Arguing that “God himself will risk offending you to save you,” this spiritual resource takes a close, searching look into the words of Jesus in scripture and the contemporary world's sensitivity to words or ideas that may cause offense. Pastor Replogle highlights interactions and revealing conversations between Jesus and disciples, specifically Peter, who "made himself an obstacle to Jesus", the Pharisees, and the Samaritan woman at the well. In all of these conversations, Replogle pinpoints the moments when Jesus called out these individuals, daring to cause some offense, but in the process revealing true intentions and insecurities hidden even from themselves. Encouraging readers to open themselves up to explore why they may take personal offense to certain conversations or interactions, Replogle offers close looks at Bible passages, shares insightful personal anecdotes, and arrives are clear-eyed guidance for living steeped in Gospel teaching, like "You discover who you are only by being willing to sacrifice who you think you are—and often who the world says you are."

As he explores the deep-rooted nature of human tendencies like insecurity, “the distorted imitations that trap us and put words in our mouth,” and the need for affirmation, Replogle breaks down instances where Jesus faced such challenges within the inner circle, and even with Mary herself. Replogle highlights thinkers like C. S. Lewis, T.S. Eliot, and many others on the nature of offense, digging into the very nature of the term and questions of biblical translation—especially revealing is how, in ancient Greek, offense is rooted in a term for stone or obstacle, with translators seeing in “stumbling over a hidden obstacle the similar experience of stumbling over an offense.”

That gets to the heart of this depiction of a Jesus who caused offense in a compassionate way, to elicit change. Replogle makes the case that everyone can benefit from exploring the sources of their offended feelings—and can find revelation and healing in the process.

Takeaway: Encouraging guide to Jesus’s compassionate use of offense to spur change.

Comparable Titles: Kevin DeYoung’s The Hole in Our Holiness, Anita McCall's Overcoming the Spirit of Offense.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about A Sharp Compassion

Brower debuts with an urgent, romantic space-fantasy series kickoff, centered on a graduate student who has strived to live her own life—and hold in check the destructive power of the magic that stirs and thrashes inside her. That magic is fueled by anger, desired by dark forces, and banned by the Planetary Council that rules this post-Earth human enclave in the Andromeda Galaxy. A magic attack on the campus quad terrifies Renna, and soon she must go into hiding from Am-Re, God of Darkness, who wants to control Renna to cause destruction and chaos. Renna is taken to the planet Taria, shielded from the Council and “beings who wield dark magic.” There, Renna is put in the care of Khellios, the God of the Moon and the Stars, who recognizes her as a Renna whom he loved millennia before—and her tattoo as his sigil. That takes Renna by surprise—she's never met him before, or has she?

Complicating an already fraught situation, Renna is visited in dreams by Sethos, a beautiful fae who reveals himself to be her protector and guardian. Her attraction and connection to both Sethos and Khellios leaves her conflicted. In a galaxy of chaos and fear, where Renna feels “like a prisoner in my own body when I cannot wield my magic in times of fear or any other emotion,” the hero’s fight to survive and discover her place comes spiced with love, sex, and the complexities of the heart.

Bower has crafted both engaging characters it’s easy to feel for and fresh but resonantly familiar worlds, societies, and political situations for them to navigate. The storylines move at a brisk pace and aren't bogged down by the somewhat complex worldbuilding. Instead, the tale, like Renna’s magic, is driven by great swells of feeling. The hopes and losses of this cast, good and evil, compel and surprise, right up to climactic revelations and cliffhangers that will have romantasy fans eager for more.

Takeaway: Rousing romantasy debut of a grad student, a god, and the magic burning inside.

Comparable Titles: Meredith Mooring’s Redsight, Alexis Menard’s Order and Chaos series.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about A God of Moonlight and Stardust

More’s first in his Mannahatta series posits an intriguing but uneven science fiction-fueled alternative history where America’s Indigenous people thrive thanks to incredible technologies gifted them by the mysterious Star Walkers. Lenape teenager Sakima Tamanend has always wanted to be a warrior in a patriarchal society that will not have it. When her power-hungry brother-in-law Machto inadvertently releases a mythical beast into near-future New York, Sakima gives chase, eager to prove herself. But being a warrior is tougher than it looks, and she’ll need all the help she can get, from unexpected allies to a strange alien cuff, if she wants to survive.

City at My Feet is conceptually riveting, built on an intensely creative world that still harbors remnants of contemporary life. New York as we know it, termed the “Land Below” here, is considered “primitive” and houses those humans beset by greed, corruption, and an overdependence on fossil fuels—leading them to a conflictual relationship with “Kahèsëna Hàki”—Mother Earth. The Lenape people, on the other hand, maintain a synergy with the land, bolstered by their impressive technology that includes bioengineered weapons and animals, referred to as “mech-predators” in the forest near Sakima’s home.

Sakima’s commitment to achieving warrior status drives her character and her quest, leading her to the Land Below and a host of run-ins with colorful characters. She undergoes her own share of trials on her path, many of which are instituted by Machto and his endless desire to conquer her spirit—and he comes dangerously close to winning that battle. It’s clear that More has a deep respect for the Lenape and Indigenous peoples of America, though underdeveloped characters and stiff prose get in the way of the story’s appeal. Still, this is an intriguing take on a hero’s journey, and Sakima’s motto—“why live, if you can’t be who you were meant to be”—rings true.

Takeaway: Futuristic Indigenous warrior seeks to prove herself in this multiverse adventure.

Comparable Titles: Christoffer V. Junros’s Origin Andromeda, Jessica Lee Sheppard’s Descending Into Darkness.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about City At My Feet

This first installment in Croft’s Maiden, Mother, Crone trilogy debut begins on a rainy night in 1795 Yorkshire, tracing the sometimes mysterious and often difficult life of nearly 16-year-old Renna, an orphan working in a cotton house by day and culling clients for her guardian, Camilla, by night. When a chance encounter with a sailor named Donovan leads her to a notorious asylum one evening, Renna is haunted by the noises emanating from within its walls—and by the young girl she spies through the window, who bears scars similar to her own but is clearly not well. That image sticks with Renna throughout the novel and hints at startling revelations about her own life.

Croft’s novel is rich in imagery and history, clearly bolstered by her own research into the era, and historical fiction fans will relish following Renna’s compelling life. The power of “scars [to] tell stories” is a recurring motif throughout the book, threading the past with the present, the known with the unknown, and when Camilla’s son, Max, Renna’s sole friend, divulges a dark secret to Renna—that the scarred girl in the asylum is her sister—it triggers a dangerous avalanche of events that put Renna, Max, and Camilla in harm’s way. As a result, Renna and co. must flee to Venice, where Camilla’s sister, Danielle, an enigmatic figure herself, takes them in.

Renna’s time in Venice, where she’s fashioned into a courtesan for the Venetian elite by Danielle, is crafted in shades of excess, wealth, and her fight to have some semblance of control over her own future, all set against the stark backdrop of an ever-changing Venice beset by its efforts to stay neutral amid Napoleon Bonaparte’s shocking victory. In the end, Renna, much like Venice, is forced into a controversial decision in her pursuit of security, highlighting Croft’s shrewd grasp of history and its treatment of women.

Takeaway: 18th century orphan girl fights for belonging in this rich historical fiction.

Comparable Titles: Alyssa Palombo’s The Assassin of Venice, Harriet Constable’s The Instrumentalist.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about The Curse of Maiden Scars

Any reader interested in the history of magic or show business in the U.S. will appreciate this fascinating exploration of Black performers, their craft, and what it took to perform in a society built to exploit them. Steele, herself a magician, examines the lives and careers of the teens who assisted The Great Hermann and his succeeding acts, popular magicians in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as the titular Boomsky. Twelve different people filled the role through the years, but Steele focuses on the two that we have more details about: Milton Hudson Everrett and Isaac William Willis. Drawing on extensive archival research but writing with a novelistic flair, Steele traces their history as performers and how they navigated a racist society and built a life for themselves inside and outside show business.

The time period covered here was one of rapid change in America, especially as motion pictures came on the scene, and Steele helps capture a vanished era of magic shows and vaudeville in rich detail, showcasing stagecraft, professional jealousies, trick-theft, press accounts, and curiosities like Diabolo, the “talking” skull of Frederick Bancroft, and a Hermann performance in Sing Sing Prison. Steele has done extensive past research into the Hermann clan of magicians, particularly Adelaide Hermann, which helps her fill out this story. Much of the press coverage of the magic troupe did not cover the Black performers, making Steele’s work more difficult.

At times, Steele’s engaging narrative style may have the unintended consequence of confusing the reader about the level to which insights into people’s motivations are based in historical record and what is speculative. Steele approaches the racial dynamics of the Boomskys’ story with sensitivity and necessary directness, discussing discrimination, slurs, minstrelsy, and segregation at appropriate places. Photos and ephemera, especially reproductions of advertisements, help humanize the subjects and bring the milieu to life, while extensive endnotes, index, and recommended additional reading will edify readers eager to learn more.

Takeaway: Deeply researched, detail-rich history of Black magicians of the vaudeville era.

Comparable Titles: Peter Lamont and Jim Steinmeyer’s The Secret History of Magic, Hardin J Burlingame’s Hermann the Magician.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about The Great Boomsky

In this adorable children's book, young readers learn about their emotions and how to identify, explore, and handle them. Izzy is excited to display her dancing skills in the talent show, but just as she's about to perform, another emotion kicks in and overwhelms her—she realizes she is nervous. As Izzy grapples with the duality of these feelings, her stuffed panda Penny springs into action to help Izzy with the butterflies in her stomach. Penny (introduced in Oke’s Penny Panda and the Gift of Possibility) points out that the other performers, just like Izzy, are experiencing nervous emotions, too, a simple but pressing truth communicated through telling, human detail. As Izzy frets, she gets guidance from an even more unexpected source: the “Emotion Ninjas,” tiny ninjas in color-coded Shinobi shozoku reflecting feelings like Anger, Fear, and Joy. Their special set of skills: teaching Penny how to cope with her feelings.

The emotion ninjas remind Izzy that she is "the boss," and it’s up to her to choose how to use them. When Izzy takes charge and determines which emotion ninjas will "take a break" in this moment and which ones will come along with her on stage to help her execute her dance, she learns that certain feelings can make her perform better in different situations, while some can be a hindrance if she doesn't take control of them. Vibrant illustrations by Richard Hoit capture both the fun possibilities of teensy ninjas but also, with empathetic clarity, the sometimes uneasy feelings faced by Izzy and other kids. Every face suggests an individual inner life.

Oke brings to life fun and creative ways for parents and teachers to explore with young readers life lessons and milestones through relatable human characters and a lovable talking panda. This second entry in the Penny Panda series is a warm, welcome introduction to recognizing and regulating emotions for elementary aged children.

Takeaway: Inviting picture book on understanding and coping with big emotions.

Comparable Titles: Britney Winn Lee's The Boy with Big, Big Feelings, Janan Cain's The Way I Feel.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Penny Panda and the Emotion Ninjas

Citing milestone movements such as Black Lives Matter, the War for Talent, and #MeToo as catalysts for employees’ growing intolerance of unfair work conditions, Hasl-Kelchner (author of The Business Guide to Legal Literacy) attempts to “crack the code” on keeping employees healthy, happy, and engaged in this down-to-earth how-to. She starts with explaining the social contract of expectations between employees and employers, urging that those expectations be clear, concise, and transparent from the beginning, and goes on to analyze the psychological, emotional, and physical aspects that contribute to employee engagement. The writing is crisp and well-ordered, bursting with valuable insights and logical ideas.

To prove her point that meaningful investment in employees will trigger productive business, Hasl-Kelchner provides reams of data and case histories that illustrate why “fairness” is so important. She breaks down that term even further, outlining its many moving parts—from the need for management to be reachable to why acceptance and inclusion are so crucial for a healthy working environment—and recaps important “fairness factor[s]” throughout the book. Most eye-opening is her willingness to confront damaging workplace norms, such as microaggressions, subjective rewards, and harassment, cautioning that failure to address these norms leads to moral injury—and “compromise[es] the safety and physiological needs of employees.”

Hasl-Kelchner’s case is compelling, as are the rewards—beyond simple human connection—that come with keeping employees meaningfully engaged: it reduces costs, improves business function, and accelerates growth. She offers a five-step process to achieve that, touching on principles like accountability and trust, while reminding readers that “the ability to truly lead depends on legitimacy of power, not mere positional power… it requires emotional consent. It must be earned by demonstrating integrity.” User-friendly black and white graphics scattered throughout help bolster her advice, and she closes with a stark—but convincing—assertion that “fairness at work is the real driving force behind the financial bottom line.”

Takeaway: Eye-opening look at the factors influencing employee satisfaction.

Comparable Titles: Kim Scott’s Radical Respect, Kim Dabbs’s You Belong Here.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Seeking Fairness at Work

Yearwood (author of Peyton and Isabelle) delivers a poignant look at the beauty and burdens of motherhood while exposing the societal chains that often dictate and stifle women's choices in marriage and family life. Rebecca, an affluent professor in Philadelphia, dreams of filling her grand Victorian home with the sounds of children, but her husband, Will, basking in his rising literary fame, remains indifferent to her longing. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Brittney receives little support in taking care of her two children. Her husband, Chris, clings to outdated gender roles, believing that parenting is a woman's domain. When he loses his job as a police officer, he also loses his sense of responsibility—abandoning Brittney, pregnant with their third child.

This nuanced portrayal of the two women's situations thoughtfully exposes America's flawed foster care system and the hasty child removals that often cause more harm than good to children and parents alike. Brittney struggles, touchingly, with being a mother and provider, and her ordeal intensifies when an unsympathetic neighbor, annoyed by her baby's cries, reports her to the Department of Human Services for neglect. Yearwood writes these well-crafted, all-too-human characters with deep empathy. Rebecca's childless longing is as palpable as Brittney's frustration between wanting her children back and knowing they might fare better elsewhere. The emotional toll on children is also given equal emphasis—Ethan's anger and trauma, toddler Madison's confusion, and infant Maggie's wordless expression of pain.

This isn't just a novel about motherhood—it is a searing commentary on the failures of child welfare systems, class inequality, and the extreme standards imposed on women, dismantling the cultural myth of the "perfect mother" who must balance career, household, and parenting. This incisive, heart-rending novel makes a strong case for re-evaluating the various supports extended to low-income and marginalized families, all while it celebrates female agency and women's resilience.

Takeaway: Moving story of two women, foster care, and the myth of the perfect mother.

Comparable Titles: Brit Bennett's The Mothers, Lisa Ko's The Leavers.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

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Nava’s debut fiction novel crafts a powerful narrative of a young American-Tamil woman who must navigate life after surviving the violence of Sri Lanka’s Black July. On a trip to visit her birth country in the summer of 1983, Maya and her father Oliver are brutally attacked by a mob and must escape to a refugee camp, where they are forced to confront the realities of being Tamil during a time of anti-minority riots and massacres. Having witnessed and experienced such violence, Maya returns home to Pennsylvania afterwards, feeling despondent and unsure of how to move forward, given what she now knows about the atrocities being committed in Sri Lanka.

As a survivor herself of the 1970s anti-Tamil violence in Sri Lanka, Nava’s writing is laced with vulnerability, never shying away from the raw and graphic experiences of genocide. Maya grapples with survivor’s guilt on her return home, plagued by feelings of isolation, and Nava deftly spotlights her decision to transform those feelings into raising awareness for the violence being committed against her people. In her efforts to form alliances and garner support from the U.S. government, Maya embarks on a journey of self-discovery, as she must navigate the hardships of activism and learn how to remain resilient in the face of others’ apathy.

Nava presents this piece of Sri Lankan history in an easily accessible way, striking a balance between fact and fiction as she weaves the harrowing truth of Black July and its aftermath into this emotional narrative of transformation and resilience. The novel’s quick pacing keeps its audience engaged, and readers will find themselves immersed in Maya’s journey as she learns the power of forgiveness and comes to recognize “the nature of humans [and] the nature of the world,” understanding that “she [can] not hold on to anger or disappointment. It was too destructive. It was counterproductive.”

Takeaway: Harrowing portrait of an American-Tamil woman facing Sri Lanka’s Black July.

Comparable Titles: Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, Adania Shibli’s Minor Detail.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about July and Everything After

In this emotionally charged memoir, a mother and son share their story of childhood trauma, unrecognized autism, and effective parent-to-child communication. As Duda reflects on her childhood—where she was subjected to physical and sexual abuse—she clarifies her goal to be a "safe space" for her son, Seth (a pseudonym she uses to protect his identity), to shelter him from experiencing the trauma she was exposed to when young. Duda details their experiences from Seth’s early childhood into his young adult years, including her “emotional flashbacks” and repressed memories, as well as the multiple behavioral issues that arose due to Seth’s unrecognized autism, sharing with readers the healthy parenting tips she has mastered along the way.

With humorous asides, poignant insights, and quotes from Seth himself, readers experience firsthand Duda’s parenting strategies, from both parent and child perspectives. Her delivery is frank and honest as she explores the ups and downs of parenting a child with autism while managing her own complex post traumatic stress disorder, and Duda’s candid advice—often shaped around her experiences as a child—hits home. Some sections of the memoir, including Duda’s exploration of epigenetics and neuroplasticity, are science heavy, while others brim with raw emotion: in one particularly emotive story, Duda recounts her shame at “being blamed for [her] own victimization,” sharing how those challenging emotions drove her to stand up for Seth “whenever it was necessary.”

Parents who have struggled with their own trauma will find a wealth of usable advice in Duda’s writing, most of which centers on the importance of “mutual respect” between parent and child—and the need for open communication, even from a very young age. Seth punctuates the weighty subject matter with his own entertaining “Seth-isms” throughout, and readers will find the mother-son bond driving this memoir refreshing and uplifting.

Takeaway: Uplifting and candid memoir on parenting while coping with past trauma.

Comparable Titles: Kristina Kuzmič's I Can Fix This, Jenny Lexhed's Love Is Not Enough.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Mending Together, Building Together

Set in the small town of Merriweather, Wisconsin, during the Great Depression, this endearing story tracks the reluctant return of Melody Merriweather from her vibrant college life in Chicago to the helm of the family business following her father's heart attack. Eager to revitalize the quaint yet quiescent Merriweather Mercantile, Melody introduces chic products like silk scarves and velvet hats, but her modern flair clashes with the old-world pragmatism of Mrs. Haufbrau, her father's immutable staff member, who regards such luxuries as frivolous amid the economic despair. As Melody's inventory languishes, her initial optimism is further dampened by the revelation of her family's debts.

Cox’s spin-off of her Henrietta and Inspector Howard series offers a cozy, intimate glimpse of Melody's trials amidst economic woes, rendering a historical fiction that does not overwhelm with a broad geopolitical plot. Desperate to fix her family’s financial woes, inspiration strikes when Melody learns of her father’s prohibition-era moonshine business. Warned by Cal, the surly but handsome butcher at the Merc, she pivots to his suggestion of selling cider, hoping for a lucrative turnaround. The arrival of lodgers Frank and Julius, restorationists bent on preserving traditional craftsmanship, adds to the intrigue.

The novel shines in its palpable sense of place—from the spirited Harvest Fest to badger holes, old zinc mines, and quaint Cornish cottages. Cox favors small-town charm exploration, infused with humor and romance, with Melody's matchmaking schemes that soon become dramatic, her hanging engagement with her old beau, and her complicated moments with Cal. Melody's strong character development, humorous interludes, and the underlying themes of dreams versus familial obligations, tradition versus modernity, and community spirit compensate for the repetitive minutiae of daily store operations that occasionally drag the narrative. Though the ending is neatly tied, it hangs with a surprising romantic twist, leaving readers of lighthearted historical fiction eager for the next installment.

Takeaway:Small-town saga of matchmaking and family business during the Great Depression.

Comparable Titles: Helen Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Gabrielle Zevin's The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about Matched in Merriweather

Danbury’s third in his Phoenix series picks up on the events from X, as the Martinsen family recovers from the kidnapping—and trafficking attempt—of their seven-year-old daughter, Rose, over a year ago. With all their energy dedicated to Rose’s emotional rehabilitation, parents Curt and Phoenix are cautiously optimistic and relieved to have their family reunited, ready for a much-deserved family break over the upcoming Easter holiday. But their plans are abruptly disrupted when Curt disappears after a post-work drink with his colleagues, throwing the family into chaos as Phoenix must balance the search for her husband while tending to her still-fragile daughter.

A tale of immense resilience, this novel offers a look at the lengths people will go to protect their loved ones—and how seemingly minor decisions can dramatically alter lives. When Tempest, a woman driven by childhood trauma and mental illness, drugs Curtis at a local bar and kidnaps him, Danbury reveals her motivations in chilling snapshots that hint at twisted logic and a desperate grab at revenge for her past abuse. The story unfolds from multiple perspectives, and Tempest emerges from those as an exceedingly dangerous, broken human—a skilled killer with a photographic memory and untreated personality disorder. Readers will find themselves teetering between hatred and sympathy for her.

Danbury delivers a crisp timeline here—the story’s events take place over merely one week’s time period, moving from warm Arizona homes to imposing mountain ranges—and the pace is electric, keeping readers guessing with a simple but powerful narrative style that builds dramatic tension without embellishment. Added to that is the novel’s nuanced view of mental illness, making this high-impact story truly compelling. So Much Forever can function as a standalone, but its charged suspense will undoubtedly compel new readers to return for the rest of the series.

Takeaway: Tense thriller that contemplates mental illness, family, and resilience.

Comparable Titles: Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen’s The Wife Between Us, Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about SO MUCH FOREVER

Hyde’s sophomore collection is a moonlit homage to the wonders of Minnesota that investigates the region’s mythos, moods, and storied places using some traditional forms, like the ballad, and diction that hearkens back to Blake and Wordsworth (from “Goose Capital”: “Once honked upon, one wishes // to harvest the honk. My passions // played in the firmament’s fairyland.”) but with contemporary subject matter. These include state highways, a Dinkytown used book store, and the state’s beloved roadside attractions, like “Big Tom, the world’s largest // turkey statue,” in whose size and story Hyde finds much broader resonance. Fable-like and anecdotal prose poems also feature in Hyde’s collection, particularly in “Part IV: Family and Faith,” which features poems, like “Bible Understudy (Luke 23: 42-43)” that grapple with the complexities of speech and silence within the Lutheran faith.

The structure of Hyde’s collection is a series of landscapes at times physical and elsewhere metaphysical, spiritual, psychological, and mythological, often overlapping and in relationship to one another. “Maps sketch a wish, a fancy, a hope, // to corral all the space you can rope,” Hyde writes in “Minnesota Maps,” effectively transforming cartography into myth that serves the mission of private property. Meanwhile, in “Part III: Inner Outposts,” poems like “Brain River” and “Guard Dog,” illustrate the speaker’s cerebral geography: “it vandalized my frontal lobe, // inciting Matters Gray. // With narcissism’s harpsichord, // the beast began to play.”

Like maps, poetry also offers a tangible connection between the self and nature, and Hyde’s poems seek to chart that bridge or boundary, like the epic “Into the Woods”, wherein the forest encroaches on the speaker’s home and transports him “in Time” to “erstwhile Minnesota”. There, the speaker realizes “the woods pose in randomness. // So do the machinations of men. // I fancy God placed the trees in forests as a model to guide // the conduct of Man’s social order.” Abundant with tall tales, rich insights, and surprising metaphors, Hyde’s collection is a deeply felt consideration of Minnesota landscapes, places, and ways of being and believing.

Takeaway: Poetic tribute to Minnesota, rich in imagery and philosophical searching.

Comparable Titles: Campbell McGrath; Jane Hufford Downes’s Birds of the Midwest.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about MINNESOTA POEMS from the OUTPOSTS

This emotive, to-the-point debut finds a young poet exploring verse as urgent artistic outlet, a method to “try to paint things so they can see what going on with me”. In direct, pointedly vernacular language— “And Your mind might be disturbed like Van Gogh // But in reality, you are a starry night that will brighten up anyone night”—Harris works through relatable concerns. A lack of polish is balanced by emotional urgency, a sense of play, and how the act of writing itself becomes an act of seizing control over one’s heart and life. “There were some nights I laughed // There were some nights I wanted to give up,” he writes, of composing these verses. The result is uplifting and alive with playful insight, into the self and the world it inhabits.

It’s little wonder, then, that after sharing raw considerations of love that didn’t work out, of wishing his mother were around, of picking “my friends like I pick my fruits // so I won’t be like Eve picking fruits from the forbidden tree” Harris closes with a direct invitation to readers. “Tag, You're it. // It's your turn to start writing & I can't wait to read what you put out.” Some poems document the poet’s determination to live well (“Had to remove these negative thoughts from my head like lice”); others directly encourage readers. “Please realize your beautiful brown skin is rich and nourishing just like soil meaning you can grow into anything you want to be,” he writes in the tender, resonant “Dear little brown boys.”

As those quoted lines suggest, sometimes, especially when the poet has worked up to a big point or moment of catharsis, meter and rhythm slip away. That diminishes the verses’ power, on the page, though such passages might have significantly more punch read aloud. Even without professional polish, poems like the clever-yet-piercing “unsent love letter” capture emotional truths with power.

Takeaway: A young poet’s raw but upbeat dive into what usually stays unspoken.

Comparable Titles: Ben Esqueda’s Feeling This Way, Morgan Richard Olivier’s The Tears That Taught Me.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B-
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about Unspoken words from a loud mouth

Hopeful and tender, intimate yet sweeping, this impassioned novel from Wilson offers family drama, spiritual mystery, some toothy media and religious satire, and a father’s touching concern for his suddenly famous daughter. An uplifting message shines through the narrative, even as the story touches on gang violence, fraudulent preachers, and the madness of American crowds. Wilson has written a call for love and grace. But for all its heady concerns and no-fooling miracles, One Shining Soul is blessedly down-to-Earth in its scenes, characterization, and understanding of life.

That’s a rarity in fiction that dares to imagine divinity walking among us today. Wilson’s story comes from the perspective of a father whose daughter, Olisa, was born in a motel during the Los Angeles riots of 1992, and demonstrates miraculous abilities throughout her childhood, from saving the lives of pets to seeming to communicate with voices from beyond our realm. When she returns home to Venice Beach after serving in the Peace Corps, Olisa, through some power inside her, publicly heals a gang leader who had been fatally stabbed. Soon, reporters are after her, supplicants are beseeching her, and Joe, her restauranter father, discusses with the family what to do next. Joe’s uncomfortable with the consensus: Olisa will go public, with PR reps and a splashy concert spearheaded by her brother Noel, a record industry wunderkind.

That’s a grabber of a hook, and Wilson writes strong, long, compelling scenes with crisp, convincing dialogue and an interest in the many moral and cultural angles of a Black woman as a holy savior in contemporary America. No surprise that she’s soon targeted by megachurch televangelists and other hateful types, though Wilson brings fresh wit and energy to these encounters. Holding to Joe’s perspective means readers don’t get much understanding of Olisa’s inner life, but through her Wilson forcefully advances the conviction that “living a life guided by love and compassion is the way to uncomplicate our existence.”

Takeaway: Warm, ambitious novel of a divine healer born in L.A. and sharing her love.

Comparable Titles: Gayl Jones’s The Healing, Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B+

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The fourth installment in Dewhurst’s Rugged Cross Ranch series, after Laura’s Redemption, centers on Heidi Müller, left shaken after an attack from a scorned suitor, as she seeks to restore her sense of purpose and faith. She’s aided on her road to recovery by her loving family and Jacob Collins, her new, idealistic neighbor with strong Christian beliefs. The story grapples with love, faith, families, trauma, and healing, as Heidi draws from Jacob’s resolve only to discover he needs her comfort just as much when a devastating accident changes his life forever.

Dewhurst shines in her descriptions of Heidi’s relationships with her overprotective but loving parents, Johann and Ingrid, who understand her anguish and encourage her to express herself through art—and to lean on her faith while she heals. Johann is wary of Jacob’s growing feelings for Heidi, but Jacob, along with his own close-knit family, eventually proves himself trustworthy with a wealth of patience and kindness. Those values—Christian faith and a deep, abiding commitment to family—form the foundation of this redemptive story.

The couple’s journey starts strong, but, as in all good romances, it has its fair share of trials they must overcome together—especially when Jacob loses his hand in an accident with a mechanical reaper, challenging his faith and miring him in self-loathing. As he lashes out at his family and attempts to abandon Heidi from his own fears of rejection, his brother, Luke, gently encourages him with wise words: “Focus on all the other blessings in your life and choose to be thankful for them,” he advises. Their journey is painful for all involved, but they persevere, earning lasting devotion on the other side. Heidi’s gift to Jacob—her own painting of birch trees—symbolizes their hope and rebirth, as do her uplifting words that “after the winters of life, spring will come—and spring will be glorious.”

Takeaway: Love, faith, and creativity aid a young woman’s healing after trauma.

Comparable Titles: Valerie M. Bodden’s Pieces of Forever, Francine Rivers’s Redeeming Love.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

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