"We bring to us that which we are, not what we want" writes Won in this inspiring spiritual debut, sharing his journey to finding happiness and tapping into the “God Source.” Won opens by pointing out the illusion of life—“that our experience here in this physical world is what we call ‘real’… and that our main purpose is to acquire things”—and prescribes its antidote as a path of self-discovery that revolves around authenticity and love. Won explores the practice of manifesting, the importance of journaling, and how "being honest with ourselves" can lead to true bliss.

As Won shares personal anecdotes and his own struggles with being seen, being true to himself, and finding happiness, he provides actionable steps to aid readers in pursuing their own abundant lives. "By deciding to move from using our ego to one of authenticity, we give up the unnecessary struggle," Won writes, explaining that, by existing in the ego, most people focus entirely too much on fears of failure and rejection, struggling to escape their own head and getting bogged down by internalizing what others think of them. He also delves into the conscious, subconscious, and superconscious, explaining how all three areas of the mind "influence our actions and outcome in the manifestation process."

The material is often abstract and complex, as Won touches on themes that include grief and death, finances, authenticity, and more, but he capably breaks down even the most perplexing topics in language that simplifies while it enlightens. At the end of each chapter, Won includes questions to help readers explore, through journaling and self-reflection, how his guidance can be personalized. For readers intrigued by the metaphysical, Won provides the steps to discover their path to happiness and the tools to meet the challenges of the road ahead.

Takeaway: Inspiration to move away from the ego and into love.

Comparable Titles: Don Miguel Ruiz's The Four Agreements, Vex King's Things No One Taught Us About Love.

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

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This searching, exhaustive memoir from Bodnarczuk (founder and executive director of the Breckenridge Institute and author of Diving In) centers on a tragic loss: the 2021 death of 18-year-old son Thomas after taking a counterfeit Xanax purchased over Snapchat and containing fentanyl. Bodnarczuk’s account digs deep into how he and his wife, coauthor Elin I. Larson, faced “the black hole of the early days of the grieving process” and then the next two years, which found the couple “transitioning from our old reality and identity as a family of three to our new reality and identity as a family of two.” Facing every parent’s nightmare, Bodnarczuk, a Christian seeker deeply invested in Jungian psychology and dream study, documents the wrenching challenge of living in the aftermath, from practical concerns like arraignments and autopsies—the couple strives to forgive the young man who sold Thomas the pill—and moving from California to Colorado. Just as pressing: deep spiritual considerations like how to hold to the presence of Thomas in their lives, despite his physical absence.

Bodnarczuk writes with touching precision of Thomas, an Eagle Scout and “edgy iconoclast who stood apart from many societal expectations and exhibited an unconventional type of wisdom.” Thomas shared his parents’ questing spirit, asking hard questions of the world—his “doubts,” Bodnarczuk notes, “[lived] side by side with his faith in God.” Bodnarczuk plunges into hard questions himself, exploring with tender frankness why Thomas would have purchased Xanax illegally—and digging into Thomas’s adolescent nightmares, from years before, of being hunted by a cloaked figure.

Recalling those disturbing visions leads Bodnarczuk deep into spiritual, Jungian, and Christian analysis. As Bodnarczuk stares down the hardest questions of all—why?—the pages pulse with a real spiritual struggle, described with rare frankness and clarity, worked through by a thinker who never professes to have all of the answers but whose hard-won insights, in the end, will offer comfort to other believers facing losses that might seem unendurable.

Takeaway: Searching, spiritual memoir of parents’ loss of a child, steeped in Jung and dreams.

Comparable Titles: Timothy Keller’s Forgive, Verena Kast’s Time to Mourn.

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

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The third volume of Tabler’s celebration of The First State and its history moves from the late 19th century to what Tabler calls the “E-era,” charting the building of skyscrapers, highways (envisioned as early as 1911 by T. Coleman du Pont), and a leading edge in the development of the world’s digital present and future. As always, Tabler includes surprises (Neil Armstrong “took mankind’s first steps on the moon in a Delaware-designed and manufactured space suit”), like his delightful look at the rise and fall of the reputation among the upper crust of the Reedbird, a native of Delaware that “has been viewed through three lenses” across history: as a juicy delicacy, then a pest, and finally “as a fragile species warranting legal protection.” Its fall from grace as an epicurean event and fashionable accoutrement is captured by this turn-of-the-century dismissal from a newspaper columnist: “The up-to-date girl has finished with the toothsome reedbird and asks now for a stuffed partridge.”

Striking details like that abound, as in Tabler’s online writing and previous volumes as he sweeps across the history. This volume covers DuPont chemist Wallace Hume Carothers’s invention of nylon, educational activist Martha G. Bachman’s life-long campaign to improve and extend vocational education opportunities, and the founding of the Delaware Art Museum, originally conceived of as a one-time 1912 event to honor the work of “the recently deceased ‘father of illustration’” Howard Pyle and his proteges. Tabler also digs into the local impact of the Suffragist and Civil Rights movements, the World Wars, Prohibition—the Coast Guard was ill-equipped to deal with rum runners—and more.

Tabler closes with a look at the internet age, making a compelling case for the central role played in its development by three students from the University of Delaware. The result is an engaging, entertaining, warmly inclusive, and occasionally playful history with style and verve.

Takeaway: Engaging, highly illustrated guide to Delaware history from the 20th century on.

Comparable Titles: John Riley’s Delaware Eyewitness, Kennard R. Wiggins’s Delaware in World War I.

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

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Flade’s fifth installment in her Philly Heat series (after Beautiful Dangerous) pits two main characters against their deepest fears, transporting readers on a dark journey into the chaos of a serial killer. Sadie Potter is a sculptor and part-time forensic artist working with law enforcement. Her rich life is filled with work and friends, until FBI Special Supervisory Agent Noah Danes—who Sadie last saw at the sentencing of her mother’s murderer—comes racing back in, hot on the heels of a serial killer known as the Beltway Romeo.

True to the genre, Flade fills this novel with dark turns and grim emotion, as Noah, a talented instructor for the next generation of FBI Academy cadets, tosses and turns at night over the eight female victims in his latest case—with a possible ninth waiting to be confirmed. He’s both anxious and excited to be back in Sadie’s life, divulging to her that while “you were working through tragedy and grief… I was bathing in it,” and the heat between the two is often shadowed by their intense emotional burdens. When Sadie’s brutally attacked in Maryland, and left alive with a message for the FBI, Noah’s fears reach a fever pitch. What follows is a shocking tangle of emotion, bureaucracy, and scattered clues, all seemingly leading the team in circles as they race to prevent further death.

Accessible characters and smart narration smooth the way for readers to immerse themselves in this intricately knotty world of law enforcement, victimology, and trauma recovery. The alternating viewpoints of the main characters offer in-depth windows into complicated psyches, though the Beltway Romeo feels oversimplified, lacking in depth and nuance. Familiar faces from previous stories in the series crop up as well, but Sadie and Noah take center stage. Readers will find plenty of psychological thrills here to satisfy.

Takeaway: Dark emotional ride into a serial killer’s chaos.

Comparable Titles: Sharon Sala’s Bloodlines, Patricia Potter’s Cold Target.

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

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Sjoquist’s fiction debut delineates the life of shy, quiet Beijinger Shuyuan—her anxieties, challenges, and sorrows. On her maternal side, Shuyuan’s people belong to the marginalized minority Hui community; her father, Zhong Lai, works for a struggling government construction company, prompting strained financial circumstances for the family, as Shuyuan’s mother maintains only a part time job. Shuyuan struggles with self-doubt, resentment over her family’s poverty, and sadness at her low grades—that preclude her from a position at her coveted senior middle school—but her friends, Wei Wen Ho and Wu Yu, help stem the tide of her angst.

Sjoquist paints an empathetic portrait of an intriguing Chinese family, held up by their rigid value systems and customs, struggling to carve out a life for themselves. As Shuyuan bridles against the thought of living in poverty like her parents, she fights the balance of wanting peace—or “break[ing] the cycle and mak[ing] something of herself.” Shuyuan craves acceptance and approval from her parents, but in China, praise is not easily bestowed, stoking Shuyuan’s jealousy of her successful cousin, Chen Lei, and transforming her into an entirely relatable character.

Beijing’s descriptions are vividly wrought in Sjoquist’s capable hands—the Summer Palace, savory kebabs and juicy striped watermelons, the sun beating through the side streets—and Shuyuan’s outings with Wu Yu and Wei Wen Ho demonstrate the deep bonds of friendship and camaraderie shared by the three. Shuyuan’s interest in learning English, and the efforts of her teacher to shore up Shuyuan’s confidence, are well-delineated, as are her efforts to live carefree, if only for a moment, instead of just battling to survive. Readers will find this an informative peek into the lives of not-so-privileged Chinese children, a reflection on the fight to discover meaning while plodding through the lost innocence that comes with growing older.

Takeaway: Moving story of Beijing teenager fighting for meaning and purpose.

Comparable Titles: Ann Liang’s If You Could See the Sun, Wang Gang’s English.

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

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Reed offers a thought-provoking exploration of familial expectations, sibling rivalry, and the pursuit of personal fulfillment, set against the backdrop of a North Woods arts commune, where the complex relationship between two brothers is shaped by their father’s demanding legacy. Stone Hunnicutt, a flashy, accomplished lawyer, and his younger brother Ted, a literary genius with one acclaimed novel under his belt, are at odds—but Ted, now living in a commune with his girlfriend, needs money, prompting Stone, who muses at “how much he actually like[s] his brother and how little he [understands] him” to visit, despite his hesitancy.

Reed (author of Free Spirits) masterfully crafts Stone and Ted’s characters, presenting a stark contrast between the dutiful, successful lawyer and the once-promising novelist turned commune dweller. Keen insight into family dynamics shines throughout, as Reed unravels the impact of their father's Olympic-inspired motto—“Citius. Altius. Fortius, Scitius… Faster. Higher. Stronger. Smarter”—on the family’s lives and choices. Most compelling is Reed’s portrayal of the women in Stone and Ted’s lives, as they help the brothers confront and ultimately overcome the lasting effects of their father’s very conditional love, an exploration of healing and growth that adds a hopeful dimension to the novel.

The pacing occasionally slows during introspective moments, but Reed’s narrative remains engaging. As Stone muses that his relationship with Ted is “happenstance… [a] biologic accident,” and Ted refuels his writing off the fumes of their volatile relationship, Stone also reflects on how two brothers, raised the same way, could experience such different outcomes. They eventually find common ground in contemplating their father’s implausible expectations, and Reed wryly observes that they’ve both internalized the belief that “you can’t lose if you don’t play [and] if you don’t play, you won’t win.” This will intrigue readers who appreciate literary fiction that plumbs family dynamics, personal growth, and the tension between ambition and authenticity.

Takeaway: Touching novel of brothers, art, healing, and measuring up to impossible expectations.

Comparable Titles: Ann Patchett's The Dutch House, Lauren Groff’s Arcadia.

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

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Wynter supports women stepping into their power and confidence in leadership roles in this expansive debut, through her own “DIVA” method—an “internal coach that guides you to your most resourceful state, where self-doubt loses its power.” From visualization activities to recognizing self-sabotaging patterns, Wynter highlights how women can channel the DIVA method to secure leadership positions and “drive the positive change we’ve been waiting for others to champion.” The guide is brimming with hands-on exercises, each designed to help readers apply Wynter’s inspiring advice in their own professional and personal lives.

Wynter’s 20 years as a corporate HR leader—and experience as an executive coach—have afforded her a unique perspective, and she uses that perspective to advocate for women’s success in a male-dominated industry. But Wynter doesn’t stop there; she also provides actionable steps for men in management roles to cultivate leadership achievements for women within their corporations, arguing that gender equality will only be gained through “partnership[s] with men.” She maps out strategies for overcoming fear, emphasizes the importance of accountability, and teaches women to seize their power and readjust their mindset and expectations, through tools such as her "6a Spiritual Practice for Courageous Women,” a daily exercise focused on six steps—abiding, awareness, appreciation, affirmation, action, and applause—to securing success.

"Dismantling an oppressive system is both an internal mindset endeavor as well as an external systemic and culture work," Wynter explains, and her advice can be applied outside of the workforce as well, to "liv[e] a life imbued with purposeful power." She packs the guide with real life examples, many of them culled from her own “gender-aware transformational coaching,” and readers will find her pointers as sensible as they are easy to follow. For women eager to take control of their road to career success—and men ready to insist on gender equality—this is a must read.

Takeaway: Inspiring resource for women to achieve career success.

Comparable Titles: Lisa Nichols's Abundance Now, Elizabeth Leiba's I’m Not Yelling.

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

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Noting how contemporary life can turn “the self-assured into self-doubter,” Nihalani (author of Whispers of Worth) delves deep into the centuries-old question of what self-esteem is, how this “deepest sense of who we are” is formed, and how to nurture growth and in some cases survival. “The only way to build self-worth is through our actions,” Nihalani argues, making the case through vignettes of people who succeeded or were able to overcome self-doubt and blows to their sense of self, whether cultural, professional, or social. Nihalani centers Indian culture in her examples, analysis, and practical guidance. Along with selfie culture, imposter syndrome, and other hot-button topics, Nihalani explores the impact of the caste system, the tradition of respect for elders seen as faultless, and a work culture where “bosses are treated with a kind of reverence”—so much so that even an erroneous criticism from a boss can “can undermine our sense of self.”

Nihalani pulls from various research and well documents her resources at the end of each chapter, to explore how lack of self-esteem makes individuals vulnerable to the judgments of others, especially in the era of social media. People tend only to post the best parts of their lives, Nihalani notes, which can lead others to see their own existence as inadequate. She explores bullying and micro-aggressions, the impact of fashion on one’s perceived value, and the sharp distinctions between how success is measured for women versus men.

With an inviting tone, incisive insights, and a wealth of practical takeaways and hard-won advice, Nihalani encourages accepting one’s flaws and imperfections and not running from bad feelings but not dwelling on them, either—feel them and move on, she advises. Other choice suggestions: use the cognitive dissonance that occurs when behavior does not match beliefs as a motivator for change, and that self-managing time spent on social media helps recalibrate how people see themselves in reality.

Takeaway: Encouraging guide to nurturing healthy self-esteem in the social-media age.

Comparable Titles: Kim Dabbs’s You Belong Here, Corey Keyes’s Languishing.

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

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Bhan’s touching debut children’s story finds infant Molu spending the day with his grandfather, Naanu. Though Molu is just eight months old, he and his grandfather have their own special way of communicating and enjoying each other's company during their playtime. When Naanu’s beard scratches Molu’s face, Naanu quickly shaves it off, prompting a slobbery kiss and happy “Aghaa” from Molu, and when Molu refuses to eat, Naanu wisely distracts him with a cherished picture book. From changing diapers to snack time to story time, Molu and Naanu enjoy a full day of bonding.

Adult readers will treasure Molu and Naanu’s extraordinary connection, and Sathomi Ekanayake’s warm illustrations highlight the different ways that babies bond with their family members. Naanu’s daily caretaking tasks—changing diapers, feeding, and tucking Molu in for a nap—are vividly rendered, their joy and love painting an inspiring narrative, and Ekanayake portrays Molu’s emotions in lifelike, heartwarming detail. Even the pair’s cuddle time during their afternoon rest is adorable, as Molu’s mother and grandmother return from their day to find “their two favorite boys cuddled together in a beautiful, peaceful slumber.”

Bhan’s celebration of the attachment between baby and grandparent is a powerful message, one that will resonate with readers of any age and leave them eager for more adventures with Molu and Naanu. From magic tricks at nap time (including lullabies and a favorite pillow) to rousing games of peekaboo, Naanu truly is a champion grandfather, able to play, comfort, and safeguard Molu at every turn. Goodbye, when it comes, is heartrending, but Naanu once again saves the day by gifting Molu his own toy dog for the ride home. This is the perfect introduction to the memorable moments young ones and family members can create during their quality time together, and Bhan’s tender message of family love is universally appealing.

Takeaway: Touching tribute to the bond between an infant and his grandfather.

Comparable Titles: Jean Reagan's How to Babysit Grandpa, Anne Bowen's When You Visit Grandma & Grandpa.

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

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This moving collection by Silman (author of Blood Relations) sifts the intricacies of marriage, parenthood, and family, each played out against an omnipresent shadow of death. Beginning with "Here We Go Again, Alice," Silman plunges into protagonist Joe's overwhelmed psyche upon discovering his impending fatherhood, closely examining his preoccupations—the sight of children on the street, the lingering trauma of his sister's untimely death when they were young, and the burden of secrets he has never shared with his wife. Joe’s inner turmoil sets the stage for a theme that reverberates throughout the collection: the wordless, often unspoken fears and sorrows that barely escape our emotional armature.

Silman eschews grandiose plot twists in favor of more subtle exploration of the natural ebb and flow of family. In the collection’s titular story, readers glimpse the changes that Laura undergoes—a daughter who fears for her dying father, an admirer of her mother’s newfound determination to conquer old phobias, a parent who permits herself to be comforted by her daughter’s wisdom. In other stories, Silman dismantles the illusion of marital transparency, revealing how even the most intimate of relationships fluctuate. “On the Way to Courmayeur” finds a married woman wondering how she and her husband remain “very close, yet with each passing year he becomes more and more mysterious,” while “Scent of Lilacs” follows Dinah as she contemplates “the range of feelings [and] the highs and lows” of marriage to her now deceased husband, Daniel.

Through vignettes of her remarkable leads, Silman brings out the mundane moments that define a life—family vacations, befriending neighbors, coping with divorce, and building a new life after widowhood. These stories, conveyed with tenderness and compelling insight, resonate for their foundation in the ordinary, mirroring life’s fears, hopes, and silent struggles. Silman navigates the core of being human, with an authentic, captivating message—to hold out for love in the end.

Takeaway: Tender stories probing the intricacies of relationships, family life, and love.

Comparable Titles: Raymond Carver's What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Alice Munro's Life.

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

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The Gershfields’ candid memoir centers on 90-year-old Toby Gershfield’s quaint childhood in the 1930s and ‘40s as a young girl in rural Rainy River, Ontario, where her family was the only Jewish family in town. After leaving Lithuania “soon after the Pogroms in the early 1900’s,” Toby’s grandparents and parents settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba, dubbed “the Jerusalem of Canada” due to its thriving Jewish community. There, Toby’s grandfather grew to be a prominent rabbi in the city and nation as a whole. Toby’s father, meanwhile, sought a position as a dentist in Winnipeg, but none were available, so he had to search further afield.

Further afield led him to Rainy River, a town of 1,000 residents that existed to serve the railroad and railroad workers who passed through on a cross-country train. As the only Jewish family there, the Helmans could not access Kosher foods and supplies, synagogues, or Jewish community in general; such was their isolation that when a circus came into town with a Jewish owner, they invited him over for dinner just to spend time with someone familiar with the culture. Despite the challenges, the Helmans made a home there, and Toby learned that she was “able to remain true to my Jewish roots in spite of living in a non-Jewish world.”

Some rough pencil sketches punctuate the Gershfields’ memoir, suggesting the drawings elementary-school Toby might have made in 1940. Her volume of recollections, co-written with her son James, is idyllic, nostalgic, and illuminating of its time and place, capturing the texture of life as it was lived and a family and community as they held firm to themselves and flourished. Striking details abound: about winters with only a wood-burning stove for heat, about studying Torah in girls-only classes in Winnipeg; the surprise terror of first spotting the Northern Lights on a Halloween night in Rainy River. The memories are connected by theme more than narrative structure, but readers fascinated by the milieu will find welcome additions to the historical record.

Takeaway: Slice-of-life memoir of a Jewish upbringing in rural Ontario in the 1930s

Comparable Titles: Helen Wald­stein Wilkes’s Letters From the Lost, Allen Levine’s Seeking the Fabled City.

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

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Altman (author of We Never Told) delivers an eclectic collection exploring the nuances and strangeness of everyday life, the sharp immediate dramas that explode from tense situations. She balances hefty character drama—the weighty “Unwanted Babies,” where a pregnant teenager is forced to give her baby up at birth, only to spend her entire life searching for her lost daughter—with the whimsical, as in “Itty Bitty Betsy” chronicling the life of a petite purse secretary, meant to help women with their untidy purses. Even the most seasoned reader will find moments of surprise and tenderness in this collection.

The collection flits between time periods, heavy with hints of nostalgia and sentiment. The titular story recounts youthful romance amid the changing social code of the 1960s, while “Receptions with the Poet” paints an atmospheric portrait of an English professor and student who find themselves pushed together, pulled apart, and then drawn together again at a reading by Robert Lowell. Altman probes the depths of intensity under a cover of lighthearted humor as well, as in “A Night at the BSS” (Battered Snorers Society), where a group of snorers swap stories of frustration in a repurposed ballet studio, only for the night to descend into violent chaos.

Altman’s prose is both acerbic and poignant, flaunting sharp turns of phrase—“I began to notice Jesus everywhere at the shelter. Sometimes it felt as if I’d fallen into a passion play in which half the players were saviors and the other half in need of saving”—and tightly woven dialogue to keep readers invested. As in the fish-out-of-water protagonist in “A Little Jew at the Farm,” who finds her footing as she tends to animals in the Catskills, Altman’s stories are touching, each a delicate study on the foibles and fears that make us human.

Takeaway: Scintillating collection that probes the intense dramas of everyday life.

Comparable Titles: Mira Sethi’s Are You Enjoying?, Ottessa Moshfegh’s Homesick for Another World.

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

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Gallagher’s debut memoir interweaves social, political, and cultural events from her life into a broader context of her own search for meaning, as she ponders why stories are crucial to “the continuous flow of Earth’s living process.” Her portrayal of childhood is relayed in nostalgic vignettes, reflecting on the early experiences that shaped her inner consciousness, including her toddler drive to “move incessantly,” a mother’s trust in her daughter’s innate passion for life, and soothing, cherished bonds with her family of origin.

Painted with rich, evocative details, Gallagher’s narrative swiftly transports readers into the past, in lively scenes of political intrigue and sociocultural upheaval. She probes the impacts of Senator McCarthy’s hearings on her family and the United States, her suffragette grandmother’s fight for equal voting rights, and her own introduction to God in early life Quaker meetings, using those experiences as jumping off points for the “power of cultural stories… [that sustain] the life of the emotional resonance the story elicits across generations.” But Gallagher dives beyond her own story as well, interacting with science, culture, and the environment in her examination of modernism, climate change, and more.

Readers eager to experience the fabric of American life, especially through the 1950s and ‘60s, will find plenty that resonates here, as Gallagher skillfully humanizes history by embedding well-known events—from Vietnam War protests to the chemical development of DDT to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech—into her personal story. She introduces engaging ideas from a variety of intellectuals as well, smoothly transitioning from concepts of mindfulness and healing to biological evolution and the interconnectedness of life on Earth. Ultimately, this is a compelling glimpse into what it means to be alive, a study on “the creative force igniting all living” that arises “when words in the form of thoughts have quieted enough for the silent, wise knowing beneath them to emerge.”

Takeaway: Introspective memoir reflecting on the power of stories amid sociocultural upheaval.

Comparable Titles: Carolyn Forché’s What You Have Heard Is True, Stephen E. Smith’s The Year We Danced.

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

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Nichols kicks off the Chronicles of Eridul series with this spirited adventure following 16-year-old Cassie Cole in her first semester at the Governor’s School for the Arts at Walnut Grove, or “Walgrove,” as its students affectionately call it. Cassie, a scholarship student devoted to painting, drawing, and sculpting … all wonderful things that no one seemed to appreciate anymore,” bristles against Walgrove’s traditions and old-fashioned, upper-class student body. Meanwhile, students across disciplines start disappearing, the cases linked only by music from the semester’s theater production and a mural that suspiciously resembles the cold, fantastical world that Cassie travels to in her dreams—a world where the drawings she creates manifest as if real. It soon becomes obvious that this other world isn’t just real but dangerous, with mysterious beings lurking and even crossing over to the other side.

At Walgrove, “art is literally magic… for those who know how to wield it,” a twist on the boarding-school fantasy formula, though fans of the subgenre’s classics, including Harry Potter, will find Walgrove in many ways familiar. The unique student vocabulary (such as the pejorative “Judy” for scholarship students), the House system sorting by discipline, and “Jalaw,” the school’s specialty sport, all take cues from Hogwarts, with a 21st century update. The freshest innovation: the student’s artistic talents literally make magic, from casting charms with makeup to opening otherworldly portals by singing, and the professors aim to take advantage.

Cassie is a strong underdog protagonist, and her struggles to find acceptance at a strange new school are relatable. Her new friends form a cast of likable oddballs whose quirk and chatter proves inviting and amusing, and Nichols understands that the secret spice elevating the best magic-school and portal-fantasy adventures is rich, sometimes unexpected friendships. The narrator’s focus often jumps between Cassie and multiple other cast members, which at times can be disorienting. The theme of “art as magic” builds considerable intrigue, especially in the early chapters, and readers will likely hope for more in later volumes.

Takeaway: Lively art-themed magic-school fantasy about finding one’s place and talents.

Comparable Titles: Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education, DIane Duane’s Young Wizards series.

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

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Woodman delivers a gripping exploration of war's unending shadow through the lives of two men from opposite sides of global history: Nick Mitchel, a veteran mourning his wife’s death from cancer, and Junichi Takahashi, a World War II survivor grappling with his father’s recent demise. When their respective losses lead them both to the Pacific lagoon known as Truk—a vacation spot for divers that once had been a major Japanese naval base and a theater of much terror and sorrow—a fated encounter between the men forces each to confront the brutal reality of their conflicted pasts. "When does a war actually end?" Nick asks, pondering the perpetual conflict that blurs the lines between the oppressor and the oppressed.

For Nick, Japan was the aggressor. For Junichi, though, his family was undeserving of the hell they endured at the hands of America. Woodman excels in portraying the psychological toll of war when Junichi realizes the possible involvement of Nick in the bombing of his father's ship decades ago, and neither can bring himself to cast the blame aside. Through heart-wrenching narration of Nick's nightmares and haunting visions of his dead comrades during his dives to shipwrecks, Woodman deftly captures the moral dilemmas and guilt that so often follow a confrontation with the long-term impact of our actions, avoiding common pitfalls of romanticizing and dehumanizing soldiers' experiences. "That's the way all wars are fought, by brave, naive young people who don't know what they are doing, but follow orders well."

While the lengthy dialogues at times feel contrived—characters often become overly confessional in their war experiences—the novel offers rich historical insights on the attack on Truk in particular but also, more broadly, the overlooked reality of the costs of war. Trauma lingers, hate perpetuates, soldiers are shell-shocked, bodies are often unrecovered, and survivors are displaced and deprived of food and shelter. Woodman’s empathy and insight will move readers to tears.

Takeaway: A war veteran and a war survivor seek closure from WWII's attack on Truk.

Comparable Titles: Jess Wright’s A Stream to Follow, Gail Tsukiyama’s The Street of a Thousand Blossoms.

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

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Leung continues the Adventures of Princess Ramele and Prince Peter series in this enchanting second adventure, which finds the heroes embarking on an underwater quest with wizards, knights, fairies, and merpeople. When the young sea dragon Ryoya and his sister, Hoshiko, are poisoned by polluted sea water, their mother's rage over her children's brush with death stirs a cataclysmic tsunami around the land of Porqueh. With the aid of the wizard, Mervyn, and the newest merguide, Clarissa, Ramele and Peter are tasked with finding the ingredients to a magical recipe that will heal both the sea dragons, Ryoya and Hoshiko. But how to obtain such fantastical items as a song from a dolphin, a snippet of a rain cloud, and a drop of hot lava from an active volcano?

As that quest suggests, Leung writes imaginative, playful fantasy that emphasizes clever character and even some educational elements—readers will pick up knowledge about volcanoes and ocean life. As the young royals plunge into an aquatic world of supernatural creatures, Leung employs a fluctuating timeline to explore the perspectives of all the main players, building tension and mystery as everyone tries to piece together what is causing the volatile disturbance in the sea. The world building and character development is magical, and young readers will enjoy how each character has a unique strength that pushes the plot forward in imaginative ways. Also inviting: the crisp, brisk, prose and chapter-heading images reminiscent of stained glass.

Through friendship and heroic rescues, this adventure tackles environmental issues and the importance of diversity and working together as a community, all without slowing narrative momentum. These resonant themes, in Leung’s deft hands, are like buried gems, waiting to be discovered—what stands out most, here, is the author and characters’ love of storytelling itself. This will delight fans of friendly fantasy fun with magic and an ensemble cast of supernatural beings.

Takeaway: Fun, fantastical adventure filled with mermaids, fairies, and sea dragons.

Comparable Titles: Clare Harlow's Tide Magic, A.M. Luzzader’s A Mermaid in Middle Grade.

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

Click here for more about The Adventures of Princess Ramele and Prince Peter, Vol. 2