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BE WILD

In a series of comparisons that are, to say the least, stretched, Crandall invites readers to wash their ears and feet like jackrabbits, “make” their beds the way orangutans literally do every night, be good listeners like owls, which can “pinpoint even the tiniest scuffle of a mouse beneath the snow,” and look to other animals for similar behavioral cues. Some behaviors do seem at least somewhat analogous—she notes that a polar bear wishing to share another bear’s meal will ask permission “cal

THE RESET

The series’ central conceit is that certain humans are born with innate “Time Corrector” powers that allow them to halt or reverse time and thus rewrite reality. This talent is bound to a rare Earth substance called intreton—a key element in everything from clean energy technology to cybernetic limbs, digital mind transfer, and artificial intelligence. In the early 21st century, super-genius Vincent Abajian is the incredibly wealthy leader of the cutting-edge Quantum World, a company that makes

THE LITTLE TIGER

Ollie, a small child with skin the color of the page, previously seen sporting rabbit, reindeer, bear, and kitten costumes, here takes on the persona of a very gentle tiger. It’s not springtime, winter holiday, back-to-school time, or Halloween; it’s her birthday, and she’s received a tiger suit. As she is “practicing her roar,” alone with the cat, she spots a gigantic bunch of balloons outside the window and races out. Though she runs and runs, they almost float away, and she considers giving

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

QUEEN OF THE COURT

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Blais, author of In These Girls Hope Is a Muscle and other books, presents a vividly complete portrait of Alice Marble (1913-1990), one of the first celebrity champions in women's tennis, who also happened to be an actor, singer, writer, and civil rights pioneer. The author deftly shores up inconsistencies in the two memoirs that Marble penned while also utilizing that material and her own thorough research to form a definitive story. Blais includes a fascinati

VENGEANCE OF THE PIRATE QUEEN

In this stand-alone companion to the Daughter of the Pirate King duology, Queen Alosa asks 18-year-old dark-brown-skinned Sorinda to lead search efforts for a missing vessel in uncharted waters north of the Seventeen Isles. “I’m not who you send to save people,” reflects the austere assassin to herself in hopes that the request will prove to be a playful ruse. Though the queen’s invitation seems in conflict with her hitwoman duties, Sorinda accepts the risky endeavor and subsequently receives a

FINLEY FEELS

Readers follow Finley’s journey from shelter pup to a loved member of a new family. When we first see the pooch, lying quietly in a cage, we’re told “Finley feels sad.” “Finley feels scared” when a gentle child shows up to adopt them. And on the car ride home, “Finley is anxious.” As Finley becomes more comfortable, the descriptions include “curious,” “playful,” and, eventually, “happy.” In a nice touch, Finley still experiences some negative feelings even upon leaving the shelter; Finley feels

IN ONE LIFE AND OUT ANOTHER

Do you ever wonder how your life could have gone if just one thing had been different? In one version of Marin Greene’s life, her parents are divorced. She’s just received a car for her 17th birthday (from her dad, of course), and she’s planning to use it to spend as much time away from her overbearing mother as possible. Her best friend has been Hannah since the two of them stopped hanging out with their third musketeer, Whitney, as soon as the three got to high school. Marin’s biggest problem

THE LAST SAXON KING

Daniel Renfrew is a lonely 16-year-old, home-schooled by his professor father on topics that range from obscure historical facts and Latin verbs to hands-on lessons using medieval weapons. One day, Prof. Renfrew is confronted at home by a mysterious man who demands something from him. In the ensuing attack, Dad gives Dan a device and directions to follow, sending Dan back in time to England in the year 1066, when King Harold II is about to face his biggest challenge yet. There, Dan befriends Sa

LITTLE MO AND THE GREAT SNOW MONSTER

It snows and the river freezes over. Little Mo’s parents, going out to forage, caution him to remain in their cave and not to tread on the ice. But a bored and lonely Little Mo ventures outside anyway and builds snow friends. He hides when enormous, dinosaurlike monsters emerge and settle into the cave. Mustering some courage, Little Mo explains that they must leave. The biggest monster chases Little Mo, threatening to devour him—but, running across the frozen river, the heavy creature falls in

THE MARSEILLE CONNECTION

The French Connection that smuggled heroin to the United States through Marseille, France, was one of the most notorious drug trafficking operations. McCallion writes that he was curious about how the ring, run by a Corsican Mafia group known as the Unione Corse, evaded prosecution. In this book, he claims to have found the answer. The author is blessed with three compelling central figures in this narrative: William Spector, a former U.S. intelligence agent; his mysterious ex-wife, former mode

FLASHBULB MEMORIES

In this collection of extremely short stories (several of the pieces are less than a page long, and few are more than three pages), the author draws on notes recorded over decades of parenting, working, and living in France and the United States, turning memories into a work of autofiction. The first section, “New Roots,” includes stories spanning the French family’s stay in the United States. The following three sections (“Infancy,” “Adolescence,” and “Send-Off”) are roughly chronological, fol

EVERYWHERE BEAUTY IS HARLEM

Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) gets off work, and now his “time is his own.” He loads a roll of film in his camera and pays attention to what he sees around him in Harlem. Relying on his senses, he takes in the city. With his camera, he captures a variety of sights. A boy drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. An artist showing his paintings as the sunlight catches his hat. A mother and son: the love in the boy’s eyes. A crushed soda can. And then there are the sights he can’t catch. A man holding a chi

SIGN ME UP

When Alyssa Jackson moves from rural Alaska to California, she knows she’s going to miss ice-skating, but she soon makes friends with girls who do roller derby. The transition from blades to wheels isn’t a smooth one for Alyssa, however: The noise at the rink is often overwhelming, and she struggles with wanting to quit. But Saffy, a new friend who may be becoming more than a friend, helps her practice, and Alyssa’s loving parents provide support and understanding of her needs as an introvert.

NOT JUST FOR THE BOYS

Early in the book, Donald, emeritus professor of experimental physics and former Gender Equality Champion at the University of Cambridge, poses a wonderfully pointed question: “Can you think of a female scientist?” Many people can name only one: Marie Curie. This collective ignorance illustrates the numerous factors that discourage girls from pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Biosciences aside, women are “typically well below 50%” in the STEM disciplines. Ev

LOOKING FOR THE EID MOON

Sara admires the dress she’ll wear at the upcoming Eid party, while her younger sister, Lulu, peeks out the window looking for the new crescent moon. The moon signifies major holidays in the Islamic calendar, such as the start of Eid, so Sara decides that she and Lulu will be the first to spot it. “Have fun!” Mom calls from the festively decorated living room as the sisters head outside with a flashlight, a blanket, and binoculars. The girls wait, scanning the night sky, until Mom calls them in

TALES OF WHISKEY TANGO FROM MISERY TOWERS

Mike Love is a struggling real estate agent who was once a “a doppelgänger for Bruce Springsteen in his mid-eighties prime.” He speaks in cringeworthy cliches (“Mike Love is the name, real estate is the game!”), a linguistic tendency unfortunately typical of the author’s stale prose. Mike procrastinates marrying his girlfriend, Gloria McKendrick, a former trapeze artist with Ringling Brothers who now teaches at a circus school. His hesitation is exacerbated by the sudden appearance of his old h

PEOPLE WHO LUNCH

Readers who hate their jobs and have reservations about capitalism will sympathize with the perspective in this collection of essays. Melbourne-based writer Olds began these pieces on an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. Her main interest was in “post-work polyamory,” an idea that’s “premised on and committed to anti-capitalism” and seeks to “abolish the need to work within exploited waged (and unwaged) relations in order to survive.” In the introduction to this U.S.

UNDER THIS FORGETFUL SKY

A 16-year-old from one of the advanced, privileged Upper Cities, Rumi Sabzwari, who is of Pakistani descent, has only known life behind the walls of St. Iago. But when his father is deliberately infected with a fatal virus by the rebel faction Las Oscuras, Rumi crosses over to the forbidden Lower City of Paraíso, desperately hoping to find a cure. Fifteen-year-old Paz Valenzuela-Valenzuela is from Paraíso, a city ravaged by climate change, pandemics, and poverty and falling apart at the seams.

LINGUAPHILE

In her fourth book, Sedivy, a Canadian academic specializing in linguistics and psychology and the author of Memory Speaks and Language in Mind, takes a personal tack, recounting how her life has been focused on the search for the essence of language. She grew up speaking several different tongues, which made her particularly sensitive to the twists and turns of language and how words connect to social conventions and the formation of identities. Eventually, “English would come to dominate all