“Most people are afraid to take a chance with their lives,” muses Walt Ryder, a carnival operator of unusual magnetism, in the early pages of S.M. Fernand’s debut novel. That sympathetic recognition is part of what draws teenaged... Read More

Everyone who thinks vampires can’t walk around in the sunlight will be surprised to meet Chuck, a red high-top wearing, self-aware do-gooder who happens to be a 642-year-old vampire stuck in an eleven-year-old’s body. In the first... Read More

Zeina Abirached’s evocative memoir, translated from French and told in a graphic novel format, opens with an attractive skyline of East Beirut in 1984. As the perspective zooms in, the initial beauty gives way to empty streets, windows... Read More

Two sisters find a wiggling nut on their way to school and crack it open to reveal a miniature walrus! Disbelief is followed by acceptance and admiration, and a plan is made to return Benny to the sea, where he belongs. Lessons in... Read More

The title "Slopjar" suggests an image of all the remnants of human consumption in a murky, metaphoric jar. It is a brilliant conceit that suggests a fresh look at old subjects. Unfortunately, the title is the strongest and most memorable... Read More