The haunting stories collected in A. J. Bermudez’s "Stories No One Hopes Are About Them" comment on qualities of the Anthropocene and center apathy’s hand in violence. Volleying between the beauty of final moments and the thrill of... Read More

An African teenager comes of age between countries and cultures in Ebele Chizea’s engrossing young adult novel "Aquarian Dawn". In the 1960s, Ada moves to Pennsylvania from Nabuka, a country riven by civil war and genocide. Her mother,... Read More

A historic Michigan wildfire inspires Linda Gruenberg’s sensitive novel Blazes & Brimstone, in which a boy teams up with his family during a crisis. In October of 1871, a forest fire encroaches upon eleven-year-old Lyle’s... Read More

Sue Lawrence’s "The Green Lady" is a historical novel about the women surrounding a lesser-known Scottish historical figure. Near the end of the sixteenth century, Alexander Seton—the godson of Mary, Queen of Scots—became the first... Read More

Marie Kacouchia’s cookbook "Vegan Africa" is packed with a wide variety of recipes from across the continent. The recipes range from simple sauces to flavorful mains, all using natural ingredients and that stand to hold appeal for... Read More

Maureen Burdock traces the emotions and events of her life in Germany and the US in her excellent graphic memoir "Queen of Snails". From her perspective as an adult, prompted by her mother’s death, Burdock looks back on the twists and... Read More

Sarah Fawn Montgomery’s essay collection "Halfway from Home" is careful in its considerations of home, family, the natural world, and how the three intersect. Beginning in Montgomery’s childhood in a dusty California town, “Dig”... Read More

In Akbar Hussain’s crime thriller "Truth Is a Flightless Bird", a man races to rescue a pregnant woman from Nairobi’s violent underworld. Nice would do anything for her unborn child, including smuggling drugs into Nairobi. Nice’s... Read More