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Starred Review

The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog: And Other Serious Discoveries of Silly Science

by Carly Anne York

A glorious celebration of silly science, The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog by Carly Anne York (Queens of the Jungle) is an intensely readable, funny book that treats its audience to a plethora of scientific discoveries. Each is described in its own bite-size chapter, making this a perfect beach read for the science-oriented set. With topics as wide-ranging as the discovery of penicillin and duck genitalia, York offers a fun fact for every occasion.

Why was the first recorded recipient of a bone graft

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Graciela in the Abyss

by Meg Medina, illus. by Anna and Elena Balbusso

A cursed harpoon that can kill sea ghosts brings together a blacksmith's son and a forlorn spirit in the wondrous and enthralling middle-grade novel Graciela in the Abyss.

One hundred years ago, the "ruthless" fisherman Fernando Gonzalo and the "pitiless" blacksmith Ignacio Leon forged a weapon to kill sea spirits. Now, Ignacio's great-grandson, Jorge Leon, has found the weapon. The boy's unkind parents want to use it, but Jorge won't let them harm the spirits. He steals the harpoon with the intent to destroy

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Crown

by Evanthia Bromiley

Late in Evanthia Bromiley's debut novel, Crown, a woman looks out the window as the early morning train she is on hurtles past two half-dressed, unattended children dangerously close to the tracks. They are nine-year-old twins Evan and Virginia, born when Jude--now pregnant again--was 16. Jude, a waitress until the Covid-19 pandemic slowed and then stopped her income altogether, has stayed on the move, trying to shelter her family however she can, but now she must face two undeniable truths: they are being

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I Come from Another Galaxy

by James Kwan

I Come from Another Galaxy humorously, compassionately--and with a healthy dose of cuteness--relates the story of a dauntless young human who finds that things are very different away from Earth, where they are now the alien.

"Hello, friends." Intrepid adventurer James, who's zooming off to school in another galaxy, explains that they're writing in their little book to share "discoveries from outer space." Their new classmates are all aliens, adorned with slimy tentacles, big googly eyes, and noodle arms.

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It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground

by David Litt

A former speechwriter for Barack Obama chronicles the challenges of learning to ride the waves in It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground. David Litt (Thanks, Obama) braved New Jersey's cold Atlantic waves and unpredictable hours with his teacher: his conservative brother-in-law, Matt.

At 34, Litt felt isolated by the Covid-19 pandemic, had "situational depression," and struggled with "existential terror" for the future. In contrast, Matt, a Harley-driving, anti-vaxxer

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Bug Hollow

by Michelle Huneven

Michelle Huneven's sixth novel, Bug Hollow, is a glistening portrait of one California family from the mid-1970s onward: beset by losses but expanded through serendipity and friendship.

Readers are introduced to the Samuelson family--dad Phil, an architect; mom Sibyl, a fourth-grade teacher; and three kids--through the eyes of eight-year-old Sally. Sally's older brother, Ellis, moved to Bug Hollow, a hunting lodge-turned-student rental (make that hippie commune) in the Santa Cruz Mountains, to work in an ice

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Call Your Boyfriend

by Olivia A. Cole, Ashley Woodfolk

In their nearly flawless first co-written YA novel, Olivia A. Cole (Ariel Crashes a Train) and Ashley Woodfolk (The Beauty That Remains) reveal that revenge isn't always a dish best served cold; in their talented hands, it's actually heartwarming.

Beautiful, biracial Maia Moon is newly single. Well, sort of. She has broken up with Tatum Westbrook three times in the last six months. In that time, she's been kissing badass white lesbian Beau Carl and flirting with Charm Montgomery, her Black trigonometry tutor.

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Shelf Discovery

Salty

by Kate Myers

Estranged sisters reunite to take down a family of shady real-estate developers in this upstairs-downstairs mystery rife with million-dollar yachts and sharp humor.

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This Dog Will Change Your Life

by Elias Weiss Friedman

The man behind the Dogist, known for on-the-street photos of dogs that capture their personalities, explores the impact of dogs on the lives of their people in this highly entertaining, warm memoir.

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The Safari

by Jaclyn Goldis

A wealthy widow's impending wedding to a much younger man draws the ire of her family in this tension-filled thriller set at a South African game resort.

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Tempest

by K. Ibura

In this creative, clever YA fantasy a Black teen must learn to master her secret magical abilities as she evades a threatening secret organization.

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The English Masterpiece

by Katherine Reay

A woman who works at London's Tate Gallery causes a scandal when she declares a Picasso painting a forgery in this rewardingly escapist thriller set in 1973 just after the great artist's death.

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Backlight

by Pirkko Saisio, trans. by Mia Spangenberg

A moving snapshot of an artist's coming to terms with their sexuality and the world around them.

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Among Friends

by Hal Ebbott

Enduring friendships are thrown into crisis by an incident that rocks the friends' beliefs about what those relationships truly mean.

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Realm of Thieves

by Karina Halle

A woman who steals dragon eggs for the black market is kidnapped by a handsome rival in this adventurous, bighearted romantasy.

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Not a Dog

by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez, illus. by Laura González

The third, delightful installment in the "Not a..." children's picture book series introduces readers to a barking rodent that is not a dog, despite its name.

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Days of Light

by Megan Hunter

Megan Hunter's luminous third novel leapfrogs between pivotal days in the life of an Englishwoman between the 1930s and 1990s.

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Big City Press: Crude: Ukraine, Oil and Nuclear War by Mike Bond

Media Heat

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Fresh Air: Leila Mottley, author of The Girls Who Grew Big (Knopf, $28, 9780593801123).
 
Good Morning America: Patti Callahan Henry, author of The Story She Left Behind: A Novel (Atria, $29.99, 9781668011874).

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Good Morning America: Christine Pride, author of All the Men I've Loved Again: A Novel (Atria, $28.99, 9781668049532).

Today Show: Eden Grinshpan, author of Tahini Baby: Bright, Everyday Recipes That Happen to Be Vegetarian (Avery, $35, 9780593713426).

Monday, July 7, 2025

Good Morning America: Molly X. Chang, author of The Nightblood Prince (Random House Books for Young Readers, $20.99, 9780593897362).

CBS Mornings: Parvati Shallow, author of Nice Girls Don't Win: How I Burned It All Down to Claim My Power (The Dial Press, $30, 9780593730577).

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Stacey Abrams, author of Coded Justice: A Thriller (Doubleday, $30, 9780385548342).

Thursday, July 3, 2025

All Things Considered: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, author of Misbehaving at the Crossroads: Essays & Writings (Harper, $30, 9780063246638).

Fresh Air: Tamara Yajia, author of Cry for Me, Argentina: My Life as a Failed Child Star (Bloomsbury, $26.99, 9781639733910).

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Today: Brad Thor, author of Edge of Honor: A Thriller (Atria/Emily Bestler, $29.99, 9781982182274).
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