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BEN ROTHERY'S WEIRD AND WONDERFUL ANIMALS

Wonder is immediately evoked by the astounding photorealism of the illustrations (comparable to other Rothery books). Readers of all ages will eagerly pore over these images. Numerous types of animals are covered, grouped by air, earth, and water; all vividly leap, fly, or swim from the page. Several will likely be familiar (elephant, octopus, jellyfish), but many may be new to readers (binturong, coelacanth, echidna, tardigrade). Except for the two monotreme species and the amphibians, every a

MAMA'S LIBRARY SUMMERS

Two African American siblings dressed in blue shorts and striped shirts go to the library each week in the summer to pick 10 books. “Only books about Black people…no repeats,” Mama says, and “No more than three books on the same subject!” the white librarian says. After painstakingly choosing, the children haul their huge piles to the car where Mama waits, hot but too shy to enter. At home, everyone grabs a book and settles down: the narrator on the bed, the younger sister on the floor, and Mam

FOODCHAIN

Wendell Swinehut lives in a small town—Rose Hill, North Carolina—but he’s a man of big ideas. Anticipating the global trend to make bugs the primary source of dietary protein for human beings, he invents a way to “turn the growth chemistry on” in crickets, which he can grow as big as chickens. However, a dozen of them escape their cages, and Wendell discovers that their “growth infusion” is transferable to other creatures via consumption of the crickets, producing other giant-sized creatures th

GETTING TO YES

In the summer of 1978, Chris is back in his hometown of Brandon, Florida, after his first year in college at Florida State University, setting up his summer job at JB’s pizza restaurant. There, he meets Chloe; beautiful and sweet, she immediately dazzles. What follows is a look back at Chris’ previous romantic exploits, beginning with his relationship with Deb, stretching from the end of his high school days in 1977 through his first year in college and his meeting with Chloe. The narrative wea

TIME TO MAKE ART

As a brown-skinned young protagonist, sporting cornrows and a lavender beret, ponders the nature of creativity, palette and brush in hand, artists from around the world and throughout history respond. Pointing to God’s finger on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the child wonders if art must be perfect. Michelangelo assures the child, “You can make your art any way you want.” The youngster discusses the use of color with Piet Mondrian, contemplates whether to privilege realism over other styles with

I'LL GIVE YOU A REASON

In the opener, “Great American Scream Machine,” a teenager named Eva uncovers a secret her parents have kept since she was born: her undocumented status. Later, in “The World as We Know It,” a white couple who call Child Protective Services on their downstairs neighbors inadvertently kick-start the deportation process. In “The Fake Wife,” Chris, an American man, begins to fall for Marisa, the Dominican woman marrying him for a green card. López works where American and international identities

LOUD

Afualo never intended to become famous on TikTok. Her goal had been to become a football reporter because football was home to many members of her Samoan community. Then, dismissal from her dream job, followed in quick succession by the Covid-19 pandemic, changed her plans. “The reality of it going down the drain so quickly and aggressively crushed my spirit in ways I had never anticipated,” she writes. The author joined TikTok and posted humorous tirades against “awful men who attack marginali

THE MURDERESS

When Los Angeles train station authorities force open two leaking, putrid-smelling trunks, the dismembered female bodies they find horrify them. Yet what leaves them especially aghast is the idea that Ruth Judd, the pretty young woman who presents a claim ticket for the trunks, could possibly be involved in what clearly appears to be murder. Notaro carefully reconstructs the Depression-era period in which this real-life crime took place and presents a sympathetic portrayal of Ruth, who manages

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

THE WELLNESS TRAP

Harrison, a dietician, journalist, and author of Anti-Diet, mounts a persuasive critique of the multitrillion-dollar wellness industry. Distinguishing between wellness and well-being, the author faults the wellness industry for selling the idea that individual choice—“the things you do,” rather than genetics or social determinants—is central to attaining and maintaining health. “And doing those things,” Harrison notes, “typically requires a fair amount of economic privilege.” Emphasizing the ov

STARTER VILLAIN

Charlie Fitzer, a former business journalist–turned–substitute teacher, is broke and somewhat desperate. His circumstances take an unexpected and dangerous turn when his estranged uncle Jake dies, leaving his business—i.e., his trillion-dollar supervillain empire—to Charlie. Charlie doesn’t really have the skills or experience to manage the staff of the volcano lair, and matters don’t improve when he’s pressured to attend a high-level meeting with other supervillains, none of whom got along wit

THE HUNTER

In fictional Ardnakelty, on Ireland’s west coast, lives retired American cop Cal Hooper, who busies himself repairing furniture with 15-year-old Theresa “Trey” Reddy and fervently wishes to be boring. Then into town pops Trey’s long-gone, good-for-nothing dad, Johnny, all smiles and charm. Much to her distaste, he says he wants to reclaim his fatherly role. In fact, he’s on the run from a criminal for a debt he can’t repay, and he has a cockamamie scheme to persuade local townsfolk that there m

LOOT

Abbas, the hero of James’ lively and symbolically rich third novel, is a poor 17-year-old artisan in Mysore in 1794 when he’s recruited by Tipu Sultan, the local ruler, to apprentice with Lucien Du Leze, a French clockmaker. Together they are charged with making an automaton of a tiger attacking a British soldier. The experience hones his carving skills, but just as importantly it introduces him to an intercontinental power play: Tipu, aka the Tiger of Mysore, is attempting to fend off an incur

EXTINCTION

What a glorious way to spend a honeymoon: Mark and Olivia Gunnerson go backpacking through the vast Erebus Resort in the mountains of Colorado, where scientists have “de-extincted” species like the woolly mammoth and other Pleistocene megafauna. Just watch the peaceful beasts at their watering holes. Behold the giant armadillos, and the indricothere that make mammoths look like dwarfs. The scientists have removed genes for aggression in these re-creations, so humans will be safe unless they’re

DEATH PACT

Back in 1999, Nate Walker was one of the lucky few Children of Hamor to be rescued from Weyland Berith’s abusive cult by FBI agent Milo Turrell, who died in the process. When someone starts torturing and killing present-day Cumbrian locals in ways clearly reminiscent of Berith’s cult, Nate, reborn in the U.K. as Nate Freeman, emerges from his secluded position as a woodland warden and reaches out to DCI Grant Openshaw, his old boss at London’s Metropolitan Police, to alert him of the deadly aff

WACI! DANCE!

“On the morning of a hot summer day, / you heard the powwow drums over the hill.” The parent and child journey until they reach the site of the powwow. The mother unwraps the child from a cradle board, and the two participate in the sacred community ceremony. Infused with Indigenous joy, the narrative combines stylized text told from the perspective of the mother addressing her child, Lakota words, and vivid images. Cultural touchstones, including ribbon skirts and beaded hapans (moccasins), ar

JUSTICE IS COMING

The Republican Party comes in for heavy shellacking throughout Uygur’s pages. The people who voted for Trump, by that account, didn’t vote for him based on policy issues or a reasoned platform. “They wanted racism, cruelty, and authoritarianism,” writes the author. They certainly got that and more. Yet, Uygur insists, that party is in power despite the fact that it consistently loses the popular vote. Most Americans “are just not fundamentally conservative”; they are opposed to social injustice

GENERATION HOPE

The subject of Katakam’s book is inclusive economics, a system of economic thought that’s based on five principles: growth, participation, opportunity, stability, and sustainability. Rather than focusing solely on profit and competition, the author notes, inclusive economics seeks to maximize a spirit of cooperation and community; this results in a “third way” approach that starts within an individual and moves outward to improve the social, political, and physical environment in which they liv

AMERICAN MOTHER

Award-winning novelist McCann and Foley, mother of murdered journalist James Wright Foley (1973-2014), offer a powerful recounting of the unspeakable tragedy and its aftermath. In August 2014, after being held hostage for two years, Jim was beheaded by Islamic Group terrorists. He had been taken hostage once before, in Libya, but that time was released after 44 days. Undaunted, he went to Syria “determined to bear witness to the horrific bombings and gassings of innocent civilians by the Assad

DID IT HAPPEN HERE?

Once upon a time, a flamboyant political novice burst onto the scene. Extolling patriotism and so-called traditional values, he denounced liberalism. Though few establishment figures took him seriously, suddenly, he was the nation’s leader, and scholars still debate how it happened. That was Benito Mussolini. Many Americans forget that he was a no-nonsense autocrat who sought to make Italy great again. Perhaps his greatest legacy is his Fascist party’s name, embodied by a host of current strong