Seventeen-year-old Waldo, the narrator of McCurdy’s fiction debut, lives in Anchorage, Alaska, with her mother, though she’s long been the parent in their relationship. She heats her own frozen meals and pays the bills on time while her mom chases man after man and makes well-meaning promises she never keeps. Waldo blows her Victoria’s Secret […]
Editor Knight-Justice, who contributes two illustrations, explains in a note that at age 14, Hughes’ poem “Mother to Son” not only introduced him to poetry’s rich possibilities, but deepened his understanding of his relationship with his own mother. He writes, “This is what poetry did for me, and I want it to do the same […]
At Juniper’s school in the city, bullies—seen in the shadows but apparently white—taunt the young girl. On a day devoted to celebrating students’ heritage, they tell her she doesn’t know where she comes from. Juniper’s mojo bag, tucked in her pocket, doesn’t keep the bullies at bay. But soon enough, she packs up empty mason […]
As longtime Corriere della Sera editor Mian writes, the 2,000-mile-long Volga river has long played a central role in Russians’ sense of national identity past. It does so today in Vladimir Putin’s world, where Russkiy mir is “not a philosophy, but a creed encompassing everything pertaining to Great Russia, where Orthodox Christianity, Fascist impulses, traditionalism, […]
After the tragic deaths of her parents, Emmeline, who’s gifted with the ability to see the future, is separated from her sister and forced into the service of the cruel and abusive Mr. Chitwood. He disguises the 11-year-old girl as a boy and forces her to perform a fortune-telling act for wealthy clients. Its success […]
With numerous series titles under their belt—among them If Animals Kissed Good Night (2007), If Animals Said I Love You (2017), and If Animals Loved Books (2025)—the creators take the theme in a different direction, geographically speaking, focusing on Australian natives. A wombat, a striped orange cat, a koala, a quokka, a kookaburra, a magpie, […]
Chapman worked in cattle, oil, trucking, and mining before getting into the real estate finance business, rising to the top of that industry despite refusing to change his redneck persona (on his book’s cover, the author sports a trucker cap, braided beard, and camouflage) one iota. This volume is anything but the standard business guide; […]
First, Auntie honors the animal’s sacrifice with a blessing. “Now it’s time to scrape till our hands are raw. After that a good soak and we stretch, pull, tug!” Debut author Iceberg (Aleut/Alutiiq) writes with deceptive simplicity; her lively text flows beautifully, setting an energetic pace and capturing the exuberance of the participants. Earthy details […]
Today, Mateo plans to spend the day with Gram, and what a day it will be! The youngster’s to-do list includes going to the park and the beach—“things that are exactly right for my sweet old Gram.” Looking fit in her red overalls and sporting dark hair with just a streak of gray, spry Gram […]
As the novel opens, Ben Roberts is a whip-smart wise guy with commitment issues (“I needed to see a therapist, but I didn’t trust them because I’m a reporter and I don’t trust anybody”) but driven by a fierce loyalty to his profession. When he’s laid off by the San Diego Sun, he changes from […]