Ariana thinks of Nowruz as her “secret holiday” because she’s the only one in her class who observes it. Usually Mama helps prepare, but this year she’s out of town. So Ariana and her father step into her shoes, with some help from Ariana’s grandmother (Nana). Ariana and Dad shop for food and boil and …
Ms. Wilson’s lived in apartment 1A so long that she’s become an expert in the weekday comings and goings of her upstairs neighbors, the Lams. She knows every step, scuffle, and squeak. Best of all, the absence of sounds means the building is finally empty, and she can play her many instruments in peace. Enter …
The unnamed and unmoored protagonist of Shannon’s debut novel has reluctantly moved back in with her parents: “I swapped the city I found for the city I came from.” Overeducated and underemployed, she deals with her lack of direction by becoming obsessed with cleaning. When she gets a job as a cleaner at a local …
Li’s astute sophomore novel opens with lifelong pals Diana Zhang, Justin Yu, Errol Chen, and Vivian Wang graduating into the Great Recession and moving back into their childhood homes in North Potomac, Maryland. Navigating a historically bad job market and their Chinese immigrant parents’ unrealistically high expectations, the friends must also contend with their own …
Stine kicks off what he dubs in his introduction an “Everything Scary Story” (inspired by eating an everything bagel) for middle graders and their parents, “who read my books when they were kids!” He throws in a cheery evil laugh—“Mmmmwahahaha…!”—before launching into a four-part story that packs a creepy old house just off Cthulhu Street …
Curie’s pioneering research into radioactivity is the hallmark of her astounding career and, in this vivid work of historical fiction, Jersild, a writer and psychologist, imagines what her inner thoughts and desires might have been. She does this so well that Curie feels alive. Excavating Curie’s life, Jersild lets readers experience the sexism and misogyny …
Rachel Del Rio describes herself as “42, childless and single,” and while her comedy career is thriving and her lesbian best friend, Scout McDonough, is supportive, she’s insecure about her personal life. She’s reluctant to attend her 20th college reunion—everyone “who isn’t gay or a crackpot is married with kids.” Rachel finds an unsigned love …
This exploration of Canada’s health network is also part leadership manual, blending the personal reflections of the author with stories of his hands-on expertise. Those stories are taken from Rosenberg’s decades in medical practice, study, and executive positions. The book opens with the author’s career at a crossroads when he was let go as CEO …
Her firstborn daughter, Onyesonwu, a powerful witch—introduced in Who Fears Death (2010)—transformed the world and left it, while Najeeba herself has become more dangerous and powerful—the kponyungo, sorcerer of fire, wind, and dust. Her mission, to find and kill the awful spirit that terrorized her father’s family, remains unfinished. But where to begin? First, birth …
Margo and Matilda, the Halifax twins, have been turning heads and causing whispers since the day they debuted. There’s not a man in London who wouldn’t recognize their red hair, and Margo has enjoyed the company of several, but the twins are too notorious for anyone to court them conventionally. Margo starts to think they …
