Book of the Day Roundup: May 29-June 2, 2023
Let’s Build a Dam!
Daniel Fehr
Mariachiara Di Giorgio, illustrator
NorthSouth Books
Hardcover $19.95 (32pp)
978-0-7358-4501-5
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
Misty watercolors evoke the intangible air of dreams in this story about the magic of imagination. At the narrow stretch where a river feeds into a lake, three siblings set out to build a dam. As they work, they are joined by the Royal Navy, pirates, and a caricature of King George III himself; in the water beyond, epic sea battles rage. Though the dam is destroyed, the children return home buoyed by the day’s adventures—if a little damp.
DANIELLE BALLANTYNE (April 27, 2023)
Where the Lightning Goes
Jackary Salem
Derealization Press
Softcover $13.99 (313pp)
978-1-958362-02-0
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
In Jackary Salem’s novel Where the Lightning Goes, a girl breaks free from her prison and seeks a castle in the sky, hoping to find what she’s lost.
After being trapped in a house in the sky with other “survivors” for years with no memories of her life before, Elle escapes with two goals: to find someone to teach her magic, and to get her memories back. With a bit of manipulation from Cypress, a demon, Elle meets Adair, Leslie, and Honeycutt—a heartless sorcerer, his emotional counterpart, and a lonesome dwarf. With them, she finds a family of her own, even if Adair acts like a grump. As they travel together, Elle learns how to use magic, fights a dragon, and learns why she has no memories: she is cursed.
The cast’s internal struggles are reflected in beautiful, moving terms. Elle, Adair, Leslie, and Honeycutt form a complex tapestry, and their connections are subtle and realistic. The result is an emotional novel that moves with speed: Elle never has a moment to rest, and the action is continuous. Rich worldbuilding fleshes out her world, including copious information about its different types of magic and their incredible uses. It’s a place marked by extreme divisions—between lands with restrictions on magic, or with no magic, and lands with “impossible markets” that are filled with magic in particular. And thanks to a spectacular plot twist near the novel’s end, every preceding detail comes together to reveal the truth about Elle’s past.
With subtle nods to the stages of grief, the magical fantasy novel Where the Lightning Goes follows as a girl searches for answers about her past and finds a new family.
COURTNEY JUSTICE (April 27, 2023)
Hey, Hun
Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing
Emily Lynn Paulson
Row House Publishing
Hardcover $26.99 (384pp)
978-1-955905-25-1
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
Emily Lynn Paulson’s eye-opening memoir Hey, Hun exposes the underbelly of the multilevel marketing industry.
As a stay-at-home mother who abandoned her career for her husband and children, Paulson was disillusioned, lonely, and lost. Then an old high school acquaintance, Becky, asked if she would like to meet up over drinks. Desperate to get out of the house, Paulson jumped at the opportunity, only to discover that Becky was a recruiter for a multilevel marketing company.
Though she was skeptical, Paulson’s defenses crumbled as the alcohol kept flowing and Becky played on her insecurities, discussing pressures to have it all; weak support systems; the loneliness of modern motherhood; the isolation of suburban life; and a lack of financial independence. By the time their meeting had ended, Paulson had signed up to be a recruiter herself. She went to work on her best friend, Vanessa, first.
The book exposes the next six years as a tornado of financial exploitation, toxic positivity, internalized misogyny, and alcohol. Paulson immersed herself in the world of multilevel marketing and rose in its ranks. But after she was arrested for driving under the influence and became sober, she had to assume a new perspective. She left the MLM—a choice that came at a cost.
Hey, Hun is a blunt, illuminating peek inside the multilevel marketing industry’s exploitation of people’s vulnerabilities—in particular, those of women who have been told that they can have it all. With some names fictionalized to protect people’s identities, it identifies multilevel marketing companies as pyramid schemes and cults and shows how they rope their victims in, using tools like white privilege, evangelical Christianity, and gaslighting.
ERIKA HARLITZ KERN (April 27, 2023)
The Pride Atlas
500 Iconic Destinations for Queer Travelers
Maartje Hensen
Chronicle Books
Hardcover $30.00 (400pp)
978-1-79721-755-0
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
The Pride Atlas is vibrant and comprehensive in covering global destinations for LGBTQ+ travelers who are looking to celebrate their history with joy.
Separated into five regional chapters, the entries (contributed by journalists, activists, and professional nomads) are color-coded by category, like event types, places to visit, activities, and memorials. The book balances its coverage of festivals and nightlife destinations with spots for those outside of the party scene, including libraries, archives, and activism spots.
Complemented by bold, evocative photographs and engaging facts and details, there are entries for San Francisco’s first Transgender District; a memorial in Berlin honoring the 100,000 gay men arrested by the Nazis during World War II; and Tepoztlán, Mexico’s connection to lesbian folk singer Chavela Vargas, who had famous lovers, including Frida Kahlo. There are indications for the best time of year to go to each place and about which type of travel personality each destination is suited for: “Best for Rainbows, love, and community” or “Getting your sexy on.”
Focused on diversity, equality, and social justice, the book also covers Afro Pride in Ft. Lauderdale, which began in 2020 and serves Black people from the Americas, Africa, and the Caribbean. In June, head to Navajo Nation Pride in Window Rock, Arizona, to celebrate decolonization. To learn more about the erasure of queer POC, stop by the ArQuives in Toronto, Canada, which is open all year round. Such coverage makes the guide exceptional, as does a helpful resource section that includes tips on travel safety, advice for trans and transitioning travelers, and notes for connecting with local networks.
With coverage from San Francisco to Greenland for solo travelers, couples, and families, The Pride Atlas is an intersectional, inclusive LGBTQ+ travel guide.
MONICA CARTER (April 27, 2023)
The Boy in the Rain
Stephanie Cowell
Regal House Publishing
Softcover $19.95 (312pp)
978-1-64603-349-2
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
Set in Edwardian England, Stephanie Cowell’s novel The Boy in the Rain concerns the passionate romance between a painter and a divorced writer.
After a traumatic exchange with his uncle, nineteen-year-old Robbie, who is failing in his studies and would rather pursue his dream of becoming an artist, is sent to live with an aging vicar and university tutor, Mr. Langstaff. Confused about why anyone would want to marry, let alone be with, a woman, he becomes infatuated with Anton, his tutor’s mysterious, elegant neighbor. Mr. Langstaff encourages their friendship, saying “You’ll like him, lad!” But the friendship turns into a passionate, secretive, and dangerous affair. If the men are found out, their punishment will be severe.
Some confusion arises around the narrative’s shifts between an omniscient voice and the men’s internal thoughts, which reveal that both have an obsessive need for companionship. Still, with each chapter, Robbie and Anton’s ideas and feelings on love, passion, and intimacy evolve. In its infancy, their relationship is akin to a boy’s obsession with an older man (though Anton is only ten years Robbie’s senior). Robbie, who keeps trinkets from his past crushes, is enchanted with Anton, wishing to “kiss the scar on his wrist.” While Robbie yearns to be loved by anyone, wealthy and successful Anton mourns his failed marriage. Their romance reveals differences in feeling needed and wanted: Anton wishes to give the world, while Robbie struggles with being a “kept boy.” When Robbie decides to study art in London, the men’s correspondence creates more confusion. Hearsay and assumptions color the continuation of their messy connection.
The Boy in the Rain is a provocative, delicious novel about a couple’s love, passion, and intimacy.
ERIN NESBIT (April 27, 2023)
Barbara Hodge
