Starred Review

No Straight Road Takes You There: Essays for Uneven Terrain

by Rebecca Solnit

"I've tried to map the circuitous routes that change takes, the byways and backroads by which movements have been built and ideas have advanced," Rebecca Solnit writes in the introduction to her incisive No Straight Road Takes You There: Essays for Uneven Terrain. The illuminating collection gathers 20 previously published essays that Solnit believes "have something to say beyond the moment," divided into three sections titled Visions, Revisions, and More Visions.

Solnit (The Faraway Nearby; The Encyclopedia

Titan of the Stars

by E.K. Johnston

Titan of the Stars by E.K. Johnston (Aetherbound; The Inevitable Victorian Thing) is a tightly plotted, carnage-filled YA sci-fi horror tale that deftly marries the social commentary of Titanic with the visceral horror of Alien.

Celeste and Dominic are both survivors of the "Rupt," a massive earthquake that decimated Canada's Ottawa Valley. Dominic was adopted by an upper-class family, while Celeste grew up in a group dormitory. Now both are aboard the Titan, a spaceship "modern at the core and gilded with

The #1 Dad Book: Be the Best Dad You Can Be--In 1 Hour!

by James Patterson

In any hierarchy of life's important roles, fatherhood unquestionably sits near the top. And yet, for all its myriad and complex demands, the job doesn't come with an instruction manual. In The #1 Dad Book, famed writer James Patterson does his best to remedy that deficiency. It's a breezy but heartfelt and highly practical guide to navigating the challenges facing fathers at any stage in their journeys.

Like much of Patterson's fiction, The #1 Dad Book is served up in compact, easily digested chapters. As

Sleep

by Honor Jones

Honor Jones's debut novel, Sleep, is a breathtaking character study of a woman raising young daughters and facing memories of childhood abuse.

Margaret's 1990s New Jersey upbringing seems idyllic, but upper-middle-class suburbia conceals the perils of a dysfunctional family headed by Elizabeth, a narcissistic, controlling mother. Elizabeth overreacts to messes in her immaculate home and to Margaret's perceived infractions. When 10-year-old Margaret is molested by a male relative one summer, she instinctively

Clara and the Man with Books in His Window

by María Teresa Andruetto, trans. by Elisa Amado, illus. by Martina Trach

Hans Christian Andersen Award-winning Argentinian author María Teresa Andruetto transforms personal history into an inspiring tribute to living courageously in Clara and the Man with Books in His Window. Fellow Argentinian artist/muralist Martina Trach's glorious double-page spreads create a sense of place and time.

"This is the story of my mother and her friend, Juan," Andruetto prefaces her narrative, "about how she discovered books and he, the light of day." Young Clara is her laundress mother's

All the Mothers

by Domenica Ruta

Domenica Ruta's All the Mothers hits pitch-perfect emotional notes that will have readers laughing and crying in equal measure. Ruta (With or Without You; Last Day) has written a wise and captivating novel that follows a collective of mothers trying to get by and build a life for their children and themselves. The story opens with Sandy, a new mother leaking breast milk in the office bathroom, frantically scouring social media for "the other woman."

It's a desperate, funny, and relatable moment that leads

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Shelf Discovery

The Wild Dark: Finding the Night Sky in the Age of Light

by Craig Childs

A longtime nature writer directs his gaze upward with this travelogue and love song for the dark night sky.

Starred Review

by Rebecca Solnit

by E.K. Johnston

by James Patterson

by Honor Jones

by María Teresa Andruetto, trans. by Elisa Amado, illus. by Martina Trach

by Domenica Ruta

Welcome

Shelf Discovery

by Craig Childs

by Yiyun Li

by April Asher

by Katherine Center

by Joana Pastro, illus. by Duda Oliva

by Bruce Handy

by Ocean Vuong

by Freya Sampson

by Evan Leikam

by Sarah Pinborough

by Craig Mod

by Lincoln Michel

by Yukito Ayatsuji, trans. by Ho-Ling Wong

by Beth Ferry, illus. by the Fan Brothers

by Fatma Qandil, trans. by Adam Talib

by Kelley Armstrong

by Garrett Carr

by Carl Hiaasen

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