Arceneaux was the first pediatric cancer survivor and the first with a prosthetic body part to become an astronaut, part of the first all-civilian space mission in 2021. The author, who in 2022 published the adult memoir Wild Ride and its 2023 adaptation for middle-grade readers, here shares her story with an even younger audience. […]
In a distant-future Australia, Ferren has led the human Residuals in resisting the Humen, powerful artificial beings that have been taking unwitting Residuals into their military service. Now the Humen prepare to face off against the hosts of Heaven, a fight that Ferren and others anticipate will end in the Humen’s defeat. It seems the […]
As America reels with racial injustice, war, and political upheaval, the story alternates between snapshots of the two figures’ personal and political struggles. Kennedy—aka RFK, or, as some call his politically ruthless incarnation, “Bad Bobby”—is profoundly transformed by his brother John F. Kennedy’s assassination. He publicly pushes for civil rights reforms while also secretly investigating […]
Although candidate Donald Trump “vowed to drain the influence peddling swamp in Washington, DC,” author Lewis asserts in the book’s introduction, “he did the exact opposite” as president. Particularly egregious is the administration’s intermingling of corporate and foreign interests, which, the author says, benefited many with access to the Oval Office. As an advisor to […]
A married man (generously called Adonis) engages in various sexual escapades with a parade of different women. Readers begin the story knowing that Adonis has died, and the author uses a variety of different formats to tell the story of his downfall. These include poetry, short prose, quotes (some of which are in French), and […]
Alexander Matthews retired from the CIA and started Trinity Capital, a highly successful venture capital firm that often brings him to Russia. Once he’d been the CIA’s top spy in Moscow, but that’s all behind him now. But the Agency asks him for a favor: help extricate a Russian asset code-named Byron, a KGB-trained intelligence […]
Delicate watercolor and colored pencil illustrations depict a view of an initially quiet Korean town, while clever second-person text directly addresses readers and the protagonist: “Wake up, Eunny! It’s a beautiful, blue sky morning.” With a gentleness that matches her soft yet precise artwork, Kim invites readers to participate in Eunny’s activities (“Can you hear […]
Two big-eared rodents—Pépin, who wears a blue bow tie, and Cosette, who sports a pink flower—accompany Grand-mère to the museum, where they gaze at Hawkins’ cartoonish interpretations (or MousterWorks) of well-known paintings by Edward Bannister, Johannes Vermeer, Claude Monet, and others. The enthralled Cosette eagerly engages with the art, imagining the scents and sounds the […]
Scheele, a professor of social anthropology in Paris, points out that ancient Greeks and Romans and medieval Arab conquerors settled the temperate strip along the Mediterranean but considered the vast region to the south a wasteland dotted with savage tribes. European imperialists arrived in the 19th century and, under the mistaken impression that the desert […]
As a 12th grader, she’s unable to avoid inquiries about her post-graduation plans. But Emiko, who lives in a small coastal town in British Columbia, is doing her best to deflect any talk about her future. Rather, she focuses on her shifts at Aunt Mitsuko’s café, festive celebrations like Obon and New Year’s Day, treating […]