E.P. Tuazon's collection of short stories A Professional Lola is a poignant, sly examination of their diasporic Filipino American community, told through interactions with extended family, intimate friends, adoptive/adaptive cultural clashes, and, of course, delectable food.

The opening and closing narratives, both featuring missing grandparents, are memorable bookends to the collection's 13 stories. In "Professional Lola," a "strange trend spread[s] through the Filipino community"--hiring a "propesynal na artista" to "act like your deceased lola [grandmother]." The narrator's initial wariness dissipates during his nephew's multigenerational birthday party as he bears witness to, then experiences for himself, Lola's unconditional love. In "Carabao," a young grandson struggles with the inexplicable transformation of his powerful Lolo (grandfather) into housedress-wearing, nail-painted Lola. Remembering the provenance of the "old carabao bell around her neck"--worn by Filipino water buffaloes whipped into performing the heaviest farm labor--helps the boy finally understand his beloved grandparent's bravery.

In between, stories are otherworldly: three middle-school teachers cast spells during book club in "Blood Magic"; a teen visits his missing father's isolated island in "Far from Home." A few feature siblings raised oceans apart: an American brother is haunted by his Filipino brother's fiery death in "Barong," two separated half-siblings meet because of their late father and his supernatural obsessions in "After Bigfoot." Parents and children clash in "Promise Me More" and "Handog."

Tuazon's cover deservedly displays "WINNER of the Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction." Their stories resonate with an assured simplicity: "Writers know how to write what they see. Nothing more, nothing less," a character shrewdly notes. Tuazon observes, records, and illuminates. --Terry Hong

The multigenerational saga is as old as The Mahabharata, but contemporary authors still put their own spins on the genre. An erudite example is This Strange Eventful History, Claire Messud's epic recounting of seven decades of a pied-noir family--those of European descent born in Algeria before the country's 1962 independence from France. The story of the Cassars, based on Messud's family, begins in 1940, when military attaché Gaston is sent to Greece to find out what "the fascist Italians" are "up to in Albania." Yet he feels "trapped in this remote and irrelevant backwater," in part because he misses his family, including wife Lucienne, with whom he struggles to maintain an aura of an ideal marriage, and their two children: François, the older child, and Denise, who fears the Nazis plan to kill their father.

Messud (The Woman Upstairs; The Burning Girl) follows her characters through multiple locales, from Algeria to Toronto, Buenos Aires to Sydney. Her novel changes perspectives throughout, with chapters devoted to Denise's piousness, which stems from the family's Catholic upbringing; François's rejection of their father's wish that he study science and his pursuit of a business degree in Paris instead, because he wants "to conquer the world"; François's marriage to Barbara, a Canadian woman he meets at Oxford; and Chloe, one of their two daughters, whose determination to become a writer is complicated by concern over her aging relatives. Messud's chronicle of one family's history, the political events that shape them, and "these strange, beautiful, appalling times" in which they live is as fine a family saga as one will read. --Michael Magras, freelance book reviewer

In the romantic comedy Lies and Weddings, Kevin Kwan (Crazy Rich Asians) delivers another sly, hilarious comedy of manners about the high class, the low class, and the rich with no class.

Hong Kong native Arabella, the Countess of Greshamsbury, is a former model and current luxury hotel mogul who is finally embarking on the grandest campaign of her life, marrying off her three adult children to rich minor European royals of her choosing. Unfortunately, her eldest daughter's extravagant Hawaiian wedding is thrown for a loop when a volcanic fissure opens in the middle of the ceremony site. Additionally, during the proceedings, a hot mic broadcasts a confession of love from Arabella's son, international heartthrob Rufus Gresham, to down-to-earth doctor Eden Tong, the last person Arabella has in mind as a future daughter-in-law.

What follows is a class-driven comedy of errors to make Jane Austen proud, as Kwan dishes out another juicy, satire-tinged romp about the lives of the opulent class. The characters behave to the standard his fans have come to expect, dressing in couture from epically curated closets, globetrotting with the casual air of someone walking into the next room, and dealing out deadly insults in only the poshest, politest tones. The third-person omniscient narrative voice follows each character's movements with the chattiness of a gossip columnist. It creates enough remove to emphasize the untouchable nature of the fantastically wealthy even as it invites laughter at their eccentricities. Readers hungry for an escapist tale with a soupçon of social criticism and a dash of true love overcoming obstacles should find Lies and Weddings a delicious diversion. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads

In Blue Ruin, Hari Kunzru's heady and pitiless peak-pandemic-era novel of art and commerce, the direness of poverty weighs no more heavily than the twining crises of tarnished ideals and squandered talent.

The pandemic is raging when narrator Jay Gates--a middle-aged, biracial, English-born New Yorker and fallen art star--finds himself delivering groceries and living in his car. A delivery to a lake house outside the city brings him face-to-face with his ex-girlfriend Alice, whom he hasn't seen in two decades; she has since married Rob, once Jay's closest friend. The couple has borrowed the lakeside property to escape the virus-permeated city and enable Rob, a successful painter, to work immersively. When Alice realizes that Jay, still recuperating from Covid-19, is in no condition to finish his deliveries, she lets him stay on the property. Her effort to keep his residence a secret from Rob and Rob's paranoid gallerist is as doomed as it sounds.

The details of Jay and Alice's breakup, which he recollects at length, delay answers to Blue Ruin's tantalizing questions: Why did Jay disappear from the art scene, and how did he end up homeless? Kunzru (White Tears; Red Pill) dexterously blends all the novel's concerns in a knockout finale centered on the sale of a painting. Jay may no longer be famous, but he understands the nature of modern celebrity: "Only in the system we have, where everyone is expected to be an entrepreneur of the self, is anonymity a kind of death." --Nell Beram, author and freelance writer

List the details of Stephen Hundley's debut novel, Bomb Island, and some might wonder how a single book could possibly contain so many improbable elements: the atomic bomb accidentally dropped during a military simulation decades earlier; the found family--all with chosen names like Fish and Nutzo--who choose to live on Bomb Island off the coast of Savannah, Ga.; the bully who runs a local fishing charter; and oh, yeah, there's also a white tiger on the loose? In the hands of many emerging writers, this mélange might dissolve into an outrageous mess; instead, Bomb Island is outrageously good thanks to Hundley's revelatory character work and artful details.

Like all the island's residents, the tiger is there because of Whistle, known and trusted as mother, caretaker, lover, friend, or guide. Fish arrived when he was five, after Whistle saved him and his mother from the fire that destroyed their Atlanta home. "The other people who lived with Whistle said the same. She had saved them all from something." And while Whistle denies any particular powers, she shows them how to live: "not off the land, but gently tucked inside of it." Soon, however, the tiger threatens that gentle existence, and Fish, now 14, has to decide: Will he fold into the history of toxic masculinity and violence or heed Nutzo's simple advice to "Be thoughtful, Fish"? Fans of Southern writers with a penchant for outcasts and misfits will marvel at Fish. His is a terrible, beautiful story, and readers will equally hurt and hope for him. --Sara Beth West, freelance reviewer and librarian

Natalie Jenner (The Jane Austen Society) plunges readers into a glittering world of cinema, censorship, and complex relationships in postwar Italy in her third novel, Every Time We Say Goodbye. After her playwriting career takes a disappointing turn, Vivien Lowry (featured in Jenner's Bloomsbury Girls) heads to Rome to work as a script doctor at Cinecittà Studios. She meets a colorful cast of characters--actors, producers, directors--from various countries, all doing their best to enjoy la dolce vita while fighting strict censorship by the Vatican. More poignantly, though, Vivien and her new friends are also still reckoning with their experiences during World War II. Vivien is searching for news of her lost fiancé, David, a POW who may have ended up in Italy.

Jenner unspools Vivien's story alongside that of la scolaretta, a local resistance fighter responsible for taking down a Nazi commander in 1943. Known as "the schoolgirl assassin," the young woman met a gruesome end, but her bravery has inspired a film script--one that Vivien's colleague Nino is determined to slip past the censors.

With warmth and compassion, Jenner explores her characters' triumphs and tragedies. Several of Vivien's friends from Bloomsbury Girls (including art collector Peggy Guggenheim) resurface, and their combined support eventually helps Vivien find clarity. Living in the Eternal City, Vivien must face up to her own past and how it affects her present, and decide what kind of future she wants to build. With lush descriptions, vivid period detail, and fascinating personalities, Jenner's cinematic narrative is shot through with both pain and hope. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Blood Rubies opens with jewel thief Rune Sarasin tied to a chair inside a burning building on the brink of collapse and asking, "as she had repeatedly over the past seven days, just how it had come to this."

What follows is the answer to that question: Just how did a small-stakes jewel thief living in Bangkok wind up trapped in a burning building in New York City? It starts with a jewel theft gone wrong, as Rune and her boyfriend, Kit, lift a bag of rubies off an American gemstone trafficker. But when the two realize they've been identified--and that Kit's kid sister has gone missing--they are sucked into a series of plots more complex than either could have imagined.

In Rune, Mailan Doquang has created a criminal to root for, a slightly damaged "thrill-seeker and adrenaline addict" who fancies herself something "like Robin Hood, only she and Kit kept the profits." With Rune at the novel's center, Doquang launches into a fast-paced mystery filled with action and adventure: Rune zooms across Bangkok on the back of Kit's motorcycle, breaks into a priest's office, finds herself on the wrong end of a sex trafficking ring, winds up in cahoots with the very man she stole from in the first place, and more. It's a lot to pack into one novel, and it can feel chaotic at times. But Blood Rubies proves that it's worth suspending disbelief to get lost in an exciting, suspenseful trip around the world with a heroine determined to save herself, the people she loves--and maybe the jewels she stole, too. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer

Romance author Carley Fortune's ability to capture the euphoric essence of summer love is evident in This Summer Will Be Different. The novel takes place primarily on the coast of Prince Edward Island, where the salt air and summer sun set the scene for an extra hot and lively romance.

Lucy's best friend, Bridget, gives her three rules before Lucy visits Bridget's hometown on the island: "Eat your weight in oysters," "leave the city behind," and "don't fall in love with my brother." But Bridget's arrival is delayed, so Lucy spends an unforgettable night with a handsome local named Felix, only to find out that he is Bridget's off-limits brother. Over the next five years, Lucy's yearly visits to PEI are filled with sandcastle competitions, oyster shucking, and a secret annual hookup with Felix. When Bridget unexpectedly asks Lucy to join her on the island nine days before her wedding in Toronto, Lucy is faced with Bridget's pre-wedding crisis and her own complicated feelings for Felix.

Fortune (Every Summer After, Meet Me at the Lake) intersperses chapters counting down to Bridget's wedding with chapters chronicling the past five years of Lucy's vacations. Lucy and Bridget's week of nostalgic activities conveys the importance of found family and unconditional love between friends. Lucy and Felix's long history slowly unfolds to reveal what happened the previous summer that turned stolen glances into avoided ones. Fortune builds delectable suspense, effortlessly balancing steamy passion with fulfilling platonic and familial love. The charming Prince Edward Island setting basks in sunshine that brings the characters closer to one another and their happy-ever-afters. --Clara Newton, freelance reviewer

This second edition of Christopher Nyerges's Foraging Washington: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods is an incomparable reference for anyone looking to wander through or simply learn about the bounty of nature's offerings in the incredibly diverse natural environment of Washington. Nyerges comprehensively details the nine ecoregions in the state, each replete with its own abundant array of enticing wild foods.

One of his guide's standout features is the clear descriptions of plants, which makes it easy for readers to confidently identify what they find in the wild. Nyerges supplements these with photographs, recipes, and nutritional information. This degree of specificity is crucial when foraging for food, as misidentification can have serious consequences. A few plants, such as poison hemlock, can make people sick or even be fatal, as can foraging in areas where pesticides or other toxic chemicals have been in use.

But most of the plants to be found in these regions, including seaweeds, dandelions, and ferns, as well as less familiar salal berries and wood sorrel, can be used as food, medicine, or both--and Nyerges carefully lays out all their uses. Readers can even test their knowledge before venturing out by taking a quiz at the end of the book, featuring such valuable nuggets as whether it's true or false that all "berries that glisten are poisonous."

In addition to helping readers identify and harvest useful plants, Nyerges emphasizes the importance of sustainability and responsible foraging to avoid overuse of these resources and to preserve them for generations to come. --Elizabeth DeNoma, executive editor, DeNoma Literary Services, Seattle, Wash.

Puerto Rican activist and political strategist Luis A. Miranda Jr. juxtaposes the personal and political in his first book, Relentless. Miranda, the founding executive director of the Hispanic Federation and the father of librettist Lin-Manuel Miranda, charts his journey from his hometown of Vega Alta, P.R., to New York City and the ways he has worked to improve the lives of Latinos. Part memoir, part handbook for connecting with Latino voters, Relentless offers a glimpse into how Miranda advanced through the halls of power and his nonstop efforts to secure better resources and opportunities for his community.

Miranda begins by recounting his arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport, as a new psychology student at New York University. He writes of discovering the city as a student and an activist, meeting his wife, Luz, and building a life together. Miranda's account of his early career reads like a "who's who" of New York politics in the 1980s and '90s: Ed Koch, Rudy Giuliani, Chuck Schumer. Miranda shares his frank perspectives on each of these leaders and the initiatives he worked on, while incorporating stories from his family life. Later, Miranda writes about Hamilton and the tremendous impact its success had on his entire family. The book's final third delves into the issues that matter to the massive (and growing) voter base of Latinos in the U.S., including housing and education, and offers advice for anyone interested in winning these voters' support.

Relentless is an insightful and inspiring personal story and a roadmap for mobilizing Latino voters in the 21st century. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

In the fascinating collaboration The New Creatives: How AI Changes the Face of the Creative Industry author Seema Sharma provides a series of interviews with an artificial intelligence (AI) engine itself, delving deep into the realm of creative applications it can offer and the evolving relationship between humans and intelligent machines. Sharma goes beyond the typical fear-based discussions about AI replacing humans to instead demonstrate ways in which AI tools can augment and enhance human creativity, and where the pitfalls might lie. AI is useful for analyzing patterns in existing data, but what it produces is necessarily derivative or constrained by what it has learned from its inputs; such constraints include repeating biases in that material. AI can combine and remix elements upon command--but it can draw only on elements that already exist.

Sharma, an advertising agency creative director, explores case studies and examples in which AI has been used to generate ideas, inspire artists and writers, and even develop alongside humans in fields such as music composition, the visual arts, and storytelling. She engages her AI co-writer in discussions about the ethical implications of AI in creative industries, raising questions about authorship, authenticity, privacy, and the role of human intuition and awareness of context in innovative endeavors. She expresses an understandable concern about AI displacing human beings in artistic roles, while suggesting the optimistic spin that it will take over more mundane and replicable aspects of that work.

The New Creatives outlines timely and thought-provoking guidelines and considerations about how AI can augment human creativity in what might be termed the "symbiotic partnership." --Elizabeth DeNoma, executive editor, DeNoma Literary Services, Seattle, Wash.

Aimee Nezhukumatathil's delectable second essay collection, Bite by Bite, gathers a cornucopia of foods laden with delight, nostalgia, worry, homesickness, and above all, nourishment in its many forms. In 40 brief "appetizing origin stories of care and sustenance," Nezhukumatathil explores the ways food binds people together, as well as the complex, delicious alchemy of taste and memory.

Nezhukumatathil (World of Wonders) begins with rambutans, a spiky, unruly fruit that brings to mind her Indian grandmother, with whom she shares a mane of dark, untamable hair. In Nezhukumatathil's hands, food is much more than just food: it opens up space to ponder questions of beauty, colonization, self-acceptance, and family. These themes run through the entire collection, as when Nezhukumatathil creates "a self-portrait" of her Indian Filipina heritage and the resulting arguments over which country grows the sweetest mangoes, or when she recalls her first taste of jackfruit at her grandparents' home in Kerala. She recounts her husband's journey through a snowstorm to buy pineapple for their eldest son, and the taste of both community and grape pie she discovered at a grape festival in western New York. Her essays delve, too, into the complexities of food and history, shared and personal: the vanilla bean's ties to enslavement, the use of "coconut" as a racial slur, the moment in an isolated cherry orchard when she feared, briefly, for her life. But mostly, Nezhukumatathil's handpicked feast resembles her beloved halo-halo: a "richness of delights" made all the sweeter for its variety, with something to savor in every bite. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Navigating relationships, romantic and otherwise, is a lifelong endeavor. Fortunately, Sue Marriott, a clinical social worker, and Ann Kelley, a licensed psychologist, have written Secure Relating: Holding Your Own in an Insecure World, in which the pair share key insights, theories, and tools distilled from over 30 years of expertise in the field.

The married couple, known for their podcast Therapist Uncensored, take well-known attachment theory as a starting point, then thoughtfully deepen and expand it to the concept of the Modern Attachment-Regulation Spectrum, which uses arrows and colors to describe states of mind. The authors also cover related concepts, such as internal working models. Their straightforward and informative writing is enhanced by the generous inclusion of scenarios and examples, as well as diagrams and charts.

In keeping with the comprehensive nature of the work, the book also delves into neuroscience and many classic experiments conducted in the field of relationships. Marriott and Kelley are rigorously inclusive, making sure to discuss different experiences and backgrounds and to not brush aside systemic issues. They are also careful to note the contributions women have made to the field, giving attribution to researchers whose work often goes uncredited.

While its writing is often conversational and encouraging, Secure Relating is not a pop psychology book: readers won't find bulleted lists, summaries, or easy-to-digest takeaways sandwiching each chapter. They should be prepared to don their reading glasses and dig into footnotes and summarized academic studies. The result is not for the faint of heart, but all the better for it. --Nina Semczuk, writer, editor, and illustrator

It's Not Hysteria: Everything You Need to Know About Your Reproductive Health (but Were Never Told) covers a wide range of gynecological and related topics, from common conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis to gender diversity, menopause, abortion, and much more. Dr. Karen Tang also walks readers though what to expect during various medical procedures, explaining what they can ask for and how to speak with their doctor about concerns.

It's Not Hysteria is a terrific, informative reference guide. It's not overly embellished with personal stories or details, and it's easy to flip to the appropriate chapter for any need. As a gynecologist and gynecologic surgeon, Tang is well qualified in the field and delivers the material in a clear and understandable way. As such, this book is a valuable resource whether readers are experiencing their first period or first stages of menopause. If readers are nervous about their first pelvic exam or cancer screening, Tang provides straightforward descriptions and suggestions to minimize anxiety.

Throughout the book, Tang also touches on the lack of comprehensive research for gynecologic issues. For instance, she notes, if white men suffered the painful symptoms of fibroids--a condition that affects 80% of Black women--Tang is sure that research would have discovered both a cause and cure for that ailment. Explaining even tough subjects with compassion and inclusivity, Hysteria is a wonderful resource for anybody with a uterus, who used to have a uterus, or who just exists in a human body. --Alyssa Parssinen, freelance reviewer and former bookseller

Ken McNab called his previous book about the Fab Four And in the End: The Last Days of the Beatles; its follow-up might have been called And in the Beginning. The marvelously micro Shake It Up, Baby!: The Rise of Beatlemania and the Mayhem of 1963 examines the band's breakthrough year, when, as the author puts it, "cause and effect fatefully collided."

McNab chronicles every Beatle move, starting with the January 1963 release of "Please Please Me," which "set in motion the Beatles' big bang" in Britain, and ending with the late-1963 release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which ultimately shot to the top of both the British and--a first for a British pop band--American singles charts. Gig recaps, critics' appraisals, label drama, band finances, Fab romances--it's all here. Distinguishing this Beatles-centric offering is the inclusion of a wealth of everyday-person eyewitness accounts of the group's ascent, many stories shared directly with the author. McNab also spotlights unsung heroes whose invisible hands helped push the boys through to international stardom. Beatles-loving readers may shudder to think that were it not for one teenage superfan from Maryland, the band may never have broken through Stateside.

Shake It Up, Baby! makes it impossible to deny how deserved the (mostly) uncomplaining, hardworking band's success was. The book may leave readers greedy for more, and who knows? If they cheer at this Beatlemaniacal volume, it may convince McNab to tackle 1964. (Until then, Paul McCartney's take will have to do.) --Nell Beram, author and freelance writer

April Yang has built a successful online presence through her DIY fashion and upcycling, where she is known as Coolirpa on YouTube and Instagram. She takes her accessible sewing tips offline in DIY Thrift Flip: Sewing Techniques for Transforming Old Clothes into Fun, Wearable Fashions, an easy-to-follow guide for anyone interested in altering clothing, whether from their own closet or purchased secondhand for the express purpose of alteration. Yang starts with a guide to the sewing tools needed for garment modification. She breaks down her most-used sewing machine features and identifies tools that at-home sewers can wait to acquire until they have gained more alteration experience. From there, she moves into a quick primer with step-by-step photos on many basic techniques, such as sewing elastic and gathers, hemming, and working with different fabric types. 

Before moving into project suggestions and inspiration, Yang shares her advice on sourcing clothes and fabrics (including how to guesstimate size when dressing rooms aren't available and what elements and flaws "can or can't be fixed") along with basic garment composition and tailoring guidance (such as adding pockets or sleeves, tracing clothing items, using traditional patterns, and taking garments apart with a seam ripper). Her suggested projects, which she hopes "inspire you to view secondhand clothes in a different way," include turning a dress shirt into a bow-tie blouse, creating a pair of overalls from a matching pants and shirt set, and transforming curtains into a tiered miniskirt. Navigable and cheerful, DIY Thrift Flip is a handy, encouraging resource for new and experienced crafters alike. --Kristen Coates, editor and freelance reviewer

From Kate Flannery, who now works for RuPaul's Drag Race, comes Strip Tees, a memoir of her 20s living in Los Angeles and working at American Apparel. Flannery's debut, set in the 2000s, is an engaging personal history of a corporation, and a reflection on the manipulation of feminist ideals for profit. Fresh from Bryn Mawr with a bachelor's degree in creative writing, Flannery works a stint as an office drone at Urban Outfitters in Philadelphia. She moves to Los Angeles, seeking a reset and better opportunities in fashion. A woman in a bar recruits her to join American Apparel, an upstart company selling hip clothes made in the U.S. Flannery is desperate for steady income, impressed by the company's feminist mantras and many female employees, and eager to catch a wave, so she joins. After an impromptu amateur modeling session--standard for young female employees, apparently--she is hired to work at a store in Echo Park.

At first, she's worried she has traded office drone life to be a retail go-fer. But when she hires and photographs a young woman that the founder and CEO finds attractive, Flannery's career is turbocharged. She begins touring the country, opening store after store as the brand expands. She revels in the responsibility, glamour, and seeming liberations--until the contradictions of her life and work become irreconcilable. Flannery's beliefs and social awareness are challenged, and she must redefine self-respect. Told in unembellished prose, the story propels itself, but Flannery's telling is balanced with thoughtful retrospection, contemporary context, and dark comedic irony. --Walker Minot, writer and editor

William Kent Krueger's The River We Remember is the story of a close-knit farm town simmering with secrets. On Memorial Day in 1958, the people of Jewel, Minn., honor the town's veterans with a traditional parade through the three-block business district. But soon "hatred from wars long past and wars more recent" reveals it "still had hooks set in so many hearts." Krueger (Ordinary Grace) displays his deep affection for nature, describing Jewel's setting as having "wild oats and goldenrod and blazing star and a dozen other wildflowers"; these line the lane to the Alabaster River, which "shimmered gold in the late afternoon light." But on this spring day, the bucolic site is tainted: Black Earth County's wealthiest landowner is floating in the Alabaster, the victim of a shotgun blast. As sheriff Brody Dern investigates the apparent murder of the notoriously cruel and heartless Jimmy Quinn, public sentiment targets Noah Bluestone, a Sioux whose ancestors were driven from the county. Bluestone returned from World War II with a Japanese wife, doubling the disdain of vocal racists. Tension builds as Dern searches for motives.

Krueger's well-developed citizens of Jewel provide multiple subplots. Quinn's survivors don't mourn; a colorful woman public defender gains the Bluestones' trust; two adolescent boys flirt with danger; and Dern grapples with the investigation while finally facing the emotional war wounds and truths buried in his heart. Quinn's death isn't tragic, but the fallout threatens deeply sympathetic townspeople, keeping readers mesmerized through the unpredictable climax of this often tender, evocative novel. --Cheryl McKeon, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y.

Movie magic has its dark side in Silver Nitrate, a twisted horror thriller by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (The Daughter of Doctor Moreau; Mexican Gothic). Montserrat Curiel is a struggling sound editor in 1990s Mexico City; she's talented but held back by a jerk of a boss and his boys'-club style of management. Her friend Tristán Abascal, an actor whose never-quite-first-rate career was stalled by scandal, discovers that his new neighbor is director Abel Urueta. Because Tristán and Montserrat share a love of cult horror movies, he invites her along to dinner with Urueta, who presents them with a proposition. Decades earlier, Urueta participated in an attempt by a Nazi occultist to cast a literal spell through filmmaking. The film was never completed, and Urueta believes the curse of the unfinished spell is what ended his career. He believes if Montserrat and Tristán can help him finish the missing scene, the curse will be lifted. But once they begin work on the film, Montserrat and Tristán find themselves entangled with supernatural enemies.

Moreno-Garcia skillfully balances cult-film lore, movie-making techniques from different periods, and occult scheming with well-constructed, intriguing characters. The backdrop of Urueta's career and the origin of the cursed film is intricately constructed and, once production is underway, the thrills never stop. The menaces of racism and misogyny looming over the action add a thoughtful streak that gives some depth to the narrative. Thriller fans and movie buffs will be on the edges of their seats. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library

The Collected Regrets of Clover is journalist Mikki Brammer's first novel, a heartfelt and poignant story focusing on a death doula and all she learns in her work with death and dying--and, in the process, about life and living.

Clover Brooks was just five years old when she first saw a person die (her kindergarten teacher), and has witnessed 96 more deaths since then in her work as a death doula. "A birth doula helps usher someone into life, and a death doula helps usher them peacefully out of it," Clover explains patiently to a new neighbor. It's work she's proud of and honored to do, though she realizes that her proximity to--and comfort with--death marks her as "out of step with the rest of the world." And perhaps she is a bit odd, but she's mostly okay with that--even if she's also a bit lonely, and unsure of how to go about becoming less so: "It wasn't that I was opposed to the idea of friendship, it's just that if you don't get close to anyone, you can't lose them."

That's all thrown into chaos when Clover's latest client--a wealthy old woman with a charming smile and a sense of adventure--inadvertently sets Clover on a scavenger hunt through old photos and letters in search of a long-lost lover. Though tinged with the sadness, The Collected Regrets of Clover is ultimately a beautiful story of belonging, connection, and what it really means to live life to its fullest. --Kerry McHugh, freelance reviewer

The lovable, bumbling bear from A Bear, a Bee, and a Honey Tree returns in the lickety-split, rhyming picture book A Bear, a Fish, and a Fishy Wish by Daniel Bernstrom and illustrated by Brandon James Scott.

A broad-nosed, long-clawed bear lounges heels-over-head between the boughs of a tree. The spare text identifies the protagonist: "a bear." Readers meet an adorable mostly-eyes salmon baby on the next page as it swims through sunlit, weed-forested waters: "a fish." Soon the bear spies the unaware fish cresting the surface of the river, and the sighting spawns "a fishy wish" for a slippery snack. The bear swims, runs, and uses stealth to nab the leaping fish from the air, but a mighty wave filled with the fish's glaring kinfolk ("fish galore") sweeps the hunter into the river. When the bear emerges to find the fish out of water and helpless, a war between hunger and compassion brings a surprising and humorous conclusion.

Scott's digitally rendered illustrations convey a sense of movement both in the characters and the rushing water, and Bernstrom's light, rhyming narrative bounds along with equal liveliness. Bear and fish have wonderfully expressive faces that imbue the simple story with plenty of emotion as the bear learns one should be careful what one wishes for. A Bear, a Fish, and a Fishy Wish should appeal to readers who love fast, funny stories, as well as fans of the previous book who want to see what the hungry, hapless bear has gotten up to. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager, Allen County Public Library

With Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing, seasoned picture-book pros Amy Hest (Letters to Leo; Charley's First Night) and Erin E. Stead (A Sick Day for Amos McGee; The Sun Is Late and So Is the Farmer) make evident their keen understanding that for the youngest readers, feelings themselves can be dramatic moments. This externally quiet story, in which emotions ebb and flow along with a series of small events, should make a big impression.

When Big Bear announces that he'd like to go fishing, Little Bear is all in. They get suited up, and "now they are ready for fishing./ Almost." They gather their fishing poles, and "now they are ready for fishing./ Almost." After a couple more false starts, they set off for the lake. Once they're in their little fishing boat, they wait for a fish to bite. They have a close call, but their prey ultimately eludes them. They return home and cuddle outdoors in a hammock, clearly basking in the afterglow of a day well spent.

Anticipation, frustration, disappointment, affection--Hest doesn't spell out her book's big feels. She doesn't have to: throughout Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing, Stead's dainty watercolor-and-pencil illustrations are clued in. When Little Bear experiences, say, apprehension while he "looks at the wobbling and listens to the creaking" boat, readers see a downcast, slump-shouldered cub fairly glued to the dock. Naturally, Big Bear is there with his open-armed reassurance. Their relationship, not fishing, is the real story here. --Nell Beram, freelance writer and YA author

Wife and husband team Kristen Remenar and Matt Faulkner (Groundhog's Dilemma) have created in Squirrel Needs a Break a winning picture book filled with humor, heart, and a celebration of community.

Squirrel's an attentive dad, but after being "stuck in the nest" with three exuberant kits all winter, he's "even grumpier than usual." So, Sparrow, Bear, Hare, Owl, and Groundhog decide to give Squirrel a much-needed break. While Owl takes Squirrel for a breakfast of peanut butter pie, Hare makes pancakes with the kits. Then Hare turns the energetic little ones over to Sparrow (yes, "syrup happened") and Hare and Squirrel proceed to the spa. Meanwhile, Sparrow gives the sticky kits a bath, then hands them off to Owl, who then delivers them to Groundhog. At first, Squirrel enjoys his time off with friends, but during yoga class, he begins to miss his family. As the day winds down, Squirrel and his kits are reunited and Bear has one final surprise in store.

Remenar's earnest characters are as endearing as her plot is full of energy. Her clever text includes fun dialogue and allows plenty of room for Faulkner's expressive digital illustrations. His deftly rendered, cartoony art depicts characters with human-like features and body language, contributing to the story's relatability. Child readers will likely delight in the kits' capering while caregivers will almost certainly connect with the exhausted animals. Indeed, this entertaining, affectionate picture book title should be as big a hit with adults as it is with their rambunctious kits! --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author

Author Joy McCullough (Enter the Body; Blood Water Paint) and illustrator Shane Cluskey's Basil & Dahlia is "Hansel & Gretel" by way of A Series of Unfortunate Events: a quirky, lightly magical mystery filled with mouthwatering food and sinister adults.

Basil and Dahlia's parents blew up in a greenhouse explosion, and now they are orphans, tragically in the care of a nondescript social worker who plans on separating them. Rather than face the future alone, Dahlia and Basil leap from a moving train and stumble through the streets of New York City, where they are lifted out of a dumpster dive by celebrity chef Laurel Fox. She seems like the perfect person to take in two hungry orphans, but as she welcomes the siblings into her home, they discover that Laurel's heart is not as warm as the desserts she bakes. Can the two escape from her delicious-yet-dangerous mansion?

McCullough's character work shines: the titular heroes struggle with guilt over their parents' demise even as they consistently support each other; the creative yet dastardly villains are only outshone by the everyday workers who step up to help. The only hitch can be found in the narrator, an unnamed technophobe presumably from the 18th century, whose occasionally wry comments otherwise detract from the unfolding mystery. Stark, stylized illustrations from Cluskey (The Sackville Street Caper) are perfectly creepy and help set the unconventional tone.

Basil & Dahlia, which borders on delightfully ridiculous, should be great for fans of Kathryn Siebel's The Trouble with Twins or young readers who find The Great British Bake Off suspicious. --Nicole Brinkley, bookseller and writer