The unique blend of sarcasm and intellectual wit with complex science makes this graphic novel, the first in the series, stand out. Gil’s characters are deliciously diverse—both in their personalities and fields of expertise—and their tasks, from freezing mud to prevent a building cave-in to harnessing soundwaves when fighting a forest fire, create a no-holds-barred scientific adventure that never slows down. “Science Check” components at the end of every section sum up the facts and spell out the history behind each lesson, like how Leonardo DaVinci influenced propeller blades or the background of satellites, and Gil (author of graphic novel Last Knight in the City, among others) includes QR codes for more information.
The Whiz Kids definitely have their work cut out for them, but Gil’s fun, inviting text makes the job as entertaining as it is important. Whether it’s investigating reported alien sightings in Arkansas or the group helping Wade navigate how to be a talking bear and a scientist at the same time, readers will find much to love here. Serious moments dot the landscape as well, particularly Cody’s experience with gender dysphoria, which Gil handles respectfully, stirring powerful emotions for readers as Cody bravely tells his parents “I have a second chance to live my life truer to how I feel inside!”
Takeaway: Fun-filled, S.T.E.M-heavy graphic novel for middle grade readers.
Comparable Titles: Matthew McElligott's Mad Scientist Academy, Otis Frampton's Oddly Normal.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
George (Illuminating Darwin) meticulously lays out the history behind this enigmatic story, blurring the line between fact and fiction as she weaves a tale of passion and predestination amid a web of ancient customs and supernatural lore. The ornate descriptions of village life and its economy transfix, as George paints with stunning metaphor and dramatic imagery, from the townspeople’s dependence on fishing, that “silvery lifeblood of their very existence,” to the coastal storms that ravage the village with “wild, darkening majesty.” The saga races forward with escalating tension and stakes that surge, as Effy grapples with one threat after the other, ensuring a compelling and suspenseful read.
Harnessing the power of her prophetic sight is just one of Effy’s many challenges amid her quest to survive, and her efforts are rooted in the time period’s socio-cultural context, including her yearning for knowledge and agency in a community that views women as inferior. Female solidarity and Effy’s bid to break away from the clutches of abusive and strained relationships form important subtexts, transforming this gothic romance into a discerning survey of the hope and resilience that can break through even the most terrifying of circumstances.
Takeaway: Suspenseful gothic romance with a formidable female lead.
Comparable Titles: Rosamunde Pilcher’s The Shell Seekers, Buck Turner’s The Keeper of Stars.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
Luidens writes with a philosophical hand, gently—but passionately—rifling through the religious precepts she was taught as a youth and sifting their weight against the reality she observes in the world around her. Her time spent attending a Christian college is recounted with fresh and frank power, revealing indecision, mistrust, and, above all, desperate yearning to hear God speak directly to her as he did when she was a child. When that fails—“I couldn’t hear his voice or sense his love. I couldn’t feel God. I used to, didn’t I? Not anymore” she laments—Luidens is plagued with a black, questioning cloud that eats at everything she’s ever known, eventually leading her to ruminate about her own death.
The last section of the memoir rebounds with hope, as Luidens travels to France to study abroad. Her time there is spent lapping up the local culture while holding conversations with long gone philosophers (David Hume characterizes her belief in God as a consequence of what she was taught growing up), wading through her anger, disappointment, and, in many ways, heartbreak at being failed by organized religion. The memoir closes, fittingly, on an intangible note, mirroring Luidens’s ongoing struggle to reconcile her newfound awakenings with those “past versions of myself.”
Takeaway: Contemplative reflections on religion, philosophy, and mortality.
Comparable Titles: Barbara Brown Taylor’s Leaving Church, Rachel Held Evans’s Wholehearted Faith.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A
Primo Sebastian Anderson (motto: “Stability and Unity”) insists that Sandrine file and forget the charge—and when she pokes around, discovering a coverup and a potential threat to all life on the ship, Anderson’s team threatens her with possibly missing all future Birthing Years, too. Josephides (author of Tuichi) honors expectations of multiple genres—the unsettling paranoia of political thrillers, the awe and invention of science fiction, the shoe-leather investigation of the procedural—as Sandrine chases down leads, interviews a host of shipmates who reveal fascinating detail about ship life, and faces accusations, hard choices, and danger.
Sandrine proves a compelling hero, one driven by duty and belief in the principles behind the mission—principles that Anderson seems all-too-eager to exploit. She’s driven but human (“Speak Thetan, please,” she snaps to a long-winded scientist), and her investigation offers a memorable tour through the ship’s people, culture, tech, and secrets. Seasoned mystery readers may find the identity of the villain obvious, but the civilizational stakes, lived-in worldbuilding, and assured storytelling all satisfy.
Takeaway: Satisfying generation ship mystery, with strong worldbuilding.
Comparable Titles: Patrick S. Tomlinson’s Children of a Dead Earth series, Nick Harkaway’s Titanium Noir.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
Each volume in the series offers readers a panoramic glimpse of one of the sisters, and this time Helen’s firmly on center stage. Her troubled past, including a sexual assault in high school and her own sketchy choices at her law firm, comes rushing back during the group’s multi-day hike, and Ballard structures the bond between the sisters—regardless of their petty disagreements—as the glue that will help Helen get her life back on track. Their camaraderie is heartwarming, and their attempts to restore closeness and help each other through troubles keeps the tone upbeat.
Ballard reveals Helen’s past secrets—and her perceived failure as a mother to her son Jacob—subtly, mirroring the shame and fear Helen feels at the thought of opening up to her family. Though that diminishes the emotional payoff when she finally bares her soul, it fits her personality and role within the family—Helen, “the big sister they needed,” believes she’s there to help her sisters “live better lives.” Ultimately, she realizes expecting herself to be perfect only hurts the people she loves, recognizing she is, in the end, “enough”—just the way she is.
Takeaway: Estranged sisters bond during a grueling family trek.
Comparable Titles: Barbara O’Neal’s The Starfish Sisters, Blair Thornburgh’s Ordinary Girls.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Taggert’s female lead is every bit the capable, up-to-the-task operative, but her vulnerability is expertly crafted through a moving backstory that involves Rye’s return to the family ranch following the tragic death of her parents in a vehicle accident. That accident, leaving her as the last surviving Dalton, paints Rye into a corner of sorts, forcing her to re-evaluate her career and assume management of her family’s legacy—a stark portrayal of the unexpected curveballs that can so easily upend life. Still, Rye stays grounded, depending on the close-knit loyalty of her staff—and a blossoming romance with Alejandro Mendoza, Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs—to steady her amid the chaos threatening her way of life.
The storyline manages a satisfying balance of breezy romance and homespun thrills, as Rye and Alejandro find time for sun-soaked intimacy and cobblestone strolls in Mexico, even while coordinating the efforts of local law enforcement and international aid in their mission to protect the borderlands they both love. Gunfights, violence, and kidnapping spoil the almost-reverent setting, but Rye and Alejandro stay focused, expanding their reach into the complicated issue of border security for both Mexico and the United States, giving this against-the-odds thriller purpose—and hope for change.
Takeaway: Borderland cartel violence threatens a woman’s family ranch.
Comparable Titles: Jeanine Cummins’s American Dirt, James L’etoile’s Dead Drop.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B
But the personal and political compel her to action when Patrick, a Nations prisoner, is threatened after exposing the torture refugee refusés endure when deported. Joseph touchingly dramatizes Alex’s courageous choice to risk detection and save him by accepting her Kommandant’s offer to be an analyst on a security assessment Commission to the Nepal Protectorate. Throughout, Joseph’s vivid worldbuilding and her scarifying descriptions of an oppressive state never detract from the psychological drama of these convincing, complex characters. Alex surprises herself in being attracted to her Commission teammates—Viking-sized Eric Burton, the TaskForce Security Operations Director and math and science genius, and Eric’s adoptive brother Strav Beki, a Mongolian linguist.
The tension mounts as the trio navigates the peculiar specifics of diplomacy and Alex fights the clock in her endeavor to save her father. Survival amid draconian societal laws, questions of privacy, advances in science, and issues of refugee status and treatment provide careful readers with rich material for contemplation as they follow Alex, Eric, and Strav’s adventures through political intrigue, suspense, twists, and affairs of the heart.
Takeaway: Dystopian SF thriller of complex science, relatable characters, and romance.
Comparable Titles: Malka Older; Annalee Newitz’s Autonomous.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Elly Robin goes to War
Elly’s adventures are every bit as colorful as readers have come to expect with this extraordinary prodigy, and Quaver sketches a believable historical setting alongside her incredible feats. As with other volumes, the pages are teeming with fascinating characters—including real historical figures Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and, of course, the Crown Prince of Germany, William—but the characters who linger most in memory include Ilse and the imposing Olive King, an Australian ambulance driver working for Britain’s Voluntary Aid Department, whose tough-talking, steely exterior conceals a true heart of gold. The female leads are trailblazers, each in their own way, a testament to the often-unsung roles of women in World War I.
Though Elly’s operations still take center stage, Edwin, too, faces bizarre twists of fate, and, through their alternating perspectives, Quaver evocatively portrays early 20th century Europe, both rural and urban, as the war’s senseless tragedies overtake much of the continent. Even Elly’s induction into the Escadrille crackles with authenticity, and her devotion to Edwin eventually pays off—though the ending is as gut-wrenching as it is sweet, leaving Elly with a measure of hope that better times may be on the horizon.
Takeaway: Young woman’s search for her true love in WWI Europe.
Comparable Titles: Caroline Scott’s The Poppy Wife, Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Ian and Lyana embody the far-reaching effects of generational trauma, as their troubled childhoods and marital discord seep into the family’s new beginning. Lyana’s disturbing flashbacks to her younger years intensify the moment she sets foot in the mansion, aided by some chilling reflections in an old pantry mirror and whispered voices trailing around the hallways, while the kids bump into their own setbacks. Neurodivergent Zach harnesses the house’s energy to exert power over his popular sister, but the cost is more than he expected, and Ariel’s deterioration is unsettling to watch. Meanwhile, Ian faces his own demons, including a drinking problem and a secret room that transports him to a terrifying event from his childhood.
Despite the family’s excitement at their clean slate, something unusual is definitely happening at Farr Hill, and the suspenseful energy driving the story never lets up. The Keanes are far from perfect but infinitely relatable, rich with undeniable affection and rough edges, and their fight for a new start quickly devolves into a fight to survive, topped off with a shocker of an ending that will leave readers eager for the next installment in this promising series starter.
Takeaway: Troubled family seeks a new beginning in this chilling page-turner.
Comparable Titles: Gilly Macmillan’s The Manor House, Elizabeth Brooks’s The Whispering House.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Amanishakhete’s sense of history and the sacredness of Africa powers this literary fantasy, as the story digs into the dawn of the slave trade, the founding of Baldwin, and how key “Towners,” facing a smallpox epidemic in the 17th century, forged a vicious Blood Covenant involving sacrifices every 17 years, leading to “increased hell on Earth in the coming centuries.” The material is heady and at times demanding, as twin daughters, one embodying good and the other evil, clash from the moment of conception until the fateful solstice blood moon of 1925, when only one can emerge victorious, either releasing or destroying the tortured soul of the Prince.
The novel pulses with pained and mythic imagery like the Hanging Tree (where Baldwin’s residents celebrated “the first African hung in early Alabama”), and there’s aching power in its central metaphor of Towners achieving immortality from “the blood of slain and deceased Africans.” For all the invented history and spiritual elements, including journeys into dark realms and appearances from Lucifer and Satan (or Satana), the narrative moves briskly, at least after some heady introductory material. Earthly scenes edge toward the unsettling–with blood and wombs, snakes and spirits and creatures like a clondike–or the hopeful, as Amanishakhete powerfully emphasizes love, community, and ancestral memory.
Takeaway: Literary fantasy of African myth, blood, and the secret history of an Alabama town.
Comparable Titles: Amos Tutola’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B_
Marketing copy: A-
Gracious Nature: Poems on Earth and Life
Rather than attempt to define it, Tiess ogles the natural world in his poetry and expresses lessons learned from dandelions, squirrels, mud, and the cascading sunlight of “Enlightening,” a poem that gushes with feeling and humanity as Tiess strives to see again what’s divine in us. That struggle powers much of the collection, as threaded throughout Tiess’s exaltations of natural grandeur is a bleak awareness of humanity’s violation of our compact with the planet itself. As he notes in the anguished title poem, “yes, even Eden had an edge // a gate // a passage to be crossed once, only once,” Yet, though humanity approaches the edge of our Eden, Tiess’s collection remains optimistic, undergirded by the belief that the solution to humanity’s gluttony is a new identity based in the notion that “prosperity can stem from [...] community.”
Humility is the essential element, according to Tiess, in cultivating a global, as opposed to individual, perspective. Rather than assume the role of conqueror, Tiess writes, “I've tried to be // the leaf that finds // its due place // in the dewy earth // when finished spinning // into wind,” and for Tiess, making poetry and sharing it allows himself and readers to spin into wind and find their places in the dewy earth. With “love, that renaissance beyond all death,” Tiess makes the present sparkle and imagines a future where humanity “let[s] the small things be immense”.
Takeaway: Intimate yet cerebral paean to nature and a call to action for its preservation.
Comparable Titles: Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese,” Joy Harjo’s “A Map to the Next World”
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Friedman skillfully illuminates the shame-based thought loops that undermine so many women’s self-esteem, revealing her innermost emotions to readers as she describes her paralyzing insecurities and use of drugs to numb her feelings. When romantic relationships end, Friedman struggles with self-blame, scrutinizing her own faults while turning a blind eye to her partners’ red flags. That sense of guilt for never measuring up eventually drives her escape to Costa Rica on a yoga retreat, where she tastes her first-ever “psychedelic experience,” hearing a family friend’s voice remind her that being born is reason enough to finally accept herself, flaws and all: “The voice told me there was nothing I needed to do to earn… the right to be here” she writes.
The narrative resounds with Friedman’s lush travels and educative anecdotes on her use of psychedelic substances, though it carries a word of caution as well—guidance and moderation is key. "I don't think your drug use is problematic. I think it's symptomatic," her therapist concludes, encouraging Friedman to discern the root causes of her anxieties. Her vulnerability is inspiring, and she closes with a call to action for conservative, measured use of psychedelics for “healing [and] spiritual growth.”
Takeaway: Kaleidoscopic roller-coaster ride toward loving oneself.
Comparable Titles: Rachel Hollis's Girl Wash Your Face, Daniel Pinchbeck's Breaking Open the Head.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
Personal stories, gathered from Conscious Change workshops, bring the guidance to life, as real people describe thorny interpersonal and institutional challenges—and how the framework either did or could have helped. The stories get at the human messiness of making change, like how to handle aggressions, micro- and otherwise, from a co-worker of a different background who also happens to be close friends with one’s supervisor. A diverse roster of storytellers illuminates situations like that, showcasing how the Conscious Change principles and skills offer a healthy path. “I had to ask myself, Is hers a normal yell, or just not normal to me?” one storyteller asks, describing confronting a Nigerian co-worker over perceived rudeness but then learning about, in an inspiring conversation, unexpected cultural differences.
A social worker shares the story of a new supervisor who, despite not having the credentials, insists she could do the storyteller’s job—the chapter compellingly illustrates the principles “Clear Emotions,” “Conscious Use of Self,” and “Initiate Change.” The stories read briskly but feel authentically thorny, with the framework offering clear, actionable steps toward greater understanding, collaboration, and effectiveness. Conscious Change never promises it will be easy, but the authors demonstrate that change can be achieved—and that doing so is rewarding.
Takeaway: Well-honed tools, lessons, and case studies for fostering inclusive workplace change.
Comparable Titles: Mita Mallick’s Reimagine Inclusion, Ruchika Tulshyan Inclusion on Purpose.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Brown Dog
As both author and illustrator, CarrieAnne has created a simple, stirring book for small children that charms with its wistful sense of simple pleasures and seasonal changes while inviting new readers with spare, crisp prose and art bursting with canine character. The illustrations, too, tend toward a warm minimalism, the black and white line drawings accented by wonderful bursts of color and capturing well-observed eccentricities of dog movement and behavior. Brown Dog is so lifelike that it’s no surprise that the book is dedicated to the memory of the author's own brown dog, Mr. Buttons, whose photo, like the illustrations, inspire that surge of companionable pleasure that comes with saying “good boy” to a favorite furry companion. The storytelling, meanwhile, encourages empathy for pets in the face of inclement weather, while gently demystifying the cycles of seasons.
Brown Dog is a lovely, gentle offering for young readers and the grown ups lucky enough to read to them, demonstrating that joy is infectious across species. It's a quiet book for quiet moments spent sharing a story and a cuddle, maybe with the family dog curled up close by.
Takeaway: Warm, wonderfully observed story of a dog experiencing the seasons.
Comparable Titles: Luca Tortolini’s My Dog and I, Paul Meisel’s My Happy Year by E. Bluebird.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Parihar’s collection is abundant with such poignant lines, often on the subjects of life and death, as the poet urges readers to “honor the body in decay” and “listen to the eternal song.” Another unifying theme is perseverance amid hardship, with special regard for displaced people, as noted in a dedication “to the disappointments of the displacement” and a trio of displacement poems illuminating lives on “a journey of longing” with “Their spirits unbroken / their hope not withdrawn” despite being umoored “In a world that offers no serenity.” Parihar’s “The Displaced Souls” digs into the immigrant and refugee experience, celebrating resilience born of adversity.
Like the collection as a whole, this poem, urgent in empathy, speaks to the poet’s conception of a universal balance operating within the phenomenon of suffering and beyond; disappointment is countered by wonder, “for in the balance of light and dark, // We find the beauty of the cosmic spark,” and poetry is a means of putting this duality to practice.
Takeaway: Thoughtful, richly human collection exploring death, displacement, and more.
Comparable Titles: Claude McKay’s “After the Winter,” Sun Yung Shin’s “Immigrant Song”
Production grades
Cover: B-
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
Cul-de-Sac: Neighborly Secrets. Deadly Desires.
As the residents, led by queen bee Janice Cooper and her plastic surgeon husband, Allen, observe the newcomers and then attempt to indoctrinate them into their party scene, the story pulses with hidden agendas, fake friendships, steamy relationships, and—inevitably—lies and betrayals that will shake the community. Crowe has written a host of romance novels, and here she deftly incorporates page-turning suspense, social satire, and a sense of lives spinning out of control and towards tragedy. Sharp characterization and slicing dialogue grip from the start, as does Crowe’s keen eye for jealousies and deliciously mixed feelings. Of a recent orgy, one muses “It had been shocking. And amazing. And horrifying. And perfect.” Allen, meanwhile, thinks this of Janice: “She was a full-frontal alpha female. His alpha female.”
The couples take “enjoying the finer things” to the next level. As jealousies and scandals heat up, Crowe never loses sight of the cast’s humanity, with a story that touches on infertility, autism, addiction, and more with some sensitivity. Still, the fun comes when lines get crossed and new friends turn to frenemies. The tension, stoked by a round-robin of perspectives and prose that bites, will keep readers on their toes—and begging Michael and Amelia to leave Connelly Court.
Takeaway: Tense, delicious novel of suburban swingers spinning out of control.
Comparable Titles: Sarah Dunn’s The Arrangement, Abbi Waxman’s Other People’s Houses.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
