About the history, fantasies, projections, and outright lies that have formed Western civilization’s concepts of what’s good, true, and beautiful, Bernd Brunner’s panoramic cultural text "Extreme North" shows that the vast, frozen... Read More

Set in 1918 in Manhattan, Justin Reed’s historical novel "However Long the Day" follows two young men who switch identities. Niall is an Irish immigrant whose world turns upside down when he trades places with his doppelgänger,... Read More

In this cozy reimagining of a Sherlock Holmes mystery, two owls—Whoodini and his colleague, Cahoots—soar around the farm hunting for clues when a mysterious bird crashes into a tree. The illustrations are a delight, the paintings... Read More

A piercing novel about death, grief, and the lengths people will go to escape them, Ella Baxter’s "New Animal" is not for the faint of heart. Amelia, a cosmetic mortician with her family’s mortuary business, is a clinical woman who... Read More

A young man’s journey of self-discovery leads him to the last place he ever expected in Ben Okri’s novel "Astonishing the Gods". Determined to find out why his people are invisible to everyone but themselves, an unnamed young man... Read More

“To what degree does family mean destiny?” Mary Ann Hogan asks. A fourth-generation Californian, she followed in her father Bill’s footsteps as a local journalist. Blending his work with her own prose, "Circle Way" is a delicate,... Read More

Black-and-white characters are layered over bright backgrounds in this playful picture book about a badger navigating an existential crisis. “Who am I?” Badger asks. “Am I black and white, or white and black?” From skunks to... Read More

In Heather Clark’s compassionate novel "Lemon Drop Falls", a girl is desperate to create a new normal in the aftermath of a family tragedy. Twelve-year-old Morgan, a soccer player with two best friends, used to talk with her mother, a... Read More