Finlay chronicles the life of a man working for an ambitious (and possibly delusional) chief executive. A third of the way through the book, the narrator describes protagonist Hugh Snell as “god-like, ant-like, altogether paranoid.” It’s a good summary of his contradictory nature; Hugh is at once talented enough to be entrusted with a high-level …
Walking through the orchard in early summer with her parents and big white dog, Lilly spots some leafy vines spilling over the old compost heap—pumpkin “volunteers.” Dad explains, “We didn’t plant them, they sprouted from the pumpkins we threw away last fall.” Over the course of a long, hot season, Lilly plays, grooms her dog, …
As Demers’ rhyming text suggests, love occasionally makes parents say ridiculous things: “I great big meal and tiny snack you.” It also stirs overpowering emotions (“And on each clock / My favourite minute / Is every one / That has you in it”). Some of the book’s sentiments are a bit cliched—“And every year / …
Under a dim crescent moon, two youngsters—one brown-skinned with long dark hair, the other pale-skinned with short red hair—climb an ominous mountain by a switchback trail, accompanied by a dog who collects a mouthful of bones along the way. An unseen narrator urgently advises them to stop (“There’s a ghost town in the mountains, turn …
The book opens with a counterintuitive premise: The “less we believe, the closer we get to religion.” While doctrines, creeds, and articles of faith are ubiquitous across the world’s largest religions, from the Abrahamic faiths to Buddhism, Pritikin argues that those seeking genuine spiritual fulfillment should learn from mystics rather than strictly adhere to a …
Set in a post-human future where remnants of humanity are treated with suspicion, this thoughtful graphic novel follows Quirk, a teen robot struggling to connect with his peers and understand his place in society. Everything changes in a hidden bunker filled with relics from the human era, including a diary, a pink hoodie, medical testing …
Nicolina is from the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of a money manager who’s currently in jail for insider trading. The family’s fortunes have thus fallen, and Nicolina takes a job with charity group the Red Crest; she eventually becomes “assistant director of operations for the entire Middle East.” Moving to New York City, …
Fifteen-year-old Malanthia Duvenne has spent her life in the town of Briel in the kingdom of Athergard, knowing little about the mysterious power that runs through her father’s bloodline. When a carriage bearing a strange crest arrives at her family’s home, she’s taken north to Stonemouth Keep, where her name, identity, and future are systematically …
In the rearview: her old band, Spinning Birds, on the verge of possibly making it—and her former band mate and newly minted ex, Matt Turkish. Ahead of her, a dark highway, the promise of a rented room from Craigslist, and the ghosts of her past. Back in Nashville, Maggie returns to her old haunts to …
The author, a historian, interrogates the life of Donald Trump and the rise of Trumpism in U.S. politics by elevating recent history to the level of scripture. Calder (signified by the title “the scribe”) begins with the story of Donald J. Trump’s rise to becoming one of the most recognizable figures in real estate, finance, …
