BOOKLOVES

In the Bernese German dialect, “grossmeer,” or grandmother, translates literally to “large ocean,” and the sense the narrator has of their own beloved but often troubling Grossmeer reflects this vast, enveloping unknowability. As Grossmeer’s condition declines, the narrator sets out to compile the stories that form the complex throughline from their cloistered childhood in the […]

Thirteen-year-old Elma Quill’s family isn’t like any other—people believe that her grandfather Jonathan is crazy, her mother, Patricia, has recently come back from the dead, and her father, Jason, is missing. In a quaint Victorian farmhouse in Oklahoma, Patricia calls a meeting so that Elma can hear the full story of her family’s treasure, though […]

Former classmates at St. Anthony of Padua elementary school in Springhaven, Pennsylvania, come together to organize a gathering 55 years after their graduation in 1964. The process of planning for the event brings back memories of childhood friendships, rivalries, infatuations, and heartbreaks at this Catholic institution, named after a saint who receives prayers to restore […]

Aye-Shan City has already been reduced to ashes, its few remaining survivors sent scattering in the opening pages of Hong Kong brothers Chi-Ho (the author) and Chi-Kit (the illustrator) Kwong’s sweeping and kinetic saga about the nature of war. Aye-Shan City may have been destroyed by the dastardly Zhehe people, but that just means that […]

A self-described “company hack,” Gell immerses readers in a startup scene, where colleagues waste time with Nerf guns and pingpong battles. He judges his boss for chowing down on Lucky Charms while lecturing him about quotas in “This Man’s in Charge?” “The Value of a College Education” critiques the predatory nature of student loans and […]

A Chicago felon with the unlikely name of Alan Sweetcheeks has just been released from Stateville Prison, where he served time for homicide. Chicago had been rough; he scavenged for scrap metal for a living before his prison stay. Now, he is heading to Boon, Alaska, a small town where a shop owner named Mr. […]

Editors Aldama and Sánchez divide the work into two major sections—“Cocinas” and “Sports y Locura”—each of which contains chapters that group works together by themes, including “Building Bridges, Building Community” and “Belonging…Dolor y Alegría.” The authors and illustrators run with the inspiration provided by food and sports, exploring the nuances of diaspora culture and belonging […]