Recommended Reads

A warm and wry family drama with a magical twist about four generations of Black women living under one roof and the family curse that stems back to a Voodoo shop in 1950s New Orleans



"Propulsive and poignant, Black Candle Women concocts an intoxicating potion of warmth, wisdom, and wonder." --Ava DuVernay



Generations of Montrose women--Augusta, Victoria, Willow--have lived together in their quaint two-story bungalow in California for years. They keep to themselves, never venture far from home, and their collection of tinctures and spells is an unspoken bond between them.



But when seventeen-year-old Nickie Montrose brings home a boy for the first time, their quiet lives are thrown into disarray. For the other women have been withholding a secret from Nickie that will end her relationship before it's even begun: the decades-old family curse that any person they fall in love with dies.



Their surprise guest forces each woman to reckon with her own past choices and mistakes. And as new truths about the curse emerge, the family is set on a collision course dating back to a Voodoo shop in 1950s New Orleans's French Quarter--where a hidden story in a mysterious book may just hold the answers they seek in life and in love...



"Richly imagined and elegantly told, with plenty of satisfying secrets, heartaches, and twists."

--Sadeqa Johnson, international bestselling author of Yellow Wife and The House of Eve

For fans of The Rose Code and The Paris Library, The Librarian of Burned Books is a captivating WWII-era novel about the intertwined fates of three women who believe in the power of books to triumph over the very darkest moments of war.

 

 

Berlin 1933. Following the success of her debut novel, American writer Althea James receives an invitation from Joseph Goebbels himself to participate in a culture exchange program in Germany. For a girl from a small town in Maine, 1933 Berlin seems to be sparklingly cosmopolitan, blossoming in the midst of a great change with the charismatic new chancellor at the helm. Then Althea meets a beautiful woman who promises to show her the real Berlin, and soon she's drawn into a group of resisters who make her question everything she knows about her hosts--and herself.

 

 

Paris 1936. She may have escaped Berlin for Paris, but Hannah Brecht discovers the City of Light is no refuge from the anti-Semitism and Nazi sympathizers she thought she left behind. Heartbroken and tormented by the role she played in the betrayal that destroyed her family, Hannah throws herself into her work at the German Library of Burned Books. Through the quiet power of books, she believes she can help counter the tide of fascism she sees rising across Europe and atone for her mistakes. But when a dear friend decides actions will speak louder than words, Hannah must decide what stories she is willing to live--or die--for.

New York 1944. Since her husband Edward was killed fighting the Nazis, Vivian Childs has been waging her own war: preventing a powerful senator's attempts to censor the Armed Service Editions, portable paperbacks that are shipped by the millions to soldiers overseas. Viv knows just how much they mean to the men through the letters she receives--including the last one she got from Edward. She also knows the only way to win this battle is to counter the senator's propaganda with a story of her own--at the heart of which lies the reclusive and mysterious woman tending the American Library of Nazi-Banned Books in Brooklyn.

As Viv unknowingly brings her censorship fight crashing into the secrets of the recent past, the fates of these three women will converge, changing all of them forever.

Inspired by the true story of the Council of Books in Wartime--the WWII organization founded by booksellers, publishers, librarians, and authors to use books as "weapons in the war of ideas"--The Librarian of Burned Books is an unforgettable historical novel, a haunting love story, and a testament to the beauty, power, and goodness of the written word.

Imagine waking to a world where every last human has been mysteriously turned to stone...

One fateful day, all of humanity turned to stone. Many millennia later, Taiju frees himself from the petrification and finds himself surrounded by statues. The situation looks grim—until he runs into his science-loving friend Senku! Together they plan to restart civilization with the power of science!

One fateful day, all of humanity was petrified by a blinding flash of light. After several millennia, high schooler Taiju awakens and finds himself lost in a world of statues. However, he’s not alone! His science-loving friend Senku’s been up and running for a few months and he's got a grand plan in mind—to kickstart civilization with the power of science!

In this charming and full-color LGBT+ graphic novel first released as a webcomic, a fairy godfather and a beast man raise a human baby together.

A human child abandoned in the woods is discovered by an unlikely pair: Razzmatazz, a fairy godfather, and Bon, a beast man. After quarreling over the best way to handle the child, they finally agree to co-parent in the human world--for now, at least. What the two men don't expect is this little arrangement will push them to discover more about themselves...and more about each other, which might result in love. In this charming LGBT+ romcom, one "temporary" magical family might just become real!

A book from the Seven Seas + Hiveworks label.

For teenage Aella, growing up is hard. Even harderwhen you find out that you're the reincarnation of an ancient sea serpent that'sdestined to destroy the world, in a graphic novel trilogy from acclaimedcreators Mairghread Scott and PabloTunica.

THE END OF THE WORLD ISCOMING.

For Aella, life on Kinamen Isle isone of boredom. Spending her days fishing and minding her aunts, she dreams oflife beyond the horizon.

Everything changes,however, when she awakens an ancient evil within herself as it's revealed thatshe's the reincarnation of Xir, the serpent that almost destroyed the world.Worse yet, a fanatical religious organization has arrived on Kinamen Isle insearch of Xir.

As Aella is forced to fightfor her life, she'll discover that her entire world is not what it seems. Heraunts know more than they let on and what exactly does the infamous Pirate Queenwant with Aella?

From the team of MairghreadScott (Star Wars: Resistance, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Pablo Tunica (TMNTUniverse) comes an extraordinary tale of growing up and changing yourfate.
 

A People magazine Best Book of Fall 2019
An Amazon Best Young Adult Book of 2019
"F***ing outstanding."--Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author

Juliet Milagros Palante is a self-proclaimed closeted Puerto Rican baby dyke from the Bronx. Only, she's not so closeted anymore. Not after coming out to her family the night before flying to Portland, Oregon, to intern with her favorite feminist writer--what's sure to be a life-changing experience. And when Juliet's coming out crashes and burns, she's not sure her mom will ever speak to her again.

But Juliet has a plan--sort of. Her internship with legendary author Harlowe Brisbane, the ultimate authority on feminism, women's bodies, and other gay-sounding stuff, is sure to help her figure out this whole "Puerto Rican lesbian" thing. Except Harlowe's white. And not from the Bronx. And she definitely doesn't have all the answers . . .

In a summer bursting with queer brown dance parties, a sexy fling with a motorcycling librarian, and intense explorations of race and identity, Juliet learns what it means to come out--to the world, to her family, to herself.

When his younger siblings and parents begin to irritate him on vacation, Jordan tries to get some space. But instead of wandering around the museum, he finds himself dropped in a fantasy world of magic where he can finally have some fun and train to become a knight. Except Prince Astel and Sir Griffith are about to uncover a sinister secret kept hidden by the queen that’ll thrust Jordan in the middle of a magical battle he never could have anticipated. Join writer Kate Sheridan (Flash Gordon, Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake) and artist Gaia Cardinali (Disney Mulan’s Adventure Journal: The Palace of Secrets) on Jordan’s epic fantasy adventure that’ll test how much he really wants to get home.

A full-color companion book for fans of Alice Oseman's bestselling Heartstopper series.

Now streaming on Netflix!

 

The Heartstopper Yearbook is packed full of exclusive content from the Heartstopper universe: never-before-seen illustrations, an exclusive minicomic, character profiles, trivia, and insight into Alice Oseman's creative process, narrated by a cartoon version of Alice herself. In full-color for the first time, this companion book is perfect for fans of Heartstopper!

Daphne Walters moves to Los Angeles and finds that the only ones who can help her find love and live life to the fullest are the ghosts of her new home!

In Los Angeles, finding an apartment is killer—unless you live with the dead. Daphne Walters moves to Los Angeles for her boyfriend Ronnie, ready to live her happily ever after. But when happily ever after turns into happily for a month, she’s stuck in a strange city with no friends, family, or prospects for fun. Desperate to escape the lingering ghost of Ronnie’s presence everywhere, Daphne sets out to explore the city—and ends up encountering ghosts of a more literal kind! Rycroft Manor is abandoned, beautiful, and haunted. Will the dead be able to help Daphne find the life she’s been missing in the big city? From GLAAD Award-nominated Sina Grace (Iceman) and illustrator Siobhan Keenan (Jem and the Holograms) comes a story about learning how to make friends, find love, and live life to the fullest with a little help from some friends whose lives didn't end at death. Collects Ghosted In L.A #1-4.

Set in 2005, this gorgeously illustrated, funny, and honest graphic novel follows four teens who stumble into an illicit anime DVD-burning business that shakes up their conservative small town…and their friendship.

When Brooke, Kelly, Maggie, and Melissa buy a bootleg anime DVD at a gas station, they get much more than they bargained for with Super Love XL, a risqué move featuring—among other things—a giant mecha who shoots lasers out of her chest. The four girls are horrified (and maybe a little fascinated). It’s so unlike anything they’ve seen, would probably shock everyone else in their town, and definitely would take over their extremely conservative Christian school. That’s when they have the idea to sell copies to local boys…for twenty dollars a pop.

At first, everything goes perfectly, with the friends raking in cash—pretty soon they’ll even have enough money to buy the matching jackets they’ve always dreamed of! But as the market for mildly titillating anime DVDs grows, the girls realize they’ll need new material. On top of figuring out how to replicate their first success, there’s growing tension within the group. Brooke and Kelly’s romance is on its last legs, and hurt feelings are guaranteed when Melissa starts falling for one of them.

Will the four girls’ shared history be strong enough to see them through this upheaval? Or will they learn that some things can only end in heartbreak?

A covert team of young women--members of the Curie society, an elite organization dedicated to women in STEM--undertake high-stakes missions to save the world. A selection of the 2022 Hal Clement Notable Young Adult Books List from the American Library Association.
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Created by: Heather Einhorn & Adam Staffaroni; Writer: Janet Harvey; Artist: Sonia Liao; Editor: Joan Hilty

An action-adventure original graphic novel, The Curie Society follows a team of young women recruited by an elite secret society--originally founded by Marie Curie--with the mission of supporting the most brilliant female scientists in the world. The heroines of the Curie Society use their smarts, gumption, and cutting-edge technology to protect the world from rogue scientists with nefarious plans. Readers can follow recruits Simone, Taj, and Maya as they decipher secret codes, clone extinct animals, develop autonomous robots, and go on high-stakes missions.

A 2022 Junior Library Guild Selection!

 

Book Riot "12 Best Graphic Novels and Comics of 2022" List

 

IGN "Best Comic Book Series or Graphic Novel of 2022" Nominee

 

 

"Tillie Walden is the future. Her boldly authentic voice brings new heights to the world of The Walking Dead. I couldn't be more proud of what she's doing with this series." --Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Invincible)

 

 

"CLEMENTINE is an arresting exploration of trauma, community, and hope, devastatingly rendered in Tillie Walden's signature style. A triumph of the zombie genre."--Shannon Watters (Lumberjanes)

 

 

"With CLEMENTINE, beloved cartoonist Tillie Walden blows open the WALKING DEAD universe with a story full of blossoming relationships in the shadow of wintery death. It's ominous and magical and will have you craving more when the final page turns." --Chip Zdarsky (Daredevil, Stillwater)

 

 

"CLEMENTINE brings its own distinct voice, style, and sensibility to the Walking Dead universe, which is quite a feat on its own. On top of that, it's an exquisitely drawn story about how to survive trauma and find strength in ourselves and others." --Kelly Sue DeConnick (Pretty Deadly, Captain Marvel)

 

 

"Walden's knack for character development and unique perspective result in a tale perfect for diehard fans of The Walking Dead, as well as newcomers."-Library Journal (starred review)

 

 

FROM THE WORLD OF ROBERT KIRKMAN'S THE WALKING DEAD...

 

...CLEMENTINE LIVES!

 

 

Clementine is back on the road, looking to put her traumatic past behind her and forge a new path all her own.

 

 

But when she comes across an Amish teenager named Amos with his head in the clouds, the unlikely pair journeys North to an abandoned ski resort in Vermont, where they meet up with a small group of teenagers attempting to build a new, walker-free settlement.

 

 

As friendship, rivalry, and romance begin to blossom amongst the group, the harsh winter soon reveals that the biggest threat to their survival...might be each other.

 

 

 

2021 Goodreads Choice Award Finalist
2021 New York Public Library Best Books for Teens
2021 Cybils Award Winner
2022 GLAAD Media Award Winner
2022 Lambda Literary Award Finalist

A sweet, queer teen romance perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Check, Please!

Annie is a smart, antisocial lesbian starting her senior year of high school who’s under pressure to join the cheerleader squad to make friends and round out her college applications. Her former friend Bebe is a people-pleaser—a trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life to keep their support of her transition. Through the rigors of squad training and amped up social pressures (not to mention micro aggressions and other queer youth problems), the two girls rekindle a friendship they thought they’d lost and discover there may be other, sweeter feelings springing up between them.

 

 

Senri Nakajou's twin brother was his everything, the one who protected him from their abusive father, the one whose pain he felt as his own. That is, until the day thirteen years ago when Senri's entire family was murdered before his eyes. He couldn't have cared less about his parents, but without his brother, his world ended. Ever since, finding the killer and making him pay has been Senri's only goal...and now-finally-he's caught a glimpse of a clue...!

Now a hit Netflix Original Anime!

A manga about the struggles and rewards of a life dedicated to art. Popular guy Yatora realizes he's just going through the motions to make other people happy and finds himself in a new passion: painting. But untethering yourself from all your past expectations is dangerous as well as thrilling...

2020 Manga Taisho Grand Prize Winner
YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens selection
Texas Library Association Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List unanimous selection

STILL LIFE

Yatora is the perfect high school student, with good grades and lots of friends. It's an effortless performance, and, ultimately... a dull one. But he wanders into the art room one day, and a lone painting captures his eye, awakening him to a kind of beauty he never knew. Compelled and consumed, he dives in headfirst--and he's about to learn how savage and unforgiving art can be...

Shouta Kikuzato's hopes of starting on his school's prestigious soccer team are derailed when a terrible incident costs him his leg. Now in his first year of high school (again), Kikuzato has resigned himself to never reaching his athletic dreams. But when Chidori, a passing prosthetist, notices Kikuzato's artificial limb-- and speed--as he races through the train station, the specialist proposes a partnership: Chidori will build Kikuzato a brand-new leg designed solely for speed. All Kikuzato has to do is run!

A mad young coach gathers soccer players from across the country to compete in a series of bizarre challenges in a high-tech colosseum he calls Blue Lock. It's a no-balls-barred battle to become Japan's next top striker, in this Squid Game–meets–World Cup manga, now available in print!

Anime coming soon!

Are you the world's top egoist?

After a disastrous defeat at the 2018 World Cup, Japan's team struggles to regroup. But what's mising? An absolute ace striker. The Football Union is hell-bent on creating a striker who hungers for goals and thirsts for victory, so Blue Lock -- a rigorous training ground for 300 of Japan's best and brightest youth players -- is created. To survive this battle royale, the last striker standing will have to out-muscle and out-ego everyone who stands in his way!

Court Gentry is caught between the Russian mafia and the CIA in this latest electrifying thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Gray Man series.

When you kick over a rock, you never know what's going to crawl out. 
 
Alex Velesky is about to discover that the hard way. He's stolen records from the Swiss bank that employs him, thinking that he'll uncover a criminal conspiracy. But he soon finds that he's tapped into the mother lode of corruption. Before he knows it, he's being hunted by everyone from the Russian mafia to the CIA. 
 
Court Gentry and his erstwhile lover, Zoya Zakharova, find themselves on opposites poles when it comes to Velesky. They both want him but for different reasons. 
 
That's a problem for tomorrow. Today they need to keep him and themselves alive. Right now, it's not looking good.

This sweet chapter book series features magical unicorn princesses and the human girl who befriends them.

Welcome to an enchanted land ruled by unicorn princesses! Cressida Jenkins, a unicorn-obsessed girl who is sure that unicorns are real, is invited to visit, and readers will be thrilled to journey to the Rainbow Realm along with her! In each story, Cressida is called to help a unicorn princess and her sisters in a magical adventure.

Princess Feather has just returned from her latest adventure, and Princess Flash wants nothing more to join her sister on her next trip. Ernest the wizard lizard creates a magical pair of wings for Flash, and the princesses invite Cressida to come with them to a new realm. But once there, Ernest's spell goes wrong and creates chaos, and Cressida will have to use all her wits to solve the problem before she can return home.

Babysitting hijinks abound in JoJo and BowBow's next chapter book adventure!

When JoJo introduces Kyra to her fashion designer idol, Goldie Chic, Kyra's starstruck. Kyra wants to be just like Goldie when she grows up! JoJo and Kyra quickly fall for Goldie's wild but adorable three-year-old daughter, Lacey. So when Goldie offers to give Kyra feedback on her own fashion designs in exchange for babysitting, Kyra agrees in an instant--feedback from a successful designer is invaluable, and Lacey is the cutest! After an initially smooth start, babysitting turns out to be more than JoJo and Kyra bargained for, and JoJo must step in to show her friend how to be her own biggest champion.

Allie and Sierra struggle to run the ice cream shop on their own in this tenth delicious book in the Sprinkle Sundays series from the author of the Cupcake Diaries series and Donut Dreams series!

It’s summertime and everyone wants ice cream! That’s great for business, but with Tamiko on vacation with her family in Japan, that leaves just Allie and Sierra to handle the insanely busy ice cream shop. Trying to cover Tamiko’s job on top of their own is harder than they thought it would be, and they soon start to feel overwhelmed. Tempers get short and some mean words are spoken. Soon, Allie and Sierra can barely talk to one another without fighting, much less run a business together. Can the girls make up in time to sweeten up their summer rush? Or will Tamiko return to find her business partners have banana-split?

After moving to a strange town, Bethany must discover if a haunting legend is real in this frighteningly fun addition to the You’re Invited to a Creepover series.

Can history repeat itself?

When Bethany Warren moves from New York City to the small town of Warwick, she’s surprised at how quickly everything in her life seems to fall into place. She finds a great group of friends, and even has a new boyfriend, Nate Carlson, who lives next door and gives her a beautiful old ruby ring. Everyone in Warwick is a little obsessed with the Legend of Lady Warwick, the town’s namesake, who, according to the rumors, was mistakenly buried alive and now haunts the people of Warwick. Bethany thinks it’s just silly old town folklore, but then she starts acting strangely. Her new friends start to wonder: Is she for real? Will Bethany snap out of it, or is real life imitating legend a little too closely?

This tale is a level 5 on the Creep-o-Meter. Super scary!

Jada Jones is back for the fourth book of this popular, celebrated series perfect for STEM fans!

"Readers who love Ivy and Bean or Katie Woo will want to meet Jada Jones." --School Library Journal

When the student council decides to host a dance as their next fundraiser, Jada feels nervous and queasy. She's excited to give back, but she can't dance! Still, she's determined to help the cause and show she cares. She practices her moves, gets help from friends, and even does research at the library to prepare--but will it be enough to help her create change in her community?

Praise for Jada Jones: Rock Star
"Fast-paced, with supersimple vocabulary and a smattering of earth science to spark interest in young rock collectors everywhere." --Kirkus Reviews

The first book in the Lark Ba detective series!

It's the third day of summer vacation, and Lark's halmoni--that's Korean for grandmother--has promised to take Lark and her twin brother, Connor, to the library. Only trouble is, they arrive to discover that the town librarian is missing her key to the library. Lucky for her, Lark just happens to be a budding private eye. Can rookie detectives Lark and Connor solve this mystery and recover the lost key?

Lola Levine likes writing in her diario, sipping her mom's cafe con leche, eating her dad's matzo ball soup, and playing soccer with her team, the Orange Smoothies. So what if she doesn't always fit in?

Lola is fierce on the field, but when a soccer game during recess gets too competitive, she accidentally hurts her classmate Juan Gomez. Now everyone is calling her Mean Lola Levine! Lola feels terrible, but with the help of her family, her super best friend, Josh Blot, and a little "pencil power," she just might be able to turn it all around.

In this first book in a series, young readers will be inspired by Lola's big heart and creative spirit as she learns to navigate the second grade in true Lola style!

Demon’s abilities are put to the test!

 

Beasts of Olympus is a series of illustrated chapter books set in a magical Ancient Greece where strange things still walk the Earth. In the fourth book, Demon must heal Ares’s smelly dragon in time for battle. Can he heal this sick beast before Olympus chokes on the stink?

The Howling Timberwolves need to win the best two out of three hockey games to make it to the championship finals. But first Johnny Maverick has to survive a visit from his six-year-old cousin, Sarah. And not even Johnny's dog Marvin is safe. Worse, Johnny's got a big lesson to learn on the ice, too. As always, Johnny and Stu and Tom think they have the answers. But, as usual, they are wrong.

"While Confederate statues are brought down across the country, America is reckoning with its tumultuous past and the legacy of the darker chapters of our history. In The Devil's Half Acre, New York Times bestselling author Kristen Green draws on years of deep research to tell the extraordinary hidden story of young Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who sought freedom and lit a path for liberation for thousands more. Enslaved and separated from her family when she was a child, Mary Lumpkin, born 1832, was later forced to secretly marry and have the children of the brutal slave-trader Robert Lumpkin. Together they lived on the premises of his notoriously cruel slave jail in Richmond, Virginia, known as the 'Devil's Half Acre.' In this destitute setting, Mary Lumpkin not only found a way to educate and free her children-and herself-but she managed to create something monumental. When Robert Lumpkin died and left his jail to Mary, she rented The Devil's Half Acre to a Baptist missionary and helped transform it into 'God's Half Acre,' a place where freed Black men could be educated. These same grounds where enslaved people were tortured and held before slave auctions eventually became the cornerstone for Virginia Union University, one of the nation's first HBCUs, which is still open today. Richly told and dramatically paced, The Devil's Half Acre reckons with America's heartbreaking past. Ultimately, Mary Lumpkin's story demonstrates that righting unspeakable wrongs can not only heal, but can empower generations to come"--

New to cooking? Don’t worry about it! You can cook Korean like a pro.

If you’ve always wanted to make your favorite Korean dishes at home, Simply Korean is for you. With streamlined techniques, minimal ingredients, and clear instructions, you'll learn the easiest methods to make fried rice, bulgogi, kimchi, and more without sacrificing taste. Master the art of banchan and impress your guests with an epic K-BBQ party. Can't travel to Seoul? Recipes for tteokbokki and hotteok bring these street food favorites to your kitchen.

Simply Korean includes:

 

• Introduction to Korean cuisine, including essential ingredients and preparation methods

 

• How to make restaurant-quality meals at home—shortcuts for boosting flavor and reducing prep

• Easy-to-remember formulas for Korean sauces to make any dish more delicious

From New York Times bestselling author of The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, a book of humorous and charming advice for embracing life and aging joyfully.

In her international bestseller The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning Margareta Magnusson introduced the world to the Swedish tradition of döstädning, or “death cleaning”—clearing out your unnecessary belongings so others don’t have to do it for you. Now, unburdened by (literal and emotional) baggage, Magnusson is able to focus on what makes each day worth living. In her new book she reveals her discoveries about aging—some difficult to accept, many rather wondrous. She reflects on her idyllic childhood on the west coast of Sweden, the fullness of her life with her husband and five children, and learning how to live alone. Throughout, she offers advice on how to age gracefully, such as: wear stripes, don’t resist new technology, let go of what doesn’t matter, and more.

As with death cleaning, it’s never too early to begin. The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly shows all readers how to prepare for and understand the process of growing older and the joys and sorrows it can bring. While Magnusson still recommends decluttering (your loved ones will thank you!), her ultimate message is that we should not live in fear of death but rather focus on appreciating beauty, connecting with our loved ones, and enjoying our time together.

Wise, funny, and eminently practical, The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly is a gentle and welcome reminder that, no matter your age, there are always fresh discoveries ahead, and pleasures both new and familiar to be encountered every day.

*Apple Book of the Month for January*



The incredible true story of Ana Montes, the most damaging female spy in US history, drawing upon never-before-seen material and to be published upon her release from prison, for readers of Agent Sonya and A Woman of No Importance.



Just days after the 9-11 attacks, a senior Pentagon analyst eased her red Toyota Echo into traffic and headed to work. She never saw the undercover cars tracking her every turn. As she settled into her cubicle on the 6th floor of the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, FBI Agents and twitchy DIA officers were hiding in nearby offices. For this was the day that Ana Montes--the US Intelligence Community superstar who had just won a prestigious fellowship at the CIA--was to be arrested and publicly exposed as a secret agent for Cuba.



Like spies Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen before her, Ana Montes blindsided her colleagues with brazen acts of treason. For nearly 17 years, Montes succeeded in two high-stress jobs. By day, she was one of the government's top Cuba experts, a buttoned-down GS-14 with shockingly easy access to classified documents. By night, she was on the clock for Fidel Castro, listening to coded messages over shortwave radio, passing US secrets to handlers in local restaurants, and slipping into Havana wearing a wig.



Montes didn't just deceive her country. Her betrayal was intensely personal. Her mercurial father was a former US Army Colonel. Her brother and sister-in-law were FBI Special Agents. And her only sister, Lucy, also worked her entire career for the Bureau. The highlight of her distinguished 31 years as a Miami-based language specialist: Helping the FBI flush Cuban spies out of the United States. Little did Lucy or her family know that the greatest Cuban spy of all was sitting right next to them at Thanksgivings, baptisms, and weddings.



In Code Name Blue Wren, investigative journalist Jim Popkin weaves the tale of two sisters who chose two very different paths, plus the unsung heroes who had to fight to bring Ana to justice. With exclusive access to a "Secret" CIA behavioral profile of Ana, family memoirs, and Ana's incriminating letters from prison, Popkin reveals the making of a traitor--a woman labelled "one of the most damaging spies in U.S. history" by America's top counter-intelligence official.



After more than two decades in federal prison, Montes will be freed in January 2023. Code Name Blue Wren is a thrilling detective tale, an insider's look at the clandestine world of espionage, and an intimate exploration of the dark side of betrayal.

A front-of-the-house Kitchen Confidential from a career maître d’hotel who manned the front of the room in New York City's hottest and most in-demand restaurants.

From the glamorous to the entitled, from royalty to the financially ruined, everyone who wanted to be seen—or just to gawk—at the hottest restaurants in New York City came to places Michael Cecchi-Azzolina helped run. His phone number was passed around among those who wanted to curry favor, during the decades when restaurants replaced clubs and theater as, well, theater in the most visible, vibrant city in the world.

Besides dropping us back into a vanished time, Your Table Is Ready takes us places we’d never be able to get into on our own: Raoul's in Soho with its louche club vibe; Buzzy O’Keefe’s casually elegant River Café (the only outer-borough establishment desirable enough to be included in this roster), from Keith McNally’s Minetta Tavern to Nolita’s Le Coucou, possibly the most beautiful room in New York City in 2018, with its French Country Auberge-meets-winery look and the most exquisite and enormous stands of flowers, changed every three days.

From his early career serving theater stars like Tennessee Williams and Dustin Hoffman at La Rousse right through to the last pre-pandemic-shutdown full houses at Le Coucou, Cecchi-Azzolina has seen it all. In Your Table Is Ready, he breaks down how restaurants really run (and don’t), and how the economics work for owners and overworked staff alike. The professionals who gravitate to the business are a special, tougher breed, practiced in dealing with the demanding patrons and with each other, in a very distinctive ecosystem that’s somewhere between a George Orwell “down and out in....” dungeon and a sleek showman’s smoke-and-mirrors palace.

Your Table Is Ready is a rollicking, raunchy, revelatory memoir.

Introduction by Amal Clooney

From the recipient of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, an impassioned and inspiring memoir of a career spent holding power to account.

Maria Ressa is one of the most renowned international journalists of our time. For decades, she challenged corruption and malfeasance in her native country, the Philippines, on its rocky path from an authoritarian state to a democracy. As a reporter from CNN, she transformed news coverage in her region, which led her in 2012 to create a new and innovative online news organization, Rappler. Harnessing the emerging power of social media, Rappler crowdsourced breaking news, found pivotal sources and tips, harnessed collective action for climate change, and helped increase voter knowledge and participation in elections.

But by their fifth year of existence, Rappler had gone from being lauded for its ideas to being targeted by the new Philippine government, and made Ressa an enemy of her country's most powerful man: President Duterte. Still, she did not let up, tracking government seeded disinformation networks which spread lies to its own citizens laced with anger and hate. Hounded by the state and its allies using the legal system to silence her, accused of numerous crimes, and charged with cyberlibel for which she was found guilty, Ressa faces years in prison and thousands in fines.

There is another adversary Ressa is battling. How to Stand Up to a Dictator is also the story of how the creep towards authoritarianism, in the Phillipines and around the world, has been aided and abetted by the social media companies. Ressa exposes how they have allowed their platforms to spread a virus of lies that infect each of us, pitting us against one another, igniting, even creating, our fears, anger, and hate, and how this has accelerated the rise of authoritarians and dictators around the world. She maps a network of disinformation--a heinous web of cause and effect--that has netted the globe: from Duterte's drug wars to America's Capitol Hill; Britain's Brexit to Russian and Chinese cyber-warfare; Facebook and Silicon Valley to our own clicks and votes.

Democracy is fragile. How to Stand Up to a Dictator is an urgent cry for Western readers to recognize and understand the dangers to our freedoms before it is too late. It is a book for anyone who might take democracy for granted, written by someone who never would. And in telling her dramatic and turbulent and courageous story, Ressa forces readers to ask themselves the same question she and her colleagues ask every day: What are you willing to sacrifice for the truth?

What makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life? A good life? According to the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted, the answer to these questions may be closer than you realize.

What makes a life fulfilling and meaningful? The simple but surprising answer is: relationships. The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and overall healthier lives. In fact, the Harvard Study of Adult Development reveals that the strength of our connections with others can predict the health of both our bodies and our brains as we go through life.

The invaluable insights in this book emerge from the revealing personal stories of hundreds of participants in the Harvard Study as they were followed year after year for their entire adult lives, and this wisdom is bolstered by research findings from this and many other studies. Relationships in all their forms—friendships, romantic partnerships, families, coworkers, tennis partners, book club members, Bible study groups—all contribute to a happier, healthier life. And as The Good Life shows us, it’s never too late to strengthen the relationships you have, and never too late to build new ones.

Dr. Waldinger’s TED Talk about the Harvard Study, “What Makes a Good Life,” has been viewed more than 42 million times and is one of the ten most-watched TED talks ever. The Good Life has been praised by bestselling authors Jay Shetty (“Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz lead us on an empowering quest towards our greatest need: meaningful human connection”), Angela Duckworth (“In a crowded field of life advice and even life advice based on scientific research, Schulz and Waldinger stand apart”), and happiness expert Laurie Santos (“Waldinger and Schulz are world experts on the counterintuitive things that make life meaningful”).

With warmth, wisdom, and compelling life stories, The Good Life shows us how we can make our lives happier and more meaningful through our connections to others.

Preston & Child continue their #1 bestselling series featuring FBI Special Agent Pendergast and Constance Greene, as they cross paths with New York's deadliest serial killer: Pendergast's own ancestor...and now his greatest foe.

AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY

Astoundingly, Constance has found a way back to the place of her origins, New York City in the late 1800s, leaping at the chance, although it means leaving the present forever.

A DESPERATE OPPORTUNITY

Constance sets off on a quest to prevent the events that lead to the deaths of her sister and brother. But along the road to redemption, Manhattan's most infamous serial killer, Dr. Enoch Leng, lies in wait, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

UNIMAGINABLE ODDS

Meanwhile, in contemporary New York, Pendergast feverishly searches for a way to reunite with Constance--but will he discover a way back to her before it's too late?

A stranded detective tries to solve a murder in a tiny Alaskan town where everyone lives in a single high-rise building, in this gripping debut by an Academy Award–nominated screenwriter.

When a local teenager discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore of the small town of Point Mettier, Alaska, Cara Kennedy is on the case. A detective from Anchorage, she has her own motives for investigating the possible murder in this isolated place, which can be accessed only by a tunnel.
 
After a blizzard causes the tunnel to close indefinitely, Cara is stuck among the odd and suspicious residents of the town—all 205 of whom live in the same high-rise building and are as icy as the weather. Cara teams up with Point Mettier police officer Joe Barkowski, but before long the investigation is upended by fearsome gang members from a nearby native village.
 
Haunted by her past, Cara soon discovers that everyone in this town has something to hide. Will she be able to unravel their secrets before she unravels?"

In this gripping, horror-laced debut, a young Cree woman’s dreams lead her on a perilous journey of self-discovery that ultimately forces her to confront the toll of a legacy of violence on her family, her community and the land they call home.

When Mackenzie wakes up with a severed crow's head in her hands, she panics. Only moments earlier she had been fending off masses of birds in a snow-covered forest. In bed, when she blinks, the head disappears.

Night after night, Mackenzie’s dreams return her to a memory from before her sister Sabrina’s untimely death: a weekend at the family’s lakefront campsite, long obscured by a fog of guilt. But when the waking world starts closing in, too—a murder of crows stalks her every move around the city, she wakes up from a dream of drowning throwing up water, and gets threatening text messages from someone claiming to be Sabrina—Mackenzie knows this is more than she can handle alone.

Traveling north to her rural hometown in Alberta, she finds her family still steeped in the same grief that she ran away to Vancouver to escape. They welcome her back, but their shaky reunion only seems to intensify her dreams—and make them more dangerous.

What really happened that night at the lake, and what did it have to do with Sabrina’s death? Only a bad Cree would put their family at risk, but what if whatever has been calling Mackenzie home was already inside?

Knives Out and Clue meet Agatha Christie and The Thursday Murder Club in this "utterly original" (Jane Harper), "not to be missed" (Karin Slaughter), fiendishly clever blend of classic and modern murder mystery.

Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate.

I'm Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I'd killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it's a little more complicated than that.

Have I killed someone? Yes. I have.

Who was it?

Let's get started.

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE

My brother

My stepsister

My wife

My father

My mother

My sister-in-law

My uncle

My stepfather

My aunt

Me

A young Indian woman finds the false rumors that she killed her husband surprisingly useful—until other women in the village start asking for her help getting rid of their own husbands—in this razor-sharp debut.

“Shroff captures the complexity of female friendship with acuity, wit, and a certain kind of magic irreverence. . . . The Bandit Queens is tender, unpredictable, and brimming with laugh-out-loud moments.”—Téa Obreht, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger’s Wife

Five years ago, Geeta lost her no-good husband. As in, she actually lost him—he walked out on her and she has no idea where he is. But in her remote village in India, rumor has it that Geeta killed him. And it’s a rumor that just won’t die.

It turns out that being known as a “self-made” widow comes with some perks. No one messes with her, harasses her, or tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It’s even been good for business; no one dares to not buy her jewelry.

Freedom must look good on Geeta, because now other women are asking for her “expertise,” making her an unwitting consultant for husband disposal.

And not all of them are asking nicely.

With Geeta’s dangerous reputation becoming a double-edged sword, she has to find a way to protect the life she’s built—but even the best-laid plans of would-be widows tend to go awry. What happens next sets in motion a chain of events that will change everything, not just for Geeta, but for all the women in their village.

Filled with clever criminals, second chances, and wry and witty women, Parini Shroff’s The Bandit Queens is a razor-sharp debut of humor and heart that readers won’t soon forget.

With writing Jasmine Guillory has described as "emotional and real," the acclaimed author of Love Lettering and Love at First weaves stories both transporting and relatable - modern love stories that readers immediately identify with and take to heart. Wise and witty, threaded through with a complex, emotionally fulfilling romance, Kate Clayborn's unforgettable new novel echoes with timely questions about love, career, reconciling with the past, and finding your way.

"Magnetic, witty, and expansive. The world is going to fall hard for this deliciously whimsical and captivating story, and I cannot wait to see it!" --Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis

"Outright perfection!"--Christina Lauren, Kate Clayborn Fanclub Co-Presidents and Authors of The Soulmate Equation

"A sweet novel that reminds you going back is sometimes the best path forward . . . and that planning is never as rewarding as doing." --Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author

Longtime personal assistant Georgie Mulcahy has made a career out of putting others before herself. When an unexpected upheaval sends her away from her hectic job in L.A. and back to her hometown, Georgie must confront an uncomfortable truth: her own wants and needs have always been a disconcertingly blank page.

But then Georgie comes across a forgotten artifact--a "friendfic" diary she wrote as a teenager, filled with possibilities she once imagined. To an overwhelmed Georgie, the diary's simple, small-scale ideas are a lifeline--a guidebook for getting started on a new path.

Georgie's plans hit a snag when she comes face to face with an unexpected roommate--Levi Fanning, onetime town troublemaker and current town hermit. But this quiet, grouchy man is more than just his reputation, and he offers to help Georgie with her quest. As the two make their way through her wishlist, Georgie begins to realize that what she truly wants might not be in the pages of her diary after all, but right by her side--if only they can both find a way to let go of the pasts that hold them back.

Honest and deeply emotional, Georgie, All Along is a smart, tender must-read for everyone who's ever wondered about the life that got away . . .

"Absolute perfection--this is the book you are looking for. Georgie All Along is a tour de force, beautifully written and full of charming characters, rich emotion, and delicious spice. With it, Kate Clayborn solidifies her place in romance royalty." --Sarah MacLean, New York Times bestselling author

"A modern yet timeless love story."--Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

"Tender and sexy...features strong friendships and will appeal to fans of Emily Henry." --Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

An instant New York Times bestseller!

"This is an absolute, can’t-put-it-down thriller...It’s truly a wild ride that had me flying through chapter after chapter—which I think is the perfect way to kick off your year of reading." —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Jan ’23 Pick)

Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed....

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.
 
Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.
 
At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin....
 
Utterly unique and captivating, The House in the Pines keeps you guessing about whether we can ever fully confront the past and return home.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

“Dazzling...Finally free from the book’s grip, now all I want to do is get others hooked.”— The Washington Post

“Cinematic…A luxe thriller…As a storyteller, Kapoor is a natural.”-- The New York Times

"Sensationally good — huge, epic, immersive and absorbing ... certain to be a book of the year." —Lee Child

This is the age of vice, where money, pleasure, and power are everything,
and the family ties that bind can also kill.
 
New Delhi, 3 a.m. A speeding Mercedes jumps the curb and in the blink of an eye, five people are dead. It’s a rich man’s car, but when the dust settles there is no rich man at all, just a shell-shocked servant who cannot explain the strange series of events that led to this crime. Nor can he foresee the dark drama that is about to unfold.

Deftly shifting through time and perspective in contemporary India, Age of Vice is an epic, action-packed story propelled by the seductive wealth, startling corruption, and bloodthirsty violence of the Wadia family -- loved by some, loathed by others, feared by all.

In the shadow of lavish estates, extravagant parties, predatory business deals and calculated political influence, three lives become dangerously intertwined: Ajay is the watchful servant, born into poverty, who rises through the family’s ranks. Sunny is the playboy heir who dreams of outshining his father, whatever the cost. And Neda is the curious journalist caught between morality and desire. Against a sweeping plot fueled by loss, pleasure, greed, yearning, violence and revenge, will these characters’ connections become a path to escape, or a trigger of further destruction? 

Equal parts crime thriller and family saga, transporting readers from the dusty villages of Uttar Pradesh to the urban energy of New Delhi, Age of Vice is an intoxicating novel of gangsters and lovers, false friendships, forbidden romance, and the consequences of corruption. It is binge-worthy entertainment at its literary best.

 

 

Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction
 
Winner of the Gotham Book Prize

One of Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of the Year"

Oprah's Book Club Pick

Named one of the Top Ten Books of the Year by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and TIME Magazine

A Washington Post Notable Novel

From the author of the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird and the bestselling modern classic The Color of Water, comes one of the most celebrated novels of the year.In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and, in front of everybody, shoots the project’s drug dealer at point-blank range.

The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong, James McBride’s funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird. In Deacon King Kong, McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood’s Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself.

As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters—caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York—overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion.

Bringing to these pages both his masterly storytelling skills and his abiding faith in humanity, James McBride has written a novel every bit as involving as The Good Lord Bird and as emotionally honest as The Color of Water. Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.

 

 

 

Three-time Hugo Award winner and NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption that sharply examine modern society in her first collection of short fiction, which includes never-before-seen stories.
"Marvelous and wide-ranging."--Los Angeles Times"Gorgeous" --NPR Books"Breathtakingly imaginative and narratively bold."--Entertainment Weekly
Spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story "The City Born Great," a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis's soul.
For more from N. K. Jemisin, check out:
The Inheritance TrilogyThe Hundred Thousand KingdomsThe Broken KingdomsThe Kingdom of Gods
The Inheritance Trilogy (omnibus edition)Shades in Shadow: An Inheritance Triptych (e-only short fiction)The Awakened Kingdom (e-only novella)
Dreamblood DuologyThe Killing MoonThe Shadowed Sun
The Dreamblood Duology (omnibus)
The Broken EarthThe Fifth SeasonThe Obelisk GateThe Stone Sky

*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* One of Barack Obama's Recommended Reads for Summer • New York Times Notable Book • NPR’s Best Books of 2021 • Washington Post’s Best Thriller and Mystery Books of the Year • TIME Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2021 • New York Public Library’s Best Books of the Year • Goodreads Choice Award Nominee • Book of the Month’s Book of the Year Finalist
“Provocative, violent — beautiful and moving, too.” —Washington Post
“Superb...Cuts right to the heart of the most important questions of our times.” —Michael Connelly
“A tour de force – poignant, action-packed, and profound.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A Black father. A white father. Two murdered sons. A quest for vengeance.

Ike Randolph has been out of jail for fifteen years, with not so much as a speeding ticket in all that time. But a Black man with cops at the door knows to be afraid.

The last thing he expects to hear is that his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah’s white husband, Derek. Ike had never fully accepted his son but is devastated by his loss.

Derek’s father Buddy Lee was almost as ashamed of Derek for being gay as Derek was ashamed of his father's criminal record. Buddy Lee still has contacts in the underworld, though, and he wants to know who killed his boy.

Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge. In their quest to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, hardened men Ike and Buddy Lee will confront their own prejudices about their sons and each other, as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys.

Provocative and fast-paced, S. A. Cosby's Razorblade Tears is a story of bloody retribution, heartfelt change - and maybe even redemption.

“A visceral full-body experience, a sharp jolt to the heart, and a treat for the senses...Cosby's moody southern thriller marries the skillful action and plotting of Lee Child with the atmosphere and insight of Attica Locke.” —NPR

A Best Book of the Year:
The Washington Post • Chicago Tribune • NPR • Vogue • Elle • Real Simple • InStyle • Good Housekeeping • Parade • Slate • Vox • Kirkus Reviews • Library Journal • BookPage

Longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize

An Instant New York Times Bestseller

A Reese's Book Club Pick 

"The most provocative page-turner of the year." --Entertainment Weekly

"I urge you to read Such a Fun Age." --NPR

A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.

But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix's desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix's past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.

With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone "family," and the complicated reality of being a grown up. It is a searing debut for our times.

*WINNER of the NATIONAL BOOK AWARD for FICTION
*A TIME MAGAZINE BEST NOVEL OF THE YEAR and A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 OF 2017
*Finalist for the Kirkus Prize
*Finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal
*Finalist for the Aspen Words Literary Prize
*Publishers Weekly Top 10 of 2017
*Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award

A finalist for the Kirkus Prize, Andrew Carnegie Medal, Aspen Words Literary Prize, and a New York Times bestseller, this majestic, stirring, and widely praised novel from two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward, the story of a family on a journey through rural Mississippi, is a “tour de force” (O, The Oprah Magazine) and a timeless work of fiction that is destined to become a classic.

In Jesmyn Ward’s first novel since her National Book Award–winning Salvage the Bones, this singular American writer brings the archetypal road novel into rural twenty-first-century America. An intimate portrait of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle, Sing, Unburied, Sing journeys through Mississippi’s past and present, examining the ugly truths at the heart of the American story and the power—and limitations—of family bonds.

Jojo is thirteen years old and trying to understand what it means to be a man. He doesn’t lack in fathers to study, chief among them his Black grandfather, Pop. But there are other men who complicate his understanding: his absent White father, Michael, who is being released from prison; his absent White grandfather, Big Joseph, who won’t acknowledge his existence; and the memories of his dead uncle, Given, who died as a teenager.

His mother, Leonie, is an inconsistent presence in his and his toddler sister’s lives. She is an imperfect mother in constant conflict with herself and those around her. She is Black and her children’s father is White. She wants to be a better mother but can’t put her children above her own needs, especially her drug use. Simultaneously tormented and comforted by visions of her dead brother, which only come to her when she’s high, Leonie is embattled in ways that reflect the brutal reality of her circumstances.

When the children’s father is released from prison, Leonie packs her kids and a friend into her car and drives north to the heart of Mississippi and Parchman Farm, the State Penitentiary. At Parchman, there is another thirteen-year-old boy, the ghost of a dead inmate who carries all of the ugly history of the South with him in his wandering. He too has something to teach Jojo about fathers and sons, about legacies, about violence, about love.

Rich with Ward’s distinctive, lyrical language, Sing, Unburied, Sing is a majestic new work and an unforgettable family story.

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, O, the Oprah Magazine, Esquire, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Good Housekeeping, Refinery29, Real Simple, Kirkus Reviews, Electric Literature, and Lit Hub

“A masterpiece.” —NPR

“No other novel this year captures so gracefully the full palette of America.” —The Washington Post

“Wryly funny, gently devastating.” —Entertainment Weekly

A funny and profound story about family in all its strange forms, joyful and hard-won vulnerability, becoming who you're supposed to be, and the limits of love.
 
Benson and Mike are two young guys who live together in Houston. Mike is a Japanese American chef at a Mexican restaurant and Benson's a Black day care teacher, and they've been together for a few years—good years—but now they're not sure why they're still a couple. There's the sex, sure, and the meals Mike cooks for Benson, and, well, they love each other.

But when Mike finds out his estranged father is dying in Osaka just as his acerbic Japanese mother, Mitsuko, arrives in Texas for a visit, Mike picks up and flies across the world to say goodbye. In Japan he undergoes an extraordinary transformation, discovering the truth about his family and his past. Back home, Mitsuko and Benson are stuck living together as unconventional roommates, an absurd domestic situation that ends up meaning more to each of them than they ever could have predicted. Without Mike's immediate pull, Benson begins to push outwards, realizing he might just know what he wants out of life and have the goods to get it.

Both men will change in ways that will either make them stronger together, or fracture everything they've ever known. And just maybe they'll all be okay in the end.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • After a sudden change of plans, a remarkable woman and her loyal group of friends try to figure out what she’s going to do with the rest of her life—from Terry McMillan, the bestselling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting to Exhale
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY MARIE CLAIRE AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING • “Poignant, funny and full of life, this is a balm for troubled times.”—People

Loretha Curry’s life is full. A little crowded sometimes, but full indeed. On the eve of her sixty-eighth birthday, she has a booming beauty-supply empire, a gaggle of lifelong friends, and a husband whose moves still surprise. True, she’s carrying a few more pounds than she should be, but Loretha is not one of those women who think her best days are behind her—and she’s determined to prove wrong her mother, her twin sister, and everyone else with that outdated view of aging wrong. It’s not all downhill from here.

But when an unexpected loss turns her world upside down, Loretha will have to summon all her strength, resourcefulness, and determination to keep on thriving, pursue joy, heal old wounds, and chart new paths. With a little help from her friends, of course.

From NPR correspondent and New York Times bestselling author, Kwame Alexander, comes a powerful and provocative collection of poems that cut to the heart of the entrenched racism and oppression in America and eloquently explores ongoing events. A book in the tradition of James Baldwin's "A Report from Occupied Territory," Light for the World to See is a rap session on race. A lyrical response to the struggles of Black lives in our world . . . to America's crisis of conscience . . . to the centuries of loss, endless resilience, and unstoppable hope. Includes an introduction by the author and a bold, graphically designed interior.

A collection of three powerful poems that take on racism and Black resistance in America by New York Times best-selling author Kwame Alexander. Includes an introduction by the author.

New York Times Bestseller • Amazon's Best History Book of the Year 201 • TIME Magazine’s Best Nonfiction Book of 2018 • New York Public Library’s Best Book of 2018 • NPR’s Book Concierge Best Book of 2018 • Economist Book of the Year • SELF.com’s Best Books of 2018 • Audible’s Best of the Year • BookRiot’s Best Audio Books of 2018 • The Atlantic’s Books Briefing: History, Reconsidered • Atlanta Journal Constitution, Best Southern Books 2018  • The Christian Science Monitor’s Best Books 2018 • Barnes & Noble’s Best Books of the Year

 

 

“A profound impact on Hurston’s literary legacy.”—New York Times

“One of the greatest writers of our time.”—Toni Morrison

“Zora Neale Hurston’s genius has once again produced a Maestrapiece.”—Alice Walker

A major literary event: a newly published work from the author of the American classic Their Eyes Were Watching God, with a foreword from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker, brilliantly illuminates the horror and injustices of slavery as it tells the true story of one of the last-known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade—abducted from Africa on the last "Black Cargo" ship to arrive in the United States.

In 1927, Zora Neale Hurston went to Plateau, Alabama, just outside Mobile, to interview eighty-six-year-old Cudjo Lewis. Of the millions of men, women, and children transported from Africa to America as slaves, Cudjo was then the only person alive to tell the story of this integral part of the nation’s history. Hurston was there to record Cudjo’s firsthand account of the raid that led to his capture and bondage fifty years after the Atlantic slave trade was outlawed in the United States.

In 1931, Hurston returned to Plateau, the African-centric community three miles from Mobile founded by Cudjo and other former slaves from his ship. Spending more than three months there, she talked in depth with Cudjo about the details of his life. During those weeks, the young writer and the elderly formerly enslaved man ate peaches and watermelon that grew in the backyard and talked about Cudjo’s past—memories from his childhood in Africa, the horrors of being captured and held in a barracoon for selection by American slavers, the harrowing experience of the Middle Passage packed with more than 100 other souls aboard the Clotilda, and the years he spent in slavery until the end of the Civil War.

Based on those interviews, featuring Cudjo’s unique vernacular, and written from Hurston’s perspective with the compassion and singular style that have made her one of the preeminent American authors of the twentieth-century, Barracoon masterfully illustrates the tragedy of slavery and of one life forever defined by it. Offering insight into the pernicious legacy that continues to haunt us all, black and white, this poignant and powerful work is an invaluable contribution to our shared history and culture.

 

 

 

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • “An instant American classic and almost certainly the keynote nonfiction book of the American century thus far.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times

The Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.

#1 NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR: Time
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, O: The Oprah Magazine, NPR, Bloomberg, The Christian Science Monitor, New York Post, The New York Public Library, Fortune, Smithsonian Magazine, Marie Claire, Slate, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews

Winner of the Carl Sandberg Literary Award • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • National Book Award Longlist • National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist • Dayton Literary Peace Prize Finalist • PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction Finalist • PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Longlist • Kirkus Prize Finalist

“As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power—which groups have it and which do not.”
 
In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched, and beautifully written narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.
 
Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people—including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others—she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their outcasting of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.

Original and revealing, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is an eye-opening story of people and history, and a reexamination of what lies under the surface of ordinary lives and of American life today.

Hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and inspiring, Conversations in Black offers sage wisdom for navigating race in a radically divisive America, and, with help from his mighty team of black intelligentsia, veteran journalist Ed Gordon creates hope and a timeless new narrative on what the future of black leadership should look like and how we can get there.

In Conversations in Black, Gordon brings together some of the most prominent voices in Black America today, including Stacey Abrams, Harry Belafonte, Charlamagne tha God, Michael Eric Dyson, Alicia Garza, Jemele Hill, Iyanla VanZant, Eric Holder, Killer Mike, Angela Rye, Al Sharpton, TI and Maxine Waters, and so many more to answer questions about vital topics affecting our nation today, such as:

· Will the black vote control the 2020 election?

· Do black lives really matter?

· After the Obama's presidency, are black people better off?

· Are stereotypical images of people of color changing in Hollywood?

· How is "Black Girl Magic" changing the face of black America?

Bombarded with media, music, and social media messages that enforce stereotypes of people of color, Gordon set out to dispel what black power and black excellence really looks like today and offers a way forward for all in a new age of black prosperity and pride.

 

The instant New York Times bestseller and companion book to the PBS series.

“Absolutely brilliant . . . A necessary and moving work.” —Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., author of Begin Again

“Engaging. . . . In Gates’s telling, the Black church shines bright even as the nation itself moves uncertainly through the gloaming, seeking justice on earth—as it is in heaven.” —Jon Meacham, New York Times Book Review

From the New York Times bestselling author of Stony the Road and one of our most important voices on the African American experience comes a powerful new history of the Black church as a foundation of Black life and a driving force in the larger freedom struggle in America.
For the young Henry Louis Gates, Jr., growing up in a small, residentially segregated West Virginia town, the church was a center of gravity—an intimate place where voices rose up in song and neighbors gathered to celebrate life's blessings and offer comfort amid its trials and tribulations. In this tender and expansive reckoning with the meaning of the Black Church in America, Gates takes us on a journey spanning more than five centuries, from the intersection of Christianity and the transatlantic slave trade to today’s political landscape. At road’s end, and after Gates’s distinctive meditation on the churches of his childhood, we emerge with a new understanding of the importance of African American religion to the larger national narrative—as a center of resistance to slavery and white supremacy, as a magnet for political mobilization, as an incubator of musical and oratorical talent that would transform the culture, and as a crucible for working through the Black community’s most critical personal and social issues.

In a country that has historically afforded its citizens from the African diaspora tragically few safe spaces, the Black Church has always been more than a sanctuary. This fact was never lost on white supremacists: from the earliest days of slavery, when enslaved people were allowed to worship at all, their meetinghouses were subject to surveillance and destruction. Long after slavery’s formal eradication, church burnings and bombings by anti-Black racists continued, a hallmark of the violent effort to suppress the African American struggle for equality. The past often isn’t even past—Dylann Roof committed his slaughter in the Mother Emanuel AME Church 193 years after it was first burned down by white citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, following a thwarted slave rebellion.

But as Gates brilliantly shows, the Black church has never been only one thing. Its story lies at the heart of the Black political struggle, and it has produced many of the Black community’s most notable leaders. At the same time, some churches and denominations have eschewed political engagement and exemplified practices of exclusion and intolerance that have caused polarization and pain. Those tensions remain today, as a rising generation demands freedom and dignity for all within and beyond their communities, regardless of race, sex, or gender. Still, as a source of faith and refuge, spiritual sustenance and struggle against society’s darkest forces, the Black Church has been central, as this enthralling history makes vividly clear.

 

*National Bestseller*



A brilliant and empowering collection of final reflections and words of wisdom from venerable civil rights champion, the late Congressman John Lewis at the end of his remarkable life.



Congressman John Lewis was a paragon of the Civil Rights Movement and political leadership for decades. A hero we won't soon forget, Lewis was a beacon of hope and a model of humility whose invocation to "good trouble" continues to inspire millions across our nation. In his last months on earth, even while battling cancer, he dedicated time to share his memories, beliefs, and advice--exclusively immortalized in these pages--as a message to the generations to come.



Organized by topic ranging from justice, courage, faith, mentorship, and forgiveness to the protests and the pandemic, and many more besides, Carry On collects the late Congressman's thoughts for readers to draw on whenever they are in need of guidance. John Lewis had great confidence in our future, even as he died in the midst of one of our country's most challenging years to date. With this book, he performs that crucial passing of the baton, empowering us to live up to the legacy he has left us with his perseverance, dedication, profound insight, and unwavering ability to see the good in life.

When Harriet Tubman crossed the line to freedom in Pennsylvania, she left behind her home in Maryland, along with a life of enslavement. Her native land made Tubman the person she became to history: Underground Railroad conductor, Civil War scout and nurse, suffragist and advocate for the aged and disabled. Authors Phillip Hesser and Charlie Ewers explore the landscape of Tubman's life, from the slave quarters to the churches to the marshes and fields where she worked. Travel to nineteenth-century Dorchester County and search for the places that Harriet Tubman would never know again--some of them now lost to sinking lands and rising waters.
 

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A chorus of extraordinary voices tells the epic story of the four-hundred-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present—edited by Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, and Keisha N. Blain, author of Set the World on Fire.

FINALIST FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post, Town & Country, Ms. magazine, BookPage, She Reads, BookRiot, Booklist • “A vital addition to [the] curriculum on race in America . . . a gateway to the solo works of all the voices in Kendi and Blain’s impressive choir.”—The Washington Post
 
“From journalist Hannah P. Jones on Jamestown’s first slaves to historian Annette Gordon-Reed’s portrait of Sally Hemings to the seductive cadences of poets Jericho Brown and Patricia Smith, Four Hundred Souls weaves a tapestry of unspeakable suffering and unexpected transcendence.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

The story begins in 1619—a year before the Mayflower—when the White Lion disgorges “some 20-and-odd Negroes” onto the shores of Virginia, inaugurating the African presence in what would become the United States. It takes us to the present, when African Americans, descendants of those on the White Lion and a thousand other routes to this country, continue a journey defined by inhuman oppression, visionary struggles, stunning achievements, and millions of ordinary lives passing through extraordinary history. 

Four Hundred Souls is a unique one-volume “community” history of African Americans. The editors, Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, have assembled ninety brilliant writers, each of whom takes on a five-year period of that four-hundred-year span. The writers explore their periods through a variety of techniques: historical essays, short stories, personal vignettes, and fiery polemics. They approach history from various perspectives: through the eyes of towering historical icons or the untold stories of ordinary people; through places, laws, and objects. While themes of resistance and struggle, of hope and reinvention, course through the book, this collection of diverse pieces from ninety different minds, reflecting ninety different perspectives, fundamentally deconstructs the idea that Africans in America are a monolith—instead it unlocks the startling range of experiences and ideas that have always existed within the community of Blackness. 

This is a history that illuminates our past and gives us new ways of thinking about our future, written by the most vital and essential voices of our present.

Cassie's family is going on vacation with people she doesn't know and she's feeling a little shy. But when a West Highland terrier magically appears in her house, her nerves are instantly calmed.

Two children’s book superstars—#1 New York Times bestseller Jacqueline Woodson, the author of The Day You Begin, and Leo Espinosa, the illustrator of Islandborn­—join forces to celebrate the joy and freedom of summer in the city, which is gloriously captured in their rhythmic text and lively art.

It's getting hot outside, hot enough to turn on the hydrants and run through the water--and that means it's finally summer in the city! Released from school and reveling in their freedom, the kids on one Brooklyn block take advantage of everything summertime has to offer: Freedom from morning till night to go out to meet their friends and make the streets their playground--jumping double Dutch, playing tag and hide-and-seek, building forts, chasing ice cream trucks, and best of all, believing anything is possible. That is, till their moms call them home for dinner. But not to worry--they know there is always tomorrow to do it all over again--because the block belongs to them and they rule their world.

(This book is also available in Spanish, as El mundo era nuestro!)

An inventive tale by a beloved Hans Christian Andersen Award winner celebrates our differences—and the joys of inclusion—through the lens of artificial intelligence.

From the boundless imagination of David Almond comes a thought-provoking question, packaged in a lively illustrated chapter book: what if a robot went to school? When a new boy joins their class, everyone thinks he’s . . . odd. George doesn’t behave like other kids. He doesn’t think like other kids. But he’s great at football and snacking, and that’s what matters to Dan and Maxie and friends, who resolve to make George feel welcome. Over time, they learn that he’s just like them, in most ways, except one: George is a robot, part of an ambitious new experiment, with sinister people bent on destroying him. When his lab pulls him out of school, can George’s new friends recover him—and set him free? Told in David Almond’s signature rollicking narrative style, this poignant tale about what it means to be human, paired with warm and funny black-and-white illustrations, will inspire children to think and giggle in equal measure.

A humorous book about what every older sibling needs to know, filled with information about the new baby at your house, from mom of three and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of She Persisted Chelsea Clinton.

Is there a new baby coming to your home? One that will sleep and cry and demand attention and . . . poop? Well, welcome to the Big Kids Club!

This book will teach you what every big kid needs to know about their baby: what your baby can see, why your baby cries, when your baby will be able to talk, how your baby knows you love them, and so much more (including why your baby poops so much!).

With artwork sure to cause big-kid-sized giggles, this book is perfect for any member or soon-to-be member of the Big Kids Club.

In the grand finale of Elise Gravel's graphic chapter book series that Kirkus called "a charming treasure," Arlo the crow is going to be a dad! The third book in this quirky series from acclaimed author Elise Gravel is perfect for fans of Narwhal and Jelly and Castronauts.

Parenting is tough--even for a genius like Arlo--but luckily he isn't alone: his partner Marla and Uncle Pips are there to help! From building a new nest and taking care of Marla while she incubates the eggs to teaching the chicks everything they need to know, Arlo has his wings full. Join Arlo, Pips, Marla, and the new chicks as they explore this next big chapter in their lives.

Snappy dialogue paired with a limited color scheme that's perfect for newly independent readers, this final story has tons of amazing "kid-pleasing" bird facts.

More praise for Arlo & Pips #1: King of the Crows: A New York Public Library Best Book * A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best * A Junior Library Guild Selection * "An unexpected friendship story! In three short graphic chapters marked by [Gravel's] signature sly humor, facts about crows are sprinkled throughout, making the reader believe that maybe crows are truly as amazing as Arlo says." --The Horn Book (starred review)

This hilarious new book in the kid-favorite Just Joking series--packed with 300 science-themed jokes, riddles, knock-knocks, tongue twisters, and more--is scientifically proven to leave kids laughing, chuckling, and exclaiming "Eureka!"
It's got jokes about all kinds of science stuff--kooky chemistry, funny physics, dinosaurs, space, and more--plus 10 stories of real-life scientific experiments that are so wacky you'll hardly believe them!
This book is a gut-busting party-starter or a quiet-time entertainer, great for chuckling alone or reading aloud to friends and family. It's also perfectly portable: Toss it in a backpack or take it on the road for on-the-go giggles.
The perfect read for science whizzes (and whiz wannabes), kid comedians, and laughter-lovers of all ages.
Complete the collection with Just Joking Gross, Just Joking Dogs, Just Joking LOL! ... and more!

When his teacher announces that there will be a science fair in a few weeks, the young boy in I Am Smart is worried. He doesn't like science. Science is hard! But when his mom tells him to "look for the science in your life," he knows just what his project will be! By doing research, asking his friends for help, and not giving up, the boy learns that science can be really fun. Now that's smart!

Short on words and long on empowerment, the Positive Power early reader series teaches kids and parents alike the power of positive affirmations and how to incorporate them into their daily lives. Each paperback version of the book also features two pages of colorful stickers based on the story.

RAWR! It's a Tyrannosaurus rex! Learn all about one of the biggest, baddest dinosaurs ever to stalk the planet.

Giant teeth! Crushing bite! Slicing claws! And ... feathers? Scientists have unearthed new knowledge about the king of the dinosaurs, and now you can, too. Travel back in time to the Mesozoic forests to meet the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex. Learn how their bodies were perfectly adapted for hunting, how T. rex parents guarded their nests, and just how much meat they could guzzle down in a single bite. Then explore some of the fascinating fossils--including Sue and Scotty--that have helped scientists make important discoveries (for example, T. rex may not have roared at all!).

National Geographic Readers' combination of expert-vetted text, brilliant images, and a fun approach to reading have proved to be a winning formula with kids, parents, and educators. This level 1 text provides accessible information for kids just beginning to read on their own, perfect to encourage the scientists and explorers of tomorrow!

With stunning artwork, incredible information, and all reviewed by a National Geographic paleontologist, this book will amaze young readers with the latest facts about this perennial favorite creature.

About the series: This high-interest, educationally vetted readers series features magnificent National Geographic images accompanied by text written by experienced, skilled children's book authors. Each reader includes a glossary and interactive features in which kids get to use what they've learned in the book. Level 1 readers reinforce the content of the book with a kinesthetic learning activity. Level 2 readers feature slightly higher-level text and additional vocabulary words. Level 3 readers have more layers of information to challenge more proficient readers. For emerging readers, the Pre-reader level introduces vocabulary and concepts, and the Co-reader level provides a collaborative reading experience.


Praise for National Geographic Readers:
"Reliable in format and solid in execution, this series works well to introduce children of varying levels of reading comfort to nonfiction and research formats."
--Maggie Reagan, Booklist

A moving picture book from a debut author about the first day of school, layered with themes about the immigrant experience and the universal experience of feeling out of place.

A child, newly arrived in another country, feels displaced, lonely, and a little scared on her first day of school. Her name doesn't sound the way she's used to hearing it. She knows she doesn't fit in. And when she eats her whole tomato for lunch, she can feel her classmates observing her—and not quite understanding her.

But sometimes all it takes is one friend, one connection, to bring two worlds together, and gradually the girl, her tomato, and her full name, start to feel at home with her new friends and community.

This emotionally sweeping debut picture book by Costantia Manoli, with vibrant art by Magdalena Mora, artfully captures feelings of displacement and the joy that comes from forging new friendships.

“A hilarious postapocalyptic romp full of fun, misfits, and friendship! If you think your friends are oddballs, wait till you meet the kids at Doom’s Day Camp!” —John Patrick Green, New York Times bestselling creator of the InvestiGators series

The Last Kids on Earth meets Encanto in this funny and adventurous middle grade graphic novel set in a world where everyone has unusual abilities except for a boy named Doom . . . who just might have to save them all.

Doom Thorax is destined for greatness! Well, maybe…His dad is, after all, the fiercest apocalyptic warrior to ever walk what’s left of the earth. Unfortunately, in a world where the remaining humans (if you can still call them that) all have extraordinary abilities, Doom is painfully ordinary. In fact, the only thing even remotely special about him is that he is the one person in their whole pack who can read.

When his dad leads the adults off to battle a mysterious new threat, Doom gets left in charge of all the other kids from his camp. The only problem is he can barely take care of himself, let alone a group of weirdos like them. What’s he supposed to feed a boy made of mud? Why is the girl with telekinesis such a headache? And how can he stop his super strong little sister from turning everyone against him? Doom has ­ finally been given a chance to prove himself. But it may take a lot more than book smarts if he and the others are going to have any chance at surviving on their own.

A child who looks different from her mother finds beauty and belonging in this new book from the creator of New York Times bestseller I Sang You Down from the Stars

 

Izzy's favorite place to be is in Mama's arms--skin to skin, safe and warm. One night, cuddled up on Mama's lap, Izzy notices something she's never noticed before: her skin is the color of chocolate, but Mama's skin is the color of sand.

 

 

When Izzy realizes she's different from Mama in other ways, too, she feels sad and confused. She wants to be beautiful like Mama! But Mama addresses Izzy's disappointment with a gentle, loving refrain: You're part of me, and I'm part of you. I'm beautiful like me, and you're beautiful like you. Finding lessons from nature and repeating her affirming message, Mama encourages Izzy to see her own unique beauty.

 

 

This story about a multiracial child navigating identity and belonging draws from author Tasha Spillett-Sumner's own experience growing up as an Afro-Indigenous girl. Lyrical text and warm, lively illustrations show Izzy's journey as she learns to celebrate the differences that make her uniquely beautiful, and the connection to her mother that transcends physical traits.

 

 

A relatable and game-changing guide for parents that redefines what it means to be a present-day father. 
Father-of-three, motivational speaker and influencer Bodé Aboderin (AKA Papa B) is on a mission to show the world that Black fatherhood is not only compatible with ambition, but can inspire, nourish and amplify it too. 

Papa B is using his natural flair for motivational speech to share the joyful and transformative journey of starting a family, including the challenges involved and the opportunities to grow along the way. In this passionate parenting book for dads, Bodé reflects on how his own upbringing, alongside stigmas about fatherhood, race, and masculinity, have impacted his experiences of being a father, whilst talking candidly about how to overcome the challenges commonly experienced by parents - from breaking generational cycles and adapting to modern-day family dynamics to communicating with your child and achieving a healthy work-life balance. Fatherhood by Papa B teaches all fathers everywhere to be empowered. 

Explore the pages of this parenting guide to discover:

- 10 chapters that discuss what it means to be a father today 
- A specific focus on shifting the narrative away from stigmas and stereotypes about fatherhood, race, and masculinity.

Fatherhood by Papa B addresses fatherhood in such a way that is hard-working, practical and incredibly down-to-earth. A must-have volume for all parents, father figures and fathers-to-be, Fatherhood by Papa B is set out to exemplify what many studies have revealed: that involved fatherhood can also improve a man’s cognitive skills, health and capacity for empathy, whilst building confidence, self-esteem and enhancing emotional regulation and expression. This brilliant book looks at how a father’s own upbringing and well-being can impact and revolutionize the relationship with their child.

 

For parents who didn't grow up with smartphones but can't let go of them now, expert advice on raising kids in our constantly connected world

Most kids get their first smartphone at the same time that they're experiencing major developmental changes. Making mistakes has always been a part of growing up, but how do parents help their kids navigate childhood and adolescence at a time when social media has the potential to magnify the consequences of those mistakes? Rather than spend all their time worrying about the worst-case scenario, readers get a bigger-picture understanding of their kids' digital landscape. Drawing on research and interviews with educators, psychologists, and kids themselves, Raising a Screen-Smart Kid offers practical advice on how parents can help their kids avoid the pitfalls and reap the benefits of the digital age by:

 

 

• using social media to enhance connection with friends and family, instead of following strangers and celebrities, which is a predictor of loneliness and depression
• finding online support and community for conditions such as depression and eating disorders, while avoiding potential triggers such as #Thinspiration Pinterest boards
• learning and developing life skills through technology--for example, by problem-solving in online games--while avoiding inappropriate content


• Written by a public health expert and the creator of the popular blog Rants from Mommyland, this book shows parents how to help their kids navigate friendships, bullying, dating, self-esteem, and more online.

 

 

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

From a leading child psychologist comes this groundbreaking new understanding of children's behavior, offering insight and strategies to support both parents and children.

Nominated for Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel H. Pink's Next Big Idea Club

Over her decades as a clinical psychologist, Dr. Mona Delahooke has routinely counseled distraught parents who struggle to manage their children's challenging, sometimes oppositional behaviors. These families are understandably focused on correcting or improving a child's lack of compliance, emotional outbursts, tantrums, and other "out of control" behavior. But, as she has shared with these families, a perspective shift is needed. Behavior, no matter how challenging, is not the problem but a symptom; a clue about what is happening in a child's unique physiologic makeup.

In Brain-Body Parenting, Dr. Delahooke offers a radical new approach to parenting based on her clinical experience as well as the most recent research in neuroscience and child psychology. Instead of a "top-down" approach to behavior that focuses on the thinking brain, she calls for a "bottom-up" approach that considers the essential role of the entire nervous system, which produces children's feelings and behaviors.

When we begin to understand the biology beneath the behavior, suggests Dr. Delahooke, we give our children the resources they need to grow and thrive--and we give ourselves the gift of a happier, more connected relationship with them. Brain-Body Parenting empowers parents with tools to help their children develop self-regulation skills while also encouraging parental self-care, which is crucial for parents to have the capacity to provide the essential "co-regulation" children need. When parents shift from trying to secure compliance to supporting connection and balance in the body and mind, they unlock a deeper understanding of their child, encouraging calmer behavior, more harmonious family dynamics, and increased resilience.

"A valuable, practical resource for parents and caregivers of children, from age five through adulthood, who exhibit signs of, or have been diagnosed with, borderline personality disorder (BPD)."--Booklist

Based on the self-help classic, Stop Walking on Eggshells, this essential guide offers powerful skills and strategies for parenting a child of any age with borderline personality disorder (BPD)--without sacrificing their family or themselves.

If you have a child with BPD, you are all-too-aware of the behavioral and emotional issues that are linked to this disorder--including rages, self-harm, sexual acting out, substance abuse, suicidal behaviors, physical and emotional attacks, and more. Traditional parenting strategies that work on other kids just don't work with a borderline child. But you shouldn't lose hope. The good news is that there are parenting strategies that do work.

With this comprehensive resource, you will learn all about borderline personality disorder, how it shows up in children, adolescents, and your adult children, how to obtain proper treatment, and how to manage your child's condition at home. You'll find proven-effective strategies to help you communicate and improve your relationship with your child of any age, and, as a result, improve your own life as a parent and an individual. You'll also find real stories and advice from parents who have also experienced raising a child with BPD.

Most importantly, you'll learn how to maintain boundaries and validate your child while also meeting your own needs. Whether your child is 5 or 25, this book offers tools to help you and your family thrive.

Now updated in a second edition—the category-leading guide to parenting adventurous eaters

Pediatrician Nimali Fernando and feeding therapist Melanie Potock (aka Dr. Yum and Coach Mel) know the importance of giving your child the right start on their food journey—for good health, motor skills, and even cognitive and emotional development. In this updated, second edition of Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater, they explain how to expand your family’s food horizons, avoid the picky eater trap, identify special feeding needs, and put joy back into mealtimes, with
 

• the latest research and advice tailored to every stage from newborn through school-age
• new guidance on pacifiers, thumb-sucking, feeding concerns, and barriers to eating well
• helpful insights on the sensory system, difficult mealtime behaviors, and everything from baby-led weaning to sippy cups
• advice and resources for those lacking access to fresh foods or who are facing financial insecurity 
• and seven “passport stamps” for modern parenting: joyful, compassionate, brave, patient, consistent, proactive, and mindful.

Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater shows the way to lead your child on the path to adventurous eating. Grab your passport and go!

Build language skills with 65 signing activities for babies and toddlers

 

The best way to teach your little one sign language is to make it fun and engaging! This book is filled with easy songs and games that make practicing sign language a playful part of your daily routine with your baby.

 

What sets this baby sign language book apart from the others:

 

• Baby sign language basics--Learn more about sign language for babies and toddlers, how it can help support your little one's overall language development, and how to get started with age- and stage-appropriate signs.
• Easy-to-follow exercises--Discover step-by-step instructions, expert tips, and helpful illustrations with every sign language activity.

   

• Learning through play--Teach your baby fundamental vocabulary words with silly songs like Baby Shark and fun games like Teddy Bear's Birthday.

 

Sing, play, and bond with your little one as they develop sign language skills that will last a lifetime.

 

 

Calm the chaos and transform your home into a space that fosters curiosity, creativity, and independence

Too often, the toys, games, and other materials meant to educate young children end up being a detriment instead. If you're overwhelmed and your kids are overstimulated, it's time to reset your space by applying the principles of the Montessori method at home so you can be a calmer, more attentive parent.

Author and certified Montessori guide Ashley Yeh tackles each room of the home and explains how to provide young children with the accessibility they need to complete practical life skills on their own, tapping into their innate desire to "do it myself." Whether your child is an infant, toddler, or preschooler, there are simple and inexpensive changes you can make to foster indpendence and reduce the stress around mealtimes, bedtime, and leaving the house. 

Includes:

   •  Introduction to the Montessori method, which emphasizes whole-child development and learning through experience
   • How to apply Montessori principles throughout the home so that children are able to complete practical, everyday tasks on their own 
   • Over 75 simple activities for ages 0–5
   • Essential Montessori resources and materials with DIY options

Science tells us that babies develop best when they are spoken to, sung to, and read to. Introduce your baby to a world of words and pictures with these 30 classic nursery rhymes from the Mother Goose collection and beyond paired with images of Chloe Giordano’s delightful hand-embroidered illustrations on cloth.

Even when they’re tiny, the sound of their parents’ voices helps babies make sense of the world and feel comfortable with new people and places. This treasury gives you the opportunity to rediscover just how useful (and calming) these best-loved nursery rhymes are in one, handsome volume.

Bond with your baby and help them grow as you recite and sing these timeless rhymes:

Hey, Diddle Diddle; Baa, Baa, Black Sheep; This Little Piggy; Hush Little Baby; Hickory, Dickory, Dock; Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star; Little Bo-Peep; Pussy-cat, Pussy-cat; Row, Row, Row Your Boat; The Itsy Bitsy Spider; London Bridge; Mary Had a Little Lamb; One, Two, Buckle My Shoe; Humpty Dumpty; Rub-a-dub-dub; Pat-a-Cake; I Saw a Ship A-Sailing; Old MacDonald; Rock-a-Bye Baby; The Wheels on the Bus; I’m a Little Teapot; This Old Man; Jack and Jill; The Muffin Man; Little Miss Muffet; The Owl and the Pussy-cat; Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush; Old Mother Hubbard; Pop! Goes the Weasel; Are you Sleeping?

The essential guide to parenting multiracial and multiethnic children of all ages and learning to support and celebrate their multiracial identities

In a world where people are more likely to proclaim color-blindness than talk openly about race, how can we truly value, support, and celebrate our kids' identities? How can we assess our own sense of Racial Dialogue Readiness and develop a deeper understanding of the issues facing multiracial children today?

Raising Multiracial Children gives caregivers the tools for exploring race with their children, offering practical guidance on how to initiate conversations; consciously foster racial identity development; discuss issues like microaggressions, intersectionality, and privilege; and intentionally cultivate a sense of belonging. It provides an overview of key issues and current topics relevant to raising multiracial children and offers strategies and developmentally appropriate milestones from infancy through adulthood. The book ends with resources and references for further learning and exploration.

A teacher's self-care guide for building resilience, boosting emotional strength, and finding hope in the face of daily stress and overwhelming challenges.

If you're an educator who works with children, you often face intense pressure in the classroom. This was true before the pandemic, but now you may be feeling it even more. You aren't alone. From having to adapt to remote learning on the spot, to balancing the impacts of the pandemic on your personal life, many teachers are experiencing record levels of stress, trauma, and burnout. In addition, as an entire generation of students struggle to meet the academic and social emotional learning (SEL) challenges caused by a extended remote learning, you may be dealing with kids who are anxious, traumatized, and likely a year or two behind developmentally as they return to the classroom. It's a lot to manage, and you may feel like you are at your breaking point.

Written by an educational director at the Greater Good Science Center, Surviving Teacher Burnout is a 52-week self-care guide for teachers that features simple, low-lift strategies for increasing resilience and fostering greater well-being, confidence, and hope. Grounded in research-based positive psychology, the book offers tons of practical activities and journal-style prompts to help you cultivate feelings of gratitude, optimism, mindfulness, forgiveness, empathic joy, self-compassion, purpose, and curiosity--so you can return to your classroom each day with renewed energy and inspiration.

You'll also find doable strategies to share with other educators to help infuse more positive energy in classrooms and schools, and create more supportive systems that promote a sense of meaning, belonging, and connectedness among teachers and students.

If you're like many educators, you may feel you lack the time and energy to engage in self-care practices. This guide offers bite-sized insights and activities that are simple, approachable, and usable, so you can thrive in the classroom, in your community, and in life!

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

From Ann Cleeves—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—comes the stunning new Vera Stanhope novel, The Darkest Evening.

"Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers."—Louise Penny

"As a huge fan of both the Shetland and Vera series of books, I had high expectations for Cleeves’ latest. . . . A stunning debut for Cleeves’ latest crimefighter."—David Baldacci on The Long Call

On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat.

Vera takes the child and, driving on, she arrives at a place she knows well. Brockburn is a large, grand house in the wilds of Northumberland, now a little shabby and run down. It’s also where her father, Hector, grew up. Inside, there’s a party in full swing: music, Christmas lights and laughter. Outside, unbeknownst to the revelers, a woman lies dead in the snow.

As the blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, Brockburn begins to give up its secrets, and as Vera digs deeper into her investigation, she also begins to uncover her family’s complicated past.