by Emily Feng
The increasingly repressive nature of the Chinese state against those who do not comport with Xi Jinping's vision of Chinese society is the focus of journalist Emily Feng's absorbing Let Only Red Flowers Bloom. Feng documents the experiences of more than two dozen people whose backgrounds, identities, and professions compose a holistic portrait of life in 21st-century China. Through these affecting stories, Feng reveals the myriad human fronts of resistance to Xi's repression of ethnic and religious minorities.
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by Neil Sharpson, illus. by Dan Santat
Irish playwright/author Neil Sharpson (When the Sparrow Falls) comically invades kid lit with Don't Trust Fish, a picture book illustrated by National Book Award and Caldecott Medal winner Dan Santat (A First Time for Everything; The Adventures of Beekle), that, at first glance, appears to be a compendium of animals.
The title starts unremarkably enough: "This animal has fur. This animal is warm-blooded. This animal feeds her babies milk. This animal is a MAMMAL." The text is accompanied by a realistically
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by Jeff Lemire
Legendary Canadian comics creator Jeff Lemire delivers another addictively bizarre series of stories with Fishflies, which collects all seven issues. "They come for, like, a week every summer and then they all die at once," a boy explains about the fishfly infestation in small-town Belle River, Ontario. Lemire's author's note confirms the reality of the annual plague in the lakeside Essex County communities where he grew up.
Stranger things will happen over this fictional season. A barefoot dare among three
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by Joe Mungo Reed
Readers unfamiliar with the science of fusion reactions can either wait, as this fast-developing field of energy production already dominates many discussions around climate change and the future of our planet, or read Joe Mungo Reed's moving and intelligent novel Terrestrial History, which places at its center the work of fusion scientist Hannah and the generations to follow her. No prior expertise in nuclear physics is needed, but neither does Reed (We Begin Our Ascent) dumb down the details in this
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by Aisha Saeed
Children's and YA author Aisha Saeed (Amal Unbound; Yes No Maybe So) weaves a murder mystery into romantic suspense at its best in her first novel for adults, The Matchmaker, a fast-paced and entertaining read.
To the outside world, Nura Khan is perfect. "She's a magician," gush the online reviews of her boutique matchmaking agency, Piyar. "Nura is not just your matchmaker, she's your life fixer." But appearances aren't everything. Nura's best friend, Azar, has been her plus-one to all the weddings she attends,
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by Laurie Halse Anderson
Rebellion 1776 is a gripping novel that takes place smack in the middle of a revolution. Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak; Shout; The Seeds of America trilogy) applies her trademark humor, sensitivity, and prodigious other talents to the Revolutionary War, this time from the sharp-witted perspective of a 13-year-old white kitchen maid.
Political turmoil, a deadly epidemic, controversy over inoculation, systemic classism: 1776 was not an easy time to be a servant in Boston, especially one whose mother and siblings
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by Thao Lam
Everybelly is an amusing, original look at bodies and the idea of home, narrated by an inquisitive youngster who stands tummy-high to their neighbors.
One summery day, a child and their mother join neighbors at a local pool. Readers are first introduced to Mama, whose belly was where the narrator "used to live... until I grew too big." The brown-skinned child wears a flowery long-sleeved swim shirt, pink bottoms, and a polka-dot swim cap, as they discuss their neighbors. "Vibhuti's in a band. They know how
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