Syrian refugees fight to survive in Haya Saleh’s moving novel "Wild Poppies", about how brotherhood endures wartime. Omar is fifteen. His father was martyred in a bombing. Omar and his remaining family shelter at his aunt’s home.... Read More

The tale of the legendary rock band Queen is given pictorial treatment in the handsome graphic novel "Queen in Comics". Queen maintained a perennial presence on the pop charts in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, but their path to... Read More

In Ken Sparling’s meditative, quizzical novel "Not Anywhere, Just Not", a woman searches for meaning after her husband’s mysterious disappearance. An aging couple leads a quiet life, referring to themselves as “the boy and the... Read More

Aaron Sachs’s "Stay Cool" proposes a lighthearted means of tackling the serious subject of climate change. Declaring that the sanctimonious tones of environmentalists have a demotivating impact, this book muses on how humor might be... Read More

Kelsey Blackwell’s "Decolonizing the Body" is a body, mind, and spirit guide to attaining healing and wholeness. Blackwell notes that living in a world wherein their cultures and identities are subjugated affects women of color in... Read More

A sixth grader navigates life’s hard knocks with wit, some wisdom, and experience in Big Nate: Nailed It!, the latest collection of the long-running syndicated comic strip. Nate, seeking to better his fortune, decides he needs a good... Read More

Spirited Clarice returns in Lauren Childs’s chapter book "Clarice Bean, Scram!", encountering a stray dog whose arrival inspires warm capers. Clarice—a curious, naïve, and high-strung girl—wants nothing quite so much as her older... Read More

An enticing visitor spells doom—or a new beginning—for a distinguished but troubled family line in Marie Hélène Poitras’s novel "Sing, Nightingale". The Berthoumieux men have been caught in an endless cycle of control, lust,... Read More