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Chinese Crime Novelist Sentenced To Death: Today In Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date August 4, 2018

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by USA Today Bestselling Author Angel Payne

Chinese Crime Novelist Sentenced To Death

More than twenty years ago Liu Yongbiao and Wang Mouming robbed and murdered a family, a crime that inspired Liu’s novels. Twenty-two years later, the crime was solved thanks to DNA evidence (genetic testing strikes again) which led to a confession from Liu and Wang.

Books Related To Anxiety Are Soaring, Says Barnes & Noble

Can’t say I’m surprised by this considering the state of *gestures wildly at everything.* The sale of books related to anxiety are up 25%, according to B&N, and people seeking happiness through books grew by 83%–hope they’re finding it! Read the article to see some interesting sales data by states.

Let’s Find Some Happiness Ourselves With Adaptation News Roundup

Hillary Clinton and Steven Spielberg are adapting Elaine Weiss’ The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote. Fellow Contributing Editor Karina Yan Glaer’s The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street is being adapted by Amy Poehler’s production company (We’re forever muppet arming!). The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, based on Archie Comics, will premiere October 26th on Netflix. Watch the teaser trailer for James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk. The hug to your soul romance novel The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang sold TV/Film rights and I need this now!

And we’re giving away 16 awesome books featured on the Recommended podcast! Pet a Luckdragon and enter!

Today In Books

Which Blume Book Should Be Adapted? Today in Books

Post author By Sharifah Williams
Post date August 3, 2018

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by the Magnetic Collection from Lion Forge.

Which Blume Book Do You Want To See Adapted?

Judy Blume asked her Twitter followers which of her books readers would like to see adapted into a movie or series. It sounds like the big fan favorite was Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Hopefully, we’ll see a Blume adaptation update in the near future!

Amazon Pulls Racist Items In Response To Criticism

Amazon had to remove some racist propaganda, including literature, from its site after receiving criticism from advocacy groups. A report from the Partnership for Working Families and the Action Center on Race & the Economy pointed to specific items with white supremacist slogans and hate speech. Though Amazon said it removed those specific items, NPR found more of the same still available for purchase.

Potter Returns To The Big Screen

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is returning to theaters to mark the book’s 20th anniversary (based on the U.S. pub date). All 141 Cinemark XD locations will screen all eight Potter films from August 31 through September 6. Tickets go on sale August 3, and Cinemark will be selling week-long passes.

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

The Kids Are All Right

Children’s Books About Memory

Post author By Karina Glaser
Post date August 3, 2018

Hi Kid Lit friends,

I have been thinking about memory lately. What we remember, why we remember, and how our memory might sometimes conflict with what others remember. Memory is a terrific theme in literature, and I thought I would share some of the books that came to mind when I thought about memory.

Sponsored by Automated Books, publisher of Divining Another Dream and creator of Google Play App Multiplicity.

Nine-year-old Laiza Wendel can’t remember anything because her memory consists only of events in her future. But for her, the future suddenly begins to look… short. She believes it means she will die soon, but she can’t see how. Her teacher and friends want to help her overcome her new and unusual fear of getting hurt, but Laiza knows that they can’t help unless she shares the secret about how she sees. Will she be able to determine what’s wrong before her world falls apart?

Now available in paperback for $12.00.

For picture books, Sachiko Means Happiness by Kimiko Sakai, illustrated by Tommy Arai, is a story about Sachiko and her grandmother and their changing relationship as the grandmother loses her memory. It is an honest portrayal of Alzheimer’s and how it affects everyone in the family. This passage was particularly touching to me: “I looked into her eyes, trying to find the Grandmother I once knew. I saw instead a small, lost child, frightened and alone. She did not recognize anyone, not even me, and she was scared.”

The Dress and the Girl by Camille Andros, illustrated by Julie Morstad, is a stunning new picture book that comes out on August 7th. When a girl and her ordinary dress have to leave their Greek island home and immigrate to America, the trunk carrying the dress is misplaced and the trunk goes on it’s own journey through countries and continents while the girl grows up, gets married, and has her own daughter. The theme of memory – the memory of childhood, threads throughout this book in a gorgeous way.

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis, is a lovely and honest book about unkindness in a school setting. A new girl enters Chloe’s class, and for some reason Chloe just doesn’t like her even as Maya tries to be her friend. Chloe always says no whenever Maya asks if she can play with her, and then one day Maya doesn’t come to school. That day, a teacher’s lesson on kindness, and how each little thing we do ripples out into the world, makes Chloe realize that she wants to make the world a better place. But she never has a chance to apologize to Maya, because Maya never returns to school. In the final illustration we learn that sometimes we don’t have the opportunities to correct our behavior, and that lingers in our memories for a long time.

In Knock, Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty, illustrated by Bryan Collier, a young boy wakes up to find his father gone. He writes his dad a letter, then waits for his dad to return to get it. But the knock never comes, and the young boy grows up trying to remember all of those moments with his father. A letter from his father mysteriously shows up, and the wisdom in that letter guides his life and his father’s memory. “Knock knock for me, for as long as you become your best, the best of me still lives in you.”

For middle grade books, Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead was one of the first books I thought about when thinking about memory. In this book, a young girl Livy tries to remember her grandmother’s home when she makes a visit there. While things are familiar, she can’t remember much about her last trip many years ago. But when she finds Bob, a strange creature wearing a chicken costume, the memories flood in and she remembers that she had promised to help him find his way back to his family. Bob, on the other hand, had been waiting patiently for years for Livy to return, living off the memory that she promised she would come back for him.

Restart by Gordon Korman is about middle schooler Chase who wakes up to find himself in a hospital. Apparently he fell off the roof of his house, and now he can’t remember anything. When he returns to school, the guys who seem like creeps treat him like a hero, and the kids he actually wants to be friends with appear scared of him. He begins to piece together his past as he tries to figure out who he wants to be.

Drawing from Memory by Allen Say is a graphic memoir of Say’s childhood and his evolution as an artist. Shunned by his father, who didn’t understand his son’s artistic leanings, Allen was embraced by Noro Shinpei, Japan’s leading cartoonist and the man he came to love as his “spiritual father.” As WWII raged, Allen was further inspired to consider questions of his own heritage and the motivations of those around him.

The Truth As Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor is a book all about memory: what Mason remembers about that fateful day when his best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family’s orchard. Everyone knows Mason can barely read or write, but he is honest as the day is long and can’t understand why Lieutenant Baird won’t believe the story Mason has told about that day.

One of my favorite books is Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, and it is all about memory: Woodson’s memory growing up in America’s north and south. What sings in this book is Woodson’s memories of yearning to be a writer – those memories are so deep and beautiful and set the path for the world embracing her as one of the most beloved children’s book writers of all time.

Another book about memory loss is Just Like Jackie by Lindsey Stoddard. For as long as Robinson Hart can remember, it’s just been her and Grandpa. He taught her about cars, baseball, and everything else worth knowing. But Grandpa’s memory has been getting bad—so bad that he sometimes can’t even remember Robbie’s name. If she told anyone how forgetful Grandpa’s been getting lately, they’d take her away from him. He’s the only family she has—and it’s up to her to keep them together, no matter what.

In Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing. Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. As Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened and tells him about his own memories, they both go on a journey towards recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended Jerome’s life.

I was so excited to get a sneak peek at Kristy’s Big Day, the graphic novel by Gale Galligan and based on the novel by Ann. M. Martin. This releases on August 28th by Scholastic. I grew up on The Baby-Sitter’s Club books, and I just adore the graphic novel adaptations.

Whales, An Illustrated Celebration by Kelsey Oseid (Ten Speed Press, 8/21) is a gorgeously illustrated and filled with interesting and educational facts about whales, dolphins, and porpoises. I’m a sucker for nonfiction ocean books, and this one is a definitely winner.

I also began Grenade by Alan Gratz (10/9, Scholastic), which is set in 1945 and told in two voices. Hideki lives with his family on the island of Okinawa, near Japan. When WWII crashes onto his shores, Hideki is drafted into the Blood and Iron Student Corps to fight for the Japanese army. Ray, a young American Marine, has just landed on Okinawa. This is Ray’s first-ever battle, and he doesn’t know what to expect — or if he’ll make it out alive. Like his NYT bestseller Refugee, this book will make you think deeply about history and the importance of the choices we make.

Around the web…

Guess what the first printing is for Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas by Dav Pilkey? Three million copies.

Amy Poehler Options The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser, via Book Riot (Can you tell I’m excited about this?)

28 of the Absolute Spookiest Books for Kids and Teens, via Book Riot

Are You an Ivy or a Bean? Kids Pick in New Video, via Chronicle Books

New Giveaway Alert!

Hey, we have a new giveaway for August! Get 16 awesome books featured on the Recommended podcast! Enter here by August 31! (Did you know I was on the second season of Recommended? Here me talk about my recommended, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor, here.)

I’d love to know what you are reading this week! Find me on Twitter at @KarinaYanGlaser, on Instagram at @KarinaIsReadingAndWriting, or email me at karina@bookriot.com.

Until next time!
Karina

Izzy says hi!

*If this e-mail was forwarded to you, follow this link to subscribe to “The Kids Are All Right” newsletter and other fabulous Book Riot newsletters for your own customized e-mail delivery. Thank you!*

The Goods

Harry Potter new styles

Post author By Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Post date August 3, 2018

Accio Harry Potter tees! Get your favorite book cover tee in new styles, including relaxed fit and kids’ sizes.

What's Up in YA

7 Upcoming YA Nonfiction Reads For Your Towering TBR

Post author By Kelly Jensen
Post date August 2, 2018

Hey YA Readers: Let’s talk nonfiction!

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton from Epic Reads.

Seventeen-year-old Mia Rose has pledged her life to hunting Gwyrach: women who can manipulate flesh, bones, breath, and blood. The same women who killed her mother without a single scratch.

But when Mia’s father suddenly announces her marriage to the prince, she is forced to trade in her knives and trousers for a sumptuous silk gown. Only, the wedding goes disastrously wrong, and Mia discovers she has dark, forbidden magic—the very magic she has sworn to destroy. Now, as she untangles the secrets of her past, Mia must learn to trust her heart…even if it kills her.

YA nonfiction has become stronger and stronger in the last decade. I’m a huge fan, and I find it sad we don’t talk about it quite enough when we talk about YA more broadly. Sure, it’s often not as flashy or sexy, but it’s still damn good.

Here’s a peek at seven upcoming YA nonfiction books to pop onto your TBR. I’ve read a couple, but not all of them, so I’ve pulled the descriptions from Goodreads.

1968: Today’s Authors Explore A Year of Rebellion, Revolution, and Change edited by Marc Aronson and Susan Bartoletti (Sept 11)

Nineteen sixty-eight was a pivotal year that grew more intense with each day. As thousands of Vietnamese and Americans were killed in war, students across four continents took over colleges and city streets. Assassins murdered Dr. King and Robert F. Kennedy. Demonstrators turned out in Prague and Chicago, and in Mexico City, young people and Olympic athletes protested. In those intense months, generations battled and the world wobbled on the edge of some vast change that was exhilarating one day and terrifying the next. To capture that extraordinary year, editors Marc Aronson and Susan Campbell Bartoletti created an anthology that showcases many genres of nonfiction. Some contributors use a broad canvas, others take a close look at a moment, and matched essays examine the same experience from different points of view. As we face our own moments of crisis and division, 1968 reminds us that we’ve clashed before and found a way forward — and that looking back can help map a way ahead.

Attucks!: Oscar Robertson and The Basketball Team That Awakened a City by Philip Hoose (Oct 23)

By winning the state high school basketball championship in 1955, ten teens from an Indianapolis school meant to be the centerpiece of racially segregated education in the state shattered the myth of their inferiority. Their brilliant coach had fashioned an unbeatable team from a group of boys born in the South and raised in poverty. Anchored by the astonishing Oscar Robertson, a future college and NBA star, the Crispus Attucks Tigers went down in history as the first state champions from Indianapolis and the first all-black team in U.S. history to win a racially open championship tournament—an integration they had forced with their on-court prowess.

Blacklisted: Hollywood, The Cold War, and The First Amendment by Larry Dane Brimner (Oct 9)

World War II is over, but tensions between the communist Soviet Union and the US are at an all-time high. In America, communist threats are seen everywhere and a committee is formed in the nation’s capital to investigate those threats. Larry Dane Brimner follows the story of 19 men–all from the film industry–who are summoned to appear before the House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities. All 19 believe that the committee’s investigations into their political views and personal associations are a violation of their First Amendment rights. When the first 10 of these men refuse to give the committee the simple answers it wants, they are cited for contempt of Congress and blacklisted.

Bonnie and Clyde: The Making of a Legend by Karen Blumenthal (Just released)

Bonnie and Clyde: we’ve been on a first name basis with them for almost a hundred years. Immortalized in movies, songs, and pop culture references, they are remembered mostly for their storied romance and tragic deaths. But what was life really like for Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker in the early 1930s? How did two dirt-poor teens from west Texas morph from vicious outlaws to legendary couple? And why?

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Oct 9)

Hey, Kiddo is the graphic memoir of author-illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Raised by his colorful grandparents, who adopted him because his mother was an incarcerated heroin addict, Krosoczka didn’t know his father’s name until he saw his birth certificate when registering for a school ski trip. Hey, Kiddotraces Krosoczka’s search for his father, his difficult interactions with his mother, his day-to-day life with his grandparents, and his path to becoming an artist.

Proud: Young Readers Edition by Ibtihaj Muhammad (Just released)

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Ibtihaj Muhammad smashed barriers as the first American to compete wearing hijab, and made history as the first Muslim-American woman to medal. But it wasn’t an easy road–in a sport most popular among wealthy white people, Ibtihaj often felt out of place. Ibtihaj was fast, hardworking, and devoted to her faith, but rivals and teammates (as well as coaches and officials) pointed out her differences, insisting she would never succeed. Yet Ibtihaj powered on. Her inspiring journey from a young outsider to an Olympic hero is a relatable, memorable, and uniquely American tale of hard work, determination, and self-reliance.

Someone Like Me by Julissa Arce (Sept. 4)

Born in the picturesque town of Taxco, Mexico, Julissa Arce was left behind for months at a time with her two sisters, a nanny, and her grandma while her parents worked tirelessly in America in hopes of building a home and providing a better life for their children. That is, until her parents brought Julissa to Texas to live with them. From then on, Julissa secretly lived as an undocumented immigrant, went on to become a scholarship winner and an honors college graduate, and climbed the ladder to become a vice president at Goldman Sachs.

This moving, at times heartbreaking, but always inspiring story will show young readers that anything is possible. Julissa’s story provides a deep look into the little-understood world of a new generation of undocumented immigrants in the United States today-kids who live next door, sit next to you in class, or may even be one of your best friends.

____________________

And, if you want more recommendation of upcoming nonfiction, may I not-so-humbly suggest my forthcoming anthology (Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start The Conversation About Mental Health? This collection of essays and art is meant to be an approachable guide to thinking and talking about mental health in all its myriad forms. Out October 2.

Thanks for hanging & we’ll see you later this week!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Twitter and Instagram

Today In Books

Tooting All The Horns For THE VANDERBEEKERS: Today in Books

Post author By Sharifah Williams
Post date August 2, 2018

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Suicide Club by Rachel Heng. A novel about living. Published by Henry Holt & Co.

Tooting All The Horns

Ahem, guess whose children’s book was optioned by Amy Poehler’s production company? None other than Book Riot’s own Contributing Editor Karina Yan Glaser, author of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street! We are super thrilled for her, and cannot wait to see her excellent book come to life onscreen. Congrats, Karina!

Happy Birthday, James Baldwin

The teaser trailer for the adaption of James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk gave me the chills. The story follows Tish, a black woman in Harlem, who’s trying to prove her fiancé innocent of a crime while carrying their first child. The film is written and directed by Barry Jenkins, who also wrote and directed the award-winning 2016 film Moonlight.

Rick Riordan Isn’t Having It

Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, clapped back at a random Twitter troll who tweeted this statement to the author: “If you had less gender dysphoria in your ‘kids books’ you might sell more … remember, it is parents who buy them.” In response, the bestselling author broke down the comment to illustrate its intolerance.

We’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of our Recommended podcast, in honor of Season 3! Click here to enter.

True Story

Michael Lewis Comes to Audible, Bob Woodward Goes to Trump

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date August 2, 2018

Michael Lewis – author of The Big Short, The Blind Side, and many other books – is one of several authors experimenting with a new format, the Audible original.

In June, the New York Times reported that Lewis had left his magazine home, Vanity Fair, and signed a multi-year contract with Audible to write and produce four audio-first pieces for the service. His first piece, “The Coming Storm,” came out on Tuesday. As an FYI, it’s available free for Audible members through August 14, as well as available for purchase by non-members.

We’re giving away 16 of the books featured on Recommended! Click here, or on the image below to enter:

“The Coming Storm” based on reporting from a series of essays Lewis originally wrote for Vanity Fair, and is a “timely story exploring the future of data, power, the weather, and the Trump Administration.” It’s pretty signature Michael Lewis – profiles of interesting people, connections between current events and historical trends, and sharp observations about people and their failures. I’m utterly fascinated learning about the role the Department of Commerce plays in the federal government – turns out, very little to do with business.

It’s an interesting approach. It feels a bit like taking the popularity of investigative podcasts like Serial or In the Dark and bringing it to a platform that has the potential to draw in revenue beyond just sponsorships or subscribers. I’m not sure “The Coming Storm” took full advantage of the audio format – there aren’t any recorded interviews or other editing effects that are common in podcasts – but it’s still been a good listen. I’ll be curious to see how many sales the piece gets outside of current Audible subscribers as a way to judge whether the existing audience of audiobook listeners or podcast subscribers will enjoy this format too.

It’s also a new way publicize an upcoming book ahead of time, potentially reaching an audience beyond traditional print readers. Lewis will be returning to the themes of “The Coming Storm” in his next big nonfiction anthology, The Fifth Risk, which is coming out in October. I’m certainly more interested in that book now that I’ve gotten a taste of it in this piece.

Bob Woodward is Writing about Trump

I didn’t think that there was a way to make me want to actually read a full book about what life is like inside the Trump Administration, but then Bob Woodward (one of the journalists who broke the Watergate story) announced his newest book, Fear: Trump in the White House. The book is scheduled for release on September 11, and according to the publisher, “reveals in unprecedented detail the harrowing life inside President Donald Trump’s White House and precisely how he makes decisions on major foreign and domestic policies.” I don’t think there will be a way to fault the reporting on this one, which makes me extremely interested in what it actually says. And according to Politico… “everyone talked to Woodward.” Yikes,

New Books!

This week’s new books are all interesting memoirs by interesting women, basically the bread and butter of my reading right now.

Open Mic Night in Moscow by Audrey Murray – This book is a “raucous and surprisingly poignant story of a young, Russia-obsessed American writer and comedian who embarked on a solo tour of the former Soviet Republics” of Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Sibera. I think a travel and coming-of-age memoir in those places, written by a comedian, seems like a great end-of-summer book to dive into.

Jell-O Girls by Allie Rowbottom – A feminist history of Jell-O? Why yes, that sounds amazing. Allie Rowbottom’s great-great-great-uncle purchased the patent for Jell-O in 1899, a business decision that would benefit his family for generations. This book explores the history of Jell-O, the marketing of the product, and the “Jell-O curse” that seems to have haunted the women of the family, in particular. I love a good family portrait and a good microhistory, so this book is high on my list.

Okay Fine Whatever by Courtenay Hameister – On the most recent episode of For Real, I talked about my love of a good stunt memoir. In this book, a woman decides to conquer her near-constant dread and anxiety by speaking a year doing little things that scare her, which the book jacket describes as “things that the average person might consider doing for a half second before deciding: ‘nope.’” This one sounds really funny, which is something I think we all need right now.

And finally, it wouldn’t be the end of a newsletter if I didn’t get to point you to an awesome Book Riot giveaway. Enter to win 16 awesome books featured on the Recommended podcast, open through August 31. You can find me on Twitter @kimthedork, and co-hosting the For Real podcast here at Book Riot. Happy reading!

The Stack

080218-Dogman-The-Stack

Post author By Devin Service
Post date August 2, 2018

Today’s The Stack is sponsored by Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic.

There’s a new breed of justice in town, and he’s ready to sniff out criminals — as soon as he stops chasing his own tail!

From the creator of Captain Underpants, it’s Dog Man, the #1 New York Times bestselling, crime-biting canine who is part dog, part man, and ALL HERO!

George and Harold have created a new hero who digs into deception, claws after crooks, and rolls over robbers. This heroic hound has a real nose for justice, but can he resist the call of the wild to answer the call of duty?

Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships Aug 3

Post author By Jenn Northington
Post date August 2, 2018

Happy Friday, sirens and scriers! Today I’m reviewing The Descent of Monsters by J.Y. Yang and The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso, plus looking at the new Terminator, the witches of Discworld, under-hyped SFF, and more.

Sponsored by Suicide Club by Rachel Heng. A novel about living. Published by Henry Holt & Co.

Lea Kirino is a “Lifer,” which means that a roll of the genetic dice has given her the potential to live forever—if she does everything right. After the return of her estranged father, Lea is drawn into the mysterious world of the Suicide Club, a network of powerful, rebellious individuals who reject society’s pursuit of immortality and choose to live—and die—on their own terms. Lea is forced to choose between a sanitized immortal existence and a short, bittersweet time with a man she has never really known but who is the only family she has left.

As per last week’s review, the third Wayfarers book by Becky Chambers, Record of a Spaceborn Few, is out — and Tor.com is giving away the series so far! You should enter.

Speaking of giveaways! You should definitely enter our Recommended giveaway, which includes 16 books!

Linda Hamilton is back with a vengeance in these new photos from the new Terminator film, and I don’t know what to do with myself, I am SO EXCITED. *Inarticulate flailings ensue.*

You might not have these on your radar, but here are three upcoming books BR contributor Leah believes you should get excited about. I am very happy to cosign Rosewater by Tade Thompson, especially for the VanderMeer/Mieville/Beukes fans out there.

Did you learn life lessons from the witches of Discworld? Alice did, and this post makes me want to finally pick up these books. (I know, I know. Some day!)

Novellas have been around forever but they’re definitely getting more press these days, including in this piece from Wired. When novellas are available both digitally from my library and in physical form, I read way more of them — I can only hope that novella publishers continue to add to their distribution game, since the market is clearly here!

Your hoard, ahem, personal library probably needs some dragon bookends.

Today in reviews, we’ve got a monstrous investigation and an empire under attack.

The Descent of Monsters (Tensorate #3) by J.Y. Yang

In this dark third installment, the Tensorate series picks up where we left The Red Threads of Fortune, with the slaughter at the Rewar Teng Institute of Experimental Methods. The enormous beast may have been vanquished, but nothing has been resolved. What was going on at the Institute? Will Rider ever find who they’ve been looking for? And who is trying to cover this all up?

Descent of Monsters introduces a new player, Investigator Chuwan. She does her job, she does it by the book, and she does it well. The capture and interrogation of Sanao Akeha and Rider only adds more questions to the mix, and Chuwan must choose between finding the truth and doing what her superiors are telling her to do. Her decision leads her down a strange and winding path, in which even the answers she finds just lead to more questions.

Chuwan is a tart, prickly narrator (which I loved), and the switches in structure include letters and reports (which I also loved). After spending the first two books so closely tied to Sanao and Mokoya, it was fascinating to see them through a neutral pair of eyes. While I don’ think you can pick this up if you haven’t read the first two, I highly recommend doing just that. Yang continues to expand her world in exciting ways, playing with science, fantasy, and human nature, and I can’t wait to see where she takes us next.

The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso

I first heard about Melissa Caruso thanks to her excellent thread about sword-fighting in ballgowns. While I confess that I was a little disappointed that there weren’t duelling princesses in The Tethered Mage (although perhaps future installments?), there’s plenty to enjoy in this fantasy novel.

Set in European-esque cities (it read a bit like a mash-up of the Roman empire with Renaissance Italy to me), the story follows Amalia Cornaro, heir to a powerful countess. She’s bookish, a bit absent-minded, very well-meaning, and a little naive, none of which serves her well when she helps stop an out-of-control street urchin with fire magic and ends up bonded to the young woman, Zaira. Being a Falconer (i.e. the controller of a person with mage powers) puts her directly in the service of the Doge, which is a conflict of interest given her mother’s position at court, and definitely is going to interfere with her studies.

Amalia, Zaira, and the very swoon-worthy Lieutenant Marcello find themselves at the heart of a sinister plot to tear apart the empire. Amalia, due to her privileged upbringing, genuinely believes that it and the Falcon system are a good thing, which more than once made me shake my head and say “Oh, sweet summer child!” to the book in my hands. Her rose-tinted glasses get knocked a bit askew thanks to some zingers from the rightfully cynical Zaira, although there’s clearly plenty more room for her to grow and learn. In the meantime, there’s action aplenty. Kidnappings! Poisoning! Double crosses! Triple crosses! Evil princes! And of course, magic!

If you’re looking for an escapist fantasy with a love story, court intrigue, magical hijinks, and strong female representation, pop this into your day-bag and enjoy.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

Unusual Suspects

Ex-Cop Rigged The McDonald’s Monopoly Game–McSting Included!

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date August 2, 2018

Hi mystery fans! Here’s to a bookish weekend!