Openshaw’s surprising novel of art, aging, and what life’s all about is three books in one. There is the awed but irreverent quest of protagonist Sam, an artist facing a troubled marriage and a dearth of inspiration, moved to undertake a “kind of crazy spiritual quest”: to trace the construction of Michaelangelo’s Tomb of Pope Julius II, perhaps the great artist’s greatest challenge, intended to be “A work of art on a scale that hadn’t been attempted in a thousand years.” Sam’s friend Burke links Michelangelo’s mid-life crisis to Sam’s own malaise. “Some men get a red sports car and a trophy wife,” Burke says. “Michelangelo built a Tomb.” As Sam digs into what went wrong half a millennia ago, Openshaw offers an in-depth history of Michelangelo’s life and career, plus elements of a travel guide, complete with photos, illustrations and informative maps and cartoons, documenting real journeys—and the story of the tomb itself, a grand project that never worked out like Michelangelo had envisioned.

Openshaw is a seasoned tour guide and veteran travel-television show writer, and his expertise in Italy, art, and Michelangelo in particular shines on nearly each page. Meanwhile, Sam’s sandwich-generation troubles—painful divorce; trying to help his aging parents; maintaining a relationship with his young daughter—has him reeling. His admission, in a seedy Bologna hotel, that he has “no home” suggests Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, while accomplished passages of travel writing bring Italy to touching life.

Sam finds some relief in spirited carousing and a hopeful romance, and his travails are wittily juxtaposed against those of his idol, Michelangelo, though at times the balance between the novel’s three modes favors the informative, as Openshaw digs deeply into Renaissance sculpture, patronage, politics and more, considering theories of why the tomb became something of a footnote. Still, Openshaw’s depiction of Michelangelo as a human being with faults and frailties is fascinating. Michelangelo at Midlife is like a trip to Italy, edifying, informative, and unpredictable.

Takeaway: Surprising novel of art, history, and mid-life crises, including Michelangelo’s.

Comparable Titles: Stephanie Storey’s Oil and Marble, Theresa Maggio’s Mattanza: Love and Death in the Sea of Sicily.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-

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Urging a pivot toward fulfillment, control, and flow in one’s work and career, Galica’s up-to-date debut offers motivational testament to the possibility of career-minded women taking risks, moving past fear of the unknown, and trailblazing their own paths to greater success. Galica notes that “two-thirds of the female workforce is wondering whether they should not just leave their jobs but change industries entirely." Her practical-minded guide offers clear lessons in becoming "unstuck" from draining and unfulfilling career choices. Sharing inspiring interviews with women who made the “leap,” and drawing from her personal experience, Galica delves into why women often feel dissatisfied at work, how to embrace what matters most, and what it takes to bet on themselves—and discover career paths that are more engaging and rewarding.

While Galica writes with a coach’s warm directness, Leap acknowledges the real challenges that can stymie workers’ seeking more. She considers the familiar advice “to align career with your passion” and makes the case that, often, passion isn’t enough. Instead, she argues that playing to one’s strengths and “replacing 'follow your passion' with 'go where you want to contribute'" is crucial, especially for women, who often are made to feel “guilty or uncomfortable switching careers just for passion’s sake.”

Galica backs up insights like that with hard-won wisdom and action steps, engaging reflection exercises, and compelling, on-point testimony from women who dared to leap—and flourish, including heavy hitters like filmmaker Ava DuVernay and celebrity chef Ina Garten. Touchingly, Galica considers the example of her own mother, who over time, unable to let go of “socioeconomic guilt and fear,” resisted making a change, until at last, in her fifties, she followed her joy, her strengths, and her sense of where she wanted to contribute, returning to school and starting fresh. Leap demonstrates that such happy endings don’t have to be put off.

Takeaway: Wise, action-oriented guide for women considering career changes.

Comparable Titles: Karen Arrington's Your Next Level Life, Tessa White's The Unspoken Truths for Career Success.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

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Tirado-Ryen (author of Forgetting Me) explores the relationship between two sisters, Kim and Dena, who are mourning their mother’s loss in the early 2000s. Their dynamic is fraught: Kim rues that beautiful Dena seems to have everything, a great career and a doting husband, while Kim is stuck in a boring job and a stagnant relationship with boyfriend, Jared—rather than “I love you,” Kim and Jared settle for “Care for you a lot.” Close to Christmas, Dena asks Kim to watch her daughter, Summer, so that Dena and her husband, Jonathan, can enjoy a child-free vacation. (“When did I last see Dena’s kid?” Kim wonders. “Her fourth birthday party?”) After a shaky start, though, something unexpected occurs: Kim and her niece discover they enjoy time together. But as Kim starts whipping her life into shape, she finds to her dismay that, in truth, things are not that great between Dena and Jonathan.

Tirado-Ryen’s story moves smoothly, traveling between the 2000s and the 1990s, sharing vivid glimpses into the reasons for the near rupturing in the bond between the sisters. While the emotions are resonant, the gentle humor and brisk prose give Two Weeks of Summer an appealingly light touch. All the characters are well etched and engaging, presented with empathy and, at the novel’s best, a plafyul sense of surprise. Scenes of bullying that Kim endured in school and the struggles, in the past, of the sisters’ single mother are memorable and effective.

Tirado-Ryen draws attention to how different people cope differently with grief and loss and though to all outward appearances some seem to have moved on, in reality, they haven’t. Some incidents, including a makeover and a confrontation with a childhood tormenter, play out as expected, but this bright, feel good novel about sisterly love, female friendships, and the meaning of family offers heaps of heart.

Takeaway: Buoyant, well-told story of sisters reconnecting while coping with loss.

Comparable Titles: Claire LaZebnik's The Smart One and the Pretty One, Megan Crane’s Names My Sisters Call Me.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

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In the dark romantic comedy of reconciliations and fresh beginnings, Fanning (author of The Armchair Bride and Rebuilding Alexandra Small) introduces readers to widower Silas Elijah French, a 67 year-old unemployed New York department store Santa as he attempts to mend a broken relationship with his estranged gay son, Joey, and 68 year-old Ellen Gitelman, a widow struggling with a recent Lupus diagnosis only five years into cancer remission. Broke and desperate to see his son, Silas applies for a Santa gig on a two-week holiday cruise to Florida where Joey resides with his husband and two kids. Expecting to make enough money to surprise his son and the grandchildren he’s never seen, Silas accepts the job on the gay cruise line. He didn’t expect an international drug smuggling operation, snoring drag queens, a shady priest, or the pleasant jolt of meeting Ellen, a woman whose eyes reminded him of his late wife.

Fanning tugs at emotions from the opening pages showing Silas, a broken man severely down on his luck and anxious about reaching out to his son, and Ellen, who is still reeling from her Lupus diagnosis. They meet aboard the MS Viking after Ellen mistakenly buys tickets for the gay cruise and literally falls into his arms. The budding romance often takes a backseat to the mayhem aboard the ship and complicated but engaging relationships among crew members and other passengers, like Patrick and Kathy Lucey, a brother and sister duo who bicker incessantly.

Fanning has weaved a tale that has it all—romance, humor, drama, mystery, and suspense. Despite Silas and Ellen having a lot in common and enjoying each other’s company, their relationship doesn’t really power a story that instead has at its heart friendships and family bonds. Fanning’s prose and dialogue are crisp, brisk, and incisive, and the characterization is strong in this novel that’s ideal for readers who love diverse casts, surprising connections, and healing relationships, with much comic complication.

Takeaway: Emotional story of healing relationships and being there for the ones we love.

Comparable Titles: Stephen McCauley’s My Ex-Life, Audra North’s Midlife Crisis.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-

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