A summer with relatives in Belgium—a country divided by language and culture—inspired me to travel to Santo Domingo in 1988 to learn Spanish and study the fraught dynamics of two countries speaking different languages but sharing an island. My time in the Dominican Republic and Haiti inspired a lifelong exploration of complex issues using many lenses and stories. Today I write mainly about risk, drawing on psychology, culture, policy, and economics. The third book, The Gray Rhino, calls for a fresh look at obvious, looming threats. My fourth book, You Are What You Risk, explores risk perceptions and attitudes using a comparative, socio-cultural lens like the one I used in Why the Cocks Fight.
The title of this novel took me back to 1989, when I was living in the Dominican Republic they year and Juan Luis Guerra and his band 4-40 released their hit song, "Ojala que llueva café", an homage to rural Dominicans and their hopes; and another iconic song, "Visa para un sueño" (Visa for a Dream). This book is about the Dominicans in those songs: a family saga and the historical and contemporary realities that shaped their lives, aspirations, and disappointment. Its backdrop, unlike the other novels here, is mainly the post-Trujillo era: the brief presidency of Juan Bosch, his overthrow, and the revolution and US invasion that followed, catalyzing a wave of emigration that persists today.
With her first novel, Angie Cruz established herself as a dazzling new voice in Latin-American fiction. Junot Diaz called her "a revelation" and The Boston Globe compared her writing to that of Gabriel García Márquez. Now, with humor, passion, and intensity, she reveals the proud members of the Colón family and the dreams, love, and heartbreak that bind them to their past and the future. Esperanza did not risk her life fleeing the Dominican Republic to live in a tenement in Washington Heights. No, she left for the glittering dream she saw on television: JR, Bobby Ewing, and the crystal…
My fascination with things that go bump in the night probably stems from having read too many scary books in my younger years, when I devoured anything that made me want to hide under the blankets. My love of reading followed me into college, where I earned a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan and later a law degree from DePaul University in Chicago. My passion for reading—and, later, writing—psychological thrillers remained. Today, I write full-time and have five psychological thriller and suspense novels published with Bookouture–Hachette UK, including several that have made it into the Top 100 Books in the Amazon US, UK, and AU Kindle stores!
I love all of Mary Kubica’s books because of her straightforward writing style and the Chicago-area settings. InLocal Woman Missing,a peaceful, suburban neighborhood transforms into a harrowing place where people go missing and we question how well we really know our neighbors. Told from multiple points of view and timelines, the twists abound as the reader uncovers what happened to the missing women and girl. The ending was chilling, and I didn’t see it coming, which is exactly what I want from a psychological thriller.
'DARK AND TWISTY' Riley Sager 'A JAW-DROPPING TWIST THAT I NEVER SAW COMING' Joshilyn Jackson
You'll never find her. Don't even try.
When a local mother and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, suddenly vanish, their close-knit suburban community is rocked by fear and suspicion. How could such a terrible thing have happened in their small town?
Then, eleven years later, Delilah shockingly reappears. Everyone wants to know what really happened to her. But there are secrets hidden deep in the past - and when the truth about those missing years begins to surface, no one is prepared for what they're about…
Two things are true about me: I’m fascinated by the early twentieth century and I'm a diehard feminist. My grandfather nurtured my love of the 1920s and 1930s by introducing me to Dorothy Parker, John O’Hara, Ella Fitzgerald, and The New Yorker. My mother, a petite woman who can wield a welder like few others, encouraged the development of my feminist sensibilities. These two parts came together when my father offhandedly mentioned that his grandmother had an unplanned pregnancy during the Great Depression. As I researched reproductive issues through the years, my fascination for the topic grew. Each of the books here takes a different view of how to deal with an unwanted pregnancy.
No graphic novel has ever blown me away like Unterzakhn(which means “underthings” in Yiddish). The story takes place in the early 1900s on the Lower East Side of New York, and the black-and-white bold strokes illustrate the bleakness of the lives of the new immigrants. Twin sisters find themselves taking roaringly divergent paths: one works in a whorehouse before becoming a star of the stage; the other assists the “lady-doctor,” from whom she learns about birth control and abortion. With strong feminist themes, I found it impossible not to root for both sisters. This is the only graphic novel whose ending made me cry.
A mesmerizing, heartbreaking graphic novel of immigrant life on New York’s Lower East Side at the turn of the twentieth century, as seen through the eyes of twin sisters whose lives take radically and tragically different paths.
For six-year-old Esther and Fanya, the teeming streets of New York’s Lower East Side circa 1910 are both a fascinating playground and a place where life’s lessons are learned quickly and often cruelly. In drawings that capture both the tumult and the telling details of that street life, Unterzakhn (Yiddish for “Underthings”) tells the story of these sisters: as wide-eyed little girls absorbing…
I’m a mixed-race author passionate about amplifying diversity and diverse authors and committed to growing the category of “Upper Middle Grade” for readers who are ready for tough topics but not yet ready for the more socially complex YA category. As an author, I get to spend a lot of time with 5-8th graders when I visit schools, plus, I’m a mother of two (tween and teen), a parent leader in my kids’ schools, and a public education equity activist. These connections give me a close-up view into just how ready and eager this age group is to engage thoughtfully in big discussions.
This Afrofantasy paints a rich, textured world full of fascinating characters, a propulsive plot, and characters I root for.
Honestly, I could recommend this book just because I loved Adia so much—she’s super funny, wry, and sharply observant, which for me is a perfect character trifecta. I really connected to the big topic (and relevant in today’s climate) themes, including an especially poignant moment when Adia is told that being different is part of why she’s a gift to the world and she shouldn’t be ashamed of the things that set her apart from everyone else.
"An immersive, funny, clever fantasy with real emotional depth. I couldn't put it down!" A.F. Steadman, author of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief
"This book is incredible! With a dazzling cast of characters wrapped up in a rich, imaginative afrofantasy world, Adia's thrilling journey will have you eager to turn the next page!" B.B. Alston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Amari and the Night Brothers
"A spellbinding story of empowerment and liberation...readers of all ages will do well to pick up this first entry in a powerful new fantasy series." Soman Chainani, New York Times bestselling author of…
As we grow up, the special relationships with family, friends, and caregivers are what give us our sense of place in the world, make us feel loved, teach us the important things in life, and give us the courage to face each step from childhood to adulthood and beyond. Therefore I love books that celebrate these very special people in our lives.
Richly illustrated, this tender book depicts a conversation between a father and daughter; the promises he makes to her, the worries and reassurances, and the hopes and dreams. Oliver Jeffers books are always wonderfully unique and beautifully lyrical.
A father and daughter set about laying the foundations for their life together. Using their own special tools, they get to work; building memories to cherish, a home to keep them safe, and love to keep them warm. A heartfelt poignant story.
From Oliver Jeffers, world-renowned picture book creator and illustrator of The Crayons' Christmas, comes a gorgeously told father-daughter story and companion to the #1 New York Times bestseller Here We Are!
What shall we build, you and I? Let's gather all our tools for a start. For putting together . . . and taking apart.
A father and daughter set about laying the foundations for their life together. Using their own special tools, they get to work, building memories to cherish, a home to keep them safe, and love to keep them warm.
Growing up in California, I was enchanted by the idea of New York City—largely due to the visions of it I found in the books on this list. I’ve now lived in NYC for 20 years and love matching real locations with their versions in my imagination. In my time in the city I’ve been a staff writer for Newsweek Magazine, an editor at Scholastic, and a freelancer for many publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post. I’m currently working on a second novel.
Miranda Sinclair is a latchkey kid who lives with her single mom on the Upper West Side of New York City in the late 1970s. I love the way Miranda navigates her dirty, dangerous, yet enchanting city – her street smarts, her fears, her relationships with the adults in the neighborhood who keep a watchful eye over her. And the book, while totally gritty and real, also has a lovely, melancholy element of magical realism that makes the story mysterious and poignant.
Miranda's life is starting to unravel. Her best friend, Sal, gets punched by a kid on the street for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The key that Miranda's mum keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then a mysterious note arrives: 'I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favours. First, you must write me a letter.'
The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realises that whoever is leaving them knows things no one should know. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she…
I was an English major in college and my dream was to write the Great American Novel. My literary heroes were writers like Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, Bernard Malamud, Jean Rhys, Margaret Drabble, Truman Capote, and Norman Mailer. They “taught” me how to write. About a dozen years ago, I concentrated on writing crime novels, like Swann’s Last Song and Second Story Man, both of which were nominated for Shamus Awards (Second Story Man won the Beverly Hills Book Award.) I'm a magazine journalist and write nonfiction books, screenplays, plays, and book reviews. I teach writing here in New York City, and I’m on the Board of PrisonWrites and the New York Writers Workshop.
I grew up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. We lived above an all-purpose drugstore that included two aisles of paperback books.
Almost every day after school, that store became my own personal library. If were attracted by a particular title or cover, it would wind up in my to-buy list.
Seize the Day was one of those books. The protagonist is the hapless Tommy Wilhelm, a small-time loser who spends his life trying to impress his big-shot father (think Willie Loman only less successful).
Desperately trying to make something of himself that his father can be proud of, Wilhelm gets involved with conman father figure Tamkin.
What impressed me most was Bellow’s ability to create a living, breathing, deeply flawed character that you’re actually rooting for.
What makes characters like Wilhelm compelling is not only the constant struggle to survive in a world that seems to be stacked against them.…
“What makes all of this so remarkable is not merely Bellow’s eye and ear for vital detail. Nor is it his talent for exposing the innards of character in a paragraph, a sentence, a phrase. It is Bellow’s vision, his uncanny ability to seize the moment and to see beyond it.” –Chicago Sun-Times
A Penguin Classic
Fading charmer Tommy Wilhelm has reached his day of reckoning and is scared. In his forties, he still retains a boyish impetuousness that has brought him to the brink of chaos: He is separated from his wife and children, at odds with his vain,…
I’ve always let my imagination wander wild, like a modern-day Anne Shirley—which is one of the reasons I became an author. I love reading (and writing) books that add fantastical elements to our world or the worlds of far-off characters. As an author and die-hard bookworm, I love to genre hop within the Young Adult age range. You can find me nose-deep in anything from science fiction to a gritty paranormal fantasy.
I’ve always thought there was something magical about midnight, and The Secret Hour proved me right. Monsters, mysterious powers, and a bloody act haunt the small town in this story. The secrets are teased out slowly over the course of the book through the POVs of teenage misfits with unique abilities and backstories. Though, the more I learned about the midnight hour, the more thankful I became that this book is fiction. Hungry things come out to play while the rest of us are asleep…
A few nights after Jessica Day arrives in Bixby, Oklahoma, she wakes up at midnight to find the entire world frozen, except for her and a few others who call themselves 'midnighters'. Dark things haunt this midnight hour - dark things with a mysterious interest in Jessica. The question is why?
THE SECRET HOUR is a compelling tale of dark secrets, midnight romance, eerie creatures, courage, destiny, and unexpected peril.
I’ve been fascinated with historical fiction, especially the World War II era, ever since I listened to my mother playing her Big Band Records. I’ve also loved mysteries since I picked up my first Nancy Drew book. Once I discovered historical mysteries, I haven’t been able to separate the two. I’ve recently expanded my interest to include the first world war. There are so many great stories that I’m afraid I’ll never get to read them all. It was really hard to narrow down my list to five books and I hope you’ll love the ones I’ve chosen for you.
This book was one of the first historical mysteries I read that was set during World War II.
I love the protagonist, Rosie. She is feisty and a bit of a smart aleck. I connected with her immediately. Rosie is an actress, and because parts are hard to come by during wartime, she finds work as a secretary for a private investigator. When he ends up dead, she takes the case to find out why.
It's 1943, and the war escalating in Europe and the Pacific seems far away. But for aspiring actress Rosie Winter, the war feels as if it were right in New York City—what with food rationing and frequent blackouts . . . and a boyfriend she hasn't heard word one from since he enlisted in the navy. Now her rent is coming due and she hasn't been cast in anything for six months. The factories are desperate for women workers, but Rosie the Thespian isn't about to become Rosie the Riveter, so she grabs a part-time job at a seamy, lowbrow…
I’m
a sucker for Fredrik Backman’s work, and this was a long-awaited and satisfying
conclusion to the Beartown trilogy.
Yes, it was over 600 pages. Yes, the plot
was complex and meandering. But each book in this series got better and more
endearing, and I couldn’t put it down.
Backman knows how to inhabit a story,
and the residents of Beartown will forever inhabit my heart.
'It's often said that winners write history, but there are no winners here'
This is a small story about big questions. It's a story about family, community, life. It starts with a storm - and a death. But how does it end?
Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there's something about this place that prevents it. The residents continue to grapple with life's big questions: What is a family? What is a community? And what, if anything, are we willing to sacrifice in order to…
