Ray hands out life advice using the framework of observing and caring for rocks. After all, “it’s hard to ignore a rock.” This observation is true whether they’re the big ones that invite you to climb upon them or the small ones you stuff in your pockets. You can do lots of things with rocks, […]
Writing in oratorical language, Salomon begins with her subject’s childhood in Mississippi, where “hate ran as deep as the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers,” but the love she received from her aunt and grandmother “flowed stronger than hate and river currents.” Young Myrlie showed the strength of character necessary to confront white bullies and later to […]
When Crystal Giordano, who’s Puerto Rican and Italian American, recognizes new student Aaron Fortin as the Speaker—the masked streamer her friends obsessively follow—she blurts out that fact at their lunch table, not realizing the havoc that will follow her revelation. Aaron insinuates himself into the friend group, easily winning over “Extremely Online” Harmony and standoffish […]
In Philadelphia, a construction supervisor inspects a large underground space beneath a worksite and finds a mid-18th-century laboratory filled with beakers, oil lamps, hand cranks—and his two dead co-workers sitting in chairs. Then he’s attacked and killed by a man looking for an engraving of a kite and a key. Thus begins this oddball thriller […]
Sometime after the 2030s, in an age of widespread economic and social global turmoil, Earth’s commercial exploitation of space becomes the “Next Big Thing” and hope for a bright tomorrow. Charles Sorrel, an erstwhile astronaut who “washed out” of the program, is eking out a living (and paying alimony) by putting together shady deals for […]
“Dear Cutie: You are invited to the annual Pig Town Party,” reads the invitation that floats through the narrator’s mail slot. The child, tan-skinned with triangular black pigtails, a cartoonishly square jaw, and dots for eyes, agrees that she is a cutie, but she has many questions, not the least of which is, “Where is […]
Magda Batey, the implant physician at a Pittsburgh fertility clinic, directs the lead embryologist, 36-year-old Emily Daugherty, to meet with and gracefully reject two potential clients; they’re risky prospects that could bring down Batey’s success numbers. Emily is surprised when the couple in question turns out to be her former college boyfriend, Ben Holiday (“The […]
Best friends Felix and Harry always look forward to activities at Camp Horizon, which include swimming and diving in Lake Omigosh. One night, the camp’s counselor gathers the boys and girls around the fire to tell them that the lake’s name refers to sightings of a giant, turtle-like creature there. (The narration reassures young readers, […]
Clever wordplay immediately elevates Smith’s story beyond mere moralizing about the value of a growth mindset: “Habit” is the name of a tropical island, home to the eponymous creature, a large, rabbitlike being who prefers the tried-and-true to the new and unfamiliar. A “very small creature,” a bespectacled blue sphere with skinny limbs, encourages the […]
Born in Wales, Owen walks a fine line in 1377 York, where competing forces may tear Britain apart. He knows little of Tom’s life before he bought the York Tavern, married Bess 10 years later, and together, turned the inn into a thriving business. Owen’s wife, Lucie, an apothecary, tells him that Tom had come […]