Book reviews from Tin House Press — fiction, nonfiction, children’s and independent titles, read and reviewed by our editorial team.
The first in Trinh’s fantasy series introduced readers to the Legendary Allies Team, which consists of three tweens and their magical animal companions as they seek to defeat the bong toi, the problems that linger from the Dark Times. This tale focuses on Cam and their ally, the turtle Emerald (both of whom use they/them …
“I have this little sister, Lola. She is small and very funny,” reports young narrator Charlie—and not for the first time. (Fans of this series—book and TV—will know that this is Charlie’s regular opener.) Although it’s only September, Lola is eagerly awaiting Christmas. Charlie tries to instill patience in Lola, but there’s no putting her …
This trilogy closer sends Keeper, sidekick Toby Boggs, and distracted (if ever resourceful) associate Y into a series of misadventures after they agree to help recover an important but fragmented message. Though returning fans of the series might find the joke has worn a bit thin, they’ll still enjoy seeing what offbeat powers the author …
After German bombs level Eilidh Flett’s neighborhood on the outskirts of Glasgow, mum sends her to stay with her Aunt Rhona and cousin Magnus on tiny, rocky Mirk Skerry. Eilidh misses her dad, who’s been lost at sea, resents her grumpy cousin, and doesn’t know how to fill her days. Why does Aunt Rhona spend …
As Icelandic author Helgadóttir’s novel opens, the “strongest woman in the world” is attempting an impossible feat: breaking out of a prison cell while shackled. The novel then moves sharply back in time to show that woman, Gunnhildur, as a baby breaking free of her mother’s body. When she’s brought home to a place of …
In the context of Black cultural life, writes English professor Freeburg, “soul is the one-word answer to this question: How did enslaved Africans turn America’s infamous failure into the greatest moral occasion of modern Western life?” Soul involves the formation of community, self-care, and self-help; delivering aid to others; and finding meaning in life—all enabling …
When we last left mouseling Titch, she had just escaped a crew of grabbers—greedy forest scavengers—with the help of an eaglebear, a massive creature the Grabbers also held captive. As this story begins, Titch, her homebody rodent pal Huckleberry, and pocket-size puffling Dollop are lost in Rotwood Mire. A gruesome creature arises from the mud—a …
Werth, whose books include The Billion-Dollar Molecule (1994), opens with the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which did not spare the U.S., whose doctors wrote millions of prescriptions that cured no one. He then delivers an eye-opening history of the American pharmaceutical industry featuring little-known geniuses (James Conant, Max Tishler, Selman Waksman), as well as commercial …
“Every movie romance needs an Obstacle, a reason the characters don’t naturally fall into each other.” In the off-screen romance between actors Juniper Castillo and Kai Laramie, the obstacle is a moving target. Juniper notices early on that as flirty and forward as Kai is, he seems “closed off to a romantic connection”; that turns …
“Mags MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O. / And on that farm she had a…WHOLE LOTTA WORK TO DO!” With Old MacDonald taking a much-needed vacation, Mags decides to bring the farm into the 21st century. She begins ordering contraptions: a turbo jetpack with hose attachment to help water the crops (“with a SPRINKLE-SPRINKLE here, / …
