Book Review
Origins of Desire in Orchid Fens
A woman allies with vengeful river spirits in Lynn Hutchinson Lee’s eerie novel "Origins of Desire in Orchid Fens". In Carminetown, Orchid and her mother hide their Romani identity to prevent another forced exodus. At the nearby orchid...
Book Review
Somewhere Past the End
Soon-to-be mothers struggle with cult brainwashing in Alexandria Faulkenbury’s question-filled novel "Somewhere Past the End". Disowned after her teenage pregnancy, Teresa finds a new family with Richmond and his alternative religious...
Book Review
Sympathy for Wild Girls
Demree McGhee’s "Sympathy for Wild Girls" is an atmospheric short story collection about the restlessness of Black girls and women. Attentive to queer Black femininity, this collection centers those who are discontent with love,...
Book Review
Circular Motion
In Alex Foster’s alarming novel "Circular Motion", loners seek purpose as technologically advanced transportation veers the world toward the apocalypse. Fleeing small-minded Alaska, Tanner becomes the assistant to the new spokesperson...
Book Review
The Lilac People
In Milo Todd’s humane historical novel "The Lilac People", a transgender man fights for the survival of his community and loved ones during World War II. In 1932, Bertie’s work at the Institute for Sexual Science and evenings at a...
Book Review
The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile
Familiar yet otherworldly, Errick Nunnally’s novel "The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile" follows a Black boy growing up in 1970s Boston. Approaching his teenage years, Sean listens to his mother Sojourner’s stories about...
Book Review
The Adjudicator
A woman hiding personal neurological secrets probes the limits of genetic control in "The Adjudicator", Susan Daitch’s tense dystopian novel. Zedi, an adjudicator for Pangenica, a major corporation where babies’ genes are coded to...
Book Review
Days of Shattered Faith
Geopolitical and magical intrigue entangle in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s intricate fantasy novel "Days of Shattered Faith". As a new aide to Gil, Pallesand’s diplomat in Usmai, Loret seconds her superior in a duel with Lor’s diplomat....