Newsletters Dev – Page 46 – getting it done!

110723-NovEACPushes-2023-Giveaway

Post author By Vivek Patel
Post date November 7, 2023

We’re partnering with Dragons & Spaceships to give away a Kindle Scribe to one lucky winner!

Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!

Here’s a bit more from our partner: Dungeons & Spaceships – For the Fans, By the Fans. We keep a close eye on the horizon of fantasy and scifi books, ensuring you’re the first to know about shifts in the genre, upcoming releases, and author interviews. Step into a realm where magic meets machinery, where dragons soar amongst the stars, and where every week is a new journey. Join the adventure!

The Kids Are All Right

Native American Heritage Month, Dumplings, And More!

Post author By Margaret Kingsbury
Post date November 6, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Tuesday, kidlit friends! If you read Sunday’s newsletter, you know that Karina is stepping away from the newsletter and I will now be writing both the Tuesday and Sunday sends. I have loved working with her on the newsletter. While sad, I know I’m not the only one who can’t wait to read her future books. And I have plenty of book recommendations up my sleeve. In fact, I have an eight-page Google Doc with future list ideas, but if you are in need of a recommendation around a specific theme, feel free to email me. My email is at the end of the newsletter.

Power up your reading life with thoughtful writing on books and publishing, courtesy of The Deep Dive. Over at our Substack publication, you’ll find timely stories, informed takes, and useful advice from our in-house experts. We’re here to share our expertise and perspective, drawing from our backgrounds as booksellers, librarians, educators, authors, editors, and publishing professionals. Find out why the bestseller list is broken, analyze some anticipated books, and then get a free subscription for weekly content delivered to your inbox. You can also upgrade to paid-for bonus content and community features connecting you to like-minded readers.

Bookish Goods

Reading T-Shirt by OgokiWild

I love this retro-style T-shirt, and if you want to support Indigenous creators for Native American Heritage Month, you should check out this account!

New Releases

What’s in a Dumpling, Grandma? by Linda Meeker, illustrated by Sandra Eide

I love how many great dumpling picture books there are. This one is a sweet intergenerational story about Grey and his cousin Mila learning to cook bánh loc, Vietnamese dumplings, from their Ngoại. While the three cook together, Ngoại tells them of her childhood in Vietnam and how she learned to cook the dumplings from her Ngoại and brought the recipe with her when she immigrated to America. Recipes are included!

Drag and Rex 1: Forever Friends by Susan Lubner, illustrated by Blythe Russo

This first book in a new chapter book series has very short chapters, so it’s great for kids transitioning into chapter books. Drag and Rex are opposites but still best friends. In a series of stories, they bake a cake, make a snowbear, and read stories together. Sometimes, things don’t go as planned, but they always have each other to rely on. The book takes place during winter, so it’s also a great one to pull out during snowy weather.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

November is Native American Heritage Month. A lot of excellent Indigenous and Native American children’s books have been published this year. Here are a few I love.

Heart Berry Bling by Jenny Kay Dupuis, illustrated by Eva Campbell

Maggie is visiting Granny in the city, and for the first time, Granny agrees to teach her how to bead. As Granny teaches her, she talks about her history, how she lost her First Nations status as an Anishinaabe woman when she married a man who wasn’t First Nations, how her Auntie Jeannie taught her how to bead, and the meaning behind heart berries. It’s a lovely, warm picture book. The author includes a note about what inspired the story and more details about some of the history the grandmother mentions.

Grand Chief Salamoo Cook Is Coming to Town! by Tomson Highway, illustrated by Delphine Renon, narrated by Jimmy Blais

This is a super cool musical book that relates a Cree folktale and includes eight Cree songs. It includes a Cree glossary in the back. The story is about a young rabbit who runs to tell his village that Grand Chief Salamoo Cook is heading their way and will host a contest to win the waaskee-choos juice. The publisher, The Secret Mountain, specializes in children’s books that share music from all over the world. Tomson Highway is a Cree author and playwright.

It’s Her Story: Sacajawea by Randy’l He-Dow Teton, illustrated by Aly McKnight

This is a short, nonfiction graphic novel for elementary school readers about Sacajawea. I was a little nervous about reading this because so many portrayals of Sacajawea are problematic, but I find this one to be both nuanced and accessible. It opens with Sacajawea thanking the water, then being taken from her Shoshone tribe by raiding members of a different tribe. She spoke multiple languages, which is why Lewis and Clark wanted to take her on their expedition, even though she was pregnant. The author, who is a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Fort Hall, Idaho, was the model for the U.S. coin Sacajawea appears on. The illustrator is also Shoshone. There’s lots of room to continue the conversation surrounding Indigenous genocide and colonization while reading this, depending on the age of the child.

Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Bridget George

This picture book is lyrically narrated by water, nibi. Nibi remembers how the Anishinaabe honored and cherished it, but as time passed, fewer and fewer people respected it. Then Grandma Josephine came along and advocated for water. She taught the younger generation, including her great-niece Autumn Peltier, about the importance of water and how to honor it. Autumn became an activist at the age of 12, confronting the Canadian government about poor water conditions. Back matter includes more information about Autumn Peltier and Josephine Henrietta Mandamin. This is an excellent book to accompany We Are Water Protectors.

I don’t go to Target often, but we needed to pick up some Halloween supplies and made a quick stop last week. Of course I took a peek at the books, and I was impressed by how diverse their picture book section was, especially considering how small it was.

If you’d like to read more of my kidlit reviews, I’m on Instagram @BabyLibrarians, Twitter @AReaderlyMom, and blog irregularly at Baby Librarians. You can also read my Book Riot posts. If you’d like to drop me a line, my email is kingsbury.margaret@gmail.com.

All the best,

Margaret Kingsbury

New Books

New Books for the First Tuesday of November!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date November 6, 2023

Sponsored by

Hello, my bookish friends, and welcome to another splendid Tuesday of book releases! Now, I know many of you are excited about the sequel to Fourth Wing, releasing today, Iron Flame, and/or the Barbra Streisand memoir. But I think you’ll find a lot more to love in this list as well. At the top of my TBR today is Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter, Upcountry by Chin-Sun Lee, and Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park. You can hear about some more of the fabulous books coming out today on this week’s episode of All the Books! Danika and I talked about some of the books we’re excited about, including Bookshops & Bonedust, Gorgeous Gruesome Faces, and The Liberators.

Today, I am doing a round-up of several exciting books from the first Tuesday of November 2023. Below, you’ll find titles (loosely) broken up into several categories to make it easier for your browsing convenience. I hope you have fun with it! And as with each first Tuesday newsletter, I am putting asterisks *** next to the books that I have had the chance to read and loved. YAY, BOOKS!

Biography and Memoir

My Name Is Barbra by Barbra Streisand

Touching the Art by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore

Remembrance: Selected Correspondence of Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury and Jonathan R. Eller

Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment by Susannah Breslin

American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy by Aquilino Gonell, Susan Shapiro

Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education by Stephanie Land

Jumpman: The Making and Meaning of Michael Jordan by Johnny Smith***

To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul by Tracy K. Smith

The Autists: Women on the Spectrum by Clara Törnvall, Alice E. Olsson (translator)

The View From Down Here: Life as a Young Disabled Woman by Lucy Webster

Fiction

The Liberators by E. J. Koh***

Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter

A Grandmother Begins the Story by Michelle Porter

Baumgartner by Paul Auster

The Madstone by Elizabeth Crook***

Again and Again by Jonathan Evison

A Song over Miskwaa Rapids by Linda LeGarde Grover

The Rainbow (Vintage International) by Yasunari Kawabata

Upcountry by Chin-Sun Lee

The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez

Today Tonight Forever by Madeline Kay Sneed

Middle Grade

The Apartment House on Poppy Hill by Nina LaCour and Sònia Albert

Books Make Good Friends by Jane Mount

Mystery and Thriller

The Future by Naomi Alderman

The Mantis by Kotaro Isaka, Sam Malissa (translator)

Blood Betrayal (Blackwater Falls Series, 2) by Ausma Zehanat Khan

Enchanted Hill by Emily Bain Murphy

Nonfiction

World Within a Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music by Jeff Tweedy***

Correction: Parole, Prison, and the Possibility of Change by Ben Austen

Excuse Me As I Kiss The Sky (Button Poetry) by Rudy Francisco

Racial Wellness: A Guide to Liberatory Healing for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color by Jacquelyn Ogorchukwu Iyamah

The Core of an Onion: Peeling the Rarest Common Food—Featuring More Than 100 Historical Recipes by Mark Kurlansky

Dolls of Our Lives: Why We Can’t Quit American Girl by Mary Mahoney and Allison Horrocks

On Community by Casey Plett

Romance

Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

Never Wager with a Wallflower by Virginia Heath

Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Horror

Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes) by Travis Baldree***

Chaos Terminal (The Midsolar Murders Book 2) by Mur Lafferty

A Power Unbound (The Last Binding Book 3) by Freya Marske

The Tatami Time Machine Blues by Tomihiko Morimi, Emily Balistrieri (translation)

Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park

We Are the Crisis (The Convergence Saga) by Cadwell Turnbull

Iron Flame (The Empyrean) by Rebecca Yarros

Young Adult

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng

Atana and the Firebird by Vivian Zhou***

Emmett by L. C. Rosen

With or Without You by Eric Smith

Fancy Meeting You Here by Julie Tieu

This week: I’m currently reading This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour, Chita: A Memoir by Chita Rivera, and The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir by Griffin Dunne. I’ve been really into celebrity memoirs lately, for some reason! I have Henry Winkler and Babs up next. Outside of books, I watched Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which was exactly what I wanted it to be, and Quiz Lady, which was pretty good. It’s always amazing to see Sandra Oh and Tony Hale, and there’s a surprise at the end that made me burst into tears. The song stuck in my head right now is “Attitude” by The Replacements. And here’s a cat photo: Here’s my little orange monkey, Zevon, doing his best croissant cosplay.

That’s it for me today, friends. I am sending you love and good wishes for whatever is happening in your life right now. Thank you, as always, for joining me each week as I rave about books! See you next week. – XO, Liberty

Giveaways

110623-DreamscapeFall2023-Giveaway

Post author By Vivek Patel
Post date November 6, 2023

We’re giving away three audiobook bundles to three lucky Riot readers!

Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!

Get ready for an adventure with these new and upcoming audiobooks! From a first-in-a-series perfect for fans of Six of Crows to an action-packed LitRPG full of formidable foes and post-apocalyptic thrills, these fantasy and sci-fi audiobooks are sure to take you on an exciting journey. Enter for a chance to win The Unseen, System Fall, Mothtown, and The Mysterious Daughter.

Canada Giveaways

110623-FlagshipAudDev-Nov2023-CanadaGiveaway

Post author By Vivek Patel
Post date November 6, 2023

We’re giving away a surprise box of 10 banged-up books to one lucky reader!

Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!

Book Riot’s Tailored Book Recommendations ships lots of new hardcover and paperback books to subscribers. Some of the books get a bit banged-up in transit, and dinged corners or smudged dust covers mean they can’t go out to customers — but they’re still the same great books! Give them a home and get hours of reading for free. Fill out the form above, and you will be entered to win. All you have to do is sign-up for our Book Radar newsletter for exciting books deals and must-read forthcoming titles.

Check Your Shelf

Monster Romance and Mesopunk

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date November 6, 2023

Sponsored by

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I realized that I have a special kind of girl math when it comes to Daylight Savings Time, although honestly, it works for any gender. So we set the clocks back last weekend, which means that we’re only a month and a half away from the shortest day of the year. By the time we reach December 21st, the days start getting longer! Huzzah! And yes, I really do use this logic to get me through the winter.

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

The Simon & Schuster sale to KKR has officially been completed.

Amazon has filed a lawsuit against 20 individuals who have scammed artists by falsely claiming an affiliation with Amazon Publishing and Kindle Direct Publishing.

Unionized workers at Scholastic staged a one-day walkout over wages.

Goodreads has asked its users to help combat “review bombing.”

Do writers really need to get on BookTok?

On translating Infinite Jest into Farsi.

New & Upcoming Titles

Paul Tremblay shared a teaser video for his upcoming novel, Horror Movie, which comes out in June!

5 new YA ghost stories to haunt you.

9 new books to keep you up on Halloween.

The New York Times recommends four new romance novels.

New paranormal romances to bewitch you.

Barnes & Noble have short lists of 2023 releases for fans of literary fiction, high school whodunnits, nonfiction about nature, deep reads, romantasy, showstopping picture books, books in translation, cocktail recipes, nonfiction about the 1%, and family sagas.

Weekly book picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times.

November picks from AARP, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kirkus, LA Times, LitHub (SFF), New York Times, Time, Town & Country, Washington Post.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

The Reformatory – Tananarive Due (NPR, USA Today, Washington Post)

The Vulnerables – Sigrid Nunez (Datebook, New York Times, Washington Post)

Baumgartner – Paul Auster (Guardian, LA Times)

Fierce Ambition: The Life and Legend of War Correspondent Maggie Higgins – Jennet Conant (New York Times, Washington Post)

Blood Sex Magic: Everyday Magic for the Modern Mystic – Bri Luna (LA Times, Shondaland)

RA/Genre Resources

How podcasts are helping books reach larger audiences.

On the Riot

8 new and upcoming cookbooks to inspire your fall cooking.

New books in translation for fall 2023.

The best new weekly releases to TBR.

November picks for mystery/thrillers, SFF, romance, horror, nonfiction, YA, children’s.

The Horror Writers Association and partners announce their 2024 Summer Scares spokesperson, timeline, and more!

10 authors like Elin Hilderbrand.

Where to get started with monster romance.

The uprising of mesopunk books.

The joys of reading author catalogs in publication order.

In defense of didactic literature.

An exploration of all the writing cults in fiction.

All Things Comics

An original Spider-Man comic book in good condition may be sold for $35K.

The biggest show on Netflix right now is based on a comic that you can’t buy.

How this artist helped transform Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend into a graphic novel.

On the Riot

Why do kids love Garfield so much?

6 tentacle manga to thrill and titillate.

Audiophilia

Kindle Direct Publishing will beta test AI-narrated audiobooks.

How publishers pair celebrity narrators with audiobooks.

November audio picks from AudioFile and Vulture.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

Books that kids love and recommend.

Kids’ books about Día de los Muertos.

11 YA books with dual timelines that you’ll absolutely love.

Epic Reads has released their 2023 holiday gift guide, along with more extensive gift guides for coming-of-age books, SFF, mystery/thriller/horror, and romance.

Adults

Books for Native American Heritage Month.

Barack Obama shares his reading list for learning about the rise of artificial intelligence.

13 eerily good books to read for Halloween and beyond.

7 spooky short story collections by Latina writers.

Scary-ass books by Black authors.

18 nonfiction books for fans of Madonna, memoirs, or cultural histories.

TikTok wants you to read these 34 books ASAP.

Modern African books based on mythology.

10 horror romance books to send shivers down your spine.

10 intense psychological thrillers that will mess with your head.

6 endlessly fun page-turners recommended by Janet Evanovich.

On the Riot

20 funny picture books for kids to erupt in giggles.

Children’s books that will keep the Halloween spirit alive all year long.

8 fantasy novels where the characters reincarnate.

Influential BIPOC authors you may not have heard of.

Stop, you’re killing me! 21 must-read serial killer thrillers.

Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen has a guide to discovering upcoming diverse books, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word has created a database of upcoming diverse titles to nominate as well that includes information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.

Blaine accidentally left a super-plush robe out on the couch, so Dini obviously decided it was his. In order to rescue the robe, Blaine proposed a trade and relocated the cat bed, so now Dini has a new favorite spot.

All right, friends, I’ll be back on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Swords and Spaceships

SFF Sequels Worth Continuing

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date November 6, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got a double dose of new releases for you today: half standalones and half sequels because sequels need some love too. Gentle reminder that if you are in the U.S., it’s election day! Please vote if you haven’t yet! We’re in an off year, but those school board elections are super important for fighting back against the absolutely unhinged recent movement to ban books. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday!

Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here are two places to start: Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, which provides medical and humanitarian relief to children in the Middle East regardless of nationality, religion, or political affiliation; and Entertainment Community Fund, which supports entertainment workers who are striking for living wages and a future where humans can continue to create art for each other.

Bookish Goods

TBR Cards by HeyBookLover

This deck of prompt cards is intended to help you overcome being frozen at the size of your TBR pile and get you to just pick a dang book to read! They’re very cute. $17

New Releases

The Princess of Thornwood Drive by Khalia Moreau

Laine’s parents were killed a year ago in a horrific car accident, which also left her younger sister paralyzed and nonverbal. Laine is struggling to make ends meet while battling predatory banks and a monstrous healthcare system. So when the Lake Forest Adult Day Center takes on Alyssa’s care for free, it’s a relief. Alyssa is still aware of what is happening around her…though in a very different reality. There was no car accident, to her mind. Rather, her parents were the king and queen of Mirendal, and a year ago, they were kidnapped, and she was placed under a curse. So, while Laine struggles to make ends meet, Alyssa will have to lead a battle that may destroy her and her sister — and their entire kingdom.

Bradbury Weather by Caitlín R. Kiernan

Caitlín R. Kiernan is mostly known as an author of horror and weird, but they’ve written quite a bit of science fiction. In this, their first sci-fi collection since 2009, nearly all of their short fiction that sits under the science fiction umbrella is at last in one place.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Today, I want to highlight a couple of sequels that have just come out; first books in series tend to get the most attention, but these are very worth continuing on to!

We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull

Sequel to No Gods, No Monsters. In the three years since the Monster Massacre, the world has changed a lot. Anti-monster groups have begun to organize, as have pro-monster organizations. Targeted killings of monsters and monster allies, kidnappings, both pro- and anti-monster legislation — all of these things call to question if there can be peace and if a new world can be built. Then, members of Rebecca’s old wolf pack begin to go missing while two ancient orders escalate their inscrutable conflict.

Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty

Sequel to Station Eternity. Mallory Viridian would really like it if people would stop mysteriously dying around her, leaving her to solve the case. But a serial killer followed her to Station Eternity when she was just trying to have a break, though she caught that person in the previous book. Now, more people are showing up to make her life complicated, including a law enforcement officer who was bugging her on Earth and two of her friends from high school. And, of course, someone on that latest shuttle gets murdered.

See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.

The Stack

I’m Sure Superman Has Voted Already

Post author By Eileen Gonzalez
Post date November 6, 2023

Sponsored by

If you haven’t voted yet, go do it! I’ll expect to see your “I voted” sticker by the time you get to the end of this newsletter! (Yes, I am telling you to stop reading my own work and vote. It’s that important.)

Bookish Goods

Sailor Moon Pocket Watch by ForeverYoungKY

Want to tell time the old-fashioned way while still looking stylish? Try this pocket watch! $31

New Releases

ATOM: The Beginning Volume Six by Osamu Tezuka, Masami Yuuki, and Tetsurō Kasahara

Inspired by Tezuka’s classic Astro Boy series, this prequel/alternate take is set in a post-apocalyptic world where two university students create robots that they end up using in wrestling tournaments. In Volume Six, they’re headed for the championships!

Transitions: A Mother’s Journey by Élodie Durand, Trans. by Evan McGorrey

In this impactful work of nonfiction, Anne, a biologist, prides herself on being accepting and intelligent…until her son Alex comes out as trans, and everything she thought she knew — about herself, her family, and life in general — is turned on its head. Both mother and son have a long road ahead in order to find a new balance in their lives.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Today’s Riot Rec theme is: activism! Today is Election Day here in the U.S., and you can all make a big difference by getting out to vote. In the meantime, here are some comics about people making a difference through protests and activism.

Crude: A Memoir by Pablo Fajardo, Sophie Tardy-Joubert, and Damien Roudeau, translated by Hannah Chute

The damage that Texaco/Chevron has done to Indigenous populations and the environment in Ecuador is enormous…but not incalculable. This is the story of a lawyer, Pablo Fajardo, and the people he represents, all of whom are fighting for fair reparations from the destructive oil giant.

Our Stories Carried Us Here by Various Creators

Storytelling in and of itself can be a work of activism. This anthology features comics about immigrants by immigrants. You’ll meet people from all over the world who came to America in search of safety, opportunity, or both — and who didn’t always receive the warmest welcome. Whether they are actively fighting to change things or just trying to live in peace, these creators break down “the immigrant experience” into its many diverse parts.

Finally, I leave you with a bonus rec on the same theme: Feeding Dangerously by José Andrés, Steve Orlando, and Alberto Ponticelli. It comes out tomorrow, and a portion of the proceeds go to supporting Andrés’s charity, World Central Kitchen, which provides meals to people in disaster areas and war zones. Unfortunately, that service is more necessary than ever.

~Eileen

Read This Book

Read This Book…

Post author By Patricia Elzie
Post date November 6, 2023

Sponsored by

Welcome to Read This Book, a newsletter where I recommend one book that should absolutely be put at the top of your TBR pile. Recommended books will vary across genre and age category and include shiny new books, older books you may have missed, and some classics I suggest finally getting around to. Make space for another pile of books on your floor because here we go!

Today’s pick is an absolutely bananas, wild ride of a memoir that came out a couple of years ago.

Raceless: In Search of Family, Identity, and the Truth About Where I Belong by Georgina Lawton

Georgina Lawton grew up in the suburban outskirts of London. Her father was British, her mother Irish, and both parents were white, which is an interesting fact when you learn that Georgina is Black. When Georgina was born to her white mother, she was clearly a Black baby. Georgina’s father, however, said nothing and so the mother said nothing. The nurse or midwife threw them a lifeline and said something to the effect of, “It must be those recessive genes of yours from Western Ireland,” and Georgina’s mom and dad took that story and ran with it for over two decades. Yes, for two decades, they insisted that they were both Georgina’s biological parents and everyone around them, including family and friends, were too polite to say anything so they just went along with the lie. This includes things like filling out that she was white on official school paperwork.

I want to reiterate here that Georgina obviously looked different from her parents and yes, I realize there are some complications with judging the race of people solely on looks, especially when some people are multiracial, such as myself. That being said, Georgina really did not look like the biological child of two white parents.

Of course, Georgina went along with it for a long time because why would her parents lie to her about something like this? Why would everyone else lie to her about it? If it weren’t true, surely someone would have said something, wouldn’t they? As Georgina got older, she tried asking both her parents. She brought it up multiple times, and they both just doubled down on the lie. As Georgina worked on discovering who she is and contemplating the meaning of family, she explored many locales. She goes to places like New York and Nicaragua to immerse herself in Blackness. She does some investigative reporting on where hair extensions come from, and yes, there is a lot of hair talk in this book, and for good reason.

It would be so easy to hear of her situation and think that it’s unbelievable but also to judge her parents harshly. Lawton does an amazing job of telling her story and her family’s story with tender care and showing that there was a lot of love in her home growing up, and she truly loves her parents. This was a deeply engaging book. Content warning for the death of a parent from cancer.

That’s it for now, book-lovers!

Patricia

Find me on Book Riot, the All the Books podcast, Bluesky, and Instagram.

Find more books by subscribing to Book Riot Newsletters.

The Fright Stuff

Spooky Season Isn’t a Time of Year. It’s A State of Mind.

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date November 3, 2023

Sponsored by

Horror fans, it’s me, Emily, your friend in all things frightful. It’s November, but that doesn’t mean we horror aficionados have to shrink back in the shadows. I’m grabbing a gingerbread latte and picking up some new horror novels to read on my upcoming trip. The scary times live on! Let’s go!

Bookish Goods

Edgar Allan Poe Shirt by Jennymeadow

Still riding the high of Netflix’s adaptation of Fall of the House of Usher? This is the shirt for you. It features a lovely picture of a raven and, of course, his famous words, “Nevermore.” $26+

New Releases

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng

I’m living for this cover, friends. Now that 18-year-old Sunny Lee’s pop star career has crash-landed, all she can do is reflect on the past. Once upon a time, she and her best friends Candie and Mina were inseparable. But then Mina unexpectedly jumped to her death, and everything changed. Now, Sunny has a chance to attend a K-Pop workshop with Candie and get some answers. But instead of getting the closure she wants, Sunny finds herself haunted by strange visions, and the other competitors in the workshop start getting hurt.

We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull

We Are the Crisis is the second book in Cadwell Turnbull’s Convergence Saga. A few years after the events of No Gods, No Monsters, the world is still reeling from the revelation that supernatural creatures actually exist. A werewolf pack is investigating the disappearance of some of their members, and the pro-monster activist group New Era is trying to work to bridge the conflict between monsters and humans and fight against the human-supremacist group, the Black Hand. As conflicts escalate, they reveal dark secrets about the gods that could change everything.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Secret Santa by Andrew Shaffer

Still not convinced horror can happen in any season? Check out these holiday horror books that will have you sleeping with all the lights on. First up, Secret Santa. This book mixes horror with satire to tell the story of a publishing firm that holds a very spooky Secret Santa gift exchange. How can a gift exchange be scary? Read and find out.

Mistletoe by Alison Littlewood

Now for something entirely different (but still set during the holidays). Mistletoe is about Leah, who has recently lost her husband and her son. Determined to refocus her energy and avoid the pitying looks over the holidays, Leah escapes to a run-down Yorkshire farmhouse. But right away, something doesn’t seem right. And she keeps hearing the sounds of a child playing in the show. Is it the ghost of her son? Or is it something else?

See? It’s going to be okay in November. Plenty of things to still be scared about. Until next time, you can follow me (and message me) on Instagram at emandhercat. Sweet dreams, horror fans!