Category: New Books

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!

Okay, so this is wild. It’s a bananapants thriller about a woman named Katrina Kim who is definitely not stalking her coworker Kurt, uh-uh, not her. She just finds obsessing over him and spying on him a good way to control her anxiety and give her something to do. But when she witnesses his death by suicide, she discovers he was more aware of her attention than she knew. And suddenly her past comes flooding back, while reality might be going out the door. It’s hard to do this justice without making it sound like a really dark, upsetting book, which it can be, but it’s more nuanced, and the story is twisted around and poured out for us in such a way to make it wildly intriguing and complex. It’s quite something. (CW include discussions of mental health, suicide, violence, and death.)

Backlist bump: I don’t even want to try and compare it to something! So pick your favorite book with an unreliable narrator and add it here.

In keeping with Liberty’s Cheery Picks™ today, I chose this devastating and important book. If you’re a citizen of this country, it’s something you should read. We all know about the prevalence of gun violence and mass shootings in America. It happens so often now that it often doesn’t even make the news anymore. Auster looks at the history of gun use in this country and examines how it became the world capital of gun violence, and what, if anything, can be done about it.

Backlist bump: Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy

And last but not least, let’s end this week on a delightful note. If you like faeries, magic, whimsy, romance, etc., you might be charmed by this one. It’s told through the journal entries of Cambridge’s foremost expert on faeries. Emily Wilde has set out to write a book about all the knowledge there is about faeries. To do so, she’ll need to go work among people, who are a species she’s not as sure about. But when a handsome academic rival appears in the small town where Emily is working, she discovers there’s another kind of magic she didn’t know existed — love. Okay, yeah, I made myself a little nauseated with that last sentence. But it is a charming novel for fans of fantasy (but a heads up that it isn’t very fast paced) and it certainly surprised me.

Backlist bump: Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett

This week, I am reading Bellies by Nicola Dinan and Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie. Outside of books, I watched The Menu this weekend and I *loved* it. Ralph Fiennes is just the best — THE BEST — and I always love Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult. If you watch it, try and avoid learning anything about it. Don’t even watch the trailer, it’s too spoiler-y! Moving on, the song stuck in my head is “Heathens” by Twenty One Pilots. 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: I got a new blanket called a Coma Inducer to help me sleep, and it has been helping! It’s super-soft and pink and I named it Shagatha. But Zevon, who needs no help going to sleep, definitely uses it more than me.

This week: I’m currently reading The Davenports by Krystal Marquis and I Keep My Exoskeletons To Myself by Marisa Crane. Outside of books, I watched Glass Onion, which I thought was weird and silly in the most delightful way (put Janelle Monáe in everything, you cowards!) and The Banshees of Inisherin, which is really good and really upsetting. I cried so much. The song stuck in my head is “Been Here Before” by Tony Molina, because I just watched the first three seasons of Miracle Workers. (Daniel Radcliffe is a treasure.) And of course, here’s a cat photo: The orange monsters have been sitting closer to each other lately. It’s probably a cold weather necessity thing. It almost always devolves into wrestling and biting. (Related: Have you ever read No Fighting, No Biting? It was one of my favorite books as a kid.)

If you are like me, you were very sad when the Truly Devious trilogy came to an end a few years ago. But then we got a new book, The Box in the Woods, starring our favorite contemporary genius teenage sleuth, Stevie Bell! And oh my stars and Nick Carters, there’s a fifth book now. This time, Stevie goes to London to visit her boyfriend and college, and winds up investigating a double-murder from over two decades before. In 1995, nine friends gathered for a party and a game of hide-and-seek. At the end of the game, two were dead. Was one of the remaining seven friends the killer? Stevie is determined to find out. Which means we also get to find out. WHAT FUN.

Backlist bump: Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

And if you want to slip one more amazing historical novel into your brain before the year is out, I recommend this debut. I really don’t understand why it was tucked away on the last Tuesday of the year, but at least now it’s available! It’s the beautiful story of a perfumer’s apprentice and calligrapher’s apprentice who fall in love in Lahore in Pakistan. But when Partition divides their city, their relationship becomes forbidden and the lovers must decide how much they want to risk for one another, and figure out how they are going to move forward with their lives. I will say that it is a slow-paced novel, and it is sad (and very sad) in parts, but it’s worth it.

Backlist bump: Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India’s Partition by Nisid Hajari

And if you want to end the year with a lighthearted cozy mystery instead, this one would work great! It’s about the Jessup sisters in Cedar River, Texas—Juni, Tansy, and Maggie— who open a record store with a café called Sip & Spin Records. But their plans for a grand business skip a groove when a body is discovered in the closet of the store and their uncle is arrested for the murder. Now the Jessup sisters must do a little detective work to find the real killer and save their uncle from prison. It’s light and fun and will help you unwind for a few hours.

Backlist bump: A Deadly Inside Scoop (An Ice Cream Parlor Mystery) by Abby Collette

This week, I am reading Yellowface by R. F. Kuang and Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare by Megan Kakimoto. Outside of books, I am still rewatching Psych and looking forward to seeing Glass Onion now that it is streaming! And the song stuck in my head is “Wasted Time” by the Eagles. (In 2023, I have decided to stop fighting it and embrace the fact that I *do* love the Eagles.) Recently, I started a new playlist of songs that are new to me, and you can listen too! And here is your weekly cat picture: Zevon loves his mixing bowl. Does this look like a comfortable way to sleep to you? Well, he thinks so. He looks like that straw in a glass of water example we were shown in science class.

This is a slim, beautifully written love letter to identity, friendship, and grief. Hsu, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, grew up in California feeling like an outsider. He clung to American culture, as a way to discover his identity and to bond with his father. In college, he made a friend, Ken, who he had nothing in common with, except their love of American culture and finding the things that moved and excited them before everyone else discovered them. Then Ken was killed in a carjacking, and Hsu was left to grieve his friend. He has written an amazing book that captures the swirling, angsty feelings of youth. There is no question why it was named one of the top five nonfiction books of the year by The New York Times.

Backlist bump: Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner

I picked this up because I saw SO many people talking this year about how they loved it. It also has all the starred reviews. What I did not realize when I started it was that it’s just under 600 pages long. But that’s okay, because it was wonderful. It’s about two 80-year-old best friends. Agnes is a secret and public bestselling author (you’ll see) who has remained unattached her whole life. Polly is a mother and wife whose life has always revolved around her family. When a developer threatens to build McMansions in their sanctuary of Fellowship Point in Maine, the resulting attempts to keep it from happening will test their friendship. Plus, sooooooo much more. Illness! Secrets! Death! It’s not fast-paced, but it’s lovely and feels very real. Hooray for older protagonists!

Backlist bump: In The Gloaming: Stories by Alice Elliott Dark

And, last, but not least, if you are looking for a thriller with a bit of substance, I really enjoyed this one. It’s one of the “everyone hated the victim” stories, which is fun, because that means there are a lot of suspects! Officer Ffion Morgan regretfully wakes up on New Year’s Day beside a stranger. Unfortunately, she’s going to encounter him again before the day is out when they’re both assigned to investigate the murder of a local businessman. Someone killed him at his New Year’s Eve bash. But since he was hated by most, and everyone has a secret or two, how will they narrow down the list of suspects? I’m looking forward to the next book in this series, which is coming in August of 2023.

Backlist bump: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

This week, I am reading Return of the Living Elves by Brian Asman and Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan. Outside of books, I started rewatching Psych. I need my comfort shows right now! Also, Dulé Hill is a ridiculously under-appreciated actor. And the song stuck in my head is “Free” by Florence + The Machine. Again. It’s just so good! Recently, I started a new playlist of songs that are new to me, and you can listen too! And here is your weekly cat picture: Farrokh was trying to wrestle his brother, but Zevon calmly said, “No.”