Erin Sterling, a pseudonym for Rachel Hawkins (The Wife Upstairs), delivers a pitch-perfect paranormal romantic comedy with The Ex Hex, a tale of magic gone awry and the rekindled love that follows in its destruction.

When Rhys Penhallow broke Vivienne Jones's heart, she in turn broke her aunt's cardinal rule ("Never mix vodka and witchcraft") in order to curse the heartless "Witch Boy." Of course, the curse wasn't real magic--or so Vivienne assumes, until an age-old tradition draws Rhys back to Vivienne's hometown of Graves Glen, Ga., and the typically straightforward task of recharging the magical ley lines beneath the town results in magic gone horribly wrong. Vivienne and Rhys are thrown back together to try to set their magic--and perhaps their relationship--back on track, as they make out in the spookiest of settings (the closet of a haunted house, for one) and battle unexpectedly dastardly, if also somewhat amusing, threats to Graves Glen (like a display of plastic skulls running loose in the Joneses' family witchcraft store).

The Ex Hex seamlessly blends fantasy and romance, with a strong sense of world-building and magical rules that guide Vivienne and Rhys's attempts to course-correct from the "accidental" curse, and an equally evident sense of attraction between these two witches. A bit of unexpected magic, a dose of revenge and a sprinkling of steaminess churn together in a humorous and heartfelt paranormal romance, sure to delight fans of Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic--or any contemporary tale of witches run amok. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer

Comedian Shawn Hitchins (A Brief History of Oversharing) takes a turn toward the serious with The Light Streamed Beneath It: A Memoir of Grief and Celebration. Within five months, he loses two loves of his life to sudden death. This raw, probing memoir explores those loves, deaths and personalities, and Hitchins's journey back to life.

Matt is Hitchins's ex and still his best friend on the night of an unlikely accident; it is Hitchins, along with Matt's father, who must choose to turn off the machines. Hitchins had already been struggling with a painful breakup from a new, fairy-tale-perfect boyfriend, David, who had been the cause of much whirlwind travel and light. After losing Matt, Hitchins and David tentatively work their way back to togetherness: "This is where partnership begins for me," Hitchins speaks aloud to his lover, just hours before David will die by suicide.

These unspeakable losses could have broken him, but instead Hitchins goes to work: therapy, spirituality, yoga, therapeutic dance, courageous connections and reconnections with new and old friends. Through Día de los Muertos traditions, Dickens's A Christmas Carol and his (and Matt's and David's) chosen families, Hitchins develops a new understanding of his body, life and loves. "The time to learn about death is not just in the eye of a shitstorm of loss; death is also a conversation for still waters and blue skies." In sharing that conversation, Hitchins pursues self-knowledge, growth and healing in a vulnerable memoir for any reader who has experienced loss. --Julia Kastner, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia

Anne Theroux's thoughtful, engaging memoir, The Year of the End, explores her separation from novelist Paul Theroux three decades after the fact. Using brief entries from the diary she kept during 1990 (the couple separated that January), Theroux revisits what was really happening behind and around the few sentences she wrote each day. Month by month, she explores her maelstrom of emotions ("My journey of loss was full of stops and starts," she writes); her coping mechanisms, including a trip to Egypt and sometimes drinking too much; and her gradual realization that her marriage was over for good.

Theroux brings a journalist's eye to her marriage, writing with keen insight about Paul's affairs and her own, her experiences with his American family, her career as a radio producer. She muses on several world events (Nelson Mandela's release from prison, Margaret Thatcher's fall from power), but mostly focuses on quotidian details: working in the garden, trying to find a new job. Throughout the book, she considers the difficulties of being married to a brilliant but often harsh novelist, and her struggle to carve out a new identity for herself after Paul left. In recounting her year of limbo and reflecting on their years together, she has created both a tribute to their marriage and a poignant exploration of how it felt to watch it disintegrate. Often melancholy and quietly candid, The Year of the End is a sensitive account of a woman stepping into a complicated new freedom. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

N. West Moss (The Subway Stops at Bryant Park) was accustomed to blood, yet clots soaking through pads and running down her legs came as a shock in her early 50s. "My uterus and I have been at odds for forever," she remarks, but this hemorrhage was so acute she drove herself to the ER. She needed an exploratory D&C, a cruel flashback to the failed pregnancies of her 40s. Soon she faced a total hysterectomy to remove a hemangioma. In Flesh & Blood, she tenderly traces the before and after of surgery and how she came to terms with childlessness.

While she doesn't shy away from medical details, Moss delves more into the emotional effects of her condition. "Being ill has made me meet the world with a more patient heart," she notes. It's a chance to slow down, reconnect with her mother, who supervises her convalescence, and appreciate the companions who get her through: her husband and cats, Claude the praying mantis and the memory of her beloved Grandma Hastings. Post-recovery, a month house-sitting in Holland tests her newfound confidence, while resuming her writing reminds her "there's more than one way to be fruitful."

The few-page chapters are warm slices of life. Moss leavens her losses with a sense of humor, as in a tongue-in-cheek list of questions for her surgeon ("Do you have a periscope?"). Realistic about illness's challenges and gifts, this memoir is recommended to readers of May Sarton. --Rebecca Foster, freelance reviewer, proofreader and blogger at Bookish Beck

The expectation of consistent quality among 36 global voices seems daunting, but editor Sofija Stefanovic admirably achieves this in a majority of these stories. Alien Nation: 36 True Tales of Immigration began on "one of the best-known stages of New York City"--the "plush and cozy" Joe's Pub at the Public Theater. Most of these tales were performed live for "This Alien Nation," a series hosted by Stefanovic--herself from "ex-Yugoslavia"--who, starting in 2017, curated regular tell-your-immigration-story sets, until the pandemic shutdown. During that "lonely year of 2020," publisher Judith Curr convinced Stefanovic to "send these stories from the stage into the world." Stefanovic chose her New York City faves, combined with several overseas stories first presented in Indonesia and Australia, and a few as yet unacted to showcase activists', actors', artists' and authors' hybrid experiences.

Artist/actor Danusia Trevino commenced her immigrant journey with a Polish toilet-paper-laden blessing from a favorite aunt. For Sudanese American journalist Mazin Sidahmed's scattered family, WhatsApp is their connecting archive. Hass Agili, escaping a probable death sentence in Libya, landed in New York during Pride, "happy, liberated... and a bit aroused." Nigerian-born Bangladeshi American Abeer Hoque makes wardrobe adaptations to fit diverse situations. Dominican actress Laura Gómez bridges the great divide in rural upstate New York. "If your relatives weren't Native Americans or brought here on slave ships, are you not of immigrant stock?" asks author Siri Hustvedt. The lessons, insights and longings are many throughout.

As if to remind readers that this was once live theater, the book's right corner ingeniously doubles as a flip-it, stand-up performance, from empty mic stand to final bow. Let the ovation begin. --Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon

Rick Riordan combines his knowledge and passion for the ocean with his love of Captain Nemo's story in this action-packed, exhilarating, Jules Verne-inspired sea adventure.

Harding-Pencroft Academy (HP) is a high school in Southern California that produces the world's best marine scientists, naval warriors, navigators and underwater explorers. It's the home of 14-year-old Bundeli Indian American Ana Dakkar and her older brother, Dev, whose parents died on a scientific expedition two years ago. Ana is on the way to her end-of-year trials when HP is attacked--150 people, including Dev, and an aquarium of marine animals all gone instantly. The 20 remaining HP students learn that their rival high school, Land Institute (LI), launched the preemptive strike. For the past 150 years, the two schools have battled over scientific advances (alt-tech) created by the thought-to-be-fictional Captain Nemo, from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Ana, who learns she's a descendent of Nemo, is suddenly thrust into leading a race against LI to a secret base that holds Nemo's most advanced technology and artifacts. With the help of her crew, Ana must safeguard her ancestor's legacy before it falls into the wrong hands.

Through Ana's story, Riordan explores the concept of good versus bad, including how a person or thing can be labeled as both, depending on who's doing the labeling. While HP views Captain Nemo as a genius submarine captain, LI thinks he was a raging madman outlaw. Riordan ties this idea into a discussion about how absolute power can corrupt people, governments and corporations. These more serious discussions, along with the inclusion of marine biology and AI concepts, are balanced by unexpected twists, heart-pounding action and vivid language. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader

Kyoko Hara entices young readers in this early reader with the charms of a concept with which they might be unfamiliar: letter writing. Hara's text, translated from the Japanese by Alexandrea Mallia, creates an enchanting epistolary friendship between a first-grade girl and a mysterious correspondent. The simple, realistic plot has a dash of magic that makes for a sweet tale of friendship.

Mayu is staying with her grandparents near a forest she finds especially enticing. From her own home high in an apartment building in the city, Mayu can just barely see the tops of the trees: "She smiled every time she imagined the forest." Now all she wants to do is go into the forest. And her first stroll rewards her with a grand discovery: "Placed in between two tree trunks was a box with writing on it that said, 'Mailbocks/ Please put letters in here. Everyone is welcome. From forest friend.' " Mayu begins to exchange letters through the box with a spelling-challenged pen pal named Konta. As their friendship develops, Mayu grows determined to discover exactly who this mysterious letter writer is.

Hara unearths the allure of letter writing for young readers who are likely to respond much as Mayu first does: "it's faster just to call you." Color and black-and-white illustrations from Kazue Takahashi accompany the narration, their childlike quality highlighting the innocence and wonder captured in Mayu's experiences. The Mailbox in the Forest is a cute story that can easily ignite positive discussions about new (or old) ideas. --Jen Forbus, freelancer

In the picture book biography Alicia Alonso Dances On, Cuban American author Rose Viña (Icebreaker) chronicles the life of the Cuban ballerina, who overcame incredible odds to achieve international renown. Mexican American artist Gloria Félix's lively illustrations heighten the story by highlighting Alonso's graceful, powerful form.

Alonso moved to New York City at 16, after spending her childhood learning to dance in tennis shoes. As she pursued a professional ballet career, her eyesight began to deteriorate and impede her performance. Despite multiple surgeries to repair her detached retinas and a year-long bedrest, Alonso became permanently partially blind. So Alonso learned to "dance through the darkness"--she earned the starring role in Giselle and eventually the rare title of prima ballerina assoluta.

In her thoughtful illustrations, Félix (Azaleah Lane series illustrator) draws parallels between Alonso's experiences as a child and as an adult. On one page, an eight-year-old Alonso grins when her crystal-clear reflection in the mirror "transforms into a ballerina" wearing a pink leotard and tutu. Later, a determined adult Alonso is shown wearing a pink leotard and squinting at her blurry image in the mirror as she stretches before practicing. In a stunning double-page spread, Félix depicts five different versions of Alonso dancing as an adult; though each image is in a different costume and stance, they work as one piece, making it look as if Alonso is leaping and twirling across the page. The illustrations' warm hues echo the story coming full circle: Alonso is shown teaching dance in Havana, smiling and looking beyond the book's borders, suggesting hope and progress. --Kieran Slattery, freelance reviewer, teacher, co-creator of Gender Inclusive Classrooms