Inhaltsverzeichnis für Booklist, Vol. 119, No. 13, 3/1/23 in Booklist

Many conference attendees visited us at the recent LibLearnX conference in New Orleans. Speaking for myself and other members of our team who were there, meeting you in person is so gratifying for us, and not only is it a real pleasure to engage in conversations about all things books, we also get to hand out copies of Booklist, Booklist Reader, and our popular buttons! Thanks so much for stopping by. We can’t wait for LibLearnX in Baltimore next year (I grew up in Baltimore and look forward to going back!). Lots of you commented on our fantastic issue covers, so I thought I’d address our process here. You may have noticed that we alternate between Adult and Youth book cover art. When it’s Adult’s turn to select a cover,…

Journalism & Publishing Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up). By Alexandra Petri. Apr. 2023. 352p. illus. Norton, $27.95 (9781324006435). 070. This second collection of satirical essays from Washington Post humor columnist Petri (Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why, 2020) features previously unknown historical documents of somewhat dubious provenance. Dubious, as in Petri made them all up in the spirit of offering slightly tilted insights into momentous events and shedding unique light on various relationships. Each entry runs a few pages and introduces an alleged artifact that addresses a circumstance that’s political, social, literary, or personal (Romance! Sex!) in nature. Some selections are wry, some preposterous, some laugh-out-loud funny; all are inventive. A transcript of the time Emily Dickinson was a contestant on Family Feud. Field…

Atoms and Ashes: A Global History of Nuclear Disasters. By Serhii Plokhy. 2022. Norton, $30 (9781324021049). Plokhy reviews lessons learned from the most serious nuclear disasters since the end of WWII, noting that radioactive pollution persists for generations. The Carbon Footprint of Everything. By Mike Berners-Lee. 2022. Greystone, $18.95 (9781771645768). Berners-Lee’s argues that everyone on Earth needs to adopt a five-ton lifestyle, referring to a person’s carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) footprint per year; in the U.S., the average person’s CO2e footprint is about 21 tons per year. The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solution. Ed. by Greta Thunberg. 2023. Penguin, $30 (9780593492307). Thunberg’s commitment to explaining the perils of climate change propels this compendium of concise essays by the activist and a host of scientists, environmentalists, and journalists, all…

By Emily Henry. Apr. 2023. 400p. Berkley, $27 (9780593441275); e-book (9780593441206). Six months ago, when Harriet Kilpatrick and Wyn Connor broke up after being together for 10 years, they came up with a plan. From now on, only one of them would attend any future events hosted by their tight-knit circle of friends. So Harriet is more than a bit surprised when she arrives in Knot’s Harbor, Maine, for a vacation with her old college friends and finds Wyn there. But before Harriet can send him packing, he informs her that two of their friends, Sabrina and Parth, plan on getting married that week. Rather than ruin everything for them, Harriet and Wyn agree to pretend to still be together. What they both soon discover is that, while circumstances may…

Amber and Clay. By Laura Amy Schlitz. Illus. by Julia Iredale. 2021. Candlewick, $22.99 (9781536201222). Gr. 5–8. Though enslaved Rhaskos and privileged Melisto live separate lives in ancient Greece, they’re bound by fate. This astonishing work of historical fiction in verse is anchored by literary devices from epic poems and classic Greek plays. Blood Water Paint. By Joy McCullough. 2018. Dutton, $17.99 (9780735232112). Gr. 10–12. In careful, sophisticated verse and prose poems, McCullough follows the heartbreaking but inspiring story of Roman painter Artemisia Gentileschi and her harrowing month slong rape trial during a period when women had little agency. Bull. By David Elliott. 2017. Clarion, $17.99 (9780544610606). Gr. 9–12. This striking reexamination of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur employs a variety of poetic forms: rigid four-line stanzas for…

Older Readers Ander & Santi Were Here. By Jonny Garza Villa. May 2023. 368p. St. Martin’s/Wednesday, $18.99 (9781250843999). Gr. 9–12. Nineteen-year-old Mexican American artist Ander, who is nonbinary and queer, is taking a gap year off before they enroll in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Instead, they are staying in San Antonio, having accepted a residency with an organization called Beautify Not Gentrify, which has them painting murals all over the city. “Everything about the art I get to do feels like me: Mexican, queer, and done in a way that’s loudly and proudly both,” they say. And yet they’re conflicted; their adviser at SAIC tokenizes them, insisting that they only paint work with Mexican motifs, but Ander refuses to be put into a box. And then…

Adult The Dollmaker. By Morgan Shamy. Read by Kate Rudd. 2023. 8hr. CamCat, DD (9780744308716). YA fantasy author and former ballerina Shamy (The Dark Nocturne series) makes her adult debut in this compelling 1920s-set mystery starring a courageous heroine hunting a murderer. When underappreciated healer Dawn’s best friend, ballerina Rose, is kidnapped by “the Dollmaker,” a serial killer who turns his victims’ bodies into art, Dawn sets out to investigate, not realizing she’s put herself directly in the Dollmaker’s sights. Can she overcome the limitations for women of her era to survive and bring her friend home safely? Award-winning narrator Rudd imbues her portrayal of Dawn with an understated cadence, reflecting the limited choices available to Dawn as she aspires to both a medical career and to find her friend.…

The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions. By Greta Thunberg. Read by a full cast. Feb. 2023. 17hr. Books on Tape, DD (9780593629413). A scientific compendium of this scope could be a weighty and difficult read. But the skilled narrators who take on this collection of contributions from climate scientists, science journalists, humanitarians, and the Nobel Prize–nominated activist Greta Thunberg convey, through their narrations, a passion for this topic that cuts through the jargon and strikes at the heart of the listener. Thunberg narrates her own essays in her impassioned, youthful, Swedish-accented voice. These pieces are scientifically informed and driven by Thunberg’s well-known fiery passion for turning back climate change and her incisive criticism of those in power and shot through with her biting humor and clever analogies. The…

If this hot list is any indication, it’s going to be a fabulous summer of reading for all tastes, with thrillers and capers, STEM-inspired romance, memoir, feminist history, andmore. —Susan Maguire After That Night. By Karin Slaughter. William Morrow, $32 (9780063157781). Aug. The eleventh thriller featuring investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton, following The Silent Wife (2020), will garner even more attention because of the ABC/Hulu TV series, Will Trent. Canary Girls. By Jennifer Chiaverini. William Morrow, $32 (9780063080744). July. Chiaverini’s latest historical tale follows the women of a British WWI-era munitions arsenal who form a soccer team and unbreakable bonds. The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England. By Brandon Sanderson. Tor, $29.99 (9781250899675). June. Last year, best-selling fantasy author Sanderson launched a Kickstarter for four “secret”…

General Fiction Adelaide. By Genevieve Wheeler. Apr. 2023. 304p. St. Martin’s, $27.99 (9781250280848); e-book, $14.99 (9781250280855). At the start of Wheeler’s heartfelt debut, Adelaide Williams is in the emergency room. She’s made an attempt on her own life. When a nurse asks her why, Adelaide reflects on the past few years. She’s an American expat in London with a family history of mental illness, but it’s her trauma that has shaped her: a terrible boyfriend abused her repeatedly. When Adelaide found Rory Hughes on a dating app, everything changed. Adelaide had actually met Rory before, and she’d called him a literal Disney prince. Of course they were fated to be together, but Adelaide tried too hard to craft their happy ending. This is a portrait of a woman struggling with…

Older Readers Share Better and Stress Less: A Guide to Thinking Ecologically about Social Media. By Whitney Phillips and Ryan Milner. Mar. 2023. 176p. Candlewick/MITeen, $19.99 (9781536228748). Gr. 7–10. 302.23. This text-heavy digital ethics guide for young people is adapted from the authors’ adult title You Are Here (2021). Phillips and Milner, media-literacy educators, define information pollution on social media using an ecological approach—being mindful of connection, consequences, and shared responsibility on social media. Both authors take turns explaining how they can help young readers “identify pollution risks, minimize the bad stuff you’re putting into the online environment, and maximize the good stuff.” They use social-media posts shared by a group of middle-school students throughout as illustrations. Tools to help young social-media posters keep their online spaces healthier for themselves…

Activism, interdependence, and responsible land stewardshipare at the core of these excellent books, all reviewed between March 1, 2022, and February 15, 2023. —Sarah Hunter Berry Song. By Michaela Goade. Illus. by the author. 2022. Little, Brown, $18.99 (9780316494175). PreS–Gr. 2. A young Tlingit girl and her grandmother sing as they forage for wild berries in Alaska, and the poetic, alliterative text encourages responsible stewardship of the environment. Black Beach: A Community, an Oil Spill, and the Origin of Earth Day. By Shaunna Stith and John Stith. Illus. by Maribel Lechuga. 2023. little bee, $18.99 (9781499813043). PreS–Gr. 3. After an offshore drilling accident near the Santa Barbara Channel, oil covers a beach near Sam’s home. Angry, Sam and her neighbors bring awareness to their damaged shoreline and inspire the first Earth…

This list of forthcoming titles we’re eagerly anticipating is chock-full of award-winning authors; you might want to jot these down. —Sarah Hunter Camp Sylvania. By Julie Murphy. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray, $18.99 (9780063114029). Gr. 3–6. May. Maggie is sent to a very peculiar fat camp run by a suspicious wellness influencer in the latest from blockbuster author Murphy. Code Red. By Joy McCullough. Atheneum, $17.99 (9781534496262). Gr. 3–6. June. When Eden’s eyes are opened to the realities of period poverty, it puts her at odds with her mother, whose company makes period products. Epic Ellisons: Cosmos Camp. By Lamar Giles. Illus. by Morgan Bissant. HarperCollins/Versify, $18.99 (9780358423379). Gr. 3–6. May. The author of the Legendary Alston Boys series turns his attention to twins Wiki and Leen Ellison in this stand-alone spinoff to the…