Starred Review

Take What You Need

by Idra Novey

A novel in the hands of Idra Novey (Ways to Disappear; Those Who Knew) is one sure to startle and subvert readers' expectations. Her third work of fiction, Take What You Need, maps out tense boundaries in a forgotten town in the Allegheny Mountains, before thoroughly turning those divisions inside out. Leah moved away from this place long ago, but is now returning with her Peruvian husband, Gerardo, and their son, Silvestre, to settle the unconventional estate of her estranged stepmother, Jean, a woman as

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The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening

by Ari Shapiro

Smart, humane and just a bit quirky, The Best Strangers in the World is exactly the kind of memoir one would expect from Ari Shapiro, veteran NPR correspondent and host of the network's iconic evening news program All Things Considered. In an episodic collection of pieces, including two "musical interludes," Shapiro blends highlights of his two decades at NPR with personal stories, all intended to illuminate his goal of "seeking out ways to help people listen to one another."

Shapiro's moving

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The Sea in You

by Jessi Sheron

The Sea in You by Jessi Sheron began in 2015 as a webcomic and has been transformed into an enthralling full-color graphic novel. The story might initially feel familiar, but Sheron's exceptional, irresistible adaptation ensures an entertaining, visually rewarding experience.

Corinth has been at her Ocean City, Md., high school for a year, but she hasn't made any friends. Her single dominating relationship is with Seth, who is more bully than the loving boyfriend he claims to be. While voluntarily cleaning

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The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise

by Colleen Oakley

Colleen Oakley (The Invisible Husband of Frick Island; You Were There Too) takes readers on an offbeat, whirlwind road-trip adventure--with an underlying serious message--in The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise. Louise Constance Wilt is an unpredictable, whip-smart native of Atlanta, Ga. The 84-year-old widow hobbles around on a bum hip, so her children, who live hours away, decide it's time for their mother to have some live-in help. Enter floundering, 21-year-old Tanner Quimby, whose promising college

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The Dog of the North

by Elizabeth McKenzie

Even the dilapidated sea-green van, the titular "Dog of the North," is oddly likable in this boisterous novel from Elizabeth McKenzie (The Portable Veblen). The Dog of the North features sympathetic narrator Penny Rush and her quest to untangle generations of family idiosyncrasies and puzzles, ever hopeful that she might discover a path to happiness. Penny confronts problems at hand with rare glances at her past: an abusive father, the disappearance five years earlier of her mother and stepfather in the Australian

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The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine

by Ricardo Nuila

Physician Ricardo Nuila has spent most of his career practicing at Ben Taub, an unusual public hospital in Houston, Tex. Nuila's incisive, thoughtful first book, The People's Hospital, takes readers into the lives of his patients and explores the ways the American medical system--which he calls "Medicine Inc."--fails them.

Nuila recounts his journey as a doctor, from spending time at his father's OB-GYN clinic to medical school and his residency at Ben Taub. He also explains, clearly and thoughtfully, the

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Earth's the Right Place for Love

by Elizabeth Berg

Earth's the Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg is a poignant, emotionally powerful novel about the formative years in the life of 16-year-old Arthur Moses in the late 1940s. Arthur--along with those in his orbit--has been featured in three other Berg novels set in Mason, Mo.: The Story of Arthur Truluv, Night of Miracles and The Confession Club. In this novel, 85-year-old Arthur looks back on his life in 1947 as a high school sophomore. He is greatly influenced by--and looks up to--his dashing older brother,

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Welcome

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Learn more about Shelf Awareness.

Shelf Discovery

Y/N

by Esther Yi

Esther Yi's strangely mesmerizing debut features a woman who initially dismisses K-pop idolatry, but then follows a sudden obsession from Berlin to Seoul, seeking an impossible connection.

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Nettle & Bone

by T. Kingfisher

This funny feminist fairy tale about an underdog princess and her odd assortment of allies takes dark turns but finds a surfeit of light.

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The Love Wager

by Lynn Painter

Two single people looking for The One make a bet to see who can find true love first in this thoroughly charming romantic comedy.

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Meesh the Bad Demon

by Michelle Lam

A demon girl who struggles to fit in becomes her people's last hope in this whimsical, gracefully drawn middle-grade graphic novel that encourages self-acceptance.

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Ancient Night

by David Álvarez, David Bowles

This Mesoamerican-inspired fable borrows from old tales for a larger-than-life yet soothingly illustrated picture book.

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The God of Endings

by Jacqueline Holland

In this novel posing questions about life, death, humanity, evil, art and beauty, a vampire who wants to die discovers a purpose for living.

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Flux

by Jinwoo Chong

In this confident sci-fi thriller, a young man's reality becomes increasingly fractured after he joins a mysterious startup firm.

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A Tempest at Sea

by Sherry Thomas

In this feminist historical mystery, the seventh in the brilliant Lady Sherlock series, Charlotte Holmes must solve a murder at sea.

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Pineapple Street

by Jenny Jackson

This witty first novel, centered on three women in a privileged Brooklyn family, is a canny inquiry into what happens when old money collides with new ideas about inclusiveness and fairness.

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Künstlers in Paradise

by Cathleen Schine

The new world meets the old when a millennial moves in with his grandmother in Cathleen Schine's subtle, wistful and wry spin on the odd-couple novel.

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Elena Rides

by Juana Medina

Perfect pacing, amusing words, strong illustrations and a very recognizable childhood activity combine to create an early reader that should resonate with most young children.

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The Foxglove King

by Hannah Whitten

Set in a society where royalty and religion are intertwined and magic is forbidden, this complex fantasy will thrill readers with romance, necromancy and danger from all sides.

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Dutton: The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

Media Heat

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Good Morning America: Oksana Masters, author of The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph (Scribner, $28, 9781982185503).

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Fresh Air: Ari Shapiro, author of The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening (HarperOne, $28.99, 9780063221345).
 
Good Morning America: Daymond John, author of Little Daymond Learns to Earn (Random House Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780593567272).

Today Show: Lela Rose, author of Fresh Air Affairs: Entertaining with Style in the Great Outdoors (Rizzoli, $45, 9780847872954).

The Talk: Michelle Miller, author of Belonging: A Daughter's Search for Identity Through Loss and Love (Harper, $32, 9780063220430).

Tamron Hall: Will Cole, author of Gut Feelings: Healing the Shame-Fueled Relationship Between What You Eat and How You Feel (Rodale, $28, 9780593232361).

Daily Show: Heather McGhee, author of The Sum of Us (Adapted for Young Readers) (Delacorte, $17.99, 9780593562628).

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Fresh Air: Matthew Desmond, author of Poverty, by America (Crown, $28, 9780593239919).
 
Good Morning America: Dr. William Li, author of Eat to Beat Your Diet: Burn Fat, Heal Your Metabolism, and Live Longer (Balance, $30, 9781538753903).

The View: Daymond John, author of Little Daymond Learns to Earn (Random House Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780593567272).

Monday, March 20, 2023

Tamron Hall: Tessa Bailey, author of Secretly Yours: A Novel (Avon, $17.99, 9780063238985).

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Today Show: Gesine Bullock-Prado, author of My Vermont Table: Recipes for All (Six) Seasons (Countryman Press, $35, 9781682687352).

Kelly Clarkson Show: Hannah Fry, co-author of The Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything (Abridged): Adventures in Math and Science (W. W. Norton, $17.95, 9781324051039).

Watch What Happens Live: Paris Hilton, author of Paris: The Memoir (Dey Street, $30, 9780063224629).
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