Category: Book Reviews
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Little Fires Everywhere meets Laggies and Together, Together in a novel that shines with heart-wrenching humor about a millennial, Japanese American aspiring artist. Mika in Real Life is a lovely, bittersweet, and complicated coming-into-oneself tale of mothers, daughters, and the different—and sometimes difficult—configurations that love, family, and life can take.
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An exposition-heavy second installment in an intriguing dark academia fantasy trilogy with strong The Umbrella Academy and The Magicians vibes. Although the plot is often more meandering and ruminative than active, the world-building, character interiority, and complicated dynamics among the central six remain compelling.
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An unusual, second-chance, fantasy romance that interestingly uses an otherworldly standoff between warring deities to keep its modern-day leads apart. A light, hopeful, and fast read with touches of heat and mystery.
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Assiduously constructed, cerebral, and immersive. A study of translation and linguistics packaged in an alternative historical fantasy that lures readers in with the comforting aesthetic trappings of academia and jolts them with an interrogation of imperialism.
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Cozy and heartwarming. With a similarly delightful charm to Sangu Mandanna’s The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Aguirre brings together an endearing cast of characters in a magical rom-com that thoughtfully explores themes of family and belonging.
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A riveting, slow-burning work of suspense and horror that’s equal parts paranormal puzzle box and cinematic and historical deep-dive.
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A propulsive and perplexing read that combines the social terror of Parasite with the psychological suspense of Alyssa Cole’s When No One Is Watching, all wrapped up in a YA haunted house story.
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Poignant, funny, and utterly creepy. Absurdity mixed with a thick layer of dread. How to Sell a Haunted House delivers the grounded and recognizable pangs of sibling rivalry, parental favoritism, family secrets, and the long and complex process of grief filtered through an extraordinary paranormal tale of intergenerational trauma, evil puppets, and haunted houses.
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In a cross between Michaela Coel’s “Chewing Gum,” the Mindy Kaling-produced “Never Have I Ever,” and Talia Hibbert’s Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Jessica George presents a fresh and heartbreakingly funny bildungsroman of an endearingly guileless, nerdy, and messy late-bloomer with a singular voice.
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A rising track star, newly transferred on a coveted athletic scholarship, quickly gets mired in a mounting web of secrets, cheating scandals, digital gossip, cyberbullying, and murder at an elite Northern California boarding school.
Connections 