We review some terrific fiction this week: the heroine of Lisa See's Lady Tan's Circle of Women is "as captivating and credible as any character in contemporary fiction," though the book's set in 15th-century China; long-separated sisters discover the truth of their magical heritage in Ink Blood Sister Scribe, Emma Törzs's "skillfully plotted, character-driven debut"; and Northranger by Rey Terciero, illus. by Bre Indigo, reimagines Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey as a "playful queer teen love story" in graphic form. Plus so many more!
In The Writer's Life, Luis Alberto Urrea describes his mother's experiences as a Red Cross "Clubmobile" worker in World War II Europe as the inspiration for his novel Good Night, Irene.
--Jennifer M. Brown, senior editor, Shelf Awareness