Table of contents for Vol. 119, No. 2, 9/15/22 in Booklist

Journalism & Publishing My People: Five Decades of Writing about Black Lives. By Charlayne Hunter-Gault. Oct. 2022. 352p. Harper, $27.99 (9780063135390). 070. American civil rights activist and award-winning journalist Hunter-Gault presents a sound collection of articles that vividly chronicles five decades of the African American and Black experience. While writing pieces for the New Yorker and working as a foreign correspondent for NPR and CNN, she was committed to highlighting civil rights issues, solutions, and Black lives during the civil rights movement. She now notes how many of the same problems continue to plague the community. She also shares commentary about people and events in Harlem, New York; her memories of living in South Africa for almost two decades; and stories about Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and John…

General Fiction Anon Pls. By DeuxMoi. Nov. 2022. 288p. William Morrow, $27.99 (9780063257801); e-book, $13.99 (9780063257825). Cricket Lopez has been the assistant to stylist Sasha Sherman for eight long years, long enough that she should have been promoted by now and too long to take Sasha’s constant abuse. Even @DeuxMoi, an anonymous Instagram account she started, hoping to launch a lifestyle brand, has totally floundered. When a celebrity client betrays her, Cricket posts about the infraction to @DeuxMoi, drunkenly encouraged by her best friends, who share celebrity tidbits of their own. It’s meant to be good, anonymous fun, except that it totally takes off, and soon @DeuxMoi has thousands of followers who submit their own celebrity sightings and gossip. Written by the brains behind the real @DeuxMoi, this roman à…

Clever contemporary romances exploring sensitive issues with wit, charm, and imagination, along with smart historical romcoms, make for a vibrant best list selected from all the romances reviewed in Booklist over the last 12 months. —Donna Seaman Count Your Lucky Stars. By Alexandria Bellefleur. 2022. Avon, $15.99 (9780063000889). Of course, the best woman in the wedding, the one person in all of Seattle who could make or break event coordinator Olivia Grant’s career, would have to be her longtime crush, Margot Cooper. Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words. By Annika Sharma. 2021. Sourcebooks/Casablanca, $14.99 (9781492665403). Kiran Mathur, a biomedical engineer from India living in New York City, and Nash Hawthorne, a pediatric hospital psychologist from Nashville, connect, but will family objections and trauma keep them apart? Love on the Brain.…

When Nicolás Caraveo, a 17-year-old Mexican American trans man, arrives in Long Island’s West Egg, he’s eager to start his new job as a quantitative analyst and find a way to pay back his parents in Wisconsin for their easy acceptance of his gender. His older cousin Daisy has other plans, though, and Nick fits neatly into her scheme. She has remade herself into Daisy Fay, lightening her hair and skin to escape the racism of the wealthy society she means to join. She’s hoping to secure an engagement from Tom Buchanan, with whom she stays in East Egg, where everyone of old money resides. And Nick soon finds that Daisy hasn’t told anyone that they’re cousins; instead, as proof of her fabricated background, she’s cast Nick and his family…

For Dahlia Adler, community matters. An author of young-adult fiction—including, most recently, sapphic romance Home Field Advantage (one of Booklist’s top 10 sports books this year)—she’s also the editor of several YA anthologies that re-envision familiar stories and themes for a wider audience (At Midnight: 15 Beloved Fairy Tales Reimagined, 2022). And she’s the founder of the LGBTQ Reads blog, a beautifully organized (by age level, genre, and identity rep) database of LGBTQ children’s and young adult books. Recently, we caught up with Adler to discuss the changing landscape of LGBTQ YA romance, especially for readers interested in sapphic romances—and to get a look at some of her personal book recommendations. Reagan: LGBTQ+ books for teen readers are growing in number, especially in the romance arena, but for a long time…

The most outstanding debut romance novels reviewed in Booklist issues from September 15, 2021, to September 1, 2022, feature endearing protagonists, obstacles to happiness involving questions of identity and autonomy, and lots of humor and love. —Donna Seaman The Beach Trap. By Ali Brady. 2022. Berkley, $16.99 (9780593440155). Kat and Blake were BFFs at camp until they discovered that they share the same father. Fifteen years later, their father has died and left them a ramshackle beach house in this clever nod to The Parent Trap enlivened with dual romances. Digging Up Love. By Chandra Blumberg. 2022. Amazon/Montlake Romance, $12.95 (9781542033909). Alisha Blake is helping her grandparents run their BBQ restaurant in a small town in Illinois when paleontologist Quentin Harris discovers dinosaur fossils nearby, leading to a delightful, unique…

Adult Always Never. By Jordi Lafebre. Illus. by the author. Tr. by Montana Kane. Sept. 2022. 152p. Dark Horse, $24.99 (9781506731377). 741.5. That this story starts with “CHAPTER 20” will likely make readers pause to wonder if an earlier volume might have been missed. But worry not, and read on. A half-dozen pages later shows “CHAPTER 19,” revealing the narrative is moving in reverse. For 37 years, Ana and Zeno have lived their separate lives, staying connected across thousands of miles through letters and phone calls. Ana married a gentle, caring man, had a headstrong daughter, and now has a charming granddaughter. She became a formidable but beloved mayor for multiple terms, only recently, finally, retiring. Zeno could never settle, traveling around the world, usually by sea, never able to…

Older Readers The Art of Insanity. By Christine Webb. Oct. 2022. 352p. Peachtree Teen, $18.99 (9781682634578). Gr. 9–12. Though Natalie gets back on her feet after her car accident, her journey isn’t quite over. With the “accident” comes a new diagnosis—bipolar disorder—and her mother is determined to keep that diagnosis under wraps. The stigma around mental illness doesn’t help Natalie accept her reality or her need for medication either. But with some new friends and a few close calls, Natalie just might find the courage to fully embrace herself. Webb constructs an intimate look at bipolar disorder in teen girls, while infusing Natalie’s story with art, humor, and a bit of unexpected mystery. The story drops readers into Natalie’s head, showing her visceral anxiety attacks and illogical thinking during manic…

The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers. By Adam Sass. Sept. 2022. 352p. Viking, $18.99 (9780593464786); paper, $11 (9780593528914). Gr. 9–12. Seventeen-year-old Micah’s famous sports-caster dad is called the King of Chicago, which makes Micah a prince, right? But he’s a prince without a partner, for whenever he crushes on a boy, he’s afraid to ask him out. Instead, he sketches him and posts the drawing to his anonymous art account on Instagram. To date, there have been 99 such posts, but will there be a hundredth? Yes! For riding the el, Micah sees him, Boy 100—a tall, handsome teen who strikes up a conversation and, much to Micah’s surprise, begins flirting! But then the boy’s stop arrives, and he exits the train, leaving his jacket behind. Nothing daunted, Micah decides…

Perhaps it’s the allure of a life of unstinting luxury. Possibly it’s the idea of having your every wish be someone else’s command. Or maybe it’s just the thought of wearing a tiara at breakfast. Whatever the reason, there’s no denying the enduring appeal of falling in love with a royal as so enchantingly demonstrated in Toni Shiloh’s To Win a Prince (review adjacent) and these other royal romances. American Royalty. By Tracey Livesay. 2022. Avon, $15.99 (9780063084506). To keep a business deal in play, American rapper Danielle “Duchess” Nelson agrees to participate in a charity event sponsored by the British royal family, with reclusive Prince Jameson in a sizzling hot romance inspired by the real royal romance between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Duke, Actually. By Jenny Holiday. 2021.…

Older Readers Big Lies: From Socrates to Social Media. By Mark Kurlansky. Illus. by Eric Zelz. Sept. 2022. 320p. Tilbury, $22.95 (9780884489122). Gr. 8–12. 177.3. This well-researched book offers examples of philosophers and religious leaders commenting on lying as well as politicians and advertisers manipulating others for personal gain. Kurlansky writes persuasively about the danger of big, outrageous lies that can have horrific consequences. He points out that those lies have become more common and more easily spread since the advent of social media, but the lies themselves have changed little through the centuries. The text is detailed, well organized, and relevant to our times. Though occasionally the writing seems rather densely informative, between chapters, Zelz’s short comics lighten the book’s tone while staying on topic. Kurlansky does a particularly…

Love stories for every taste, from salty to sweet, can be found in this list of standouts, reviewed in Booklist from September 15, 2021, to September 1, 2022. —Sarah Hunter And They Lived …. By Steven Salvatore. 2022. Bloomsbury, $17.99 (9781547608195). Gr. 9–12. Chase is elated to be admitted to an animation seminar, especially when he meets gorgeous Jack, who inspires his short film about a prince and a knight falling in love. The Days of Bluegrass Love. By Edward van de Vendel. Tr. by Emma Rault. 2022. Levine Querido, $18.99 (9781646140466). Gr. 9–12. Dutch teen Tycho meets Norwegian Oliver at the U.S. camp where they work. When they’re expelled, in part for their burgeoning relationship, they leave together for Norway in this superbly written novel. The Heartbreak Bakery. By…

Adult Acts of Violet. By Margarita Montimore. Read by a full cast. 2022. 11hrs. Macmillan Audio, DD (9781250854636). Not a smidge of disrespect is intended toward the printed page, but with such an electrifying full-cast production available, audio readers are guaranteed an enthralling delight here. With a flair for the unexpected, Montimore’s (Oona out of Order, 2020) latest provides compelling content for 10 seasoned narrators who each take on multiple roles. Beyond the prose, Montimore inserts emails, letters, articles, podcast episodes, interviews—ideal fodder for showcasing wide-ranging versatility. The tenth anniversary of the spectacular mid-performance disappearance of magician extraordinaire Violet Volk—read with quixotic energy by Amy McFadden—looms. Her younger, albeit far more responsible, sister Sasha—expertly, engagingly ciphered by Brittany Pressley—has managed for years to dodge the press that keeps seeking/begging/demanding insider…

Any time is the right time for an outdoor adventure, but shorter days and cooler weather make fall evenings especially inviting for young explorers. Whether you are looking to hit the trail, make the most of your backyard, or take more of an imaginary journey from the comfort of home, these picture books invite curiosity and wonder about the natural, nocturnal world. Bonus points if you read these by flashlight! The Blue Hour. By Isabelle Simler. Illus. by the author. 2017. Eerdmans. PreS–Gr. 1. Sumptuous renderings of plants and animals from an array of habitats highlight the fleeting hues of twilight in this oversized, soothing nonfiction selection. Flashlight. By Lizi Boyd. Illus. by the author. 2014. Chronicle. PreS–Gr. 1. With a flashlight, yellow wellies, and a plucky sense of curiosity,…