Starred Review

Dirtbag Queen

by Andy Corren

Dirtbag Queen is a raucous joyride of a memoir. Andy Corren tells the story of his mother, Renay Corren, and the community of misfits who orbited her. He begins with the Correns and their eccentricities, or as he puts it: "These people. These beautiful, loud, leathery, Jewish people. My people." He progresses to a series of vignettes about getting along with his family, growing up queer in 1980s North Carolina, and burning bowling pins to keep warm each time the family failed to pay their power bill. And at

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Dark Laboratory: On Columbus, the Caribbean, and the Origins of the Climate Crisis

by Tao Leigh Goffe

Climate change and eco-conscious political action are at the forefront of various global conversations as it becomes harder to deny that the current status quo is not going to be sustainable for much longer. As debates rage about the most effective course of action, interdisciplinary theorist Tao Leigh Goffe passionately argues that the future cannot be solved without turning to the past. Using both personal history and an approachable distillation of academic research, Goffe presents in Dark Laboratory a

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The Assassin's Guide to Babysitting

by Natalie C. Parker

A teen with a rare superpower--invincibility--must defend herself and her one-year-old babysitting charge in this energetic and emotional thriller packed with bitter battles, heartrending grief, and hard-won trust.

Tru Stallard is a bastion. If Underhill, the peacekeeping taskforce of "talents," knew the 17-year-old was nigh invincible, they would lock her "away in a bunker" for fear of her powers. Her secret life is imperiled during a babysitting gig: Logan Dire, her adoptive father and the legendary Ghoul

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We Do Not Part

by Han Kang, trans. by Paige Aniyah Morris, e. yaewon

"Sometimes, with some dreams, you awake and sense that the dream is ongoing elsewhere." So it is with We Do Not Part, a sublime, fever dream of a book by South Korean author Han Kang (The Vegetarian; Human Acts), translated from the Korean by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris

Set in contemporary South Korea, We Do Not Part explores themes of human connection and inhuman brutality. Kyungha, a writer left haunted and specter-like since completing her book about a recent uprising, is suddenly contacted

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Gabby Torres Gets a Billion Followers

by Angela Dominguez

Two-time Pura Belpré illustration honoree Angela Dominguez (the Stella Diaz series; Mango, Abuela, and Me) gives young readers a hilarious and exceedingly relatable series opener, Gabby Torres Gets a Billion Followers, about a nine-year-old's first time navigating social media.

Gabby Torres is the youngest member of the Sea Musketeers, a group of kids whose mission is to spread awareness about protecting the ocean. Gabby proposes they create a social media account, telling them that she helps her mom

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Save Me, Stranger: Stories

by Erika Krouse

In Erika Krouse's fourth book, the sparkling short story collection Save Me, Stranger, chance meetings prompt realizations and momentous choices.

These 12 first-person narratives are voiced by people in crisis, whom Krouse adroitly and compassionately connects readers to, despite their sometimes extreme cases. But encounters with strangers tender the possibility of transformation. In the title story, the narrator is taken hostage during a convenience store hold-up. Seeing that she is shielding her 10-year-old

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A Dangerous Idea: The Scopes Trial, the Original Fight over Science in Schools

by Debbie Levy

The past feels astonishingly present in Debbie Levy's comprehensive and conversational A Dangerous Idea, a nonfiction work for young readers about the 1925 battle over evolution in the classroom that features a book ban, sensationalistic journalism, celebrities turned politicians, and sparring over curriculum.

John T. Scopes was fresh off his first year of teaching when "the leading citizens of the tiny burg of Dayton, Tennessee" summoned him to the drugstore for a chat. Scopes had unwittingly violated the

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Welcome

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Learn more about Shelf Awareness.

Shelf Discovery

What to Do When You Get Dumped

by Suzy Hopkins, illus. by Hallie Bateman

Mother Suzy Hopkins and daughter Hallie Bateman create a heartfelt, encouraging, surprisingly humorous guide to recovering from the overwhelming break-up of a long relationship.

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She Doesn't Have a Clue

by Jenny Elder Moke

A mystery author teams up with a man from her past to clear her name in this romance-mystery mash-up, perfect for fans who like their mysteries fast paced and funny, with a happily ever after.

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Nobody's Empire

by Stuart Murdoch

A young man copes with chronic fatigue syndrome in Belle and Sebastian front man Stuart Murdoch's autobiographical debut novel, written with charming self-deprecation and winning petulance.

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The New Couple in 5B

by Lisa Unger

Centered on a couple who inherit a unit in a storied New York apartment building, this seductive psychological thriller follows the rules of logic but has decidedly occult preoccupations.

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Mask of the Deer Woman

by Laurie L. Dove

A disgraced police detective takes a job as tribal marshal to pursue the mystery of a series of missing women, but has trouble seeing beyond her own lost daughter.

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A Death in Diamonds

by S.J. Bennett

S.J. Bennett's smart, witty fourth mystery follows Queen Elizabeth II as she investigates a double murder and a sabotage plot in 1950s Great Britain.

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Those Fatal Flowers

by Shannon Ives

This sapphic retelling of the mythological sirens, which unfolds in dual timelines between the lost colony of Roanoke and the legendary island of Scopuli, emphasizes the power of women.

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Strange Pictures

by Uketsu, trans. by Jim Rion

Japan's mysterious YouTube personality Uketsu writes an enigmatic novel that cleverly reveals the identity of a murderer with multiple victims.

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The Rainfall Market

by You Yeong-Gwang, trans. by Slin Jung

This bestselling Korean import presents a delightfully magical quest about a tenacious teen struggling to escape her difficult life--guided by a puppy-like kitty.

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Nightwatching

by Tracy Sierra

This absorbing debut thriller presents a terrifying home invasion while asking if it's possible to divorce one's worst experiences from the question of what we did to deserve them.

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Mother River

by Can Xue, trans. by Karen Gernant, Chen Zeping

The stories in Mother River, by Chinese author Can Xue, are mesmerizing works that present a host of surreal pleasures, such as trees that can read thoughts and stones sprouting in unlikely places.

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The Legend of Meneka

by Kritika H. Rao

A beautiful apsara finds herself captivated by the man she's supposed to seduce and betray in this epic, romantic fantasy retelling of a Hindu story.

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The Bullet Swallower

by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

The Bullet Swallower is more than just a fabulous western, with elements of magical realism providing a perfect backdrop for its exploration of morality and the generational impact of human choices.

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Sourcebooks Landmark: Babylonia by Costanza Casati

Media Heat

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Tamron Hall: Andrea Dunlop and Mike Weber, authors of The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy (St. Martin's Press, $30, 9781250284273).

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Good Morning America: Mayor Randall Woodfin, co-author of Son of Birmingham: A Memoir (Diversion Books, $30, 9798895150023).

Today Show: Sarah Hoover, author of The Motherload: Episodes from the Brink of Motherhood (Simon Element, $29.99, 9781668010136).

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Good Morning America: Thai Nguyen, co-author of Mai's Áo Dài (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy, $18.99, 9781665917346).

Today Show: Naomi Watts, author of Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I'd Known About Menopause (Crown, $29, 9780593729038).

Thursday, January 16, 2025

Fresh Air: Pagan Kennedy, author of The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story (Vintage, $19, 9780593314715).

Kelly Clarkson Show: Josh Gad, author of In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some (Gallery Books, $28.99, 9781668050521).

Sherri Shepherd Show: Trisha Tobias, author of Honeysuckle and Bone (Zando/Sweet July Books, $19.99, 9781638931027).

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Fresh Air: Pico Iyer, author of Aflame: Learning from Silence (Riverhead, $30, 9780593420287).
 
CBS Mornings: Jinger Duggar Vuolo, author of People Pleaser: Breaking Free from the Burden of Imaginary Expectations (Thomas Nelson, $29.99, 9781400341719).

Kelly Clarkson Show: Brooke Shields, author of Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman (Flatiron, $29.99, 978125034694).
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