Author: Liberty Hardy

Another wonderful work of historical fiction from Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai! This one is a heart-wrenching tale of people searching for better lives and trying to find a way to heal from the past. There are two sisters in Việt Nam in the 1960s who take work in the city to try and support their parents, but they are unprepared for what will be asked of them. And many years later, an American veteran returns to Việt Nam trying to heal from his PTSD from the war, while the son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman tries to figure out how leave the country that has never accepted him. It’s an excellent story of consequences and healing and hope. (CW for war violence, racism, loss of a loved one, and sexual assault.)

Backlist bump: The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

And this is a fantastic, inventive YA novel-in-verse, about some of the young women of Shakespeare’s stories and their tragic lives. Things don’t often go well for young women in the Bard’s tales, and McCullough gives these (dead) girls a chance to compare notes, rage about their traumas, and bemoan their fates, as they gather beneath a stage. Juliet, Ophelia, Cordelia, and Lavinia have rarely received such thoughtful consideration before. If you enjoy this, be sure to pick up Blood Water Paint, which is based on the true story of young artist Artemisia Gentileschi in 17th century Italy, and how she took her assailant in court. (CW for trauma, murder, sexual assault, suicide, violence, and death.)

Backlist bump: Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

A new Mindy McGinnis is always a guaranteed good bad time! Her books are so sinister and intense! This one incorporates one of my favorite new tropes in thrillers: a podcast! Two young women in the small town of Henley, Lydia Chass and Bristal Jamison, join together to make a podcast about a notorious time in Henley’s history when there was a major storm and an unsolved murder. But digging into the past won’t only bring them the credits they need for school, it might bring the killer right to their door. I love a story of a podcast searching for answers to an unsolved case! (CW for violence and death.)

Backlist bump: The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

This week, I am reading A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton and Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens. Outside of books, I am getting ready to host birds in my backyard again. This year, I am going to try and attract more wrens. They’re so funny and I love watching them! And I am sad that Poker Face is over. I need to find a new mystery show. The song stuck in my head is “Silent Sigh” by Badly Drawn Boy. And here is your weekly cat picture: Look at this ridiculous orange otter.

This week: I’m currently reading Dust Child by Que Mai Phan Nguyen and Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens. Outside of books, I rewatched all of Firefly again because I plan to read the tie-in novels soon, and I have also been watching Switch and rewatching The New Adventures of Old Christine. I love Julia so, so much. The song stuck in my head right now is “Love Plus One” by Haircut 100, because I’ve switched the cats’ television viewing over from the Family Ties channel to the ’80s music video channel. (I leave the TV on for them when we’re not in the room.) And speaking of the cats, here’s a photo: This is Farrokh, staring intently out the window. What is he looking at, you ask? A bird? A squirrel? Nope — he sees his brother in the kitchen window, lol.

From the author of the excellent Daevabad Trilogy comes a pirate fantasy-slash-getting the band back together adventure! That’s right: PIRATE FANTASY ADVENTURE. Amina al-Sirafi was a fantastic pirate, but she’s retired now, and the exciting days of swashbuckling and looting are behind her. She plans to live out the rest of her life in peace. But then the mother of a former crew member offers her an obscene amount of money to find a missing girl. It’s too much money to refuse, so Amina reassembles her old crew. But it’s going to turn out that it isn’t as simple as finding a missing girl, and Amina and her awesome ragtag crew are going to go up against many dangers of the real and fantastical variety. It’s tons of fun! (CW for substance use, violence, injury, and death.)

Backlist bump: The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

Do you love the “don’t go in that house” horror subgenre? Then this is perfect for you! This is a seriously awesome and disturbing YA horror debut. It’s about a young woman named Jade who is spening five weeks in Vietnam with her father while he restores their dream house. She is worried about how she and her father will get along, since their relationship has been strained as of late. But it turns out, it’s the house she needs to fear. Soon after arriving, terrible things start happening. There are bugs, so many bugs. And ghosts. And paralyzing fear. Being terrified in your own house is not exactly a relaxing time. Can Jade figure out what is going on in the house, what it wants, and how to stop it before it destroys her family? (CW for racism, body horror, violence, injury, and death.)

Backlist bump: White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

And this last one is a dark satire debut, and I am only about a third of the way through, but I am enjoying it! I picked it up because it has a blurb from Kristen Arnett, and ever since she recommended Our Wives Under the Sea, I’ll read anything she blurbs! It’s about a young woman named Damani, who is living in a basement in a hostile city, and driving a car for a rideshare company to try and scrape by. Then she picks up Jade, and they hit it off. Jade appears to be unlike anyone she’s ever been with before: white, socially conscientious, and extremely wealthy. Like I said, I haven’t finished it, but according to the description, things between Damani and Jade take a bad turn, and it’s going to have an explosive ending. I can’t wait!

Backlist bump: Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

This week, I am reading The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue and King of the Armadillos by Wendy Chin-Tanner. Outside of books, I have been watching tons of NBA games, and started watching episodes of the original Perry Mason show from the 1950s. They’re interesting! Very formulaic and overacted, but I find them relaxing to have on in the background while I do data entry work. Raymond Burr had a great voice. Moving on, the song stuck in my head is “Lonely People” by America, ever since I watched the new episode of Poker Face on Thursday. Plus, here is your weekly cat picture: Farrokh and Zevon have been spending a lot of time near each other without fighting lately. It’s highly suspicious. I can only assume they are plotting something.

This is the start to a spin-off series based on Armstrong’s Rockton series. I have read the fourth, fifth, and sixth books in that seven-book series. (Which makes my brain itch just typing it, and would take too long to explain how that came to be.) That series is based around a hidden town that is refuge to people looking to escape their pasts, both heroes and villains. This book is the start of a new tale featuring the main characters from Rockton as they start a new chapter in their lives, but crime and murder have followed them to Haven’s Rock. Now Casey and Eric must solve the case of the missing construction crew members, which of course turns into bodies being found. I really like Armstrong’s books; they’re fast -paced and the writing flows like it’s effortless, which is a mark of a good book.

Backlist bump: City of the Lost: A Rockton Novel by Kelley Armstrong

And now for something completely different: This is a brutally honest, heartbreaking, and beautiful memoir. Thomas had a very difficult childhood. HIs mother was an addict, and they frequently had nothing to eat at home. He was bullied at school, and abused at home, often told he didn’t fit in and wasn’t acting the way boys should act. This is his story of surviving his childhood, escaping into games and his mind. It’s a story of triumph over trauma from a fantastic new voice in nonfiction.

Backlist bump: Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

And this was the graphic novel I mentioned! I am completely enamored with the artwork in this middle grade fantasy book. It’s set in a future where the humans have destroyed themselves, and now the animals are on their own. There are a group of rodents living in an abandoned house, but the food has run out, and they’re trying to decide if they should risk moving locations. But the outside is full of predators, and it will take a brave team of mice to stand up to the danger. Meanwhile, there is dissent in the ranks back at the house, too. It’s very intense in places, and full of action and adventure. It reminded me a lot of Mrs. Frisby, or a Richard Adams story, or another of my favorites, Tailchaser’s Song by Tad Williams. Plus, seriously, the art work is S T U N N I N G.

Backlist bump: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien

This week, I am reading Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison and When the Game Was War: The NBA’s Greatest Season by Rich Cohen. Outside of books, I am a big fan of trivia game shows (I get really cranky if I can’t watch Jeopardy every weeknight) so my father-in-law recommended Master Minds and Switch on the Game Show Network. And I love them! I wish they had more episodes. And the song stuck in my head is “Sister Christian” by Night Ranger, because I watched a bunch of All-Star Weekend coverage (Tatum was the MVP!) and they showed the trailer for Air several times. Plus, here is your weekly cat picture: My cats would be the first to tell you that you can’t move very far in my house without encountering stacks of books. This is Farrokh gingerly making his way through my office.

It has been increasingly harder for me to concentrate lately, which makes it hard to read sometimes. My go-to recently have been middle grade mystery novels, but I also have been dipping into this collection of flash fiction. They are perfect bite-sized stories that you can read in a few minutes, from many of today’s most talented writers, including some of my favorite writers, such as Aimee Bender, Bryan Washington, and Luis Alberto Urrea. Picking one to read is like eating a piece from a box of chocolates without looking at the legend inside the lid. They’re each different, exciting, heartbreaking, and so satisfying. And the foreword is by the amazing Danielle Evans, who also wrote the foreword to a collection of stories I loved recently, A New Race of Men from Heaven by Chaitali Sen, which is a delightful coincidence. I cannot recommend Danielle Evans enough. In fact…

Backlist bump: …I will recommend one of her collections right now: The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories by Danielle Evans

And this is the first of the two books on heartbreak I wanted to talk about. Felix is a National Book award-nominated poet and former political speech writer. This is her memoir about a breakup that completely blew up her life. She reflects on the period of grief and healing she went through as she recovered in a hospital, while also examining earlier experiences in her life, such as childhood trauma. And Felix uses her dyscalculia, a condition that makes it hard for a person to comprehend math and numbered learning, to explain her decisions when it comes to love and relationships. It’s a unique and interesting way to look at heartbreak. (CW for mention of sexual assault.)

Backlist bump: Build Yourself a Boat by Camonghne Felix

And out in paperback today from one of my favorite science writers comes a look at heartbreak and how it can literally affect your body. After 25 years of marriage, Williams and her spouse split, and it was shortly after that she began to feel unwell physically. Her weight, her sleep, and her health were all affected, prompting her to investigate what it is about breakups that, despite the fact that your heart doesn’t actually “break”, can actually induce real symptoms in us. Williams undergoes a series of tests surrounding her own breakup and shares her results about heartbreak and grief with humor and candor.

Backlist bump: Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History by Florence Williams

This week, I am reading Never Too Old to Save the World: A Midlife Calling Anthology edited by Alana Joli Abbott and Addie J. King and Fever House by Keith Rosson. Outside of books, I have been rewatching The New Adventures of Old Christine and NewsRadio, because I live in the past. (I make my cats watch Family Ties when I leave the house.) The song stuck in my head is “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 1” by The Flaming Lips because, again, I live in the past. And here is your weekly cat picture: Here’s Zevon, making his “I am an angel, you can’t stay mad at me” face, which works every time.

This week: I’m currently reading The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi and The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. Outside of books, I watched Everything Everywhere All at Once, and I loved it. It was the kind of supreme weirdness that my brain craves. The song stuck in my head right now is “Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert, ever since Jayson Tatum posted a video of his son Deuce bopping along to it. And of course, here’s a cat photo: You’re not imagining it — Millay is totally judging you.

Maddie is a young Ghanaian woman in London, who is ready to start living her life after her mother returns from Ghana. Maddie has always cared for her ailing father, but now that her mother is home, she’s going to get an apartment, start dating, and possibly start pushing back at her horrible boss and racism at work. She’s not going to let familial guilt hold her back any longer. But when a tragedy occurs, she has to decide what is important in her life and what she needs — and which things in her life are both. They are not always easy choices, but Maddie is ready to make them. It’s a wonderful, moving debut. (P.S. The book’s title is pronounced ma-meh.) (CW include illness and loss of a loved one, racism, grief, and anxiety.)

Backlist bump: Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

So this is one of two of the books Kelly also talked about on the podcast, but they’re so good, I wanted to tell you about them myself! This delightful YA novel is based on the true story of the Patterson family, a wealthy Black family whose patriarch was the first African American to build motorized cars. This book focuses on four young Black women — the two Davenport daughters, their maid, and their friend — and the different challenges they face in their lives as young Black women in America, even when, like the daughters, they come from a wealthy family. One daughter doesn’t want to marry the man her parents expect her to marry, the other is in love with her sister’s suitor. And the other two women both have their hearts set on John Davenport, the sisters’ brother. Will it all work out? This is a wonderful, often romantic novel, about taking control of your destiny in the face of familial expectations, adversity, and prejudice. (CW include mentions of enslavement, violence, racism, classism, and sexism.)

Backlist bump: Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires by Shomari Wills

And last, but not least, who doesn’t love horror and mystery surrounding the prom queen??? When Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is murdered, her best friend Duchess is sure she knows who killed her: Tinsley McArthur. After all, Tinsley had expected to win the title, and now with Nova out of the way, she can. Duchess’s father is the town sheriff, but she feels that he is doing a weak job of investigating what happened to Nova, hiding behind town politics, because Tinsley comes from a wealthy, influential white family. So Duchess decides she is going to prove Tinsley did it…even if it kills her. If you love thrilling YA where the kids are not all right, like Tiffany D. Jackson and Christopher Pike, this book is for you! (CW for many things, including racism, classism, bullying, violence, sexual assault, and child death.)

Backlist bump: White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson (and The Weight of Blood, too, but that’s still frontlist.)

This week, I am reading Skull Water by Heinz Insu Fenkl and On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel. Outside of books, I watched the first four available episodes of Poker Face and I loved it. Having just watched all of Columbo last year increased my enjoyment, I think. I also rewatched Good Omens, because it’s important to regularly get a dose of David Tennant. And the song stuck in my head is “Ring the Bells” by James (which is off an album called Seven, and last week the song stuck in my head was also called “7“. Coincidence??! Er, yes.) And here is your weekly cat picture: This is Zevon doing his best impression of an otter. I think he nailed it.

This is a fantastic collection of award-winning stories (and Engel’s first published collection, if I am not mistaken.) They are beautiful, and moving, and offering hope and light in some of the darkest moments of the characters’ lives. There’s a couple trying to make ends meet in Miami, a woman trying to understand why her dead brother’s bones have been stolen, two Colombian expats in NYC getting to know one another, and more. If you have never read Engel before, you are in for a wonderful treat!

Backlist bump: Infinite Country by Patricia Engel

And nothing is more fun to read on a snowy day than a chilly horror novel! You know how I love the novels of Christopher Golden, and this one is no exception. It’s about Halloween in a Massachusetts town full of gossip and chaos in 1984. Four unusual children are trying to get the other costumed trick-or-treaters to hide them from someone they call The Cunning Man. But it’s Halloween, a night notorious for pranks, so their cries go unanswered. Which is going to be really unfortunate for the people of the town, because The Cunning Man is coming, and he really likes the vibe of the fractured neighborhood.

Backlist bump: Snowblind by Christopher Golden

And because my sense of time was off, I will be mentioning this on the January 31st episode of All the Books! as a book I want to read, because I recorded the episode a week ago, but then I read the book for this newsletter. So next week, when I’m all, “I can’t wait to read this book!” know that I did and it is excellent. It’s a tragic story of love and injustice, based on the true story of Malaga Island in Maine, which was inhabited at the end of the 18th century by a former enslaved man and his wife, and became one of the first racially integrated towns in the Northeast. Until over a century later, when the local authorities decided to forcibly remove and institutionalize all its inhabitants and use the island for their own purposes. It’s rage-making and sad, and also beautifully written and an important story from history that needs to be told.

Backlist bump: Tinkers by Paul Harding

This week, I am reading Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas and The Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger. I am trying not to watch anything other than NBA games this week because I want to focus on reading, but I might have to checkout Poker Face. (It has Reba the Mail Lady!) The song stuck in my head is “7” by Prince. I have been listening to a ton of Prince and Beck this month. (Is it my Year of One-named Artists??) I have been adding to a playlist of songs that are new to me, and you can listen too! And here is your weekly cat picture: Don’t you just want to boop that snoot??? Farrokh was trying to turn on the cute charm to get some cake from my husband. (It didn’t work.)

Lately, I have been leaning into cozy reads, which is out of character for me, I know. But it has lead me to some delightful books. This debut is about a young woman named Samantha Song, whose big dream is to make it in high Singapore society. With the help of her two fabulously wealthy friends, Timothy and Anya, Samantha finds a way to fake her society status and infiltrate the lifestyles of the rich and famous. But what will happen when people find out she’s a big faker?

Backlist bump: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

And this one I had to read because I’ve been so nuts about basketball lately. It’s a look at the racism and prejudice in the world of sports and media. Won Lee is the first Asian American in the NBA, and a powerhouse player, but he still can’t seem to get the attention of his coach, the other players, the fans, or the media. Robert and Carrie are Asian Americans working in media, covering Won’s career and trying to make a breakthrough by covering Won’s breakthrough. It’s an excellent look at hard-fought victories and agonizing defeats, in games and in life.

Backlist bump: Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear by Matthew Salesses

And last, but not least: This is a reissue of the first book in Hall’s Spires series. (I am guessing they’ll release the other three later, but since they each feature different characters, maybe not?) This is a grumpy sunshine story about a clinically depressed pulp fiction writer named Ash who falls for the last person he imaged he’d love: a loud, jubilant whirlwind of happiness named Darian. Will Ash step outside his comfort zone and let himself be loved, nay, believe he deserves to be loved? (It’s a romance novel, so you can probably guess.)

Backlist bump: Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

This week, I am reading The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi, The Night Flowers by Sara Herchenroether, and The Postcard by Anne Berest, Tina Kover (translator). I didn’t watch anything this week, other than NBA games, but I am curious about Not Dead Yet, which is debuting in a few weeks. The song stuck in my head is “Gimme Some Salt” by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I have been adding to a playlist of songs that are new to me, and you can listen too! And here is your weekly cat picture: It was the orange monsters’ fourth Gotcha Day this week. I can’t believe they were ever this small!