In Tatsuhiko Shibusawa’s allegorical novel Takaoka’s Travels, there are questions about whether a lifelong dream to reach the Buddha’s place of origin is worth it. Takaoka had a close relationship with his father’s consort,... Read More

Challenging its audience to find themselves within its heroines’ tales, Leah Hager Cohen’s magnificent turn-and-read novel To & Fro is a tour de force peek into the wilds and wounds of childhood. Annamae, a linguist’s daughter... Read More

A woman has another chance for love in Ann H. Gabhart’s nostalgic romance novel "The Song of Sourwood Mountain". In 1910, Mira is a schoolteacher. She was once in love with a classmate, but he died of tuberculosis. Resigned to being... Read More

A patient poses a question to his psychologist: “Ya wanna know who clipped Boris Levenko?” It’s a query that a bevy of Russian and Albanian mobsters want answered, setting off a chain of mortal consequences in Mark Rubenstein’s... Read More

In Simon Van Booy’s charming novel "Sipsworth", a widow and a mouse forge an unexpected, exceptional bond. Helen grieves for her husband, her son, and the strength of her once-youthful body. She returns to the village of her childhood,... Read More

A divorcée empty-nester begins a consuming affair with a younger jazz musician in "After David", Catherine Texier’s novel about the potency of midlife longing. Eve’s life story can be compartmentalized into periods: her... Read More

Two boys survive the world’s end while fighting for their growing romance in Paul Michael Winters’s post-apocalyptic novel "Together in a Broken World". Following global collapse, most of the population is either dead or zombified.... Read More

In L. D. Lapinski’s affirming novel "Jamie", a fight for gender equality leads to greater community understanding. In Jamie’s hometown, there are two middle schools to choose from: one for boys and one for girls. But Jamie is... Read More