This week we feature dynamite fiction like Fire Exit by Morgan Talty, with "tersely poetic, descriptive prose" about a family on the Penobscot reservation grappling with issues of "love and responsibility; blood, culture, and belonging"; and The Sons of El Rey by Alex Espinoza, which takes a "tender and revelatory" look at a family's passion for lucha libre and the "ripple effects of toxic masculinity, racism, and unspoken truths"; as well as nonfiction like The Brave In-Between by Amy Low, a cancer memoir characterized by "humor, grace, and plenty of grit." Plus, Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall is a "stunning" picture book by Lynn Brunelle and illustrated by Jason Chin, "an exquisite ode to the largest documented animal on Earth"; and The Color of a Lie by Kim Johnson is "a stellar and arresting YA thriller inspired by real-life events during the civil rights movement."
In The Writer's Life, Annabel Monaghan digs into the inspiration for her latest novel, about a single mother swept away by summer romance while struggling to balance parenthood, divorce, and the death of a loved one.