of sage” by Jo Balistreri) as well as lyrically grungy urban tableaux (“dumpster / the iridescence / of starlings” by Bill Kenney) and suburban nightmares (“suburban darkness / only the rumble / of garbage can wheels” by Robert Forsythe). There is sensual intimacy (“click-clack / of the bead curtain— / the sway of her hips” by Sandra Simpson) and social satire (“sing- ing gondolier / the passengers’ / fixed smiles” by Kay Grimnes). There is birth (“circle of lamplight— / I complete the baby quilt / begun for me” by Carolyn Hall), aging (“sudden winter / the press of cold metal / against the paper gown” by Beverly Acuff Momoi), unbearable sorrow (“hot afternoon / the squeak of my hands / on my daughter’s coffin” by Lenard D. Moore),
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 37 remembrance (“her last words / snow falling / on beech leaves” UNLIKELY FRIENDS by Jeff Hoagland), and enigmatic hope (“she said she’d return / James Merrill and as a seagull / which one” by Mason). Judith Moffett: A superb haiku collection for readers who thought they A Memoir didn’t like poetry, richly expressive and very accessible. Moffett, Judith Time Tunnel Media (544 pp.) $21.00 paper | $6.99 e-book LIFE AS TRAUMA Jan. 23, 2019 The Wartime Journals 978-1-79298-040-4 of an Anesthesiologist Mitić, Sarah Z. Poet and science-fiction writer Mof- Unwritten History (354 pp.) fett (The Bear’s Baby and Other Stories, $19.95 paper | Sep. 3, 2019 2017, etc.) recalls decades of friendship and correspondence 978-0-9709198-6-1 with the Pulitzer Prize–winning poet James Merrill. As a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Mad- A war doctor shares her battlefront ison in 1967, Moffett took Merrill’s poetry class and found him journals of aiding military and civilian to be exotic and unique. It led to a nearly three-decade friend- casualties during the 1990s Balkan wars. ship, here preserved in letters and extensive journaling. Moffett Belgrade-born Serbian physician, went to Sweden to translate poetry, returned to America, and anesthesiologist, and debut author Mitić’s time as a trauma spent years in frenzied activity—writing, teaching, and moving physician after the historic breakup of Yugoslavia is on brilliant from place to place—all the while sending her poems to Merrill display in these meticulous journals. Her journey began when for review. Their friendship was warm, if somewhat anxious on she heard about the war in Yugoslavia while vacationing with her part, and full of Merrill’s self-styled mystery (“the person her husband and two small daughters in Greece in 1991. “The who puzzles + fascinates us needn’t be a puzzle at all, so much people in Krajina are fighting for their lives and they need help as a key...to the unsolved puzzle of ourselves,” he wrote to Mof- desperately,” wrote the determined Mitić, who rushed home fett in 1970. The closeted, gay Merrill didn’t let Moffett get too to Smederevo to make plans to travel to the war-torn region of close when it came to discussions of sexuality, but she addressed Knin—even though her mother and brother both disapproved. it through literary criticism. A who’s who of the poetry world She arrived in Knin the next year and began working immedi- appeared at various conferences and readings, including Eliza- ately at a hospital where “the wounded, the dying, and the dead beth Bishop, Allen Ginsberg, and Robert Bly, and Moffett pro- are arriving from all directions.” At this early point in Mitić’s vides color commentary. Her Merrill scholarship is exhaustive, powerful narrative, she begins incorporating stories and profiles as she spent years writing a book about his work while finding of the medical rescue staff and of the grisly casualties. As explo- success with her own poetry. She and Merrill were rarely in the sions reverberated throughout the region, and civilian anger and same place, but she lovingly describes a 1973 trip to Greece confusion at the disintegrating multinational army seethed, she and moments at his New York City apartment. Both eventu- saved lives—Croatian children, countless anguished soldiers, a ally struggled with serious health problems, but they remained suicidal young mother. Her humanitarian determination kept close due to their obvious reliance on each other’s intellect and her working in the hospital despite exhaustion and sleep depri- their lifelong dedication to their crafts. Moffett’s painstaking vation. Further travels brought her to a Kosovo clinic, where memoir is epic in length but remains consistently engrossing. there was tension with arrogant Albanian staff; and to central Particularly noteworthy is her desire to get to the root of her Croatia, where “life [was] disappearing fast.” Mitić struggled to own fascination with Merrill, and she reaches some surprising manage casualties while ensuring her own safety, harrowingly conclusions about herself. She tells her own life story of struggle depicted in an account of an assault by an agitated sniper. The and success with undying fervor, and Merrill’s letters show him final section finds the author back at home dealing with a cata- to be urbane, witty, a bit fussy, and generous when it mattered. strophic personal tragedy. At times, the book’s graphic depic- The two were different in many ways, but Moffett’s account of tion of violence and bloodshed can be arduous to read. However, what they shared is authentic and impressive. Mitić shows a knack for relating vivid details of the wounded, An absorbing, indispensable portrait of poets. of families’ suffering, and of her devoted colleagues. She also unflinchingly sketches her own extended family’s haunted his- tory. Readers interested in the strife and unrest of the Balkan region, its divergent politics and populations, and the plights of its refugees will find Mitić’s narrative illuminating. A commanding chronicle of focused leadership and admirable humanity.
38 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | Moskowitz does a splendid job of showing what the world looks like to the chronically but invisibly ill. sick kids in love
THERE YOU ARE 11 years. This time, though, she can’t help staring at a new Morais, Mathea patient there—a boy her age named Sasha Sverdlov-Deckler. Amberjack Publishing (304 pp.) She likes his quirky, appealing looks and wry sense of humor, $24.99 paper | $11.49 e-book and they bond over the fact that they’re both Jewish. Sasha Oct. 22, 2019 has a rare genetic disorder called Gaucher disease, which isn’t 978-1-948705-58-5 fatal, in his case, but causes severe anemia, weak bones, and other problems. Although Isabel has several close and well- Two St. Louis residents, united by meaning friends, she doesn’t have anyone who really under- music and a local record store, fall in love stands what it’s like “to deal with the everyday slog of being in Morais’ nostalgic debut novel. sick.” She and Sasha hit it off, but she’s emotionally guarded Although it opens in 2014, most of and dislikes risks, and as a result, she doesn’t date. Sasha is this story unfolds during the 1980s and patient and sweet, and their romance grows; amid a few argu- ’90s as it follows Octavian Munroe and Mina Rose during their ments and setbacks, they forge a bond that gets them through childhood and teenage years. Octavian, the African American their problems. As the advice columnist for her high school son of a professor and a poet, comes from a more stable house- paper, Isabel asks questions and gathers others’ responses; by hold, although the death of his mother from cancer and his the end of the novel, she’s comfortable with not having all the brother Francis’ issues with drug dependency cause complica- answers. Moskowitz (Salt, 2018, etc.) does a splendid job of tions. Mina, the daughter of an attorney who’s as eccentric as showing what the world looks like to the chronically but invis- she is formidable, has a less stable home life, but she has the ibly ill. For example, Isabel is often tired and aching, and she unquestionable advantage of being white in a city that’s rife with fears the judgment of others; she notes that even her physician race-related issues. Octavian and Mina’s first meeting is in the father would question her getting a cab to go 15 blocks, a walk- fifth grade; later, they bond with friends at Rahsaan’s Records, able distance for many, including people who are old or preg- where they later work, and they form a friendship that not even nant and “people with arthritis who are just better than me.” the tidal forces of their lives can tear apart. Morais conjures a Overall, the excellent character development lends depth and very specific milieu—urban St. Louis in the 1980s and ’90s—in sweetness to the romance. Isabel’s relationship with Sasha a way that makes it feel lived-in, and she populates the setting helps her fight self-doubt and stand up for herself with laud- with a panoply of rich characters who express themselves with able vigor, yet the novel never feels didactic. varying degrees of forthrightness. Although readers of the main A highly recommended work that’s thoughtful, funny, characters’ generation may relate to the novel more than others wise, and tender. special issue: best books of 2019 due to its many specific cultural references, Morais gives it uni- versality as well as specificity—particularly in her depiction of Octavian and Mina’s believable, multidimensional relationship. GIVE THEM They talk, argue, reconcile, and razz friends in language that’s UNQUIET DREAMS heightened but never strained or unrealistic. Readers who have Mulhern, James a low tolerance for nostalgia may want to look elsewhere, but Kurti Publishing (258 pp.) for readers who enjoy a story of the robustness and fragility of 14.00 paper | Jul. 28, 2019 love, Morais’ work is a must-read. 978-1-0822-4062-1 A novel that effectively intertwines ruminations on race, music, romance, and history. A novel presents an emotional story about coming-of-age, spirituality, and the mysteries that lie beyond everyone’s SICK KIDS IN LOVE ordinary, waking moments. Moskowitz, Hannah At the age of 14, Aiden Glencar’s Entangled: Teen (300 pp.) life is already complicated. He and his older brother, Martin, $17.99 | Nov. 5, 2019 move between their grandmother, a domineering and occasion- 978-1-64063-732-0 ally kleptomaniacal Irish Catholic, and their Aunt Clara, who does her best to look after the boys and her own children, tak- Two chronically ill teens navigate the ing them to a New Age, nondenominational church. Aiden’s joys and pitfalls of a relationship in this confusion regarding these contradictory philosophies and the YA contemporary romance. strangeness of his living situation is palpable and becomes even Of all the places where 16-year-old more engrossing and sympathetic when he reveals his budding Isabel Garfinkel could meet a cute boy, gay sexuality and his fears of what his family and faith might say the Ambulatory Medical Unit at Line- about it. But it’s Irish folklore more than Christian faith that field and West Memorial Hospital in the Queens borough of inscribes the boys’ lives, as Aiden has the second sight, confer- New York City, wouldn’t seem the most likely. It’s her second ring with his dead grandfather and witnessing weirder and more time in the “drip room,” as it’s called, where she gets monthly frightening spirits throughout the Boston streets. The boys’ infusions to treat the rheumatoid arthritis that she’s had for mother has been committed to an asylum, and Aiden fights to
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 39 get her released even as the spirits urging him to do so give him temptations that the children must resist: rooms full of sweet some doubts about his own sanity. The story continues from songbirds; “every imaginable toy”; intriguing weapons; jugglers this complex setup, teasing out details of Aiden and Martin’s and acrobats; and much more. Like C.S. Lewis, Müller offers boyhoods in a lovingly rendered 1970s Boston while advanc- effective characterizations (some may object to Annabel’s being ing the murky tale of the spirits Aiden sees, the gift he shares described as “lame,” but her point of view is represented) and an with his mother, and the bitter tragedies and hard-earned tri- exciting plot that’s ballasted by moral seriousness. The quest’s umphs they portend. Mulhern’s (Useless Things, 2018, etc.) prose puzzles and challenges are original and involving, and the end- is strong, delivering readers a sense of the child in Aiden’s voice ing is genuinely moving. It also suggests further escapades to and a thorough, descriptive view of the world around him. Not come—let’s hope so. only that, but the writing is elevated by a liberal use of quotes A delightful, compelling fantasy adventure sure to and sayings ranging from Bible verses to Thoreau and Yeats, win fans. grounding the various players’ cultural context. (At one point, Aiden muses: “Like Thoreau, I believe time is merely a stream we swim in. Someday the current of water will slip away, taking FORTY STEPS AND us with it, but the sandy bottom, eternity, will remain.”) Yet ulti- OTHER STORIES mately, it’s the rich characters who bring the novel to its greatest Murphy, Terrence heights, as Aiden’s uncertainty, Martin’s protectiveness, their iUniverse (206 pp.) grandmother’s determination, and their mother’s wistfulness $23.99 | $13.39 paper and grief make this a story about family and history and give the $3.99 e-book | Jul. 27, 2018 sense that everything and everyone are connected across time, 978-1-5320-5303-0 whether or not those ties are immediately perceived. 978-1-5320-5301-6 paper A luminous, beautifully told fairy tale grounded in his- tory and elevated by spirit. Sixteen tales span about 1,000 years as a New England town emerges, becomes an art colony and tourist desti- THE INVISIBLE BOAT nation, and faces a dark age. Müller, Eric G. This collection returns to Murphy’s (Assumption City, 2012) The Association of Waldorf fictional community of Egg Rock on Massachusetts’ North Shore. Schools of North America (336 pp.) In an elegiac tone that brings to mind Edgar Lee Masters’ 1915 $18.00 paper | Dec. 7, 2013 poetry collection Spoon River Anthology, the tales follow charac- 978-1-936367-44-3 ters as they make important decisions and show the ramifications of their actions. The book opens with Vikings arriving at a “magi- In this middle-grade novel, three cal” paradise—the future Egg Rock. The stories then sail on to children journey in a magical boat to help address the town’s early-1800s ice trade with the Caribbean; the reunite humans with the elemental world. impact of prejudice on Boston’s Irish community during a chol- It’s a sad day for the white Temple era epidemic; New England’s abolition and pacifist movements family when it has to leave Honey Creek before the Civil War; the dangers of 1880s lighthouse-keeping; Farm for the city. Before leaving, Julie, 11, and her almost two mental health care in the early 20th century; U-boat spying dur- years younger brother, Leo, make several surprising discoveries, ing World War II; the agony of veterans following various wars; including a little bottle with an exquisitely made tiny ship inside, and the rise of feminism. The book breaks the narrative flow with complete with a swan figurehead. They also meet a little man a compelling literary experiment, as “John’s Peril I” and “John’s called Curly Beard, who explains how they can sail in the magi- Peril II” offer different outcomes for the same character. It’s cal boat. But it’s not a toy; a crucial plan is afoot to save Earth reminiscent of author Jack Finney’s twig-in-a-stream concept in from ecological disaster by reuniting humans with elementals Time and Again (1970), showing how small occurrences bump into like Curly Beard, “little folk…such as elves, fairies, wights, imps,” one another to alter history. Indeed, the idea of cause and effect and more. (It’s unclear what these Old World beings are doing forms a strong undercurrent in this collection—one that results in what’s apparently North America.) Joining their mission is in intriguing effects. In “Shore Leave,” for example, a lighthouse a new neighbor, Annabel, a pretty black girl around Leo’s age keeper’s wife teaches her son, Ben, everything she knows about who walks with crutches. Healing the planet begins with aid- the heavens (“She made sure Ben saw moonrises and moonsets ing the Queen of the Waters, but first, the children must free and the morning and evening stars”), and, by doing so, she inad- Curly Beard, who’s been captured. Their path will be filled vertently sets in motion Ben’s undoing in “Bottoms Up.” Readers with danger and difficulty—but the kids have guides, resources, may wish that the author provided a map of the many characters courage, and good hearts to help them. Many writers have tried in these tales, but they’ll still find it fun to track their connections. to conjure up that true feeling of magic in their fantasy adven- A quirky, rich, and elegantly written epic. tures, but Müller (Rounding the Cape of Good Hope, 2018, etc.) is one of the few who succeed. Lush, appealing descriptions stand out, as in an area packed with hundreds of captivating
40 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | The book is at its most powerful when the narration combines with Bram’s psychology to create a feverish landscape of thought. miss lucy
WHAT WE TAKE NORMAN’S GIFT FOR TRUTH Olson, Michelle Nedelman, Deborah Illus. by the author Adelaide Books (314 pp.) Photos by the author $19.60 paper | $7.99 e-book Bellie Button Books (34 pp.) Jun. 15, 2019 $18.95 | $9.99 paper | Nov. 15, 2019 978-1-950437-18-4 978-1-73237-073-9 978-1-73237-074-6 paper A novel spins a story of hard choices and secrets, set in beautiful but ironically The most charming button in pic- named Prosperity, Washington, in 1991. ture books returns for a “Gift of the Although the logging town of Pros- Magi”–style Christmas tale in this sequel. perity at one time more than lived up to its name, that era is Norman the Button is happy with his new life as a nose for fading fast thanks to a new environmental awareness. It is Freddy Teddy. The two are inseparable—that is, until bedtime. tree-huggers against loggers, protecting the forest habitat ver- The stuffed bear’s awful snoring keeps Norman up at night, so sus feeding one’s family. Caught in the middle of this is Grace he sleeps on his own in a dollhouse. One night, Norman over- “Parrot” Tillman, whose mother died when she was a child. Her hears Freddy telling the rest of the toys that he has the perfect father died some years later, so the only family she has left is Christmas present for his close friend. Norman frantically Aunt Jane, a bitter woman with no love for Prosperity or its log- tries to come up with a terrific gift for Freddy, but a car proves gers. Grace feels a strong pull to flee Prosperity, but fate has a too expensive, a cellphone on sale turns out to be worthless, way of intervening. Mill owner Jackson Dyer dies and leaves and the cake the button attempts to bake—complete with her an old cabin in his will. His wife tells Grace: “He wanted raw bacon and unbroken egg—is a disaster. Norman feels that you to have your own place. Some place in Prosperity you could the homemade present he finally concocts isn’t good enough always call home and come back to if you ever left.” Later comes for his pal. Luckily, Freddy truly appreciates Norman’s talents a bombshell: a huge secret involving Grace and her family that and loves his gift. Olson’s (Norman, 2018) signature puns (jokes somehow the whole town managed to keep from her. Grace is the two friends read together put Norman “in stitches”; the devastated, then furious. The rest of the tale amounts to slow snacks they share make Freddy “stuffed”) are fewer than in the closure. While this is Nedelman’s (co-author: first volume. But Norman’s misadventures help him learn to
Still Sexy After special issue: best books of 2019 All These Years?, 2006, etc.) first novel, she has two nonfiction value his own talents and deftly reinforce the themes of the books and a raft of short stories to her credit. She also has a original story. The author’s posed photographs with digitally Ph.D. in clinical psychology, and her practice inspired much of illustrated details are gloriously silly and sure to give adults her intriguing new work. What could have been a straightfor- giggles alongside their children. ward polemic about tree-huggers and loggers quickly becomes The message that real friends value their pals most for much more subtle and nuanced than that. It is a late coming-of- being themselves couldn’t be delivered by a cuter button. age tale about Grace, a wonderfully drawn character, a young woman who doesn’t want to take sides, and the author lets her skirt that argument. Having taken over Aunt Jane’s cafe, the MISS LUCY Hoot Owl—the endangered bird at the crux of this ecological Orem, William battle—Grace just wants to survive and maybe bring the town Gival Press (232 pp.) together. Nedelman’s writing is adept with some surprising $20.00 paper | 9.99 e-book descriptions (“The town glowed like a bearded hermit stepping Oct. 1, 2019 from his annual bath”). The tale’s only villain is a man named 978-1-940724-20-1 Nathan Roberge, who’s connected to Grace’s family; the other characters are desperate people but not evil. A key question Orem (Killer of Crying Deer, 2010, hovers over the engrossing story: When push comes to shove, etc.) delivers a fictionalized account of will everyone shove together? the life of Dracula author Bram Stoker An impressive environmental tale with an engaging and the incidents that led him to create heroine from a talented new novelist. one of literature’s greatest monsters. How does a single story command the high and low, the beautiful and the ghastly, the sacred and the profane? Or, as this novel asks, how does a single man contain these multitudes? In flowing, lyrical, and sometimes-unsettling third-person- nar ration, Orem offers dark speculations on the life and mind of Abraham “Bram” Stoker. As the novel tells it, Bram is haunted from a young age—first by his own childhood illness and then, possibly, by literal ghosts. Despite the fact that his father seemed to give up on the possibility that he’d thrive or succeed
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 41 in life, Stoker eventually joins the Lyceum Theatre as an aide PRIYA DREAMS OF to renowned actor Henry Irving. But life behind the footlights MARIGOLDS & MASALA is not all well, and although Bram gets the opportunity to Patel, Meenal mix with high society and literary idols such as Arthur Conan Illus. by the author Doyle, Walt Whitman, and Oscar Wilde, he remains very much Beaver’s Pond Press (36 pp.) in Irving’s shadow. The book is at its most powerful when the $17.95 | Mar. 26, 2019 distant narration combines with Bram’s psychology to create a 978-1-64343-955-6 feverish, even horrifying landscape of thought; on the one hand, Bram idolizes Irving and treasures his own proximity to great- A girl finds a way to keep her grand- ness, but on the other, he’s sickened by his own lack of literary mother from missing India in this pic- success and seems overcome by envy. He’s also shown to be torn ture book. between his wife, Florence—a beautiful, aristocratic woman Priya’s house is the only one on her street with an Indian who’s emblematic of the society he wishes to join—and Lujzi family. After school every day, she helps her grandmother Babi Sido, a sweatshop worker who lives in squalid conditions but Ba make rotli for dinner. As they work, Priya asks Babi Ba what who makes him feel more alive than anyone else does. Personal India is like. Her grandmother responds with highlights of and historical parallels later appear in Stoker’s greatest work, as India for each of the senses, describing the smells of the spice faith, class differences, violence, beauty, and death coalesce in market, the sounds of the tuk-tuks and cows in the street, the the figure of Dracula. But intriguingly, where Bram sees himself “swish-swish of a sari,” the taste of hot cha, and the crowd with in that tale remains a constantly moving target. its mix of beliefs and customs. Babi Ba describes the marigold A brilliant and imaginative tale of love, death, and garlands, just like the one “hanging in the doorway” of Priya’s literature. house. In the winter, Priya notices her grandmother’s sadness and discusses the marigold garland tradition with her school friends. They help Priya make a huge garland of paper marigolds THE WILD for Babi Ba. Patel (Neela Goes to San Francisco, 2016) is an Indian WAVES WHIST American author whose “family is from Gujarat, India.” In her Parekh, Erin Nelsen tale, Priya’s strong connections to her grandmother and her Illus. by Amini, Mehrdokht diverse classmates, who are so open to learning her traditions, Drivel and Drool (20 pp.) offer a wonderfully ideal view of culture sharing. Patel’s draw- $9.99 | Mar. 1, 2019 ings, rendered without hard lines but in brilliant colors inspired 978-0-9984397-3-0 by her visits to India, capture the theme vividly. A beautifully rendered, touching celebration of sharing In their second Shakespearean board traditions across generations and cultures. book, Parekh and Amini (Behowl the Moon, 2017) adapt Ariel’s songs from The Tempest for a tale of two children discovering the wonders of an island world. POLLEN A boy and a girl, both with brown skin, meet on the beach of Darwin’s 130 a fantastic island that hints at the Caribbean setting frequently Year Prediction discussed in Shakespeare scholarship. With their dog, the chil- Pattison, Darcy dren see crabs, sea turtles, wild island birds, and—in a lovely Illus. by Willis, Peter two-page spread—a crowing rooster. Other vibrant creatures Mims House (34 pp.) fill the final pages—an ape, an antlered form hidden in shadow, $23.99 | $13.21 paper | May 7, 2019 a three-toed sloth, and a red panda all exist in harmony while 978-1-62944-119-1 the children play. Shakespeare’s familiar words are just as com- 978-1-62944-120-7 paper plex in their vocabulary as parents are sure to remember. But for the very young lap readers intended as this reinvented story’s Sometimes scientists take a long time to reach a conclu- audience, the sounds of the words will be more important than sion—and the team of Pattison and Willis (Clang!, 2018, etc.) their meanings (“Courtsied when you have and kiss’d / the wild explores that idea in this look at a hypothesis about a moth and waves whist”). Amini’s textured, mixed-media illustrations cre- a flower. ate a gorgeous paradise filled with flowers and plants and a lack In 1862, Charles Darwin received orchids in the mail (the of Prospero or any other adult to disturb the children’s joy. The variety is depicted in the beautiful mixed-media illustrations two kids will be easy for young readers to identify with, and from Willis, who painted on newspaper to create textured their curious explorations should feel familiar to beachgoers. images). When Darwin noticed that the star orchid’s nectary A beach adventure pairs with the beautifully lyrical was unusually long, he envisioned the type of creature, a huge words of Ariel in this triumph of poetry and approachability. moth, that would have had to evolve to allow the flower to reproduce. In 1903, two entomologists found the hawk moth, which they believed to be the insect that Darwin imagined, with a lengthy, trunklike proboscis. But there was a problem:
42 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | Pearson’s writing explores both the wonders of nature and the shifting landscape of the human mind. the sandpiper’s spell
“No one had seen the hawk moth pollinate the star orchid.” It both the wonders of nature and the shifting landscape of the wasn’t until 1992 that entomologist Lutz Thilo Wasserthal was human mind. able to verify that the moth and flower depended on each other. A startlingly intuitive new poet—one to watch. Using plenty of science vocabulary made approachable through conversational text and Willis’ kid-friendly illustrations, Pat- tison captures the sense of wonder that comes from discovery, TWO STORIES even if the proof arrives 130 years after the initial idea. The A Sight To See & intriguing moment is well-told in this third installment of a pic- The Boatman ture book series, giving real insight into the scientific process Peterson, Nolan and celebrating the determined researchers who strive to fur- Time Tunnel Media (85 pp.) ther human knowledge. $8.95 paper | $4.95 e-book An illuminating introduction to Darwin and evolution- Mar. 21, 2019 ary development for young readers. 978-1-09-119910-1
Peterson (Snow-Blind, 2018) offers a THE SANDPIPER’S pair of stories about characters coming SPELL to terms with death. Poems In “A Sight to See,” the shorter of this book’s two narra- Pearson, Tom tives, Adam is one of four astronauts on a one-way flight to Buen Parto Press (120 pp.) Mars. When something collides with the spaceship, his three $19.74 | Mar. 31, 2018 companions die, and Adam’s injury renders him blind. As the 978-0-9995951-2-1 ship continues its course to the red planet, he sits alone in dark- ness and periodically communicates with Mission Control. He Pearson’s masterfully observant debut accepted the mission knowing that he would never again see his poetry collection scours littoral and urban wife, Penny, but as he awaits what he believes is an imminent landscapes. demise, he debates whether he made the right decision. In “The “The Sandpiper’s Spell” is a six-part Boatman,” Charles is a professional guide for people who wish poem and epilogue that in its simplest interpretation is a walk to die. He works at a company that constructs “death dreams,” along a beach to a forest. The poet becomes a beachcomber, in which people can choose the specific manner of their passing. special issue: best books of 2019 picking out aesthetically pleasing images from the coastline: He keeps his job a secret from his father, who wouldn’t approve; the way the “waning tide has left / a crescent of cooler sand” Charles’ mother committed suicide a decade earlier. But his or the pattern of “red orange pine needles / cross hatching dad isn’t well himself, and he may soon decide how he wants to the ground.” The collection is structured so that each part of pass on—with or without Charles’ guidance. Peterson’s death- “The Sandpiper’s Spell” is followed by a series of short poems centered stories, while occasionally gloomy, are still filled with that briefly transport the reader away from the coastal- set hope. The author shows how Adam, for instance, doesn’t fear ting before returning to the shoreline to continue the journey. his demise, which he seems to view as a journey’s end; although Childhood stands out as a recurrent theme. “Circus World” his longing for Penny is sorrowful, he achieves a sense of closure remembers “evaporating in a midday haze / on a back corner of before the tale concludes. Similarly, “death dreams” allow char- childhood / the tree we climbed and stayed / past dark” and also acters to experience happiness or heroism before they die. At that progressive loss of innocence, “you who kissed me / hard times, the author’s lyrical prose cushions the bleaker concepts; on the mouth / when we were both ten,” which leads inevita- for example, Adam believes that the Earth’s first living cell is bly to adulthood, where faded mementos of youth are all that continually reborn in each living thing: “We are an unbroken remain, “still hanging in a corner / a netless basketball hoop.” echo of all life before us,” he muses, “locked in a closed-loop Other poems, like “Death of a...” leave the serenity of the ocean system of death and resurrection.” Overall, Peterson’s stories for a bustling city where a pedestrian is about to take a fatal step promote an appreciation of life—although some readers may into the street. Pearson’s work—which rapidly shifts through a still shed tears. gamut of psychological states—is a welcome reminder that A profound, dramatic, and emotionally resonant book. reading poetry is a vigorous mental activity. Poems such as “Day Dreams” showcase Pearson’s ability to create striking imagery. Here, he effortlessly morphs shoreline detritus into clever cari- cature: “white bubbles button / his fish face / to his man body / an inverted voyeur / the bleached bones / of his ship / wrecked.” As the collection progresses, the poetry becomes more clipped, abstract, and urgent but no less powerful: “nimbus / blood candy sky / sand in stone /snow on mountain / crimson salt bleeding rivers from / under the mountain’s petticoat.” Both vastly pan- oramic and deeply introspective, Pearson’s writing explores
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 43 RANDALL AND but asserts that Benjamin, who directed the Confederate Secret RANDALL Service, believed them to be genuine. Prindle argues that Con- Poper, Nadine federates were involved in a plot to kidnap Lincoln, spirit him Illus. by Gortman, Polina to Richmond, and ransom many prisoners, which then led Blue Whale Press (32 pp.) to retributive schemes to decapitate the Union government. $16.99 | $10.99 paper | Oct. 1, 2019 Through 17 brisk chapters, the author sketches the Confeder- 978-0-9814938-7-9 ate officials, undercover operatives, and civilians who advanced 978-0-9814938-8-6 paper the conspiracy. He tracks clandestine activities from Virginia to Maryland to Canada, connecting dots while adding detailed Young readers get a slice of science in context. Prindle effectively captures the complexity and chaos this undersea tale about symbiosis. of the war’s final months: Battlefield losses mounted, Lincoln Randall the pistol shrimp accidentally gets a new roommate won reelection, Confederate desperation grew, and after Rich- when he snaps at a fish he believes is a threat. But the goby fish, mond fell, a kidnapping plot became untenable. Booth found also named Randall, offers to let the shrimp know when genu- his own plot competing with another to blow up a portion of ine predators are around. Unfortunately, the goby misidentifies the White House during a Cabinet session. Prindle identifies plankton, a sand dollar, and a sea cucumber as dangerous foes, the only official who could have authorized either plan, other all the while singing songs that drive the shrimp to distraction. than Davis himself: Benjamin, who escaped to England with Likewise, the noises the shrimp’s snapping claws make irritate a fortune from the Confederate treasury. Prindle, an author the goby. After a huge fight, the goby leaves only to run into of three novels, displays fluent storytelling, rendering familiar a real killer: a shark. Randall the shrimp to the rescue. His history as a page-turner. His abundant endnotes and synthesis snapping scares the shark away, and the goby learns to value of obscure details ably reflect his 30-year avocation of study- the sound and his shellfish friend. Based on a real-life symbi- ing and lecturing about the Civil War as an independent scholar. otic relationship, this silly tale makes the science approachable A retired justice of the peace, Prindle’s granular accounting of through the goby’s giggleworthy antics. Notes from ichthyolo- the military tribunal, the executions of the conspirators, and gist Dr. John Randall describe the phenomenon for adults, and the legal aftermath showcases his full skill set and typifies his Gortman’s (Fishing for Turkey, 2016) closing illustrations supply discerning approach. Throughout, he gives competing views diagrams of the charismatic creatures. The picture book’s car- their due and carefully supports his own. Prindle’s conclusion toonish interior images deftly mix human and animal charac- relies on an “unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence,” as teristics, showing the shrimp’s long antennae as mustaches. he admits, but readers need not be wholly persuaded to find it Poper’s (Frank Stinks, 2017, etc.) simple English text seamlessly worthwhile reading. introduces a few straightforward Spanish-language phrases (“mi A strong argument that deserves a spot in every Civil casa”) due to the coastal Mexico setting. The ingenious aquatic War buff’s library. tale also encourages readers to realize they can find friendship even if they don’t see eye to eye with their cohorts. A clever introduction to a scientific concept that EAT LESS WATER includes an accessible moral. The Solution to Worldwide Water Shortages Is in Our Kitchens BOOTH’S Ramirez, Florencia CONFEDERATE Red Hen Press (264 pp.) CONNECTIONS $17.95 paper | Nov. 1, 2017 Prindle, Sandy 978-1-59709-039-1 Pelican Publishing Company (256 pp.) $24.95 | Mar. 20, 2019 A fascinating cornucopia of meth- 978-1-4556-2473-7 ods to reduce water use through organic propagation and preparation. This thorough appraisal of Presi- In exploring efforts toward reducing global consumption dent Abraham Lincoln’s assassination of the Earth’s most precious commodity, writer, blogger, and addresses the theory that John Wilkes public policy researcher Ramirez has developed a bountiful, Booth was part of a multifaceted conspir- delectable road map of farming innovation and conservationist acy directed by Confederate Secretary of State Judah Benjamin. food preparation. The Earth is two-thirds water, mostly saline, Prindle (Revolution II, 2012, etc.) begins with the 1864 Dahl- and by 2030, it’s estimated that half the world will experience gren affair. After a failed Union raid on Richmond, Southern- freshwater scarcity. Preservation is a key conservation concern, ers published documents found on Union Army Lt. Col. Ulric writes the author, who regularly attends Earth Day events and Dahlgren’s corpse that mentioned a plan to destroy the city promotes water-saving items like shower timers. After focusing and kill Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his Cabinet. on water-waste prevention in bathrooms, Ramirez, recognizing Prindle sets aside the enduring debate over their authenticity that “seven out of every ten gallons of water is used for food
44 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | The author augments her own polished verse with references, allusions, and outright quotes from a wide variety of sources. radial bloom
production,” redirected her efforts to the kitchen, where much dream man and dream land prove as fickle as reality. He often more could be saved. In a text bolstered by documentation and comes and goes at whim; appearing and disappearing without suffused with a true creative passion for resource preservation, warning: “He was there after the rain, in the night lawns, thick the author presents a series of chapters on the interaction and and arcing, and I could feel him leaving me, falling away from integration of water with a variety of foods, liquids, production the fabric of human air.” processes, and “on-the-edge farming.” Ramirez fully immerses Brilliant, at once dense and ethereal; rewards multi- herself in her subject with eye-opening field trips to resource- ple readings. ful water-sustainable croplands across America. Among them, a California dry biodynamic wheat farm thriving through the advent of cover cropping, a trailblazing rice farm, an aquaponic FINDING CLAIRE ranch in the Texas Plain, a “green” egg farming operation, and FLETCHER a Hawaiian organic shade-grown coffee plantation. Concerned Regan, Lisa conservationists, environmental and agricultural activists, Thomas & Mercer (396 pp.) and everyday farmers and consumers alike will be enticed by $15.95 paper | $4.99 e-book | Jul. 25, 2017 Ramirez’s passionately delivered and convincing combination 978-1-5420-4610-7 of charming narrative, strategic resource preservation tech- niques, and pages of recipes ideas from crustless cheesecake to Suspense novelist Regan (Aberra spinach quiche and chicken tortilla soup. “Be part of a change tion, 2013, etc.) tells the story of a woman that will make a difference in creeks, rivers, groundwater, and victimized by a twisted kidnapper and oceans across the planet,” she encourages. “Start tonight at your sexual predator. kitchen table.” At the book’s outset, readers find Impeccable writing and practical, relevant, planet- out that Claire Fletcher was kidnapped on her way to school friendly alternatives to reducing water consumption in 10 years ago, when she was 15. In the very next chapter, set in cooking and agricultural production. the present, 25-year-old Claire is in a bar, where she seduces off- duty Detective Connor Parks of the Sacramento Police Depart- ment, whose own personal and professional life is in shambles. RADIAL BLOOM They have a tryst at his apartment, but she quickly leaves so Ratto Parks, Amy that she can return to her kidnapper before he realizes that she’s Folded Word (84 pp.) missing; she leaves Connor with her family’s address, trying to special issue: best books of 2019 $12.00 paper | Nov. 15, 2018 let them know that she’s still alive. When he finds out about 978-1-61019-114-2 Claire’s true situation, he becomes determined to find her. He gets help from his buddies on the force and from private investi- Ratto Parks’ (Song of Days, Torn and gator Mitch Farrell, an old family friend of the Fletchers. Claire Mended, 2015, etc.) mosaic novel pieces was abducted by a twisted man with a dark past. For years, he’s together the inner life of a woman been tying Claire up and brutalizing her—all the while declar- through a succession of prose poems. ing his love for her and telling her that she will come to love After alliteratively establishing her him. Eventually, though, she’s allowed a very small amount of “normalcy” in the prologue—“Before you know the rest, you freedom—which she uses to her advantage. Her kidnapper is should know this: I live in a pleasant house on a quiet street assisted by a young woman named Tiffany, a runaway who sees in a modern-day Mayberry with mountains”—Ratto Parks’ pro- Claire as a rival. The story effectively toggles between first- tagonist proceeds to tell of her most irregular inner being in a person narration (from Claire’s point of view, in captivity) and series of poetic vignettes. The pieces focus on a man, perhaps a a third-person perspective, which usually focuses on Connor. muse, perhaps a ghost, or maybe an adult version of an imagi- Regan’s pacing is a marvel—one moment, she’s lingering on the nary friend, a conjured personification of cravings, desires, and grotesque, brutal treatment of Claire, and the next, she shifts thwarted fulfillment; he is sometimes a lover, sometimes cruel, gears to show Connor’s frantic pursuit of the kidnapper. The and sometimes just a friend playing catch with a baseball. Ratto latter is truly a monster, and his portrayal will disturb readers’ Parks’ work is contemplative and original: “I sat at the end of sleep. Claire, meanwhile, is believably shown to be gutsy and the long hall of myself watching my life while I witnessed all resourceful under conditions that would crush even the tough- of those sacred places invaded” or “the silent ghost of old traf- est people. Tiffany’s minor role becomes a star performance, fic made every sound bright.” She augments her own polished mixing evil with apparent innocence. verse with references, allusions, and outright quotes from a A wonderfully written crime tale that favorably com- wide variety of people and sources: Dante, T.S. Eliot, James pares to the work of Michael Connelly, James Lee Burke, Joyce, R.M. Rilke, and even John Wayne. Hallucinatory and and Elmore Leonard. dreamlike, the author repeatedly considers themes of loss either in water (“Then we finally gave in to the stones in our pockets and we sank through the salt brine”) or simply into thin air (“off like kites blowing endless through the ether”). Throughout, her
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 45 THE GIRL PRETENDING TO FRONTAL MATTER READ RILKE Glue Gone Wild Riddle, Barbara Samples, Suzanne Pilgrim’s Lane Press (212 pp.) Running Wild Press (262 pp.) $9.99 paper | $2.99 e-book $24.99 paper | $9.99 e-book Oct. 13, 2013 Oct. 15, 2018 978-0-615-90432-0 978-1-947041-24-0
Riddle debuts with a pleasantly off- A North Carolina woman re-exam- beat coming-of-age novel that looks ines her life after being diagnosed with a back at the changing roles of women in terminal illness in this memoir. the 1960s. “Everything was fine. And then every- In 1963, 19-year-old Bronwen Olwen has just completed thing went to shit within twenty minutes,” Samples (English/ her junior year in a prestigious Portland, Oregon, college and is Appalachian State Univ.; A Mad Girl’s Love Song, 2016, etc.) heading to Boston for a prime summer internship in a biochem- writes of a fateful leg seizure at the age of 36 that ended with istry lab—and, not incidentally, a couple of months of living with her in the hospital, diagnosed with brain cancer. Before that, her boyfriend, Eric Breuner. He’s four years older, ensconced she was enjoying her life teaching and writing and being part of in Harvard, and working toward a junior fellowship in the biol- a roller derby team. Her medical dramas revolved around Type ogy department, where he’s a superstar. Indeed, Bronwen is 1 diabetes and her love-hate relationship with her endocrinolo- daunted by what she accepts as his intellectual superiority. But gist. But now everything changed; as she puts it, “Diabetes is this summer, she’s decided to become an expert in the literary a slow, drawn-out death; cancer is a quick blow.” She writes in works of early 20th-century Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer percussive sentences that jump from her diagnosis and treat- Maria Rilke as her nonscientific area of proficiency, because ment to moments further in the past and other stray thoughts. “All the scientists in Eric’s crowd had a little niche, a subarea of She mused on the secret sex lives of her nurses and re-evaluated nontechnical knowledge on which they could hold forth.” Her relationships as a parade of friends, family, and exes came to boss, Felix, is a strange whirlwind of frenetic energy, always visit her. She dwells most notably on Chole (pronounced “Cole”) “rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.” Bronwen helps the “narcissistic sociopath” with whom she had a tumultuous him with some problem experiments, enabling him to complete relationship. She tells of Uber drivers who offered to pray for his long-overdue doctoral thesis. Her grueling hours at the lab her, her partying sister who sent her drunken texts about con- prove more gratifying than her time spent with the obnoxiously spiracy theories, and how she spoke directly to her own brain arrogant Eric and his cohort of pseudo-intellectual male scien- tumor, asking for its opinion on the life that it might be cutting tists. However, it takes a series of crises to force her to reexam- short. “This is not a Tuesday with Morrie,” she writes, speak- ine her life. Although Riddle’s narrative is often humorous and ing to the existential weight and poetic form of her writing. At frequently quirky, it also offers a stark reminder of the scientific times, Samples repeats simple sentence structures over and community’s treatment of women joining its ranks in the ’60s. over, like a record that has broken, but she marries this with For example, Felix can’t fathom why Bronwen would choose to short, smoothly written vignettes that manage to be frighten- study science given her other options: “Girls don’t just whim- ing, sad, and humorous, all at once. At one point, for example, sically decide to give up a social life and nice clothes to hang a nurse confuses her asymmetrical haircut for brain-surgery around in smelly hellholes with slavedrivers like me ordering prep gone wrong. Samples also bravely commits to paper her them around.” Throughout, Riddle mixes solid, straightfor- darkest thoughts about dying and the most humiliating physical ward storytelling with long, stream-of-consciousness sections moments of her illness. Overall, her memoir perfectly reflects in which the omniscient narrator jumps into Bronwen’s chaotic the chaos of her experience, but she guides readers through it by mental meanderings. The run-on sentences in the latter can be staying true to her belief that “honest writing is good writing.” confusing at times, but they effectively reflect the protagonist’s A uniquely poetic memoir with dark humor and pro- inner struggle as familiar young adult angst meets bubbling found insights. social change. A whimsical, funny, and poignant historical novel.
46 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | Schlack recounts her ideological journey with humor and nuance throughout this sometimes-wry, sometimes-lyrical memoir. this all-at-onceness
MY TODDLER’S LARRY AND BOB FIRST WORDS Schaufeld, Karen A Step-by-Step Guide Illus. by Schwarz, Kurt To Jump-Start, Track, Quidne Press (60 pp.) and Expand Your $19.95 | $5.95 e-book | Jun. 15, 2016 Toddler’s Language 978-0-9972299-0-5 Scanlon, Kimberly O. CreateSpace (146 pp.) Two animal fathers form an unusual $12.95 paper | May 24, 2019 friendship in this quirky but touching picture book from author 978-1-978371-90-3 Schaufeld and illustrator Schwarz (The Lollipop Tree, 2013). Larry is a bald eagle guarding his egg in a tall tree. Bob is Scanlon (Gratitude Journal for Kids, 2019, etc.), a pediatric a smallmouth bass, “protecting 19,003 eggs” in the river below. speech-language pathologist, presents a guide to help parents When Larry catches Bob, the fish doesn’t simply accept his fate understand, analyze, and enhance their children’s language as a meal; he appeals to Larry, “dad to dad,” agreeing to let the development. eagle eat him in one year, after his own fry are grown. Larry is Learning one’s native tongue is an integral part of child- skeptical but makes the deal, and ultimately, this decision saves hood—and one that often worries parents. Scanlon has created the life of his chick, Larry Junior, whom Bob later rescues when a rich handbook and workbook to give parents “competence he falls into the river. When Bob finally goes to meet his fate, and confidence” in language instruction. She begins by educat- Larry can’t eat him—after all, the fish saved his son. Instead, ing readers about early childhood language in order to show they form an unlikely friendship. The eagle confesses that, parents what to expect from their children and thus select as a solitary bird, he feels lonely, and Bob, despite being sur- appropriate “target words” for them. The author also provides rounded by other fish, reveals that he feels the same. For years, four work sheets, designed to quickly analyze a toddler’s current the predator and prey meet at a rock, swim and fly upstream level of language learning and determine directions for future together, and talk about their problems. But eventually, Bob’s growth. The next section is vital, as it lays out eight techniques age catches up with him, and he asks Larry to take him on one to elicit first words (such as “Pause in Anticipation” and “Imi- last flight. Overall, this is a touching story, and Schaufeld tells it tate, imitate, imitate”) as well as tips on creating a language-rich in a calm, melodic style. The placement of the two male charac- environment. Parents may already be employing some of these ters as caregivers and primary parents puts a nice spin on gender techniques on their own, but Scanlon effectively demonstrates expectations. Schwarz’s realistic paintings are beautifully ren- special issue: best books of 2019 each one to give readers clear notions of her language-enriching dered and include some exquisite landscapes. Kids will enjoy tools. The ideas for creating a language-rich environment, such finding the dragonfly that Schwarz has hidden on each page, but as “hanging interesting pictures, postcards, maps, or photo- adults will appreciate the illustrator’s unique eye; for example, graphs on walls…and chatting about them,” seem particularly several paintings show the fish’s perspective from underwater, beneficial. Finally, Scanlon provides a 30-day workbook that and the textured results are suitable for framing. includes weekly planning sections and reviews and simple, A well-constructed book that depicts a healthy male repeated questions for each day, such as “What three things did friendship. I do today to encourage my toddler’s first words?” and “What will I do tomorrow to stimulate or further develop my toddler’s first words?” Throughout, the author draws heavily on peer- THIS ALL-AT-ONCENESS reviewed research, yet she always makes the material easy to Schlack, Julie Wittes comprehend. The tone is consistently positive and encouraging Regal House Publishing (238 pp.) even when the author discusses touchy topics, such as limiting $15.95 paper | May 31, 2019 screen time. Lastly, the work’s intuitive organization and cre- 978-1-947548-51-0 ative formatting make it a comfortable reading experience. An exceptional parenting book with clear-cut Youthful, left-wing idealism subsides applications. into pragmatic careerism before return- ing in unexpected ways in this memoir. At the start of this book, Schlack, the founder of market-research firm C Space, thinks back to growing up in a Jewish neighborhood in suburban Montreal and in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the 1960s. To her, it was an idyllic time despite the political and countercultural chaos around her. She recalls vaca- tions at her family’s Quebec lake house, long evenings shoot- ing the breeze with friends about possible UFO sightings, and youthful romance at a progressive summer camp. In high school and college, she got caught up in the anti-war movement, and
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 47 she “went from flower child to anti-imperialist to ambivalent an African-American roustabout, ran away from his difficult life Maoist a few years later,” she says. She also wrestled with radical as a sharecropper, only to find that the carnival is just another feminist stances on makeup, shaving, and traditional marriage. type of bondage. Seligman’s (A Pocket Book of Prompts, 2015, etc.) The author carried her political commitments into the 1970s episodic narrative hangs on themes of loneliness, suffering, and and ’80s when, married with kids, she worked at factories while the ascendance of human kindness. Although the setting might trying to sway workers to her militant leftism—an effort that give rise to fears of stereotyping or sensationalism, each char- fizzled in the Reagan era. The narrative then skips ahead to the acter emerges as a complex person who’s part of an unconven- 2000s and Schlack’s career in tech startups and marketing—a tional but still familiar community. Seligman’s prose is vivid and milieu of moral ambiguity and hope. She felt heartened by the captivating, as when she describes Julian’s first encounter with Occupy movement, appalled by Donald Trump, and conflicted Tiny: “her eyes darting every which way until they landed on over her role in a capitalist society that might be “ready to sac- him like great splats of rain.” Her portrayal of a society teeter- rifice the planet and the lives of younger generations to satisfy… ing between the past and the future is subtle, and although many limitless greed.” Schlack recounts her ideological journey with of the characters’ stories are sad, there are recurring moments humor and nuance throughout this sometimes-wry, sometimes- of gentleness. lyrical memoir. She riffs on what she sees as foibles of progres- A riveting fictional meditation on the persistent drive sive dogma as well as absurdities of corporate culture, including to find acceptance and connection. a darkly hilarious incident in which a con woman almost finan- cially destroyed the company where she worked. Schlack’s graceful prose balances cleareyed reflection with luminous pas- SECOND-CHANCE SAM sages that celebrate past passions, such as this one about the King of the Junkyard aforementioned summer camp: “As I try to summon up how I Sky, JoAnn felt being there, what gets revived is the shocking carnality of Illus. by Tatulli, John my first French kiss, the energy stoked by being part of a group Dogs & Books (25 pp.) and feeling myself to be a pulsing cell in a larger organism.” $14.95 | $4.99 e-book | Aug. 13, 2019 A thoughtful, witty, and evocative recollection of a life 978-0-9998430-4-8 and the convictions that energized it. A lonely canine gets a new lease on life in this picture book. Sam is an adult shelter dog who dreams of having a family. FROM THE MIDWAY He wonders if the reason the young pups get adopted instead Unfolding Stories of of him, when he’s already trained to fetch and sit, is because Redemption and Belonging he has a crooked leg. When an elderly man who walks with a Seligman, Leaf cane visits the shelter, he recognizes Sam as a kindred spirit. Bauhan Publishing (224 pp.) Sam is thrilled, but his hopes are dashed when he realizes that $22.50 paper | Sep. 5, 2019 his new home is a small shack next to a junkyard instead of the 978-0-87233-296-6 mansion he imagined. But as the man says: “We both know that sometimes things aren’t what they seem.” Sam soon discovers A collection of linked short stories joy and “treasures” at the messy junkyard, finding a purpose, about a cut-rate carnival show traveling friends, and love. Sam’s initial struggle to see past the first through the American South during the impressions of his new life, despite having been the subject of early 20th century. that same type of scrutiny, rings true, and the sage old man’s In 1910, patent medicine salesman Earl Beasley launches a words form the core of this touching story. Sky’s (Santa’s Dog, “Traveling Amusements” show, and his first “human attractions” 2018, etc.) rhyming stanzas scan beautifully throughout, mak- are people whom he’d been unable to cure with his concoctions. ing this an easy read-aloud for group sharing. The rescue tale Earl’s sons, Stan, Tom, and Earl Jr., take over in 1912, and they also features a vocabulary that’s approachable for newly inde- continue the family business with ruthless hucksterism, amass- pendent readers. Tatulli’s (Fireworks in the Night, 2016) playful ing a collection of people whom they market under such names cartoon art, populated by animals and humans of all colors and as “Flipper Boy,” “Hammer Toe,” and “Lizard Man.” Each has ages, captures Sam’s spirit perfectly. a unique, poignant story, rooted in social segregation and a A moving tribute to shelter dogs, the humans who desire for autonomy and connection. Julian Henry, the afore- love them, and the wisdom of looking beyond outward mentioned “Lizard” person, is embittered by both his father’s appearances. revulsion and his mother’s adulation. Tiny Laveaux, billed as the “World’s Smallest Woman,” escapes the tawdry reality of her daily exposure to the gawking public via transcendent sex with the armless “Hammer Toe.” Beulah Divine, the “World’s Largest Woman,” who’s perpetually forced to remain heavy by the profit-hungry Beasleys, endures a barrage of mocking taunts by cherishing a private secret—her real name. Cheever,
48 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | For many Americans who are unfamiliar with Islam, Slocum’s book is a first-rate primer. why do they hate us?
WHY DO THEY THE WOMAN IN HATE US? THE PARK Making Peace With the Sorkin, Teresa & Holmqvist, Tullan Muslim World Beaufort Books (224 pp.) Slocum, Steve $24.95 | Aug. 26, 2019 Top Reads Publishing (240 pp.) 978-0-8253-0899-4 $12.78 paper | $8.99 e-book | Jul. 2, 2019 978-0-9986838-6-7 In Sorkin and Holmqvist’s debut thriller, a married woman meets an alluring stranger An exploration of Islamic beliefs and and later becomes a criminal suspect. history that aims to challenge American Manhattanite Sarah Rock is certain Islamophobia. that her husband, Eric, has been having Debut author Slocum, a former Christian missionary to an affair with his co-worker Juliette. Sarah, who has suffered Kazakhstan, writes that he was horrified at ignorant depictions from depression in the past, is experiencing “blackout periods” of Muslims in American media after the 9/11 attacks. During and having nightmares about her spouse and his suspected mis- his years as a missionary, he “never changed anyone’s mind to tress. As a result, she’s been seeing therapist Helena Robin for become a believer in the Bible,” he says, but his newfound Mus- months. With her two children away at boarding school, Sarah lim friends left an indelible mark on his own life—particularly, feels like she’s lost her sense of purpose. Then, one day in Cen- the fact that their culture prized hospitality toward strangers. tral Park, she meets a handsome, charming man named Law- The book begins by subverting popular American conceptions rence. Despite the brevity of their initial, platonic encounter, of Sharia law by rooting it in social justice, centered on pro- Sarah can’t get the stranger off her mind, and subsequent park- tecting the poor and weak. Similarly, Islam’s “greater jihad,” he bench rendezvous quickly lead to an affair. Weeks later, the says, is not a literal holy war (a term first coined by Christian police visit Sarah to ask her questions about a missing person Crusaders) but rather “the internal struggle of living a life that case. They’re looking for a woman whom Sarah has seen at the is pleasing to God.” The book’s middle chapters offer a survey park; it turns out that Lawrence may have a connection to her, of Islamic history from Muhammad through the present day, so Sarah is reluctant to tell the cops anything. More bomb- highlighting both the wonders of the Islamic Golden Age and shells follow, and after the cops accuse Sarah of a very serious the horrors of European colonialism. To Slocum, the birth of crime, she starts to realize that her sense of reality may be the “dark blight” of Wahhabism in the 18th century marked a distorted. The authors’ sharply written and persistently tense special issue: best books of 2019 decisive turning point. Although the moderate Muslim major- tale is divided into two parts: The first follows Sarah’s growing ity rejected this absolutist ideology, he says, it gained traction relationship with Lawrence, and the latter offers a series of in Saudi Arabia at the same approximate time that the West shocking revelations. Throughout, Sarah is an enigmatic, con- undergirded a Saudi monarchy linked with Wahhabism. Central tinually evolving protagonist. Readers are privy to Dr. Robin’s to the book’s analysis of radical Islam is the notion that it’s a periodic notes, for example, which make it clear that Sarah force of the West’s own making, from their support of the muja- has something buried in her past. Still, Sarah remains sympa- hedeen in Afghanistan to their installation of a brutal monarch thetic, as her candid perspective makes her eventual paranoia in Iran. In doing so, Slocum is particularly deft at challenging seem reasonable. Her emotional responses are raw and con- the tropes that Islamic radicals hate American freedom or that vincing, as when she cries alone in a parking lot or examines Islam is an inherently violent religion. Although many in the her body for presumed flaws. Some readers will likely foresee West tend to associate Islam with Arabs, this book highlights a major plot turn before Sarah does, but her valiant attempts not only the faith’s ideological diversity, from Sunnis to Shias to to make sense of what’s happening spark unexpected twists. Ahmadis, but also Muslims’ ethnic diversity; only about 10% of A delightfully complex mystery with a compelling the world’s Muslims hail from Arabic nations. Of course, none protagonist. of this will be new to Islamic scholars or historians of the Mid- dle East, but to many Americans who are unfamiliar with the topic, this is a first-rate primer. A clear, concise, and thoughtful introduction to Islam.
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 49 THE BURDEN OF HATE When a “puzzling glut of ritual murders” occurs in the area, Starbuck, Helen Clarissa becomes a consultant to the Lexington police. She and Routt Street Press (216 pp.) Sgt. Willy Cox begin a relationship that’s later rocked by mutual $15.99 paper | 4.99 e-book infidelities and jealousies. Clarissa analyzes skeletons found in a Sep. 16, 2019 mass grave, which could relate to a rumored “blood cult” from 978-0-9992461-1-5 the early 1970s. These rumors are confirmed by a former hippie, Methuselah, who attended the university in that era. In a local In her latest mystery-series entry, forest shack, two dead bodies are discovered that have been Starbuck (No Pity in Death, 2018, etc.) there for a considerable length of time—an apparent double presents a slow-building tale of an suicide. Meanwhile, a mentally ill man stalks a female student; escaped killer and a murdered priest. another woman lives in his boardinghouse whom Clarissa dubs Operating room nurse Annie Col- “Petite Artiste,” as she often stands outside and sketches Clarissa’s lins and assistant district attorney Angel Cisneros are about to rented house—the same house where a woman whose body was be married when news comes that Ian Patterson, whom they’d found at the mass gravesite used to live. Another female boarder been instrumental in putting away, has escaped from prison and is romantically obsessed with the artist, and secretly follows her. is likely bent on revenge. Indeed, at the wedding reception, Ian At the same time, three English students share a house—seem- shoots Angel, just missing his heart, and escapes. Thus begins ingly a separate story, yet their lives have points of connection almost 200 pages of taut suspense. The elusive Ian is always one with other characters, too. And an old man becomes a Lexing- step ahead of the cops as he taunts Annie with letters and sur- ton street-corner prophet, his stream of phrases taken as oracu- prise appearances, and Angel and Annie are soon at their wits’ lar by growing crowds. end. Meanwhile, the Rev. Andrew Bingham, the young priest As these various mysteries and relationships unfold, are who was supposed to marry the couple but was called away at solved, remain obscure, or end in violence or romance, char- the last minute, is later found murdered. Annie gets involved in acters consider the nature of chance and patterns. Along the that case, of course, as she has the soul of a detective. Although way, Taylor (Pineapple, 2017, etc.) tells an entertainingly com- everyone seemed to like Father Andrew, her digging unearths plicated, interwoven story that is, by turns, funny, horrify- some revelatory details about his past. Detail and pacing are ing, and tender. Philosophy, physics, literature, and historical Starbuck’s strong suits, and she effectively shows how Ian’s events, such as the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath, all play threats of violence affect Annie and Angel’s relationship; their roles, making this a novel of ideas as well as a complex murder tempers flare as their fatigue and despair grow, and at one point, mystery. One of its chief ideas is the question of how much Annie wants to simply give herself up to Ian to have it over and people actually contribute to pattern-making, rather than done with. Indeed, Annie initially involves herself in the inves- simply perceiving it. At one point, for instance, Methuselah, tigation into Father Andrew’s murder as an attempt to relieve in a spot that was once occupied by a Civil War monument, her unrelenting fear. A final twist in the latter case shows a comments on the “fermenting connection among a renegade subtle appreciation of human nature and how relationships can Confederate general, his stallion, a methhead, and a hoary- become toxic. Overall, Annie is a wonderful fictional creation, haired gent babbling unrelated babbles. Obviously, my friend and one hopes that she and Angel become a classic husband- Willy the dashing detective was getting to me with his Jungian and-wife crime-solving team. synchronicities.” Different narrators, each with his or her own A thriller that offers a master class in suspense. style, swap around storytelling duties, providing checks on dif- ferent points of view as well as skillful revelations of charac- ter. It is somewhat disappointing when it’s revealed that a key THE THEORETICS to Clarissa’s character is repressed childhood trauma, which OF LOVE feels like an overused plot device. However, this is a relative Taylor, Joe quibble among so much inventive brio. NewSouth Books (376 pp.) An intelligent, deeply felt, quirky, and original novel $28.95 | $8.69 e-book | Sep. 3, 2019 that lives up to its ambitions. 978-1-58838-330-3
A forensic anthropologist encoun- ters a series of complicated interconnec- tions in this novel. Dr. Clarissa Circle, an English major– turned–forensic anthropologist, has a mantra: “No one ever touches anyone.” She insists on it as her guiding principle, but it’s often questioned by other char- acters and tested by events, which connect to one another in numerous ways. In 1999, at age 32, Clarissa begins her first post- doctoral job as a new professor at the University of Kentucky.
50 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | SAVE OUR SHIP MY SISTER’S MOTHER Ungar, Barbara A Memoir of War, Exile, The Ashland Poetry Press and Stalin’s Siberia (71 pp.) Urbikas, Donna Solecka $15.95 paper | Nov. 21, 2019 Univ. of Wisconsin (312 pp.) 978-0-912592-74-9 $26.95 | $19.95 paper | $11.99 e-book Apr. 27, 2016 A collection of 57 poems that sound 978-0-299-30850-6 alarms about current ecological, political, 978-0-299-30854-4 paper and cultural trends. Ungar (English/Coll. of Saint Rose; In this heart-wrenching debut mem- Immortal Medusa, 2015, etc.) provides oir, a mother and child survive Stalin’s helpful notes to explain her inspirations for this impressive work camp then struggle to find inner calm in America. volume of free verse, which includes transgressive female As a child growing up in 1950s Chicago, Urbikas longed for voices of the past and present; Cassandra, Emily Dickinson, a “normal” mom. Instead, her Polish-born mother, Janina, often and Audre Lorde make appearances. Alphabetical order is a told gruesome war stories and talked to herself in the mirror. But recurring theme, as is Morse code. The title poem makes ref- as Urbikas matured and suffered her own hardships, she began erence to rising, polluted seas; the placement of seven lines to understand her mother’s need to recount her past. On the of “SOS” in Morse code seems to form waves. Environmen- extremely cold morning of Feb. 10, 1940, Communist soldiers tal disasters are another urgent concern, as seen in “Endnotes pounded on Janina’s farmhouse door near Grodno, Poland, and to Coral Reefs” and “Naming the Animals,” a partial list of informed her—a young, single mother—that she was sentenced extinct species that ends with a gut punch: “Four species an to 10 years of hard labor. She and 5-year-old daughter Mira hour.” Language is also under attack, as revealed in “Elegy,” were stuffed into lice-ridden train cars and taken to a remote which alphabetically lists words eliminated from the Oxford logging camp in the Siberian wilderness. Fed little and plagued Junior Dictionary (“bluebell,” “buttercup”) and arrays them as if by vermin, disease, and blistering cold, Janina lugged a heavy ax they’re drifting away. In contrast, newly included words (“blog,” 4 miles to and from work every day, where she chopped thick “broadband”) are clustered in a solid block of text. Clever manip- branches off trees. Meanwhile, poor little Mira was left by her- ulation of language, space, and punctuation abounds. “Quoth self to wait in agonizing bread lines, often unsuccessfully. After the Queane” riffs on the letter Q, while “To You, U” explores years of torture, Janina and Mira—helped by a Polish army special issue: best books of 2019 the personal and linguistic history of Ungar’s initial. “Après officer who eventually married Janina—escaped to England Moi” offers 21 variations on the phrase “Let them eat cake”— and then America. Urbikas’ flashbacks are seamless as she alter- with “cake” replaced by evocative signifiers, such as “bump nates chapters between her mother’s and sister’s stories—writ- stocks,” “the lying press,” “tax returns,” “opiates,” and “paper ten in third person—versus her own first-person account. With towels.” Dystopian poems will resonate with many readers, many vivid sensory details—like “the grainy taste of…coarse rye such as “The Woman With a Live Cockroach in her Skull” and bread”—the author’s lyrical prose instantly transports readers its slippery preposition: “She wakes screaming / each morn- to the labor camp. This gripping page-turner is also filled with ing at the news.” “Man Bun Ken” is a humorous meditation on stark contrasts. For example, in the camp, Mira and Janina sleep the fate of the latest iteration of Barbie’s companion: “Future together on a dirty, bedbug-infested cot, and when Janina feels a archaeologists / may stumble upon his simulacra / & mistake rat scrabble across her chest, she can barely lift her tired arm to him for a shape-shifting god.” The book is full of keen insights heave it onto the floor. In contrast, one of Urbikas’ biggest wor- regarding the passage of time, whether one is attending a wed- ries is making the majorettes team in her American high school. ding with one’s first boyfriend, taking a nostalgic walk through A realistic depiction of the effects of evil, Janina’s and Mira’s the West Village, or observing a spider and her web. Overall, experiences are sometimes overwhelming. In one scene, a tiny Ungar suggests that language and memory are futile attempts girl drowns and nobody helps. to impose order on the chaos that surrounds us. A painfully beautiful portrayal of an indomitable, lov- A distress call that’s worth reading and heeding. ing mother’s survival.
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 51 Wagner-Wright’s creativity brings an outstanding story of courage and fortitude to life. two coins
TWO COINS FIND ME THEIR BONES Wagner-Wright, Sandra Wolf, Sara Wagner Wright Enterprises Entangled: Teen (400 pp.) (504 pp.) $17.99 | $7.99 e-book | Nov. 5, 2019 $17.99 paper | $4.99 e-book 978-1-64063-375-9 Feb. 1, 2019 978-0-9963845-4-4 In this second book of Wolf’s (Bring Me Their Hearts, 2018, etc.) fantasy/ In this riveting historical novel based romance series, a spirited, undead teen on true events, political tensions in a suffers the consequences of earlier perfidy. Scottish mission in 19th-century Calcutta, Nineteen-year-old Zera has revealed India, give rise to a sexual scandal. her true form. She’s “Heartless”—an Mary Pigot has been the superintendent of the Ladies’ Asso- unkillable human puppet in thrall to a witch. Her task was to ciation Female Mission in Calcutta for 10 years before the Rev. take Prince Lucien of Cavanos’ heart, but instead, she fell in love William Hastie arrives in 1879. Hastie, the principal of the Scot- with him; saving him, yes, but only after deceiving and betray- tish College, quickly finds fault with Pigot’s policies, practices, ing him. Now that she’s failed in her mission, Zera is expect- and mannerisms; for example, he feels that the orphanage that ing death when her witch severs the connection between them. she manages isn’t up to Scottish standards of cleanliness. Has- Instead, she finds herself beholden to a new mistress—Lucien’s tie and his comrades also don’t agree with her proselytizing sister, Princess Varia, who’s returned from the dead and is deter- approach: “educate first, convert later—if ever.” Nor does Pigot mined to enforce a peace between humans and witches. Varia share Hastie’s resentment toward members of the Free Church, seeks the Bone Tree, a peripatetic talisman through which she which broke away from the Church of Scotland in 1843. She’s will command an army of valkerax (gargantuan wyrms). To find quick to assist anyone who needs help—even members of the the Bone Tree, Zera—on Varia’s behalf—must find out its loca- local community whom Hastie finds questionable. The growing tion from a half-crazed valkerax. Yet if she does, what further friction between Pigot and Hastie culminates in a formal inves- pain may befall Lucien? Zera resolves to keep the prince safe, tigation of the superintendent followed by libelous claims that so no matter the cost to herself, she holds him at a distance. she’s abusive, neglectful, incompetent, and immoral. Due to her Despite her duplicity, Lucien still has feelings for her. If she does casual demeanor with male colleagues, her enemies accuse her of Varia’s bidding, Zera will be made whole again—and is any love “fornication” with an Indian man and a fellow missionary. To clear worth more than that? After the cliffhanger at the end of the last her name and take back her position, Pigot takes Hastie to court, installment, Wolf resumes her story with aplomb in a continua- leading to an unpredictable, sensational trial. Although the book tion that’s both faithful to the first novel yet also a clear progres- is set in the 1800s, its approach to political, religious, cultural, sion. The plot is twisty but not contrived, and the subject matter, and gender-related issues is surprisingly relevant. Wagner-Wright though emotionally heavy, never feels as such, as it’s lightened (Rama’s Labyrinth, 2015, etc.) paints India’s culture and climate in by Zera’s confident humor and breezy, present-tense narration. stunning detail: “March comes on like a slow fire. Another week, She’s a strong protagonist who’s at once willful and selfless and and we’ll have the humidity.” The realistic, intricate characters buoyed by an irrepressible bent for badinage. Wolf introduces take turns narrating the tale, panoramically revealing themselves some new characters in this book, and they take delight in Zera’s through their perceptions. At one point, for example, Hastie sassy nature, just as readers will. narrates, “I stop and take a breath, composing myself for this A seriously fun concoction of tragedy and melodrama. audience of fools.” The plot’s first half proceeds at an unhurried pace, but when the trial starts, its momentum resembles that of a competitive sporting event. Wagner-Wright’s extensive research NOW I SAY GOODBYE allows her to stay remarkably true to history while her creativity TO YOU brings an outstanding story of courage and fortitude to life. Wright, Brooks A powerful story with a vivid setting, compelling plot, Blurb (354 pp.) and multifaceted characters. $15.95 paper | Oct. 16, 2018 978-1-389-06047-2
A homeless man comes tantalizingly close to his old life and happiness only to question that joy. In this novel, Wright (The Sky Is Far Away, 2018, etc.) gives readers a home- less, nameless man trying to survive after the mother of all housing bubbles has burst. He is somewhere in Florida, breaking into foreclosed houses in search of food. He has bottomed out: He’s lost his job and his family and even
52 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | spent a year in prison. He has also lost all hope and wants only dealing with negativity) is an opportunity for a woman to come to be left alone. Then he comes upon a little girl—as hungry to terms with her brother’s recent fatal overdose. The author and thirsty as he is—in an abandoned house. Try as he might, fills the pages with indelible prose and wry humor: Emily of he cannot bring himself to desert her. He finds an abandoned “The Emilies” believes certain friendships are “as dutiful and cabin and a job with a guy who is scrapping a nearby defunct potentially pointless as washing dishes before putting them in amusement park, Fun-O-Rama (a wonderful metaphor). The the dishwasher.” Nevertheless, even the more comedic tales girl, whose name readers finally learn is Jessie, is severely trau- don’t forgo character insight. “Love Lasts Forever but a Tattoo matized and mute. Ever so slowly, she begins to trust the man Lasts Longer” features a decidedly unromantic wedding—near (her first words to him: “Are you Jesus?”). When she falls sick, he a prison visitation room with a priest who smells of hot dogs. gets her to a hospital. She recovers, but now the police are very But the bride may prefer that her new husband stay in jail (“I’ll interested in his relationship with this kid and in his past. Many know where he is every second”). The final work, “Them,” is the more things happen, but it is his need for Jessie that drives it collection’s highlight. In it, Kate is shocked to learn that her les- all. The ending is artistically risky but truer than the conclusion bian best friend, Taylor, now identifies as genderqueer and goes readers will probably crave. Wright is a flat-out wonderful writer. by the pronoun they. The absorbing story earnestly examines The prose is crisp (“Unhappy should be a weather forecast like both Kate and Taylor, as the two must decide how this change rain or snow”), the details spot-on, and the slow development will impact their lifelong friendship. meticulous. The nameless man—the first-person narrator—is Potent, unforgettable tales and razor-sharp writing. an unforgettable character, always talking about the stories in life, like the “I Work Out and Exercise” and “Never Feed a Stray Animal” tales. He is in love with his bitterness but, try as he THE LAST LETTER might, can’t excise his basic decency. This painful novel delivers Yarros, Rebecca heartbreak—but no sentimentality—and consummate thauma- Entangled: Amara (432 pp.) turgy or, in the narrator’s words, “I’m both the magician and $10.57 paper | $7.99 e-book the trick.” Feb. 26, 2019 This tale of two survivors should move you, cajole you, 978-1-64063-533-3 upset you, and seduce you. A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and DIFFICULT PEOPLE a chance at true love in this novel. special issue: best books of 2019 Stories Beckett Gentry is surprised when Wright, Catriona his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie Nightwood Editions (256 pp.) gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by $19.95 paper | $13.99 e-book his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He Oct. 20, 2018 is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single 978-0-88971-339-0 mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Soli- tude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They Eclectic characters struggle with begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only iden- fluctuating careers and relationships in tify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death dur - this collection of short stories. ing a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had When an unemployed English requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in teacher in “Content Moderator” is desperate for work, an old love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and high school friend has a job for her. But evaluating disturb- risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that ing online images and videos that people have reported may he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and be more than the unnamed narrator can handle. Seemingly Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commit - innocuous individuals in Wright’s (Table Manners, 2017) power- ment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a ful book often find themselves in arduous circumstances. In romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the “Lean into the Mic,” for example, Amanda has been perform- adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the ing amateur stand-up comedy for two years. But the perpetually letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. anxious woman isolates herself from others, compounding her Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emo- already precarious marriage. Similarly, Angela, the titular, self- tionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well- professed “Major Prude,” is nonplussed when her wilder friend drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett Carla and her roommate/stepbrother, Liam, hook up. But the and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experi- aftermath may threaten her relationships with both. These ences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett profound tales typically showcase resilient characters. Chris- never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impul- sie, in “Uncle Harris,” faces off against her estranged father’s sively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage brother, who she believes is plotting to take away her younger ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is siblings. In the title story, a mandatory work event (a “talk” on especially adept at developing the characters through subtle
| kirkus.com | best of indie | 15 december 2019 | 53 Yocum skillfully varies the pace throughout this thriller and doesn’t shrink from brutal scenes of killings. valley of spies
but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. problem, about to become a grandfather, and still haunted by Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that his own horrific childhood. alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters A taut, thoughtful thriller; third in a series but also they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost works as a stand-alone. every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere. A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent charac- ters and a satisfying romance.
VALLEY OF SPIES Yocum, Keith Time Tunnel Media (328 pp.) $11.97 paper | $2.99 e-book May 12, 2019 978-0-9978708-3-1
Just months into early retirement from the CIA’s Office of the Inspector General, a former investigator accepts an agency contract to hunt for a missing per- son, one who knows his darkest secrets. In Yocum’s (A Dark Place, 2018, etc.) third—and best yet—Dennis Cunningham thriller, Dennis finds that retire- ment and relocation to Perth, home of longtime girlfriend and Aussie policewoman Judy White, offers him a lifestyle so relaxed that it bores him. A mandatory meeting with the director of the CIA, whose flight has a stopover in Aus - tralia, livens things up. The director explains that Dr. Jane Forrester, a therapist approved to treat agency members, disappeared while visiting New Zealand. Key members of the CIA determine a specific foreign country is responsible for the abduction, and a counterstrike against that nation is likely. But before authorizing the attack, the director gives Dennis, who has a zest and a rep for tracking people down, two weeks to find Forrester—or discover what happened to her—and to confirm agency intel. The director explains there are lots of reasons why an adversary would want to get their hands on the therapist—she “knows too much about her patients. She knows their weaknesses, their vulnerabili- ties.” She, in fact, knew Dennis’—she had been his therapist. The search for Forrester reconnects rough-around-the-edges Dennis with his former boss, Louise Nordland. The “tough, diminutive” ex-SEAL and Dennis had issues with each other in the past, but soon (sorry, Judy) sexual tension between the pair ramps up. Yocum skillfully varies the pace throughout this thriller and doesn’t shrink from brutal scenes of killings. Dialogue rings true, and descriptions suit the genre: “He had a pronounced underbite that pushed his chin forward into a reptilian face.” Yocum metes out backstory organically, and his nonstandard characters range from a confident, sexy, blonde amputee to Dennis himself—known for a drinking
54 | 15 december 2019 | best of indie | kirkus.com | fiction These titles earned the Kirkus Star: POSTSCRIPT Ahern, Cecelia Grand Central Publishing (304 pp.) GREENWOOD by Michael Christie...... 60 $27.00 | Feb. 11, 2020 978-1-5387-4659-2 JUST AFTER THE WAVE by Sandrine Collette; trans. by Alison Anderson...... 62 Seven years after Holly’s husband’s THE ANDROMEDA EVOLUTION by Daniel H. Wilson...... 62 death, fate brings her a strange opportu- nity to retrace her early days of grief. But THE AMERICAN PEOPLE by Larry Kramer...... 72 will she discover that she hasn’t moved on after all? THE GLASS HOTEL by Emily St. John Mandel...... 74 Ahern (Lyrebird, 2016, etc.) returns
SAINT X by Alexis Schaitkin...... 85 to the story of her debut novel, P.S., I Love You (which inspired young adult a movie, as well), in which Gerry Kennedy left 10 letters for EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS by Peter Swanson...... 95 Holly to find after his death—10 letters that eased her passage out of emotional paralysis. This sequel finds Holly building a THE CITY WE BECAME by N.K. Jemisin...... 98 new life, working at her sister’s vintage clothing store, biking the streets of Dublin after work each night, selling the house THE PRINCE OF BROADWAY by Joanna Shupe...... 100 Gerry and she bought, and sharing the story of Gerry’s letters THE WORST BEST MAN by Mia Sosa...... 100 on her sister’s podcast. She’s found love with Gabriel, a burly yet sensitive tree surgeon. They are even ready to move in together. When the podcast goes public, however, a group of terminally ill listeners asks her to teach them how to write letters to their soon-to-be-bereaved loved ones, too. As Holly struggles with whether to lead the P.S. I Love You Club, fearing that she will slip back toward her grief-stricken days, she has to confront whether she has really committed to Gabriel. But Ginika, an illiterate teen mom dying of cervical cancer, tugs hard at Holly’s heartstrings with her plea to teach her to write just one letter to her daughter, and Holly capitulates. As Holly encounters each of her newfound companions—ranging from a young man in remission to an elderly man in swift, emphysema-wracked decline—Ahern opens more doors to Holly’s lingering grief, pushing her to expand her social connections. But with Holly mentoring the writers rather than reacting to letters meant for her, Ahern’s tale pulls its emotional punch. This well-intentioned but disappointingly sentimental sequel will delight only die-hard fans.
THE CITY WE BECAME Jemisin, N.K. Orbit (448 pp.) $28.00 | Mar. 24, 2020 978-0-316-50984-8
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 55 FOLLOW ME truly alone?” Her popular account and active online persona have Barber, Kathleen a downside, though: She’s got a stalker, one who is thrilled that she Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster has moved to his town. Unfortunately, this is not the only implau- (352 pp.) sible coincidence you’ll find here. Barber does provide a wide $27.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 range of suspects to keep the reader guessing. Is Audrey’s stalker 978-1-9821-0198-5 the creepy son of her landlord? An old friend of Cat’s or one of Cat’s co-workers? Or someone else entirely? Cat, meanwhile, has An Instagram influencer discovers the her own secrets and insecurities to hide. Narrated by Audrey and dangers of social media when she’s terror- Cat and occasionally an ominous Him, the novel moves at a swift ized by a stalker after moving to a new city. pace but requires a serious suspension of disbelief. Would a young Audrey Miller lives her best life online woman really neglect to call the police when she catches a thief in in Barber’s (Are You Sleeping, 2017) second her apartment? Still, despite such unlikely behavior, Barber invests psychological thriller, a cautionary tale about the perils of social her readers in the outcome. media. Audrey has just left her beloved Manhattan for Washington, A sometimes-implausible thriller that still keeps you D.C., to start a new job as head of social media at a Smithsonian guessing. art museum. She’s got longtime close friend Cat in the neighbor- hood, and Cat is always available for moral support despite her busy job as an attorney. Audrey also has old college boyfriend Nick, REMEMBERED whom she can call when the nights get a little too lonely. But her Battle-Felton, Yvonne millions of Instagram followers are what sustain her: “With a mil- Blackstone (254 pp.) lion friends at the palm of your hand, how could anyone ever feel $26.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 978-1-9826-2712-6
Her son’s lynching during a 1910 streetcar strike takes a Philadelphia woman on a painful journey through her enslaved past. As she sits by the hospital bedside of her dying son, Edward, Spring talks with the ghost of her sister Tempe, his birth mother. “I’m taking him home,” Tempe says, and she wants Spring to “lead him home” by telling Edward his family’s story. With the help of a scrapbook of newspaper clippings and personal testimo- nies she has collected, Spring begins with the story of Ella, a free woman kidnapped from Philadelphia in 1843 to lift the “curse” that keeps enslaved women on the Walker plantation barren. On the plantation, Ella develops an intimate, fraught relationship with Agnes, whose mother has been preventing pregnancies rather than see more children born enslaved. Nonetheless, Ella and Agnes both get pregnant; stymied in an attempt to escape, Ella drowns herself on the morning Spring and Tempe are born. The power of these scenes is muffled by several murky plot developments that flag a debut author’s imperfect control of her material. Battle- Felton emulates Beloved by mingling a stark depiction of slavery’s cruelty with a folkloric portrait of African American culture, then adding an angry ghost, but she lacks Toni Morrison’s mastery of the complex narrative. However, the novel comes to a strong fin- ish after an apocalyptic denouement on the Walker plantation at the end of the Civil War. Spring heads North with Tempe’s infant and is inspired to begin her scrapbook by fellow refugees’ stories of loved ones lost in the postwar chaos. In Philadelphia, she bitterly confront the limits of African American freedom in post-bellum society, limits also underscored in interpolated scenes showing how Edward got entangled in the strike. A lyrical vision of family reunion brings the novel to a moving conclusion. Flawed but impressively ambitious and keening with emotion.
56 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | MALICROIX leaving, for three months. His ensuing stay makes up the bulk of Bosco, Henri this novel by Bosco, a writer long revered in his native France and Trans. by Zonana, Joyce who died in 1976. Bosco was nominated four times for the Nobel New York Review Books (288 pp.) Prize in literature; this is widely regarded as his magnum opus. It $17.95 paper | Feb. 25, 2020 is a slow and quiet novel given to long descriptions of wind and 978-1-68137-410-9 rain and the Rhône. Bosco never uses one word when, as the say- ing goes, he could use 20. Martial hasn’t brought so much as a book A young man travels to a remote to occupy himself. He sinks into his solitary thought. “Everything island to claim his inheritance. around me was silent,” he says. “Nothing suggests unlimited space Martial Mégremut can trace his heri- like silence. I entered that space. Sounds color an expanse and tage to two families: the gentle, even placid endow it with a kind of sonorous body.” And so on. After a while, Mégremuts, whose name he bears, and Martial’s dreams become indistinguishable from his waking life. the mysteriously wild Malicroix. When he There seem to be other figures on the island: Are they really there, hears that his great uncle, Cornélius de Malicroix, whom he has or are they ghosts? Bosco doesn’t provide many hints. Readers par- never met, has not only died, but also left him a small inheritance, tial to philosophical tangents will find much to enjoy here. Others he is intrigued: This Malicroix lived for more than a decade on a may find themselves stranded. small island in the Rhône, with little human contact. Martial goes Bosco’s novel is a work of tremendous lyricism, but his to the island, where he finds Balandran, a rough shepherd who meditations can also grow ponderous. served Malicroix, and Dromiols, an oddly hostile notary who has settled Malicroix’s accounts. Dromiols informs Martial that in
order to keep the inheritance, he must stay on the island, without young adult
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 57 THE THIRD TO DIE three days apart, every three years, has returned. With only Brennan, Allison six days to identify and catch the culprit, and only three days Harlequin MIRA (464 pp.) until he kills again, the team is “on a very tight clock.” What $26.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 should be on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense turns into a slog 978-0-7783-0944-4 marred by pedestrian prose (“she heard nothing except birds chirping…”), a convoluted plot slowed down by a focus on dull In Brennan’s (Nothing To Hide, 2019, bureaucratic infighting, and flat character development. The etc.) new series launch, a hard-edged sole exception is the vividly drawn Kara. Smart, angry, defensive, female LAPD undercover cop and an complicated, she fascinates both the reader and Matt (“Kara ambitious FBI special agent race to catch Quinn was different—and he couldn’t put his finger on why”). a serial killer before he strikes again. Inside this bloated novel is a lean thriller starring a On paid administrative leave since strong and damaged protagonist who’s as compelling as an incident with a suspect went wrong, a restless Detective Lisbeth Salander. Kara Quinn is on an early morning run in her hometown of Lib- erty Lake, Washington, when she discovers the flayed corpse of a young nurse. In D.C., FBI Special Agent in Charge Mathias Costa is staffing the new Mobile Response Team, designed to cover rural areas underserved by law enforcement, when his boss assigns Matt and analyst Ryder Kim to Liberty Lake. The notorious Triple Killer, who murders three random victims,
58 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | THE CHILL sirens wailing in the distance, the man warns Cassie: “Let her Carson, Scott die, and I’ll let you live.” He then scrambles back to the road Emily Bestler/Atria (384 pp.) and flees in Cassie’s van. Using mug shots, Cassie identifies the $27.00 | Feb. 11, 2020 thief and would-be killer as Carver Sweet, who is wanted for 978-1-9821-0459-7 poisoning his wife. The Santa Rosa police assure Cassie of her safety, but the next evening, her husband, Sam, vanishes while In the pseudonymous Carson’s debut, trick-or-treating with their 6-year-old daughter, Audrey. Hours something uncanny has awakened in the later, he sends texts apologizing and confessing to an affair, swelling depths of upstate New York’s but although it’s true that Sam and Cassie have been fighting, Chilewaukee Reservoir, aka “The Chill.” she suspects foul play—particularly given the previous night’s It’s been nearly 80 years since the events. Cassie files a report with the cops, but they dismiss her town of Galesburg was flooded to build concerns, leaving Cassie to investigate on her own. After a con- the Chilewaukee, and the town didn’t go easy. A small contin- voluted start, Chavez embarks on a paranoia-fueled thrill ride, gent of people rebelled, leading to shocking acts of violence. escalating the stakes while exploiting readers’ darkest domestic Since then, an otherworldly evil has been waiting for the right fears. The far-fetched plot lacks cohesion and relies too heav- time to take revenge against those responsible for destroying ily on coincidence to be fully satisfying, but the reader will be the town, which, on a clear day, can still be glimpsed just under invested in learning the Larkin family’s fate through to the too- the surface of the Chill. Opportunity presents itself in the form pat conclusion. of Mick Fleming, chief engineer with the state’s division of dam Chavez delivers a fraught if flawed page-turner that safety, whose grandfather designed the dam. During an inspec- attempts too many twists.
tion, Mick’s concerns for the safety and integrity of the Chill— young adult especially in light of recent unrelenting rain—are eclipsed by the appearance of a strange photographer who looks like a figure out of time, and Mick soon finds himself not quite in his right mind. Meanwhile, Gillian Mathers, an officer with the Depart- ment of Environmental Protection Police who has old familial ties to Galesburg, is sucked in when she responds to a report of an inexplicable murder at the dam that turns out to be something far stranger. Gillian, Mick, and others are soon drawn in by an insidious force, and inevitably, the sins of the past tragically col- lide with the present. The premise brims with creepy potential, and readers will learn more than they ever thought they wanted to know about dams and the challenges of harnessing a relent- less force of nature that is often taken for granted. However, the meandering plot and muddled mythology eventually give way to scenes from a disaster film, with a thinly fleshed-out cast failing to provide the necessary emotional heft. A waterlogged ghost tale.
NO BAD DEED Chavez, Heather Morrow/HarperCollins (320 pp.) $26.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 978-0-06-293617-2
A good Samaritan incurs a psycho- path’s wrath in this debut thriller. Veterinarian Cassie Larkin is heading home after a 12-hour shift when someone darts in front of her car, causing her to dump her energy drink. As she pulls over to mop up the mess, her headlights illuminate a couple having a physical altercation. Cassie calls 911, but before help arrives, the man tosses the woman down an embankment. Ignoring the dispatcher’s instructions, Cassie exits the vehicle and inter- venes, preventing the now-unconscious woman’s murder. With
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 59 Christie takes us to the end of the world and shows how we got there. greenwood
GREENWOOD it’s because she descends not from the Greenwoods but from a Christie, Michael founder of the all-encompassing Holtcorp, owner of Greenwood Hogarth/Crown (528 pp.) and much else, by way of her grandmother Willow. (Note all the $28.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 woody names.) Therein hangs a tale that Christie staircases his nar- 978-1-984822-00-0 rative down to reach, generation by generation, one in which Jake’s antecedents love and admire the forests in which they dwell but Canadian novelist Christie (If I Fall, still set into motion the machines that will one day ruin the Earth. If I Die, 2015, etc.) takes us to the end of Willow is a free-spirited hippie whom we meet in the early 1970s, the world and shows how we got there. newly indignant to discover that the man she supposes is her father “No one knows better than a dendrolo- has derived his considerable fortune from having felled more old- gist that it’s the forests that matter.” It’s growth forest than “wind, woodpeckers, and God—put together.” 2038, and Jacinda “Jake” Greenwood is a But Willow—well, suffice it to say that the matter of her paternity guide in one of the last stands of old-growth forest in the world, a isn’t at all clear-cut even if the forests her progenitors control have place to which wealthy eco-tourists, fleeing the dust storms and been. Christie skillfully teases out the details in a page-turner of intense heat wrought by “the Great Withering” elsewhere, come a saga that complements sylvan books such as Sometimes a Great to spend a few days in a tiny patch of green. One visitor, a for- Notion and The Overstory, one that closes with Jake’s realization mer fiance named Silas, informs Jake, long an orphan, that she’s that, tangled lineage and all, a family is less a tree than “a collection more than just an employee: The whole shebang belongs to her, of individuals pooling their resources through intertwined roots.” and not just because she bears the same name as the Greenwood Beguilingly structured, elegantly written: eco-apoca- Arboreal Cathedral to which those well-heeled pilgrims flock. No, lyptic but with hope that somehow we’ll make it.
A thriller MIKE BROGAN
“A frighteningly realistic, entertaining story. Well-developed characters in a convincing real-world menace!” – Kirkus Reviews
“Compulsive new page-turner from a Writer’s Digest award-winner. Suspense from a master...” – Midwest Book Review
“Tense and engaging journey through corporate espionage and revenge. A timely mystery thriller.” – Foreword Reviews
“Buckle up for a wild ride!” – Loren D. Estleman, Four-time Shamus Award Winner
How to order: Ingram, Amazon, mikebroganbooks.com
60 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | THE TWO LIVES OF laugh…be alone together, to pretend no one else had ever seen LOUIS & LOUISE [them].” But when Corisande jumps into the freezing water, Cohen, Julie dives to the bottom, and drowns, Amelia is left to face the Orion/Trafalgar (320 pp.) world alone: “The wind swept through the Cartwright School $15.99 paper | Feb. 25, 2020 and scattered us, leaves, across the sky. I went to a city and… 978-1-4091-7984-9 found a room to sleep in, floorboards where I planted memories of you.” Coldiron’s language, which dances between poetry and One life takes off in two directions in prose, retains the soul of its source material while evoking the Cohen’s (Dear Thing, 2016, etc.) provoca- fragmentary nature of a young life in mourning. Her imagery, tive novel. meanwhile, conjures a sensuous, gothic atmosphere—one as In 1978, a baby is born to Peggy and haunting and ubiquitous for the reader as Corisande’s ghost is Irving Alder in the little paper mill town in Amelia’s life. Most powerful, perhaps, is Coldiron’s ability to of Casablanca, Maine. In one universe, the baby is a girl named capture Amelia’s yearning for the physical touch of a body that is Louise; in a parallel one, a boy named Louis. Apart from gen- no more: “And there you are...your skin rosy as a peach…I crawl der, the two kids are exactly alike. They share “eye color, hair and I clutch at your calves and I crack open my heart to howl at color, the curve of their smile, myopia, a mole on their thigh, a the tree that curves over the gravestones, you, glimmering, the propensity to hay fever, their future love for salty food and sci- thing in my arms a flat stone carved with your name, Corisande.” ence fiction.” But the difference in gender means a difference in This story, however, is not only Amelia’s, and chapters narrated the way they’re treated by those around them, including their by Corisande convey her own desperation to bridge the gap best friends, twins Allie and Benny, and thus in the way their between the world of bodies and that of spirits. While not every
lives unfold. Cohen (Together, 2017, etc.) jumps nimbly between young adult the two stories, starting with a brief section on the characters’ childhoods and then leaping to 2010, when Louise is a single mother working as a teacher in New York and Louis, on the edge of leaving a troubled marriage, has just finished writing his first novel. Both are bisexual, and both head back to Casablanca when they learn that their mother is dying of cancer. There, they come to terms with the differing events that led them to leave the town precipitously just after high school graduation. While the book’s dialogue can be stilted and its plot occasion- ally melodramatic, Cohen explores her premise with curios- ity and the kind of openness that recognizes that both those identified as male and those as female are limited by restrictive gender definitions. As compelling as the premise is, this is never simply a novel of ideas but a story about particular people in a specific place and time. Especially intriguing and carefully worked out are the Lous’ relationships with Allie and Benny, with some aspects of those relationships shaped by gender and others transcending it. Bound to prompt fruitful discussion.
CEREMONIALS Coldiron, Katharine KERNPUNKT Press (134 pp.) $14.99 paper | Feb. 11, 2020 978-1-73232-515-9
In Coldiron’s (After Gardens, 2019) haunting novella, inspired by the Flor- ence + the Machine album of the same name, two young women struggle to accept their lost love after death tears them apart. Two months before their graduation from The Cartwright School for Young Ladies Amelia and Corisande, a young cou- ple, take a boat out on the lake—their quiet spot to “scream or
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 61
An atmospheric and often terrifying roller-coaster ride with (literally) sky-high stakes. the andromeda evolution
reader will instantly take to Coldiron’s heightened language—it world has been erased. For as far as 11-year-old Louie can see, is sometimes difficult to settle into the dreamscape—the emo- the once-familiar valleys, towns, and even the closest neigh- tions of this passionate love story always feel sincere. bors have been inundated with water, the result of an apoca- A gothic novella that captures the sensuality of both lyptic tidal wave that has left him, his parents, and his eight love and grief. siblings stranded on an island that used to be merely the top of a hill. At first the family’s survival seems miraculous, but the waters are still rising, and, as the land they perch on shrinks JUST AFTER THE WAVE and resources become scarce, the parents know they must seek Collette, Sandrine higher ground or risk drowning. The father estimates that with Trans. by Anderson, Alison 12 days of hard rowing they can reach an area likely to still be Europa Editions (304 pp.) above water, but, with only one boat, there will not be enough $18.00 paper | Jan. 14, 2020 room to carry all the children and all the supplies they will need 978-1-60945-567-5 to survive the dangerous passage. The parents must make the devastating choice of whom to leave behind and settle on the In the aftermath of an environmental three middle children, Louie, Perrine, and Noah, intending to apocalypse, a family must make a terrible return for them as soon as they reach land. At this point the decision, the consequences of which will narrative splits. On the island, the three children—ages 11 to 8— reverberate through the rest of their lives. struggle with the implications of their abandonment as their In French author Collette’s (Nothing supplies dwindle and the water continues to rise. On the boat, but Dust, 2018) second book translated into English, half the the siblings and the parents grapple with the consequences of their new identities as, alternatively, the ones who were chosen and the ones who were forced to choose. In tense, tightly con- trolled, and genuinely devastating prose, Collette explores the existential dilemma of pitting the good of the many against the good of the few with both nuance and great linguistic beauty. In a time when families across the globe are being forced to make very similar choices due to war, forced migration, and the dep- redations of climate change, Collette’s evocation of the human reality of this philosophical logic puzzle is a timely and fiercely excoriating narrative. A wrenching exploration of the consequences of survival.
THE ANDROMEDA EVOLUTION Crichton, Michael & Wilson, Daniel H. Harper/HarperCollins (384 pp.) $29.99 | Nov. 12, 2019 978-0-06-247327-1
Over 50 years after an extraterrestrial microbe wiped out a small Arizona town, something very strange has appeared in the Amazon jungle in Wilson’s follow-up to Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain. The microparticle’s introduction to Earth in 1967 was the disastrous result of an American weapons research program. Before it could be contained, Andromeda killed all but two people in tiny Piedmont, Arizona; during testing after the disaster, AS-1 evolved and escaped into the atmosphere. Proj- ect Eternal Vigilance was quickly set up to scan for any possible new outbreaks of Andromeda. Now, an anomaly with “signa- ture peaks” closely resembling the original Andromeda Strain has been spotted in the heart of the Amazon, and a Wildfire Alert is issued. A diverse team is assembled: Nidhi Vedala, an MIT nanotechnology expert born in a Mumbai slum; Harold
62 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com |
Time to make room on that must-read list.
Heirs of Deceits Elizabeth Reinach Sir Gilbert Stanley shocked his social class The Cost of Living by first employing his illegitimate children as servants, and later acknowledging A Novel them. Murder and chaos followed. D. L. Huntington $20.17 paperback 978-1-9845-8983-5 also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibrispublishing.co.uk Loving the Amazon Rhonda Wells is a liberal journalist who has just graduated from college. Despite growing up wealthy, she holds a John Andrew Donix distain for the rich. When Rhonda is assigned to cover Described as ‘raw and poetic’, Loving the plight of the homeless, she unwittingly uncovers a the Amazon delivers a sexual odyssey in secret cult society intent on elevating the elite at the erotic and confronting detail, involving homeless peoples’ expense. Will she find a way to save the passion, suffering and truth of a the homeless? fractured love. $13.99 paperback $20.69 paperback 978-1-5320-7090-7 978-1-9845-0442-5 also available in ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.iuniverse.com www.xlibris.com.au
Multicultural Diversity Blue Scorpion - Last Flight young adult Opening our Hearts of the Ancients REV. DR. PATRICIA ANN WILSON-CONE Karen S Lee This book will help you to have an Simas and its allies become embroiled expanded yet critical view on the subject in a war. Evanna must return to her of multiculturalism. You will begin to people, revive old alliances and take the explore new meaning to the terms treacherous path that lies before her. “multiculturalism” and “diversity.” $20.69 paperback $19.99 paperback 978-1-7960-0249-2 978-1-9845-7224-0 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.com.au www.xlibris.com Did Extraterrestrials Bring Us Life and Death to Intelligence on Our Planet? The History of Overcoming Disease A Scientist Speculates on the and What It Tells Us About Our Present Sparse Information Available Increasing Life Expectancy as a Result of Present Day Actions from Prehistory John Durbin Husher John F. Caddy Ph.D. Life And Death takes the reader through The author is convinced of the existence the history of the development of of advanced extraterrestrial species in this medicine and details present day methods. galaxy and beyond, and finds evidence $24.95 paperback for the impacts we experienced from 978-1-4917-7780-0 them while being led towards civilization. also available in hardcover & ebook $22.95 paperback www.iuniverse.com 978-1-5434-9374-0 also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibrispublishing.co.uk
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| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 63
Odhiambo, a Kenyan xenogeologist; Peng Wu, a Chinese doc- manage to spell.” But just getting there puts eight-year-old Tracy tor and taikonaut; Sophie Kline, a paraplegic astronaut and in mortal peril. In “The Stateway Condo Gentrification,” teen- nanorobotics expert based on the International Space Station; age Tracy—still the smart one—realizes that in some ways living and, a last-minute addition, roboticist James Stone, son of Dr. in the projects is “no different than living in those condos that Jeremy Stone from The Andromeda Strain. They must journey weren’t more than four miles north of us on Michigan Avenue.… into the deepest part of the jungle to study and hopefully You could see the entire city from our fourteenth-floor ramp.” It contain the dire threat that the anomaly seemingly poses to turns out to be a prescient observation. humanity. But the jungle has its own dangers, and it’s not long Drain writes with fierce warmth about characters cop- before distrust and suspicion grip the team. They’ll need to ing with crushing racism and poverty in this impressive come together to take on what waits for them inside a mysteri- debut. ous structure that may not be of this world. Setting the story over the course of five days, Wilson Robopocalypse( , 2011, etc.) combines the best elements of hard SF novels and techno- HOUSE ON FIRE thrillers, using recovered video, audio, and interview tran- Finder, Joseph scripts to shape the narrative, with his own robotics expertise Dutton (384 pp.) adding flavor and heft. Despite a bit of acronym overload, this $28.00 | Jan. 21, 2020 is an atmospheric and often terrifying roller-coaster ride with 978-1-101-98584-7 (literally) sky-high stakes that pays plenty of homage to The Andromeda Strain while also echoing the spirit and mood of Private investigator Nick Heller Crichton’s other works, such as Jurassic Park and Congo. Add uncovers disturbing truths about a big more than a few twists and exciting set pieces (especially in pharmaceutical company after the fatal the finale) to the mix, and you’ve got a winner. overdose of a war buddy addicted to its A thrilling and satisfying sequel to the 1969 classic. hugely profitable opioid, Oxydone. Heller’s introduction to Kimball Pharmaceutical comes through Sukie Kimball—the conscience- STATEWAY’S GARDEN stricken daughter of the company’s founder—who approaches Drain, Jasmon him at his friend Sean’s funeral. Sukie hires Heller to break into Random House (288 pp.) her billionaire father Conrad’s home office after his retirement $26.00 | Jan. 21, 2020 party and lift documents that reveal Oxydone failed its clini- 978-1-984818-16-4 cal trials—proof that the drug was put on the market with full knowledge of its dangers. Heller, who attends the party in the A collection of linked short stories family’s house as Sukie’s boyfriend, is surprised to meet some- takes readers inside life in Chicago’s one he knows—Maggie Benson, a one-time flame from his stint Stateway Gardens projects. in Afghanistan, who’s tonight wearing a wig and calling herself This debut book is set mostly in the Hildy. When he sneaks down the hallway at 2 a.m. to try to find 1980s in one of the South Side’s largest, the papers, he finds Maggie on a similar mission, having been most segregated housing projects. State- hired by another Kimball sibling to steal Conrad Kimball’s will. way Gardens’ eight high-rise apartment blocks (built in the 1950s Following a murder on the grounds and other setbacks, Sukie and demolished by 2007) formed a neighborhood notorious for calls him off the case. But, determined to avenge Sean, who grinding poverty, violence, drug use, and crime. Drain, who grew saved his life in Afghanistan, Heller puts himself in harm’s way up in Chicago, writes intimately of the human experiences of in continuing his pursuit of those responsible for serial Oxy- those who lived there. The stories are linked by a group of charac- done deaths. Though Finder’s latest thriller is well timed and ters who are relatives and friends of a pair of brothers, Tracy and well intended, it lacks the punch of his best efforts. The plot, Jacob. Tracy narrates several of the stories, beginning with “B.B. usually his strong suit, is wobbly (wouldn’t Heller be more than Sauce,” which takes place when he’s 6 years old. He’s the younger mildly surprised by Maggie’s presence?), leading one to believe brother, “my mother’s smart child, but Jacob was the handsome that sticking to what Heller refers to as “the Agatha Christie one with the precious button nose and eyelashes that flapped like aspect” of the case might not have been a bad thing. dove wings.” Their rivalry will play out for years. Neither boy’s A drug thriller with too few thrills. father is in the picture, and several of the stories revolve around the heartbreaking irony of a single mother who works so many hours and jobs to support her children that she has no time to be with them. For Tracy, though, that’s just one of the realities of his world. It’s a world so harshly limited that in “Wet Paper Grass,” Tracy, Jacob, and their friend Jameel undertake a harrowing jour- ney just to hang out on a community college campus miles away: “It was our summer resort….We imagined ourselves as those rich North Side white kids being sent to European cities we’d never
64 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com |
Because a novel is worth a thousand tweets.
My Journey Back to Heaven Unleash Your Natural Talent Gabriel’s Story A Logical Pathway to Sports Success C. L. Rugg Eugene Joseph McConnin Archangel Gabriel becomes a human, Unleash Your Natural Talent: A Logical with no memory of his past but has angel Pathway to Sports Success will show powers. He must learn how to survive you how to expand your potential by his dual nature and recall his unknown developing natural talent to exceed previous life. conventional expectations. $28.99 paperback $13.79 paperback 978-1-7283-1191-3 978-1-7960-0466-3 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.com www.xlibris.com.au Origin of the Follower and Intrigue at 404 His New Actions Appalling Street About an Action Character with George S. Haines Unique Capabilities In his mystery novel, Intrigue at 404 John Durbin Husher Appalling Street, George S. Haines pens Axel Tressler is just your ordinary biology a story with a dramatic and unexpected teacher in a California college—that is conclusion that will leave the reader until the U.S. Agency calls on him as The surprised, amazed and smiling. Follower to solve a major problem. $23.99 paperback young adult $20.99 paperback 978-1-5462-3395-4 978-1-5320-1020-0 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.com www.iuniverse.com A Unique Life at Sea Proud Gods and Commodores Captain Peter Skog James McMillan Captain Peter Skog shares his Proud Gods and Commodores is a experiences sailing in Antarctica as a collection of poetry and tales as well, long time chief officer on board the MS written in a captivating but modern epic Lindblad Explorer the ship that pioneered style that immerses and carries the reader expedition cruising in Antarctica. like ancient classics. $64.86 paperback $31.99 paperback 978-1-7283-8805-2 978-1-7283-0636-0 also available in ebook also available in ebook www.authorhouse.co.uk www.authorhouse.com
Modern Catholic Concerns Hoo Lee Jing (Fox Fairy) Peter Mazurek A Novel Modern Catholic Concerns reviews Margaret Zee selected biblical evidence for and against Hoo Lee Jing records the final days of the proposition of God’s existence legendary Old Peking—the enchanted and divinity with an assessment of the city, which Eve Freeman revisits in her persuasive value of this evidence. quest for purpose in her life. $27.59 paperback $20.99 paperback 978-1-7960-0576-9 978-1-5462-7266-3 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.com.au www.authorhouse.com
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| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 65 THIEF RIVER FALLS one who tells her not to make things hard on herself because Freeman, Brian “all they want is the boy.” For Lisa, there seems to be no escape Thomas & Mercer (317 pp.) from the “Dark Star” she has been living under since two car $24.95 | $15.95 paper | Feb. 1, 2020 accidents, a stroke, and a suicide claimed everyone in her fam- 978-1-5420-9336-1 ily but her twin brother—who hasn’t been heard from in years. 978-1-5420-9338-5 paper Even if Lisa does give the runaway boy and the boy in the book the same name, she seems largely oblivious to the ties between After a runaway boy shows up at her her fiction and her reality. That’s odd considering the pains home in rural Minnesota, thriller writer Freeman (The Crooked Street, 2019, etc.) takes to link them via Lisa Power is pulled into a murder plot excerpts of Lisa’s novel. His own plot is both shaky and stale, that is eerily similar to the one in her characterizations are not his strong suit, and he seems to have breakthrough bestseller. little understanding of how young boys speak. The frightened boy, who is about 10 years old, is unable to A workmanlike thriller ruled by clichés and missed say what he is running from because he can’t remember any- connections. thing, including his name. A former nurse, the now famous Lisa takes him in, naming him Purdue (it’s from a French word for “lost,” she explains). She also gave that name to the boy in her bestseller, in which bad guys bury him alive after he witnesses a killing. As bits and pieces of the real-life boy’s memory return and the threat to him becomes clear, Lisa encounters cops who are not good and friends who are not trustworthy—including
66 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | Crisp pacing, complex plotting, and a sympathetic good guy all make for a most satisfying read. too close to home
WHEN YOU SEE ME closed to the public. A New York politician abuses his office, Gardner, Lisa and McGrath threatens to toss him off a roof unless he agrees Dutton (400 pp.) to make amends to people he’s hurt. “My name’s not impor - $27.00 | Jan. 28, 2020 tant,” McGrath says. “I’m just a janitor. Here to clean up the 978-1-5247-4500-4 mess you made. One way. Or another.” But mainly, he is at the courthouse to figure out how to deliver justice to Alex Three Gardner fan favorites—FBI Pardew, who cheated McGrath’s father and likely contrib- agent Kimberly Quincy, Sgt. D.D. Warren uted to the old man’s early death. Key to resolving that issue of the Boston Police, and serial-killer–sur- is finding a missing file that could have turned Pardew’s mis - vivor–turned-vigilante Flora Dane—team trial into a conviction. Oh yes, and he needs to find Pardew up to untangle a series of murders, and lots himself, not an easy task. Along the way, he chats up Len of small-town secrets, in the Georgia hills. Hendrie, who wants to represent himself in an arson case— On a hike in the hills outside the quaint tourist town of Hendrie readily admits to burning a house down as revenge Niche, Georgia, a couple finds the partial skeletal remains for losing his own home in a stockbroker’s short-selling of Lilah Abenito, who went missing 15 years ago. Lilah was scheme. Characters clearly explain the short-selling con- thought to be one of the first victims connected to Jacob Ness, cept, so the reader won’t need a business degree to follow who kidnapped Flora eight years ago when she was a Boston the chicanery involved. McGrath relies on “old habits—old college student and held her captive, mostly in a coffin-sized instincts, always looking for something sinister,” which he box, for 472 days. The chance to link the deceased Ness to addi- fears may not be serving him well this time. But he’s smart, tional crimes is impossible to pass up, and FBI agent Kimberly determined, decent, and not all that violent as fictional
Quincy invites D.D., Flora (who is a confidential informant young adult for D.D.), and computer analyst Keith Edgar, Flora’s friend/ love interest, to be part of her task force. A search through the hills turns up a mass grave full of more skeletal remains. While D.D. is updating the mayor, Howard Counsel, and his wife, Martha, who own the charming Mountain Laurel B&B, she becomes interested in their timid, fearful maid, a young Hispanic woman who’s brain damaged and unable to speak following a car accident when she was a child. When Martha suddenly hangs herself (or so it seems), D.D. realizes some- thing very odd is going on at ye olde B&B. Gardner juggles multiple narratives, including that of the Counsels’ nameless maid, with ease. However, the involvement of two civilians in a major federal task force is initially hard to swallow, as are a few supernatural elements Gardner (Look for Me, 2018, etc.) shoehorns in. But Flora’s tentative romance with Keith and her realization that she might finally be thriving, not just sur- viving, are bright spots, as is Gardner’s evolving and sensitive exploration of trauma and its insidious, lasting effects. These characters are so beloved that readers may not mind when a few twists veer dangerously close to the absurd.
TOO CLOSE TO HOME Grant, Andrew Ballantine (336 pp.) $28.00 | Jan. 7, 2020 978-0-525-61962-8
The second in the Paul McGrath suspense series (Invisible, 2019), in which the protagonist mops floors and pursues unofficial justice in a fed- eral courthouse. McGrath is a 20-year veteran of Army intelligence, and his current job as a nearly invisible janitor gives him free rein to go places in the building that are
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 67 heroes go. And yet that Albany pol knows he’ll one day be PERFECT LITTLE CHILDREN a red splat on a sidewalk if he reneges on his vow to reform. Hannah, Sophie Crisp pacing, complex plotting, and a sympathetic good guy Morrow/HarperCollins (336 pp.) all make for a most satisfying read. $27.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 Grant has several great series going, and the janitor-in- 978-0-06-297820-2 the-courthouse theme is fodder for another. A woman reunited with an estranged friend discovers that nothing about her THE BIG LIE has changed in 12 years—including the Grippando, James ages of her children—and can’t rest until Harper/HarperCollins (368 pp.) she solves the mystery. $27.99 | Feb. 25, 2020 Beth Leeson has always wondered 978-0-06-291504-7 what happened to Flora Braid after their friendship fell apart. But the Braids moved away, and they lost touch. Twelve years Want a break from the ruthless 24/7 later, Beth decides to check on her and spies Flora coaxing cycle of political ups and downs? Stay her two small children, Thomas and Emily, ages 5 and 3, out of miles away from this latest case for their car—which is crazy, because that’s how old the kids were Miami attorney Jack Swyteck (The Girl when Beth knew them. By now they should be teenagers. And in the Glass Box, 2019, etc.), ripped not so the Braids’ youngest child, Georgina, isn’t there at all. Beth isn’t much from the headlines as from your crazy. She knows what she saw. Her daughter, Zannah, serves as deepest electoral nightmares. a precocious sounding board for her evolving, and sometimes Despite the manifest character blemishes—blustering, outlandish, theories: “Even if a science genius invented a drug lying, uncontrollable adulteries, and tweetstorms that nearly got that stopped people aging, they wouldn’t freeze their kids in him impeached—President Malcolm MacLeod seems headed time at three and five. Those are pain-in-the-arse ages. You to a narrow victory over Florida Sen. Evan Stahl Jr., whose rat- might freeze your kids at, like, nine and eleven,” Zannah says ings took a nose dive when his refusal to identify the party with to refute the idea that Thomas and Emily were part of a genetic whom he’d cheated on his now-estranged wife, Gwen, of the experiment. But the simplest explanation they can think of— Florida Department of Law Enforcement, led to widespread that the children are Thomas and Emily’s younger siblings— speculation, eagerly fed by MacLeod, that his lover was (gasp!) doesn’t quite add up. Why would Flora give all her children the another man. Stahl’s only path to the presidency is the hope same names? The question then becomes, how well did Beth that five members of the Electoral College will break ranks and really know the Braids? With a combination of social media cast their votes for Stahl, who won 5 million more votes than stalking and amateur detective work, Beth tracks down Flora MacLeod despite losing the Electoral College. And at least one and her husband, Lewis, in both England and Florida and dis- elector is ready to turn faithless: Charlotte Holmes, the associ- covers that her old friends are leading double lives in more ways ate and hand-picked successor to gun rights lobbyist Madeline than one. Initially, the bond between the two women seems too Chisel. Will her principled defection start a groundswell? Not if weak to warrant such an intense search, but as Beth considers MacLeod loyalist Paulette Barrow, the Florida attorney general, the problems that Flora might’ve been dealing with years ago has anything to say about it. Barrow promptly files a suit against that she hadn’t noticed, her curiosity thaws into genuine con- Charlotte as “unfit” so that the Republican governor, Terry cern that turns her mission into a moral imperative. Mulvane, can replace her with a reliable loyalist. Seeking Jack’s Save a friendship, save a life—a surprising lesson for an legal representation with the perfect come-on—electoral law unusual and absorbing thriller. expert Matthew Kipner “specifically told me not to hire you”— Charlotte stiffens her spine and prepares for weeks of public abuse. What she doesn’t prepare for is the wholly unexpected SECOND SISTER but obligatory trial for murder that simultaneously deepens Ho-kei, Chan her peril, confirms this headlong legal thriller’s genre creden- Trans. by Tiang, Jeremy tials, and ensures that no one will mistake it for real life. The Black Cat/Grove (512 pp.) complications that follow are expertly spun, and the courtroom $17.00 paper | Feb. 18, 2020 maneuvers on both sides are impressively baroque, but the gor- 978-0-8021-2947-5 geous Electoral College premise marks the beginning of a wild ride that runs off the rails long before the fade-out. A young Chinese woman suspects The multilayered case gets so crazy that it may provide her younger sister’s suicide is not what escapist solace after all. it seems in this somber tale of investiga- tion and discovery. Siu-Man, the schoolgirl victim, had been the subject of online bullying after reporting a man for groping her on public transportation, a charge that resulted
68 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | Time Tunnel: The Twin Towers The Empire The Eclipse
timetunnel.one
"Todd grippingly conjures a what-if time-travel scenario that’s unusually believable.” —Kirkus Reviews
" Time Tunnel: The Empire was a crazy good adventure that I would have never expected from
this sci-fi style book. It is a must-read that I could hardly put down.” —Manhattan Book Review young adult
"As the main characters carry out their exciting mission and remake history, readers will find it intensely satisfying, and the cliffhanger ending promises new thrills to come.” —Kirkus Reviews
" Just like the first novel in the series The Twin Towers, The Empire is full of action, intrigue, and suspense. Richard Todd does a fantastic job of retelling historical events, which are brilliantly researched.” —Seattle Book Review
" The integration of the time travel storyline with the real events that happened on that day are seamless. If I didn’t know better, I would think this could have really happened." —Manhattan Book Review
" Relationships are tested in this story; the only way to know how you truly feel about someone is to throw them in a situation together for which they are totally unprepared. The reader is able to delve deeper into the feelings of the characters and grasp a better understanding for the motivation of their actions. As in Twin Towers, there is action galore, and The Empire includes another story from history that originally ended badly, but now occurs in a way we would have liked for it to have played out. The ending was a complete shock, with another phase in the Time Tunnel series coming at a later date.” —Tulsa Book Review
The Towers will rise again
Time Tunnel: The Twin Towers and Time Tunnel: The Empire by Richard Todd available on Amazon View book trailers at timetunnel.one For publication or film rights, contact [email protected]
Time Tunnel Media
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 69 in the man’s going to jail. Siu-Man’s older sister and guardian, MACHINES IN THE HEAD Nga-Yee, can’t accept that her sister killed herself and hires a Kavan, Anna cyberhacker to see if the chat board posts against Siu-Man can Ed. by Walker, Victoria be tracked down. The premise is a pretty slim reed, really more New York Review Books (192 pp.) of an excuse to examine the simultaneously liberating and cor- $15.95 paper | Feb. 18, 2020 rupting potential of the internet, the anonymity it affords peo- 978-1-68137-414-7 ple to say what they want, and the temptation that comes with it to indulge in gossip, invective, and maliciousness. Inevitably, Artfully strange short stories from a the investigation leads beyond users to the tech companies con- mostly forgotten 20th-century British tent to exploit those temptations. The story is also a portrait of writer. life on the economic fringes of Hong Kong, a city so expensive Anna Kavan first appeared as a char- the inhabitants cling to the tiny government-issued housing as acter in Helen Ferguson’s coming-of-age their only slim foothold. The sense of fatigue with which Nga- novel, Let Me Alone, in 1930. Ten years later, Kavan would reap- Yee comes home from a day’s work near the beginning of the pear as Ferguson’s nom de plume. In the foreword to this new novel hovers over the rest of it. Unfortunately, these threads are collection of stories, editor Walker asserts that this pen name more interesting than the unfolding of Siu-Man’s fate. freed Ferguson—who was also a journalist—to try new forms This is a novel in which the motivating mystery feels and explore “darkness, fantasy, madness and dystopia.” Ice swamped by the commentary surrounding it. (1967), Kavan’s eerily prescient novel about climate catastrophe provoked by human action and the last book to be published before her death in 1968, is probably her most well-known
70 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | An intelligent, deeply felt family saga. the great unknown
work, but these stories—written over three decades—offer a from Rang’s and b’s points of view, the text is broken into short, fascinating study of a writer who was always evolving and are sometimes-dreamlike sections that capture their teenage angst exceptional as literature qua literature. Many of these sto- and moods. “I feel agony and I’m getting even more boring.” “I ries are set in hospitals—or places that might be hospitals or was incredibly hungry.” prisons or some combination of the two. Human existence in A dark, dystopian view of South Korean adolescence, these spaces is depicted as a nightmare from which neither the hopelessness, and the cruelties children are capable of protagonist nor the reader can awaken. First published in the inflicting on each other. New Yorker in 1945, “The Blackout” is the story of a soldier who knows that something terrible happened while he was on leave, but he can’t remember what, exactly, it was. As a doctor’s ques- THE GREAT UNKNOWN tions push him closer and closer to the truth, Kavan creates a Kingman, Peg sense of dread that she refuses to alleviate, leaving the reader Norton (336 pp.) in sickening uncertainty. Set in a psychiatric hospital, “Face of $26.95 | Feb. 18, 2020 My People” is similarly horrific. “He glanced up at the waiting 978-1-324-00336-6 nurse and smiled at her. She was his best nurse; he had trained her himself in his own methods, and the result was entirely sat- Set in 1840s Scotland among home- isfactory.” This line occurs just a page and a half into the story, grown intellectuals and science enthusi- but Kavan has already created an atmosphere so obviously insa- asts, this novel follows a young mother as lubrious that we shudder to think of what this doctor’s methods she attempts to uncover the unsettling might be. Not every story succeeds. “The Gannets” is simply mysteries of her parentage.
grotesque. “The Old Address” is both grotesque and maudlin. young adult A writer fans of experimental fiction should know.
B, BOOK, AND ME Kim Sagwa Trans. by Jeong, Sunhee Two Lines Press (160 pp.) $16.95 paper | Feb. 11, 2020 978-1-931883-96-2
In this coming-of-age novel by South Korean author Kim (Mina, 2018, etc.), two high school girls navigate violent bullies and absent, uncaring parents in an unnamed city on the coast. “The city we lived in was ridiculous,” Rang announces to the reader, “because it was a city that imi- tated Seoul.” “Everybody who lived there was pretty much the same....Except there was one kid who wanted to be a fish.” This is Rang’s best friend, b. Rang points out that being a fish would mean having scales and being ugly, but b sticks to her guns: “I’ll go into the water and I’ll never come back out.” Rang’s parents show no interest in her while b’s are overwhelmed by poverty and her sister’s illness. Rang’s beloved Grandma is drifting toward senescence. Don’t ever get lost, she insists, or you’ll wind up at the End, a place north of the hill where “the abandoned people” live. Rang and b play at the beach, struggle to fit in at school, and hang out at a cafe called Alone (“Adults thought the name was ridiculous...b and I thought it was cool”), where they meet a bookish loner. Rang is targeted by bullies at school, boys identified only by their baseball hats who regularly kick and hit her until she bleeds, and no one but b ever steps in. The girls are straddling childhood and young adulthood without guid- ance or help. And when Rang inadvertently exposes b’s poverty, their friendship ends with devastating abruptness and pushes them separately toward the dreaded End. Told alternately
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 71 When Constantia Stevenson agrees to become a wet be. At the beginning of the novel, his twin, David, is working in nurse for the precocious Chambers family, she does so under a gay brothel established by none other than J. Edgar Hoover an unspoken condition: that no one may press her about her in order to entrap and blackmail its clients; Daniel, meanwhile, pseudonym. She’s known to the Chambers family as Mrs. Mac- is embarking on a medical career that will find him teasing out Adam, “a name assumed out of discretion, for her husband’s the virus. Early on, Daniel is smitten by a budding writer named sake,” as the savvy Chambers matriarch explains. Good-natured Fred Lemish, who shares the attraction, knowing that “they curiosity bubbles around Constantia, and she nurses her own both belong to a people the House of Representatives doesn’t infant, Livia, and the Chambers’ son, Charlie, against a familial want to see at all.” With a Joseph Heller–like satirical sweep backdrop of scientific discovery, heated debate, and progressive full of goofy names and unlikely situations, Kramer examines politics. The household and its guests are soon enthralled by the kinky sex lives of presidents and politicians, one in par- the publication of the controversial new book Vestiges of the Nat- ticular, Peter Ruester and his “wretched Lady Macbeth,” clearly ural History of Creation, a proto–On the Origin of Species. Vestiges meant to invoke the dreaded Reagans. Not far in the wings is suggests, rather shockingly, “that everything...had come into Mordecai Masturbov, a soft-porn mogul who echoes Hugh Hef- existence through the uninterrupted operation of natural law.” ner, while down the road awaits Dereck Dumster (guess who?), Stout creationists spar with the scientifically inclined at the another president whose judicial appointments “are filled with dinner table, and even the gardener ponders natural selection hatred for almost everything.” Gay and straight worlds collide, as he regards his peach trees and rose bushes. As Constantia is as Kramer chronicles, but never align: Though the book is a drawn further into motherhood and family life with the Cham- flawless exercise in black humor, it is also filled with righteous bers, she is also overtaken with memories of her own childhood anger—and, as each page indicates, not without good reason. in India, where she was raised by a daring and reckless single Idiosyncratic, controversial, and eminently readable: a mother. Kingman (Original Sins, 2010, etc.) deftly weaves Con- masterwork of alternative history. stantia’s uncertain past with the political and scientific mores of her present, allowing questions of origin and design, mother- hood and family, home and empire, to inform and play off one PRETTY AS A PICTURE another. While it takes some time for the plot to reveal itself, Little, Elizabeth the novel at last gives in to the conventions of chance and coin- Viking (352 pp.) cidence that make fiction work—albeit not without character $27.00 paper | Feb. 25, 2020 commentary on the nature of “remarkable coincidences...and 978-0-670-01639-6 accidental discoveries!” This richly observed novel of ideas will delight fans of A.S. Byatt’s Possession and Penelope Fitzgerald’s Murder and mayhem plague a film The Blue Flower alike. set on a secluded island off the coast of An intelligent, deeply felt family saga. Delaware in Little’s (Dear Daughter, 2015, etc.) sophomore thriller. When film editor Marissa Dahl takes THE AMERICAN PEOPLE a job on a new film directed by the tal- Volume 2: The Brutality ented but temperamental Tony Rees, she’s not given a script Of Fact and must sign a mile-long nondisclosure agreement. It’s not Kramer, Larry ideal, but she needs the work. Escorted by an attractive ex– Farrar, Straus and Giroux (896 pp.) Navy SEAL named Isaiah, Marissa arrives on Kickout Island to $40.00 | Jan. 7, 2020 find a bustling set, headquartered at a beautiful hotel, that is 978-0-374-10413-9 cloaked in secrecy and beset with dysfunction. Once Marissa gets down to work, she realizes that picking up the slack from An acerbic, brilliant history of the the previous editor, who was fired for unknown reasons, won’t age of AIDS spills over into a second be smooth sailing and that the movie is based on the real-life overstuffed, antic volume. unsolved murder of aspiring actress Caitlyn Kelly 25 years ago Screenwriter, playwright, and gay on that very island. Most folks assume that an eccentric ferry activist Kramer’s sprawling novel is narrated by an omniscient captain named Billy Lyle, a friend of Caitlyn’s, was the killer, “Roving Historian,” but a killing virus has an ample voice, too: but there was never enough evidence to convict. A few people, Four sentences in, it says, gamely, “I, too, am glad you’ve come however, think he may be innocent. Marissa sets out to discover back to learn more about my taking over the world.” But what what really happened to Caitlyn with the help of Isaiah and two to call it? Learned scientists, many of them ex-Nazis, have intrepid, tech-savvy 13-year-olds—Grace Portillo and Suzy Koh, settled on “Underlying Condition,” having rejected “Fairy whose parents work for the hotel. What she finds is a dead body Flu,” “Gay Cancer,” and “An Unidentified Fatal Male Malady,” and a whole lot of trouble. Readers fascinated with the behind- names popular among the malevolent straights—but, even so, the-scenes machinations of a movie set will be enthralled, plus “UC” doesn’t please the gay population, either, “which might be there’s a frisson of romantic tension between Isaiah and Marissa, thought to like the name for the very reason that others don’t.” and the island setting lends some spooky atmosphere. Snippets Daniel Jerusalem will learn just how ill-willed the majority can from Grace and Suzy’s true-crime podcast, Dead Ringer, are also
72 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 73 sprinkled throughout. Though a killer on the loose adds a fair SURRENDER bit of urgency in the second half, the main focus is on Little’s Loriga, Ray singular narrator. Marissa relates to the world primarily through Trans. by De Robertis, Carolina film and considers herself anything but typical: “It’s possible Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt I’ve spent so much time watching movies that the language of (224 pp.) film has infiltrated some primal, necessary part of my brain. I $15.99 paper | Feb. 25, 2020 catch myself processing my own emotions in scenes, in shots, 978-1-328-52852-0 in dialogue.” A quirky and distinctive heroine headlines this fun and Spanish novelist and film director fast-paced thriller loaded with cinematic flourishes. Loriga (Tokyo Doesn’t Love Us Anymore, 2004, etc.) traces the fortunes of a mar- ried couple progressing through an increasingly dystopian landscape. Some dystopian fiction abounds with specifics, the better to comment on the present moment. Loriga’s novel—his third to appear in the U.S.—takes a more ambiguous and archetypal route. The narrator and his wife have been married a long time— long enough, at least, to have two sons old enough to be fighting in a war where they may or may not have been killed. When the novel begins, a silent child has been living with the couple for six months. “He was wounded when he arrived, which was part of why we started caring for him,” the narrator writes. The boy’s silence hangs over the book: Like the fate of the couple’s children, it’s unclear if it denotes something sinister or is a pause before a return to normalcy. Loriga balances granular details, such as the class differences between the husband and wife, with more ambiguous elements. The novel takes a shift into a more overtly science-fictional mode when the couple and their young charge are forced to move to a city—one where the buildings are transparent and privacy is a thing of the past. There are hints here of the government’s potential for repres- sive violence and something unsettling happening with the reg- ulation of hygiene, but, largely, life goes on. The narrator finds a job and settles into a routine, and it’s only after time passes that he begins to realize that things are very wrong in both this society and his marriage. At times the book’s subtlety feels too restrained, but its climax packs abundant weight. Blending a realistic portrait of a marriage with a sym- bolic setting brings mixed results, but this novel still has plenty of power.
THE GLASS HOTEL Mandel, Emily St. John Knopf (320 pp.) $26.95 | Mar. 24, 2020 978-0-525-52114-3
A financier’s Ponzi scheme unravels to disastrous effect, revealing the unex- pected connections among a cast of dis- parate characters. How did Vincent Smith fall over- board from a container ship near the coast of Mauritania, fathoms away from her former life as Jonathan Alkaitis’ pretend trophy wife? In this long-anticipated follow- up to Station Eleven (2014), Mandel uses Vincent’s disappearance
74 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 75 to pick through the wreckage of Alkaitis’ fraudulent investment responsibility for his actions? And how quickly will his wealth scheme, which ripples through hundreds of lives. There’s Paul, corrupt the ambitions of those in proximity to it? In luminous Vincent’s half brother, a composer and addict in recovery; Olivia, prose, Mandel shows how easy it is to become caught in a web an octogenarian painter who invested her retirement savings in of unintended consequences and how disastrous it can be when Alkaitis’ funds; Leon, a former consultant for a shipping com- such fragile bonds shatter under pressure. pany; and a chorus of office workers who enabled Alkaitis and A strange, subtle, and haunting novel. are terrified of facing the consequences. Slowly, Mandel reveals how her characters struggle to align their stations in life with their visions for what they could be. For Vincent, the promise of THE ROCK BLASTER transformation comes when she’s offered a stint with Alkaitis Mankell, Henning in “the kingdom of money.” Here, the rules of reality are differ- Trans. by Goulding, George ent and time expands, allowing her to pursue video art others Vintage (192 pp.) find pointless. For Alkaitis, reality itself is too much to bear. In $16.00 paper | Feb. 18, 2020 his jail cell, he is confronted by the ghosts of his victims and 978-0-525-56616-8 escapes into “the counterlife,” a soothing alternate reality in which he avoided punishment. It’s in these dreamy sections This first novel from the creator of that Mandel’s ideas about guilt and responsibility, wealth and Kurt Wallender (An Event in Autumn, comfort, the real and the imagined, begin to cohere. At its 2014, etc.), originally published in 1973, heart, this is a ghost story in which every boundary is blurred, makes its English-language debut. from the moral to the physical. How far will Alkaitis go to deny A 1911 explosion so nearly kills Oskar Johansson, the youngest member of a team placing and deto- nating dynamite for construction projects, that the local news- paper reports his death. Against all odds, however, he survives, minus one eye, one hand, several fingers, and half his penis. The frightful accident changes Oskar forever—or does it? Banished from his father’s house a year before the accident because of his interest in socialism, he moved in with like-minded colleague Magnus Nilsson and joined the Social Democratic Party. His visits in the hospital from Elly Lundgren, the young woman with whom he’s been keeping company, taper off and come to an end, and eventually he marries her sister, Elvira, with whom he maintains he’s found perfect harmony. The sexual urges he thought had finished return to him, and he fathers a son and two daughters. Years pass, marked by a highly characteristic parade of public events, private reflections, prose poetry, and prickly asides that will sound familiar to readers of Mankell’s memoir Quicksand (2017). Disenchanted by the failure of socialism to keep its promises to workers, a disillusionment that reflects the author’s own, Oskar leaves the SDP. His son expands his chain of laundries. His wife dies. He moves one last time, watches the summer come and go, shares some of his reminiscences with a faceless narrator but keeps others to himself, and suffers further reversals to his health before he finally dies in 1969, not long after turning 80. Although he’s known throughout his adult life as the man who survived a disfiguring accident, his own attitude is more stoic: “I don’t have much in the way of hands, but I can still pitch in.” A quietly acerbic overview of 20th-century Sweden from the perspective of someone nobody expected to live to see it.
76 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | How much is fiction? How much is memoir? Who cares: It’s joyous. not even immortality lasts forever
NOT EVEN IMMORTALITY friends, and all manner of other captive audiences,” and, “over LASTS FOREVER the course of all those tellings and re-tellings, the story took McClanahan, Ed on something of a life of its own…and gathered unto itself cer- Counterpoint (192 pp.) tain adjustments, embellishments, flourishes, and adornments, $25.00 | Feb. 18, 2020 to the point that eventually I wasn’t quite sure I still recog- 978-1-64009-260-0 nized it myself.” McClanahan’s project here, though—in both “A Work of Genius” and, the reader must assume, the tales Autofictional tales about the author’s that follow—is to shed these “fanciful trappings” and, using a Kentucky childhood, friendship with mixture of “quasi-reliable details” and limited creative license, Ken Kesey, and relationship with his fix some core version of his story “permanently…in writing.” memories. Disclaimer aside, McClanahan then lures the reader—with his In “A Work of Genius,” the opening trademark jocularity and bountiful prose—through the wist- piece in this shaggy but moving collection, McClanahan (I Just ful banalities of a midcentury, middle-American boyhood. His Hitched in From the Coast, 2011, etc.) tells the story of the day, in anecdotes wind together, flowing almost associatively, and 1947, when an aging bicycle performer named Kramer visited cover topics such as his infatuation with cigarettes; his fraught Brooksville, Kentucky, and more or less wowed the pants off relationship with his entrepreneur father (“we were a well- young McClanahan (then age 14) with his “uncanny kinetic oiled perpetual animosity machine”); a mismatched freshman miracles of equilibrium and grace and strength.” In the seven year at a “Southern Gentleman’s college,” here called “Eustace intervening decades, McClanahan then says, he “recounted J. Spoonbred University”; his friendship with Ken Kesey; and Kramer’s wondrous exploits times beyond number, to family, his lifelong appreciation for the Cincinnati Reds. If a couple of young adult
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 77 McClanahan’s stories seem fundamentally inessential—case in ST. CHRISTOPHER ON PLUTO point: “Me and Gurney Goes Out on the Town,” in which the McKinley, Nancy author recalls seeing (or says he does) a go-go dancer violently West Virginia Univ. Press (228 pp.) eject a verbally abusive patron from a seedy bar—the book, $18.99 paper | Feb. 1, 2020 taken as a whole, performs a genuinely beautiful act of post 978-1-949199-26-0 hoc portraiture, eventually building into a protracted study of McClanahan’s relationship with the erosive nature of time and A kind and earnest debut collection the happy-sad miracles of memory. of connected stories set in blue-collar How much is fiction? How much is memoir? Who cares: northeastern Pennsylvania. It’s joyous. MK and Colleen, former classmates at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Elemen- tary School, reconnect as middle-aged women, both working retail jobs in a mall that’s just months away from closing its doors. From the outside, they seem to live just on the edge of despair and eco- nomic ruin, except both have too much moxie. In “St. Chris- topher on Pluto,” for example, Colleen entangles MK in a plot to ditch Colleen’s car by the Susquehanna River for insurance money. While MK lectures Colleen on committing fraud, Col- leen wisecracks and tells MK to lighten up. That’s the setup of many of McKinley’s stories: Bighearted, redheaded Colleen has a scheme (or a volunteer gig), and she wheedles practical MK, often the narrator, into coming along. These slice-of-life sto- ries touch upon social issues on the verge of fracturing already economically stressed, conservative communities: immigra- tion, America’s never-ending post–9/11 wars, the HIV epidemic, drug addiction, and the disappearance of good blue-collar jobs. In “Complicado,” Colleen volunteers to photograph an ESL class graduation, but it turns out the women don’t want their pictures taken for fear of becoming the target of a rising tide of jingoism. Once she understands, Colleen yanks the film from her camera, and the party ends with the church organist’s offer- ing her accordion to a young Mexican man, “the Latin sounds creat[ing] fusion in a room steeped with polka fests.” While we yearn for such happy endings in life, they can seem a bit trea- cly in fiction. When McKinley resists the lure of “Kumbayah” moments, she delivers emotionally devastating stories about how places with bleak economic futures hurt good, ordinary people—as well as how such people quietly craft lives full of intangible bounty. Warm, generous stories.
THE HOLDOUT Moore, Graham Random House (336 pp.) $28.00 | Feb. 18, 2020 978-0-399-59177-8
A woman finds herself playing mul- tiple roles—juror, attorney, investigator, and suspect—in this legal drama–meets– murder investigation set in Los Angeles. Maya Seale, a white, bilingual trans- plant from New Mexico, is both a 36-year-old criminal defense attorney and a 26-year-old juror in a novel that jumps between two storylines, one set in 2019 and
78 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 79 one in 2009. In the latter, Maya was the lone not-guilty hold- for themselves and, perhaps, others. The characters’ emotions out in a Los Angeles jury that eventually flipped and acquitted as they argue and discuss issues such as race and justice feel flat, Bobby Nock, a 25-year-old black part-time English teacher, in however, as if actors are required to bring their voices to life. a high-profile murder trial. Bobby was accused of killing one An intriguing story that begs to be finished but reads as of his students, Jessica Silver, the 15-year-old white daughter if it should be a bingeworthy TV series instead. of a property titan worth billions. But there was no body. Rick Leonard, a black juror, is plagued with guilt over the acquittal and dedicates a decade to discovering the jurors’ closely held THE LAST DAY secrets and proving Bobby’s guilt. These efforts result in a deal Murray, Andrew Hunter for an eight-hour true-crime docuseries on Bobby, the trial, and Dutton (384 pp.) the jurors who acquitted him. After 10 of the 11 living jurors $27.00 | Feb. 4, 2020 gather at a hotel in 2019 to begin taping, Rick is found dead in 978-1-5247-4581-3 Maya’s hotel room. The book’s second storyline follows Maya, now a murder suspect herself, as she tries to clear her name. One woman must discover what lies Author Moore’s (The Last Days of Night, 2016, etc.) background at the center of a government coverup in as a screenwriter is apparent in this dialogue-heavy book that this near-future thriller. features a cast of more than two dozen and two storylines that The year is 2059, and the Earth hasn’t unfold concurrently. The characters in each might be the same, rotated in 39 years. The Stop plunged but they are simultaneously heroes and villains, flawed people parts of the world into darkness and oth- with god complexes, and individuals just trying to do their best ers into everlasting sunlight. Britain lies right in the middle of a
80 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | habitable zone, and the government has scrambled to build up interesting ways. Thorne, Ellen’s mentor, shines in flashbacks. its defenses to help its people while keeping others out. Scien- The open ending leaves room for more exploration in a poten- tist Ellen Hopper has been working on a rig out on the Atlantic tial sequel. for the past few years, away from the overbearing government An interesting new twist on a post-apocalyptic tale. and her failing relationships with her brother and ex-husband. But when a group of government officials arrives by helicopter to tell her that her old mentor is dying and wishes to see her, THE QUEEN’S FORTUNE she is once again whisked into a world full of citizens spying Pataki, Allison on each other, curfews, and oppression. With only her mentor’s Ballantine (448 pp.) promise that she will figure out “the truth,” Ellen must find $28.00 | Feb. 11, 2020 what he has hidden away before the government can destroy it. 978-0-593-12818-3 In his fascinating debut, Murray has crafted something original out of the classic “one person against a totalitarian government” The rise of Napoleon as narrated by trope. The world after the Stop is completely fleshed out and his first fiancee. lived in, with explanations of how people eat, farm, work. The The Clary sisters, Desiree and Julie, breakneck pace of Ellen’s trying to stay one step ahead of the daughters of a recently deceased Mar- authorities (and not always succeeding) makes for a fast read, seille merchant, are trying to rescue their with short chapters that propel the action forward. Ellen and brother from revolutionary prison when David, her ex-husband, grew up post-Stop, so their interactions they encounter Joseph di Buonaparte. Entranced by Desiree’s and personal issues grapple with what the world has become in beauty, Joseph uses his influence on the Clarys’ behalf. Joseph young adult
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 81 Downton Abbey has nothing on 800-year-old Trelawney Castle. house of trelawney
attempts to court Desiree, but he’s edged aside by Napoleon, latter portions as the narrator’s friendship with Ciara deepens who pledges marriage after toying with her affections. But as (though, pointedly, the relationship remains platonic) as they military ambitions increasingly preoccupy Napoleon, Desiree try to find out who’s sending cassettes of eerie music to the sta- is supplanted by Josephine. Reluctantly, Desiree joins her sis- tion. And when seemingly bottomless holes begin appearing ter, newly married to Joseph, in Paris. Not overjoyed that her in town, the novel acquires a kind of deadpan comedy as the jilter is now an in-law, she is too much the lady to show resent- town begins to swallow up its own: “Then [the holes] started to ment, which may have served the historical Desiree but not so consume furniture, and thoroughfares, and places where people much the fictional character. When, early in the novel, she is might sometimes want to stand.” It’s no small feat to conjure up admitted to Napoleon’s inner circle, Desiree ceases to be a pro- a town in fiction solely through what it lacks, but the place is tagonist and becomes a passive, if acute, observer. Her proxim- hard to settle into, as a metaphor or anything else. ity to the Little Corporal has some benefits—her marriage to A conceptually ingenious if chilly dystopian yarn. Bernadotte, Bonaparte’s most trusted general, brings not only love, but riches. Although the politics and contradictions of Napoleon’s success, as seen through Desiree’s eyes, are riveting, HOUSE OF TRELAWNEY this is well-traveled ground. Desiree’s point of view is too non- Rothschild, Hannah judgmental to bring to the fore the ironies attendant on the tra- Knopf (368 pp.) jectory of an impoverished Corsican who uses the revolution as $27.95 | Feb. 11, 2020 a platform to exceed the excesses of the deposed and beheaded 978-0-525-65491-9 Bourbons. Likewise, the struggles of Josephine, who captivates Napoleon in part due to her age and experience and then dis- An eccentric family of British aris- pleases him for the same reasons, are related by Desiree with no tocrats, their decaying ancestral home, particular insights to distinguish this treatment from the many and the financial crash of 2008 are the more direct portrayals of the empress. Pataki’s ability to flesh ingredients of Rothschild’s (The Improb out imperial grandeur and foibles with telling detail, on full dis- ability of Love, 2015, etc.) romantic/ play in her Habsburg novels (Sisi, 2016, etc.), is equally evident comic fairy tale. here; however the dramatic demands of a novel are not met. Downton Abbey has nothing on 800-year-old Trelawney All that is known of the historical Desiree is that she Castle with its four miles of hallways, a room for each day of was a bystander—unfortunately, she remains so here. the year, and 85 members of staff. But that was in its heyday. Now Kitto, the future 25th Earl of Trelawney, is on his finan- cial uppers, presiding over a freezing, crumbling semi-ruin. His THE TOWN wife, Jane, has sunk her own money into the castle but is still Prescott, Shaun struggling to feed herself, their three children, and Kitto’s aging Farrar, Straus and Giroux (256 pp.) parents, the current earl and countess. Kitto’s sister Blaze, a $26.00 | Feb. 4, 2020 talented stock picker at a London hedge fund, does have some 978-0-374-27852-6 money, but her company has just been bought by ruthless opportunist Thomlinson Sleet, which puts her in jeopardy. The A writer goes searching for vanished plot starts to move when Jane and Blaze receive letters from Australian communities in this dark alle- their old college friend Anastasia, now dying and asking them gorical debut. to care for her daughter, Ayesha. The banking crisis swallows The (fittingly) nameless narrator of Kitto’s remaining money, and Jane kicks him out. After a fam- this novel has a notion to write a book ily death, Blaze comes to the castle’s rescue, although she’s dis- about the “disappearing towns of the tracted by an on-and-off love affair with much nicer hedge fund Central West of New South Wales,” so he arrives in a (fittingly) squillionaire Joshua Wolfe. Rothschild writes well about these nameless community to conduct his research. But what’s to elite milieus, but hers is a broad, pantomime-ish tale stocked investigate? Commerce seems restricted to a Woolworths and with simple, one-dimensional characters: flabby villain Sleet; a bar nobody patronizes; the annual community get-together indefatigably decent, endlessly deferred Wolfe; tirelessly sneery always degrades into fisticuffs; Ciara, the DJ at the local radio oldest son Ambrose. The flow is uneven—Kitto disappears for station whom he befriends, suspects nobody is tuning in; and half the story; Blaze is exhaustingly inconsistent—and the book the librarian has no history to point to. In some ways the novel is both long and weakly paced. Trelawney does, however, finally can be read as a kind of lament for a disappearing sense of com- get the upgrade it needs, and its dysfunctional family may be munity and willful ignorance of the past; the nameless town is positioned for a sequel. what you get when you have an infrastructure (homes, roads, Deft narration fails to eclipse the inherent shortcom- train lines) but no sense of a social contract. But the narrator’s ings in this patchy satire of entitlement (literally) with sen- (and Prescott’s) affect is so cool that it resists characterization timental touches. as a critique or satire; the novel at times recalls the slacker-lit of Douglas Coupland, all emotional blankness and deep skepti- cism about humanity. The novel gets something of a lift in its
82 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 83 BESIDE MYSELF traces Ali and Anton’s family history, from their parents to their Salzmann, Sasha Marianna grandparents and great-grandparents, on either side. Theirs is Trans. by Taylor, Imogen a Jewish family, but the fact that they’re largely secular doesn’t Other Press (336 pp.) protect them from rising anti-Semitism in the USSR, espe- $15.99 paper | Feb. 18, 2020 cially after Stalin’s death in 1953. Meanwhile, Ali slinks through 978-1-89274-644-3 contemporary Istanbul, nominally searching for Anton as her identity, particularly her gender, begins to disintegrate—or to A woman searches for her twin— open up, depending on your perspective. Ali’s own perspec- and herself—while recounting her tive isn’t entirely intelligible. This is partly due to Salzmann’s family history in the Soviet Union and cool, disaffected narrative voice, which is a wonder to behold West Germany. but can also be a little too distancing: Anton never solidifies as Alissa, or Ali, was a child when she a fully fledged character, and neither does the twins’ father, to emigrated with her family from the Soviet Union to West Ger- whom much of their unhappiness is attributed. Still, these are many. She and her twin, Anton, traveled with their parents and relatively minor flaws. Salzmann has an expansive vision, and grandfather by train. Years later, Anton disappears, a blank their experimentation with the form of the novel, even when it postcard mailed from Istanbul the only clue to his whereabouts. doesn’t always pan out, consistently intrigues. So Ali goes to Istanbul. Her stay in the city more or less book- An experimental novel spanning continents as well as ends this strange, fascinating first novel by Salzmann, a prolific generations explores the intertwining of family, gender, writer of essays and plays and the founder of a small magazine, and identity. among other things, in their native Berlin. The meat of the book
84 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | This killer debut is both a thriller with a vivid setting and an insightful study of race, class, and obsession. saint x
SAINT X and the mild saline of equatorial ocean.” After the disaster, the Schaitkin, Alexis focus shifts to Claire, who changes her name to Emily after Celadon Books (352 pp.) her bereaved family moves to California but never escapes the $26.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 shadow of the event. “I knew the exact day I outlived Alison. 978-1-250-21959-6 Eighteen years, three months, twelve days.” When she moves back East for a publishing job in New York City, she crosses The death of a teenage vacationer on paths with one of the resort employees her sister was party- a fictional Caribbean island reverberates ing with the night she died. These men were exonerated in the through many lives, particularly those of matter of Alison’s death, but Clive Richardson was arrested for her 7-year-old sister and one of the work- selling pot in the process; after prison, his life is so devastated ers at the resort. that he immigrates to Manhattan. After Emily gets in Clive’s “Look. A girl is walking down the taxicab, her obsessive desire to know more about her sister’s sand.…As she walks, heads turn—young men, openly; older men, death—which, by now, the reader fully shares—consumes her more subtly; older women, longingly.…This is Alison.” A dan- life. The complex point of view, shifting among an omniscient gerous froth of sexual tension escalates around Alison Thomas, narrator, Emily’s perspective in first person, Clive’s immigrant visiting Saint X from the wealthy New York suburbs with her story in close third, plus brief testimonies from myriad minor parents and little sister, Claire. Schaitkin evokes her fictional characters, works brilliantly. Just as impressive are Schaitkin’s resort with sureness—“the long drive lined with perfectly ver- unflinching examinations of the roles of race, privilege, and tical palm trees,” “the beach where lounge chairs are arranged human nature in the long-unfolding tragedy. Setting the story in a parabola,” the scents of “frangipani and coconut sunscreen in a fictional place, collaged and verbally photoshopped from young adult
| kirkus.com | fiction | 15 december 2019 | 85 real Caribbean settings, is daring, but this writer is fearless, and THE LOST DIARY OF M her gamble pays off. Wolfe, Paul This killer debut is both a thriller with a vivid setting Harper/HarperCollins (304 pp.) and an insightful study of race, class, and obsession. $26.99 | Feb. 25, 2020 978-0-06-291066-0
A MADNESS OF SUNSHINE A fictionalized diary of Mary Pinchot Singh, Nalini Meyer, the woman rumored to have sto- Berkley (352 pp.) len the heart of John F. Kennedy during $27.00 | Dec. 3, 2019 his presidency. 978-0-593-09913-1 Born into a wealthy Pennsylvania fam- ily, Mary Pinchot first met JFK when she Soon after a widowed pianist returns was a teenager in boarding school. Years later, after marrying CIA to her tiny hometown in coastal New agent Cord Meyer, Mary settled in Georgetown, where she and Zealand, a woman disappears, echoing her husband regularly attended parties alongside several political the events of a summer when she was a heavyweights. It was in Georgetown that Mary reconnected with teenager and everything shifted for her then-senator Kennedy. Following her divorce from Cord a few and her friends. years later, Mary is thought to have developed an intimate emo- After burying her husband, Anahera Rawiri leaves London tional and physical relationship with JFK, and the book imagines to return to Golden Cove, which sits next to the South Pacific this relationship as it may have evolved after Kennedy became Ocean and inside a “primal and untamed landscape.” Anahera president of the United States. Wolfe (Postcards From Atlantic has been gone for years, married to a rich playwright, liv- City, 2015, etc.) uses Mary’s fictional journal to portray this elu- ing in London, traveling the world as a classical pianist. She’s sive woman as a politically informed, bohemian artist whose remained close to her best friend, Josie, but only vaguely kept forward-thinking attitudes may have played a role in Kennedy’s in touch with other Golden Cove friends; the teenage dissen- political decisions, especially during the Cuban missile crisis. The sions that began along social and economic lines in their group author’s Mary Pinchot Meyer is convinced that Kennedy loves of friends grew into adult schisms exacerbated by betrayals and her more deeply than he has any other woman, including his wife. rivalries. Almost as soon as Anahera settles into the remote The closer Mary becomes with the president, however, the more cabin her mother left her, beautiful young Miriama, who works she fears for her own safety. The author deftly simulates a com- at Josie’s cafe, disappears. When the village comes together to plicated woman’s diary, creating a document that feels entirely search for her, Anahera acts as a bridge for the local policeman, authentic—which includes assuming a certain level of knowledge Will, who is still considered an outsider, and she soon realizes on the reader’s part about the primary players in several federal that her friends and the town may harbor dark secrets: “Every- agencies of the early 1960s. True to its nature as a diary, the prose one has hidden corners of their life, even the people we think is often choppy and desultory, which results in a narrative that is we know inside and out.” As she and Will follow the clues and sometimes difficult to follow. Even so, the author includes inter- discover more about her friends, the townspeople, and each esting political and historical details in the entries, shedding light other, they connect in profound ways even as they begin to on a woman with a front seat to American history. suspect the search for Miriama may be connected to the disap- A complicated and intimate story of JFK’s secret life, pearance of three female hikers one summer when Ana was a best suited for American history buffs. teenager. Popular romance author Singh shifts to a new genre, New Zealand gothic, in which nearly every character—includ- ing the dense, ferocious landscape—has something to hide, and SEPARATION ANXIETY studying them is nearly as fascinating and compelling as solving Zigman, Laura the multifaceted mystery. Ecco/HarperCollins (288 pp.) Astute, insightful, and descriptive storytelling; a strong $26.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 step in a new direction for Singh. 978-0-06-290907-7
Can wearing the family dog in a baby sling save a troubled marriage? “Wearing the dog is ridiculous. An act of desperation. I know this….But there is the loneliness. How I startle awake in the dark, panicked, full of dread, floating on the night sea on a tiny raft surrounded by all that vast blackness.” Once-successful author Judy Vogel is beset by problems. Her writ- ing’s dried up, her 13-year-old son is pulling away from her, her best friend is dying of cancer, her marriage is falling apart due to her
86 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | husband’s extreme anxiety issues, and hers don’t seem much less serious. As the book opens, Judy and Gary are technically sepa- mystery rated but still living in the same house. He addresses his condition with a low-stress job and weed; she finds her solace in a never-used BabyBjörn that turns up in the basement. In goes the family shel- THE BURGLAR IN tie!—and suddenly, somehow it all doesn’t seem so bad. Zigman SHORT ORDER (Piece of Work, 2006, etc.) is adept at Where’d You Go Bernadette–style Block, Lawrence snarkery about her son’s progressive Montessori school, her own Subterranean Press (144 pp.) job writing posts for a health and happiness website—“Are dogs the $30.00 | Feb. 29, 2020 ultimate antidepressant?”; “If just seeing the word cannabis makes 978-1-59606-957-2 you anxious, keep reading”—and a New Age creativity retreat the couple attend. But the central premise of the novel is a bit unset- Bittersweet news for fans who’ve tling. When Judy first puts the dog in the sling, she’s aware that it missed Bernie Rhodenbarr even since wants to get out. Soon she convinces herself it’s nice in there. From The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons (2013): that point on she pays so little attention to the actual dog that it Everyone’s favorite bookseller/burglar is could be a stuffed animal. She almost doesn’t seem to care about it back for a 12th, and presumably final, vol- as a pet or as a sentient being with needs. When she’s attacked by a ume, which is not a novel but a collection of short pieces. group of people at the dog park who charge her with animal abuse, The valedictory tone of Block’s Foreword and Afterword, you wonder whose side you’re on. the first a chatty narrative overview of the backstories behind The author gamely combines characters and carica- each of the 13 reprints sandwiched in between, the second a
tures, real pain and farce. playful dialogue between author and character, isn’t the only young adult
| kirkus.com | mystery | 15 december 2019 | 87 reason that this good news isn’t great news. Five of the items in Block’s comprehensive collection Enough Rope (2002), virtu- here are bite-sized monologues or dialogues in which Bernie ally all the reading material here is actually rereading material. and his pals hold forth on the Flat Earth Society, fictional New Fences pay burglars pennies on the dollar. Hungry fans York murder sites, five books or series (Richard Stark, John will devour this skimpy opus despite the absence of new Sandford, Agatha Christie) Bernie’s really liked, how stealing material. keeps Bernie honest, or why burgling isn’t what it used to be. Another is Block’s longer but equally one-note reflection on the bizarre casting of Whoopi Goldberg as Bernie in the 1987 film ABOVE THE BAY OF ANGELS Burglar, based on The Burglar in the Closet (1978). Three more Bowen, Rhys are chapters excerpted from The Burglar Who Liked To Quote Lake Union Publishing (348 pp.) Kipling (1979) and The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams (1994). $14.95 paper | Feb. 11, 2020 That leaves exactly four short stories. In “A Bad Night for Bur- 978-1-5420-0825-9 glars” (1977), Block auditions an anonymous precursor of Ber- nie. “Like a Thief in the Night” (1983) introduces Bernie to a A split-second decision is life-chang- female counterpart robbing the same office. A tabloid reporter ing in this stand-alone Victorian-era mys- hires Bernie to photograph the off-limits bedroom in Grace- tery from Bowen (Love and Death Among land in “The Burglar Who Dropped in on Elvis” (1989). “The the Cheetahs, 2019, etc.). Burglar Who Smelled Smoke” (1997) is a locked-library murder Isabella Waverly’s father is an aris- co-authored with Lynne Wood Block that’s as obvious as it is tocrat estranged from his family who’s ingenious. Since all four of these stories have already appeared fallen so far in the world that he sent his oldest daughter out to
88 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | Murder crashes the party. here comes the body
work as a servant at 15. Her only joy is learning to cook. When ostensibly from a poisoned mushroom Bella bought in a local a girl is run over by an omnibus before her eyes, Bella automati- market. Now she must juggle cooking and a suddenly active cally picks up an envelope the dead girl had been clutching. The love life as she searches for a way to end her predicament. envelope contains an invitation to apply for an under-cook posi- A treasure trove of Victoriana, especially for foodies. tion at Buckingham Palace that very day. Introducing herself as More history than mystery but a truly delightful read. Helen Barton, Bella snags the job. She hides her new position from Louisa, the younger sister who’s marrying the son of a well-off family. She struggles to immerse herself in the persona HERE COMES THE BODY of a girl from Yorkshire, explaining her upper-class accent by DiRico, Maria saying her father was a gentleman. The only fly in the ointment Kensington (304 pp.) is the appearance of Helen’s brother, who blackmails her into $7.99 paper | Feb. 25, 2020 finding a job for him, too. Bella’s passion for cooking and her 978-1-4967-2534-9 work ethic soon endear her to the mostly male staff. Queen Vic- toria, who has an enormous appetite for rich foods, so enjoys Murder crashes the party. Bella’s scones that she personally asks her to make them every Mia Carina would like nothing better day. When her majesty travels to Nice, Bella goes along and gets than to see her dad, Ravello, a made man to put her knowledge of French to use. She develops a semiro- in Donny Boldano’s mob, go straight. mantic friendship with the head chef at the hotel, which was When she hears he’s won the Belle View built especially for the queen. Indeed, her life seems idyllic Banquet Manor from hard-luck gam- until Count Wilhelm, the betrothed of Princess Sophie, dies, bler Andre Bouras in a poker game, she young adult
| kirkus.com | mystery | 15 december 2019 | 89 rushes back from Palm Beach to help him run the place, hoping investigating Merveilleuse, providing two possible motives for it will provide her dad with enough legitimate income to allow his death. But Charlie was also pretty wild in his youth, and Liss him to cut his ties with the underworld. Despite its dated décor can’t help wondering if there’s something in his past that got and bone-shaking proximity to LaGuardia Airport, the catering him killed. hall has panoramic views out its windows that make it a wor- Red herrings abound in this charming tale of small- thy rival to the overpriced event venues in Manhattan—which town life and big-time murder. Mia’s outer-borough friends drive her nuts by calling “the city.” (“Queens is the city” is her perennial retort.) And she proves her borough cred by moving in with her nonna in Astoria. But DRESSED UP 4 MURDER running a catering hall involves more than dealing with bridezil- Eaton, J.C. las like Alice Paluski, who’s determined to make her wedding Kensington (320 pp.) bigger and better than her twin sister’s, or with momzillas like $7.99 paper | Feb. 25, 2020 Barbara Grazio, Alice’s prospective mother-in-law, who’s deter- 978-1-4967-2455-7 mined to make the groom’s side of the wedding outshine the bride’s. She has to wrangle an ever changing cast of chefs, sous- An Arizona accountant with a pen- chefs, waitstaff, decorators, DJs, and the occasional stripper, chant for solving murders lands a fishy who all bring a host of quirks and baggage to the banquet table. case. She also has to deal with more than one corpse. It takes all of Sophie “Phee” Kimball might lead a Mia’s considerable ingenuity to keep Ravello’s first legit enter- dull life if it weren’t for her mother, Har- prise from becoming a ticket right back to the slammer. riet Plunkett, and Harriet’s neurotic Chi- Her zany cast will have readers wondering whether weenie, Streetman. As it is, Harriet lives DiRico’s series debut is set in Belle View or Bellevue. near her daughter in Sun City West and has a wide circle of zany friends who’ve helped Phee solve several mysteries (Molded 4 Murder, 2019, etc.) while she’s been working for Williams Inves- A VIEW TO A KILT tigations along with her boyfriend, Marshall, a former police Dunnett, Kaitlyn officer. While Phee’s visiting Harriet one day, Streetman dashes Kensington (288 pp.) over to the neighbors’ barbecue grill and unearths a dead body $26.00 | Jan. 28, 2020 under a tarp. As usual, the overwhelmed local police ask Wil- 978-1-4967-1265-3 liams Investigations to help—er, consult. Harriet’s main concern is getting costumes made for the reluctant Streetman, whom Murder hits close to home for an she’s entered in a series of contests starting with Halloween and unconventional Maine sleuth. progressing through Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hannukah, and The most contentious question at St. Patrick’s Day. One of her friends is an accomplished seam- the Moosetookalook town meeting is stress who goes all out making gorgeous costumes that will beat whether the hamlet should sell water an obnoxious lady who looks down on mutts. The dead man rights to Merveilleuse International. It is identified as Cameron Tully, a seafood distributor, who was seems like an obvious move, but people are concerned about poisoned by the locally ubiquitous sago pine. At the first dog local wells drying up. Liss MacCrimmon Ruskin, who runs contest, Elaine Meschow has to be rushed to the hospital after the Scottish Emporium and is active in town affairs, has her she gets a dose of the same thing. The owner of a gourmet dog own opinion. So do her parents, Vi and Mac, who’ve recently food company, Elaine is lucky enough to recover. After Street- returned to the area. Liss’ Aunt Margaret is off on a genealogy man takes second place, Harriet’s team redoubles its efforts for trip to Ireland (no, not Scotland), and when the two Scotties the next contest while Phee and Marshall, who are moving into Liss is petsitting for her kick up a fuss in the yard, her hus- a new place together, continue to hunt for clues. A restaurant band, Dan, goes outside and finds a dead man. Chief of Police holdup and a scheme to use empty houses for hookups for high Sherri Campbell, a friend who’s relied on Liss’ keen senses school kids add to the confusion. before (Overkilt, 2018, etc.), recognizes that this is a case for You can’t help but chuckle over all the disasters, but in dour detective Kelly Cussler of the Maine State Police. Liss the end the heroine catches her prey. has a moment of déjà vu when the dead man reminds her of her father, but the whole family is flabbergasted when fingerprints identify the body as that of Charles Edward MacCrimmon, a private eye living in Florida. Charlie was Mac’s brother, listed as MIA in Vietnam and thought dead for 50 years. When the police discover that Mac was the beneficiary of Charlie’s will, their suspicions prompt Liss and Vi to journey to Florida in search of answers. Why did Charlie return home after so long? Under the floorboards in his house they discover papers hinting that Charlie may have been working for the government and
90 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | A harrowing portrait of addiction, prejudice, and redemption. shattered justice
COCONUT LAYER clan, who don’t trust the police. The morning after a bachelor- CAKE MURDER ette party for Brynn’s friend Dee Doherty, Brynn’s called to a Fluke, Joanne crime scene, where a pair of ears hang from monkey bars along Kensington (304 pp.) with the message “Hear No Evil.” She recognizes the stud in $27.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 the ears as likely belonging to the male stripper who left the 978-1-4967-1889-1 party with her distant cousin Mo Black. Wilco can find no body, just the foam take-out container used to transport the ears. Mo A baker helps solve her sister’s boy- denies knowing anything about the dead man, Chance Walker, friend’s classmate’s murder. but her abusive husband, Hughie, must be considered a suspect. Hannah Swensen is suffering from Brynn, who’s addicted to alcohol and pills, reluctantly joins a stress due to a trauma incurred in her counseling group, where she’s surprised to meet attractive assis- last adventure (Chocolate Cream Pie Mur tant DA Jake Sheehan. A second crime scene features a severed der, 2019) but alluded to only in the most elliptical terms in her tongue accompanied by the injunction “Speak No Evil.” Fol- current entry. Hannah’s stepfather, Doc Knight, is adamant: lowing a lead, Brynn and FBI agent Grabowski are attacked by She must leave at once for vacation. He sends Hannah and her Katie Doogan, with whom Brynn shares a sorry history: She mom off to California for a stress-free holiday helping Hannah’s had an affair with Kevin Doogan without knowing he was mar- college friend Lynne Larchmont pack up her palatial home and ried and owes him for covering up the fact that her Gran, now move back to Lake Eden, Minnesota, where Hannah’s shop, in a nursing home after a series of strokes, once shot someone. The Cookie Jar, provides sweet treats for all. A New York min- Meanwhile, the police dig into the two victims’ pasts, seek- ute after she arrives in Los Angeles, Hannah receives a hysteri- ing a connection between them. Dangerous trips into a forest
cal call from her sister, Michelle. Michelle’s boyfriend, Lonnie, patrolled by militia members turn up some clues, but, unable to young adult is the main suspect in the murder of Darcy Hicks, an old friend trust anyone but Wilco, Brynn finds her solo investigations ever from high school. Since Lonnie is one of Lake Eden’s handful more dangerous. of police detectives, everyone else on the force is deemed ineli- A harrowing portrait of addiction, prejudice, and gible to conduct the investigation, leaving only amateur sleuth redemption neatly encapsulated in a guileful mystery. Hannah to crack the case. Hannah moves back in, platonically of course, with her old flame Norman Rhodes, since her Lake Eden condo was the scene of that unspecified trauma and her SANTA FE NOIR husband, Ross Barton, has disappeared, or died, or maybe killed Ed. by Gore, Ariel somebody—it’s not quite clear which. Hannah begins her inves- Akashic (288 pp.) tigation by checking out Brian and Cassie Polinski, who were $15.95 paper | Mar. 3, 2020 with Darcy and Lonnie at the Double Eagle, a dive bar, the night 978-1-61775-722-8 of her death. But it’s hard for her inquiry to build up any steam because almost every chapter ends with copious directions for Shepherded by Lambda Literary making another nifty treat, complete with tips on which brands Award winner Gore, 17 contributors offer to use, advice about where to buy the ingredients, and little peeks at the dark side of a city known for anecdotes about the people who feast on the finished products. clean living with an arty edge. Nearly as many recipes as Joy of Cooking, and about as Editor Gore quotes Christine Gled- much narrative. hill’s description of film noir as “a struggle between different voices for control over the telling of the story.” But the stories in this installment of Akashic’s project to paint SHATTERED JUSTICE the world black complement rather than compete with each Furlong, Susan other. There are straight-up crime stories, like Hida Viloria’s Kensington (288 pp.) “SOS Sex” and Candace Walsh’s “The Sandbox Story.” There are $26.00 | Dec. 31, 2019 spooky ghost tales, like Jimmy Santiago Baca’s “Close Quarters,” 978-1-4967-1172-4 Ana Castillo’s “Divina: In Which Is Related a Goddess Made Flesh,” and Israel Francisco Haros Lopez’s graphic short story A wounded Tennessee warrior tries “La Llorona.” Family drama has its turn in “I Boycott Santa Fe” to make sense of her life by looking into by Tomas Moniz and “Behind the Tortilla Curtain” by Barbara the lives of others. Robidoux. So does love gone wrong, as in Byron F. Aspaas’s Brynn Callahan is an Irish Traveller “Táchii’nii: Red Running Into the Water.” But perhaps the most brought up by her beloved grandmother. poignant stories are the ones that turn Santa Fe’s promises of The Marines were her way out of Bone physical beauty and spiritual healing against it. In Elizabeth Gap, but she returned wounded both mentally and physically Lee’s “Waterfall,” a spa where clients flock in hopes of rejuvena- along with her cadaver-detecting dog, Wilco, who shares her tion becomes the scene of a grisly crime. A pristine Aspen forest afflictions. Now she works as a sheriff’s deputy Fractured( Truth, turns into a deadly trap in Katie Johnson’s “All Eyes.” And an 2018, etc.), facing prejudice from the community and her own organic farm hides a terrible secret in Gore’s own “Nightshade.”
| kirkus.com | mystery | 15 december 2019 | 91 Danger lurks even in the water, as Ana June’s “The Night of the celebrates young Adrian Richland’s birthday party with some Flood” proves. rabbit show and tell. Jules is so focused on all things rabbit that Readers will never look at hand-thrown pottery, heir- it’s a shock to the system when the party erupts in human drama. loom tomatoes, or spectacular sunsets the same way again. Not only does Jules hear Adrian’s mother, Carina, arguing with guest Evelyn Montgomery, but later in the party, Evelyn is mur- dered, leaving Carina as the prime suspect. Carina approaches DEATH BY CHOCOLATE Jules about looking into who offed Evelyn, not only to save her FROSTED DOUGHNUT own hide, but also because Jules has dipped her toe into inves- Graves, Sarah tigating in the past (Left Fur Dead, 2019) and struck up a friend- Kensington (240 pp.) ship with Sheriff Jack Carver to boot. Carina doesn’t know that $26.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 Jules has a furry assistant who’s sure to make her investigation 978-1-4967-1134-2 a success. Bun, the black-and-white rabbit who’s Jules’ favorite pet, communicates with her telepathically, and he quickly lets Notch another corpse for Jacobia Jules know that he’s eager to help her dig into Evelyn’s murder. “Jake” Tiptree (Death by Chocolate Malted The investigation the duo launch into Evelyn’s dealings with a Milkshake, 2019, etc.). local rabbit show reveal that the dead woman was a mean, nasty After slowly working its way out of person with too many enemies to count. Which candidates the red, Jake’s sweet shop is now one of finally summoned the gall to end Evelyn’s life? the linchpins of the revitalized business district of Eastport, Rabbit-obsessed readers (hands, please? anyone?) will Maine. But she and her partner, Ellie White, are less than love the dedication to all things bunny. Others may find thrilled when Henry Hadlyme, star of the food tourism show themselves out in the cold. Eat This! offers to include The Chocolate Moose on his pod- cast Eating on the Edge! which highlights off-the-beaten-track purveyors of New England fare. Hadlyme seems a little slimy DEATH IN AVIGNON to Jake and Ellie, and his interest in their treats seems less than Kent, Serena sincere. But when he calls Jake “missy,” that’s it; the two choco- Harper/HarperCollins (352 pp.) lateers boot him out of their shop. He comes back with a ven- $16.99 paper | Mar. 3, 2020 geance—or at least, his corpse does. It turns up in the basement 978-0-06-286988-3 of the Moose with a stuffed parrot pinned to its shoulder and a cutlass jabbed through its chest in a gruesome nod to the ongo- An English expatriate in France con- ing Eastport Pirate Festival. Jake would love to present police tinues her affinity for murder. chief Bob Arnold with a convenient alternative to charging her As winter approaches, Penelope Kite with Hadlyme’s murder. And there’s no dearth of suspects: A is glorying in her new life in Provence. surreptitious trip to the Eat This! production trailer lets Jake More of Le Chant d’Eau is habitable, know that pretty much everyone involved with the show hated with fresh plaster, new wiring, and no Hadlyme. But finding out exactly who croaked the curmud- further corpses in the pool (Death in Provence, 2019). The own- geon—and offering the chief some proof—proves to be a chal- ers of the bakery in the village of St. Merlot look forward to lenge to Jake’s and Ellie’s ingenuity, health, and welfare. her croissant purchases, she’s brave enough to host lunch for A treat for aficionados of shopkeeper-sleuth cozies. four of her neighbors, and she’s invited to play cello in a musi- cal group in nearby Roussillon. Realtor Clémence Valencourt continues to visit Penny frequently even though their profes- WHO’S DEAD, DOC? sional relationship is long over. She’s invited to dinner by St. Griffin, J.M. Merlot’s handsome mayor, Laurent Millais, although no calo- Kensington (304 pp.) ries had been consumed during either of their earlier rendez- $7.99 paper | Feb. 25, 2020 vous. And equally dashing Gilles de Bourdan, owner of a small 978-1-4967-2058-0 art gallery in nearby Avignon, is so charmed by Penny that he invites her on an overnight trip to visit his larger gallery in A bunny-loving farmer hopes that Nice. Perhaps the crowning achievement in Penny’s francifi- her telepathic connection to her pet rab- cation is her invitation to the opening of Nicholas Versanne’s bit can help her solve another murder. exhibition at de Bourdan’s Avignon location. But the death of Jules Bridge has dedicated her life a fellow exhibitor, retired British barrister Roland Galbraith to the care of rabbits. Not only does Doncaster, who keels over during the opening and expires she own and operate Fur Bridge Farm, a in the hospital several days later, threatens Penelope’s place venue dedicated to bunnies, but she has in Provencal society. As her suspicions grow, her new French a number of rescue rabbits, an onsite vet, rabbit fur spinning friends seem to turn against her, and it takes the arrival of her classes, and even a few pet rabbits of her own. Sharing her love childhood pal Frankie to right the ship. Even after the big of the species is Jules’ calling, and it’s all in a day’s work when she reveal that prompts Penelope to unmask the killer, it takes
92 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | quite a while for all the complications to unravel at a typical, THE KING’S JUSTICE leisurely Luberon Valley pace. MacNeal, Susan Elia Spending more time in Kent’s heroine’s company is Bantam (368 pp.) almost worth all the peregrinations. Almost. $27.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 978-0-399-59384-0
WATCHING FROM THE DARK How far can a multitalented woman Lodge, Gytha be pushed before she breaks? Random House (352 pp.) British-born, American-raised Mag- $27.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 gie Hope has held an amazing series of 978-1-984818-07-2 jobs since moving to war-torn London. She’s worked for Winston Churchill, A man reports the murder of his girl- traveled as a spy to Berlin and Paris, and escaped from a Scot- friend, which happened while he was tish island where someone has been killing exiled Special Oper- Skyping with her, in Lodge’s (She Lies in ations Executive agents (The Prisoner in the Castle, 2018, etc.). Wait, 2019) second English mystery. She’s also found time to help the police apprehend Nicholas At first the police don’t take the Reitter, a serial killer known as the Blackout Beast, who’s been report seriously because the caller won’t sentenced to death for his crimes. And she’s developed a rela- give his name, but on a hunch, DCI Jonah Sheens and his team tionship with divorced, job-obsessed DCI James Durgin, who’s look into it, and they do indeed find the body of Zoe Swardadine. faced with a new serial murder case when suitcases filled with From the start, there is a plethora of shady characters doing bones turn up in the Thames. Fed up with the SOE and close shady things to hide their shady secrets. Foremost among them to losing control, Maggie’s taken on a dangerous job disarming is Aidan, the (married) boyfriend who called in the crime. The unexploded ordnance for the bomb disposal unit. She works drama of his on-again, off-again relationship with Zoe may have with conscientious objectors, many of whom are Italians in been responsible for her complete transformation over the last Britain—“Britalians”—whose relatives were interned as enemy few months of her life. And then there’s Victor, Zoe’s irascible aliens. After refusing Durgin’s request for help in the new series co-worker, who may have nursed his own fantasies of a relation- of murders, she’s dragged into the case when Reitter, now in the ship with her, and Maeve and Angeline, Zoe’s best friends, who Tower of London, claims to know who the new killer is but will relied on her to pick them up every time they fell. As a picture only talk to Maggie, who reluctantly agrees to visit him; he says of Zoe’s last few months begins to coalesce, Jonah and his team he’ll give her the killer’s name if the king commutes his death sense a malevolent presence at the heart of the case—someone sentence to life imprisonment. Durgin refuses to disclose to the who hated Zoe enough to murder her at her most vulnerable public that each suitcase contained a white feather, suggesting time. They rush to put the pieces together before one of their that the killer may be targeting conscientious objectors. Mag- own is unwittingly put in danger. Lodge alternates between gie, angered by his caution, wonders if the killer might be con- chapters following the investigation into Zoe’s death and chap- nected to the Italian community. She ponders whether nature ters that recount the final 20 months of her life, allowing the or nurture creates serial killers. Could she have inherited her reader to understand Zoe as a fully rounded and complicated own killer instincts from her mother, Nazi spy Clara Hess? A character, not just a victim. This choice, trendy in thrillers but bit of code-breaking and some deeper insight into Reitter break almost always effective when the characters are strong, consis- open the case but put Maggie in the killer’s crosshairs. tently reminds us to look beyond simplistic binaries of victim Action-packed, intertwined mysteries featuring an and perpetrator, innocent and guilty, and recognize that all introspective heroine and packed with little-known his- humans make problematic choices, sometimes for good rea- torical details. sons and sometimes for bad. Lodge’s choices celebrate the complexity of humanity and elevate this police procedural. THE MISSING SISTER Marr, Elle Thomas & Mercer (300 pp.) $15.95 paper | Apr. 1, 2020 978-1-5420-0605-7
Marr’s debut novel follows a San Diego medical student to, around, and ultimately beneath Paris in search of the twin sister she’d been drifting away from. “Come to Paris. Your sister is dead,” neurology resident Sebastien Bronn cables Shayna Darby. No sooner does Shayna begin looking
| kirkus.com | mystery | 15 december 2019 | 93 around her sister Angela’s apartment, however, than she finds her children and seems out of sorts and perhaps a bit too inter- a message in the secret code the twins had developed as chil- ested in Keenan, her old boyfriend. Phoebe fears that William’s dren: “ALIVE. TRUST NO ONE.” Is the corpse the police seen the killer and gone into hiding and ponders who’d want fished from the Seine 10 days after a murderous attack on the Stephen dead. Local pub owner Joe Murdock, whose business Sorbonne left two of her fellow students dead really Angela depends on perry, almost came to blows with the American, and Darby’s? Sebastien, Angela’s boyfriend, has identified it as hers, sheep farmer Fred Corbyn stands to lose pasture and watering but Shayna, her suspicions on high alert, is convinced that it’s rights if the property is sold. The villagers, who loyally try to not. Weighed down with resentment that Angela never came give Keenan an alibi, pitch in to harvest the pears and make the home for the funeral of their parents when they were killed in perry while he languishes in jail and Phoebe and Eva seek to a car accident, urged on by the eerie intimacy she continues unearth a killer. to share with her twin, and armed with the scant clues she’s A stylish post–World War I mystery with plenty of drawn from the documents Angela left behind, she embarks on twists and strong female characters fully capable of nego- a search she can only hope will bring them together once more. tiating them. Can she trust Sebastien, whose solicitude suddenly erupts into something else when he kisses her passionately and mur- murs, “Mon Angèle”? Or Jean-Luc Fillion, the foreign liaison at MURDER IN AN the American Embassy who places himself at her disposal? Or IRISH COTTAGE Louise Chang, the landlady whose mixed-race marriage echoes O’Connor, Carlene the twins’ own biracial roots? Or even Inspector Valentin, who Kensington (304 pp.) disconcertingly suggests first that Angela may have been the $26.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 victim of a serial killer and then that she may herself have mur- 978-1-4967-1905-8 dered her fellow student and frenemy Emmanuelle Wood? As she tracks down clues amid the city’s historical brothels and the A newly fledged Garda jeopardizes catacombs on which Angela had chosen to write her disserta- her romance in pursuit of a killer. tion, Shayna feels increasingly close to her twin in ways that are Siobhán O’Sullivan, who helps her both illuminating and profoundly disturbing. siblings run the family cafe in Kilbane, Notable for its exploration of the uncanny bonds twins is secretly engaged to fellow Garda share and the killer’s memorably macabre motive. Macdara Flannery. Siobhán is on holiday from her day job (Mur der in an Irish Pub, 2019, etc.), so when Macdara’s cousin Jane calls with a frantic cry for help, Siobhán accompanies him to A SILENT STABBING Ballysiogdun. Jane is legally blind and shares a cottage with Maxwell, Alyssa her mother, Ellen, who’s estranged from her sister, Macdara’s Kensington (304 pp.) mother. His mam is not easy to get along with, but Ellen, a bossy, $26.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 retired schoolteacher, is even worse. They arrive to find a crowd 978-1-4967-1742-9 of people near Ellen’s cottage, all agitating to have it bulldozed because they’re convinced that its location in the middle of A titled lady and her clever maid a fairy path spells bad luck and because people who live in it solve yet another difficult case of murder. keep dying. Just the night before there had been strange lights, It’s 1920. Lady Phoebe Renshaw screaming, and even a black dog, the final straw for a supersti- and her maid, Eva Huntford, have been tious lot of local residents. Siobhán and Macdara find Ellen dead, instrumental in solving many a murder, poisoned or smothered or both, the body carefully posed and a including, most recently, that of Phoe- window broken. Although the local Garda want no help from be’s sister Julia’s husband (A Murderous Marriage, 2018). Lady them, both are determined to investigate, especially since Jane Julia, pregnant and moping around her grandparents’ home, still is a suspect. Siobhán, who considers Macdara’s involvement blames herself for her husband’s death. Phoebe is surprised to tricky because he’s a relative, intends to follow every clue no learn that the family’s longtime head gardener has retired, leav- matter where it leads. Luckily, the investigator is a friend from ing the job to Stephen Ripley, brother to Keenan, whose orchard Garda college who’s willing to pass her information. Ellen was produces pears for the cider known as perry. Stephen’s debut unpopular for so many reasons that there are plenty of suspects is marred when he’s seen bullying the garden boy, William. So who may have wanted her dead: a local councilman, a professor when he’s found dead in the garden, not even his brother seems writing a book on the fairy people, and several unhappy neigh- all that sad—especially since Stephen was evidently conspir- bors. Picking her way through a thorny thicket of alibis and lies, ing with a brash American who wanted to buy the orchard and Siobhán uncovers hidden gold and hidden relationships. Can build a hotel on the heavily mortgaged property. In the absence she also uncover a killer before the case ruins her romance? of William, who’s vanished, Keenan is arrested by the local chief Plenty of surprising twists and oodles of Irish charm inspector, who sees no need to look further. Luckily, Eva’s boy- make this an entertaining read. friend, Constable Miles Brannock, is keeping an open mind. Eva worries about her sister Alice, who comes to visit without
94 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | A ghoulish killer brings a Boston bookseller’s list of perfect fictional murders to life. eight perfect murders
DEAD RINGER after his tour in Vietnam. Being on the other side of the investi- Ryan, Annelise gation doesn’t feel any more comfortable for Russ, who’s already Kensington (352 pp.) struggling to help Clare cope with Ethan, their infant son; man- $26.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 age the absence of Officer Kevin Flynn, whose new job with the 978-1-4967-2255-3 Syracuse Police Department involves some undercover work uncomfortably close to his former hometown; and face down The death of a young drug user looks the continuing threat to shut down his department and leave all too much like the work of a serial the New York State Police responsible for Millers Kill’s impres- killer who’s already locked up. sive slate of homicides (Through the Evil Days, 2013, etc.). For her Lacy O’Connor’s corpse shows a part, Clare is pressed to welcome a new intern, Joni Langevoort, shocking amount of abuse for her 27 a seminary student from Manhattan who turns out to be trans- years on the planet. Not only are there gender. Though Joni’s mother is warmly supportive of her track marks from heroin abuse and dental destruction from daughter’s transition, just the proximity of the family’s wealth meth abuse, but there are five deep stab marks left by the cold- and power will ring alarm bells for fans of the series who join hearted killer who dumped her body in the road. One of the Russ and his fragile department in wondering whether they’re wounds, however, holds a surprise: Medical examiner Izthak dealing with copycat crimes or no crimes at all—or whether Rybarceski finds five yellow carnation petals tucked neatly the same person really could have murdered all three of those inside. Even more uncanny is the recollection of Mattie Win- young women between 1952 and the present. The narrative hop- ston (Dead of Winter, 2019, etc.), the medicolegal death inves- scotches nimbly but not very revealingly among the three time tigator who works with Izzy, of the forensic conference she periods right through the unsatisfying, early-arriving solution, attended a year ago where a colleague from Eau Claire told which doesn’t slow down the continuing complications in all her about a serial killer who left carnation petals in his victim’s three time frames that reveal where the author’s heart really lies. wounds. Eau Claire DA Pete Hamilton is none too happy to As ambitious as Spencer-Fleming’s best as long as you hear that a fifth victim may have turned up in time to exonerate don’t expect a tidy whodunit. Mason Ulrich, the man he sent to the Columbia Correctional Institution, convicted of four earlier deaths. Mattie and her husband, Detective Steve Hurley, find Ulrich’s account of his EIGHT PERFECT wrongful conviction credible, but their pursuit of justice for MURDERS Ulrich is complicated by storms on the marriage front. Since Swanson, Peter Mattie’s first marriage to surgeon David Winston was fine until Morrow/HarperCollins (288 pp.) it suddenly wasn’t, she and Steve have never learned how to $26.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 argue. And it’s a skill they’re really going to need, since, already 978-0-06-283820-9 mother to 2-year-old Matthew and stepmom to teenage Emily, Mattie suddenly finds herself expecting another child she’s not A ghoulish killer brings a Boston entirely sure she wants. bookseller’s list of perfect fictional Marital woes bog down an otherwise ingenious murders to life—that is, to repeated, whodunit. emphatic death. The Red House Mystery, Malice Afore thought, The A.B.C. Murders, Double Indemnity, Strangers on a HID FROM OUR EYES Train, The Drowner, Deathtrap, The Secret History: They may Spencer-Fleming, Julia not be the best mysteries, reflects Malcolm Kershaw, but they Minotaur (320 pp.) feature the most undetectable murders, as he wrote on a little- $27.99 | Apr. 7, 2020 read blog post when he was first hired at Old Devils Bookstore. 978-0-312-60685-5 Now that he owns the store with mostly silent partner Brian Murray, a semifamous mystery writer, that post has come back The ninth case for Millers Kill Police to haunt him. FBI agent Gwen Mulvey has observed at least Chief Russell Van Alstyne and his wife, three unsolved murders, maybe more, that seem to take their Rev. Clare Fergusson, is actually three cues from the stories on Mal’s list. What does he think about cases that span more than 60 years. possible links among them? she wonders. The most interesting A young woman in a party dress thing he thinks is something he’s not going to share with her: is found dead out in the middle of He’s hiding a secret that would tie him even more closely to that McEachron Hill Road. Though there’s not a mark on her, every- list than she imagines. And while Mal is fretting about what he one on the Millers Kill force instantly suspects murder because can do to help stop the violence without tipping his own hand, that’s the same spot where two similarly dressed women were the killer, clearly untrammeled by any such scruples, continues found dead in 1952 and 1972. Neither earlier case was ever down the list of fictional blueprints for perfect murders. Swan- solved. In fact, the closest thing to a suspect in the 1972 case son (Before She Knew Him, 2019, etc.) jumps the shark early was Russ Van Alstyne, having some serious readjustment issues from genre thrills to metafictional puzzles, but despite a triple
| kirkus.com | mystery | 15 december 2019 | 95 helping of cleverness that might seem like a fatal overdose, the COLLISION OF LIES pleasures of following, and trying to anticipate, a narrator who’s Threadgill, Tom constantly second- and third-guessing himself and everyone Revell (400 pp.) around him are authentic and intense. If the final revelations $15.99 paper | Feb. 4, 2020 are anticlimactic, that’s only because you wish the mounting 978-0-8007-3650-7 complications, like a magician’s showiest routine, could go on forever. Threadgill (Dead of Winter, 2019, etc.) The perfect gift for well-read mystery mavens who plunges a detective from the San Antonio complain that they don’t write them like they used to. Property Crimes Division into a deep-laid plot involving murder, kidnapping, and myriad other crimes above her pay grade. FIREWATCHING Sure, Amara Alvarez would love to Thomas, Russ work for Homicide, but she doesn’t expect that to happen any Putnam (368 pp.) time soon—not even after Marisa Reyes, whose 6-year-old $26.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 son, Benjamin, was killed three years ago when his bus was 978-0-525-54202-5 struck by a freight train in a crash that left 17 schoolchildren and three other victims dead, gets a text message from Benja- A Yorkshire detective untangles an min that says: “Help me, Mom.” Enzo Reyes keeps telling his old murder and new arsons. wife that there must be some mistake, and none of the scant DS Adam Tyler, a cold-case investi- evidence Amara turns up gives any reason to hope, but Marisa gator for the South Yorkshire Police, is is convinced that her boy is still alive. And her unwavering a bit of a loner, but his boss wants him faith is seconded from an unexpected quarter when Daniella to network more so he lets Sally-Ann, Delacruz, whose daughter Caterina was another victim of the one of his civilian colleagues, talk him into joining a pub eve- collision, finds a note on her car’s windshield that says sim- ning with the South Yorkshire Police LGBT Support Network. ply, “I’m sorry.” Odds are that the note was left by somebody He doesn’t plan to stay long, and when he meets a handsome who cut her off in traffic or nearly hit her car. But Amara’s man at the bar—“Sweetheart, he was everyone’s type. Even sufficiently struck by the coincidence to dig deeper, especially mine,” Sally-Ann says—he abandons the group to go home when she realizes that Philip Dragan, one of two victims in with him. The next morning, when he gets to work, Sally-Ann a very contemporary double murder, was the man who told tells him there’s big news: The body of Gerald Cartwright, a Daniella Delacruz he was sorry and that the forensic evidence local tycoon and shady character who disappeared years ago, in the three-year-old case strongly suggests that Marisa Reyes has been found in the basement of his own house during a is on to something. That’s enough to pull her away from her renovation ordered by his 21-year-old son, who’d just inherited latest case in Property Crimes—a series of nearly a dozen rob- it. Tyler manages to get himself assigned to the investigation beries by someone whose real goal wasn’t to take anything but though the detective who’s been working on it since Cart- to leave something behind—and get her assigned to a coveted wright’s disappearance doesn’t want to hand it over to cold spot helping the FBI. The closing movement doesn’t maintain cases; he soon discovers the identity of his one-night stand: the level of the buildup, but readers will root for Amara to get Oscar Cartwright, son of the deceased and potential suspect, promoted to Homicide in the inevitable sequel. which further complicates his position. Meanwhile, Edna No sex or cussing; just some truly horrifying crimes of and Lily, elderly Cartwright retainers of various duties, have violence, greed, and corruption. begun receiving unsettling anonymous letters, and the whole community is rattled by a series of arsons that seem more and more likely to be related to the discovery of Cartwright’s COLUMBUS NOIR body. As Tyler’s investigation slowly uncovers a sordid history Ed. by Welsh-Huggins, Andrew of manipulation and abuse, the violence increases and he is Akashic (288 pp.) assaulted several times. The repetitive nature of these assaults $15.95 paper | Mar. 3, 2020 is a weakness in the book, but the richness of Tyler’s character 978-1-61775-765-5 and the vividness of his negotiation of his own sexuality and the casual bigotry in his community are effective. The sub- The latest stage in Akashic’s master sidiary characters are lively and believable, the arsons are par- plan to paint the world black is marked ticularly well described, and though the plot sometimes seems by 14 new stories whose most appealing gratuitously complex, this is a rewarding entertainment. features are their come-hither titles and A good detective in an incendiary procedural. the different shades of noir they invoke, from light gray to pitch black. The hallmark here is competent but unspectacular profes- sionalism that ticks all the boxes but originality. Sex fuels the plots of Robin Yocum’s “The Satin Fox,” in which a vice cop’s
96 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | romance with a junkie stripper is threatened by blackmail; seem the most likely suspects if the death turns out to be murder Kristen Lepionka’s “Gun People,” in which a wife takes up with and not misadventure. Richard’s father, William, a friend of Vi’s, one of the contractors upgrading the place her accountant hus- asks McIntyre and Vi to investigate, if only to keep Richard in the band has purchased; Craig McDonald’s “Curb Appeal,” which clear, though McIntyre needs no excuse to spend time with Vi out- follows a woodworker’s romance with an interior decorator side the confines of her society set. McIntyre ponders motive and to its all-too-logical end; Mercedes King’s “An Agreeable Wife opportunity in putting together the pieces of the puzzle as the col- for a Suitable Husband,” whose ill-assorted title couple plot to lege boys, who’ve been given little individual personality of their rid themselves of each other; Julia Keller’s “All That Burns the own, are cut down one by one. He doesn’t seem to realize that he’d Mind,” in which an Ohio State University English teacher finds probably solve the mystery faster if he spent more time tracking a sadly predictable way of dealing with two problem students; the killer and less considering where Vi stores her gun. and Khalid Moalim’s “Long Ears,” whose heroine learns a great This sturdy homage to 1920s national parks lacks the deal about an ancient accident and a present-day murder but oomph that would make it memorable. keeps mum. None of the entries excels editor Welsh-Huggins’ “Going Places,” in which a rising politician’s wife and fixer col- lude to shelter him from the consequences of his peccadilloes; the nearest competitors are Chris Bournea’s “My Name Is Not Susan” (a retired football player’s lover is suspected when he science fiction and his wife, the lover’s friend, are murdered), Tom Barlow’s “Honor Guard” (a chronically disappointing son negotiates fran- and fantasy tically to keep his father out of prison after an argument with a stranger turns deadly), and Daniel Best’s “Take the Wheel” (a tawdry, fast-moving tale of a pair of frenemies whose partner- ship in a coffee shop is threatened by some lethally laced her- oin). The newly arrived Chinese student in Nancy Zefris’ darkly THE LAST SMILE IN comic “Foreign Study” manages to stumble through town with- SUNDER CITY out occasioning a single felony, and Laura Bickle’s “The Dead Arnold, Luke and the Quiet,” Lee Martin’s “The Luckiest Man Alive,” and Orbit/Little, Brown (368 pp.) Yolanda Tonette Sanders’ “The Valley” are notable for their clos- $15.99 paper | Feb. 25, 2020 ing intimations of grace, that rarest of qualities in noir. 978-0-316-45582-4 As for Columbus, it comes across much like other Mid- western cities in noir stories, which may be the point. The debut novel from Australian actor Arnold is a fusion of paranormal fantasy and mystery set in a world where RANGER MCINTYRE: THE magic has been effectively destroyed by DUNRAVEN HOARD MURDERS humans, forcing the supernatural popu- Work, James C. lation to live a radically diminished existence. Five Star/Gale Cengage (248 pp.) Fetch Phillips is a “Man for Hire,” which is another way of $25.95 | Feb. 19, 2020 saying the down-on-his-luck, hard-drinking former Soldier– 978-1-4328-5948-0 turned-detective will do just about anything to pay the bills. When a principal from a cross-species school enlists him to When a treasure hunt at a Colorado find a missing professor—a 300-year-old Vampire named mine turns deadly for some college stu- Edmund Rye—Phillips quickly agrees. Without magic, the dents in the 1920s, a park ranger works Vampires—and all other supernatural beings—are slowly with a lady friend who’s employed by the dying. So how difficult could it be to find a withered blood- FBI to suss out the root of the trouble. sucker who is so weak he can hardly move around? After vis - With a two-week vacation so close he can feel it, Rocky Moun- iting Rye’s last residence—a secluded loft space in the local tain National Park Ranger Timothy Grayson McIntyre is torn library filled with the Vampire’s research and writings—Phil- away from fantasies about how much fly-fishing he can fit in when lips discovers that one of Rye’s students is missing as well: a he’s roped into using his free time for an informal investigation as young Siren named January. His investigation becomes com- a favor to a friend. That’s fine with McIntyre, because the friend plicated when more Vampires turn up dead and he is almost is FBI secretary Vi Coteau, and investigating at his sweetheart’s killed himself. While the mystery element of the storyline is behest makes it likely that he’ll be spending time in close quarters a bit thin, the focus on meticulous worldbuilding and highly with her. And no quarters could be closer than exploring Colora- detailed backstory as well as the cast of fully developed and do’s labyrinthine mines, where upper-crust undergraduate Richard memorable characters (Simms, the reptilian cop; Peteris, the Leup and two fraternity brothers have been exploring in search of disfigured half-werewolf; etc.) are unarguable strengths. But that well-known buried treasure, the Dunraven Hoard. One of the the real power here is in Arnold’s use of imagery throughout. boys has been killed during the explorations, and the other two His unconventional descriptive style brings a richness and
| kirkus.com | science fiction & fantasy | 15 december 2019 | 97 Fierce, poetic, uncompromising. the city we became
depth to the narrative. Pete’s smile is “like a handbag with A BLIGHT OF BLACKWINGS a broken zipper,” and the sound of Phillips’ falling from a Hearne, Kevin building is “like someone stepping on an egg full of snails.” Del Rey/Ballantine (592 pp.) The first installment of an effortlessly readable series $28.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 that could be the illegitimate love child of Terry Pratchett 978-0-345-54857-3 and Dashiell Hammett. Book 2 of Hearne’s latest fantasy trilogy, The Seven Kennings (A Plague of THE SECRET CHAPTER Giants, 2017), set in a multiracial world Cogman, Genevieve thrust into turmoil by an invasion of Ace/Berkley (352 pp.) peculiar giants. $26.00 | $16.00 paper | Jan. 7, 2020 In this world, most races have their 978-0-593-19784-4 own particular magical endowment, or “kenning,” though 978-1-9848-0476-1 paper there are downsides to trying to gain the magic (an excellent chance of being killed instead) and using it (rapid aging and In a world of dragons, Fae, and time- death). Most recently discovered is the sixth kenning, whose traveling Librarians, an unlikely team, beneficiaries can talk to and command animals. The story can- thrown together by circumstance, must ters along, although with multiple first-person narrators, it’s steal a massive painting from a Euro- confusing at times. Some characters are familiar, others are pean museum. new, most of them with their own problems to solve, all some- Librarian Irene Winters and the dragon prince called Kai how caught up in the grand design. To escape her overbearing have only just had a chance to celebrate the good fortune of father and the unreasoning violence his kind represents, fire- a recent treaty between the dragons and the Fae when a new, giant Olet Kanek leads her followers into the far north, hoping critical job presents itself in this new installment of Cogman’s to found a new city where the races and kennings can peace- (The Mortal Word, 2018, etc.) Invisible Library series. Chaos fully coexist. Joining Olet are young Abhinava Khose, discov- threatens the world in which Irene grew up, and it can only be erer of the sixth kenning, and, later, Koesha Gansu (kenning: stopped by the recovery of a text containing a one-of-a-kind air), captain of an all-female crew shipwrecked by deep-sea story. To get it, Irene and Kai will have to bargain with Mr. monsters. Elsewhere, Hanima, who commands hive insects, Nemo, a secretive Fae who lives in a world outside the treaty struggles to free her city from the iron grip of wealthy, cal- and who has a penchant for feeding his enemies to sharks. Like lous merchant monarchists. Other threads focus on the Bone all Fae, Mr. Nemo expects something in return—Théodore Giants, relentless invaders seeking the still-unknown seventh Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa, to be precise—and he wants kenning, whose confidence that this can defeat the other six is Irene and Kai to work with five other specialists to secure deeply disturbing. Under Hearne’s light touch, these elements it. Traveling from Mr. Nemo’s tropical 1980s hideaway to a mesh perfectly, presenting an inventive, eye-filling panorama; version of contemporary Europe, the crack teammates find satisfying (and, where appropriate, well-resolved) plotlines; themselves endangered by the presence of an anti-supernatu- and tensions between the races and their kennings to supply ral police force, and the angst present in Irene and Kai’s rela- much of the drama. tionship intensifies as each comes to discover how little they A charming and persuasive entry that will leave readers know about the other’s motivations and allegiances. Cogman impatiently awaiting the concluding volume. (The Mortal Word, 2018, etc.) slathers on the intrigue, layering and twisting together the plots of dragons, Fae, and Librarians alike to arrive at a conclusion that some may deem too cleanly THE CITY WE BECAME rendered. Although one or two Fae members of Mr. Nemo’s Jemisin, N.K. seven-person heist team prove forgettable, the near-relentless Orbit (448 pp.) mischief and mayhem make for an indulgent read. $28.00 | Mar. 24, 2020 A series installment that works well as a stand-alone, 978-0-316-50984-8 with final twists that will leave readers wanting more. This extremely urban fantasy, a love/ hate song to and rallying cry for the author’s home of New York, expands her story “The City, Born Great” (from How Long ’Til Black Future Month, 2018). When a great city reaches the point when it’s ready to come to life, it chooses a human avatar, who guides the city through its birthing and contends with an extradimensional Enemy who seeks to strike at this vulnerable moment. Now, it is New York City’s time to be born, but its
98 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | avatar is too weakened by the battle to complete the process. ruler of the city Tlaanthothe, needs her to help reclaim his posi- So each of the individual boroughs instantiates its own avatar to tion from a scheming rival. Later, during a quest to secure the continue the fight. Manhattan is a multiracial grad student new Reliquary, she will clash with the Qarsazhi, imperial interworld to the city with a secret violent past that he can no longer quite extortionists, and their powerful young wizard Shuthmili, who’s remember; Brooklyn is an African American rap star–turned– fated to be absorbed by their enforcement arm but, like Csorwe, lawyer and city councilwoman; Queens is an Indian math whiz never conceived other possibilities. Until this point, the story here on a visa; the Bronx is a tough Lenape woman who runs meanders, but finally the author finds a unique voice nolon- a nonprofit art center; and Staten Island is a frightened and ger dependent on boilerplate action, chases, escapes, torture, insular Irish American woman who wants nothing to do with and fights. And when Csorwe and Shuthmili meet and fumble the other four. Can these boroughs successfully awaken and toward a relationship, we recognize heartfelt emotion, real sub- heal their primary avatar and repel the invading white tentacles stance, and an emergent theme: loyalties and the choices we of the Enemy? The novel is a bold calling out of the racial ten- make that engender them. These, along with the strong female sions dividing not only New York City, but the U.S. as a whole; leads, are solid foundations upon which to build. it underscores that people of color are an integral part of the A moderately promising entry that should find an city’s tapestry even if some white people prefer to treat them audience. as interlopers. It’s no accident that the only white avatar is the racist woman representing Staten Island, nor that the Enemy appears as a Woman in White who employs the forces of rac- ism and gentrification in her invasion; her true self is openly inspired by the tropes of the xenophobic author H.P. Lovecraft. romance Although the story is a fantasy, many aspects of the plot draw on contemporary incidents. In the real world, white people don’t need a nudge from an eldritch abomination to call down a violent police reaction on people of color innocently conduct- THE SECRET SHE KEEPS ing their daily lives, and just as in the book, third parties are Dimon, HelenKay fraudulently transferring property deeds from African Ameri- Avon/HarperCollins (384 pp.) can homeowners in Brooklyn, and gentrification forces out the $7.99 paper | Dec. 30, 2019 people who made the neighborhood attractive in the first place. 978-0-06-289279-9 In the face of these behaviors, whataboutism, #BothSides, and #NotAllWhitePeople are feeble arguments. Secluded Whitaker Island faces a Fierce, poetic, uncompromising. crime spree when Connor Rye comes for a vacation, but when an enigmatic beauty is in danger, he’ll risk anything to keep THE UNSPOKEN NAME her safe. Larkwood, A.K. Needing a break, Connor follows Tor (464 pp.) his brother Hansen’s footsteps to secluded Whitaker Island, $25.99 | Feb. 11, 2020 but the night he arrives he’s attacked by someone in his pitch- 978-1-250-23890-0 dark cottage and warned to leave. He’s surprised to learn that a mysterious woman named Maddie Rhine, who answers the Larkwood’s debut, the first of a fan- phone for the police department, is responsible, and they have tasy series, begins in familiar fashion as a an unorthodox meet-cute when the local police chief, Ben Clif- warrior-maiden adventure and gradually ford, makes Maddie confess to Connor. She tells him that she develops into a love story. thought he was breaking into the cabin, but that’s not true— In this imaginative but never fully she had been counting on having that cabin empty in case she convincing universe, places may be needed to use it as a hideout since she had just gotten a threat- reached via magical gates leading through a maze of dead and ening note saying “I found you, bitch.” The notes escalate and dying worlds. Magic powers derive from a rare, innate ability seem to threaten Connor as well. Connor and Maddie find combined with power vouchsafed by a patron god. Csorwe is themselves increasingly attracted to each other, and Connor of a hominin race that sports tusks—these are functionless and, becomes Maddie’s fiercest protector; meanwhile, Ben becomes unfortunately, impossible to visualize without thinking “pig- more concerned that Maddie’s past is coming back to haunt her. gish.” In a narrative rendered in crisp, vivid prose, Csorwe serves It turns out that Maddie used to be in the witness protection the oracular shrine of a god–the Unspoken Name–but is des- program. When a body turns up on the island and her old WIT- tined soon to sacrifice herself. Then Sethennai, a wizard—his SEC handler follows, Maddie begins to think it may be time to race has Spock ears—requesting a prophesy about the mysteri- run again, but she’d left WITSEC because she wanted a life— ous and powerful Reliquary of Pentravesse, offers her a choice: “Not her old one, but a life”—and now she finally feels like she’s serve him and live, or marry the god and die. Csorwe chooses getting there and may have met her perfect match. Yet even as life and becomes Sethennai’s ninja. The wizard, formerly the she and Connor are contending with a dangerous enemy, they’re
| kirkus.com | romance | 15 december 2019 | 99 also navigating deep emotional wounds, and surviving physi- THE PRINCE cally might be less challenging than overcoming past traumas OF BROADWAY through honesty and vulnerability. Dimon’s second Whitaker Shupe, Joanna Island–set romantic suspense once again plays up the remote Avon/HarperCollins (384 pp.) location populated by a community full of secrets and fueled $7.99 paper | Dec. 30, 2019 by gossip. Calm, capable Connor (brother of Hansen from Her 978-0-06-290683-0 Other Secret, 2019) is the perfect partner for rattled Maddie, and their journey to happiness is smart and satisfying, though A wild and bold uptown girl meets slightly marred by a villain with hazily defined motivations. her match in a brooding casino owner Quirky and sizzling. bent on revenge against her family in this Gilded Age romance. The Bronze House is the most NEVER KISS A DUKE famous and exclusive casino in fin de Frampton, Megan siècle New York City, attracting the social elite to its tables Avon/HarperCollins (384 pp.) while enriching its powerful, enigmatic owner, Clayton Mad- $7.99 paper | Jan. 28, 2020 den. Clayton rose from poverty up through the criminal 978-0-06-286742-1 underworld to amass his fortune, and he uses manipulation and physical violence to maintain it. Clayton is driven by A sudden loss of nobility leads a for- revenge: He plans to ruin Duncan Greene, the wealthy builder mer duke to his future bride. who razed his childhood home to build a factory. Compli- When is a duke not a duke? When cating this plan is the arrival of uptown debutante Florence he’s Sebastian de Silva and he’s just been Greene to the Bronze House. Florence is bored by society informed that his parents were not life and views marriage as a gilded cage. Inspired by playing legally married, so his claim to be the euchre in her grandmother’s parlors, she dreams of opening an Duke of Hasford is null and void. Unsure elegant casino for women but needs tutelage in business and how to handle this abrupt change in circumstances, he and his gaming. Cold and unfeeling Clay is unexpectedly taken with friend Nash stumble into Miss Ivy’s, a new gambling house Florence’s beauty, skill at gambling, and determination. Shupe gaining renown for allowing any person with sufficient funds to (The Rogue of Fifth Avenue, 2019, etc.) dispenses with contrived play. He’s immediately interested in the proprietor, Ivy Holton, conflict by having Clay inform Florence of his revenge plot a ruined aristocrat who chose to open her own establishment and of his intention to seduce her if she will have him: “Your rather than marry the man who’d won her hand from her father smile could electrify every street in the city.” Drawn to Clay’s in a wager. Though she also finds him attractive, he ends up intelligence, brute strength, and rugged good looks, Florence working for her, and he needs to stay employed for the first hopes to deter him from the revenge plan, if not the seduction. time in his life, meaning he can’t pursue her. As they continue to The plot gallops delightfully through the brothels, casinos, work together, however, there are multiple chances for the two fancy restaurants, and elegant salons of New York. As Clay and to explore the chemistry that’s obvious to everybody but them— Florence grow closer, in part via sex scenes as blistering hot as and finally, a “spectacular opportunity” presents itself and the they are inventive, in part via witty banter and genuine friend- two kiss. Ivy immediately apologizes for taking advantage of an ship, it becomes harder to separate their relationship from his employee, though soon after she and Sebastian agree that “it need for revenge, and they must both rethink their loyalties wasn’t just a kiss,” and a relationship begins to bloom. But if and goals. anything is to come of their attraction, Sebastian will have to An absolute ace, guaranteed to thrill fans of great gam- make his peace with his new place in the world, and Ivy will have bling-house romances by Sarah MacLean and Lisa Kleypas. to decide whether she is willing to sacrifice her hard-won inde- pendence. This is the first entry in Frampton’s new Hazards of Dukes series, and if it does not quite live up to the magic of THE WORST BEST MAN her earlier books, it’s still satisfying. Though Frampton (Never Sosa, Mia a Bride, 2019, etc.) is able as ever in developing promising sub- HarperCollins (368 pp.) plots and a strong heroine, the tension of the plot is frequently $15.99 paper | Feb. 4, 2020 lost, and Sebastian’s motivations can seem muddled. Despite 978-0-06-290987-9 this, both hero and heroine are likable, their amorous scenes are delightfully steamy, and Frampton has set up future install- A Washington, D.C., wedding plan- ments well enough that readers can look forward to them. ner falls in love with her ex-fiance’s A capable historical romance featuring games of chance brother. and games of the heart. Three years ago, Lina Santos was jilted on the morning of her wedding. Since then, she’s made a success of her small wedding-planning business, Dotting the I Do’s. When
100 | 15 december 2019 | fiction | kirkus.com | she’s given the opportunity to compete for a job as the in- may feel frustrated that the two of them don’t reach a com- house wedding coordinator at an exclusive boutique hotel, promise sooner. At the very least, the romance and setting are she’s thrilled about the opportunity but nervous about the cute enough to persevere to a happily-ever-after, and animal nonstandard interview format: She’ll be paired with a market- lovers will enjoy seeing the distinct personalities of the Doro- ing specialist and will have five weeks to prepare a sales pitch of thy’s residents and their pets. More cynical romance readers herself and the hotel’s services. The catch: Her partner is Max may rankle at the saccharine setup and pampered pups. Hartwell, her ex-fiance’s brother, the one who encouraged him Expect a toothache from this overly sweet contemporary. to back out of the wedding. Max knows working with Lina isn’t ideal, but it’s a golden opportunity to make a name for himself. The plot is classic “enemies to lovers” and is executed perfectly. Sosa (Crashing Into Her, 2019, etc.) deftly moves Lina and Max through a series of complex plot machinations that feel organic rather than contrived. Lina is a sympathetic and poignant character, fiercely loyal to her family and proud of her Brazilian heritage, and even though she’s an eminently capable wedding planner, she struggles with her fear of fail- ure. Max has always come in second to his older brother, so he fights what feels like a forbidden attraction. As Lina and Max navigate thorny family dramas and professional challenges, they cautiously move from animosity to love and learn that “there are no do-overs in life...there are only do-betters.” It’s a slow-burn romance done perfectly right. A captivating love story about two people who bring out the best in each other both professionally and personally.
COLD NOSE, WARM HEART Wells, Mara Sourcebooks Casablanca (384 pp.) $7.99 paper | Jan. 28, 2020 978-1-4926-9858-6
An antagonistic couple find love through meddling grandparents, trouble- some pets, and a real estate rehab project in this enemies-to-lovers romance. The Dorothy is a senior-living apart- ment complex with personality, but building manager Riley Carson knows she’s in a little over her head. After a public scandal involving her previous employer, a fancy resort, she left her job to help run her grandmother’s apartment complex in South Florida. Unfortunately, the building is in desperate need of TLC, and Riley knows the residents’ fixed income limits the improve- ments that can be made. Caleb Donovan takes one look at the Dorothy and sees luxury condominiums in its future. That would also mean displacing the complex’s residents and turning the beloved neighboring dog park into a parking lot. Though Caleb is clearly painted as the bad guy, looking to gentrify a neighborhood and run out its inhabitants, his motivations lie in saving his family business. It’d be easier to understand his plight if he didn’t drive around in a Porsche and clothe himself in high-end brands. The quirky characters, both human and animal, overwhelm the romance between Riley and Caleb; they’re far more entertaining than the main couple. The solution that would work for Riley and Caleb in terms of the Dorothy is obvious from the start, and readers
| kirkus.com | romance | 15 december 2019 | 101 nonfiction THE SMARTPHONE SOCIETY These titles earned the Kirkus Star: Technology, Power, and Resistance in the New THE COST OF LOYALTY by Tim Bakken...... 103 Gilded Age Aschoff, Nicole THE MAN IN THE RED COAT by Julian Barnes...... 104 Beacon (240 pp.) $24.95 | Mar. 10, 2020 THE AGE OF FOOTBALL by David Goldblatt...... 114 978-0-8070-6168-8
RACE AGAINST TIME by Jerry Mitchell...... 123 How the ubiquity of smartphones has transformed society. Sociologist Aschoff (The New Proph ets of Capital, 2015) provides both historical context and political insight, showing what is new in the current technological revo- lution and recalling earlier times when technology upended the status quo. As “the new Gilded Age” of the subtitle suggests, the author reminds us of how the automobile changed everything, especially the economy. Yet while radical change was wide- spread, society survived the aftershocks and advanced. “People have always been anxious about new technology,” writes Aschoff, without minimizing the profound imbalances the smartphone underscores, especially in terms of economic and social inequal- ity. She shows how activists have used the smartphone to docu- ment police brutality against black citizens while police (and the government at large) have employed the same technology of interconnection for monitoring and surveillance. Two of the most important recent social movements—#MeToo and Black Lives Matter—are both phenomena that have spread virally through a culture enabled by smartphones. At the same time, this culture has allowed the mobilization of white nationalists and other dangerous elements. We get our news on our phones, form our political beliefs, and see them echoed by like-minded partisans. The smartphone has all but dissolved the distinction between the personal and the political while changing the way we shop, date, and present ourselves to the outside world, with which we so often connect by smartphone. All the while, we are enriching and enabling global empires through collected data and underpaid labor. “Our fantasies about the digital frontier,” writes Aschoff, “hide the hierarchical and ecologically destruc- THE AGE OF FOOTBALL tive relationships of global capitalism.” The author doesn’t Soccer and the 21st Century advocate for opting out, nor does she believe that the worst- Goldblatt, David case scenario is inevitable. Instead, she offers advice for pushing Norton (624 pp.) back and establishing some personal autonomy in the fight for $30.00 | Feb. 18, 2020 “digital justice.” 978-0-393-63511-9 A concise analysis of how best to live within the brave new smartphone world.
102 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | A provocative, disturbing argument that a democracy is in trouble when it venerates the military unconditionally. the cost of loyalty
THE COST OF LOYALTY CLEARER, CLOSER, BETTER Dishonesty, Hubris, How Successful People See and Failure in the U.S. the World Military Balcetis, Emily Bakken, Tim Ballantine (272 pp.) Bloomsbury (400 pp.) $27.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 $28.00 | Feb. 18, 2020 978-1-5247-9646-4 978-1-63286-898-5 A social psychologist explores per- A West Point professor deconstructs ception strategies that successful people the many failures of America’s most rely on to reach their goals. beloved institution: the armed forces. The methods that drive individu- Bakken—the first civilian hired to teach law at West als to prosper in their careers or to meet challenging perfor- Point who was also a whistleblower and won a retaliation case mance goals have been the fodder of numerous motivational against the U.S. military—delivers an angry polemic, arguing bestsellers. In this ambitious new book, Balcetis (Psychology/ that America’s military is commanded by men of limited intel- New York Univ.; co-editor: Social Psychology of Visual Perception, ligence but self-serving loyalty to their institution. This didn’t 2010) examines what she feels are the key elements that inform matter before World War II, when peacetime forces were tiny these strategies and how they specifically relate to ideas of and neglected. Since 1945, however, they have swollen mas- perception. “In this book,” she writes, “I offer four strategies sively, dominating civil society and operating free of consti- intended to quite literally reshape the way we see the world….
tutional restraints thanks to several Supreme Court decisions Each of these strategies serves a different function. Knowing young adult and fawning civilian leaders. Fervently admired—approval about each, we can better prepare ourselves for the multitude in polls never drops below 70%—the military has attained of difficulties that we stand to experience as we tackle life’s big- untouchable status from its commander in chief. Every presi- gest challenges.” The strategies include narrowing your focus dent after Dwight Eisenhower has proclaimed unqualified (concentrating your attention allows you to tune in more effec- esteem, and Congress, which last declared war in 1942, has tively to the immediate task at hand); widening the bracket (big- surrendered its authority. Yet despite performing with spec- picture planning that allows for an organic change of course if tacular incompetence in most wars since WWII, no general needed); materializing (organized planning through checklists has been fired. Bakken places much blame on the service and progress summaries); and framing (enhancing your abil- academies (West Point et al.), mediocre institutions awash ity to gather objective feedback and learning how to read the in money whose draconian discipline and teaching methods emotions of others). In each chapter, Balcetis relays a series of date from their founding. Most instructors are junior officers brief profiles, ranging across multiple disciplines, that serve as with no specialty in their subject who rotate through for a few examples of how these strategies can be manifested from dif- years, following a rigid syllabus from which they cannot devi- ferent angles. She also shares her own goal-oriented story as ate. Readers may pause in their fuming to recall that brilliant she tracks her progress in mastering a drumming piece for an people rarely choose a career in the military—or law enforce- upcoming performance. With the exception of her somewhat ment. Rather, members of the military join for the action and indulgent drumming account, the author’s individual stories are value courage and loyalty above all. They consider themselves relatable and often thought-provoking. However, in providing a band of brothers, indispensable defenders of the nation, far too many random examples, the key arguments often lose most of whose effete citizens lack their selfless dedication. focus; cumulatively, they distract from the flow of her narrative. Warriors have always believed this, which is a mostly harmless There’s a sense that Balcetis felt compelled to include every ele- situation unless they are calling the shots, which the author ment of her research. states is happening—and they are making a mess of it. Compelling ideas about perception and goal setting A provocative, disturbing argument that a democracy that would have benefitted from a tighter narrative. (5 is in trouble when it venerates the military unconditionally. illustrations)
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 103 THE MAN IN THE THE ART OF SOLITUDE RED COAT Batchelor, Stephen Barnes, Julian Yale Univ. (200 pp.) Knopf (288 pp.) $23.00 | Feb. 18, 2020 $26.95 | Feb. 18, 2020 978-0-300-25093-0 978-0-525-65877-1 A teacher and scholar of Buddhism A fresh, urbane history of the dra- offers a formally varied account of the matic and melodramatic belle epoque. available rewards of solitude. When Barnes (The Only Story, 2018, “As Mother Ayahuasca takes me in her etc.), winner of the Man Booker Prize arms, I realize that last night I vomited and many other literary awards, first saw John Singer Sargent’s up my attachment to Buddhism. In pass- striking portrait of Dr. Samuel Pozzi—handsome, “virile, yet ing out, I died. In coming to, I was, so to speak, reborn. I no slender,” dressed in a sumptuous scarlet coat—he was intrigued longer have to fight these battles, I repeat to myself. I am no lon by a figure he had not yet encountered in his readings about ger a combatant in the dharma wars. It feels as if the course of my 19th-century France. The wall label revealed that Pozzi was a life has shifted onto another vector, like a train shunted off its gynecologist; a magazine article called him “not only the father familiar track onto a new trajectory.” Readers of Batchelor’s of French gynecology, but also a confirmed sex addict who rou- previous books (Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an tinely attempted to seduce his female patients.” The paradox Uncertain World, 2017, etc.) will recognize in this passage the cul- of healer and exploiter posed an alluring mystery that Barnes mination of his decadeslong shift away from the religious com- was eager to investigate. Pozzi, he discovered, succeeded in his mitments of Buddhism toward an ecumenical and homegrown amorous affairs as much as in his acclaimed career. “I have never philosophy of life. Writing in a variety of modes—memoir, his- met a man as seductive as Pozzi,” the arrogant Count Robert de tory, collage, essay, biography, and meditation instruction—the Montesquiou recalled; Pozzi was a “man of rare good sense and author doesn’t argue for his approach to solitude as much as rare good taste,” “filled with knowledge and purpose” as well offer it for contemplation. Essentially, Batchelor implies that if as “grace and charm.” The author’s portrait, as admiring as Sar- you read what Buddha said here and what Montaigne said there, gent’s, depicts a “hospitable, generous” man, “rich by marriage, and if you consider something the author has noticed, and if clubbable, inquisitive, cultured and well travelled,” and brilliant. you reflect on your own experience, you have the possibility to The cosmopolitan Pozzi, his supercilious friend Montesquiou, improve the quality of your life. For introspective readers, it’s and “gentle, whimsical” Edmond de Polignac are central charac- easy to hear in this approach a direct response to Pascal’s claim ters in Barnes’ irreverent, gossipy, sparkling history of the belle that “all of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit epoque, “a time of vast wealth for the wealthy, of social power quietly in a room alone.” Batchelor wants to relieve us of this for the aristocracy, of uncontrolled and intricate snobbery, of inability by offering his example of how to do just that. “Soli- headlong colonial ambition, of artistic patronage, and of duels tude is an art. Mental training is needed to refine and stabilize whose scale of violence often reflected personal irascibility it,” he writes. “When you practice solitude, you dedicate your- more than offended honor.” Dueling, writes the author, “was self to the care of the soul.” Whatever a soul is, the author goes not just the highest form of sport, it also required the highest a long way toward soothing it. form of manliness.” Barnes peoples his history with a spirited A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help cast of characters, including Sargent and Whistler, Oscar Wilde readers live a good life. and Sarah Bernhardt (who adored Pozzi), Henry James and Proust, Pozzi’s diarist daughter, Catherine, and unhappy wife, Therese, and scores more. PEARLS OF WISDOM Finely honed biographical intuition and a novelist’s Little Pieces of Advice sensibility make for a stylish, engrossing narrative. (95 (That Go a Long Way) illustrations in color and b/w) Bush, Barbara Twelve (256 pp.) $22.00 | Mar. 3, 2020 978-1-5387-3494-0
A celebratory gathering of memories from Barbara Bush’s friends and family, featuring her own quotes. “You might question how someone who left this good earth two years ago could be the author of a new book,” writes Jean Becker, who worked for Bush for nearly 30 years. “Simple, really. It was her words—that made this book possible. It is indeed written in her voice and in her
104 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | spirit.” Beginning with a who’s who glossary of the extended and his flirtations with women prior to meeting Martha Cus- Bush family and their circle, which included statesmen, writers, tis, who, within a year, became his wife. Coe writes extensively and celebrities, Becker loosely groups Barbara’s advice on fam- about the slaves and indentured servants who called Mount ily, living well, and literacy, among other topics. A patchwork Vernon home and the man who served as Washington’s per- (some may say scattershot), round-table approach yields color- sonal aide throughout his life, including on the battlefield. The ful reflections on a woman who was known as “The Enforcer,” author has clearly done her homework, evident throughout the Barb, and, to her grandchildren, Ganny. More than the first text in the letters and documents she quotes and the numerous lady’s advice—which draws on sensible optimism: “You can sidebars and charts she incorporates, including a listing of the like what you do OR you can dislike it. I choose to like it, and numerous animals housed at Mount Vernon. Coe juxtaposes her what fun I’ve had”—it’s everyday situations that lead to origi- portrait of Washington’s political and leadership traits with a nal, unscripted quips. Sometimes, frightened staff recall Bush’s softer side of him as stepfather to Martha’s children, but she graceful way of handling the unexpected and of putting every- also shows his negligence toward his own mother. There is also one at ease. Family who visited Kennebunkport recount her no- a timeline, a list of “diseases survived,” and a handy bulleted nonsense yet loving discipline, and friends who witnessed the section called “George Washington at a Glance” (his “dislikes” Bushes’ marriage depict the couple’s mutual respect and banter. included “idle chatter,” “sitting for portraits,” and “slapstick Such memories reveal a plainspoken individual who was prone humor”). to faux pas yet could laugh at herself. Writings from Bush’s chil- Evenhanded and engaging, this biography brings fresh dren mix gentle humor with awe, as when her son, Jeb, calls her insight to one of America’s most written-about leaders. parenting a “benevolent dictatorship.” This is a fond retrospec- tive that sometimes repeats biographical details and nuggets
of wisdom. In the author’s note, Becker apologizes for the rep- young adult etition, which dilutes the focus. Readers seeking insight on a dynastic political family will find a down-to-earth, humanizing portrait of a much-loved matriarch. Those hoping for novel wisdom will find unsurprising comments on gratitude, kindness, love, and living fully with joy. A tribute to an American icon that brims with love and hope.
YOU NEVER FORGET YOUR FIRST A Biography of George Washington Coe, Alexis Viking (304 pp.) $27.00 | Feb. 4, 2020 978-0-7352-2410-0
A biography of George Washington that debunks many of the tall tales sur- rounding his legacy. When Coe (Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis, 2014), a former research curator at the New York Public Library, began gathering information for her latest book, she realized that most of the major Washington biographies had been written by men and were often biased toward a male perspective. Because this book avoids the male-centric viewpoint, it should make for interesting reading even for those who think they know Washington’s story. Coe shares the unvarnished truth about the man, exposing many of the myths about him. In one section, the author examines the “Lies We Believe About the Man Who Could Not Tell Them,” which include the “fact” that “He was the first president to live in the White House.” As Coe notes, “Washington helped choose the site of the White House, but John Adams was the first president to live there.” The author chronicles Washington’s battles in the French and Indian War
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 105 A provocative and maddening study of judicial activism for the benefit of the haves over the have-nots. supreme inequality
SUPREME INEQUALITY UNRIGGED The Supreme Court’s How Americans Are Battling Fifty-Year Battle for a Back To Save Democracy More Unjust America Daley, David Cohen, Adam Liveright/Norton (272 pp.) Penguin Press (400 pp.) $26.95 | Mar. 17, 2020 $30.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 978-1-63149-575-5 978-0-7352-2150-5 An uplifting story of how grassroots Equality is supposedly enshrined in political movements around the nation the law of the land, but inequality reigns are forcing significant changes in how supreme thanks to a battery of rulings by our government operates. the Supreme Court. Former Salon editor Daley wrote his first book, Ratf **ked From the time of the New Deal until the end of the War- (2016), to show how Republicans in many states have used ger- ren Burger era, the Supreme Court was an instrument of social rymandering and voting manipulation to guarantee total con- policy for the benefit of the poor, shattering such things as trol of many levels of government for years, even decades, into the “anti-Okie laws” that made it a crime to transport a the future. Guided by powerful new algorithms, they made poor person across the borders of some 28 states and made it virtually impossible for Democrats to defeat them. In his it a highly desired career track to be a “poverty lawyer.” This latest book, however, the author offers a much more hope- track was followed by none other than Ruth Bader Ginsberg, ful outlook, writing about nonpoliticians who have started a who made her first Supreme Court argument against an Air powerful new political movement that is catching on across Force policy that awarded higher benefits to male than female America and is showing every sign of accelerating. One story officers. However, writes Cohen Imbeciles:( The Supreme Court, tells of a 27-year-old woman, an employee in a recycling non- American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck, 2016, etc.), profit, who wrote on Facebook that she wanted to “take on the Nixon era saw the emergence of a right-tending court that gerrymandering in Michigan” and asked if anyone was inter- poverty lawyers sought to avoid, one that, after Burger retired ested. Ultimately, she was able to get portions of Michigan’s in 1986, took a definite shift toward favoring corporate inter- constitution rewritten. Similar movements soon followed in ests over individual ones. The inequalities that ensued are Colorado, Utah, Ohio, and Missouri, all of which faced pow- of several kinds. Court rulings in the field of education, for erful opposition, and all of which won. Then, as it became example, have validated “the widespread model of overwhelm- clear that 25 other states had passed laws designed to make ingly minority urban school districts surrounded by largely it harder for Democrats to win elections—and more difficult white suburban ones,” with the money flowing away from for people of color to vote—citizens in those states joined the those urban centers and the concomitant “extremely high fight. They won battles dealing not only with gerrymandering, levels of school segregation.” A different ruling might have but also with such issues as voter ID laws, precinct closures, created equality of opportunity instead of a clear path to fail- voting roll purges, voting rights for released felons, and more. ure, Cohen suggests. Similarly, rulings on political campaign As Daley clearly shows throughout this inspiring text, it was finance have favored corporations, as in the case of Citizens always “ordinary” citizens who led the way, often people who United, and other interventions in politics, as with Bush v. Gore, had never participated in politics. They took to the streets, have worked against the “fundamental principle of American circulated petitions, ran for office, and launched or joined law that court rulings have precedential value.” Throughout, organizations, and they did it while facing overwhelming odds Cohen examines roads not taken, ones that might have “built and severe opposition from elected officials. But they never a different society,” while noting that the court is likely to take gave up, and they almost always won. an even more rightward tack in coming years. A book for anyone who wants to effect major change A provocative and maddening study of judicial activism but thinks they can’t. for the benefit of the haves over the have-nots. LAST STOP AUSCHWITZ The Story of My Survival de Wind, Eddy Trans. by Colmer, David Doubleday (256 pp.) $28.00 | Jan. 9, 2020 978-0-8575-2683-0
A survivor of the Holocaust chron- icles his horrific experiences in the “barbed-wire hell” of Auschwitz.
106 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | A Dutch physician, de Wind was transported to Auschwitz factories, many operated by long-established Germany compa- in 1943 and was alive when the Red Army arrived in 1945. He nies. The conditions were barbaric: The diet, which consisted stayed at the camp, working as a doctor for the other survivors of about 1,500 calories per day, according to the author, could and writing this book. It was published in the Netherlands in not sustain even a sedentary person, so most died after a few 1946 but nowhere else, so this is its first appearance in English. months, and their skeletal bodies were burned. Auschwitz Readers who assume that victims marched directly from the contained a few privileged institutions such as a hospital, food trains to the gas chambers will quickly learn that many had to preparation facilities, and warehouses; prisoners assigned in endure numerous other awful crimes before they were executed. these areas had a greater chance of surviving. That included Auschwitz was not one but a series of huge camps, only one of the author, who delivers a harrowing account that contains the which contained the crematoriums. An estimated 1.3 million same horrors, unspeakable behavior, suffering, and occasional were sent there, and about 83% died. The author begins with humanity revealed in other concentration camp memoirs. his train ride from a Dutch camp. Prisoners were locked in an A lamentably familiar, chilling reminder of the depths ordinary freight car with a bucket for a toilet and no food or to which humans can sink. water for a trip that lasted three days, sometimes longer. Upon arrival, all luggage and valuables were confiscated; children, the aged, and the infirm were often immediately gassed. Jews capa- ble of working as well as non-Jews were stripped naked, shaved, sprayed with disinfectant, ordered to choose clothes from a pile taken from dead prisoners, and packed into overcrowded bar- racks. Most worked in mines, quarries, heavy construction, or young adult
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 107 A poignant, highly moving memoir of tragic circumstances and a lifelong love of exploring. the adventurer’s son
THE ADVENTURER’S SON CODE RED A Memoir How Progressives and Dial, Roman Moderates Can Unite To Save Morrow/HarperCollins (368 pp.) Our Country $28.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 Dionne Jr., E.J. 978-0-06-287660-7 St. Martin’s (272 pp.) $27.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 A brisk account of a father’s search 978-1-250-25647-8 for his 27-year-old son, who vanished on a solo trek through Costa Rica’s Corco- The Washington Post columnist and vado jungle. NPR commentator offers a passionately Alaskan adventurer and ecologist reasoned argument for why both pro- Dial (Mathematics and Biology/Alaska Pacific Univ.; Packraft gressive and moderate wings of the Democratic Party must put ing! An Introduction and How-To Guide, 2008) chronicles his quest aside differences to defeat Donald Trump in 2020. to figure out what happened to his son, Cody. Fusing personal Seizing on the momentum of the 2018 midterm elections, history with elegy and adventure, this arresting narrative of Dionne Jr. (Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism From Gold every parent’s worst fear begins with the author’s background water to the Tea Party and Beyond, 2016, etc.) is both articulate and then recounts the Dial family’s many exciting excursions. and enthusiastic about the need for the two liberal sides to work Meticulous memories of father and son exploring places like together, and he readily admits that he sounds like “a perhaps Alaska and Borneo establish Cody as a person who grew into unwelcome counselor attempting to ease a family quarrel.” The a capable adventurer and biologist. In the second section, the success of the 2018 elections (“Democrats received 25 million author pieces together Cody’s volcano climbs and resource- more votes than they had in 2014”) underscores how the alli- ful forays in Central America before contact with his parents ance of progressives and moderates, interested in protecting ceased. His last email was written in Costa Rica in 2014, and health care and reforming politics, can serve as the “model for its haunting last line—“…it should be difficult to get lost - for the alliance that must come together again in 2020 and beyond.” ever”—reverberates throughout the text. When he realized The author discusses the important mobilization of African that his son may have disappeared, Dial left for Costa Rica to American and Latinx voters, young people, and, especially, sub- unearth the truth. With the assistance of his friends, wife, and urban women, many of whom have been disgusted by Trump’s an intriguing mixture of officials and locals (who weren’t always “white ethno-nationalism, his lies, his extremist rhetoric, his forthcoming with information), Dial confronted rumors of foul self-centered irrationality.” Indeed, the election was very much play and continued to sift through his own knowledge of his about Trump, though not in the way he had hoped. System- son’s character for clues. The author’s guilt at having sparked atically, the author shows why bipartisanship, once the catch- Cody’s interest in the wild mingles with the veteran adventur- word, is not currently viable with the growing homogeneous, er’s tactical calm in the face of numerous obstacles. His descrip- anti-immigrant Republican Party, which looks nothing like the tions of Costa Rica’s jungles echo with mystery, and, despite his “decent pragmatism” of the party of presidents Lincoln, Eisen- grief, Dial’s writing remains measured and cleareyed. When he hower, or even Nixon. The author then pursues the “crooked recounts how a TV crew took a sensational angle for the sake of path” of the progressive story in America and the resurgence of drama, the author’s dismay is palpable. Two years later, Cody’s democratic socialism in reaction to Reaganism and the contin- remains were found, and it was determined that his death was ued rise of inequality even after the Clinton and Obama years. an accident, which brought his family some sense of closure. In Indeed, writes Dionne, the “socialist” proposals of universal its emotional restraint and careful descriptions of the wild, this health care, free college, and even the Green New Deal are not is a slow-burning tribute. radical. Moreover, a Democratic coalition is needed to repair A poignant, highly moving memoir of tragic circum- the many fractured relationships with American allies. stances and a lifelong love of exploring. (b/w photos) A well-argued and persuasive treatise by a deeply con- cerned journalist and citizen.
108 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | THE PRINCESS AND feat of detective work, Dorman discovered that Ali was actu- THE PROPHET ally the circus magician Walter Brister, who faked his death in The Secret History of Magic, 1914 with the help of his wife, Eva, only to reappear years later Race, and Moorish Muslims and establish the Moorish Science Temple in Chicago. Styling in America himself as the Prophet Noble Drew Ali and Eva as the Grand Dorman, Jacob S. Sheikess, he claimed to be the reincarnation of Muhammad and Beacon (304 pp.) preached that black Americans “were in fact Asiatics of Islamic $28.95 | Mar. 3, 2020 Moorish descent.” He flouted the law repeatedly: He had four 978-0-8070-6726-0 wives simultaneously and was arrested for statutory rape, prac- ticing medicine without a license, and the murder of an associ- A corrective portrait of an early-20th- ate (a charge he beat, possibly by bribing the police). He made century chameleon who became an influ- enough enemies that his death, officially attributed to tuber- ential Muslim leader. culosis and other causes, led some people to suspect he’d been In this dense social history, Dorman (History and Core poisoned. Dorman devotes much space to the antecedents of Humanities/Univ. of Nevada; Chosen People: The Rise of Ameri “Moorish Science”—e.g., Freemasonry, the Shriners, and “Orien- can Black Israelite Religions, 2013) takes a largely nonjudgmental talist tropes” like harems—which makes for a slow-paced narra- view of Noble Drew Ali (1886-1929), the controversial founder tive but one with a deep social context. He also finds Ali’s legacy of the Moorish Science Temple of America, a forerunner of the in the fezzes worn by some rappers and in other pop-cultural Nation of Islam. Despite the author’s evenhanded approach, outcroppings. At the end, he concludes that even if all the alle- Ali emerges as a con artist of unusual audacity. In a prodigious gations about his subject are true, “there was something noble young adult
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 109 about Noble Drew Ali.” Given that Ali was credibly accused of OLYMPIC PRIDE, murder and child rape, the special pleading suggests that the AMERICAN PREJUDICE author stumbled into the biographer’s trap of falling in love The Untold Story of 18 with a subject who requires the clearer eye he shows elsewhere African Americans Who in the book. Defied Jim Crow and Adolf A flawed yet erudite narrative about the founder of a Hitler To Compete in the 1936 precursor of the Nation of Islam. (two 8-page photo inserts) Berlin Olympics Draper, Deborah Riley & Thrasher, Travis Atria (320 pp.) $28.00 | Feb. 4, 2020 978-1-5011-6215-2
Jesse Owens wasn’t the only black athlete who excelled at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This group portrait honors the oth- ers who helped prove Hitler wrong about white superiority in sports. Eighteen African American athletes—16 men and 2 women—competed at the Berlin Olympics, all overshadowed by Owens’ spectacular victories. Without neglecting the star runner and long jumper, this companion to a 2016 movie cel- ebrates the other black members of the American team, most of whom competed in track and field events. As director Draper and veteran author Thrasher (American Omens: The Coming Fight for Faith: A Novel, 2019, etc.) show, many had overcome tower- ing obstacles, including poverty, segregation, and pressure from black newspapers to boycott the Olympics. Whatever their challenges, the 17 lesser-known athletes stayed focused in Ber- lin, won 10 medals in addition to Owens’ four golds, and helped lay to rest Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy in sports. The authors describe competitors like 400-meter dash gold medal- ist Archie Williams in undemanding, present-tense prose well suited to a young adult audience: “Archie knows going back to school is a good thing. He will be bettering himself and not sit- ting around the house and getting into trouble.” This approach will hearten booksellers and librarians looking for inspiring, easy-to-read sports books for teenagers, but adult readers may be put off by oversimplified characterizations of Hitler and oth- ers: “The Nazi leader has no desire to race or compete. His idea of competition is to defeat his enemies or to make sure they can never line up against him in the first place.” Anyone seek- ing more complex nonfiction about U.S. athletes’ challenges in Berlin will find it in Daniel James Brown’s bestselling The Boys in the Boat or Andrew Maraniss’ recent young adult book Games of Deception. A decent meal for sports-loving teenagers looking for role models but a thin soup for adults. (b/w images)
110 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | HEAVEN AND HELL As a reporter at the small-circulation Charleston Gazette- A History of the Afterlife Mail in Charleston, West Virginia, Eyre won the Pulitzer for Ehrman, Bart D. his writing on the huge shipments of opioids entering his Simon & Schuster (352 pp.) region and how opioid manufacturers, wholesale distributors, $28.00 | Mar. 31, 2020 and unethical doctors and pharmacists combined to put fatal 978-1-50-113673-3 doses of the dangerous painkillers into the hands of desper- ate patients. There have been numerous recent books about A study of the development of Chris- the opioid crisis—readers can’t go wrong with Sam Quinones’ tian concepts of the afterlife. Dreamland, Beth Macy’s Dopesick, or Chris McGreal’s American Ehrman (Religious Studies/Univ. of Overdose—and Eyre covers some of the same ground. How- North Carolina; The Triumph of Chris ever, what distinguishes his book is the author’s emphasis tianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept on the massive but nearly anonymous wholesale distributors the World, 2018, etc.) skims the surface in this offering for gen- Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, and McKesson, among eral readers. Having built an academic career on examining the others. Those companies shipped millions of pills to small- veracity of the Bible, the author uses his platform to argue that town pharmacies that never could have needed such volumes; ideas of heaven and hell lack meaningful merit in the Scriptures. for instance Kermit, which has a population of less than 400 Ehrman begins with an overview of how the afterlife was treated and was “drowning in prescription painkillers.” Eyre clearly in other ancient Western literature, such as the works of Homer explains how the Drug Enforcement Administration and the and Plato, before moving on to the Hebrew Bible. Ehrman West Virginia Board of Pharmacy could have ameliorated the seems convinced that many readers will be surprised to learn that flood of pills but did nothing. Another powerful actor who
heaven and hell appear differently, if at all, in the course of Old young adult Testament literature. He demonstrates that, at best, the ancient Hebrews believed in a vague afterlife. More likely, they believed that existence for individuals ended with death. By the time of Jesus, a natural desire for justice from the travails of life had led to a more developed concept of afterlife for the good while the bad met only with extermination. Turning to the teachings of Jesus, Ehrman is clear that “Jesus did not teach that when a person died they would go to heaven or hell.” Furthermore, he argues, “one of my theses is that a close reading of Jesus’s words shows that in fact he had no idea of torment for sinners after death.” The author brushes off scriptural references that seem to contradict these conclusions as unreflective of the words of “the historical Jesus.” Likewise, he discounts any ideas about hell attributed to Paul as later additions by other authors, an approach that echoes Erhman’s arguments in such previous works as Forged. The author concludes that although death is the ultimate mystery, he doubts it brings anything but oblivion, and he urges his readers to find comfort in their coming, dreamless sleep. A readable book of popular Christianity that offers little new theologically.
DEATH IN MUD LICK A Coal Country Fight Against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic Eyre, Eric Scribner (304 pp.) $28.00 | Mar. 31, 2020 978-1-9821-0531-0
A Pulitzer Prize–winning investiga- tive reporter delivers his entry in the (sadly) growing literature about the opioid epidemic ravaging the country.
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 111 A graphic and often moving contribution to the important conversation about endemic sexism. stop telling women to smile
enabled the epidemic was West Virginia’s attorney general, STOP TELLING WOMEN Patrick Morrisey, a Republican politician who lied about his TO SMILE involvement and failed to recuse himself while his wife received Stories of Street Harassment payment from Cardinal Health as a lobbyist. While battling for and How We’re Taking Back disclosures via freedom of information lawsuits in the courts, Our Power Eyre located numerous victims of the indiscriminate pill ship- Fazlalizadeh, Tatyana ments, including many users who had buried multiple family Seal Press (256 pp.) members and friends after they overdosed. Unsurprisingly, his $28.00 | Feb. 4, 2020 accounts of his interactions with them are disturbing, moving, 978-1-58005-848-3 and heart-wrenching. Portions of the narrative feature first- person narration, as the author illuminates how time-consum- Anger fuels an artist’s project to pub- ing, budget-busting investigative journalism functions despite licize the prevalence of street harassment. circumstances that mitigate against it. The drama ratchets up Painter and street artist Fazlalizadeh makes a compelling as Eyre battles early-onset Parkinson’s disease. book debut that expands her public art series “Stop Telling Timely, depressing, engrossing reportage on an issue Women to Smile.” The series began when she mounted three that can’t receive too much attention. posters she drew of women’s faces—her own and two friends’— each captioned with a single sentence in protest of street harass- ment: “My Name is Not Baby, Sweetie, Sweetheart, Shorty, Sexy, Honey, Pretty, Boo, Ma” and “Women Are Not Seeking Your Validation.” As the posters gained attention, the project grew into interviews with—and portraits of—many women who talked about their experiences with vulnerability, fear, and men- tal, emotional, and physical exhaustion. “Street harassment,” writes the author, “is not an isolated issue” but rather part of “a long history of aggressive sexualization” that includes domestic abuse and sexual assault. Fazlalizadeh cites research showing that between 40% and 60% of women attest to having experi- enced street harassment in the Middle East and North Africa; 65% in the U.S.; 79% in India; 86% in Thailand and Brazil. She cautions against viewing men’s comments as evidence of sexual attraction; harassment, she writes, “is ultimately about power and dominance.” Most of the 10 women portrayed in this book recall being harassed even as children, often by adult men. “It’s always shocking how young we were,” one Asian American woman reveals. “When I was young,” a queer, gender-noncon- forming Latinx reveals, harassment felt like “the cornering of a younger body into a very sexualized being.” Asian women and women of color often encounter stereotyped sexualiza- tion. “Not Your Asian Fetish, China Doll, Geisha,” one woman’s poster reads. Several interviewees identify as queer and one as trans, presenting an image that seems to threaten some men. “For a couple composed of two women,” street harassment “will likely be layered with homophobia.” By capturing women’s rage and frustration, Fazlalizadeh hopes to create empathy, “ignite actions and engage communities of people.” A graphic and often moving contribution to the impor- tant conversation about endemic sexism. (82 b/w illustrations/ photos)
112 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | DOSTOYEVSKY READS HEGEL THE LONG DEEP GRUDGE IN SIBERIA AND BURSTS A Story of Big Capital, INTO TEARS Radical Labor, and Class War Földényi, László F. in the American Heartland Trans. by Mulzet, Ottilie Gilpin, Toni Yale Univ. (304 pp.) Haymarket (425 pp.) $26.00 | Feb. 18, 2020 $21.95 paper | Feb. 1, 2020 978-0-300-16749-8 978-1-64259-033-3
A collection of essays on why con- A history of the relationship between temporary culture would do well to the Farm Equipment Workers union and embrace transcendence. “International Harvester, once the coun- Hungarian cultural critic Földényi (Theory of Art/Univ. try’s fourth-largest corporation and second to none in its anti- of Theatre, Film, and Television, Budapest; The Glance of the union animus.” Medusa: The Physiognomy of Mysticism, 2018, etc.) gathers 13 pieces, Labor historian Gilpin (co-author: On Strike for Respect: The published in earlier versions from 1995 to 2012, that examine Clerical and Technical Workers’ Strike at Yale University, 1988) has the spiritual and metaphysical consequences of the Enlighten- firsthand knowledge of the Farm Equipment Workers union ment. The author regrets the loss of mystery in contemporary and its relationship with International Harvester. Her father life, “the feeling that there is something incomparably greater was there at the beginning of the FE, “a small union, now long than my own self.” That sense of the ineffable, he asserts, was defunct,” and later moved on to the United Auto Workers
suppressed during the Enlightenment, which promoted the young adult idea that “only time and intellectual preparation were required in order to cast light upon all things—with no dark corners remaining anywhere unilluminated by the light of reason.” In essays that consider a wide range of writers and artists, includ- ing Dostoyevsky, Rilke, Goethe, Artaud, William Blake, Mary Shelley, Goya, and many more, Földényi underscores the impor- tance of the metaphysical and warns against seeing “the renun- ciation of transcendence as a victory.” We are surrounded by the enigma of our own existence: “Each human life,” the author writes, “emerges thanks to a fracture, a break” that plunges us from nonexistence into existence and throws us back again. In the title essay, the author imagines Dostoyevsky, exiled in Siberia, coming upon Hegel’s rationalistic philosophy of world history, which eliminated Siberia “as a setting for historical cul- ture.” Exiled from the rest of Russia and now, by Hegel, from the progress of world history, Dostoyevsky responded at first with dismay. But gradually, he came to find new understanding— of himself, religion, and the Russian soul—far from “Hegelian repression.” Among Földényi’s essays on art, his consideration of Caspar David Friedrich’s painting Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog stands out for its precise, lyrical prose and insights about art and science. Friedrich’s painting, the author argues, reflects the contradictory longing of German romantics to become eternally submerged in nature—or to turn around and “write rapturous interpretations of the absolute spirit embodied by that sea of fog.” Perceptive meditations on humanity’s need for spiri- tual nourishment.
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 113 Superb: Essential reading not just for fans of the sport, but also for students of geopolitics. the age of football
Union, which, writes the author, was “a ubiquitous presence as imagine it. Trumpian currents run deep in the mill, as she dis- I was growing up in the 1960s and ’70s—when unions still had covered, but when tragedy strikes, she learns, these “bunch of more active members than retirees and newspapers maintained Joe Schmos” are as one: “There was no division so great that it labor beats.” In 1885, IH’s iron molders called a strike, which could eclipse the unity that had been forged in the light of the went nowhere until they turned to collective action, taking the mill’s orange flame.” The narrative sags every now and then, but whole factory out. Because IH was the most anti-union company one cheers for Goldbach when she’s finally offered the teaching in America, its leaders held out longer than any other before post to which she’s so long aspired, entailing a massive pay cut accepting unions. This complex, well-researched, dense text and starting all over at the bottom, prepared to take that risk includes the infamous Haymarket Riot and countless tales of precisely because she has gained the necessary confidence on bitter relations between labor and corporate elements. IH offi- the shop floor—and saved enough to do so thanks to the decent, cials did much to try to forestall the unions, establishing indus- union-backed wages she earned. trial councils and employee representative plans, but it was not An affecting, unblinking portrait of working-class life. enough. The FE was a radical, multicultural union with seasoned, skilled, and dedicated organizers. It took them years of work to win coverage for unskilled labor and eliminate piecework. Even- THE AGE OF FOOTBALL tually, they took their fight to the new IH plant in Louisville to Soccer and the 21st fight the Mason-Dixon wage differential, a major issue. By the Century end of World War II, IH had accepted collective bargaining, but Goldblatt, David it wasn’t the end of the fight, as IH still hated FE and used the Norton (624 pp.) Congress of Industrial Organizations and the Taft-Hartley Act to $30.00 | Feb. 18, 2020 help maintain their control. Gilpin follows every aspect of this 978-0-393-63511-9 “long, deep grudge” (sometimes too deeply for general readers), creating a useful labor history that could spark renewed interest A learned, wide-ranging study of in unions at a time when “activists are back at the drawing board.” football—soccer, that is—as something A comprehensive account that will appeal most to busi- that’s much more than just a game. ness historians and activists looking for direction. (b/w The French philosopher Guy Debord photos) devoted much attention to the spectacle, which is meant, writes Goldblatt (The Games: A Global History of the Olympics, 2016), to “not just distract but commodify, blind and stupefy too.” That’s RUST one function of sports—namely, to keep us from recogniz- A Memoir of Steel and Grit ing what’s going on around us. The author, who may know as Goldbach, Eliese Colette much about soccer as any person on the planet, takes the story Flatiron Books (320 pp.) far beyond that, into realms that particularly embrace politics, $27.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 those systems that make things happen to people. One instance 978-1-250-23940-2 among dozens is the place of soccer in Hungary, a nation headed by a neofascist who once played the game himself and who has Ohioan Goldbach turns in a gritty built an outsized stadium in his home village, “held up by huge, memoir of working in a steel mill while breathtaking trusses of laminated mahogany set in the great fan wrestling with the world beyond. patterns of a Gothic cathedral.” Other intellectuals come and “Steel is the only thing that shines in go in Goldblatt’s pages, including the Argentine writer Jorge the belly of the mill.” The rest, writes Luis Borges, who commented, “football is popular because the author, is hued in the greens and browns of dust and decay, stupidity is popular.” The sneer is unnecessary, but the fact is muted and camouflaged. Appropriately, at the plant, she was just that soccer is the world’s single most popular spot—and is even this side of anonymous, known as “#6691: Utility Worker.” Still, gaining ground in the U.S. and China, which had previously she was assured by fellow workers that the money she would ignored it. Goldblatt does a lot of on-the-ground footwork to make would be the envy of Cleveland, certainly more than what track the game’s fortunes, observing that Asia is emerging as she’d make as the professor she wanted to become. Of course, a soccer power; Africa has superb players hampered by lack of there were plenty of drawbacks. Her first day, she heard the money; and the game is growing by leaps even as the corrup- horrific tale of another woman on the line torn to bits—“her tion surrounding it is breathtaking and even if it often seems body just fell apart”—by an errant cylinder on a conveyor belt. an expression of warfare by other means, as when, in a match There were also dangerous forklifts and cauldrons and vats of between South Korea and China, “Chinese authorities sur- magmatic metal. The world outside was full of terrors, as well. rounded the Korean squad and the stadium with thousands of Goldbach endured sexual assault and the onset of bipolar disor- troops.” There’s no corner of the globe that Goldblatt doesn’t der and battled her parents on matters of religion and politics. explore, and his book updates and overshadows Franklin Foer’s As a solid member of the blue-collar working class, union card How Soccer Explains the World (2004). in hand, she took a role as the resident liberal in the steel mill, Superb: Essential reading not just for fans of the sport, a type so rare that her fellow workers seemed scarcely able to but also for students of geopolitics. (26 b/w photos)
114 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | HOW TO BE FINE their experiences may have affected their relationships with What We Learned From their spouses or friends. Humor is also important, hence the Living by the Rules of 50 inclusion of occasional chestnuts such as Men Are From Mars, Self-Help Books Women Are From Venus and Phyllis Diller’s Housekeeping Hints. In Greenberg, Jolenta & Meinzer, Kristen this book, the authors approximate the breezily chatty voice of Morrow/HarperCollins (256 pp.) their podcast, and they break it down into thematic sections: $25.99 | Mar. 17, 2020 “13 Things That Worked,” “8 Things That Didn’t Work,” and “8 978-0-06-295719-1 Things We Wish More Books Recommended.” The workable tasks included learning to declutter (Life-Changing Magic of Tidy The hosts of a popular podcast series ing Up) and preparing for death (The Art of Dying Well). Among the write about their experiences living by books that didn’t work were dieting books and works stressing self-help books. the need for forgiveness, such as The Four Agreements. Through- In each episode of the podcast By the Book, Brooklyn-based out, the authors offer subjective commentary, more often trig- hosts Greenberg and Meinzer (So You Want To Start a Podcast, gered by specific impulses rather than the quality of the work 2019) take listeners through the ups and downs of living by the they’ve chosen to live by that week. In the final section, they prescriptive rules of their mutually assigned self-help books. expand beyond specific books and delve into more personal The books represent a range of commercially relevant topics, issues. Greenberg advocates for talk therapy and medication (in from dieting to financial savings to the mystically aspirational. her case, for treating ADHD), and Meinzer, “a world-class pro- Within each two-week run, the hosts discuss possible insights crastinator,” advises accomplishing goals by approaching them gleaned as well as individual challenges, and they relate how in chunks. Though both offer some valid advice, neither seems young adult
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 115 aware of the many notable books on these topics already avail- BEING HEUMANN able. For their avid listeners, there isn’t much in the way of new An Unrepentant Memoir of a information or insights about the books or the hosts, and read- Disability Rights Activist ers not familiar with the podcast don’t gain an understanding of Heumann, Judith with Joiner, Kristen why they approached this subject in the first place. Beacon (232 pp.) A rehash of the podcast that may interest established $25.95 | Feb. 25, 2020 fans. 978-0-8070-1929-0
A driving force in the passage of the DO NOTHING Americans With Disabilities Act looks How To Break Away From back on a long career of activism. Overworking, Overdoing, “An Occupation Army of Cripples and Underliving Has Taken Over the San Francisco Federal Building.” So Headlee, Celeste shouted a newspaper headline in the wake of one particularly Harmony (288 pp.) vocal protest. According to disability rights activist Heumann, $26.00 | Mar. 10, 2020 that was fine. “People weren’t used to thinking of us -as fight 978-1-9848-2473-8 ers—when they thought about us at all,” she observes. Until the 1980s, disabled people were largely made invisible, with no easy An argument against the notion that means of access to the systems of transportation, employment, “our carefully designed strategies and gad- and other goods that the rest of the population often takes for gets will make us better.” granted. The author, who was paralyzed after a bout of child- As a popular radio host, journalist, and speaker, Headlee (We hood polio, might have been shunted off to an institution, as Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter, 2017) has one doctor recommended, which was the usual practice in 1949. plenty of experience in trying—and often failing—to achieve Instead, her parents, orphans of the Holocaust, resisted. The the so-called work-life balance. “While I’d always been driven, system did not make much allowance for her outside such an I’d also been exhausted, stressed, and overwhelmed,” writes the institution. At first, she was taught by a teacher who came to author of her years of struggle to advance her career, pay the her home for two and a half hours a week, then sent to “Health bills, and manage the responsibilities of being a single mother. Conservation 21,” a New York school system program in which She had hoped that “when I achieved financial stability, my students were expected to remain “until we were twenty-one stress would end.” However, the opposite was true: Once she years old, at which point we were supposed to enter a sheltered was offered bigger money for speeches and other jobs, it was workshop.” Instead, Heumann distinguished herself academi- tougher to turn them down. “If your goal is less stress and more cally and got involved in the drafting of legislation that would happiness,” she writes, “years of scientific research have proven effectively add disability to the classes of protected citizens that better than trading your time for money, it’s best to trade under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. To do so, she had to make your money for time.” Easier said than done, and though Head- the case that “discrimination against disabled people existed,” lee remains highly productive, with a schedule that will leave something that many people did not wish to acknowledge. many readers breathless, she does an effective job of showing Then she had to find allies inside government on top of battling how the Industrial Revolution changed the time-money equa- a host of foes, including conservative politicians and businesses tion, how multitasking makes us less focused and efficient, why “worried about what ADA would cost, in time and money.” Heu- connecting online rather than engaging in human interaction mann prevailed, and following passage of the ADA after years can be dehumanizing, and how you can feel better about your of agitation, she worked for the World Bank and was appointed life by acting kindly. Among her many suggestions: Engage in a representative of the Obama administration to advance civil conversation with four strangers per day; keep track of how you rights for disabled persons internationally. are spending your time, because you’re probably not as busy as A welcome account of politics in action, and for the best you think you are; and acknowledge that downtime can make of causes. you more creative and productive as well as happier. Readers are advised not to take the author’s title literally, because there is so much that can be done to reassert the importance of lei- sure in life, including reading a book about it. Headlee offers little groundbreaking information, but her advice is well taken and will prove useful for harried readers.
116 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | young adult
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 117
A useful biography that provides an honest reckoning of Washington’s life and legacy. washington’s end
WASHINGTON’S END biography of “America’s first post-presidency.” Mount Vernon The Final Years and was bleeding money and in disarray, requiring countless repairs. Forgotten Struggle Washington was in debt and could not rid himself of his numer- Horn, Jonathan ous slaves because they belonged to the estate of his wife’s first Scribner (352 pp.) husband. Furthermore, the construction of the new capital, $30.00 | Feb. 11, 2020 Washington, was proving a headache of epic proportions—as 978-1-5011-5423-2 was tension with France, prompting the new president, John Adams, to appoint Washington as commander in chief just A scholar of American history and for- when he was hoping to be left alone as a private citizen. In mer presidential speechwriter delves into addition to entertaining numerous guests, including “a party the last poignant years of the first presi- of French princes, cousins to the guillotined king,” at Mount dent and his struggle to define his legacy. Vernon, Washington had to deal with his stepson “Wash,” who Finally leaving the nation’s capital of Philadelphia upon was turning out to be a loafer and miscreant. His dear friend his successor’s inauguration on March 4, 1797, bound for his the Marquis de Lafayette was imprisoned in Austria amid the beloved Virginia home, Mount Vernon, George Washington French Revolution, prompting his wife to send the marquis’ did not realize how arduous his retirement was going to prove teenage son to America to live with the former president as a after eight years as president. He was 65 and healthy, yet the refugee, though the president felt guilty for not being able to pressures were enormous, as Horn (The Man Who Would Not Be publicly shelter the boy sooner. In a readable style that includes Washington: Robert E. Lee’s Civil War and His Decision That Changed an appropriate amount of quoting from primary sources, Horn American History, 2016) clearly delineates in this welcome new ably captures the tension of Washington’s inner turmoil as he continued to deal with urgent dispatches and unwanted news from the capital. A useful biography that provides an honest reckoning of Washington’s life and legacy.
ROUGH IDEAS Reflections on Music and More Hough, Stephen Farrar, Straus and Giroux (464 pp.) $30.00 | Feb. 4, 2020 978-0-374-25254-0
A potpourri of pieces (most about music) in a variety of keys and rhythms. A prolific classical pianist, record- ing artist, and writer, Hough (The Final Retreat, 2018) has a lot on his mind. There are scores of entries here—the table of contents consumes eight pages—as the author addresses countless topics, from “The Soul of Music” and “Can Atonal Music Make You Cry?” to “Debussy: Piano Music With- out Hammers” and “The Three Faces of Francis Poulenc.” Some are adaptations of previously published pieces, and others are versions of Hough’s blog posts. His subject matter ranges from music (history, technique, personalities, pianos, autobiography, even some obituaries) to sexuality (he writes in several places about being gay) to religion (he’s a Roman Catholic) to art muse- ums, abortion, and more. All of the pieces are tightly focused— some are not even a page long, some of which readers may find themselves skimming over—and most are articulate and packed with questions for readers to ponder. (“I’m allergic to telling any- one what to do,” he writes early on.) Hough educates us on his routines, including how he likes to dress up to play and his prac- tice methods while on the road, and he is unafraid to point out his own embarrassments—e.g., a broken pants zipper just before a performance. The author also consistently credits others who
118 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com |
have greatly affected him: early teachers, colleagues, performers THE DAIRY RESTAURANT from earlier eras. Of course, some of the more technical pieces Katchor, Ben about playing the piano—uses of the pedals, how to play trills— Illus. by the author will be of principal interest to other musicians. But much of the Schocken (496 pp.) book is for general readers: Hough’s thoughts about wallpaper $29.95 | Mar. 10, 2020 music (he hates it), comments about smoking, generous remarks 978-0-8052-4219-5 about Americans (he’s from the U.K.), and discussions of favorite writers (he loves Willa Cather). An account of once-popular New Proof that music is not just in notes; it’s also in words. York restaurants that had a rich social and cultural history. “Since, by choice or historical neces- HIGH RISK sity, exile and travel were defining A Doctor’s Notes on aspects of Jewish life, somewhere a Jew was always eating out,” Pregnancy, Birth, and the observes cartoonist and MacArthur fellow Katchor (Illustra- Unexpected tion/Parsons, the New School; Hand-Drying in America, 2013, Karkowsky, Chavi Eve etc.) in his exhaustively researched, entertaining, and pro- Liveright/Norton (288 pp.) fusely illustrated history of Jewish dining preferences and $26.95 | Mar. 10, 2020 practices. The Garden of Eden, he notes wryly, was “the first 978-1-63149-501-4 private eating place open to the public,” serving as a model for all the restaurants that came after: cafes, cafeterias, buffets,
A maternal-fetal medicine specialist young adult explores the intricacies of pregnancy. Karkowsky (Obstetrics and Gyne- cology/Albert Einstein Coll. of Medicine) begins her high-risk tales with the account of a pregnant woman over 40 who “had almost no working organs in her body” and was on dialysis three times per week. Through meticulous monitoring and in- hospital care, she had a successful cesarean delivery of a pre- term infant who survived intensive care and went home. The author then takes readers through the key elements of each trimester. Initially, it’s often nausea and vomiting that, for an unlucky few, can persist through all nine months. Before IV hydration, such women could die. The second trimester is the time for genetic testing. Amniocentesis is a prime test for Down syndrome, but there are now less invasive tests for many genetic anomalies. An issue here is that false positives or negative rates can be high enough to make decision-making tough. Perils in the third trimester include preterm labor, still- births, hemorrhaging, and the soaring maternal blood pres- sure of potentially fatal preeclampsia/eclampsia. In addition to graphic accounts of complications, Karkowsky also exam- ines how pregnancy care is evolving—not always for the better. She deplores the fact that cesarean deliveries account for one- third of all births in America today (malpractice fears? finan- cial gain?), and she is incensed that maternal mortality is high among white women but three times higher for African Amer- ican women—and not because of socio-economic factors. She suggests implicit bias is at work. The author believes consent forms are a mess and hates that women seeking a vaginal deliv- ery after a cesarean birth have to sign a consent form to permit it. Overall, Karkowsky urges better communication between doctors and nurses and doctors and patients, especially in con- veying tragic news. She also makes frequent references to her own experiences as a wife and mother, subject to some of the risks she describes. A solid primer on pregnancy risks as well as a cogent plea for progress to make childbirth even less perilous.
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 119 A much-needed addition to feminist discourse. hood feminism
milk halls, lunch counters, diners, delicatessens, and, espe- ardent opponent of respectability politics, Kendall shows how cially, dairy restaurants, a favorite destination among New several talking points used by mainstream feminists and policy- York Jews, which Katchor remembers from his wanderings makers cause more harm than good to the groups they are try- around the city as a young adult. Dairy restaurants, because ing to serve, and she supplies practical suggestions for ways to they served no meat, attracted diners who observed kosher make worthwhile and sustainable changes. While acknowledg- laws; many boasted a long menu that included items such as ing that no one is without flaws, Kendall also notes that we have mushroom cutlet, blintzes, broiled fish, vegetarian liver, and a responsibility to make society a safer, more equitable place for fried eggplant steak. Attracted by the homey appearance and women of all backgrounds. Sometimes, that involves stepping “forlorn” atmosphere of these restaurants, Katchor set out to aside so someone more suitable gets the platform and support uncover their history, engaging in years of “aimless reading in to do so. Kendall is a highly knowledgeable and inspiring guide, the libraries of New York and on the pages of the internet,” and she effectively builds on the work of black women who where he found menus, memoirs, telephone directories, news- have, for ages, been working to better the lives of themselves paper ads, fiction, and food histories that fill the pages of his and their communities. The book is an authentic look, from the book with colorful anecdotes, trivia, and food lore. Although perspective of a black feminist, at the ways mainstream femi- dairy restaurants were popular with Jewish immigrants, their nism must be overhauled, from the personal to the policy level, advent in the U.S. predated immigrants’ demand for Eastern and a demand that its practitioners do better. European meatless dishes. The milk hall, often located in A much-needed addition to feminist discourse. parks, resorts, or spas, gained popularity throughout 19th- century Europe. Franz Kafka, for example, treated himself to a glass of sour milk from a milk pavilion after a day in a THIN PLACES Prague park. Jews were not alone in embracing vegetarianism. Essays From in Between In Europe and America, shunning meat was inspired by several Kisner, Jordan causes, including utopian socialism, which sought to distance Farrar, Straus and Giroux (272 pp.) itself from “the beef-eating aristocracy”; ethical preferences; $26.00 | Mar. 3, 2020 and health concerns. A meatless diet relieved digestive prob- 978-0-374-27464-1 lems, many sufferers found. An informative, nostalgic evocation of a special urban Astute, perceptive forays into Ameri- dining experience. ca’s nooks and crannies. In her debut book’s titular essay, about revolutionary deep brain stimu- HOOD FEMINISM lation for patients with obsessive-com- Notes From the Women That pulsive disorder, Kisner writes that the barrier “between the a Movement Forgot physical world and the spiritual world wears thin and becomes Kendall, Mikki porous.” She continues, “the thin places I’ve known aren’t Viking (288 pp.) always places, per se. Sometimes a thin place appears between $26.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 people. Sometimes it happens only inside you.” Combining 978-0-525-56054-8 reportage and the personal essay, the author often finds herself involved in the subjects she discusses. In “Attunement,” she A book about feminism from the per- recounts when a “handful of kids delivered my soul to Jesus spectives of those often left out of the at summer camp.” But when she was 12, God just “vanished. I conversation. didn’t know why.” The essay traces her religious pilgrimage and Kendall (Amazons, Abolitionists, and fascination with Kierkegaard’s “tract on faith and doubt,” Fear Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights, 2019) and Trembling, and her “late-breaking phantom limb syndrome takes a magnifying glass and megaphone to the plights of mar- of the soul.” In “Jesus Raves,” Kisner chronicles her up-close ginalized women, many of whom are criminally overlooked or and personal experiences with a church’s hip outreach to young erased in mainstream feminist discussions of the hardships people (“they could be J. Crew models, but they are pastors”). women face. The author frankly highlights how issues like race, “Stitching” focuses on “ ‘The Bloggernacle,’ a contingent of food insecurity, gun violence, and poverty, among others, are Mormon mothers who have taken over a sizable piece of the all feminist issues, with many of them overlapping or serving online aspirational lifestyle industry” with their anti-Trump to exacerbate others. Using history, pop culture, and statistics message. “Habitus,” one of the best pieces, roams widely, from along with personal stories, Kendall demonstrates the problems a debutante ball in Laredo, Texas, to border immigration to the with mainstream feminism’s lack of consideration of intersec- TV show Say Yes to the Dress to matters concerning the author’s tionality. She purposefully shifts the focus to women who are sexuality. In “The Big Empty,” Kisner explores the “enormous, generally treated as a footnote and holds up a mirror to femi- hypersensory multimedia installations” of Ann Hamilton. As nism’s usual spokespeople by pointing out blind spots in a move- a good reporter, the author never judges the people she writes ment that claims to be for all women but which has shown itself about, often finding common ground with them. She admires to be exclusionary of most. A military veteran, wife, mother, and the “strange beauty” of the Shakers’ buildings and the “ecstatic,
120 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | cathartic” quirkiness of their worship—“they simply shook and THEY SAID THIS DAY WOULD shook, overcome.” Later, Kisner joined in with a “little dance,” NEVER COME a “wiggle, an homage but also a mini-catharsis of the fine pos- Chasing the Dream On ture and right angles of the morning.” Obama’s Improbable Thoughtful, engaging, and informative essays from a Campaign writer to watch. Liddell-Westefeld, Chris PublicAffairs (256 pp.) $28.00 | Jan. 7, 2020 PHANTOM LADY 978-1-5417-3061-8 Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Firsthand accounts of the Obama for Woman Behind Hitchcock America presidential campaign. Lane, Christina To oral historian Liddell-Westefeld, the impressive convic- Chicago Review Press (400 pp.) tion of Barack Obama’s political campaigns was undeniable. $30.00 | Feb. 4, 2020 Initially a devoted campaign volunteer, the author eventually 978-1-61373-384-4 moved on to join the Obama White House staff. Prior to leaving his five-year post with the president, Liddell-Westefeld ques- A close-up look at the career of an tioned what compelled so many youth to volunteer for the 2008 influential woman screenwriter and pro- campaign and what could be gleaned from its organic success ducer in Hollywood. for use in future nominations. The answers are embedded in the
Lane (Film Studies/Univ. of Miami; Magnolia, 2011, etc.) young adult depicts Joan Harrison (1907-1994) as an unconventional woman who was the most enduring assistant and colleague that Alfred Hitchcock ever had. “Harrison would contribute to all of Hitchcock’s late British achievements…and his early Holly- wood successes….Together, these films established Hitchcock as a master of the seriocomic thriller and gothic suspense.” The author continues, “plainly put, Alfred Hitchcock would not have become ‘Hitchcock’ without her.” The title refers not only to the “noir gem” that Harrison made for Universal Pictures in 1944, a film that featured a resourceful, independent woman, but also to Lane’s desire to restore the reputation of Harri- son, who has been largely overlooked in Hollywood histories despite her stature at the time as “the most powerful woman producer in Hollywood.” The author closely follows her ambi- tious and clever subject’s career from her initial interview with Hitchcock at age 26 to her death at 87. While Lane’s attention to the details of Harrison’s career may seem excessive, what she reveals about the making of some of Hitchcock’s films is fasci- nating. As she chronicles Harrison’s journey from secretary to screenwriter to producer, she takes readers behind the scenes of such films as The Lady Vanishes, Jamaica Inn, and Rebecca as well as many others that Harrison worked on with Hitchcock. We learn about casting decisions, script changes, the strengths and weaknesses of various actors, and the power of the studio moguls and censors. Lane also shows how Hollywood reacted to the redbaiting scare and the blacklisting that followed. The narrative is not all business, however. The author shows Har- rison hobnobbing with celebrities in nightclubs, marrying the novelist Eric Ambler, and living well abroad. A solid addition to the growing literature about women filmmakers, with greatest appeal to Hitchcock fans and movie lovers. (30 b/w photos)
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 121 200 interviews he conducted with alumni of the caucus effort, population died. Written in short, titled sections, the memoir including former field organizers and directors, volunteers, is brutally honest as Lisicky chronicles his search for compan- college students, activists, speechwriters, and many others ionship and love amid sadness, illness, and death. The next few who devoted their time and energies to the success of a hope- years were a sexual roundelay as the author moved from lover to ful underdog whom the author calls “America’s most unlikely lover, with assorted affairs along the way. With each new issue president.” In addition to Liddell-Westefeld’s personal narra- of the Town’s Advocate, he turned to the obituaries: “Oh—that tive about his experiences, scores of enthusiastic volunteers guy!...When he looked at me last week I looked back at him, and supportive politicians contribute to a readable collective and we were both citizens of Town.” Some readers may wish for chorus of hopeful voices tirelessly promoting Obama’s patrio- more about literature and writing, but that is not the author’s tism, moral clarity, and honorable leadership. Each member of focus here. Lisicky does a fine job capturing the emotional this fellowship applauds Obama for representing what former ambience of a special place consumed by both joy and fear. speechwriter Jon Favreau called “something different…some- A candid, scorching memoir that emits tenderness and thing outside of Washington” in a country that sorely needed it. sweet sorrow. As a campaign diary, the book succeeds in gathering represen- tative perspectives from those who participated in its success. Through its interview snippets, the text captures the decisive THE FIRE AND THE DARKNESS moments of the journey, from the first inklings of a party nomi- The Bombing of Dresden, nation at “Camp Obama” through the struggle to garner sup- 1945 porters and up to the final moments as history was made. Kal McKay, Sinclair Penn, the actor and activist, felt “simultaneously very proud of St. Martin’s (400 pp.) the work that we had done and very humbled by what was about $32.50 | Feb. 4, 2020 to happen over the next four years.” These voices, which also 978-1-250-25801-4 include David Plouffe, Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod, Alyssa Mastromonaco, and Obama himself, show the power of grass- A history of the 1945 bombing that roots organization. made Dresden “a totem to the obscenity Adulatory reflections on a historic presidency sure to of total war.” fuel hope for future elections. On the evening of Feb. 13, 1945, writes British literary critic McKay (The Scotland Yard Puzzle Book, 2019, etc.), British bombers unleashed a savage attack on the Nazi- LATER controlled city of Dresden, killing some 25,000 people and turn- My Life at the Edge of ing the “Florence on the Elbe,” as the elegant cultural center was the World known, into “a burnt and bloody wilderness.” The bombing was Lisicky, Paul the focus of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, based on his Graywolf (240 pp.) experiences during the historic firestorm as a prisoner of war. $16.00 paper | Mar. 17, 2020 After describing life in Dresden before the bombing, McKay 978-1-64445-016-1 re-creates the nighttime attack in the words of residents as well as German officials, Allied commanders and bomb crews, and Lisicky (MFA Program/Rutgers Univ.- many others. “No one could ever imagine that our city would Camden), 60, returns to his early days as a be the victim of a cruel and senseless bombing,” says Gisela young, gay man, which he previously wrote Reichelt, who was 10 at the time. Hers was among many eye- about in The Narrow Door (2016, etc.). witness accounts McKay examined in the city’s archives. Like Throughout the author’s memoir, the focus is Provincetown, others, she dismissed the nighttime air-raid alarms—they had Massachusetts, in the early 1990s, when the author was awarded always proven false—that preceded the dropping of nearly 4,000 a residency fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center and was tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices. Payloads looking forward to escaping dark and dispiriting times at home. from hundreds of planes set the city on fire, tore buildings apart, It was October as he drove over the hill to view the small town and dismembered people in shelters. With good weather and nestled in the “curved coast of the harbor, shining.” Town, as few Nazi defenses, young airmen pursuing “just another target” he calls it, and his small room were his new home: “There’s no found Dresden was “theirs to incinerate.” McKay’s harrowing other place I’d rather be.” At the time, writes Lisicky, he felt narrative conjures the “satanic music” of passing aircraft and the he had been “dead too long,” and he was anxious to visit the burning of corpses whose stench was still recalled years later, all catwalk that is Commercial Street. The first night, he picked set against the daily malevolence of life under the Gestapo. Many up a tall, blond guy, and they had sex. Lisicky writes a great deal immediately questioned the morality of bombing a city of lim- about sex in this memoir. “Sex for me is as essential as food,” ited strategic importance (it was a rail transport hub). American he explains. This was the time of the AIDS epidemic, and the planes engaged in subsequent Dresden raids. The city, including author cites a series of statistics that are still shocking nearly its baroque churches and concert halls, has since been restored. three decades later. In 1991, 20,454 people in the U.S. died of A full and powerful account of warfare that ignored the AIDS. By the mid-1990s, notes the author, 10% of Town’s gay distinction between military and civilian objectives. (maps)
122 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | A fine work of investigative journalism and an essential addition to the history of the civil rights movement. race against time
RACE AGAINST TIME murder before, but I had never heard of twenty people get- A Reporter Reopens the ting away with murder at the same time”—those 20 people had Unsolved Murder Cases carried out the killings of civil rights activists in the name of of the Civil Rights Era white supremacy. In a Mississippi where Emmett Till’s killers Mitchell, Jerry confessed to the crime but still walked free, an all-white jury Simon & Schuster (448 pp.) had acquitted a notorious racist, Byron Beckwith, in the mur- $28.00 | Feb. 4, 2020 der of Medgar Evers—and Beckwith didn’t pay a cent for his 978-1-4516-4513-2 defense, the bill having been picked up by an eager “White Citi- zens’ Council.” Through dogged investigation, sifting through Fast-paced account of the slow path reams of evidence and interviewing those who were on the to justice in a series of racially motivated ground at the time, Mitchell helped inspire law enforcement murder cases. officials decades after those events occurred to secure sufficient Mitchell, a former reporter for the Jackson Clarion-Ledger proof to convict killers who had been at liberty for most of their who recently founded the Mississippi Center for Investigative adult lives. Even though many of the civil rights killings have Reporting, arrived in 1986 to a city “bursting with New South still gone unpunished, often because the perpetrators are dead, pride and Old South prejudice,” one that, just a few years later, others were reckoned for, including the Birmingham church would be discomfited by the revival of interest in the “Mis- bombing that killed four little girls, one perpetrator having long sissippi Burning” case and like crimes of the 1950s and 1960s publicly bragged of having helped “blow up a bunch of niggers thanks to a movie by that name. Looking into that cold case, back in Birmingham.” That might have flown in the last days of writes the author, “I had heard of people getting away with Jim Crow, but, writes Mitchell, times have changed even in the young adult
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 123 segregationist stronghold of Philadelphia, Mississippi: “The YOU’RE NOT LISTENING town that had once protected these killers now wanted to see What You’re Missing and them prosecuted.” Why It Matters A fine work of investigative journalism and an essential Murphy, Kate addition to the history of the civil rights movement. Celadon Books (288 pp.) $26.00 | Jan. 7, 2020 978-1-250-29719-8 YELLOW BIRD Oil, Murder, and a Woman’s A lively debut that asserts the power Search for Justice in Indian of closing our mouths and opening our Country ears. Murdoch, Sierra Crane Houston-based journalist Murphy Random House (384 pp.) delves into the academic research on listening, which tends to $28.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 be scantier than that on its noisier cousin, talking, and chroni- 978-0-399-58915-7 cles her interviews with those whose work revolves around hear- ing and paying attention, including a priest, a bartender, and a A murder on an Indian reservation CIA agent. The author suggests that what might seem at first changes lives—at least one for the better to be a passive activity is in fact an active, demanding one and a but most for the worse. skill that can be learned with practice. At the basis of listening, “For what? For a little bit of money?” Thus Marge Gunder- Murphy maintains, is a sharp curiosity and the kind of open- son, the sheriff in the film Fargo, asking an unrepentant killer ness that indicates the hearer has something to learn from the why so many people are dead at his hands. That might well speaker. The author recommends thinking of active listening as serve as a refrain for this thoughtful work of true crime, its a form of meditation. During a conversation, “you make your- setting the badlands of North Dakota. There, writes journalist self aware of and acknowledge distractions, then return to focus. Murdoch, a man went missing in the newly opened oilfields But instead of focusing on your breathing or an image, you of the Bakken boom. Few people gave Kristopher Clarke’s return your attention to the speaker.” She points out that one disappearance much thought until Lissa Yellow Bird, a mem- of the primary obstacles to listening is the assumption that we ber of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation based on know what someone is going to say, which means, unfortunately, the Fort Berthold Reservation, made it her cause. When the that we’re least likely to pay attention to the people closest to author asked why she took an interest in the matter, Yellow us, including spouses, children, and friends. In a chapter that is Bird answered, “I guess I never really thought about it before.” particularly helpful and relevant in our increasingly polarized The road to becoming a freelance investigator was long and world, Murphy offers suggestions on “Listening to Opposing circuitous: Yellow Bird had worked as a prison guard, strip- Views,” including recognizing the rather remarkable fact that per, and bartender before doing time for possessing narcot- when people with “staunch political views” are challenged on ics “with intent to deliver.” On the tangled trail of the missing them, “their brains reacted as if they were being chased by a Clarke, a truck driver who, like everyone else, had come to bear.” On a practical level, the author also recognizes that the Bakken for a quick buck, Yellow Bird found something it’s not necessary to “listen to everyone until they run out of like redemption. “It seemed to Lissa,” writes Murdoch, “that breath.” While the narrative runs out of steam toward the end, the oil fields contained endless ways for a person to disappear.” repeating points that have already been made, it offers enough Her narrative makes that much clear, as she chronicles Yellow valuable advice and concrete suggestions to make it worth read- Bird’s search across a vast, desolate landscape. What she dis- ing, even for those who already think they know how to listen. covered as she moved across that landscape was a microcosm A valuable corrective for a talkative culture. of inept and principled cops, political divisions among tribes and clans, the ruinous effects of drugs and alcohol, and the always-appealing allure of fast money. “North Dakota is the PAIN STUDIES only place in the country where somebody like me can go and Olstein, Lisa make big money,” says one suspect. Thanks to Yellow Bird’s Bellevue Literary Press (192 pp.) tireless search, the truth eventually emerged—with poor $16.99 paper | Mar. 4, 2020 Clarke considered a “truly innocent victim” in an endlessly 978-1-942658-68-9 elaborate con game. An impressive debut that serves as an eye-opening view A meandering yet erudite explora- of both the oil economy and Native American affairs. tion of the representation of chronic pain in history and popular culture. Olstein (English/Univ. of Texas; Late Empire, 2017, etc.) suffers from chronic migraines. In total, she estimates, she has had a headache for 9.5 years of her life. Throughout this
124 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | slim, perceptive book, she wrestles with the challenge of certainty that Trump will face opposition from at least 65 mil- expressing something that is essentially indescribable: “all lion voters in the 2020 election. One of the author’s goals is to pain” is “unknowable except while being lived.” As a poet, increase that number to somewhere between 70 and 75 million, the author employs lyrical language (“left brow like a pressed which would be enough to win not only the popular votes for bruise, an overripe peach you accidentally stuck your fingers the Democratic Party nominee, but also the Electoral College into; top of head a china vase in a vise tightening, all angled by a comfortable margin. Some of that increased number can echo and clamor”) as well as rhetorical questions and litanies be achieved by increasing the percentage of citizens who vote, in the attempt to characterize her pain. She includes alarmingly with additional gains from voters who vote for the Democratic extensive lists of incidental migraine symptoms, medicines and nominee rather than symbolically supporting a third-party can- therapies she has tried (“our fickle, beloved cures”), and side didate. Plouffe also feels optimistic about persuading Obama effects she has experienced. Her surprising points of reference supporters who—perhaps surprisingly—voted for Trump in range from Antiphon, the ancient philosopher who taught pain 2016. As for individual involvement prior to November, the avoidance, to the TV show House, which starred a pain pill–gob- author favors direct action. Door-to-door canvassing is his bling misanthrope who solved medical mysteries. It’s harder favorite method, but he offers alternatives for those who can- to appreciate the relevance of a long discussion of Joan of Arc. not or will not take their opinions to the streets, including cam- Olstein seems to take Joan as a model for women speaking out paigning via social media. And while the author would love to in defense of their subjective experiences (in Joan’s case, hear- change the Electoral College, he wisely tells readers they must ing voices). All the same, the passages from her trial transcript live with it again this time around. are overlong. In general, Olstein relies too much on quotations Though cheerleading occasionally grates, Plouffe from other thinkers—though, surprisingly, not Susan Sontag. offers good fodder for readers willing to put in the effort
While the book joins a conversation rekindled by Anne Boyer, and follow his advice. young adult Leslie Jamison, and other contemporary authors, it is not quite as memorable as its antecedents. Still, Olstein’s blending of the personal and the academic is compelling, and her themes of AMERICAN POISON catharsis, denial, and causality are well worth exploring. “Does How Racial Hostility our pain define us?” she asks. Ultimately, she concludes that Destroyed Our Promise pain has no essential meaning and is all up to chance. Yet there Porter, Eduardo is dignity in resisting it—and in capturing it in words. Knopf (272 pp.) A quality addition to the literature on pain. $26.95 | Mar. 17, 2020 978-0-451-49488-7
A CITIZEN’S GUIDE TO An argument that racism as practiced BEATING DONALD TRUMP by whites in the United States doesn’t Plouffe, David just hurt people of color. Viking (256 pp.) Born in Phoenix to a white American $25.00 | Mar. 3, 2020 father and a darker-skinned Mexican mother, New York Times 978-1-9848-7949-3 economics reporter Porter (The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do, 2011) writes from his per- Barack Obama’s former campaign sonal experience as a perceived nonwhite and his professional manager and senior adviser weighs in on perspective as a skilled journalist who has worked in Mexico what it will take to defeat Donald Trump City, Tokyo, London, São Paulo, and Los Angeles. The author and repair some of the damage caused by clearly delineates a wide variety of conundrums that face the previous election’s “historically dis- American citizens, exacerbating divisions and hurting every- turbing and perhaps democracy-destroying outcome.” one. These include poorly funded public schools, many of them Plouffe (The Audacity To Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of segregated by race and ethnicity; massive prison populations Barack Obama’s Historic Victory, 2009) managed Obama’s suc- with no meaningful rehabilitation services for the inmates; cessful campaigns in 2008 and 2012. His unsurprising goal in untrammeled gun ownership leading to a form of violence 2020 is to take down Trump, and he provides a detailed guide unmatched anywhere else in the world; the criminalization of for every American to become involved beyond just voting. drugs without adequate recognition that addiction is often a Where the author is not offering specific suggestions for indi- curable disease rather than a reason to lock someone up; and vidual involvement, he engages in optimistic encouragement to housing discrimination, which leads to massive income inequal- put readers in the mindset to entertain his suggestions. Plouffe ity as well as other persistent societal ills. The author capably wisely realizes that many potential readers feel beaten down pulls the strands together to demonstrate one of the narrative’s by the relentlessness of Trump’s improper behavior and mis- most important ideas: how the U.S. lacks a true safety net, not guided policies, so there is plenty of motivational exhortation just for people of color, but also for lower-income whites. Some that highly motivated readers might find unnecessary. When he of Porter’s examples fall outside conventional narratives about turns to voting statistics, he’s on solid ground. Plouffe expresses racism. For example, when labor unions exclude people of color
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 125 A thoughtful and radically provocative collection. from our land to our land
as members in order to protect well-paid white laborers, worker of disease avoidance and “remarkable recovery” will give even solidarity becomes fractured, social unrest increases, and every- skeptics something to ponder. Though the text offers no ready body loses as the funds for adequate health care drain commu- answers or explanations, Rediger instills a glimmer of hope and nity resources. When assistance to truly needy people of color is possibility for those who may believe they have none. denied with the rationale of “welfare abuse,” low-income whites Though certainly not the last word, this is an engaging are left to drift as well. And as the author makes clear, none “investigative journey into the phenomenon of spontaneous of this is new. “Trump’s election may have exposed America’s remission.” ethnic divisions to the unforgiving glare of the klieg lights,” he writes, but these problems “have been lying in America’s under- brush for a long time.” In a final chapter about the future, Porter FROM OUR LAND TO finds little reason for optimism about reduced racism. OUR LAND Another solid addition to the necessarily growing lit- Essays, Journeys, and erature on one of America’s most intractable issues. Imaginings From a Native Xicanx Writer Rodriguez, Luis J. CURED Seven Stories (224 pp.) The Life-Changing Science of $18.95 paper | Feb. 4, 2020 Spontaneous Healing 978-1-60980-972-0 Rediger, Jeffrey Flatiron Books (384 pp.) A distinguished Mexican American $28.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 writer meditates on the place of Xicanx 978-1-250-19319-3 culture in what he sees as a sick and increasingly fragmented global society. Fascinating bioscience on the phe- Reacting in part to the political upheaval and chaos that nomenon of spontaneous healing. have characterized the last decade, Rodriguez (Borrowed Bones: Board-certified psychiatrist Rediger, New Poems From the Poet Laureate of Los Angeles, 2016, etc.) offers who is on the faculty at Harvard Medi- 12 essays that reflect on the meaning of identity while offering cal School, first began exploring the mystery of patients with a vision of a more humane world. In “The End of Belonging,” incurable illnesses and their miraculous regenerations early in the author responds to Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant, anti- his medical career. Raised with traditional Amish principles, Mexican rhetoric by celebrating his Native American ancestry, the author was astonished by what he learned and now shares in which predated the European conquest of the Americas. As the this book, which also doubles as a pragmatic guide to improving descendent of Indigenous people, he sees himself as a child of general health. Rediger spent nearly two decades interviewing the Earth who transcends the fabricated boundaries of nation. and studying survivors of irremediable diseases and conditions, “I belong anywhere,” he writes. To counterbalance what he sees and his expert analysis drives much of this intriguing volume. He as the disease of capitalism brought to the Americas, Rodri- first examines immune system “prodding” and hyperactivation guez advocates for a new “mythic imagination” in the essay and how factors like diet, stress, and emotion directly affect it— titled “The Four Key Connections.” Through myths, people though, as the author notes, these factors are “often passed over can find “sustenance for mind and soul.” Poetry is another in routine medical care.” He chronicles his visit to spiritual heal- avenue of healing the author believes society should explore. In ing centers in Brazil, where the ill astonishingly recovered from “Poet Laureate? Poet Illiterate? What?” he discusses poetry as dire diagnoses. He probes the complex and hotly debated mind- “medicine” that can not only “impact [but] change this world.” body connection and how one’s sense of identity and healing Throughout the book, Rodriguez speaks about Xicanx cultural capacity are interconnected. Rediger, who also has a seminarian achievements with pride. In “I Still Love H.E.R,” he discusses background, acknowledges that these episodes are exceptional, the Xicanx–hip-hop connection and the influence of that con- and while his research suggests that their instances have “slowly nection on recording artists around the world. In “Low & Slow increased in both number and frequency,” they are relatively in Tokyo” he describes the impact of Xicanx popular culture unexplainable by medical science. He stresses that since there on anti-establishment Japanese youth. In speaking about him- are no clinical trials or double-blind studies to substantiate self, Rodriguez is, as always, honest and forthright. In “Men’s these incidences or ways of replicating their results, physicians Tears,” he speaks openly about his violent gang past and the les- “have to be anthropologists, detectives, and medical investiga- son he eventually learned that “men should cry more, connect tors.” Science aside, ultimately, it’s the dramatic survivors’ pro- more, feel more.” “The Story of Our Day” details the author’s files and their moving stories of miraculous second chances that unsuccessful but impactful 2014 Green Party bid for California have the most profound impact. These patients illuminate how governor, a campaign that emphasized nothing short of revolu- medicine, identity, diet, the mind, and human biology intersect tionary change. Powerful from start to finish, Rodriguez’s book to possibly trigger curative spontaneous remission. Arrestingly celebrates Xicanx culture and wisdom while calling for much- written and chockablock with practical, empowering medical needed global healing. information, this thought-provoking and convincing chronicle A thoughtful and radically provocative collection.
126 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | WE ARE NOT HERE TO IN PURSUIT OF BE BYSTANDERS DISOBEDIENT WOMEN A Memoir of Love A Memoir of Love, Rebellion, and Resistance and Family, Far Away Sarsour, Linda Searcey, Dionne 37 Ink/Simon & Schuster (240 pp.) Ballantine (304 pp.) $26.00 | Mar. 3, 2020 $27.00 | Mar. 10, 2020 978-1-9821-0516-7 978-0-399-17985-3
A celebrated Muslim American activ- The story of an American journalist’s ist’s memoir of how she came into her experiences with extraordinary women identity as a social justice leader in post– in West Africa. 9/11 America. When Searcey was appointed West Africa bureau chief Sarsour, executive director of the Arab American Associa- for the New York Times and moved to Dakar, Senegal, she tion in New York, grew up between two worlds: her parents’ knew there would be both personal and work-related hard- Palestinian homeland and her native Brooklyn. She embraced ships. What she didn’t fully anticipate was learning the true both: for the warm ties she formed with relatives and the extent of the atrocities the women she interviewed had “brown, Black and beige kids” in a neighborhood that looked endured. In this revealing, sometimes heartbreaking memoir, “like every nineties portrayal of [Brooklyn] ever seen in a Spike the author shares the stories of the women she met. As she Lee joint.” She attended John Jay High School, a “notorious notes, these accounts never made it into the newspaper, or
gang farm,” where she began to see how her life as a Muslim if they did, they didn’t receive the amount of attention they young adult American was “inextricably interwoven” with the lives of all deserved because Donald Trump and the roiling political situ- people of color. When 9/11 took place a few years after she grad- ation in the U.S. consumed most of the available space. Here uated, Sarsour witnessed firsthand the way innocent Muslims are tales of violence and heroism as women and girls were suddenly became branded as terrorists. She began working with kidnapped by the militant group Boko Haram, raped and/or her father’s cousin Basemah, a social justice activist who ran the forced to marry older militants, and ordered to serve as sui- Arab American Association of New York. The author credits cide bombers. With tremendous courage and a strong will to Basemah, who died tragically just four years later, with teaching live, these women disobeyed orders; remarkably, they are able her to “make waves…stir the pot…raise holy hell” when commu- to talk about the many seemingly insurmountable obstacles nities were in trouble. After Basemah’s death, Sarsour became they have faced. Searcey also discusses the more well-known involved in the fight to create a ground zero mosque as well as Chibok girls and her attempts to interview and photograph protests against the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policies, which tar- them, which proved to be a lesson in patience and persistence. geted people of color. The author later joined forces with fellow She balances her tales of work with those of being a mother activists Tamika Mallory and Carmen Perez to work on both and wife and the strains and struggles placed on both she and local and national social justice projects to end racial profil- her husband as they pursued life in a foreign country. The ing. The trio organized the Women’s March on Washington to author demonstrates her journalistic skills by providing ample protest the election of a racist, misogynistic president. Despite pertinent details to flesh out each chapter, centered around a these triumphs, Sarsour discovered that her own heightened vis- different interviewee. As a mother and woman, she gives an ibility made her family a target for “an avalanche of hate” while honest account of her personal experiences. The combination compromising her role as a mother. Candid and poignant, this is powerful and moving and brings much-needed attention to book offers an intimate portrait of a committed activist while the plight of these women. For further difficult yet important emphasizing the need for more Americans to work against the reading on this topic, see Wolfgang Bauer’s Stolen Girls (2017) deep-seated inequalities that still haunt the country. and Helen Habila’s The Chibok Girls (2016). A powerful memoir from a dedicated fighter for social Empathetic, compelling narratives from a part of the justice. world too often overlooked. (map)
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 127 GOING HOME CRY HAVOC A Walk Through Fifty Years Charlottesville and American of Occupation Democracy Under Siege Shehadeh, Raja Signer, Michael The New Press (224 pp.) PublicAffairs (400 pp.) $24.99 | Mar. 10, 2020 $28.00 | Mar. 10, 2020 978-1-62097-577-0 978-1-5417-3615-3
A longtime resident of Ramallah, Pal- An insider’s account of the “mad- estine, reflects on the city’s transformation. ness and mayhem” of the deadly white Orwell Prize–winning writer, lawyer, nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Vir- and human rights advocate Shehadeh ginia, in August 2017 and the nightmare (Where the Line Is Drawn: A Tale of Crossings, Friendships, and confrontation between free speech and public safety that the Fifty Years of Occupation in Israel-Palestine, 2017, etc.) interweaves clash created. personal revelations and political history in a candid, nostalgic Signer (Becoming Madison: The Extraordinary Origins of the reflection on life in Ramallah, where he grew up and has lived Least Likely Founding Father, 2015, etc.) was mayor of the pro- for the last 50 years. Walking around his neighborhood on the gressive college town when hundreds of armed, torch-carrying 50th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and protesters arrived, shouting “Jews will not replace us,” ostensi- Gaza, he recalls a place far different from the crowded, urban- bly to protect a statue of Robert E. Lee from removal. Although ized city of today. Ramallah, he writes, “used to have the charm he lacked power in his ceremonial position (the city manager and atmosphere of the mountain villages of Lebanon.” Store was in charge), Signer felt compelled to act: He was Jewish, an owners would keep caged songbirds outside their shops; their expert on demagoguery, and teaching a university course on gentle chirping could be heard by everyone. Now, “their song race, policy and history. With a doctorate in political science, has been replaced by the noise of traffic.” Parks have given way the author was committed to deliberative government. In this to high-rise developments, traffic-clogged crossroads, and com- deeply introspective book, which addresses Donald Trump’s mercial buildings: “In the past, it did not matter that there were fearmongering rise to the presidency, Signer explains how he no designated green areas in Ramallah, situated as it was in a was “pushing the boundaries” of his job, encouraging different large natural garden of its own.” Now the city is bereft of quiet perspectives on the statue issue and upsetting many staff with places of respite. Even more crucial, Ramallah struggles under his seeming meddling. Some citizens insisted on removing the Israeli dominance and aggression, which have fomented anger Confederate monument; others, on keeping it as a “teachable and hatred and altered the city and culture dramatically. Sheha- moment.” Opposing “symbolic politics,” the author hoped to deh worked tenaciously to get rid of the occupation, but after “recontextualize” the statue, using public space to tell the full the first Oslo Accord, which failed to create a Palestinian state, story of race. With the “Unite the Right” rally imminent, Signer he has felt only resignation. His human rights activism has felt began seeking a “silver bullet” to avert violence between oppos- futile, leaving him to adjust to a deteriorating political situation ing protesters, enlisting advice and assistance from experts. His as the occupation intensified and Israeli settlements expanded. frustration at not being able to shape the outcome is palpable. While much of the population has grown up under the occupa- “I could have left more up to others,” he writes. He offers a tion, the author remembers another world and regrets its loss. thorough analysis of the “shortcomings” of First Amendment The occupation, he writes, “has walked with me like a shadow, law and the failures of policing. Berating himself as sometimes stalking me, sometimes posing a challenge but more often a “impetuous,” he emerges as a well-intentioned, proactive figure- threat.” head who suffered undeserved attacks on social media. Signer A moving memoir of the far-reaching challenges of life refuses to scapegoat, but it is noteworthy that most of those in in the Middle East. (25 b/w images) power at the time are now gone. A complex, disturbing, valuable tale of racial dishar- mony, government failure, and one man’s frantic attempts to save the day.
128 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | A pleasing combination of terrific research and storytelling and engaging period visuals. driving while black
BARRY SONNENFELD, DRIVING WHILE BLACK CALL YOUR MOTHER African American Travel and Memoirs of a Neurotic the Road to Civil Rights Filmmaker Sorin, Gretchen Sonnenfeld, Barry Liveright/Norton (352 pp.) Hachette (368 pp.) $28.95 | Feb. 11, 2020 $29.00 | Mar. 10, 2020 978-1-63149-569-4 978-0-316-41561-3 How the automobile was both a The director of The Addams Family machine of liberation and a potential peril and Men in Black tells all. for African Americans during the early Sonnenfeld makes his debut as a decades of the 20th century—and beyond. memoirist with a brisk, funny recounting of his improbable In addition to offering an eye-opening history of the ter- rise to fame in the movie world. With a brief interlude as a rible discrimination practiced routinely against African Ameri- cameraman for porn films—an experience he recalls in visceral can drivers, Sorin (Director, Cooperstown Graduate Program/ detail—Sonnenfeld carved out a successful career as a cinema- SUNY; co-author: Through the Eyes of Others: African Americans tographer (Blood Simple, Raising Arizona), director of photog- and Identity in American Art, 2008, etc.) also discusses her own raphy (Big, When Harry Met Sally), and movie and TV director family’s years of distress driving from New Jersey to North Car- (Addams Family Values, Get Shorty, and Pushing Daisies). The olina to visit relatives in the late 1950s. In the first few decades of only child of a neurotic, manipulative mother who “had a very the 20th century, owning a car demonstrated economic success,
fluid relationship with the truth” and a philandering father, and that was certainly the case for a growing black middle class. young adult the young Barry was sexually abused by his mother’s first Moreover, driving in one’s own car meant not having to adhere cousin, who lived with the family for a while. When Sonnen- to the humiliating Jim Crow laws regarding seating in public feld confronted his parents about the abuse, they responded transportation. The right to move about among the states had coolly: “don’t forget child molestation didn’t have the same always been considered a fundamental constitutional right— stigma back then that it has now.” His mother smothered him the 1920 Supreme Court case United States v. Wheeler assured with her fears, threatening to kill herself if he opted to go to a the “free ingress and egress to and from any other state”—but residential college, but she also encouraged him to go to film that was “a right denied to African Americans.” While white school when she saw that his career as a photographer was Americans took to the road merrily, writes the author, they were not taking off. Although his parents reneged on their offer to “comfortable denying their black countrymen not only the right pay tuition—“Don’t be ridiculous. I would never say such a to travel freely but also the ability to use public accommoda- thing,” his mother exclaimed after he enrolled—NYU’s film tions”—and this is key in Sorin’s powerful story. When her fam- school launched him into cinematography. Sonnenfeld offers a ily traveled south, they were sure to pack plenty of food and behind-the-scenes look at the many directors, producers, and blankets for the children so that they did not have to stop at actors with whom he worked. The Coen brothers, he writes, segregated restaurants and risk being denied a place to sleep. were “total novices” when they started filming Blood Simple, a The author provides an in-depth look at the significance of low-budget movie that brought Sonnenfeld to the attention of Victor Green’s (literally) lifesaving The Green Book—inspired by Penny Marshall, who needed a cinematographer for Big. Son- Jewish travel guides—first published in 1936 and expanded over nenfeld came to like Marshall despite her legendary indeci- the decades, which became the bible for African American driv- siveness and negativity; she balked at Sonnenfeld’s visual style ers hoping to find amenable accommodations in gas and repair and even Tom Hanks’ acting. The author was in the midst of services, restaurants, hotels, etc. The author also discusses how filming When Harry Met Sally when volatile, unpredictable the car became a vehicle integral to the civil rights movement. Scott Rudin summoned him to direct The Addams Family— A pleasing combination of terrific research and story- after several other directors turned Rudin down. telling and engaging period visuals. (74 b/w illustrations) Zesty anecdotes about family, marriage, and father- hood combine with Hollywood gossip to make for an enter- taining romp. (b/w photos)
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 129 LOST IN GHOST TOWN OVERTURNING BROWN A Memoir of Addiction, The Segregationist Legacy of Redemption, and Hope in the Modern School Unlikely Places Choice Movement Stout, Carder Suitts, Steve Health Communications (256 pp.) NewSouth (160 pp.) $16.95 paper | Mar. 10, 2020 $25.95 | Feb. 4, 2020 978-0-7573-2354-6 978-1-58838-420-1
A Hollywood psychologist’s account A civil rights activist and attorney of his drug addiction and poverty and of convincingly demonstrates that Brown his clean-and-sober return. v. Board of Education barely put a dent in From the outside, Stout’s early life seemed perfect. Yet unequal public schooling. behind the privilege was unhappiness: Both of his parents drank As Suitts (Hugo Black of Alabama: How His Roots and Early excessively, and his father was more absent than present. As a Career Shaped the Great Champion of the Constitution, 2005), the preteen, the author experimented with alcohol and marijuana; founding director of the Alabama Civil Liberties Union, notes, before he was a teenager, he became bulimic. After his parents the Deep South was the epicenter of resistance to school deseg- sent him to a prestigious boarding school in New Hampshire, regation in the 1950s and ’60s. Politicians such as Orval Faubus, Stout attached himself to a popular older student who intro- Jesse Helms, and George Wallace may have stood in school- duced him to cocaine. Living in New York after college, reckless house doors and filed flurries of lawsuits, but, in the end, more and without direction, the author exhausted his trust fund on a sophisticated adherents to the segregationist cause found a sub- penthouse and spent most of his nights drinking and snorting tle workaround: They would create a parallel system of private cocaine with A-list actors and celebrities. “We were oversexed, schools that could maintain racial separation while also benefit- libido-driven twenty-somethings without regular jobs to go to ing from public dollars in the form of tax credits, vouchers, and in the morning,” he writes. “We drank and laughed and car- even direct payments. There were countless faux declarations ried on like we were invincible.” A few years later, Stout moved of “freedom of choice,” so long as black parents did not choose to Los Angeles, where he began his slide into crack addiction. to send their children to white schools, while at the same time By 2003, he was living in a part of Venice called “Ghost Town,” eliminating “any suggestion from the state constitution that named for the addict “ghosts” who haunted the streets. Without there is a right of education or an obligation of the state to a job and almost homeless, he became a driver for a Shoreline fund public schoolchildren.” Those schemes have since spread Crips drug lord named Flyn who offered Stout the brotherly nationwide and are now ardently promoted by the likes of Betsy comfort and support he lacked. The author’s situation became DeVos, the sitting secretary of education, part of whose consid- even more dire after he became a drug runner for another Crip erable fortune comes from investments in private schools. “Free- named Trech. Seeking a way out of the drug life but not sure dom of choice” was subsequently enshrined by the libertarian how to proceed, Stout helped a woman he loved—who also hap- economist Milton Friedman, whose utterances are held sacred pened to be Trech’s favorite prostitute—escape back home to by the right. As Suitts shows, although the cast of segregationist Detroit. After Trech hunted him down and almost killed him, leaders of the past has been narrowed to “a small rogues’ gallery,” Stout finally left Los Angeles and returned to the East Coast, their legacy is widespread and their followers are legion while where he began the long road to recovery. Raw and engaging, “contemporary private school patterns and practices…appear this is both a cautionary tale about the hidden costs of privilege for what they are: legacies of class-based southern segregation and a testament to one man’s eventual willingness to change to used to evade Brown and multi-dimensional segregation of non- save himself. southern states before Brown.” Indeed, writes the author, more A harrowing memoir of addiction and recovery. than half of American states now use vouchers to support pri- vate schools with public funds, making it likely that inequality will continue for a long time to come. A powerful argument against the “virtual segregation” of schoolchildren enabled by vouchers, credits, and other instruments.
130 | 15 december 2019 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | An authoritative, lucid chronicle of Bach’s multifaceted musical context. bach’s musical universe
BACH’S MUSICAL UNIVERSE THE DANCE OF LIFE The Composer and His Work The New Science of How a Wolff, Christoph Single Cell Becomes a Norton (512 pp.) Human Being $40.00 | Mar. 3, 2020 Zernicka-Goetz, Magdalena & 978-0-393-05071-4 Highfield, Roger Basic (304 pp.) A close investigation of Bach’s works $30.00 | Feb. 25, 2020 reveals remarkable transformations. 978-1-5416-9906-9 Eminent musicologist Wolff (Adams University Professor Emeritus/Harvard A foray into the developmental biol- Univ.; Mozart at the Gateway to His For ogy of individual cells in an embryo. tune: Serving the Emperor, 1788-1791, 2012, etc.) offers an erudite While Zernicka-Goetz (Biology and Bioengineering/ companion to his biography Johann Sebastian Bach (2000), a Caltech) and co-author Highfield The ( Science of Harry Pot Pulitzer Prize finalist, with a detailed examination of the ter: How Magic Really Works, 2002, etc.) discuss how the cells development of Bach’s creative process, goals, and achieve- of early embryos arise, how they organize with such precision ments. Because Bach left no theoretical writings, Wolff selects and direct their own development, and how they sense when from the composer’s prodigious oeuvre—including keyboard something goes wrong, this is not a primer on embryology but workbooks, toccatas, suites, sonatas, concertos, choral rather an in-depth journey through the world of the research works, and oratorios—to focus on elements of musical design, embryologist. Following the biology takes patience and focus
engagement with other repertoires and genres, reassessment for those not well versed in the science—“the mitochondrially young adult of existing conventions, and innovations. Facsimile pages are targeted zinc-finger nuclease, or mitochondria-targeted tran- excerpted from an online library of Bach manuscripts. Bach, scription activator-like effector nucleases, enzymes that can be writes the author, “competed with himself constantly,” making engineered to snip specific sequences of DNA, are used to rec- “judicious revisions to his own works.” His competitive atti- ognize and then eliminate mutant mitochondrial DNA”—but tude also led him to pay careful attention to the works of other the effort is repaid in spades. Readers engage with the whole composers, past and contemporary, as he evaluated his own process of fertilization as well as cellular specialization, cell compositions. Also influencing his musical evolution were cleavage, two-cell biases, and the developmental process. In the demands of his changing professional duties: town organ- her research, Zernicka-Goetz makes movies of fluorescently ist, court organist and chamber musician, concertmaster, and labeled cells “because they talk to each other with proteins and cantor and music director in Leipzig, where he also directed other molecular factors and respond to their surroundings.” the Leipzig Collegium Musicum for more than 10 years. As We learn that cooperation allows specialization and promotes part of his duties in Leipzig, he was required to offer about 60 diversity, spurring the embryo to self-organize. We follow the cantata performances yearly; although these did not have to “dance” as the embryo becomes a multilayered organism. There be his own compositions, Bach added “a considerable reper- are also intriguing discussions of how a blastocyst’s three types toire of his own music” to his growing sacred and secular vocal of cells arise and how they interact to make something as com- compositions. Throughout his career, Wolff notes, Bach was plex as the human body. The story has a memoirlike atmosphere, “a passionate instrumentalist,” acclaimed for his performances especially when Zernicka-Goetz turns to episodes of her life. on the organ and harpsichord, and he was frequently invited But she is never far from the science, as when she writes about to give guest concerts. His prowess on the keyboard fed her pregnancy and her son, who had chromosome irregularities, directly into his “pathbreaking approaches” to harpsichord which became a topic of her research. Particularly beguiling is a and fortepiano. The author identifies Bach’s intense interest chapter devoted to advances in creative biology—regenerative in exploring “all facets of the art of polyphony” as singularly medicine, preimplantation testing, designer babies, embryo characteristic of the composer’s musical language. For a musi- editing, genome editing—and all the attendant ethical con- cally sophisticated reader familiar with Bach’s works, as well as cerns that surround them. musical terminology and technique, Wolff’s analyses have the Meaty and entertaining, with the effort extended well potential of enriching the listening experience. worth the energy. An authoritative, lucid chronicle of Bach’s multifaceted musical context. (85 illustrations)
| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 15 december 2019 | 131
Jackie Nytes, CEO of Indianapolis Public Library, Fights for Libraries—And Patrons [Sponsored]
By Megan Labrise
While serving on the Indianapolis City-County hardworking life contrasts with her genteel aspirations Council, Jackie Nytes wrote an impassioned letter, (“But what she became was so much more important on official stationary, to save a small branch library than what her dreams and visions for herself might in a low-income neighborhood 400 miles—and two have been,” says Nytes, who still owns a tattered copy). states—away. Nytes joined the fight against each proposed clo- “Twice in my adult life they’ve tried to close that sure. The Southwest Branch remains open to this day. branch library in Green Bay,” Nytes says of the Brown “Would I have advocated like that if I hadn’t had County Library’s Southwest Branch, which she often those very impressionable childhood experiences? visited as a child growing up in Wisconsin. “Both Probably not,” says Nytes, who sympathizes with the times my parents called and said, ‘You have to help us plight of city officials forced to stretch dwindling stop this.’ ” funds. “The notion many elected officials have is, Fond memories flooded back: Stopping by the ‘Let’s be efficient and get rid of those little branches library on the mile-long walk home from primary and all that stuff,’ ” she says. “But I looked at it through school. Reading “a ridiculous amount” of historical the lens of that personal experience—where my neigh- fiction and anything else that would transport her borhood, my community, had their own library—and to a bold, exciting new world. Discovering one of her it mattered.” all-time favorite books, A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess As CEO of the Indianapolis Public Library, what Streeter Aldrich, about a young pioneer woman whose matters to Nytes is serving the capital city’s diverse
132 | 15 december 2019 | kirkus.com |
communities in ways that satisfy their respective order to pull that off when you don’t have a whole needs. Approximately 873,000 people are served by lot of staff, Baker & Taylor’s opening day collection the 24-branch system, which received more than 13 program has been excellent. We’ve been very grate- million walk-in visits and circulated 13,849,048 total ful for it. materials in 2018. “Working with Baker & Taylor, we’ve had great Five years ago, voters showed their support for experiences profiling the collection to really meet the the Library by approving a tremendous multiyear needs and the demands of the community,” she says. capital projects plan to renovate or relocate sev- “It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach.” eral branches through 2020. The plan included the With an eye toward expanding accessibility construction of a new 20,000-square-foot Eagle beyond their brick-and-mortar locations, IndyPL Branch in the city’s vibrant, multicultural westside recently launched a tailored version of Axis 360, Baker International Marketplace (opened June 2019) and a & Taylor’s digital media circulation platform, enabling new 15,000-square-foot Brightwood Branch in the remote access to the e-material collections of partner historic African American northeast neighborhood schools across the city. (opening spring 2020). “When I think about our experiences with Baker & “In today’s world, accessibility can be a real chal- Taylor, I have a broad sense that they understand the lenge,” Nytes says. “If you’re in a low-income family importance of getting to ‘yes,’ ” she says. “When we and your parents are working multiple jobs, there isn’t say, ‘Well, that’s great, but that doesn’t quite work for someone available to take you to the library. In a big us, can you develop this aspect of it?,’ they work hard to city where our transit has been slow to develop—it’s get to ‘yes.’ We’ve seen this with Axis 360. The devel- coming, but it’s got a long way to go—mass transit opment has been very responsive to our priorities.” hasn’t been the answer for our users. So when we’ve That includes equipping users with the tools they relocated the branches, it’s been with that in mind: need to thrive in the modern world. understanding how people can get to us.” “If we can equip children, young adults, and adults And once they arrive, she says, there should be to develop their reading and research skills through an abundance of relevant and desirable materials for access to information,” Nytes says, “then the likeli- them to choose from. That’s why IndyPL chose Baker hood of their upward mobility is going to improve. & Taylor, a distributor of books and entertainment, This has been identified as a significant challenge in based in Charlotte, North Carolina, to outfit the our community, and I think we have a real role to play Eagle and Brightwood branches with curated opening in helping people meet that challenge.” day collections. We’ve been pleased with that, and we really appre- Megan Labrise is the editor at large and hosts the Fully ciated their responsiveness.” Booked podcast. “Because several of the branches are being relo- cated, that means they’re getting bigger buildings and therefore bigger collections,” Nytes says. “In
| kirkus.com | 15 december 2019 | 133 children’s THE SPIRIT OF SPRINGER These titles earned the Kirkus Star: The Real-Life Rescue of an Orphaned Orca THE BLACKBIRD GIRLS by Anne Blankman...... 136 Abler, Amanda Illus. by Hastings, Levi THE SOCIETY OF DISTINGUISHED LEMMINGS Little Bigfoot/Sasquatch (48 pp.) by Julie Colombet...... 140 $18.99 | Mar. 24, 2020 978-1-63217-212-9 BRINGING BACK THE WOLVES by Jude Isabella; illus. by Kim Smith...... 150 Abler relates the 2002 rescue and STAND UP, YUMI CHUNG! relocation of an orphaned orca in the Pacific Northwest, focus- by Jessica Kim...... 151 ing on the efforts of two Canadian scientists for narrative effect. The orphaned orca, called Springer, was first noticed HAT TRICKS by Satoshi Kitamura...... 151 swimming alone by a ferry dock near Seattle. She became a SMALL MERCIES by Bridget Krone; illus. by Karen Vermeulen...... 151 cause célèbre with the public, and scientists and government officials from the U.S. and Canada worked together to save A KID OF THEIR OWN by Megan Dowd Lambert; illus. by Jessica Springer. She was captured, nursed back to health, and then Lanan...... 152 transported back to Canada to successfully rejoin her origi- nal pod. The fairly lengthy text details all the complex steps SNAPDRAGON by Kat Leyh...... 153 and dramatic circumstances of Springer’s rescue and rehabili- tation as well as her gradual acceptance and integration with THE WOLF IN UNDERPANTS FREEZES HIS BUNS OFF members of her orca family. A heartwarming conclusion on the by Wilfrid Lupano; illus. by Mayana Itoïz & Paul Cauuet; final page of the story introduces Springer’s own calf, named trans. by Nathan Sacks...... 154 Spirit. Vibrant illustrations with broad blue expanses of sea and sky include a wide variety of perspectives and intriguing MOST WANTED by Sarah Jane Marsh; views of orcas swimming and breaching. The attractive cover illus. by Edwin Fotheringham...... 154 illustration shows Springer breaching to the right, leading readers straight into the book. Human characters are diverse, MAÑANALAND by Pam Muñoz Ryan...... 159 including First Nations people who participated in Springer’s THE TEMPEST rescue. Additional material included as backmatter provides by William Shakespeare; more specifics about the event, additional facts on orcas and adapt. by Georghia Ellinas; illus. by Jane Ray...... 160 their pods, a map of the rescue journey, and ways to improve the environment for orcas. THE NEWSPAPER CLUB by Beth Vrabel...... 164 A spirited introduction to a fascinating rescue. (bibli- HELLO, DINOSAURS by Sam Boughton...... 167 ography, resources) (Informational picture book. 6-10)
I LOVE MY TUTU TOO! by Ross Burach...... 167
JUNGLE by Jane Ormes...... 173
ART THIS WAY by Tamara Shopsin & Jason Fulford...... 174
134 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | Careful lines add detail and depth while giving the perception of a tactile, orderly calm. violet shrink
HOW TO MAKE A and/or sensory-processing sensitivity. The story’s climax comes SHARK SMILE before the Shrink family reunion, a particularly big party, when How a Positive Mindset Violent and her dad have an open discussion about her feelings. Spreads Happiness Violet states outright, “I don’t like parties,” along with certain Achor, Shawn & Blankson, Amy other things, adding, “I don’t think I ever will.” Her dad listens, Illus. by Ranucci, Claudia and when the reunion occurs, readers see a compromise: Violet Little Pickle Press (40 pp.) brings her headphones and comic books, and she eats dessert $17.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 under the table. Mok’s illustrations are in subdued hues, with 978-1-4926-9472-4 a predominantly purple, green, and gray palette that pairs well with the dark purple print. Careful lines add detail and depth As the song goes: “Gray skies are gonna clear up / Put on a while giving the perception of a tactile, orderly calm. Among happy face!” a multiracial cast including the extended family, Violet and her With an assist from Blankson, the author of the positive dad, both bespectacled, possess the white skin tone of paper psychology guide The Happiness Advantage (2010) takes his mes- and appear to be of Asian heritage. sage to children in this newly illustrated reissue of the 2012 title A calm, effective model for stating—and listening to— Ripple’s Effect, originally illustrated by Cecilia Rebora. A smiley needs. (Picture book. 6-9) dolphin named Ripple, new to the aquarium, is eager to make friends. Alas, she discovers that the other sea creatures live in fear of Snark, a bullying shark. Undeterred, Ripple teaches WHEN NUMBERS everyone a game in which players must stare into another’s face MET LETTERS
for seven seconds without smiling. Naturally, this elicits belly Barr, Lois young adult laughs among the aquarium’s denizens. When Snark investi- Illus. by Laberis, Stephanie gates the newfound attitude of the formerly frightened, he’s Holiday House (40 pp.) pulled into the game, and thanks to his inevitable smile, all bul- $18.99 | Jan. 21, 2020 lying is henceforth forgotten. Whether readers believe Ripple’s 978-0-8234-4052-8 declarations that happiness is a choice (thereby circumventing the existence of depression and mental illness) is rather beside When a classroom empties for recess, scattered plastic the point. Children are meant to glean from this book meth- numbers and letters get together to compare differences and ods that help increase their own happiness, illuminated by the similarities. book’s backmatter. Alas, the story eschews practical methods Unfortunately, the differences stand out more than the of handling bullying. Nor, for that matter, does it confront the similarities. “A” argues with “1” about who really comes first; “E” idea that sometimes a bully can experience great happiness… criticizes the posture of “3”; “b” and “d” indignantly reject an from the misery of others. Colorful, peppy art perfectly plays offer from “6” to become triplets (“We are very different let- up the book’s un-nuanced can-do attitude. ters!” protests the former; “And we get mixed up enough as it Does this book have what it takes to help kids in any is,” complains the latter); and both sides squabble about who’s practical way? Go fish.(Picture book. 4-7) most curvy. Tensions nearly break out into open war until, at the last moment, with a loud “STOP,” the wall clock’s Roman numerals step in (figuratively) to point out that if letters such VIOLET SHRINK as “I” and “V” can stand for numbers, there must be common Baldacchino, Christine ground. (Young readers unfamiliar with analog clocks, let alone Illus. by Mok, Carmen Roman numerals, may need more than the glancing explana- Groundwood (32 pp.) tion provided.) Détente is restored (except for “A,” who can’t $17.95 | Mar. 3, 2020 quite grasp the distinction between “first” and “number 1”) just 978-1-77306-205-1 as the children, a diverse lot in Laberis’ cartoon scenes, come tumbling back in. Fledgling readers further along in recognition A young girl prefers solitude and skills will likely find Mike Boldt’s similarly premised 123 Versus quiet activities to parties. ABC (2013) a cleverer romp, but those still needing some prac- Violet likes to hunker in a makeshift tice in minding their p’s and q’s will chuckle over this broader, tent to write and illustrate comic books, and she often wears simpler contretemps. her purple headphones around the house. But even though she Wordplay? Count on it. (Picture book. 4-6) enjoys cake and games, Violet definitely does not like parties. Large groups of people make her so uncomfortable that she has adverse physical reactions, like hot ears and stomachaches. If she must attend a party, Violet imagines she is a different kind of animal that can better cope with these feelings, like a shark with no external ears to get heated. The character’s preferences and reactions mirror those of someone with autism, social anxiety,
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 135 Blankman situates the seemingly distant horror of Chernobyl in a firmly human context. the blackbird girls
KRIT DREAMS OF his future, too. In this believable, character-driven exploration DRAGON FRUIT of the long-lasting shadow suicide casts, Bishop imbues Drew, A Story of Leaving and his loving mother, and Audrey with just enough insight to make Finding Home their efforts to support each other fully believable. Drew’s Becher, Natalie & France, Emily emerging anger with his father is both poignant and tragically Illus. by Woo, Samantha appropriate. Drew’s present-tense narration is candid and Bala Kids/Shambhala (32 pp.) vulnerable, offering readers both mirrors for and windows to $17.95 | Mar. 24, 2020 this particular, very difficult experience. The cast defaults to 978-1-61180-775-2 white. An author’s note discusses suicide and, together with an appended list of resources, offers direction for readers in search A Thai boy finds comfort in a Buddhist tale while adjusting of support; in the acknowledgments, Bishop briefly describes to life in Chicago. her research. Young “Krit love[s] his home” in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He A thoughtful examination of the slow, uneven recovery and his dog, Mu, run alongside temple stairs and duck “under that follows a devastating loss. (Fiction. 10-14) dragon fruit carts in the market, past papaya and longans and red rambutans.” While celebrating the festival of lights, Krit releases his banana-leaf boat lighted with a candle on the river THE BLACKBIRD GIRLS with his single wish: “Let nothing change.” Unfortunately, that Blankman, Anne night, his mother informs him the family is moving to Chi- Viking (352 pp.) cago to help with family business. The digitally painted gray- $16.99 | Mar. 10, 2020 scale city shrouded in snow proves a jarring change from the 978-1-9848-3735-6 bright sunbathed colors of Thailand. Krit attempts to re-cre- ate familiar scenes, walking alongside the icy river and visiting The citizens of the town of Pripyat, markets only to be scolded by guards and staff for bringing his Ukraine, have always been assured that dog. Cold and dispirited, that night Krit requests a story from “an accident at a nuclear power station his mother, who tells a cryptic tale of Buddha’s finding a place was a statistical impossibility.” to build his temple. Straightforward narration reveals the next So when the morning of April 26, day is a more fruitful one when Krit meets Dahlia, a white girl 1986, dawns red, with “unearthly blue” playing with a toy boat in the river. With Dahlia’s friendship, smoke billowing into the air, life proceeds as normal. Fifth grade Krit looks at Chicago with new eyes, realizing the moral of his classmates and rivals Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko, mother’s story and the true meaning of home. Woo builds on however, are worried. Their fathers, night-shift plant work- simple shapes and rounded edges to provide bright characters ers at the Chernobyl power station, have not yet come home. with charming backdrops. Soon word gets out that reactor No. 4 has exploded, killing A welcome modern tale of immigration featuring a several workers and sending the rest en masse to the hospital, Thai protagonist. (Picture book. 5-9) poisoned by the very air they breathe. Forced together by the sudden evacuation, the girls must overcome both their hatred of each other and the grief heaped upon them by the accident THINGS YOU CAN’T SAY as they forge a new life in Leningrad with Valentina’s estranged Bishop, Jenn grandmother, who harbors a dangerous secret. Blankman spins Aladdin (336 pp.) a stunningly complex tale out of simple words. By focusing her $17.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 account on only the two young girls, Blankman situates the 978-1-5344-4097-5 seemingly distant horror of the disaster in a firmly human con- text. Extensive research on historical events, names, cityscapes, There is so much that 12-year-old and living situations enriches the story, which alternates per- Drew can’t say. spective among Valentina, Oksana, and Rifka, Valentina’s He can’t ask his mom why, three grandmother. Rifka’s chapters take place during World War II, years ago, his seemingly happy father which initially deflects focus from the story somewhat, but they killed himself. He can’t ask her why an quickly find their place as the story’s heart as they introduce the old friend of hers, Phil, has suddenly blackbird, a symbol of eternal friendship. Ukrainian characters shown up on his motorcycle and completely disrupted Drew’s are assumed white; Valentina’s family is Jewish. life or whether or not, as he’s begun to suspect, that man is his Out of the nuclear fallout springs a moving tale of love real father. He can’t quite bring himself to tell prickly Audrey, and loss. (Historical fiction. -9 12) the new helper at the library where he volunteers all summer, that he’s starting to really like her. And he can’t tell his best friend, Filipe, any of the things that are really on his mind. Per- haps the biggest thing he can’t communicate is that he’s terri- fied that whatever was wrong with his father could be haunting
136 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | ROOSEVELT BANKS, trivia (Roosevelt’s dog is named Millard Fillmore, and his little GOOD-KID-IN-TRAINING sister’s Kennedy), and a fantastically gross incident in which Calkhoven, Laurie he tries to hide a frog by popping it into his mouth. Readers Illus. by Palen, Debbie also see him wrestle with guilt as his loyal friend Tommy twice One Elm Books (128 pp.) bails him out by taking the heat in his stead. That guilt leads at $14.99 | Jan. 1, 2020 last to a blubbering confession to his (fortunately understand- 978-1-947159-18-1 ing) mom and dad, and in the end he gets his bike, his outing, and even a developing friendship with Eddie. Palen methodi- Facing the prospect of missing a cally diversifies the cast in her sporadic grayscale illustrations bicycle campout with friends Tommy (Tommy’s black, Josh’s Asian, and Eddie’s white), and though and Josh, bikeless Roosevelt makes a deal Roosevelt and his mom present white, his dad and Kennedy with his parents. both have somewhat darker skin. The question is: Can Roosevelt stay out of trouble for Broad humor lightens the load of this lesson, and two weeks? It’s not going to be easy, as he not only has a well- nuanced friendships enrich it. (Fiction. 8-10) deserved reputation as a fourth grade prankster to protect, but pushy classmate Eddie immediately opens a campaign to get invited in his place. Complicating Roosevelt’s strenuous efforts to toe the line rather than cross it (or at least not get caught), Calkhoven tucks plenty of narrow squeaks into her generously leaded narrative—along with alimentary banter, presidential young adult
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 137 THE TRAIN the book borders on disaster, from the renderings of the stiff, Callaghan, Jodie bug-eyed children to the stumbling verse: “Our hearts were Illus. by Lesley, Georgia burdened to think of all they go through. / We take things for Second Story Press (32 pp.) granted, having so much while they have so few.” What images $17.95 | Mar. 24, 2020 and words do ring out through the haze with any clarity speak 978-1-77260-129-9 less of sharing Christ’s love in the developing world and more of white-savior poverty voyeurism. There is no evidence of any- In present-day Nova Scotia, a young thing more than the shallowest of cultural exchange, and in fact Mi’gmaq girl hears an important story from her uncle. the book is emblematic of the many concerns thoughtful lead- Now that she is old enough, Ashley enjoys walking home ers have expressed regarding short-term mission trips. alone after school, taking time to look for pretty stones and Self-congratulatory tourism masquerading as evangel- other treasures. One afternoon, Ashley recognizes her uncle ical humanitarianism. (Picture book. 4-8) where the train station used to be and runs to greet him. As they stand near the overgrown, weedy tracks, he tells her he is wait- ing for the train. Ashley can’t help but giggle, as she knows no THE ELEPHANT train has traveled here for many years. But Uncle’s eyes tear up, Carnavas, Peter so she asks him why he is so sad. Uncle then tells her the story Illus. by the author of when his mother, Giju’, sent him and his siblings to meet the Pajama Press (176 pp.) train as they often did when it arrived with rations from off the $17.95 | Mar. 17, 2020 reserve. However, this time Giju’ made sure they took their win- 978-1-77278-102-1 ter coats and cried because she knew what they didn’t: that their lives would be changed forever. The children were herded onto A gentle story of depression and the train and taken to a residential school, where their identi- hope is told in this middle-grade Austra- ties were stripped away. Even now, decades later, Uncle goes to lian import. the track to wait “for what we lost that day to come back to us.” Olive’s mother died when Olive was Through Uncle’s story, Callaghan (Mi’gmaq) presents a harsh 1, and ever since, she has seen a large gray topic in a gentle way. Lesley’s soft color palette and expressive elephant following her father around. It follows him home from characters blend beautifully with the story without lifting its work, sits in the house next to him, and keeps him heavy and heaviness. sad. Olive doesn’t know what to do about the elephant, but at Keeps a critical memory alive. (glossary, note) (Picture least she has her maternal grandfather, who packs her lunch book. 4-8) and picks her up from school, sometimes wearing a purple backpack that means a special adventure. One day, Olive, ignor- ing Grandad’s directive to put on her helmet, falls from a tree EVEN ME and receives a concussion. When she awakens, she sees a gray The Adventure of Two tortoise following Grandad around and blames herself. Olive Girls Reaching Out To confides in understanding friend Arthur. Together they devise Share God’s Love a plan to get rid of the tortoise, and when that succeeds, Olive Camp, Adrienne with Camp, Bella with determines—with Grandad’s help—to make the elephant leave Camp, Arie too. Carnavas takes the tough topic of caregiver depression Illus. by Cardarelli, Brit and gives it a delicate, graceful touch. His plot weaves tightly Harvest House (32 pp.) together, and the ending twist is a lovely completion. Black-and- $16.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 white spot illustrations throughout give a visually accessible 978-0-7369-7928-3 feel, as do the short chapters. All characters illustrated are the white of the paper. Adrienne Camp, who is best known as the spouse of Chris- A delicate, lovely story about caregiver depression that tian music artist Jeremy Camp, teams up with her daughters in will validate and empower readers. (Fiction. 5-12) her debut picture book. Two blonde-haired, blue-eyed white girls are invited on the trip of a lifetime. After fundraising by a variety of means, the girls set off for Uganda and are immediately wrapped in love from the native Ugandans whose lives are “so hard and deprived.” Though their lifestyles are quite different, the girls realize that they and the “less fortunate” share similar dreams for the future. As they prepare to head home they also acknowl- edge that there is still much work to be done for the people they have met on their journey. Despite the glowing praise from African American evangelist Priscilla Shirer on the front cover,
138 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | This beautiful, traditional tale is illustrated with a touch of magic. the phoenix of persia
LITTLE UNICORN IS SAD Simorgh saves the day with her wisdom, the storyteller and Chien Chow Chine, Aurélie musicians pack their gear, and the little children can’t wait to Illus. by the author hear the remainder of the story the next day. This beautiful, tra- Little, Brown (32 pp.) ditional tale is illustrated with a touch of magic by Sharif, who $12.99 | Jan. 7, 2020 uses jewel-toned colors applied with a scratchboard effect that 978-0-316-53190-0 seems to pick out every feather on the Simorgh’s body. A QR Series: Little Unicorn code provides access to the soundtrack, in which each char- acter is “voiced” by a different traditional Iranian instrument When Little Unicorn feels an unpleas- (explained in the backmatter). ant emotion, he uses a breathing tech- A magical book takes readers to another world. (Picture nique to overcome it. book. 4-8) This translated French import features a unicorn with a magical mane, which changes color to show exactly what emo- tion he’s feeling. Negative emotions are presented as problems to be solved. An unadorned, didactic narrative explains that Little Unicorn had an argument with friends, and this is why he is feeling a sadness like “a giant gray cloud in his head.” His solution is to do a breathing exercise, which is presented step by step for readers on the following pages. Companion title Lit tle Unicorn Is Shy also follows this format. The illustrations are
sparse, a small patch of color in a sea of white space, in which young adult white unicorns differentiated mostly by mane and tale patterns are depicted. Unfortunately, rather than being the tools for self- regulation these books clearly strive to be, they create a sense that challenging emotions are problems children should be responsible for fixing. The breathing exercises are presented as solutions to the problematic emotions, but there is no explana- tion or context provided to support their effectiveness, which Prepare for a Happy, is questionable. For example, the breathing exercise presented in Little Unicorn Is Shy includes a portion of breath retention, which can actually be anxiety-producing in young children. Family–Filled Give this emotional-literacy offering a pass. (Picture book. 4-8) (Little Unicorn Is Shy: 978-0-316-53210-5) with Familius!
"Dr. Carla Marie Manly provides clear directions and insights for a successful, THE PHOENIX OF PERSIA satisfying journey that rings true. This Clayton, Sally Pomme book is a life-changer that gives new meaning to the term self-help" Illus. by Sharif, Amin Hassanzadeh Tiny Owl (32 pp.) —Dr. Thelma Reese $17.95 | Mar. 18, 2020 Available Now $18.99-ISBN: 9781641701419 978-1-910328-43-9 Series: One Story, Many Voices Coming Soon: Are You Living Buy the with a Narcissist? Avocado Toast A story of ancient Persia inside a $16.99 - ISBN: $16.99 - ISBN: story of 20th-century Iran accompanied by an easily accessible 9781641702331 9781641702386 soundtrack. A brother and sister in Iran run to the public park to listen to a storyteller backed by musicians narrate the tale of Prince Zal and the Simorgh, an ancient wise bird with the powers to make dreams come true. Zal is born to a Persian king and queen who have long awaited a child. However, when the king sees that the child’s hair is white as snow, he banishes the babe. The Simorgh finds the crying baby abandoned in the forest and raises him with her chicks, teaching him poetry, science, the FROM history of the universe, and all else a prince needs to know. The king finds Zal after 16 years of regret and offers him the throne, but Zal prefers to stay with the mother who raised him. The
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 139 Colombet’s creatures have the look of those that appeared in the marginalia of old illuminated manuscripts. the society of distinguished lemmings
THIS IS A DOG The lessons about tolerance and culture clashes are far out- Collins, Ross numbered by the jokes. Many pages are nearly filled with lem- Illus. by the author ming word balloons, as in a comic book. They’re also filled with Nosy Crow/Candlewick (32 pp.) lemmings: Colombet’s creatures have the look of those that $16.99 | Mar. 24, 2020 appeared in the marginalia of old illuminated manuscripts, but 978-1-5362-1200-6 in this book—to readers’ benefit—they take up just about every inch of the page. A surprisingly large percentage of the jokes A dog makes sure it is the center of actually work, and the lemmings in the pictures are delightfully attention. wide-eyed and shaggy. This winsome story takes the premise of a child’s first ani- Even the most rule-bound reader will be cheered up by mal-identification picture dictionary (in fact the crossed-out these stodgy lemmings. (Picture book. 5-10) title on the cover is My First Animal Book; the title is written beneath it in crayon) that has been hijacked by the first animal presented in the book: a dog. A black-and-white, floppy-eared THE COOL CAT CLUB mutt with a crayon in its mouth takes the story in paw and Colton, Nicola makes sure readers notice who is really important in the animal Illus. by the author world. Each double-page spread offers the simple text “This is a Tiger Tales (96 pp.) [whatever animal is being shown]” together with an illustration $18.99 | $6.99 paper | Feb. 4, 2020 of that animal. The dog, however, inserts itself into each spread: 978-1-68010-202-4 cavorting, teasing, or, in the case of the giraffe, peeing (sure to 978-1-68010-460-8 paper be a reader favorite) and in general stealing the spotlight. The Series: Jasper & Scruff animals’ expressions run the gamut from weary through sur- prised to annoyed and irritated to let readers know what they What’s dapper cat Jasper to do with think about this forward dog. More than once (as with the title) a scruffy pup? the dog crosses out the printed text to write itself in: “This is Jasper lives on the top floor of a a dog.” Eventually the animals tire of this self-aggrandizing building surrounded by his books (arranged by cover color), fine behavior, and a page turn reveals that “This is a chase,” showing art, and “bow ties in every pattern imaginable.” He knows what the animals in full pursuit of the dog. But the next page turn he likes and what he wants: Currently, he wants to have the right reveals that the dog is back in charge. If readers aren’t laughing friends. He’s sure the Sophisticats are the right friends. Only out loud by now, they aren’t ready for this kind of metafictive the “finest felines” are admitted to the elite cat club, and Jasper play—give it a few months and bring it back out. longs to be one of them. To that end, he invites them to dinner A clever, wonderfully silly, delightful romp. (Picture book. and sets about making everything perfect. However, on a trip 3-6) to the market just before the soiree, he’s followed home by a drooly puppy named Scruff. Jasper manages to get rid of him just before the Sophisticats arrive. Lady Catterly swans in and THE SOCIETY OF demands to be waited on; Reginald and Oswald arrive and enter DISTINGUISHED their drink orders, too. Just as Jasper is about to serve, Scruff LEMMINGS returns and trips him up. The Sophisticats throw attitude. Jas- Colombet, Julie per tries to please. Nothing is good enough for them. When Illus. by the author Scruff, behind closed doors, nearly demolishes the special, Jas- Peachtree (40 pp.) per reflects on the behavior of all his guests…and picks the one $17.99 | Mar. 1, 2020 he’d most like to spend time with. Colton’s series opener will 978-1-68263-156-0 entertain cat (and dog) lovers who are ready to make the leap to chapters. The four-color cartoon illustrations on every page It’s a relief to find a story about lem- of this British import cheekily move the tale along. Book 2, The mings with a happy ending. Treasure Hunt, publishes simultaneously. The lemmings in this picture book aren’t precisely cheer- Odd-couple fun for a new generation. (Fantasy. 5-9) (The ful. Their idea of fun is to “perform long and serious plays,” Treasure Hunt: 978-1-68010-461-5) although they “play the piano exceedingly well!” Their activities always conform to a strict set of rules (10 of them) including, notably, “no unseemly or wild behavior.” Unlike the lemmings of legend, they do not march off a cliff, but they do follow the lem- ming tradition of making a “migration” into the ocean, where they face the risk of drowning. Fortunately, they’ve made a new friend, an enormous bear, who—in the tradition of a good par- able—follows none of the rules but turns out to be extremely talented at swimming. The moral isn’t terribly heavy-handed.
140 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | WHAT’S THIS TAIL SAYING? comforts the little one.” In the first picture, the baby marmo- Combs, Carolyn set’s tail expands to show its terror as the bird attacks it to save Illus. by Morrison, Cathy its young. When adult marmosets rescue their baby, the tails all Dawn Publications (32 pp.) go back to normal. The heavily detailed paintings realistically $8.95 paper | Mar. 1, 2020 depict the animals and their environments, with meticulously 978-1-58469-662-9 rendered flora. A backmatter section for children includes ani- mal descriptions (with small color photos) written at a higher Tails communicate volumes in these encounters among reading level than the main text, and a separate one for caregiv- many animals. ers includes an author’s note, tips for use, and related STEM Animal interlocutors include a fox and a skunk, a beaver fam- and social-emotional–development activities. ily, courting peacocks, a skink and a raccoon, and more. In every Although the text is awkward, savvy adults can use the recto-verso sequence one animal responds with a tail action to whole package to initiate conversations. (Informational picture another animal, with an explanation on the following page. The book. 4-6) text is fairly simple and repetitive in format, blending prose and simplistic, rhyming phrases. A small monkey called a marmo- set from Brazil (the location is mentioned only in the extensive backmatter) attempts to steal an egg from a nest. The text reads: “An egg thief is startled by a squawking mother bird. Fluff Puff. What’s the marmoset’s tail saying?” After the page turn, the text reads: “I had a fright! Hold me tight! The family cuddles and young adult
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 141 MY LIFE AS A POTATO clarity of Cotterill’s character depictions. (The child who domi- Costner, Arianne nates in play presents white; their playmate presents black.) It’s Illus. by the author a simple lesson in empathy that can go a long way. The book Random House (272 pp.) wraps up with the children trying to build a new track and then $16.99 | $19.99 PLB | Mar. 24, 2020 putting into practice what they learned—a lesson that is defi- 978-0-593-11866-5 nitely not limited to playtime. 978-0-593-11867-2 PLB An emotional-literacy booster to add to the regular reading rotation. (Picture book. 4-7) The new kid in school endures becoming the school mascot. Ben Hardy has never cared for pota- I FOUND A KITTY! toes, and this distaste has become a bar- Cummings, Troy rier to adjusting to life in his new Idaho town. His school’s mascot Illus. by the author is the Spud, and after a series of misfortunes, Ben is enlisted to Random House (40 pp.) don the potato costume and cheer on his school’s team. Ben bal- $17.99 | $20.99 PLB | Mar. 3, 2020 ances his duties as a life-sized potato against his desperate desire 978-1-9848-3186-6 to hide the fact that he’s the dork in the suit. After all, his cute 978-1-9848-3187-3 PLB new crush, Jayla, wouldn’t be too impressed to discover Ben’s secret. The ensuing novel is a fairly boilerplate middle-grade nar- What’s Arfy to do when he finds a stray kitten in a drainpipe? rative: snarky tween protagonist, the crush that isn’t quite what Arfy’s human’s allergic to cats, so his new buddy needs a home. she seems, and a pair of best friends that have more going on than The pup picks up his pencil and writes a letter of introduction our hero initially believes. The author keeps the novel moving to the music teacher. “Scamper likes to eat, play, and poop in a quickly, pushing forward with witty asides and narrative momen- box. He also likes to sing!” Scamper carries the letter to Maestro tum so fast that readers won’t really mind that the plot’s spine is Mitch’s house. Mitch is charmed, but he sends Scamper back one they’ve encountered many times before. Once finished, read- with a letter saying the kitten’s high notes are too much. Arfy ers will feel little resonance and move on to the next book in their pens a second letter, hoping to place Scamper with the triplet to-read piles, but in the moment the novel is pleasant enough. babies next door. Their snuggling turns out to be too much for Ben, Jayla, and Ben’s friend Hunter are white while Ellie, Ben’s Scamper; he runs away. Arfy’s third letter introduces Scamper to other good pal, is Latina. Emily Lugnut the mechanic, offering the puss as a mouser…but On equal footing with a garden-variety potato. (Fiction. Scamper’s more interested in playing with the mice than catch- 10-12) ing them; Emily returns him with a note and an apology. Nei- ther the talent agent nor the man with cat-themed decorations works out either. Scamper thanks Arfy in a note of his own. It’s CAN I PLAY TOO? only when the little furball enumerates his favorite parts of each Cotterill, Samantha attempted placement that Arfy realizes the perfect home for his Illus. by the author new friend and writes one last letter of introduction. Cummings’ Dial (32 pp.) follow-up to Arfy’s winning debut, Can I Be Your Dog? (2018), is $16.99 | Mar. 31, 2020 equally charming. The colorful and dynamic illustrations oppose 978-0-525-55346-5 each item of correspondence on verso against a scene on recto to Series: Little Senses tell the tale hand in paw with Arfy’s missives and the answering letters. Humans of diverse races live in Arfy’s town. All young children learn that an enthusiastic “Can I play A heartwarming epistolary tale of helpfulness. (Picture too?” is the fastest way to make new friends, but it isn’t always book. 3-8) smooth sailing. Two children sit together to build a train track. Anyone who has been around kids knows the chaos that can erupt between THIS IS THE CHURCH children trying to work together to build the perfect track. Cunningham, Sarah Raymond However, it is also a chance for a lot of learning opportunities. Illus. by Landy, Ariel As readers turn the pages, they see one child take the lead as the Beaming Books (32 pp.) other becomes more and more frustrated not to be heard. This $17.99 | Jan. 28, 2020 is seen mostly in the children’s facial expressions and posture. 978-1-5064-4532-8 Ultimately, the child who’s not heard gets angry and storms off, leaving the other child confused. This child’s mother sees what The familiar finger rhyme that begins has happened and jumps in with some helpful tools on reading “This is the church” is extended to explore a broad variety of others’ emotions and appropriately reacting to them: green, places of Christian worship. yellow, and red signals like a traffic light’s. The iconic smiley/ A child of color serves as guide through this ecumenical sur- frowny faces that accompany this lesson nicely complement the vey that’s conducted in rhyming couplets loosely modeled on its
142 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | A handy companion for outdoor exploration. creek critters
inspiration. Starting with a megachurch that holds 10,000, the THE HUNTER AND HIS DOG cheery narrator moves on to a tiny stone church in what looks A Fantastical Journey like the British countryside, a Bible-study group in a private Through the World of Bruegel home, a circle of worshipers at a campfire, and people praying in De Bruyn, Sassafras secret in an “underground” church (literal-minded children will Illus. by the author need some guidance here, as the two silhouettes pray framed Eerdmans (40 pp.) by a ground-floor window). The absence of non-Christian reli- $17.99 | Feb. 25, 2020 gious symbols combines with abundant crosses throughout to 978-0-8028-5534-3 imply that even the most informal-looking groups are Chris- tian. Exclaiming that “the church follows God’s people wher- A man and his canine emerge from a ever they go!” the child emphasizes that church is wherever painting and race through some of their believers are, including readers among that number in the final creator’s canvases before “returning home.” couplet: “On this day, the church welcomes you, / You’re part of In this wordless picture book imported from Belgium, chil- God’s people, you’re the church too!” Oddly, the church doesn’t dren can follow the titular characters, two figures from Hunt seem to be in any obviously non-Western setting despite Chris- ers in the Snow by Flemish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel tianity’s worldwide reach. The illustrations depict a wide range the Elder. On each two-page spread, the illustrator playfully of churchgoers, including people of many races, sizes, and ages reinterprets Bruegel’s works by combining details from one or as well as people with visible disabilities and of varied gender more paintings, creatively introducing youngsters to the artist’s presentation. Notably, there are no readily discernible same-sex oeuvre. Additionally, kids are challenged, Where’s Waldo?–style, couples, undercutting the book’s broad message of inclusion. to locate man and animal with every page turn. Pursuing a bird,
Though mostly successful in the delivery of its core young adult concept, this book falls short of true inclusivity. (Picture book. 3-6)
CREEK CRITTERS Curtis, Jennifer Keats Illus. by Saroff, Phyllis V. Arbordale (32 pp.) $17.95 | Mar. 10, 2020 978-1-64-351748-3
A girl shows her younger brother how the bugs they find in their creek tell them whether their creek is clean and healthy. The narrator, a girl of color, lies on the bank of a creek with her little brother, who catches leaves from the water with a stick. She proposes investigating “how bugs can tell a story of clean water.” They run to their house and “grab the same tools that scientists use: rubber boots, a net, a bucket, and small paintbrushes.” They run back to the water and playfully explore its different parts. The narrator tells readers in a simple, exposi- tory present-tense what a riffle and a pool are and why the pres- ence of “aquatic macroinvertebrates” shows that water is healthy. They find a dragonfly nymph, a water penny, a mayfly nymph, and a caddisfly larva as they pick up rocks and sift through leaf packs. Their process of careful inquiry is as informative as their findings in this instructive exploration of a natural habitat. The text is rendered in a large font, good for precocious readers, and the pictures combine painted line drawings of the children and the environment with clear, enlarged images of the inverte- brates in question. The backmatter includes drawings of addi- tional macroinvertebrates, a field-notebook page, a life cycle matching activity, and a link to online quizzes and games. A handy companion for outdoor exploration. (Informa tional picture book. 5-10)
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 143 Du’s detailed illustrations bring to life the bustle of canal cities, capturing pivotal moments. china through time
the pair kick things off by escaping their picture through a large GARDEN JUNGLE tear, reentering it after numerous adventures. There’s some fun Druvert, Hélène to be had here, though kids are less likely to appreciate Bruegel Illus. by the author than they are merely to seek hunter and dog and the ways they Thames & Hudson (32 pp.) slip from one canvas into another. Missteps: Because illustra- $24.95 | Feb. 11, 2020 tions include combined elements from various works, spreads 978-0-500-65224-4 aren’t labeled. Therefore, it’s difficult to name the paintings man and dog enter and exit. Specific artworks are identified via A bored child takes his mother’s small details from the originals (alongside titles, dates, and own- advice, and as he becomes more obser- ing museums) in the backmatter and are occasionally hard to vant of his surroundings, the garden discern. Those curious about which paintings man and animal transforms into a dazzling jungle. visit must flip between spreads and “answers” in the back. The Opening scenes depict black silhouettes (with white details) informative author’s note targets older readers. against a lavender background; they channel the delicacy and It’s clever—but it won’t win Bruegel new fans or encour- whimsy of Arthur Rackham images. It is a bright coral butterfly age repeat visits. (bibliography) (Picture book. 5-8) that leads Tom into a series of seven, intricate, laser-cut pages that comprise the dense jungle. Each of these pages is decorated on both sides, and the sequence gradually transitions from mid- BALLETBALL night blue to mint green, the leafy layers and hanging vines of Dionne, Erin the card stock creating an illusion of depth and distance. Exotic Illus. by Flint, Gillian birds, fragile flowers, and animals (including a cat that morphs Charlesbridge (32 pp.) into a leopard) punctuate the coolness with spots of coral. Tom $16.99 | Feb. 25, 2020 remains a black silhouette as he climbs a tree and swims in a 978-1-58089-939-0 river. In contrast to this lush landscape is a pedestrian, singsong text told in aabb couplets (translated from the French): “Why To ballet or to baseball? What’s a girl to do? not take a look at what’s outside your door? / You’ll find lots Nini loves ballet and her ballet outfits. Unfortunately, as of things that you’ve not seen before,” reads the mother’s ini- her mother reminds her, it is time for baseball and her baseball tial admonishment. Returning home, the protagonist is excited uniform. Nini does not like anything about baseball—not her about his “journey” and anxious to revisit the jungle, suggesting glove and not the field. The illustrations demonstrate her pas- that imagination is an antidote to boredom. Since the premise sive resistance in amusing vignettes that depict her practicing is not new and there is not much action, this title needed a more ballet moves, looking up at the sky, and flopped on the grass, a skillfully written narrative to rise above the rest. thoroughly ignored baseball next to her in each one. Her coach A pleasure for the eye; the ear wants more. (Picture book. and her teammates remind her that baseball is a team sport and 4-7) that everyone has to do their “best.” Then the coach has a little heart-to-heart with Nini about how ballet practice can improve performance on the baseball field. At the next game, her team is CHINA THROUGH TIME leading, but then an opposing player hits the ball into the out- A 2,500-Year Journey Along field, where Nini and her glove are waiting. Yes, it is a perfect the World’s Greatest Canal ending for a baseball player who knows how to plié and hold Illus. by Du Fei her glove in the right spot at the right time. Nini, who has light- DK Publishing (32 pp.) brown skin and fluffy brown hair, shares her round face and but- $17.99 | Jan. 7, 2020 ton eyes with all the other children, who are a mix of colors. The 978-1-4654-8174-0 softly focused line-and-color illustrations highlight the yellow- and-blue baseball uniforms and the green baseball field. A trip through time along China’s Grand Canal. Pleasant fare for scheduled children. (Picture book. 4-7) As the longest and oldest canal in the world, the Grand Canal waterway stretches 1,115 miles (1,794 km). Traveling in time and space from construction in 486 B.C.E. in Yangzhou to the “ever-growing city” of Tianjin in 2020 C.E., readers are invited to “explore this ancient wonder [and] follow the for- tunes of the canal and the people that lived along it, through good times and bad.” Panoramic landscape paintings span over- sized double-page spreads. The mostly consistent perspective helps highlight that which stays similar and that which changes and makes for engaging page turns. Du’s detailed illustra- tions bring to life the bustle of canal cities, capturing pivotal moments in time. Readers will witness a military coup in Kai- feng (960 C.E.) on a wintry night lit by firelight as well as a “busy
144 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | port...teeming with life” on a moonlit midnight at the Maple A BASKET FULL OF FIGS Bridge night fair in Suzhou (760 C.E.). Although it provides a Adapt. by Elon, Ori brief historical overview, the journey along the canal is not lin- Illus. by Halberstadt, Menahem ear geographically nor chronologically. Callout images to seek Trans. by Kahn-Hoffmann, Gilah out and accompanying bite-sized facts to take in border each Green Bean Books (32 pp.) spread and guide the eye, however. Readers are invited to spot $12.95 | Apr. 19, 2020 a “baby glimpsing the outside world for the first time,” a reser- 978-1-78438-472-2 voir controlled by a sluice gate, a builder precariously “balanc- ing on a unsteady plank,” and travelers burning incense for good A Roman emperor learns the impor- luck. Lihua, a “street-smart, time-traveling cat” hidden in each tance of respecting generations. spread, adds another propulsive layer. “The mighty Emperor Hadrian” rides through a small village Part informational text, part activity book, this brief on his great steed, causing fear in the inhabitants. But then a but intricately illustrated journey should spark readers’ very old man emerges, carrying a small fig tree to plant. Hadrian curiosity. (quiz, glossary) (Informational picture book. 7-10) is quite astounded, for the man is almost 100 years old and certainly will not live long enough to enjoy the fruit. The man explains that past generations left many fruit trees for him to EXTREME OCEAN enjoy, and he is doing the same for future generations. Three Amazing Animals, High- years pass, and the emperor returns to that same village, again Tech Gear, Record-Breaking causing fear. Except, of course, for that old man, who now hap- Depths, and More pily holds a basket brimming with figs. He invites the emperor
Earle, Sylvia & Phelan, Glen to enjoy some, just as his family has been able to do. When the young adult National Geographic Kids (112 pp.) emperor is sated, he remounts his horse, and the old man peers $12.99 paper | Mar. 3, 2020 into the basket. The contents are no longer figs—they are gold 978-1-4263-3685-0 coins. But for the old man, the true gift is the grove of fruit trees flourishing “for generations to come.” Elon’s lovely little A longtime oceanographer invites tale, translated from the Hebrew, is adapted from the Midrash, readers to the excitement of exploring the ocean, “the blue stories that provide commentary on Hebrew Scriptures. Hal- heart of the planet,” and to help in its preservation. berstadt’s artwork, resembling a pen-and-ink style, is expres- National Geographic Explorer Sylvia Earle first met the sive and not time-specific, mixing Hadrian’s Roman armor ocean as a toddler. She’s been investigating its wonders ever with mid-20th-century Mediterranean peasant garb. A duck since. Here, she introduces the world she loves through a series provides silent but humorous asides. The emperor and old man of short, extensively illustrated essays. The first three chapters both have pale skin, but there are children of color in the old take readers from the ocean’s surface down through the layers man’s village. that humans have regularly explored to the mostly uncharted Perfect for Earth Day and every day. (Picture book. 5-8) depths. Each spread covers a single topic, with relevant, cap- tioned photos and boxed inserts full of further interesting details. Each chapter also includes a “That’s Extreme” example THE THREE BILLY as well as a hands-on activity. Two spreads offer a timeline of GOATS BUENOS modern ocean exploration. Earle’s narrative is full of anecdotes Elya, Susan Middleton and personal feelings; it feels like her own voice, although co- Illus. by Ordóñez, Miguel author Phelan shares title-page credit. After three chapters Putnam (32 pp.) about ocean wonders, she turns to the causes and effects of $16.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 ocean degradation (essentially, trash, overfishing, and human- 978-0-399-54739-3 caused climate change) and devotes a final full chapter to what can and is being done, with solid, workable suggestions for read- A time-honored folktale gets a makeover with the addition ers to take action. This is a model of thoughtful presentation of of snappy Spanish vocabulary. an uncomfortable subject, designed to attract middle-grade and In what begins as a familiar tale, three goat brothers are pre- middle school readers with its extremes in order to keep their vented from crossing a river by an irritable troll. They must put attention while simultaneously helping them feel empowered their heads together to formulate a plan to get past the troll, but to do something about the issues. the thoughtful goats in this version of the story find opportuni- A surprisingly deep and successful dive. (glossary, ties for empathy and even new friendships when they begin to resources, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. -9 14) wonder why the troll is so grumpy and are able to help her with a combination of first aid and goodwill. A scary troll proves to be a new amiga when the goats choose to show her kindness. In her now characteristic style, Elya’s rhyming couplets seamlessly weave Spanish words into verses: “How many creatures can pass me? Ningunos! Yo u kids will be part of mis desayunos!”
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 145 Repetition of some phrases and vocabulary will benefit both Paula is distracted at school. “We’re going to the doctor emerging readers and those who are working to learn Spanish. because my mom is pregnant. I get to see my little brother Ordóñez’s bold, geometric illustrations mesh with the simplic- for the first time,” she explains to her teacher, Ms. Williams— ity of the plot and deliver lively visuals. Two of the goats have although the accompanying illustration doesn’t depict the cute little beards; the troll looks like a blue brick with round teacher and instead confusingly shows Paula joining her par- ears and eyes, a V-shaped scowl, triangular pink nose and smaller ents outside. The doctor visit is clearer, with expository text triangular white fangs, and impossibly long arms. Byron Barton worked into the dialogue to introduce an ultrasound. When fans will appreciate the vibrant and uncluttered style. Paula shares her experience at school, Ms. Williams “explains An enjoyable addition to any folklore collection, this the process of reproduction and fertilization.” Sadly, the text iteration of the classic story packs visual and linguistic doesn’t do so here, nor on a page reading “Sexual intercourse is a punch. (glossary) (Picture book. 3-6) common form of reproduction,” which depicts two nude adults standing apart with enlarged sperm and ovum floating between them. Fuller explanation arrives regarding assisted reproduc- A SPACE FOR ME tion when Paula’s classmate asks her mother that evening how Falwell, Cathryn she came about without a father. That she wouldn’t know this Illus. by the author already and that her mother’s suggested visit to a lab to observe Lee & Low (32 pp.) intracytoplasmic sperm injection is so easily achieved both $18.95 | Mar. 1, 2020 strain credulity. Efforts to include same-sex partners who build 978-1-62014-963-8 families with AR and adoption are laudable, though the adop- tion portion presents an oversimplified happily-ever-after nar- Brotherly love wins out. rative that belies the losses inherent in the adoptive triad. The Young Alex narrates his frustration book closes with a Q-and-A and a glossary but no sources or with his little brother, Lucas. The boys further resources. Ms. Williams is white while her students and share a bedroom, and Alex complains, “He takes my stuff and their families are diverse. makes noise and plays on my side of the room, in my space.” No way. (Nonfiction. -4 8) Both boys have medium-brown skin and dark wavy hair. Their big sister, Emma, has her own room, and she resembles her brothers. She notices that Alex is upset and helps him create a A GALAXY OF SEA STARS space of his own outside. Alex is happy to play outside by him- Ferruolo, Jeanne Zulick self until he notices Lucas gazing forlornly out the window. Alex Farrar, Straus and Giroux (320 pp.) can’t understand why his little brother isn’t happy to have their $16.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 bedroom all to himself. Falwell’s colorful, textured collage art 978-0-374-30909-1 zooms in to capture the tender moment when Lucas tells Alex, “But I want to be with you.” The boys gaze at each other across In sixth grade, Izzy Mancini’s cozy, the gutter from facing pages, the green of their bedroom walls loving world falls apart. now a lighter shade than in prior spreads, evoking a moment She and her family have moved of peace and connection. Moved, Alex brings Lucas outside out of the cottage she grew up in. Her to make him a space of his own in their backyard, too. Closing mother has spent the summer on Block spreads show the brothers playing together and alone, outside Island instead of at home with Izzy. Her and inside, with illustrations taking pains to make it clear that father has recently returned from military service in Afghani- although things are better, realistically, Lucas can still annoy his stan partially paralyzed and traumatized. The only people she big brother sometimes. can count on are Zelda and Piper, her best friends since kin- Find space on the shelf for this sweet family story. (Pic dergarten—that is, until the Haidary family moves into the ture book. 4-7) upstairs apartment. At first, Izzy resents the new guests from Afghanistan even though she knows she should be grateful that Dr. Haidary saved her father’s life. But despite her initial ALL WAYS FAMILY resistance (which manifests at times as racism), as Izzy gets Fernández Selva, Noemí to know Sitara, the Haidarys’ daughter, she starts to question Illus. by Losantos, Cristina whether Zelda and Piper really are her friends for forever—and Magination/American Psychological whether she has the courage to stand up for Sitara against the Association (64 pp.) people she loves. Ferruolo weaves a rich setting, fully immers- $14.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 ing readers in the largely white, coastal town of Seabury, Rhode 978-1-4338-3152-2 Island. Disappointingly, the story resolves when Izzy convinces her classmates to accept Sitara by revealing the Haidarys’ past An introduction to a range of as American allies, a position that put them in so much dan- reproductive possibilities and family ger that they had to leave home. The idea that Sitara should be structures. embraced only because her family supported America, rather
146 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | The illustrations, rich with color and patterns, are their own celebration of light. flash and gleam
than simply because she is a human being, significantly under- Daddoo’s attempt to impose curfew. Player’s vivacious palette mines the purported message of tolerance for all. and dynamic brush strokes dominate each page, and the larger- A beautifully rendered setting enfolds a disappointing than-life characters’ minimalist facial features ensure maximum plot. (Fiction. 10-12) expressiveness. The in-ring action is fast-paced, with Fox’s punchy text sprawling over spreads and emphatically discourag- ing silent reading. Be warned: This shout-aloud story demands FLASH AND GLEAM the best from any caregiver’s inner MC, and the bright, pun- Light in Our World laden, affection-filled narrative is sure to inspire emulation. Fliess, Sue Though Daddoo is initially caught off guard by a “WHEM Illus. by Le, Khoa BAM JAM SLAM-WICH,” he quickly turns the match into a Millbrook/Lerner (32 pp.) literal slobberknocker by unleashing his patented “CODFISH $19.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 KISSES.” Things are looking desperate for the Tag Team Twins 978-1-5415-5770-3 until Mama-Rama gets home and turns on Daddoo, catching him in a classic “PARENT TRAP.” In the end, it’s Big Bald Baby Light appears in many forms, especially in celebrations. who brings down the house with a “DIAPER OF DOOM,” and, Rays of sunlight sparkle on a garden. The northern lights after singing, brushing, flushing, and polishing off a book, the swirl across an evening sky. From the morning sun to the night- kids finally go down for the count. All family members have time moon, light shines all around. This book follows four dark, curly hair and light-brown skin. children from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The A boisterous blow off sure to tucker listeners out before children never all meet, but several spreads include them all they’re tucked in. (Picture book. 3-7)
via interlocking backgrounds, highlighting their shared experi- young adult ences. For instance, each child views Fourth of July fireworks with two parents or caregivers. (These pairs each present male THE FAIRIES OF and female.) Then each family observes its own winter celebra- HONEYSUCKLE HOLLOW tion of lights: Yi Peng with a Thai family; Diwali with an Indian Frampton, Robyn family; Hanukkah with a white family; Christmas with a black Illus. by Horton, Laura K. family. Concise stanzas of five or six syllables evoke the won- Imprint (32 pp.) der, movement, or purpose of different light sources: “Shimmer $17.99 | Mar. 17, 2020 / Glance / Blaze and dance” describes a beach bonfire. Back- 978-1-250-12264-3 matter covers the science of light, including composition, and some manifestations like lightning as well as holiday descrip- Earn fairy wings through kindness and love. tions. The illustrations, rich with color and patterns, are their An unnamed narrator depicted as a white girl in a dress goes own celebration of light, particularly in their warm, golden into the forest and finds a fairy named Lily, a dark-skinned girl glows. Similar light sources carry different meanings; a birthday with pointed ears and wings like a stained-glass dragonfly’s. One candle’s flame gives off fairy-dust–like sparks for a wish while a wing is broken, and she’s lost her key to Honeysuckle Hollow, collection of memorial candles burn strong and steady for heal- where the fairies dwell. The child helps Lily search while also ing. The book successfully depicts both scientific and cultural assisting Lily in her horticultural duties. Eventually they find experiences in impressive variety and connections. the key, which is near the door to the hollow. Invited inside, the A ray of light, both illuminating and beautiful. (Informa protagonist shrinks to fit, and the two new friends join the eth- tional picture book. 5-8) nically diverse fairies’ celebration. The Fairy Queen, who has tan skin and black hair, thanks the child for selflessly helping Lily with a pair of “earned” shimmering, butterfly-shaped fairy FRIDAY NIGHT WRESTLEFEST wings. The “Fairy Code” ends the book, promoting kindness, Fox, J.F. care of nature, and friendship. This story is contemporary fairy Illus. by Player, Micah fodder, adequate for young readers eagerly devouring anything Roaring Brook (48 pp.) they can find but adding nothing new to the collection. The $17.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 mediocre, first-person verse maneuvers clauses to fit its rhyme 978-1-250-21240-5 scheme: “Her name was Lily—she was from a land most don’t know. / A forest that’s called Honeysuckle Hollow.” The sweet A loving family masquerading as pro and delicate pictures, created digitally, are pastel-heavy and fea- wrestlers rings in the weekend with a nocturnal cuddle-clash. ture items derived from plants, like petal-and-leaf fairy clothing If love is a battlefield, bedtime surely qualifies as siege or stem wands. Each spread contains scattered sparkles to add warfare—or at least a good scrap. Fox reimagines this house- that omnipresent magical feeling. hold ritual through a new angle, with the whole family clad Sparkling, shimmering, saccharine. (Picture book. 3-7) in homemade wrestling attire duking it out in a scarf-roped, blanket-matted squared circle in the living room. At the open- ing bell, Peanut Brother and sis Jellyfish no-sell Dangerous
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 147 A sugar rush manifested as a graphic novel. investigators
WHOO-KU HAIKU side by side holding hands are a wavy line, and two others hid- A Great Horned Owl Story ing behind Ari with arms straight out becomes a six-armed “Ari- Gianferrari, Maria tangle.” Orpin’s backgrounds and frames often echo the shapes Illus. by Voss, Jonathan D. in case extra reinforcement is needed. The children are racially Putnam (32 pp.) diverse with names hinting at ethnic diversity as well, and play- $16.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 ful touches (tongues out, gleeful smiles) expertly capture child- 978-0-399-54842-0 like exuberance. A treat for all learners, kinesthetic or otherwise. (Picture The great horned owl takes wing book. 3-6) through illustrations and haiku. With the assistance of illustrator Voss, here, self-confessed “bird nerd” Gianferrari indulges her “fond- INVESTIGATORS ness for raptors” by describing the life cycle of North America’s Green, John Patrick most common owl. Gianferrari spotlights a great horned owl Illus. by the author family as a male and female make their home in an abandoned First Second (208 pp.) squirrel nest, lay three eggs, and then nurture the two owlets $9.99 | Feb. 25, 2020 who hatch. Choosing the spare, declarative force of haiku to 978-1-250-21995-4 tell her tale, Gianferrari interestingly juxtaposes the raw, preda- Series: InvestiGators, 1 tory nature of these birds, as the parents hunt prey and protect their young from numerous existential threats, with a verse A zippy graphic-novel series opener form traditionally reserved for depicting nature’s more pastoral featuring two comically bumbling reptile scenes: “Papa delivers a snake” and “alights on the nest” with “a detectives. skunk for supper” while “crows dive-bomb and caw.” Voss’ intri- As agents of SUIT (Special Under- cate double-page spreads often utilize inset panels to capture cover Investigation Team) with customized VESTs (Very Excit- the tension of nature in action; especially effective is a gorgeous ing Spy Technology) boasting the latest gadgetry, the bright close-up highlighting mama owl’s razor-sharp talons and tawny- green InvestiGators Mango and Brash receive their newest flecked eyes as “Red fox launches—pounce!” aiming for one of assignment. The reptilian duo must go undercover at the Bat- the newly flying owlets. As a bonus to this comprehensive win- ter Down bakery to find missing mustachioed Chef Gustavo dow into nature, Gianferrari’s notes include engaging resources and his secret recipes. Before long, the pair find themselves to help children better understand the unique qualities of this embroiled in a strange and busy plot with a scientist chicken, dominant predator. a rabid were-helicopter, an escape-artist dinosaur, and radio- Vivid and accessible: an illuminating portrait of one of active cracker dough. Despite the great number of disparate nature’s most iconic birds. (Picture book. 3-8) threads, Green manages to tie up most neatly, leaving just enough intrigue for subsequent adventures. Nearly every panel has a joke, including puns (“gator done!”), poop jokes, and pop- WATCH THIS! culture references (eagle-eyed older readers will certainly pick A Book About Making Shapes up on the 1980s song references), promising to make even the Godwin, Jane most stone-faced readers dissolve into giggles. Green’s art is as Illus. by Orpin, Beci vibrant as an overturned box of crayons and as highly spirited as Photos by Walker, Hilary a Saturday-morning cartoon. Fast pacing and imaginative plot- Scribble (32 pp.) ting (smattered with an explosion here, a dance number there) $16.99 | Mar. 4, 2020 propel the action through a whimsical world in which a diverse 978-1-947534-99-5 cast of humans live alongside anthropomorphized reptiles and dinosaurs. With its rampant good-natured goofiness and its This Australian concept book involves the whole body. unrelenting fizz and pep, this feels like a sugar rush manifested Twelve children bend, twist, and join limbs to form various as a graphic novel. shapes, all photographed against large, patterned pops of color. Silly and inventive fast-paced fun. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10) Readers are introduced to each child by name on the title-page spread. The kids start simply, with circles and triangles. Some shapes are accomplished alone (a circle with one’s arms over- head or a “little” triangle with one’s fingers). But most shapes are a collaborative effort. (Whenever one child’s toes nearly touch another’s face, the apprehensive looks are priceless.) Walker expertly photographs from various angles, though the overhead shots are by far the most clever and amusing. The shapes start to get more complicated (a star, a diamond) until interpreta- tions become a bit looser and more creative. Children standing
148 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | ALBA AND THE “right under [his] nose all along”—brave, clever Pinky. They OCEAN CLEANUP share the pie, which is “half the pleasure” of making it. The Hawthorne, Lara story is endearing in its heartfelt simplicity, maintains sincerity, Illus. by the author and reminds readers that there are fitting companions for all Big Picture/Candlewick (32 pp.) types. Hobbie’s illustrations are reminiscent of Beatrix Potter’s $16.99 | Mar. 17, 2020 in style and content: Soft watercolor shading and strategic fine 978-1-5362-1044-6 details depict animals in minimal clothes living naturally out- side but with comfortable furnishings in their burrows. They When a reef fish becomes stuck in a have a charm all their own while evoking the classics. plastic bottle, a caring human child not Share this book with your best friend. (Picture book. 3-7) only rescues her, but also organizes an ocean cleanup. Like many humans, Alba, an orange fish with white spots, loves to collect interesting and beautiful objects. As she grows ANIMAL TRACKS AND TRACES bigger and older, she finds more trash and fewer treasures in Holland, Mary her neighborhood—and her reef-dwelling friends disappear. Arbordale (32 pp.) Still searching for treasures, she swims into a bottle to retrieve $17.95 | Mar. 10, 2020 a pearl inside and becomes trapped. The bottle washes up on 978-1-64351-747-6 shore, where Kaia, also a collector of treasures and shown with long black hair and dark skin, comes to the rescue. Placing the Holland continues her series on ani- fish temporarily in a bucket, she convinces her whole town to mal anatomy and adaptations with this
help clean “the mess that they had made.” Hawthorne’s stylized, look at the evidence animals leave behind. young adult posterlike illustrations initially show a bright, lively reef full of The opening spread may mislead identifiable fish, coral, and other sea creatures. (A spread at the readers into thinking this is a book only about nocturnal ani- end introduces some of the other inhabitants, an opportunity mals, but many of the animals, not just their tracks and scat, can for seek-and-find activities.) As the trash increases, the fish van- be spied during the day. Holland focuses on helping children ish. Near the end, a spread shows the windmill-powered town, both notice evidence of animals’ activities and learn a bit about cleaners on the beach, and even divers removing trash, mak- the animal based on that evidence. Spot a track in mud or snow? ing possible the busy reef scene that greets Alba’s safe return. Count the number of toes to get a clue as to who made it, and First published in England as Alba, the Hundred Year Old Fish, the toes will point in the direction of travel. Vertical grooves in this hopeful fable may help very young readers think about the the bark of a tree may indicate that moose have been feeding problem of plastic waste. there. You can identify an animal by its “poop,” or “scat,” and Unlikely—but the simple story and bright pictures many use “pee” to mark their territory. You may be able to spot underscore the importance of taking care of our ocean. animals’ homes—beaver lodges and birds’ nests. Holland’s pho- (Picture book. 3-6) tos are, once again, a highlight, though a few are low-contrast and may be difficult to parse. Backmatter includes some match- ing activities and a few more signs of animals’ activities, several ELMORE AND PINKY of which are fascinating enough to have warranted pages of Hobbie, Holly their own. Readers will need a guidebook in many instances to Illus. by the author make a positive ID. Random House (40 pp.) Readers will want to head directly out to search for $17.99 | $20.99 PLB | Mar. 17, 2020 clues. (Nonfiction. -3 9) 978-1-5247-7081-5 978-1-5247-7082-2 PLB MINDFUL DAY Finding a best friend is easier than these critters realize. Hopkinson, Deborah The little porcupine introduced in Elmore (2018) has several Illus. by Ng-Benitez, Shirley friends, but he’s hoping to find a best friend. His uncle insists Sounds True (32 pp.) that getting one “just happens” and to “be patient.” Elmore $17.99 | Jan. 7, 2020 shares his woes with Pinky the skunk. Both agree that best 978-1-68364-279-4 friends should share preferences, such as being nocturnal. In an episode straight out of Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal, Two siblings awake in the same bed and enjoy a slow, deep Elmore is out picking berries when a bear cub and its mother breath; thus begins a mindful day. burst onto the scene, scaring him. Hearing the cries for help, Throughout this text, the young characters and their Pinky comes running and releases his characteristic scent, mother are shown connecting to the present moment through which all bears hate. Elmore, though, likes it since it reminds their senses—in other words, practicing mindfulness. They him of Pinky: “It’s so you,” he tells the skunk. Later, while mak- fully notice each daily task, from the mundane (crunching ing his blueberry pie, Elmore realizes that his best friend was breakfast cereal, getting dressed) to the fun (shopping at a
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 149 fruit stand, visiting the library). They feel the warm sun, hear BRINGING BACK the sounds of the city, taste the flavors of their food, and prac- THE WOLVES tice gratitude. Between each of these moments of purposeful How a Predator awareness, they breathe intentionally, softly and slowly. Rather Restored an Ecosystem than instructing mindfulness to readers, as in Susan Verde’s I Isabella, Jude Am Peace, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds (2017), this narrative Illus. by Smith, Kim exemplifies how a day may be experienced when mindfulness Kids Can (40 pp.) is organically embedded within it. Mindfulness doesn’t render $18.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 life solely blissful, and the characters are shown responding 978-1-77138-625-8 with urgency when appropriate, as when the day suddenly turns from mild to stormy. However, there is an unshakeable calm in Isabella and Smith explore the ecological effects of reintro- narrative and illustration that permeates each task. The thick ducing wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995. lines, bold colors, and emotive faces in the illustrations are Seemingly simple yet remarkably comprehensive—a bit appealing and complement the narrative well. All family mem- like the ecosystem web it describes—this picture book explains bers are Asian-presenting. how the Yellowstone National Park ecosystem, deprived for 70 A solid demonstration of the benefits of mindfulness years of its apex predator, became overpopulated with elk and practice when it is applied to daily life. (Picture book. 5-9) how it began to reclaim its balance with the reintroduction of wolves. While an anchor narrative tells the story of the park’s ecosystem changes, interspersed sidebars delve into adjunct HOUNDSLEY AND CATINA AT topics. For example, recurring sidebars titled “It’s Elemental” THE LIBRARY describe the effects of climate and weather while others add Howe, James deeper details, such as describing a wolf’s physiological traits. Illus. by Gay, Marie-Louise In this way, abundant amounts of information are presented Candlewick (48 pp.) in an easy-to-understand format. Colorful, posterlike illustra- $15.99 | Mar. 10, 2020 tions add liveliness to the format and open up the whole design 978-0-7636-9662-7 visually so the expansive topic feels unintimidating. It’s all here: how wolves, by being wolves, reduced the elk population, which Three anthropomorphic animals share allowed more plant life to grow, which brought more berries for a story about community and life changes. bears and more habitat for insects and birds, which created Houndsley, a dog who bakes muffins, more pollination—among many other restorations. Beyond Bert, a scarf-clad white bird, and Catina, gaining an understanding of this particular ecosystem, readers a creative white cat, spend every Saturday at the library. They will no doubt grasp the concept of the vast interdependencies teach others to read, shelve books, and do yoga, respectively, within any ecosystem. Bolded words within the narrative are generating a dynamic image of what goes on these days in defined in a glossary in the backmatter, which also includes fur- libraries beyond sitting and reading a book. Cheery water- ther resources and an index. color illustrations nestle with paragraphs of large, plain text Clear, comprehensive, and thoroughly accessible. (Infor with ample negative space for emergent readers. One Saturday, mational picture book. 8-14) the normally cheerful librarian, a white bunny named Trixie, is unexpectedly downcast. The friends learn that Trixie is retiring to attend circus school, which means the library will THE GREAT UPENDING be closing imminently. A hand-drawn sign announces a final Kephart, Beth chance to wish Trixie well and to return library books, and Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum (272 pp.) it also encourages everyone to “bring something special” for $17.99 | Mar. 31, 2020 Trixie. As the week unfolds, each animal pursues thought- 978-1-4814-9156-3 ful going-away gestures for Trixie, and one in the group puts thought toward how to save the fate of the library. Themes of A family struggles to keep their farm kindness, adapting to sudden change, and pursuing personal afloat and to afford medical care for growth make this early reader a touchpoint for conversations. 12-year-old Sara, who has a heart con- Even with these opportunities for dynamic discussion, the dition due to a disorder called Marfan plot’s drama and stress are resolved in a quick and satisfying syndrome. manner. A table of contents will make this outing feel like a Sara and her younger brother, Hawk, chapter book, readers gaining confidence. are kids who have grown up accustomed to being competent Gentle existentialism for emergent readers. (Early reader. and useful, and their drought-stricken farm, which has been 6-9) in their family for generations, can use all the help it can get. Since she feels she’s letting her family down, it’s particularly hard for Sara to cope with her diminished physical abilities, and when surgery becomes inevitable, she and Hawk hatch a wild
150 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | Kim has woven a pop song of immigrant struggle colliding with comedy and Korean barbecue. stand up, yumi chung!
scheme to raise the necessary funds that involves their mys- HAT TRICKS terious, elderly tenant, known to them as The Mister. Lyrical Kitamura, Satoshi first-person narration from Sara’s perspective—presented in Illus. by the author short chapters that occasionally almost take the shape of brief Peachtree (32 pp.) poems—takes its time setting the stage for this tender, clas- $16.99 | Mar. 1, 2020 sic mystery. The rural Pennsylvania setting and family tradi- 978-1-68263-150-8 tions, such as making half a dozen pies in one go, often feel like throwbacks in time though the novel is contemporary. Older Hattie the magician pulls amazing middle graders and young teens with a taste for literary fiction things out of her hat. will savor the language and appreciate the quirky, sympathetic Emerging from her top hat, Hattie, a rabbit, welcomes characters, who are mostly white, or assumed to be, as race or everyone to her magic show, invites readers to repeat “Abra- ethnicity is not specified. Kephart describes her research and cadabra, katakurico,” and see “what’s in the hat.” Initially, two writing process in a closing note. pointy ears surface and then a surprised cat jumps out. Hattie A meandering, gentle, lovely tale of a deeply bonded repeats the same magic words, and the fluffy tail and ears of an family, replete with a clever mystery. (Fiction. 10-12) energetic squirrel appear. Next Hattie’s magic words invoke a snakelike arm attached to a huge octopus followed by antlers belonging to a gigantic moose. For her next trick, Hattie reveals STAND UP, the gray trunk of an enormous, shocked elephant who’s tempo- YUMI CHUNG! rarily stuck in the hat. Surely the hat’s finally empty now? But Kim, Jessica wait, Hattie has a “grand finale” still to come. The spare, repeti-
Kokila (320 pp.) tive, interactive text engages readers in chanting the magic young adult $16.99 | Mar. 17, 2020 words with Hattie and watching expectantly, guessing what 978-0-525-55497-4 will emerge next. The energetic illustrations rely on vivid col- ors, bold, black, hand-drawn outlines, simple shapes, and plain Eleven-year-old Yumi Chung doesn’t backgrounds to showcase Hattie in her yellow coat and red bow have anyone to sit with at lunch, but she tie as she conjures the sequence of hilarious creatures from her secretly harbors dreams of becoming a magical hat. As the animals increase in size, they dominate the comedian. Shy + Asian + Girl = Come- double-page spreads until Hattie’s growing menagerie explodes dian? Why, yes. Yes, it does. into a wild, wonderful “whole new world of friends.” Winston Preparatory Academy is a shy person’s nightmare. Dynamic, fun-filled, imaginative, and ideal for partici- Yumi hides from the beautiful girls and the bullies who call her patory reading aloud. (Picture book. 2-6) “Yu-meat” because she smells like her parents’ Korean barbecue restaurant. This summer, her parents are demanding that she go to Korean summer school, or hagwon, to get a near-perfect SMALL MERCIES score on the high school entrance exam—because that is the Krone, Bridget only way to attend an elite college, like her superachiever sis- Illus. by Vermeulen, Karen ter, a 20-year-old med student. Yumi collects all of her fears and Catalyst Press (162 pp.) frustrations (and jokes) in her Super-Secret Comedy Notebook. $11.99 paper | Feb. 4, 2020 When a case of mistaken identity allows her to attend a com- 978-1-946395-17-7 edy camp taught by her YouTube idol, Yumi is too panicked to correct the problem—and then it spirals out of control. With Set in post-apartheid Pietermaritz- wonderful supporting characters, strong pacing, and entertain- burg, South Africa, this realistic story ing comedy bits, debut author Kim has woven a pop song of traces protagonist Mercy’s quest to immigrant struggle colliding with comedy and Korean barbe- speak up for truth and, consequently, for cue. With their feet in two different cultures, readers listen in herself. on honest conversations, full of halting English and unspoken Eleven-year-old Mercy has lived with her two elderly fos- truths painting a realistic picture of 21st-century first-genera- ter mothers—“Aunt Flora” and “Aunt Mary” McKnight—since tion Americans—at least a Korean version. By becoming some- she was orphaned at the age of 5. Although their home is filled one else, Yumi learns more about herself and her family in an with love, the McKnight sisters are so poor that they reuse tea authentic and hilarious way. bags as many as four to five times and most of the furniture has Readers will cheer the birth of this comedian. (Fiction. been sold. To make matters worse, Aunt Flora is slowly losing 9-12) her memory to Alzheimer’s, and their beloved house seems to be falling apart just as a greedy housing developer is eying their property. Painfully shy and reserved, Mercy struggles to cope with her school assignments and her complicated home life as she tries very hard not to stand out. When Mr. Singh moves into the McKnight house as a lodger, his stories about Gandhi’s
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 151 As with the author’s first book, the vocabulary sets this title apart from many others for this age group. a kid of their own
peaceful struggle for independence inspire Mercy to stand up A KID OF THEIR OWN for herself. Krone’s characters are diverse, convincing, and full Lambert, Megan Dowd of life. The McKnight sisters are white, Mercy has dark skin Illus. by Lanan, Jessica and is likely of mixed heritage, Mr. Singh is Indian, and Mercy’s Charlesbridge (32 pp.) classmates are representative of South Africa’s diverse commu- $16.99 | Feb. 11, 2020 nities. The story stands on its own, but readers unfamiliar with 978-1-58089-879-9 South Africa might also benefit from concurrent research or discussion about South African history, cultures, and languages. In this companion book to A Crow of His Own (illustrated Sensitive, funny, and tender. (Fiction. 8-12) by David Hyde Costello, 2015), Clyde the rooster returns with his star wake-up crow. Regularly lapping up universal praise and adoration, Clyde INCREDIBLE JOBS is living a comfortable life on the farm until farmers Jay and YOU’VE (PROBABLY) Kevin introduce Fran the goat and her kid, Rowdy. Everyone is NEVER HEARD OF delighted to have a kid on the farm except for a jealous Clyde, Labarre, Natalie who devises a plan to regain everyone’s attention. The next Illus. by the author morning he uses a megaphone to make an extra loud wake-up Nosy Crow/Candlewick (48 pp.) call, but the noise doesn’t allow Rowdy the sleep he needs. His $19.99 | Apr. 14, 2020 friend Roberta the goose asks him to tone it down, but he dials 978-1-5362-1219-8 it up with amps and drums, crowing every time Rowdy tries to rest. Soon everyone is upset, and Clyde realizes he must do From funeral clown to cheese sculp- something to make up for his “foul behavior.” Lambert depicts tor, a tally of atypical trades. how hard the change brought about by a new young one in the This free-wheeling survey, framed family can be while also addressing inclusivity and celebrating as a visit to “The Great Hall of Jobs,” is everyone’s unique voice. The charming watercolor illustrations designed to shake readers loose from simplistic notions of the include little hints that the two white, male farmers are prepar- world of work. Labarre opens with a generic sculpture gallery ing for another new arrival. As with the author’s first book, the of, as she puts it, “The Classics”—doctor, dancer, farmer, ath- vocabulary sets this title apart from many others for this age lete, chef, and the like—but quickly moves on, arranging busy group. Rarely using verbs like “said” or “asked,” the text allows cartoon figures by the dozen in kaleidoscopic arrays, with pithy readers to discover “gushed,” “huffed,” and “gasped” alongside captions describing each occupation. As changes of pace she other crunchy vocabulary: “Resolve,” “bereft,” and “righteous- also tucks in occasional challenges to match select workers ness” are just a smattering. (Las Vegas wedding minister, “ethical” hacker, motion-capture A sweet and unusual new-baby story with an uncom- actor) with their distinctive tools or outfits. The actual chances monly broadening vocabulary. (Picture book. 4-6) (Note: Lam of becoming, say, the queen’s warden of the swans or a profes- bert is a freelance contributor to Kirkus.) sional mattress jumper, not to mention the nitty-gritty of physi- cal or academic qualifications, income levels, and career paths, are left largely unspecified…but along with noting that new jobs NATTIQ AND THE LAND are being invented all the time (as, in the illustration, museum OF STATUES workers wheel in a “vlogger” statue), the author closes with Landry, Barbara the perennial insight that it’s essential to love what you do and Illus. by Kyak, Martha the millennial one that there’s nothing wrong with repeatedly Groundwood (24 pp.) switching horses midstream. The many adult figures and the $18.95 | Mar. 3, 2020 gaggle of children (one in a wheelchair) visiting the “Hall” are 978-1-55498-891-4 diverse of feature, sex, and skin color. Chicken sexer? Breath odor evaluator? Cryptozoolo- Told with Inuktitut words seamlessly gist? Island caretaker? The choices dazzle! (Informational folded in, a story of Arctic migration comes to life. picture book. 7-9) A group of Arctic animals gathers on a snowy bank to wel- come the return of their friend nattiq, the ringed seal. “What did you see beyond our land?” nanuq, the polar bear, asks. Alongside vivid, impressionistic illustrations from Inuit art- ist Kyak, the tale unfolds past “gigantic floating mountains of ice,” under the northern lights, and along a tundra bursting into bloom with Arctic cotton. As nattiq travels south, the seal is amazed to behold “strange statues” lining the shore. As they come closer into view, nattiq marvels, “I realize the statues are alive.” The trees nattiq observes change with the seasons: In the fall, “they whisper and nod…in their colorful coats” of red,
152 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | yellow, and brown; through the winter storms, “the statues bend SNAPDRAGON and roar”; in spring, birds build nests as the trees “open their Leyh, Kat arms to the creatures of the sky.” Context clues allow readers to Illus. by the author surmise the definitions of Inuktitut words that are woven into First Second (240 pp.) the narrative, rendered first in the syllabary of the Indigenous $21.99 | $12.99 paper | Feb. 4, 2020 language and then in romanized italics; older children may be 978-1-250-17112-2 able to guess at each word’s meaning and check the glossary for 978-1-250-17111-5 paper accuracy. Younger readers and Inuktitut students of all ages will appreciate this lyrical, respectfully rendered story by non-Inuit Lumberjanes comic books collabo- author Landry. rator Leyh expertly blends fantasy and A sweet animal adventure and a valuable addition to realism in her energetic debut solo mid- collections featuring Indigenous-language text. (Picture dle-grade graphic novel. book. 5-8) “Our town has a witch. She fed her eye to the devil. She eats roadkill and casts spells with the bones.” Snapdragon knows the rumors, but after the “roadkill witch” rescues Snap’s beloved dog SEEDS and agrees to foster abandoned possum babies, Snap starts to Lemniscates, Carme think all may not be as it seems. And it’s true: The town’s “witch” Illus. by the author is actually Crocs-wearing, white-haired, one-eyed Jacks. Gruff Candlewick Studio (40 pp.) but nurturing, Jacks takes Snap under her wing, teaching Snap $14.99 | Mar. 17, 2020 her work of using bones from roadkill to build and sell anatomi-
978-1-5362-0844-3 cally correct skeletal systems. But it also turns out that Jacks is young adult a witch, using magic to release the souls of roadkill back into Lemniscates considers seeds, both as nature, and Snap is desperate to find out if she can also channel tiny biological powerhouses and metaphors for human potential. magic. Leyh’s characters are fully realized, from Snap’s simulta- “Seeds carry the power of life. / So they embark on amaz- neously overflowing skepticism and enthusiasm to her dynamic ing adventures.” Clear, stylized illustrations show seed disper- with her single working-while-in-school mom, from Jacks’ quiet sal, via wind and an ant colony. A double-page spread depicts history with Snap’s grandma to Snap’s new best friend’s transi- the stages of a pumpkin seed from germination to blossoming. tion to wearing skirts, loving nail polish, and being called Lulu. One vine—from one seed—“brings dozens of pumpkins. // And Their world isn’t perfect: Snap and Lulu are bullied at school, each pumpkin brings hundreds of seeds!” After examining an economic struggles are apparent, and Snap’s mom’s abusive ex- orchid’s progress from a tiny seed and observing that seeds can boyfriend shows up more than once (including in a finale that sprout in harsh conditions, Lemniscates swerves awkwardly has a twinge of deus ex machina). Jacks is white while Snap, her into analogy. “A smile is a powerful seed. / … / But there are also family, Lulu, and most secondary characters are coded as black— seeds that bring anger and misunderstanding. / When those all, refreshingly, presenting with a realistic variety of skin tones seeds grow, they pull us apart.” Indeed, two children formerly and hair colors and textures. seen to be cooperating now engage in a tug of war over a basket Sweet and fierce, this is a must-have. (Graphic fantasy. of fruit they’ve picked. Bright pictures resemble a combination 8-14) of print and collage, with swaths of textured color and snipped and applied shapes. Diversity is indicated by variations in hair- style and skin tone. A harmonious conclusion shows a diverse CLEM AND CRAB group of friends playing ring-around-the-rosie accompanied Lumbers, Fiona by a vague address to readers: “Seeds have whole worlds inside Illus. by the author them, / just like you.” While coaching from determined adults Andersen Press USA (32 pp.) may enable young children to understand some of the meta- $17.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 phorical material, Lemniscates is on more solid ground with the 978-1-5415-9619-1 clear botanical science that she introduces here. Solid science concepts about seeds muddied by a segue A young girl goes beachcombing and into preschool pop-psych. (Picture book. 3-5) finds an unexpected friend. Clem collects treasures both natural and human-made, and a small crab comes entangled in the plas- tic that makes up some of her collection. While heading home on the bus with her sister, Clem discovers that the crab has unwittingly stowed away in her pants leg. In her kitchen, she makes a home for the crab, then brings him to school along with all the plastic waste she found on the beach as part of her show and tell. Crab escapes, scaring and delighting her classmates, and the teacher tells Clem to take him back to the beach. Clem
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 153 replies,”The beach is messy and dangerous. I try my best to MOST WANTED keep it clean, but it’s a big job.” When she returns to the beach, The Revolutionary she is delighted to find that her classmates are there already, Partnership of John helping to clean up. She feels much better about returning Crab Hancock & Samuel Adams to his newly pristine environment and makes a promise that Marsh, Sarah Jane she will always look after the beach: “for Crab, and all the other Illus. by Fotheringham, Edwin sea creatures.” Lumbers’ skillful, pleasingly composed pencil, Disney-Hyperion (80 pp.) crayon, and watercolor illustrations and simple but expressive $19.99 | Mar. 24, 2020 text are perfectly suited to her story, capturing the ingenuous 978-1-368-02683-3 earnestness of her young protagonist. Clem and her sister are white; Clem’s classmates are diverse. The story of the partnership and This sweet, feel-good tale about a can-do kid is in tune unlikely friendship between Samuel Adams and John Hancock. with its audience. (Picture book. 3-6) In a punchy prose style and with rich historical detail, Marsh emphasizes the differences between the rabble-rousers. Wealthy Hancock, owner of ships and warehouses, “lived in a THE WOLF IN mansion with fifty-four windows high above Boston.” He was UNDERPANTS FREEZES most interested in parties, fine wine, and looking his best in the HIS BUNS OFF latest fashions while being pulled around town in his golden car- Lupano, Wilfrid riage. Adams owned little, went about shabbily dressed, and was Illus. by Itoïz, Mayana with Cauuet, Paul outspoken about politics. The Stamp Act prompted Hancock’s Trans. by Sacks, Nathan political awakening. Seeing an opportunity to recruit Bos- Graphic Universe (40 pp.) ton’s wealthiest and most visible citizen to the cause of liberty, $26.65 | $8.99 paper | Mar. 3, 2020 Adams invited Hancock to join in a peaceful boycott of Brit- 978-1-5415-2819-2 ish goods, the beginning of their powerful partnership. Fother- 978-1-5415-8694-9 paper ingham’s distinctive art depicts Adams as serious and surly and Hancock as dashing and arrogant. Most characters are white. A In this sophomore graphic import, readers wonder why an notable double-page spread depicts Hancock’s enslaved black underpants-bedecked wolf is complaining about the snow. house servant responding with an expression of disgust at the In the bucolic woods, the forest denizens welcome winter irony of Hancock’s words: “I will not be a slave. I have a right with its blanket of clean, fresh snow. They take all the proper to the liberties and privileges of the English constitution.” In precautions: winterizing their homes, bundling up in toasty her author’s note, Marsh notes that Hancock owned enslaved coats and hats, and warming themselves over a piping-hot caul- people and that the phrase “all men are created equal” excluded dron of cheese fondue. But amid all this wintry revelry, the wolf equality for women and nonwhite people. is behaving strangely, stomping through their festivities and A lively, insightful look at the origins of the American continually proclaiming “They’re freezing!” Desperate to keep Revolution. (timeline, bibliography, source notes) (Informa the large carnivore happy, the other critters try making him tional picture book. 6-10) warm socks and a cozy hat to ward off the chill. When their efforts seem fruitless, fear drives them to gather and storm his house only to find something truly unexpected behind his OUT OF A DARK door. Once again, Lupano has crafted another intelligent and WINTER’S NIGHT approachable graphic fable; whereas he examined stereotypes McDonnell, Flora and perception in The Wolf in Underpants (2019), he now explores Illus. by the author socio-economic inequality, gently urging young readers to “try Thames & Hudson (40 pp.) a little harder to be kind to others.” Itoïz and Cauuet’s busy $16.95 | Feb. 11, 2020 illustrations pack in a lovely array of interesting and bustling 978-0-500-65195-7 characters reminiscent of Richard Scarry’s and mix full-page spreads against borderless panels, all employing a cool palette of A dedicated search for the light, even blues and lavenders. Lupano’s message of kindness and percep- in the darkest of times, leads one charac- tion shines without being cloying, making this quiet charmer a ter back home. must-read. A child appears, seemingly nascent with the light, nude A timely and accessible lesson delivered without any and frolicking. Donning a yellow rain hat, blue coat, and red howling pedantry. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10) galoshes (reminiscent of Paddington Bear), the industrious child sets out with a wheelbarrow full of assorted tools to chase the sun across village streets, pastures, and hills. Together with a goose and cat companions, the child tries to catch the sun’s bright rays. Dropping items as they progress, they reach the shore with only a small butterfly net just as the sun sinks
154 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | Mysterious, amazing, threatened, but enduring, the ocean itself conveys the enormity of grief and possibility of healing. willa and the whale
below the watery horizon. Doggedly carrying on, the child WILLA AND THE WHALE briefly swims naked with the goose under the nighttime waves Morris, Chad `& Brown, Shelly before they wash back to shore. A starry elephant appears with Shadow Mountain (256 pp.) a lantern in its trunk, carrying the child back home as the sun $16.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 rises. McDonnell’s minimalist text, with sentences stretched 978-1-62972-731-8 over several pages, conveys only the most general information, developing an atmospheric tale with layered meanings. One can In the wake of her mother’s sud- metaphorically read an emotional journey of a sad, “dark” spot den death, Willa navigates a new course in life, emerging into “light,” happy times. Regardless, “hope” with her blended family and friends on carries readers into a new dawn in the circular theme. Vast but an island off Washington state, with the simply designed landscapes dominate the wide pages with thick help of a humpback whale. brush strokes and sweeping colors. The dark scenes are so satu- After her parents divorced three rated that readers may have to squint to make both them and years ago, Willa moved to Japan with her marine biologist mom. the text out, a narratively appropriate feature. Conversely, the Now back on Tupkuk Island, Willa, 12, struggles to adapt to her light scenes burst off the pages. dad, new stepmom, three younger stepsiblings, and new baby. Delicately crafted, impressionistic hope. (Picture book. When she’s on a welcome-home, whale-watching cruise with 3-7) her dad, a humpback breaches close by and speaks to her. Willa, an exceptionally well-informed marine enthusiast, is enchanted. When Willa calls her from the beach, Meg, a mature female EVERYONE’S AWAKE who’s birthed and nurtured offspring of her own, offers a sym-
Meloy, Colin pathetic ear and valuable advice on reinstating her friendship young adult Illus. by Harris, Shawn with Marc, her former best friend, coping with an overbearing, Chronicle (48 pp.) competitive classmate, and managing the mortification of being $17.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 among the slowest on the swim team. Most of all, Meg’s there 978-1-4521-7805-9 when Willa needs to pour out the grief that overwhelms her. Willa’s journals and many marine references express her pas- An energetic, insomniac romp of an sion for the ocean while introducing fascinating, lesser-known anti-bedtime book. wonders of the deep. Latinx Marc and his family excepted, the A wakeful child narrator recounts the likable, rounded human characters are presumed white. Myste- goings-on in a large, multiracial family’s zany household long rious, amazing, threatened, but enduring, the ocean itself con- after everyone should be asleep. Rhyming verse with a singsong veys the enormity of grief and possibility of healing; plausible, cadence details activities ranging from the mundane (“Grand- appealing Meg’s especially engaging. As Willa says: “everyone ma’s at her needlework. / Dad is baking bread. / My brother’s should definitely have their own whale.” making laundry lists / of every book he’s read”) to the bizarre Moving and buoyant, an insightful tale of grief, loss, (“Now Mom just took an audience / with Queen Sigrid the Third. and resilience. (Fantasy. 8-12) / My brother has just taught the cat a dozen dirty words”). It’s a rollicking read-aloud, but inconsistent line breaks may cause some to slip up upon first reading. Pop-culture references pep LITTLE MOLE FINDS HOPE things up and range from the stodgy (Sinatra, “Clementine”) Nellist, Glenys to the very contemporary (poke tattoos, the film Condorman), Illus. by Garland, Sally though the conceit drags on a bit too long. Throughout, Har- Beaming Books (32 pp.) ris’ illustrations have a retro feel that evokes, at turns, Tomie $17.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 Ungerer and Maira Kalman, and they expand on the details 978-1-5064-4874-9 of the text to ratchet up the humor and drama—building on the mention of a lake to depict the setting not as a mere house Hope can be found—if you know but an elaborate lighthouse. The conclusion shows the narra- how and where to look. tor descending the stairs to find everyone asleep at daybreak, a In their dark underground burrow Little Mole tells Mama predictable, yet satisfying, end. he’s sad. After she suggests he needs to look for hope, they Don’t sleep on this one. (Picture book. 3-7) begin a paw-in-paw exploration. Mama explains hope some- times hides but waits to be found. As proof, she points to a seemingly lifeless bulb hanging at the burrow’s exit. Mama says the bulb’s not dead but will, upon feeling the sun’s rays, soon blossom into a daffodil. When Little Mole envisions this, Mama declares, “That is hope.” As the journey continues, Mama shows her little one other nascent signs of good things to come—bare trees and a chrysalis. Little Mole sees only dead objects. Still, Mama reminds him that each will soon emerge into glorious life,
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 155 With its quick pace, modern heroes, and choreographed action, this is a strong fantasy title with K-pop undertones. the dragon egg princess
encouraging him to imagine the lovely transformations. Home GOD CARES WHEN again, Little Mole announces he understands. This gentle, com- I’M AFRAID forting tale empowers kids to discover light in darkness on their Omartian, Stormie own or with assistance from a warm, guiding hand. In support Illus. by Warren, Shari of this, a discussion guide for caregivers at the end provides Harvest House (32 pp.) simple facts about moles plus discussion questions and useful, $14.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 empathetic tips to help a sad child find hope. The grainy illus- 978-0-7369-7640-4 trations add texture to the expressive moles, their cozy burrow, and their natural surroundings. The moles are as fuzzily warm Inspirational author Omartian (the Power of Praying as their relationship. series) encourages children to turn to Jesus in prayer when Sweet and reassuring for little moles—and humans too. they are afraid. (Picture book. 3-6) This book emphasizes to young children that fear is a com- mon and natural feeling. It explains that there can be “good” fear, such as wariness of a dangerous animal. This fear helps to THE DRAGON EGG PRINCESS keep children safe. The author then goes on to depict a wide Oh, Ellen variety of other fears, fears that are “bad” and make children Harper/HarperCollins (256 pp.) upset and fretful. Among this category are fears of the dark, of $16.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 thunder, of bullies, of getting lost, etc. What to do about these 978-0-06-287579-2 “bad” fears? The author instructs child readers to pray to God when they are afraid. She makes it clear that God always listens Inspired by Korean folklore, this is to children’s prayers and wants to help. The bright but simplis- a fresh yet ancient take on middle-grade tically cartoony illustrations show diverse children in various fantasy, filled with magic, supernatural situations that make them fearful and then depict the children creatures, the rise of darkness, and a praying about their fear. There is no larger discussion of fears dragon. and emotions—just an exhortation to pray to Jesus daily. Prayer Jiho comes from a long line of for- may be an appropriate and efficacious response to fear of thun- est rangers, protectors of the Kidahara, the magical woods in der or scary images on TV, but its utility with bullies is dubious, the center of the country. Five years ago, Jiho’s father walked particularly as framed: “Lord, I am afraid of this person. Keep into the woods never to be seen again, just like Princess Koko. me away from him until You teach him how to have a kind and Joson’s king, still pining for his daughter, is being challenged gentle heart.” by his younger half brother, Prince Roku, who enlists foreign A bright, cheery book about the power of prayer that’s aid to wipe out the deadly forest in the name of progress. Jiho, limited in both scope and audience. (Picture book. 4-8) whose very presence negates magic, must band together with a rich collection of magical forest creatures and kids from out- side Joson to stop the awakening of Luzee, the dark sorceress HERE IN THE REAL WORLD bent on destroying the world. The plot meanders at the start Pennypacker, Sara but gathers enough speed to keep the pages turning. Familial Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (320 pp.) betrayal, environmental destruction, and the trickiness of trust $17.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 collide in an existential race to stop the devastation. Themes 978-0-06-269895-7 recognizable from fantasy favorites such as The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and even Harry Potter are reconfig- An introverted boy fights to save an ured with Asian-inspired settings and multicultural characters empty lot from auction. whose names and appearances are both Asian- and Western- Eleven-and-a-half-year-old Ware can’t derived. The familiarity, however, is spiced with enough novelty wait to spend the Florida summer with to satisfy those who devour fantasy titles. his grandmother, enjoying “long hours With its quick pace, modern heroes, and choreographed free and alone.” Other adults—includ- action, this is a strong fantasy title with K-pop undertones. ing his overprotective, hyperefficient mother and sports-loving (Fantasy. 8-12) father—discourage his being “off in his own world.” But when his grandmother takes a fall, he must trade privacy for “Meaningful Social Interaction” in the Summer Rec program. He finds sanc- tuary in nearby church ruins, where he meets cynical, secretive Jolene and bird activist Ashley. When the property is slated for auction, medieval-history buff Ware invokes the “Knights’ Code”—a feminist but nonetheless romanticized version of the code of chivalry—resolving to “be always the champion of the Right and the Good” and defend their refuge. Victory, however, takes unexpected forms. Though Pennypacker’s exploration of
156 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | what “fairness” means is thought-provoking, one-dimensional TICKLED PINK characterization weakens such powerful themes as abuse, self- How Friendship Washes the advocacy, and self-acceptance. Tough-but-wounded Jolene World With Color is little more than a foil for the nearly angelic Ware, whose Poulin, Andrée acute empathy even perceives a cut plant’s “cry of betrayal.” Illus. by Drouot, Lucile Danis (The intense pain his empathy causes him goes unexamined.) Pajama Press (32 pp.) Though introverted or sensitive kids may recognize Ware’s poi- $18.95 | Feb. 18, 2020 gnant struggles to connect with his parents, his heavy-handed 978-1-77278-104-5 portrayal—which his uncle folds neatly into the sensitive-artist trope—blunts some emotional impact. Most characters, includ- A pink flamingo finds his place in a monochromatic world. ing the kids, appear white; a supportive grocer is Greek. The story opens with the information that “Zac the zebra A well-meaning but belabored recognition of intro- and Poncho the panda are like two peas in a pod,” but readers verts, artists, and activists. (Fiction. 8-12) quickly learn that the story revolves around Filippo, a blotch- ily pink flamingo desperate to be their friend. Filippo - repeat edly asks the black-and-white animals if he can play with them ASTER AND THE and is met with refusal and ridicule on the grounds of his pink- ACCIDENTAL MAGIC ness. His family members defend their hue with various logical Pico, Thom explanations, but nothing soothes the hurt of exclusion, and Illus. by Karensac Filippo worries that “Pink is for crybabies and silly princesses.” Trans. by Smith, Anne & Smith, Owen But Ludo the lemur, lurking in the background of almost every
Random House (224 pp.) spread, comes up to the sobbing flamingo and explains every- young adult $20.99 | $12.99 paper | $23.99 PLB thing he loves about the color pink, ending with “I’m black Mar. 3, 2020 and white, but I’d love to play with you.” The story ends with 978-0-593-12417-8 a whole crew of colorful animals playing together (sans panda 978-0-593-11884-9 paper and zebra). Bursts of color and rough, expressive animal car- 978-0-593-11885-6 PLB toons carry the otherwise humdrum and uneven story. The use of present tense, abrupt transitions, and depthless prose fails A transplanted city girl and her magical dog embark on to elevate the tried-and-tired you’re-great-as-you-are narrative whimsical forest adventures. seen in countless other picture books. In this debut volume of a new graphic-novel series, readers Look elsewhere, whether in search of a story about con- meet plucky Aster, a white girl unhappy about her move to an formity, friendship, or just the color pink. (Picture book. 3-6) isolated mountain town. Within this offering, there are two stories. In the aptly titled first tale, “Aster Makes Some Poorly Thought-Through Wishes,” Aster meets a mysterious old THE LITTLEST VOYAGEUR woman who gives her an adorable white dog with a poofy tail Preus, Margi whom Aster names Buzz. Buzz and Aster happen upon a frog- Illus. by Pilgrim, Cheryl like creature (delightfully) called the Trickster Rapscallion who Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House offers her three wishes. She quickly discovers (as if the name (176 pp.) was not warning enough) that the trickster’s wishes are fraught $16.99 | Mar. 24, 2020 and must find her way out of her own badly worded choices. In 978-0-8234-4247-8 the next installment, entitled “Aster Gets a Magical Fox Exceed- ingly Upset,” she once again encounters and learns more about Stowing away with French Canadian the old woman who gave her Buzz as well as her connection fur traders in 1792, a loquacious red squir- to an enchanted power-hungry fox. The French team of writer rel embarks on a life-changing adventure. Pico and artist Karensac have crafted an accessible fantasy with Each spring, Jean Pierre Petit Le recognizable elements of our world (such as video games), but Rouge, a squirrel with wanderlust, watches brave, strong voya- they nicely focus the plot on nature and the outdoors, where geurs depart in canoes from Montreal and return the follow- the incredible is often adjacent to the mundane. Fans of the ing autumn. Determined to be a voyageur, Le Rouge hides in comics and Netflix show Hilda will see much common ground a canoe paddled by eight stout voyageurs, part of a brigade here and should easily gravitate toward the many similarities. of five. Soon his incessant chattering distracts the voyageurs, All human characters are white. who become separated from the rest of the brigade, but, after An entertaining and lighthearted fantasy. (Graphic fan ascending the highest tree, he points the crew back on course. tasy. 7-12) More than once, pesky Le Rouge barely escapes becoming squirrel ragout. He’s just beginning to feel like a real voyageur when they reach the trading post on Lake Superior, where he discovers the voyageurs exchanging their cargo for animal skins to return to Montreal. Heartsick, Le Rouge decides he cannot
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 157 be a voyageur if it involves trading animal skins, unless he can GERALDINE AND THE change things. Le Rouge relates his story with drama and flair, MOST SPECTACULAR presenting a colorful prism through which to view the daily life SCIENCE PROJECT of a voyageur. Peppered with historical facts and (italicized) Regwan, Sol French phrases and names, this exciting, well-documented tale Illus. by Muzzio, Denise (with a contemporary animal-rights subtext) proves educational Schiffer (32 pp.) and entertaining. Realistic pencil drawings highlight Le Rouge’s $16.99 | Feb. 28, 2020 memorable journey. 978-0-7643-5898-2 A rousing introduction to the life of a voyageur told Series: Gizmo Girl from a unique perspective. (map, pronunciation guide, his- torical and biological notes, recipe, further reading) (His Motivated by the possibility of winning a prize, a second torical fantasy. 7-10) grade gadgeteer gets to work. No sooner does young inventor Geraldine hear that there will be a prize for Best Second Grade Scientist in an unlikely OVER THE MOON classroom “science contest” than she races home to the boxes Proimos, James of random parts she’s extracted from various household appli- Illus. by Abbott, Zoey ances in the course of earlier tinkering. She proceeds to con- Chronicle (44 pp.) struct binoculars—using, somehow, old eyeglasses, “lenses” $17.99 | Mar. 10, 2020 from a camera, cardboard tubes, and a mirror—that “will make 978-1-4521-7715-1 it possible to see Mars from Earth!” (Um…should someone tell her she already can?) The illustrations depict Geraldine’s jum- A girl raised by wolves sets out on her bled supplies as what looks like piles of dirt with the occasional own. electric plug or bottle sticking out, and most of her supposed When two wolves find a baby -float inventions as visibly unworkable. Come the day, her contrap- ing down a river in a basket, they decide to bring her home and tion inexplicably stuns her classmates, winning out over a fish- raise her—even though, at first, one of the two wolves was hop- bowl ecosystem and a remote-controlled orrery (!), so (claims ing they would make her into a meal. The three become a loving, the narrator) proving to the class that she isn’t just a “mischie- albeit unlikely, family, and their days are filled with happiness. vous daydreamer” but “a scientist!” (A false dichotomy if ever Things change when the girl sees a group of children reading. there was one.) Look for more credible STEM-centric role When she talks to her wolf parents about it, they tearfully tell models (with worthier motives) in Andrea Beaty’s Ada Twist, her to follow her dreams even if it means leaving them. And so Scientist, illustrated by David Roberts (2016); Kimberly Derting the girl does: Every day, she attends school with other human and Shelli R. Johannes’ Cece Loves Science, illustrated by Vashti children, where she learns to read. In the evenings, she comes Harrison (2018); and elsewhere. Geraldine and most of her class back to her wolf family and teaches them everything that she present as white; there are two students with darker skin. has learned. Although their routines may have changed, the Doubtless well meant but a superficial view of what sci- unlikely family’s happiness has stayed the same. The illustra- ence both is and does. (Picture book. 6-8) tions combine clear, bold outlines with fuzzy, soft swaths of color, a winsome combination. In addition to being beautiful, the pictures are often hilarious: One spread shows the girl and BE YOU! one of the wolves lifting their legs next to trees in the forest, a Reynolds, Peter H. goofy image sure to make children and adults laugh. The text Illus. by the author is stark and lyrical, and Proimos is particularly adept at using Orchard/Scholastic (32 pp.) poetic devices like repetition to make the words sing. The girl $17.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 has pale skin and a mop of black curls; most of her new school- 978-1-338-57231-5 mates present white. A weird and wonderful tale. (Picture book. 3-7) An inspirational picture book offers life advice for readers who want to be themselves. Replete with sparkling, often quirky illustrations of chil- dren living their best lives, this book is a gorgeous guidebook for those seeking encouragement while encountering life’s chal- lenges. The children featured—a racially diverse group ranging from infants to preschoolers—cheerfully navigate the various injunctions that flow through the text: “Be curious.…Be adven- turous.…Be persistent.…Be kind.” What is remarkable about the book is that even though the instructions and the brief sentences explaining them are at times vague, the illustrations
158 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | Ryan beautifully layers thought-provoking topics onto her narrative while keeping readers immersed. mañanaland
expand on them in ways readers will find endearing and uplift- AMERICA’S FLAG STORY ing. Those depicting painful or challenging moments are espe- Robbins, Karen S. cially effective. The “Be persistent” double-page spread shows Illus. by James, J. a child in a boat on stormy seas; it’s rich with deep blues as it Schiffer (32 pp.) emphasizes the energy of wind and rain and struggle in the face $16.99 | Mar. 28, 2020 of challenge. Together with the accompanying repeated phrase 978-0-7643-5921-7 “Keep going, never stop. Keep going, never stop. Keep going, never stop,” this spread arrests readers. By contrast, the “Be An introduction to the Stars and Stripes for younger readers. kind. Be understanding” spread simply presents two children’s This brief, rhyming history of our flag purports to explain faces, one cast in blue and the other in gold, but the empathy its history and significance as a symbol of the United States. Its that Reynolds conveys is similarly captivating. While there is worthy goals seem to be stirring and engendering respect for no plot to pull readers through the pages, the book provides the flag. However, the book’s rambling, unfocused narrative rich fodder for caregivers to use as teachable moments, both and inconsistent, clunky, stumbling rhythms likely won’t cap- informally and in classroom settings. ture children’s attention or interest and may even confuse them. Both beautiful and inspiring as graduation gift or guide The book also perpetuates the myth of Betsy Ross (whose sur- to life. (Picture book. 3-6) name isn’t mentioned) as our flag’s progenitor. Positives include a mention of immigrants; an explanation of the symbolism of each of the flag’s colors; and excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther BLACK BROTHER, King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and the Pledge of Allegiance. BLACK BROTHER Additionally, the backmatter features examples of U.S. flags
Rhodes, Jewell Parker from 1775 to 1960; rules of basic flag etiquette; and highly useful young adult Little, Brown (240 pp.) instructional guides to folding the flag and cutting stars. The $16.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 very colorful illustrations far outshine the text and, indeed, are 978-0-316-49380-2 stirring, respectful, and thoughtful. Fort Sumter is juxtaposed with the Lincoln Memorial; a grizzled, brown-skinned veteran Following on Ghost Boys (2018), Rhodes kneels at the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial. Americans appear delivers another middle-grade novel that with diverse skin tones (one woman wears a hijab); some are takes on complex, historical topics while depicted as if in old photos. One interesting page shows several emphasizing young people’s agency and states and the Indigenous words their names are derived from healing. (though the original languages are not consistently identified). This outing starts with Donte Ellison wishing for invisibility, You may salute this, but, except for the illustrations, as compared to being a hypervisible “nighttime dark” student at this banner doesn’t fly high.(Picture book. 5-8) upper-crust, overwhelmingly white Middlefield Prep. Maybe if he were invisible, he wouldn’t constantly be in trouble for doing nothing—unlike his older and much-lighter-skinned brother, MAÑANALAND Trey, who walks the hallways with cool. A tragic, unjust incident Ryan, Pam Muñoz occurs early on when the headmaster sends for police officers Scholastic (256 pp.) to handcuff, arrest, and jail Donte after an incidental brush $18.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 with a teacher. Donte’s mother (she is black and their father 978-1-338-15786-4 white) challenges the school on its racism, yet within the social world of the schoolyard, the injustice is further compounded A boy journeys to self-discovery by bullies’ smirks. Donte responds by devising a plan to make through the power of stories and the school see him, in all his dignity, respect, and potential. traditions. He leaves the upper-class Boston suburb where he resides and Eleven-year-old Maximiliano Cór- heads to the inner-city Boys and Girl Club, where he finds a for- doba is ready for an idyllic summer. He mer star fencer who now serves his home community. Through plans to work hard as a builder for his this mentorship and other new relationships, Donte discovers father and train for fútbol tryouts. Plus, Max hopes dad will take more about the gifts of his identity and the pride of cultural him to visit the towering ruins of La Reina Gigante, a haunted heritage. These lessons in self-discovery offer a deeply critical hideout used in the past by the Guardians to hide refugees as insight for young readers. they fled Abismo, a war-torn, neighboring dictatorship.- How Placing biracial boyhood and the struggles of colorism ever, when Max must provide his birth certificate to join the at its center, the novel challenges readers to pursue their team, he feels his dream summer crumble away. The document own self-definition.(Fiction. 8-12) disappeared years ago, along with his mother, the woman with whom Max shares “leche quemada” eyes. Soon, Papá leaves on a three-week journey to request a new one, and Max finds him- self torn between two desires: to know the truth about why his mother left when he was a baby and to make the team. As Max
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 159 The text is perfectly matched by Ray’s jaw-droppingly beautiful illustrations. the tempest
discovers the enchanting stories his grandfather has been telling THE TEMPEST him for years have an actual foothold in reality, he must choose Shakespeare, William between his own dreams and those of others. Kirkus Prize win- Adapt. by Ellinas, Georghia ner Ryan (Echo, 2015) beautifully layers thought-provoking top- Illus. by Ray, Jane ics onto her narrative while keeping readers immersed in the Candlewick (32 pp.) story’s world. Although set in the fictional country of Santa $17.99 | Apr. 7, 2020 Maria, “somewhere in the Américas,” the struggles of refugee 978-1-5362-1144-3 immigrants and the compassion of those who protect the trav- elers feel very relevant. Mirth, magic, and mischief abound This tightly packed, powerful fantasy contains reso- in this picture-book retelling of one of Shakespeare’s most nant truths. (Fantasy. 7-14) famous plays. Ariel, the beloved sprite whose conjurings precipitate the eponymous tempest, gets top billing in this adaptation and DREAM BIG, LITTLE recounts the narrative in the first person. Through Ariel’s SCIENTISTS eyes, readers are introduced to the powerful Prospero, his A Bedtime Book lovely daughter, Miranda, and the shipwrecked nobles who are Schaub, Michelle brought to the island to right an ancient wrong. Ellinas’ picture Illus. by Potter, Alice book largely divests the tale of its colonialist underpinnings Charlesbridge (32 pp.) and breathes three-dimensional complexity into the major and $16.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 minor characters. Caliban, for instance, is monstrous due to 978-1-58089-934-5 his callous treatment of Ariel rather than because he is racially coded as savage. Another delightful change is the depiction Budding scientists bed down. of Miranda, who emerges as an athletic, spirited, and beauti- It’s time to go to sleep, and kids all over the neighborhood ful nature-child whose charms are understandably irresistible are exhausted. Each page of this book features a different, to Prince Ferdinand. The text is perfectly matched by Ray’s racially diverse child climbing into bed in a room decorated jaw-droppingly beautiful illustrations, which will enchant read- according to their preferred STEM field. A dark-skinned, curly- ers from the front cover to the final curtain. The greens of the haired tot, for example, is a sleepy budding astronomer who sits waters and the blues of the island’s night sky are so lush and invit- cross-legged on a quilt decorated with planets under posters ing that readers will wish they could enter the book. Peppered showing the moon’s phases. A lighter-skinned child wearing a throughout the story are italicized fragments of Shakespeare’s hearing aid is a botanist who checks their potted plants before dialogue, giving both young and older readers something to bedding down under posters of Thomas Meehan and George enjoy. Large, granite-colored Caliban is plainly nonhuman; the Washington Carver. A beige-skinned physicist who uses a human characters present white; Ariel is a translucent, paper wheelchair falls asleep next to a poster of Stephen Hawking and white. beneath a blanket patterned with positive and negative ions. A must-own adaptation chock-full of such stuff as kids’ An Asian child in a pair of orange pajamas pulls out a bedroll dreams are—and will be—made on. (Picture book. 4-8) in a room dedicated to anthropology. The rhyming text cleverly weaves context clues about each branch of science into the cou- plets, and the simple, clear language is fun and easy to read. The BROWN SUGAR BABE cartoon illustrations are packed with details, including a poster Sherman, Charlotte Watson that declares, “Climate Change is Happening Right Now” in the Illus. by Akem room of meteorologist twins, and numerous photos of diverse Boyds Mills (32 pp.) scientists and activists including Gabriel Fahrenheit, Wangari $17.99 | Jan. 7, 2020 Maathai, and Mary Anning. Children and adults alike will dis- 978-1-63592-138-0 cover something new with each reading. A clever and inclusive bedtime book about science and A caregiver responds to a child’s misgivings about being brown possibility. (Picture book. 3-6) skinned by extolling the beauty of being a “brown sugar babe.” Brown feet in toe shoes step over lion paw prints; a sil- houetted figure wears a large Afro. An adult addresses a child: “When you were born, it was dark / behind your sleeping eyes.” Soon after discovering “a world of color,” the child declares, “I’m pink,” and resists when the adult responds, “You’re brown like me.” The adult then lavishes upon the child—and read- ers—an almost dizzying number of endearing, beautiful, and often unusual expressions of what brown means. Brown is silent, like “tree rings that tell time,” or loud, like “the squeal of a violin.” Brown is accomplishments, like “a tutu and ballet
160 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | slippers / poised to take flight,” and brown is affection, like SOFTIES “an after-bedtime-story / kiss goodnight.” Brown “has its own Stuff That Happens After the special flavor,” feel, smell, and sound. Warm images of chil- World Blows Up dren and loving adults in gold and dark browns hues comple- Smeallie, Kyle ment the rhyming, poetic text, which is set in a large type that Illus. by the author emulates hand printing. Perfect for responding to or prevent- Iron Circus Comics (200 pp.) ing the feelings of inadequacy that too often plague brown- $15.00 | Mar. 17, 2020 skinned children, this book begs to be shared as a read-aloud 978-1-945820-48-9 with cuddles. Series: Softies Soul food. (Picture book. 3-9) Planet Earth has exploded, and 13-year-old Kay seems to be the sole survivor. MY NAME IS KONISOLA Floating in space, Kay finds herself salvaged by a pink, Siegel, Alisa reptilian extraterrestrial named Arizona, who helms a space- Second Story Press (152 pp.) ship that collects space debris. Kay seems to quickly adapt $10.95 paper | Mar. 17, 2020 to her new life as a passenger aboard the waste-collection 978-1-77260-119-0 vessel while Arizona and crew search the galaxy to find out what happened to Earth. In between and with plenty of ban- In this Canadian import, 9-year-old ter among the characters, Arizona makes stops at different Konisola must adjust to a new life in planets to sell the collected junk pile of space debris to buy-
Canada when she and her mother flee ers of all sorts. Over the course of planet-hopping through young adult Nigeria. these bizarre experiences, Arizona starts to feel responsible Konisola is playing with her friends in for Kay and begins to worry about the impact of Kay’s loss the schoolyard in Nigeria when her mother appears at the gate, of her home planet even as the acerbic Kay deflects when- rushing her into a car and then directly into the airport. She ever asked about the catastrophic event that has left her hasn’t seen her mother in almost a week, since the night when orphaned and stranded in space. Arizona is casually revealed her abusive uncle beat her. Now they are secretly flying to Can- to be gay and male; brown-skinned Kay’s ethnicity and heri- ada, where they depend on the kindness of strangers for shelter. tage are unexplored. Though the plot is episodic, it’s tied When her mother ends up in the hospital with advanced cancer, together thematically with a critique of overconsumption, Konisola moves in with Darlene, one of her nurses, and begins including how Earth’s waste pollutes beyond terra firma. The attending school. But how long will Darlene’s existing family consistent ignorance of Earth on the part of the ETs Kay tolerate having a troubled refugee staying in their home? And encounters is simultaneously a running joke and a wry com- will the immigration hearing allow Konisola to stay in Canada? ment on anthropocentrism. The story is compelling and gives a sense of the uncertainties A light space comedy laced with witty dialogue. (Graphic and difficult decisions that refugees face when they flee dan- science fiction. 10-14) gerous home situations. The generosity of the Canadians who help them is inspiring, especially since this is based on a true story. Unfortunately, the third-person present-tense narration, WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT which awkwardly shifts perspectives between Konisola and the I KNOW adults who care for her, treats the subject superficially, never Solter, Sonja K. quite delving deep enough into the emotions and relationships Little, Brown (224 pp.) that make up Konisola’s world, including, critically, Konisola’s $16.99 | Mar. 24, 2020 Muslim faith. 978-0-316-53544-1 This slim book serves a purpose—just—until immigra- tion stories that do the subject justice arrive on the scene. A 10-year-old suffers, endures, rages, (Fiction. 8-12) and heals after her uncle molests her. When Tori turned 8, Uncle Andy gave her a hamster. But when she’s 10, he sexually abuses her in the basement. The single act happens right before Tori opens the first-person, free- verse narration by telling readers that once you know what she knows, “you can’t / not know. / In your face, / under your eyelids.” Solter emphasizes the emotional effects both of the molesta- tion and of the disparate reactions she encounters when others hear about it. At first, Mom doesn’t believe Tori, compounding Uncle Andy’s atrocity and giving Tori a terrifying “whooshing- wave- / of-fire-and-ice-cold” in her body. She hears humming
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 161 and buzzing inside her head. But her 8-year-old sister is (sur- DON’T FEED THE COOS! prisingly, but believably and vitally) present for her, as is her best Stutzman, Jonathan friend when Tori—after distancing for a while—steels herself to Illus. by Fox, Heather tell her. Tori’s arc is about healing, her free-verse story more a Henry Holt (48 pp.) sketch than a fleshed-out deep dive, but it never skirts the big $17.99 | Feb. 25, 2020 things: emotional suffocation, powerlessness, silence, anger, 978-1-250-30318-9 and recovery. Tori goes from wanting to “shatter” her own face and “dead eyes” to feeling the approaching summer beckon her, If you give a coo a breadcrumb.... “hopeful / that I’ll join it / with all of its Maybes.” Race is unmen- While not a cumulative story like Laura Numeroff and Feli- tioned; Tori appears white or light skinned on the cover. cia Bond’s picture book about a mouse and a cookie, Stutzman This offering of hope after trauma is, importantly, unro- and Fox’s latest collaboration does function as a silly caution- manticized. (author’s note, resources) (Verse fiction. -8 14) ary tale of sorts: When the young protagonist of color fails to heed the text’s advice and gives a coo a breadcrumb, all heck breaks loose. The titular “coos” are pigeons, and like Mo Wil- THE STARS JUST UP lems’ bird, they have one-track minds. Single-mindedly intent THE STREET on getting ever more crumbs after the depicted child feeds just Soltis, Sue one coo, a whole flock follows the increasingly alarmed protag- Illus. by Davenier, Christine onist “through the park, down the street, all the way HOME.” Candlewick (40 pp.) This kid just can’t shake those birds! Avian havoc ensues in the $16.99 | Mar. 17, 2020 clean-lined, stylized cartoons and then heightens as, “to thank 978-0-7636-9834-8 you for feeding them, the coos will leave poos.” If it’s true that being pooped on by a bird brings good luck, Stutzman and Fox’s Can Mabel and Grandpa convince protagonist accrues some serious great fortune in the next others to shut off lights in order to spreads, which will undoubtedly provoke laughter among read- stargaze? ers observing the bright white splotches that dot the pages like Mabel’s grandfather loves telling tales of the night sky over a most unappetizing sprinkling of popcorn. If you can’t beat ’em, the prairie where he grew up. Mabel is especially drawn to his join ’em ends up being the poor, splattered child’s tactic, until a stories of stars since she loves looking up at the five stars she final return visit to the park reveals someone who’s been miss- can see from her bedroom window and the 19 “from her back- ing the coos ever since they left. yard in a narrow patch of sky.” She and Grandpa take a night Coo-coo storytime fun. (Picture book. 3-7) walk, seeking the thousands of stars visible during Grandpa’s childhood. They enlist some neighbors to shut off lights and join them—then about 200 stars can be seen. Realizing that IN THE RED more stars will be visible only if the streetlights are tempo- Swiedler, Christopher rarily off, Mabel and Grandpa appeal to the mayor—and are Harper/HarperCollins (288 pp.) refused. Undaunted, the duo begins a campaign flooding the $16.99 | Mar. 24, 2020 mayor’s office with support from many residents, but she still 978-0-06-289441-0 refuses, citing her commitment to safety even when a police officer and a parks and rec worker contradict her concerns. Hypothesis: If a 12-year-old with Finally, Mabel finds a way to the mayor’s heart; the story ends panic disorder gets stranded outside with a community event that promises to become traditional. the colony during a planetwide emer- Graceful, readable text underscores the protagonists’ loving gency, he’ll need all his smarts and grit to relationship. The art—watercolor washes over ink—is a sweet survive. complement, whether portraying daylight excursions or rev- Michael Prasad lives an ordinary life elers under the increasingly starry sky. Mabel, Grandpa, and inside a biodome on a future terraformed Mars. Despite his the mayor are white; there are people of color among town math and science abilities, Michael has failed his suit certifica- employees and residents. tion test due to a panic attack and hasn’t been allowed out on the It takes a village to control light pollution…gently surface since. When his best friend, Lilith, shows him a secret inspirational. (Picture book. 3-7) airlock, Michael takes the chance to prove himself. Together, they steal a rover and drive out to surprise Michael’s dad at the magnetic field station. But when a solar storm wrecks the arti- ficial magnetic field that shields the planet, they lose all satel- lite navigation and radio and eventually crash their rover. The friends must escape the deadly solar radiation on foot, navigat- ing harsh terrain, mechanical disasters, and a worsening storm with dwindling supplies. Swiedler’s debut is a clever and excit- ing read that casts a key female character as an intrepid explorer
162 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | The contradictions and the horrors of war are laid out in succinct, powerful prose. winter in wartime
and a supportive friend. Disappointingly, however, when it rural village, Michiel knows how to keep a secret. No longer comes to space science, Lilith is an ignorant foil to the lone boy able to attend school, he runs errands and helps his family give genius, who’s emotionally oblivious and thinks girls deliberately shelter and sustenance to people walking hundreds of miles to act confusing. Michael is biracial, with a South Asian father and bring food to their families in famine-stricken cities. He also white mother; other characters are implied white. listens with pride to Uncle Ben’s stories of his resistance work. Engaging but androcentric. (author’s note) (Science fic When Michiel’s neighbor is captured by the Nazis, Michiel tion. 8-12) becomes responsible for more secrets than he thought pos- sible. As winter stretches on and Michiel strives to do the right thing, he becomes increasingly embroiled in dangerous situa- RUN, SEA TURTLE, RUN tions that seem to precipitate terrible consequences. Originally A Hatchling’s Journey published in Dutch in 1973 and newly translated here, this grip- Swinburne, Stephen ping tale of conspiracy and humanity is based on the author’s Photos by Feuillet, Guillaume childhood memories of the war. Suspenseful third-person nar- Millbrook/Lerner (32 pp.) ration provides historically and culturally specific details along $27.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 with insight into Michiel’s inner thoughts. The contradictions 978-1-5415-7812-8 and the horrors of war are laid out in succinct, powerful prose. Winding to a quiet yet satisfying ending, Terlouw laments the The most fascinating part of this simple photo essay is the never-ending cycle of war. All characters are assumed white. last statement made by the narrator, a baby leatherback sea A nuanced perspective on World War II and a testa- turtle: “Someday I will come back to this same beach. I will lay ment to the power of a young person to resist. (Historical fic eggs of my own.” tion. 12-16) young adult Although further explained in the backmatter (written for adults), this promise omits the fact that these turtles often travel 10,000 miles per year. As the main audience of this IT’S OKAY TO BE A UNICORN! engaging description of leatherback sea turtles is very young Tharp, Jason children, and the book has a specific focus on the first days of Illus. by the author life, the author sticks to a few details about the physical activi- Imprint (40 pp.) ties undertaken by the hatchling as she makes her way from the $17.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 buried nest on a beach to the nearby sea. Readers might want 978-1-250-31132-0 to know where this beach is and where these turtles can be found, information not provided beyond the general statement Cornelius J. Sparklesteed knows he’s that “They live in all of the world’s oceans.” This is not strictly different, but he’s not sure that’s OK. true, as they are not found in the Arctic and Antarctic oceans. On the isle of Hoofington, the These quibbles aside, the easy-to-read text in clear type on blue Hoofapalooza festival celebrates “everything horse-tastic.” backgrounds combines with Feuillet’s large photographs (often Haberdasher Cornelius finds himself called to Mayor Mare’s close-ups) to give readers a step-by-step account of the new tur- office; the mayor wants the “most un-unicorny hat” that Corne- tle’s emergence from the egg to the top of the nest, across the lius can make for him for Hoofapalooza. You see, the horses of beach, to the water: “WATCH ME RUN!” Hoofington say some pretty mean things about unicorns (“Their An appealing, attractive, and accessible introduction horns are too sharp!”; “They fart rainbows!”). That’s why Corne- to endangered sea turtles. (further information, further lius always hides his horn under a hat. The hat Cornelius makes reading) (Informational picture book. 4-6) for the mayor is so fantastic that Mare asks Cornelius to per- form at Hoofapalooza. On Monday, Cornelius meets his dough- nut-making friend Tilly and suggests some creative ideas for WINTER IN WARTIME new flavors. On Tuesday, he meets painter Hablo and suggests Terlouw, Jan rainbows for his Hoofapalooza mural. Wednesday, he offers Trans. by Watkinson, Laura tips to DJ Salad. And all week, Cornelius works on his costume, New York Review Books (200 pp.) making it bright and sparkly, and broods about the mean things $12.99 paper | Feb. 4, 2020 he’s heard around the island. As he prepares to perform, he sees 978-1-68137-426-0 his creative friends have used and improved on his ideas…and he puts on the pranciest of dance performances with a hats-off A Dutch teenager is caught in a web finish to the astonished cheers of the audience. Tharp’s good- of wartime conspiracy. natured fable is bright and rainbow-y, with equines painted in When the German army invaded fanciful colors. Its lightness and pep present a weighty subject the Netherlands and Belgium, Michiel in a way that will resonate with any who have felt “other.” was 11. He thought war would be excit- A sweet and goofy addition to the unicorns-embrace- ing and hoped it would last a long time. Now, in the winter of their-uniqueness shelf. (Picture book. 3-9) 1944, he wishes the war would end. The son of the mayor of a
| kirkus.com | children’s | 15 december 2019 | 163 A fully realized story of a young girl adjusting admirably to new circumstances. the newspaper club
BIKE & TRIKE Creek Park gets closed due to mysterious, petty crimes, Nellie Verdick, Elizabeth feels compelled to investigate. She feels closest to her dad when Illus. by Biggs, Brian on the park’s swings, and she is more comfortable interview- Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster ing adults than befriending peers. Getting to know a plethora (48 pp.) of characters through Nellie’s eyes is as much fun as watching $17.99 | Feb. 25, 2020 Nellie blossom. Although astute readers will have guessed the 978-1-5344-1517-1 park’s vandalizers, they are rewarded by observing Nellie’s fact- checking process. A late revelation about Nellie’s father does A battered old tricycle and a new not significantly detract from this fully realized story of a young bike make friends—but not without hit- girl adjusting admirably to new circumstances. Nellie and her ting a few bumps in the road. mother present white; secondary characters are diverse. Lulu and Trike have been together for years…but Lulu keeps Nellie Bly’s contemporary namesake does her proud. getting bigger, and one day a brand-new birthday bike sails into (Fiction. 8-12) the garage: “Watch this trick,” he crows, popping a wheelie and zooming through Hula Hoop. Ignoring Trike’s cautions about safety (“Aw, back off, old-timer”), Bike proposes a riderless race WHERE’S LENNY? to the nearby woods. And so they’re off, with Trike struggling to Wilson-Max, Ken keep up (“You can DO this,” he tells himself, “for Lulu and the Illus. by the author way the two of us flew”). Then, seeing Bike careening heedlessly Kane/Miller (32 pp.) toward a cliff, Trike selflessly puts on an extra burst of speed to $15.99 | Mar. 1, 2020 head off disaster with a mighty collision. “I guess I have a lot to 978-1-68464-070-6 learn,” says penitent Bike, and back to the garage they go, “two winners on wheels.” Verdick tells the tale in a characteristic mix A loving family learns and plays in of exuberant sound effects and euphonic phrasing, with short this brightly colored picture book that promotes early literacy sentences making the relatively high page count fly. Along with skills. kitting out shiny Bike with splendid streamers, lights, training In this multiracial family, Daddy and Lenny have brown wheels, and even a horn, Biggs pairs Lulu at the end with an skin and tightly curled black hair, and Mommy has pale skin and equally thrilled little brother (both white) just the right size for straight black hair. The book opens as Lenny hides and Daddy a hand-me-down. sings and counts: “1 2 3 4 5 / Once I caught a fish alive. / 6 7 8 Everyone’s indeed a winner here, and the subtle mes- 9 10 / Then I let it go again.” Each number is painted in a dif- sage about safety consciousness is likewise right on track. ferent color, which combines with the rhyme to engage young (Picture book. 4-7) listeners in the learning. Lenny successfully eludes Daddy as a masterful hider, and Mommy and dog Wilbur complicate things for poor Daddy. Movement by the window is a wagging Wilbur, THE NEWSPAPER CLUB and a tap, tap, tap in the bathroom turns out to be Mommy fix- Vrabel, Beth ing a light. A giggle under a bright red blanket with a lively print Illus. by the author finally reveals Lenny, who is rewarded with lots of hugs and Running Press (208 pp.) kisses. In companion title Lenny and Wilbur, the boy and his dog $16.99 | Mar. 10, 2020 are best friends who enjoy each other’s company. It’s Wilbur’s 978-0-7624-9685-3 bath day, which Wilbur obediently relishes. Lenny shampoos Series: The Newspaper Club, 1 and brushes Wilbur’s fur, and Wilbur is rewarded with a treat. In his characteristic style of thick black lines and visible daubs Eleven-year-old Nellie’s investigative of paint, Wilson-Max beautifully renders this happy family. In reporting leads her to solve a mystery, both books gentle repetition facilitates learning. start a newspaper, and learn key lessons Equally apt as a picture book for older toddlers and about growing up. a beginning reader. (Picture book. 2-6) (Lenny and Wilbur: Nellie’s voice is frank and often funny—and always full of 978-1-68464-071-3) information about newspapers. She tells readers of the first meeting of her newspaper club and then says, “But maybe I’m burying the lede…what Dad calls it when a reporter puts the most interesting part…in the middle or toward the end.” (This and other journalism vocabulary is formally defined in a closing glossary.) She backtracks to earlier that summer, when she and her mother were newly moved into a house next to her mother’s best friend in rural Bear Creek, Maine. Nellie explains that the newspaper that employed both of her parents in “the city” had folded soon after her father left for business in Asia. When Bear
164 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | OIL find. In a world full of pastel-green grass and pink skies, delicate Winter, Jonah flora and fauna invite a closer look on every page. Done in ink Illus. by Winter, Jeanette and watercolor, the illustrations include one special page where Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster (40 pp.) Yu takes inspiration from the works of 18th-century naturalist $17.99 | Mar. 31, 2020 James Bolton. In this outing, the Korean references are subtle, 978-1-5344-3077-8 almost like a secret. A gentle, wholly accessible tale of quiet curiosity, the In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez love of family, and the hatching of eggs. (Picture book. 3-5) spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there. The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actual- board & novelty books ity to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the STIR CRACK WHISK BAKE disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened A Little Book About Little text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth Cakes “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in America’s Test Kitchen
“what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and Illus. by Frost, Maddie young adult thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s Sourcebooks Explore (24 pp.) “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. $9.99 | Sep. 3, 2019 Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. 978-1-4926-7773-4 Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters cov- ered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a America’s Test Kitchen invites young children to bake pre- cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For tend cupcakes. an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more diffi- Smiling bowls, cups, and spoons guide would-be cooks cult might this be for an animal-loving child? through the basic steps of baking. The instructions start out Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled clearly: “First, we gather the ingredients.” Then pretend takes with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informa over. Unfortunately, the applike instruction to “Use your finger tional picture book. 9-12) to drag each one to the counter” makes no sense, as the ingre- dients don’t actually move, and unlike Hervé Tullet’s books, the page turn does not work the appropriate magic. Nor can the THE LOST EGG spilled flour on the next page be brushed off. Similarly, swiping Yu, Brenna Burns a finger around the edge of a bowl will not mix batter, tapping Illus. by the author pictures of eggs will not crack them, and bowls of dry and wet Candlewick (40 pp.) ingredients cannot be combined just by shaking them. Finally, $16.99 | Mar. 17, 2020 after many pretend steps, the child can count down with the 978-1-5362-0492-6 timer until the cupcakes are done. On the next spread they are Series: Hazel and Twig asked to blow on the cakes to cool them enough to frost. Then a bowl of frosting magically arrives, and the child is invited to Hazel and Twig return for a tender, mouse-sized story about “dip your fingers in the frosting” to frost each cake. Yes, this is sisterhood, nature, and belonging. imaginary play. But simple, age-appropriate instructions—mea- In this follow-up to The Birthday Fortune (2018), Hazel and sure, mix, pour, bake, frost, sprinkle, enjoy—accompanied by Twig are woodland discoverers of simple wonder. Hazel is the clear illustrations would more effectively entice toddlers into older sister, full of answers and slightly bothered by wander- the kitchen than this. Counterintuitively, there is no simple ing younger sister Twig. Twig, bringing a toddlerlike joy to each recipe with tips on baking with tots for caregivers. page, undoes Hazel’s daisy chain, loses her own shoe, and finds Sweet idea, but these cupcakes are missing some key an abandoned egg. With help from their parents (with Korean ingredients. (Board book. 2-4) names of Umma and Appa, which mean mother and father), the sisters plan for the raising of their newfound egg, including flight lessons and worm catching. But when Twig is separated from the family, Hazel appreciates the importance of reunit- ing this baby with its parents. The care the mouse sisters show for the lost egg as they search for its nest is earnest and seri- ous. They carefully compare its size and color to other eggs they
| kirkus.com | board & novelty books | 15 december 2019 | 165 FUN AT THE FAIR things like cleaning up messes together or changing diapers, Illus. by Arrhenius, Ingela P. tasks which often fall to mothers. Chronicle (10 pp.) Sweet and affectionate. (Board book. 6 mos.-3) $8.99 | Mar. 10, 2020 978-1-4521-7493-8 MY BABY LOVES CHRISTMAS This diminutive board book presents Asim, Jabari the delights to be found at a fair. Illus. by Whitaker, Tara Nicole Tiny in both size and number of Harper/HarperCollins (20 pp.) pages—just five double-page spreads— $7.99 | Sep. 17, 2019 this will fit wee hands easily and will be easy to manipulate. The 978-0-06-288462-6 thick die-cut pages stack from smallest to largest, each page die cut to resemble the object it represents: a merry-go-round on Holiday cheer with Baby. recto and popcorn truck on its verso; an old fashioned train; a “Baby loves candy canes wrapped in a bow. / Baby loves jingle roller coaster; bumper cars; swings; assorted carnival games, and bells. Baby loves snow.” Asim’s rhyming verse enumerates every- finally a Ferris wheel. While the saturated colors of the illustra- thing that Baby loves about Christmas: the wreath and its rib- tions and the tactile book format will be appealing to the littlest bons, the tree with gifts beneath it, a family Christmas carol readers, the limited, unattributed text is uninspired and flat: singalong, making gingerbread “men,” hanging stockings, and, “Welcome to the fun fair! / Where the roller coaster goes up then of course, Santa. Whitaker contributes ever-so-slightly retro- down. / The bumper cars spin and zoom. / The swings swish and tinged illustrations that recall stylings seen in mid-20th-century twirl. / And the Ferris wheel goes round and round. There’s so Little Golden Books. Where this offering departs from those much fun to be had at the fair!” It’s a pity the text can’t rise to hoary classics is in its joyous depiction of a black, onesie-clad the level of excitement it promises fairgoers. The colorful and toddler protagonist celebrating the rituals of the holiday within stylized illustrations portray a large number of people—equally a black nuclear family. Baby and Mommy share ebullient black divided between bright-pink and brown skin tones. curls (Mommy’s are loose while Baby’s are confined with a rib- Little hands will enjoy holding this small, chunky book; bon); Daddy sports a close-cropped beard and a fade. Mommy’s adult readers can supply their own text. (Board book. 1-3) skin is a tad darker than Daddy’s and Baby’s. Little listeners will love spotting the protagonist’s happy tabby kitten in each spread, and black families in particular will appreciate such MY DADDY AND ME thoughtful details as a black Nutcracker doll and black Santa Ashman, Linda among all the poinsettias and garland that bestrew the house. Illus. by Massey, Jane With its gold-foil cover and celebration of commonly depicted Cartwheel/Scholastic (20 pp.) Christmas traditions, it blends right in with other offerings pro- $8.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 duced for the season—and as it does, it stands proudly out. 978-1-338-35976-3 A sweet and easy book to share with little ones at Christmastime. (Board book. 1-3) There are so many different kinds of dads in the world that support their kids in so many different ways. SANTA’S COOKIE IS MISSING! This rhyming board book follows fathers and children Ayala-Kronos, Chris through a typical day for a toddler and parent, starting with Illus. by Passchier, Anne waking up and continuing until bath-and bedtime. Dads are HMH Books (16 pp.) cheerfully involved in every activity, whether it’s giving their $8.99 | Sep. 10, 2019 children breakfast, planting a garden together, or going for 978-0-358-04054-5 walks. In every picture, from morning until night, the fathers depicted are delighted by parenthood, and their children are Santa’s cookie disappears on Christ- thrilled to spend time with their dads. The watercolor-and-ink mas Eve, and a series of cut-out concentric circles offers pos- illustrations utilize a gentle, pastel palette to depict fathers and sible locations for the renegade treat. children with a variety of skin tones and racial backgrounds. The story in this board book is simple: “After our feast, San- The lilting text reads aloud easily and is simple and predict- ta’s cookie goes missing! Where could it be? / Hanging on the able enough for even very small children to memorize and read tree? // Is it on the wreath?” And so the tale progresses, ques- along. “Daddy wakes before I rise. / Drinks his coffee. Rubs his tion after question, the circles growing smaller and smaller until eyes. / Sees me standing on the stair. / Picks me up. Smooths my at last the mystery is solved. The fun of this is the concentric hair.” Paired, the art and words create a loving, nurturing tone. circles, some adorned with red sparkles, others with shiny The book’s only shortcoming is its tendency to place the dads green foil. The best are the guesses in which the circle is clev- in fairly stereotypically male parenting activities, like teaching erly included in the illustration, such as the middle snowball of children to ride bikes or giving them baths, rather than doing a snowman or the center of a keyhole. The cookie is visible all
166 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | young adult - - too terrifying.
speci- Triceratops adult is Triceratops is the size of a Velociraptor turkey, Tyrannosaurus rex not Tyrannosaurus Series: Animal Facts and Flaps Animal Facts Series: Scholastic (32 pp.) Bored Books Series: Never DINOSAURS! HELLO, MY TUTU TOO! I LOVE Boughton, Sam $12.99 | Sep. 17, 2019 $12.99 | Sep. 17, Templar/Candlewick (16 pp.) (16 Templar/Candlewick Burach, Ross Burach, Illus. by the author Illus. $7.99 | Mar. 3, 2020 | Mar. $7.99 978-1-5362-0809-2 Illus. by the author Illus. 978-1-338-50427-9 5) - Diplodocus is two school buses long, a Sure to appeal to budding paleontologists everywhere. Colorful, fun, and informative guide for pint-sized dinosaur pint-sized for guide informative and fun, Colorful, Kid-friendly and more informative than most dino books Under the Under guise of counting from one to 10, exuberant ani- A goofy-looking penguin declares its love for the pink tutu tutu pink the for love its declares penguin goofy-looking A ble-tiered purple tutu; a bug—in a “teeny tiny tutu,” of course; course; of tutu,” tiny “teeny a bug—in a tutu; purple ble-tiered black-and-white handsaw, to which the text likens its enormous, its likens text the which to handsaw, black-and-white beasts: like like style that makes even labeled “CARNIVORE.” rex’s Folding T. head back reveals a have been found in rex T. poop!” Several racially diverse kids phones: “ ‘I know a ewe with a do?’ new / tutu.’ ‘I / do.’ ‘You / panorama—occasionally folding out to pages wide—is three organized or around types even of dinosaurs four or habi- rendered in bright colors on a white background in a child- it is a rollicking tutu lovefest expressed with plenty of allit mals express their love for tutus. men on a plate. another Yet reads, “Crushed dinosaur bones inspecting, and riding on the dinosaurs depicted. In addition sharp teeth. Another marginal illustration, captioned, “Watch tats. While most featured dinosaurs are land dwellers, prehis toric reptiles of the sea and sky appear as well. Dinosaurs are to teaching the difference between herbivores and carnivores, the book also conveys a sense of the scale of these prehistoric the size of an elephant, and a eration, rhythm, and, most a especially, clever play on - homo even a little sharing thrown in for good measure when the enthusiasts. out! T. rex is looking for its lunch,” shows a around its waist. Soon other animals join in: a bear, in a dou- a toucan; a gnu—“who knew?”; two tunas; a ewe; an elephant; and a crocodile. But this is much more than a counting book; appear in each scene, like toddler scientists variously toddler observing, like appear in each scene, for tots, this lift-the-flap dinosaur book for any iskid with a greatan interest in step next the subject. Each double-page for example. Make Make no mistake, though; the king of the dinosaurs is clearly (Board book. 2 ‘Woo-hoo!’ / ‘Yodel-lay-hee-EWE!’ ” And that’s And not ” that’s all; there’s / ‘Yodel-lay-hee-EWE!’ ‘Woo-hoo!’ - - - 2) - hello, dinosaurs! hello, | 15 december 2019 | 167 books | kirkus.com | board & novelty 3) - not too terrifying. rex Tyrannosaurus even Mommy, Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, and A counting A board book based on the popular children’s song “Baby Shark.” popular children’s HIDE-AND-SEEK, SHARK! BABY Cartwheel/Scholastic (12 pp.) $8.99 | Sep. 3, 2019 Illus. by Bajet, John John John by Bajet, Illus. 978-1-338-60500-6 Dinosaurs are rendered in a childlike style that makes style that a childlike in are rendered Dinosaurs Stick with the song; skip the book. (Board book. 6 mos The playful design gives this Christmas book high blues, and greens. There isn’t a lot of detail in the images, allowThere isn’t blues, and greens. bit of a wink to the readers: where’s Santa’s “Hey, milk?” The where the cookie winds up, it should elicit a smile. winds up, where the cookie with me,” while all of the other sharks run (“running” sharks where it actually is remains hidden throughout the book. Pass nal song) Baby and Shark swim is away. told to hide-and- “go really it’s just seeking. These idiosyncrasies sink this book. raised, vinyl shark from the scene. Rhyming text includes including elves, are diverse. There is a consistent color palette ing the focus to remain on the cutouts. The book ends with a its quality reads like a hurried cash grab capitalizing on the it sounds ludicrous.) The text and plot, such as it is, don’t song’s popularity. song’s separate separate pages, they add little. readers Younger who adore seek” in the end—haven’t they been playing all along?—but appeal young to readers. (Board book. 1 the song will surely be charmed by the book even though tambourine-playing sea horse that appears identical on two the number of sharks remaining along with the directive for the next shark, and each two-page layout includes a sing- chier’s chier’s illustrations depict Santa as white, but other characters, answer to that is also on the final double-page spread, and given and double-page spread, final the on also is that to answer always cohere. Grandma, for example, is invited “to play able line such as, and “Run hide, doo doo doo doo doo doo.” acter acter swims to hide, the turn of the page removes a soft, along, including from the cover, but of course the mystery of featuring the obvious red and green along with pastel pinks, don’t quite don’t make sense, but they do “run away” in the origi- Grandma Grandma help Baby Shark play hide-and-seek. As each char (Woe betide the adult who doesn’t know the tune, as spoken, astune, the know spoken, doesn’t who adult the betide (Woe The illustrations are plain and vary little from page to page. sea Tiny creatures playing instruments are cute, but the like Illustrations make clever use of patterns that are sure to appeal to young eyes. be curious!
elephant reveals “I wish I had a tutu too,” and the crocodile DON’T SHAKE THE PRESENT! responds with “I have TWO tutus! I can share my blue tutu!” Illus. by Cotter, Bill With 10 creatures now in tutus, “ENOUGH with the tutu talk Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (22 pp.) already. It’s time to… / DANCE!” What fun, and then: “Phew.” $6.99 | Oct. 1, 2019 Burach’s bright cartoons are whimsical and humorous, the ani- 978-1-4926-9166-2 mals’ faces brimming with expression. Large, pink numerals appear on recto in each spread that introduces a new number The concept is familiar: a board book while on verso they are spelled out in pink capital letters. that invites applike interaction. Who knew a tutu-clad clan could have so much fun? Speaking directly to readers, Larry, a bulbous, purple mon- (Board book. 2-4) ster with one tooth, tiny purple horns, and large, expressive eyes, explains, “This is my present. I REALLY want to open it, but I’m not supposed to yet.” The appearance of Santa on BE CURIOUS! the last page confirms that the green package with its large red Cho, Joy bow is a Christmas gift. Spoiler alert: The box is merely a decoy. Illus. by Stalker, Angie The “real present” is “something you’re always allowed to open: Cartwheel/Scholastic (16 pp.) THIS BOOK!” In between, young readers are invited to shake $9.99 | Apr. 7, 2020 the present to make it shrink, shake it up and down to stretch 978-1-338-35634-2 it tall, and shake it side to side to enlarge it to the margins of Series: Oh Joy! the spread. Children accustomed to enlarging pictures on a screen or tablet will understand the instruction to “SHRINK A yellow cat leads readers through a world of color in this the present with your fingers” but will lose interest when noth- lift-the-flap book that is nominally about the five senses. ing changes until the page is turned. The most successful inter- First, cat and readers follow a blue rabbit through a black actions are when Larry “accidentally” pulls on the ribbons, but “magical door” flap covering a die cut that leads into a room even that result—Larry is sucked into the box and expelled, decorated for a birthday party, complete with a rainbow of screaming, “AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!” with a “BOING” and hats, a ceiling crowded with multicolored balloons, and a a “DOINK”—remains disappointingly static. Children used to speaker spewing a dancing pattern of musical notes. In this instantaneous responses or those who’ve experienced the bril- spread, the rhyming text asks children to talk about what liant simplicity of Press Here will not be amused. they listen to that makes them dance and points out the color Not as great a gift as it thinks it is. (Board book. 2-4) pink. This textual pattern continues, as the yellow cat smells and tastes cakes and cookies that are yellow, sees party hats stacked on the head of an orange squirrel, and feels a “cool LITTLE FOAL’S BUSY DAY breeze” blow through a blue sky. The flaps are well designed Illus. by Donovan, Jane Monroe and easy for small hands to manipulate. Stalker’s illustrations Sleeping Bear Press (18 pp.) make clever use of patterns that are sure to appeal to young, $8.99 | Sep. 15, 2019 curious eyes. While the text is musically written and the 978-1-53411-068-7 illustrations are beautifully textured, the book doesn’t quite meet its educational potential. The color noted on each page, Follow a sleek black foal frolicking for example, is not always the dominant hue and therefore through an idyllic day. may be difficult for children to identify. The five senses are Starring a long-legged, curious foal with a white star on woven into most pages but not every page and therefore feel its forehead that ensures recognizability even when it’s amid tenuously connected. Overall, though, the story is charming a crowd, this board book is clearly made by and for horse fan- and the pictures enjoyable regardless of the educational mes - ciers. Within sweeping, lush pastoral scenes, the foal wakes sage’s execution. up next to its dam, gallops about, views other horses and ani- This colorful and clever tale may miss the educational mals, and returns to the barn to rest. Taking readers through mark but nails the entertainment. (Board book. 1-3) the foal’s day seems intended to unify the narrative, but with only a tedious list of activities, the book feels like a collection of lavish horse paintings with extraneous text. The oils used in the full-bleed double-page spreads are a relatively uncom- mon board-book medium, and the resulting formal, nostalgic art is an attractive change of pace. Beyond the pretty, paint- erly art, however, the stiff language that eschews contractions sounds more reminiscent of an early reader than a board book: “It is time to go to the big field.” There are some attempts to involve readers, as when the omniscient narrator asks the foal to identify “who is walking in the grass.” Yet the answer—a cat—is obscured by grass. A frilly white typeset with swoops
168 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | young adult - 4) - 3) - A A bilingual Spanish/English spatial- CERCA / CLOSE CERCA Candlewick (14 pp.) Candlewick LITTLE OF COLOR HEROES Difference Herrera, Juan Felipe Juan Herrera, Cartwheel/Scholastic (24 pp.) $7.99 | Sep. 17, 2019 | Sep. 17, $7.99 Heredia, David Heredia, Illus. by Gómez, Blanca Illus. $10.99 | Dec. 26, 2019 $10.99 978-0-7636-9062-5 50 Who Made a Big Made 50 Who Illus. by the author Illus. 978-1-338-32642-0 (Novelty/board book. 1 Highplayon value and lowinformationalon literaryor Herrera—U.S. poet laureate frompoet laureate 2017—introduces2015 to Herrera—U.S. Each page of this board colorful book fourbetween contains This book falls short its of promise. (Board book. 3 A A compendium of profiles of people color of who have book nestled in its own section. candy-box–like Cover images breaking the flow, nor does there seem to be any unifying threads unifying any be to seem there does nor flow, the breaking little fingers as toys than books. little fingers as heroes chosen are diverse in terms of their race, ethnicity, gender, gender, ethnicity, race, their of terms in diverse are chosen heroes set is contained in a sturdy box with a magnetic closure, each shape of the books may mean that they prove more popular for ship have changed the world. The descriptive text for each leader each for text descriptive The world. the changed have ship the concept of proximity in a series of simple statements that them back in storage, a superfluous feature. The square, blocky them back in storage, a superfluous feature. the range is impressive, it is also confusing: A few sentences of some of the choices of heroes to the areAdditionally, groupings. home his in even known hardly is Biswas Sudehanshu leader” tual content. changed the world. changed the world. country of India. country of India. chosen is extremely short—only one outlining each background, person’s heritage, sentence accomplishments, long—quickly boldwith rendered question, in leader illustrationthe of cartoon colors and nearly identical in their Thesimplified facial features. awareness concept book. awareness concept and nine profiles of people ofcolor whose activism and leader additional text sporadically appear, serving little purpose and and little else. Each profile is accompanied by a bobbleheadlike athlete American African including expertise, of areas and ability, and artist Ernie Barnes, Dominican fashion designer Oscar de la for each title appear on the bottom of the box to aid in placing dent of Ecuador Lenín Moreno, who uses a wheelchair. Although wheelchair. a uses who Moreno, Lenín Ecuador of dent questionable: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, for example, was often criticized for engaging in corruption and doing little to further the cause of women’s rights, while “spiri- Renta, Renta, Kwakwaka’wakw artist Ellen Ka’kasolas Neel, and presi- - 4) - | 15 december 2019 | 169 books | kirkus.com | board & novelty 3) - Series: Clever Mini Board Books HAPPY HEART Clever Publishing (54 pp.) 9 Mini Books Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (14 pp.) Schuster Little Simon/Simon & Korchemkina, Tatiana & Guz, Anna & Guz, Tatiana Korchemkina, Eliot, Hannah Eliot, $16.99 | Oct. 22, 2019 $7.99 | Dec. 3, 2019 $7.99 ANIMAL WORLD Illus. by Elkina, Ekaterina; Jirenkina, Elena; Jirenkina, Ekaterina; by Elkina, Illus. Illus. by Hammer, Susie by Hammer, Illus. 978-1-948418-52-2 978-1-5344-3202-4 More a compilationa More horse of art than book,a this is nev Each book, measuring a little over 1¾ inches square and It It is a hug, a kiss, and a valentine rolled into one—and This set of nine miniature board books introduces young- The edges of each page are cut into different designs to emu- to designs different into cut are page each of edges The In this In heart-shaped confection, the narrator declares their just as fleeting. (Board book. 6 mos. by taxonomy (“Insects and Bugs”), habitat (“Forest Animals”), bookends bookends the smaller opening one as the prose declares: “For layered look when closed, culminating with a giant heart that late the sun’s rays, late the the outlines sun’s of trees, the Earth, flowers, and love for young readers. worked worked on the simple cartoon illustrations, and it shows, with relationship with humans (“Pets”; Animals”), “Farm and more. is a stylized but fairly realistic mallard, and the duck from “Life The back bathtub. it belongs in a child’s looks like in the Pond” ing is narrow, the whole enterprise is considerably sturdy. It’s an It’s sturdy. considerably is enterprise whole the narrow, is ing image is a tiny, emoji-like icon emoji-like grinning imageat readers, is and a brightly tiny, more and are frosted with a sparkly layer of glitter that resists styles varyingexample, For the dramatically. duck from “Birds” sters to animals spanning the globe. to sters siastic, mostly rhyming text appears in a multicolored type on you my heart grows / because I love you so!” While the - bind the creatures from inside the pages, and when the books are the white background of the verso. Four different illustrators the The verso. pages increase in size with each page turn, for a the energetic rubbing of little fingers. In the center of each ertheless a loving ode all to things equine. (Board book. 2 of each book features one-ninth of a scene featuring a few of entirely forgettable but bright bagatelle, good for a few readings. few a for good bagatelle, bright but forgettable entirely colored colored accompanying spot art is sprinkled throughout. Enthu- emn tone. emn tone. all flipped over, kids can assemble them like a puzzle. The animal appearing on the recto and a one-word label centered on centered label one-word a and recto the on appearing animal and curves seems oddly mismatched to the art and text’s sol- Each title contains five chunky double-page spreads with an 1¼ inches thick, tackles a different set of creatures grouped start with a child getting ready to go out and end with the child YOGA BABY approaching a friend’s house. The statements are presented Hovey, Amy first in Spanish followed by italicized English, effectively- nor Orca (24 pp.) malizing the Spanish. “Mi cuarto está cerca de la cocina. / My $10.95 | Oct. 1, 2019 bedroom is close to the kitchen.” Gómez’s color-saturated illustra- 978-1-4598-1828-6 tions portray a child in a jaunty striped T-shirt and two cute pigtails proceeding from bedroom to kitchen to door, daisies, Wiggly babies are natural yogis! apple tree, horses, and, finally, the friend’s house. By breaking Babies are constantly hard at work, up the journey into incremental “cerca / close” steps the author learning how to make their bodies roll, crawl, pull up, walk, brings the close friendship into focus. Companion volume Lejos and sit independently. These foundational movements and the / Far starts with the same two characters under a lemon tree, triumph of achieving them are expressed in this board book with the friend—now the main character—looking back to the through beautiful full-color photographs. Diverse babies rep- house in the distance. This time the emphasis is on places that resenting a spectrum of ages, skin tones, and gender presenta- are far: from lemon tree to house, city, ocean, and mountains. tion are shown moving their bodies into shapes and positions As the child walks in the mountains holding a caregiver’s hand, that resemble common yoga poses. The opposite page in each clouds can be seen far above, and further than that is the sun: spread names a pose in bright text and includes three lines of “El sol brilla sobre mí. / The sun shines over me.” Both the children rhyming text. For example, the photo that accompanies “Cobra and the adult have brown skin and black hair. Baby” shows a masculine-presenting toddler appearing to be of Quiet, simple, and sweet. (Board book. 2-4) (Lejos / Far: East Asian heritage lying prone and using hands to press chest 978-0-7636-9062-5) and head off the ground, creating a shape reminiscent of bhu- jangasana, or cobra pose, while the text encourages, “tummy to floor / slither on your belly / and wiggle some more.” The shapes OPPOSITES presented are natural for baby and toddler bodies, and the text, Honsek, Larissa though mundane, is simple and brief. Young readers will delight Illus. by the author in seeing images of real baby faces and bodies, and adults will Familius (20 pp.) enjoy watching their children mimic the movements they see, $8.99 | Aug. 1, 2019 especially if they choose to move along too! 978-1-64170-143-3 Adorable and well-designed for babies and toddlers. (Board book. 6 mos.-3) Anthropomorphized clay creations demonstrate oppositional pairs. Whether these clay creatures are rolled into a round, MAX’S RAINFOREST “SMOOTH” ball or a “SPIKY,” hedgehoglike blob, Honsek ADVENTURE imbues the colorful chunks of inanimate clay with a whole Jardine, Hannah lot of personality. Though helped along by digitally rendered Illus. by Waring, Zoe round, sparkling googly eyes, small, black smiles, and expressive Clever Publishing (10 pp.) eyebrows, the clay remains more abstract and symbolic than $7.99 | Oct. 8, 2019 representational. Since there’s only the strikingly minimal- 978-1-948418-77-5 ist full-bleed backgrounds setting off the representations, the clay depends on little touches, such as differently sized eyes Max, a satchel-bearing brown, tailed or a folded-over piece on a “BIG” flattened circle that implies monkey, explores his rainforest home. hair, to lend personality and charisma. Portraying 11 different On these extra-thick board pages, opposites, counting a set on the back cover, most of the con- Max meets Charlie the crocodile, James the jaguar, and Tyler cepts are clear and understandable. A representative pair shows the toucan. Each critter, along with Max, shares details from a “LONG” purple snakelike creature meandering across a teal their lives and makes an associated sound: “SNAP!”; “ROAR!”; double-page spread juxtaposed with a “SHORT” blue wormlike “CROAK!” In the end, Max journeys home to tell his friends one. Occasionally the duos delve into sophisticated use of color and family about his adventures. This slight narrative is told and shape theory, like a golden “HAPPY” critter with corners through simple prose and easy dialogue. Waring’s whimsical splayed outward contrasting with a slumped, droopy blue “SAD” animals are inviting, with oversized eyes and childlike appeal in one, though “HOT” and “COLD,” shown as a bright crimson muted colors. Max, refreshingly, is never played for a fool but flame and a spiky snowflake creation, may be too abstract for instead navigates his environment with friendly confidence and younger readers to easily interpret. greets each animal as an equal. Also refreshing is the care taken Simple yet sophisticated, this board book is fun from to include only animals found in one specific rainforest habitat, start to finish.(Board book. 1-4) in this case a South American one, rather than jumbling them together from around the world. The different spreads bleed into one another with little indication they are not part of the same scene, which may confuse toddlers still learning book
170 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | young adult - - 3) - 444 -
, Turn Your Turn, My 71124 - 0 - push, a description that feels and , for example, the One Time author More Series: Bright Start Right Start ONE MORE TIME Loewen, Nancy $12.95 | Sep. 17, 2019 $12.95 | Sep. 17, Illus. by Quintanilla, Hazel Michelle Hazel by Quintanilla, Illus. 978-0-7112-4441-2 A Story About Perseverance A Story About Words & Pictures (10 pp.) & Pictures Words 4) - (My Turn, Your Turn: 978 Turn: Your Turn, (My 4) , Turn Ms. Wright, Your who Turn, My is presum- - are black while in One Time More (Board book. 2 Child-friendly examples teach toddlers socio-emotional High educational value offsets limited literary merit. In In this Bright Start series a entry, grandfather teaches the An ephemeral but pleasantly coherent take on the viral hit. Shark” hand motions. Grandma shark (distinguished by faint haps they forgot their dentures?) swims up next, and then all are all then and next, up swims dentures?) their forgot they haps limited page length and simple language make these books ideal books these make language simple and length page limited up. Cue “doo doo doo.” Then Daddy shark doo appears, doo.” and a up. third Cue “doo panion title wrinkles around the lips, as is Grandpa on the next page—per rative and peopling it with diverse children. Like all the other will find both familiar and relevant. While the predictability it relies heavily on its readers’ preexisting familiarity with the narrator, narrator, a gender-ambiguous child, to ride the blue scooter song for its success. narrator narrator in seen grinning like the “hungry sharks” they are before the chil- skills. illustrations that include characters of color: Grandpa and the spends seven pages detailing how the protagonist learns to bal- they got for their birthday. In the process of In trying, falling,they got and for their birthday. trying again, the child learns a lesson in perseverance. In - com the page, it shark!” is and joined another by child “Mama walks they were fighting over. Both books feature duotone cartoon tedious and does not contribute to the narrative. That said, the the narrative. to and does not tedious contribute child joins the group, pointing as the earlier two make the “Baby the make two earlier the as pointing group, the joins child ous hands. Laudably, ous the hands. narratives Laudably, use examples that children of the storylines will appeal to young readers, the stories verge on the monotonous. In ably a teacher, helps Malik and Cora share a toy airplane that ambiguous. chunky Textured, pages will appeal to small, curi- dren, now numbering five, “runaway!” to join their caregivers, then ance, push, then balance for teachers or parents looking for quick and easy tools to use to to use to tools easy and quick for looking parents or teachers for socio-emotional development. foster Malik Malik is dark skinned, and light-skinned Cora is ethnically (Board book. 2 “Baby Shark”–themed books in the current tsunami, however, “safe “safe at last!” Kudos to Lewis for creating a plausible visual nar - - - 8) - mary had a little lamb had a little mary 1110 - 5362 - 1 | 15 december 2019 | 171 books | kirkus.com | board & novelty - 3) - A A trip to the aquarium triggers a and give little learners much to talk about. little learnersand give to much BABY SHARK! BABY MARY HAD A LITTLEMARY LAMB Candlewick (22 pp.) Candlewick Henry Holt (24 pp.) Henry Holt Lewis, Stevie Lewis, $8.99 | Sep. 3, 2019 $8.99 | Jan. 7, 2020 7, $8.99 | Jan. Jarvis Illus. by the author Illus. 978-1-5362-1111-5 978-1-250-26318-6 A Colors Book A Colors “Baby Shark” flash mob. (This 978 Little Piggy: Doo doo doo doo doo doo!” The verse repeats 4) Childlike illustrations the action provide clues to Childlike - Childlike Childlike illustrations with chalked backgrounds provide Engaging fun with a well-disguised bonus lesson on col This fresh take on the traditional nursery rhyme aims to A parent A and child enter the aquarium hand in hand. “Will A sturdy choice for toddler animal lovers with endear but that’s all of a piece with the overall Companion whimsy. bears, a purple mouse, a green crocodile, and a yellow giraffe. his body, on the cover will appeal to the core audience. audience. core the will the cover on appeal to his body, packed the very best lunch… / just big enough to share.” There’s There’s share.” to enough big just / verylunch… the best packed ing art and a slight (Board story. book. 1 pattern pattern continues for a pink hippo, a red three monkey, blue wich, hot dogs, drinks with swirly straws, fruit, doughnuts, even fruit,doughnuts, straws, swirly with drinks dogs, hot wich, was there.” Surprise, they’re going to the park. “For Mary had we we see a shark?” the child asks. we “Will see a baby shark?” Of no telling how this feast—cake, an enormous submarine sand- rough play. The full-size illustration of Max, shaped to look like like look to shaped full-sizeThe illustration Max, of play. rough sheep following a backpack-clad Mary, presumably on the way to to way the on presumably Mary, backpack-clad a following sheep back looking be to seems child The profile. in presented school, is punctuated by a concluding “Baby shark!” With the turn of sible) shark pup smiles from the tank…and the earworm takes takes on the numbers from one to 10. on the numbers from one to title This Little Piggy takes text reads, “Now everywhere that Mary went, this colorful crew colorful this went, everywhere Mary that “Now reads, text the sheep gives the side-eye to an orange tiger that exclaims, teach colors to toddlers. toddlers. to colors teach ors. (Board book. 2 twice twice more, the doo “doo doo” printed in wavy lines, before it clues to the action and give little learners much to talk about. course course they do: A cutely snub-nosed (and biologically impos conventions. conventions. The format looks sturdy enough to withstand over. over. “Baby shark! a piece of cheese for the mouse—ever fit in that one backpack, at the sheep. The sheep’s only line is “Baaa!” On the next spread, spread, next the On “Baaa!” is line only sheep’s The sheep. the at finally they all board a double-decker bus. (Mary is driving.) The driving.) is (Mary bus. double-decker a board all they finally Each animal comes Each with animal their comes own vocalization or sound effect. The spreads grow more and more crowded and raucous until The first spread presents a spare winter scene with a cartoon “Raar! Raaar! Raaaar!” while Raaaar!” Raaar! “Raar! Mary marches This confidently on. The gentle, pastel-colored illustrations keep the focus squarely on the child. baby belly
THE HAPPY SNAPPY CRAB is an illustration of a wrapped present on which grown-ups can Illus. by Lucas, Gareth personalize the book for the little ones in their lives. Tiger Tales (12 pp.) Tender or saccharine depending on taste, but a senti- $9.99 | Sep. 1, 2019 mental gift choice for a wide range of caregivers. (Board book. 978-1-68010-584-1 6 mos.-2) Series: Peekaboo Pop-Up Fun
Little ones meet six different sea BABY BELLY creatures in this sturdy, first pop-up book. Martin, Patricia A pair of sea turtles, a shark, the titular crab, an orca, and Illus. by Bonilla, Rocio more appear in each of the six double-page spreads. A pedes- Magination/American Psychological trian quatrain about each critter floats on the blue background, Association (20 pp.) sharing a few whimsical, often zoologically inaccurate behav- $7.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 ioral anecdotes: “There goes prickly pufferfish, / Big and round 978-1-4338-3179-9 and plump. / He blows up like a balloon / When he feels like a Series: Get Ready Board Books grump!” (Additionally, the dubious expressions on the penguins’ faces belie the assertion that the orca is “friendly,” and evidently As mom’s belly gets bigger and bigger, a young child watches the octopus likes to tickle its friends.) Lucas’ cartoons with and wonders. googly eyes and smiling faces in soft washes of color are good- In this wordless Spanish import, a young child—just about humored and endearing. The pop-ups will likely steal the show the height of mom’s belly—goes about a typical toddler routine: for any toddler, and the hardy pages will mean they will stand playing with toys; pulling a little elephant along in a cart; peek- up to at least a few robust readings and play sessions. Brilliantly, ing over the sofa to watch mom reading; brushing teeth; eating; a duplicate image of the featured creature appears behind the going out—all the while keeping an eye on mom’s growing belly. 3-D panel, meaning the book will still be usable if one or two At one point, intrigued enough, the child tucks a balloon under of these panels go missing. It is unclear why the book is named a striped T-shirt in mimicry. Eventually, an empty crib makes an for the crab when she appears in only two of the tableaux and is appearance in the tot’s room, and the child can be seen feeling featured in but one. mom’s belly for movement. Soon enough, there’s a baby in the A cheerful choice for young ocean lovers, but the pop- crib, and mom’s belly has flattened. In the last spread, instead ups far outshine the text. (Pop-up board book. 2-4) of the toy elephant pulled in the first double-page spread, the new baby is being pulled along in the cart by a very proud-look- ing older sibling. The gentle, pastel-colored illustrations keep YOU ARE A GIFT TO ME! the focus squarely on the child. With no information offered Magsamen, Sandra beyond depictions of everyday scenes, the book allows little Illus. by the author ones to provide their own narrative, and expecting parents can Cartwheel/Scholastic (22 pp.) use it to encourage conversation on the upcoming event. Both $7.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 mother and child are depicted with white skin and blond hair. 978-1-338-58943-6 A sweet addition to the new-sibling bookshelf. (Board book. 2-3) A love letter from caregivers to their babes. “You are a gift to me sent from above. / One I will always I LOVE YOU, LITTLE ONE cherish and love!” Subsequent pages share eight further Illus. by Mason, Suzie rhymed couplets expressing similar sentiments. Each couplet is Tiger Tales (12 pp.) paired with an illustration of an animal caregiver and smaller $9.99 | Sep. 1, 2019 of the same species playfully interacting. Magsamen outlines 978-1-68010-585-8 each critter in her signature faux stitchwork. There are a dog Series: Peekaboo Pop-Up Fun and pup, an owl and owlet, and a sheep and lamb, to name a few. Gender is never identified in the text, making the work useful Adoring animal mothers and their for a broad spectrum of caregiver-child relationships. Most of babies stand out (literally) on each board-book page. the duos are sweetly enticing and adorned with hearts as noses Two lines of rhyming text per double-page spread describe a or other decorations. Some of the duos are a bit too matched, mother’s unconditional love. The verse is pedestrian at best and as the grown-up chicken looks like an enlarged baby chick and unengagingly tepid in its rhythm: “You are my sunshine, little both adult deer and fawn have antlers, bucking biology. Key- one— / With you, the world is bright and fun.” Soft-edged illus- words in the rhymes appear written in colorful lettering and trations show deer, penguin, squirrel, seal, bear, and elephant outlined in stitchwork, but the rest of the text appears in white; parent-and-offspring pairs. (The larger deer depicted has spots, when the text is set on pale backgrounds, it might be difficult just like its fawn, suggesting it’s a type not common to North for those with vision issues to discern. On the first recto there America.) Each of the species represented does care for their
172 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | young adult
- 5) - J.K. J.K. (Board book. 3 peahen. Baby pea- 1) - Supreme Court Justice Sonia - Soto Arresting design, simple and useful 51993 - Series: Animal Families Animal Families Series: Series: Be Bold Baby Nosy Crow/Candlewick (14 pp.) Crow/Candlewick Nosy mayor acts as inspiration for a series of SONIA SOTOMAYOR exhortations. $9.99 | Oct. 1, 2019 Oliver, Alison Oliver, HMH Books (20 pp.) HMH Books (20 pp.) Illus. by Ormes, Jane by Ormes, Illus. $9.99 | Sep. 3, 2019 978-1-5362-0831-3 Illus. by the author Illus. 978-1-328-51995-5 JUNGLE 328 - , its Farm simultaneously publishing - compan 1 ” Each book features four species; four features book Each peachicks!” - There’s no need to rush out for this one. Together with Together Taking the life of Sotomayor as a springboard, Oliver invites invites Oliver springboard, a as Sotomayor of life the Taking peacock. / A mommy peafowl is called a Sotomayor Sotomayor and Rowling will mean far more to adults than to helpful…vocal…a mentor…just…a good sport…an inspiration… preschoolers. However, preschoolers. the However, books could be used as a basis for presents other motivational calls based on the life of author of life the on basedcalls motivational other presents printed printed artwork alone make both books worth the price of called is peafowl daddy “A species: that of babies for term proper resilient…bewitching…a light…magical…you!” In neither book meaningful if rudimentary conversations. with her appropriate term, on recto. The flap upon which nying quote is “Diabetes taught me discipline.” The illustrationThe discipline.” me taught “Diabetes is quote nying infirmary while a nurse injects her with insulin. On the last page last the On insulin. with her injects nurse a infirmary while mayor as well. For “Be courageous” for example, the - accompa ion in the Animal Families series, this book is exquisite. The statements. statements. As part of the same Be Bold, Baby! series, Oliver shows a sad-looking young Sotomayor sitting on a table in an some instances the author has added - a Soto quote from Justice you!” (The last appears over a mirror set into the page.) Bold their comprehension of the concepts introduced. Furthermore, their Furthermore, of introduced. comprehension the concepts there is a bare-bones summary that helps explain some of the content, and animal parents and babies: What’s not to like? not to What’s and animal parents and babies: content, children to “Be a good listener…an explorer…courageous… eye-popping neon colors and uncluttered, expressive, screen- aged to “Be a fan…a friend…a rebel…imaginative…persistent… do the illustrations significantly aid board-booklisteners in and colorful illustrations accompany each motivational call. In admission, but the entire presentation hits all the right notes. a fowl are called…are fowl / Each two-page spread is devoted to a species of animal. The , followingRowling the same format. Here, children are encour (J.K. Rowling: 978 Rowling: (J.K. “daddy,” with proper nomenclature, appears on verso, “mommy,” with proper nomenclature, appears on verso, “mommy,” “daddy,” “mommy” appears opens, revealing their young along with the
3) - Arc 3) Pets provides - (Board book. 1 | 15 december 2019 | 173 books | kirkus.com | board & novelty 7) - 64757 - Series: Hello World! World! Series: Hello PETS Doubleday (26 pp.) $7.99 | Oct. 8, 2019 $7.99 Illus. by the author Illus. 978-0-525-64759-1 McDonald, Jill McDonald, 525 - 0 - Animals simplyArctic and clearly introduces (2018) for a more genuine and and genuine more a for (2018) Pookie Little You, I Love Learn about domestic animals in the latest addition to With its companion, a vibrantly illustrated, expertly Altogether, a disappointment. (Board book. 1 Whether they are wild or domesticated, animals are fasci - books focus mostly on the physical characteristics of the ani- , tic Animals on the other hand, focuses on the wild and - won written offering for young animal lovers. naturalists, zookeepers, veterinarians, and pet owners. veterinarians, naturalists, zookeepers, region, including polar bears, narwhals, snowy owls, and puffins. and owls, narwhals,snowy bears, polar including region, nating creatures. In this cheery outing, McDonald introduces represent a range of realistic human emotions. Pick up Sandra mals and birds, pairing the descriptions with textured, collage- including rabbits, cats, frogs, and dogs. Companion title information or add to the slight storyline.information or add to idealized images match the sweet tone of the text and do not style illustrations that also enliven the type, particularly in cases in particularlytype, the enliven also that illustrations style stand-ins for human caregivers and children. However, the young readers to a variety of animals that live with humans, young, but smiles and behaviors make it clear these are merely that invite that children invite participate to in the storytelling by moving their bodies like the pets they are reading about: Readers are toddler-appropriate toddler-appropriate expression of parental love. The pop-up of onomatopoeia. concepts concepts like hibernation and camouflage while asked to “twitch” their noses like rabbits, “stretch” like cats, and cats, like “stretch” rabbits, like noses their “twitch” to asked a bit of specific information about howto care for the animals depicted. depicted. It also includes questions on each two-page spread friendly facts is fully on display in both of these volumes. Both derful creatures that live in the world’s coldest, northernmost feature on each spread is also bend superfluous. Simplecutouts forward as the page is turned but do not provide additional Boynton’s Boynton’s McDonald’s talent McDonald’s for curating relevant, fascinating, and child- McDonald’s Hello World! series. World! Hello McDonald’s (Arctic Animals: 978 Animals: (Arctic “hop” like frogs. Both books are excellent choices for budding the final spread has flaps on both sides that open up to reveal ART THIS WAY the four animal families depicted and the collective terms for Shopsin, Tamara & Fulford, Jason families of each species: in the case of the jungle dwellers, a Phaidon (28 pp.) “memory” of elephants, an “embarrassment” of pandas, a “pride” $19.95 | Nov. 18, 2019 of peafowl, and an “ambush” of tigers, for example. Farm fea- 978-0-7148-7721-1 tures sheep, donkeys, chickens, and pigs. Kids will learn to tell jacks from jennys, rams from ewes, and foals from lambs, chicks, Take a peek at art from a variety of and piglets. Opening the flaps adds yet another level of interest different literal and metaphorical angles. for curious—and grabby—tots. Veritably daring readers to look at art in a fresh new way, this Whether readers are zoologists in the making or just innovatively designed board book features a variety of foldouts, fans of our animal friends, this book and its companion are flaps, and die cuts. From its disorienting upside-down first page, sure to please. (Board book. 1-3) (Farm: 978-1-5362-0830-6) the authors use the medium to its best advantage. Never gim- micky, the format enhances readers’ understanding of the art. A Lichtenstein pop-art page superbly uses a die cut as a frame TINY TRAVELERS MEXICO to draw eyes to the half-toning that makes the piece work, and TREASURE QUEST lifting a flap “Up” reveals a hanging Calder mobile. This is one of Pereira, Steven Wolfe the rare board books that speaks to many ages: A long, colorful Illus. by Jaramillo, Susie foldout of Warhol flower variants would be ideal for a baby to Encantos (22 pp.) gaze at during tummy time. A Cindy Sherman–inspired shiny $12.99 | Oct. 15, 2019 mirrored page with black glasses will attract toddlers’ eyes, but 978-1-945635-22-9 knowing it works as a disguise will intrigue preschool readers. Series: Tiny Travelers All of the carefully curated and concisely explained pieces of art are from the Whitney collection. They include sculpture, Young armchair travelers are invited prints, mobiles, and photography, and male and female artists to join a treasure hunt around Mexico are showcased equally. The selections, which also include a while learning a few Spanish words and geographical facts along street-art photograph of children playing with sidewalk chalk the way. and an intriguing sculpture of a woman alongside her small dog, The first double-page spread presents a colorful map of have broad child appeal. Mexico with some of the objects readers will find over the Art appreciation with an ingenious twist. (Board book. 6 course of their journey as well as a few quick facts about Mexico. mos.-5) A series of colorful and kid-friendly double-page spreads depict landmarks, customs, and foods to be found in different locales, always following the same format: A scene is depicted, basic COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS information is presented in rhyming text, an object must be Simon, Mary Manz found, and a “DID YOU KNOW” fun fact appears. To aid chil- Illus. by Hartley, Brian dren in their search, the object to be located usually is depicted Beaming Books (52 pp.) with an aura or stars around it. Words in Spanish are printed $14.99 | Oct. 8, 2019 in boldface and then presented phonetically. In Mexico City, 978-1-5064-4854-1 for example, amid modern skyscrapers, children are invited to locate the statue of El Angel, before reading the “DID YOU Daily activities, prayers, and Bible KNOW?” fact: The statue is “covered with 24K gold!” There verses count the 25 days to Christmas is a commercial angle to the outing, as children are encouraged and tell the story of the Nativity. at the end of the book to visit the website where they can get As outlined in the opening address stickers for each object found in addition to other, related mate- to caregivers, this lengthy and hefty board book is intended to rial for sale. The compositions are busy for younger board-book help young children cope with the wait for Christmas Day and readers, but older toddlers and preschoolers should enjoy it. understand the story of Jesus’ birth. Each day of December has A fun and engaging introduction to Mexico for the its own two-page layout that includes a brief piece of the story younger set. (Board book. 3-6) of Christmas, an interactive activity, a prayer, and a Bible verse. Simon does a nice job of telling a complicated story in small parts over several days, making it digestible for young readers. Some of the prayers include a fill-in-the-blank portion, a nice way to engage readers in the process of composition. Some of the activities are accessible using materials found around the house, such as making a paper-link chain, while others—mak- ing handprint wrapping paper, tying jingle bells on shoes—are less so. Hartley’s illustrations feature modern people in Western attire and occasional Biblical costume, representing a range of
174 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | young adult
- - - 3) 6) - - its companion (Board book. 1 (Board book. 3 book. (Board 7) - 28 - 912497 - 1 - Series: Professor Astro Cat Astro Cat Series: Professor Into the Unknown Flying Eye Books (20 pp.) Flying Eye $8.99 | Oct. 8, 2019 ASTRO KITTENSASTRO Illus. by Newman, Ben by Newman, Illus. 978-1-912497-27-0 Walliman, Dominic Walliman, Kittens: Cosmic Machines Astro introduces Astro Kittens: Cosmic Machines, Machines, Cosmic Kittens: Astro Sure fire to imaginations and inspire questions caregiv Once dinosaurs have begun to seem passé, space is the place place the is space passé, seem to begun have dinosaurs Once Toddlers willToddlers fawn overthis board book. Together with Together by Allcomparison. of this would seem too much if not for the board book promises to present “advanced scientific theories leaves the safe forest for a “snow silent” open field. Showing the Showing field. open silent” “snow a for forest safe the leaves piloting spacecraft, spacewalking, or floating in zero gravity. piloting spacecraft, woodland animals and in that precious spotted deer. precious spotted animals and in that woodland with songbirds perched on a branch—and into peril as the fawn the as peril into branch—and a on perched songbirds with volume in this spinoff of the Professor Astro Cat series, this without talking down to children. Both books are information- nicates just enough drama for a young audience but also warmly also but audience young a for drama enough just nicates resolves it as the fawn finds its way backto parents, nuzzling national Space Station, and even the “ideal rocket equation,” mane than others. After emerging from a clearing, a “snow chase” “snow a clearing, a from emerging After others. than mane inviting, “just imagine” tone of the writing. Each idea is pre- illustration explaining rocket or satellite parts, historical facts shown caring for the fawn, which is not accurate. Still, if read- speed, wormholes, suspended animation, and the possibility sented with two easily digested statements and an annotated givers will able to verbalize unless they’re also astrophysicists! tion, the adventures feel plausible enough until the buck is telescopes telescopes (including the Hubble Space the Telescope), Inter through fun and engaging artwork”—and manages to do so ers aren’t sticklers for authenticity, they’ll delight in finding the sticklers for authenticity, ers aren’t ers may struggle good-naturedly to answer. of “alien life forms.” and “snow Though safe.” some there’s mild anthropomorphiza- after after bunnies leads the fawn through a “snow find”—a meeting able bites. Concepts covered include rockets, traveling at light adorable Astro Kittens and the kid-friendly artwork and the about space exploration, and the like. The adventurous Astro fairly concise story, though some combinations feel more ger fawn small and alone amid the empty white landscape - commu derived from “Newton’s second law of second motion,” which few care- derived from “Newton’s for many toddlers, and the Astro Kittens are excellent guides. are excellent Astro Kittens and the for many toddlers, dense, but, for the most part, ideas are introduced in manage- Kittens Kittens clearly love their work, and they seem equally at home Explaining wormholes to little ones will seem like child’s play (Astro Kittens: Cosmic Machines: 978 Kittens: Cosmic Machines: (Astro - - astro kittens astro 5) - | 15 december 2019 | 175 books | kirkus.com | board & novelty 6) - Follow Follow a young deer as it explores a Rudy’s Rudy’s pink sweater is missing. Rudy is a blue creature with a piggy searches for the sweater. SNOW STILL SNOW abramsappleseed (24 pp.) WHERE IS MY PINK SWEATER? WHERE IS MY PINK Nosy Crow/Candlewick (22 pp.) Crow/Candlewick Nosy Surplice, Holly Surplice, Slater, Nicola Slater, Readers Readers are invited to follow him as he $8.99 | Oct. 8, 2019 $8.99 | Oct. 8, 2019 Illus. by the author Illus. Illus. by the author Illus. 978-1-5362-0834-4 978-1-4197-3679-7 spacecraft, spacewalking, or floating in zero gravity. floating or spacewalking, spacecraft, The adventurous Astro Kittens seem equally seem Kittens Astro home piloting at The adventurous Enveloped in a padded puffy, cover that matches the soft As a well-paced explanation of Jesus’ birth, it succeeds; succeeds; birth, it Jesus’ of explanation well-paced a As A sweet and subtle book on sharing. (Board book. 3 beginning with the word the “snow,” author manages to tell a busily knitting—as well as flapsto open and die cutsto peek the rest is superfluous. (Board book. 4 happy ending, gets Rudy a new sweater that fits him, from the and vocabulary, interactivity, Plot, course. of crocodile, knitting his face. His beloved pink sweater is gone. “It was a bit too small too bit a was “It gone. is sweater pink beloved His face. his As house—top inside readers bottom, to and open outside. the upper edge of the board-book range. wintry landscape. wardrobe door, “TEN tumbling cats” provide the first hint as requiring readers beyond the need for an indestructiblerequiring readers beyond book. ness of the delicate watercolor images watercolor within, the book depicts ness of the delicate in each location—including a crocodile sitting in an outhouse snow-encrusted, snow-encrusted, olive-green leaves provide notes of colorful sweater fit her perfectly.” And, as is the naturefit ofsweater her stories with perfectly.” a snout, bunny ears, a thin, tufted tail, and a distraught look on grounds of thinly lined, gray-washed trees and snowdrifts are tranquil while the coat, the tawny red fawn’s rose hips, and the through. Just as he’s about to give up hope—someone must’ve taken it, but “who would love wearing it as much as he did?”— the answer is revealed: “Trudy! His number ONE sister. The to the sweater’s whereabouts. Following the pink yarn that runsthat yarn pink the Following whereabouts. sweater’s the to to one, Rudy makes his way makes through the different one, to rooms Rudy of the critically, critically, the board-book format doesn’t fit the busy content, contrast. Limiting herself to one two-word phrase per page, all counting all contribute in making this an engaging book for the engagingfor an book this making in contribute all counting could could it be? In a search that doubles as a countdown from 10 ages and races. The cartoon style is cutesy but forgettable. Most Most forgettable. but cutesy is style cartoon The races. and ages a fawn partaking in a mild snowy adventure. Pale white back across the pages, readers encounter some surprising creatures and showed his belly button. But it was his favorite.” Where The text is simple enough for even the mindfulness novice to understand and model while reading. listen like an elephant
LISTEN LIKE AN ELEPHANT parades across the final spread, which also reveals the musicians Willey, Kira to be a variety of races and ethnicities. A woman in the onlook- Illus. by Betts, Anni ing crowd wears a hijab. Though advertised prominently, the Rodale (26 pp.) tactile elements really feel like an afterthought. On five pages, $7.99 | Oct. 8, 2019 canvas textures hidden in small musical notes are almost indis- 978-1-9848-9410-6 cernible to tiny fingers. On four pages those canvas textures are Series: Mindfulness Moments for Kids placed somewhat arbitrarily on parts of each instrument. The larger tactile elements in the simultaneously publishing com- Elephant loves using her big ears to notice all of the sounds panion, Colors, are more prominent and therefore more effec- around her, and readers can too! tive. There, Wilson’s muted colors have undertones of gray so This offering is one in a series of mindfulness practice the blue is closer to teal and the pink is really coral, reducing its books for children written by well-known children’s yoga-and- efficacy. The only text is the color name. mindfulness musician Willey. In place of a story, the vibrantly Underwhelming and offering little new for toddlers. illustrated board book offers a simple and age-appropriate (Board book. 6 mos.-2) (Colors: 978-1-4867-1566-4) mindful-listening practice for children. Readers are invited to take a deep breath, still their bodies, and open up to all of the sounds around them, in all directions, up close and far away. NIBBLES The instructions are straightforward, asking readers, “what do The Monster Hunt you hear?” The lack of superfluous text creates an introductory Yarlett, Emma mindfulness practice perfectly suited to its audience and to Illus. by the author the adults who share it with them. The illustrated jungle ani- Kane/Miller (30 pp.) mals seem to shimmer as they serenely breathe and observe $16.99 | Dec. 1, 2019 what they hear. There is no judgment about the sounds one 978-1-61067-957-2 may encounter; the objective is simply to observe what is. This restrained approach sets this book apart in the growing realm A book-chewing monster leads a of mindfulness books for children. Although there is no addi- young reader on a brief but merry chase through a volume of tional information for adults about mindful-listening practice, facts. the text itself is simple enough for even the mindfulness nov- Having previously digested a Dinosaur Guide (2017), the ice to understand and model while reading. Like its companion, librivorous Nibbles—resembling a toothy lemon drop in Yar- Breathe Like a Bear, this is adapted from a longer, 2017 title for lett’s cartoon scenes—here dives into a more encyclopedic preschoolers also titled Breathe Like a Bear and is one of those repast. Successive spreads dish out niblets of information about rare board adaptations that works for its audience. the sun and moon, dogs and cats, images and words, and col- A wonderful adaptation of mindfulness practice into ors. Finally, a “jolly countdown” sends a smiling Nibbles blast- board-book format. (Board book. 1-4) (Breathe Like a Bear: ing off in a rocket through an irregular die-cut hole in the rear 978-1-9848-9411-3) cover. The narrator, a white lad, pants along behind, past vari- ous observers, both human and non-, offering side comments, through other cutouts and into occasional attached booklets. SOUNDS Younger readers thrilling to the chase will likely blow right past Illus. by Wilson, Katie the factual content, which is largely relegated to blocks of small, Flowerpot Press (20 pp.) at times difficult-to-read type. It includes both a supersonic his- $9.99 | Oct. 8, 2019 tory of art from paintings made by “cavemen” on and a breath- 978-1-4867-1649-4 less reference to color mixing that scores a clean miss as none Series: Discovery Concepts of the “primary” hues on splashy display are ever actually mixed (or, for that matter, true primaries). Still, along with droll (to A board book inspired by Montessori some) views of lots of chewed-up books and pages, the dashes principles features developmentally appropriate vocabulary of information add a STEM-ish flavor to the escapade. and tactile elements. Brisk but uneven, with an appeal more vague than Over 10 double-page spreads the book depicts nine musi- broad. (Novelty. 5-8) cal instruments—trumpet, clarinet, cymbals, sousaphone, bass drum, saxophone, flute, glockenspiel, and snare drum—and a parade featuring all of them. A rough approximation of the sound of each instrument is the only text. The “plink” of the glockenspiel, “oom-pah” of the sousaphone, and “tootle-tootle- too” of the flute are clear, but attempts at onomatopoeia for the other instruments are less successful. (A QR code on the back cover provides access to sound files introduced by a robotic speaker.) The sounds are repeated as the entire marching band
176 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | young adult 6) 7) - - 10) - Müller, Caroline Müller, - 9) 9) 12) - - - Series: the Adventures Guild, 3 Guild, Adventures Series: the (128 pp.) Scholastic Paperbacks Series: Lucky Bunnies, 2 Series: The Last Firehawk, 7 The Last Firehawk, Series: Series: Portrait of an Artist of an Series: Portrait Simon Spotlight (32 pp.) Disasters Series: Natural Simon Spotlight (32 pp.) America of Wonders Series: CLAUDE MONET PETAL’S PARTY PETAL’S NIGHT OF DANGERS OF NIGHT EARTHQUAKE! Coe, Catherine Coe, Charman, Katrina Charman, Nick & Eliopulos, Clark, Zack Loran Branches/Scholastic (96 pp.) Disney-Hyperion (400 pp.) Disney-Hyperion Brownridge, Lucy Brownridge, Bauer, Marion Dane Marion Bauer, Dane Marion Bauer, $16.99 | Dec. 17, 2019 $16.99 | Dec. 17, 2020 7, paper | Jan. $5.99 $4.99 paper | $24.99 PLB | Dec. 3, 2019 $15.99 | Jan. 7, 2020 7, | Jan. $15.99 $17.99 | $4.99 paper | Dec. 10, 2019 | Dec. 10, | $4.99 paper $17.99 2019 | $4.99 paper | Dec. 10, $17.99 THE CLOUD KINGDOM CLOUD THE THE MIGHTYTHE MISSISSIPPI (Fantasy. 8 (Fantasy. 6 (Fantasy. (Fantasy. 6 (Fantasy. (Picture book/biography. 7 (Picture book/biography. (Informational early reader. 4 early reader. (Informational 5 early reader. (Informational Illus. by Boyd, Chie Illus. Illus. by Bonne Illus. Illus. by Wallace, John Wallace, by Illus. John Wallace, by Illus. 978-1-4847-8861-5 978-1-338-58913-9 978-1-338-30717-7 paper 978-1-338-30718-4 PLB 978-0-7112-4877-9 978-1-5344-5561-0 978-1-4169-2551-4 paper 978-1-5344-5562-7 978-0-689-86950-1 paper Wide Eyed Editions (32 pp.) Eyed Wide blow a (Board book. continuing series | 15 december 2019 | 177 | kirkus.com | continuing open the book. / Have a look.” The SIMON SAYS OPEN THE BOOK SIMON SAYS Creative Editions/Creative Company Company Editions/Creative Creative Zebrowska, Emilia Zebrowska, (14 pp.) $8.99 | Aug. 6, 2019 Aug. $8.99 | Illus. by Reagan, Susan by Reagan, Illus. 978-1-56846-330-8
12) - 12) -
point to the sky”) to exchanging affectionate greetings Simon says open the book, read, and enjoy. This board book starts on the cover with a dark-haired When a preschool-age child imagines being inside a book,
3) continuing series continuing - Series: Young Naturalists Young Series: Series: Mac B., Kid Spy, 4 B., Kid Spy, Series: Mac bed, with remnants of the imaginary travel in the surrounding kiss”). In the end, readers see the child snugly sprawled on the parallels between what the child sees on the imaginary explora- page. Each two-page layout includes printed verb a significant the with Simon couplet rhyming a Says in presented command with an octopus from the deck of a ship (“Simon says who becomes a part of the story set on the ocean on the first white white child independently reading a book at bedtime. As the room. Reagan’s illustrations convey the dark and stillness of the of stillness and dark the convey illustrations Reagan’s room. in boldface: “Simon says says readers participate in the journeyreaders participate Says commands. with Simon tagonist does everything from traveling to the moon (“Simon text invites readers to play along even if they’re not engage way to really squirmy listeners. the moon—a nice their way to on tion and what readers see in the bedroom play up the beauty title suggests, readers open the book along with the protagonist, the with along book the open readers suggests, title ocean ocean and sky at night, everything washed in a gray tone. The and reality of a child’s fantasy. Zebrowska’s rhyming Simon Says Simon rhyming Zebrowska’s fantasy. child’s a of reality and directions throughout invite readers to participate as the pro- MAC CRACKSMAC THE CODE Frogs, Toads, Salamanders, and More and Salamanders, Toads, Frogs, Chicago Review Press (144 pp.) Press Chicago Review Orchard/Scholastic (176 pp.) Barnett, Mac Barnett, $16.99 paper | Jan. 7, 2020 7, $16.99 paper | Jan. $12.99 | Dec. 26, 2019 30 Activities and Observations for Exploring Observations30 and Activities Exploring for AMAZING AMPHIBIANS (Nonfiction. 8 (Mystery. 8 (Mystery. Illus. by Lowery, Mike by Lowery, Illus. 978-1-64160-072-9 978-1-338-59423-2 1 Amstutz, Lisa Amstutz, THE LONG-LOST SECRET THE LOST TIDE WARRIORS THUMP GOES THE RABBIT DIARY OF THE WORLD’S Doyle, Catherine How Animals Communicate WORST HOLLYWOOD Bloomsbury (320 pp.) Hodgkins, Fran DIRECTOR $16.99 | Jan. 14, 2020 Illus. by Morley, Taia Collins, Tim 978-1-5476-0272-8 Harper/HarperCollins (40 pp.) Illus. by Lundie, Isobel Series: Storm Keeper’s Island, 2 $17.99 | $6.99 paper | Jan. 7, 2020 Jolly Fish (200 pp.) (Fantasy. 8-12) 978-0-06-249101-5 $9.99 paper | $19.99 PLB | Jan. 1, 2020 978-0-06-249097-1 paper 978-1-63163-380-5 paper EVA’S CAMPFIRE ADVENTURE Series: Let’s Read and Find Out 978-1-63163-379-9 PLB (Informational picture book. 4-8) Series: Long-Lost Secret Diaries Elliott, Rebecca Illus. by the author (Fiction. 8-12) Branches/Scholastic (80 pp.) PINKALICIOUS AND THE $4.99 paper | $24.99 PLB MERMINNIES THE LONG-LOST SECRET Dec. 26, 2019 Kann, Victoria DIARY OF THE WORLD’S 978-1-338-29869-7 paper Illus. by the author WORST TOMB HUNTER 978-1-338-29871-0 PLB Harper/HarperCollins (32 pp.) Collins, Tim Series: Owl Diaries, 12 $16.99 | $4.99 paper | Jan. 7, 2020 Illus. by Lundie, Isobel (Fantasy. 6-9) 978-0-06-284045-5 Jolly Fish (200 pp.) 978-0-06-284044-8 paper $9.99 paper | $19.99 PLB | Jan. 1, 2020 TWO DOGS IN A TRENCHCOAT Series: Pinkalicious 978-1-63163-384-3 paper ENTER STAGE LEFT (Early reader. 6-9) 978-1-63163-383-6 PLB Series: Long-Lost Secret Diaries Falatko, Julie Illus. by Jack, Colin FROGGY BUILDS A SNOWMAN (Fiction. 8 12) - Scholastic (208 pp.) London, Jonathan $9.99 | Dec. 26, 2019 Illus. by Remkiewicz, Frank HENRY HECKELBECK NEVER 978-1-338-35899-5 Viking (32 pp.) CHEATS Series: Two Dogs in a Trench Coat, 3 $16.99 | Jan. 7, 2020 Coven, Wanda (Fantasy. 8-12) 978-1-9848-3636-6 Illus. by Burris, Priscilla Series: Froggy Little Simon (128 pp.) SUPER RABBIT ALL-STARS! (Picture book. 3-8) $16.99 | $5.99 paper | Dec. 10, 2019 Flintham, Thomas 978-1-5344-6107-9 ECLIPSE CHASER 978-1-5344-6106-2 paper Illus. by the author Branches/Scholastic (80 pp.) Science in the Moon’s Series: Henry Heckelbeck, 2 $4.99 paper | $24.99 PLB Shadow (Fantasy. 5 9) - Dec. 26, 2019 Loomis, Ilima 978-1-338-23984-3 paper Photos by Cowan, Amanda A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING 978-1-338-23985-0 PLB HMH Books (80 pp.) Habit 3 Series: Press Start!, 8 $18.99 | Dec. 10, 2019 Covey, Sean (Graphic fantasy. 6-9) 978-1-328-77096-7 Illus. by Curtis, Stacy Series: Scientists in the Field Simon Spotlight (32 pp.) TBH, I FEEL THE SAME (Nonfiction. -8 12) $17.99 | $4.99 paper | Dec. 17, 2019 A Novel in Text 978-1-5344-4451-5 A BIG-TIME PUZZLE 978-1-5344-4450-8 paper Greenwald, Lisa Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins Series: The 7 Habits of Happy Kids, 3 Sadar, Albin (256 pp.) Illus. by Fabbretti, Valerio (Early reader. 5-7) $12.99 | Jan. 7, 2020 Simon Spotlight (32 pp.) 978-0-06-290622-9 $17.99 | $4.99 paper | Dec. 17, 2019 THE CRIMS AT SEA Series: TBH, 5 978-1-5344-2198-1 Davies, Kate (Fiction. 8-12) 978-1-5344-2197-4 paper Harper/HarperCollins (256 pp.) Series: Hamster Holmes $16.99 | Dec. 10, 2019 (Early reader. 5-7) 978-0-06-249416-0 Series: The Crims, 3 (Adventure. 8-12)
178 | 15 december 2019 | children’s | kirkus.com | young adult 12) 12) 12) 12) - - - - 12) - continuing series | 15 december 2019 | 179 | kirkus.com | continuing Scholastic (240 pp.) Neighbor Series: Hello Series: What Happened? Series: Series: What Happened? Series: What Happened? Series: Series: What Happened? Series: SHOWTIME SABOTAGE SWITCHBACK SWITCHEROO BAD BLOOD BAD FITNESS FIASCO Jolly Fish (120 pp.) Fish Jolly Jolly Fish (120 pp.) Fish Jolly (120 pp.) Fish Jolly Jolly Fish (120 pp.) Fish Jolly $7.99 paper | Dec. 26,2019 $7.99 $7.99 paper | $18.99 PLB | Jan. 1, 2020 paper | $18.99 PLB | Jan. $7.99 $7.99 paper | $18.99 PLB | Jan. 1, 2020 paper | $18.99 PLB | Jan. $7.99 1, 2020 paper | $18.99 PLB | Jan. $7.99 $7.99 paper | $18.99 PLB | Jan. 1, 2020 PLB | Jan. paper | $18.99 $7.99 TROJAN HORSE TROUBLE TROJAN (Horror. 8 (Horror. (Mystery. 8 (Mystery. (Mystery. 8 (Mystery. 8 (Mystery. (Mystery. 8 (Mystery. Illus. by Heitz, Tim & Artful Doodlers Artful & Tim by Heitz, Illus. Illus. by Huddleston, Courtney by Huddleston, Illus. Illus. by Huddleston, Courtney by Huddleston, Illus. Courtney by Huddleston, Illus. Illus. by Huddleston, Courtney by Huddleston, Illus. 978-1-338-59428-7 978-1-63163-424-6 paper 978-1-63163-425-3 PLB 978-1-63163-416-1 paper 978-1-63163-415-4 PLB 978-1-63163-420-8 paper 978-1-63163-419-2 PLB 978-1-63163-412-3 paper 978-1-63163-411-6 PLB West, Carly Anne West, Weaver, Verity Weaver, Weaver, Verity Weaver, Verity Weaver, Weaver, Verity Weaver, 7) - 12) - 8) - 12) 12) - - 12) - Scholastic Paperbacks (176 pp.) Scholastic Paperbacks 30 Thea Stilton, Series: Scholastic Paperbacks (128 pp.) Scholastic Paperbacks 74 Series: Geronimo Stilton, Simon Spotlight (160 pp.) Series: Donut Dreams, 2 Series: Bee… Series: Knights Club, 2 Series: Little People, Big Dreams Series: Little People, SO JELLY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GERONIMO! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEE HEARTFULBEE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR MARTIN KING LUTHER BURGLARY Quirk (104 pp.) Spread Loving-Kindness Stilton, Thea Stilton, Stilton, Geronimo Stilton, Simon, Coco Simon, Sileo, Frank J. Frank Sileo, Shuky Sánchez Vergara, Maria Isabel Maria Vergara, Sánchez Frances Lincoln (32 pp.) Lincoln Frances Magination/American Magination/American Psychological $8.99 paper | Dec. 3, 2019 $7.99 paper | Dec. 26, 2019 $7.99 $17.99 | $6.99 paper | Dec. 10, 2019 | $6.99 paper | Dec. 10, $17.99 $17.99 | Jan. 7, 2020 7, | Jan. $17.99 $9.99 paper | Jan. 14, 2020 $9.99 paper | Jan. $14.99 | Jan. 7, 2020 7, $14.99 | Jan. THE BLACK FOREST THE BURIED CITY BURIED THE (Mystery. 8 (Mystery. (Mystery. 8 (Mystery. (Fiction. 8 (Fiction. (Picture book. 4 (Graphic novelty. 8 novelty. (Graphic (Picture book/biography. 4 (Picture book/biography. Illus. by Keay, Claire by Keay, Illus. Illus. by Waltch & Novy Waltch by Illus. Illus. by Degnan, Mai Ly by Degnan,Mai Illus. 978-1-338-54698-9 978-1-338-58753-1 978-1-5344-6029-4 978-1-5344-6028-7 paper 978-1-4338-3157-7 978-1-68369-147-1 Trans. by Burrell, Carol Klio by Burrell, Trans. 978-0-7112-4567-9 Association (32 pp.) Renelda Sells of Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library: Removing Barriers to Access [Sponsored]
By Megan Labrise Dè Shaun Johnson and Lisa Brown Shaun and Lisa Dè Johnson
When Renelda Sells was a stay-at-home mother, she meetings. Knowing she would return to the work- was always willing to take her three boys out to the force after the kids were grown, she began to consider hottest spot in town. the library as a potential employer. “The library was the center of everything,” Sells “I remember walking up to one of the reference says of the Carol Stream Public Library, in a close-knit librarians and asking, ‘What do you have to do to suburb just west of Chicago. “There was always some- become a librarian?’ ” says Sells, who went on to thing going on—it was a hub—you ran into everybody earn an MLS at the University of Illinois at Urbana- at the library. I remember thinking, ‘This is pretty Champaign. “I thought it would be exciting to be in cool: there are a lot of exciting things happening here.’ that world, to see what I could contribute as part of a “I like what a library can be in the community,” she library.” says. “It can be many things to many different people.” Today, Sells is the manager of collections and After all, the library had been many things to her: technology at Tampa-Hillsborough County Public a place to indulge an early love of reading alongside Library—responsible for coordinating its collection her sisters and brother growing up in Cleveland; a management process, including acquisitions, and inte- gateway to greater understanding as a college student grating new technologies for the system’s 27 branches (and eventual English major) in Massachusetts; and a (and two associated libraries) fanning out around vibrant resource for her young family, with storytime, Tampa Bay on Florida’s Gulf Coast. By prioritizing author events, book discussions, and community technology and innovation, education, culture and
180 | 15 december 2019 | kirkus.com | leisure, and community engagement, Tampa-Hills- statewide young readers initiative are announced each borough County Public Library continues to thrive: year, for example, they can clear out the old and bring In 2018, the system received nearly 4 million visits in the new. and circulated more than 11.8 million items. In 2019, “With Lease Books we have that flexibility of push- it won the Florida Library Association’s Library of the ing in some new things, experimenting, giving them Year award. some new life without committing home to materials “The focus for our library is to remove barriers to that may not serve and will have to be weeded,” Sells access,” Sells says. “Our primary business is customer says. service. Obviously, with the collection, the priority in And to expand Hillsborough County residents’ terms of access is being able to get those materials into chances to check out e-materials, Tampa-Hillsbor- the hands of the customer as quickly as possible. Try ough County Public Library recently invested in a to eliminate as much friction as possible, do whatever Pop Up Library from Baker & Taylor. The plug-in you have to do, to make it easier for the customer to devices, which function as hotspots and don’t require get what they need.” additional staff to operate, allow patrons’ immediate Ensuring a high volume of quality materials access to the system’s wealth of e-books wherever they that continue to circulate is just one of the reasons travel. Sells says they plan to equip one of two book- Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library partners mobile vans, known as Library2Go, with the device, with Baker & Taylor, a Charlotte, North Carolina– bringing service to senior living facilities and commu- based distributor of books and entertainment. With nity centers. high-powered collection-building tools such as col- “We want to remove the barriers to access, but, lectionHQ and ESP (Evidence-Based Selection Plan- whatever we do, it needs to be sustainable,” Sells says. ning), librarians can find the right collection to serve “You don’t want to jump [into a new technology] and diverse branches ranging from urban centers to rural then you’ve got to get rid of it because you couldn’t outposts. handle it. “Roughly 80% of our circulation comes from what’s “Baker & Taylor help us with working toward sitting on the shelf,” Sells says, “which means it’s very achieving those priorities in the areas of education, important that we have what they’re looking for when culture and leisure, and community engagement,” they come looking for it. If you don’t put the right she says. “They’re responsive—they listen to our con- material in the right community, it can sit on that cerns—they’re very good about training. They make shelf and die. Between collectionHQ and ESP, we’re good suggestions for improvements we could make, trying to be more intentional about where we place but they’re not heavy-handed or forceful. They’re items the first time, to give them a chance at life.” helpful.” They also use Lease Books, a program that allows libraries to temporarily increase their supply of popular titles, with the ability to return them when patron demand subsides. When the titles for a Florida
| kirkus.com | 15 december 2019 | 181 young adult
This title earned the Kirkus Star: THE NEW DAVID ESPINOZA Aceves, Fred HarperTeen (336 pp.) MISS YOU LOVE YOU HATE YOU BYE by Abby Sher...... 192 $17.99 | Feb. 11, 2020 978-0-06-248988-3
An intense look at male body dys- morphia from the author of The Closest I’ve Come (2017). David Espinoza has always been tormented for his skinny physique, but when the high school bully slaps him in the locker room and catches it on camera, the video becomes a viral meme in his Florida town. The Mexican American teen decides to join a gym and build enough muscle over the sum- mer to lay to rest the incessant teasing. There, he meets body- builders who influence him to take steroids in order to speed up the results. With graphic detail, Aceves presents the psy- chological, physical, and emotional effects of muscle dysmor- phia. David’s relationships fall apart—with his family, friends, girlfriend—and the author, who also experienced this disor- der in his youth, authentically delineates the ramifications of this illness, which is more prevalent than many believe. After a shocking climax, David finally comes to grips with his addic- tion, perhaps a little too quickly, but readers won’t mind the not-so-pat resolution. Frank discussions about the sexual lives and drug use of adolescents add authenticity to the story, and the expletive-laden prose makes this more appropriate for older teens. Toxic masculinity, which is cringingly part and parcel of the testosterone-filled world that Aceves portrays, is threaded through the narrative in a contextualized way. David’s friends are mostly Latinx—he has a Puerto Rican girl- friend and a Dominican best friend Searing and thoughtful. (author’s note, resources) (Realistic fiction. 14-adult) MISS YOU LOVE YOU HATE YOU BYE Sher, Abby CHILDREN OF VIRTUE Farrar, Straus and Giroux (304 pp.) AND VENGEANCE $17.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 Adeyemi, Tomi 978-0-374-30701-1 Henry Holt (416 pp.) $19.99 | Dec. 3, 2019 978-1-250-17099-6 Series: Legacy of Orisha, 2
In this follow-up to Children of Blood and Bone (2018), Zélie and company are back, and the future of Orïsha hangs in the balance.
182 | 15 december 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | Zélie, now a maji Reaper, has achieved her goal and brought SOLSTICE magic back to Orïsha, but at great cost. Grief and loss are A Tropical Horror Comedy strong themes throughout the book, compounded by guilt for Alison, Lorence Zélie, who feels responsible for her father’s death. Zélie and Imprint (288 pp.) her older brother, Tzain, try to help Princess Amari ascend the $17.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 throne, believing her family dead—but Queen Nehanda, Ama- 978-1-250-21989-3 ri’s mother, is very much alive and more formidable than they could imagine. The trio join the Iyika, a band of rebel maji work- Eighteen-year-old Adri spends her ing to protect their persecuted people from threats new and old. days bouncing between school and work- Though the characters’ trauma reads as real and understand- ing at her family’s diner. able, their decisions don’t always feel sensible or logical, often Her Peruvian immigrant parents stemming from a lack of communication or forethought, which have sacrificed to send her to one of may leave readers frustrated. Though still commendable for its Atlanta’s top private schools, so the pressure is on to do well. detailed worldbuilding, with an ending compelling enough to Meanwhile, the Solstice Festival is going to be the music festival keep fans interested in the next installment, much of the book of the century: The lush Caribbean island setting and hobnob- feels like navigating minefields of characters’ ill-advised deci- bing with the 1% while listening to hit acts justify the $10,000 sions. All characters are black except for a secondary character price tag. Out of the blue, Adri’s BFF announces big news: with silky black hair, tan skin, and gray eyes “like teardrops.” Elena’s father has bought tickets for both the girls to attend Second installments in trilogies sometimes slump— Solstice. There is just one hurdle—Adri’s parents. They refuse here’s hoping the third book is a return to the vibrancy of permission, but she goes anyway and texts them from the plane. the first.(Fantasy. 14-18) After that it all starts to go downhill. Myla Island is beautiful but young adult has no cell reception, the promised limos are not there to take them to the venue, and when they do arrive, nothing is ready— YES NO MAYBE SO no tents, only one food truck, and forget toilets. But all that Albertalli, Becky & Saeed, Aisha fades away once the first dead body shows up. Part teen drama, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (448 pp.) part horror story, this is a delightful novel that readers will want $18.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 to finish in one sitting. The quirky, campy tone along with off- 978-0-06-293704-9 page violence that is never gratuitous or grotesque make it an appealing choice for younger teens and reluctant readers. Adri’s Two 17-year-olds from the north- observations of socio-economic differences between entitled ern suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, work festival-goers and Myla locals add depth. together on a campaign for a progres- Perfect for anyone looking for humor with a side of sive state senate candidate in an unlikely death. (Horror. 13-18) love story. Co-authors Albertalli (Leah on the Offbeat, 2018, etc.) and Saeed (Bilal Cooks Daal, 2019, etc.) pres- RED HOOD ent Jamie Goldberg, a white Ashkenazi Jewish boy who suffers Arnold, Elana K. from being “painfully bad at anything girl-related,” and Maya Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (368 pp.) Rehman, a Pakistani American Muslim girl struggling with her $17.99 | Feb. 25, 2020 parents’ sudden separation. Former childhood best friends, they 978-0-06-274235-3 find themselves volunteered as a team by their mothers during a Ramadan “campaign iftar.” One canvassing adventure at a time, Sixteen-year-old Bisou Martel’s life they grow closer despite Maya’s no-dating policy. Chapters alter- takes a profound turn after encountering nate between Maya’s and Jamie’s first-person voices. The endear- an aggressive wolf. ing, if somewhat clichéd, teens sweetly connect over similarities Following an embarrassing incident like divorced parents, and their activism will resonate with many. between Bisou and her boyfriend, James, Jamie is sensitive, clumsy, and insecure; Maya is determined, sassy, after the homecoming dance, a humili- a dash spoiled, and she swears freely. The novel covers timeless ated Bisou runs into the Pacific Northwest woods. There, she themes of teen activism and love-conquers-all along with elec- kills a giant wolf who viciously attacks her, upending the quiet tion highs and lows, messy divorces, teen angst, bat mitzvah stress, life she’s lived with her Mémé, a poet, since her mother’s vio- social media gaffes, right-wing haters, friendship drama, and lent death. The next day it’s revealed that her classmate Tucker— cultural misunderstandings, but the explicit advocacy at times who drunkenly came on to her at the dance—was found dead interferes with an immersive reading experience and the text in the woods with wounds identical to the ones Bisou inflicted often feels repetitious. Maya’s mother is hijabi, and while Maya on the wolf. When she rescues Keisha, an outspoken journalist advocates against a hijab ban, she chooses not to wear hijab and for the school paper, from a similar wolf attack, Bisou gains an actively wrestles with what it means to be an observant Muslim. ally, and her Mémé reveals her bloody and brave legacy, which Best leave it at maybe so. (Romance. 14-18) is inextricably tied to the moon and her menstrual cycle. Bisou
| kirkus.com | young adult | 15 december 2019 | 183 Begs for a sequel. the sound of stars
needs her new powers in the coming days, as more wolves lie TURTLE UNDER ICE in wait. Arnold (Damsel, 2018, etc.) uses an intriguing blend of del Rosario, Juleah magic realism, lyrical prose, and imagery that evokes intimate Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster (272 pp.) physical and emotional aspects of young womanhood. Bisou’s $18.99 | Feb. 11, 2020 loving relationship with gentle, kind James contrasts with the 978-1-5344-4295-5 frank exploration of male entitlement and the disturbing incel phenomenon. Bisou and Mémé seem to be white, Keisha is Two sisters struggle to overcome the cued as black, James has light-brown skin and black eyes, and loss of their mother. there is diversity in the supporting cast. Rowena is a star soccer player with A timely and unabashedly feminist twist on a classic an abundance of friends. Her older sister, fairy tale. (Fantasy. 14-18) Ariana, is quiet, has no talents or hobbies, and pushed away her only friend. At risk of not graduating high school and feeling like a failure, Ariana THE DYSASTERS leaves in the middle of the night without telling anyone. When Cast, P.C. & Cast, Kristin Row wakes up and finds her sister missing, she feels unmoored. Illus. by Bifulco, Antonio Seeking comfort, Row invites her best friend over but is instead Wednesday Books (128 pp.) forced to face her feelings head-on, including opening up about $14.99 paper | Feb. 25, 2020 the fresh misery of her stepmother’s miscarriage. Meanwhile, 978-1-250-26877-8 on a bus heading to the city, Ariana must also confront her inner Series: Dysasters, 1 demons when she runs into her former friend. With a sea of sad- ness separating them, the sisters must find a way to overcome Teens discover they have elemental their own pain and open their eyes to each other’s suffering. powers and are being hunted by their Told candidly in first-person free verse poems narrated by each creator. sister, this story of siblings navigating the world without their Foster Stewart has been on the run with her adoptive mother is quiet and poignant. Use of plainspoken language to mother, Cora, for the last year, ever since Cora sold her suppos- illustrate the intricacies of sisterhood and explore the depths of edly deceased husband’s clinic. While attending a high school mourning makes this accessible for reluctant readers. Row and football game, she has a run-in with Tate “Nighthawk” Taylor, Ariana’s father and stepmother are Filipino; their late mother is one of the players, only to find out he’s the reason they are in cued as Chamorro. Missouri. Tate has always been special as the star quarterback A moving story about sisterhood, family, and overcom- in a small town—but his ability to see in the dark doesn’t hurt. ing the insurmountable mountain that is grief. (Verse novel. Just before taking the field, a tornado hits, leaving the teens 12-18) alone and on the run from the Core Four, the original, geneti- cally modified group designed to control the elements in the fight against climate change. Now at a safe house set up by Cora, THE SOUND OF STARS they are tasked with finding six other teens with elemental pow- Dow, Alechia ers before Dr. Rick Stewart and the Core Four can get to them. Inkyard Press (400 pp.) The Casts, a mother-and-daughter writing team (Forgotten, 2019, $18.99 | Feb. 25, 2020 etc.), craft a page-turning superhero origin story with a touch 978-1-335-91155-1 of romance. Bifulco’s (Three Sisters, 2018, etc.) black-and-white illustrations are expressive and intense, giving depth to each A human teen and an alien invader character’s emotions, although when elements are being manip- make an unlikely and potentially danger- ulated the background is difficult to distinguish. Foster and Tate ous connection. are white, and there is some diversity in secondary characters. When the spaceships came to Earth, A good thriller for fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and there was confusion and then conflict— the Fantastic Four. (Graphic science fiction. 14-adult) large numbers of humans died and the Ilori took over. Seventeen-year-old Ellie Baker managed to hold onto a trove of forbidden books, but her mother is falling into alcoholism and her father receives injections that make him an obedient Ilori servant. Lending books from her secret library makes Ellie feel less helpless even though she risks death for her transgression. Morris (or M0Rr1S) is a labmade, created to appear human and part of a unit sent to Earth to prepare for the true Ilori, who are susceptible to the Earth’s pollution. Although his father is a high-ranking true Ilori, disdainful of feelings, Morris harbors a secret love of human music. He uses his knowledge of Ellie’s secret library to convince her to collect
184 | 15 december 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | music for him, and their bond deepens when he saves Ellie THE WICKED EDGE from execution. The two set out on a harrowing cross-country Elizabeth, Nicole escape while Morris plots to thwart his father. There is much to West 44 Books (200 pp.) enjoy in this story featuring a complex black teen: Ellie is bright, $19.95 | Dec. 1, 2019 resourceful, and coping with issues with body image and anxi- 978-1-5383-8256-1 ety. Morris and his family are intriguing. The depiction of the world has many similarities to today’s society, and the overlay of A 10th grade girl searches for speculative aspects fits seamlessly. belonging. A promising debut that begs for a sequel. (Science fiction. From day one, as the “only white 12-18) kid” at Smoholla Indian School on the Colville Reservation where she now lives, Helen White hears the laughter and feels the stares from her Native classmates. To survive the bullying, Helen pulls “further and further away,” trying to make herself invisible. Soon, Helen meets King BigElk, a “top / of the food chain” senior known “for being / wild.” Driven by a desire to belong, Helen casts off her “good girl” persona in an attempt to impress him. Though she gains acceptance, her decisions threaten to cross a dangerous line. While the character motiva- tion and plot feel appropriately revealed within the free verse young adult
| kirkus.com | young adult | 15 december 2019 | 185 A skillful balancing act between high-stakes adventure, bloody fantasy, and character development. all the stars and teeth
format, Native readers and those familiar with Native cultures THE OPPOSITE OF will notice what reads like a checklist for writing a reserva- FALLING APART tion story, whether it’s moving into mom’s boyfriend’s “trailer,” Good, Micah spreading “sage and sweetgrass” smoke “with an eagle feather,” Wattpad Books (352 pp.) HUD housing, a mother in rehab, an absentee father, eigh- $17.99 paper | Feb. 25, 2020 teen money, or hard-drinking, pot-smoking, late-night parties. 978-1-989365-06-9 Other readers may not recognize as harmful stereotypes the litany of tropes portrayed. Additionally, by centering Helen as Two teens must face their fears to the “outsider” and describing her as a “minority” who sees her- save their relationship. self as a “target” or feels she has “stopped existing,” Native char- After losing his left leg in a car acci- acters become a supporting cast for serving the white character dent, Jonas wants a fresh start in college, on her journey to self-awareness. away from pitying looks and his mom’s A novel for reluctant readers that perpetuates egre- protectiveness. But he can’t bear to talk about his leg, and driv- gious and damaging stereotypes. (Verse novel. 14-18) ing triggers post-traumatic flashbacks. Brennan knows about panic; she’d rather be writing than exposing her severe anxiety to college’s unpredictability. The teens’ paths collide, sparking a THE SEVENTH SUN prickly friendship, but as their intimacy deepens, their insecuri- Forbes, Lani ties threaten to drive them apart. Much of the tension unfolds Blackstone (352 pp.) in the protagonists’ heads; the author meticulously describes $18.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 their respective struggles as they learn to trust themselves and 978-1-9825-4609-0 each other. Their gradual romance is touching, albeit predict- Series: Age of the Seventh Sun Series, 1 able. The emotional toll of Jonas’ disability and trauma on his family—particularly his older brother, who was driving—is Mesoamerican mythology gets a long believable, as is Brennan’s dad’s insensitivity toward her anxiety. overdue epic fantasy treatment. Unfortunately, copious and often extraneous exposition bogs Prince Ahkin is immersed in inter- down the pacing and dilutes the emotional impact. Though preting concerning signs among the stars Brennan’s ambivalent, inconsistent use of anti-anxiety medica- when he receives the tragic news of his tion is a realistic plot point, its lack of resolution is frustrating. father’s passing. With his untimely death, The book situates whiteness as the default; Jonas’ mother is the mantle of leadership for the Chicome people falls to Ahkin. described simply as half Vietnamese—the family’s background In order to ascend the throne, Ahkin must choose a wife from otherwise is not specified—and her portrayal lacks nuance. among the royal daughters who, like him, are descended from Brennan appears to be white; and Brennan’s college roommate the gods. Each has been blessed with unique abilities through from India has an Urdu given name and Sikh or Punjabi sur- the blood of their ancestors, but the first to catch his eye is the name, a circumstance which is not explained. tempestuous Mayana. Descended from the goddess of water, A realistic, but wordy, portrayal of coping with anxiety Atlacoya, Mayana’s compassion and courage are quickly appar- and trauma. (Romance. 14-18) ent. As she falls for the young prince however, her empathic heart leads her to question the blood sacrifice on which the reli- gious traditions and future of the empire hinge. Can she lead a ALL THE STARS AND TEETH people whose traditions she cannot agree with? Though debut Grace, Adalyn author Forbes uses Aztec mythology as her inspiration, she Imprint (384 pp.) takes poetic license with the actual history and geography of $17.99 | Feb. 4, 2020 the Aztec empire, downplaying the role of human sacrifice and 978-1-250-30778-1 including locations and deities not found in the original Aztec tradition. In the vein of Percy Jackson, take these wanderings A princess embarks on a dangerous from the source material with a grain of salt and simply enjoy path to the throne. the captivating story. In the island kingdom of Visidia, A page-turning adventure that, though imperfect, where each person is allowed just one highlights a rich and relatively unknown mythological her- type of magic, only the members of the itage that begs to be explored. (map, author’s note) (Fantasy. royal Montara family have the ability to 13-18) wield the dangerous soul magic. Princess Amora is next in line to be High Animancer, but she must first prove to her people that she is powerful enough to use her magic to protect them. But something goes terribly wrong during a critical public ceremony, and Amora runs away with dashing pirate Bastian, whose rescue comes with a price: She must help him recover his own magic, stolen away by a dangerous man leading a growing rebellion
186 | 15 december 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | that could bring down the whole kingdom. Debut author Grace THE FEMINIST AGENDA OF wields her own magic with a skillful balancing act between high- JEMIMA KINCAID stakes adventure (here there be monsters, mermaids, and high- Hattemer, Kate seas shenanigans), bloody fantasy, and character development in Knopf (304 pp.) a story with a lovable found family at its core. Amora yearns for $17.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 adventure just as she welcomes her right to command her king- 978-1-9848-4912-0 dom; her ferocious sense of duty and legitimate need to do good shine through. The novel’s further unravelling of dark secrets A determined high school senior long kept comes with a recognized need for accountability and takes on her elite prep school’s patriar- making amends which adds a thoughtful extra layer to the rich chal traditions. worldbuilding. Amora has copper-brown skin and dark, curly In Hattemer’s (Here Comes Trouble, hair; other characters have a range of skin tones in this diverse 2018, etc.) spirited coming-of-age story, world. senior Jemima Kincaid is ready to be through with high school. An accomplished, exciting debut. (guide to the king- Just seven weeks from graduation, the self-assured narrator has dom) (Fantasy. 14-adult) had it with the decades’ old sexist conventions of Chawton, her Northern Virginia private school, whose history is steeped in “Old White Dudes running shit.” As one of the class lead- A LOVE HATE THING ers, Jemima is expected not only to partake in Chawton’s his- Grandison, Whitney D. toric end-of-year celebrations like prom and Powderpuff—the Inkyard Press (448 pp.) all-female flag football contest—but help plan and perpetuate
$18.99 | Feb. 11, 2020 young adult 978-1-335-01604-1
A teen from a rough neighborhood is taken in by a wealthy family and falls for their daughter. Six months ago, 17-year-old Trice’s abusive father shot him, killed his mother, and then committed suicide. Trice was left in the care of his grandfather, but when he dies, his former employers, the Smith family, became Trice’s legal guardians. Trice moves from Lindenwood, where he was secretly involved in a car theft ring, to the affluent Pacific Hills, getting a fresh start. Although Trice and the Smiths’ popular teen daughter, Nandy, used to be childhood playmates, when he moves in she’s rude because she thinks he is going to ruin her summer. They spend the summer fighting, although their mutual attraction is almost immediate. Debut author Grandison returns to the emotional fallout from the death of Trice’s family and his new beginning ad nauseum, testing the patience of readers. Fans of the TV show The O.C. and author Simone Elkeles’ Perfect Chemistry trilogy will recognize both the characters and plot. Nandy and Trice are black, and while there is a multicultural cast of supporting characters, including Nandy’s brother who was adopted from Thailand, they are not well developed and their issues feel generic. The final drama that brings Trice back to Lindenwood is hard to believe, but the wrap-up is exactly what readers will want. Familiar bad boy–meets–good girl—but it’s compli- cated—romance. (Fiction. 14-18)
| kirkus.com | young adult | 15 december 2019 | 187 them. Nerdy, sassy, and passionate in her beliefs, Jemima is THE BETWEEN also conscious about being (like many of her peers) straight, Hofmeyr, David white, and wealthy. A catalyst for Jemima’s growth is her best Delacorte (416 pp.) friend, working-class scholarship student Jiyoon Kim; her hon- $17.99 | Feb. 25, 2020 esty heightens Jemima’s awareness around race, privilege, and 978-0-385-74475-1 internalized misogyny. Jemima also learns from her gay older brother, who describes his journey in overcoming internalized A young woman traverses a space- homophobia. When Jemima’s best-laid plans to rock Chawton’s time continuum to rescue her best friend patriarchal boat get hilariously shipwrecked, she’s forced to and secure the future of seven worlds. reckon in a thoughtful, incredibly compelling way with the con- When Ana Moon and Bea Gold get sequences of acting on one’s convictions. Unfortunately, Jiyoon, into a fight that lands their school bully who is described generically as Asian American, is a two-dimen- in the hospital, the two are forbidden to sional prop for Jemima’s character arc; references to her Asian see each other. Ignoring their parents, the London teens meet identity lack emotional resonance and cultural texture. on the Tube, where they are distracted from their conversa- Introspective in its exploration of budding sexuality tion by the appearance of a stranger; handsome Malik Habib and ethics; marred only by missteps in representations of can’t keep his eyes off Ana. Suddenly the train crashes, time diversity. (Fiction. 14-18) freezes, and Ana watches her best friend get snatched away by rotten-smelling, winged creatures called Reapers. Then every- thing starts spinning, Ana falls, and suddenly she is on a quest WHERE HAVE ALL THE through the seven earths that make up Hofmeyr’s (Stone Rider, BEES GONE? 2015) multiverse: Lūna, Bahram, Hermes, Jöve, Venetia, Kronos, Pollinators in Crisis and her own Earth, Sol. She is joined by Malik, Vidhan Blue, and Hirsch, Rebecca E. Akuji Na, all of whom are Pathfinders, world-jumping guardians Twenty-First Century/Lerner (104 pp.) of hidden gateways from one world to the next, like her. An $37.32 PLB | Feb. 4, 2020 amalgam of various dystopian tropes, the exciting, fast-paced, 978-1-5415-3463-6 though sometimes confusing action sequences fill in where the plot and language are a bit stale and dated (Akuji’s androgynous This slim volume details what sci- appearance leaves Ana surprised that she should be referred entists know about the long history and to as “she”). Ana is white, Bea is Jewish and white, and there is potential future of an important pollinator. diversity throughout the cast. Hirsch (Garfield’s Almost-as-Great-as- Serviceable and fun, a basic dystopian novel that deliv- Doughnuts Guide to Math, 2019, etc.) opens the book with a nar- ers action but no original punch. (Dystopian adventure. 14-18) rative about Robbin Thorp, an entomologist who, in the 1990s, began monitoring habitats in Oregon and California for the now- vanished Franklin’s bumblebee. From this specific, vivid scene, BREAK THE FALL the text zooms out: Chapter 2 discusses how bees likely evolved, Iacopelli, Jennifer and Chapter 3 lists other pollinators and describes several kinds Razorbill/Penguin (336 pp.) of pollination. The remaining chapters cover topics including $17.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 the physical structure of bees, the pesticides that kill them, and 978-0-593-11417-9 some efforts being made to ensure bees’ survival. The book ends on a hopeful note, with suggestions for things readers can A gymnast’s road to the Olympics is do to help bees. Chapters are illustrated with color photographs complicated when her demanding coach and diagrams, and some include sidebars or entire pages’ worth becomes embroiled in a ripped-from- of inserts about things like assisted reproduction. Details about the-headlines scandal. scientists’ work will intrigue some readers, but the episodic Seventeen-year-old Audrey Lee is stories become a bit difficult to track toward the end. Hirsch’s thrilled to make the U.S. gymnastics main point—that bees are pollinators who deserve our respect team alongside her best friend, Emma. Pain from a back injury and protection for their role in growing the food we eat and is a constant threat, but Audrey isn’t about to let it derail her feed to domestic animals—is woven throughout the text. shot at Olympic gold in Tokyo. When her coach is arrested Accessible and concise, this volume teaches an impor- and accused of sexually assaulting Audrey’s teammate Dani, tant topic responsibly without being dry. (author’s note, Audrey is surprised and dismayed that not everyone on the glossary, source notes, selected bibliography, further team believes Dani’s story. With Tokyo on the horizon, the frac- information, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 12-16) tured team must come together if they want to deliver a big win. Audrey has also caught the eye of handsome snowboard cham- pion Leo Adams, but there’s no time (well, maybe a little time) for romance. Readers looking for in depth #MeToo commen- tary won’t find it: While still compelling, the storyline provides
188 | 15 december 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | References to fake news and a divisive government make this particularly timely. banned book club
more of a background for the nuts and bolts of competitive BANNED BOOK CLUB gymnastics, expertly capturing the excitement and pressure of Kim, Hyun Sook & Estrada, Ryan being part of a high-level sports team as well as the mental and Illus. by Ko, Hyung-Ju physical sacrifices. The dynamics between the teammates, while Iron Circus Comics (192 pp.) angst-y, feel mostly realistic, and the importance of women and $15.00 paper | Feb. 18, 2020 girls supporting one another is emphasized. Audrey is biracial 978-1-945820-42-7 (her father is white, and her mother was adopted from Korea), Leo is biracial (black/white), Dani is Mexican American, and In 1983 South Korea, Kim was learn- there is additional diversity in the supporting cast. ing to navigate university and student An uplifting quest for Olympic victory. (Fiction. 12-18) political activism. The daughter of modest restaurant owners, Kim was apolitical—she just wanted to make her parents proud and be worthy of her tuition expenses. Following an administrator’s advice to avoid trouble and pursue extracurriculars, she joined a folk dance team where she met a fellow student who invited her into a banned book club. Kim was fearful at first, but her thirst for knowledge soon won out. As she learned the truth of her country’s oppressive fascist political environment, Kim became closer to the other book club members while the authorities grew increasingly young adult
| kirkus.com | young adult | 15 december 2019 | 189 desperate to identify and punish student dissidents. The THE UPSIDE OF FALLING kinetic manhwa drawing style skillfully captures the personal Light, Alex and political history of this eye-opening memoir. The disturb- HarperTeen (288 pp.) ing elements of political corruption and loss of human rights $17.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 are lightened by moving depictions of sweet, funny moments 978-0-06-291805-5 between friends as well as deft political maneuvering by Kim herself when she was eventually questioned by authorities. The High school seniors do the fake dat- art and dialogue complement each other as they express the ing thing. tension that Kim and her friends felt as they tried to balance Brett Wells has always been focused school, family, and romance with surviving in a dangerous politi- on football. Brainy Becca Hart’s faith cal environment. References to fake news and a divisive govern- in love was destroyed by her parents’ ment make this particularly timely; the only thing missing is a divorce. The two have little in common list for further reading. other than being pestered by their friends and families about A tribute to young people’s resistance in the face of the lack of a special someone in their lives. They embark upon oppression. (Graphic memoir. 16-adult) a “fake relationship,” but, predictably, it gives way to a real one. Debut author Light sprinkles in just enough charm and good- natured romance as the narrative bounces between Brett’s and BENT HEAVENS Becca’s perspectives to keep readers engaged but not over- Kraus, Daniel whelmed by twee sentiment. Becca is a much better developed Henry Holt (304 pp.) character than Brett (handsome yet doofy, he has the complex- $17.99 | Feb. 25, 2020 ity of a golden retriever), and her chapters are the novel’s high- 978-1-250-15167-4 lights. Brett’s whole deal is a bigger pill to swallow, but readers who go with it will find a pleasant story. The novel is a syrupy Can Liv put the pieces of her life ode to what it feels like to slowly fall for someone for the first back together after her father’s mental time, and that mood is captured effectively. Becca and Brett breakdown? have chemistry that feels completely natural, but sadly there In rural Bloughton, Iowa, Liv takes are some late-in-the-game plot mechanics that feel forced. For- solace in the cross country team and the tunately, the author seems as uninterested in these disruptions idea that she will be off to college before as readers will be: Things are resolved quickly, and the novel too long. Three years ago, her father, the high school’s former ends on a high note. Whiteness is situated as the norm; main English and drama teacher, vanished only to return naked and characters are white. talking about alien abduction. He disappeared for good eight A successful romantic enterprise. (Romance. 12-16) months later. Liv and her friend Doug check the elaborate traps her father built in the woods during those eight months every Sunday. The teacher who replaced him decides to stage the OF CURSES AND KISSES same musical that was her father’s swan song, and after getting Menon, Sandhya in trouble for an outburst over her insensitivity, Liv decides to Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster (384 pp.) destroy the traps…but discovers that one has caught an alien. $18.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 After hiding the horrifying creature in her father’s shed, they 978-1-5344-1754-0 discover it has her father’s compass. In anger, Liv attacks the beast and then she and Doug torture it repeatedly as revenge Rajkumari Jaya Rao has one goal for her missing father…but the alien is not what they perceive during her time at St. Rosetta’s Inter- him to be, and as the truth is revealed, the horror mounts. national Academy: to take revenge by Kraus’ (Blood Sugar, 2019, etc.) newest horror fantasy (there is breaking the heart of English aristocrat no science here) might inspire more anger than horror as the Grey Emerson. protagonists respond to otherness with violence. Outrage will Indian princesses Jaya Rao and her likely be followed by laughter at the stagy, manipulative, over- sister, Isha, begin their senior and sophomore years, respec- the-top conclusion. Most characters seem to be white. tively, at St. Rosetta’s near Aspen, Colorado, a school that has a Few chills and even less logic. (Horror. 16-adult) reputation for well-kept secrets. The Emersons and Raos have had a feud for generations over a ruby that once belonged to the Raos and was stolen by the Emersons in the days of British colonialism. Now Jaya has discovered that the Emersons have dragged her little sister into the feud, and she will not rest until she has gotten her revenge. On a mission to break Grey’s heart, Jaya finds to her surprise that there is more to him than she thought. Grey, on the other hand, has lived as a recluse thanks to Jaya’s great-great-grandmother’s curse that makes his family
190 | 15 december 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | Will inspire artists and nonartists alike. heroic women of the art world
fear he will die at age 18. Seeing Jaya at St. Rosetta’s wearing a profile begins with a dramatic moment in the artist’s life: meet- shining ruby pendant fills him with terror. The story is told from ing a queen, narrowly escaping the guillotine, surviving sexual the perspectives of both Jaya and Grey. Readers will empathize assault by a teacher, and attending the 1939 New York World’s with both of them, although their long internal monologues Fair. The role of this seminal experience in the artist’s life is may cause their attention to waver at times. Grey is white, and then explained as the lens widens to describe the artist’s fam- there is diversity among the secondary characters. ily life, training, style, and impact on the art world. The artists’ A lukewarm retelling of “Beauty and the Beast.” (map) personal and professional lives are seamlessly entwined, and the (Romance. 12-16) personal fortitude of each woman is evident in the details of her story. Images of the artist and her work are included as well. While not everyone covered here triumphed during their life- HEART OF FLAMES time—Augusta Savage stopped making art and lived in poverty, Pau Preto, Nicki for example—their contributions to the world of art and cul- Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster ture and their examples as daring, passionate creatives are fasci- (640 pp.) nating. The artists portrayed are diverse in ethnicity, nationality, $19.99 | Feb. 11, 2020 sexuality, and their chosen media. 978-1-5344-2465-4 Well-chosen and well-told, these artists’ stories will Series: Crown of Feathers, 2 inspire artists and nonartists alike. (bibliography, image credits) (Nonfiction. 12-18) As war threatens on the horizon, Phoenix Rider Veronyka fights to con-
trol her magic and learn the truth about young adult her identity in this second installment of Pau Preto’s (Crown of Feathers, 2019) fantasy series. Power hungry Lord Rolan sends soldiers into Pyra to pro- voke the Phoenix Riders into battle and force the Golden Empire’s Grand Council into declaring war. Now reunited with her phoenix and no longer in disguise, Veronyka hopes to prove herself a Master Rider and join the action. In the midst of her training, Veronyka strains to control her shadow magic, a secret power that gives her a mental link to Val, the reincarnation of the ruthless Ashfire queen. Shutting down her magic is the only way Veronyka knows to protect herself, but opening her mind may be the path to learning about her past. Slow-burning romance simmers between two pairings, one of which is a same- gender relationship between two boys. Historical documents between chapters expand on the world and create suspense- ful foreshadowing. However, the continued cisnormativity throughout the book detracts from the otherwise high quality of the prose, deeply developed world, page-turning plot, and thrilling, cliffhanger ending. Veronyka has golden-brown skin, and Rolan is white. A fiery sequel that yearns for more.(Fantasy. 12-18)
HEROIC WOMEN OF THE ART WORLD Pool, Eugene H. Tumblehome Learning (272 pp.) $22.95 | Jan. 20, 2020 978-1-943431-53-3
An art historian profiles women artists who overcame adversity in order to achieve professional success. Some of the most accomplished women in the art world of the past five centuries faced difficulties, great and small, in the pursuit of their crafts. Despite their hardships, the women pro- filed in this book used their talents and left their marks. Each
| kirkus.com | young adult | 15 december 2019 | 191 Articulate, insightful, and funny. miss you love you hate you bye
THEODOSIA BURR and pretty funny perspective, the chapters are punctuated by Teen Eyewitness to the journal entries from Zoe (brief, chuckleworthy musings on Founding of the New Nation recovery and double-crosses written from rehab). Both girls Quinones, Karen Cherro have tricky home lives (Hank is nervous her mom’s boyfriend Twenty-First Century/Lerner (104 pp.) will dissolve everyone’s memory of her dead dad; Zoe’s cheating $37.32 PLB | Feb. 4, 2020 father is divorcing her mother, who is more interested in Pilates 978-1-5415-4275-4 and lamenting lost youth than parenting). Though Hank doesn’t see herself as captivating as Zoe, she doesn’t delve into pitiful The life and times of Theodosia Burr self-deprecation (she knows she’s smart, loyal, and a talented (1783-1812), daughter of Aaron Burr, third musician)—a narrative choice that makes her eventual confron- vice president of the United States, best tation of Zoe believable. All main characters are white; Hank known today from the hit musical Hamilton. and her mother are Ashkenazi Jews. In presenting the story of Burr, the author uses correspon- Here’s how to speak up even if it hurts. (Fiction. 14-18) dence and memoirs of contemporaries to provide a portal to the past. Readers learn that Theodosia had an unusual child- hood. Her father believed in Mary Wollstonecraft’s feminist WE, THE WILDFLOWERS theories; Theodosia studied a curriculum equal to that of boys. Simmons, L.B. As an upper-class girl from a prominent New York family, she Spencer Hill Press (391 pp.) had opportunities to meet and mingle with men who became $12.95 paper | Feb. 11, 2020 household names in the early history of the U.S. Details 978-1-63392-111-5 about Theodosia’s upbringing, education, and activities are interspersed with information providing additional historical When life becomes unbearable, four context. The writing is crisp, clear, and engaging. Full-color teens turn to one another for support in illustrations add visual appeal. The book does not delve much this emotional drama. into issues of racial or ethnic diversity; there is a brief note Unloved by her wealthy parents, about the Lenape, and the book notes that although Burr mar- depressed teen Chloe Campbell decides ried a Southerner and lived on a plantation, there is no record to take her own life. The suicide attempt of her thoughts on slavery. Although she died young under is unsuccessful but does result in placement at the branch of tragic and mysterious circumstances, Burr’s prominence as an Sacred Heart group homes reserved for teens dealing with educated, modern woman made her a role model for her time. trauma. There, she connects deeply with the other three Interesting and accessible way to learn about early U.S. residents who are similarly unwanted, uncared for, and mis- history through a remarkable young woman’s life. (time- understood, and they quickly dub themselves the Wildflow- line, glossary, source notes, selected bibliography, further ers as a nod to their persistence and capacity for growth. The information, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 13-18) adolescents encourage each other to work through their pain and overcome struggles with frequent inspirational lectures. A will-they-won’t-they romance blossoms against all odds but is MISS YOU LOVE tested when the Wildflowers experience a devastating loss. The YOU HATE YOU BYE resulting turmoil brings new opportunities for trauma into the Sher, Abby mix, and the teens face their most difficult season yet. Shining a Farrar, Straus and Giroux (304 pp.) light on mental health issues and structural abuse is important, $17.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 but readers are left to puzzle over unanswered questions. The 978-0-374-30701-1 dialogue is wooden and peppered with curse words in a futile attempt to make the characters sound more authentically like The quiet half of two best friends teenagers. The Wildflowers are assumed white; one of them is grapples with growing apart in the wake gay and was rejected by his homophobic parents. of her BFF’s eating disorder. A strong message of hope in the face of adversity is over- Hank (Hannah) is dedicated to the shadowed by stilted prose and a contrived plot. (letter to electric glow of Zoe, her firecracker the reader) (Fiction. 14-18) bestie. Where Zoe has star quality (and the resume to prove it), Hank is a dedicated audience. It’s a symbiotic relationship that gives Zoe the comfort of constant adoration (perfect for a social media junkie) and Hank constant backstage access (great for a girl with “mud-brown hair” and a one-friend focus). The loyalty devolves to something less healthy when Zoe’s eating disorder goes unchecked by fully aware Hank. But when a hero has shortcomings, speaking up doesn’t happen as easily as try- ing to avoid a betrayal. Told from Hank’s articulate, insightful,
192 | 15 december 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | INK IN THE BLOOD the two leads to a connection that tethers them to each other. Smejkal, Kim Smith’s (Pasadena, 2016, etc.) thorough research is evident in the HMH Books (448 pp.) details that immerse readers in Hana’s and Taro’s lives. Their $17.99 | Feb. 11, 2020 stories unfold at a measured pace; short chapters build readers’ 978-1-328-55705-6 anticipation and keep the pages turning. Romanized Japanese Series: Ink in the Blood, 1 words are used throughout the text, grounding the novel in its setting. A strong debut that blends dark fan- A pensive depiction of young love and endurance tasy, ink magic, and theater. amid wartime uncertainty. (map, author’s note, glossary, When Celia was first chosen to be an selected bibliography) (Historical fiction. 13-18) inkling for the revered religion of Profeta, her mothers were delighted to give away their child to become a servant to the Divine. Using ink magic REBELWING and tattoos to spread the Divine’s will to followers should have Tang, Andrea been an honor, but Celia and her best friend, Anya, soon learn Razorbill/Penguin (368 pp.) that lies and torture are at the core of the corrupted religion. $17.99 | Feb. 25, 2020 Ten years later Celia and Anya manage to escape the temple 978-1-9848-3509-3 and join the Rabble Mob, a traveling theater troupe. But their Series: Rebelwing, 1 happiness and freedom are curtailed when the Divine herself catches up with them, upending everything they thought they On the brink of dystopia, a girl and
knew. Celia will do anything to keep Anya and her new friends a mechanical dragon help defend democ- young adult safe. The novel examines faith and the power of propaganda in racy in an alternate future Washington, a somewhat convoluted plot that finds its footing toward the D.C. end. With a focus on its central platonic female friendship, it Sassy prep schooler Prudence Wu also features a well-developed and genuinely touching found smuggles banned media into Incorporated territory in order to family, a slow-burning romance, and the climax to a tragic tale supplement her meager scholarship. Though there are warnings of vengeance that is a thousand years in the making. Celia and of wyverns, war machines used during the Partition Wars, Pru Anya are white within a racially diverse world. Every character cons her way past Barricade walls during a job and ends up on has a tenor, a visible aura that reflects their chosen, individual the run. A chance encounter with a frightening beast leads to her gender identity. waking in her dorm with a blacked-out memory and a dragon The promising first in a duology with inspiring friend- mech imprinted on her mind. In anime-like fashion, with the ships and original worldbuilding. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18) help of her well-connected best friend and highly placed allies, Pru reluctantly agrees to pilot the dragon Rebelwing. The author deftly flies between levity and heartbreak, cracking THE BLOSSOM AND jokes and inserting astute historical and political commentary THE FIREFLY into a setting where survivors of wars past struggle with fears Smith, Sherri L. for the future. Interludes featuring student chat boards and Putnam (320 pp.) newsfeeds offer a fuller picture of events, however sometimes $17.99 | Feb. 18, 2020 they are jarring, especially when they appear in the middle of 978-1-5247-3790-0 action scenes. This will appeal to fans of mecha anime; young, fumbling romance; and stories about superintelligent teens Hope and affection bloom between a trying the save the world. Prudence is ethnically Chinese, and schoolgirl and a pilot in this bittersweet the diverse supporting cast includes Korean, Latinx, and queer narrative set in Japan during the final characters. months of World War II. An exciting adventure. (Science fiction. 13-17) Fifteen-year-old Hana is a member of a youth war group that tends to the tokkō, or special attack pilots, stationed at the Chiran Army Air Force Base. The girls do the pilots’ laundry, serve them meals, and line the runway to send them off on their deadly flights. Since nearly being buried alive during an air raid, Hana moves through each day as though already claimed by death—until one afternoon when she hears the sound of a violin for the first time. Seventeen-year-old Taro is a tokkō committed to defending his country at the cost of his own life, but he cannot abandon his love of music and takes comfort in practicing his instrument. Despite the traumas of war and the demands of duty, a chance encounter between
| kirkus.com | young adult | 15 december 2019 | 193 Heartfelt and meaty. this train is being held
THE LAST CONFESSION OF rebel leader Temujin. As she grows disenchanted with Ashkar’s AUTUMN CASTERLY self-deified Sky King and Ghoa, Enebish sympathizes with the Tate, Meredith rebels; soon enough, events force her to reconsider all her loyal- Putnam (368 pp.) ties. Thorley’s strength lies at the intersection of worldbuilding $17.99 | Feb. 11, 2020 and plotting, melding familiar tropes—geographically-defined 978-1-9848-1349-7 peoples, gods old and new, a chosen-one narrative—with a gyre of duplicity and scheming that alternatively meets and subverts When Autumn Casterly disappears, expectations. Characters hail from different fantasy locales but only her younger sister, Ivy, believes register as white. something is wrong. Satisfies as a stand-alone and leaves fans of fantasy, Everybody knows Autumn is a bad mystery, and thrillers clamoring for more. (Fantasy. 14-18) girl, a drug dealer who often spends the night away. So when Autumn doesn’t come home one day after a drug deal gone wrong, no one bats an eye apart from Ivy. With THIS TRAIN IS BEING HELD the help of her close-knit group of friends, the Nerd Herd Club, Williams, Ismée Ivy starts to search—eventually unveiling the truth behind her Amulet/Abrams (304 pp.) sister’s deceptively strong facade. What Ivy doesn’t know is that $17.99 | Feb. 11, 2020 the clock is ticking, and while Autumn’s body lies broken and 978-1-4197-3493-9 hostage, her spirit has been trying to communicate with Ivy. The narrative alternates between Autumn’s violent story and A little-more-than-a-year in the life. Ivy’s determined search in a story about two sisters that blends Isa and Alex have a pretty typical the mundane with the supernatural. The ill effects of rape cul- meet-cute: Alex holds the door open for ture and the systemic lack of support for survivors are deftly her on the subway so the train won’t leave explored, but the novel’s impact is ultimately marred by a con- without her—which is good, because she trived resolution. The fractured tonal shift between Autumn’s has a very important dance audition to and Ivy’s narratives is an interesting, if jarring, choice (it’s hard get to. Alex, meanwhile, has regular baseball practices not just to care about Ivy’s sweet but silly love triangle when readers with his team, but with his demanding father, who played for know Autumn could soon be dead). The two main characters the Yankees for a year and a half before a drug addiction set him are white, and the novel has well-developed nonwhite and back. They represent two very different New Yorks: Isa’s well- LGBTQIA characters. Ivy is fat and confident in her size; the off family is downsizing after her financier father lost his job fat-shaming she faces at school is addressed head-on. and is also trying to keep her mother’s and older brother’s men- A thoughtful if flawed thriller.(Thriller. 14-18) tal illnesses from tearing the family apart. Alex attends public school in Washington Heights and splits his time between his divorced parents; his mother works in a nursing home. What NIGHT SPINNER Alex’s parents and friends don’t know is that he’s a poet. Soon Thorley, Addie he’s writing poems for Isa and leaving them on the train car Page Street (400 pp.) where at first they just keep happening to run into each other $18.99 | Feb. 11, 2020 before they eventually meet on purpose, away from their par- 978-1-62414-888-0 ents and clashing friend groups. Blonde Isa is half Cuban and half white American; Alex is Dominican. Code-switching and A disgraced warrior fights to restore bilingualism are realistically placed in dialogue throughout the her sense of self amid war and intrigue in text, without italics to disrupt the reader’s flow. Anxieties over this tightly wound, laser-focused epic. mental health, socio-economics, and police and gang violence In Thorley’s (An Affair of Poisons, effectively complicate and deepen the narrative. 2019) immersive sophomore effort, the Heartfelt and meaty. (Realistic fiction. 13-18) Ashkar Empire is imperiled, and 18-year- old Enebish, eponymous Night Spinner and sympathetic narra- tor, isn’t sure where she stands. Wielding the powers of darkness and starfire, Enebish was part of an elite corps drawing its strength from elemental forces until she allegedly massacred innocents. Mutilated and stripped of her abilities, she’s been training eagles at a monastery alongside Serik, her irreverent, magic-barren friend/love interest, ever since. Meanwhile, a generations-long conflict with rival Zemya intensifies as inter- nal rebels rescue criminals and pilfer supplies. Desperate for assistance, Imperial Army Commander Ghoa offers her adop- tive sister a shot at redemption, tasking Enebish with capturing
194 | 15 december 2019 | young adult | kirkus.com | SENSATIONAL Zdrok, Jodie Lynn continuing series Tor Teen (336 pp.) $17.99 | Feb. 11, 2020 DAUGHTER OF CHAOS 978-0-7653-9971-7 Brennan, Sarah Rees Series: Spectacle-Zdrok, 2 Scholastic (368 pp.) $9.99 | Dec. 26, 2019 Eighteen-year-old Nathalie Baudin 978-1-338-32606-2 must once again use her unusual powers Series: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, 2 to unmask a killer in Zdrok’s follow-up (Fantasy. 14-18) to 2019’s Spectacle. It’s 1889, two years since Nathalie, a morgue reporter for Le Petit Journal, learned that she could THE SKY WEAVER envision the last moments of a murder victim’s life by touch- Ciccarelli, Kristen ing either the viewing pane in front of the body or the body HarperTeen (400 pp.) itself. These powers resulted from blood transfusions by a $17.99 | Nov. 12, 2019 controversial doctor, and the “gifts” conferred are different for 978-0-06-256804-5 each person, or Insightful. Nathalie’s gift is gruesome, but she Series: Iskari, 3 enjoys working for police liaison Christophe as an Insightful (Fantasy. 13-18) adviser to help solve murder cases. Outside of work, Nathalie loves exploring the world showcases of the Exposition Univer- THE GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO GETTING LUCKY young adult selle with her beau, Jules, also an Insightful, and her best friend, Lee, Mackenzi Simone, and her young man, Louis. When they stumble upon Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins (128 pp.) a severed head on a pedestal, they soon realize it’s only the $14.99 | Nov. 6, 2019 beginning for a killer with a flair for the dramatic. The mystery 978-0-06-296716-9 takes a back seat to Nathalie’s personal growth as she struggles Series: Montague Siblings, 1.5 with her gift—which has its drawbacks—properly mourns for (Romance. 14 18) a friend, and weathers her institutionalized aunt’s decline. All - main characters are white, but diversity can be found at the Exposition Universelle. The mystery is thin, but readers will THE MAPLE MURDERS enjoy exploring fin de siècle Paris with Nathalie and her spirited Ostow, Micol friends while they attempt to suss out a vicious killer. Scholastic (304 pp.) An entertaining duology closer. (Paranormal historical $9.99 | Oct. 15, 2019 978-1-338-55262-1 thriller. 15-18) Series: Riverdale, 3 (Fiction. 12-18) THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS Riggs, Ransom Dutton Books for Young Readers (336 pp.) $22.99 | Jan. 14, 2020 978-0-7352-3150-4 Series: Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children, 5 (Horror/fantasy. 12-14)
| kirkus.com | young adult | 15 december 2019 | 195 indie STARMAN’S SAGA These titles earned the Kirkus Star: The Long, Strange Journey of Leif the Lucky MS. NEVER by Colin Dodds...... 200 Alexander, Colin Self (353 pp.) A WOUNDED DEER LEAPS HIGHEST by C.P. Mangel...... 205 $3.99 e-book | Nov. 20, 2019
WHAT WE TAKE FOR TRUTH by Deborah Nedelman...... 206 An American on humanity’s first voyage to another star system discovers BLOOD FIRE VAPOR SMOKE by Shann Ray...... 207 peril, romance, and considerable may- hem on the contentious project. It’s 2069 in Alexander’s (My Life, 2019, etc.) SF novel, and Leif Grettison is a Florida-based veteran who survived “the Troubles,” a Russian-Sino–United States war that scarred the mid-21st century. Now he’s a brainy graduate student with a girlfriend and an EMT job, neither valuing him very highly. Leif impulsively enters a high-profile lottery to select a civilian to go into hibernation for dozens of years at a time on the “starshot,” humanity’s first deep-space exploratory voyage (via a ramjet craft) to another, presumably habitable system, not returning home for nearly 30 years. To his surprise, Leif is told he is the winner—after a front-runner drops out. Leif is disturbed to find that the carefully selected 33-person multinational crew includes bellicose Russians and haughty Chinese still holding childish grudges. In fact, the entire project is largely propaganda, a NASA/International Space Commis- sion gambit to make the world’s superpowers cooperate and expend their energies on a work of pure science rather than trying to kill one another over influence and territory. Leif realizes his own windfall as a token Everyman onboard was no random selection but a calculated move to place a former American soldier amid the team of squab- bling, nationalistic scientists in case trouble develops. And trouble sure does. This maiden-voyage setup is a recognizable one, and it’s no secret from the start that Leif will find romance with the bunk- mate who despises him the most: a laser-eyed, razor-cheekboned female Chinese pilot (who actually flew against his squad in combat). Still, the author skillfully steers the story. Alexander creates a good number of memorable jeopardy-in-space situations requiring steady nerves and know-how, and he evokes a nicely thought-out alien envi- ronment. The author even takes the story past the point where other writers might have pulled the curtain to ruminate on human society’s arbitrary evolutions and political-correctness pettiness (“snowflake” is a term used often here) and how being in suspended animation for long intervals doesn’t help. An opening prologue casting the tale as some sort of neo-Icelandic saga (paying tribute to Leif’s Nordic heri- MS. NEVER tage), written in archaic language, is cute but, unlike the other rich Dodds, Colin material here, doesn’t really pay off. Dodds Amalgamated (402 pp.) A vigorous, intelligent reworking of familiar SF ele- $26.00 | $18.18 paper | Nov. 1, 2019 ments, featuring an American veteran who makes a long, 978-0-9721805-9-7 international space voyage survivable. 978-1-69078-814-0 paper
196 | 15 december 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | WORDS NO BARS CAN HOLD released, are still human beings capable of moral redemption: Literacy Learning in Prison She shows readers this through their writing. Moreover, the Appleman, Deborah author makes a convincing case for the power of stories, not just W. W. Norton & Company (160 pp.) to entertain and distract, but also to reimagine the writers’ very $23.95 | $23.95 e-book | Jun. 18, 2019 selves and supply the sources for inspiration that sometimes life 978-0-393-71367-1 itself refuses. An affecting meditation on the ability of literature to A literature teacher recounts her con- empower inmates who are too often dismissively dimin- siderable experience instructing high-secu- ished by society. rity prisoners and argues for a rehabilitation program that includes the liberating effect of creative writing. THE THIRD SYZYGY Despite “incontrovertible evidence” that access to educa- Apseloff, Stanford tion can significantly reduce criminal recidivism, Appleman Illus. by Cheval, Michael (co-author: Teaching Literature to Adolescents, 3rd Edition, 2016, Ohio Distinctive Publishing (216 pp.) etc.) concedes that convincing the public that convicts should $28.95 | $2.99 e-book | Oct. 31, 2019 be treated to what many regard as a forfeited privilege is a 978-1-936772-22-3 “tough sell.” Nevertheless, this is precisely the position she pas- sionately—and inspiringly—defends. While most of the limited In this YA fantasy adventure, a girl’s education provided for prisoners is vocational in nature, the visit to an art museum takes her into a
author contends that an introduction to literature—in particu- magical land where she’s at the center of young adult lar, the exercise of creative writing—can transform an inmate’s an ancient prophecy and mission. life. She avers that the “pedagogy of creative writing, with its Laney, a high schooler, is at the art emphasis on identity construction and narration, seems to pro- museum doing research when she slips vide opportunities for self-reflection as well as powerful clues into a closed gallery to see an exhibition of surreal paintings by to where the life courses of these incarcerated students might real-life artist (and the book’s illustrator) Michael Cheval. She have been altered.” Appleman thoughtfully discusses her own begins to feel dizzy, the absurdist images spinning, when some- experience teaching creative writing at a high-security correc- one shouts “Get out!” Stumbling through the emergency exit, tional facility and poignantly relates not only the successes she Laney finds herself lost in another world, a snowy forest. She witnessed, but also the limitations of an “environment that is eventually ends up in a cottage, where a woman greets her: “I not conducive to learning.” She includes profiles of some of am Shaka, the Guardian of Tarzetta Trail, the heir of the arrows, her “incarcerated learners” as well as exemplary excerpts of the dreamer of dreams.” Laney’s arrival has been prophesied, it their writing. Finally, she furnishes a bracingly honest reflection seems; she is the foretold “Sorceress from the West.” Evil has on the “school-to-prison pipeline,” what she considers “one of come to Shaka’s land in the form of poisonous black fogs and the most urgent educational issues of our time.” She discusses marauding wolves. It’s Laney’s destiny to restore peace by jour- the possibility that a well-guided encounter with literature and neying to a clearing in the West Woods in time for the syzygy, writing could open up new ways of thinking—and ultimately or solar eclipse, “the magical time when anything is possible!” choosing—for disadvantaged youngsters trapped in a grim Shaka accompanies Laney, giving her some magical gifts to help cycle of self-destruction. the quest. Along their journey, the party meets friends and foes, Appleman’s meditation is stirringly hopeful but not naively encountering dangers and setbacks. Laney also learns more idealistic: She never denies the “brutal realities of the carceral about how the black fogs arose from “greed and folly” and how state and the complexity of the population of those who live to harness her powers, facing tests in Shaka’s world—and her behind bars.” She also astutely explores the fundamental inhos- own. Apseloff (Michael Cheval’s Magic, 2019, etc.) offers a hero- pitableness of prison to creative learning. A penitentiary is ine who’s initially apathetic but is challenged by circumstances dehumanizing and despotic while education is humanizing and to find inner qualities of courage, determination, and faith in emancipating. Still, her argument is a ringing testament to the destiny. The odyssey is varied nicely by side adventures, such as “transformative power of literacy” and the extent to which edu- escaping a deadly ravine and crossing an ice-bound river. Link- cation can provide a “kind of oasis, or a glass bubble that floats ing the fantasy quest to a frightening and all-too-plausible, real- fragilely in this sea of indignity.” The author writes not only world situation is a smart move, deepening the resolution. The lucidly, but also with great elegance and power. Her position is author has a good ear for fantasy diction, which helps create an based on her profound experience as an instructor and a lover appropriate sense of otherness for Shaka’s land. The attractive, of literature—she has taught 150 incarcerated men. The writing accomplished black-and-white illustrations are well integrated samples she provides are simply extraordinary, not only because with the storytelling, with Cheval’s (Michael Cheval’s Magic, of their philosophical and poetical quality, but also because 2019, etc.) lovely crosshatching and draftsmanship lending real- of the insights the writers demonstrate into their lamentable ity to the surreal. plights. Appleman does more than argue that these men, many A fine example of the quest story, beautifully illustrated. of whom have committed heinous crimes and will never be
| kirkus.com | indie | 15 december 2019 | 197 WE WERE GAY MEN IN THE NO NAPTIME FOR JANIE! FEMINIST REVOLUTION A Hanukkah Tale Articles, Pamphlets & Blumberg, Margie Reflections on My Gay Illus. by Andriani, Renée Activist Days in San Francisco, MB Publishing (56 pp.) 1969-1972 $12.95 paper | $6.99 e-book Benton, Nicholas F. Sep. 12, 2017 BCI Books (200 pp.) 978-0-9908430-6-1 $15.00 paper | $6.99 e-book Sep. 7, 2019 When a little girl can’t sleep at nap time, her grandmother 978-1-64633-310-3 teaches her to bake a pie for Hanukkah in this illustrated chil- dren’s book. Benton (Extraordinary Hearts, 2013) collects his writings Janie, a red-haired white girl, just isn’t drowsy when it’s time from the post-Stonewall, pre–Harvey Milk era of the LGBTQ+ for her to take a nap. Luckily, her grandmother is happy to put rights movement. down her knitting: “I’m thrilled you’re awake! / We can bake As a young gay man in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late a surprise— / A Hanukkah treat / For your tummy and eyes.” 1960s, Benton became a passionate activist and writer in the gay Step by step, Janie’s grandmother shows her how to mix dough, rights movement. He published prolifically in such alternative line a pan, peel and cut apples, “stir in raisins,” “spread the fill- outlets as the Berkeley Barb, the Berkeley Tribe, Gay Sunshine, and ing,” and so forth. But where is the jam? After they look every- his own paper, the Effeminist. In this collection, he reveals how, where—likely and unlikely places—the jam is found. Helping by 1969, the gay movement had already split into two factions: to set the table and clean up the mess, Janie is finally ready for “one which saw our liberation in the context of wider social cur- her nap. Later, the whole family celebrates the holiday (“Hanuk- rents and causes, and the other which insisted that activism kah, Hanukkah, / We love you. / Latkes, dreidels— / Lots to do! be limited to striving to advance ‘our’ issues, solely.” Benton / Make a pie and / Sing a song… / Hanukkah, Hanukkah / Eight identified with the former, and the Effeminist sought to bring days long!”). Included are a glossary for Yiddish and Hebrew together the goals of the gay rights and feminist movements. terms; instructions for playing dreidel and lighting the meno- His topics include the Stonewall riots, Vietnam, racism, sexism, rah; two Hanukkah songs; and an apple pie recipe. Blumberg and politics, and there are firsthand accounts of protests, dem- (Bunny Romero’s White House Adventure, 2018, etc.) writes amus- onstrations, incidents of harassment, and cultural trends and ing rhyming couplets and quatrains in this warmhearted story. happenings. These pieces provide a record of a specific era in With so much to enjoy, no wonder Janie can’t nap. The book the counterculture and offer valuable perspective for activists does a lovely job of capturing the family fun and holiday spirit in today’s LGBTQ+ and feminist struggles. Benton’s prose is of Hanukkah while also teaching traditions. The illustrations analytical and hard-hitting even when writing about film: “It’s by Andriani (A Gefilte Fishy Tale, 2017, etc.) are very appealing, about a male supremacist society where sex is a power trip,” he contributing to the storytelling with their soft tones and nicely writes in a 1971 review of the prison-set film Fortune and Men’s realized details, such as a “KVELLING board” pinned with Eyes. “It’s about cultural homosexuality, turned into simulated children’s awards, drawings, and writing. heterosexual acts performed by men on each other due to the An entertaining kids’ introduction to Hanukkah with physical absence of women. It’s real.” The book is primarily attractive images. composed of writings from the same period, but more recent pieces that look back on that time are included as well. Benton asserts that he’s been written out of some versions of the era’s THE CENTRAL PARK history, and there’s a self-promotional quality to the book that Original Designs for New isn’t always subtle; one essay, for instance, is titled “4 Things York’s Greatest Treasure I Am Credited With Helping To Accomplish in That Era.” As Brenwall, Cynthia S. a set of primary source documents, however, these essays will Abrams (236 pp.) give readers a wonderful, provocative look into the Stonewall $50.00 | $31.10 e-book | Apr. 16, 2019 generation’s political coming-of-age. 978-1-4197-3232-4 A stirringly combative and prescient collection from earlier days of gay journalism. A stunning collection of architectural drawings that detail the original vision of New York City’s Central Park and offer a history of its evolution. Central Park is more than just a “pastoral oasis” amid the din and clamor of urban life; it’s also an iconic landmark that’s been immortalized in popular literature and film. Debut author Brenwall, an art historian and conservator for the New York City Municipal Archives, expertly highlights the extraordi- nary cultural significance of the park, which, she writes, was
198 | 15 december 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | Burton effortlessly weaves sweeping emotion and fine detail into compact sentences. far away bird
first imagined by two “visionaries”: landscape designer Andrew goes on to fall in love with the Hippodrome and theater life in Jackson Downing and poet and newspaper editor William Cul- general. This idyllic existence ends, however, when Magister Ori- len Bryant, the latter of whom argued in 1844 that the densely gen rapes her, and one night, she slashes him with a knife and populated and commercial city needed an “extensive pleasure flees for home. The magistrate then withdraws financial support ground for shade and recreation.” The formal plan for the for the family, and soon they face dire poverty. Their savior comes park—a remarkably innovative design collaboratively created in the form of a handsome Roman officer who’s later revealed to by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1858—called for be an important figure. He asks 19-year-old Theodora to work for a bucolic alternative to the “confinement, bustle, and monoto- him as a spy to get information from various men in power, by nous street-division of the city.” The author rigorously conveys whatever means necessary. However, she later finds that she’s fall- how this idea unfolded and changed as it became a politically ing deeply in love with her new employer. bedraggled project that remained incomplete well into the Over the course of this novel, Burton offers an elegantly 1930s; at one point, it was nearly abandoned for budgetary rea- written historical tale in which he effortlessly weaves sweep- sons, as it was considered an “unnecessary extravagance in a ing emotion and fine detail into compact sentences: “Maximina time of crisis.” Brenwall had access to more than 1,500 archival pulled her daughters in closer, forming a protective embrace. architectural drawings and plans related to the park, and she Theodora saw how the white gowns spilled down like milk upon beautifully reproduces many here as well as gorgeous black-and- the dark brown of the track, her mother rising above.” He also white and color photos. Her thoroughness alone is impressive, smoothly supplies accurate historical details as the story goes as she highlights many design projects, including such famous on, as when the aforementioned Roman officer gently -cor park features as the Great Lawn and more quotidian ones, like rects Theodora regarding the identity and occupation of his its drainage system. The author relates the park’s development powerful adoptive father: “But yes, he’s Count of the Excubi-
as a grand drama, showing how its successful conclusion was tors.” However, the author also sometimes offers occasional young adult hardly foregone and how it required extraordinary creative moments of physical description that can be a bit off-putting, genius and civic commitment. Also, her book astutely illustrates as when he notes that “Theodora rubbed her teeth against her the park’s deeper significance—more than a “sylvan vision,” it bottom lip.” British author Stella Duffy’s 2010 novel Theodora, also represented the democratization of space and stands as our which deals with the same main character, is far more brazen “finest civic architectural tribute to the foundational American in its depictions of sex scenes than Burton’s is, although some principles of equality and opportunity for all,” as architecture readers will likely prefer the latter’s relatively genteel approach, critic Martin Filler writes in a foreword. In addition, the book which mostly veers away from sensationalism and focuses more makes for a very handsome coffee-table tome. on characterization. Theodora, in particular, is revealed to be A thrilling history of one of the world’s most famous a charming and strong-willed yet emotionally conflicted young urban parks. woman, and she engagingly endeavors to exert her influence in a male-dominated society. The overall storyline is generally strong and compelling, and the writing is, for the most part, FAR AWAY BIRD sharp and learned. Burton, Douglas A. A well-researched rags-to-riches tale that’s told with Silent Music Press (394 pp.) confidence and enthusiasm. $16.95 paper | Feb. 6, 2020 978-1-73302-210-1 IN THE NICK OF TIME Burton’s debut historical novel, the Cummings, Deedee first in a series about the Byzantine Illus. by Mosley, Charlene Empress Theodora, charts her journey Lulu Publishing Services from destitution to the throne. $18.95 paper The novel opens in Constantinople in 978-1-951218-20-1 the year 512. A rebellion is brewing in the city, and 14-year-old Theodora, along with her sister, Comito, is In this picture book from the team of searching for their father, a bear-keeper named Acacius. The fol- Cummings and Mosley (This Is Earth, 2019), a boy accidentally lowing morning, the siblings tragically discover that he has been receives a letter for Santa and discovers the real Christmas spirit. killed in the unrest. Magister Origen, a local judge, suggests that Nick Saint, a boy with brown skin and a flattop haircut, is their mother, Maximina, marry Samuel, a candidate for the bear- mostly interested in playing video games. He’s frustrated when keeper post, in order to keep the profession in her family. Maxi- the postal carrier mistakenly delivers a letter addressed to Santa mina agrees to this course of action, but she puts her foot down rather than his new video game. But the letter begins to show when the magistrate also recommends that both of her daughters Nick a new world. One of his classmates, Cooper, has lost his be sent to dance school, where they’ll learn how to entertain men home, and he asks Santa for a new job for his mother and a as actresses—and as courtesans. Despite her mother’s protests, truck for his brother. Nick realizes that he has so much more Theodora agrees to attend the school, declaring that she wants to than others: “Never did it cross Nick’s mind that every child be “on stage for all to see. Someone beautiful and important.” Theodora in his school did not have a home or even, video games to play.”
| kirkus.com | indie | 15 december 2019 | 199 He tries to find a way to help Cooper, and although the solu- to be a terrific writer of revelry, and he engagingly depicts cama- tion comes a bit too easily, Nick’s transformation from a child raderie among fellow artists and among low-wage workers—par- concerned with material things to a kid who wants to help oth- ticularly bartenders and kitchen staff. Cash’s capacities for drink ers rings true. Cummings’ heavy use of untagged dialogue may and introspection also don’t go unappreciated by others: “You have leave some readers puzzled, but the interactions between Nick lived the lives that men lead, quiet desperation, man,” says Carl, a and his mom are authentic, and his parents’ support is admi- literary magazine editor. “Fucking Thoreau, dude. You’re the mass rable. Mosley’s textured cartoon illustrations, which feature of men.” In the novel’s final act, the author highlights Cash’s para- painterly backgrounds, ground the story beautifully. noia as he uncovers the true identity of “Suited Man” and begins to This engaging holiday tale gives children—like the pro- piece together another ugly truth about a terrible accident at the tagonist—a chance to investigate their own privilege. racetrack that may not have been an accident after all. An often endearing book about an ongoing search for meaning. SHINING MAN Dills, Todd Livingston Press (327 pp.) MS. NEVER $25.95 | $18.95 paper | Dec. 31, 2019 Dodds, Colin 978-1-60489-234-5 Dodds Amalgamated (402 pp.) 978-1-60489-233-8 paper $26.00 | $18.18 paper | Nov. 1, 2019 978-0-9721805-9-7 In Dills’ (Triumph of the Ape, 2013, 978-1-69078-814-0 paper etc.) novel, a man wonders about the meaning of life while investigating his In Dodds’ (Watershed, 2017, etc.) father’s disappearance. novel, an office worker with supernatu- In a prologue, Cash has just quit his ral powers begins a relationship with a job in the pit crew of Turner Bascombe, a famous, South Carolina– telecommunications tycoon whose dark, born automobile racer: “Reconsideration of life in the circuit…just metaphysical secret is equally startling. wasn’t an option after all that had happened,” Cash thinks, and the Farya Navurian lived on a version of novel looks back to when he was a fry cook at Henry’s Bar & Grill in Earth in which the glorious Greater Majestic Anointed Com- North Carolina. One day, he received a vague phone message from monwealth of Ohio spanned a continent and her famous astro- a co-worker that his father, Ralph, was dead. He couldn’t believe naut father was a deep-space ambassador. However, it didn’t last it, and when he was unable to independently confirm the report, because Farya has a mysterious, apocalyptic ability: If she lets he packed up and drove to Chicago. At his father’s apartment, he her attention wander and daydreams, tracts of reality simply found stacks of boxes and a cryptic note: “Son! In these boxes may diminish and dissolve, as if they’d never happened. Formerly you locate your ultimate salvation—or you might find nothing at all! Just large cities, such as Camden, New York, are suddenly unre- a bunch of orange vests!” Cash decided to cut the vests into pieces markable towns, and Ohio becomes a mundane Rust Belt state. and stitch the reflective bits into a suit. He puts it on and roams During these paradigm shifts, millions of people vanish; only a the streets, becoming known as “Shining Man”—performance handful (notably, Farya’s surprisingly easygoing best pal, Ethan) artist and traffic scourge. Soon, a photographer takes pictures of retain memories of incredible, lost cultures and loved ones. him that end up in a local art gallery. Cash doesn’t find his missing Guilt-ridden Farya winds up a downtrodden Jersey City office father, but a second cryptic note from a mysterious figure (“Suited worker. Meanwhile, wealthy Metacom boss Bryan Lomoigne Man”) sends him to Birmingham, Alabama. There, he meets Turner faces a dilemma. He wittily included a fine-print clause in his Bascombe, who’s speeding down an interstate. He offers Cash a company’s cellphone contracts that grants Metacom “Non- spot on his crew, so he moves to Charlotte, North Carolina, where Mortal Element Rights” from anyone signing up for their cheap interpersonal drama threatens to tear the team apart. gadgets; in other words, his customers sell their souls to him. Although the central mystery of Cash’s father’s disappearance Some buy them back at heavy cost, but it’s basically a side hustle results in an unsatisfactory payoff, it ably serves its purpose as a for Bryan, who’s the son of a deceased, dissolute rock star who narrative engine, turning the novel into an enjoyable picaresque as fathered a large number of children. Faced with middle age and Cash undertakes an interstate adventure. The protagonist is medi- a failing marriage, Bryan wants to sell his business and devote tative and eloquent but also a little dopey at times; at one point, he himself to buying back his father’s song catalog. But Metacom ruminates on his reflective suit in a manner that may have read- has unusual business partners who have alarming methods of ers scratching their heads: “ ’twas a quest for light that, ultimately, enforcing their will. When Bryan and Farya meet at a record given the task’s clear physicality, its mindful mindlessness, blinded swap—Thelonious Monk tunes help her maintain her equilib- me to the possibility of knowledge, of candor, truth.” Cash styles rium—they embark on a relationship despite the considerable himself a modern-day Henry David Thoreau, but he likes beer paranormal baggage they both try to keep out of sight. more than he does inquiry into life’s true essence. Indeed, his mus- Dodds offers a transfixing, fantastic narrative that first ings often feel like the nonsensical near profundities of a pickled seems like two separate, weird tales. It’s a fabulist, careening philosopher—but this isn’t always a bad thing. Dills shows himself plot that’s reminiscent of the late-career, anything-goes fiction
200 | 15 december 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | Glass tells an exciting story of brave deeds and the transformation of a government. rough ride to runnymede
of Kurt Vonnegut (such as 1997’s Timequake). The author exe- that they appeal mainly to “brand advertisers who care more cutes the story with exacting, direct prose and characters who about retweets and shares than they do about profitable cus- live and breathe in the mind even as their own realities seem tomer generation.” As the strategies get more complicated, built on shifting ground. He keeps the tale moving forward with Donohoe skillfully clarifies his terms so that even beginners will sublime aplomb even though, at numerous points, the mate- be able to read along. rial could have easily gone off the rails. The vanished, fondly An in-depth and winningly frank marketing manual. recalled Greater Majestic Anointed Commonwealth of Ohio, for example, is only sparingly hinted at; it wasn’t a paradise, but it certainly made for an interesting home address. Although ROUGH RIDE TO RUNNYMEDE that particular bit of business might serve as a nice metaphor On a Quest To Stop a Bully for the mindsets of imaginative SF/fantasy readers who long Glass, Cat to escape dreary daily reality, this is too broad and rich a work Westbow Press (254 pp.) to pigeonhole as a collection of inside jokes. Instead, it shows $35.95 | $19.95 paper | $3.99 e-book great psychological and philosophical nuance, ruminating on Aug. 29, 2019 relationships, family, commerce, art, sacrifice—and reading the 978-1-973671-32-9 fine print of company terms and conditions. Overall, readers 978-1-973671-31-2 paper will find it to be an exceptional work. Existential dread takes on new meaning in a fantasti- In this debut middle-grade historical cal tale of shifting realities, second-chance romance, and novel, a boy works to bring Magna Carta unwanted business partners. to reality in 13th-century England.
At harvest time in 1214, Taymor “Tay” Wallop, 14, is in a young adult tough position. He’s inherited Swan Castle from his father, THE CEO’S DIGITAL but the greedy King John is demanding an unaffordable inher- MARKETING PLAYBOOK itance tax and commandeering the stronghold’s harvest and Donohoe, Thomas J. farm animals. When Tay protests the unfairness of this, John Koehler Books (250 pp.) gives him an out: get rid of the archbishop of Canterbury, who $34.95 | $17.95 paper | Nov. 15, 2019 has offended the monarch by telling the country’s earls that the 978-1-63393-952-3 king must obey the law. As the brown son of a Syrian mother, 978-1-63393-950-9 paper Tay has already experienced discrimination, and fairness mat- ters greatly to him. But if he doesn’t obey, the king will kill his A comprehensive guide to the intri- father’s man at arms, Will, and Tay will lose Swan Castle. Early cacies of online marketing. on his journey, Tay meets Archer, about 19, a talented bowman In his nonfiction debut, consultant with a secret who’s been led by a dream to help the teen. Tay is Donohoe lays out a “battle plan” for busi- impressed by the archbishop’s saintliness and can’t bear to kill nesses to take advantage of digital and him. Instead, the archbishop inspires Tay to embark on a mis- direct marketing. Although this plan gets rather complex as it sion to persuade the earls to support a new charter of fair play. goes on, its goal is simple and straightforward: “Marketing is Soon joined by Lucy, 12, who’s running from a forced marriage, about turning people into customers—new customers or, even Tay and Archer travel the country, hoping against hope to suc- better, repeat ones,” the author says. His “playbook” revolves ceed. Though beset by dangers, Tay’s faith brings him—and around a quartet of basic approaches (“The Core Four”) that the country’s leaders—to Runnymede for the historic sealing businesses can employ immediately—beginning with “Trade- of Magna Carta. Useful information on history, places, and name search engine advertising on Google and Bing”—and people plus a glossary are included. In her novel, Glass tells eight more techniques (“The Advanced Eight”) that may be an exciting story of brave deeds and the transformation of a used once one’s initial digital-marketing strategy has put the government, backed up by historical and cultural details that company on firmer ground, including “Advanced display adver- bring this long-ago world to life. The characters are well drawn, tising using a DSP: Demographic and Psychographic ‘up-funnel’ and it’s especially nice to see a person of color in a time period Programmatic.” Donohoe’s tone is one of controlled outrage too often imagined as solely white. While Tay’s experience is when he talks about how few companies feel confident in their bolstered by prayer, nonreligious readers can still respond to digital-marketing schemes; many CEOs, he maintains, are the universal appeal of fairness and cheer for those who risked stuck in marketing’s past (“the internet is real,” he sardonically all to bring it about. points out at one point). In fast-paced, insightful chapters, he An engaging, compelling tale whose relatable young takes readers on a thorough tour of standard digital sites and hero’s adventures link to a nation’s destiny. tools that businesses may use for marketing purposes, includ- ing search engines Google, Bing, and Yahoo!, social media sites, and music-streaming services. At all times, his manner is that of a no-nonsense insider. For example, he’s brutally honest in his opinions of Pinterest, Twitter, Pandora, and Spotify, asserting
| kirkus.com | indie | 15 december 2019 | 201 MEAL AND A SPIEL PARADOX How To Be a Badass in Volume 1 the Kitchen Incognito Horwich, Elana Self (234 pp.) Olive Press (480 pp.) $14.44 paper | $4.99 e-book $49.95 | Dec. 7, 2018 Apr. 26, 2019 978-0-692-13044-5 978-1-79297-781-7
Complex Italian cuisine gets trans- A debut volume of philosophical poetry lated into a down-to-earth idiom in this wrestles with age-old questions—Who am tangy cookbook. I? What is real? What does it all mean? Horwich (7 Days of California Healthy Recipes, 2017), a profes- The author of this book is somewhat sional chef and cooking instructor, spent five years in Italy soaking of a paradox himself. On the final pages up regional cooking styles. Here, she presents a soup-to-nuts set of of his verse volume, Incognito writes that “i am simply sharing recipes in which she describes how to cook them and why to eat my thoughts that i enjoy, / for you to as well.” But this comes them. She includes detailed instructions on basics, such as ingre- hot on the heels of a much more ambitious claim—“i do not dients (extra-virgin olive oil and canned tomatoes are essential), want to create a new religion for you. / the point is to destroy proper kitchen equipment, and cooking methods—from elemen- your religions.” It’s rare to see such humility and such grandios- tary procedures (“If you can throw whole vegetables into a pot, ity couched so closely together, but perhaps that’s part of the cover them with water, and then go take a nap for a couple of hours, point: The author—who goes by a pseudonym—isn’t here to you can make broth”) to complicated roasting and slow-cooking comfort readers. Rather, he is here to strip away their illusions. techniques. The mysteries of Italian cuisine are probed in depth, Iris Murdoch once said that we live in “a world of illusion. The including the secrets of cooking pasta al dente as well as the secrets great task in life is to find reality.” Incognito is ready and willing of eating it: “Bring the fork to your face, stick it in your mouth, pull to help with that task. Sometimes he does so in what amount to out the fork and inhale the low-hanging strands of pasta into your free verse poems. For example, “God’s Trip” opens with, “you mouth without making any noise.” She also covers principles of never know you’re dreaming until you wake up. / maybe you’re menu planning—don’t overdo the carbs, she says, and avoid mixing locked in dreams of dreams / and reality is what you want it to seafood with meat and dairy. There are about 100 recipes, ranging be. / it’s only when you wake up that you realize / you wasted from simple salads and bread appetizers to roast lamb extravaganzas a dream by thinking it was real.” The repetition here is artful, that include a day of prep work; other selections include traditional and one of the tenets of the poet’s faith is that dreams give way pasta, meat, and fish entrees and vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and to dreams that ultimately give way to reality. Elsewhere, Incog- paleo fare. There are a few unusual leaps, such as “Lemony Quinoa nito dispenses with longer forms in favor of koanlike epigrams. Salad” and a latke recipe that nods to the author’s Jewish American Here is one: “i found myself asking more questions without any background. The sumptuous, full-page color photographs of fin- answers / but the things we can’t explain eventually bring clar- ished dishes are truly a feast for the eyes. ity.” That such obscurity might indeed eventually yield “clarity” Horwich’s recipes and directions are lucid and easy to fol- is one of the author’s main hopes. Whether it ever does in this low, and they offer beginners the chance to make sophisticated bold and provocative volume is likely up to readers. Incognito dishes. They’re also a treat to read, infused with a touch of whimsy piles mystery upon mystery here, and some may be exasperated (including a relaxed attitude toward measurements), much witty by the sheer number of unanswered questions. But perhaps commentary—“my only defense against [some vegans’] moral answers are forthcoming because, as the poet notes on the superiority is childish ridicule”—and background lore and descrip- book’s last page, Volume 2 will be out soon. tions that have considerable literary flair, as when she observes that Daring poetry that isn’t afraid to think big. “the fig, like a woman, must be prepared delicately and served with the intention to awaken the sublime and the sensual.” But Hor- wich also writes about the emotional and even spiritual aspects of MALIBU BURNING food, as when she urges readers to “Feel the grains of salt on your The Real Story Behind LA’s skin” as a way of “honoring the salt before you ask it to flavor your Most Devastating Wildfire food.” The book is, in part, a love letter to Italy—one with wisps Kerbeck, Robert of romance (“This recipe was inspired by Edo, the kind of Italian MWC Press (262 pp.) man that American girls can’t help but fall for”) and plenty of local $35.78 | $16.99 paper | $9.99 e-book atmosphere: “Surrounded by the renegade left wing of Rome—art- Nov. 1, 2019 ists, intellectuals, communists, laborers, Roman Jews, and ex-pats 978-1-73347-053-7 from all over the world—we ate, smoked, and worked on The New 978-1-73347-050-6 paper York Times’ crossword puzzle.” Readers will find it an engaging book to browse even before they take it into the kitchen. A writer offers stories of Califor- A fine cookbook that’s also a funny, tasty evocation of nia residents caught in the flames of a Italian food culture. deadly wildfire.
202 | 15 december 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | Knight offers an appealing tale featuring humor and kid-savvy dilemmas. finn & botts
On Nov. 9, 2018, the Woolsey Fire spread from Simi Valley (the boy’s nemesis and the studio’s popular star magician). Embar- to Malibu, destroying 100,000 acres of land and forcing 250,000 rassed by a hitch in the trick, which requires an escape from chains people to evacuate. What debut author, actor, and longtime res- and locks, and burned by more taunts from Felix, Finn is so upset ident Kerbeck remembers of that day is “the terror of thinking that he cancels his plan to repeat the stunt at his school’s upcoming you’re about to be burned alive in front of your kid.” His book, talent show. It doesn’t help that Felix manipulates him into playing a collection of tales blending memoir, investigative journalism, a prank that earns good student Finn detention for the very first and narrative, begins with his own harrowing account of the time. In this series entry, Knight (Finn & Botts: Double Trouble at the fire’s rapid descent toward his home. The author then goes on Museum, 2019, etc.) offers another appealing tale featuring humor to reconstruct the stories of his neighbors. There are plenty of and kid-savvy dilemmas. Encounters with class bullies, supportive shocking close calls with “flaming embers”—one standout is the interactions among Finn and his friends, and responsible adults to experience of Tanesha Lockhart, who had to “shelter in place” turn to as needed are regular components of the author’s plots. Here, with the youths of a detention center. But Kerbeck also uses a sneaky kid and his sidekicks get their comeuppance, Mr. Labanzo’s the residents’ recollections as a springboard to reach deep into encouraging words give Finn the confidence he needs to try his trick the history of Malibu and the questions of liability surrounding again—unexpectedly facilitated by Felix, whose motive is suspect— California wildfires. Stars like Bob Dylan and Sean Penn make and a mystery is solved. (Someone has accessed the school computer cameos, but what is more important to the author is the com- and changed students’ grades.) Meyers (Ballpark Mysteries 15, 2019, munity of Malibu that exists at the edges of its multimillion- etc.) again captures fun and suspense in his full-page, black-and- dollar homes: the Morra family, which struggled, ultimately in white, gray-toned illustrations of children who just happen to have vain, to buy a fire engine dedicated to locals; Valerie Sklarevsky, the snouts and ears of pigs but are otherwise just regular human kids. a hippie activist who lived in a covered wagon; and the Gonza- One small slip: presumably Knight meant to use the word “devious”
lezes, who built their own doomed, wooden home themselves. rather than “deviant” in describing Felix’s smile. young adult Throughout these and the other tales, the author deftly digs An entertaining tale with realistic kids whom young into the terror of that day, the deep connections these people readers can relate to and well-integrated, character-build- felt to the land, and the varying factors that played a role in the ing messages. Woolsey fire’s rapid development. His ample research allows him to makes surprising connections, linking the fire to the electric provider’s mismanagement and even possibly to nuclear TEN TALES OF A DARK testing in the 1950s while providing a thorough examination of TOMORROW the volunteer and Los Angeles County fire departments. -Ker Kuhn, Kevin A. beck writes about policy and history with the same urgency that Beaver’s Pond Press (224 pp.) he brings to cars engulfed in flames. And he focuses on just the $16.95 paper | $1.99 e-book right details—such as a high school production of Spring Awak Oct. 31, 2019 ening and a lost collection of airplane models—to give a robust 978-1-64343-904-4 and very human face to Malibu and the increasingly frequent dangers it faces. A collection of short stories explores An engrossing, thorough, and revealing portrait of a aliens, strange planets, and grim futuris- beloved beachside community confronting disaster. tic worlds. In his introduction, Kuhn (Do You Realize?, 2017) cites The Twilight Zone FINN & BOTTS as an inspiration for his tales. Much like the classic TV series, Talent Show Tricks the stories here, though primarily SF, cover assorted subgenres, Knight, Stew including comedy, horror, and melodrama. “A Drink of Knowl- Dreamwell Press (106 pp.) edge,” for one, follows three young boys sampling moonshine $8.99 paper | $5.99 e-book | Jul. 25, 2019 who are nearby when a meteor crashes to Earth. There may be 978-1-73360-922-7 something inside a meteorite they find, but is it malevolent? A few tales, like the opening “My Little Girl,” are akin to fantasies Discouraged after a trick goes awry, but also boast SF elements such as parallel universes and time a kid magician gets the opportunity to travel. The narratives are generally about control, which often wow his peers at the school talent show ties in with humans’ potentially bleak future. In “Terror on in this third installment of a chapter Pandor-3,” an archaeological crew discovers an ancient artifact book series. that, the group soon learns, has the means to control it. That Last seen solving a spooky mystery dur- may be the same thing Alica, the artificial intelligence in “For ing an overnight school trip to the local museum, third-grader Finn the Hive,” is doing to humans—presumably to protect them Fasser—with the help of his best friend, Botts—is eager to show off from risks (for example, a black hole). Even aliens try to effect his new escape trick on the Labanzo Magic Studio stage. After three control via the Galactic Empire, which crops up in two of the months of magic lessons with Mr. Labanzo, Finn is nervous but more indelible stories: “The Case Against Humanity” and “Sally determined to be a success despite taunts from his classmate Felix Ann, Queen of the Galaxy.” The Empire in “Case” is deciding
| kirkus.com | indie | 15 december 2019 | 203
between admitting Earth to the organization and extinguish- in Italian and French are likely to frustrate many readers. None- ing humanity before it destroys itself. In the quirky latter tale, theless, there is plenty to like in this rollicking, madcap story: his- ruler-to-be Sally Ann is currently on Earth as a 12-year-old girl. torical details about the rebellious political forces sweeping the But as she’s bright and already popular with the galaxy’s citizens, continent, vivid depictions of 18th-century styles and prejudices, corrupt individuals in power may want to prevent her impend- and a naughty sense of humor. ing reign. Kuhn writes in an unadorned style with minimal A delightfully irreverent opera tale that should espe- details, though there are more than enough to spark the imagi- cially appeal to Mozart fans. nation. For example, one character in “Teach a Man To Fish” describes planet Rakislav as “where the air’s not breathable, the sky’s always gray, and the most exciting thing you’ll see is the CASTLE OF SHADOWS lightning show during a dust storm.” Despite all the fantastic A Family Saga goings-on, characters also grapple with serious, timely issues, Lawton, Anna including child abuse and racism. Trans. by Shugaar, Antony Unpretentious and enthralling tales that feature SF New Academia Publishing/ The Spring elements. (376 pp.) $37.17 | $26.00 paper | Oct. 8, 2019 978-1-73304-082-2 THE MURDER OF FIGARO 978-1-73304-081-5 paper A Musical Mystery Larson, Susan The lives of an Italian Piedmontese Savvy Press (200 pp.) family are traced across generations in $20.00 paper | $2.99 e-book this novel. Aug. 1, 2019 In the opening to this intricate family history, the first- 978-1-939113-33-7 person narrator, Antigone, confides that “cameras have always played an important role in the lives of the Ducati family.” The Murder and mayhem threaten to book centers on a family archive, with the narrator describing derail the premiere of The Marriage of various photographs and documents, then “filling in the - nar Figaro in this mystery. rative spaces with action and dialogue.” The first photo to be It is April 21, 1786, and the first stage examined is a group portrait taken in 1908 outside the family rehearsal of Mozart’s Figaro is about to begin in Vienna’s Court seat, the castle of Cortalba in Piedmont. The picture depicts Theater. The opera is based on Beaumarchais’ anti-royalist play the narrator’s great-grandparents Pietro and Olga Ducati along written in 1778 and banned but widely read in Vienna. The room with their daughter Ada, the narrator’s grandmother, and Giulia vibrates with excitement and more than a little salacious gossip. and Luca, two of their other children. The narrative springs The melodramatic cast chatters away while assorted Viennese from these characters. It is revealed how Pietro and his brother court luminaries indulge in contemptuous snickering. The com- Leo traveled south to Rome for work and established a biscotti poser, nervous but resplendently attired and meticulously coiffed, business, after which Pietro married Olga, the daughter of gives the signal to raise the curtain. A piercing scream rings out a Genoese ship owner, and bought the castle at auction. The as a dangling body descends, entwined in the rigging. Herr von work recounts the stories of numerous other family members, Haegelin, “the Imperial theatrical censor,” has evidently commit- such as Andre, Leo’s son, who moves to Hollywood and estab- ted suicide—or was he murdered? So begins Larson’s (Sam, 2012) lishes himself as a movie director, and Alma, daughter of Ada, ribald, clever romp, a narrative brimming with lust, rivalry, decep- who marries Dardo, an actor and direct relative of the pirate tion, scandalous liaisons, and palace intrigue. The novel is written Sir Edward Walton. Luca, meanwhile, frequents a brothel in the form of an opera, divided into Overtures, Acts, Scenes, and and becomes infatuated with a savvy prostitute named Catarì. a concluding Stretto rather than chapters. Mozart’s friend and Divided into three parts spanning the late 19th and 20th cen- librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, “Court Poet to the Italian theater,” turies, the novel charts how the family copes with rapid change is arrested on trumped-up charges and eventually accused of kill- across Europe, such as the rise of Fascism. ing von Haegelin. Mozart is distraught, obsessively concerned Featuring a cast of 15 principal characters and over 80 oth- with the premiere of his opera on the Viennese stage. He pas- ers, including a domesticated leopard, this tale has considerable sionately bemoans his fate to his wife, Constanze, saying of Da scope that could easily have proved sprawling. Some concentra- Ponte: “I need him desperately to do the mise-en-scène and general tion is required, particularly since a number of the players have diva pacification and crowd control! Some devilish plot is being similar names; Alma is also known as Mina, for example, and her worked to spoil my play!” Together, they strive to uncover the daughter is called Nina. Yet the way in which the author refers to truth behind von Haegelin’s death. It is not necessary to be well photos is a clever way of isolating particular stories and charac- versed in opera to enjoy Larson’s scathing portrait of demanding ters to limit potential confusion: “In all the photographs Luca is divas, pompous tenors, and an emotionally overwrought, albeit wearing the same stunned expression in his cerulean, lifeless eyes, genius, composer. But some familiarity helps. The frequent use and a faint smile seeking his audience’s approval: ‘I’m handsome, of genre-specific terminology and untranslated pieces of dialogue aren’t I?’ ” These passages, which exemplify Lawton’s (Amy’s Story,
204 | 15 december 2019 | indie | kirkus.com |
Lima deftly blends a useful guide with an absorbing autobiography. heart to beat
2017, etc.) keen and elegant descriptive skills, also tantalizingly Lima deftly blends a useful guide with an absorbing autobiog- hint at aspects of each character’s personality, which becomes raphy; he doesn’t concentrate excessively on either one. The hard- more evident as the story unfolds. The result is a patchwork of ships he faced in his own life will likely elicit readers’ sympathies, lives that have been painstakingly sewn together. There is also including losing both parents and his family’s initially seeing his a deep sense of Italian regionality to the tale. The players sip older brother’s schizophrenia as satanic possession. Although Moscato di Canelli and eat Biscotti Torinesi, both Piedmontese clichés at first saturate the book (“in it to win it”; “eyes on the products. Translated from the Italian by Shugaar (The Athenian prize”), they gradually subside as the account progresses. The Woman, 2018, etc.), the narrative occasionally sounds unnatural or author writes in an easygoing language that doesn’t condescend ungrammatical to the native English ear. This awkward passage to readers. He’s instead humble (asserting that his above-average is an example: “It’s not as if there weren’t fraternization among intelligence is not innate but the result of persistent studying) and them. There was.” Similarly, candies are described as being “all occasionally self-deprecating (wryly mentioning his “critically wrapped individually, with legends written in different colors acclaimed writing”). As a result, his criticisms of social media and according to the flavor.” The use of legends is not incorrect, but the current culture of “safetyism” don’t come across as contemp- labels would prove a more natural word choice. Still, this margin- tuous. For example, he notes that the latter may adversely affect ally off-key translation detracts little from an elaborate and far- readers’ ambitions if they are too wary of taking risks. Lima play- reaching tale that makes for compelling reading. fully incorporates the volume’s main theme of putting your heart A family saga that boasts ambitious, sophisticated, and into what you do. Chapter titles, for example, typically consist of controlled storytelling. wordplay (“For the Most Heart, Gravitas is Essential”). He even includes a “handy mnemonic” for recalling the specific points of the subtitle’s “HEART Way” (Hard work; Eager or Entrepre-
HEART TO BEAT neurial; Aligned; Resolute; Thoughtfulness). There are instances young adult A Cardiac Surgeon’s of repetition; despite a chapter on avoiding complacency, Lima Inspiring Story of Success repeatedly returns to this notion throughout the book (for exam- and Overcoming Adversity― ple, doing the “bare minimum” or “just enough”). Nevertheless, The Heart Way the work’s short length prevents the reiterations from becoming Lima, Brian too conspicuous. Clovercroft Publishing (240 pp.) Helpful advice from a keen, assertive, and relatable $14.99 paper | Feb. 18, 2020 physician. 978-1-950892-35-8
In this debut book, a cardiac surgeon A WOUNDED DEER recounts his successful medical career LEAPS HIGHEST and offers a guide for readers wishing to Mangel, C.P. achieve triumphs in their lives as well. Eyewear Publishing (664 pp.) From the beginning, Lima proclaims his hope to inspire $19.99 paper | Jun. 1, 2019 people from “all walks of life,” not simply aspiring doc - 978-1-912477-25-8 tors. Throughout the book, he details his personal history to reveal how he overcame obstacles. After his parents and A debut historical novel focuses on siblings fled Cuba in the late 1960s, the author was born in racial tensions in the South in 1950. Kearny, New Jersey, in 1976. At an early age, he was motivated In this tale, the Horaces, a mixed- to work harder in school after he watched a friend, also from race couple, have moved from Chicago a family of immigrants, win multiple awards at their eighth to fictional Kidron, North Carolina, grade graduation. By high school, Lima focused on academics because Titus’ Aunt Callula has bequeathed him the 600-acre as well as athleticism, excelling in football. His devotion to ancestral homestead, begging him to settle there and keep it in the former was how he gained acceptance to Cornell Univer- the family. Fifteen-year-old Asa is the couple’s bright and per- sity. He recalls that he accomplished this feat with a strong ceptive daughter. The story is told through her eyes, eyes that work ethic. He then stresses the importance of continuing are being opened to the rigid Jim Crow rules. Titus is a well-edu- to work hard even after finding success, citing “constant cated black man, former lawyer, and successful writer; Ardene is motion, growth, and development” as essentials. Another white and Jewish. To complicate things further, Asa could eas- key element is gravitas, which in this book essentially means ily pass for white. Essentially this is a story about social cruelty. being consistently levelheaded under scrutiny or pressure. The Ku Klux Klan is everywhere; stores and even hospitals are This links with later points, such as remaining ambitious in segregated; and with few exceptions, the hoi polloi are viciously the face of self-doubts and conquering fears of failure. While and openly racist. Blacks bear the brunt of this, but Jews and much of the volume involves the figurative heart, Lima allots other outsiders are barely tolerated. Threats are as pervasive the final pages to the literal one, discussing the “rapidly as the weather and as subtle as thunder. The black community, evolving field of advanced heart failure” and providing tips used to this climate, tries to make the best of it. But Ardene is on promoting a heart-healthy lifestyle. a natural fighter, determined to start to make things right. Asa
| kirkus.com | indie | 15 december 2019 | 205 becomes deeply involved in a big project to renovate a house Take as just one example the striking piece “It’s Hard To Write into a library for blacks and eventually helps people “check out Poetry in a Storm.” The poem opens: “It’s hard to write poetry the books they want” at the new library. But the idea of blacks / when the knife jams in / cowards sing / and you are left awash / reading is beyond anathema in Kidron, and a heavy price will like a piece of driftwood.” This brief stanza is a carefully crafted likely be paid. machine wound tight; so much drama bursts forth in the words. Mangel’s dark novel is a very ambitious undertaking and All of which isn’t to say that the poet can’t still let loose. He strong in many ways. The typography—left margin justified, does so in the arresting “Hit By A Car”: “You can see into your right not, as well as artfully broken lines—signals loose blank arm; strange innards blossoming like a sunflower; / you’re a tril- verse. For most of the book’s 600-plus pages, the verse simply lion miles away looking down at yourself before the visage / of moves the plot along. But when the subject invites it, readers identity returns; the pain hot, a strange death in your throat.” In can hear the poetry, rather like a radio signal that fades in and this and similar passages elsewhere, the author’s writing—like out. For example: “Miss Junetene brings out an oval pie basket, the poem’s sunflower—blossoms, flaring out in stunning bursts sets / it on the table. ‘Asa, I have some lemon biscuit / for you of detail and emotion. Nagin is drawn to violent imagery, from mama and made them fig biscuit for you pa’ /… /… / The bas- jamming knives to broken limbs. Yet these details feel less pru- ket has a crisp ruffled trim of forest green / gingham. ‘That’s a rient than real and raw. They give readers the sense that some- pretty pie basket,’ I say.” Although poetry tends to draw read- thing truly valuable is at stake. ers’ attention to the words themselves and prose to the ideas A poetic feast as surprising as it is satisfying. those words serve, a work like this shows that the gap is not that wide. (Truly lyric poetry might be another matter.) The author delights in descriptions of all kinds, especially food, and deliv- WHAT WE TAKE ers some memorable characters, like Virgil Hudson, Callula’s FOR TRUTH caretaker, immensely strong and kind; Sheriff Noah Emerson, Nedelman, Deborah the worst the South has to offer; Henryk, a brilliant Jewish her- Adelaide Books (314 pp.) mit; and Miss Bertie, Asa’s teacher. Asa makes a perfect narra- $19.60 paper | $7.99 e-book tor and protagonist. She devours books that are well beyond Jun. 15, 2019 her age—including, secretly, her father’s racy mysteries, writ- 978-1-950437-18-4 ten under the pen name Ovid White. And she is a useful mix of wisdom and innocence. Asa deals with the tension between A novel spins a story of hard choices sticking it out in Kidron (Ardene’s idealistic stubbornness) and and secrets, set in beautiful but ironically Titus’ growing desire for the relative safety of Chicago. Doing named Prosperity, Washington, in 1991. the right thing versus saving oneself is a very hard question, one Although the logging town of Pros- that should engage every reader. perity at one time more than lived up to its name, that era is An impressive segregation tale—not comforting by a fading fast, thanks to a new environmental awareness. It is long shot but true to its era and an intriguing experiment tree-huggers against loggers, protecting the forest habitat ver- in textual form. sus feeding one’s family. Caught in the middle of this is Grace “Parrot” Tillman, whose mother died when she was a child. Her father died some years later so the only family she has left is FEAST OF SAPPHIRES Aunt Jane, a bitter woman with no love for Prosperity or its log- Nagin, Matt gers. Grace feels a strong pull to flee Prosperity, but fate has a Burning Flower Press (102 pp.) way of intervening. Mill owner Jackson Dyer dies and leaves $5.99 paper | $2.99 e-book | Jun. 4, 2019 her an old cabin in his will. His wife tells Grace: “He wanted 978-0-578-50812-2 you to have your own place. Some place in Prosperity you could always call home and come back to if you ever left.” Later comes A collection offers diverse poems a bombshell: a huge secret involving Grace and her family that packed with dramatic imagery. somehow the whole town managed to keep from her. Grace is Nagin (Butterflies Lost Within the devastated, then furious. The rest of the tale amounts to slow Crooked Moonlight, 2017) is a man of closure. While this is Nedelman’s (co-author: Still Sexy After many talents. He has directed films and All These Years?, 2006, etc.) first novel, she has two nonfiction worked the stand-up comedy circuit. books and a raft of short stories to her credit. She also has a Perhaps it is this variety of life experiences that allows the Ph.D. in clinical psychology and her practice inspired much of promising poet to write ably in so many different registers in her intriguing new work. What could have been a straightfor- his latest collection of verse. Nagin’s previous book is a thrill- ward polemic about tree-huggers and loggers quickly becomes ing rush; it is indulgent, elaborate, and euphoric. His new vol- much more subtle and nuanced than that. It is a late coming-of- ume shows him working in a more restrained mode. But this age tale about Grace, a wonderfully drawn character, a young is no critique: If his poetry here is less effusive, it is also more woman who doesn’t want to take sides, and the author lets her compressed. Like the gem in the collection’s title, these poems skirt that argument. Having taken over Aunt Jane’s cafe, the are smaller, brighter, and sharper than those he’s written before. Hoot Owl—the endangered bird at the crux of this ecological
206 | 15 december 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | Ray aptly establishes characters who boast distinctive personalities and complex family ties. blood fire vapor smoke
battle—Grace just wants to survive and maybe bring the town BLOOD FIRE together. Nedelman’s writing is adept with some surprising VAPOR SMOKE descriptions (“The town glowed like a bearded hermit stepping Ray, Shann from his annual bath”). The tale’s only villain is a man named Unsolicited Press (210 pp.) Nathan Roberge, who’s connected to Grace’s family; the other $26.99 | $17.00 paper | $4.99 e-book characters are desperate people but not evil. A key question Jun. 4, 2019 hovers over the engrossing story: When push comes to shove, 978-1-947021-94-5 will everyone shove together? 978-1-950730-18-6 paper An impressive environmental tale with an engaging heroine from a talented new novelist. In this collection of short stories, characters seek vengeance or strive for forgiveness. THE NATURE OF INTUITION Ray’s (Sweetclover, 2019, etc.) tale “Black Kettle” follows Understand & Harness Your the titular, real-life Cheyenne chief, who fights to protect his Intuitive Ability people. Despite the tribe’s irrefutable surrender, Col. John Percy, Nigel & Percy, Maggie Chivington leads a massacre at Black Kettle’s village. But the Sixth Sense Books (271 pp.) story, notwithstanding the chief’s never-ending pursuit of peace, $15.99 paper | $9.99 e-book centers on revenge against Chivington. Characters in several of Sep. 12, 2019 the tales yearn for retribution. In “Republic of Fear,” a grandfa- 978-1-946014-38-2 ther sends his grandson to avenge the boy’s dead father; in “The
World Clean and Bright,” a young tribe member tracks down young adult A remarkably thorough tour of the those responsible for the deaths of a loved one’s parents. At the nature of intuition, its important func- same time, individuals are also forgiving. The unnamed woman tions, and the means by which it may be of the heart-rending “The Current Kings,” for example, seems sharpened for everyday use. willing to forgive the men who seize her with unmistakably Nigel Percy and Maggie Percy (Dowsing for Health, 2018, etc.) malicious intent. And “The Debt Men” features two characters, observe that while everyone experiences some version of intu- Zach Harrelson and Phil Silven, with turmoil in their marriages. ition, it remains elusive and resistant to rational explanation. Absolution may be in the cards for both even if only one man is Also, it carries connotations of the supernatural as a revelatory truly deserving. Most of the tales unfold in Montana, including epiphany, delivered by seemingly magical means. The authors, the unorthodox and curious “Love is Blindness.” In it, an affair with impressive intellectual rigor and subtlety, attempt to pro- threatens to separate married couple Michael White and Kris- vide a scientifically defensible account of intuition that still does tina Rosamonde, but a sudden injury will either split them apart justice to how it appears to transcend physical perception. In or reunite them. A few historical figures, in addition to Black the interests of clarity, the authors stick to a fairly narrow defi- Kettle, make appearances. The protagonists of the collection’s nition of intuition: any perception that’s not reducible to the sole poem, “City on the Threshold of Stars,” are Jan Kubiš and five senses or deducible by rational procedure that provides an Jozef Gabčík, Czech soldiers who played a part in the assassina- “immediate insight or knowledge” that’s “associated with a differ- tion of the Butcher of Prague, Reinhard Heydrich. ent time or place.” They explore various ways in which intuitive The author, a clinical psychologist who “spent part of his judgment arises—relating them broadly to the “head,” the “gut,” childhood on the Northern Cheyenne reservation,” tackles race and the “heart” and plumbing the biological science behind these in intelligent and sundry ways. It’s blunt in “Black Kettle,” as, per- perceptions with admirable caution. They also investigate what haps unsurprisingly, the Cheyenne wish to kill Chivington while they see as the greater cosmic context of intuition, connecting the colonel brazenly displays Native American scalps next to the it to concepts from modern quantum physics. In addition, the United States flag. But “The Diplomat” is from the perspective book includes a series of exercises designed to bolster intuition of an American at an embassy in Africa; his own country’s rac- through the exercise of mindful self-awareness and the use of a ism sparks white guilt and a desire to help someone in need. And proper diet. Overall, the authors contend that intuition is only “Spirit of the Animal” is essentially a love story between Bird In secondarily an instrument of self-preservation—one that’s bet- Ground, a Cheyenne woman, and Jeroen, a white man she aids ter understood as a means to enjoying life that is “happier, richer, after he narrowly survives a wolverine attack. Ray aptly estab- deeper, and more fulfilling.” As they develop this conclusion, lishes characters who boast distinctive personalities and complex what finally emerges is a profound image of human life that isn’t family ties. In “The Hunger, the Light,” Jakob hates his abusive reducible to any kind of materialistic conception: “Our common parents, who, in turn, despise each other, and in “Fourteen Types attitude toward ourselves as a purely mechanical set of systems is, of Belief,” gifted college basketball player Everett Highwalker however, deeply wrong. It would be difficult to ascribe sensations takes inspiration from his dead half-Cheyenne father. While the of a ‘gut feeling’ to such a machine.” stories have their share of hatred and death, the book doesn’t An intellectually nuanced account of a mysterious ele- succumb to despondency. Myriad characters are steadfast in ment of the human experience. their beliefs, a stance that promotes strength. This is further exemplified by the author’s prose, which is poetic even when
| kirkus.com | indie | 15 december 2019 | 207 describing the harsh elements some Cheyenne families face in THE KOMMANDANT’S HOUSE “Black Wound”: “Northward still, flurries of snow placed white Rowan, Marian ledges on the limbs of trees and as the band progressed the sky Crux Publishing (278 pp.) turned dense until land and sky were one and the edges of the $13.99 paper | $5.99 e-book world had smoothed into a blanket under which their dreams and Aug. 29, 2019 desires slept like animals of a forgotten country, like bears under 978-1-909979-83-3 the dark of den and breath.” Incisive and riveting tales with a diverse cast courtesy Two women fight to preserve family, of a skillful, expressive author. love, and truth in this debut historical novel. Marguerite is 14 years old when her French village is invaded by the German JIMI & ISAAC 5B: army during World War II. It’s 1940, and SOCIAL SKILLS the early days of the occupation remain Rink, Phil relatively peaceful on the orders of Maj. Wolfgang Müller, the Self (114 pp.) area’s Kommandant. Although her mother despises all Germans, $8.95 paper | $2.99 e-book | Nov. 6, 2019 Marguerite agrees to cook for the Kommandant and his staff and 978-1-69084-469-3 is surprised to observe that Müller is a kind, upright man. The novel alternates between Marguerite’s observations and the Kom- Bullying and incivility have gotten mandant’s letters and diary entries, which show that he remains a out of hand at a boy’s school: Can he and devoted husband and father, treats French citizens with dignity, and his friends find a solution? believes that his ultimate goal is to send the message that “Germany In his series of issue-oriented books is beginning its momentous task of moulding Europe into its own for a middle school audience, Rink (Jimi likeness.” For Marguerite, the most momentous change is that she & Isaac 5a: The Brain Injury, 2014, etc.) frames his plots involving falls in love with a young German soldier and must hide her affair tween friends Jimi and Isaac around such issues as coping with from her family. Meanwhile, the Kommandant faces a challenge self-doubt, making and keeping commitments, and dealing with from an officer who believes the area needs harsher policies, and unforeseen life changes. In this 10th installment, told in the he worries about the motivations of Nazis like this man, whom he first-person voice of Jimi, a jazz saxophonist, self-described sci- considers “a bully in a uniform.” From this dramatic first section, ence nerd, and wry observer of parental and peer foibles, fighting the book jumps ahead 50 years to follow Catherine Swannell, who and arguing have escalated at his middle school. Jimi and his best has been invited to visit her distant cousin Marguerite. Catherine friend, Isaac, along with Tom and bossy Mallory, get in a shoving becomes engrossed in reassembling the past, searching for answers match. As punishment, the principal assigns the four to figure to lingering questions about what happened long ago. In this out the answer to the increasing incivility on campus. Mallory thoughtful novel, Rowan brings the French countryside to life with gets carried away, forming a group called the CIVILians, positive gentle, lyrical descriptions. Nations may grapple with war around that ordering people to obey her “be nice!” rules is the way to go. the globe, she suggests, but beauty can still be found amid the “rip- Her method receives push back, sometimes literally, from kids pling river,” the “silky golden stubble” of wheat, and the “rustling of resenting being told what to do. Soon, the CIVILians are being birds settling” in the hedgerows of this close-knit village. The lay- harassed by an opposing group called the Savages. Jimi, Isaac, ered, sympathetic figure of the Kommandant provides the story’s and Tom want to expend as little effort in solving the problem major questions: How can good compete with an evil that follows as possible until increasing clashes between the groups indicate no rules or code? And at what point do your intentions clash with there are no easy answers to bringing people together. A favorite your reality? There’s a sentimental streak to the romantic passages, science teacher encourages the three boys and Mallory to think but overall the author capably adds nuance to familiar set pieces. about the problem creatively. Rink has a terrific knack for placing An absorbing look at how the high-stakes circum- relatable characters in realistic situations and giving them (and stances of war reveal character. readers) food for thought, promoting discussion and problem- solving rather than spoon-feeding answers. A nuanced discussion at the dinner table about the definition of a bully awakens Jimi to HUNTING THE DEVIL the fact that bullying can take many forms and cause both physi- Schafer, Suanne cal and emotional harm. The author deftly adds an additional Waldorf Publishing (300 pp.) layer to the issue by having Tom express empathy for a bully he $16.95 paper | $8.95 e-book injured in order to protect a little kid, signaling his subsequent Sep. 15, 2019 awareness that the offender is the product of an abusive home. 978-1-64316-597-4 Engaging and thought-proving edutainment, with relatable tween characters facing realistic challenges, pri- A humanitarian doctor becomes marily from a young male point of view. embroiled in the Rwandan genocide. Schafer (A Different Kind of Fire, 2018), “a retired family-practice physician,” plumbs
208 | 15 december 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | The guide furnishes an accessible explanation of the always changing technological world, including its primary players. cybersecurity is everybody’s business
the depths of the genocide in Rwanda with this rousing novel that readers can do is to formulate a multipronged strategy, “increas- follows Dr. Jessica Hemings, whose volunteer medical mission ing the number of layers or security challenges.” Focusing on the to the country in 1991 carries life-threatening danger. The story personal user and small business owner, the author provides a opens as Hemings races through the mountainous forests of comprehensive—and sometimes meandering—examination of Rwanda and Tanzania after her Kirehe clinic is ambushed by a virtually every patch of the computing landscape. He covers the vicious militia. In Rwanda, she horrifyingly views the slaugh- quotidian—the limitations of passwords and the advantages of tered bodies of innocent villagers and vows justice. Running two-factor authentication, for example—and the more obscure, alongside this main narrative are the escapades of Parisian war like the dangers posed by the trail of metadata internet users correspondent Michel Fournier, who is assigned to cover the leave behind. The book also expertly mines the biggest security ethnic discord in Rwanda, a place he’s never visited. He has not breaches in recent years for lessons, including assessments of experienced the volatile political climate there between the the Yahoo, Ashley Madison, and Uber troubles. In the work’s Hutu and Tutsi populations. Also featured is Hemings’ still-smit- concluding section, the author looks to the future and considers ten ex, Tom, who discovers she has vanished in Africa. Not for the promise and dangers of cryptocurrency, driverless cars, and the faint of heart, Schafer’s descriptions are graphic and as real even the susceptibility of older modes of transportation—planes, as the political strife and civil war that played out in East Africa. trains, and automobiles—to predatory hackers. His chief mes- Equally crisp is her storytelling as the narrative flashes back to sage is that, since the insufficient vigilance of any one digital user Hemings’ uneasy arrival in Rwanda and her ensuing culture clash potentially exposes others to risk, the task of cybersecurity is a and political education, reflecting that “there was no escape community effort: “Criminals piece together fragments of our from racism, even when only one race was involved.” After she hacked private information in order to form a full puzzle of our notices the clinic’s lead physician, Dr. Cyprien Gatera, becom- digital identities, but each piece of the cybersecurity puzzle we
ing neglectful to Tutsi patients, he is exposed as a Hutu radical collect by learning how to protect ourselves can also effectively young adult and assaults and rapes Hemings, claiming her as his own. She protect others.” The author’s command of the subject, includ- escapes and remains on the run for weeks until reaching a Tan- ing technical as well as historical knowledge, is magisterial. And zanian refugee camp, depicted in the novel’s beginning, where besides his helpful, actionable advice regarding the protection she aids the ill and ultimately makes a decision to place herself of one’s digital life, the writer—who penned this book with his in lethal danger again to save others. Though the book is lengthy younger brother, debut author Craig W. Schober—furnishes an and teeming with exacting, grim details, the story moves swiftly, accessible explanation of the always changing technological world, portraying Hemings’ interactions with Fournier that become including its primary players, such as Google and Facebook. But intimate. They empower her with the fortification to return to the volume sometimes digresses too far afield—readers in search Africa after resettling in Paris and concoct a reckless revenge of practical counsel can do without profiles of infamous hackers. plot against Gatera. There’s plenty of sharp, suspenseful action A thorough and astute manual on cybersecurity writ- to savor here in this impressively poignant, hauntingly realistic, ten with great clarity and authority. and searingly moving tale. Schafer intensively explores themes of racism, violence, war, and human welfare. Vivid, boldly written, life-affirming historical fiction THE IRREVERENT GUIDE TO drawn from the horrors of the Rwandan genocide crisis. PROJECT MANAGEMENT An Agile Approach to Enterprise Project CYBERSECURITY IS Management: Version 5.0 EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS Scott, Jason Solve the Security Puzzle for Lioncrest Publishing (322 pp.) Your Small Business $39.99 paper | $9.99 e-book and Home Oct. 4, 2019 Schober, Scott N. with Schober, Craig W. 978-1-5445-0110-9 Scottschober.com Publishing (338 pp.) $29.95 | $19.95 paper | $9.99 e-book An exacting guide for intermediate project managers seeking Oct. 1, 2019 ways to perfect their craft and lead their programs to completion. 978-0-9969022-5-0 The challenges of a project leader are almost endless—bud- 978-0-9969022-6-7 paper gets, schedules, deadlines, difficult workers, and other X factors that, often, only years of experience can offset. This guidebook A guide explores the dangers of the digital world and the takes away guesswork with a strict breakdown of numerous strategies to counter them. aspects of a project and the responsibilities that a manager will be Scott N. Schober (Hacked Again, 2016) begins his panorami- expected to undertake. Communication is key, and entrepreneur cally thorough tour of cybersecurity by painting a grim picture of Scott (It’s Never Just Business: It’s About People, 2019, etc.) offers a perilous technological time: “Nearly one million new malware examples of good email and meeting etiquette and describes threats are released every single day.” And there’s no “foolproof how to maintain an agreeable, confident relationship with proj- way” to inoculate oneself against the farrago of threats. The best ect owners and executives. He also provides samples of meeting
| kirkus.com | indie | 15 december 2019 | 209 invites and minutes, project charters, and work and communica- Second, Billy’s mental state goes off the rails, making Elizabeth tion plans; along the way, he emphasizes consistency in naming more vulnerable than ever. And vulnerability makes Elizabeth and abbreviating for paperwork and calculating how much time dangerous. Scott’s (Hard Limits, 2019, etc.) second thriller set in should be allotted for each part of an agenda. The book closes San Francisco’s lesbian community takes an unusual tack for a with the hardest things to plan for—risks and unknown impedi- fictional series, switching the focus to the continuing career of ments—with in-depth approaches on maintaining control when the villain of the previous book. The character of Elizabeth is things go wrong. This fifth version of Scott’s management man- skillfully drawn to be both sympathetic and slightly repellent: ual is the same one that’s used as a training curriculum by the firm She is a damaged girl who has grown into a ruthless woman. 120VC Project Management Services, which Scott leads, and it The suspenseful plot packs a lot of twists and turns into a short, presents advice pieced together “from actively managing proj- tightly paced narrative and delivers more than one actual sur- ects for the Fortune 100.” As such, it’s not a beginner’s resource; prise as Elizabeth scrambles to save both her life and her booty. it makes heavy use of corporate jargon and expects readers to Some readers may find the depiction of lesbian callousness and have knowledge of Waterfall and Scrum software development criminality to be distasteful. But the work rings true within its methodology and Critical Path and Enterprise project manage- noir genre even if a deus ex machina, in the form of Elizabeth’s ment. Its titular irreverence, barring occasional sarcasm and a opportune friendship with the daughter of a Mexican drug lord, Pulp Fiction reference, is directed toward a leadership style that’s strains credulity. devoid of deference. Even with its numerous, colorful charts, An absorbing thriller about crime and betrayal featur- typefaces, and highlights, this is a dense and strict resource, with ing a lesbian antihero with a knack for overcoming her nearly half of the book dedicated just to getting to the first Friday hard luck. of a project. This is somewhat broken up, however, by numerous tips, which effectively stress each section’s key points, and “Wis- dom Comes With Experience” asides, marked by tiny illustra- DIVISIBLE MAN tions of ninjas. Ten Man Crew A guide, light in tone but serious in its teachings, that Seaborne, Howard will lead project managers through good times and bad. Trans World Data (396 pp.) $14.99 paper | Nov. 14, 2019 978-1-7336834-2-5 HARD LUCK An Elizabeth Taylor When Russian oligarchs try to med- Bundy Thriller dle in American politics, a pilot who can Scott, Pascal fly invisibly tries to thwart them in this Sapphire Books (264 pp.) fifth installment of a series. $14.95 paper | $6.99 e-book It’s been almost a year since the small- Sep. 25, 2019 plane crash that pilot Will Stewart barely survived. It should have 978-1-948232-81-4 killed him—but instead, the accident has left Will with the gift of invisible floating, a phenomenon he calls the“ other thing.” Over In this novella, a lesbian ex-con time, he’s learned more about his gift and how to control his enlists two co-conspirators in a multimil- flight with mechanical devices, although he’s still working on pro- lion-dollar heist only to find that there is pelling himself through thought alone. He’s used the other thing to little honor among thieves, even when they are lovers. help his wife, police detective Andrea “Andy” Stewart, solve cases. Elizabeth Taylor Bundy, sentenced to six years in prison for He’s rescued innocents, intimidated criminal bigshots into better voluntary manslaughter, has finally been released to finish her behavior, and—through a still-mysterious process—cured some time doing community service at the Omega Foundation, a dying children. Will finally has medical clearance to return to halfway house in San Francisco. Omega’s founder, warden, and work as a charter pilot for the Essex County Air Service in Wis- life coach is Billy Brandt, a Vietnam veteran and ex-junkie who consin, but a quiet life isn’t in the cards. Special Agent Lee Don- runs the program with a fanatic zeal that frequently crosses aldson turns up wanting Andy’s help with Josiah James, a racist the line into abuse. Nonetheless, Elizabeth is determined to talk radio host and conspiracy theorist. Since Will last saw Don- keep her nose clean long enough to gain her independence and aldson providing private security for a billionaire criminal, he’s lay the groundwork for one last criminal enterprise: robbing a not sure whether the agent can be trusted. But James’ hatemon- Brink’s armored truck of over seven million worn-out dollars gering played a role in a local tragedy, giving the Stewarts moti- destined to be destroyed in a federal facility in San Francisco. vation to look into him. Their investigation takes a turn when Her ace in the hole for the venture is Mickie Forrest, a Brink’s James is assassinated at a rally by an old man, leading Will and driver who had once been her foster sister. But before it is even Andy into a complicated maze of conspiracy, the dark net, Cold set in motion, Elizabeth’s foolproof plan begins to unravel as War spycraft, and Russian interference in United States politics, complications quickly pile up. First, she finds herself in bed all while attempting to protect the secret of the other thing. with Mickie’s girlfriend, Denise, a charmingly amoral young Seaborne (Divisible Man: The Seventh Star, 2019, etc.), a former woman with a “get-you-in-trouble look in her big brown eyes.” flight instructor and charter pilot, continues his winning streak in
210 | 15 december 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | Thomas shows impressive skill at placing well-timed plot twists. arcade
this series, offering another page-turner. By having Will’s knowl- determined, and can think for herself. All told, she makes a good edge of and control over his powers continue to expand while guide to the steampunk setting. This tale is well described and the questions over how he should best deploy his abilities grow, very imaginative, featuring not merely the standard elements, Seaborne keeps the concept fresh and readers guessing. Informa- but also several novelties (such as the fabulous notion of using tion about what actually happened during the crash (which Will liquid to store information). To a large extent, this series opener can’t remember) has been doled out by the quarter-teaspoonful, focuses more on worldbuilding than storytelling, but the action which is enticing—and sometimes frustrating. But the thriller does heat up, and the pirates in particular come into their own nicely thinks through matters like Will’s being the perfect spy: (albeit while talking in heavy buccaneer accents that can be a “I don’t speak Russian. Or Arabic. Or any other language. I can’t bit off-putting). A smattering of high-contrast, black-and-white read the Russian signs that say, ‘This Way To Secret World Take- illustrations by Garbay (Le Voyage Extraordinaire, 2019, etc.) adds over Laboratory.’ People don’t sit around chatting about their to the impression of Victoriana. Though not entirely satisfying evil plans.” Meanwhile, Will’s enemies are becoming aware of as a stand-alone adventure, this volume has enough captivating him and perhaps developing techniques to detect him, which material to draw middle-grade readers into the series. makes the question of how he can protect himself while doing An engaging introduction to a world of wonder and the most good a thorny one. The conspiracy is highly dramatic intrigue. yet not implausible given today’s political events, and the action sequences are excitingly cinematic. It does seem past time for Will to make some kind of plan instead of reacting to events, giv- ARCADE ing readers much to anticipate in the next volume. Thomas, MF Another compelling and hugely fun adventure that BookBaby (304 pp.)
delivers a thrill ride. $15.99 paper | $2.99 e-book | Dec. 2, 2019 young adult 978-1-5439-8906-9
ANNABEL PICKERING AND Thomas’ (A Sickness in Time, 2016, THE SKY PIRATES etc.) post-apocalyptic tale features a man The Fantastical Contraption hunting for his family and a lone technol- Shaffer, Bretigne ogy company that’s survived the down- Illus. by Garbay, Florian fall of the power grid. Fantastical Contraption A series of electromagnetic pulses $2.99 e-book | Nov. 19, 2019 have rendered Earth’s electronic devices useless, throwing civilization back hundreds of years; most peo- A teenager goes on the run and flies ple call this event “the Change.” Vicious gangs, including the with pirates in this middle-grade Victo- powerful, widespread Seventh, have hobbled law enforcement. rian steampunk adventure. Before the Change, FBI agent Walter Jackson had traveled Thirteen-year-old Annabel Picker- from Memphis, Tennessee, to California’s Bay Area in search of ing lives in an alternative history version of Victorian England, his wife and daughter. Sarah and college-bound Maddie had left where all mechanical devices are steam-powered and airships him because his work always seemed to be his primary focus. flood the skies. Annabel is from the upper classes. She attends Now, eight years after learning Sarah’s grim fate, Walter remains an elite girls’ school and from an early age has taken riding in Sunnyvale as a cop, still searching for Maddie. One day, he lessons. Her parents are both scientists. Annabel believes in and his partner, Hernandez, are investigating Seventh activity England’s greatness and the sanctity of the queen. She’s never at an old roller rink. They break up a dogfighting pit, and one of questioned the status quo. But then her parents are abducted— the canines brings Walter to a corpse with a “red and black yin- not even formally arrested—by the police. Suddenly every- yang” symbol tattooed on its arm. Using additional information thing changes for Annabel. She is forced to hide with the odd from an acquaintance called Captain Anthem, Walter locates spinster from down the street (Miss Doubtweather) and her the Palo Alto company Terrestrial Economic Solutions. In nonverbal niece and take flight with a crew of rough-but-kind their heavily guarded and somehow electrically powered under- pirates. Miss Doubtweather, it turns out, is part of a secret ground facility, he finds a video arcade. A woman named Sloan society of freethinkers, to which Annabel’s parents also belong. Holt runs it, allowing teenagers to play nonstop and live on the The pirates are more accurately smugglers; breaking the law, yes, site. She enigmatically tells Walter that TES researches “neuro- but upholding their own moral code. The more Annabel sees, logical topics.” The complex truth is that TES sent a manned the more she must question her assumptions. But where will mission to the Trappist star system; Sloan’s brother, Frank, was this get her? Will Annabel escape the Queen’s Guards and res- a crewmember with whom they lost contact after the Change. cue her parents or spend the rest of her days in prison? Shaffer The author draws readers through his post-apocalypse (Urban Yogini, 2017, etc.) writes in the third person, mostly from in provocative stages. Echoes of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Annabel’s point of view but also from other characters’ perspec- Game (1986) and Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One (2011) set up tives when she isn’t present. Annabel is a naïve protagonist and the interlocking arcs of the characters, with each missing fam- tends to follow rather than lead the plot. But she is courageous, ily in a broken world. The narration offers snarky critiques of
| kirkus.com | indie | 15 december 2019 | 211 how many people live today: “World-wide, precious snowflakes THE KNUCKLEHEAD OF were...rediscovering how to survive without Twitter, skinny SILICON VALLEY lattes, yoga pants, and beard wax.” He also mentions changes Vachon, G. Craig that happened before the EMP blasts; about mining asteroids Genius Book Publishing (386 pp.) for precious metals, readers learn that “Zuckerburg [sic] might $17.95 paper | $4.99 e-book have been involved after Facebook was broken-up by the Feds.” Oct. 23, 2019 After Walter and Sloan meet, their quests combine; the mys- 978-1-947521-13-1 tery of Frank’s crew drives the plot, with Maddie’s whereabouts taking something of a back seat. Interpersonal drama at TES A debut comic thriller tells the story simmers as a man named Ashif Showkat pines for Sloan; he’s of a tech developer forced to go up against a Blender, maneuvering “bots” remotely from a special pod to his own inventions to save the world. explore the Trappist planet. Sloan, like Walter, puts work ahead Hacker Ralph Gibsen has worked in of love and believes that Ashif “expected her to be his prize, Silicon Valley for decades, gaining expe- which was both embarrassing and flattering.” Nostalgia is a rience across the industry by saying yes to every opportunity. force unto itself, as when Walter discovers the arcade, packed Now in middle age, he works as an angel investor in altruistic with hypnotic lights and sounds. Far from being regressive, the companies: “Clam Pie made small investments in tech compa- characters’ faith in the past proves to be a way forward. Thomas nies that tried to make the world a better place.” Unfortunately shows impressive skill at placing well-timed plot twists. Revela- for Gibsen—who, in his personal life, is something of a hapless tions about who finances TES, the origin of the EMP blasts, and buffoon—he can’t always control who employs his technol- Frank himself send the narrative soaring. ogy or what they use it for. After he invents a tool that stud- A confident SF thriller that deftly addresses themes of ies the human mind in order to pinpoint the exact moment resilience, faith, and the value of video games. a student learns something, he discovers that certain parties may be harnessing it to try to brainwash the public. What’s more, Gibsen may or may not have been acting as an uninten- tional spy. He’s forced to rely on some rivals, acquaintances, and strangers—who also may or may not be spies. (Even his own wife, Jen, might be one.) But can he trust them as he deals with the people coming after him? Can he even trust himself? Vachon’s prose is often dense with the jargon of technology and investment but manages to animate even these subjects This Issue’s Contributors with a pulpy energy: “After four hours on the third day, the # Parties to the agreement finally declared themselves ame- ADULT nable to the deal. Ralph wasn’t happy with the final product, Maude Adjarian • Paul Allen • Stephanie Anderson • Rebecca Leigh Anthony • Mark Athitakis Colette Bancroft • Joseph Barbato • Sarah Blackman • Amy Boaz • Nastassian Brandon • Catherine but neither were his new partners.” Gibsen is an oddly com- Cardno • Tobias Carroll • Lee E. Cart • Kristin Centorcelli • Carin Clevidence • K.W. Colyard • Devon pelling protagonist: Not quite an Everyman, he nevertheless Crowe • Kathleen Devereaux • Amanda Diehl • Bobbi Dumas • Daniel Dyer • Lisa Elliott • Kristen frequently finds himself in over his head. The author delivers Evans • Mia Franz • Jackie Friedland • Amy Goldschlager • Janice Harayda • Katrina Niidas Holm Natalia Holtzman • Jessica Jernigan • Skip Johnson • Paul Lamey • Tom Lavoie • Louise Leetch • Judith a complex, meandering plot with frequent hops between years Leitch • Peter Lewis • Elsbeth Lindner • Don McLeese • Gregory McNamee • Molly Muldoon • Jen- and continents and a wryly conspiratorial worldview that feels nifer Nabers • Christopher Navratil • Connie Ogle • Mike Oppenheim • Scott Parker • Jim Piechota more akin to Thomas Pynchon than Tom Clancy. Vachon cer- William E. Pike • Steve Potter • Margaret Quamme • Stephanie Reents • Karen Rigby • Lloyd Sachs Bob Sanchez • Rosanne Simeone • Linda Simon • Wendy Smith • Kirby Sokolow • Margot E. tainly takes satirical views of Silicon Valley, the global economy, Spangenberg • Charles Taylor • Claire Trazenfeld • Jessica Miller • George Weaver • Steve Weinberg and the intersection of technology and authoritarian control, Joan Wilentz • Wilda Williams • Marion Winik but the novel never gets preachy and usually errs on the side
CHILDREN’S & TEEN of theatrics. Lucia Acosta • Maya Alkateb-Chami • Autumn Allen • Alison Anholt-White • Kazia Berkley-Cramer A rambling, intricate, and highly amusing tale of cyber- Elizabeth Bird • Marcie Bovetz • Linda Boyden • Jessica Brown • Shauntee Burns-Simpson • Timothy politics and spycraft. Capehart • Patty Carleton • Amanda Chuong • Tamar Cimenian • Jeannie Coutant • Erin Deedy Elise DeGuiseppi • Luisana Duarte Armendáriz • Brooke Faulkner • Rodney M.D. Fierce Amy Seto Forrester • Ayn Reyes Frazee • Laurel Gardner • Judith Gire • Carol Goldman • Melinda Greenblatt Vicky Gudelot • Julie Hubble • Kathleen T. Isaacs • Elizabeth Leanne Johnson • Betsy Judkins • Megan Dowd Lambert • Wendy Lukehart • Kyle Lukoff • Daniel Meyer • Yesha Naik Katrina Nye • Tori Ann Ogawa • Deb Paulson • Rachel G. Payne • John Edward Peters • Susan Pine Rebecca Rabinowitz Asata Radcliffe • Kristy Raffensberger • Amy B. Reyes • Nancy Thalia Reynolds Amy Robinson Christopher R. Rogers • Erika Rohrbach • Leslie L. Rounds • Katie Scherrer • John W. Shannon Lenny Smith • Mathangi Subramanian • Edward T. Sullivan • Jennifer Sweeney • Steven Thompson Lavanya Vasudevan • Tharini Viswanath • Christina Vortia • Angela Wiley • Bean Yogi
INDIE Alana Abbott • Kent Armstrong • Julie Buffaloe-Yoder • Darren Carlaw • Charles Cassady • Michael Deagler • Stephanie Dobler Cerra • Steve Donoghue • Jacob Edwards • Joshua Farrington • Tina Gianoulis • Lynne Heffley • Jennifer Helinek • Justin Hickey • Ivan Kenneally • Barbara London Rhett Morgan • Randall Nichols • Joshua T. Pederson • Jim Piechota • Walker Rutter-Bowman Jerome Shea
212 | 15 december 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | The book is adorned with spectacular shots by various photographers that reflect the beauty, delight, and restorative peace found in cars. never stop driving
THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND NEVER STOP DRIVING STATE BANS ON TEACHERS’ A Better Life Behind RELIGIOUS GARB the Wheel Walker, Nathan C. Ed. by Webster, Larry Routledge (290 pp.) Motorbooks (192 pp.) $140.00 | $49.95 e-book | Sep. 4, 2019 $28.00 | $28.00 e-book | Jul. 23, 2019 978-0-367-18830-6 978-0-7603-6341-6
A writer offers an analysis of govern- An introspective collection of essays ment bans on religious attire worn by focuses on the joys found in automobiles, public school teachers. old and new. As Walker (Cultivating Empathy, 2016, Contemporary Americans are “chronically overstressed, etc.) observes, the perennial contest between political secular- overworked,” and tired. For Webster, a vintage-car enthusiast ism and religious liberty is hardly new, but it seems to have hit a and former editor-in-chief of Road & Track, “there’s never been fevered pitch not just in the United States, but in Europe as well. a better time to go for a drive” in a “four-wheeled escape pod.” The author astutely unpacks one controversial issue at the heart With contributions from over a dozen renowned auto enthusi- of that tension: the permissibility of a state to ban public school asts from around the nation, this volume offers readers a collec- teachers from donning religious garb while they work. The tion of essays and vignettes that reflect debut editor Webster’s focus of the author’s study is a landmark statutory law passed belief that cars are more than functional assortments of metal in the late 19th century that did precisely that (“The first such important only to get from place to place. The book’s essays
ban of religious garb was instituted in Pennsylvania in 1894 and explore such topics as the agony and thrills of finding the perfect young adult was clearly directed toward Catholic nuns teaching in the public vintage vehicle, the mentally restorative value of car repair, and schools”). This law remains the only one of its kind unsuccess- the simple pleasures found in driving both for excitement and fully challenged in the U.S. Walker applies a five-step analytical relaxation. Vignettes by some of the nation’s leading automobile process to the law—“scaffolding” the work—that begins with a columnists, such as Rob Siegel, provide musings on topics like “synthesized” battery of judicial tests organized around just cause. “The Joy of Problem Solving” and the importance of learning Additionally, he provides a searching account of the “quasqui- from past mistakes. The volume concludes with interviews with centennial-old debate in the United States,” including a mas- Jay Leno, Mario Andretti, and others who discuss what their terfully meticulous treatment of the relevant law and literature, perfect “last drive” on Earth would look like. Brett Berk’s essay the factual context, and a concluding legal analysis. The legal makes the case that worthy automobiles should be admired assessment focuses on the extent to which the Pennsylvania law on the same level as majestic paintings or Frank Lloyd Wright potentially contradicts both the establishment of religion and homes, as modern forms of art that transcend mere function the free exercise clauses of the First Amendment. The author in their ability to evoke wonder and awe. Indeed, the book is finally concludes that the law is fundamentally indefensible on adorned with spectacular shots by various photographers that both counts. Among other reasons, it coercively “suppresses the reflect the beauty, delight, and restorative peace found in cars. religious identities of public servants” and favors some faiths Even nonenthusiasts will find much to value in this collection, over others. Walker’s credentials are unimpeachable: He’s the from its gorgeous photos to its impassioned prose that skill- executive director of 1791 Delegates, a group of constitutional fully blends elegance and approachability. Constantly evolving and human rights specialists. His command of the germane in mechanics and design, in frequent need of maintenance and material—legal, historical, and even philosophical—is simply repair, and the products of multiple generations of failures and extraordinary. More than a legal argument, the book is a sweep- breakthroughs, cars are “the perfect embodiment of what makes ing account of the nature of public education within a liberal us human,” according to Webster. In many ways, this is not just a democracy—its proper purposes and limitations. He also sensi- book about cars—it also examines the importance of seemingly bly considers the broader international context, especially cases pointless hobbies that bring humans happiness, connections that have come before the European Court of Human Rights. beyond themselves, and fulfillment. The author’s argument is a complex one, but it’s written in the An emotionally powerful love letter to cars and the kind of accessible, jargon-free prose that should be digestible for human spirit. even the layperson. A thorough, magisterial account of a timely and histori- cally important legal debate.
| kirkus.com | indie | 15 december 2019 | 213 FOOD IS THE CURE for weight loss. Offering plenty of inspiration for ordinary folks, For the Overweight Disease chapters begin with a short, real-life success story, or “taste Willis, Buck of victory.” For example, Willis’ pastor lost 20 pounds in two Self (231 pp.) months and decreased his blood pressure from 160/80 to 125/75. $34.97 paper | $9.97 e-book | Nov. 29, 2019 There are several before-and-after weight-loss photos (includ- 978-0-578-57712-8 ing of Willis), and the people in the shots look realistic—not model thin but wonderfully healthy. A weight-loss manual dispenses nutri- An enjoyable and useful guide to a healthier life. tion and exercise advice to dieters. Willis (The Overweight Cure!, 2018, etc.) began his journey to good health THE GHOST OF JOHNNY TAPIA after he was in a near-fatal plane crash. Zanon, Paul & Tapia, Teresa Suffering through 16 operations to rebuild his legs, he was obese Hamilcar Publications (96 pp.) when he first began medical school. Now an integrative, board- 9.99 paper | Nov. 12, 2019 certified holistic physician, he’s 55 pounds lighter than he was 978-1-949590-15-9 in his younger days. Calling himself his first patient, the author claims that he cured his “overweight disease” once he addressed A biography chronicles the struggles the causes of his obesity—hidden food allergies. Divided into and triumphs of a renegade boxer. three parts, this cheerful, easy-to-follow self-help book begins In this second installment of the by urging readers to determine the roots of their weight gain. Hamilcar Noir series, Zanon (Sinner and He also encourages them to eat natural foods—in single por- Saint, 2018, etc.) tells Johnny Tapia’s story, tions five times a day—to kick-start the body’s metabolism. recounting the action in and out of the Those who have little time for exercise may be pleasantly sur- boxing arena where the fighter made his name. The author fol- prised at Willis’ assertion that merely performing two minutes lows Tapia from his birth in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1967 of high intensity aerobic exercise five times a day could be as and the savage murder of his mother when he was only 8 years beneficial for weight loss as working out for much longer peri- old to his first boxing bout at 9 and beyond. He had his first ods. While that claim may be hard for some dieters to swallow, professional match in 1988 and won the United States Boxing it could at least inspire sedentary folks to incorporate a little Association Super Flyweight title in 1990. But, as the author healthy movement into their daily routines. Section II provides puts it, “unfortunately, his passion and desire in the ring played some common-sense solutions, such as 32 simple exercises com- second fiddle to a destructive lifestyle” when the gloves were off, plete with clearly explained instructions and uncredited color a destructive routine featuring a steady consumption of drugs photographs. Proving that eating healthy doesn’t have to be and alcohol. Zanon describes a life of nearly constant brutality drudgery, the author adds some mouthwatering recipes in Sec- in which the boxer was actually declared DOA multiple times, tion III, like “Annie’s Sauteed Pork and Potatoes.” This section either from violence or drug overdoses. This leads the author also includes a short but practical blueprint for a 30-day plan to contend that “Johnny stared death in the face more times than would seem physically possible.” The narrative describes the arc of Tapia’s professional life in economical but effective
KIRKUS MEDIA LLC detail. This is by no means a classic of boxing nonfiction, but Zanon knows the sport well enough to keep these bouts intrigu- # ing. One of the story’s most moving nonboxing moments comes Chairman HERBERT SIMON when Tapia learned that his mother’s murder had been solved but that he had no chance for personal vengeance. The killer President & Publisher MARC WINKELMAN was fatally struck by a car 10 years after the crime. Still, the bulk of Zanon’s book—written with the pugilist’s wife, debut author Chief Executive Officer MEG LABORDE KUEHN Teresa Tapia—involves the boxer’s increasingly serious swings # between hard-fought professional matches and a long series of drug deals, arrests, and broken second chances. He became a Copyright 2019 by Kirkus Media LLC. world champion, but the strain of his various activities eventu- KIRKUS REVIEWS (ISSN 1948-7428) is published semimonthly by Kirkus Media LLC, ally affected his heart; he died in 2012. The work recounts all 2600Via Fortuna, Suite 130, Austin, TX 78746. Subscription prices are: this with a good deal of momentum and little sentimentality. Digital & Print Subscription (U.S.) - 12 Months ($199.00) The resulting portrait is that of a deeply weak and flawed man Digital & Print Subscription (International) - 12 Months ($229.00) who could nevertheless exhibit a real zest for living. Digital Only Subscription - 12 Months ($169.00) Single copy: $25.00. A gritty, engrossing, and concise account of a boxer’s All other rates on request. meteoric career and tortured personal life. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Kirkus Reviews, PO Box 3601, Northbrook, IL 60065-3601. Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin, TX 78710 and at additional mailing offices.
214 | 15 december 2019 | indie | kirkus.com | INDIE Books of the Month
IN SEARCH OF THE UNMARKED AL HOWIE GIRL Jared Beasley Jeanelle Frontin A quirky, captivating An engrossing SF/ biography. fantasy that breathes new life into old tropes.
THE J THE WILD HERD young adult HOROSCOPE Deborah Kalas, Sharon Chmielarz Photos by the author Thoughtful, bold, A gorgeous photo- humorous, earthy, graphic tribute to and humane—a striking animals. superb collection.
THE SPIRIT OF NORMAN’S GIFT THE WAYNES Michelle Olson, Ethan Cooper Photos by the author, A poignant explora- Illus. by the author tion of the compli- The message that real cated dynamic of friends value their fathers and sons. pals most for being themselves couldn’t be delivered by a cuter button.
| kirkus.com | books of the month | 15 december 2019 | 215 take your place in the high court of faerie.
Finale to the #1 New York Times bestselling series by HOLLY BLACK
Booklist Kirkus BOOK 2 BOOK 1 ALSO AVAILABLE
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FolkoftheAir.com | Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio wherever books are sold.