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Starred Review

The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog: And Other Serious Discoveries of Silly Science

by Carly Anne York

A glorious celebration of silly science, The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog by Carly Anne York (Queens of the Jungle) is an intensely readable, funny book that treats its audience to a plethora of scientific discoveries. Each is described in its own bite-size chapter, making this a perfect beach read for the science-oriented set. With topics as wide-ranging as the discovery of penicillin and duck genitalia, York offers a fun fact for every occasion.

Why was the first recorded recipient of a bone graft

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Graciela in the Abyss

by Meg Medina, illus. by Anna and Elena Balbusso

A cursed harpoon that can kill sea ghosts brings together a blacksmith's son and a forlorn spirit in the wondrous and enthralling middle-grade novel Graciela in the Abyss.

One hundred years ago, the "ruthless" fisherman Fernando Gonzalo and the "pitiless" blacksmith Ignacio Leon forged a weapon to kill sea spirits. Now, Ignacio's great-grandson, Jorge Leon, has found the weapon. The boy's unkind parents want to use it, but Jorge won't let them harm the spirits. He steals the harpoon with the intent to destroy

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Crown

by Evanthia Bromiley

Late in Evanthia Bromiley's debut novel, Crown, a woman looks out the window as the early morning train she is on hurtles past two half-dressed, unattended children dangerously close to the tracks. They are nine-year-old twins Evan and Virginia, born when Jude--now pregnant again--was 16. Jude, a waitress until the Covid-19 pandemic slowed and then stopped her income altogether, has stayed on the move, trying to shelter her family however she can, but now she must face two undeniable truths: they are being

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I Come from Another Galaxy

by James Kwan

I Come from Another Galaxy humorously, compassionately--and with a healthy dose of cuteness--relates the story of a dauntless young human who finds that things are very different away from Earth, where they are now the alien.

"Hello, friends." Intrepid adventurer James, who's zooming off to school in another galaxy, explains that they're writing in their little book to share "discoveries from outer space." Their new classmates are all aliens, adorned with slimy tentacles, big googly eyes, and noodle arms.

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It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground

by David Litt

A former speechwriter for Barack Obama chronicles the challenges of learning to ride the waves in It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground. David Litt (Thanks, Obama) braved New Jersey's cold Atlantic waves and unpredictable hours with his teacher: his conservative brother-in-law, Matt.

At 34, Litt felt isolated by the Covid-19 pandemic, had "situational depression," and struggled with "existential terror" for the future. In contrast, Matt, a Harley-driving, anti-vaxxer

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Bug Hollow

by Michelle Huneven

Michelle Huneven's sixth novel, Bug Hollow, is a glistening portrait of one California family from the mid-1970s onward: beset by losses but expanded through serendipity and friendship.

Readers are introduced to the Samuelson family--dad Phil, an architect; mom Sibyl, a fourth-grade teacher; and three kids--through the eyes of eight-year-old Sally. Sally's older brother, Ellis, moved to Bug Hollow, a hunting lodge-turned-student rental (make that hippie commune) in the Santa Cruz Mountains, to work in an ice

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Call Your Boyfriend

by Olivia A. Cole, Ashley Woodfolk

In their nearly flawless first co-written YA novel, Olivia A. Cole (Ariel Crashes a Train) and Ashley Woodfolk (The Beauty That Remains) reveal that revenge isn't always a dish best served cold; in their talented hands, it's actually heartwarming.

Beautiful, biracial Maia Moon is newly single. Well, sort of. She has broken up with Tatum Westbrook three times in the last six months. In that time, she's been kissing badass white lesbian Beau Carl and flirting with Charm Montgomery, her Black trigonometry tutor.

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Shelf Discovery

Vera, or Faith

by Gary Shteyngart

This is the charming story of a 10-year-old girl wise beyond her years and forced to grapple prematurely with some of the challenges of adult life.

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Sounds Like Love

by Ashley Poston

A supernatural connection between a songwriter and a musician takes them on a journey of music, love, and self-discovery in this imaginative and deeply moving romance.

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The Scrapbook

by Heather Clark

Heather Clark's first novel is a finely wrought, subtle love story burdened by the weight of the past, as its lovers' grandfathers fought on opposite sides of World War II.

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Blood in the Water

by Tiffany D. Jackson

A local boy's mysterious death on Martha's Vineyard unveils shocking secrets for the island's affluent Black community in this illuminating, atmospheric summer thriller.

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Fulfillment

by Lee Cole

Lee Cole's winningly brittle Fulfillment follows two Kentucky half brothers and the discontents that fuel their sibling rivalry and their individual ambitions.

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These Heathens

by Mia McKenzie

This sharp novel recounts a formative 1960 weekend in a young Black teen's life as she is opened to a world of possibilities outside of her small rural town in Georgia.

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The Poppy Fields

by Nikki Erlick

This mesmerizing speculative novel about a researcher who develops a cure for grief and three strangers who seek to undergo it explores complex questions at the heart of love.

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Hazel Says No

by Jessica Berger Gross

A close-knit family is thrust into turmoil at the center of their new community after a popular principal propositions their 18-year-old daughter in this funny and compulsively readable first novel.

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Fox

by Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates's astounding Fox is at once a psychological thriller, a police procedural, and a fair-play puzzler with the carbon footprint of a serial killer at its core.

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Doubleday Books: The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown

Media Heat

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Good Morning America: Adriana Trigiani, author of The View From Lake Como: A Novel (Dutton, $29, 9780593183359).

Live with Kelly and Mark: Matt Groark, author of The Meat Teacher Cookbook: The Ultimate Backyard BBQ Guide for an A+ in Pitmastery (Harper Influence, $36, 9780063288416).

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Fresh Air: Leila Mottley, author of The Girls Who Grew Big (Knopf, $28, 9780593801123).
 
Good Morning America: Patti Callahan Henry, author of The Story She Left Behind: A Novel (Atria, $29.99, 9781668011874).

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Good Morning America: Christine Pride, author of All the Men I've Loved Again: A Novel (Atria, $28.99, 9781668049532).

Today Show: Eden Grinshpan, author of Tahini Baby: Bright, Everyday Recipes That Happen to Be Vegetarian (Avery, $35, 9780593713426).

Monday, July 7, 2025

Good Morning America: Molly X. Chang, author of The Nightblood Prince (Random House Books for Young Readers, $20.99, 9780593897362).

CBS Mornings: Parvati Shallow, author of Nice Girls Don't Win: How I Burned It All Down to Claim My Power (The Dial Press, $30, 9780593730577).

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Stacey Abrams, author of Coded Justice: A Thriller (Doubleday, $30, 9780385548342).

Thursday, July 3, 2025

All Things Considered: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, author of Misbehaving at the Crossroads: Essays & Writings (Harper, $30, 9780063246638).

Fresh Air: Tamara Yajia, author of Cry for Me, Argentina: My Life as a Failed Child Star (Bloomsbury, $26.99, 9781639733910).

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