1 NOVEMBER 2020 from the Editor’S Desk: Still the Greatest Chairman by TOM BEER HERBERT SIMON President & Publisher MARC WINKELMAN

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Featuring 221 Industry-First Reviews of Fiction, Nonfiction, Children's and YA books

VOL. LXXXVIII, NO. 21 | 1 NOVEMBER 2020 from the editor’s desk: Still the Greatest Chairman BY TOM BEER HERBERT SIMON President & Publisher MARC WINKELMAN

John Paraskevas # Muhammad Ali is one of those figures who seemingly exists just for- writ Chief Executive Officer ers to conjure them. Handsome, graceful, powerful, poetic, boastful—with MEG LABORDE KUEHN achievements in the ring to back it all up, not to mention a social conscience— [email protected] Editor-in-Chief he might have sprung from the pages of a novel by Ralph Ellison or Colson TOM BEER Whitehead. Who could resist the challenge of pinning this butterfly—or was [email protected] Vice President of Marketing he a bee?—to the page? SARAH KALINA That’s Ali—born Cassius Clay in 1942—on [email protected] the cover of this issue, as drawn by Dawud Anyab- Managing/Nonfiction Editor ERIC LIEBETRAU wile to illustrate Becoming Muhammad Ali (Jimmy [email protected] Patterson/HMH Books, Oct. 5), a narrative of Fiction Editor LAURIE MUCHNICK the boxer’s childhood written by James Patter- [email protected]

Tom Beer son and Kwame Alexander. In a Zoom interview Young Readers’ Editor VICKY SMITH last month, I spoke with Patterson and Alexander [email protected] about the appeal of this larger-than-life figure. Alexander said that read- Young Readers’ Editor ing Ali’s 1975 autobiography, , “turned my reading life around LAURA SIMEON The Greatest [email protected] at age 12,” and both authors were keen to bring Ali’s voice to young read- Editor at Large ers. In researching his subject’s youth, Patterson says he was enchanted MEGAN LABRISE by Ali’s linguistic dexterity—“that feeling of listening to music, that sense [email protected] Vice President of Kirkus Indie of poetry,” not to mention the “humor and wit.” Our critic, in a starred KAREN SCHECHNER review, says that Becoming Muhammad Ali “encapsulates his drive, energy, [email protected] Senior Indie Editor and gift with words….a stellar collaboration.” DAVID RAPP Patterson and Alexander’s tale is only the latest in a long line of [email protected] Indie Editor books about Ali for adults and young readers alike. Foremost among MYRA FORSBERG them is Ali: A Life (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017) by Jonathan [email protected] Eig, winner of the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing and Associate Manager of Indie KATERINA PAPPAS other honors. This lengthy cradle-to-grave biography follows Ali from [email protected]

childhood on to the 1960 Olympics, his claim of the world heavyweight Editorial Assistant JOHANNA ZWIRNER championship after defeating Sonny Liston, his refusal to be drafted [email protected]

in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War (“No Vietcong ever called Mysteries Editor me a nigger,” he protested), his conversion to the Nation of Islam and THOMAS LEITCH Contributing Editor through his final years with Parkinson’s disease and ascent to icon status. GREGORY McNAMEE (Ali died the year before Eig’s book was published.) In a starred review, Copy Editor Kirkus called the book “an appropriately outsized—and first-rate— BETSY JUDKINS biography….An exemplary life of an exemplary man who, despite a few Designer missteps, deserves to be remembered long into the future.” ALEX HEAD Kirkus Editorial Production Editor A picture book about Ali for ages 4-8—why not? Isabel Sánchez Vegara’s Muhammad Ali (Frances ROBIN O’DELL Lincoln, 2019), with illustrations by Brosmind, tackles Ali’s entire life, even his conscientious objec- [email protected] Kirkus Editorial Associate tion during the Vietnam War, with “playful, stylized cartoon illustrations.” Kirkus’ review called it Production Editor “an amazing life effectively condensed into picture-book form…a nice introduction to the greatest.” STEPHANIE SUMMERHAYS [email protected] Fittingly, it’s part of the Little People, BIG DREAMS series, which also includes entries on Stephen Website and Software Developer Hawking, Rosa Parks, and Zaha Hadid. PERCY PEREZ [email protected] Other books, for adults, take narrower slices of Ali’s life. Stuart Cosgrove’s Cassius X: The Transfor Advertising Director mation of Muhammad Ali (Lawrence Hill Books/Chicago Review, Oct. 20) examines the pivotal year MONIQUE STENSRUD 1963-64, when Cassius Clay knocked out Sonny Liston and reintroduced himself as a Muslim named [email protected] Advertising Associate Muhammad Ali. In a starred review, Kirkus called the book a “sharp, thoughtful reflection on a long- TATIANA ARNOLD reverberating moment in sport and society.” Likewise, Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith’s Blood [email protected] Graphic Designer Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X (Basic, 2016) zooms in on the KYLA NOVAK same intense period, when the Nation of Islam minister and the champion boxer were first friends, [email protected] then foes. Kirkus’ starred review called it a “page-turning tale from the 1960s about politics and Controller MICHELLE GONZALES sports and two proud, extraordinary men whose legacies endure.” [email protected] for customer service or subscription questions, please call 1-800-316-9361

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2 | 1 november 2020 | from the editor’s desk | kirkus.com | you can now purchase books online at kirkus.com contents fiction INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 4 The Kirkus Star is awarded REVIEWS...... 4 to books of remarkable EDITOR’S NOTE...... 6 merit, as determined by the INTERVIEW: BRYAN WASHINGTON...... 14 impartial editors of Kirkus. MYSTERY...... 30 SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY...... 36 ROMANCE...... 37

nonfiction young adult INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 41 REVIEWS...... 41 EDITOR’S NOTE...... 42 INTERVIEW: WRIGHT THOMPSON...... 48

children’s INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 77 REVIEWS...... 77 EDITOR’S NOTE...... 78 COVER STORY: JAMES PATTERSON & KWAME ALEXANDER..... 84 INTERVIEW: URI SHULEVITZ...... 92

young adult INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 102 REVIEWS...... 102 Ruby Bridges, who at the age of 6 integrated EDITOR’S NOTE...... 104 an all-White New Orleans elementary INTERVIEW: MIKE CURATO...... 108 school in 1960, pens a heartfelt letter to this indie generation’s changemakers. Read the review INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS...... 112 on p. 79. REVIEWS...... 112 EDITOR’S NOTE...... 114 Don’t wait on the mail for reviews! You can read pre-publication reviews as they are released on kirkus.com—even before they are published in the magazine. SEEN & HEARD...... 130 You can also access the current issue and back issues of Kirkus Reviews on our website by logging in as a subscriber. If you do not have a username or password, APPRECIATIONS: JAMAICA KINCAID’S LUCY...... 131 please contact customer care to set up your account by calling 1.800.316.9361 or emailing [email protected].

| kirkus.com | contents | 1 november 2020 | 3 fiction These titles earned the Kirkus Star: THE SMASH-UP Benjamin, Ali Random House (352 pp.) A LIE SOMEONE TOLD YOU ABOUT YOURSELF $27.00 | Feb. 2, 2021 by Peter Ho Davies...... 8 978-0-593-22965-1 THE OCEAN HOUSE by Mary-Beth Hughes...... 16 A hypertopical, semisatirical, Ethan PRAYER FOR THE LIVING by Ben Okri...... 20 Frome–inspired portrait of a family on the edge. DETRANSITION, BABY by Torrey Peters...... 20 Sixteen years ago, Ethan and Zo SALT WATER Frome (short for Zenobia) fled Brook- by Josep Pla; trans. by Peter Bush...... 22 lyn for life in the “quiet nowhere” that is THE RIVER WITHIN by Karen Powell...... 24 Starkfield, Massachusetts, and now, as they settle into middle age, it’s becoming clear to both of them that their lives have A DUCHESS A DAY by Charis Michaels...... 38 not worked out as they planned. When we meet them, in 2018, THE EX TALK against the backdrop of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, Zo is by Rachel Lynn Solomon...... 39 consumed with her women’s group, All Them Witches, which, since Trump’s election—though neither political event is named explicitly—has met in the Fromes’ living room “to make posters and write postcards and process the dumpster fire that is the news these days.” And though Ethan is, in his own estimation “one of the good guys,” who respects women, of course he does, he cannot help but find this off-putting, the way it is both sexless and distinctly middle-aged. When they met, Zo was a promising documentary filmmaker, and the guerrilla marketing startup he co-founded was on the cutting edge, and now she’s rage-buying furniture online, and he’s living off checks from a company he hasn’t worked for in years. Meanwhile, their 11-year-old daughter has severe ADHD neither she nor they can cope with, which is part of why they’ve hired 20-something Maddy, who, rather than solutions, brings troubles of her own. (Also, predictable romantic intrigue for Ethan.) Nothing about the characters is idiosyncratic or surprising or especially nuanced—not Zo’s anger, not Ethan’s wistful nostalgia—and the novel can’t seem to decide exactly how heightened it wants to be. And yet the plot is cleverly constructed, and lost-youth longing is intoxicat- ing, and just because the characters seem sent from central cast- ing doesn’t mean they can’t pack an emotional punch. Enjoyable and well plotted, if slightly contrived.

DETRANSITION, BABY Peters, Torrey One World/Random House (352 pp.) $27.00 | Jan. 12, 2021 978-0-593-13337-8

4 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult - An adolescent faces his family of liars with a spirit remi know what was going on, or was she lying to her son all along? otherwise,and sexual insecurities, the do as realism, of coat heavy us tripping through one adeptly arranged flashback after another, another, after flashback adeptlyarranged one through tripping us using a dry sense of humor to make sense of a deceit-laden life. universe of blue-collar neighborhoods surroundings gives a Ian’s niscent of Holden Caulfield. of Holden niscent nies his older sister to his father’s funeral, where they’re stunned suffered by Ian and his few friends. Ian is a worthy literarycousin worthy a is Ian friends.few his and Ian by suffered grown-ups have let Ian down; now he must create himself. himself. down; now he must create grown-ups have let Ian to learn about the old man’s first wife. And there are more shocks more are there And wife. first man’s old the about learn to to come. Staying at his aunt’s house for the weekend, Ian takes things figures slowly boy the as consciousness; Ian’s and novel the out, we feel bilked for him. The novel’s vivid upstate York New of Holden Caulfield, another kid with littletolerance for fakes a family of As adept the string-pullers. novel begins, he - accompa reallymom not Ian’s Did wives? his not women with life his away and phonies and too much for hard-won skepticism his Theage. failed to notice or wasn’t able to.” In Ian’s defense, he comes from comes he defense, Ian’s In to.” able wasn’t or notice to failed Cassidy keeps such questions bubbling beneath the surface of Was his Was dad really trying to find a killer job, or was he drinking | kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 5 - , Spoke She which Murder, Sera is Fifteen-year-old Ian Daly is a curious Ian Fifteen-year-old Ian Ian makes a compelling narrator, the After After a miscarriage and a divorce, When a true-crime podcaster disap- Sera Fleece feels like she’s “wrong in the pears, her biggest her. find fan sets out to who knows too much and not nearly world” world” and that if she were to disappear, no one would miss her. She’s slowly no She’s one unrav would miss her. IF I DISAPPEAR enough. combination combination of hard-bitten adolescent and walking blind spot, a naïve old soul HERE LIES A FATHER Cassidy, Mckenzie Cassidy, Kaylie Jones/Akashic (256 pp.) Jones/Akashic Kaylie Berkley (304 pp.) Brazier, Eliza Jane Brazier, $15.95 paper | Jan. 5, 2021 5, paper | Jan. $15.95 $26.00 | Jan. 26, 2021 $26.00 | Jan. 978-1-61775-757-0 978-0-593-19822-3 A disquieting and distinctly creepy debut. disquieting and distinctly creepy A Sera discovers that more women have disappeared from - Foun Sera’s urgent narration often takes on dreamlike an qual- uneasy, Sera becomes convinced something bad Sera convinced hasbecomes happened Rachel to been so many signs, clues that for a less gullible person would’ve know she possessed: She leave can’t until she findsRachel, even handsome cowboy she falls for, seems to be hiding something. handle horses, and hires Rachel’s larger-than-life Addy, mother, her as head This wrangler. is an opportunity for Sera to investi- heart and soul of Cassidy’s debut novel. In a sense, he’s so self- precede each chapter, heightening and heightening building the uneasy narra- precede each chapter, podcast to work. Using bits and pieces of personal information when her instincts tell her to run. Snippets from Rachel’s podcast Rachel’s from Snippets run. to her tell instincts her when revealed on the podcast, Sera makes her way to Fountain Creek ity and is directed solely to Rachel, who’s addressed as “you.” Sera “you.” as addressed who’s Rachel, to solely directed is and ity so she pretends she’s looking for work. Luckily, she knows how to to how knows she Luckily, work. for looking she’s pretends she so shown the man behind the curtain pulling the strings, but I either I but strings, the pulling curtain the behind man the shown gang that roams the borders of their land. It only gets weirder. gate, gate, and she soon notices a palpable strangeness at the ranch. tive all the way to a none-too-tidytive all finale. the way to tain Creek, and not she’s sure whom she can trust. the Even Jed, the podcast abruptly stops, with no updates on social media, eventually finds within herself acourage and resolve she didn’t eling. Rachel Bard’s podcast, obsessed with, keeps her from coming When apart completely. and Addy and Addy thinks Rachel might have been killed by a dangerous and decides to put the investigation skills she learned from the aware that he comes to realize he isn’t: “Thinking back, there had there back, “Thinking isn’t: he realize to comes he that aware Guest Guest Ranch in Northern California, owned by Rachel’s family. There are no guests or internet access, the horses healthy, aren’t Arriving at the remote ranch, she realizes she needs a good story, we could all use a happy ending

Election Day is almost here, and domestic violence, but the sisters none of us needs any extra stress in are quirky and brainy, their suitors our lives. Fortunately, there’s one charming, and the dialogue funny, place where you’ll always find a hap- giving the books a perfect balance py ending, and that’s in the pages of of darkness and light. Our review a romance novel. I’ve been walking of Chloe Brown called it “a revela- around with headphones on, listening tion. Hilarious, heartfelt, and hot” to the audiobooks of Joanna Shupe’s and concluded “Hibbert is a ma- Uptown Girls series—The Rogue of jor talent.” Fifth Avenue (Avon, 2019), The Prince The fun thing about romance of Broadway (Avon, 2019), and The Devil of Downtown is that it encompasses all the oth- (Avon, June 30)—and I recommend a full immersion in er genres, too. If you’re a fantasy their Gilded Age New York setting anytime you want to fan looking for a happy-ever-af- escape our current predicament. ter, try Milla Vane’s A Heart of Blood and Ashes, (Berkley, The books feature Mamie, Feb. 2020), the first book in her Gathering of Dragons Florence, and Justine Greene, series. This is a long one for a ro- daughters of a wealthy and mance novel—560 pages—and it well-connected family. Natural- should carry you right through the ly, none of them wants to marry election, even if there are recounts. the boring, coddled society men Yvenne comes from a line of matri- their parents would like to see archal rulers, but her father is try- them with; they’d rather investi- ing to keep her from marrying and gate a murder with their father’s claiming her throne. Maddek is a lawyer (Mamie), open a casino warrior whose parents, the rulers for women under the tutelage of a kingdom allied with Yvenne’s, of New York’s most successful were killed by her father. Mad- casino owner (Florence), or help dek doesn’t trust Yvenne, but it impoverished women find their deadbeat husbands with makes strategic sense to marry her the assistance of a criminal kingpin (Justine). The street- and help her become queen. Our review says, “Imagina- toughened men are swept off their feet by these unusual tive worldbuilding and compelling political intrigue add women, and they’re always extremely careful to get the depth and complexity to their passionate and wildly ro- women’s consent for everything they do together, from mantic love affair….A showstopper.” the office to the bedroom. Who wouldn’t like to live in Paranormal fans will enjoy Season of the Wolf (Source- that world for a few hours? Our review of The Prince of books Casablanca, Aug. 2020), Broadway could almost describe any of the books: “The the latest in Maria Vale’s Legend plot gallops delightfully through the brothels, casinos, of All Wolves series, about a pack fancy restaurants, and elegant salons of New York….Clay of werewolves. As our review says, and Florence grow closer, in part via sex scenes as blis- “Vale is a rare writer, getting to tering hot as they are inventive, in part via witty banter the heart of her characters—their and genuine friendship….An absolute ace, guaranteed fears, their motivations—with- to thrill fans of great gambling-house romances by Sarah out sacrificing any of the grander MacLean and Lisa Kleypas.” picture. She quickly catches up Or perhaps you’d prefer something a bit more con- readers, new and returning, with temporary—you’ll find three different siblings, same what feels less like summary than guaranteed happy ending, in Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sis- like poetry; her writing has never ters series: Get a Life, Chloe Brown (Avon, 2019), Take a been better.” Hint, Dani Brown (Avon, June 2020), and set an alert for next year’s Act Your Age, Eve Brown. The books tackle im- Laurie Muchnick is the fiction editor. portant issues like depression, chronic pain, racism, and

6 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult Suspenseful, Suspenseful, funny, and even a tad mysterious. More, just laid off without warning Finn in advance, comes upon the unlikely unlikely miscues ends with Harris Mickler dead in her garage please. with everyThe only murdered bright him. indication that she’s where the conspirators can bury the body without telling him. spots are the that Veronica, accounting-student nanny Steven scene ready and eager to help and that Steven owns a sod farm going through with this harebrained scheme, but a series of ger purse for killing someone else considerably more savvy and crises that keep on piling up as if nothing had ever happened to everashad up to nothing piling happened if on keep that crises dangerous. YA dangerous. specialist YA Cosimano cuts dexterously between disturb them. Patricia Patricia communicates her hatred for her husband: She offers Finn Finn $50,000 to kill him. Of course Finn has no intention of Everything seems to have worked out improbablyFinn, who well really does until need the is money, offered an even big- adventures as a hit woman, Finn’s her deeply iffy romance with and the domestic County Anthony, Fairfax Detective Nicholas | kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 7 Struggling romantic suspense novel- A A suburban Virginia divorcée strug - paycheck to kill a complete stranger? kill a complete paycheck to should she do when she’s offered a fat gles with that classic dilemma: What IS KILLING IT DONOVAN FINLAY Cosimano, Elle Cosimano, Minotaur (368 pp.) $26.99 | Feb. 2, 2021 $26.99 | Feb. 978-1-2502-4170-2 become become his fiancee. So she’s not entirely surprised whenPatri- him over his affair with Theresa Hall, the realtor who’s since who’s who’s beaten his wife What repeatedly. stuns Finn is the way ven, who’s been nickel-and-diming her ever since she dumped ist Finlay Donovan think doesn’t much of her - ex-husband, Ste cia Mickler, overhearing her chatting with her agent in the local the in agent her with chatting her overhearing Mickler, cia own husband a is blackmailer evenand serial worse. He’s rapist Panera Panera about her latest work in progress, indicates that her Prenatal tests suggest that something is very wrong with their unborn child, and an unnamed couple decides on an abortion. a lie someone told you about yourself

A LIE SOMEONE TOLD breathing. In a third-person narrative from the father’s point YOU ABOUT YOURSELF of view, Davies unsentimentally captures the mind-numbing Davies, Peter Ho tedium coupled with blinding love that new parents feel in Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (240 pp.) prose as spare as it is emotionally resonant. When the boy’s $24.00 | Jan. 5, 2021 preschool teacher “has concerns” even readers without chil- 978-0-544-27771-7 dren are likely to share the parents’ dread and anguish. The narrative moves briskly through key episodes: The son gets Davies’ rigorously truthful examina- all kinds of physical and occupational therapy, the spouses tion of fatherhood explores the fallout go back to work (she’s at a university press, he’s a writer and from an abortion and the difficulties that teacher), their marriage is strained, the boy’s kindergarten follow a second pregnancy. teacher hints he might be autistic. His parents can’t bear to Prenatal tests suggest—but not con- get him tested: “They’ve been afraid of tests for so long. All clusively—that something is very wrong with their unborn his life.” Their uncertainty over the abortion will never be child, and an unnamed couple decides on an abortion. The resolved (references to Schrödinger’s cat abound), and the hus- next pregnancy proceeds normally until the baby turns blue on band’s decision to volunteer as an escort at an abortion clinic the delivery table and is whisked off to intensive care. Every- infuriates his wife, who snarls, “You act like it happened to thing seems to be fine; their son comes home after four days, you!” It’s a tribute to Davies’ skill and sensitivity that we feel and they settle down to the sleep-deprived routine of life with how much they still love each other despite bad sex, jealou- an infant. But they panic when he cries, and when he does fall sies, and endless worry over their son. When they finally have asleep, they stand outside his door listening to make sure he’s him tested, the results are once again ambiguous, but they are

8 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult Vagaries of setting and plot pile up Vagaries as this story seems to hints at an answer but doesn’t, in the end, deliver. but doesn’t, hints at an answer house was spotless.” Then, too, Elven litters the prose with up like microphones from the oily mud,” she writes, and then placeless placeless world like something out of a fairy tale. The narrator them told has he that say or him trust to not narrator the tell ple not to trust her. It’s all rather difficultto track.Elven’s voice images that startle but don’t always convince: “Twigs stuck seem to follow from one another: “She talked of ten-year plans,” ten-year of talked “She another: followfromone to seem spends her days at the pharmacy listening to the stories of the slightly off about her boss, August Malone, and whatever that something is, it grows larger as he peo- runs Various for mayor. this narrator? Why should we care about August Malone? Elven Malone? August about care we should Why narrator? this the narrator says of her colleague, Elsa. “She couldn’t sleep. Her Her sleep. couldn’t colleague,“She her Elsa. of says narrator the go nowhere. only low, only but low, inconsequential. Why should readers care about can be intriguing, even captivating, but sentences always don’t customers customers who pass in and out. There seems to be something a weightless quality to this story that makes the stakes seem not seem stakes the makes storythat this to quality weightless a describes “a number of people like walking baguettes.” There is There baguettes.”walking like people of number “a describes | kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 9 Subtle satire and fantastical ele- One day, an unnamed narrator Thirteen tales of loss and longing. Thirteen A A mysterious young woman moves normal.” A normal.” A radiant conclusion affirms Soft Skull Press (176 pp.) Soft Skull Press her apprenticeship as a pharmacist. It’s unnamed narrator of “Now Is the Time pharmacist. ments bring levity and subtext to - Cana STOOP CITY STOOP to to a mysterious village to serve as a arrives in an unnamed village to begin dian author Dunnion’s short fiction. The short fiction. Dunnion’s author dian Biblioasis (224 pp.) Elven, Lucie Dunnion, Kristyn $15.95 paper | Feb. 9, 2021 paper | Feb. $15.95 $16.95 paper | Feb. 2, 2021 $16.95 paper | Feb. THE WEAK SPOT To Light Fires” mourns To the death of her 978-1-59376-630-6 978-1-77196-386-2 Dunnion’s second collection Dunnion’s comprises a diverse slate of Perfectly Perfectly observed and tremendously moving: This will loosely linked stories with a cohesive message: Everybody hurts. learning to accept “his likewise vague: In her debut novel, Elven has created a timeless, a novel,debut hasher Elven created vague: In likewise legal career for a stray cat whose resentment of her husband with his frumpy wife, now lusts after the young woman with the with woman young the after lusts now frumpywife, his with when the woman’s messy, temperamental ghost starts haunting messy, when the woman’s when he ages out of his altar boy duties and is scorned by his who suffers a miscarriage and then abandons her marriage and nion’s wistful vignettes argue persuasively that the one affliction affliction one the that persuasively argue vignettes wistful nion’s rivals her own. Not every entry feels essential; some retread sculpted sculpted ass who lives next door. “Fits Ritual” finds homeless sexual orientation, or socio-economic status—issexual orientation, or socio-economic loneliness. secret love. And “Tracker & Flow” focuses on 43-year-old Kelly, & Flow” focuses on secret Kelly, 43-year-old And love. “Tracker youth Hoofy wondering if his beautiful boyfriend, Roam, has girlfriend, Marzana, only to be reminded of her many faults strike a resonant chord with parents everywhere. parents with chord a resonant strike the daunting cost and overwhelming rewards of raising a child. a raising overwhelmingof and rewards cost daunting the their condo. In “How We Learn To Lie,” 40-something LearnTo realtor their condo. We In “How the same ground while others see their poignancy diluted by a remote village, vaguely European, and though there are a abandoned him for the rich blond target of their latest scam. In In scam. latest their of target blond rich the for him abandoned few references to texting and the internet, the time period is distractingly madcap narratives. On the balance, though, Dun- from which all human beings of suffer—regardless age, gender, Julia Julia suspects that her lover, Jeff, who used to live downstairs “Adoro Te Devote,” Te life loses all “Adoro meaning for gay teenager Paul

CHARITY all three parents by taking up with “a little old man with no future,” Fraser, Keath namely air conditioning salesman Rudy Skupa, and then shocks Biblioasis (128 pp.) everyone further by declaring she’s leaving for Sierra Leone to $14.95 paper | Jan. 26, 2021 work with Doctors Without Borders—and Rudy is going with 978-1-77196-380-0 her. Despite the invocation of other continents, Fraser’s sad, comic landscape, littered with lingering wounds, is profoundly The March/December relationship narrow. Mobile phones and drugs feature in it, but the sense between a young medical student and of a social milieu frozen somewhere in the past is heightened a man “four times her age and half her by Fraser’s arch language: “Even speaking, she devoiced as if to weight” broadens into a layered exami- echo her unfamiliar reticence.” The trip to Africa goes badly, nation of unintended consequences and and Greta returns, skinny from probable drug use and devoid of social legacies. Rudy, who was murdered in a mugging . While Greta, now sent Canadian writer Fraser’s latest is a short, inward-looking to rehab, appears to be the hinge of the novel’s few events, she work of fictional chamber music featuring three generations of is rarely on the page. Instead, the focus is on Denise’s regrets, connected individuals lodged in an uncommunicative scenario. rehashes, and revelations. She too went off the rails, went Narrator Denise is the second wife of physician Patrick, whose abroad, returned, and dropped out. A late notion aims to rescue first wife, Judy, abandoned both him and their daughter, Greta, Greta through charitable work overseas, but Charity begins at for a short-lived relationship with a Mexican tennis pro. Greta, home, and ends there too. 23, whose obesity is a cause for concern, is studying medicine- An obliquely teasing novella offering style and insight, and performing charitable work on the weekends. She horrifies within limitations.

10 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult Not Not for the squeamish, this book will appeal to readers Scarlett’s twin brother, Rhett—Scarlett’s obsessions are central central are obsessions Rhett—Scarlett’s brother, twin Scarlett’s unafraid of adjectives or an investigation of the unnatural. unafraid of adjectives or an investigation love, I’d somehow taste the essence of the creatures you’d been somehow taste the of essence the creatures you’d love, I’d handling”). Hall wastes no time revealing the couple’s odd pre- taxidermist Felix De Souza, Penny the flirtatious neighbor, and the flirtatious neighbor, De Souza, Penny taxidermist Felix end happily, the last quarter is the most propulsive, evenpropulsive, read- most if the is last the quarter happily, end predictability of the ending. by the ers might be disappointed exposed internal conflicts, grotesque dreams, and desires that (a taxidermy traditional the of menageries” “mystical instead of at all While clear times. it’s from the start that this tale cannot as “you” that cements the ates too-close the novel messed discomfort (“You with nature” that or “When we - perme made a red fox with a stork’s wings). “The market is dwindling. It’s all high-brow conceptual stuff nowadays,” Scarlett rationalizes. draw the reader in—but it’s her constant reference to Henry dilections. In Chapter 1, they begin to imagine the possibility Though a few other characters enter the tale—the best world’s “crabbit” “crabbit” is the combination of a crow and a rabbit; a “stox” is | kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 11 (2019)—Venetian Tidelands (2019)—Venetian Hall’s Hall’s first novel, set in the rural In In the second of Gregory’s Fairmile A A gothic romance with a self-fulfill- When we last saw Alinor Reekie, she Alinor When Reekie, we last saw had been cast out of her Sussex tidelands Sussex her of out cast been had home after being “swum” as a witch. wetlands wetlands of South West England, is as narrator narrator and the significantly younger intrigue meets English gullibility. intrigue meets English ing title. series—after series—after strange as it is disturbing. Scarlett is the DARK TIDES DARK CamCat Books (272 pp.) Books CamCat Gregory, Philippa Gregory, Hall, Polly Hall, $20.99 | Nov. 24, 2020 | Nov. $20.99 $24.99 | Dec. 8, 2020 THE TAXIDERMIST’S LOVER THE TAXIDERMIST’S 978-1-5011-8718-6 978-0-7443-0037-6 Atria (464 pp.) (464 Atria An uneven but still welcome addition to the Gregory her first late husband) seeks shelter with her infant son, Matteo. Matteo. son, infant her with shelter seeks husband) late first her has no child. There is no clear protagonist here. White-haired lover of a skilled taxidermist named Henry, to whom she very instructive parallel plot, is trying his best to advocate for who accidentally drowned. “La Nobildonna” (title courtesy of rescue the family. Someone has to! rescue the family. near drowning, has been shunted into an advisory role. Into this this Into advisory role. an into shunted been has drowning, near modest but content household slinks Livia, a sultry Venetian, ing to claim the child she was carrying at the time of her exile sections to see whether Sarah, also gifted with second sight, can sight, second with gifted also Sarah, whether see to sections self-professed widow of Alinor’s son Rob, a physician in Venice Venice a Alinor’s son physician self-professed Rob, in widow of the Natives. However, readers will be tempted to skip Ned’s tribes is beginning to fray, and Ned, in and tribes an Ned, is exposition-heavybeginning to but fray, cannon. of Rob’s of death. Rob’s Readers will not need second sight to distrust ever susceptible Sir James. In what could be a separate novel, older daughter, Alys, run a small import-export warehouse while warehouse import-export small a run Alys, daughter, older ary—take shape. Unsurprisingly, her long game is to ensnare the ensnare to is game long her Unsurprisingly, shape. ary—take as his heir, but Alinor rejects him, telling him crypticallyhe him that telling him, rejects Alinor but heir, his as against the witch-hunters, has come into his noble estate also and hop- He’s Alinor. marry offer to to belatedly, arrives, far too addresses this It’s her story. highly personal confessional tone, New England. The détente between English settlers and Native Native and settlers English between détente The England. New Livia, but it’s fun to watch her swindle—involving ancient statu- ancient swindle—involving her watch to fun it’s but Livia, 1670, Alinor’s 1670, Sir former who James, lover, failed to defend her Twenty-one years after their Twenty-one escape to London, Alinor and her 21-year-old twins Sarah and Johnnie are learning a trade. Now, in Now, trade. a learning are Johnnie and Sarah twins 21-year-old Alinor’s Alinor’s brother Ned, a staunch “Leveler,” has immigrated to Alinor is suspicious—her clairvoyance would have warned her Alinor, Alinor, “not yet whosefifty,” health never recovered from her

A layered and nuanced mystery. the survivors

THE SURVIVORS also supposedly claimed the life of Olivia’s 14-year-old sister, Harper, Jane Gabby, though her body was never recovered. When the body Flatiron Books (384 pp.) of Olivia’s housemate, art student Bronte, is found on the beach, $27.99 | Feb. 2, 2021 a darkness as relentless as the tides comes pulsing to the surface, 978-1-250-23242-7 and it seems everyone has something to hide. As rumors spread on the community’s web page and alarm mounts about the pos- It’s been 12 years since Kieran Elliot sibility of a killer in their midst, the town’s secrets are steadily left his hometown of Evelyn Bay under unfurled, coalescing into a few unexpected revelations. While a dark cloud. this novel isn’t quite as suspenseful as Harper’s previous books, Evelyn Bay, on the Tasmanian coast, she’s a master at creating atmospheric settings, and it’s easy to is a small, quiet town where everyone fall under her spell. knows each other and the days roll by A layered and nuanced mystery. like the waves that lap at its secluded beaches. Now, Kieran has returned with his partner, Mia, and their 3-month-old daughter, Audrey, to help his mother move house so she can be closer to NOT ONE OF US his father, who has dementia and will be moving into a nursing Herbert, Debbie home. Kieran is glad to see old friends Ash, Olivia, and Sean, but Thomas & Mercer (304 pp.) tensions linger. After all, there are those who still blame Kieran $15.95 paper | Feb. 1, 2021 for a boating accident that killed his older brother, Finn, and 978-1-5420-2492-1 Sean’s brother, Toby. The vicious storm that raged that night Herbert moves on from Normal, Ala- bama, to nearby Enigma, but keeps her unrelenting focus on Southern gothic, family-style. No sooner has Ray Strickland, just released from prison, returned to Enigma for his mother’s funeral than Jori Trahern, running into him at a local bar, trash-talks him for killing her cousin, Jack- son, and a bunch of guys start throwing punches at him and threaten to kill him. Next morning they get their wish when he’s found shot to death in his mother’s house. Jori is especially distressed because Ray had denied killing Jackson, because a passing remark by her grandmother reveals that Jackson was actually adopted as a baby, and because a fresh discovery links Ray to the Cormier family, who disappeared without a trace 13 years ago. As the person who entered the Cormier house and found it deserted, dinner still in the oven, shortly before Dea- con Cormier was supposed to escort her to their high school prom, Jori has been close to the edge ever since, and caring for her increasingly forgetful grandmother and her brother, Zach, who has severe autism, hasn’t made her life any easier. Flip- ping between Jori’s viewpoint and that of rookie Eric County investigator Tegan Blackwell, who’s recovering from a troubled childhood of her own, Herbert steadily multiplies acts of violence and betrayal as she knits the new crime closer and closer together with the old. More tellingly, she gradually deepens both heroines’ horror at discovering just how low the people who disparage outsiders and newcomers as “not one of us” are willing to go to preserve their privilege. Another dispatch from Enigma would be welcome, though it’s hard to see what else Herbert could burn down next time.

12 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com |

CROSSHAIRS comrades telling their stories. And much of the narrative is Hernandez, Catherine Kay’s own account of escaping abuse at the hands of his mother Atria (272 pp.) and her church and finding a community where he could live $27.00 | Dec. 8, 2020 freely as himself. One chapter offers scenes of an army veteran 978-1-982146-02-3 who has joined the Resistance teaching Kay to shoot a gun interwoven with glimpses of Kay receiving instruction in the In her second novel for adults, Her- finer points from a more experienced performer. The juxtapo- nandez imagines a repressive near future sition is powerfully affecting. Beyond that, the disparate parts that feels like a slight exaggeration of the of this novel are uneven in quality and don’t create an entirely present. satisfying whole. One issue is that several key characters end up The narrator, Kay Nopuente, describes feeling more like allegorical examples than real people. Another himself as a “Queer Femme Jamaican Fili- is that, while Kay is an engaging protagonist and the details of pino man.” Evan is the lover from whom he was separated when his life would be sufficiently compelling if this novel were sim- the Canadian government launched the final phase of Reno- ply the story of his life, this novel is not simply the story of his vation—a program that relocates anyone who deviates from a life. Every time the story shifts back into the past, the plot loses White, cisgender, straight norm to labor camps. Kay is lucky in momentum. In creating the Renovation and the Resistance, that he has been sheltered by the Resistance. Part of the narra- Hernandez is borrowing science-fiction conventions without tive focuses on Kay’s training to join an armed rebellion led by fulfilling their promise. Taken altogether, every aspect of the Others like him and allies committed to using their privilege novel feels underdeveloped and unfinished. on behalf of Others. Part of the narrative is made up of Kay’s Earnest but disappointing. young adult

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 13

INTERVIEWS & PROFILES Bryan Washington

THE AWARD-WINNING WRITER DISCUSSES FOOD, DRINK, BODIES, AND OTHER TELLING DETAILS IN HIS DEBUT NOVEL, MEMORIAL By Megan Labrise

Dailey Hubbard Kirkus spoke to the author about Memorial by phone; the conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s your connection to Japan? A good friend of mine I grew up with in my old neighborhood, and we stayed friends—he moved back to Osa- ka. The first time that I went there was a trip to visit him, about six years or so ago. I had a lovely time, for no reason other than the folks I met were super warm and it’s really nice and felt very comfortable. The city of Osaka is very much itself, in the way that I think Houston is to some extent; and in a lot of ways analogous to New Or- leans, although I don’t know exactly why that is—we’ll try to figure it out. After that first trip, excepting this year, I’m usually there once or twice a year. I edited a good chunk of the book over there. Being privileged to be privy to the warmth of folks in that city and their generosity—that was something that I wanted to try and get on the page.

We learn so many specific, intimate details about Ben- son, Mike, and the other people in this book, some from the characters themselves, some from others’ In 2019, Bryan Washington rocketed to success as the perceptions. How do you conceive of building charac- modern bard of Houston with his debut story collection, ters who are very much themselves? Lot. Depicting working-class characters leading complex What was important to me was not to be prescriptive lives in the city’s multicultural Third Ward neighborhood, about characters or the relationships that they have—or it won Washington the New York Public Library’s Young the tangential relationships that they have, or the relation- Lions Fiction Award and a number of other honors (in- ships that they don’t have—so much as illustrative. A large cluding a 5 Under 35 prize and appreciation from President component of that was finding each character’s love lan- Barack Obama). In his eagerly anticipated follow-up novel, guage, so to speak, or how they extended or showed their Memorial (Riverhead, Oct. 27), Benson and Mike, a mixed- love, how they didn’t, and also what they desired and why race couple in their late 20s, contend with their future, and to what extent. It was tricky structurally because it their families, and the meaning of home. The story, told meant information would be delivered at wildly disparate in alternating perspectives, launches in Houston, journeys points in the narrative. Significant details would be deliv- to Osaka, Japan, and, finally, returns stateside. “I was really ered to the reader in a conversation, in an offhand way or keen on writing a love story featuring characters from the a way that didn’t belie the emotional weight….Being really communities that I hold dear,” Washington tells Kirkus, strategic about what I revealed and when about each char- “centering the traumas that those characters may or may acter was the intent. not have faced within their respective narrative arcs.”

14 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | The phrase “emotional weight” hops out at me. Are drink that you think is going to be the size of a Coke can there certain scenes in this book you really put the full- and it’s actually like a small child delivered onto your table. ness of your weight—your craft, your talent—behind? Food was another language for each of the characters. I’ve Ideally, you’re putting your weight behind everything. That’s had a handful of friends say that they read [Memorial] like kind of a bullshit answer, but I also think it’s an honest an- a cookbook, which is a really fascinating thing that I don’t swer. There are brief exchanges—at least a handful of scenes think is terribly divorced from how I structured Ben’s and that are only 30, 40, 150, 200 words—and yet the informa- Mike’s arcs to some extent. tion that they’re dispersing is deeply pivotal to a character’s narrative arc. [I was] playing with the conventions of what Why was Memorial the right title for this book? connoted an important scene: What happens if you make One of the reasons is I like a one-word title, because you’re that pivotal moment only two lines? Or what happens if you gonna be saying it quite a lot. You don’t want to be saying stick it in the middle of a conversation that’s an entirely oth- a five-word title like 255 times. Another reason is that “me- er thing? Or what happens if you have Mike or Benson say morial” can be so many different things. It can be a mourn- something that is deeply impactful regarding a relationship ful entity; it can be a joyous entity; it can be an emotion and yet the person they’re speaking to doesn’t realize it until that doesn’t necessarily cut straight down the middle of five, six lines into the conversation? So just really, really play- one thing or another. What it felt like was a time capsule, ing with the idea of what mattered to each character related irrespective of whatever emotional pocket it resided in. It to what would ultimately matter to the reader. memorialized something, right? If something is being memorialized, then it happened; but it also, perhaps, ended. Regarding the phrase “love language”: In this book So it felt like the emotional potential of that word and the there’s a lot of touch exchanged, especially between fleetingness of that word were fitting. men, from the cupping of a younger brother’s head to the way two queer cis men lie entwined on a beach. Megan Labrise is the editor at large and host of the Fully Booked There’s plenty of fighting and sex, too, and the way you podcast. Memorial received a starred review in the July 15, 2020, young adult portray caresses and collisions is very fine. issue. I appreciate that. I think that the ways in which bodies move or don’t move—whether it’s between, you know, romantic partners, whether it’s between siblings, whether it’s between a parent [and] child or something—that was really interesting to me, generally, and also interesting in the context of this particular narrative, because so many of the conversations are punctuated by silence and punctuated by increments and implications of things that aren’t immediately stated on the page. A lot of those gaps are, ideally, filled, or at least fleshed out by a character’s physical movements on the page, even if it’s as simple as a hand on your shoulder, inching closer to another character, or sex. Or the kind of sex that a character is having, what it means when a character allows one person into their body and doesn’t allow another person into their body. Or if a character is engaging in physicality that isn’t sex but is as satisfying to that character as sex….Trying to figure out how each character relates to touch or doesn’t was something that was at the forefront of me trying to figure out what they were to one another.

You also emphasize how these characters relate to food and drink, including but not limited to “a margarita”—well, several margaritas—“the size of your head,” which is a pretty evocative phrase. The massive margarita is a common thing at a certain brand of Tex-Mex restaurant where you pay $7 or $8 for a

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 15 SLASH AND BURN leaves to join “the catechists” in the war against the state. She Hernández, Claudia soon decides to follow him to the mountains and takes up with Trans. by Sanches, Julia a much older man there. When she has her first daughter, her And Other Stories (352 pp.) commanders send the baby away, to be sold by nuns to a couple $17.95 paper | Jan. 5, 2021 from Paris. Though the woman has two more daughters by her 978-1-91150-882-3 eventual husband from the war and another daughter by a different man after her husband’s death, she never gives up on her In an unnamed Central American firstborn and finally finds a way to her after the war’s official country, a teenage girl fights a yearslong end. Though there are no men in her life by now and she’s the civil war during which she bears several sole provider for her daughters, she’s still on guard and follow- daughters. When it’s over, she struggles ing phantom orders. The mother, whose endless practicality, to find a way to shed the soldier and resilience, and independence are the backbone of the novel, embrace the mother. cuts through the violence, poverty, and petty cruelties of the The protagonist is nameless, referred to only as “she” or men and ex-combatants in her community to give her daughters “her” or later “the mother”; the other characters, mostly female, their best chance. are called “her mother,” “her daughter,” “her sister,” “her aunt.” A story about a mother’s resilience in a postwar country The book feels both startlingly profound and, later, confusing is let down by its sometimes impenetrable form. as it drags on too long, with barely any dialogue to break up the text. The girl first learns to put a gun together at 13 when her father teaches her how to protect their family before he THE OCEAN HOUSE Hughes, Mary-Beth Grove (208 pp.) $26.00 | Jan. 12, 2021 978-0-8021-5753-9

From a New Jersey beach house, two little girls watch their mother silhou- etted against the ocean. Suspended in time, this opening moment records their happiness, which will shatter. Although their beautiful ocean house boasts a tower room (it’s even haunted) and delicate stained glass windows, it can’t protect the girls from the fracturing of their family or the loss of their own innocence. With this opening, Hughes deftly sets in motion a Rube Goldberg–like collection of stories in which a single character from one tale trips a connection to another. The links are often obscure, as with a wayward husband’s mysterious brother or the lingering echo of a woman’s name across another woman’s memory. Figuring out the links makes the whole book feel like a fascinating puzzle. In one story, a young woman arrives seemingly out of the narrative ether to serve as a nanny for Faith, a young mother. Her peculiar behavior amuses Faith until a bizarre tragedy strikes. Subsequent stories pick up the tale later, with Faith’s psychiat- ric hospitalization, her husband’s absconding to parts unknown, and her daughter Cece’s sessions with a therapist-in-training whose blunt methods threaten to retraumatize her. In one of the most troubling stories, a team of men try to convince a young woman (presumably Cece) to let them turn her experience of sexual assault into a violent cartoon, gradually transforming it into an unrecognizable male fantasy of domination. In another, Cece’s beloved best friend, Sebastian, returns home for his own mother’s death, negotiating his stepfather’s desire to erase him from the house and his sister’s inability to be present. Rich with detail and unexpected phrasing, Hughes’ prose illuminates her dark emotional terrain. Grief-stricken yet beautiful portraits of fractured lives.

16 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 17 MINUS ME that’s what sets this kooky rom-com in motion, with additional Medwed, Mameve bold plot contrivances (obscure medical conditions, family Alcove Press (336 pp.) secrets, sudden personality changes, magical wealth and influ- $16.99 paper | Jan. 12, 2021 ence) also playing their parts. When the local doctor takes a 978-1-64385-643-8 look at Annie’s lungs and tells her with tears in his eyes to get her affairs in order, she knows she must break the news to her One-half of the happiest couple on darling Sam. But when Sam cuts her off and changes the sub- Earth—or at least in the fictional Passa- ject, she decides not to tell him at all. Instead, she’ll write him maquoddy, Maine—conceals her termi- a manual on how to manage his life after she’s gone. Each chap- nal diagnosis from her husband. ter of Medwed’s first novel in 12 years starts with a quote from Despite a tortuous history of preg- the manual—“Women like flowers,” “Don’t let your underwear nancy loss, Annie and Sam have been become tattered,” “Change the answering machine to your own a perfect match since high school. Well-liked in their Maine voice”—and longer excerpts are also included, featuring quite a hometown, they came back after college to run a sandwich bit of urging that, as a widower, Sam seek comfort from Annie’s shop with a sub so popular it’s a tourist attraction—the totally lifelong best friend, Rachel. Though the doctor continues to unhealthy and impossibly delicious “Paul Bunyan,” consisting insist she tell both Sam and her mother (a famous actress who’s of salami, American cheese, tomatoes, onions, green pepper- been worthless as a parent and is now, after many husbands, this corns, pickles, and a mysterious sauce holding it all together. doctor’s girlfriend) and also to please, please consult a specialist Considering the success of the couple’s relationship, it’s odd for a second opinion, Annie sees no rush. If you’re gonna die, that they’ve never really learned to have a conversation—but you’re gonna die. Despite the utter unbelievability of every other plot element, you still end up craving one of those sandwiches.

THE HOUSE ON VESPER SANDS O’Donnell, Paraic Tin House (408 pp.) $26.95 | Jan. 12, 2021 978-1-951142-24-7

An orphan-turned-heiress, a university student, a down-on-his-heels clergyman, an inspector from Scotland Yard, a number of missing girls, and a host of high-society figures collide in this supernatural, gothic mystery. London, 1893. Octavia Hillingdon might be an heiress, but that’s only because she and her brother, Georgie, were adopted by a newspaper magnate and given opportunities that would have otherwise been out of reach. Now, Octavia is a bicycle-rid- ing Victorian lady journalist trying to uncover big stories even as she’s limited to reporting on society events and gossipy pieces about the Spiriters by a difficult editor. Elf—that is, the Most Honourable Marquess of Hartington—is her friend and party sidekick, winnowing out gossipy tidbits for her. Gideon Bliss is an exceedingly poor university student in Cambridge who drops everything to rush to London after receiving a cryptic letter from his clergyman uncle about impending danger, yet he secretly hopes to once again meet up with his beloved Angela. The volatile Inspector Cutter handles special cases dealing with the occult at Scotland Yard. The lives of all these characters and more collide over the course of a few days in February: Gideon stumbles upon Angela—wearing a thin white shift and barely lucid—before the altar in an empty church, but he is drugged, she is taken, and he seeks Inspector Cutter’s help. A seamstress jumps to her death from a window of Lord Strythe’s London

18 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | "A somber, disturbing mystery fused with a scathing look at the fashion industry... Mangin writes in a confident, razor-edged style." - Kirkus Reviews E X P R E S

S young adult

"Splashy and outré, distorting stereotypes of glitterati and their carefully guarded world.” - Foreword Reviews

Fiction / Dystopian / Thriller

Paperback 410 pp. | July 12, 2020 Learn More at 978-1-7345534-1-3 www.sizezero.org

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 19 A diverse yet consistent collection, mind-bending and provocative in a host of styles and milieus. prayer for the living

home, the gentleman himself disappears, and Olivia tries to PRAYER FOR find out why. Author O’Donnell carefully unspools the gothic THE LIVING creepiness of his story, teasing the reader with tidbits of infor- Okri, Ben mation that raise more questions than they answer: Just who are Akashic (216 pp.) the Spiriters? What are they doing with the young girls who go $22.95 | Feb. 2, 2021 missing? How is the seamstress’s suicide related to the death of 978-1-61775-863-8 the Inspector’s wife? In the end, all the pieces fit together. An intriguing, unexpected gothic mashup with elements A career-spanning story collection of Dorothy Sayers, Wilkie Collins, and Josephine Tey. from the Booker Prize–winning Nige- rian writer that navigates the blurry line between dream and reality. Okri’s stories are so concerned with myth and folklore, and so comfortable in the style of those genres, that his best ones sometimes feel as if written on parchment or chiseled in granite. In the eerie, allegorical title story, a man searching for his loved ones in a town devastated by soldiers finds a kind of collective solidarity with the corpses he discovers: “All the faces are familiar. Death has made them all my kin.” “A Sinister Perfection” features a dollhouse that seems to have the power to make (usually bad) things happen in reality. The narrator of “Dreaming of Byzan- tium” finds himself in Istanbul, uncertain of how he got there or of the woman he shares his hotel bed with; his journey becomes a study in how “unreality makes reality.” Okri’s stories propose a kind of existential balancing act: If we err when we place too much faith in reality, we can also too easily succumb to delu- sion. “The Lie,” for instance, is a fable about a king who sends his minions out to discover universal truths only to face an uncomfortable one about himself: “Your power is unreal. It is made of air. It consists of what we have conferred on you.” The stories don’t always strive for timelessness: Three tales concern the African terrorist group Boko Haram. Nor is the mysticism always somber: “Alternative Realities Are True” is a dimension- warping detective story worthy of Philip K. Dick, and “Don Ki-Otah and the Ambiguity of Reading” is a Don Quixote satire whose metafictional gamesmanship evokes Borges and Achebe. Okri often plays with form, as in two stories written in a flash- fiction style he calls “stoku,” a portmanteau of story and haiku. But throughout, Okri skillfully embeds abstract ideas in concrete, engaging storytelling. A diverse yet consistent collection, mind-bending and provocative in a host of styles and milieus.

DETRANSITION, BABY Peters, Torrey One World/Random House (352 pp.) $27.00 | Jan. 12, 2021 978-0-593-13337-8

A wonderfully original exploration of desire and the evolving shape of family. Reese’s specialty is horrible married men—and she has carefully analyzed all the reasons why. She is, in fact, exqui- sitely self-aware when it comes to her self-destructive tendencies. When her ex, Ames, asks her to

20 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL LOVES LIBRARIES! 42 Texas libraries received $100,000 in grant support from TBF this year.

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| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 21 be a second mother to the baby his lover, Katrina, is carrying, own body and his own gender is just one of his complexities. Reese knows exactly why she doesn’t say no: She believes that Reese is similarly engaging. She’s kind of a mess, but who isn’t? motherhood will make her a real woman. Ames has issues of his There’s no question that there will be much that’s new here for own. Fatherhood is not a role he wants for himself—which is a lot of readers, but the insider view Peters offers never feels not to say that he doesn’t want to be a parent. It’s his hope that, voyeuristic, and the author does a terrific job of communicat- by bringing Reese into their ménage, he might make Katrina ing cultural specificity while creating universal sympathy. Trans consider other, less binary, possibilities. Set in New York and women will be matching their experiences against Reese’s, but peopled with youngish professionals (and folks who are, at least, so will cis women—and so will anyone with an interest in the professional-adjacent), this novel has the contours of a dishy human condition. contemporary drama, and it is that. What sets it apart from Smart, funny, and bighearted. similar novels are the following details: Reese is a trans woman, and, when she and Ames were together, Ames was Amy and also a trans woman. Detransitioning—returning to the gender SALT WATER assigned at birth after living as another gender—is a fraught Pla, Josep subject. People who change their minds about transitioning Trans. by Bush, Peter are often held up as cautionary tales or as evidence that trans Archipelago (310 pp.) identity is a phase or a sickness, not something real. Peters, a $20.00 paper | Dec. 1, 2020 trans woman, knows this, and, in Ames, she has created a char- 978-1-939810-72-4 acter who does not conform to any hateful stereotype. Ames is, like every other human, complicated, and his relationship to his Joined sketches, ostensibly fictional but with the ring of lived truth to them, by the noted Catalonian writer. As translator Bush remarks in an afterword, Pla’s (1897-1981) chronicles of his seafaring compatriots were supposedly written during the author’s youth. Most, in fact, were from the 1940s, when, working as a journalist, Pla made a specialty of sneaking subtle criticisms of the Franco dictatorship into his copy. Some- times his resistance is less than subtle. In one story, the narrator is conversing with “Dalí the painter’s father,” as he prefers to be called, and recounts, “In the Ampurdan, we federal republicans and those who didn’t think like us created a most pleasant level of coexistence, which had eliminated all forms of brutality….We’d rage at each other, but there was mutual respect. All that was destroyed thanks to theories about human progress and happiness.” Most of the stories are laden with references to the glories of Catalan cuisine, so much better, Pla asserts, than the butter-heavy French cuisine up the coast; in just about every story, someone is eating anchovies and sardines and sea bream, and it’s a book not to be read on an empty stomach. In just about every story, too, there is a reminder not just of food, but also of the antiquity of the Mediterranean; a Zorba-like character with the Greek-ish name of Hermós, for example, claims that the people along the cape he inhabits are indeed Hellenes, for “those Greeks were no fools. They chose to come and live in the best of places.” Blending both themes, the narrator later rejoins, “The spectacle of avid hunger becomes this antique sea. There are corners of this sea where you can smell the stench of Homeric hecatombs.” Pla’s stories are generally unadorned and precise in their renderings of both the people and the places of the far northeast of Spain, lives full of hardship and labor—but also their insistence on freedom. A fine introduction to a writer little known outside his native land and who memorably captures its atmosphere.

22 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 23 A mesmerizing escape. the river within

THE RIVER WITHIN Hall, who has begun a romantic relationship with Lennie while Powell, Karen in confused, angry mourning over his father Angus’ recent Europa Editions (272 pp.) death; Alexander’s mother, Venetia, whose stately role as Lady $18.45 | Dec. 1, 2020 Richmond belies her insecurities and passions as a wife and 978-1-60945-615-3 mother; Danny himself, a village boy in unrequited love with Lennie though his boyhood friendships with Tom and Alexan- In 1955, postwar Britain’s socio- der ended years before when the two of them left for boarding economic changes play out in the small school. (Intellectually gifted but resentful Tom, whose school- Yorkshire village of Starome as local ing Angus paid for, represents the angry young men of 1950s estate Richmond Hall swims against a British fiction and film.) While Danny remains relatively inno- tide of mounting taxes and death duties. cent—pining for Lennie, his only real secret is the volume of Then the drowned body of Danny Tennyson he’s purchased and keeps meaning to give her—his Masters, a village local, is discovered at river’s edge by 17-year- death forces Alexander, Lennie, and Venetia to confront unspo- old Lennie Fairweather, her older brother, Tom, and their friend ken jealousies and guilts, some more deserved than others. Love Alexander Richmond. As Danny’s aunt says, “That river’s always triangles abound, as do deaths with unclear causes. But this is been dangerous.” Never named, it winds dangerously enough not a murder mystery. Despite an unfortunately dated represen- through the lives of Powell’s four protagonists: quiet Lennie, tation of mental illness, Powell shows hard-nosed empathy in whose father’s job as private secretary at Richmond Hall has portraying individuals’ private demons in the context of social left her in social limbo, fully accepted neither by the village nor realities. Her novel about love, class, and secrecy in 1950s Eng- the gentry; Cambridge student Alexander, heir to Richmond land reads as if it were written in the era the characters inhabit, her style and tone reminiscent of an earlier generation of reti- cent yet emotionally brutal writers like Shirley Hazzard and Graham Greene. A mesmerizing escape.

WATER MEMORY Pyne, Daniel Thomas & Mercer (366 pp.) $14.95 | Feb. 1, 2021 978-1-5420-2502-7

An unusually active risk management agent sent home to rest embarks on a tropical cruise that drops her into hotter waters than ever. Everyone at Solomon Systems agrees that Aubrey Sentro needs a break after her dramatic rescue of kidnapped software exec Scott Chang, and they don’t even know about her recent diagnosis with per- sistent post-concussion syndrome, which affects her memory in dramatic and unpredictable ways. Forced to use some of her accumulated vacation days, Sentro books passage aboard the Jeddah, a working steamer that carries a few passengers. Though she can’t even remember most of their names from meal to meal, Sentro becomes unexpectedly close to outspoken Fontaine Fox just in time for heavily armed pirates to board the ship and ter- rorize passengers and crew alike. Despite their apparent ama- teurism, identical twins Pauly and Castor Zeme are no ordinary pirates: They’re acting on behalf of someone who’s after much more than the usual cash, credit cards, jewelry, and valuables. As Pyne keeps reminding you, however, Sentro is no ordinary victim either, and her reaction when the Jeddah is boarded sparks the first of many violent sequences so unforgettable that even she might end up remembering them. If only her adult children, Jeremy and Jennifer Troon, could be persuaded to stand down from involving themselves personally in the mercenaries’

24 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | You won’t want to miss a word.

What’s Next Bethlehem’s Brothers Geoﬀ rey Keane Ronald Hera In 3017, your android servant’s computer Two brothers are swept into a conflict brain is connected to yours, through a chip and separated for a decade before being installed in your scalp. It’s unbelievably reunited by the arrival of Jesus Christ great; but it’s new, so there may be in Galilee. Follow the journey of the downside risk! Bethlehem’s Brothers. $19.95 paperback $15.95 paperback 978-1-4772-7040-0 978-1-4634-3102-0 also available in ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.authorhouse.com www.authorhouse.com How to Move the Earth Plotting To Stop The British (in Simple English): A Guide to Earthmoving Slave Trade in the Mining Industry James Bruce And His Secret Mission To Africa R. A. Martin Jane Aptekar Reeve How to Move the Earth is a guide for the Through this biography about James Bruce, contract mining and owner-operated mining an espionage agent aiming to eradicate industries, helping newcomers and veterans slavery, the author addresses the neglected make educated decisions and perform at aspects of the ancient habit of slavery and the highest standard in their roles. the related abuse to women. $96.99 paperback $33.09 paperback

978-1-7960-0582-0 978-1-7283-9624-8 young adult also available in hardcover also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.com.au www.authorhouse.co.uk The Gatekeeper Xonarye Donald Peters Australia The Gatekeeper details the mission of S.H.S. Mark Taylor, assigned to investigate one of An exciting Adventure mystery novel that CIA’s senior members suspected of being will keep you guessing weather it fact or involved in drug trafficking. Follow his Fiction. Will the lost country Xonarye mission as he finds the truth. rise again? $28.99 paperback $11.99 paperback 978-1-5434-9585-0 978-1-9845-0620-7 also available in hardcover & ebook also available in hardcover & ebook www.xlibris.co.nz www.xlibris.com.au The Soul-Catcher’s Calling Love Letters from the Marine Wolf Sponsored by Supreme Command A US Hospital and Transport Ship, an Army Nigel J. Jamieson, LLD (Otago) Medic Aﬂ oat, and a War Bride in World War II For this world in turmoil, The Soul Catcher’s Michele Makros Calling prophetically encourages mankind’s Told from the perspective of Sergeant deeper understanding of the 20/20 Michael Makros Jr. and others, Michele revelatory vision required for this pivotal Makros offers a biography of the World year of 2020 and far beyond. War II hospital and troop transport ship USAT Marine Wolf. $28.19 paperback 978-1-5434-9591-1 $57.95 paperback also available in hardcover & ebook 978-1-5246-8984-1 www.xlibris.co.nz also available in ebook www.authorhouse.com

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| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 25 A coming-of-age story set in the artsy, druggy, seedy, sexy downtown underground of 1980s New York. astrid sees all

ransom demand, her story would end much more quietly—but Court’s recent marriage equality verdict; some children and a what would be the fun in that? house in the suburbs with raised flower beds would be great, Pyne keeps expertly mixing up his pitches long after too. His childhood friend Oscar Burnham is a “proud queer” you’ve stopped expecting anything but blazing fastballs. who can’t fathom why any gay man would want to settle for marriage like a “breeder.” One night at a gay bar, he confronts a woman who’s part of a bachelorette party after she condescend- LET’S GET BACK TO THE PARTY ingly says, “God, I love my gays,” aggressively shaming her into Salih, Zak leaving. Sebastian and Oscar narrate alternating chapters of the Algonquin (288 pp.) novel. After they run into each other in D.C., Oscar thinks a $25.95 | Feb. 16, 2021 visit to Sebastian’s house makes him feel “like [he’s] stumbled 978-1-61620-957-5 into a diorama in a natural history museum labeled Homo ameri canus domesticus.” There’s a deep tension between the two that’s Two childhood friends reconnect in sexual but also political: Neither can entirely stomach the life their 30s with life-changing consequences. the other has chosen. But to Salih’s credit, the narrators’ per- It’s the summer of 2015, a year before sonalities don’t fall into tidy moral demarcations; Sebastian, the massacre of 49 people at Pulse, a gay who isn’t adventurous, dangerously pines for one of his 17-year- nightclub in Orlando. Sebastian Mote old students, and Oscar, who has a robust sex life, might just is a high school art history teacher in a want a steady relationship if he’d admit that to himself. suburb of Washington, D.C., reeling from the end of a three- An insightful examination of two of the many ways gay year relationship. He wants to take advantage of the Supreme men present themselves in contemporary America.

ASTRID SEES ALL Standiford, Natalie Atria (272 pp.) $26.00 | Apr. 6, 2021 978-1-982153-65-6

A coming-of-age story set in the artsy, druggy, seedy, sexy downtown underground of 1980s New York. After a string of well-received YA books, Standiford’s first novel for adults hearkens back to the days, or should we say nights, of Slaves of New York and Bright Lights Big City. Balti- morean Phoebe and Manhattanite Carmen, who met as under- graduates at Brown, are having a hell of a time finding a livable apartment in the East Village—until Carmen’s boyfriend’s heroin dealer is busted and they beeline over to his apartment to corner his landlady before the place goes on the market. That’s the kind of you-had-to-be-there detail that makes this book. There are outrageous conversations overheard at parties; descriptions of over-the-top fashion statements and performance art projects; cameos by Andy Warhol, Lou Reed, Grace Jones, and Debbie Harry. The author’s glee in evoking the zeitgeist of the 1980s is infectious. Perhaps her somewhat less successful approach to plot can be forgiven. The novel’s abundant storylines include Phoebe’s grief about her father’s death and estrangement from her mother, the imbalance of power in her friendship with Carmen, an affair with a married doctor with a painful outcome, the possibility that she is being followed, and her burgeoning career as a club-scene fortuneteller, building on a childhood game of saving movie ticket stubs in a box and pulling them like Tarot cards to divine the future. (“ ‘Does Dar- ryl Morgan like me?’ All The President’s Men. That’s a yes.”) All this would have been plenty; when a detail about the growing number of missing girls whose faces are tacked up around the

26 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult

| kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 27 neighborhood morphs into a thriller subplot, it seems like it when her mother dies, she leaves Sadie the home in her will— belongs in a different book. with the stipulation that Sadie’s daughter, Robin, must attend Smart details, lively digressions, and spot-on period Ashams, the prestigious private school where Sadie went. Her snapshots keep an overloaded plot afloat. marriage already in tatters, Sadie flees back to London; she has little choice but to adhere to the terms of the will. Return- ing to a house of gloomy memories, bearing the weight of her THE LIES YOU TOLD daughter’s disappointment and homesickness, she struggles Tyce, Harriet to find her footing. The school mothers are the worst, and the Grand Central Publishing (384 pp.) Queen Bee, Julia, has all the other women wrapped around $28.00 | Dec. 1, 2020 her little finger. She makes Sadie’s and Robin’s lives a living 978-1-5387-6275-2 hell—until she finds out that Sadie is an Ashams “old girl.” Connection and legacy go a long way, and Sadie and Robin are Coming home to London to con- soon invited to parties and sleepovers, part of the inner circle. front her past, Sadie Roper finds herself Meanwhile, Sadie, trained as a barrister but having left work embroiled in several mysteries. when Robin was born, finds a job helping to organize materi- When Sadie left for New York with als for an upcoming trial in which a young woman has accused her husband and her daughter, her her teacher of sexual abuse. As she begins to wonder about mother made it perfectly clear that she the truth of that relationship, a tragedy strikes close to home, was a failure for choosing motherhood over her job and that and then Robin goes missing. What is the rot at the heart of she’d never be welcome in her childhood home again. But Ashams? And whom can Sadie trust to help her uncover the

28 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult A A middle-aged man dwells on his Vilas is Vilas a Spanish poet, novelist, and losses, frailties, and family in this unusual unusual this in family and frailties, losses, essayist born in 1962 who has enjoyed ORDESA fiction. Riverhead (304 pp.) $28.00 | Dec. 1, 2020 Trans. by Rosenberg, Andrea by Rosenberg, Trans. 978-0-593-08404-5 Vilas, Manuel Vilas, book. Its narrator is a writer who’s the same age as Vilas and blurry flat memory”a “a of to links he malaise a address to book when he was a child. His mind journeys back to scenes of his tire on the way to a vacation in the mountain valley of Ordesa critical and commercial success in his homeland with this own life, of his parents young and as they age, their deaths, two afoot. afoot. The year is 2015, and the narrator says he’s writing this from the same area of Spain, so possible it’s autofiction there’s | kirkus.com | fiction | 1 november 2020 | 29 - - - we run the tides the we run quite innocence set in 1980s California. set in 1980s innocence quite - A A novel of youth and not-quite- innocence set innocence in 1980s California, where suspicion, on the part of her best friend, that an elaborate deception may have teenage loyalties are tested by the dis appearance appearance of one girl and the growing WE RUN THE TIDES WE RUN Ecco/HarperCollins (272 pp.) Ecco/HarperCollins $26.99 | Feb. 9, 2021 $26.99 | Feb. 978-0-06-293623-3 Vida, Vendela Vida, Misdirection, Misdirection, shadows, and a lot of snarky meanness— Thirteen-year-old Thirteen-year-old Eulabee, “a very good student with a An engaging if somewhat flat teenage narrative of an A novel and not of youth A but in the end, it’s all drama. surface but in the end, it’s been perpetrated. are as lucky beauty, as any California girls can be. Living in the branded a traitor at school (and later a “slut” for being mauled at mauled being for “slut” a later (and school at traitor a branded wealthy wealthy enclave of Sea Cliff with a view of the Golden Gate when a chance meeting in 2019 sheds new light on the distant veyed by bad boys), and lying to parents The and first teachers. neighborhood, though the danger at the resides heart elsewhere. of the “Separately novel we are good girls,” Eulabee noticed noticed by the girls one morning on their way to school. The sinister sinister side,” and her best friend, Maria Fabiola, a precocious shadow to fall on this breezy narrative is that of a parked car apparent abduction and a dissolving friendship.apparent truth about the case? The characters are sharply drawn, but the plot. to not much depth there’s tabloid drama. “The newspapers called what happened the Sea to find us later!” Eulabee, who says she didn’t see this happen, is happen, this see didn’t she says who Eulabee, later!” us find to exclusive Spragg School for Girls and are renowned for their explains, “together...we explains, are “together...we trouble.” Innocent trouble, that is, of the teenage variety involving drugs (negligible), alcohol (pur ous ocean tides. They also know “where the boys live” in their chological subtlety, also hints at the novel that might havebeen. might that novel the at hints also subtlety, chological event both increases her isolation and, ironically, intensifies the intensifies ironically, and, isolation her increases both event affair. affair. That final chapter, in compressedits elegance and psy- a party). Then Maria Fabiola goes missing. Two a more party). Then apparent Maria goes Fabiola missing. Two and Eulabee’s impulse to uncover the truth behind the initial daring ability to scale the local cliffs and to read the treacher disappearances follow, disappearances one follow, all too real. The narrative darkens, driver asks them the time, they answer and walk on, but Maria Cliff Seizures, and the name stuck,” she reflects decades later Bridge (though Eulabee’s family is not rich), they attend the Fabiola insists, “He was touching himself…and he said he’s going he’s said he himself…and touching was “He insists, Fabiola episodes when he was sexually abused, his heavy drinking. The THE INLAND SEA self-described “chaotic narrator” shifts frequently between Watts, Madeleine past and present and among details (including several photos) Catapult (272 pp.) that range from the banal to the colorful and occasionally the $16.95 paper | Jan. 12, 2021 weird. The tone is serious to the point of gloomy, and it may be 978-1-64622-018-2 a reader’s yearning for humor that makes some of the stranger pronouncements and revelations read as tongue-in-cheek, An unnamed protagonist watches like: “Until their eighteenth birthdays, children are blue.” Or: Australia burn as her body burns along “I don’t iron underwear because nobody sees it.” (And one sen- with it. tence later: “I don’t iron my briefs”; repetitiousness is a prob- With an almost bored detachment, lem throughout.) At such times the writing recalls but doesn’t a recent college graduate and aspiring match the faux intellectual fun of Thomas Clerc’s Interior. This writer working at a Triple Zero call center novel’s popularity in Spain could stem from its bitter comments (Australia’s version of 911) lists the crises she transfers to emer- on the country’s troubled history and economy, remarks that gency agencies: “An old man with chest pains...a woman hid- may not resonate with many American readers. But Vilas also ing from her ex-boyfriend under the bed, and a mother whose conveys—and Rosenberg smoothly translates—many moments baby had turned blue.” This aura of detachment doesn’t mean of pain and happiness any reader might recognize as the nar- the narrator is callous but instead points to a central tension rator plunges into the maelstrom of closely examined memory. running through the novel: the narrator’s desire to be separate A dark and challenging but emotionally rich work. from a body that feels too much. Watts plays with this idea of dissociation by creating a heroine who writes to the reader from a future vantage point without ever revealing her own name (and giving pseudonyms to everyone in her life). Nevertheless, the reader is invited to witness the intimate moment when the blood clots slide down the narrator’s leg in the shower after she has an abortion. This abortion and the man who impregnated her usher in a series of events that violently echo Australia’s burning landscape. The narrator continuously endangers her body through unprotected sex with strangers, overindulgence in alcohol, and ill-advised swims in riptides; meanwhile, her mind seems to be playing catch-up: “I became aware of a sound that I discovered was being issued from me. A howl.” People around her experience disasters, and she keeps herself outside. She goes through trauma, and she doesn’t know she’s the one screaming. Magnificently uncomfortable. mystery

GUILT AT THE GARAGE Brett, Simon Severn House (192 pp.) $28.99 | Feb. 2, 2021 978-1-78029-132-1

Wary readers can add Shefford’s Garage to the list of places where things can go fatally wrong in the amber-pre- served village of Fethering. Carole Seddon may have been a well-informed functionary of the Home Office, but she doesn’t know a thing about cars. So when some vandal smashes the rear window of her Renault as she’s enjoying a dinner at the local pub with healer Jude Nicholls, her friend

30 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult -

Donald Langham and his French A British detective battles to unmask to battles detective British A Severn House (208 pp.) Severn House wife, Maria, are in the middle of buying a cottage in Suffolk when Maria arrives a killer before his wife becomes victim MURDER BY NUMBERS MURDER BY No. 6. No. Brown, Eric $28.99 | Feb. 2, 2021 $28.99 | Feb. 978-0-7278-9077-1 by a butler, they each take numbered seats and are allowed home of Maxwell Falwell Fenton. When home she of Fenton. was Maxwell Falwell just 18, Maria pose nude and she fought him off with a poker. The couple drive couple The poker. a with off him fought she and nude pose was infatuated with the much older artist until he asked her to with, George Goudge and his art critic wife, Hermione, poet to to Fenton’s crumbling estate to find that actress Holly Beck at the office with a bizarre invitationto attend a death at the Crispin Crispin Proudfoot, and Dr. Bryce are fellow invitees. Greeted | 1 november 2020 | 31 | kirkus.com | mystery

- - mrs. jeffries demands justice demands jeffries mrs. that even colleagues his he did it. think Bert Santorini is found shot in a A police detective accused detective of police murder A is so unpopular that even his colleagues think he did it. MRS. JEFFRIES DEMANDS JUSTICE Berkley (304 pp.) Brightwell, Emily Brightwell, $15.99 paper | Jan. 26, 2021 Jan. paper | $15.99 978-0-593-10106-3 Whitechapel alley. At his side is an expen- an is side his At alley. Whitechapel A police detective accused of murder is so unpopular of murder accused detective police A Mrs. Mrs. Jeffries and her team diverse Victorian shine again Very few guilty feelings around this garage but lots of qui of lots but garage this fewaround guiltyfeelings Very Santorini Santorini had an ice delivery business but was well known for before Natalie invited Jude to take on the unappetizing task? being a snout who testified at a trial that sent three of the have helped the unlikely weapon on its way. Malee Shefford, the Shefford, Malee way. its on weapon unlikely the helped have justice justice that they set to work once more to uncover the truth. him a killer. But time is running discover the truth. out to him a killer. in an entry an especially that poses puzzle. complex working working in pit, a is maintenance crushed death to by a gear box who’s kept afloat by hisNatalie? mother, Jeremiah, the newly women, there’s women, no there’s dearth of suspects for Mrs. Jeffries’ team to who’s who’s solved many murders and has an impeccable reputation note someone has left and pays for the repair herself. When Bill, When herself. repair the for pays and left has someone note - spe of list the on be to not out turns who specialist replacement ing her threatening notes? ing her threatening ing a center for alternative healing and who briefly treated Tom healing and who for brieflyalternative treated ing a center ing attention to herself,” she burns the threatening follow-up mood. Since Santorini also had entanglements with several many levels of society. Although none are fans of Nivens, who’s Although none are who’s fans of Nivens, many levels of society. sive dueling pistol soon identified as the property ofInspector that falls Carole’s Tr6, recent out Triumph of Kendrick’s Tom tangled with in Witherspoon the past, they’re so dedicated to to to his clever housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries; his household staff; experience makes her especially keen on working out who might who out working on keen especially her makes experience cialists Carole’s insurer will reimburse, but since Carole’s “fear of doing something wrong was not as strong as her fear of draw etly guilty behavior. explore. Even after he discovers that is Nivens meddling in the case and has continued to lie, Witherspoon still doesn’t think and heir-no-longer-quite-so-apparent? Listless, depressive Tom, Tom, Listless, depressive and heir-no-longer-quite-so-apparent? arrived healer who wants to join the in uninterested Jude open- and frequent partner in criminal investigation, she takes it to and some friends and neighbors, all of whom have contacts in diary? Or Carole’s anonymous correspondent, who keeps - send for honesty. for Few honesty. know success that Witherspoon’s rate is due Nigel Nigel Nivens, a well-connected but thoroughly dishonest cop. Nivens, calls Scotland Yard in Inspector Gerald Witherspoon, O’Dwyer brothers to jail, leaving their mother in a vengeful Bill Shefford and asks him to fix it. recommendsHe a glass- The thief who made off with Bill’s will and his appointments Thai bride Bill wed less than a year ago? Billy Shefford, his son When a newspaper story claims that the are police covering for to see Fenton, who is dying and almost unrecognizable. After ONE POISON PIE excoriating and threatening them, he shoots himself. It seems Cahoon, Lynn like a simple suicide until the guests begin to be murdered in Kensington (288 pp.) horrific ways in the order of their seat numbers. A call from DI $8.99 paper | Jan. 26, 2021 Mallory, who finds the hanging death of Dr. Bryce fishy, involves 978-1-4967-3031-2 Langham and Ralph Ryland, the partner in his detective agency, in a grim effort to halt the slaughter. As each guest is killed, Will a kitchen witch’s magic powers Langham tries to protect the survivors while digging into Fen- be strong enough to keep her alive and ton’s thoroughly reprehensible past for clues. out of prison? A classic English mystery with plenty of unexpected plot After rescuing her grandmother twists. from a murder rap, chef Mia Malone moves permanently to Magic Springs, Idaho, to start a catering business in the old schoolhouse she bought from the town with the help of her grandmother and Grans’ bestie, acerbic fellow witch Adele Simpson. Mia has dumped her problematic boyfriend, Isaac, but his sister, Christina, fleeing problems in Vegas, had taken refuge with her as she learns to be a sous-chef. Mia’s first job is catering for Adele, who changes her mind about the menu at the last minute. Mia relies on hunky grocery owner Trent Majors, who guarantees to get her the steaks she needs. John Louis, who lost the bid for the schoolhouse, offers Mia a profit if she’ll sell it to him but harasses and threatens her when she declines. Things go from bad to worse when Adele is found dead and Officer Baldwin marks Mia and Christina as suspects. Luckily, Trent, a nonpracticing witch who’s not part of the local coven that included Mia’s grandmother and Adele, has Mia’s back, freeing her to do some detective work. Adele’s nephew shows up in a hurry to collect his inheritance, but Adele left everything to Mia’s grandmother. Fighting her attraction to Trent, Mia continues to hunt down clues in hopes of saving her fledgling business and her life. A witchy cooking cozy for fans of the supernatural and good eating.

A WICKED YARN Caldwell, Emmie Berkley (304 pp.) $7.99 paper | Dec. 29, 2020 978-0-593101-68-1

Donning a new pseudonym, prolific Mary Ellen Hughes introduces a keen Pennsylvania puzzle-solver who enlists her crafty friends to crack a murder. Though retired surgical nurse Lia Geiger moved after the death of her husband, she still maintains ties with old friends, especially the Ninth Street Knitters group. Lia’s been running a booth at the Crandalsburg Craft Fair barn selling the hand-knit items produced by her friends and herself. All goes well until Darren Peebles, who wants to purchase the historic barn and tear it down, is bashed to death inside with a pottery piece. Lia finds her friend Belinda, the fair manager, standing over the body. It’s lucky that Belinda has an alibi, because Darren was her awful ex-husband. Since murder’s not good

32 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | for business, all the vendors are suffering, but only artist Joan A CATERED BOOK CLUB Fowler gets nasty about it, publicly blaming Belinda on social MURDER media and arguing with other craftspeople. To add to the unset- Crawford, Isis tling events, Lia’s daughter, Hayley, has quit her job in Philadel- Kensington (304 pp.) phia and moved back home with a better plan for her life that $26.00 | Dec. 29, 2020 she promises to reveal any day now. Hayley’s high school friend 978-1-4967-1502-9 Brady, now a local police officer, drops a few tidbits, and Lia and her friends use their contacts to dig up dirt on Darren, his slimy The sisters who own and operate A partner, and others who were no fans of either of them. Joan’s Little Taste of Heaven get their 16th dose murder raises the stakes for Lia to solve the case before Belinda of murder. is arrested. Artist and restorer Margo Hemsley Down-to-earth characters and an interesting motive practically poops on a schedule. So when spice up this debut. she doesn’t show up on time with the baked treats from A Little Taste she’s promised the other members of the Longely Mys- tery Book Club, they instantly go looking for her. She doesn’t answer her door, and her beat-up Camry is gone from her drive- way. Whatever could have happened to her? Since Detective Andredi, of the Longely Police Department, isn’t interested in her disappearance, Betsy and Tom Glassberg, on behalf of the club, offer Libby and Bernie Simmons $1,500 to find her, and young adult

| kirkus.com | mystery | 1 november 2020 | 33 the sisters promptly turn up her corpse in a local swamp. In TO FETCH A FELON the absence of any wounds, a police lieutenant assures every- Hawkins, Jennifer one her death was accidental, but no one is reassured. Soon the Berkley (336 pp.) club members, properly respectful of Libby and Bernie’s track $7.99 paper | Dec. 29, 2020 record, ask them to investigate what everyone but the police 978-0-593197-08-0 assumes is a homicide. Learning that Margo, a terrible driver, owned three much pricier cars she kept in storage at Freeland- A life-changing move morphs into a er’s Garage, the sisters focus on Tommy Chung, the ex-con who life-threatening one. owns Freelanders, and he obligingly does everything he can to Emma Reed spent many happy child- act guilty, refusing to talk to them, ordering his employee Jason hood holidays in the charming Cornish Sitwell to do the same, and threatening them if they keep ask- town of Trevena. Now that she’s decided ing questions. Luckily for Tommy, Libby and Bernie find enough to leave her job in finance and open a tea other evidence to implicate Margo in several possible felonies shop in Cornwall, she’s exploring options that seem completely independent of him. in the company of her corgi, Oliver. But then Oliver’s pursuit of Remarkably little detail about the suspects, the book a fox in a rose garden upsets the garden’s prizewinning owner, club, the killer, or even the three appended recipes. Victoria Roberts, who has title to most of the property in the area, including the defunct bakery Emma had hoped to rent. Emma, who can understand Oliver’s speech perfectly, is natu- LADY JAIL rally more forgiving than Victoria. The town is split over allow- Farrow, John ing a development that could mean new opportunities. Emma’s Severn House (256 pp.) real estate agent, Maggie Trenwith, is for it and Victoria, decid- $28.82 | Feb. 2, 2021 edly against. Secretly, Victoria’s nephew Jimmy and even her 978-0-7278-9073-3 friends Louise and Ruth think the development’s a good idea. Aiming to appease her, Emma brings Victoria scones only to Farrow’s brutal take on the locked- find her dead under suspicious circumstances. Enter disgraced room mystery presents a murder com- reporter Parker Taite and his Yorkie, Percy, who pals up with mitted inside a secure group ward in Oliver to join in the hunt for the killer. Emma makes quite a few the Joliette Institution for Women near friends and picks up a lot of town gossip, including the fact that Montreal in 1994. Victoria was once suspected of murdering the much-despised Lady Jail doesn’t confine its residents bakery owner. Taite plans to write a book on past crimes, and in separate cells but parcels them out in group quarters, like the the current one spurs his interest. But he misses his big chance one in which eight women doing time together suddenly find when he’s the next to die. Meanwhile, Emma’s acumen and Oli- their number abruptly reduced to seven. Someone has stran- ver’s nose turn up clues that put them in the killer’s crosshairs. gled Florence, who’s locked up for throwing acid in a rival’s face, A promising debut for dog lovers, who’ll delight in the in the group bathroom using a length of wire that’s been smug- clever talking corgi and his charming owner. gled in. The killer is clearly one of the other prisoners—senior inmate Doi, who attacked her daughter with a hatchet; Malka, the next oldest, who poisoned her husband; Temple, who smug- A PAIRING TO DIE FOR gles guns for the mob; Rozlynn, who celebrated her 18th birth- Lansing, Kate day by killing her father; Courtney, who stabbed her best friend Berkley (320 pp.) to death when she caught her flirting; her inseparable pal, Jodi, $7.99 paper | Jan. 26, 2021 who shot a man during her boyfriend’s convenience-store rob- 978-0-593-10020-2 bery; and newcomer Abigail, an embezzler who’s still hiding the millions she stole—unless it’s really correctional officer Isaure A Colorado winemaker’s relationship Dabrezil, who’s working at Lady Jail during her yearlong suspen- with her boyfriend’s family sours more sion from the Sûreté du Québec. The job of figuring out who- quickly than month-old merlot. dunit is given to DS Émile Cinq-Mars, of the Montreal Police Parker Valentine, whose Vino Val- Service fraud squad, because he arrested Abi and because Dab- entine tasting room is making its mark rezil’s presence would render any SQ investigation problematic. in Boulder’s artisanal food scene, is no Farrow keeps the story’s development as intense as the claus- stranger to disapproving parents. Her trophobic setting until he’s ready to unleash a bravura, hyperex- mother, a chemist by trade, finds Parker’s vocation a little too tended denouement. much like a hobby and frequently suggests ways for her daugh- A wonderful corrective for your pandemic-induced cabin ter to find something more professional. But Mama Valentine’s fever. Yes, things could be much, much worse. gentle prodding is nothing compared to Camilla Wallace’s all-out assault on Parker and everything she stands for. Noth- ing about her son Reid’s life in Boulder pleases Camilla: not his romance with Parker, not his hip new restaurant, Spoons,

34 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | A chocolate box of classical music, banter, historic tidbits, and spooky stories. the devil’s harmony

and especially not his long-standing friendship with sous-chef A SINISTER SERVICE Oscar Flores. When Oscar’s found stabbed to death outside Maxwell, Alyssa Spoons, Camilla really couldn’t be happier—at least until Boul- Kensington (304 pp.) der police detective Eli Fuller arrests Reid for the murder. Even $26.00 | Jan. 26, 2021 then, Camilla, with the full support of her other sons, attorney 978-1-4967-1745-0 Ben and physician Tristan, turns her back on Reid, letting him languish in jail. That leaves it all up to Parker. Though she isn’t An aristocrat and her maid get quite sure Reid returns her affection fully enough—after all, involved in yet another murder mystery he’s never uttered the L word—Parker goes all in to save him, in the aftermath of World War I. risking her peace of mind, her friendship with Eli, and her own Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her sib- safety in the process. lings, Julia, Amelia, and Fox, have come Another typical entry in the spunky-woman-defends- to the Crown Lily pottery to commis- accused-lover canon. sion a new set of china for their grandparents’ anniversary, and they’re greeted by owner Jeffrey Tremaine and head designer Ronald Mercer. During their tour of the factory, 15-year-old Fox DEATH COMES TO runs into his schoolmate Trent Mercer, who’d vanished from THE RECTORY Eton. It turns out his father forced him to come home and Lloyd, Catherine learn the pottery business. Although they’re staying at nearby Kensington (304 pp.) Lyndale Park, the estate that had belonged to pregnant Julia’s $26.00 | Jan. 26, 2021 recently deceased husband, Phoebe, Amelia, and Fox aren’t wel-

978-1-4967-2325-3 comed by their sister’s in-laws, who are unhappy about the pros- young adult pect of Julia’s unborn child’s inheriting the estate they’d had A sleuthing couple in Regency Eng- hopes of sharing. At Crown Lily, both Phoebe and her devoted land strives to solve a murder case that maid, Eva Huntford, pick up undercurrents of dislike among strains their relationship. several people, including the head designer, a younger col- Lucy, Lady Kurland, and her magis- league whose design the Renshaws favor, and the woman who trate husband, Robert, are entertaining runs the painting department, whose considerable talents have guests for the christening of their daughter when the happy been overlooked because of her sex. Still, when the elder Mer- event is marred by a family murder. Robert’s aunt Rose is mar- cer is found mangled by machinery, the police seize on Trent as ried to Lucy’s father, the rector of Kurland St. Mary. The rec- the killer. Phoebe and Eva are no strangers to murder, and all tor’s brother, the Earl of Harrington, and his wife and son are in the Renshaws believe Trent is innocent and aim to help prove attendance, but not their daughter, who has mysteriously bro- it. Phoebe and Eva put themselves in danger asking questions ken off her engagement. Two unexpected additions are Henri- someone doesn’t want answered. etta, Rose’s selfish daughter from her first marriage, and Lord A revealing look at the pottery business melds nicely with Northam, her obnoxious husband, who are furious because a classic 1920s-style mystery. Rose’s recently announced pregnancy endangers their inheritance. When Northam is found stabbed with a paper knife in the rector’s study, Robert, who must investigate, is appalled to THE DEVIL’S HARMONY think that his chief suspect is his father-in-law. Well aware that Rayne, Sarah Northam was involved in a number of nefarious schemes, the Severn House (256 pp.) couple seeks to identify others with cause to kill him. These $28.92 | Feb. 2, 2021 unfortunately include the Earl and his son, who owed gambling 978-0-7278-8988-1 debts to Northam. Thinks look even worse for the rector when Robert learns that he lost a great deal of money in a crooked The Nick and Nora of music research scheme Northam was involved in. Henrietta’s continued claims probe the mystery of the vanished Cho- that the rector is guilty make things awkward for everyone, but pin Library and its deadly legacy. as Lucy and Robert continue to hunt for clues, they fear she Elderly professor Ernest Liripine may be right. and Dr. Theo Purslove are excited to Complex characters and a shoal of red herrings add up to receive an old scrapbook sent by Dr. a delightful period read. Liripine’s former student Nina Randall, who’s currently working in Warsaw. The book provides links to the storied Chopin Library, which was presumably destroyed by the Nazis, and to a subgenre of music euphemistically called “Dark Cadence”— that is, execution music. Is this just one of the eerie myths surrounding the Library? They decide to consult music researcher Phineas Fox and Arabella Tallis, his ladylove and sidekick. Flashbacks take the story intermittently back to 1918 as two

| kirkus.com | mystery | 1 november 2020 | 35 young women named Katya and Zena hide in a large, elaborate DEEP INTO THE DARK home. Rayne attenuates the suspense with a slow reveal of their Tracy, P.J. location and their plight. They’re in imperial Russia, connected Minotaur (352 pp.) to Czar Nicholas and his family. As Phin and Arabella decipher $26.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 more documents, Lucek Socha, who heads the archive office 978-1-2507-5494-3 in Warsaw, contemplates a romance with Nina and recalls his unsettling upbringing by his artistic aunt Helena. These eerie After 10 chronicles of the crime-solv- reminiscences are developed along with the other narrative ing adventures of the madcap partners in threads to produce a mosaic of the rise and fall of the Library Minneapolis’ Monkeewrench Software, during World War II. Despite the strenuous attempts to bring Tracy shifts dramatically to focus on a spate all the parts together, the novel reads more like an anthology. of killings on Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile. Still, Rayne writes with panache and imagination, especially Stella Clary is the third woman to be about relationships. Phin and Arabella have luscious chemistry, gutted by a murderer who’s shown no interest in molesting his and the elderly academics bicker with courtly drollery. victims sexually. Although LAPD homicide detectives Margaret A chocolate box of classical music, banter, historic tidbits, Nolan and Al Crawford are under pressure to bring in the perp, and spooky stories. they can’t even figure out how he escapes the blood-drenched crime scenes without getting noticed. And things are about to get worse. The morning after event promoter Ryan Gallagher THE BROKEN SPINE settles an argument with his girlfriend, Pearl Club waitress St. James, Dorothy Melody Traeger, by punching her out, someone breaks into Berkley (320 pp.) her apartment and leaves two dozen red roses behind. A peace $26.00 | Jan. 19, 2021 offering, she thinks, but Ryan insists they weren’t from him, and 978-0-593098-57-8 a day later he’s dead too, leaving Melody both traumatized and thoroughly creeped out by the black Jeep she’s convinced is St. James kicks off a new series show- stalking her. Sam Easton, the Pearl Club’s barback, takes Mel- casing a librarian risking all to save her ody under his wing even though he’s got problems of his own, beloved books. from extensive physical and mental scarring from a car bomb Trudell Becket is assistant to the for- he was the only GI to survive to his haunting by Ronald Doerr, midable Lida Farnsworth at the library in who served with him in Afghanistan, to his recent breakup with Cypress, South Carolina. Mayor Good- his wife, Yukiko, who’s about to get killed herself and make Sam vale and town manager Duggar Hargrove, determined to turn a prime suspect. Detective Remy Beaudreau, who wants to buy Cypress into the Silicon Valley of the South, have converted the Nolan a drink and take her home with him, doesn’t believe in library into a high-tech space free of books. Nothing daunted, coincidences, and brother, is he in the wrong book. Tru and her friends Tori Green and Flossie Finnegan-Baker Good LA atmosphere, people worth caring about, lots of have turned unused basement space into a shadow library by corpses, and at least one killer too many. rescuing books headed for the town dump and quietly doling them out to technophobic readers. After the women spend a night moving books with the help of Tori’s potential new boyfriend, Charlie, morning breaks with a tremendous crash that science fiction sends Tru upstairs, where she finds Hargrove squashed under a massive bookshelf. Tru can’t tell the truth without revealing the and fantasy hidden library, and her silence has the police, especially newly returned Jace Bailey, suspicious of her. Nor has she trusted Jace ever since he romanced her and then stole her high school term paper. So she and her friends decide to find the killer on their own. Luke Goodvale, the mayor’s son, who’s recently moved SPECULATIVE LOS ANGELES home from Nevada, turns out to have a dangerous debt col- Ed. by Hamilton, Denise lector after him. Anne Lowery, the tech specialist who set up Akashic (272 pp.) the new book-free library, is furious when the mayor gives all $15.95 paper | Feb. 2, 2021 the credit to Luke. But is she mad enough to kill? Tru fights 978-1-61775-856-0 her attraction to Jace and the comedy of errors that breaks out when everyone involved suspects everyone else. If “we already live with the tropes of A gritty heroine downplays the Southern charm to focus dystopian fiction,” then what comes next? on a complex crime. Hamilton’s anthology attempts to answer that question through stories from Aimee Bender, Francesca Lia Block, Alex Espi- noza, and S. Qiouyi Lu, among others.

36 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | young adult - - Seamlessly blending elements of latest latest revolves around a virtual-reality pilot who, after her navigator dies while sets out to avenge his death and under science science fiction and mystery, Unger’s they’re working on a high-profile project, high-profile a on working they’re NUCLEATION Unger, Kimberly Unger, $15.95 paper | Nov. 13, 2020 paper | Nov. $15.95 Tachyon (288 pp.) Tachyon 978-1-61696-338-5 Helen Helen Vectorovich and her navigator partner, Theo- A A strong science-fictionpremise and solidmystery ele An adept contribution to the realm of apocalypserealm the to An adept contribution fiction. but the prose is measured and clear, and the plot arcs nicely ultimately ultimately utilized by VR pilots—is a strong initial hook, and up for in proficient execution. The many character relation- protagonist is squandered by a lack of internal and external powered powered premise—exploring and mining space by sending pre-programed structures out of interplanetary dust that are ments laid low by pacing and character issues. ments laid low by pacing and character project is in chaos, being disassembled by what appears to be what could be firstcontact with a sentient Thetech- alien race. readers know nothing about which her, makes for a cardboard nanobots (“eenies”) nanobots through (“eenies”) small wormholes that slowly build about. care mately don’t while attempting to open a jumpgate billions of miles away, in a grand-scale conspiracy involving industrial espionage and structed. The pacing is lethargic, though, with long stretches soon discovers was Westlake inexplicably killed by quantum ships would feel more organic with a bit more breathing room, room, breathing more bit a with organic more feel would ships stand the bizarre circumstances surrounding the failed mission. stand the bizarre circumstances the mystery surrounding the strange nanomachines is well - con trauma, etc.—but what this book lacks in originality it makes character character whom emotionallyreaders aren’t invested in and ulti- of little or no action. And the biggest disappointment is with out before the machines take her robotic body apart, but she on numerous remote deep space mining missions. But an army of tiny nanomachines of unknown origin. She is pulled description and Aside backstory. from her work relationships, feedback. With her only friendWith feedback. dead and her career in jeopardy, from the scientific issues to more personal stakes. to more personal stakes. from the scientific issues dore Westlake, have worked successfully together for years Holroyde Holroyde hits here—unlikely romance, friendships forged in Vectorovich, Vectorovich, whose potential as a memorable and endearing Vectorovich sets out Vectorovich to find answers—and becomes entangled Vectorovich—remote piloting a robot body—discovers that the that body—discovers robot a piloting Vectorovich—remote - - | 1 november 2020 | 37 | kirkus.com | science fiction & fantasy Dr. Dr. Ben Schwartz of NASA’s Jet A A comet called UD3 threatens to wipe out the human race, and a off it knock to way a find rushes to world rag- tag team of scientists from all over the course in Holroyde’s debut. in Holroyde’s course Grand Central Publishing (368 pp.) Central Publishing Grand Holroyde, Claire Holroyde, $27.00 | Jan. 12, 2021 | Jan. $27.00 THE EFFORT 978-1-5387-1761-5 The stories here move among all of Los Angeles’ gritty An uneven collection that may not land with speculative Southern California presented here differ from Lack reality. by a call from a famous astrophysicist. Ben is told that the begins to break down, as seen through chapters focusing on lies in understanding where, when, and how the versions of unfortunate unfortunate fact remains, however, that those who pick up meaning in the La Brea Pits’ Tar mammoth sculptures. This ing knowledge of the real-life Los Angeles, readers will find is heading straight toward Earth. Ben joins a group of scien- ing to cobble together something to throw the comet off its stantive connection to Los Angeles, however. The novelty gling to survive in a decaying New York City, among others. As As others. among City, York New decaying a survivein to gling this book for its marquee of contemporary speculative fiction that some of the stories operate on this gimmick and little the city but never move or make room for character growth. tists, including China’s brilliant Dr. Zhen Liu, who are work time goes on it becomes clear that even if the scientists man- of his success come to—literally—haunt him. In Bender’s The narrative. emotionally fraught an and fighters robot esque else. Others meander through a particular time and place in course before it can smack into Earth and cause an extinction before it can smack into course society panic, people and out gets comet the of news As event. anthology will not shine as brightly to readers who lack a sub- disappointed. away come authors will likely and bright corners. A slow-burning sibling rivalry makes room room rivalry sibling slow-burning makes A corners. bright and age to find a solution, humanity might destroy itself anyway. and leave,His refuses girlfriend, now. to Amy, be left behind, and when the two of them get off the plane, they learn that a a ship sailing through the Arctic Ocean and a woman strug- for a devastating invasion in atompunk Lisa opener, Morton’s faces down the inexplicable when the lethal repercussions fiction readers outside LA. readers fiction Ben TV” H. “Peak Winters’ follows a wealthy executive who Propulsion Propulsion Laboratory is woken in the middle of the night Fans Fans of similar apocalypse stories will recognize all the beats French Guiana. He isn’t told why, only that he must pack a bag a pack must he that only why, told isn’t He Guiana. French U.N. has a car waiting U.N. for him outside and that he must fly to That’s not to say that every story is a bust. Lu’s “Where There There “Where everythat say to not storyLu’s bust. a is That’s Are Cities, These Dissolve Too” is Are a These Cities, knockout, with Too” Dissolve Gundam- “Antonia and “Antonia the Stranger Who Came to Rancho Los Feliz.” a father “Maintenance,” and his motherless daughter find new “dark comet” “dark has been discovered coming around the sun and country of Thesolo (the setting of Cole’s Reluctant Royals tril- romance ogy), a more forward-thinking and modern kingdom, who was the best candidate they could find at the last minute. Sanyu’s father had more than 30 wives, with each marriage lasting DREAM CHASER around four months; only if a king finds “the True Queen” will Ashley, Kristen a royal marriage endure. Shanti, who was born to a family of Forever (480 pp.) goatherders, has wanted to be a queen her entire life, and she $7.99 paper | Dec. 15, 2020 studied and learned about modern monarchies with unwaver- 978-1-5387-3391-2 ing devotion. Her goal is not wealth and fame but rather the ability to help her people and change the world for the bet- A stripper gets mixed up in a feud ter. Once the old king dies, Sanyu is overwhelmed by grief between a bad guy, the police, and a team for his father and anxiety about his new role; Shanti’s eager of Denver commandos. readiness to be queen helps him understand that ruling a king- Ryn Jansen has never had any regrets dom doesn’t have to be a burden. Sanyu must learn to wield about stripping because the financial his power as king while Shanti must reconcile her personal independence has allowed her to pursue desires with the constraints of her new society. Since the novel her real dream of flipping houses. Even focuses on each of their personal journeys as they ascend to though she was able to purchase the right house for her first the monarchy, their romance seems almost perfunctory. flip, she’s put the project on hold to financially help her dead- Political intrigue greatly overshadows the romance plot, beat brother’s girlfriend and kids. However, commando Boone but interesting worldbuilding might draw readers in. Sadler, Ryn’s crush, appears and offers evidence that Ryn’s not- quite sister-in-law has been scamming her, using the money for facials and massages instead of the mortgage and groceries. Ryn THE BOY TOY is angry and embarrassed and uses his interference as another Marsh, Nicola reason to steer clear of Boone; yes, she’s wildly attracted to him, Berkley (352 pp.) but she’s never had good luck with domineering men. However, $16.00 paper | Nov. 17, 2020 after being kidnapped and released by Cisco, a man accused of 978-0-593198-62-9 killing a cop, Ryn feels she has no choice but to ask Boone and his commando friends for help. Cisco didn’t hurt Ryn, but he A 37-year-old Indian Australian wom- did want her to pass on a message: He’s innocent, and dirty cops an’s assumptions about love and relation- on the Denver police force are the ones responsible for recent ships are shaken by a White stuntman 10 unrest and violence in the city. The main romance arc between years her junior. Boone and Ryn stays in the spotlight, but there are plenty of Physical therapist Samira Broderick cameo appearances by beloved characters from previous series moved from Melbourne to Los Angeles to keep Ashley’s fans happy. in the aftermath of a painful divorce, needing to get away from Stream-of-consciousness prose and propulsive, action- her Indian mother’s relentless matchmaking. Almost a decade packed plotting will please old fans and draw in new readers. later, she has returned, leaving her bustling LA practice to work for her cousin’s new health and fitness enterprise. Samira resents her mother’s involvement in her failed arranged mar- HOW TO CATCH A QUEEN riage and dislikes her mother’s interference in her currently Cole, Alyssa floundering love life, but she still hopes her return can help Avon/HarperCollins (384 pp.) heal old wounds. With a plate so full, Samira is not look- $7.99 paper | Dec. 1, 2020 ing for anything permanent when she has a one-night stand 978-0-06-293396-6 with Rory Radcliffe. Rory moves on from partners quickly because he feels the need to hide his stutter—a need that’s The newly crowned king of Njaza also forced the talented stuntman to avoid roles requiring him must grapple with the pressures of his to talk. But when he gets an opportunity to audition as the role, including a hastily arranged mar- host of Renegades, a reality show touted as Australia’s “next riage to a woman he’s never met. big thing,” Rory decides to find a dialect coach and make an As heir to the throne of Njaza, Sanyu attempt. Though they had a wonderful night together, Rory could never feel joy at the prospect of decides to forget about Samira and focus on the audition—but being king, only terrible pressure, anxiety, and responsibility. his plans are derailed when he discovers that she’s his coach. Sanyu wants to be a good king, but Musoke, his father’s most Marsh turns an insightful and sensitive lens on the role of the powerful adviser, insists on valorizing Njaza’s glorious past body in matters of self-image and love. But Samira and Rory and ignoring its current problems. As the old king lies on his are so wrapped up in the caprices of their own hearts, minds, deathbed, Musoke coerces Sanyu to honor his father’s wishes and bodies that there’s little room for them to truly discover by marrying Shanti Mohapti, a woman from the neighboring each other. Marsh tries to sketch a portrait of Indian culture

38 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | Mirror mirror on the wall, it’s fun, charming, and sure to enthrall. a duchess a day

by including references to various food preparations, but she of his foster brother, refuses to disclose any details. Joe’s abra- misses the opportunity to comment on the complexities of sive reticence aside, Neha is fighting battles on several other community ties in the Indian diaspora, where judgmental atti- fronts in a country rocked into political chaos by the revela- tudes can co-exist with support and empathy. tion that supernatural beings walk among ordinary citizens: A faltering story rescued by an engaging premise. She must beware of the nefarious links between New York’s Russian underworld and its government, duck the surveillance drones forever circling the city, and contend with social preju- A DUCHESS A DAY dices that deem her wolf-shifter client a monster. Even as Joe Michaels, Charis and Neha are trying in vain to fight an uncomfortably strong Avon/HarperCollins (384 pp.) sexual attraction, they are thrust into a battle for survival $7.99 paper | Nov. 10, 2020 when Joe is attacked in jail. Cornered by dangerous predators, 978-0-06-298495-1 they turn to the Third Shift, a powerful security organization trying to restore justice in a deeply polarized society. In the Regency meets fairy tale in this light- inaugural installment of the Third Shift series, Snyder builds hearted romance series opener. a compelling universe, evocatively describing everyday life Lady Helena Lark is sent to London in a world where social structures are fractured by prejudice to marry a duke even though she’d rather and fear. In the process, she alludes to several contemporary stay home and be an apple farmer. She’s realities, including the difficulties associated with measuring tried to escape the marriage by feigning varying experiences of marginalization and oppression against sickness and madness and even running away, but nothing has each other. While Joe and Neha are engaging personalities, the

worked. The wedding looms, and she has one last plan: Get the progress of their relationship feels abrupt and lacks emotional young adult duke to fall in love with someone else and jilt her. Mercenary heft. But the cast of secondary characters is so refreshingly Declan Shaw, known as “Huntsman,” is in prison for a crime he diverse and engaging that it’s easy to overlook the protago- didn’t commit when he’s offered a chance out. The duke’s uncle nists’ penchant for going around in circles. hires him to watch over Helena until she makes it down the A familiar romance set in an extraordinarily gripping aisle. Helena wants Declan to be her ally, though, and Declan world. finds the relentless woman irresistible. She soon reciprocates his feelings, making it all the more important for her plan to succeed. The lead characters propel the story. Helena is persis- THE EX TALK tent, adventurous, and the perfect complement to thoughtful Solomon, Rachel Lynn Declan. The way they work together and revel in each other’s Berkley (352 pp.) company is so joyful. Though the story never takes itself too $15.99 paper | Oct. 6, 2020 seriously, it tactfully touches on power dynamics based on class 978-0-593200-12-4 and gender. Inspired by “Snow White,” there are nods to the source material and fun twists on notable elements such as To save their jobs, rival public radio seven potential duchesses instead of dwarves. This entertain- co-workers pretend to be exes for a new ing romance leans into its fairy-tale roots with just the right show and end up getting much more amount of over-the-top whimsy. than they bargained for. Mirror mirror on the wall, it’s fun, charming, and sure to Shay Goldstein hates her new co- enthrall. worker, Dominic Yun. The 29-year- old senior producer has been with Pacific Public Radio for 10 years but has never realized the dream of hosting her own BIG BAD WOLF show. Dominic, 24 years old and armed with a master’s degree Snyder, Suleikha in journalism from Northwestern, which he obnoxiously men- Sourcebooks Casablanca (312 pp.) tions every chance he gets, is already breaking big news on the $8.99 paper | Jan. 26, 2021 air. Their competition boils over during a stationwide brain- 978-1-72821-497-9 storming session when Shay suggests starting a new dating show hosted by exes, and Dominic writes it off as tawdry commercial A jaded New York werewolf who’s radio. But their shouting match has unexpected consequences been branded a criminal has little hope when the station’s program director tells them their verbal spar- for his future until he crosses swords ring and obvious tension would make them the perfect hosts with his take-no-prisoners lawyer. for Shay’s show—and that it just might save them from upcom- While there’s little doubt that ex- ing layoffs. Of course, there’s one huge problem: They’ve never Marine Joe Peluso has killed six Russian actually dated. As the show skyrockets in popularity, the fake mobsters, psychologist and lawyer Neha Ahluwalia is deter- exes become real friends, but a growing attraction might spell mined to look for nuance that will help mount a defense. How- disaster. Shay and Dominic are brought to life with multilay- ever, Joe, who has killed the bear-shifters to avenge the death ered backstories. Shay shared her passion for radio with her

| kirkus.com | romance | 1 november 2020 | 39 late father, and she often wonders what he would think about DRIVEN her career choices; Dominic is determined to make a positive Zanetti, Rebecca impact with his journalism degree but is unsure how to do so Zebra (400 pp.) in the world of click-bait content. Witty dialogue meets steamy $8.99 paper | Jan. 26, 2021 slow-burn tension while fun romance tropes (fake dating! 978-1-4201-5301-9 there’s only one bed!) take a refreshing turn by making Domi- nic the less sexually experienced, and more emotionally open, An ex–FBI agent hunts for the serial of the two. A vibrant supporting cast of family, friends, and co- killer who murdered his sister and is tar- workers helps round out the plot. geting his team. Delightfully romantic and emotionally uplifting. Angus Force was one of the FBI’s best profilers, but the search for serial killer Henry Wayne Lassiter ended his career. HAPPY SINGLES DAY A year earlier, Angus shot and supposedly Walker, Ann Marie killed Lassiter; but Angus was convinced the killer survived. He Sourcebooks Casablanca (304 pp.) resigned from the FBI, drinking and obsessively going over the $14.99 paper | Jan. 19, 2021 case for missing clues. Then the Homeland Defense Depart- 978-1-72821-649-2 ment made a deal with Angus to keep him quiet: They assigned him a team of misfit agents and gave him one year to search for Sparks fly when a Type A profes- Lassiter. Nari Zhang is the psychologist assigned by Homeland sional organizer ends up at a B&B run by Defense to monitor the mental health and readiness of Angus’ a grumpy single dad. team. She and Angus have been fighting their mutual attraction Paige Parker needs a vacation. As a for each other, and she worries about Angus professionally and busy professional organizer, she centers personally. He is too stubborn to accept individual help from her entire life around work. So when her even though he sees the ways she benefits his team. As the she discovers the charming Copper Lantern Inn on the Outer year draws to a close, a series of dead bodies matching Lassiter’s Banks of North Carolina while taking an online quiz, she thinks M.O. appear, and they all resemble the women on Angus’ team. it looks like the perfect retreat. But she doesn’t count on Lucas The threat is clear: Lassiter is coming for them. Although this Croft, the inn’s owner. He’s a widower with a small child, and he is the fourth book in a series, the plot is well executed and is hasn’t maintained the B&B since his wife died two years ago. It accessible to new or returning readers. The sexy, emotionally was their dream to fix up the old house, but without her around, charged relationship between Nari and Angus is appealing he sees no use in hosting guests…or cleaning, cooking, or doing and well developed. Longtime readers will be pleased to see anything but taking care of his 4-year-old daughter. But when glimpses of couples from previous books reappear as the team his sister, Sophie, books Paige for a stay, Lucas has no choice but fights Lassiter. Zanetti is a master of romantic suspense, effort- to welcome her with extremely sullen arms. Paige is alarmed to lessly combining strong central romances and dramatic, action- find clutter everywhere, and her meals consist of frozen pizza filled stories. and near-empty boxes of Froot Loops. But as Lucas and Paige The series ends with a strong, pleasing finish for a couple get to know each other, they realize they might actually be a that’s been waiting in the wings. perfect match. Walker excels at creating a cozy, charming setting—the picturesque island and ramshackle inn seem like an appealing escape. The characters’ actions occasionally seem a bit forced, though, and Lucas is sometimes overly unpleasant, even for a classic grumpy hero (he refers to Paige as an “uptight bitch” for no real reason). But romance lovers looking for forced proximity, characters overcoming tragedy, and a movie-worthy setting may be willing to overlook those flaws in favor of a warm and cozy read. Ideal for readers looking for the book version of a pleasant Hallmark movie.

40 | 1 november 2020 | fiction | kirkus.com | nonfiction THIS FAR AND NO FURTHER These titles earned the Kirkus Star: Photographs Inspired by the Voting Rights Movement THE MISSION by David W. Brown...... 47 Abranowicz, William with Abranowicz, Zander EAGLE DOWN by Jessica Donati...... 53 Photos by William Abranowicz I DIE EACH TIME I HEAR THE SOUND by Mike Doughty...... 54 Univ. of Texas (176 pp.) $45.00 | Feb. 9, 2021 HIMALAYA by Ed Douglas...... 54 978-1-4773-2174-4 SHOOTING MIDNIGHT COWBOY by Glenn Frankel...... 59 An earnest photographic exploration PEDRO’S THEORY by Marco Gonsalez...... 59 of some key loci of the Southern civil rights movement and its

aftermath. young adult THE MOVEMENT by Thomas C. Holt...... 62 “We are a country born of slavery followed by one hundred THE ART OF IMPOSSIBLE by Steven Kotler...... 63 years of codified legal racism,” writes Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of the ’s 1619 Project, in her stirring, CHATTER New York Times Magazine by Ethan Kross...... 64 too-brief foreword. She lands on a key point: the “ordinariness” TOM STOPPARD by Hermione Lee...... 65 of the images by Abranowicz, a commercial and travel photog- rapher. Those photographs sometimes speak volumes, as with FUCKED AT BIRTH by Dale Maharidge...... 66 the juxtaposition of a literacy test imposed on Black voters in MEDIOCRE by Ijeoma Oluo...... 68 Alabama—one that few college-educated Whites would be able to pass—with a street view of the tiny house where a Mississippi STRANGE BEDFELLOWS by Ina Park...... 68 minister working to register the voters once lived until being THE MEATEATER GUIDE TO WILDERNESS SKILLS AND gunned down by an unknown assassin in 1955. That’s just one SURVIVAL instance of the many recorded here of ordinary violence against by Steven Rinella...... 70 Black people young and old during the time of Jim Crow and MYTHOLOGIES WITHOUT END by Jerome Slater...... 73 that continues to be inflicted on them today in so many forms— including the near-indentured work of the imprisoned popula- THE SEA VIEW HAS ME AGAIN by Patrick Wright...... 75 tion, an example of which Abranowicz locates in a Birmingham steel mill. The understated narrative arc suggests that, as one section title has it, there is hope for redemption. As Abranow- MEDIOCRE icz notes, commenting on a photograph of a dirt road, Green- The Dangerous Legacy wood, Mississippi, was once a cotton center, then a “hotbed of of White Male America voter-registration activity and protest in the 1960s,” and finally Oluo, Ijeoma a place where a Black woman was elected mayor in 2006. A few Seal Press (336 pp.) errors creep into the text—e.g., Jefferson Davis was not alive $28.00 | Dec. 1, 2020 in 1898 to dedicate what is correctly known as the Confeder- 978-1-58005-951-0 ate Memorial Monument—and some of the photos are merely average. The best of them, though, depict people who continue the fight today, such as Florida lawyer Desmond Meade, who advocates against a modern “poll tax” imposed on ex-felons. Of interest as a visual record of ordinary places now exalted in history and memory.

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 41 allen ginsberg takes on america Leah Overstreet As I was recently rereading Tibetan Based on that passage, it’s tempting—and probably Peach Pie, a memoir by one of my fa- accurate—to draw parallels to our current fraught era, vorite novelists, Tom Robbins, I came but this book is very much a document of its time, a across this description of Allen Gins- lengthy, complex dive into Ginsberg’s psyche that may berg, an undisputed giant of 20th-cen- deter readers without keen interest in the poet and his tury American literature: milieu. Schumacher comments on the many difficulties he faced in compiling this comprehensive volume, A hot-wired sutra slinger, a Vendan- which “resisted simplicity.” With countless entries in tic versifier, a Wurlitzer of howl- various states of readability, not to mention Ginsberg’s ing meat drunk on holy quarters, penchant for multiple drafts, Schumacher made the Ginsberg—invoking the eternal wise choice to “err in favor of authenticity,” a decision within the ephemeral; wholeheartedly celebrating par- that reverberates throughout the book. adox and confusion as the fundamental fluids in which Along with the text, which contains “some of the the human condition hangs suspended (thereby refin- finest of Ginsberg’s spontaneous writing, accom- ing our base dissatisfactions into the more luminous plished as he pondered chemistry of acceptance, compassion, goofiness, and grief)—Ginsberg had the capacity to cast a net of en- the best and worst that chantment around nearly everything in life. his country had to offer,” Schumacher gives read- Prolix? Perhaps. But Robbins has been accused of ers plenty of useful ancil- worse, and I think it’s an apt linguistic encapsulation lary material. This includes of Ginsberg and his life’s work—a near-mythic aura contextual historical infor- that is on abundant display in the latest collection mation for each year, help- of Ginsberg’s work, The Fall of America Journals, 1965- ful footnotes, and intrigu- 1971, (Univ. of Minnesota, Nov. 10), edited by Michael ing photos for fans of the Schumacher, who also served as the editor for The era: Ginsberg with Robbie Essential Ginsberg and other works. The book pro- Robertson and Dylan in vides the backstory to the poet’s The Fall of America, front of City Lights Book- which won the National Book Award for Poetry in store; attending Jack Ker- 1974, but at nearly 700 pages, it’s far more than just a ouac’s funeral in 1969 in background study. Massachusetts; posing in Central Park in 1972 with In 1965, after receiving a reel-to-reel tape recorder Phil Ochs, Peter Orlovsky, and Wavy Gravy, among from none other than Bob Dylan, Ginsberg embarked others; in a 1971 photo in Chicago, bedraggled and on a journey into the heart of America, initiating what sporting a T-shirt listing “Indochina War Statistics: he called his “auto-poesy” recordings. As Schumacher 1965-1973”; “Allen Ginsberg’s Family, a mural by Richard notes in the introduction, Ginsberg “began planning Avedon photographed on May 3, 1970”; and one of the a volume of poems, a literary documentary examining true gems, “William Burroughs, with Jean Genet and contemporary America, not unlike what Kerouac had Ginsberg, meets Abbie Hoffman in Lincoln Park dur- done in On the Road, or what Robert Frank had accom- ing the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.” plished in his photographs in The Americans. He would As a literary figure, Ginsberg has few equals, and add one important element: the violence, destruction, while this book will likely overwhelm general readers, and inhumanity of the escalating war in Vietnam—an it’s yet more catnip for Ginsberg fans and students of edgy contrast to what he was witnessing in his travels, 20th-century American literature. particularly his country’s natural beauty. The public’s polarized dialogue over Vietnam and, earlier in the de- Eric Liebetrau is the nonfiction and managing editor. cade, the civil rights movement, convinced Ginsberg that America was teetering on the precipice of a fall.”

42 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | This guide to Black culture for White people is accessible but rarely easy. uncomfortable conversations with a black man

UNCOMFORTABLE the fact, for instance, that upon the entry of the U.S. into the war, CONVERSATIONS WITH an AP executive editor went to work as the Roosevelt admin- A BLACK MAN istration’s director of censorship, hanging a sign the day after Acho, Emmanuel Japan’s surrender that read “out of business.” The book demon- Flatiron Books (256 pp.) strates the openness of the American press, despite that official $27.99 | Nov. 10, 2020 censorship, in publishing forthright descriptions of battles and 978-1-250-80046-6 their aftermaths: “American combat casualties increased 1,855 during the past week, raising the combined army-navy total A former NFL player casts his gimlet to 1,060,727 since the start of the war.” Those numbers are eye on American race relations. even more meaningful in context. As the text notes, 16 million In his first book, Acho, an analyst for Americans served in the war and, with them, 1,600 war cor- Fox Sports who grew up in Dallas as the respondents. The language of the AP reports is often clinical, son of Nigerian immigrants, addresses White readers who have sometimes repetitive—e.g., Gen. Henry Arnold’s admission sent him questions about Black history and culture. “My child- that the air forces lost 60 Flying Fortress bombers and nearly hood,” he writes, “was one big study abroad in white culture— 600 crew members in a single raid on a German industrial city, followed by studying abroad in black culture during college and but that only served to indicate “the importance which the then during my years in the NFL, which I spent on teams with Nazis attached to his ball bearing industry at Schweinfurt.” Stu- 80-90 percent black players, each of whom had his own experi- dents of language will be interested to note that correspondents ence of being a person of color in America. Now, I’m fluent in regularly attached racial epithets to the Japanese but not the both cultures: black and white.” While the author avoids conde- German or Italian enemies and that they brought over the term

scending to readers who already acknowledge their White privi- doughboy, widely thought to have been used only in World War young adult lege or understand why it’s unacceptable to use the N-word, he’s I: “There was singing and dancing and music on the banks of also attuned to the sensitive nature of the topic. As such, he has the Elbe today as doughboys of Gen. Hodges’ First Army and created “a place where questions you may have been afraid to jubilant troops of Marshal Ivan Konev’s First Ukrainian Army ask get answered.” Acho has a deft touch and a historian’s knack celebrate the historic junction symbolizing the defeat of Nazi for marshaling facts. He packs a lot into his concise narrative, Germany.” Many of the photographs, such as Joe Rosenthal’s from an incisive historical breakdown of American racial unrest image of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima, are iconic, but and violence to the ways of cultural appropriation: Your friend refreshingly, there are numerous lesser-known images as well. respecting and appreciating Black arts and culture? OK. Kim A vivid account that has something to please most WWII Kardashian showing off her braids and attributing her sense of buffs. style to Bo Derek? Not so much. Within larger chapters, the text, which originated with the author’s online video series with the same title, is neatly organized under helpful headings: “Let’s AUTOPIA rewind,” “Let’s get uncomfortable,” “Talk it, walk it.” Acho can The Future of Cars be funny, but that’s not his goal—nor is he pedaling gotcha zing- Bentley, Jon ers or pleas for headlines. The author delivers exactly what he Atlantic Books (272 pp.) promises in the title, tackling difficult topics with the depth $16.95 paper | Jan. 1, 2021 of an engaged cultural thinker and the style of an experienced 978-1-78649-635-5 wordsmith. Throughout, Acho is a friendly guide, seeking to sow understanding even if it means risking just a little discord. An update on the pioneering state of This guide to Black culture for White people is accessible intelligent automobile technology. but rarely easy. Bentley, a host on The Gadget Show and former executive producer for To p Gear, believes cars are both a signifi- VICTORY cant transportation convenience and a “powerful psycho- World War II in Real Time logical force,” but he acknowledges that the industry must Associated Press continually evolve to remain relevant. After a streamlined Ed. by David Axelrod history lesson and an outline of automation, the author Sterling (224 pp.) explores modern technological advances in speed, efficiency, $35.00 | Nov. 10, 2020 and gadgetry. He explains revolutionary “deep-learning” 978-1-4549-4116-3 system advancements in autopilot car automation, including facial recognition, self-parking, and sound management World War II as told through the technology, and he looks at the advent of robotaxis and annals of the Associated Press. the main manufacturing players behind them. While many Not much in this compendium will come as a surprise to of these thrilling enhancements look great on paper, the readers familiar with the history of the last great global war, but author effectively communicates the constant obstacles there are plenty of illuminating behind-the-scenes moments: facing the visionary developers polishing their ultramodern

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 43 innovations. This is the case with intuitive brain-to-vehicle offers an illuminating and spirited report on the technologi- technology, whereby electroencephalography transcribes a cal wizardry of the car automation revolution. driver’s brainwaves via a cumbersome skull cap, as well as An impressively researched and fascinating look at the problematic laser-powered navigation and car-to-car com- cars coming to a future near you. munication technologies. Bentley shares his fascination with electric cars—though they are plagued with sluggish charging times, battery woes, and “range anxiety”—and the THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS long-range potentiality of diesel and hydrogen fuel sources. The Fall of the Anglo-Saxons While the author’s expertise and passion for cars are evident and the Rise of the Normans throughout, he doesn’t shy away from discussing the many Bradbury, Jim hurdles of automotive innovation—e.g., job losses for pro- Pegasus (352 pp.) fessional drivers, traffic congestion, and compromised secu- $27.95 | Jan. 5, 2021 rity and safety of driverless technology and its vulnerability 978-1-64313-632-5 to hackers. He tosses in plenty of entertaining surprises: fully driverless, remote-controlled freight trucks and taxis, trail- A chronicle of the significant 1066 blazing solutions to driver distractions, Elon Musk’s “hyper- battle. loop pods,” and the astonishing speed and hefty price tags At the time of the Norman conquest, of the hybrid Hypercar line. In nimbly balancing industry England, writes Bradbury, was “one of the developments and challenges—he also includes a chapter on most developed political units in western Europe,” its Anglo- the endangered culture of classic car enthusiasts—Bentley Saxon rulers having solidified control over most of the country and expanded into Scotland and Wales. Normandy—not the present province, but the region of northwestern France controlled by people of Scandinavian descent—was emerging as a continental power, as well, and ranging far afield in search of lootworthy venues. When William II, the Duke of Normandy, came to power, he concentrated Norman power further, facing down the threat of local peasant rebellions and war with neighboring Anjou. William was decidedly unpleasant: When snick- ered at for being illegitimate, he “ordered the hands and feet of thirty-two mockers to be cut off.” Regardless of his temperament, owing to the confusing lineages of medieval Europe, Wil- liam had about as much right to be king of England, across the Channel, as anyone. When Harold took the throne after more or less promising that he wouldn’t, William committed himself to storming the island and making England a Viking-tinged French colony. The author’s account is mostly dutiful and only occasionally illuminating. More of the book, though, is given over to a nearly real-time, blow-by-blow description of the Bat- tle of Hastings and its hacked-off limbs and arrow-pierced eyes. Usefully, Bradbury points out that the result of the fight was far from a foregone conclusion, as many popular accounts have it, with the outcome hanging in the balance over the course of a long, bloody day. Yet, specialists aside, readers will find themselves bogged down by the author’s wonky attention to such things as the composition of a Norman shield (“some have a few rivets—four, six, nine, even eleven—probably to hold together the planks of wood”) and the exact composition of the oppos- ing forces. Medieval history buffs of an obsessive trainspotting and detectorist bent will be pleased—general readers, less so.

44 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL LOVES LIBRARIES! 42 Texas libraries received $100,000 in grant support from TBF this year.

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| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 45 DEVILS, LUSTS AND real-life relationships, suggesting that she channeled her dark- STRANGE DESIRES est neuroses and impulses into her most infamous characters. The Life of Her most well-known works, Strangers on a Train (1950) and The Patricia Highsmith Talented Mr. Ripley (1955), are genre-bending stories with engag- Bradford, Richard ing, murderous protagonists. The blurred lines of fact and fic- Bloomsbury Caravel (272 pp.) tion between Highsmith’s diaries and her contemporaneous $30.00 | Jan. 26, 2021 works of literature form the basis of Bradford’s examination 978-1-4482-1790-8 of her erratic behavior. Throughout the book, comparisons between Highsmith and the criminally deranged, possibly gay A critical examination of one of the Ripley abound—e.g., “Highsmith and Ripley are sexual preda- 20th century’s most volatile novelists. tors, each manipulates the people in their lives and Highsmith Bradford’s portrait of Patricia High- transfers this to the relationships between her fictional cre- smith (1921-1995) is occasionally compelling but largely con- ations.” What is concerning here is not their similarities but sumed by an unsettling, didactic preoccupation with Highsmith’s rather Bradford’s hyperbole in labeling Highsmith and Ripley same-sex promiscuity. Although many of Highsmith’s beliefs as “sexual predators.” To be sure, Ripley is a predator and a mur- were morally reprehensible, notably her extreme anti-Semitism derer, but he does not overtly pursue Dickie Greenleaf sexu- and later anti-Black racism, Bradford’s apparent distaste regard- ally. More importantly, while Highsmith certainly had many ing her many lesbian encounters makes for an uncomfortable affairs with women during her life, it is difficult to conceive of reading experience. The author develops some interesting and her actions as “predatory,” especially without known accusa- convincing parallels between Highsmith’s literary creations and tions. While she was certainly manipulative and struggled with relationships and alcoholism, labeling her a sexual predator is a mischaracterization. Here, as elsewhere in the biography, it is unclear which insights are gained from honest analysis of available material rather than authorial judgment. The potential for a nuanced analysis of Highsmith’s complicated life is clouded by a sanctimonious tone.

UNDAUNTED My Fight Against America’s Enemies, at Home and Abroad Brennan, John O. Celadon Books (464 pp.) $30.00 | Oct. 6, 2020 978-1-250-24177-1

Former CIA director Brennan gives a fly-on-the-wall view of life in Langley as well as a host of global hot spots. After the usual autobiographical preliminaries—“While my birth roots are in the urban jungle of Hudson County, I come from 100 percent rural Irish stock”—Brennan recounts a few formational encounters abroad: landing in Indonesia not long after the government had murdered untold numbers of suspected communists, with CIA support; or chasing down bad guys who might wind up in an offshore rendition site being tor- tured—though, writes the author, “Agency officers who carried out their covert-action responsibilities consistent with…lawful interrogation procedures, by definition, were not involved in the unlawful activity of ‘torture.’ ” Two principal events figure in the text. The first, ably narrated, is the hunt for Osama bin Laden and the subsequent negotiations about what to do with his bullet-riddled body; Brennan reveals that the Saudi leadership, offered the chance to bury him in his homeland, were perfectly fine with dumping him in the Indian Ocean. The second is the question of Russian interference in the 2016 election; here,

46 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | A delightful slice of NASA life. the mission

the author is unsparing, as when he describes an intelligence verbal detailing, but they direct readers to their website for briefing to high-level members of Congress: “The fact that the video demonstrations. Though occasionally repetitive, the text Russians attempted to undermine the integrity of the presiden- will help readers achieve a more centered state of mind: “what tial election was well known to all those gathered around the T.S. Eliot called ‘the still point in a turning world.’ ” conference table that morning, even if most of the Republicans A dynamic approach to focusing, connecting, and devel- were following Donald Trump’s lead in publicly downplaying, oping mutual understanding. if not denying, the Russian role.” Brennan goes out of his way to scorn Trump, whose victory in 2016 threw him for a loop: “I could not understand how so many voters thought he was THE MISSION qualified—intellectually, morally, ethically, temperamentally, or A True Story experientially—to be president of the United States.” His scorn, Brown, David W. of course, was reciprocated when, against all precedent, Trump Custom House/Morrow (480 pp.) removed his security clearance after Brennan retired. $29.99 | Jan. 26, 2021 Not likely to sway established opinions about Trump but 978-0-06-265442-7 offers plenty of damning evidence. The inner workings of NASA through an enthusiastic account of an interplane- MISSING EACH OTHER tary probe to a distant moon. How To Cultivate Meaningful Although space travel hasn’t enrap- Connections tured the U.S. since the 1969 Apollo

Brodkin, Edward & Pallathra, Ashley young adult PublicAffairs (256 pp.) $28.00 | Jan. 12, 2021 978-1-5417-7401-8

How to connect with others—and why it’s important. Brodkin is a professor of psychiatry and founder and director of the Adult Autism Spectrum Program at Penn Medicine, and Pallathra is a researcher and therapist currently pursuing her doctorate in clinical psychology. In this collaboration, the authors write that “to be aware of our own state of mind and body while also tuning in and connecting” with other people is “perhaps the most needed, and most neglected, human capacity.” There is a vital need to pay attention, to be seen and heard without distraction, and to thwart the countless misunderstandings that can occur every day. The authors tap into a wide range of disciplines—among them, neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, music, literature, and mindfulness—to bolster their argument about the importance of forming the “genuine, lasting connections” that are so often “elusive.” They write with a passionate, encouraging, come-and-join-me quality, showing how we can find attunement through the exercise of its basic components: relaxed awareness, a calm and attentive focus on your body, environment, and company; listening, being observant to the other person and your reactions; understanding, the recognition and appreciation of another’s point of view and intentions; and mutual responsiveness, maintaining connection through the vagaries of conversation. The authors wisely express the complexity and at times counterintuitive nature of these components—the balancing act between calmness and tight focus, listening to yourself and another person at the same time, expressing both emotional and cognitive empathy—but they provide examples and exercises to enable their use. The exercises, actual physical actions that promote synchronicity and proportional response, don’t lend themselves to the authors’

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 47 INTERVIEWS & PROFILES Wright Thompson

A SPORTSWRITER’S BOOK ABOUT BOURBON BECAME A MEDITATION ON FAMILY, CRAFT, AND INHERITANCE By Eric Liebetrau Thomas McCallum family, identity, and craft, in a genre-blending book that will appeal not just to bourbon aficionados, but to those interrogating the mysteries of authenticity and legacy. I spoke to Thompson via Zoom; the interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Early on, you note how the book expanded beyond a conventional biography of Julian and his brand. Can you discuss the process of shaping the story? My agent suggested I should hang out with Julian and write an ode to bourbon or something, and I thought it was going to be pretty straightforward. The more time I spent with him, the more I realized we were engaged in a serious, authentic discussion about things I was dealing with in my life, like fatherhood and legacy. So I had this road map, but I thought, why don’t I write about what it’s been like to do this? In a meta way, to step out of the architecture of a book and write a book about writing a book?

This line resonated with me: “We must be intentional Ask a whiskey lover about their favorite bourbon, and with our myths and stories, and we must live the lives you’re likely to hear the name Pappy Van Winkle. In his we want our children to live.” Talk more about how that second book, Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, concept influenced your narrative direction. and the Things That Last (Penguin Press, Nov. 10), ESPN No disrespect to Julian, but I wanted this to be more of a senior writer Wright Thompson uncorks the fascinat- story about family, identity, and inheritance than about ing story of one of the best bourbons in the world. The how whiskey is made. I don’t really give a shit what the history of the brand dates back to the 1890s, when Ju- barrel proof is, you know what I mean? I don’t know if lian “Pappy” Van Winkle Sr. worked for—and later pur- you saw Springsteen’s Broadway show, but at one point, chased—a liquor distributor that, just before Prohibi- he talked about the difference between being an an- tion, introduced a label called Old Rip Van Winkle. Af- cestor to your children or a ghost. I wanted this to be ter Pappy died in 1981, his grandson, Julian III, took a book about the things we inherit, what we choose to over operations and, through a variety of partnerships, pass on, what we owe those who came before, what we has been running the company ever since. But this owe those who come after, and how all of those things is more than just the life story of Julian III, keeper of intersect and diverge. This book could have been about the Pappy name and tradition. As our reviewer notes, John McPhee’s birch-bark canoe maker. Ultimately, it’s Thompson offers “a blend of biography and medita- about the concept of craft. tion on any number of themes, including Southernness,”

48 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | So why bourbon? Are you a fan? Do you buy $300 bot- What’s your relationship like with Julian now? Do you tles of Pappy? talk often? I have bought $300 bottles of Pappy, but not often. I Not a lot. What’s left? It’s all in the book [laughs]. Ju- was always a bourbon drinker, but I’m not a student; lian is lovely. If something was going wrong in my life, I I’ve never been on a bourbon message board in my life. would call him. He’s such a steady, reasonable, ethical But it was my drink of choice. I had met Julian at a party person; you just want his take on stuff. I don’t always in Atlanta, and liked him, and I liked his son, Preston. agree with his view, but it’s always well considered. And I realized that I was truly interested in how these people did it—how what they were creating was a re- Along your journey, you consulted the work of Kentucky flection of them. It wasn’t just about bourbon. native Thomas Merton, the well-known theologian, monk, and ethicist. Tell me about that. It comes back to craft, then, which seems rare in our Reading him was the closest I’ve been to really believ- modern corporate economy. Given that, what is your ing there’s a God in a long time; it was that transforma- outlook for the future of Pappy and other craft-driven tive. I don’t want to be overwrought and ham-fisted. It products? didn’t change my life, but it made me consider all sorts What’s interesting is that the amount of capital it takes of things that I wasn’t before I went on this journey. In to make good whiskey is pretty staggering. A craft mak- some very narcissistic part of my brain, I hope that if er doesn’t necessarily make a better product than a re- anything else, this book is sort of a travel companion ally great master distiller for a huge company. There’s a as people think about these things in their own lives. I myth that somehow the small-time guy in the woods is want it to be more than just a vehicle to learn about Ju- making better whiskey. These guys that are doing tre- lian or to hear my story, a way for people who are dealing mendous quantities of whiskey, their “white dog” off with these things that Julian and I are dealing with to of the still [raw, clear un-aged whiskey before it is bar- feel like somebody is walking there with them. reled] is incredible. I guess the larger question is, what can we learn about the present and future of America by Pappyland was reviewed in the Sept. 15, 2020, issue. young adult following these trend patterns—and circular returns in popularity—of various craft products?

It’s clear that this book was a journey for you as much as it will be for readers. Yes. If you go down the rabbit hole of the history of bourbon, you end up accidentally catching a glimpse of these big, tectonic, essential truths about the Ameri- can idea and history. I think you can find significant elements of American history in that bottle. And that was really exciting, because that wasn’t intentional. I discovered things that I couldn’t have set off looking for. There was nothing rote or paint-by-the-numbers about the process. I took it section by section, and I could feel the story taking me somewhere. It felt alive, like it was taking me to a destination that I didn’t know existed.

Were there times when you thought that it wasn’t going to work and you would have to move on to something else? Well, I put out another book in the middle of this [The Cost of These Dreams], and that wasn’t an accident. You can read those tea leaves however you would like, but this was three or four years in the making. I had false starts, times where I would write 8,000 words and think, this sucks. I couldn’t figure out the voice at first. Where is a narrator? Where do I stand in relationship to Julian?

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 49 100% Mariah, unburdened by filler material and written with pure heart and soul for both die-hard and casual fans. the meaning of mariah carey

moon landing, NASA continues to accomplish great feats, and aura. Canton is highly observant, especially of bird species, and more are in the offing, including this book’s subject: the 2024 his descriptions are often lovely, but they also sometimes take launch of a multibillion-dollar spacecraft to explore Jupiter’s on a purple hue. Within the umbra of the tree, inside the drip moon Europa. To puzzled readers, journalist and Army veteran line, he is all giddy fascination, bewitched. While his enchant- Brown explains that the Galileo probe, which orbited Jupiter ment is initially contagious, it becomes tiresome. Canton deals from 1995 to 2003, discovered a liquid water ocean beneath with the same tree for 120 consecutive pages, ruminating in a Europa’s icy surface. Life requires liquid water, and despite a repetitive monologue before finally turning his gaze to another torrent of probes and landers, none has turned up on Mars. No tree. The author is more engaging when he comes down from president since Lyndon Johnson has shown a genuine interest the canopy to relate the history of humanity’s relationship with in space travel, a feeling shared by Congress with rare excep- oaks in shipbuilding and construction as well as literature and tions, including one of Brown’s unlikely heroes, a conservative myth. When he confines himself to history and custom, the text from Texas. Furthermore, when Congress doles out tax money, is absorbing, with echoes of Walden. “Was there a time in some anything involving astronauts takes priority. Even space buffs ancient prehistoric world when the creatures did not flee before struggle to name a discovery produced by the manned space us?” he asks. “Was there a time when humans did not strike station, but robotic probes often return spectacular discoveries. fear and alarm into the natural world around them?” Canton Despite this, unmanned programs struggle for attention in this is highly literate though rather at pains to show it. Eventually, “astronaut-led, astronaut-centric organization,” but its scien- even he begins to question his insistence on anthropomorphiz- tists and engineers contain many brilliant workaholics. Brown ing, which he does too often. delivers breathless biographies of a dozen as he describes their Canton’s enthusiasm is admirable, but his roots tend to effort, now passing 20 years, to explore Europa. Since the 1990s, tangle. they have seen several proposals approved and then killed, but the Europa Clipper mission will probably happen for the only reason space programs happen: Congress approved the money. THE MEANING OF Readers will roll their eyes but keep reading as Brown engag- MARIAH CAREY ingly describes the cutthroat NASA political landscape, in Carey, Mariah with which Mars gets the most attention, leaving advocates of other Davis, Michaela Angela planets fuming. Leading-edge technology usually goes over Andy Cohen Books/Henry Holt budget, but Congress rarely makes up the difference, so high (368 pp.) priority space programs that run short extract money from $29.99 | Sep. 29, 2020 other programs and sometimes get them cancelled. Few experts 978-1-250-16468-1 expect the 2024 launch date to hold, but some time after 2030, we may find evidence of fish on Europa. The mega-selling singer chronicles A delightful slice of NASA life. her life via the “moments that matter.” Carey begins with her early childhood on Long Island in the 1970s, when she used music as a THE OAK PAPERS form of escapism and distraction. The fearful youngest daugh- Canton, James ter of a Black father and an Irish Catholic, opera singer mother, HarperCollins (240 pp.) Carey and her two siblings braved physical violence, racial $27.99 | Feb. 16, 2021 prejudice, and emotional trauma within a turbulent household 978-0-06-303794-6 “weighed down with yelling and chaos.” In the late 1980s, her music career began to blossom, especially after she met and fell A daily journal in the company of an in love with Tommy Mottola, who was the head of Columbia oak tree. Records at the time. Carey openly shares the lurid details of Canton, who teaches a master’s her controlling and emotionally abusive marriage to Mottola course in “wild writing” at the Univer- in the 1990s. Through her notes on the multifaceted record- sity of Essex, is keen to locate the con- ing process, readers will see the author’s undeniable passion nections among literature, landscape, and work ethic as well as her burgeoning self-confidence. Some and the environment. But unlike his countryman Robert Mac- of the most entertaining moments are encapsulated in dishy farlane, Canton takes a more ethereal approach. In his latest free-form anecdotes sandwiched between tales of music career book, he explores the strange sense of attachment he has to an honors, personal triumphs and hardships, and health problems. 800-year-old tree known as the Honywood Oak on the Marks Carey is at her best when her outspoken personality shines Hall Estate in northern Essex, in whose embrace he finds calm through, as when describing numerous “diva” moments or her and contentment. The author reveres oaks above all, showcas- harsh regrets about the “collision of bad luck, bad timing, and ing an appealing but excessively Romantic appreciation for sabotage” that characterized the making of her disastrous film these stately trees and ascribing to them significant powers and Glitter. The author also offers appreciative commentary on Mar- cognitive abilities. He gazes at old stumps and mourns felled ilyn Monroe, Whitney Houston, and Aretha Franklin (“my high oaks as if they were divine eminences, lending them a spiritual bar and North Star, a masterful musician and mind-bogglingly

50 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | Inspiration for the Savvy Real Estate Investor

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| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 51 gifted singer who wouldn’t let one genre confine or define her”). LET ME TELL YOU WHAT Carey frankly reveals the many conflicting emotions she has I MEAN experienced as a mixed-race woman both energized by and dis- Didion, Joan mayed at the music industry’s cutthroat, often prejudicial land- Knopf (192 pp.) scape. “Lambs,” as her fans call themselves, will find plenty of $23.00 | Jan. 26, 2021 juicy gems, including the revelation that she recorded a never- 978-0-593-31848-5 released “breezy-grunge, punk-light” album. These intimate ruminations are impressively detailed without being overly A dozen pieces of nonfiction from concerned with industry gossip or petty squabbles, creating a the acclaimed novelist, memoirist, and refreshingly candid celebrity self-portrait. screenwriter. 100% Mariah, unburdened by filler material and written In an appreciative introduction, with pure heart and soul for both die-hard and casual fans. New Yorker theater critic Hilton Als praises Didion as “a carver of words in the granite of the specific.” Stylistic precision (“Grammar is a piano I play by ear,” she writes) and the “energy and shim- mer” of her prose are fully evident in this volume of previously uncollected pieces, written from 1968 to 2000. Although Didion portrays herself as a diffident, unconfident writer as a college student, she learned “a kind of ease with words” when working at Vogue, where she was assigned to write punchy, concise copy. The experience, she recalls, was “not unlike training with the Rockettes.” Several pieces were originally published in magazines, and two were introductions: one, to a volume of photography by Robert Mapplethorpe; another, to a memoir by director—and Didion’s friend—Tony Richardson. All reveal the author’s shrewd, acerbic critical eye. In “Getting Seren- ity,” she reports on a meeting of Gamblers Anonymous, where, she notes sardonically, one woman “adapted her mode of public address from analgesic commercials.” William Randolph Hearst’s “phantasmagoric barony,” San Simeon, “seemed to confirm the boundless promise of the place we lived,” but, she decided, was best admired from afar, like a fairy-tale castle, “floating fantastically.” Didion’s rejection from Stanford elicited an essay about college as consumption, and her skewering of consumption and artifice recur as themes—for example, in her observation of the ways women stage themselves for portrait photographs. Several particularly revealing essays focus on writing: “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking,” she famously admitted, a statement often misattributed to others. Writing, for her, is “the act of saying I, of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind. It’s an aggressive, even a hostile act.” As these pieces show, it’s also an accomplished act of seduction. A slender, highly satisfying collection.

52 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | Exemplary journalism and a powerful argument for not putting soldiers in harm’s way unless we’re sure we know why. eagle down

EAGLE DOWN As Molloy notes in the introduction, “Chick” Donohue The Last Special Forces seems an archetypal two-fisted, old-school New Yorker, a mili- Fighting the Forever tary veteran who’d become a Teamster and tunnel “sandhog.” In War 1967, then a Marine veteran and merchant mariner, he accepted Donati, Jessica an outsized challenge at Doc Fiddler’s Bar in the Irish enclave PublicAffairs (288 pp.) of Inwood: to bring beer to neighborhood youth serving in Viet- $28.00 | Jan. 19, 2021 nam. “I was spurred to go to Vietnam,” writes Donohue, “by 978-1-5417-6257-2 the sight of antiwar demonstrators in Central Park protesting against my friends from the neighborhood who were serving The former Kabul bureau chief for in the military. Having served overseas in the marines myself, the Wall Street Journal delivers a searing, I could only imagine what my buddies were feeling.” This tale dispiriting portrait of America’s elite seems improbable even by the standards of military yarns, but warriors in the field. the narrative gains authenticity from the credible perspectives If the title echoes Black Hawk Down, it’s for good reason: of the young American soldiers as well as the gritty sense of One of the many tragic episodes in Donati’s potent report from place. Sailing from New York to Vietnam, Chick found friends the front—not that there’s one in guerrilla war, of course—has at from Inwood, who reacted with humorous disbelief. Dra- its center a downed helicopter, besieged Special Forces soldiers, matic tension increases with the authors’ account of Chick’s and all the miscommunications and misunderstandings that observing combat patrols firsthand. He missed his ship and the fog of war enshrouds. A terrible death anchors that episode, was stranded in Saigon just before the Tet Offensive, witness- but death is the business at hand. So it is with the Green Berets ing the enemy attack on the U.S. Embassy. Stuck in a war zone,

whom Donati profiles, most of them professional soldiers of a young adult serious, even scholarly bent skilled in various martial disciplines. Nowhere is that more true than Afghanistan, where, over the years covered here, regular soldiers were withdrawn, leaving it to Special Forces to fight the Taliban in places like the Helmand region, whose Sangin district British troops had nicknamed Sangingrad, “after the World War II siege by German troops of Stalingrad, where thousands perished during the Nazi invasion of Russia.” It’s a place specially designed to draw out foreign blood but also that of the native people. Donati recounts the accidental bombing of a hospital, killing civilians and leading to stern letters of reprimand in personnel files, as well as the story of a dedicated soldier who stepped on a mine, lost his legs, and would up in a bureaucratic nightmare of a kind at which the military excels: “No one could tell him how to get new orders generated and restart his medical coverage. He had to wheel himself from office to office, asking questions.” Donati’s on-the-ground account— and it’s clear that she put herself in constant danger to tell the soldiers’ stories even as American officials dithered about how to deploy those troops—is sometimes as hallucinatory as Dispatches and as taut and well written as Mark Bowden’s now-classic book. Exemplary journalism and a powerful argument for not putting soldiers in harm’s way unless we’re sure we know why.

THE GREATEST BEER RUN EVER A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War Donohue, John & Molloy, J.T. Morrow/HarperCollins (272 pp.) $27.99 | Nov. 10, 2020 978-0-06-299546-9

The story of a patriotic prankster’s freelance incursion into Vietnam, bringing cheer (and beer) to Americans at war.

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 53

Chick scrounged food and lodging from old friends and colorful I DIE EACH TIME I new acquaintances, his views transformed alongside American HEAR THE SOUND soldiers’ worsening fortunes: “I had believed that we were win- A Memoir ning....But our leaders had told us Charlie was losing the war, Doughty, Mike and then they pop up all over the country? Tet changed every- Hachette (320 pp.) thing.” Finally, Chick escaped aboard a supply ship that needed $17.99 paper | Nov. 17, 2020 crew following the attacks—“I was never so happy to be below 978-0-306-82531-6 deck in a hot engine room”—and he acknowledges his changed perspective: “I wanted to go home...and all the mariners and all The former Soul Coughing front- the soldiers in Vietnam to go home.” Indeed, a poignant after- man recalls moments from a musician’s word highlights the fortunes of the soldiers encountered on life that are funny, infuriating, or just too Donohue’s beer run, not all of whom returned. strange not to share. An irreverent yet thoughtful macho adventure reflecting Doughty’s debut, The Book of Drugs (2012), was a relatively the tumult of a fast-fading era. conventional addiction memoir, relating how his appetite for narcotics was exacerbated by his status as a famous-ish 1990s bandleader. In this follow-up, the author dispenses with an extended narrative arc and instead constructs the book out of brief anecdotes, some as short as a paragraph, relating tiny epiphanies and disappointments. Many of them turn on the phrase “the world was absolutely new,” usually relating to moments of musical revelation—e.g. hearing Nirvana and the Replacements for the first time or playing with an idol like the MC5’s Wayne Kramer. But Doughty’s earnest proclamations of glowing fandom have a counterweight in his seeming knack for attracting low-grade calamities into his life. There’s the roommate who climbed onto a fifth-story ledge, drunk; the producer of a Soul Coughing best-of album who sowed discord with his estranged band mates; a supposedly game-changing invitation to write a song for an X-Files soundtrack that ultimately fizzled; moments of disorientation in Kyoto, Shanghai, and a Las Vegas strip club’s Champagne Room. It’s all relatively inconsequential stuff in isolation, but Doughty has a finely honed, smirking style of observation that justifies most of the vignettes: The strip club’s bathroom was “as bright and cold as a Whole Foods”; a Tinder date “had written her profile in half-disguised twelve- step argot”; Shanghai’s skyscrapers “look like they were drawn on a coaster.” Together, the book accrues an entertainingly bemused, why-is-this-happening-to-me vibe, and Doughty’s terseness evokes the simple quirkiness of a Lydia Davis short story. Fans will appreciate his stories of struggling to finish his breakthrough solo album, Haughty Melodic, but he’s a talented observer in many contexts. A witty rock memoir delivered with arty, aphoristic verve.

HIMALAYA A Human History Douglas, Ed Norton (576 pp.) $36.00 | Jan. 5, 2021 978-0-393-54199-1

Robust history of the vast South Asian mountain range and its hold on the imagination. British mountaineering writer Doug- las, who has visited the region more than

54 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com |

40 times, has obviously combed through several libraries’ worth to spread Christianity to people already steeped in religion, and of material on all things related to the Abode of Snow, as the many of those Europeans came away with an intense interest in Sanskrit word Himalayas translates. Certainly he has found hith- Buddhism, hastening its spread globally. Others didn’t quite get erto obscure connections—for one, the central place of explor- the message; Douglas writes dismissively of “the self-absorbed ers who would later turn out to be Nazis, such as Bruno Beger, a ramblings of Helena Blavatsky,” whose Theosophy was theoret- German anthropologist who merrily took skull measurements ically grounded in Tibetan Buddhism but was instead a garbled of the people he encountered and considered the Tibetan aris- mess. Many well-known figures populate these pages, includ- tocracy to demonstrate “evidence of a common Aryan ancestor” ing British administrator and linguist William Jones, who, well and progenitors of the German people. “The murderous racial before accurate measurements were secured, figured out that theories of the Third Reich meant about as much in prewar the Himalayas were the world’s tallest mountains, “without Lhasa as Hollywood’s version of Shangri-La, or the fertile imag- excepting the Andes.” inings of the Theosophists,” writes Douglas. “These were simply A towering addition to any geography or mountaineering orientalist fantasies projected onto the Himalaya.” Many other buff’s library. fantasies come into play in his lucid account, sometimes held by local people—the Dalai Lama two incarnations ago who har- bored a dream of making Tibet a pan-Asian stronghold against China—and sometimes by outsiders, such as the Arizona-born flimflam man Theos Bernard, who bothered people with his “intrusive photography” and was murdered. Numerous Europe- ans came to the Himalayas, Douglas chronicles, in an attempt young adult

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 55 This profile in sainthood is humane and compelling. the saint makers

THE SAINT MAKERS charged with the task of gathering information about Kapaun Inside the Catholic Church for Rome. Hotze’s quest for records, background, and wit- and How a War Hero Inspired nesses leads into the biographical portions of the book, which a Journey of Faith describe the remarkably pious and mature young Kapaun, his Drape, Joe training for the priesthood, and then the story of his heroism Hachette (256 pp.) in Korea. For his valor, he received numerous awards, includ- $28.00 | Dec. 1, 2020 ing a Purple Heart, Legion of Merit, and posthumous Medal 978-0-316-26881-3 of Honor. Kapaun’s legendary spiritual and moral leadership, especially as a POW, affected the lives of not only the soldiers The road to sainthood for a chaplain who served with him, but also the residents of his small Kansas in the Korean War. community. The medically unexplained recoveries of two young New York Times sportswriter Drape people—one traumatically injured in a pole-vaulting accident, tells the story of Father Emil Kapaun (1916-1951), a Roman the other near death due to lung and kidney problems—were Catholic priest from Kansas who, as a chaplain in Korea, dis- attributed by family and friends to Kapaun’s prayers. These mir- played remarkable courage under fire and as a POW. Kapaun is acle stories, in addition to the testimony of a virtuous life pro- now a candidate for sainthood, and the author provides a mul- vided by Hotze’s research, provide the solid background of the tilevel exposition of his impressive life, the dedicated individu- case for Kapaun’s sainthood, a case most recently stalled by the als advancing his cause for sainthood, the role and process of pandemic. At points, the author discusses how Kapaun’s story sainthood in Catholicism, and the author’s own spiritual long- and the experiences of others have reawakened his own sense ings. Drape begins by introducing Father John Hotze, who was of faith and hunger for a deeper spiritual life. Drape attempts to cover so many angles and viewpoints that the narrative is occasionally choppy—but it’s engaging nonetheless. Though sometimes roughly spliced together, this profile in sainthood is humane and compelling.

FRONTIER FOLLIES Adventures in Marriage and Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere Drummond, Ree Morrow/HarperCollins (352 pp.) $26.99 | Nov. 17, 2020 978-0-06-296275-1

More anecdotal tales from the Pio- neer Woman. Best known for her cookbooks and Food Network show, Drummond offers readers a glimpse into her personal life with her family and animals on her Oklahoma ranch. Her latest book, she writes, is “a silly celebration of the everyday moments of my life in rural America, and every single story you’ll read is true.” It is not, she admits, “a sustained narrative, except in the sense that love is woven throughout.” In these vignettes spanning more than two decades, the author recounts a variety of mildly amusing stories: spooking her husband, Ladd, with a rubber snake, as well as the reciprocal tricks he plays on her; why she does the dishes when they argue; nicknames for each other; and lists of 20 interesting things about each of them (“I could sleep in a bed of crumbs and never notice”). On a more serious note, Drummond discusses motherhood and home schooling, the problems with summer on a cattle ranch, and struggling with a sound disorder called misophonia. It’s not long, however, before the author is right back to humorous tales about cows, including the castration of young bulls and how to prepare the testicles. Drummond includes a few recipes, but her aim here is less about instruction than about sharing

56 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | her lifestyle, which she does with a conversational, sometimes LONG TIME COMING overly cutesy tone. She also includes lists of what foods to Reckoning With Race in stockpile, the names of the horses on the ranch, and why her America prized rosebush died: “My poor, beloved plant had experienced Dyson, Michael Eric death by urine, also known as nitrogen burn….Ladd had killed St. Martin’s (240 pp.) my rosebush by peeing on it repeatedly.” Overall, the author $25.99 | Dec. 1, 2020 offers a scattered yet well-rounded portrait of her life behind 978-1-250-27675-9 the TV show and cookbooks. Sure to please Drummond’s many fans but may not con- A scholar of race looks to the future vert those unfamiliar with the Pioneer Woman. with hope. In his latest, an apt follow-up to What Truth Sounds Like and Tears We Cannot Stop, Dyson, a Baptist minister, sociology professor, and contributor to the New York Times and the New Republic, offers a sweeping overview of racism in America through the pretext of letters to seven victims of racial violence: Elijah McClain, Emmett Till, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, Hadiya Pendleton, Sandra Bland, and the Rev. Clementa Pinckney. Cellphone videos have made such violence shockingly public, stoking widespread anguish: George Floyd’s death, in particular, “struck a nerve.” Although young adult

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 57 Dyson acknowledges that “something feels different,” he asks, surprise everyone to know that even the smallest police depart- “how far are we willing to go? Are we prepared to sacrifice tradi- ment can do it. Similarly, any police agency can send a drone tion and convention for genuine transformation?” Each letter to photograph a perfectly legal demonstration. The overarch- offers the author an opportunity to expand upon the complexi- ing question such abilities raise, Fasman notes provocatively, is ties of Blacks’ experience of hatred and oppression and to offer a simple one: “How much state surveillance are you willing to tempered suggestions for change. In his letter to Garner, for tolerate for improved public safety?” Anything more than the example, Dyson acknowledges that “Black bodies are still an minimum is dangerous, he answers, for “that way China lies.” object of scorn and derision” and “of nearly unconscious rage An urgent examination of police-state intrusions on the that rattles the cavernous egos of some men who think them- privacy of lawful and law-abiding citizens. selves mighty because they sport a badge and a gun and have referred swagger.” To counter what he calls the “blue plague,” the author proposes reconstructing police administration “so THE SHADOW DRAWING that the chain of command is shared with multiple agencies of How Science Taught safety and protection” as well as “redesign[ing] the architecture Leonardo How To Paint of police units and dispers[ing] their duties across a number of Fiorani, Francesca agencies while decentralizing both their composition and their Farrar, Straus and Giroux (384 pp.) authority.” Writing to Pendleton, killed when she was 15, he $35.00 | Nov. 17, 2020 shares the “righteous anger” her death provoked, but he warns 978-0-374-26196-2 against responding with cancel culture, which he likens to fas- cism and sees as “a proxy for white supremacy.” In his letter to The science of light and shadow illu- fellow clergyman Pinckney, Dyson reveals his enduring yet cau- minates Leonardo da Vinci’s revolution- tious faith in humanity. ary art. A timely, fervent message from an important voice. University of Virginia art historian Fiorani’s sparkling second book explores how Leonardo’s love of science informed his art. Intimately capturing the artistic, WE SEE IT ALL religious, and cultural landscape of Leonardo’s world, the author Liberty and Justice in an Age traces his development as an artist from his early apprentice- of Perpetual Surveillance ship days to the lessons he learned as he painted his greatest Fasman, Jon works and up to his posthumous legacy. In his book The Lives, PublicAffairs (288 pp.) Giorgio Vasari’s influential portrait of Leonardo “discredited” $28.00 | Jan. 26, 2021 Leonardo’s “science of art,” ruining Leonardo’s reputation for 978-1-5417-3067-0 years. Throughout, Fiorani’s detailed attention to Leonardo’s notebooks show how much his interests in art and science A cogent critique of the age of ubiq- were interwoven. He produced a handful of paintings, many uitous surveillance. unfinished, but some 4,100 notebook pages filled with nota- By Economist correspondent Fasman’s tions, sketches, and technical and shadow drawings. The author account, much of the present inventory of notes that in his late 30s, Leonardo’s interest in the world of art tools used by various police agencies is a threat to our civil liber- shifted to focus on science and philosophy, especially optics and ties. Take the cameras, for instance, with which police vehicles the “subtle pattern of shadows” on objects. His earliest works are ever more frequently equipped, ones that take photographs were studies of drapery, and his innovative Florentine teacher, of license plates and feed those images into a vast database. Now, Andrea del Verrocchio, taught him to “carefully observe each the author points out more than once, if a human police photog- fold and to capture the effect of shifting light.” Fiorani effec- rapher were to wander up and down a street taking photographs tively describes Leonardo’s experiments with paints that of license plates, we would want to know why; so how has this allowed him to “achieve an astounding variety of optical effects” less intrusive technology become so widespread and so little in his first solo painting, the Annunciation. With his “stunning” contested? Similarly, he suggests, facial recognition technolo- portrait Ginevra, he aspired to capture not just a young woman’s gies normalize the workings of a police state in the making. It’s beauty, but also her soul and a “new way of painting.” Adoration, not just the police: As Fasman writes, a Chinese entrepreneur which he left unfinished, “forced him to rethink what he knew has made a fortune with an app called Clearview, which, while and did not know about the science of optics” while Virgin of the widely used by police agencies, allows nearly anyone to gather Rocks was a “masterpiece of optics.” Last Supper, which began to private information about anyone else. That same technology deteriorate shortly after he finished it, is “perhaps the saddest was developed by Google—and, says its former chairman, was example of Leonardo pushing experimentation too far.” Mona “the only technology that Google has built and, after looking at Lisa remained unfinished as well. it…decided to stop,” since the possibilities of its being put to An absorbing inquiry into a legendary artist and his bad uses were immediately obvious. It would not surprise read- techniques. ers to know that the National Security Agency can eavesdrop on anyone’s cellphone conversations, but it certainly should

58 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | A subtle, expertly written repudiation of the American dream in favor of something more inclusive and more realistic. pedro’s theory

SHOOTING MIDNIGHT STUDYING WITH MISS BISHOP COWBOY Memoirs From a Young Art, Sex, Loneliness, Writer’s Life Liberation, and the Making Gioia, Dana of a Dark Classic Paul Dry Books (186 pp.) Frankel, Glenn $16.95 paper | Jan. 12, 2021 Farrar, Straus and Giroux (432 pp.) 978-1-58988-151-8 $30.00 | Mar. 16, 2021 978-0-374-20901-8 A poet’s reflections on memorable individuals. An inside look at the making of an In deft, graceful essays, poet, literary American cinema classic. critic, and librettist Gioia recalls six “peo- “Do you really think anyone’s going to pay money to see a ple of potent personality” who shaped his movie about a dumb Texan who takes a bus to New York to vocation: Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Fitzgerald, who taught seek his fortune screwing rich old women?” That’s the ques- him as a graduate student at Harvard; John Cheever, whom Gioia tion John Schlesinger, the British director, asked Jon Voight, met at Stanford, where he was studying business; writer James who played dumb Texan Joe Buck. Did they ever. Midnight Dickey; Ronald Perry, a little-known poet whom Gioia never Cowboy, the director’s first American feature, was the third- met; and the author’s Mexican uncle, who died when Gioia was a highest-grossing movie of 1969 and became the only X-rated child and whose library of books, stored in Gioia’s family’s apart- film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. In this out- ment, inspired his reading and his aspiration to be a writer. No standing work, following his worthy excavations of The Search one among his relatives or teachers, he reveals, “ever encouraged young adult ers and High Noon, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Frankel my reading or intellectual pursuits,” but he was encouraged by covers every facet of the film’s creation, from James Leo Her- his uncle’s presence, felt through the books he left. The author lihy’s original novel about the unlikely friendship between a pursued his literary ambitions at Harvard, where two professors “handsome but not overly bright dishwasher from Texas” keen stood out: the “prim, impeccably coiffured” Bishop, the “most to make his mark as a male hustler and Ratso Rizzo, a “dis - self-effacing writer I have ever met”; and Fitzgerald, whose “many abled, tubercular con man and petty thief,” to the hiring of strengths harmonized so naturally that one simply enjoyed the screenwriter Waldo Salt, who began each day’s work with “a music of his company. Being with him, I understood for the first joint as fat as a small cigar,” to Schlesinger’s daring decision time how legendary pilgrims recognized their next master.” Both to adapt “a novel that was so bleak, troubling, and sexually contrasted favorably with their celebrated, hugely popular col- raw that no ordinary film studio would go near it.” In a canny league Robert Lowell. Gioia preferred Bishop’s and Fitzgerald’s move, Frankel places the film in historical context, detailing modesty and humility, qualities he found in Cheever, too, who major world events at the time of the shoot, including the had come to Stanford on a campus visit with his son. Cheever Vietnam War, New York’s “downward path to seemingly ter- seemed to Gioia “more bright young man than sagacious patri- minal decline,” and the Stonewall riots and competing atti- arch,” and his “intelligence was enlivening.” An unfortunate meet- tudes toward gay people in general—Herlihy and Schlesinger ing with Dickey came after Gioia published a negative review of were gay—and their depictions in cinema. Interviews with the one of his books: “It is often better not to meet the writers you film’s surviving principals add immediacy, and descriptions of admire.” Gioia’s connection with Perry also came from review- small production details enhance the book’s power. For exam- ing; Perry wrote to thank him for an appreciative review, and the ple, Dustin Hoffman (Rizzo), put stones in his shoes to per- two continued to correspond, planning to meet, finally, in New fect the character’s limp, and the filmmakers hired a dentist York. Gioia’s portrait of this “invisible poet” and their role in one to make a false set of Rizzo’s bad teeth, which “looked really another’s lives serves as a moving elegy. horrible,” said the dentist. “I was pleased.” An appealing literary memoir. A rare cinema book that is as mesmerizing as its subject. PEDRO’S THEORY Reimagining the Promised Land Gonsalez, Marco Melville House (304 pp.) $26.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 978-1-61219-862-0

A searching memoir by an essayist and literature professor finally “proud of being Mexican and Puerto Rican” and “gay and femme and fat.”

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 59 Gonsalez begins with his childhood as the son of working- radio program that promoted positive spirituality and gratitude. class immigrants in what had been a New Jersey farming town A psychic medium later told the author that Joel “was still with” on its way to becoming “a middle-class haven of housing devel- her and that he approved of the new man that the psychic pre- opments.” There, living in two languages and what his class- dicted would enter her life. Not long after that, Gould finally mates considered to be “the Mexican ghetto,” “a no-man’s-land began to refer to herself as a widow despite her preconceived of savages,” he came to understand his essential differences: dif- notion that such women were “old, wrinkled, tragic. Wearing ferent because he cried easily, different because he was ordered black. Maybe even a veil.” Acknowledgment of who she had not to speak his native language in school, different because become led to other breakthroughs, including friendships with he was always made to feel the outsider. “It’s just procedure for other widows who led full lives and a passionate connection little brown kids to be treated as a problem,” he writes. “For with a musician. The main strength of this memoir is Gould’s our ways of speaking to be policed at every turn. For us to be insight into the impact that spousal loss has on personal identity. corrected by a world that would rather we not exist. Gonsalez Though not a standout in this genre, Gould’s book will appeal got little help along the way: His father was not always present, to women seeking to understand the meaning of widowhood. and his mother was detached. White children, it seemed to him, A candid, sometimes prosaic memoir of coping with grief were treated as something almost sacred, but, he asks, “what of and moving forward. the little queer and fat and feminine and neurodivergent child of color?” Such a person, he answers, is never allowed to have a childhood. When the author’s young brother died in a car acci- THE PATRIOTS dent, he was scarcely allowed to grieve. Instead, Gonsalez takes Alexander Hamilton, Thomas up the cause of all the “Pedros” in the world around him, a name Jefferson, John Adams, and he borrows from the Mexican immigrant and aspiring American the Making of America Pedro of the film Napoleon Dynamite but who has counterparts Groom, Winston everywhere, including the gay Cuban American TV personality National Geographic (464 pp.) Pedro Zamora. Like the first Pedro, Gonsalez writes, he over- $30.00 | Nov. 3, 2020 came “peak pobrecitoness”; unlike him, he adds, he refuses to 978-1-4262-2149-1 “identify with the false meritocracy this settler colonial country likes to imagine itself being.” The late novelist and popular histo- A subtle, expertly written repudiation of the Ameri- rian revisits the Revolutionary era. can dream in favor of something more inclusive and more Groom (1943-2020) has fashioned realistic. another broad historical chronicle for a general readership, presenting parallel biographies of the three Founding Fathers who were integral to the creation of the American WIDOWISH republican government—when no one could be sure it was Gould, Melissa going to take. As he has demonstrated in his many books Little A (224 pp.) of history and fiction, the author is a natural storyteller, $24.95 | Feb. 1, 2021 choosing relevant engrossing details about each character 978-1-5420-1878-4 amid the myriad historical detail. His account of Alexander Hamilton’s early life story, which opens the book, proves An award-winning screenwriter’s most compelling. Unlike John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, account of how she survived the unex- who were favored sons from wealthy, well-regarded families, pected death of her beloved husband and Hamilton was born “out of wedlock” in the Caribbean, and learned to navigate life on her own. his mother died when he and his brother were teenagers, Gould had been married for 10 years leaving them “for all intents and purposes…orphans.” Groom when doctors diagnosed her healthy, ath- shows how Hamilton’s intelligence and alacrity—not to men- letic husband, Joel, with multiple sclerosis. Joel managed his ill- tion some luck—gained him powerful protectors and men- ness well with drugs, but as he neared his 50th birthday, “the MS tors early on. After arrival in the U.S., he received a first-class was getting hard to ignore.” Then, two months after he turned education and apprenticed with Gen. George Washington, 50, Joel suddenly became ill with West Nile virus, which left him and his fierce sense of honor, writes the author, “became a paralyzed and brain damaged. Gould had to make the extremely major feature of his character.” By Groom’s account, Adams painful decision to end life support. Afterward, her life felt like comes across as the least personally appealing of the three an “uphill” climb that offered no reprieve from the feelings of despite his intellectual abilities. However, his sense of loyalty loss she suffered, and she spent each night remembering Joel to country and family emerges beautifully in selections from with her daughter. “In the dark weeks that followed,” she writes, voluminous letters to his beloved wife, Abigail. Jefferson’s “there were beacons of light shining a path for Sophie and me story will be the most familiar to readers, and Groom adds to follow.” Financial worries added “to the stress of grief.” She little to the record. But the author effectively demonstrates began looking for signs of Joel’s love for her and believed she how their battles with one another drove them forward and found it when she accidentally stumbled across a Joel Osteen honed their political ideologies—yet never derailed them

60 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | The author has a keen eye for turning and tipping points, and his lucid narrative serves his thesis well. the sports revolution

from their determination to forge the American nation when ALWAYS A SONG the prospects did not look promising. Singers, Songwriters, Sinners, A useful selection for libraries because it imparts a solid & Saints: My Story of the Folk civics lesson within an engaging historical narrative. Music Revival Harper, Ellen with Barry, Sam Chronicle Prism (240 pp.) THE SPORTS REVOLUTION $24.95 | Jan. 26, 2021 How Texas Changed the 978-1-4521-8424-1 Culture of American Athletics Musician and teacher Harper looks Guridy, Frank Andre back calmly and objectively on a full life Univ. of Texas (384 pp.) in and out of the folk music scene. $29.95 | Mar. 23, 2021 Born in 1947, Harper started out as a “red diaper baby” in 978-1-4773-2183-6 Boston, one of four children of an “atheist father and secular Jew- ish mother.” During the McCarthy era, her father lost his teach- The Lone Star State’s transformative ing job because of his earlier association with the Communist role in American sports, from football to Party, and the family moved to Claremont, California. There, in tennis and beyond. 1958, her parents set up the Folk Music Center, where they sold Guridy, a professor of history and African American Stud- and repaired musical instruments and sponsored concerts. The ies at Columbia, shows how, as with so much else in American author worked at the center on and off throughout her life; now,

popular culture, Texas has played an outsize part in the develop- she is the owner of what has become a nonprofit educational cor- young adult ment of sports. He opens with a storied football game between poration. As she taught guitar classes and repaired instruments, the Don Shula–led Miami Dolphins and Bum Phillips’ Houston Harper met a number of well-known musicians, many of whom, Oilers, a championship playoff dubbed the Super Bowl by Texas like Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, she admired for their skill while sports entrepreneur Lamar Hunt, who, in 1966, had brokered recognizing their “entitled” attitudes and other bad behavior. the merger of the National Football League and American Though a product of the counterculture, she’s cleareyed about Football League. With the assistance of ABC Sports, football the damage caused by drugs and alcohol as well as some of its less grew to become the most popular sport in the U.S., surpassing predictable side effects—e.g., when she had to spend hours clean- baseball. It was a golden age, writes the author, in which, “fueled ing “sweat and patchouli” off guitars tried out and abandoned by by a booming energy economy, a group of imaginative sports shirtless musicians. While the center is a running theme, the entrepreneurs teamed up with a host of talented athletes from author gives equal time to her life outside its reach. Her personal the laboring classes to usher in an unprecedented era of inclu- life included a marriage to a Black college administrator that sion and popularity.” That athletic labor would soon be sorted produced three children and sadly ended when his alcoholism into superstars and plebes, with the vast bulk of the money gained the upper hand and he began beating her. After a career going to a few elite players. Some of them were Black players in college teaching, Harper returned to Claremont, committed who were finally allowed to play alongside Whites in Texas in to “reinventing myself once again.” Besides writing the book, she the 1960s, with some of the credit for the end of Jim Crow has been performing with her son, popular singer/songwriter Ben going precisely to those sports entrepreneurs, who made cities Harper (who provides the foreword), and has released albums of such as San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston into sports power- her own. Without either sugarcoating or overdramatizing her houses. Some of the innovations were less creditable: AstroTurf, experiences, the author crafts a compelling story of an ordinary for instance, “produced…more injuries to players who had the life taking surprising turns. unpleasant experience of being crushed by head-knocking tack- A memoir that will interest even those who have never les on the concrete-like floor or who ripped up ligaments on zip- heard of either Harper. pered seams that stitched the carpet together.” Some were true improvements, however, including a “revolutionary event in the history of American sports,” namely the first match between THE PRINCES OF THE professional tennis players who happened to be women, later RENAISSANCE capped off by the “Battle of the Sexes” between Billie Jean King The Hidden Powers Behind and Bobby Riggs at the Astrodome. The author has a keen eye an Artistic Revolution for turning and tipping points, and his lucid narrative serves his Hollingsworth, Mary thesis well. Pegasus (504 pp.) Sports buffs will find Guridy’s explorations rewarding. $29.95 | Jan. 5, 2021 978-1-64313-546-5

A history of Renaissance Italy emphasizing the wealthy and powerful and the artists, scholars, and architects they patronized.

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 61 Italian Renaissance scholar Hollingsworth has written sev- thus adding a moment to a long series of acts of resistance that eral books on this eventful era, and readers would be advised “made a broader rebellion possible ten years later.” The author to read them and a few other general histories before tackling makes several salient points, among them the fact that much of this lively but intensely detailed chronicle of that land in the this antecedent protest was mounted by women and that inter- two centuries after 1400. Even readers who recognize politi- national events such as World War I and the Great Depression cal names from this period—Borgia, Medici, Visconti, Sforza, were important in loosening the hold of the Jim Crow South D’Este—may be surprised to learn that each family may repre- on the U.S. government. One effect of the Depression was that sent half a dozen individuals. Luckily, the pantheon of great art- dispossessed rural Whites came in number to places like Mont- ists, from da Vinci to Michelangelo, stand on their own, and the gomery, Alabama, a city that had earlier been roughly equal in book includes beautiful illustrations of their works, with archi- racial makeup, a migration that “ironically destabilized rather tecture enjoying equal billing as painting and sculpture. From than confirmed the political grip of the city’s traditional white the Middle Ages through unification in the 19th century, Italy elite.” That did not make White resistance to civil rights any consisted of a handful of medium-sized states (Venice, Milan, less intransigent, but neither was it monolithic: The first lunch- the Papal States, the Kingdom of Naples) and a bewildering counter protests were staged in Nashville and led to the deseg- collection of principalities and city-states, mostly in the north, regation of many of the city’s downtown diners. Conversely, whose leaders seemed preoccupied with cheating, fighting, and when Black children marched against racism in Birmingham, murdering each other, often joined by some highly pugnacious Alabama, in 1963, police chief “Bull” Connor had no qualms popes. “For the rulers of the minor states of northern Italy, sur- about turning firehoses and police dogs on them, which only vival in the ruthless world of Italian politics was a matter of luck strengthened the movement. and judgement,” writes the author. “Too small to rely on their Essential for students of American history as well as own military strength to overcome the aggression of the major activists in the ongoing struggle for civil rights for all. powers, they needed to develop more cunning strategies—not least shrewd diplomacy and fruitful family alliances—to outwit their enemies.” Hollingsworth astutely shows how, in an era THIS ISN’T HAPPENING before royalties, museums, and mass-market printing, artists Radiohead’s Kid A and the either worked for the rich or starved. Fortunately, it was con- Beginning of the 21st Century sidered proper for an aristocrat to take an interest in cultural Hyden, Steven matters. Readers struggling to sort out who was who in inter- Hachette (256 pp.) minable wars and intrigues will welcome the author’s frequent $27.00 | Sep. 29, 2020 digressions into the lives and work of Renaissance Italy’s pan- 978-0-306-84568-0 theon of brilliant artists. Dense politics relieved by dazzling art. A study of Radiohead’s 2000 classic album and how two decades have vali- dated its dystopian vision. THE MOVEMENT Uproxx cultural critic Hyden, author The African American of Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me, among other music books, Struggle for Civil Rights believes that Kid A, the British band’s fourth album, is a master- Holt, Thomas C. piece. For music fans today, that’s an unprovocative, almost banal Oxford Univ. (152 pp.) assertion. But as he notes in detail, the album received mostly $18.00 | Jan. 28, 2021 middling and hostile reviews at the time, with the notable excep- 978-0-19-752579-1 tion of Pitchfork, a then-little-known tastemaker that awarded the album its highest grade of 10.0. Like all innovative works A slender but potent history of the of art, Kid A baffled many at first. Radiohead’s blend of proggy civil rights movement, which extends structures and glitchy electronics was new; the obsessive inter- well before the 1950s and ’60s. net music culture that leaked the album early was new; singer In this lucid account, Holt, profes- Thom Yorke’s cynicism about our tech-sodden existence was sor of African American history at the University of Chicago, new. And all of it was “weirdly prescient,” a “tone poem about our notes that “the challenges to the Jim Crow order between 1955 ‘doomed-to-be-extremely-online’ lives,” as Hyden puts it. His and 1965 were clearly rooted in the generations of resistance book is partly standard-issue band history, covering Radiohead’s that came before, and they cannot be understood without path from “Creep,” the early megahit that threatened to make that prior history.” Certainly it is not well known that in July them one-hit wonders, to their present-day efforts to maintain 1917, 10,000 African Americans staged a silent parade in Man- their perch as innovators. But Hyden also argues that the album hattan to protest anti-Black violence or that, a decade before captured the zeitgeist both then and now. The author finds aKid Rosa Parks’ protest in Alabama, a 66-year-old Virginia woman A sensibility in contemporary movies like Vanilla Sky and Fight named Carrie Fitzgerald refused to move to the “so-called ‘cul- Club as well as in the twitchy discomfort delivered by our social lid’ seats” of a long-haul bus. “The driver,” writes Holt, “decided media addictions. Today, Radiohead’s push-me-pull-you relation- to leave well enough alone, Virginia law and custom be damned,” ship with the traditional record industry is the norm. Though

62 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | An entertaining, inspiring approach to life-hacking that begs to be implemented by the willing reader. the art of impossible

Hyden extrapolates too much cultural import from one album— THE ART Kid A wasn’t alone in railing against “soul-destroying remnants of OF IMPOSSIBLE omnipresent corporate culture,” after all—he is an intelligent and A Peak Performance often amusing guide to its creation. The original reporting is slim, Primer but the author writes like the best kind of music fan: informed Kotler, Steven and inviting. Harper Wave/HarperCollins (304 pp.) A knowledgeable, earnest, always persuasive testament $27.99 | Jan. 19, 2021 to a cultural touchstone. 978-0-06-297753-3

“Very little is impossible with ten THE LAST QUEEN years’ practice.” Journalist and perfor- Elizabeth II’s Seventy Year mance coach Kotler delivers an incite- Battle To Save the House of ment for us all to up our games. Windsor Just about every human achievement was once deemed Irving, Clive impossible, whether breaking the 4-minute mile or landing on Pegasus (352 pp.) the moon. Kotler’s Flow Research Collective, borrowing from $27.95 | Jan. 5, 2021 the insights of psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, stud- 978-1-64313-614-1 ies “the neurobiology of human peak performance,” training and quantifying the nervous system at its optimum. Neuro- A candid look at how the media has biology being universal, it works for everyone in theory, even

portrayed the monarchy. though when personality enters the picture, psychological young adult Despite the book’s title, Elizabeth traits such as risk aversion can affect the outcome. No worry, II remains “a benign enigma” throughout this gossipy romp writes the author. Peak performance is attained through moti- through a history of the British monarchy. Founding editor of vation, learning, creativity, and flow, the last of which is “how Condé Nast Traveler and former managing editor of the Sunday you turbo-boost the results beyond all rational standards and Times, Irving is more revealing about the dramatic changes reasonable expectations,” surprising even yourself with the in British journalism throughout the 20th century, from the mastery that comes after figuring out how to do something per- media’s unspoken control of the monarchy’s public image—the fectly. Kotler has something of the cheerleader about him, to Sunday Times once sounded like “the membership committee of be sure, but he’s thoroughly grounded in science, writing of the an Edwardian gentlemen’s club”—to the voracious exploitation biological systems that drive fear, anger, grief, lust, and other of their every move, which intensified when they discovered emotions, all of which can be turned to advantage. He also Princess Diana’s enormous market value. Drawing on his own offers a novel approach to learning, removing stress and letting experience as an editor, reporter, and confidant of high-placed curiosity make a game of it. “We’re letting our pattern recog- sources, Irving describes this transformation in sharp detail, nition system find connections between curiosities that make homing in on the foibles, rivalries, and loyalties of editors and us even more curious—which is how you cultivate passion,” publishing moguls as well as the royal family’s efforts to block he writes after chronicling a user-friendly approach to learn- access to information, such as their connections to Nazis and ing a new subject. Other strategies for performance optimiza- the machinations of their wily uncle Mountbatten. Hewing tion include getting enough restorative sleep; eating properly; closely to the narrative presented in the BBC series The Crown, spending your time effectively, including scheduling time for Irving reprises major events, scandals, and family tensions meditation and focused thinking; and avoiding stress. Kotler’s among the Windsors; though he is an entertaining storyteller, up-and-at-’em approach never sounds a false note, and it’s clear he offers no special insight into the character of the “safely that he has applied his advice to himself. Besides, it’s fun to read conservative and stolid” Elizabeth. A contributor to the BBC sentences like, “Remember, the ROI on reading says books are documentary Margaret: The Rebel Princess, Irving creates a more the best way to go.” animated portrait of the younger sister, whose “rebellious effer- An entertaining, inspiring approach to life-hacking that vescence” he admires. The author does not like the royals much: begs to be implemented by the willing reader. He deems Philip “a loose cannon” prone to public remarks that reveal “colonial bigotry,” and he calls Mountbatten a “vainglori- ous self-promoter.” He seems sympathetic to Elizabeth’s plight of having been taught to subjugate personality to duty but con- cedes that “it was impossible to tell if this was also the private woman—the whole or a part of her.” Decent modern British history, with cameos by the queen.

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 63 SCORCHED EARTH better understand what it means to be human. We all talk to Environmental Warfare as a ourselves every day, and even the calmest characters among us Crime Against Humanity and do so at a blistering pace. What experimental psychologists Nature and neuroscientists refers to as “chatter” is the part of this one- Kreike, Emmanuel person tête-à-tête that falls into a pattern of thinking, common Princeton Univ. (538 pp.) to the human condition, in which reflection becomes a burden. $39.95 | Jan. 12, 2021 Since we aren’t going to stop talking to ourselves—and, frankly, 978-0-691-13742-1 we don’t want to; the voices in our heads have valuable things to say—it’s important we use our introspection effectively: “Chat- A Princeton historian examines the ter underlies a variety of mental illnesses,” notes the author, who shameful destruction of the environ- artfully describes how we talk to ourselves, why those conversa- ment as an instrument of war. tions are helpful, and the triggers that can get us into trouble. Ecocide, the destruction of ecosystems in order to bring He shows readers meaningful ways to reframe the discussion, suffering upon the people living within them, is not an inter- when to seek assistance, and how to better support friends national crime—not yet, anyway, although Kreike notes that and family. The potential of a mind constructively channeled “several individual states have defined ecocide as a crime.” is no small thing, but it’s not all about being perpetually pres- Aggressor states that employ scorched-earth techniques of ent. “The power of the mind to heal itself is, indeed, magical (in battling enemies can always plead military necessity—and so the awe-inspiring, not supernatural, sense).” Even if you have all they often have in places such as the grain belt of the Ukraine the tools, which the author provides, “it’s critical that you build or the Brabant in Holland, looting what they could carry and your own toolbox.” Throughout this fascinating narrative, flu- then destroying what they could not to deny provisions to idly written and packed with insight, Kross is consistently con- other armies or even civilian populations. As Kreike notes of cise, practical, and well organized. Although an academic with territories destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War, when seed impressive credentials, the author speaks to all students of life, corn and corn for eating were stored and then burned together, grounding the text with illuminating vignettes pulled from the an aggressor force can deny another population food for two lives of public figures as well as his own. In the end, he shows us years—which, of course, amounts to genocide. The author how we might have better chats with ourselves, ones that make recounts numerous episodes of just that: the use of eco-terror us happier, healthier, and more productive people. tactics against the people of Sumatra by the Dutch at the turn A book that will truly change minds. of the 20th century, the twin roles of plague and starvation in crushing the Inca Empire, the “Famine of the Dams” wrought on Indigenous peoples in South Africa by the actions of the AN ANATOMY OF PAIN White government, which placed economic development How the Body and the Mind above their survival. “Loss of the environmental infrastructure Experience and Endure was disastrous in the semi-arid floodplain. During the wet sea- Physical Suffering son, it meant exposure to cold, humidity, and disease. During Lalkhen, Abdul-Ghaaliq the dry season, it meant hunger, thirst, and blistering heat,” Scribner (256 pp.) writes Kreike—and that instance of “environcide” was by no $28.00 | Feb. 2, 2021 means confined to the floodplain of a South African river, but 978-1-982160-98-2 has instead been repeated in places such as the Amazon basin. Famine, plague, destruction of food and water supplies: It all A physician who focuses on pain adds up to a heady catalog of crimes that warring states have too management illuminates his specialty. often applied and show no signs of eschewing in future conflicts. After a chapter describing the ner- Waging war against the Earth is an old business, and this vous system and another on the history of pain relief—opium book provides ample—and dispiriting—evidence for it. has been around since prehistory—British anesthesiologist Lalkhen takes up pain as experienced by patients and dealt with by doctors. The author makes it clear that both could use CHATTER further education on the subject, which is undeniably complex. Kross, Ethan A sprained ankle is agonizing while soldiers suffering grue- Crown (272 pp.) some battle injuries sometimes feel little pain. In Chinese and $28.00 | Jan. 26, 2021 Korean cultures, it’s often considered shameful to complain 978-0-525-57523-8 during childbirth, and few women receive analgesics; other cultures insist on “a more vocal response.” While it may be under- A professor of psychology examines the standable for a patient to not fully comprehend the social and most crucial conversation: with ourselves. psychological factors that influence pain as much as the physi- In this deft debut, Kross, director of cal damage, it’s inexcusable for a doctor. New analgesic drugs the University of Michigan’s Emotion & have been appearing for more than two centuries, beginning Self Control Laboratory, helps readers with morphine in 1804. Although many surgeons remain casual

64 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | Authoritative and exhaustive—another jewel in Lee’s literary crown. tom stoppard

about postoperative pain, the treatment of short-term pain to his screenplays, as well, including Steven Spielberg’s Empire remains straightforward. Chronic pain, however, is another of the Sun, Shakespeare in Love (“one of his best-loved pieces of story; sometimes it persists after the injury heals. In most cases work”), and a TV adaptation of Ford Madox Ford’s Parade’s End. of chronic back pain, neck pain, neuropathy, and even arthritis He enjoyed doing films but noted that they weren’t a “continu- and in syndromes such as fibromyalgia, there is no injury and ation of one’s life as a writer” but rather “a detour.” Ultimately, nothing to be “fixed”—but there are numerous ways to help. this expansive portrait of a significant 20th-century artist is a Sadly, many doctors continue to use procedures—e.g., surgery biographical masterpiece. Stoppard chose his biographer well. or nerve injections—that rarely work and prescribe drugs that Authoritative and exhaustive—another jewel in Lee’s lit- produce side effects and addiction without relieving much pain. erary crown. Lalkhen describes his multidisciplinary clinic, where doctors work with physiotherapists, nurses, psychologists, dieticians, and even alternative healers to help sufferers who often arrive THE POWER OF ETHICS addicted and desperate after undergoing repeated failed proce- How To Make Good Choices dures. The author emphasizes that chronic pain is not curable, in a Complicated World but a collaborative approach in which patients actively partici- Liautaud, Susan pate improves quality of life, self-confidence, and the ability to Simon & Schuster (304 pp.) move, function, and return to work. $28.00 | Jan. 5, 2021 Readers won’t find miracles but rather a sensitive doctor 978-1-982132-19-4 who writes well about an ongoing epidemic. An easy-to-use manual for determin-

ing ethical behavior in our bewildering young adult TOM STOPPARD times. A Life Liautaud, who runs her own consult- Lee, Hermione ing company and teaches ethics at Stanford, proves that it’s pos- Knopf (896 pp.) sible to write a book about ethics without deploying the words $35.00 | Feb. 23, 2021 virtue or utilitarian or the names Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Bentham, 978-0-451-49322-4 or Mill. Readers accustomed to historically grounded philosophical works of broad abstraction or technical argumenta- The celebrated playwright gets the tion will find this text less demanding. In one sense, the book is Lee treatment. philosophy for the digital age: In promising that this “book will Stoppard (b. 1937) asked award-win- arm you with four straightforward steps to tackle any dilemma,” ning literary biographer Lee to write his the author flirts with subsuming ethical deliberation to an algo- biography, giving her “access to a wealth rithm. Applying her framework of identifying guiding principles, of materials and permission to quote from them.” In this thor- gathering relevant information, considering all stakeholders, ough, sympathetic, and eminently readable text, the author and anticipating possible outcomes will direct an actor toward tracks his early years in Czechoslovakia through his time in a decision. However, without normative standards for princi- Singapore, India, and England, where he met his stepfather, ples, ethics can quickly collapse to vested interests. The author Maj. Kenneth Stoppard. Interestingly Lee notes that Stoppard, sometimes reduces difficult philosophical questions to a series who dropped out of college, didn’t show much interest in the of bullet points that would fit nicely in a corporate PowerPoint theater until he was a reporter for a Bristol newspaper. The presentation. Furthermore, if ethicists of the digital era such as city’s vibrant arts scene motivated an “anxious, eager, ambi- Jaron Lanier and Tristan Harris have taught us anything, it’s that tious, shy and unworldly” young man who became friends with algorithms are not neutral. Liautaud neglects to interrogate Peter O’Toole. A job with another paper had him writing film some of the assumptions of her framework. Why, say, should we and play reviews, covering “everything that came out, from new consider all stakeholders? Even if we allow applied ethics some European cinema to Hollywood romances, from Westerns to lassitude with theory, the author runs headlong into the reality film noir, from musicals to disaster movies.” As she has done that we tend not to apply frameworks to our ethical dilemmas. in her previous top-notch books, Lee carefully unwinds auto- Let’s say that after reading this book, we do apply the author’s biographical links between her subject’s life and works. Despite framework but do not like the outcome it provides. Is it more his newspaper work, Stoppard knew that plays were “his busi- likely that we will act against our intuitions or that we will plug ness” and “theatre was where he might find rapid success.” some different principles into the framework until we get an His first play, A Walk on the Water, was produced in 1963, and outcome we feel better about? Liautaud provides several fasci- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which began as a one-act nating cases studies of recent ethical issues, which she analyzes play, debuted in 1966. Though the “first reviews” were “terrible,” with the kind of nuance we sorely need these days. most were “ecstatic,” making Stoppard “all at once successful Despite shortcomings, the simple-to-understand narra- and famous.” As Lee masterfully explores both her subject’s tive encourages deliberate reflection, an ethical act in its own life and work, she portrays a uniquely talented writer fully in right. tune with a wide variety of influences. She pays close attention

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 65 THE PRICE YOU PAY THE UNUSUAL SUSPECT FOR COLLEGE The Rise and Fall of a An Entirely New Road Map Modern-Day Outlaw for the Biggest Financial Machell, Ben Decision Your Family Will Ballantine (288 pp.) Ever Make $28.00 | Jan. 19, 2021 Lieber, Ron 978-0-593-12922-7 Harper/HarperCollins (336 pp.) $27.99 | Jan. 26, 2021 Machell, a writer for the Times of 978-0-06-286730-8 London, reconstructs the bizarre international crime spree of a self-styled Can you pay for college without Robin Hood who claimed he robbed being broke until long after retirement? Sure—and this book banks to give the money to the poor. offers plenty of pointers on how to do so. Stephen Jackley was a quiet British university student when, Today, attending a top-flight school can cost nearly beginning in 2007, he launched a far-fetched plan to redistribute $350,000. Yet, as New York Times financial columnist Lieber the wealth of “a callous capitalistic society that was destroying asks, pointedly, “what is the return on investment going to be?” the planet and ruining lives for no good reason.” Over the next There are other questions: Which schools are better at which seven months—armed with a knife and replica of a pistol—he disciplines? What kind of financial aid is available? Is your robbed banks and other cash-rich institutions until he was child suited for college? One central question, of course, is arrested in Vermont after trying to use a fake ID to buy a real gun, why higher education is so expensive. The answers are several, which was too difficult to obtain in Britain. Jackley was deported ranging from the recent movement of cash-strapped states to and sentenced to 13 years in prison. A psychiatrist’s report later reduce or eliminate education funding to the fact that highly found there was “little doubt” that he had Asperger’s syndrome, educated people—the tenured professors whom students usu- which led to a one-year reduction in his sentence. Drawing on ally encounter only in their junior or senior years—expect to interviews with Jackley and other sources, Machell, a fluid writer, be paid a decent wage, as do the endless layers of administra- agrees that the young bank robber had Asperger’s: “And while tors and support staff. Lieber counsels that there are remedies it’s true that none of this would have happened if Stephen did available, though not even a committed high school guidance not have Asperger’s, it did not happen simply because he did.” counselor can possibly know how to navigate them all: A stu- Contributing factors, note the author, included his subject’s trau- dent can go to community college to satisfy basic requirements, matic upbringing by a bipolar father and schizophrenic mother. for example, though he or she better do the homework to be Machell offers strong evidence that Jackley’s Asperger’s was made sure all the credits will transfer to their university of choice. worse by a troubled youth. However, given Jackley’s months of A student can join the military and get GI Bill support. How- con artistry and the fact that his parents had mental illnesses that ever, writes the author, “anyone considering enlisting in the can run in families, the author, though well-intentioned, gives too armed forces for financial reasons alone should please think little attention to whether Jackley might have conned a doctor or hard about the uncertainty they’re signing up for.” Perhaps his two—or had a more serious, co-occurring condition that explains most important point is that in most instances, college tuition his behavior more plausibly than only Asperger’s. The result is a is negotiable and that the worst thing that can happen if you well-written page-turner that may cause readers to suspect that ask for a break is to be told no. But is college worth it? Quite there’s more to Jackley’s crimes than Machell suggests. apart from the educational aspect, Lieber holds, the answer A fast-paced true-crime tale undercut by an iffy analysis to his first question is that the annualized ROI “is about 14 of the perpetrator’s Asperger’s diagnosis. percent.” Given that the stock market is typically half that, it’s not a bad bet. A revealing and useful guide for the aspiring consumer of FUCKED AT BIRTH higher education. Recalibrating the American Dream for the 2020s Maharidge, Dale Unnamed Press (160 pp.) $17.00 paper | Jan. 12, 2021 978-1-951213-22-0

An open-hearted American travel- ogue through the new underclass. The raw title comes from a piece of graffiti Maharidge saw at a boarded-up gas station in the California desert. He then drove across the

66 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | country to see if people could relate to the sentiment. Sadly yet as John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, John unsurprisingly, many could. The Pulitzer Prize–winning author Dewey, and Robert Maynard Hutchins—and privileging a cur- is here to sound a warning: The pandemic is leaving a trail of riculum based on “the study of old books”—Marks posits that widespread poverty, homelessness, opioid abuse, and other “the highest aim of liberal education is not a set of skills but a maladies in its wake. Along his journey, the author visited good kind of person.” That person must be initiated into a commu- Samaritans running food banks and homeless encampments. nity of individuals “who pride themselves on following the evi- He talked to professors and scavengers. Some of the new under- dence and arguments where they lead, and who share at least class still have their fancy cars; more don’t have any car at all. provisional standards for evaluating evidence and arguments, Maharidge bears witness, but he does more than that. He brings even in matters that can’t be definitively settled.” The author to bear his experience as a former newspaper reporter cover- discusses efforts by the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions ing the down-and-out. More important still, he meets every- Movement to enlist anti-Israel support among students as pre- one where they live. Indeed, the book is a barely restrained senting just such an unsettled matter. With little knowledge of demand for readers to pay attention to the have-nots lest you the complexities of Middle Eastern politics, students, Marks wake up tomorrow and find yourself among them. “We with asserts, cannot reasonably evaluate the claims of any speaker white-collar employment make the assumption that a major- “who aims at conversion”—at odds, he argues, with the univer- ity of Americans are exactly like us because most of us never sity, “which aims at reflection.” interact with the working class,” writes the author. A student of A thoughtful but not groundbreaking contribution to the Great Depression, Maharidge understands the similarities debates about the value of higher education. with current times, but he also sees the differences: During the Depression, the homeless at least had the admittedly squalid

Hooverville camps. Today, state and city laws are designed to THE COMMUNICATING young adult make them get up and go…where? This is a book ripped from VESSELS the headlines, from Black Lives Matter to recently thriving Mayröcker, Friederike downtowns stripped of office workers and service workers. Trans. by Booth, Alexander Those catching the brunt of it all, those with the steepest hills A Public Space Books (224 pp.) to climb, may have been fucked at birth. But for everyone, as $16.95 paper | Feb. 9, 2021 Maharidge observes, the feeling of safety is folly. 978-0-9982675-8-6 A sharp wake-up call to heed the new Depression and to recognize the humanity of those hit hardest. Pain and loneliness imbue a poet’s intimate revelations. In two companion pieces, The LET’S BE REASONABLE Communicating Vessels and And I Shook A Conservative Case for Myself a Beloved, award-winning Viennese poet Mayröcker Liberal Education (b. 1924) offers a swirling collage of thoughts, allusions, and Marks, Jonathan reminiscences elicited by the death of her longtime compan- Princeton Univ. (232 pp.) ion, experimental poet and translator Ernst Jandl (1925-2000). $27.95 | Feb. 9, 2021 Both works are marked by streams and juxtapositions of lan- 978-0-691-19385-4 guage evocative of Gertrude Stein, whom, along with Jacques Derrida, Mayröcker cites as a decisive influence. “My reading Why colleges and universities should of Gertrude Stein,” she writes, “had opened up all the flood- cultivate reflection and analysis. gates and I was really happy because my writing was spout- Marks, a political scientist, professor ing, almost without any resistance, and from my memory of politics, and blogger for the conserva- previously unknown images appeared, and they begot oth- tive magazine Commentary, is dismayed at criticism of liberal ers.” Like Stein—and many artists that Mayröcker mentions, arts institutions coming especially from conservatives. Much as including Picasso, Juan Gris, and Salvador Dalí—the author Allan Bloom did in The Closing of the American Mind, Marks, who aimed at producing art that “does not depict reality, but the has taught at private colleges, defends liberal education, aim- perception of reality.” Her reality is dominated by memories ing his book at readers “looking for an alternative to the despair of her life with Jandl: “1 mirror of the other, 1 mind-comfort.” that passes for realism in our understanding of the present and While thinking about Stein’s sentence, “I am I because my possible future of college.” He underscores the importance of little dog knows me,” she laments that when Jandl died, “I lost teaching critical thinking, decrying the “bland and scattered the greater part of my identity.” Mayröcker and Jandl shared justifications” that liberal arts colleges fashion to define their books, music (jazz, the recordings of Maria Callas), and art. mission, instead offering another: “to cultivate in our students Grieving, she found comfort in the works of Spanish surrealist an experience of and a taste for reflecting on fundamental ques- Antoni Tàpies. “Throughout all the wild months,” she writes, tions, for following arguments where they lead, and for shaping “he’d become my favorite painter, he accompanied me day and their thoughts and actions in accordance with what they can night, I dreamed of him and his works.” Although Mayröcker’s learn from those activities.” Drawing on such expected thinkers effusive interior monologue is sometimes impenetrable, her

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 67 A bold, incisive book on heavy topics with a call to action for a more equitable future that doesn’t center White men. mediocre

overwhelming grief emerges clearly. “I went to the cemetery,” MEDIOCRE she writes, “and brought him five yellow roses and I thought The Dangerous Legacy he would speak to me, which he did not do, and I touched his of White Male America gravestone and lit a candle and closed the lantern and left the Oluo, Ijeoma cemetery saying to myself, everywhere different.” Seal Press (336 pp.) A raw literary meditation on loss. $28.00 | Dec. 1, 2020 978-1-58005-951-0

HOW ARE WE GOING TO The author of So You Want To Talk EXPLAIN THIS? About Race takes a close look at the perils Our Future on a Hot Earth and constraints of White male identity. Mommers, Jelmer In the U.S., a country built on slavery Trans. by Vroomen, Laura & Asbury, Anna and exploitation, millions of Americans insist that our politi- Scribner (224 pp.) cal, economic, legal, and educational systems are meritocracies $16.00 paper | Nov. 17, 2020 when they clearly aren’t. While everyone else has to excel in 978-1-982163-13-6 order to get by, writes Oluo, we reward mediocre White men’s bad behavior: “We have, as a society, somehow convinced our- An irreverent, urgent look at climate selves that we should be led by incompetent assholes.” White change. male mediocrity sustains “a violent, sexist, racist status quo” Building on a column he writes and robs others of greatness and keeps them powerless and poor. for the Dutch magazine De Correspondent, Mommers seeks When average White men fail to reap what they believe is their a “much-needed antidote to despair” in the face of the grave natural birthright, they turn their rage not on elite White men transformations that are manifesting themselves around the but rather on the women and people of color they blame for planet: skies choked with particulates and the smoke from their loss of opportunity. Not surprisingly, White men are cur- countless wildfires, rising sea levels, declining species and eco- rently the “biggest domestic terror threats in this country.” As systems. He finds some in the small and personal—giving up the author clearly shows, “today’s titans of white male medioc- meat, for example, in his own life, though he realizes that since rity” are part of a long line of “arrogant, entitled, irresponsible, he still participates in the worldly economy, “that’s no reason willfully ignorant bullies” in powerful positions. Understand- to get all self-congratulatory”; or taking young Swedish activ- ing this history, Oluo believes, is a prerequisite for survival and ist Greta Thunberg’s advice and giving up flying, since, as she for enacting the systemic change that is required to alter the explained, “When you are in a crisis, you change your behav- situation. She traces mediocre White men across centuries to ior.” It’s difficult to change one’s behavior, notes the author, the present, including the bloody U.S. westward expansion and when the most powerful economic forces remain committed cowboy mythology that fueled Native American genocide; male to a fossil-fuel regime that accounts for the 42 billion metric feminists; the two-facedness of Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and tons of carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere yearly—a the often vicious Bernie Bros; the war on higher education; rac- staggering figure, Mommers writes, so huge that, even if we ism in the NFL; and mediocre White men in the workplace. A covered the planet with scrubbers, we could remove only 1% gifted storyteller and thorough researcher, Oluo analyzes these of the total of annual emissions “at a cost of $400 billion per histories, many of them lesser known, with solid scholarship year.” After surveying the nightmarish damage to world agricul- and useful pop-culture references. ture and environmental systems, Mommers finds odd solace in A bold, incisive book on heavy topics with a call to action the coronavirus pandemic, which has had the effect of reducing for a more equitable future that doesn’t center White men. those emissions by 7%. The problem is that in order to keep the global temperature from creeping up by a catastrophic 1.5 degrees Celsius, we’d have to maintain that 7% drop annually STRANGE BEDFELLOWS for another decade, which probably won’t happen. Mommers Adventures in the avoids hectoring or preaching to the choir, and he does turn up Science, History, and at least a flicker of hope in remaking the economy with an eye Surprising Secrets of STDs to sustainability. “Not enough is happening yet,” he writes, “but Park, Ina a green course is now visible and attractive.” Flatiron Books (320 pp.) A welcome reminder that there are things we can do to $27.99 | Feb. 2, 2021 heal the planet that go beyond useless half-measures. 978-1-25020-662-6

A guided tour through the science of sexually transmitted infections. Park, a physician who specializes in STIs, begins with an explanation of terminology. “The subtitle… uses STD, as I felt that term would be most recognizable….

68 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | But I use STI as much as I can throughout the book, because second expedition, though, had worse luck. The seven ships that that is where I think we are headed eventually.” Within this sailed in 1595 constantly feared being trapped by ice; weathered alternatingly fascinating, perplexing, and stomach-turning violent storms; and battled polar bears, which attacked and ate report, the author nonjudgmentally illustrates how STIs are two sailors. Morale plummeted, and the ringleaders of a mutiny one of the unfortunate forms of “interplay between sex and were hanged. Barents’ third expedition, which set out in 1596, society as far back as the 1500s.” She begins with genital her- proved disastrous. “They’d sailed once more into merciless ter- pes, a “sneaky” virus that hides in nerve cells and reemerges as rain without even basic strategies to survive in it,” Pitzer writes, a recurrent “unwelcome guest.” A research conference in Bra- and they became locked in ice, forcing them to overwinter in zil is the perfect setting for Park’s meditation on the pros and the Arctic. The author chronicles the crew’s daily experiences, cons of “pubic landscaping” while a scientific glance at vaginal hauling lumber for miles, dismantling their ship for planks, microbiomes reveals the vulnerability of women to undesir- building a shelter, hunting for meat, and surviving temperatures able bacterial compositions. The author never glosses over a that dropped to 30 degrees below zero. They were weakened topic; each chapter is a thoughtful combination of scientific and ill from scurvy and once poisoned themselves from eat- study and informative anecdote. Park’s exuberance is obvious ing bear liver. By the time they freed two small boats from the throughout, whether she is discussing how orgasmic medita- ice and sailed for home, several had died. Though Barents suc- tion can mitigate the risks of STI contraction from sexual activ- cumbed during the return and had found no northern route to ity with multiple partners or the University of Washington’s China, he became legendary, leaving a legacy of determination “two-week-long boot camp on STIs and HIV.” Via lively, cre- and becoming “the patron saint of devoted error.” Although ative efforts to diffuse the lingering stigma surrounding genital sometimes overwhelmed by repetitive detail, Pitzer’s narrative warts, gonorrhea, syphilis, and other maladies, Park generously vividly conveys tension and terror.

shares her knowledge and clinical experience, some of which A meticulously researched history of maritime tragedy. young adult is quite sobering—e.g., the possible connection between HPV and anal cancer and the more recent proliferation of terrifying antibiotic-resistant “superbug” STIs. The author also demysti- FIRST PRINCIPLES fies a variety of relevant issues, including HIV prevention and What America’s Founders “female condoms,” weaving in knowledgeable input from pub- Learned From the Greeks lic health experts, vaccine researchers, focus groups, and even and Romans and How That a network of contact-tracing “sex detectives.” Fans of witty, Shaped Our Country meticulously researched chronicles of intriguing popular sci- Ricks, Thomas E. ence topics—think Mary Roach—will devour this fluid mixture Harper/HarperCollins (416 pp.) of scholarship and levity. $26.99 | Nov. 10, 2020 A fresh, funny, sex-positive book that effectively destig- 978-0-06-299745-6 matizes sexual disease. An exploration of the major influences of America’s first four presidents. ICEBOUND “What just happened?” That was the question that Pulitzer Shipwrecked at the Edge of Prize winner Ricks—along with tens of millions of Americans— the World asked after the 2016 presidential election. The author also asked, Pitzer, Andrea “What kind of nation do we now have? Is this what was designed Scribner (320 pp.) or intended by the nation’s founders?” He proceeded to study $29.00 | Jan. 12, 2021 their writings, which turned out to pay some attention to the 978-1-982113-34-6 British Constitution and French Enlightenment but more to the ancients. According to Ricks, George Washington soaked Biography/history of a 16th-century up classic Roman values of honor, self-control, and, above all, Dutchman who sailed courageously to “virtue,” by which the Romans “meant public-mindedness.” the North Pole. John Adams considered himself a modern Cicero, raging against Pitzer, a journalist who last wrote a tyranny. Jefferson preferred the Greeks, a more philosophical global history of concentration camps, draws on diaries, archi- culture but also (unlike Rome) a fractious confederation during val material, and her own three trips to the Arctic to recount, in its golden age. This may explain why he, unlike his colleagues, exhaustive detail, three arduous journeys carried out by navi- felt no great need for the Constitution. The scholarly Madison gator William Barents in search of a northern route to the Far spent years in a methodical study of ancient political systems, East. Barents was in his mid-40s, with a wife and five children, enabling him to steer the Constitutional Convention through when, in 1594, he joined an exploratory fleet whose mission was sheer expertise. Ricks admits that by the time Washington part of the Dutch Republic’s effort to “transform their country assumed office in 1789, the classical model was running out of into a world power.” The first expedition was successful: After steam. Both he and Adams raged against “faction,” an evil dur- traveling more than 3,000 miles, the fleet identified two posing the Roman Republic. Jefferson was angry, as well, but pro- sible routes to China, and every sailor returned home safely. The ceeded to found the first political party. No one foresaw the

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 69 A welcome reference, entertaining and information-packed, for any outdoors-inclined reader. the meateater guide to wilderness skills and survival

Industrial Revolution, the arrival of democracy (“mob rule” to NOBODY EVER ASKED ME the Founding Fathers), or a civil war, but the U.S. adapted. How- ABOUT THE GIRLS ever, Ricks emphasizes that the Founders’ reluctance to con- Women, Music and Fame front slavery embedded a racism that continues to poison the Robinson, Lisa American political system. The author reassures readers that Henry Holt (256 pp.) the durable Constitutional order can handle a Donald Trump, $27.99 | Nov. 10, 2020 and he concludes with 10 strategies for putting the nation back 978-1-62779-490-9 on course. All are admirable, although several—e.g., campaign finance reform, congressional reform, mutual tolerance—regu- A longtime music writer empties her larly fail in practice. files. Penetrating history with a modest dollop of optimism. Vanity Fair contributing editor Robin- son has sorted through decades of interviews with scores of female artists and divided their quotes and THE MEATEATER GUIDE anecdotes into chapters entitled “Hair and Makeup,” “Fame,” TO WILDERNESS SKILLS Abuse,” “Motherhood,” “Sex,” “Drugs,” “Business,” “Age,” etc. AND SURVIVAL The premise of the book—that nobody has been interested Rinella, Steven with Henderson, Brody in stories of stars like Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, Illus. by Sucheski, Peter Beyoncé, Rihanna, or Courtney Love until now—lacks evi- Random House (464 pp.) dence-based support and fails to justify this stitched-together $25.00 | Dec. 1, 2020 jumble of retreads and outtakes. Though Robinson makes the 978-0-593-12969-2 point that she was never a critic, rather an interviewer, an editor of fan magazines, and a writer of “chatty columns,” she does The bad news: On any given out- have her likes and dislikes. She credits Madonna with “ruining door expedition, you are your own worst the culture” in the 1980s, and she is particularly enraged by Tay- enemy. The good news: If you are pre- lor Swift, whom she met as “a fledgling country music singer pared, which this book helps you achieve, you might just live with buck teeth. The second she heard I was from Vanity Fair, through it. she grabbed my hand with such force that I thought she might As MeatEater host and experienced outdoorsman Rinella break it, and her eyes lasered on me like something out of The notes, there are countless dangers attendant in going into Exorcist….The idea that she, or anyone, thought she could play mountains, woods, or deserts; he quotes journalist Wes Siler: Joni Mitchell in the still unmade ‘Ladies of the Canyon’ movie “People have always managed to find stupid ways to die.” Avoid- is laughable. (Joni told me she put a stop to that.)” Even the ing stupid mistakes is the overarching point of Rinella’s latest stars Robinson admires don’t come off well in these pages: Lady book, full of provocative and helpful advice. One stupid way to Gaga confides, “I feel like if I sleep with someone they’re going die is not to have the proper equipment. There’s a complication to take my creativity from me through my vagina.” Sheryl Crow built into the question, given that when humping gear into the reports that Stevie Nicks told her, “if you ever have kids you’ll outdoors, weight is always an issue. The author’s answer? “Build never write a great rock song again.” The author also quotes your gear list by prioritizing safety.” That entails having some Adele’s maunderings about motherhood at numbing length. means of communication, water, food, and shelter foremost One might conclude that decades-old gossip isn’t that inter- and then adding on “extra shit.” As to that, he notes gravely, “a esting, but Ben Widdicombe’s recent stylishly written memoir, National Park Service geologist recently estimated that as much Gatecrasher, suggests that isn’t the problem. as 215,000 pounds of feces has been tossed haphazardly into For devoted Robinson fans only. crevasses along the climbing route on Denali National Park’s Kahiltna Glacier, where climbers melt snow for drinking water.” Ingesting fecal matter is a quick route to sickness, and Rinella TROUBLED adds, there are plenty of outdoorspeople who have no idea of The Failed Promise of how to keep their bodily wastes from ruining the scenery or America’s Behavioral poisoning the water supply. Throughout, the author provides Treatment Programs precise information about wilderness first aid, ranging from irri- Rosen, Kenneth R. gating wounds to applying arterial pressure to keeping someone Little A (254 pp.) experiencing a heart attack (a common event outdoors, given $24.95 | Jan. 12, 2021 that so many people overexert without previous conditioning) 978-1-5420-0788-7 alive. Some takeaways: Keep your crotch dry, don’t pitch a tent under a dead tree limb, walk side-hill across mountains, and “do A look inside the “brutal” conditions not enter a marsh or swamp in flip-flops, and think twice before of behavioral boot camps for adolescents. entering in strap-on sandals such as Tevas or Chacos.” When parents decide to send their A welcome reference, entertaining and information- troubled teenagers to wilderness treatment programs, they do packed, for any outdoors-inclined reader. so because they feel that they are out of options. Their kids,

70 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | often angry, bored, or both, may be skipping school, abusing workshops—including tone, plot, conflict, character arc, - set alcohol and drugs, or self-harming, and some may be facing jail ting, pacing, and structure—which generally use realist fic- time for minor crimes. Believing that time spent in the wil- tion by White male writers as models. These stories “present derness is a useful strategy for turning their children toward a the world as a matter of free will. The problems are caused better path, parents sign them up, and they are whisked away, by the self and can be solved by the development of the self. often in the middle of the night. They are stripped of anything And somehow both external and internal conflict is like this.” personal and then spend weeks hiking, learning survival skills, Salesses counters that view with an illuminating chapter on East and eating inadequate food, far from anyone who knows or Asian and Asian American fiction, where he points to 10 ways loves them. As Wired contributing writer Rosen explains that Chinese fiction is different from Western tradition, and he through the eyes of four victims, these wilderness camps are offers an innovative syllabus and exercises. “It is effectively a largely unregulated, leaving windows of opportunity open for kind of colonization,” he writes astutely, “to assume that we all verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, nearly all of which goes write for the same audience or that we should do so if we want unreported. Even after successfully completing their tasks and our fiction to sell.” going home, the kids are often worse off than before they left, An insightful guide for readers, writers, and instructors as they now have the added stress of their time in treatment. from all walks of life. Himself a victim of such treatment, the author shares his personal story as well as the history and development of these profitable groups. The stories are enlightening and engag- SAVING FREEDOM ing even as they reveal the shady, often abusive tactics used Truman, the Cold War, to snap these troubled children into behaving in a way that and the Fight for

society deems acceptable. This book is a necessary exposé for Western Civilization young adult any parent who has considered sending their child to one of Scarborough, Joe these camps. Rosen also gives voice to the thousands who have Harper/HarperCollins (288 pp.) gone through these programs, and the text should be helpful $29.99 | Nov. 24, 2020 in encouraging them to speak out about their experiences. 978-0-06-295049-9 Highly charged personal stories coalesce into a frank dis- closure about the “forced redirection of wayward teenagers.” The story of the aid program that helped launch the Cold War. MSNBC host and former congress- CRAFT IN THE REAL WORLD man Scarborough reminds readers that 1947 began with Ameri- Rethinking Fiction Writing cans basking in peace after the end of World War II less than and Workshopping 18 months earlier, and the budgets for the armed forces were Salesses, Matthew slashed drastically. This was the scene in February when the Catapult (256 pp.) British Foreign Office delivered two notes described as “shock- $16.95 paper | Jan. 19, 2021 ers” by undersecretary of state Dean Acheson. They summa- 978-1-948226-80-6 rized events in Greece, which was impoverished and reeling under a communist-led civil war, and Turkey, threatened by A fresh view of teaching craft to writ- Soviet expansion. Britain had long provided their support, but, ers of diverse backgrounds. bankrupt after the war, it could do so no longer. Tactfully, Brit- Korean-born novelist and essayist ish leadership suggested that America step in to prevent those Salesses, who teaches Asian American nations from falling to the communists. Acheson showed the literature as well as creative writing, offers a thoughtful anal- notes to Harry Truman, who agreed that the circumstances ysis of the teaching of craft in colleges and writing programs. required action. Scarborough delivers a lively blow-by-blow “Craft,” he observes, “is the history of which kind of stories have account of Truman’s consultations with advisers and meetings typically held power—and for whom—so it also is the history with congressional leaders, including Sen. Arthur Vandenberg of which stories have typically been omitted.” He argues per- (whom the author clearly admires), formerly a hidebound suasively that the widespread practice of silencing the writer Republican isolationist but a convert to internationalism who while workshop members critique a piece of writing normal- won over many of his colleagues. There followed Truman’s izes White, middle-class, Western values. As an MFA student, famous March 12, 1947, address before Congress urging aid to he recalls, “I still remember being banned from speaking while Greece and Turkey; the president proclaimed that America mostly white writers discussed my race.” This pedagogy con- “must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their veys to a writer who does not share the reader’s race, ethnicity, own way.” Isolationist Republicans were opposed, as were lib- class, or gender that their story is not worth telling. Those who eral democrats, who urged that the matter be turned over to are silenced learn “that in order to speak they must speak with the U.N. and pointed out that Greeks were not “free” but ruled an acceptable voice” and that their story “must be framed so by an unpleasant autocrat. In the end, with Vandenberg’s back- that the majority can read via their own lens.” Salesses offers ing, the aid passed, and the Truman Doctrine was born. Defeat- a detailed overview of the main points covered in writing ing Greek communist rebels turned out to require several years,

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 71 during which Truman returned America to world leadership WHERE GREAT POWERS MEET with actions such as the Marshall Plan, the founding of NATO, America and China in and the defense of South Korea from the North’s invasion. Southeast Asia Solid American history and another feather in the cap of Shambaugh, David Truman, whose presidential reputation is rising steadily. Oxford Univ. (352 pp.) $29.95 | Dec. 1, 2020 978-0-19-091497-4 RUN TO WIN Lessons in Leadership for A close look at how Chinese and Women Changing the World American rivalries are playing out in Schriock, Stephanie with Southeast Asia. Reynolds, Christina Shambaugh, director of the China Dutton (368 pp.) Policy Program at George Washington University, writes that $27.00 | Jan. 12, 2021 the nations of Southeast Asia are less pawns than the setting 978-1-5247-4680-3 for the great strategic chess game between China and the only nation with the wherewithal to contain Chinese ambitions, the Tips on running for office from U.S. The U.S. military, particularly its forward-projecting, hard- the president of Emily’s List, a politi- power Navy, is cause for worry in Chinese strategic circles. As cal action committee aiming to elect Shambaugh writes, the Malacca Strait at its narrowest point “pro-choice Democratic women…at every level of government is just 1.5 miles across: “Given their dependence on imported across the country.” energy supplies, all Asian states—particularly those in North- Schriock believes that any woman can become a good politi- east Asia—would be profoundly affected if a blockade or naval cal candidate “if this is the right time, if you have the right moti- conflict shut down this strategic passageway.” It is to America’s vation, and if you’re in the right situation to get the job done advantage that Singapore, even as it has military relations with well.” In her first book, she offers a useful but lackluster crash China, with which it tries to maintain a balanced relationship, course for aspiring officeholders with the help of Reynolds, the clearly favors the U.S: “Both sides gain—and gain a lot,” includ- vice president of communications at Emily’s List, and a fore- ing a guarantee of protection for Singapore and access to that word by Kamala Harris, whom the organization has endorsed. chokehold for American vessels. Cambodia, writes the author, Schriock covers the basics of running a campaign—from decid- is virtually a client state of China’s while neighboring Laos must ing whether to run to regrouping after a defeat—in a narrative balance the struggle between China and Vietnam. Myanmar, that’s part self-help, part paean to Emily’s List, and part memoir Shambaugh writes, quoting a professor of his, “is so non-aligned of her life on political beachheads, which have ranged from her that it doesn’t even attend non-aligned conferences,” but even quest to become a high school student body president [in Butte, so it receives billions of dollars from China, including $1.4 bil- Montana] to her work as the campaign manager for Al Frank- lion in weapons. Indonesia, conversely, is well supported by en’s 2008 Senate race. The author gets off to a rocky start when American investments and arms deals, though, “owing to its she lists seven “ingredients for a successful woman leader”—e.g., sensitivities as an Islamic nation, the Indonesian government “integrity,” “energy,” and “passion”—without noting that any does not like to publicize the relationship.” Though cited as a leader, regardless of gender, should possess those traits. She’s model leader by the Trump administration—whose “America- on firmer ground when she gives practical tips on money (candi- First”–ism is jeopardizing American power in the region over- dates can use campaign funds for related child care expenses) or all—Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte has canceled a military telling “your story” to voters. Unfortunately, the text abounds treaty with the U.S. and, speaking in Beijing, said, “In this venue with corporate bromides (“Knowing how to delegate is the key I announce my separation from the United States—both in to being a successful leader”) and clichés (“If at first you don’t military, but in economics too. America has lost.” succeed, try, try again”) that may dampen would-be candidates’ An eye-opening survey of a volatile, crucially important enthusiasm. Readers already committed to run for office will region and a must-read for students of geopolitics. find some nuggets of wisdom, but others can find livelier, if slightly less comprehensive, advice on campaigning in Adrienne Martini’s Somebody’s Gotta Do It and Christine Pelosi’s Campaign Boot Camp 2.0. A helpful but uninspired primer on how women can run creditable political campaigns.

72 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | A cleareyed study that sounds a serious alarm for the future of Israel—a must for any library’s collection on the conflict. mythologies without end

MYTHOLOGIES COMPROMISED WITHOUT END Counterintelligence and the The US, Israel, and the Threat of Donald J. Trump Arab-Israeli Conflict, Strzok, Peter 1917-2020 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (384 pp.) Slater, Jerome $30.00 | Sep. 8, 2020 Oxford Univ. (480 pp.) 978-0-358-23706-8 $29.95 | Nov. 2, 2020 978-0-19-045908-6 “If the American people had known what we did at the time of the election, Evenhanded summary of Arab-Israeli they would have been appalled.” Former relations since the beginning of the Zion- FBI official Strzok recounts the events ist settlements 100 years ago. of 2016. “For the past fifty years,” writes Slater, a retired political One of many FBI executives fired for bringing his inqui- science professor, “I have been studying, teaching, and writing ries too close to the Oval Office, Strzok delivers the news that about Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict, and have many close Trump was indeed under investigation even as a candidate—and connections in that country.” In this highly valuable contribu- then as president. The reasons are almost self-evident to any- tion to the subject, the author combs secondary sources—he one who remembers that he publicly asked for Russian help in does not read Hebrew but notes that most studies are trans- winning his post, following it up almost immediately after being lated immediately into English—offering a “work of synthesis impeached with requests for help to another foreign power for

and interpretation of the existing literature.” Slater is especially the current electoral cycle. Strzok was in charge of the inves- young adult influenced by the so-called new historians such as Ilan Pappé, tigation into Hillary Clinton’s infamous emails. “The fact is Benny Morris, and Avi Shlaim, and he essentially provides a that if Clinton’s email had been housed on a State Department systematic refutation of Abba Eban’s famously snide 1973 com- system,” writes the author, “it would have been less secure and ment: “The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an oppor- probably much more vulnerable to hacking.” All the same, they tunity.” As Slater points out, along with Israeli aggression in the released a finding calling it “extremely careless,” which- cer region, the U.S. has become a willing and noncritical ally. The tainly cost Clinton votes. The attention devoted to scrutinizing author first debunks the myths that both Israel and the U.S. have Clinton’s email, Strzok suggests, may well have kept the agency long held regarding the founding of Israel—e.g., the “underdog” from spotting signs of Russian interference until it was too late. argument, the religious argument, and “Arab intransigence” The author takes pains to clarify that the Mueller Report by argument, among others. Writing about the nature of Zionism, no means exonerates Trump, though Trump’s attorney general he shows that, “despite the Israeli mythology, the evidence is interpreted it that way; he adds that the FBI could certainly irrefutable that [David] Ben-Gurion and other Zionist leaders have dealt damage to Trump’s campaign, as it did Clinton’s, sim- were not willing to compromise over Palestine and therefore ply by hinting at what it knew about his ties to Russia. Among ‘accepted’ the 1947 UN partition plan only as a temporary tac- Trump’s failings, however, has been his habit of underestimat- tic to gain time until Israel was strong enough to take over all ing the abilities and powers of the intelligence community as of Palestine.” Moving meticulously through the many relevant well as his penchant to ignore good advice—e.g., when his aides conflicts—1948, 1956, 1967, the Cold War, and wars with Leba- urged him not to congratulate Putin on winning his own rigged non, Syria, and Egypt—to the present, the author argues con- election, Trump did so anyway. Strzok corroborates numerous vincingly that Israeli officials have often worked from a policy other accounts of Trump’s malfeasance, and he worries that of deliberate provocation. Slater concludes with the Trump Russian interference will be even more pronounced in the 2020 plan, which makes a two-state solution nearly impossible. race given “Donald Trump’s willingness to further the malign A cleareyed study that sounds a serious alarm for the interests of one of our most formidable adversaries, apparently future of Israel—a must for any library’s collection on the for his own personal gain.” conflict. An important addition to the ever expanding library of Trumpian crimes.

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 73 A LIGHT IN THE DARK husband, their 2-year-old daughter, and newborn son. One eve- A History of Movie Directors ning, she grew alarmed that her infant was in severe distress Thomson, David and rushed to see an emergency care physician. Assured that Knopf (304 pp.) the baby was healthy, she returned home; hours later, her son $27.95 | Mar. 23, 2021 died. In a memoir steeped in raw, often heartbreaking emotion, 978-0-593-31815-7 Tichenor recalls the horrifying event and its aftermath as she tries to draw upon faith and community for understanding and A prolific film critic offers analyses of solace. From the first, she was astonished by people’s remarks noteworthy directors. and maudlin sympathy cards that reiterated “the trite explana- Despite the subtitle, Thomson pres- tion that ‘God needed another angel.’ ” Some parishioners, she ents a series of personal assessments of noticed, “seemed to weirdly want me to take care of them, or a handful of filmmakers. “I have omit- who wanted to make it all seem all right, palatable, survivable, ted so many people,” he admits. Indeed, there are chapters on understandable, done.” She was exhausted, she writes, by the Fritz Lang, Luis Buñuel, Howard Hawks, and Orson Welles but effort “to avoid the next sympathy attack.” Compounding her not Sergei Eisenstein, Francois Truffaut, Akira Kurosawa, and grief over her son’s death was the recent suicide of her mother, many others. Much of this material appears in greater detail in an alcoholic whose drinking, neglect, and erratic behavior had other, better books, including some of Thomson’s own works. A blighted Tichenor’s childhood. Her mother’s alcoholism, she typically florid sentence is the author’s appraisal of Hitchcock: writes, “was my inheritance, this the dark water I’d been swim- “A time may come when he stands for Movies in the way Attila ming in for years.” Trying to survive those dark waters, Tichenor the Hun bestrides the Dark Ages or Cleopatra signifies Ancient took up running, sought therapy, and leaned on the strength of Egypt.” Thomson’s opinions are often based on debatable logic. a few stalwart friends; for a while, she sought the oblivion of He notes with sadness that Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game alcohol. “I was angry at all I had been dealt,” she admits. “And I has fallen behind Vertigo in greatest-films surveys, but even read- felt so very alone. Drinking didn’t make that go away. But with ers who agree that Vertigo is the lesser film might be baffled by a drink in my hand, I didn’t have to feel as much.” Now, deter- the author’s claim that its triumph over Renoir’s indictment of minedly sober and a church rector, Tichenor acknowledges the maladjusted sophisticates represents “opting for neurosis over persistence of grief over a death that “gutted me, sank me, its reason.” Curiously for such an acclaimed film critic, Thomson images flashing before my eyes, as I continuously relived it.” gets facts wrong. For example, he claims The Piano wasn’t nomi- A powerful, forthright chronicle of surviving profound nated for Best Picture the year Driving Miss Daisy won. The loss. Piano came out four years after Daisy, and it was nominated but lost to Schindler’s List. While the author makes some progres- sive statements—e.g., that the film industry needs more respect QUEENS OF THE CRUSADES for women—he undercuts them with tin-eared comments, England’s Medieval Queens such as when noting the camera’s infatuation with Catherine Weir, Alison Deneuve in Belle de Jour: “I have a similar wish to dwell on the Ballantine (560 pp.) smoothness of Deneuve’s skin.” Only one chapter focuses on $30.00 | Feb. 23, 2021 women directors. But at least the book has some memorable 978-1-101-96669-3 lines: “There are instants in Pierrot le Fou where its grasp of love and love’s death are like hummingbirds on your veranda, while The latest massively detailed British Doctor Zhivago is a pantechnicon struggling up a distant hill royal history/biography from the prolific with a grand piano to be carried up the stairs.” historian and novelist. A well-meaning but flawed book about legendary filmmakers. In this hefty follow-up to Queens of the Conquest (2017), Weir focuses on the period from 1154 to 1291, offering a meticulous tapestry that will THE NIGHT LAKE appeal most to students of that and other medieval eras. The A Young Priest Maps the author begins with the greatest queen of the period, Eleanor of Topography of Grief Aquitaine, the wife of Henry II, a natural ruler and mother of Tichenor, Liz strong future kings who lived into her early 80s, an astounding Counterpoint (336 pp.) feat for the time. During her first Crusade, she was a teenager $26.00 | Jan. 5, 2021 married to young King Louis of France. However, according to 978-1-64009-406-2 Eleanor, she had married a monk, not a king,” and the marriage was annulled. A more vigorous political match was made with A wrenching tragedy haunts a moth- Henry FitzEmpress, who founded the Angevin royal dynasty. By er’s life. most accounts, she was his equal and proved to be a major force In her first position as a recently in bolstering her sons’ rebellion against their father. Berengaria ordained priest, Tichenor was living of Navarre, wife of Richard I, and Isabella of Angouleme, wife of in an Episcopal camp on the shores of Lake Tahoe with her John, were both kind of ciphers, without much political power

74 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | A model portrait of person and place, a kind of cultural and literary geography that never fails to fascinate. the sea view has me again

of their own—except later in life as widows, and, in Isabella’s Ukraine and the shameful World War II imprisonment of Japa- case, in a second marriage to Hugh X. Alienor of Provence had nese Americans (and confiscation of their property) make for a successful marriage to Henry III that lasted nearly 37 years painful reading but important historical reminders. The author while Eleanor of Castile, queen of Edward I, also a devoted and also discusses climate change and the land that continues to dis- long-suffering wife, has a reputation as the ideal medieval lady. appear as rising temperatures melt the ice caps. As the author shows, all of these women had to constantly wres- Engaging revelations about land and property, often dis- tle to gain their rightful dowry and properties from rapacious couraging but never dull. spouses. Weir effectively interweaves her minutely chronologi- cal account into the context of religious wars and cultural cur- rents, such as the courtly Arthurian legends and troubadours. THE SEA VIEW HAS As in previous books, the exceedingly knowledgeable author’s ME AGAIN prodigious research is impressive, but the narrative isn’t consis- Uwe Johnson in Sheerness tently entertaining. Wright, Patrick Another treat for Weir fans but not for readers lacking Repeater Books (740 pp.) serious interest in the period. $29.95 | Dec. 8, 2020 978-1-912248-60-5

LAND Engrossing account of the exiled How the Hunger for East German writer Uwe Johnson (1934- Ownership Shaped the 1984), who found an obscure shelter in a

Modern World gray English backwater. young adult Winchester, Simon Wright, an accomplished interpreter of all things English, Harper/HarperCollins (416 pp.) finds a site of frozen time in a bypassed place only 40-odd $29.99 | Jan. 19, 2021 miles downriver from London, scorned by Top Gear host Jeremy 978-0-06-293833-6 Clarkson for its “thousands and thousands of mobile homes, all of which I suspect belong to former London cabbies.” The Isle The latest sweeping, satisfying popu- of Sheppey is indeed rather plain, emerging from the North lar history from the British American Sea, Wright quips, “in a marshy and noncommittal kind of way.” author and journalist, this time covering Like so many edgelands, there was once a lot going on there, a topic that many of us take for granted. attested to by memories of a vast naval dockyard where a lucky Having bought 123 acres north of New York City, Win- survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade once worked; a half- chester muses on what land ownership means. At the most sunken ship full of World War II ammunition that threatened basic level, it means that “you have the right to call the police to blow the town of Sheerness off the map; a hillside packed to throw anyone else off what the title documents say belongs with the graves of Danes murdered at the behest of Aethelred to you.” Bronze Age farmers began the process of defining the Unready “as an early ancestor of encroachment-hating Brex- boundaries, but human ingenuity, technology, and avarice pro- iteers”; and a rural schoolhouse once inhabited by a reformer duced increasingly accurate markers, surveys, and maps that who immigrated to Canada and became a feminist icon “who delineated national borders, a matter of obsessive concern to carried ancestral memories of Kentish radicalism with her governments around the world. Winchester delivers a riveting as she campaigned for and among women farmers.” Into this history of mapmaking, which culminated over the past few milieu came Johnson, a curmudgeonly novelist who retained centuries as heroic surveyors trudged with their instruments a Marxist vision even after fleeing East Germany—and who thousands of miles to produce charts that were both beautiful drank himself to death in Sheerness before the age of 50, “a man and dazzlingly precise. (For a particularly illuminating example, who wanted, by the end of his short life, to disappear into let- see Winchester’s The Map That Changed the World.) For most of ters.” Johnson, whose magnum opus Anniversaries took decades history, human yearning for land outstripped that for money, to appear in English translation, found on Sheppey a rejoinder and the author offers familiar, disheartening accounts of mass to his native Baltic coast, replete with Cold War vestiges (he acquisitions and theft: Native America (and Australia, Canada, descended into paranoia, convinced that his estranged wife was and New Zealand) to Whites, Arab Palestine to Jewish immi- a spy). His grim determination to finish his late modernist mas- grants, Africa to European powers. Readers looking for inspira- terpiece, despite his mental illness and alcoholism, befits the tion will perk up to read about the Netherlands, which acquired raw, forgotten places in which he lived. its land from the sea and didn’t evict anyone. Although less well A model portrait of person and place, a kind of cultural known than tech billionaires, America’s land billionaires are and literary geography that never fails to fascinate. prospering, increasing their holdings by 50% since 2007. In fact, the top 100 own land equal to the size of Florida. With some exceptions, they are strangers to public spirit and sometimes fiercely opposed to anyone setting foot on even their wilderness property. The chapters on the Stalin-ordered mass famine in

| kirkus.com | nonfiction | 1 november 2020 | 75 WHEN BRAINS DREAM began emerging, which coincided with his decision to come Exploring the Science and out to his UCLA fraternity brothers. While working for a Mystery of Sleep local newspaper during college, life became complicated by a Zadra, Antonio & Stickgold, Robert “sketchy and terrifying” virus that was making its way through Norton (304 pp.) the gay community. Soon, he writes, around 1983, “people sim- $27.95 | Jan. 12, 2021 ply just disappeared.” Young and vulnerable, Zyda was petri- 978-1-324-00283-3 fied of the infectious “gay cancer” looming over his newfound community. But when he met Yale Law graduate Stephen at a Two sleep and dream researchers illu- West Hollywood gym, their whirlwind romance blossomed minate their specialty. briskly despite a 12-year age difference and Stephen’s conser- Zadra and Stickgold hit the ground vative political leanings. Woven throughout the narrative are running by insisting that Freud did not generous details about the author’s family history and a youth have the last word on dreams—or even the first. Earlier 19th- spent gravitating toward a beloved, now-deceased lesbian sister century scientists produced theories that Freud adopted or who acted as a second mother. Zyda effectively sets his personal ignored, but his immense influence, especially the belief that he story against the backdrop of 1980s-era homophobic discrimi- had discovered the source and meaning of dreams, discouraged nation, experimental AIDS therapies, and precarious social, research until decades after his death. Matters have improved political, and clinical climates across LGBTQ+ communities. since then, as psychological studies as well as neuroscience, He conjures an authentic vibe for a pivotal era during which he aided by high-tech brain scanners, reveal a great deal about established himself as both an out gay man and a brave, compas- brain function. All animals sleep, but until perhaps 50 years sionate partner, particularly when Stephen’s health waned with ago, experts had no explanation except that it relieved sleepi- a harrowing barrage of AIDS-related infections at age 35. Along ness, and the popular explanation—to tidy up and rejuvenate with crushing statistical data, the author paints these personal the body—never acquired traction. The authors emphasize its scenes with palpable devastation, recalling the heartbreaking essential role in learning and memory. In studies where subjects reality of his bedside vigil with Stephen and the alarming hor- memorized a topic, a night’s sleep improved their ability to ror that he may have contracted the virus himself. Zyda’s deft recall—but didn’t improve accuracy, as they also recalled errors navigation of the “AIDS Vortex of Insanity” makes the text an better. Turning to their favorite subject, the authors agree emotionally charged account well-suited for readers who may with the “widely held view that dreams reflect the dreamer’s have survived that fraught period themselves. It’s also a mov- current thoughts and concerns as well as recent salient experi- ing, informative, and ultimately uplifting narrative for younger ences,” but they doubt that dreams carry important messages LGBTQ+ readers yearning to understand the magnitude of the and require interpretation. They explain dreaming as a form AIDS epidemic. of “sleep-dependent memory processing” that “extracts new Searing and empowering reflections from a dark, defin- knowledge” from recent experiences but rarely offers “con- ing era in LGBTQ+ history. crete solutions” to problems. Most readers will understand the authors’ theories, but they will especially relish the final chapters, which explore nightmares, lucid dreaming, narcolepsy, creativity via dreams, and even how to link a dream to waking- life events. Readers convinced that dreams reveal deep insights and those who dismiss them as meaningless will both enjoy a painless education on dreams and memory. Few will object to the authors’ preferred theory because, as good scientists, they present their evidence without claiming that it’s overwhelming. An excellent update on the science behind dreams.

THE STORM One Voice From the AIDS Generation Zyda, Christopher Rare Bird Books (320 pp.) $26.00 | Nov. 10, 2020 978-1-64428-168-0

A gay man chronicles his experiences with the devastating AIDS epidemic. Los Angeles native Zyda was in his 20s when hints of the impending crisis

76 | 1 november 2020 | nonfiction | kirkus.com | children’s These titles earned the Kirkus Star: LOLA’S SUPER CLUB Beigel, Christine Illus. by Foiullet, Pierre THIS IS YOUR TIME by Ruby Bridges...... 79 Papercutz (112 pp.) $14.99 | $9.99 paper | Dec. 8, 2020 ICE! by Douglas Florian...... 82 978-1-5458-0563-3 978-1-5458-0564-0 paper EYES THAT KISS IN THE CORNERS by Joanna Ho; Series: Lola’s Super Club, 1 illus. by Dung Ho...... 87 TIME FOR KENNY When her parents aren’t looking, by Brian Pinkney...... 94 a girl and her toys go on secret-agent adventures in this duo of French graphic SEEKING AN AURORA by Elizabeth Pulford;

stories bound together for publication in the U.S. young adult illus. by Anne Bannock...... 95 Lola is convinced her perfectly ordinary stay-at-home dad, TRY IT! by Mara Rockliff; illus. by Giselle Potter...... 96 Robert Darkhair, is secret agent James Blond. Whether he is or not is almost irrelevant; what’s important is that mustachioed ROOT MAGIC by Eden Royce...... 96 archvillain Max Imum believes it, too. Thus Lola dons a cape and mask (the former cut from her bedroom curtains) and hares off on a series of joyfully chaotic adventures to thwart the villain and rescue whichever parent has most recently been kidnapped. In both of the short tales collected here (“My Dad Is a Super Secret Agent” and “My Mom Is Lost in Time”), Lola is assisted by her cat and a collection of toys and drawings, most of which become person-sized and animate whenever her parents aren’t looking. The excitement proceeds at breakneck pace, as Lola and her friends are propelled from frying pan to fire and back to frying pan every few pages. The adventures, translated from the French, don’t make the trans-Atlantic hop altogether smoothly. One sequence is an extended homage to the Asterix comics that relies on familiarity with same. Nonstop silliness and lively use of the form will propel most readers through jokes lost in translation. Harder to overlook are the hackneyed representations of race, especially when mute “Mayans, Incas, or Aztecs” serve Max Imum, who threatens human sacrifice to Quetzalcoatl. Main human characters all seem to be White. There’s pleasurably messy, madcap humor, but the casually dismissive cultural representations are très désagréables. (Graphic fantasy/adventure. 7-10)

EYES THAT KISS IN THE CORNERS Ho, Joanna Illus. by Ho, Dung Harper/HarperCollins (40 pp.) $17.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 978-0-06-291562-7

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 77 “just being a kid” is harder than it sounds

Leah Overstreet In her Oct. 15 column, my col- just how normative the experience league Laura Simeon decried an atti- of “just being a kid” is. tude often expressed in discussions And I believe that if children about books for young readers: that experience it, then it’s important kid characters should be allowed to record those experiences in chil- “just to be kids.” She wrote, “When dren’s books. Many of my favorite people complain about ‘too many is- books of recent years take on hard sues [in a book],’ it’s often a coded topics. way of referring to the life experi- In Lexie Bean’s The Ship We Built ences of people from marginalized (Dial, May 26), Rowan, a White groups [that cause readers to be] trans boy, dreads school vacations, suddenly jolted out of the comfortable misapprehension when he is trapped at home with that their own lives and concerns are universal.” his sexually abusive father. In Daniel Nayeri’s autobio- Without disagreeing with Laura one whit, I’d like to graphical Everything Sad Is Untrue (Levine Querido, Aug. further explore the notion of sheltering child readers 25) the Iranian American author’s child alter ego, Khosrou, from discomfort. When I was a public librarian, I fre- spends years in a refugee camp before arriving in Oklaho- quently worked with parents who objected to sharing ma, where his mother’s second husband regularly beats her. books on tough topics with their children. “They can The Black heroine of Alicia D. Wil- learn about [substance abuse, sexual violence, etc.] later— liams’ Genesis Begins Again (Caitlyn right now I want them to read books about kids just being Dlouhy/Atheneum, 2019) lives with kids.” I frequently found myself grinding my teeth, but I an alcoholic father whose gambling understood: The experiences of habit finds the family evicted again the child characters in the books and again. In his memoir, Free Lunch they objected to were experiences (Norton Young Readers, 2019), Rex children should not be forced to Ogle records growing up poor, a endure; therefore, they didn’t want condition that fueled violence from their children reading about them. both his Mexican mom and his rac- And yet children do suffer the ist White stepdad. cruelest of circumstances, condi- These characters could well be tions and calamities no adult would in that hypothetical classroom, and wish visited upon a child. Children kids like them are in real classrooms all over the United are separated from their parents States. I’m sure many of the parents I used to work with at the southern border and held in would hand these books back to cages. Children live with abusive me with a shake of the head and a caregivers. Children endure poverty, hunger, homeless- “Not yet.” But books on tough top- ness, war. ics may help readers who have gone The landmark CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse through or are enduring similar Childhood Experiences Study found that as children, one- trauma process their feelings and fifth of study participants experienced sexual abuse, over understand that they are not alone. one-fourth lived with a person who abused drugs or alco- And, critically, they may help that hol, and almost one-tenth knew some form of physical ne- minority of the children unaffected glect. Extrapolating from this suggests that in an average by adverse childhood experiences classroom of 20 children, four have been or are being sex- to better understand their friends. ually abused, five live with a family member who abuses drugs or alcohol, and two are uncertain of their physical Vicky Smith is a young readers’ editor. safety. Only a bit over one-third of those studied reported none of the adverse childhood experiences surveyed for, so extrapolating again, just seven of the students in this hypothetical class are unaffected. This calls into question

78 | 1 november 2020 | children’s | kirkus.com | Photographs present a striking reality concerning our collective past and the repetition of history. this is your time

THIS IS YOUR TIME know one another, but they gamely work together on the clues, Bridges, Ruby each of which is depicted as if a facsimile in Budgen’s illustra- Delacorte (64 pp.) tions. (Each has one component a reader might be able to solve $15.99 | $18.99 PLB | Nov. 10, 2020 and another only the characters can decipher.) The trio’s friend- 978-0-593-37852-6 ship builds slowly, but they solve well together, and they’re 978-0-593-37853-3 PLB friendly kids. Marly, who wears an eye patch for her amblyo- pia, is startled to learn that Isla wore one herself when she was International speaker Bridges applies younger. Both girls are White; Sai is of Indian descent. Both a lessons of history to the task before us. fun, readable introduction to the process of cracking anagrams The text of the book reads like a and pigpen ciphers and a friendship-oriented chapter book. letter, addressed to “you,” the children Maybe the real treasure is the friends they make along of today. Each spread has one page of the way. (Fiction. 7-9) (The Hidden Room: 978-0-593-09486-0, 978- simply phrased text—a short paragraph in a large font against 0-593-09485-3 paper) a white background—facing a page of one or two black-and- white photographs. The first 20 pages vividly recount Bridges’ experience as a first grader integrating an all-White school in MY FIRST KITTEN New Orleans: the angry crowds lining her path, the federal mar- Capucilli, Alyssa Satin shals ordered to protect her, the difficult choice her parents Photos by Wachter, Jill faced, her kind teacher from Boston who spent the days alone Simon Spotlight (32 pp.) with her in a classroom emptied of White children whose fami- $17.99 | $4.99 paper | Dec. 8, 2020

lies protested integration. The words then transition to appre- 978-1-5344-7754-4 young adult ciation of the many children Bridges has spoken with during 978-1-5344-7753-7 paper school visits. She shares individual encounters with hopeful and Series: My First brave children who inspired her as well as general reflections on racism and generational dynamics. Finally, the text turns to the Kitten care presented early-reader present day—the need for “love and grace for one another that style. will heal this world.” Pictures of 2020 protests, sometimes shar- “Something soft and furry / Is coming the page with pictures from historical protests, show young ing home with me. // It is my new kitten. / She is as sweet as people demanding change. The simple layout is powerful: The can be!” First-person, easy-reading text describes meeting the photographs present a striking reality concerning our collective kitten, feeding the kitten, playing with the kitten, then taking past and the repetition of history. Bridges’ hopeful words, her it to the vet and keeping it safe. The first half of this volume faith born of experience, are soothing and encouraging in this is presented in rhyme with Wachter’s photos of real children time of unrest and uncertainty. of various races and their kittens (always the same kitten-and- Essential reading for all ages. (Nonfiction. 6-adult) child pairings) imposed on simple cartoon backgrounds. On other pages, photos of kittens (all cute as the dickens) leaping, scratching, running, and sleeping appear against similar back- THE TREASURE TROOP grounds. The second half reiterates the same information but Butler, Dori Hillestad in more detail. It passes on instructions in simple language for Illus. by Budgen, Tim tasks like introducing a kitten to its litter box and interpreting Penguin Workshop (128 pp.) the sounds and body language of your new furry friend. Jumping $16.99 | $6.99 paper | Jan. 19, 2021 the species barrier, Biscuit creator Capucilli does a fine job of 978-0-593-09483-9 instructing young, new pet owners in the care of their wee feline 978-0-593-09482-2 paper friends in this companion to My First Puppy (2019). This helpful Series: Mr. Summerling’s Secret Code, 1 guidebook ends with a message encouraging aspiring young pet friends to adopt from shelters. (This book was reviewed digitally An 8-year-old’s summer gets puzzling with 9-by-12-inch double-page spreads viewed at 85.7% of actual size.) when she’s named in her neighbor’s will. Good advice and good reading practice rolled into one. Marly, whose best friend recently (Early reader. 5-7) moved out of town, didn’t even know nice Mr. Summerling had even died, and she certainly doesn’t expect to be called for the reading of his will. She had liked the old man, who wandered around town with a metal detector collecting junk, but “he was next-door-neighbor nice, not give-you-something-when-I-die nice.” At the will reading, Marly meets her classmates Isla and Sai—and the three of them receive the strangest bequest. Mr. Summerling has left the three of them a treasure, which they can have if they solve a series of puzzles. The three kids barely

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 79 Chadda brings attention to the less-well-recognized mythology of ancient Mesopotamia with engaging humor and wit. city of the plague god

CITY OF THE PLAGUE GOD and Fitzpatrick’s narrative, with tidy stylization and an alluring Chadda, Sarwat full-color palette. Karen, however, may be a polarizing charac- Rick Riordan Presents/Disney (400 pp.) ter: She can be bratty at times and infuriatingly slow at others. $16.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 At one point, her friends must practically spoon-feed her the 978-1-368-05150-7 concept that they are gods and goddesses—that their names are taken directly from the pantheon and that they live on Mount Thirteen-year-old Iraqi American Olympus don’t seem to clue her in. Despite the high-interest Sikander Aziz must stop the ancient format, this doesn’t bring enough novelty to set it apart from Mesopotamian plague god Nergal from Percy Jackson. Nearly all the characters present White with raining destruction and pestilence on the exceptions of Dita, who has a slightly darker skin tone, and New York City. assorted unnamed background characters. After the death of his older brother, Intriguing but disappointingly derivative; here’s hoping Mo, who died during a trip to Iraq, Sik has been working in future volumes find a groove. (mythology notes, bibliogra- his refugee parents’ New York deli nonstop, trying to stymie phy) (Graphic fantasy. 9-12) his grief. But when Nergal and his minions trash the deli while seeking a stolen treasure, they start a plague that infects Sik’s parents and threatens all of New York. Teaming up with the OONA goddess Ishtar; her sword-wielding adoptive daughter, Belet; DiPucchio, Kelly and Mo’s frequently typecast aspiring actor best friend, Daoud, Illus. by Figueroa, Raissa they must find a way to stop Nergal and cure New York’s resi- Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins (32 pp.) dents in an epic adventure worthy of Gilgamesh. Chadda brings $17.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 attention to the less-well-recognized mythology of ancient 978-0-06-298224-7 Mesopotamia with engaging humor and wit. Dialogue between characters, most of whom are Iraqi and Iraqi American, allows A young Black mermaid goes after a exploration of heavier topics of Islamophobia, anti-Arabism, treasure but learns an important lesson along the way. and terrorist and Orientalist tropes to be inserted with ease. Oona is “sweet,” a little “salty,” and “brave and curious, like The Aziz family and Daoud are Muslims; Chadda navigates the most treasure hunters.” Since she was a baby, she has gotten into difficult line of reconciling the depiction of characters interact- adventures chasing treasure. But now she has Otto, her rescue ing with multiple gods with the fundamental Muslim belief in otter pup, to come along for the ride. The one special treasure one God both in the text and the backmatter. Daoud and Mo Oona can’t figure out how to obtain is a crown wedged tightly are alluded to being gay and having been in love. into a rift. She tries three times to get the crown unstuck—the Well paced and witty. (author’s note, glossary) (Fantasy. artistic but vague language and pictures make it difficult to see 10-14) exactly how—but when she is struck on the head by a ship’s plank, she gives up on the crown and on treasure hunting altogether. Oona pursues other interests. She naps. She draws in the OH MY GODS! sand. She hangs out with her “land friends”—two White chil- Cooke, Stephanie & Fitzpatrick, Insha dren. But Oona is “missing her spark.” Then a seashell washes Illus. by Moon, Juliana ashore, and she gets a new idea. Some ingenuity and invention Etch/HMH (200 pp.) and encouragement from friends become the keys to her suc- $24.99 | $12.99 paper | Jan. 5, 2021 cess. Oona is an adorable protagonist, with her dark skin, enor- 978-0-358-29951-6 mous Afro, and striped, orange tail. With her ups and downs 978-0-358-29952-3 paper and her fundamental ebullience, she will easily win fans. While Series: OMGs the details of her obstacles and problem-solving methods are not quite clear, the messages of persistence and of valuing In this graphic-novel series opener, a the work of one’s own creation are strong and effective. (This girl discovers her father is a Greek god— book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads sound familiar? viewed at 52% of actual size.) When her mother gets the opportunity of a lifetime, Karen A small heroine young readers will be happy to meet. (Pic must stay with her estranged father, Zed, who lives on Mount ture book. 4-8) Olympus. Upon her arrival, she learns that her father is obviously both affluent and influential, living in a palatial home and serving as both the mayor of the town and dean of her school. At Mt. Olympus Junior High, Karen quickly befriends Dita, Athena, and siblings Apollo and Artemis. When a classmate is turned to stone in the school library and Karen falls under suspicion, she and her new friends must find the cul- prit. Visually, Moon’s bright and expressive art propels Cooke

80 | 1 november 2020 | children’s | kirkus.com | TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL LOVES LIBRARIES! 42 Texas libraries received $100,000 in grant support from TBF this year.

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| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 81 ICE! father’s woodstove and, bicycle helmet secured in place, teach- Poems About ing herself to drive a car. Not everything works. At one point Polar Life she encounters but evades a vicious group of looters. Later she Florian, Douglas survives both a tornado and a wildfire that sweeps through her Illus. by the author neighborhood. But it’s loneliness that becomes her greatest Holiday House (48 pp.) enemy and books from the local library that ultimately sustain $17.99 | Dec. 1, 2020 her. Madeleine relates her own riveting, immersive story in 978-0-8234-4101-3 believable detail, her increasingly sophisticated thoughts, as years pass, sweeping down spare pages in thin lines of verse in Meet the animals and landscapes of the Arctic and this Hatchet for a new age. Characters default to White. Antarctica. Suspenseful, fast-paced, and brief enough to engage even Poems in a lilting meter provide insight about the Arctic or reluctant readers. (Verse novel. 11-14) Antarctica or one of each region’s unique animals, with a bit of interesting information included. There are lots of surprises in the inventive wordplay along with twisted syntax that gets the WAKEY BIRDS point across while invoking giggles from young readers. The Frost, Maddie leadoff verse introduces both regions as remote and farthest Illus. by the author from the equator, calling their frosty climates “an Earth refrig- Templar/Candlewick (40 pp.) erator.” Krill is the food choice of many polar sea animals, eaten $16.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 by “Millions! Billions! Trillions! Krillions!” The narwhal with its 978-1-5362-1546-5 front-end spear is “very hard to ignar!” The silent P in ptarmigan is carried throughout the poem as “it ptoddles on the ptundra.” The Wakey Bird is one of many Notes containing fascinating facts about habitats, food sources, unusual creatures in a rather amazing predators, and more enhance the poems and just might lead to jungle. further investigation by readers. Some serious issues regarding As the name implies, these birds have difficulty falling climate change and other endangering problems are addressed asleep. They can’t get comfortable, they itch, their minds race as well. Full-page illustrations, rendered in colored pencil and with scattered thoughts, and every noise startles them. Fortu- pastel, accompany the verses and capture the essence of each nately there are creatures in this jungle whose main purpose creature with great imagination and childlike innocence. Color is to help Wakey Birds sleep. The bee-like Soothing Shushers abounds, not only in the illustrations, but also with bright blocks and the froglike Go-To-Sleep Leapers succeed with most of of orange, purple, blue, yellow and more that background the the Wakey Birds, but the littlest one poses a greater problem. poems. Florian is a master of light verse with a purpose, and he Bored and lonely, she wakes the others, and they have so much matches it with art that charms. noisy fun that they awaken Shrieking Monkey, whose deafening Thoughtful, fun, and delightful. (bibliography) (Picture screams add to the cacophony and disturb the Dreaded Jungle book/poetry. 6-9) Beast. Maybe Littlest Wakey Bird will become his snack! How the clever Beast solves the problem is fun for all little ones who love a good bedtime story. Frost tells the tale with joy and ALONE verve along with some grunts, sighs, peeps, yawns, and just the Freeman, Megan E. right amount of that uh-oh feeling when Wakey Bird cannot be Aladdin (416 pp.) quiet. The very colorful Wakey Birds are all big, expressive eyes, $17.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 slightly reminiscent of Mo Willems’ pigeon and duckling. The 978-1-5344-6756-9 night sky is royal blue, purple, and black, but there is never a lack of brightness or clarity, with stars and a full moon to light Freeman’s middle-grade debut starts the action. A few well-placed backgrounds in shocking pink and with a wallop and carries on from there. bright yellow highlight the noisiest events, with onomatopoeic Twelve-year-old Madeleine Albright sounds filling many pages in block capitals. Little readers and Harrison is inadvertently left behind their grown-ups might find a few cautionary hints regarding when her whole region is abruptly evacu- reluctant bedtimes. ated in the night. Although there had Sweetly goofy. (Picture book. 2-7) been hints of unrest, she has no real idea why everyone left or when—perhaps if—they’ll ever come back. At first, there’s still electricity and running water, but as days turn into weeks and then months, utilities fail, and Madeleine comes to realize that she’s truly on her own. A Colorado winter will be coming soon enough. After rescuing a neighbor’s dog, her only companion, she becomes increasingly sophisticated in her survival efforts, collecting food and water, learning how to light a fire in her

82 | 1 november 2020 | children’s | kirkus.com | Gravel’s signature drawings and oversized, colorful text stand out against generous negative space. puppy in my head

PUPPY IN MY HEAD a stressed and anxious mind. The puppy analogy devolves at A Book About Mindfulness times to cutesy: “I love Ollie. He’s such a good puppy. He is Gravel, Elise my best friend.” Nevertheless, coping mechanisms are effec- Illus. by the author tively introduced. The author demonstrates how the mind can Harper/HarperCollins (32 pp.) be calmed by using breathing practices—the child calls their $17.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 breath a “magical leash”—physical exercise, and focus. Grav- 978-0-06-303767-0 el’s signature black-outlined, comics-style drawings and oversized, colorful text stand out against generous negative space. Ollie is only a puppy, and his bare- The golden, long-eared puppy’s expressive features (bugged footed child is having trouble soothing and training him. eyes and lolling red tongue) and cavorting, stubby-legged body Ollie can get overly excited or very anxious—which successfully convey kinetic energy overload. The subtitle’s a wouldn’t be such a problem if he wasn’t constantly barking bit of a misnomer, as anxiety relief rather than mindfulness is inside his person’s head! He yaps for no reason and wants to the focus, but the advice is sound, buttressed by a brief after- run and jump when he should be calm and quiet. What hap- word from a pediatrician. (This book was reviewed digitally with pens when the puppy controls the child and not the other 10-by-17.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.) way around? “AWOOO!” The narrator, who has brown skin Every child can benefit from these important strategies. and dark brown hair, mirrors the frantic antics of the puppy (Informational picture book. 4-8) until the application of mindfulness techniques helps mel- low out the two friends. Gravel uses the analogy of an exu- berant puppy to help young children get the upper hand on young adult

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 83 COVER STORY James Patterson & Kwame Alexander

TWO BESTSELLING AUTHORS FOUND COMMON GROUND COLLABORATING ON A YOUNG READERS’ BOOK ABOUT THE CHILDHOOD OF MUHAMMAD ALI By Tom Beer Lois Cahall Why a children’s book about Muhammad Ali? James Patterson: Originally, the [Ali] estate approached me because they were familiar with the Max Einstein books that I’ve done with Chris Grabenstein, and they said, Would you be interested in writing about young Cassius Clay in Louis- ville? I started reading about his life, and I was impressed by how smart he was as a kid. He was so focused. He would never drink soda because he thought sugar wouldn’t be good for you, he wore heavy boots to build up his legs, he used to race the school bus, all these things to focus. I’m going to be great, I’m going to do something terrific. Kwame Alexander: I got a call from someone at the JIM- MY Patterson imprint—“Jim would love to talk to you about working on a project.” And when Jim told me that he wanted to do something about Ali’s childhood, it just made per- Kwame Alexander & James Patterson fect sense. Jim’s approach was, “I want to tell the story about him as a kid, because I want kids to relate to the fact that When the estate of Muhammad Ali approached James Pat- he wasn’t that good in school.” Ali was quite smart, but they terson about writing a children’s book on the boxing leg- didn’t diagnose dyslexia back then. Jim wanted to talk about end, there was one writer he knew he wanted to work with: the challenges that [Cassius] faced as a kid, how he was resil- Kwame Alexander, Newbery Medal–winning author of The ient, how he became Ali. Crossover and many other titles for young readers. Patter- son, of course, is a mega-bestselling author, publisher, and There are prose sections narrated by Cassius’ friend philanthropist—he recently donated $2.5 million to school- and poems in Cassius’ own voice. What were the me- teachers—known for his wide-ranging collaborations with chanics of collaborating on a book like this? Bill Clinton, Maxine Paetro, David Ellis, and others. But Al- JP: Well, the first thing we did is work on an outline together. exander, whom he met at the Palm Beach Book Festival in And we did a few drafts of that. We’re both big on outlines. 2018, was the right one for this job. “I knew that Kwame had Eventually, Kwame would write the poetry, and then I would been tremendously affected by Muhammad Ali’s autobiog- write the prose after that—you need to see the poetry first. raphy,” says Patterson, referring to The Greatest, published KA: Jim is a master plotter, and his outline was arguably in 1975. The result of their partnership is Becoming Muham- about the size of one-fifth of the book. His outlines are pret- mad Ali (JIMMY Patterson/HMH Books, Oct. 5), a lightly ty thorough, so we’re going to have this map of where we’re fictionalized account of young Cassius Clay’s childhood in going. And that’s really exciting for me. Louisville, Kentucky, with illustrations by Dawud Anyab- JP: But we also mess with the outline a lot, which is really wile. Patterson, in Palm Beach, and Alexander, in London, good. joined me on Zoom to discuss the book; our conversation KA: Once we had the outline done, you know, the 30 or so has been edited for length and clarity. pages of it, we just took off. For me, the exciting thing was

84 | 1 november 2020 | children’s | kirkus.com | how to imagine some of the things we just didn’t know from And the mere fact that we did this book together is a testa- our research—how to imagine those in an authentic way. ment to that. You know, I had friends who were like, You’re JP: Kwame did a lot of listening to tapes, a lot of memories working with James Patterson? The implication was that that people have. it’s odd. It’s an odd thing that the two of you all would have KA: I want to say it was somewhere between 10 and 15 hours something in common. And I posit that we have more in of oral history tapes that have not been released yet by the common than we are different. Muhammad Ali Center. Lonnie, Ali’s wife, made it possible JP: When we’ve gotten together in front of schools, we don’t for us to have access to those. And those were essentially think about it, we don’t talk about it. The kids just go, That oral history tapes of Ali’s friends growing up. That was in- was fun, that was interesting. And that’s the way it should be. valuable. KA: The reality is that, in America, in this world, in my estimation, White privilege is a real thing. And people of col- I love the portrait of Louisville’s West End in the 1950s, or in general, Black people in particular, we need allies. We the neighborhood and the characters in it, the little need people who believe in the full humanity of all of us. And details like the woman who puts her television in the so the more this kind of thing happens, the more it presents window so people can watch the prizefights that are itself as a model for how the world should be. broadcast. How did you get a feel for the place and the time? Becoming Muhammad Ali received a starred review in the Aug. JP: Somebody visited. 15, 2020, issue. KA: I tried to get you to come with me! Maybe next time. JP: Actually, my best friend is from Louisville, so he had some insights, which was helpful. But Kwame, he was there hanging around. KA: I spent a long weekend and stayed in the Muhammad Ali Suite at the Brown Hotel. It has all his memorabilia in it. On Saturday morning, I went to the pink house on Grand young adult Avenue, where his family moved in a year or so after he was born. I’m walking around back, looking in the glass in the back door, and see this framed poem that Ali wrote after the Olympics—it just is so inspirational. I look at the backyard, I see that back alley where the kids rode their bikes. I come back around, I see an older Black man and a Black woman sitting on their porch [next door]. I go up and I sort of wave through the gate, and he comes over. I tell him my name and about the book. OK, he doesn’t know who I am, but then I mentioned James Patterson, and he let me in [laughs]. It’s Mr. Montgomery; Cassius used to babysit their kid. So he ends up talking to me for like an hour.

You open doors, James. JP: [Laughing.] Yeah.

The book comes at a really interesting moment in our American conversation about race. JP: What’s going on this summer—we’ve seen things like this before. And we’ve always hoped that, OK, now we’re going to move things forward. One of the things that needs to happen is what happened with this book on a very small level, which is a Black man and White man get together, hope that they can write a beautiful book about a beautiful human being. That’s at least a piece of it: We need to get together and move things forward. KA: I think it’s a big piece. We’re writing about a man who believed in and fought for equity, social justice, racial justice.

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 85 MR. CORBETT IS IN ORBIT! new one soon shows up in the form of a Black boy Val’s age. Wal- Gutman, Dan lace has just moved in next door, and he loves the space-themed Illus. by Paillot, Jim TV show Comet Jumpers. Instead of exciting Val, though, that HarperAlley (96 pp.) makes her roll her eyes. When she watched Comet Jumpers, she $8.99 paper | $15.99 PLB | Jan. 5, 2021 “wasn’t impressed. The science is totally wrong,” she says. (This 978-0-06-294761-1 is pretty rich coming from someone whose Apollo history is, in 978-0-06-294762-8 PLB fact, totally wrong: Val tells Wallace that “a problem with the Series: My Weird School Graphic Novel ship’s computer” almost stopped Apollo 11 from landing on the moon, but in fact, the ship’s computer prevented a problem. The The popular My Weird School chap- computer was the reason Apollo 11 was able to land, thanks to ter-book series gets a graphic revamp. work led by real-life space heroine Margaret Hamilton.) Wal- At Ella Mentry School, puns and goofiness reign supreme. lace doesn’t let Val shout him down, and she grows to respect Narrator A.J.—who dislikes zombies and broccoli as well as his knowledge in their ensuing space adventure. Purple-toned school and coffee—truly abhors know-it-all Andrea. Their illustrations are simplistic but energetic. class takes a field trip to NASA, and while on a space shuttle, a A passable steppingstone to books that truly honor comic mishap finds a peckish A.J. pushing the “launch” button women in space. (Fiction. 6-8) instead of the “lunch” button, propelling the class into the cos- mos. Tour guide Mr. Corbett faints, leaving the class’s launch in a lurch when they must figure out how to pilot the vessel. THE REMBRANDT However, when an alien spaceship appears and seems to be CONSPIRACY nearing the shuttle, what will the class do? Gutman’s trade- Hicks, Deron R. mark punning panache is instantly recognizable alongside HMH Books (272 pp.) longtime series illustrator Paillot’s vibrant full-color cartoon $16.99 | Dec. 1, 2020 art, giving this just the right feel of being both new and famil- 978-0-358-25621-2 iar. Most chapters end with the incantatory cliffhanger “that’s Series: Lost Art Mysteries, 2 when the weirdest thing in the history of the world happened,” urging readers onward. Gutman briefly touches upon climate Art and Camille return to foil another change, interspersing a few factoids here and there, and as the art thief. plot comes to a close, a zany solution is offered. The issue is Twelve-year-old Arthur Hamilton Jr. addressed with greater seriousness in both an afterword and (“Art” to his friends) is certain that the list of resources. Established fans should be at home here, National Portrait Gallery’s newest exhibit is in danger. Art’s and the story stands alone well enough to entice new read- father, recently appointed director of the gallery, doesn’t share ers, though those new to the rampant jokiness may be over- Art’s concerns; the paintings are protected by several state-of- whelmed by the combined narrative and visual busyness. Most the-art security systems after all. But Art can’t shake the feeling characters present White save for a select few adults (includ- that something’s up, and he ropes his friend Camille Sullivan ing the titular Mr. Corbett, who is Black) and students. into helping him expose the suspicious characters buzzing Catnip for those who relish silliness. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10) around the museum for the thieves they are. The novel mirrors its predecessor’s mixture of propulsive plotting, dynamic character work, and nifty art facts. Fans of The Van Gogh Deception JOURNEY TO THE MOON (2017) will be thrilled to see not much has changed here. The Hapka, Cathy & Vandenberg, Ellen mystery provides a few pleasant twists and turns, culminating Illus. by Reid, Gillian in a rousing conclusion that handily points to the next book Penguin Workshop (96 pp.) without feeling incomplete. While the QR codes included $6.99 paper | $15.99 PLB | Jan. 12, 2021 effectively render the works mentioned, the scanning is some- 978-0-593-09571-3 times difficult when using a digital copy of the book, interfering 978-0-593-09572-0 PLB with the mystery’s momentum. Thankfully the art history les- Series: Astronaut Girl, 1 sons never feel too artificially wedged into the narrative. The author’s note discusses the notorious 1990 heist at the Isabella An 8-year-old science enthusiast takes Stewart Gardner Museum, the subject of tantalizing discussion a surprise trip to the moon with her new in this story. Art and Camille are White. neighbor, her cat, and her baby brother. A solid second helping. (Mystery. 9-12) First in a series for transitioning independent readers, this chapter book introduces Astronaut Girl, also known as Val, a confident White girl who’s full of facts about space. While her botanist mom and physicist dad work, Val pretends to command Apollo 11. Astro Cat and the Baby aren’t the most diligent of crew members (which makes for some mild humor), but a

86 | 1 november 2020 | children’s | kirkus.com | Illustrator Ho’s textured cartoons and clever use of light and shadow exude warmth and whimsy. eyes that kiss in the corners

EYES THAT KISS IN notes that her grandmother’s eyes “don’t work like they used THE CORNERS to,” they are able to see “all the way into my heart” and tell her Ho, Joanna stories. Here, illustrator Ho’s spreads bloom with references to Illus. by Ho, Dung Chinese stories and landscapes. Amah’s eyes are like those of Harper/HarperCollins (40 pp.) the narrator’s little sister. Mei-Mei’s eyes are filled with hope $17.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 and with admiration for her sister. Illustrator Ho’s textured 978-0-06-291562-7 cartoons and clever use of light and shadow exude warmth and whimsy that match the evocative text. When the narrator A young Chinese American girl sees comes to describe her own eyes and acknowledges the power more than the shape of her eyes. they hold, she is posed against swirling patterns, figures, and In this circular tale, the unnamed swaths of breathtaking landscapes from Chinese culture. (This narrator observes that some peers have “eyes like sapphire book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads lagoons / with lashes like lace trim on ballgowns,” but her eyes viewed at 80.5% of actual size.) are different. She “has eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like This tale of self-acceptance and respect for one’s roots is warm tea.” Author Ho’s lyrical narrative goes on to reveal how breathtaking. (Picture book. 5-9) the girl’s eyes are like those of other women and girls in her family, expounding on how each pair of eyes looks and what they convey. Mama’s “eyes sparkl[e] like starlight,” telling the narrator, “I’m a miracle. / In those moments when she’s all mine.” Mama’s eyes, the girl observes, take after Amah’s. While she young adult

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 87 The open relationship and positive problem-solving between this mother-son team are cheerful and warm. i am smart, i am blessed, i can do anything!

TWINKLE’S FAIRY PET DAY last, Ayaan feels confident and ready for a good day at school. Holabird, Katharine The bright, saturated, animation-style illustrations show a Illus. by Warburton, Sarah small, brown-skinned Ayaan with bright eyes and a high-top, a Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (32 pp.) brown mom with colorful locs, and a racially diverse neighbor- $17.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 hood and classroom. Ayaan’s dilemma is a common one, and the 978-1-5344-2919-2 open relationship and positive problem-solving between this mother-son team are cheerful and warm. Families looking to A young fairy learns that wishes don’t practice affirmations may find inspiration here. (This book was always meet expectations. reviewed digitally with 8-by-18.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at Twinkle and her friends each long for a pet. Fairy God- 62.2% of actual size.) mother decides they are old enough and makes their wishes A sweet pick-me-up. (Picture book. 3-7) come true. Pippa’s pet spell summons a fluttering butterfly. Lulu casts her spell, and a ladybug appears. Twinkle’s spell seems harmless enough: “Abracadabra, skiddledee-day, / my pet loves THE AMBASSADOR OF to run and play!” But with a crash from the fireplace, out tum- NOWHERE TEXAS bles a plump, feisty dragon. Twinkle was hoping for something Holt, Kimberly Willis a little more fluffy and cuddly. Twinkle tries to train her boister- Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt (320 pp.) ous (and at times naughty) pet. Her words are polite—“Please $16.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 fetch the ball now, Scruffy”—but frustration is apparent in her 978-1-250-23410-0 knitted brow and frown. Scruffy pays her no mind. There is no way Scruffy will win anything at the upcoming Fairy Pet Day! This sequel to Holt’s National Book Luckily, with a few small words of encouragement—“Just do Award winner, When Zachary Beaver Came your best, Scruffy”—the little dragon steals the show. Warbur- to Town (1999), revisits Antler, Texas, 30 ton’s delicate world, complete with floating fairy dust and magic years later; this time our guide is Toby’s sparkle bursts, lifts Holabird’s somewhat cumbersome plot into daughter, Rylee. a light and buoyant confection. Twinkle, Lulu, and Fairy God- Rylee, 12, is a passionate booster of her tiny hometown. mother present White, and Pippa, one of a small minority of Unlike her mercurial best friend, Twig, she’s blessed with a fairies of color, presents Black. Scruffy has a round snout and happy family. Rylee’s stunned by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, then little wings and is green with pink spots. (This book was reviewed heartsick over their faltering friendship. Joe, a new classmate digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 41.4% of from Brooklyn, provides welcome distraction. He ridicules Ant- actual size.) ler but warms to self-appointed tour guide Rylee, who piques his Unconditional love prevails—under a thick coating of interest in Zachary Beaver. Learning how the attacks affected pink. (Picture book. 3-6) Joe’s family makes 9/11 personal to locals. Stalwart Rylee, navigating tween angst, is engaging, but comprehensive updates on characters from the first novel slow the narrative. Little I AM SMART, I AM BLESSED, has changed for the White residents. Antler’s success story is I CAN DO ANYTHING! Juan Garcia, the impoverished teen from the Mexican side of Holder, Alissa & Holder-Young, Zulekha town, now a world-famous golfer, his childhood home a tourist Illus. by Myers, Nneka attraction. Juan’s affluent extended family includes the brilliant Flamingo Books (32 pp.) Garcia twins, Rylee’s classmates. A new character, Vietnamese $17.99 | Dec. 29, 2020 immigrant Mr. Pham, cooks for and lives at the bowling alley’s 978-0-593-20660-7 cafe. He suddenly buys the town’s mansion, planning to open an upscale restaurant. White residents’ struggles, missteps, and Young Ayaan needs affirmations to prepare for his day at achievements are affectionately chronicled; the Garcias and Mr. school. Pham get no humanizing backstories, and they seem to serve to Ayaan loves school, but today he feels “a little bit worried.” validate Antler’s post-racial bona fides. His mom notices that he’s not looking happy as he usually does. Sticks to the shallows. (Fiction. 10-14) He tells her what’s bothering him: “Sometimes at school I don’t feel very smart.” In the accompanying illustration, he imagines his classmates all raising their hands while he frowns. Ayaan’s mom has an answer for that, and it’s one Ayaan knows. They say it together: “I am smart.” Ayaan feels better, but he’s still dubious. As his mom walks him to school, they see encouraging friends and neighbors, which prompts their second affirmation: “I am blessed.” When Ayaan needs to tie his shoelace, his mom encourages him to try it all by himself. When he succeeds, they chant their third affirmation: “I CAN DO ANYTHING!” At

88 | 1 november 2020 | children’s | kirkus.com | THE COUCH POTATO Princess Antoinette for ransom. Helen, however, cleverly man- John, Jory ages to behead him and returns to the woods, leaving Princess Illus. by Oswald, Pete Antoinette determined to discover the giant-killer’s identity Harper/HarperCollins (40 pp.) by opening an all-day, all-night storytelling hotel, hoping it will $18.99 | Nov. 3, 2020 attract the mystery giant-slayer to tell her story. “Inspired by 978-0-06-295453-4 many versions of similar stories from Newfoundland and Labra- dor and from all over the world,” according to a concluding note, Can a couch potato peel themself off this earthy, quirky, humorous version blends traditional folktale their beloved, comfortable couch? elements with the contemporary spin of a strong female hero- John and Oswald’s titular spud cer- ine who lives happily-ever-after with the princess in a “s’blendid tainly finds it very hard to do so. Why should they leave their family.” What begins as a single story evolves into stories within “comfy, cozy couch” when everything that’s needed is within stories, pulled together in a surprising climax. Striking, original reach? Their doodads and gadgets to amuse and entertain, their illustrations, worked in black and white as well as vibrant color, couch’s extendable gloved hands to grab food from the kitchen, capture the fierce dramatic action in a trim more usually seen in and screens upon screens to watch their favorite TV shows picture books than middle-grade fiction. Redheaded Helen is as (highlights: MadYam, Fries), play their favorite video games, and white as paper, the princess has beige skin and brown hair, and livestream their friends. Where’s the need to leave the living “their seven ten-toed children” are racially diverse. room? Then…“PEW-WWWWWWW”! The electricity goes A twisted tall tale told with verbal and visual bravado. out one day. Left without screens and gizmos, the couch potato (Folktale. 8-10) decides to take dog Tater “for a walk…outside,” where the trees

and birds and skies seem rich, “like a high-resolution 156-inch young adult curved screen, but even more realistic.” The outdoor experience proves cathartic and freeing, away from those cords that bind, liberating enough to commit this couch potato to spending more time off the couch. Similar to The Bad Seed (2017), The Good Egg (2019), and The Cool Bean (2019) in small-scale scope and moral learning, this latest guidebook to life retains John’s attention to textual goodness, balancing good-humored laughs with a sincere conversational tone that immediately pulls readers in. Naturally, Oswald’s succinct artwork—loaded with genial spuds, metatextual nods, and cool aloofness—continues this loose series’ winsome spirit. No counterarguments here, couch potatoes. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch dou ble-page spreads viewed at 65.9% of actual size.) Looking for a spud-tacular read? Starch here. (Picture book. 4-8)

BAREFOOT HELEN AND THE GIANTS Jones, Andy Illus. by Brosnan, Katie Running the Goat (70 pp.) $12.95 paper | Jan. 26, 2021 978-1-927917-29-9

A spunky girl takes on three fear- some giants in this rousing tale. Fostered by black bears, a human orphan climbs trees, sleeps in caves, and catches salmon with her fingers. Discovered in the woods by a childless couple who adopt her and name her Helen, the girl learns to talk, eat with a knife and fork, and sleep indoors—but she always remains barefoot. One day Helen happens upon a castle where she spies a trio of infamous “cruel killer-giants” feasting and decides to attack them with her sling- shot. She eliminates two of them, but, alas, the third giant—Bul- leybummus—captures Helen, coercing her to help him kidnap

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 89 THE WORLD Zack has also been writing letters to Archie. The illustrations BETWEEN BLINKS are goofy and energetic, with lots of small details on every page. Kaufman, Amie & Graudin, Ryan Their classroom includes some background diversity; unfortu- Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins nately, two children, likely intended as East Asian, are depicted (336 pp.) with stereotypically slanted eyes. One girl wears a hijab and $16.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 another a bindi, and a third uses a wheelchair; a Hanukkah 978-0-06-288224-0 scene indicates that at least one of the boys is Jewish. (This Series: The World Between Blinks, 1 book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 15.3% of actual size.) An adventure to a world where lost Models how to say “I love you” for children—but readers things—and people—live on. may wonder what all the fuss is about. (Picture book. 4-7) Cousins Jake and Marisol grew up listening to their late Nana’s exciting tales of adventures whenever the family got together at her house in South Carolina. This PENGUINS & POLAR BEARS summer marks the time to say goodbye, as the house needs to Getting To Know the Arctic be sold, but Marisol is not ready to move on yet. Finding one of and Antarctic Nana’s old maps is just the excuse for one last adventure. The Klepeis, Alicia Z. duo accidentally slips into the World Between Blinks, a place Illus. by Helmer, Grace where anything lost in our world—from historical figures like Little Gestalten (56 pp.) Amelia Earhart to lost cities, extinct animals, and everyday $24.95 | Nov. 24, 2020 mislaid objects—ends up. Jake and Marisol must find their 978-3-89955-851-7 way back before they start forgetting their own memories and become lost there forever. Chapters alternate between Jake’s Breezy introductions to the flora, and Marisol’s points of view in a novel that beautifully delves fauna, natural features, residents, and researchers of our plan- into each cousin’s inner turmoil: Marisol struggles with the grief et’s “crazy cold” polar regions. of losing not only Nana, but the house where so many memories Though characteristic plants and animals get generous cov- were built while Jake feels he has sadly grown used to constantly erage in the casually organized single-topic spreads, the human saying goodbye due to having a traveling diplomat mother. The presence at the top and bottom of our world comes in for at least authors deftly weave those elements into an enduring tale of as much notice. Readers pay quick visits to the town of Ilulissat, love, loss, and memory. Jake is White and American; Marisol Greenland (4,530 people, 3,500 sled dogs), and Antarctica’s ski- lives in La Paz with her Bolivian father and her mother, who is mounted Halley VI station, among other locales, and meet rep- Jake’s mother’s identical twin. resentatives of eight of the Arctic’s 40 Indigenous groups and An inventive, heartwarming first book in a new middle- a group of schoolchildren in Nunavut. Nods to select explor- grade series. (glossary of historical figures and places)(Fantasy. ers include mention of both two White women who together 9-14) made a trans-Antarctic ski trek in 2001 and the names of the four Inuit men who accompanied Matthew Henson and Rob- ert Peary to (the vicinity of) the North Pole. Budding scientists FROM ARCHIE TO ZACK can also follow a brown-skinned researcher through her day at Kirsch, Vincent X. McMurdo Station. In her commentary, scattered throughout in Illus. by the author easily digestible blocks, Klepeis properly acknowledges inter- Abrams (40 pp.) actions between contemporary and traditional cultures and $17.99 | Dec. 29, 2020 practices—noting, for instance, that “nowadays, lots of Arctic 978-1-4197-4367-2 people buy winter clothing made from synthetic materials” and that ketchup or mayo are popular condiments for seal meat Two little boys express their love for each other. dishes. Helmer’s painted figures, human and otherwise, tend to Everyone in Zack and Archie’s class knows they love each be small, but she depicts them and their icy settings with easy other. The two boys do everything together: ride a tandem naturalism. bike, build elaborate sand castles, play miniature golf, fly rain- A wide-angled view of two forbidding but far from bow kites. For unexplained reasons, neither boy can admit deserted climes. (glossary) (Nonfiction. 7-10) their love to the other even though they each want to. Archie, who’s White, writes brief letters telling Zack, who’s Black, his feelings, but in each one, “something’s missing.” He hides each one. Finally three girls find the hidden notes and give them to Zack in an elementary school version of forced outing. Since the entire book is about two kids who both love each other and everyone seems fine with it, it’s unclear where the tension is coming from, and the climax fizzles when it’s revealed that

90 | 1 november 2020 | children’s | kirkus.com | Little listeners can have fun counting along and making all the different animal sounds. ducks on the road

DUCKS ON THE ROAD bright, cartoon characters against largely pastel backgrounds. A Counting Adventure The self-made adventure is reminiscent of Harold and the Pur Lobel, Anita ple Crayon with its unpredictable, child-controlled narrative in Illus. by the author which imagination takes one around the world and back home Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster again. Readers who have afro puffs themselves may give the (40 pp.) side-eye to the line “She fell so fast, her hair fell up,” but other- $17.99 | Jan. 19, 2021 wise the tale succeeds nicely. 978-1-5344-6592-3 An adventure worth sharing. (Picture book. 3-8) A family of ducks enjoys a country outing—with a sweet surprise. After frolicking in a pretty blue pond surrounded by colorful flowers, Mama and Papa Duck and their 10 ducklings set out on a bucolic stroll. The 10th duckling in line stops to greet Frog, and now there are nine. The ninth duckling stops to greet Mouse, and now there are eight. Greetings to Squir- rel, Rabbit, Cat, Dog, Pig, Sheep, Owl, and another duckling follow, and finally the number of little ducks in line dwindles to none. Mama and Papa finally notice with alarm. But not to worry. The ducklings reform their row with all their newfound

friends and a quacking addition. Now there are 11 ducklings, young adult and the duck family ends up back in the pond surrounded by a very noisy menagerie. Little listeners can have fun counting along and making all the different animal sounds. Lobel’s pastel- hued illustrations are bright and cheerful. They have a folk-art feel that’s reinforced by flat perspectives and gently stylized trees with perfectly spherical crowns; the rolling hills in many backgrounds recall Wanda Gág’s or Virginia Lee Burton’s work. The text does not include numerals, but the number words are flagged in colored type, and the fuzzy yellow ducklings are easy to count. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.3-by-20-inch dou ble-page spreads viewed at 31.5% of actual size.) Feathery fun for little ones. (Picture book. 2-4)

THE WHOLE HOLE STORY McInerny, Vivian Illus. by Lamug, Kenneth Lit Versify/HMH (40 pp.) $17.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 978-0-358-12881-6

A child creates adventures with a marvelous, mind-bending hole. It begins as a hole in Zia’s pocket. As the hole grows bigger and bigger, it falls to the ground. One day, Zia falls through the hole, but since it is “an imaginary hole,” Zia isn’t scared. Zia sits at the bottom of the hole and considers what to do. She decides to make a fishing hole, and then a swimming hole, and then a watering hole, and then a hole to the other side of the Earth. Throughout her adventures, she encounters friendly animals and handy playthings, and she stays in control of events to the very end. Zia is a brave, adventurous Black girl with afro puffs and bright red overalls, and she always knows what she needs and how to get it. The story goes on at some length, but the absurdity remains entertaining as the scenes change, and the ending is surprisingly satisfying. Engaging illustrations set

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 91 INTERVIEWS & PROFILES Uri Shulevitz

IN CHANCE, THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR REVISITS A REFUGEE CHILDHOOD BRIGHTENED BY THE LIFE OF THE MIND By Vicky Smith Paula Brown years, an often harrowing experience lightened by his two passions: art and story. He spoke to Kirkus by tele- phone from his home in New York City. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What caused you to write Chance now? Well, I know I’m old enough at this point. But I wanted to write it before I get even older and start forgetting. There have been books about the Holocaust in this country, and rightfully so. But there haven’t been that many that were about the people who escaped, who ended up in Russia and other countries. There were some books for young readers, for example, of my dear friend Esther Hautzig, The Endless Steppe [T.Y. Crowell, 1968]. There aren’t too many, and mine is one of the few. And that’s why also I think that it was important to tell my story.

Those must have been incredibly difficult memories to relive. Yes, those were very painful memories, especially some of them. Not every single thing. [But] I didn’t mind re- living them. I assure you, it’s not because I’m a masoch- Between 1939 and 1949, from ages 4 to 14, Uri Shulev- ist or something. It’s just that it sheds a certain light itz traveled from Poland to Belarus to northern Russia on one’s life. And it gave me a deeper understanding of to what is now Kazakhstan, back to Belarus and Poland, what took place. I also wanted to examine—for myself then on to Germany and France, and finally to Israel. and for the reader—the sequence of events and what He and his parents traversed thousands of miles, fleeing took place. And although some of the memories were first Nazi-occupied Poland and then the Soviet Union. painful, I didn’t want to avoid them. And I’m glad that I He eventually settled in the United States and has since wrote about them. become one of our most beloved illustrators, winning the Caldecott Medal for The Fool of the World and the Fly Since it is difficult material, I’m wondering how you de- ing Ship (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1968). His Caldecott cided to present it for young readers? Honor Book, How I Learned Geography (Farrar, Straus Even when I do a picture book, I don’t think of it as be- and Giroux, 2008), recounts an episode from his fam- ing for very young children; I think of it as being for all ily’s time in Turkestan, in the Kazakh Republic. In his ages. But I write it in the simplest terms so that chil- new memoir, Chance (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Oct. dren and adults can appreciate and enjoy it. And that’s 13), Shulevitz, 85, takes young readers through those 10 pretty much the approach that I took when I worked on

92 | 1 november 2020 | children’s | kirkus.com | Chance, as well. So in that sense, it’s very straightforward. They just couldn’t survive in exile from their own coun- [I’m not trying to] twist myself into a pretzel in order to try. And yet we managed to. appeal to a certain audience. [Take] How I Learned Geography. Although it’s such How do you feel, as a Holocaust survivor, to know that a sad story, children have responded [to it]. I get a lot a really shocking number of people don’t know that 6 of emails from teachers [whose] children want to ask million Jews were killed? me questions about it and so on. We may sometimes Well, the subtitle of the book is “Escape From the Ho- have the wrong impression about how a young audience locaust” because I and my parents were survivors as a would respond to things. [What] children learn about result of the war. The reason I’m saying this, that I the world has been imposed upon them. They did not don’t consider myself a Holocaust survivor, is because ask to be here, but they were brought by their parents, we weren’t either in the ghetto or in the concentration and now they want to find out what it is, where they are. camps. None of our family in Poland survived. [If we The range of curiosity is really wide. hadn’t escaped] we would have been just as they were. Holocaust survivors deserve all our admiration and re- I have not been able to get over your having to leave spect, but I don’t feel that I deserve that. Turkestan before your friend could finish readingThe Wizard of Oz to you. Is there something that you would like to say about Stories are extremely important to me. And I believe your book that I haven’t asked you? they are very important to people in general. We live My experience was the war, and now, there is also a war in two worlds at once. One of them is the world of the against an invisible enemy, the coronavirus. There is a body, and the other one is the world of the mind. Both deep connection between the two. As kids in those days, are very, very important needs. And that is something we coped. My lifeline in those horrible times was my which really differentiates us from animals. You have to drawing and my love of stories. I hope my experience feed your body, you have to eat, you have to have a roof will inspire young readers to seek their own lifeline. In over your head. But you also need to feed your mind and my case, it was drawing and stories, but it doesn’t mean young adult soul. And that’s where stories come in. that it has to be that for every single person. Every per- I was heartbroken [to leave in the middle of The Wiz son has to find their lifeline to give them that deep con- ard of Oz], but I couldn’t remain there by myself. My par- nection to life and to positive thinking. ents were anxious to get out, because they knew about so many people who got stuck in the Soviet Union and Chance received a starred review in the July 15, 2020, issue. were not allowed to leave. This wasn’t a free country where you could just do what you wanted and go where you wanted to go—you needed papers for all those things. I didn’t realize at the time, when I was listening to The Wizard of Oz, how our trip back to the West would resemble in some ways the hardships of Doro- thy in trying to get back to Kansas. So it actually has very deep echoes, which I wasn’t fully aware of at the time, but when I was working on the book, I realized [it]. There were those discoveries which I made, and so it wasn’t all a painful experience to work on the book. It was also a journey of discovery.

This book is a testament to your parents and their will— not just to survive, but to keep you safe. Were you conscious of that at the time? Yes, I was aware of that. We were starving. Night after night, I went to bed hungry. And when I say hungry, I don’t mean that there was kind of a meager supper— there was nothing, absolutely nothing. It was a different world, it was a different time. When [Chechen refu- gees] arrived [in Turkestan], they kept dying one by one.

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 93 HOORAY, IT’S GARBAGE DAY! golem, a creature created to protect the Jews of Eastern Europe. Ode, Eric She manages to create a golem in her own image—albeit with Illus. by Llewhellin, Gareth a tiny button nose—to protect Zaide. Before long, the golem Kane Miller (32 pp.) develops an attitude, showing up at Leah’s school to win over $14.99 | Dec. 1, 2020 the popular crowd and making demands. Meanwhile, Leah’s 978-1-68464-114-7 own efforts to fit in force her to confront painful anti-Semitic microaggressions from her classmates. This fast-paced story Who knew that trash collection provides a window into the cultural and religious traditions of could be such a treat? one modern Jewish family. However, character development of For one young brown-skinned kid, the cacophonous sound the supporting cast and the golem is limited, resulting in their of the garbage truck approaching the house brings excitement actions feeling flat and heavy-handed. galore. Don’t you know, “it’s GARBAGE DAY!” That means A representation of a modern Jewish family with a folk- thrilling noises, lights, and shaking emanating from the truck loric twist. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-12) and—even better—scrunching of the contents of the neighborhood’s trash cans. The kid’s pals aren’t immune to the high drama as they watch and listen in awe and then reenact a gar- TIME FOR KENNY bage-collecting scenario that includes assembling a toy truck Pinkney, Brian and gathering assorted throwaway items. As they take in this Illus. by the author ode to rubbish pickups, children will collect some brief tips Greenwillow Books (40 pp.) about composting and recycling, though a scene in which kids $17.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 repair and buff up items to give away is downright confusing 978-0-06-073528-9 when the implication is that they will go into the garbage truck as well. Though the text is a tad overlong, the jaunty, rollick- Here comes Kenny, a boy in perpet- ing rhymes will keep children entertained, and they will mer- ual motion. rily chime in with the refrain: “Hooray, it’s GARBAGE DAY!” In the first of four episodes, a Black Some number- and color-recognition cues are incorporated via boy named Kenny attempts to dress in different family mem- text and art. Illustrations are colorful, cheery, and lively; chil- bers’ clothes while the patterned text unfolds as a series of dren and sanitation workers are diverse in gender and racial questions and answers: “Can he wear these shoes?” the text asks presentation. A brown-skinned child wears glasses; a White- as Kenny stands in a pair of purple pumps, answering its own presenting kid is shown in a wheelchair. Onomatopoeic words question right away: “No, those are Mommy’s shoes.” When he in display type appear throughout, emphasizing the rumbling, finally gets dressed, the family walks Grandaddy to the bus with crashing sounds the garbage truck makes. his suitcase. The second story tells of Kenny’s fear of the vac- Useful for community-helpers units and fun for vehicle uum cleaner. Because it “roars like a lion” and eats off the floor, mavens. (Picture book. 3-6) Kenny wonders if it might eat Kitty, his toy, or even him. In the third story, Kenny’s big sister gives him a lesson in soccer, a “no hands” sport (except for a high-five at the end). In the final story, THE TROUBLE WITH although it’s Kenny’s bedtime, he isn’t tired…until he is. But GOOD IDEAS there’s still time to snuggle up with Mommy for a story. Young Panitch, Amanda readers who enjoyed Pinkney’s Puppy Truck (2019) will eagerly Roaring Brook (288 pp.) grow into reading these stories alone, but they also work well as $16.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 participatory read-alouds because of the repetitive text. Solid, 978-1-250-24510-6 pastel-colored pages divide one vignette from another. With plenty of white space and colorful swirls depicting Kenny’s per- A Jewish tween creates a golem to petual motion, Pinkney’s recognizable illustrations affirm the care for her ailing great-grandfather. closeness of this Black family and paint an empathetic picture Leah Nevins’ Conservative Jewish of one kid’s resistances, fears, and joys. (This book was reviewed family recently moved to be closer to her digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 25% of 93-year-old Zaide. Having left behind actual size.) friends from the Jewish school she attended and transitioned A bedtime, daytime, anytime family story with a Black into sixth grade in public school, Leah is convinced that her child at the center. (Picture book. 4-7) large nose makes her stand out among her overwhelmingly non-Jewish peers and is a barrier to acceptance. She cherishes the Saturday afternoons she spends with her older cousins at Zaide’s house, but that tradition is threatened when Zaide starts exhibiting symptoms of dementia and her parents discuss moving him to an assisted living facility. Shaken by this idea, Leah devises an unlikely plan inspired by Zaide’s stories of the

94 | 1 november 2020 | children’s | kirkus.com | The spare, effective text is simple and lyrical, pairing neatly with the textured art. seeking an aurora

SO YOU WANT TO BE AN OWL colored lights of the aurora. The spare, effective text is simple Porter, Jane and lyrical, pairing neatly with the textured art. A simple end- Illus. by Frost, Maddie note, titled “Everything Dad Knew About the Aurora,” offers a Candlewick (32 pp.) child-friendly explanation of how an aurora comes to be with- $16.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 out interrupting the immersive nature of the story. The narrator 978-1-5362-1521-2 and their family have brown skin and straight, dark hair. A magical experience. (Picture book. 3-8) Bespectacled Professor Olaf offers nine lessons on being an owl for human readers. MARYAM’S MAGIC After pointing out that readers are quite a bit larger than any The Story of Mathematician owl, the owl instructor poses some questions about skills. Can Maryam Mirzakhani they fly? blend into their environment? see in the dark? Cleverly Reid, Megan engaging readers with these and similar personal connections, Illus. by Jaleel, Aaliya Porter introduces important facts about owls’ silent flight, cam- Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (40 pp.) ouflage, sight, hearing, eating and regurgitation habits, sounds, $18.99 | Jan. 19, 2021 homes, and chicks. Though this is clearly a book for very young 978-0-06-291596-2 readers, it has a simple but effective index, like all good nonfiction. First published in England in 2020, this appealing import The achievements of mathematician specifically names many owls that live in parts of this country: Maryam Mirzakhani—first woman and first Iranian to win the

eastern screech owls, burrowing owls, snowy owls, great horned Fields Medal, the most important award in the field of math- young adult owls, barn owls, and long-eared owls. The tutorial begins and ematics—are celebrated in this new picture book. ends with the owl code: “Be alert! Be watchful! Be silent!” But Readers meet Maryam as a young girl, a storyteller and an there’s a time to make noise, too. One grand spread invites read- avid reader—her favorite street was filled with bookstores. She ers to try out owl sounds. “LOUDER! You need other owls to was not, however, a fan of math until she discovered geometry, hear you from half a mile away.” Frost’s amusing illustrations which made her feel like “every number held a story.” Reid add to the charm. Her owls are clearly distinguishable and rec- delves into Maryam’s life, describing her studies and interests ognizable. But after learning that owl eye color generally cor- in high school and college in Iran, her pursuit of a graduate relates with the time of day they hunt, sharp-eyed readers may degree at Harvard University, her winning the Fields Medal wonder why all the owls they see after that have yellow eyes. in 2014, and her death in 2017, at the age of 40. She weaves in A clever, owl-centric introduction to a familiar bird most details such as Maryam’s native language, Farsi; her best friend, readers have never seen. (Informational picture book. 5-9) Roya; her daughter, Anahita; her secret battle with breast cancer. Jaleel’s soft cartoons pair well with Reid’s words, reinforc- ing that Maryam was not just a math genius, but someone who SEEKING AN AURORA loved books and used stories to solve tough problems. When Pulford, Elizabeth depicting her life in Iran, illustrations show Maryam wearing Illus. by Bannock, Anne hijab according to custom; in the U.S. Maryam’s short hair is Blue Dot Kids Press (32 pp.) shown uncovered. An author’s note includes more informa- $17.95 | Jan. 19, 2021 tion on the connections Reid felt with Maryam; a timeline and 978-1-7331212-7-9 further reading round out the work. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 63.9% of A father awakens a child for a night- actual size.) time adventure in nature in this import Highlighting an important figure, this book also demon- from New Zealand. strates that one can excel in more than one field. (Picture book/ “We’re off to find an Aurora,” the father says, and the two biography. 5-8) quietly slip past the sleeping mother and baby and exit the house into the night. The child doesn’t know what an aurora is. As they walk past the cows and away from the house and up a hill, the child asks questions about the aurora. Are stars in the aurora? (No.) Is the moon in the aurora? (No.) The mystery builds as they approach the top of the hill, where they can see “only the sky, the stars, and the moon.” They sit there at the top, and at last the child sees the aurora: “dancing light, glowing and…glimmering, shimmering and shining. Colored ribbons swirling and twirling, lighting up the sky on the still, dark night.” The pastel-drawn artwork successfully evokes the warmth of the home, the cold of the dark night, and the splendor of the

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 95 Rockliff ’s snappy sentences and rollicking alliteration make this a fun read-aloud. try it!

TRY IT! reviled by others. The local White deputy harasses families who How Frieda Caplan use rootwork even as they are needed for the healing denied Changed the Way We by segregated hospitals. Now, Jezebel and Jay are about to learn Eat these skills from their uncle to keep the legacy alive. For the Rockliff, Mara first time, the twins will not be in the same class since Jezebel Illus. by Potter, Giselle will skip fifth grade. She becomes the target of bullies but man- Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster (32 pp.) ages to make one friend, a girl new to the school. As the root- $17.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 work lessons proceed, the twins become more aware of change 978-1-5344-6007-2 all around them, from whispered voices in the marsh to the strange actions of Jezebel’s doll. It becomes clear that they have Baby corn? Seedless watermelons? Purple potatoes? Who’d inherited connections to the spiritual world and that they face eat that? a very human threat. This richly detailed narrative offers ele- Frieda Caplan was the plucky produce promoter who main- ments of magical realism against a backdrop of social change, streamed much of the world’s delicacies and innovative hybrids presenting a convincing family story and exploring community into the American kitchen. Starting her own eponymous com- differences. Although Jezebel is a spirited narrator, Jay and pany—Frieda’s—in 1962, she ensured that her reputation was other characters are fully realized. made in what was then an all-male wholesale produce business. A strong coming-of-age story grounded in a vibrant cul- Almost nothing was too far-out for Frieda; after all, spaghetti tural heritage. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. -8 12) squash was just one more recipe card in search of a convert. However, even Frieda was stumped with the Chinese goose- berry—but sales took off after she renamed it a kiwi. Anyone LIFE-SIZE ANIMALS who bites into a crunchy jicama or a fiery habanero purchased An Illustrated Safari from a supermarket can thank the adventurous taste buds of Schiavo, Rita Mabel this pioneering greengrocer. Rockliff’s snappy sentences and Illus. by Grott, Isabella rollicking alliteration make this a fun read-aloud: “Farmers Abrams (40 pp.) dug for tips on what to grow. Cooks peppered her with ques- $19.99 | Nov. 3, 2020 tions”; “mounds of mongosteen, heaps of jicama, and quantities 978-1-4197-4460-0 of quince.” Potter’s signature flat palette gives way to bright purples, brilliant reds, and crisp greens. The retro illustrations Nature large in tooth and claw. follow Frieda from her entry into a marketplace filled with Ample enough in trim size (double- “boxes of bananas. Piles of potatoes. Truckloads of tomatoes” to page spreads are 15 inches high by 22.4 a consumer wonderland filled with boxes of donut peaches and inches wide) to offer a frontal view of a tiger’s face on the cover cherimoyas. Frieda, a Jewish Angeleno, presents White; people and full-body portraits within of evocatively named creatures of color appear as both fellow wholesalers and customers. (This including both the goliath frog and the goliath birdeater taran- book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads tula, this album of digital paintings rivals Steve Jenkins’ clas- viewed at actual size.) sic Actual Size (2004) for both realism and visual drama. Along A delectable delight daring readers to embrace the 80,000 with portraying the jagged dentifrice of a white shark and the species of Earth’s edible plants. (author’s note; bibliography) eyes of an elephant, a blue whale, and a giant squid from just (Informational picture book. 5-10) inches away, Grott intersperses collective gatherings of naturally posed animal relatives in full or partial views, plus select galleries of outsized tongues, claws, tails, and other parts. Schi- ROOT MAGIC avo occasionally waxes grandiose in her one- to three-sentence Royce, Eden captions, dubbing bats “Lords of the Night,” for instance and, Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins even less plausibly, hummingbirds “Warriors of the Sun.” She (352 pp.) also leaves armchair naturalists unenlightened about how a ball $16.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 python could keep its eggs warm, how a goliath frog’s lack of 978-0-06-289957-6 vocal sacs would amplify its croaking, or the significance of a musk deer’s pointy “primordial” canines. Still, she does offer An African American tween learns common names and measurements (albeit and regrettably in about her family’s connection to conjure English units only) for each subject. magic—and human evil—in 1960s South Sketchy text notwithstanding, an eye-filling gallery of Carolina. creature features. (Informational picture book. 7-10) Jezebel and her twin brother, Jay, know their family will never be the same following their Gran’s death. Their father’s unexplained disappearance a few years back is another loss that has yet to heal. Gran was a talented Gullah rootworker whose abilities were sought by some and

96 | 1 november 2020 | children’s | kirkus.com | CASE FILE new marriage to lighthouse keeper John Walker and subsequent Little Claws relocation to a lighthouse in New York Bay. Daily rituals—the Schrefer, Eliot light was tended, the sirens were prepared to run during storms, Illus. by Duncan, Daniel and a boat was kept ready to be sent out in emergencies—are Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins (176 pp.) described with just the right amount of detail. At the same time, $16.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 dramatic events show how a seemingly simple life of solitude 978-0-06-298233-9 (she was eventually appointed keeper after her husband’s death) Series: The Animal Rescue Agency, 1 can include action and heroics: Kate rescued more than 50 people before she retired at age 71. While not an obvious choice for The Animal Rescue Agency, helmed a children’s biography, Kate comes alive through the combined by fox Esquire and rooster Mr. Pepper, talents of Spires and McCully, and their portrayal highlights saves a stranded polar bear cub. how an ordinary woman can excel and pave the way for oth- Mother polar bear Big Claws and her baby, Little Claws, ers by virtue of her dedication and fortitude. The illustrations emerge from hibernation only to have Little Claws fall into a reveal an all-White cast. trap that leaves him stranded on an ice floe. Big Claws’ message A distinctive selection that highlights an unknown hero- for help sets Esquire and Mr. Pepper into action. They hop on ine and her world as a lighthouse keeper. (biographical note, a train to Anchorage, then dog-sled to Utqiagvik, Alaska, as the source notes, additional sources) (Picture book/biography. 6-10) story plunges them into intrigue and action, working against an openly evil wild-animal trafficker. Although the action maintains a steady pace—with captures and escapes aplenty—cer- KAT WOLFE ON THIN ICE

tain plot elements fall apart under scrutiny. Instead, the focus St John, Lauren young adult is on the duo’s dynamic, crotchety and full of good-natured Farrar, Straus and Giroux (272 pp.) insults. Esquire’s dashing and flashy—down to her fashion $16.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 statements—while business-minded Mr. Pepper tends toward 978-0-374-30964-0 the practical. Utqiagvik’s description isn’t exactly flattering, Series: Wolfe and Lamb Mysteries, 3 even given the vulpine perspective, and readers looking for Alaskan Native representation there will be disappointed. The A vacation turns into another mys- villain is the only human character, described as “gray” but pre- tery for young animal lovers–turned– senting White and looking like a fur hat–wearing Capt. Hook amateur sleuths. in the cartoon art. Backmatter includes information on how Having solved previous mysteries near climate change threatens polar bears, along with Mr. Pepper’s her home in Dorset, England, 12-year-old recipe for mushroom jerky (a favorite of Esquire’s, who’s sworn Kat Wolfe is ready for a vacation across the pond. So is her over- off eating animals). Esquire, unlike the other animals, is highly worked veterinarian mother. Together they are set to accompany anthropomorphized in the art, mostly going about on two feet. Kat’s best friend, 13-year-old Harper Lamb, and her paleon- Only she and Mr. Pepper wear clothing. tologist father on a trip to New York’s Adirondack Mountains. A well-meaning but only partially successful series When unexpected events, including a nor’easter, converge in opener. (Animal fantasy. 8-12.) this third stand-alone installment of the series, Kat and Harper find themselves parentless and snowed in for several days. At first the pair is intrigued by a recent news event—a botched KATE’S LIGHT heist of a diamond necklace—but when they learn that the key Kate Walker at Robbins Reef witness, Riley, is not only a girl Kat met at a rest stop en route Lighthouse to the Adirondacks, but also has disappeared in the area, Kat Spires, Elizabeth and Harper set out to find her. Once again, they combine savvy Illus. by McCully, Emily Arnold computer talent, keen observation, and cleverness with animals Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House in a lighthearted adventure with just the right amount of dan- (40 pp.) ger. This time the girls must also test their survival skills amid a $18.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 pack of huskies, assorted wild animals, and blizzard conditions. 978-0-8234-4348-2 Most notably, their sleuthing spotlights biases around the types of individuals society often overlooks. Whiteness is the default; A quiet life can contain multitudes. Harper’s late mother was Cuban. In 1882, Kate Kaird, a German widow, and her young son, A fun, socially conscious mystery that continues to take Jacob, arrived in the United States in search of a better life. Kate the series in new directions. (Mystery. 9-12) had no way of knowing that she would soon move to a lighthouse, be appointed an assistant keeper, and become one of the first female keepers of an offshore lighthouse on the East Coast. McCully’s loose, sweeping, yet specific illustrations combine seamlessly with Spires’ clear and engaging description of Kate’s

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 97 WELCOME TO YOUR PERIOD! Smile! (2019), Big and Bunny prove themselves a playful pair. Stynes, Yumi & Kang, Melissa With around 150 words and their variants—many of which Illus. by Latham, Jenny are unique one- or two-syllable words—the text best suits Walker US/Candlewick (176 pp.) emerging readers with a bit of fluency. Still, Tharp builds in $17.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 additional support by holding to a maximum of six lines of 978-1-5362-1476-5 text per page and providing color-coded dialogue boxes (blue for Big; mauve for Bunny). The interactivity, though brief, An Australian writer and doctor team will have broad appeal. (This book was reviewed digitally with up to empower “the next generation of 9-by-12-inch double-page spreads viewed at 57.6% of actual size.) bleeders” to become “period boss[es].” Boundless fun. (Early reader. 4-6) Casual and engaging, this seeks to demystify, reassure, and arm readers with information about menstruation and other aspects of puberty. With the book’s focus on managing periods A FRIEND IS... and how to prepare, topics range from menstrual products— Thiesing, Lisa both the use and the environmental impact of each kind—to Illus. by the author how to advocate for your needs to parents, caregivers, coaches, Aladdin (40 pp.) teachers, and friends. Personal stories and quotes from both $17.99 | Dec. 8, 2020 other teens and adults are peppered throughout, and cross- 978-1-5344-6572-5 references with page numbers are often provided so readers can jump to other sections for further reading on specific top- Thiesing’s simple offering joins the ics. Effort has seemingly been taken to avoid using gendered shelves of books about friendship. language—people who “have a uterus”—but the occasional While the text doesn’t stand out amid those crowded feminine term (girls, ladies, sisters) slips through. The fact that shelves, simply listing what friends are “for” (“singing,” “gig- some people who are assigned female at birth do not identify as gling,” “wondering”), the adorable illustrations may draw read- female is addressed, and an anecdote from a trans man recounts ers in. Anthropomorphized animal pairs, sometimes of the correcting a drugstore clerk with the inclusive term sanitary same species and sometimes different, show readers friend- items. Cartoon illustrations provide anatomical information and ship in action. “A friend is… for listening, / sharing, // and for instructions as well as showing a fairly diverse group of teens, playing” is illustrated with three vignettes: a rabbit whisper- but images are reused, and the preponderance of figures pres- ing to a clearly shocked pig, another rabbit sharing a wheel of ent female. cheese with a mouse, and a squirrel and a mouse flying a kite Energetic and accessible, this guide serves as a cheer- together. The final spread breaks the pattern with the hopeful leader in your corner. (glossary, resources) (Nonfiction. 10-15) but not necessarily accurate sentiment “A friend is…forever.” As the pages turn, children may notice the seasons also turning from winter through spring and summer to fall. Simple BUNNY WILL NOT JUMP! backgrounds with just enough detail to mark the time of year Tharp, Jason and activity keep the focus on the friends, who clearly care Illus. by the author about one another enough to be fully present to each other Simon Spotlight (32 pp.) through thick and thin, even when it might be tough (a cat $17.99 | Dec. 8, 2020 listens patiently as a dog gesticulates while complaining). But 978-1-5344-8303-3 while this might be a good reminder of what a good friend looks like, it likely won’t be one readers reach for repeatedly. A bunny loses his bounce and needs (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page help buoying his spirits. spreads viewed at 36.5% of actual size.) Big—a blue bear—greets readers Doesn’t stand out from the crowd despite cute illustra- and explains the problem. Big’s friend tions. (Picture book. 3-6) Bunny, a mauve rabbit, will no longer jump. “He usually loves to jump,” Big explains, “but now he will not even try.” Big speculates that Bunny might be sad because of what happened when the animals had a jumping contest. Big jumped the farthest and the highest, and Bunny gave up: “I will never be able to jump like you!” Big tries offering Bunny prizes and scaring him, but nothing gets his friend bouncing again. Ultimately, Big needs readers’ help to motivate Bunny to hop. Readers are instructed to “shake the book up and down,” to “push the blue button,” and to perform other tasks. But will any of it be enough for Bunny to take the leap? In this rousing follow-up to Bunny Will Not

98 | 1 november 2020 | children’s | kirkus.com | Drawing on his family’s own history, Unger conveys the claustrophobia and anxiety caused by the looming war. sleeping with the light on

THE WALL & THE WIND to keeping them whole. Then Papá and Mamá announce that Tomova, Veselina they’re heading to the United States of America, leaving Davico Illus. by the author and Felipe behind with stoic Uncle Aaron and strict Aunt Lonia Running the Goat (38 pp.) until Papá and Mamá find new jobs and a new house. With a $10.95 paper | Jan. 26, 2021 clear focus on Davico and his family—and drawing on his fam- 978-1-927917-32-9 ily’s own history—Unger conveys the claustrophobia and anxiety caused by the looming war in just a few pages while building A young girl seems to lead an idyllic Davico’s life in broad yet vivid strokes. It’s a tenuous balance, life somewhere in post–World War II Eastern Europe. especially for a story aimed at such a young readership, but the Happy in her rural home and safe in the care of a loving fam- book works, thanks in part to Aguilera’s illuminating illustra- ily, the girl longs to extend her reach and uses her art to create an tions, which open each chapter. imagined world that she can visit in her dreams. The narrative A bittersweet tale of life amid war. (Fiction. 6-9) shifts suddenly, and the girl is now in East Berlin in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, her dreams unfulfilled, her person trapped and unable to leave. How many years have passed and what hap- SCARLET’S TALE pened in the interim are never explained. The narrative jumps Vernick, Audrey ahead 30 more years, and the protagonist is a mother with a Illus. by Jarvis young son when the Berlin Wall finally crumbles. She and her Disney-Hyperion/LBYR (40 pp.) little boy take a brave leap and end up in Newfoundland, where $17.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 they can build a new life in the crisp, wild wind of a rugged 978-1-368-04308-3

land with beauty of its own. The author’s note reveals it’s her young adult own story, narrated in descriptive, emotional language. Illus- A young human girl with an unusual trations employ rich tones and deep textures conveying both physical feature gains acceptance. her beloved homeland and her beautiful adopted home while At Charlotte’s birth, her parents the dreariness and despair of East Berlin are seen in dull grays, counted: “Two eyes. One nose. Ten fingers. Ten toes. / Also, one khakis, and browns. It is a powerful tale, but there are signifi- long, fluffy, fuzzy, furry tail. That was a surprise.” Her parents cant stumbles in its telling. As well as wondering at huge chunks shower her with love and accept that her foxlike tail means of missing time and events, young readers might believe that custom-made clothing and keeping low-lying surfaces clear of Canada is next door to Berlin. The note provides some clarify- objects. But school is another matter. People stare and point, ing information. and her classroom has not been adapted to her swishing tail, In spite of flaws, the poignant longing for freedom shines which inadvertently knocks objects about. The next day is espe- through. (Picture book/memoir. 5-10) cially lonely until she gets on the swings, which always make her happy and cause her tail to wag. Callie and Josh decide to join her, and the three become inseparable, gradually turning SLEEPING WITH THE wagging—whether it be tail or bottom—into their own happy, LIGHT ON welcoming language. And because “Happiness can be kind of Unger, David contagious,” the school and then the whole town take to wag- Illus. by Aguilera, Carlos Vélez ging their butts when happy—the street scene is quite amusing. Groundwood (96 pp.) Charlotte and her family present White, as does Callie, while $14.95 | Nov. 3, 2020 Josh presents Black; students and the townsfolk are diverse. 978-1-77306-384-3 Bright background colors and simple details in the illustrations keep the focus on emotions and interactions. Even tailless chil- As the sound and violence of war dren will empathize with Scarlet, though it’s a bit sad that oth- seep into Guatemala City during the ers’ acceptance is so important to her sense of self-worth. 1950s, little Davico gradually sees his life A young girl’s difference unites a community. (Picture book. change piece by piece. 4-7) Within the city stands La Casita, a renowned restaurant operated by Davico’s family that’s beloved by many. La Casita’s second floor also serves as the family’s living quarters, where Davico plays with his older brother, Felipe, and Mamá and Papá sometimes argue once the blackouts start. But before the blackouts come, a rain of yellow and blue papers falls from planes. The bright papers speak of “guns, armies and tanks” and “liberación and revolución.” Having fled from the “nonsense” in Germany, Papá struggles to keep the restaurant open as nights full of increasing gunshots and blackouts remind them of the oncoming rattles and bangs of war. Mamá, meanwhile, commits

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 99 This gripping story shines a light on another hidden hero of the struggle for rights for African Americans. race against time

RACE AGAINST TIME spread is followed by a paragraph in a smaller font that gives The Untold Story of Scipio more information; these focus on keeping kids’ attention and Jones and the Battle To Save are often humorous. Straight facts are presented at the back. A Twelve Innocent Men final question asks readers what sort of house they might make; Wallace, Sandra Neil & Wallace, Rich a Literacy Connection section provides teachers with lesson Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills (144 pp.) ideas, including a STEAM activity to extend on that question. $18.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 Backmatter sorts fact from fiction for readers, especially with 978-1-62979-816-5 regard to the illustrations: Homes depicted are child-sized, but their builders are proportionate to the kids, and the habitats An African American lawyer takes on are accurately portrayed on the individual spreads, if not in the the difficult task of defending a group of endpaper map of the village. Small details delight, from the Black men sentenced to death. amusing mailboxes to the visual clues pointing to previous and When Black soldiers returned from World War I, many future species. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch attempted to improve their lives, including a group of share- double-page spreads viewed at 29% of actual size.) croppers in Arkansas determined to unionize. A gathering at Readers will surely pay closer attention on nature walks. a church was fired upon, and one White law officer was killed. (Informational picture book. 4-8) The violence escalated when local officials encouraged White men from other states to come and take up arms against Blacks. All this occurred during the nation’s “Red Summer” of 1919. MUSTACHE DUCKSTACHE The number of Black people killed in this area of Arkansas Young, Amy was thought to be in the hundreds, but it was the deaths of five Illus. by Young, AJ Whites that resulted in speedy trials, convictions, and death Viking (32 pp.) row sentences. The attorney who stepped up to seek justice $17.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 for the group known as the Elaine Twelve was Scipio Africanus 978-0-593-20558-7 Jones, from Little Rock. For the next five years, Jones used his knowledge, energy, and money to keep 12 innocent men from It’s a whiskers-off in the animal kingdom. being executed and ultimately prevailed while the Black press The walruses are holding a mustache contest, and animals covered his efforts. This gripping story shines a light on another of many species sign up to show off their crumb-catchers. First hidden hero of the struggle for rights for African Americans. An come the judges (all walruses) and spectators, then the contes- important, well-researched narrative, rich in historical context, tants, beginning with a rabbit with an impressive lip rug. A frog is enhanced by archival photographs and glimpses into the lives hops up to compare its pushbroom…followed by a mallard with of working men and women who sought economic fairness and a pencil-thin handlebar “duckstache.” When a penguin in a top the protections of the United States Constitution. hat shows off some pretty impressive lip luggage, the crowd— A powerful story of tireless determination for justice in with fake mustaches on sticks and big foam mustaches— the face of overwhelming odds. (author’s note, bibliography, goes wild. Snake sports a “musssstache,” and the mice their source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14) “mousestaches.” There is a “moooostache” and a “meowstache” and a “moosestache.” Whales, skunks, a giraffe, a snail, and more show off their facial hair. Bear causes a stir with a “beard” IF ANIMALS BUILT YOUR that seems to be the front-runner if excitement in the crowd is HOUSE any indication. But last to arrive is a sporty “goatee” for the win. Wise, Bill The Youngs’ debut picture book is short on text (it is conveyed Illus. by Evans, Rebecca entirely in speech bubbles containing plays on the word mus Dawn Publications (32 pp.) tache) but long on foolishness. The cartoon illustrations (a mix $8.99 paper | Dec. 1, 2020 of spot and full bleed) will incite giggles as the animals compare 978-1-58469-677-3 their nose-bugs while trying to out-whisker one another. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.8-by-22-inch double-page spreads Wise and Evans explore the many types of houses animals viewed at 29.4% of actual size.) build. Good hairy fun. (Picture book. 2-6) Wise creates the fictional Fin & Claw Village to introduce five diverse children (and readers) to animal homes. Wearing hard hats and carrying flashlights, the five crawl through tun- nels made by mound termites underneath the tallest structure made by animals. Living in a honeybee colony would be sweet, but the bedrooms are awfully small and hot. Other species introduced include tree squirrels, red groupers, chimpanzees, grey foam-nest tree frogs, satin bowerbirds, polar bears, alli- gators, pack rats, and beavers. One quick sentence on each

Amy Wu flexes her problem-solving skills again in this sequel to Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao (2019). After reading them a story about dragons, Ms. Mary has Amy and her classmates design their own dragons. While her classmates quickly fill the show-and-tell table with winged, pot- bellied dragons fashioned with modeling clay and stamps, Amy struggles. At first she paints a thin, long-bodied dragon inspired by Eastern cultures, but her classmates are confused and challenge the authenticity of her creation since it is a departure from the Western dragons showcased during storytime. The straightforward text narrates as Amy doubts her design, eventually drawing Western dragons yet still feeling dissatisfied.

Accompanied by her classmates Willa and Sam, Amy returns young adult home to Grandma, who tells the trio tales about Asian dragons, which causes Amy to remember the dragon costume used during Chinese New Year that’s stored in the attic. Inspired, Amy is finally able to showcase a dragon at school that takes a bit from both cultures and is a design she can call entirely her own. Chua again brings plenty of colorful spirit with her cartoons, perfectly capturing Amy’s fun, creative energy and surrounding her Chinese protagonist with a diverse school community. (Sam has brown skin and straight, black hair, and Willa presents White.) What is even more appealing is the courage Amy models to readers to stay true to oneself, especially when faced with a lack of role models. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by- 22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 78.8% of actual size.) Cheerful and bright, this heroine calls for authenticity and representation. (crafts) (Picture book. 5-8)

| kirkus.com | children’s | 1 november 2020 | 101 young adult

These titles earned the Kirkus Star: UNCHOSEN Blair, Katharyn Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins ONE OF THE GOOD ONES by Maika Moulite & (416 pp.) Maritza Moulite...... 106 $17.99 | Jan. 26, 2021 978-0-06-265764-0 GONE TO THE WOODS by Gary Paulsen...... 110 The world ended three times for Charlotte: when she left Ohio, when she realized the boy she loved actually loved her sister, and when the Crimson came. No one took the legend of Anne de Graaf seriously—curses weren’t real, or so everyone thought, until the real-life nightmare of the Crimson arrived. Locking eyes with an infected person spread the curse, turning victims into cannibalistic Vessels. After the first major wave, survivors banded together in settlements. The one hope left was finding the Chosen One who would save the world. When traffick- ers who profit from the disaster show up, Charlotte pretends to be the Chosen One in order to protect her younger sister, Vanessa, who is the actual Chosen One. This starts an exciting chain of events that takes Charlotte across the ocean in search of the man she thinks she loves, the sisters she’s lost, and maybe even Anne herself. Vessels feel like a mix of zombies and vam- pires: They are quick, smart, deadly, and terrifying. The worldbuilding is well thought out, with clear rules around how the Crimson works. However, messages of female empowerment and self-direction get lost in Charlotte’s pining for a boy—an instigator for most of her major decisions, which often leads her to put herself and others in danger. Experienced readers may find the resolution predictable. Main characters are White by default; passing mentions of diversity in the supporting cast have no bearing on the story. A fun and action-packed read. (Horror. 13-18)

CHLORINE SKY Browne, Mahogany L. Crown (192 pp.) ONE OF THE GOOD ONES $17.99 | $20.99 PLB | Jan. 12, 2021 Moulite, Maika & Moulite, Maritza 978-0-593-17639-9 Inkyard Press (384 pp.) 978-0-593-17640-5 PLB $18.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 978-1-335-14580-2 A girl who is tired of being in the shadows decides to shine. Skyy is used to hiding in the shadow of her best friend, Lay Li; shrinking away from her sister Essa’s harsh words; and turning invisible among her peers. The only place she stands

102 | 1 november 2020 | young adult | kirkus.com | out is on the basketball court going toe-to-toe with boys who DREAM CATCHERS think she shouldn’t be playing. While she and Lay Li are fight- POPS the Club Anthology ing and not speaking to each other, she reflects on the way her Ed. by Friedman, Amy & Danziger, Dennis friend treated her, both during their friendship and afterward. Out of the Woods Press (224 pp.) Skyy garners the attention of Clifton, an attractive neighbor- $17.95 paper | Jan. 12, 2021 hood boy, but his attention isn’t enough to help Skyy love her- 978-1-952197-06-2 self. Through a process of self-discovery and by listening to the stories of girls around her, Skyy learns to stand in her truth An inspiring collection of teen-cre- and determine what she’s worth. Writing in free verse, Browne ated poems, prose, and artwork that elu- explores concepts that will resonate with readers navigating cidates the hidden world of young adults toxic friendships and budding relationships and growing into living in a carceral state. themselves. Her clear, descriptive word choices conjure vivid Created by members of the POPS images and sharp feelings that pair well with the conversational the Club, a national organization for high school students who flow, making the story accessible and appealing to reluctant have been impacted by incarceration (as the children or other readers. The decision to withhold Skyy’s name until the end of loved ones of the incarcerated), the pieces are emotive but not the text allows readers to find themselves in this story. Skyy and resigned. Readers will connect to many of the major themes, the majority of characters are cued as Black. including navigating change, overcoming adversity, advocat- A coming-of-age novel for Black girls who have been told ing for social justice, and questioning one’s place in the world. they’re too much and yet never enough. (Fiction. 13-18) Divided thematically into 12 sections, the entries show the daily realities and struggles of the student writers as they deftly

navigate multiple spaces. Many of the teens’ challenges pres- young adult ROMAN AND JEWEL ent as ordinary angst, like navigating school, while others point Davis, Dana L. to deeper traumas, like parents with substance use disorders. Inkyard Press (320 pp.) Overall, their contributions are lyrical, haunting, and poignant, $18.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 and the anthology marches toward hope. While the execu- 978-1-335-07062-3 tion of some reflects the contributors’ youth, others, like “Me Nombraron Después de Ella” (“They Named Me After Her”) A teenage singer gets a backup role by Donaji Garcia, stand out for their mature use of metaphor, on Broadway and lessons in fame and language, lyricism, movement, and pacing. Other pieces are a love. call to action, directly confronting the impact of incarceration Sixteen-year-old Jerzie Jhames is on families and challenging adults to fix a justice system that a Black singer from New Jersey who is overburdened with imprisoned people while neglecting chil- dreams of being a Broadway star. She dren’s emotional health. auditions for the role of Jewel in Roman and Jewel, a hip-hopera Birds sing outside cages: Overall hopeful selections retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and is disappointed inspire a desire to rethink justice and enact change. (Anthol when she only gets the part of standby to superstar Cinny, who ogy. 12-18) plays the lead. On her first day of rehearsals Jerzie meets Zep- pelin, the musical’s Roman, and declares it love at first sight. When a video of Jerzie and Zeppelin singing a duet goes viral, LOVE, IRL Jerzie begins to realize that she may be in for more than she Goldfarb, Tracy anticipated. Conflict arises when Cinny stakes her claim on James Lorimer (224 pp.) Zeppelin and warns Jerzie to stay away from him. Despite her $27.99 | Jan. 1, 2021 occasional resistance, Jerzie comes to find that she will need 978-1-4594-1565-2 the support of her friends and family to help her navigate both Broadway and first love. Unfortunately Davis’ prose feels heavy- Teens forge an in-person connection handed at points, and her execution of the story, restricted by online. attempts to create parallels with the classic tragedy; Jerzie’s love Two random Canadian teenagers of musicals comes across as more intriguing than the insta-love start chatting in a random-people-chat- storyline. Many characters read as one-dimensional, making it ting app, and both decide they want hard to get invested in the outcome. The cast of characters is more. The two boys choose code names, racially and ethnically diverse. Tristan and Dorian, to discuss their favorite books, roommate Like its inspiration, Romeo and Juliet, this love story con- drama (Dorian left home and lives with a friend), and their tains much drama and unfulfilled potential.(Fiction. 14-18) growing attachment to each other and anxieties around meeting in person. In a story told almost entirely in chat transcripts, Alejandro Marquez and Jacob Greenspan, classmates and mild antagonists in real life, fall in love online. It’s only toward the end that the story reveals that the characters present in the

| kirkus.com | young adult | 1 november 2020 | 103 diverting reads for stressful times

November 2020 finds us nine incomplete screenplay she was writing has turned up, pos- months into the Covid-19 pandem- sibly revealing answers to her fate. ic. Teens are dealing with the stress Shine by Jessica Jung (Simon & Schuster, Sept. 29): of continued disruption to school Real-life K-pop star Jung takes readers behind the scenes for and socializing. Anticipating the out- a tantalizing look at the gossip-filled world of an elite Seoul come of the presidential election is a talent agency. A Korean American teenager seeks success source of anxiety for many—and of (and finds love) even though the odds often seem stacked course we can’t help but wonder what against her. life in 2021 will be like. Sometimes Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe you just want to dive into a book that (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, Oct. will distract, entertain, and offer a 13): Blackmail unexpectedly leads to few hours’ relief from reality. Each of the YA titles below will love in this tale of Henri, a charismat- serve that purpose admirably. ic, first-generation Haitian Ameri- Heartstopper: Volume 1 (Graphix/ can teen whose life involves juggling Scholastic, May 5) and Heartstopper: his parents’ academic expectations, Volume 2 (Nov. 10), written and illus- his dog-walking business, and a mu- trated by Alice Oseman: These graph- tually beneficial deal with classmate ic novels follow rugby-playing Nick Corinne. and slender Charlie, British teen boys Folding Tech: Using Origami and Na who are fumbling their way into a bud- ture To Revolutionize Technology by Karen Kenney (Twenty- ding romance. The masterful artwork First Century/Lerner, Nov. 3): The ancient practice of paper enhances the sweetness and charm of folding might seem worlds away from 21st-century technol- their relationship. ogy, yet scientists and engineers are using the principles of Hood by Jenny Elder Moke (Disney-Hyperion, June 9): origami in their work. Readers who pick up this well-illus- Fans of the Merry Men will enjoy returning to Sherwood trated guide will wonder at these marvels. Forest in this exciting historical adventure that introduces Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao readers to Isabelle, daughter of Marien and Robin Hood, as (Simon & Schuster, Nov. 10): A Tai- she leaves behind the safety of her childhood home in the wanese American college student at- priory and flees for her life. tempts to fend off her parents’ pres- Chasing Starlight by Teri Bailey sure to marry a successful (but obnox- Black (Tor Teen, Aug. 11): The glamour ious) man by hiring a fake boyfriend. of 1930s Hollywood—and its dark un- Fortunately for readers, what should derbelly—creates an immersive set- have been a simple business transac- ting for a suspenseful mystery. A teen- tion evolves into something more. age girl goes to live with her once-fa- A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and To mous movie-star grandfather and his morrow by Laura Taylor Namey (Ath- hopeful-actor boarders…and murder eneum, Nov. 10): After one too many soon follows. things in her life goes wrong, Lila Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Mont- leaves Miami for England, where she helps out in the kitch- gomery and Crystal Chan, illustrated en of her aunt’s inn—which turns out to be just the thing her by Kuma Chan (Manga Classics, Sept. battered and bruised heart needs. 1): This well-loved classic has endured for over a century as readers have been charmed by orphan Anne Shirley. Her sto- Laura Simeon is a young readers’ editor. ry is presented here in an engaging, expressive, and accessible manga format. White Fox by Sara Faring (Imprint, Sept. 22): In this atmospheric psychological mystery, sisters Noni and Tai are close in age but complete opposites in personality. Their film-star mother disappeared a decade earlier, and now an

104 | 1 november 2020 | young adult | kirkus.com | Honest truths delivered with humor and heart. this will be funny someday

few interstitial third-person chapters are the same ones baring THIS WILL BE their souls over text, but it’s so clearly laid out that the reluctant FUNNY SOMEDAY reader target audience will enjoy being in on the surprise and Henry, Katie figuring things out before the characters do. In this extremely Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins wholesome depiction of queer teen dialogue, cis Jacob responds (400 pp.) with a perfect script when Alex discloses his trans history, and $18.99 | Jan. 19, 2021 Jacob is a fan-fiction–style tough guy with a hard life hiding a 978-0-06-295570-8 secret cinnamon-roll interior. Authentic adolescent drama abounds over the course of the few weeks the characters meet, A lost and timid high school junior fall in love, and then meet for real. Neither characters’ racial or finds her voice through stand-up. ethnic identities, hinted at in their names, are ever discussed Sixteen-year-old Isabel Vance feels A light and fluffy queer romance.(Romance. 12-18) like the odd one out in her own family: Her successful, professional parents are preoccupied, and her 18-year-old siblings’ forceful personalities shut her out. Now PLAYING WITH FIRE that the twins are off at college, Isabel’s parents fail to see her Henry, April loneliness and count on her to fulfill her family role as the kid Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt (240 pp.) who causes no trouble. Her alpha-male boyfriend, Alex, says he $17.99 | Jan. 19, 2021 loves Isabel, but he cuts her off from her best friend and closely 978-1-250-23406-3 monitors her movements. Although Isabel fears angering Alex, she tells herself that he genuinely needs her. A series of misun-

A group of strangers searches for a derstandings results in her performing an impromptu stand-up young adult path to safety as a forest fire encroaches routine at an open mic event and meeting new friends who on them in this adventure thriller. believe she’s in college, too. Events quickly spiral out of con- Natalia and Wyatt, two teens from trol: Isabel relishes her secret life as comedian Izzy V., exploring Portland, Oregon, venture on a short the power of standing on stage, boldly and hilariously speaking hike which goes awry when a fire breaks her truth. As a straight, White, upper-middle-class girl, her new out, blocking the trail. Wyatt’s wilderness experience and Nata- friendships with a Persian lesbian, a wealthy Black boy, and an lia’s aspirations to become a doctor prove to be boons for the Asian transracial adoptee offer glimpses of a world beyond the people they encounter and join forces with as they are trying to narrow confines of her prep school. Naturally, the deception escape. These include a family—Ryan, Lisa, and their toddler, cannot continue indefinitely, and Isabel/Izzy must apply the Trask; a man called Darryl and his grandson, Zion; Beatriz and courage of her stage persona to her offstage relationships. Isa- Marco, a young couple; an older woman named Susan; and two bel is achingly and sympathetically flawed and her growth, real- men, AJ and Jason. In an escalating accumulation of bad luck istic; readers will undoubtedly connect with her journey. that strains credulity, the group members in turn experience Honest truths delivered with humor and heart. (Fiction. extraordinary injuries, health problems, and psychological chal- 13-18) lenges during the ill-fated journey. Natalia struggles with tragic events from her past that are explained in several interspersed flashbacks. The fast-paced action described through Natalia’s HEIRESS APPARENTLY anxious but practical third-person voice will initially hook read- Ma, Diana ers, and for those able to suspend their disbelief, it may carry Amulet/Abrams (304 pp.) them through the novel. However, the shallow presentation, $14.99 | Dec. 1, 2020 particularly of the secondary characters, may lessen the title’s 978-1-4197-4996-4 appeal. Natalia and Wyatt seem to be White by default; there is Series: Daughters of the Dynasty, 1 ethnic diversity in the supporting cast. A frantic and harrowing but predictable tale of group Eighteen-year-old Gemma Huang dynamics and survival. (Thriller. 12-18) lands her first major acting role—and in a film co-directed by her idol, veteran actress Eilene Deng, no less. She hops on the plane to Beijing for filming with only a twinge of guilt for breaking her parents’ cardinal rule: never go to China, and especially not to Beijing. Gemma’s always wondered what’s kept her parents away from their homeland, but she only begins to understand the extent of their secrets when she’s nearly mobbed at the airport. Turns out Gemma looks identical to Alyssa Chua, a Chinese socialite and fashion influencer—and the cousin she never knew she had. According to Alyssa, Gemma’s mother was banished from their

| kirkus.com | young adult | 1 november 2020 | 105 An explosive look behind the hashtags at race and history. one of the good ones

affluent family years ago after stealing a priceless Tang dynasty DON’T TELL A SOUL painting. This revelation stuns Gemma, who, in addition to Miller, Kirsten family drama, also has to contend with a film script full of tired Delacorte (384 pp.) stereotypes and a White co-director skeptical of her talent. $17.99 | $20.99 PLB | Jan. 26, 2021 Light historical context around the Cultural Revolution and 978-0-525-58120-8 Tiananmen Square protests lends weight and realism to the plot, 978-0-525-58121-5 PLB as does commentary about Asian American representation in Hollywood, mainly presented through Gemma’s conversations Haunted girls reclaim their narra- with Eilene and her struggles to demand a more nuanced treat- tives in this modern take on a gothic ment of her film character. Readers will also enjoy Gemma’s novel. will-they, won’t-they flirtation with handsome Eric Liu, whose When scandal drives her out of Man- family has had a decadeslong feud with the Chuas. hattan, Bram Howland goes to stay with Soap-opera–worthy twists are grounded by ties to signifi- her Uncle James. He lives in a grand mansion in a small Hudson cant events in contemporary Chinese history in this mean- Valley town where outsiders are despised and local lore about ingful debut. (author’s note) (Fiction. 13-18) the so-called “Dead Girls” leads many to believe the house is cursed. Recently, a fire destroyed part of it, killing Uncle James’ second wife. Although officially ruled an accident, James INTO THE HEARTLESS WOOD believes his stepdaughter, Lark, who is now in a mental hospital, Meyer, Joanna Ruth started the fire after becoming fixated on a girl who once lived Page Street (368 pp.) in the manor and drowned herself. Bram knows what it’s like to $18.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 be silenced and not trusted, and she expects that Lark was saner 978-1-64567-170-1 than rumors say: She’s determined to find the truth even as strange, eerie happenings occur and she finds herself in danger. In Tarian, a magical forest fights the The book opens during a blizzard and succeeds in maintaining a kings’ railroads and telegraphs, and a moody, unsettling atmosphere throughout the straightforward, young man is caught in the crossfire. plot-driven story. Some characterization is thin, and Bram’s his- Owen, 17, raises his sister and keeps tory with drug abuse and rehab feels underexplored. However, house by day while maintaining star the novel is thematically rich, encouraging readers to question charts for the king by night. Across the the crazy-woman trope and showcasing women’s fortitude wall that edges his garden, the Gwydden, the power in the against all odds. Twists abound, and numerous plot threads are woods who has turned eight birches into her humanoid tree- satisfyingly tied together in the powerful ending. All main char- siren daughters, steals souls and has her daughters kill in scenes acters are White by default. reminiscent of a literary horror novel. Owen’s present-tense, The real world proves more frightening than ghosts in first-person narration alternates with the jagged, vaguely poetic this fast-paced, female-driven story. (Paranormal. 14-18) narration of Seren, the Gwydden’s youngest daughter, who no longer wants to kill for her mother. Centered on the relationship between Owen and the tree siren, this is a story with ONE OF THE limited space for secondary characters, although an intriguing GOOD ONES background mythos reveals itself through Owen’s and Seren’s Moulite, Maika & Moulite, Maritza stories. The emphasis on souls—evil feeds on them, the tree Inkyard Press (384 pp.) siren longs for one, and their importance, along with hearts, $18.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 anchors much of the magic—lends a Christian moral code to 978-1-335-14580-2 an otherwise firmly fantastical setting that has a Welsh flavor. Familiar motifs, such as wilderness versus technology, a witch Loved ones face the fallout after a versus a king, and star-crossed lovers, placed in unfamiliar set- young Black activist dies in police cus- tings ensure that this dark romantic fantasy fulfills expectations tody in Los Angeles. without becoming formulaic. Owen is White in a world with “She was my sister before she became some racial diversity and no prejudice. your martyr,” says Happi, the younger sis- Diverting. (Romantic fantasy. 12-18) ter of Kezi, an activist and influential YouTuber who dies after taking part in a social justice rally on her 18th birthday. In the wake of police brutality, victims’ life choices are often brought into question in an attempt to justify their deaths. But Kezi is “one of the good ones,” a model student with a promising future. Temperamental Happi, by contrast, skips school, gets drunk at parties, and is now haunted by her last words to Kezi—Kezi, who loved history and was in love with her best friend, Ximena, a secret she kept from her parents, who are pastors. Through

106 | 1 november 2020 | young adult | kirkus.com | TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL LOVES LIBRARIES! 42 Texas libraries received $100,000 in grant support from TBF this year.

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| kirkus.com | young adult | 1 november 2020 | 107 INTERVIEWS & PROFILES Mike Curato

A BOY SCOUT GRAPPLES WITH HIS SEXUALITY—AND MORE—IN A GRAPHIC NOVEL ABOUT THE HARD-WON JOURNEY TO SELF-ACCEPTANCE By Laura Simeon

Dylan OsborneDylan spoke with me from his home in Northampton, Mas- sachusetts; the conversation has been edited for length and clarity. You’ve had a very successful career writing and illus- trating picture books. Why switch gears and write a YA novel? I’ve always heard the saying “write the book that you wish you had as a child,” and this is that book: the story that I wrote for myself but realized very quickly could help many people who were struggling with the same problems. I didn’t see myself in books or onscreen as a kid, whether that be [as a] queer youth, a person of color, or a mixed [race] person. I also realize that it can be a window for people who can stand to learn something— and, maybe, inspire empathy in people who might not think about how hard it is being the other in this coun- t r y. The artistic style in Flamer is a real departure—did you enter the project with a definite plan? I didn’t have a clear vision; I knew that I wanted it to be kind of rough to match the temperament of the text. So that was a challenge because my other work [is] pretty polished. There was a lot of experimentation because it was new territory. I got inspiration from books like Stitches by David Small [Norton, 2009] and Kampung Boy by Lat [First Second/Roaring Brook, 2006]. The art is made with black pencil and ink washes, and then I used colored inks for all the fiery bits, which are on dif- With Flamer (Henry Holt, Sept. 1), Mike Curato has ferent layers and assembled in Photoshop. gifted readers with a graphic novel that Kirkus’ review said would be, for many teens, “the defining book What has been the response from readers? of their adolescence.” Inspired by Curato’s own expe- At least three old Scout friends have read the book. It riences, this deeply personal work introduces Aiden made me so nervous; everyone I was in Scouts with was Navarro, a rising ninth grader and Boy Scout trying to straight, so for them to take the time to read the book navigate a world that is not always kind to effeminate, and be so supportive meant a lot. One of them said he biracial, Catholic boys who struggle with body image. cried when he read it. Hearing from complete strangers Aiden’s story will be a lifeline to those who see aspects has been amazing too—my favorite was a tweet from a of themselves in his journey; countless others will find mom who said that her 15-year-old bi daughter demand- their hearts and minds opened up by the raw pain, vul- ed [she] purchase three more copies for her to secretly nerability, and hope radiating from each page. Curato deliver to friends who needed it really badly, and that

108 | 1 november 2020 | young adult | kirkus.com | got me right in the gut. I heard from an author who said, my own experiences [and] I didn’t have to dig very deep Oh, is this what it’s like for straight people to just open in exploring how scary it was to be effeminate—how it up a book and feel completely seen? still is. On one hand, as a young cis boy, you’re trying to prove that you can be a man [and] for some of the guys, Why the summer camp setting? [who] maybe have grown a little more than their peers, The book is in part an homage to camping; I loved Boy there’s the sudden sense of power, and it can go to their Scout camp—it was the highlight of my year. You’re out heads. in the wilderness, which can be magical, and there’s this potential, a really special atmosphere. The flip side is Body positivity is something else you explore. that it’s also isolating, because you are with your peers It’s all connected, right? Toxic masculinity informs boys 24/7 instead of school, where you’re only there for a few that they have to be strong, can’t display any weakness, hours. It’s an awesome setting for a young person to and [must] never display shame. In the gay male commu- explore their boundaries and learn things about them- nity, there’s a huge underaddressed problem with body selves. Scouting gave me a lot of self-confidence. There’s dysmorphia that starts at an early age, too—I think a lot so much drama packed into just one day: You can be at of us felt disempowered as youth and are maybe over- the height of your social status in the morning and then, compensating for it as adults. All these little pieces add come lunch, you’ve been leveled to social pariah and up; it’s not just beauty standards, it’s “I’m stronger, I can then, come campfire, everything’s fine again. The wheel protect myself now,” but also, “I want to be attractive.” turns quickly and often. It was also useful as a storytell- And that ties into racial stuff too. You can’t talk about ing arc to use the summer camp structure because it is one isolated ism without bringing in others, which very regimented; that helped me create the bones of brings me back to intersectionality: You can’t separate this giant book that was very intimidating coming from these problems because they’re all connected and they the 40-page format. all play off each other. Writers who incorporate characters with multiple fac- Flamer ets to their identities are sometimes critiqued for in- received a starred review in the July 1, 2020, issue. cluding “too many issues.” young adult I’m living proof of intersectionality; I think it’s essential to have characters that have complicated identities that are sometimes at odds with each other. People who have multilayered identities can experience insecurities and self-hatred because their struggle is based on trying to reconcile them. A perfect example is being queer and Catholic: Aiden wants to be devoutly Catholic, he wants to be a good person, but there’s this part of the dogma that he’s trying to adhere to that says you can’t be you and be good. The question becomes, well, how do I not be me? A lot of the struggles that I dealt with as a child, as a young adult, prepared me to be able to take on bigger problems. I’ve seen people who kind of coasted through their childhood years where they didn’t have a lot of inner conflict—or outer conflict—ill-equipped to deal with bigger things as a grown-up. I think it would be a mistake to say that a character has too many problems: It’s useful for kids and also important for educators to have access to stories that are going to be windows into various students’ lives. One thing that drives me insane is hearing educators say, “Well, we don’t have any kids like that at our school.” You definitely do, and if you’re saying that, your school is an environment [where it] is not safe for them to be out. The constraints of masculinity play such a critical role in Aiden’s life. I wasn’t really going into it thinking, “Let’s talk about toxic masculinity”—but I just had to think back about

| kirkus.com | young adult | 1 november 2020 | 109 Brightly funny and darkly tragic. gone to the woods

brilliant storytelling, sharp dialogue, and flashbacks, the narra- GONE TO THE WOODS tive becomes a story within a story as Kezi delves into her family Surviving a Lost history beginning in the late 1930s. Her research sets the stage Childhood for a present-day trek inspired by The Negro Motorist Green Book, Paulsen, Gary a guide that helped Black American travelers stay safe during Farrar, Straus and Giroux (368 pp.) the Jim Crow era. This novel, the second collaboration by the $17.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 sisters behind Dear Haiti, Love Alaine (2019), is an explosive look 978-0-374-31415-6 behind the hashtags at race and history, taking readers on a road trip mapped by love and grief. Life was hard for the boy, who wasn’t Close to perfection. (maps, family trees) (Fiction. 13-18) an orphan but was close enough to being one while still having parents. In this emotional memoir, Paulsen LYCANTHROPY AND OTHER writes about himself in the third person as “the boy,” choosing CHRONIC ILLNESSES several pointed childhood experiences that were instrumental O’Neal, Kristen to his maturation into a writer. As a child, the boy is rescued Quirk Books (384 pp.) by his grandmother, who is appalled to learn that, at 5, he is $18.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 performing for an array of his mother’s suitors in Chicago bars 978-1-68369-234-8 while his father is serving in World War II. Upon her insistence that he relocate to his aunt and uncle’s farm, the boy makes the In O’Neal’s debut, a girl with Lyme journey by train to Minnesota alone. There, he experiences disease attempts to cure her best friend— unconditional love for the first time. However, all good things who’s a werewolf. come to an end, and when the mother retrieves the boy to join Nineteen-year-old narrator Priya Rad- his father in the Philippines, the narrative shifts, and the boy hakrishnan feels like Lyme disease has experiences ongoing trauma that many readers will connect to. stolen her life. Instead of studying pre-med at Stanford, she’s back Paulsen keenly observes his youth from a distance, only identi- home in New Jersey with her loving and protective parents, strug- fying himself once by name. In this way, he effectively executes gling with debilitating fatigue, mental fog, and joint pain. Fortunately, the roles of both an actor in the story and director of the text. she and her online friend Brigid—who’s reluctant to share details This sense of close-detachedness results in a rich, compelling about her own illness—find comfort and camaraderie in a vir- read that is emotive and expressive without forcing empathy tual chronic-illness support group, whose members navigate from the reader. Both brightly funny and darkly tragic, it is diagnoses ranging from endometriosis to fibromyalgia. Though fresh in its honest portrayal of difficult themes. the members’ personalities are nearly indistinguishable, their Readers will fall into this narrative of succeeding against wisecracking chats and texts sympathetically acknowledge overwhelming odds amid deep trauma. (Memoir. 12-18) the physical and mental tolls of dealing with both chronic illness and others’ misconceptions. When Brigid ominously goes offline, Priya tracks her down and discovers her diagnosis: She’s THE MEET-CUTE PROJECT a werewolf, and she’s getting worse. Can Priya help Brigid find Richardson, Rhiannon a cure before she becomes a wolf permanently? More medical Simon & Schuster (384 pp.) than paranormal, Brigid’s lycanthropy sensitively explores such $19.99 | Jan. 12, 2021 issues as treatment risks, independence, and identity. A some- 978-1-5344-7352-2 what anticlimactic ending is mitigated by the love and support suffusing Priya’s and Brigid’s interactions with the group and Mia’s friends concoct a plan to find each other, reassuring readers living with health conditions that her a date for her sister Samantha’s they’re not alone. Most characters default to White. Priya is wedding. the daughter of South Indian immigrants; there is diversity of When the groomsman Mia was sexual orientation and gender identity among the cast. paired with has to cancel at the last min- A heartwarming, quirky take on chronic illness in all its ute, bridezilla Sam insists Mia can’t go hairy detail. (Fiction. 13-18) to the wedding alone because the photos will look asymmetri- cal. But instead of finding another friend of the groom for her, Sam decides Mia should find her own date—which is easier said than done because Mia has spent the first three years of high school absorbed in studying, swim team, and math club. Mia’s friends decide to help her out by arranging meet-cutes; they are convinced that if she bumps into someone and has a special moment with them, it will give her the opening she needs to take things further. Mia reluctantly agrees, nervously approaching each surprise meet-cute. After a few disastrous

110 | 1 november 2020 | young adult | kirkus.com | meetings, Mia turns to Gavin, the guy she volunteers with at sister, who manifested the Voice. When their country forces the community garden, for relationship advice. The dating fails every Singer into the military, Miren convinces Kesia to hide and Mia’s exasperation provide just enough cringeworthy com- her gift…only for Kesia to be kidnapped by pirates. Miren will edy to move the story along. The supportive female friendships do anything to save her, even join forces with her sister’s naïve are also a strength of the book. Although readers will see the noble boyfriend and a family of runaway indentured servants. ending coming, Mia’s personal growth and the romance proj- The narrative alternates between each sister’s perspective but ect will keep them engaged. All major characters are Black or feels more like two different books: one, Kesia’s harrowing life people of color. as a slave, relieved at first by her wonder at the airship she helps A satisfying, feel-good rom-com. (Romance. 14-18) fly but even more by her discovery of her own capabilities; the other, Miren’s tedious accounts of arguments about logistics, topography, and political structures among a large group, all HOLD BACK THE TIDE of whom she regards with coldness and contempt. The world Salisbury, Melinda is exceptionally well defined, although details of the magical Scholastic (384 pp.) system are mostly hand-waved away. Once the separate story- $18.99 | Jan. 5, 2021 lines finally intersect and immediate crises are averted, so much 978-1-338-68130-7 is left unresolved that a sequel seems inevitable. Singers lose their speaking voices and communicate using universally under- All Alva Douglas wants is to survive stood phonetic signs that appear to be transcriptions of spoken long enough to escape her Scottish High- speech rather than a separate language. Characters seem to be land home. White by default.

Seven years ago, Da killed Mam. Half fantastical coming-of-age; half notes for a geogra- young adult Since that time Alva has lived by a set phy report. (Fantasy. 12-18) of rules she created to protect herself. Now, the day when she can secretly escape her small village draws closer; soon she’ll be safely away from her father and the scornful locals. Unfortunately, fate has other plans for the 16-year-old. Human greed is causing the loch levels to lower at an astonishing rate, setting free the òlanfhuil, terrifying, ancient creatures who have been hidden away for centuries. Alva has always known that her father is the Naomhfhuil, or caretaker of the loch. When his crime is finally exposed and Da is at last arrested for Mam’s murder, Alva reluctantly steps into his role, fulfilling the Naomhfhuil’s true purpose: to protect the village from the bloodthirsty òlanfhuil. Narrator Alva is a hero readers will get behind: She is a decisive, take-charge fighter who presses on when she discovers that everything she believed is a lie. The book takes place in an unnamed bygone era, and rich descriptions imbue both the setting and action with cinematic intensity. The characters, especially the almost impossible-to- kill òlanfhuil, who are described in nightmarish detail, come alive on the page. The only thing missing is a Highland bagpipes soundtrack. Assume Whiteness for all characters. Skin-tingling, blood-curdling horror perfect for reading by firelight.(Horror. 14-17)

DIVIDED FIRE San Filippo, Jennifer Clarion (368 pp.) $17.99 | Nov. 10, 2020 978-1-328-48919-7

In a world where the elements are controlled by magical Songs, one young woman struggles to rescue her sister. Miren had always hoped to be a Fire Singer, but it was Kesia, her frail younger

| kirkus.com | young adult | 1 november 2020 | 111 indie These titles earned the Kirkus Star: GOBBLEDY Anna-Langston, Lis Illus. by Powell, Rich HEART-SHAPED FRIENDSHIP by Andra Barros; SparkPress (232 pp.) illus. by Thalita Dol...... 113 $16.95 paper | $9.95 e-book Oct. 20, 2020 THE CHRONICLES OF THE VIRAGO by Michael Bialys...... 114 978-1-68463-067-7

DEAR DURWOOD by Jeff Bond...... 115 In this novel, a boy gets into even more trouble than usual after encoun- MAGNOLIA CANOPY OTHERWORLD by Erin Carlyle...... 117 tering a cute (and hungry) alien creature. Kissmas—a child’s pronunciation of THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF GIDON LEV by Julie Gray...... 120 Christmas that stuck—won’t be the same this year. Six months ago, Dexter Duckworth, 11, lost his mother, leaving him, his father, MUSICAL YOUTH by Joanne C. Hillhouse...... 121 and his 8-year-old brother, Dougal, with a hole in the family: “Not a bad hole, but a big hole. The kind of hole that sneaks up WEST OF IRELAND by C.P. Hoff...... 121 on me late at night when I remember.” Dexter’s science project, a “Cricket Colony,” goes badly awry when he enhances an enclo- A LITTLE BIT OF DINOSAUR! by Elleen Hutcheson & Darcy Pattison; sure with a rock from the forest on which a strange bug seems to illus. by John Joven...... 122 have hitched a ride. It’s furry, ravenous, and growing larger all the time. It soon becomes evident that Gobbledy, as he’s dubbed, is WOMEN IN THE WAITING ROOM by Kirun Kapur...... 122 an extraterrestrial alien who needs help and protection. A comedy of errors ensues as Dexter tries to avoid getting grounded THE KING’S DRAPES by Jocelyn Tambascio; illus. by Jen Born...... 128 for life. Anna-Langston, whose middle-grade fiction has won numerous prizes, successfully balances comedy and drama in this latest outing. Dexter’s narrative voice sounds convincingly fifth grade in his sense of humor, but he also expresses thoughtfulness and compassion; the family’s palpable grief and their attempts to restore normality for this first Christmas without their mother are poignant yet understated. Meanwhile, Dexter’s misadven- tures build upon each other for great comic effect, culminating in a school Winter Extravaganza where his role as Gingerbread Man goes hilariously wrong. As he comments, “Trouble is a plague. Trouble follows fun. Trouble is my mortal enemy.” The alien’s plight, too, is affecting, and the devotion he inspires in the cast reveals the story’s warm heart. Powell, a prolific artist and illustrator, contributes engagingly humorous and skillfully cross- hatched drawings. Hugely entertaining as well as emotionally moving.

DEAR DURWOOD Bond, Jeff Self (190 pp.) $13.99 paper | $0.99 e-book Apr. 5, 2020 978-1-73225-529-6

112 | 1 november 2020 | indie | kirkus.com | QUEEN OF NONE HEART-SHAPED Barron, Natania FRIENDSHIP Vernacular Books (325 pp.) Barros, Andréa $9.99 e-book | Dec. 1, 2020 Illus. by Dol, Thalita Self (40 pp.) After decades spent in obscurity, an $6.99 e-book | Jun. 20, 2020 ignored royal discovers how to make an impact late in life in this novel that rei- A child discovers that friendship can magines the Arthurian legend. overcome the challenges of language and Anna Pendragon has the misfortune differing abilities in this debut picture book. of being the only full-blooded sister of Hope, excited about the first day of school, is startled by a Arthur Pendragon. Yes, that famous collision with a girl on a scooter. The rider, Summy, says, “Ooo... king. On the day Anna was born, sorcerer Merlin, the manipu- Eee…,” which her mother explains means “Sorry.” Hope finds lator of Carelon, said of her: “Through all the ages, and in the out that Summy has trouble learning words. Their teacher hearts of men, you will be forgotten.” Anna is married off to devises a task. Each student will teach Summy one word, and the much older Lot of Orkney, bearing him three sons: Gawain then the class will have a Popsicle party. Because Hope and and younger twins Gaheris and Gareth. Following Lot’s death, Summy love hearts, Hope decides to teach the word heart, but Anna returns home, surrendering Orkney’s crown to Arthur. no technique works. When Summy overhears a conversation She hopes she will be allowed to settle down with her true love, between Hope and a classmate, who says dismissively, “My par- Bedevere. Instead, at Merlin’s insistence, she is forced into an ents told me everything about kids like her,” Summy’s feelings

arranged marriage with Lanceloch, the knight who is Arthur’s are hurt. After Hope rescues Summy, who’s stuck on a climbing young adult current crush. Her exiled aunt Vyvian helps Anna to see the wall, she apologizes for hurting the girl’s feelings. Summy then power inside of her, an ability to disappear in the shadows. explains what heart means to her: love. Barros’ straightforward Using a book of spells supplied by Vyvian, Anna creates Nimue, narrative style is from Hope’s point of view; the vocabulary is a comely young woman whose purpose is to seduce and entrap accessible to early elementary school readers. Although Barros Merlin. The trouble is that Nimue develops a mind of her own: never explains the reason for Summy’s difficulties, the descrip- She isn’t ready to let go of her short life. Meanwhile, Anna tions of her eyes and speech—as well as a note that the author starts to fade away while powering Nimue. Anna must get has a child with Down syndrome—indicates that Summy has the her creation back on track or perish. Barron, an established syndrome. Hope’s understanding and love for Summy, despite fantasy writer, appears right at home crafting this reinvention the prejudices of others, are a wonderful model of acceptance of of Camelot. As the author unveils her new versions of well- those with different abilities. Dol’s beautifully detailed cartoon known characters, it isn’t essential for readers to be familiar illustrations feature a diverse group of students. with Arthurian history and myth, but those who are will enjoy A winning story of acceptance and love, especially for her twists. Her protagonist is ideal for providing an outsider’s those who are different. perspective on the machinations happening in the Carelon court. But Anna’s curse keeps her from being as plugged in as she should be, having to rely on others—such as her half sister, OPTIMAL Morgen, Merlin’s apprentice—for intelligence. The intricate Berger, J.M. narrative begins with Anna’s birth and then jumps forward. Self (352 pp.) The story spans decades and feels a little draggy at times. But $14.99 paper | $2.99 e-book Anna’s righteous crusade to save her kingdom from Merlin’s Aug. 25, 2020 schemes will propel readers past those slow spots. A captivating look at the intriguing figures in King In Berger’s dystopian tale, an accoun- Arthur’s golden realm. tant searches for a man who’s somehow disappeared in a strictly monitored society. In this futuristic world, the System aids citizens with nearly every aspect of life, from finding compatible dating prospects to getting to work each morning. Jack, just a typical accountant at a bookkeeping company in New Boston, has a business meeting with Megumi, general counsel at UVblZ- CofKX Corp., a company headquartered in Asia; its North American subsidiary is one of Jack’s clients. Unexpectedly, Megumi asks him to help locate missing financial officer Stan- ton Lime. Sure enough, Jack’s ping for Lime gets no response whatsoever, which is practically inconceivable. Consequently, he initiates an investigation of sorts to find the missing man.

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 november 2020 | 113 movie magic

Watching a new or classic Holly- Though there’s little information in Lime’s workstream to indi- wood film while sitting on the couch cate his whereabouts, Jack makes headway when he talks to two with a bowl of buttered popcorn and of the last people who saw him before he vanished. Once he a purring cat sounds like heaven to uncovers “subversive” materials among Lime’s belongings, Jack, many movie fans. But selecting a film in little time, begins to question the System itself. He learns, for one, that the System’s most recent update includes a recorded for home viewing can be difficult: Toy historical fact that’s been slightly altered. Jack teams up with Story 4, Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Megumi and others and tries to unearth whatever else the Sys- Northwest, or The Bank Dick, starring tem may be hiding. Berger’s absorbing story skewers reliance W.C. Fields? Kirkus Indie recently re- on social media. What makes the System so unsettling is that it viewed three nonfiction books that merely sends “prompts”; citizens can ignore these prompts but should help readers choose the per- often abide by them regardless. Lighter moments help allevi- ate the overall somber tone. For example, after Jack’s gender- fect movie to savor. fluid pal, Jesse, suggests Jack is a detective, the accountant Arthur Frank Wertheim’s W.C. subsequently researches Sherlock Holmes for reference. As the Fields From Sound Film and Radio narrative progresses, the mystery slowly unravels, though the Comedy to Stardom explores the biggest surprise is saved for the final act. Berger’s prose is crisp, cranky comic’s success in mov- although the narrative can be vague since Jack gets few answers until the end. ies like It’s a Gift and Never Give a A sharp, gripping story of a bleak future. Sucker an Even Break as well as his turbulent personal life. Fields was a “virtuoso comedian…who brought THE CHRONICLES OF so much laughter to millions while THE VIRAGO enduring so much anguish,” Wert- Book III: The Triumviratus heim writes. Our critic calls the Bialys, Michael biography “a thorough, insightful Self (330 pp.) study not only of Fields’ film com- This final book in a middle-grade edies, but of the inner turmoil that fueled his genius.” fantasy trilogy sees a young teen and her A Guide to Streaming Great Films friends protect her twin siblings while by Elliott Kanbar, a movie-industry trying to save her father’s soul. consultant, examines various formats In her previous adventure, 13-year- and on-demand, rental, and subscrip- old Makenna Grace Gold defeated a tion services. The author also discuss- seven-headed Red Dragon in China. She’s the Virago, a “Pro- tector of Protectors” who shares a heroic lineage with Joan of es public-domain films: “Most were Arc. However, a Souler has taken her father Michael’s soul to released prior to 1960 and some may the Under Realms. It’s the work of Sir Malvado Seaton—the even go back to the days before sound. Dark One—who wants to keep Makenna’s infant siblings, Noah But they are free, so what the heck!” and Emi, from spreading a sense of hope around the world. According to our reviewer, this “cheer- Marigold Frith, the fairy Prelate, sends Makenna’s classmates ful, functional reference work” should Sam Taylor and Stephen Levine down to the Under Realms to retrieve Michael’s soul. Fairies Bree and Dee Delphine stand in “appeal to film and television fans.” as magical doppelgängers of Sam and Stephen on Earth while In Hitchcock’s California, movie historian Dan Auiler they’re away. And to keep Makenna’s mom, Misty, from worry- and photographers Aimee Sinclair and Robert Jones cel- ing about her husband, the fairies secretly turn Fluffy, the Vira- ebrate the legendary director’s celluloid achievements. go’s loyal worm, into Michael’s double as the Gold family visits Jones’ 80 photos of California locations in the auteur’s China. The heroes must be ready for anything as Seaton flies films form the striking centerpiece of this endeavor. The in his private jet to Shanghai; his wicked, two-tailed cat, Savan- work also includes Sinclair’s “Souvenirs of a Killing,” 17 re- nah, arrives early and tries to attack the twins in their room at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel. Meanwhile, the real Sam and Ste- creations of remarkable moments in Hitchcock’s movies, phen infiltrate the underworld after giving DuGaiman, a half- and the transcript of a conversation between Auiler and troll bouncer, the runaround. Thanks to Sam’s knowledge of a Jones. “A rich and vibrant homage to a singular visual styl- particular video game, they manage to track the Souler through ist,” our critic writes. hell’s numerous levels. The danger for Makenna increases when Ms. Creante, an Alghanii Demonesse, heals from her last battle and reenters the fray. Myra Forsberg is an Indie editor.

114 | 1 november 2020 | indie | kirkus.com | An energetic page-turner with intriguing social commentary. dear durwood

In Bialys’ third series installment, the author performs a caregiving from a very personal perspective. Often, he exposes narrative victory lap, securing his trilogy a permanent place on the changing roles and conflicting emotions associated with his readers’ shelves. The tale expands the cast but maintains caregiving, expressing feelings that may be uncomfortable but an excellent pace and a perfect balance between comedy and are widespread among practitioners. He writes, for example, drama. Self-doubt torments the principal characters as much as “When the mother who cared for you becomes dependent upon any vampire cat might; indeed, Ms. Creante reminds Makenna, care by you, the change can be unexpectedly difficult to com- “you have yet to win a battle all on your own.” Later, in the prehend and accept.” He references a study by two researchers Under Realms, a being named Orsin feeds Stephen from the that helps explain this “role identity conflict,” offering helpful tree of knowledge, and the boy experiences a vision in which suggestions for how to cope with such a common situation. Sam and Makenna get married as adults. Stephen and Sam Blight also deftly discusses the complex dynamic if the care- nearly have a falling out over this possible future, and Bialys giver and the receiver have “an imperfect relationship.” In this offers a potent illustration of young love. Seaton eventually case, caregivers “need to decide how much they can tolerate tempts Makenna with a vision of herself as the most popular, and then set boundaries with the care receiver.” Throughout graceful student at school (even the obnoxious Heather Stern the book, the author brings up thorny, challenging issues and worships her); the vision could be reality—if only she’ll give then applies his experience in proposing mechanisms to deal up the twins. Fluffy, in the guise of Michael, provides come- with them. In writing about time management, for example, he dic relief as he struggles with being human. Bialys also offers acknowledges that caregivers often need to adjust their schedules plenty of quick jokes for adult fans, as when Marigold threat- to meet receivers’ needs. He then suggests six time-management ens to withhold DuGaiman’s tickets to a Celine Dion show. strategies to handle this reality. When he points to “compassion Such consistently entertaining details keep the story fresh and fatigue,” a condition that occurs when caregivers get worn out,

buoyant despite the darker themes. The sparkling prose never he lists 10 “stress-reduction tips” for them to follow. Blight dili- young adult bogs down, and it’s a joy to meet creations with clever names, gently covers many aspects of how caregiving affects both parties, such as Ms. Judged. In the end, the Virago’s adventure ably such as the impact on other members of the family, the prob- delivers a fine message of selflessness. lems of juggling caregiving and work, the pros and cons of hiring A nuanced and grand fantasy-series finale. outside assistance, the discomfort surrounding ministering to an aging body, the demands of coping with dementia, and more. Blight writes in a conversational, informal style. He demonstrates WHEN CAREGIVING CALLS a keen understanding of the entire spectrum of caregiving and Guidance as You Care for uses pertinent examples. He continuously reassures the caregiver, a Parent, Spouse, or especially when he talks about the “rewards” of the role. In this Aging Relative respect, Blight is both educator and cheerleader. His intimate Blight, Aaron knowledge of caregiving—how it affects the two principals— Rivertowns Books (238 pp.) makes this a valuable resource. $16.95 paper | $6.99 e-book Candid, compassionate, and comforting caregiving advice. Oct. 13, 2020 978-1-73391-414-7 DEAR DURWOOD A debut work directed at caregiv- Bond, Jeff ers delivers straight talk and a lot of Self (190 pp.) understanding. $13.99 paper | $0.99 e-book About 21% of adults in the United States—as many as 53 mil- Apr. 5, 2020 lion Americans—act as caregivers for aging or disabled loved 978-1-73225-529-6 ones, according to a 2020 research report cited by Blight. This segment of the population performs a service that the author A paramilitary do-gooder defends a is all too familiar with. He and his wife were caregivers to his Texas town from corporate skulduggery mother-in-law in their home for close to two years following in this rollicking adventure tale. brain surgery, after which she lived independently but needed This is the second novel in Bond’s assistance from health aides. The episode led Blight to start his Third Chance Enterprises series about own home care company and eventually become a caregiving a trio of private-eye security specialists. consultant. These three experiences—caregiver, owner of a It’s a solo outing for Durwood Oak Jones, an ex-Marine con- home care service, and consultant—uniquely qualify the author tractor and West Virginia sorghum farmer with a sideline in to comprehend the complex, often emotional aspects of pro- righting injustices for people who respond to his ads in Soldier viding care for a spouse or aging parent. The book is smartly of Fortune magazine. One such letter comes from Chickasaw, organized into 18 brief yet highly relevant chapters, each Texas’ Democratic mayor, Carol Bridges, who thinks the Hogan addressing an aspect of caregiving. At the close of every chapter, Consolidated factory, a mainstay of the local economy, is being questions are included for reflection. Rather than attempt to forced by lawsuits into a buyout that will result in mass layoffs. create a manual, the author shares salient observations about Nosing around corporate paperwork and court filings isn’t a

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 november 2020 | 115 typical project for Durwood, who usually solves problems with PREY OF THE FALCON his fists, an M9 semiautomatic, and his arthritic hound dog, Camarda, Len Sue-Ann. But Carol, an attractive, redheaded Iraq War vet who AuthorHouse (298 pp.) can quote Scripture, appeals to him, and the apparent villains— $31.99 | $20.99 paper | $5.99 e-book a 28-year-old CEO and some lawyers—are so loathsome that he May 31, 2020 feels compelled to get involved. The case leads to violence that 978-1-72836-147-5 gets Durwood framed for murder after he uncovers evidence 978-1-72836-149-9 paper of double-dealing (and a bit of BDSM); the case later takes a swerve that makes him question everything he thought he The mysterious disappearance of two knew about the case. Bond’s tale features his usual lean, laconic, young women involves international crime and evocative prose and mixes vivid character development and cultural manipulation in this novel. (“He fared poorly when talking just to talk. Every useless word Drawing on his globe-trotting trav- felt like some tiny roofing nail you’d spilled and had to go hunt- els throughout Europe, former businessman-turned-author ing through the grass for”) with gripping procedural and fight Camarda again re-creates the atmospheric, dramatic tension scenes (“Durwood punched his spine again. Harder….Holcomb, permeating his impressive debut, The Seventh Treasure (2012). on his knees, was sinking like a slab of butter left out overnight”). This sequel focuses on the abduction of two University of It also has unobtrusive political themes, as Durwood feels him- Madrid law students. Spanish student Paz de la Cruz and her self a defender of honest capitalism against those who decry it American best friend, Francesca “Frankie” Fontana, met while and the “Wall Street sharks” who parasitize it. Eventually, how- both were in high school. Frankie’s father was managing direc- ever, he finds himself second-guessing his own heartland ethos; tor of the Spanish subsidiary of a pharmaceutical company at one point, he muses that “The story had looked simple, black based in the United States. He held lavish annual dinners with lines on white paper,” causing him to nurse “his own righteous- his partner, Rodrigo, Paz’s father. Under the orchestration of ness like the worst men of the age.” The result is an energetic ruthless Assad al-Amin, leader of the Saqr (Falcon in Arabic) page-turner with intriguing social commentary. militant faction, the young women are abducted and taken to An entertaining, richly imagined action yarn with intel- Dubai. They are set to become pawns in a nefarious “hundred- lectual bite. year plan” to empower, educate, and emancipate female citizens beyond the patriarchal restraints of radical Islamic cultural sup- pression. The details of Assad’s crusade involve kidnapping “the YOU BE YOU best and brightest female leaders from universities throughout Brehm, Richard Europe.” They are then auctioned online to the highest bidders Illus. by Coelho, Rogério and forced into becoming “special educators,” mentoring and BeeZeus Publishing teaching leadership skills to the children of Middle Eastern 978-1-64999-718-0 families. As expected, the spirited Paz and Frankie don’t acqui- esce easily, but conceding their limited options, they begin Faced with a blank canvas, a young teaching kids and unexpectedly bond with them. Meanwhile, girl finds her creative spirit in Brehm’s unusual picture book. pulled back into action and assigned to investigate the two Emerging from a dark forest, a sickle moon overhead, a women’s disappearance are the tough, seasoned detectives from young girl enters “a whispery house / At the edge of the wild,” Camarda’s debut: Spain’s National Police Force Capt. Mercedes where mysterious “Old Master Paint” awaits her in a cape of Garcia Rico and FBI special agent Gino Cerone. Because the luminous, swirling colors. Too tongue-tied and uncertain to say women have prominent fathers, the captain finds herself under her name, the girl is given a bucket and a brush and led down intense scrutiny to act fast, but the probe is hindered by an strange hallways and upstairs to a room dominated by an enor- absence of both evidence and any ransom demands. Delivered mous, white canvas—hers to paint, she is told. After a tentative, in short, clipped chapters, the author’s plot continues to branch disappointing first effort, the little girl’s anger and self-doubt— outward, laying the somewhat convoluted groundwork for an in the form of trolls, wolves, and her alter ego—threaten to get engrossing story of Middle Eastern intrigue and modern cul- the better of her until she realizes that she is in control. It is tural transfiguration thankfully devoid of egregious violence. her own life the girl is painting, and she can choose to “Dream International suspense fans will appreciate Camarda’s impec- large! Grab on! / You’re just getting started, / Such adventures cable narrative pacing as he seamlessly interweaves the per- to come!” The offbeat cadence of inspirational, rhyming, and spectives of cunning Assad, reluctant teachers Paz and Frankie, almost-rhyming text winds through dreamlike images by award- and the two (smitten) detectives who desperately maneuver to winning Brazilian author/illustrator Coelho. Shadowed rooms rescue them. A smooth, satisfying conclusion ties up loose ends (odd angles and haunting details), rich abstractions of patterns while opening the door for more installments. and color, and showers of light reflect the little girl’s initial hesi- An adventuresome investigative thriller with global flair tation to claim her place in the world and her subsequent, cel- and captivating, hardcore sleuths to cheer. ebratory sense of self-discovery. An uplifting, eye-filling adventure encouraging children to realize their innate creativity and individuality.

116 | 1 november 2020 | indie | kirkus.com | Carlyle’s poems resonate with lived experience. magnolia canopy otherworld

MAGNOLIA CANOPY of kindness multiply as people begin to pass out food, sing car- OTHERWORLD ols, and notice one another. A storm unfortunately blows the Carlyle, Erin Christmas Weed away, but the memory of the plant helps the Driftwood Press (78 pp.) people of the city remember “the spirit of giving.” This sweet $14.99 paper | Dec. 15, 2020 story is accompanied by lush illustrations by Gortman, who 978-1-949065-08-4 portrays Toledo’s citizens as diverse. The author manages to convey the importance of charity and community without mak- Carlyle spins lyrical realities and grim ing the tale mawkish or trite. She closes the text with the real fantasies in her first collection of poetry. story of the Christmas Weed and the hope that the holiday Set against the dreamy backdrop of magic will continue. an uncanny American South, the poet A heartwarming holiday tale that proves even the littlest weaves together more than 30 poems things can make a big difference. that explore family dynamics, awakening sexuality, unexpected dangers, and the lasting, systemic effects of poverty and drug abuse. The author draws from her own upbringing in Kentucky 20/20 and Alabama but infuses her recollections with fairy-tale logic Clark, B. Shawn and mythic figures. Some girls are depicted as ghostly sirens in First Run Books (240 pp.) creeks or as corpses that eerie “Rivermen” might dredge up. The $24.95 | $2.99 e-book | Dec. 1, 2019 woods are populated with strange desires, and there are refer- 978-1-73430-830-3 ences to the Animal, a totemic creature apparently located at the

precipice of puberty. A pain clinic is portrayed as both a church In Clark’s cautionary climate change young adult and temptation, with the pills it doles out as the only communion tale, a Florida village leader in a deluged available. Carlyle’s poetry will absorb readers with lush imagery future recalls his boyhood in the 2020s. that doesn’t shy away from the carnal and disturbing: “What man Clark’s novel opens in the late 21st made their bodies into tables—arms and legs bent backward, / a coffee century. The “Captain,” a village elder cup on the sternum?” The poetry also makes use of space, with stan- living on Florida’s disappearing coastline, zas strategically formatted to draw attention to specific thoughts describes his youth in the catastrophic 2020s (“the Roaring or words and entire sections that call back to others, adding to Twenties”), when climate change led the seas to nearly swallow the cyclical, fablelike quality of the collection. Carlyle’s poems the Sunshine State. After his sailor father went AWOL from the resonate with lived experience; in an interview, she acknowledges Navy in a George W. Bush–style resource war, the juvenile hero that some of her subject matter was influenced by her family’s finds a surrogate dad in the neighborhood eccentric, a hermit struggles with opioids, which contributed to her father’s death in called Harrison, whose DIY compound is self-designed and 2019. There’s a clear sense of loss in these poems, which helps to landscaped to survive escalating storms and floods. Harrison’s transform a paean to rural adolescent girlhood into a catharsis for mysterious partner is a striking, dark-skinned “Amazon Warrior both the poet and the reader. Princess” called Calusa, an alleged remnant of lost tribes who A set of works suffused with wonder, terror, and honesty. thrived before White invasion. The boy introduces his skeptical mom to Harrison’s “Hermitage” and its peculiar ways. The little commune lacks building permits and maintains a welcom- THE WEED THAT ing attitude to the area’s Haitian minority, aggravating the vile, WOKE CHRISTMAS racist bureaucracy in the local housing association. But Har- The Mostly True Tale of the rison is vindicated when only his structure withstands a killer Toledo Christmas Weed storm (“the Big One”) that drowns much of the state. A remote Christian, Alayne Kay federal government cannot bring relief to the general populace. Illus. by Gortman, Polina Only Harrison’s minicolony shows a sustainable future using Blue Whale Press (40 pp.) tidal irrigation, shell middens, and off-the-grid technology, like $16.99 | Oct. 1, 2020 solar power. The tone here is agreeably all ages, and while many 978-0-9814938-1-7 “cli-fi” novels (including YA ones) maintain a dreary pessimism, Clark’s invokes the utopian rather than dystopian. Harrison, Based on a true story, this picture with wry pop-culture references, outlines Western civiliza- book spreads Christmas cheer through an unlikely character. tion’s sins (like the Industrial Revolution). With the Captain by Taking some liberties with the truth, Christian tells of his side as an apprentice, Harrison turns disaster into positive Weed, a scraggly plant who, as a small seed, floats on a breeze change via small-is-beautiful philosophies, revivals of a barter into the middle of a traffic circle and grows there. Though economy, and conducting maritime trading among the fresh most people ignore the unremarkable Weed as they pass by, a island chains wrought from post-flood Florida. Literary allu- little girl decides to wrap the plant in tinsel. Now very flashy sions include The Swiss Family Robinson, though readers may and obvious, Weed becomes a focal point for Toledo, Ohio, remember another Harrison-like visionary/survivalist protago- citizens to drop off necessities for the needy. These small acts nist in Paul Theroux’s The Mosquito Coast (1981). That guy ended

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 november 2020 | 117 a doomed madman; in comparison, this serves a more upbeat, if THE FIREFLY WARRIORS CLUB still bittersweet, forecast of rough weather ahead. Count, Susan Florida gets a much-needed reset via climate apocalypse Hastings Creations Group (200 pp.) in a bighearted instructional tale. $8.99 paper | $3.99 e-book Aug. 24, 2020 978-0-9970883-2-8 NOWHERE NEAR GOODBYE Conrey, Barbara A Texas boy and his cousin face unex- Red Adept Publishing (276 pp.) pected challenges when trying to protect $13.99 paper | $7.99 e-book fireflies in this middle-grade novel. Aug. 4, 2020 In Book 1 of the new Texas Boys 978-1-948051-57-6 Adventures series by Count, 12-year- old Davy, a budding entomologist, arrives for a summer visit In Conrey’s debut novel, a woman at his grandfather’s farm, “the best insect observation site he sacrifices her personal relationships in knew.” At first, it seems that annoying younger cousin Ander- her quest to find a cure for glioblastoma. son will spoil Davy’s plans, until the two discover a colony of Emma is a dedicated neuro-oncolo- endangered fireflies, which communicate by flashing in code, gist who has a promising career and a sta- in the forest on the edge of Grandpa’s farm. Davy learns that ble marriage to Tim. As the novel opens, they’ve just discovered a neighboring farmer’s pasture-clearing is decimating the fire- that Emma is pregnant. He’s elated, but her excitement quickly flies’ habitat. He and Anderson decide to become “Firefly War- dissipates as, she narrates, “I struggled between what I wanted riors,” seeking ways to help the glowing insects. The author’s and what my work demanded.” When she was a child, Emma touch of the supernatural in the plot is deftly balanced with the lost her best friend, Kate, to glioblastoma—a form of cancer boys’ lively, reality-based adventures and by strong messaging that occurs in the brain or spinal cord. Emma works relentlessly about insects and their vital place in the world’s ecology, under on a glioblastoma treatment, spurred on by the memory of Kate threat from pesticides and loss of habitat. “If the insects die, and the fact that she works for Kate’s father, Ned, at the hospi- then everything that needs them for food dies too,” Davy says. tal. After she gives birth to her daughter, Ali, her husband hopes (Davy’s knowledge about nature isn’t restricted to fireflies. His that she’ll slow down and refocus her attention on her family. opportunities for sharing facts about insects and other wildlife But postpartum depression (and a firm belief that “I had to put arise naturally in conversation—and during a scary encounter Kate first. I had to. I couldn’t give up”) leads Emma to push Tim with a rat snake.) Davy learns of a possible solution to the fire- and Ali away. Emma agrees to get counseling from Susan, a kind, flies’ plight that would allow farmers to turn part of their land unflappable therapist. However, despite Emma’s attempts to over to wildlife preservation, but before he can promote this open up, the memory of Kate may prevent her from reconnect- idea, a raging fire breaks out, threatening farms and forest and ing with her own family. Overall, this novel offers a nuanced look sending the fireflies’ chances for survival plummeting. Davy and at one woman’s complicated relationship with motherhood. For Anderson will use their strength and ingenuity to corral fright- example, although Emma loves Ali, she’s unable to say reassur- ened cattle and help firefighters’ efforts to control the blaze, but ing things to her when she needs them, such as, “I’m your mother. will they be able to help the fireflies? Meanwhile, the success- I love you. I’m sorry.” There are moments when Emma’s empty ful, warm heart of the novel is found in the changing dynamic promises start to feel repetitive, although they do allow readers between Davy and Anderson and in subtle character-building to sympathize with Tim’s frustration as Emma pulls away from messages about friendship, empathy, and courage in the face of the family. Conrey also loads a fair amount of important expo- fear. A handful of cleanly rendered, black-and-white line draw- sition into Emma’s conversations with her therapist, but these ings illustrate the action; the back of the book includes numer- sections help to explain the protagonist’s mindset and her rela- ous firefly facts. tionships to Kate and Ned. Although Emma irrationally still Appealing young male protagonists, a touch of magic, wants to save her childhood friend, Conrey shows how Susan respect for nature and human connection, and plenty of action. tries to help her patient help herself. An often engrossing narrative about putting one’s vocation first, no matter the personal cost.

118 | 1 november 2020 | indie | kirkus.com | FitzPatrick captures Mansfield’s fervent dedication to her craft. katherine mansfield

LAW FIVE friend and contemporary of Virginia Woolf, Mansfield is sent to Disco, Ubbi Queens College in London at the age of 14. In New Zealand Self (219 pp.) after graduation, Mansfield persuades her wealthy father to let $12.95 paper | $6.99 e-book her return to England to pursue a career in the arts. He grudg- Mar. 17, 2020 ingly agrees, offering her a small allowance, hoping that poverty will convince her to come home. In London, she dabbles in An Italian referee is thrown into the music and performance and becomes a hit at parties. But the center of a corruption scandal in Disco’s literary world beckons, and after her first short story collection debut thriller. is published, she connects with and eventually marries John Milo Sant’Elia is a referee for an Ital- Middleton Murry, the publisher of a new literary journal. Unfor- ian professional football—that is, soccer— tunately, an earlier fling in Bavaria leaves her with gonorrhea league. It’s not an easy job: He must stay and then she contracts tuberculosis. As her literary star is ris- as fit as the players while also performing under the gaze of the ing due to her innovative stream-of-consciousness style, Mans- sport’s unforgiving fans: “At the highest level, when a player makes field becomes increasingly more ill and flees to Italy for better a mistake, the fans forgive them after the next touch of the ball,” weather. During a protracted five-year battle with TB, she seeks explains Milo’s brother, Dino, one of the book’s narrators. “But a miracle cure while never ceasing to write stories and reviews, when a referee makes a mistake, it’s inexcusable—the abuse can creating an impressive body of work in a very short lifetime. follow an official for the rest of their career.” However, Milo is FitzPatrick’s heavily researched novel, which focuses mainly on understandably horrified when he receives a package at his home the five years that Mansfield fights her battle with TB, truly gets in Palermo containing an amputated human thumb—a clear mes- into the head of the innovative writer as she balances career, a

sage of intimidation. Milo suspects it has to do with an upcoming shaky marriage, and a fatal illness while struggling financially. young adult high-stakes match, and he refuses to go to the local police until The dialogue and period details are convincing, and bright he identifies the culprits with the help of Dino and their attorney spots come from close friends, including Woolf, but mostly friend, Sansone; the ref specifically fears that the Referees’ Associ- the bizarrely devoted Ida Baker, a writer, whom FitzPatrick re- ation may have been compromised. He attempts to referee games creates with generosity. The story is a tragic one, but the author as usual, but he quickly finds his career, and his life, under threat; a deftly captures Mansfield’s fervent dedication to her craft and mobster, who’s part-owner of a football team, had a referee killed her unwavering hope that she will overcome her illness. in a game-fixing scheme—and Milo thinks he’s next. The novel is A well-informed, intuitive account of a singular modern- formatted like an oral history, with multiple characters recounting ist writer whose life is cut short. memories. This epistolary style gives the book a somewhat anti- quated feel, but it doesn’t hamper the story’s pacing. Disco’s prose captures a convincing conversational tone, as when Dino and Milo THE BLIND PIG MURDERS drive to the airport: “Milo’s car was a furnace. The engine rumbled Gertcher, Frank L. steadily behind us….We drove with the windows down, and I don’t Wind Grass Hill Books (320 pp.) know how, but sitting in that heat gave me chills.” Milo is a par- $29.99 | Oct. 15, 2020 ticularly intriguing character—an aging referee and bookstore 978-0-9835754-6-7 employee who lives by a rigorous code of conduct and also likes to rock out to Austrian heavy metal. The various narrative voices Caroline Case and Hannibal Jones, are distinctive, and the transitions between them add a sense of now living in a lush penthouse in Chi- momentum to the narrative. The novel is relatively brief, and the cago, return in Gertcher’s second install- pages mostly fly by, keeping readers pleasantly engrossed. ment of a series, once again navigating A lean and enjoyable crime novel set in the sports world. the crossfire of the warring Al Capone and a North Side gang. It’s October 1928, and Caroline—formerly the madam of a KATHERINE MANSFIELD houseboat brothel in the Wabash Valley and currently a private FitzPatrick, Joanna detective together with her partner Hannibal—receives an early La Drome Press (308 pp.) morning phone call from neighbor and new friend Ruth Melt- $16.95 paper | Oct. 14, 2020 zer. The police are at Ruth’s apartment, having just informed 978-0-9916549-8-7 her of the death of her 28-year-old son, Sydney. His lifeless body was discovered in his suite at the luxe Steven’s Hotel. Caroline A historical novel reconstructs the life and Hannibal have their next case. Sydney, a handsome, rich of Katherine Mansfield as she becomes a playboy, frequented one of Chicago’s vast assortment of speak- noted short story writer and critic while easies, known as “blind pigs.” As Caroline explains, “rival Chi- battling tuberculosis. cago gangs fight bloody battles over control of the illegal booze Though Mansfield’s life begins in trade. Murders are frequent, and I investigate.” Two different New Zealand in the late 19th century, she poisons are found in Sydney’s system, and it appears more than makes her mark on the literary world in England. An eventual one person wanted him dead. Meanwhile, the duo is handed

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 november 2020 | 119

another case. Someone is trying to kill Giuseppe Costanzo’s torture room at Theresienstadt: “Starlings were swooping in youngest son, Michael. Giuseppe owns a string of bakeries in and out of nests….Diving up, under the eaves on the outside Chicago; not incidentally, he also launders money for Capone. of the buildings, they pulled bits of string and straw in after There is plenty of fuel for a high-action drama, and Gertcher them.” Some readers may question the juxtaposition of Gray’s doesn’t disappoint. Like the series opener, the novel is enjoy- and Lev’s very different voices, but they blend together well, ably lightened by humor and a strong protagonist. And vivid informing each other, and Gray ensures that Lev remains the portrayals of locale, décor, and clothing land readers squarely central focus. Illustrated with Lev’s family photographs, this is in the Roaring ’20s. One caveat: Caroline’s repetitious descrip- a remarkable tale of survival and unexpected kinship. tion of her favorite evening lounge attire becomes wearying. A vitally important Holocaust story eruditely captured. Nonetheless, Caroline is smart, confident, and spirited, and in between the shootings, knifings, and a kidnapping is some solid sleuthing. Gertcher supplies a sizable cast of likable secondary BUBBLE ’N’ SQUEAK players; kudos go to Ruth, a clever, wealthy widow with a wick- A Collection of Short Stories edly useful cane. Groak, Stephen A fun murder-and-mayhem detective story enhanced by Outskirts Press (156 pp.) historical details and a sturdy female lead. $14.95 paper | $2.99 e-book Jun. 10, 2020 978-1-977226-39-6 THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF GIDON LEV A collection offers humorous and Rascal. Holocaust heart-rending stories inspired by the Survivor. Optimist. writer’s childhood in New Zealand. Gray, Julie Nigel Sorenson, the protagonist Self (322 pp.) of these tales, copes with his mother’s $16.95 paper | $5.99 e-book death with as much stoicism as the 6-year-old can muster. But Jun. 30, 2020 Groak, the author of Christmas Yve (2016), presents Nigel’s loss 978-1-73524-970-4 with skillful levity, setting the tone for this assemblage of stories. Nigel is desperate to connect with his father, Ian, who is In this elegantly conceived memoir, loving but reserved. The protagonist has a stronger relation- a Czechoslovakia-born Holocaust survi- ship with his sister, Helen, who is three years younger: “A mate, vor works with an LA editor to write his life story, and a tender especially a sister-mate, always knew what a fellow mate was friendship ensues. thinking.” The siblings are sensitive to changes in their father’s Gidon Lev was born in Karlsbad, Czechoslovakia, in 1935. behavior: “Both siblings exchanged a furtive glance: What’s When he was 6, he and his mother were ordered by the Nazis happening? Dad never drops a wheelie.” Ian is noticeably happy to board a train to Theresienstadt concentration camp, where on a few occasions, such as driving to Kentucky Fried Chicken he remained until the age of 10. Lev lost 26 members of his (“ ‘It’s American,’ Dad boasted”), watching rugby, and starting a family in the Holocaust. In 1959, he immigrated to Israel and new relationship. The tales unfold chronologically, describing served in the Six-Day War. His marriage to his first wife “fell moments of togetherness—such as Nigel playing chess with apart incrementally but dramatically”; Lev found a note on his grandfather—as well as isolation. In “The Face of Death,” her door saying she had gone to America, taking their children Nigel, then 13, is terrorized by his “pimple-faced” reflection, with her. A two-time cancer survivor himself, he lost his sec- telling him he’ll always be a loner. “King of Queen Street,” the ond wife to lung cancer months before Gray moved to Israel book’s final story, takes place when Nigel is 18 and going on his in 2012. Lev sought out Gray as an editor, but while collaborat- first job interview. His inner monologue once again berates him, ing on his book project, they spent “almost every day together” finally relenting when Nigel cracks a smile. Groak’s collection and realized they made “great life partners.” The memoir is filled with rewarding surprises. The narrator delivers playful later recalls their visit to the West Bank and Lev’s horror that and heartfelt observations in unexpected places, like a pub- the “fenced-in” Arab villages remind him of Theresienstadt. lic restroom, where young Nigel resists glancing at his father: Gray’s narrative voice—which fills in historical detail and “Some things you did alone: peeing, taking a school test...dying.” offers personal commentary on moments such as when she Although Nigel is consistently the book’s focus, the narrative returned to Theresienstadt with Lev—is delicately balanced perspective changes from third person to first. The shifts can with transcriptions of interviews with Lev. Lev’s vivid recol- feel jarring, and readers may crave the continuity of a novel for lections of the concentration camp are haunting: “We didn’t such a compelling protagonist. But the work remains a delight- really know that there were gas chambers. But there were ful journey through the ups and downs of childhood and adoles- rumors of things like that.” Lev casually throws in tantalizing cence in suburban New Zealand. nuggets of information about his family history (“The truth Touching coming-of-age tales about boyhood and resilience. is, my grandfather owned a Stradivarius viola”), and Gray’s descriptions augment scenes, like when she recalls entering a

120 | 1 november 2020 | indie | kirkus.com |

QUEEN’S GAMBIT confident boy who calls himself Shaka; he’s not only her match Harper, Bradley in musical knowledge, he also writes his own rap verses with a Seventh Street Books (288 pp.) schoolboy hip-hop crew. Shaka finds himself smitten by Zahara $10.99 paper | $9.99 e-book and tries to bring the anxious girl out of her shell. However, Sep. 17, 2019 he has his own doubts and insecurities underneath his show- 978-1-64506-001-7 man persona. Unlike the private-schooled, light-complexioned Zahara, public-schooled Shaka comes from the poor part of A 19th-century journalist becomes a town and has been ridiculed all his life for his dark skin. As potential target in a mission to kill the summer starts, the two teens grow closer, and a tender romance queen in this thriller. begins to blossom. Soon, Zahara and Shaka are caught in a It’s 1897, and Margaret Harkness is a whirlwind of creative collaboration, self-discovery, and family 40-year-old writer who describes herself revelations that will leave them forever changed. In the tradi- as a suffragette and Christian socialist. She’s working on free- tion of the best YA stories, Hillhouse’s characters are convinc- lance pieces for newspapers when she’s diagnosed with “some- ing because they’re unfailingly realistic in their interactions, thing resembling lupus.” Her illness and age make her consider interests, and struggles. Her players sound like actual people, retirement to Australia, but she’s doesn’t have the money neces- and specifically like Antiguan teens. Through their personal sary for the journey. As a result, she accepts a job with her old journeys, readers learn about issues that affect young people friend professor Joseph Bell—a real-life figure who provided in Antigua and across the globe, including internalized rac- author Arthur Conan Doyle with the inspiration for his famed ism, colorism, economic inequality, generational trauma, and fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. Bell’s latest spy-hunting old-fashioned teenage angst. This is not to say that the book is

assignment takes the two to Germany, where Harkness works heavy or maudlin in tone; on the contrary, Hillhouse’s writing young adult as Bell’s translator. However, their mission coincides with that is overwhelmingly joyful and explicitly invested in the power of of Herman Ott, a man with a connection to the Russian revo- Black joy, Black excellence, and Black self-love. lutionary group Narodnaya Volya (“People’s Will”), who’s on a A charming and edifying work with a romance that will mission of revenge against Queen Victoria. Soon, Harkness dis- make YA fans swoon. covers that she, herself, is in danger, as well. Harper, the author of A Knife in the Fog (2018), offers an excellent continuation of Harkness’ adventures. All of the characters are vivid creations, WEST OF IRELAND but the middle-aged Harkness is a standout as a middle-aged Hoff, C.P. female protagonist—a demographic that’s unfortunately rare Black Crow Books (346 pp.) in thriller fiction. Harper’s prose is often as humorous as it is $15.00 paper | $4.99 e-book well researched; an early scene in which Harkness meets Queen Oct. 1, 2019 Victoria and deals with a snobbish chamberlain is but one of 978-0-9812215-0-2 many fine examples of his skill. Harper seamlessly and enjoyably blends elements of historical fact with a thrilling story of politi- An Irish family in Canada faces a cal intrigue and anarchy. There are some slightly slow moments, stark generational choice. but they’re few and far between, and Harkness’ sharp intellect Hoff’s impressive fiction debut cen- and delightful personality more than make up for them. ters on the O’Brien family in New Bruns- A marvelous tale that will satisfy historical fiction enthusiasts. wick, Canada. Mr. O’Brien is garrulous and tries to be optimistic, holding court at The Donnybrook, the local pub, every day, and Mrs. O’Brien is sharp and forceful, MUSICAL YOUTH haunted by the fact that all of her many children but one died Hillhouse, Joanne C. very early (“Three boys and five girls buried one after the other Caribbean Reads Publishing (280 pp.) in the churchyard, none living long enough to open their eyes $16.99 | $10.99 paper | Sep. 15, 2019 to see, or their mouths to cry”). Tended by servants, the couple 978-1-73382-996-0 lives in a fine house with their only daughter, Mary-Kate, a high- 978-1-73382-995-3 paper spirited, bookish young woman who’s continuously being prof- fered by her father to all the eligible or semi-eligible men in the Two very different teenagers with town of Tnúth. Mary-Kate is the book’s most complex dramatic a shared gift for music fall in love over creation, and the subject of her matrimonial future is a conten- a summer in this YA novel by Antiguan tious one. Years ago, Mrs. O’Brien made a rash promise to her and Barbudan author Hillhouse. sister-in-law, Sister Mary-Frances, pledging one of her children In Antigua, painfully shy Zahara to religious orders, and Sister Mary-Frances is determined to can play guitar and has an encyclopedic collect (“The long line of O’Briens was coming to an end,” we’re knowledge of famous musicians, but she just can’t work up the told, “and she wanted to make sure it finished with some dig- courage to perform in front of people—and her strict grand- nity”). Hoff adds to these charged premises a third storyline mother likely wouldn’t allow it, anyway. Then she meets a cute, that’s customarily a staple of comedy rather than drama: Mrs.

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 november 2020 | 121 Joven’s comical, retro, and ingenious illustrations are brimming with kid appeal. a little bit of dinosaur!

O’Brien’s quarrelsome mother (referred to by her son-in-law as A LITTLE BIT “Our Lady of Blessed Misery” and called by her daughter simply OF DINOSAUR! “Herself”), having just recently buried her husband, has decided Hutcheson, Elleen & to come and live with the O’Briens. Hoff animates this tale of Pattison, Darcy over-the-top family dysfunction with wit, considerable writing Illus. by Joven, John skills (at one point we read “There was enough blue in the sky Mims House (32 pp.) to cut out a pair of pants”), and deadpan humor (“I’m not ignor- $23.99 | $11.99 paper | $5.99 e-book ing you,” one character tells another, “I’m just pretending you’re Feb. 9, 2021 not here”). And the very human pathos of the novel is always 978-1-62944-153-5 present but never heavy-handed, with even the most outlandish 978-1-62944-154-2 paper characters written to a fine shade of believability. An eccentric, ultimately moving novel of an expat Irish An atom of calcium makes the journey from dinosaur bone family in turmoil. to child’s body in this entertaining tale about the conservation of mass. When the narrator announces to a brown-haired, blue-eyed CHUCKLES AND SMILES child: “You have a little bit of Tyrannosaurus rex in your jaw- Children’s Poems bone,” the child looks astonished. It is, the narrator explains, Howell, Raven the child’s mother’s fault. But how did the bit of dinosaur get Illus. by Wray, Jordan there? The narrator guides the child—and the reader—through Warren Publishing (34 pp.) the saga of a dinosaur’s living, dying, and being buried long ago. $16.95 | $9.99 paper | Aug. 16, 2020 As rain erodes both the rock burying the dinosaur and a little 978-1-73509-155-6 bit of the dinosaur’s toe bone, calcium from the bones washes 978-1-73509-156-3 paper into the river. From there, the water irrigates a corn field, the corn is fed to a cow, and the cow makes milk, which becomes A captivating use of language to spark children’s interest in cheese, which the child’s mother purchases for lunch. The cal- words and rhymes shapes this collection of 26 short poems by cium becomes part of the child’s bones—and will one day again Howell, a prolific picture-book author whose poetry has fre- return to the cycle to perhaps become calcium in the spine of quently appeared in children’s literary magazines. a blue whale. Hutcheson and Pattison introduce difficult sci- A jaunty orange squirrel is a “Bulb digger, / nest rigger, / seed ence concepts in simple, accessible language. Although death is stacker, / nut cracker, / tree stalker, / fence walker.” A balloon a part of this cycle, it’s handled in a scientific and not scary way. wants to hear words “that lift and fly, / like float and waft, / or Joven’s comical, retro, and ingenious illustrations—featuring DRIFT and sky.” Ranging in style from couplets and quatrains bright colors as well as a cow that rides inside a tractor and has to free-form poetry and nontraditional haiku, the poems are a milk faucet inside her body—are brimming with kid appeal. graphically designed so that certain words are capitalized and A science-centric winner, especially for young dinosaur lovers. set in different colors for eye-catching emphasis. The fanciful, funny, kid-respecting tone of the poems is delightfully matched by respected Canadian illustrator Wray. Among his brightly col- WOMEN IN THE ored images of Howell’s subjects—the seasons, trees, the wind, WAITING ROOM animals, insects, and a diverse cast of kids—are “hysterical” Kapur, Kirun hyenas, a clown in a pickle jar, bare feet in summer grass, a tan- Black Lawrence Press (85 pp.) trum-throwing baby lettuce, a little girl eating cake with a blue $16.95 paper | Oct. 20, 2020 dinosaur in a chef’s hat (“Pete, My Dino”), dancing piggies with 978-1-62557-823-5 umbrellas (“Thud and Splash”), swirls of lap-threatening spaghetti, anchovies afloat over a pizza, and rosy-cheeked, sleepy Kapur’s collected poems compel- mushrooms wearing “spongy caps / for little shaded buggy naps.” lingly respond to afflictions and healing Lap-sitters and early readers are sure to have their favorites. in women’s lives. This is a book made for read-aloud (and rereading) fun. This second collection for Kapur, fol- An entrancing, lively book that celebrates words and a lowing Visiting Indira Gandhi’s Palmist (2015), child’s imagination. was a finalist for the National Poetry Series; many of the poems first appeared in literary magazines while two won awards and were anthologized. Several threads weave through the book, including Hindu mythology, conversations on a crisis hotline, and the ravages of illness for both sufferer and onlooker. Much of the work addresses the corrosive ways girls are portrayed as responsible for their own rape and abuse. Drawing on the Hindu epic Ramayana, in which Sita, wife of Rama, must prove her innocence via fire ordeal after being kidnapped by a demon

122 | 1 november 2020 | indie | kirkus.com | king, Kapur writes in her opening poem that “Every girl can be make him an offer he cannot refuse. He is to lead the efforts taught / her middle name is shame.” Whether ancient or con- in a clandestine operation “for the benefit of parties you may temporary, the same story prevails, as suggested by the poetic or may not sympathize with, but who pose no direct threat to form in “Steubenville Ghazal” (referring to the 2013 Steuben- anything or anyone you hold dear.” For his role in setting up ville High School rape case). An Arabic poetry form dating to holding companies in strategic locations around the world, the seventh century, the ghazal is written in couplets that repeat he will be paid a million euros. Ironically, Rose’s anonymity an ending refrain—in this case, a preposition plus him. Narrated is what makes him so valuable: “Pascual Rose disappeared by the survivor, the building up of this phrase leads to a devas- before everything was put on the computer,” he is told. “That tating conclusion: “My name is redacted, it no longer applies. / means we have a blank slate for creating a digital record of I end every line writing him, him, him,” just as media accounts his activity for the last twenty or more years, starting with tended to focus on harm to the promising futures of the accused. the irrefutable fact of his existence.” But despite implied The spareness of Kapur’s lines throughout the collection threats to his family, Rose cannot just take their money and speaks of emotions that must be contained; in the hotline do the job. He uses his long dormant skills to try to stay one poems, fragmentary lines halt and hesitate across the page as step ahead of his minders. It has been almost two decades the callers struggle to articulate their stories. “I wish the old since the last Rose thriller. It is not necessary to have read me would just,” reads one unfinished, perhaps unfinishable, Martell’s previous three books to be swept up in this complex thought. Such lines thrum with coiled tension. Throughout, and cunning tale. The dialogue is not just recycled action cli- the speaker’s role is often to bear witness, sometimes in ways chés. When told that he will be traveling first class and will that can find expression only on the page. As a hotline worker, need to expand his wardrobe, Rose remarks, “It’s a costume she’s been trained not to react with shock; as a hospital visitor, drama, is it?” “It is. And you’ve got the lead role,” he is told.

in the poetry cycle that gives the collection its name, she must Less tech-savvy readers will not find the machinations of the young adult be circumspect: “I watch the last / whip of light blurring the operation too daunting. In Rose, they will discover an empa- far bank slip away. / It will be back tomorrow. I know better thetic hero caught in a precarious struggle to do the right than to say so.” Kapur’s craft is everywhere evident, as in these thing and make peace with his past. lines from “Waiting for Sleep, I Imagine Sita in Her Youth,” A strong hero hasn’t lost his mojo in this welcome return a poem that also uses imagery from Sita’s captivity, though of a thriller series. the she in the poem could be any Indian woman: “From the window she could see / women from every corner of the city // walk into the river, disappear / then rise clean, saris soak- FEAR, FOLLY & FREUD ing.” The sibilants in these lines onomatopoeically recall the A Psychotherapist in rush and rinse of water, as they do in the final stanza when the Psychoanalysis speaker imagines herself with Sita in the river, “so we might Mendenhall, Nicola both rise ready / to wring out the story.” The alliteration of Zion Publishing (280 pp.) window/women/walk and rise/ready/wring skillfully enacts both $14.95 paper | $9.99 e-book the connection described and the process of transforming Aug. 27, 2020 experience through the work of art making. 978-1-73339-821-3 Poems of craft, power, and compassion: a fine collection. Psychotherapist Mendenhall explores her experience undergoing psychoanaly- KILL CHAIN sis in this debut memoir. Martell, Dominic As is explained early in the text, psychotherapy and psycho Dunn Books (358 pp.) analysis are not interchangeable terms. Psychotherapy refers to $14.99 paper | $4.99 e-book a broad range of therapies practiced under various psychologi- Oct. 6, 2020 cal theories while psychoanalysis refers specifically to the ther- 978-1-951938-05-5 apy pioneered by Sigmund Freud. The author’s story centers around her 10 years undergoing the latter. In such therapy, one In this fourth installment of a thriller is urged to explore their subconscious mind, she notes—a pro- series, a former terrorist becomes com- cess that tends to “unsettle rather than to calm.” Whereas the pelled by shadowy figures to emerge author, herself a licensed and long-practicing psychotherapist, from anonymity to facilitate the “heist of would often seek to comfort her patients, a psychoanalyst leads the century.” a process that encourages one to explores one’s “inner-feelings, After renouncing his past (but still haunted by the deaths however nasty they may be.” In the time she underwent psy- in which he played a part), ex-terrorist Pascual Rose has choanalysis, the author also endured major life events includ- made a concerted effort to live off the grid. But a six-word ing retirement from her private practice and taxing medical text message (“Come join us on the terrace”) shatters the nonde- concerns. As one might expect from Freudian analysis, much script life he lives in Barcelona as a freelance translator with of the author’s analysis involved looking at her early family life. his wife, a popular singer, and son. Two mysterious operatives She grew up in the rural Midwest, a place where one’s feelings

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 november 2020 | 123 The colorful, slightly abstract cartoons depict a rainbow of people and pets, many of them living in apartments but some residing in larger, greener spaces. and the people stayed home

were considered “to be, well, ridiculous,” she was an only child America’s entry into the war. This is a powerful work of history, until the age of 6. These and other points are explored in the as informative as it is dramatically gripping. text, and although the author’s family dynamics aren’t particu- An impressive blend of painstaking historical scholarship larly revealing, the broader story told here is highly insightful and riveting storytelling. and candid; for instance, Mendenhall’s analyst told her, “You like to be mean to me.” It seems a startling statement for any professional to tell a client, but, as one learns, analysis is a spe- AND THE PEOPLE cial kind of therapy, and even silence has its place. Such details STAYED HOME allow the reader to consider Freudian theory through a new O’Meara, Kitty and intriguing lens. Illus. by Di Cristofaro, Stefano & A personal and edifying look at Freudian analysis. Pereda, Paul Tra Publishing (32 pp.) $18.99 | $9.99 e-book | Nov. 10, 2020 YANKS BEHIND THE LINES 978-1-73476-178-8 How the Commission for Relief in Belgium Saved During a period of quarantine, people Millions From Starvation discover new ways to live—and new les- During World War I sons about how to care for the planet—in this debut picture book. Miller, Jeffrey B. In this work’s poem, O’Meara describes lockdowns expe- Rowman & Littlefield Publishers rienced by many across the world during the first days of the (296 pp.) Covid-19 pandemic. Beginning with the title phrase, the author $94.00 | $29.00 paper | $27.50 e-book discusses quiet activities of solitude and togetherness as well as Oct. 20, 2020 more boisterous ways of interacting. These times of being apart 978-1-5381-4163-2 give people a new perspective, and when they reunite, “they 978-1-5381-4164-9 paper grieved their losses, / and made new choices” to restore the planet. The spare verse allows the illustrations by Di Cristofaro A historical work focuses on the massive humanitarian and Pereda to take center stage. The colorful, slightly abstract effort designed to feed a Belgian population starving under cartoons depict a rainbow of people and pets, many of them German occupation during World War I. living in apartments but some residing in larger, greener spaces. In 1914, Germany invaded Belgium on its way to France, Images of nature healing show the author’s vision of hope for a remarkably brazen violation of the nation’s avowed neutral- the future. While this was written in March and originally ity. The occupation that ensued was an unmerciful one—fac- published as an online poem, the lack of an explicit mention tories and coal mines were shuttered; the harvest was largely of the reason behind the lockdowns (and the omission of the destroyed; and whatever provisions were available were com- experiences of essential workers) could offer readers an oppor- mandeered by German soldiers. As the first winter approached, tunity to imagine a planetary healing beyond the pandemic that it was increasingly possible that a considerable swath of the inspired the piece. The accessible prose and beautiful images Belgian population—and many civilians in Northern France, make this a natural selection for young readers, but older ones too—faced starvation. Miller chronicles, with the granular may appreciate the work’s deeper meaning. precision of an investigative journalist, a brilliant effort to A poem about the pandemic with vivid illustrations and a urgently usher supplies to the Belgian people, “one of Ameri- strong environmental message. ca’s finest hours in humanitarian aid.” Two collaborative orga- nizations were born—the Commission for Relief in Belgium, founded in London and headed by Herbert Hoover, and the SICILIAN DREAMS Comité National de Secours et d’Alimentation, established Panella, Vincent in Brussels and led by Émile Francqui, a business tycoon. The Bordighera Press (228 pp.) CRB bought and transported the food by ship to Rotterdam $18.00 paper | Nov. 10, 2020 while the CN prepared and distributed it. The two sister agen- 978-1-59954-156-3 cies grappled with myriad obstacles—the British opposed the program because it broke its blockade of German ship- In this historical novel, a Sicilian ments; vessels were hard to find; and the political hurdles were immigrant navigates the spheres of extraordinary, all meticulously documented by the author. workers rights and organized crime in The Germans only acquiesced because they thought a bet- his adopted homeland. ter fed citizenry would be more docile and easier to control. The year is 1907. Santo Regina, already Miller brings a complex story to vivid life, astutely explaining a widower at age 32, is skeptical of the the political and cultural landscape of Belgium but also the Fasci movement taking hold in his native Sicily, where the peas- unfolding of the conflict. The author even accounts for the ants are organizing to demand better treatment from the land- ways in which the CRB, in particular Hoover, contributed to owners. But he is intrigued by Don Vito Cascio Ferro, a former

124 | 1 november 2020 | indie | kirkus.com | landowner–turned-agitator with assumed ties to the local Mafia. “jitter-bitter,” the middle-sized one is a too “treat-sweet,” but Vito is not a typical Mafioso, however. He looks like a religious the biggest dish is a “just right-delight.” She also sits in and hermit, tall and gaunt with a long gray beard, and he rails against breaks (!) one of their chairs. Neighbors peek through the win- the concept of private property. “I tell you now,” he says to Santo dow, watching Goldilocks, who eventually takes a “snap-nap” in upon their meeting, “within five years most of the men around the trolls’ beds. The police are called. Papa Troll tells the cop, you will be in L’America, and Sicily will be left to those with the who’s a pink bear, “This is the third time I’ve found Goldilocks foresight to see its future.” When his own attempt at activism in my cave this bleak-week!” The cop awakens Goldilocks and fails, Santo joins the stream of men immigrating to America for tells her she is a thief. She retorts, “You can’t do anything to work, leaving his young son and teenage daughter behind in the me!” The story concludes with Goldilocks in the clink and a care of his mother. In Louisiana, Santo encounters the same reminder to stay out of “rubble-trouble.” Pattison’s use of silly oppressive working conditions that he faced in Sicily—as well as language adds an amusing layer to the story, making this a good bosses willing to use violence to enforce the status quo. In New pick for a read-aloud. Bartolomé’s colorful, simple illustrations Orleans, Santo again meets Vito, who has cut his long beard and offer drawn interpretations and unique textured backgrounds; evolved away from his earlier politics. “Let’s say I’m in another for example, the last page depicts Goldilocks in “folktale-jail,” part of the same business,” he tells Santo as he describes his new laughing and swapping stories with the Big Bad Wolf. activities within America’s growing Sicilian community. As San- A funny, creative take on a well-known fairy tale. to’s daughter, Mariana, back in Sicily gets herself in a compromis- ing position with a local tough, he must decide to what lengths he will assist his countrymen in their attempts to gain financial BOTH SIDES independence—and just what side of Vito’s law he will stand on. The Classroom From Where

Panella’s prose is concise and insightful, capturing not only I Stand young adult the era in which it is set, but also the contemporary worldviews Potter, Rebecca of his characters. At one point, Santo wonders: “What kept him Lulu.com (136 pp.) in Sicily? A house and a shovelful of land? A mother whose life $17.94 paper | Jun. 30, 2020 was a path between home and church, and who wouldn’t even 978-1-71681-845-5 hear of L’America? Or was it the image of his father, who walked the streets like a ghost, a bag of bones in a black suit, railing A high school teacher reflects on at the ignorance of his fellows.” The author largely avoids the challenges she’s faced as a student and an more clichéd depictions of the Mafia in the United States, pre- educator in this debut memoir. senting instead a less formal, more organic outgrowth of the Potter’s book begins with a Kentucky cultural upheavals present in Italy and America during this high school principal putting the author and all the other teachers period. There are times when the story moves a bit slowly, but on buses to visit poverty-stricken sections of their district, where the book’s relatively short length and streamlined plot help to many of their students reside. The roads are so bumpy that one of maintain its momentum. Santo and Vito are both intriguing Potter’s colleagues throws up on the bus. As they drive past run- characters, and Mariana provides a particular window into the down trailers and dilapidated shacks, an administrator tells the precariousness of life back home. At its best moments, the vol- passengers, “Don’t forget that when you get mad about them not ume calls to mind the work of 20th-century Italian novelists like having a pencil.” It’s a lesson that Potter, who taught high school Cesare Pavese and Leonardo Sciascia, wherein the convictions English for more than 17 years, learned well. In a series of essays of a moral man are tested by an invariably amoral environment. that move forward and backward in time, the author gracefully A richly textured tale of the less romantic aspects of the explores the ways in which good teachers help students navigate early Italian American experience. lives full of poverty, drugs, violence, unintended pregnancy, and death. Fortunately for Potter’s students, she remembers her own struggles on their side of the desk. Her father had to quit high GOLDILOCKS school to get a job, her grandfather couldn’t read, and she dealt The Name-Fame-Dame with her own obsessive-compulsive disorder. Her writings show Pattison, Darcy that she knows what it’s like to face tall odds during one’s teen Illus. by Bartolomé, Soraya years; every minor failure feels like the end of the world. Potter Mims House (32 pp.) also effectively pays tribute to the teachers who helped her at piv- $23.99 | $10.51 paper | $3.99 e-book otal times in her life as a student and new teacher, but the biggest Oct. 5, 2020 tribute to their legacy is her own remarkable career. Throughout 978-1-62944-162-7 the book, she admirably relates how she’s gone the extra mile for 978-1-62944-163-4 paper students by giving them a pat on the back, for example, or attending a funeral. Although she honestly recognizes times when she’s Pattison’s picture book offers a unique spin on an old classic. come up short and shies away from trumpeting her victories, it’s Goldilocks is famous in town for her golden hair. She hard to come away from this collection without a sense of awe for enters a cave where a troll family lives, sees food on their table, the herculean efforts of teachers like her. and commences tasting. She decides the smallest dish is too An absorbing and inspiring remembrance.

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 november 2020 | 125 BEYOND THE SAGA OF space shuttle flight in 1981, for instance, pilot Robert Crippen ROCKET SCIENCE reported that the toilet suffered from an annoying “low urinal In Space To Stay flow and a feces separation problem”—to the awe-inspiring; the Sierra, Walter shuttle, Sierra says, was “the most complex machine ever built,” Xlibris US (372 pp.) with more than 2.5 million parts, including almost 230 miles of $134.95 | $115.95 paper | $9.99 e-book wiring. Particularly memorable is the portrait of the German- Oct. 3, 2019 born Wernher von Braun, who led NASA’s development of the 978-1-4990-9523-4 Saturn V rocket that took Apollo 11 to the moon. The book was 978-1-4990-9524-1 paper published before the successful maiden voyage of Elon Musk’s spacecraft, but Sierra is hopeful that private enterprise can help The third installment of a rocket sci- keep the space dream alive: “In the coming decades human entist’s odyssey through the history of space exploration. expansion will take place across the solar system,” he predicts. In this series entry, Sierra traces an arc that leads from the A work that provides enough detail to satisfy laypeople United States government sparing almost no expense to beat and exacting space buffs. the Soviet Union in landing men on the moon in the 1960s to the virtual mothballing of NASA amid “the harsh realities of public apathy, shifting priorities, and a turbulent political envi- FOREVER 51 ronment.” Today, he laments, the U.S. space program “seems to Skjolsvik, Pamela have lost the luster it had during the space pioneering days of Fawkes Press (356 pp.) the 1960s when the nation was in a space race with the Soviet $16.95 paper | $7.99 e-book Union.” Sierra’s phenomenally researched and lavishly illus- Nov. 5, 2020 trated book captures the excitement of that halcyon period, 978-1-945419-62-1 spanning everything from the Apollo missions and the Chal lenger space shuttle disaster to the International Space Station. In this darkly comic novel, a vam- Space-program aficionados could hardly ask for more detail, pire’s chance to become mortal again and the technically inclined can plumb the intricacies of “den- requires tracking down all the people she sity specific impulse” and combustion dynamics. The author has turned into the undead. a talent for making the science accessible even for the layman, As a vampire, Texan Veronica Bouchard noting, for example, when discussing the concept of Lagrange keeps a low profile. She’s a hospice nurse who typically feeds on points: “Like a ball balanced at the peak of a steep hill, any slight terminally ill patients. But when there’s a chance authorities will perturbation will push the satellite out of equilibrium and roll it link her to two recent deaths, Veronica flies to California to see her down the hill.” Details range from the mundane—after the first daughter, Ingrid. As she was the one who turned her mother into a vampire in the 1800s, Ingrid apologizes to Veronica. Not only does this make Ingrid mortal, the act also returns Veronica’s soul. For the first time in over a century, Veronica can see her- reflec This Issue’s Contributors # tion. She can be mortal, too, but she will have to make amends ADULT to everyone she turned into a vampire. She’s more than willing to Paul Allen • Mark Athitakis • Amy Boaz • Jeffrey Burke • Catherine Cardno • Lee E. Cart • Kristin Centorcelli • K.W. Colyard • Emma Corngold • Coeur de Lion • Dave DeChristopher • Kathleen do this. At the perpetual age of 51, Veronica endures never-ending Devereaux • Elspeth Drayton • Lisa Elliott • Chelsea Ennen • Mia Franz • Jenna Friebel • Janice menopause. She consequently takes a road trip, bringing along her Harayda • Katrina Niidas Holm • Natalia Holtzman • Kerri Jarema • Jessica Jernigan • Damini new friend Jenny Pearson, a struggling addict who discovers what Kulkarni • Tom Lavoie • Peter Lewis • Elsbeth Lindner • Michael Magras • Gregory McNamee • Anna Mundow • Jennifer Nabers • Liza Nelson • Mike Newirth • Mike Oppenheim • Scott Parker • Deesha Veronica is. Veronica’s vampire victims are a motley assortment, Philyaw • Jim Piechota • William E. Pike • Margaret Quamme • Riley Rennhack • Rosanne Simeone some more dangerous than others. And the possibility of arrest Linda Simon • Clay Smith • Wendy Smith • Margot E. Spangenberg • Angela Spring • Rachel Sugar back in Texas isn’t even Veronica’s biggest threat: Jenny’s politician Tom Swift • Bill Thompson • Chris Vognar • Kerry Winfrey • Marion Winik father puts someone on his daughter’s trail. Skjolsvik’s fanged hero CHILDREN’S & TEEN is profoundly complicated. For example, Veronica has an aversion Autumn Allen • Nastassian Brandon • Timothy Capehart • Ann Childs • Alec B. Chunn • Miah to men who hurt women, but she has killed many people, and not Daughtery • Erin Deedy • Brooke Faulkner • Jenna Friebel • Nivair H. Gabriel • Judith Gire • Carol Goldman • Ana Grilo • Abigail Hsu • Ariana Hussain • Kathleen T. Isaacs • Danielle Jones • Betsy Jud- all of them were hospice patients. This novel’s vivid journey is a kins • Deborah Kaplan • K. Lesley Knieriem • Angela Leeper • Kyle Lukoff • Meredith Madyda • Joan learning experience for her. She acknowledges some of her flaws Malewitz • Michelle H. Martin PhD • J. Alejandro Mazariegos • Kirby McCurtis • Sierra McKenzie and realizes certain vampire fundamentals, like things that can kill Mary Margaret Mercado • Lisa Moore • Katrina Nye • John Edward Peters • Deesha Philyaw • Susan Pine • Kristy Raffensberger • Nancy Thalia Reynolds • Amy Robinson • Leslie L. Rounds • Hadeal the undead, are simply untrue. Jenny is a strong supporting char- Salamah • John W. Shannon • Karyn N. Silverman • Laura Simeon • Jennifer Sweeney • Deborah D. acter, earning Veronica’s sympathy (the vampire regularly attends Taylor • Jenny Zbrizher Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to help control her own addic- INDIE tion). Jenny’s hemochromatosis tempts Veronica with delicious, Alana Abbott • Marie Anello • Kent Armstrong • Jillian Bietz • Hannah Bonner • Darren Carlaw iron-rich blood. And much of the catchy, often humorous dialogue Charles Cassady • Brian Cronin • Michael Deagler • Stephanie Dobler Cerra • Steve Donoghue • Ana Grilo • Morgana Hartman • Lynne Heffley • Matthew Heller • Justin Hicakey • Ivan Kenneally • Alexis involves Jenny, whose incessant insults—douchebag is an unques- Lacman • Donald Liebenson • Barbara London • Collin Marchiando • Dale McGarrigle • Jim Piechota tionable favorite—are especially entertaining. Matt Rauscher • Barry Silverstein • Bessie Taliaferro Complex characters propel this diverting vampire tale.

126 | 1 november 2020 | indie | kirkus.com | The collection creates a world mired in uncertainty and turmoil but also a place where people can learn from others. my darlin’ quarantine

SOCIALLY DISTANCED bar is the location for the first story, featuring a discreet regu- A Keepsake Journal lar whose bracelet flashes red and blurts out official warnings. Stern, Robert The patrons and staff proceed to drink and become acquainted Illus. by Hill, Mark for their mandatory six-week quarantine. Elsewhere, the situ- Self (32 pp.) ation repeats at the Golden Pin-Up Salon, a gossipy, small- town beauty parlor where the beaming bracelets strike terror In this picture book, a poem about the in the hearts of a feuding housewife and a distressed colorist. Covid-19 world invites readers to answer The same bright red beacons flash for other strangers who questions about their own experiences. unexpectedly find themselves quarantining together at a rural Beginning a poem with a familiar Missouri dentist office, a Southern California BMW dealer- Valentine refrain about roses and violets, ship, and the conference room of a prominent attorney. Once Stern’s narrator claims to have crafted introduced, the heartwarming, character-driven tales progress the piece due to having “nothing to do / … / You can blame all through short chapter snippets. The cross-section of locales of this / on the Corona flu!” The narrator chronicles the start of sets the scene for a diverse assortment of characters varying in the Covid-19 pandemic through the stockpiling of toilet paper age, race, and gender—and from all walks of life—who person- and lockdowns. The poem briefly mentions political divides ify differing political persuasions, faiths, and perspectives on but focuses more on the emotions and doubts experienced by life and love. The author leaves no person unaffected or plotline families during the ordeal. Beneath several illustrations, the dangling, as all of her players recognize, even if fleetingly, the author leaves blank lines for readers to answer questions about power of human kindness and self-love. As she demonstrated in their own thoughts and feelings as well as including lined her advice book about possessions for parents with millennial

pages at the end of the book for more elaborate memories to children, No Thanks Mom (2017), Stewart exhibits a lust for life young adult be recorded. Though Stern mixes up two viruses (coronavirus and parlays the lessons she’s learned throughout her travels into and the flu) for the sake of the rhyme in his opening, the stan- the engaging storylines of this cornucopia of worthy and addic- zas scan well and the vocabulary is accessible. The questions tive characters—with cute line drawings by Brallier included. seem designed to be used in conversations between parents Amusing and immediately relevant, the collection creates a and their elementary or middle school children. Hill is a politi- world mired in uncertainty and turmoil but also a place where cal cartoonist. It makes sense that the humorous illustrations people can learn from others and become surprised by their here feel like newspaper political cartoons. Along with offer- capacity for change. ing some satirical images (the line for toilet paper stretches An entertaining, thought-provoking spin on rebooting down a city block), Hill captures the uncertainty faced by one the mind and heart while in quarantine. (pale-skinned) family with sensitivity. Other illustrations of larger groups feature a more diverse population. For families wishing to discuss the pandemic, this timely THE KING’S DRAPES tale works as a conversation starter. Tambascio, Jocelyn Illus. by Born, Jen Atmosphere Press (34 pp.) MY DARLIN’ QUARANTINE $16.99 | $12.99 paper | Sep. 1, 2020 Intimate Connections 978-1-64921-882-7 Created in Chaos 978-1-64921-863-6 paper Stewart, Elizabeth Illus. by Brallier, Christine In this debut original fairy tale, a clever girl teaches the king Flandricka House Press (180 pp.) to look beyond his own avarice. $19.95 paper | $4.99 e-book Every day, an unhappy king orders new drapes, uttering the Jun. 30, 2020 repeated phrase: “Here ye! Here ye! These drapes will not do! 978-0-9981025-5-9 / Change them! Change them! I must have brand new!” The court scrambles to use all the fanciest fabrics to create the per- A collection of five vignettes portrays life in the age of fect drapes, and the people of the kingdom are reduced to wear- Covid-19 quarantines. ing rags. When the tailors run out of cloth, all fear what will In the spring of 2020, arts journalist Stewart, befuddled happen next until one brave girl convinces the king to leave the by the pandemic raging across the globe, laughed “at life’s new windows bare. The king sees the suffering of his people, and he absurdities.” As a creative outlet, she began writing humorous orders the old drapes to be refitted as clothing, even helping tales starring quarantined strangers forced to interact with one to hand-stitch the new clothing himself. Reminiscent of other another and to ultimately learn more about themselves through greedy rulers, like the emperor of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” the “complexities offered by chaos.” The vignettes imagine or the wicked queen in “Snow White,” the king in this story is a time in August 2020 when a second viral mutation emerges both foolish and demanding. His change of heart is quick but and the government distributes permanently locking bracelets in keeping with the fairy-tale tone. Tambascio’s rhyming stan- to detect and track the infection. The Forget-Me-Not dive zas scan beautifully, and the repeated phrases make this a fun

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 november 2020 | 127 read-aloud. Born’s brightly painted, geometric illustrations attention—it’s widely reported that Republicans believe that feature bird characters in all the roles, and the added elements “Trump Dog” is a reincarnation of the former president—Jerry belonging to the clever girl—her cardboard-box rocket ship, a is overwhelmed by anger from those who loathed Trump and book of great ideas, and a “dream big” poster on the wall—offer lavished with fawning attention by those who loved him, many even deeper insight into her character. wearing “Make America Trumpy Again” hats. Tilberry’s satirical Though the story is new, the moral and tone, accompa- novella thoughtfully reflects on the long shadow cast by a con- nied by artful illustrations, make it feel like a classic. troversial public figure, a shadow that survives even death. The humor is decidedly slapstick—the account of Trump’s last day in office is memorably funny. But while readers will enjoy the TRUMP DOG blithe silliness, they will also likely be grateful the book is mer- A Wild Tale of Lies, Hair Dye, cifully short. Nevertheless, the author’s story is a breezily easy and Dog Poop one to consume—playfully unserious and lightheartedly astute. Tilberry, Jim An effortlessly game and amusing satire. Self (120 pp.) $9.95 paper | $2.99 e-book | Jul. 1, 2020 SUDDENLY SINGLE IN In this novella, a struggling artist pre- PALM BEACH tends that his dog is the reincarnation of Sex, Death, and the Pursuit Donald Trump for publicity, but the hoax of Happiness takes on a life of its own. Yost, Marianne Jerry Kendall, a freelance artist in Manuscript Chicago, adopts a pooch from a shelter named Mabel, a “big, dumb, disobedient mutt.” She helps herself to some pumpkin In Yost’s novel, a widow’s search for pie one day, and the messy remnants congeal into a kind of love in Palm Beach leads to potential “birthmark” on her fur that is the “spitting image” of former romances, disappointments, and myriad President Donald Trump. Trump has been dead for some time new relationships. now, though Jerry is so thoroughly apolitical he can’t remember Three years after her husband’s sui- when he died or under what circumstances. People take notice, cide, Caroline Ryder leaves Maryland for a cottage in Palm and eventually he’s contacted by a local reporter. Egged on by Beach. In her 50s, Caroline enters the dating scene looking for his friend Orley, Jerry pretends the birthmark is real and that something serious. She sees a variety of men, from personable Mabel exhibits the personality traits for which Trump was infa- ones to the tactless guy who she eventually discovers isn’t single. mous. Mabel is now an “extreme alpha male,” an alleged genius, Luckily, sunny Florida has its perks, including lobster salads and a lover of Fox News. Jerry even uses a hair-coloring prod- and endless beaches. Caroline also makes quite a few friends in uct for women—“Miss Caroline ‘Copper’ ”—to render more Palm Beach who, like her, are looking for love, or at least a fun permanent the likeness. But when the story garners national fling. Margaux, for example, is a rather charming woman interested in a relationship, preferably with a one-percenter. Much less appealing is divorced Sylvie Silverstein, who also wants a

KIRKUS MEDIA LLC sugar daddy. The story’s latter half takes a shocking turn when # Margaux, blaming Sylvie for an injury she receives, initiates Chairman a “revenge plot” against her. Although much of Yost’s story is HERBERT SIMON President & Publisher Caroline’s first-person narrative, chapters often focus on other MARC WINKELMAN characters, including Margaux, Sylvie, and a local “lash girl” (she Chief Executive Officer MEG LABORDE KUEHN affixes fake eyelashes at a salon). This drama-filled novel has its # humorous moments, like Margaux’s being appalled by her date’s Copyright 2020 by Kirkus Media LLC. foot fetish. At the same time, there are convincing sentimental KIRKUS REVIEWS (ISSN 1948-7428) is published semimonthly by Kirkus Media LLC, scenes as well, and Yost’s light touch keeps the mood buoyant: 2600Via Fortuna, Suite 130, Austin, TX 78746. “She never, ever ate meals out. That was for rich people. And she Subscription prices are: Digital & Print Subscription (U.S.) - 12 Months ($199.00) never did not have a next place to be.” Later chapters, however, Digital & Print Subscription (International) - 12 Months ($229.00) are jarring, as the story becomes decidedly darker and more vio- Digital Only Subscription - 12 Months ($169.00) Single copy: $25.00. lent. Nevertheless, Caroline is endearingly optimistic, seeing All other rates on request. the good that sometimes emerges from unhappy occurrences. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 2600Via Fortuna, Suite 130, Austin, TX 78746. A mostly upbeat tale of a middle-aged woman starting Periodicals Postage Paid over in the Sunshine State. at Austin, TX 78710 and at additional mailing offices.

128 | 1 november 2020 | indie | kirkus.com | This short, fun, humorous novel feels like a cross between Horrible Histories and Game of Thrones. lassa the viking and the dragon’s inferno

LASSA THE VIKING AND THE DRAGON’S INFERNO Yurke, Dean Golden Productions (176 pp.) $3.99 e-book | Oct. 22, 2020

Vikings, Saxons, and dragons meet in this middle-grade fantasy novel sprinkled with humor and magic. All 13-year-old Lassa Erikson wants is to be a quiet, studious apprentice alche- mist in Denmark, but he and his brother, Sven, are conscripted into the Viking army and find themselves heading to fight the infamous Saxon Lord Mordred. The kids know they have no place in the company of the fiercest warriors they’ve ever seen, and they try to hide during their first battle. But after Lassa accidently kills Mordred, he’s hailed as a hero, deemed a fierce “berserker,” and given a prominent position in a Viking group that aims to rescue King Magnus, who’s imprisoned in England. Meanwhile, in

English King Harold’s castle, 14-year-old Princess Ann would young adult rather be a warrior than be married off for political purposes. Her opportunity arises when hooded figures, apparently Norse- men, invade the castle and capture her father and sister. Ann escapes to get Mordred’s help—not knowing he’s already dead— and ends up joining Lassa’s group of warriors to fight a common enemy. Both kings have been captured by a mysterious half- man, half-dragon cult leader who has witches and druids under his control. This short, fun, humorous novel feels like a cross between Horrible Histories and Game of Thrones, and it deftly combines elements of a comedy of errors and a fantasy epic. It also features a plethora of lovable secondary characters, but Ann and Lassa are the real draws, the former as a tough, loyal fighter, and the latter as a coward-turned–brave hero who uses his scientific knowledge to face problems. The comedic tone is quite goofy at some points, even in the face of very real danger, and the story is almost entirely ahistorical, but readers likely won’t be bothered by either of these factors. A fast-paced, funny, and adventurous read.

| kirkus.com | indie | 1 november 2020 | 129 Seen & Heard

By Michael Schaub Tenille Campbell/Sweetmoon Photography CHILDREN’S AUTHOR ASKS READERS NOT TO BUY HIS BOOK Adam Pottle’s debut children’s book was just published. And he wants to make sure that you don’t buy it. The Canadian author is asking readers to boycott his book, The Most Awesome Character in the World, because it features an illustration that has been criticized as a racial stereotype, HuffPost Canada reports. Pottle said that he objected to an illustration of an Asian girl wearing a kimono and a double- bun hairstyle. He asked the publisher, Reycraft Books, to remove the image; they refused. Pottle’s book follows a Deaf girl who’s dissatisfied with the children’s books she’s given and decides to create a story of her own. A reviewer for Kirkus called the book “a fun story that any young reader could enjoy” but noted that the illustration in question, by Ana Sanfelippo, “unfortunately plays into Asian stereotypes.” “If you haven’t ordered it, I ask that you please don’t,” Pottle tweeted. “It’s strange to tell people not to buy my own book, but the book does not accurately reflect the world I had in mind when I first wrote the story. Thank you all for listening. I love you all.”

David Yoon NICOLA AND DAVID YOON LAUNCH A YA ROMANCE IMPRINT Nicola and David Yoon are planning to bring diversity to the young adult romance genre. The married couple will lead a new imprint, Joy Revolution, for Random House Children’s Books, Publishers Weekly reports. It will focus on “young adult romance novels by people of color, about people of color,” the publisher said in a news release. The Yoons are themselves critically acclaimed authors of young adult novels. Nicola Yoon’s novels Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star were both New York Times bestsellers, and the latter was a National Book Award finalist. She is a judge for this year’s Kirkus Prize for Young People’s Literature. David Yoon made his literary debut with the 2019 young adult novel Frankly in Love; his follow-up, Super Fake Love Song, is slated for publication in November. “The Joy Revolution imprint is all about telling stories of big love,” Nicola Yoon said. “The characters in them have big ideas about the world and their place in it. I believe love stories are truly revolutionary. Because love has the power to unmake and remake the world.” Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb STANLEY TUCCI IS WRITING A FOOD MEMOIR Simon & Schuster imprint Gallery Books announced it will publish a food memoir by Acad- emy Award–nominated actor Stanley Tucci in 2021. The publisher calls Taste: My Life Through Food “an intimate and charming memoir of life in and out of the kitchen.” “Taste is a reflection on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about growing up in Westchester, N.Y., preparing for and filming the foodie filmsBig Night and Julie and Julia, falling in love over dinner, and teaming up with his wife to create conversation-starting meals for their children,” the publisher says on a webpage for the book. Tucci is the author of two cookbooks, The Tucci Cookbook and The Tucci Table. He also went viral in April with a thirst trap (in more ways than one) Instagram video post showcasing him making a Negroni. Taste is slated for publication on July 6, 2021.

Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.

130 | 1 november 2020 | seen & heard | kirkus.com | Appreciations: Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy Turns 30 BY GREGORY MCNAMEE Kincaid Anthony Barboza/GettyKincaid Anthony Images Lucy Josephine Potter, the protagonist of Jamaica Kincaid’s 1990 roman à clef, Lucy, doesn’t like using her full name, which reminds her of hard times. At the outset of the novel, however, that’s the least of her concerns: At 19, Lucy has never eaten refrig- erated food, ridden in an elevator, or had a room of her own. Until now, that is, for Lucy has come to an East Coast city full of mysteries—for one, the alien fact that it can be cold even as the sun shines brightly. “I was no longer in a tropical zone,” she muses, “and this realization now entered my life like a flow of water dividing formerly dry and solid ground, creating two banks, one of which was my past…and the other my future.” If her future is unknown, her past is something to obliterate, a locus of unhappy memories of childhood on a little Caribbean island 8 miles wide and 12 miles long. Even so small a place, Lucy recounts, was largely terra incog-

nita: “I had never set foot on three-quarters of it.” young adult On that other quarter lived Lucy’s father, who sired an archipelago of descendants, and a mother who disap- proved of Lucy’s interests and, while envisioning long and successful lives as doctors and lawyers for her brothers, found no room in her mind for Lucy to flourish. So it is that Lucy departed the island, and now she refuses to answer, even to open, the letters her mother writes to her. Those letters find Lucy caring for the four children of wealthy parents. While papa is off at his law firm and mama is off doing whatever it is that she does, Lucy walks the children to school, walks them home, makes them lunch, reads and plays with them in the afternoon. At night she studies to become a nurse. All the while she marvels at the cold and at the ways of the bourgeoisie, whose complaints about the cold “made me think that they said this every time winter came around.” The household maid does not like Lucy, she announces, because Lucy speaks like a nun. She’s far from it: She develops a healthy sex life and a friendship with an Irish American tough girl with whom she smokes pot and finds youthful escape. But neither is she a wastrel, and as the marriage of her employers disintegrates in lovelessness and betrayal, she becomes an ever more acute judge of character. When Mariah, the children’s oppressively needy mother, announces that she is part Native American, Lucy pegs it exactly: “How do you get to be the sort of victor who can claim to be the vanquished also?” Jamaica Kincaid, who also arrived in this country as an au pair at the age of 16, gives Lucy plenty of time to chart the course of her own life. Like a Jane Austen heroine—and Kincaid, a fan of Austen’s, clearly had her in mind— Lucy succeeds in finding her way with a resolute refusal to be overwhelmed by new surroundings and customs. She’s a wonder, and, 30 years on, her adventures in a strange land resonate.

Gregory McNamee is a contributing editor.

| kirkus.com | appreciations | 1 november 2020 | 131 HC 9781250162748 | Ages 13-18 H“McLemore weaves another magic spell... This novel will leave an indelible mark on readers’ hearts.” –Kirkus, starred review HBooklist HShelf Awareness