Starred Review

Dispersals: On Plants, Borders, and Belonging

by Jessica J. Lee

"Plants illuminate facets of life and our world," writes Jessica J. Lee in the introduction to her exquisite, haunting third book, Dispersals, a collection of essays examining the movement of people and plants. In 14 linked essays, Lee (Two Trees Make a Forest) explores the notion of "native" and "invasive" species; turns a zoom lens onto mosses and other tiny but powerful plants; and considers terms like rooted and migration in light of her own Welsh-Taiwanese-Canadian ancestry

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How to Be Old: Lessons in Living Boldly from the Accidental Icon

by Lyn Slater

In How to Be Old: Lessons in Living Boldly from the Accidental Icon, Lyn Slater genially chronicles not just one reinvention but two: her third-act transition from academic to fashion influencer, followed by her shift to becoming something else entirely.

Slater, a working-class child of New York, was a professor of social work when, on the cusp of age 60, she decided to study fashion. In 2014, at 61, she launched a fashion blog that caught fire. Slater appeared in an ad for Valentino eyewear, signed with a

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One Giant Leap

by Thao Lam

Plenty of picture books encourage young readers to go outside and have an adventure, but Thao Lam's wordless and wondrous One Giant Leap raises the bar by presenting an out-of-doors setting that's also out of this world--at least in the mind of one imaginative child.

The book begins with a kid suiting up to go out in the cold: snowsuit, boots, gloves, hat. With a tweak of the child's imagination, the ensemble becomes a space suit. Once outside, the kid weightlessly bounces across an uninhabited planet (that

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Wisdom from the Hidden Life of Trees

by Peter Wohlleben, trans. by Jane Billinghurst

A 9,550-year-old spruce in Sweden, the dwarf trees of Lapland in Finland, and so much more: Wisdom from the Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, translated from the German by Jane Billinghurst, revels in the everyday drama unfolding in forests as trees go about their business of enticing bees with scented blossoms, pumping water into land-locked areas, and sharing news with each other through a dense underground network referred to as the "wood wide web."

Wisdom from the Hidden Life of Trees is an enchanting,

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Followed by the Lark

by Helen Humphreys

Henry David Thoreau lurks in English lit syllabi like a formidable giant, one to be emulated, revered, or perhaps even ridiculed. In Followed by the Lark, Helen Humphreys (And a Dog Called Fig) humanizes this great man through a series of vignettes starting when Thoreau is five years old and first sees Walden, which was "the first pond he'd ever known, so it might as well have been the wild ocean."

Humphreys, drawing upon Thoreau's extensive journals, crafts a novel of his life, showing the hurts, isolations,

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Clever Creatures of the Night

by Samantha Mabry

Samantha Mabry (Tigers, Not Daughters) deftly blends psychological horror and magical realism in this engrossing, deeply unsettling YA novel about how a teen girl's efforts to find her friend are stymied by the missing girl's disconcerting young housemates.

High school graduate Case has returned to the Texas county where she grew up to visit her best friend, Drea. When Case arrives at the ancient, ivy-covered house, tucked deep in the forest, where Drea has been living with a group of young people, however,

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Welcome

Shelf Awareness is a free e-newsletter about books and the book industry. We have two separate versions:

For Readers: Every Friday, discover the 25 best books published that week as selected by our industry insiders. Sign up now.

For Book Trade Professionals: Receive daily enlightenment with our FREE weekday trade newsletter. Sign up now.

Learn more about Shelf Awareness.

Shelf Discovery

Whiskey Tender

by Deborah Jackson Taffa

This densely woven debut is not only a survival story and a reckoning, but also an ode to a family striving valiantly and tragically to gain footing in racist, hostile America.

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Under the Storm

by Christoffer Carlsson, trans. by Rachel Willson-Broyles

This moving and beautifully written mystery is deftly plotted and presents a profound narrative payoff.

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The Silence

by Mary McGarry Morris

This consuming thriller, in which a cop with an alcohol problem researches her childhood best friend's murder, delivers something richer than a typical procedural by teasing moral questions.

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No Cats in the Library

by Lauren Emmons

A determined little cat wins the hearts of readers both on and off the page in a charming picture book about her adventure gaining access to the library.

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Until August

by Gabriel García Márquez, trans. by Anne McLean

Gabriel García Márquez leaves as a treasured final gift a provocative meditation on longtime intimate relationships--whether committed partners or parents and children.

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Right on Cue

by Falon Ballard

Falon Ballard's Right on Cue is brimming with lovable characters, a cozy setting, and chemistry both on- and off-screen.

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King Nyx

by Kirsten Bakis

Imagining a week in 1918 for real-life figures Anna and Charles Fort, this literary thriller delivers an atmospheric and deliciously written story that's hard to put down.

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Hands-On Science: Motion

by Lola M. Schaefer, illus. by Druscilla Santiago

Fun and knowledge are playfully entwined in a Hands-On Science picture book introducing young readers to physics concepts through experiments and imagination.

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Big Time

by Ben H. Winters

A woman flees an abductor, and a government bureaucrat searches for the truth in this gripping thriller about the commodification of time.

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After Annie

by Anna Quindlen

A beloved wife, mother, and friend dies suddenly, leaving grief-stricken survivors sustained by memories of her loving support.

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Ingram Spark: Everything You Need to Self-Publish Your Book. Learn More!

Media Heat

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Fresh Air: Peter Pomerantsev, author of How to Win an Information War: The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler (PublicAffairs, $27, 9781541774728).
 
Today Show: Deion Sanders, author of Elevate and Dominate: 21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field (Gallery/13A, $29.99, 9781668026793).

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Good Morning America: Tamron Hall, author of Watch Where They Hide: A Jordan Manning Novel (Morrow, $29, 9780063037083).

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Today Show: Lisa Mosconi, author of The Menopause Brain: New Science Empowers Women to Navigate the Pivotal Transition with Knowledge and Confidence (Avery, $30, 9780593541241).

CBS Mornings: Stephen Curry, author of I Am Extraordinary (Penguin Workshop, $19.99, 9780593386064).

Tamron Hall: Trent Shelton, author of Protect Your Peace: Nine Unapologetic Principles for Thriving in a Chaotic World (Hay House, $24.99, 9781401973162).

Also on Tamron Hall: Tim Ross, author of Welcome to the Basement: An Upside-Down Guide to Greatness (Thomas Nelson, $29.99, 9781400247783).

The View: Tamron Hall, author of Watch Where They Hide: A Jordan Manning Novel (Morrow, $29, 9780063037083).

Monday, March 11, 2024

Today Show: Charles Spencer, author of A Very Private School: A Memoir (Gallery, $28.99, 9781668046388).

Sherri Shepherd Show: Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier Revised Edition: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--A True Story (Dey Street, $17.99, 9780062917607).

Late Night with Seth Meyers: Kara Swisher, author of Burn Book: A Tech Love Story (Simon & Schuster, $30, 9781982163891).

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Fresh Air: Ed Zwick, author of Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood (Gallery Books, $28.99, 9781668046999).
 
The View: Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier Revised Edition: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--A True Story (Dey Street, $17.99, 9780062917607).
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