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BARBARIAN'S PRIZE

Tiffany was one of a group of women kidnapped from Earth by evil aliens intending to traffic and enslave them. Their ship crash-landed on a small, icy planet where they were saved by a welcoming community of kind blue aliens consisting mostly of men. In order to survive the unbearably cold temperatures, both blue aliens and humans must implant themselves with a symbiotic creature called the khui, which has a secondary function of “resonating” when two people are a perfect match. It’s now 18 mon

RETURN TO THE SKY

In 1976, as the United States celebrated its bicentennial, Morris found herself alone on a hilltop at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge near Seneca Falls, New York, playing “Mother Eagle” to two bald eaglets. She had been selected to participate in a program to reintroduce bald eagles into the state. Following the ravaging effects on the species by hunting, habitat destruction, and DDT, “restoring the eagle was symbolic of a nation seeking to right a wrong by avowing its commitment to the

COURTING THE SUN

In late-17th-century France, when the reign of Louis XIV is at the pinnacle of its splendor, beautiful 16-year-old country girl Sylvienne d’Aubert’s life is transformed by a totally unexpected summons to join the glittering court of the Sun King as a lady-in-waiting. Raised by a single mother and educated by nuns, Sylvienne has grown up in modest comfort, almost entirely ignorant of her own origins. Not long before the king’s invitation arrives, she’s shocked to learn that her mother was the il

REBELS WITH A CAUSE

Way, a professor of developmental psychology and the author of Deep Secrets, draws on considerable research, including her own longitudinal studies into the lives of boys, to show how society’s construction of “boy culture” undermines their well-being. That culture, she writes, “is rooted in ideologies that intersect with one another, including but not limited to patriarchy, capitalism, white supremacy, antisemitism, and Islamophobia.” As boys grow up, they learn that “soft” qualities, such as

FATHER OF MINE

In a story set in 1973 in small-town Wheeling, West Virginia, author Florio depicts a tightly knit clan struggling in an era when the Italian American mob is proliferating across the country. The author expertly sets the novel’s grim, menacing tone early on with the coldblooded contract killing of someone who paid for betrayal and treachery in blood. Protagonist Johnny Mesagne is described as someone who is “handsome, in a hoodlum sort of way,” and who’s a divorced father to estranged adult son

THE END OF EDEN

Attempting to fully comprehend the magnitude of global climate change can feel next to impossible. In this deeply researched and disturbing book, photographer and environmental writer Welz helps us understand it “through smaller stories.” Moving among far-flung ecosystems—e.g., the Mojave Desert, South Africa’s Cape Floral Region, the high-altitude grasslands of Central Asia—the author presents climate change in focused snapshots. Each case study of an ecosystem tracks how small increases in lo

BANANA BALL

The heroes of this charming story are the Savannah Bananas, a goofball gang of athletes whose motto is, “Fans First. Entertain Always.” At their helm is Cole, a baseball-loving Bostonian who went south to pitch in college but didn’t quite have the right stuff to hit the majors. As he puts it, “I wasn’t hugely projectable,” meaning he wasn’t likely to develop the ability to compete with the pitchers in Major League Baseball. Regardless, studying humanities and theater, he also knew that he was a

PROM BABIES

Black, biracial high school senior Mina is attending prom with her sort-of boyfriend—the white, evangelical captain of the football team. White junior Penney and her boyfriend—a senior of Ghanaian descent—plan a special, private after-prom party. Sheryl is white, lives in foster care, and wasn’t even planning on attending prom, until one of the popular guys asked her out. Each girl becomes pregnant and decides against termination. While the circumstances around the pregnancies are different, an

THE CONSUMER INSIGHTS REVOLUTION

This business guide details the ways in which research can be used to better build and position a brand. Two of the authors are senior managers at PepsiCo, and two work with Zappi, the company PepsiCo partnered with to create Ada, a learning application that, per the book, transformed PepsiCo’s market research. The text outlines how PepsiCo Insights, the company’s research and marketing arm, affects the larger organization, offering nuggets along the way that can apply to any company looking to

THE WELL-CONNECTED ANIMAL

Our belief in human exceptionalism has long included the dogma that we are the only animals that create complex social networks—but we are wrong. In this compelling book, evolutionary biologist Dugatkin, author of The Imitation Factor and Principles of Animal Behavior, notes that while the study of complex non-human social networks is a fairly young discipline, new research is occurring at a rapid pace. As one example, we now know reciprocal altruism drives vampire bats, who are most likely to

SUNNY GALE

When Hannah Brandt, who comes from a hardscrabble background in Ohio and Nebraska, first gets to ride a horse in 1895 at the age of 14,she realizes that there is no going back to the way things were: Her destiny is to be a rodeo star and break new ground as a female bronco rider. She wins first place in a race at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo at 18, and soon she’s known by a new name: Sunny Gale. Her marriage to her first husband, Luke Mangum, ends in divorce and she’s taken in by the Picker

CHALLENGES FOR TEEN GIRLS

Rockler presents an overview that’s separated into chapters on anxiety, social media, body image, cyberbullying, and getting and providing help. While many stressors have long been around, social media and isolation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic are new. The author summarizes important findings showing how the pandemic has adversely affected how teens socialize and negotiate friendships. In addition, anxiety in the form of school avoidance has also increased as students have reverted from vir

RAINBOWS, UNICORNS, AND TRIANGLES

Organized in loose chronological order, the book explores green carnations, violets, Polari (slang adopted in the U.K. in the 1920s and the only nonvisual symbol covered here), lavender rhinos, purple hands, the lambda, the labrys, pink and black triangles, and more. A few brief lines introduce the text, explaining why these symbols hold significance. Some served as a tool to help queer people secretly signify their identities; others were demonstrations of pride and resistance in the face of p

THE KING'S HATS

Worried lest the royal diadem not look as right on him as on his late lamented mum, the kingster follows his wife’s advice and heads for his “Happy Place.” That would be the royal garden, because “he could potter there for hours / with honey bees and birds and trees, / and butterflies and flowers.” There he meets Tom, the White-presenting royal gardener, who reminds him that he has many hats to wear—from a shower cap in the bath to a hard hat while joining workers at a construction site, from a

TOBY TOOTLES

Birthday boy Toby, a white rabbit, is in full celebration mode and ready to blow out his candles when something happens: He blows from the wrong end. His friends—a menagerie of animals—laugh and his sister calls him Toby Tootles. Humiliated, Toby spends time with his grandmother, a gray and white rabbit, and observes her having a few gassy gaffes herself. Unlike Toby, Grandma isn’t concerned and tells him that “gas happens.” When the pair are eating out at the end of the day, Toby needs to brea

AQUA BOY

Aaron and his sister, Angel, live by the ocean, where they and their parents serve as ocean guardians, volunteers who take care of the beach. Angel, a strong swimmer for whom the ocean is a second home, has nicknamed herself “Coral Girl,” but Aaron fears going underwater. Mom and Dad reassure him that one day he’ll be ready. Later, a big storm litters the beach with trash, which the ocean guardians clean up. The children fantasize about finding a way “to clean up the ocean for good”: with a hug

MONARCH

More than a collection of stories, Tobias’ debut is a selection of gritty, emotional character studies. Bettie, the protagonist of “Nova,” fixates on her mysterious companion, Jones, as the two set off on a violent road trip through California. “First time I laid eyes on Jones,” she says, “I didn’t know how I would be tortured, gently, how I would come to rest just beneath her skin.” In “Red Cardboard Hearts Hanging From Strings,” Liza reminisces on past love and a miscarriage as she marries he

LOSING MUSIC

In an affecting debut memoir, novelist and essayist Cotter recounts the health crisis that transformed his sense of self and connection to his world. Beginning in early September 2008, he experienced a ringing and roaring in his ears along with intermittent attacks of vertigo. He tried fad diets, meditation, and even a change in environment, moving from the East Coast to Colorado. Seeking medical help, he came away repeatedly frustrated: Doctors in Los Angeles, Boston, Denver—where he lived wit

IT'S NOT YOU

A psychologist who works with survivors of narcissistic abuse—and who has personally faced narcissists in family, personal, and work relationships—Durvasula draws on a range of experiences to offer guidance, affirmation, and support. “We can pull ourselves out of the stories of the narcissistic people who defined us, silenced us, clipped our wings, taught us our dreams were grandiose, filled us with shame, and for a time, stole our joy,” she writes, whether we stay in relationships with narciss

NIGHT FOR DAY

Camille Buhay started dating Ward Dunbar when they were in college in Chicago. Though they were opposites, they were deliriously happy with each other—until they weren’t. Dissatisfied with what she took to be Ward’s entitlement and privilege, Camille moved to Manhattan. A short time later, Ward headed to Los Angeles. But distance didn’t heal their emotional wounds. When they both end up heading to London, where they’re interviewing for similar jobs selling art and antiques, neither knows the ot