In the space of a decade, Mark Slouka has produced an essay collection, two novels, a memoir and a book of short stories. With the publication of another collection of short fiction, All That Is Left Is All That Matters, Slouka (Nobody's Son) showcases not merely his productivity and versatility, but his gift for creating consistently engaging and emotionally resonant stories in whatever literary form he chooses.

 

Though there is no overarching unity to the collection, a recurring theme is the relationship between fathers and sons. That's explored most powerfully in the terrifying concluding story, "Crossing," in which a "weekend dad" heedlessly risks his own life and that of his young son in an effort to ford a fast-moving river. The narrator of "The Hare's Mask," who possesses a self-proclaimed "precocious ear for loss," recounts the heartbreaking story of how his father evaded capture in World War II-era Czechoslovakia; he could not, however, escape the "long needle of association, of memory, for years" after losing the remaining members of his family to the Nazis.

 

While Slouka's stories generally adhere to a more traditional style, they don't lack for the occasional narrative surprise. "Dog" is the chilling story of a cherished pet whose skin begins to sprout razor blades, but even with that bizarre premise, the tale's devastating ending reveals that it's as much about the power of love as any of Slouka's more conventional stories.

 

Despite their austere sensibility, stories as tender and beautiful as these are among those things that might, paradoxically, serve to persuade thoughtful readers that life is worth living. --Harvey Freedenberg, freelance reviewer

After nearly 20 years working as a maid for a wealthy Mumbai family, Bhima has been abruptly dismissed. Though she did the right thing in speaking out about a shameful situation, she is left with no income to support herself and her college-age granddaughter, Maya. As Bhima struggles to adjust to her new reality, she finds an unexpected business partner in Parvati, a sharp-tongued elderly woman who ekes out a living selling cauliflower at the nearby market. Both women have spent their lives on the knife edge of poverty. Their bitter experiences, professional and personal, and their fierce pride make them wary of trusting others, but they set up a vegetable stand together and gradually come to rely on one another. Thrity Umrigar's eighth novel, The Secrets Between Us, traces the intertwined journeys of Bhima, Parvati and their loved ones in acutely observed prose.

 

Readers of Umrigar's 2006 novel, The Space Between Us, will recognize Bhima and Maya, as well as Bhima's longtime employer, Sera, and the circumstances of Bhima's dismissal. But The Secrets Between Us stands alone: its focus is squarely on Bhima, who must confront not only her financial worries but her long-held prejudices related to class and other social divisions.

 

Umrigar takes readers inside the Mumbai slums, vividly evoking both the cramped living conditions and Bhima's deep shame at having to live there. She draws her characters with a keen and compassionate hand--not only her protagonists but her supporting characters as well. Packed with sensory details and tart dialogue, this novel deftly evokes the complicated realities of poverty, love, hard work, guilt, grief and friendship in modern-day Mumbai. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

In her engrossing second novel, The Possible World, Liese O'Halloran Schwarz (Near Canaan) gradually brings together the stories of three disparate characters in Providence, R.I.

 

Six-year-old Ben winds up in the emergency room when his best friend's birthday party ends in a horrific, violent way--with the other children, his friend's mother and Ben's mom all dead. When he finally speaks, he seems disoriented and insists his name is Leo. Lucy, unsettled from a recent separation from her husband, is the resident in charge of the ER when Ben comes in, and she is drawn to this small, scared, confused boy. She continues to visit him even after he is moved to Psych, where he remains for weeks. Across town, Clare is nearing 100 years old and finally decides, when she meets a new friend, that it is time to tell her life story with all its long-held secrets.

 

An emergency medicine doctor, Schwarz creates a realistic and compelling story of these three characters' intertwined lives that completely immerses the reader in their worlds. From Clare's earliest years as a child of the Depression to Ben and Lucy's current struggles to adjust to their new situations in life, this novel spans decades and holds many surprises. Tension builds as the threads slowly come together in a captivating and moving story of grief and loss and the power of love. --Suzan L. Jackson, freelance writer and author of Book By Book blog

Nicola Moriarty (The Fifth Letter) has perfectly blended humor and pathos in Those Other Women. The story begins with Poppy, who has never wanted children, and thought she and her husband, Garret, were on the same page about it. That is, until Garret reveals that he's been sleeping with her best friend, whose biological clock is ticking.

 

Spinning in the wake of her divorce, and annoyed to be excluded from "MOP" ("Mums Online--Parramatta," a group that thousands of mums from their Sydney suburb have joined), Poppy and her coworker Annalise start "NOP," for non-mums. Happily sharing tips on yoga studios that exclude children and restaurants whose ambiance discourages families, NOP is Poppy's safe space. But then she goes on a drunken rant, encouraging members to "get back" at MOP members who make them feel bad for not having children.

 

Suddenly half of Sydney is at war, as MOP and NOP members lash out at each other, both online and in person, and Poppy is left reeling. Can she undo what she's begun?

 

Funny, sharp and surprising, Those Other Women is a clearsighted look at the backstabbing and jealousy that every stay-at-home mother, working mother and childfree woman has encountered. Moriarty has created believably flawed characters who struggle to balance family and work, and who inescapably compare themselves to each other--something to which all readers will relate. --Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Tucson, Ariz.

This standalone fantasy from Naomi Novik (Uprooted, the Temeraire series) spins the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale, along with sundry Russian and German folkloric fibers, into a solid gold yarn.

 

Miryem learns kind men make terrible moneylenders when her father's inability to convince their neighbors to make good on their debts leaves her family destitute and hungry and her mother ill. Iron-willed, the girl sets out to collect on accounts herself, saving her family and becoming a formidable businesswoman in the process. With an ill-considered boast about turning copper and silver into gold, Miryem intrigues the king of the Staryk (cruel frost elves whose magic makes winter longer and harsher), who catches her in a terrible bargain. She must change the disdainful king's magic silver into gold pieces three times. If she fails, he will freeze her to death, but if she succeeds, he will make her his unwilling queen. Caught up in Miryem's plight are Wanda, an honest farm girl working off her drunken, abusive father's debt in Miryem's employ, and Irina, a clever, plain-faced noblewoman whose father would gladly marry her to the monstrous young tsar if it meant his own political advancement.

 

Though loosely inspired by Rumpelstiltskin, Novik weaves her own rich spell of filial loyalty, political intrigue and fairyland logic. Her three heroines each have their own brand of toughness and intelligence, surviving primarily by their wits with occasional help from each other. Spinning Silver delivers the lush, smart escapism yearned for by any fantasy fan. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager, main branch, Dayton Metro Library

In The Widower's Notebook, New York artist and author Jonathan Santlofer chronicles in brutally candid detail his unraveling after the sudden death of his life partner. Santlofer and his late wife, Joy, were together for more than 40 years, their lives entwined in every imaginable way. Healthy and vibrant, Joy underwent knee surgery and, less than 48 hours later, she died.

 

For Santlofer, the anguish and shock of the loss, the mysterious cause of her death and a lifelong habit of concealing his pain meant that the face he showed to the world was a mask, his debilitating grief an almost guilty indulgence. Staying strong for his daughter, Doria, was his main focus, all the while writing and drawing in his notebook as a therapeutic way to acknowledge his heartache and despair.

 

Society has certain prescribed ways of dealing with widows, the expectation being that a woman's display of emotion and sadness at her loss is acceptable. Widowers are expected to bounce back quickly. Santlofer writes with measured indignation about friends who lose sight of his bereavement and try to distract him, in one case by offering call girls from an online catalogue. As he begins to adjust himself to the role of widower, he pushes back against these expectations, establishing for himself a new order.

 

The Widower's Notebook is surprisingly funny in places, and Santlofer's graceful illustrations are sweet and poignant in the details they emphasize: Joy as a young mother; her beloved cat, Lily; their daughter's resemblance to her mother; and the author's own serious expression contrasted with his wife's happy and carefree smile. --Shahina Piyarali, writer and reviewer

In 2014, novelist and writing teacher Leslie Schwartz (Angels Crest) was arrested for drunk driving and sentenced to 90 days in the overcrowded Los Angeles County jail. She'd been sober for at least a decade when she relapsed into drug and alcohol addiction for more than a year. By the time she accepted a plea bargain to serve six weeks, she was six months sober. "The experience of being caged was soul crushing," she writes. "Living through this experience exposed me to new levels of human cruelty." During her incarceration, she was allowed to read 21 books. "Each taught me what I needed to learn at the moment," she writes.

 

Reading brings Schwartz hope and transforms her thinking about her fortitude, self-worth and bravery. When she and some of the other prisoners read their books aloud to each other, friendships are forged. "A new knowledge took shape," she writes, "a deeper peeling back of my complacency, ushered in on the spines of our books." Among the books that give her insight about her life and choices are Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See, Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken, Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome and especially Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being--"Quite literally I knew after having read it I was a different person."

 

Schwartz's razor-sharp observations on life behind bars, the prison system and the women caught in an endless cycle of abuse, addiction and incarceration is captivating and tremendously moving. Her sobering tale is beautifully told. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant

In 1968: Radical Protest and Its Enemies, Richard Vinen provides a fresh synthesis of a historically turbulent year. He focuses on the Western world, particularly the United States, Great Britain, France and West Germany, where universities became hotbeds of radicalism and discontent that fueled spectacular demonstrations and sometimes violence. Vinen references the "long '68"--"the variety of movements that became associated with, and sometimes reached their climax in, 1968 but that cannot be understood with exclusive reference to that year"--as he also traces the counterrevolutions it fostered.

 

A number of social and political pressures boiled over into radical protest that year. Opposition to the Vietnam War proved a crucial catalyst in the United States and Europe, as did the civil rights movement, dissatisfaction with consumerism and distrust of mainstream political parties. The relatively affluent baby boomer generation attended college in record numbers, sometimes joining radical groups. Students' interests coincided to some degree with the concerns of trade unions and the working class, but there was enough daylight between students and workers, regarding social issues, ideology and methods of protest, for shrewd politicians to exploit. The remarkable outbursts of 1968 were, after all, bookended in many countries by impressive displays of support for the status quo, typified in the U.S. by the election of Richard Nixon as president in November 1968.

 

Vinen does not provide a definitive answer to what 1968 "meant," but he does provide an exceptionally clear-eyed overview of a pivotal year. --Hank Stephenson, bookseller, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, N.C.

This special edition of The Oxford Companion to the Brontës commemorates the 200-year anniversary of the birth of Emily Brontë, author of Wuthering Heights. It "aims to evoke the milieu in which the Brontës lived and wrote, to disseminate new reliable research, and to provide detailed information about their lives, works, and reputation." Authors and editors Christine Alexander (Love and Friendship: And Other Youthful Writings) and Margaret Smith (Selected Letters of Charlotte Brontë) and seven additional contributors have created an authoritative and enjoyable reference work.

 

This well-structured book offers a web of connected concepts, events and people that allows readers to begin anywhere, whatever their initial interests. The bulk of it is in the form of an encyclopedia, with alphabetized entries, illustrations and several long features on topics such as individual family members, their childhood fiction, letters, mature work and biographies written about them. Other sections include a bibliography, a glossary of dialect and obsolete words, and a chronology that begins and ends with Patrick Brontë, since he outlived all his children. There are three timelines, side by side, of biographical, literary and artistic, and historical events. In the year 1842, the reader can see at a glance, among other things, that Charlotte and Emily moved to Brussels and the French novelist George Sand published her novel Consuelo. Flip to the entry on George Sand, and there is a comment on what Charlotte thought of that novel. This is an indispensable reference for anyone with a deep interest in this brilliant literary family, their times and their work. --Sara Catterall

"Like most people who enjoy mucking about in streams," writes environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb in his smart and delightful Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, "I've had my share of beaver encounters. I was always impressed by their underwater grace, their ingenuity, and their familial devotion."

 

Eager takes a deep backstream dive into the life and mind of the beaver to show why this fascinating rodent is essential to our ecosystem. Goldfarb begins his tale approximately 500 years ago, when fur traders nearly caused the beaver's extinction. He then skips forward in time to the present day. Across the United States, writes Goldfarb, the beaver wreaks havoc on streams and carefully manicured lawns. If it weren't for the "Beaver Believers," a coalition of scientists and activists working to restore the North American beaver to its natural habitat, the animal would once again be an endangered species. Among the most amusing people that Goldfarb meets is Kent Woodruff, a biologist in the state of Washington who built a beaver "love shack" to encourage mating.

 

Throughout the book, Goldfarb makes clear that the beaver is a keystone species on which other animals greatly depend for survival, and why it's important to stop trapping the animal and learn how to protect it. "Eager is about the mightiest theme I know," he writes. "[How] we can learn to coexist and thrive alongside our fellow travelers on this planet." --Amy Brady, freelance writer and editor

"The night before the cousins came, [Lila] couldn't sleep," anticipating the fun she'd have with fellow "big kids" Rosie and Takeo. As soon as they arrive, Lila notices differences: unlike her own "two flat braids," Rosie has "two puffy balls on top of her head" while Takeo sports "a little shark fin"-Mohawk. Happy to share their stylish ways, the cousins readily give Lila "a little shark fin too."

 

Groomed to match, the threesome venture outdoors--Rosie on her bike, while the cousins, who " 'brought [their] own wheels,' " ride skateboards. Dinner is noodles, which means chopsticks for the cousins, with Lila eager to learn. At Lila’s suggestion of an after-meal stroll, Rosie hesitates--"Night is scary"--but with Lila's gentle assurance, they're rewarded with a firefly glow show. As their visit continues, Lila notices that "[e]verything the cousins did was a little bit extra special." Their final night together--a camping adventure forced indoors by rain--morphs into a memorable evening of familial bonding.

 

International muralist Katie Yamasaki (Fish for Jimmy) deftly enhances When the Cousins Came with cultural, social and emotional layers for lasting beyond-the-words effect. Her characters' names and detailed illustrations suggest the cousins are mixed-race with a shared Japanese heritage. Lila's comfortable country home contrasts sharply with her cousins' apartment, where they don't go out in darkness because "[s]omething might get you." The giraffe height ruler reveals the cousins' visit is a first, or at least the first in four years, when the initial height tick marked Lila's wall. Even as Lila acknowledges brief moments of wishful envy as the non-sibling among the trio, all her thoughtful planning ultimately connects the cousins with lasting love. --Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon

When a dead body shows up at Hawthorn Academy for Independent Young Women, a secluded California school for sensitive, artistic, mostly Ivy League-bound types, Emily doesn't know what to think. She's changed her last name. She's cut ties to almost everybody she ever knew. And she keeps her fellow students away by being "aggressively unpleasant." But Emily fears that this dead body (a murder victim, shot in the back of the head) might be her fault, that the mysterious killing of everybody she's ever loved--parents, friends, even pets--is "starting again."

 

In an effort to create distance between herself and others, Emily immerses herself in Emily Dickinson's poems, using Dickinson's words as her own. She relentlessly quotes Dickinson on death and dying in her independent study project and believes she'd feel at home in the poet's time, when "death was more ordinary." And now, even though she's played by "the rules" and "everyone [at Hawthorne] was willing to leave [her] the hell alone," the uproar surrounding the dead body has somehow made her appear approachable to new student M. Mischievous and very much alive, M decides she's not going to let Emily's bad behavior chase her away. Much as she wants to, Emily can't let herself forget the danger M is courting by pursuing this friendship.

 

In The Letting Go, her debut novel, Deborah Markus has created a perfectly tortured main character whose horrible past has forced her to become an "unusually restless shadow." As the mystery of the new murder eats at her, she becomes ever more confused about what is real. Events hurtle toward a terrible and satisfying conclusion in this fascinating literary thriller. --Lynn Becker, blogger and host of Book Talk, a monthly online discussion of children's books for SCBWI

In Stumpkin, Lucy Ruth Cummins's sophomore effort as an author/illustrator, she presents a perfectly good pumpkin protagonist not chosen to be a jack-o-lantern on Halloween. But why is the pumpkin not selected to decorate a window in one of the buildings surrounding the New York City bodega where it is for sale?

 

Because Stumpkin is the only pumpkin without a lovely green stem. As the other pumpkins get sold around him, he begins to worry: "He was a handsome pumpkin--as orange as a traffic cone. He was as big as a basketball--and twice as round! Stem-schmem! Who knows? Some people might even prefer a stemless pumpkin." But conforming consumers (even children) prefer the usual, and all the stemmed pumpkins get purchased--even the yellow gourd.

 

When Stumpkin is left all alone, the shopkeeper takes action. Over the course of several dramatic pages, Stumpkin is transformed. Starting with an all-black double page spread, the page turn introduces the first triangle (a nose); the next page turn reveals two triangular eyes.... After interjecting a nighttime urban scene with jack-o-lanterns shining out of grey building windows, Cummins continues to celebrate Halloween in the city with her Stumpkin reveal. Silhouetted trick-or-treaters gather round the shop's new display, a smiling jack-o-lantern Stumpkin placed front and center, in between the shop's black cat and a bowl of treats. Cummins's evocative illustrations were created with gouache, pencil, ink and brush marker. The oranges and greens of the pumpkins, with that little bit of yellow for the lone gourd, sharply punctuate the dominant grays and blacks. (And knowing viewers will even spot the L train stop in trendy Williamsburg, Brooklyn.)

 

Stumpkin is a gentle story about differences, set within a popular holiday's traditions, with striking urban-based illustrations. --Melinda Greenblatt, freelance book reviewer