Table of contents for Vol. 120, No. 2, 9/15/23 in Booklist

Journalism & Publishing On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the U.S. By James LaRue. Sept. 2023. 144p. Fulcrum, paper, $16.95 (9781682753477). 025.2. This inspirational defense of intellectual freedom and critical analysis of cancel culture should be required reading for every aspiring and active information specialist. Part of the Speaker’s Corner, a series of book-length essays on current topics, the book offers a nuanced and engaging overview of recent censorship trends in the United States followed by components and conditions that can result in cancel culture. Author LaRue certainly has the chops to address these issues, having over 25 years of experience as a public library director plus spending 2016–18 as the executive director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. Drawing heavily on his own experience (LaRue figures…

General Fiction Day. By Michael Cunningham. Nov. 2023. 288p. Random, $28 (9780399591341); e-book (9780399591358). Ordinarily, spring brings a measure of hope. But by focusing on one spring day, April 5, in each of the years 2019, 2020, and 2021, Cunningham (A Wild Swan and Other Tales, 2015) sets the stage for painful irony as his characters are wrung dry as they make it through one of the defining experiences of our lives, the COVID-19 pandemic. In this stunning novel, the pandemic is never mentioned by name, yet its shattering fallout deeply molds everyone’s lives. Even in 2019, Isabel and Dan’s marriage is on the rocks. As mother to sensitive Violet and her older brother, Nathan, Isabel already bears the brunt of the family’s emotional labor, a situation that worsens during quarantine.…

The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Romance. By Robin Bradford. 2023. 120p. ALA Editions, paper, $54.99 (9780838938676). 025.2. Romance expert Bradford’s guide to the genre packs a ton of useful information into a slim volume. She begins with a scorching appeal for respect, both for romance and its readers. She then invites readers into Romancelandia, with a brief history and definition of the genre, the differences between traditional, indie, and self-published books, the legwork required to build a robust romance collection (including collection-development-policy suggestions and a plea to please catalog mass-market romances). The next section of the book breaks down various subgenres—historical, contemporary, paranormal, etc.—and includes appeal, key authors, and newer authors to try (including indie authors). Tropes are covered, with plenty of examples to help readers find a marriage of…

Adult #DRCL midnight children, v.1. By Shin’ichi Sakamoto. Art by the author. Sept. 2023. 248p. VIZ Media, $27 (9781974740888). 741.5. This is a transformative and evocative retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula that is distinctly adult. Mina Murray has struggled as the first girl to attend Whitby School, as she is bullied by the rich boys in attendance. But everything changes when a ship carrying a horrifying being known as Count Dracula washes ashore, and Luke Westenra, or Lucy, is attacked and begins to act strangely. Gorgeously illustrated, Sakamoto’s retelling of Dracula is erotic, challenging, and disturbing. Every page is chilling and oozing with gothic influence and precise in its execution. This horror manga is a true work of art with its fine lines and a level of detail that brings…

Older Readers Bittersweet in the Hollow. By Kate Pearsall. Oct. 2023. 384p. Putnam, $18.99 (9780593531020). Gr. 9–12. The James women have been purveyors of charms and folk magic for generations, though, by day, they run a respectable diner in their West Virginia town of Cabell Hollow. Linden, 17, is one of four sisters who helps their mom and gran at the Harvest Moon, where baking soothes Linden’s lingering anxieties from a traumatic incident the previous summer—if only she could remember what happened in the forest that night. In her wellcrafted debut, Pearsall intertwines local lore about “the Moth-Winged Man” with James family history, Linden’s inner turmoil, and a string of unexplained disappearances that include a decades-old cold case, Linden’s experience the year before, and a murder. The closeness of the…

Airplane Mode: An Irrelevant History of Travel. By Shahnaz Habib. Dec. 2023. 288p. Catapult, $27 (9781646220151); e-book (9781646220168). 910.9. Airplanes play a far smaller role here than the title implies, and the attitude is less irreverent than adversarial, as writer and translator Habib, a Muslim and Third World–raised woman of color, asks deeply important questions about the assumptions many of us make about the modern world in her first book. For example, why do colonial explorers get to “discover” and name plants after themselves without seeking their local names and contexts? Why does the world think lack of privilege is a “lack” rather than “a crack through which the light gets in”? Perhaps the passport isn’t a document of access, but rather, for a Third World denizen, a document for…

We are in a golden age for rom-coms, both historical and contemporary, as these top romance novels reviewed in Booklist over the past 12 months affirm, though emotionally rich tales are also on tap. Ana María and the Fox. By Liana De la Rosa. 2023. Berkley, $17 (9780593440889). The French invade Mexico; the Luna sisters flee to London; and Ana María wonders if she should encourage the flirtatious behavior of up-and-coming politician Gideon Fox. The Boxing Baroness. By Minerva Spencer. 2022. Kensington, $15.95 (9781496738097). As the Boxing Baroness, Marianne Simpson has turned down plenty of propositions, but St. John Powell, the duke of Staunton, presents her with one she can’t refuse in the start to Spencer’s historically rooted series. Her Lessons in Persuasion. By Megan Frampton. 2023. Avon, $9.99 (9780063224186).…

Finding manga that works for children and that has been translated into English can sometimes be a bit of a feat. The following series are all essential picks for elementary-age readers interested in the format. Featuring cuteness, magic, and adventure, these titles are a great way to start a manga collection for children. Chi’s Sweet Home. (13 volumes.) By Konami Kanata. Kodansha. Gr. 2 & Up. When mischievous Chi is separated from her mother on a stroll, she’s suddenly lost! Enter young Yohei and his family, who quickly learn what it means to take care of a kitten while Chi throws their lives into utter chaos. Utterly hilarious and adorable, this full-color manga is a treat for young readers. Dinosaur Hour! (1 volume.) By Hitoshi Shioya (VIZ Media). Gr. 1…

Friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, fake dating, even a reality showmix-up—this top-tier list of romance books reviewed in Booklist between Sept 15, 2022 and Sept 1, 2023, has it all. —Maggie Reagan 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did). By Tess Sharpe. 2023. 384p. Little, Brown, $18.99 (9780316302791). Gr. 9–12. Penny and Tate are the daughters of two lifelong best friends and they can’t stand each other—but they also keep almost kissing. When the girls are forced to move in together, they’ll have to confront the tension between them. Beating Heart Baby. By Lio Min. 2022. 352p. Flatiron, $18.99 (9781250819093). Gr. 10–12. Santi joins the Sunshowers, an elite marching band. Star performer Suwa Moon catches his eye, and though their first few interactions don’t go well,…

Unexpected encounters, second chances, serious issues, and inventive hilarity are all explored and shared in these exceptional first romances reviewed in Booklist over the past 12 months. All the Right Notes. By Dominic Lim. 2023. Forever, $15.99 (9781538725399). It’s been years since their fateful split; now pianist and aspiring Broadway composer Quito Cruz has a favor to ask of superstar actor Emmett Aoki. Bear with Me Now. By Katie Shepard. 2023. Berkley, $17 (9780593549292). Wilderness-therapy instructor Darcy, who has learning challenges, rescues Teagan, a wealthy client at a Montana rehab-spa, from a bear in this exquisite interweaving of sensitive issues, humor, and hot romance. The Build Up. By Tati Richardson. 2023. Carina, $8.99 (9781335621931). After her architectural career in Chicago is derailed by a workplace romance gone awry, Ari James…

Older Readers Jane Jacobs: Champion of Cities, Champion of People. By Rebecca Pitts. Sept. 2023. 240p. Seven Stories/Triangle Square, paper, $19.95 (9781644212998). Gr. 9–12. 307.1. Here is an engaging and lively biography of icon Jane Jacobs, a journalist and community activist for city planning and renewal, who stopped legendary urban planner Robert Moses from building a number of NYC construction projects that would have destroyed communities. Born in 1916 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Jacobs was a rebel from a young age who lived for most of her adult life in the West Village. In this text, her biographer is aware of her flaws: Jacobs’ best-known book, the influential 1961 Death and Life of Great American Cities, made no mention of housing inequities and the redlining that many people of color…

Older Readers Check & Mate. By Ali Hazelwood. Nov. 2023. 368p. Putnam, paper, $14 (9780593619919). Gr. 8–12. Hazelwood has captured many a reader’s heart with her adult rom-coms. Now, she makes her YA debut with a story that sparkles with her signature wit and relatable characters. Headstrong Mallory Greenleaf has a passion for chess but gave up playing when the game caused friction in her family and life landed her with huge responsibilities at home—namely earning a paycheck while taking care of her little sisters and ailing mother. The novel gives readers a deep dive into Mallory’s plight, and her emotions resurface when her best friend begs her to attend a new chess competition for a charitable cause. Mallory hesitates but ultimately decides to give it a shot. It’s there…

Adult Amazing Grace Adams. By Fran Littlewood. Read by Claire Skinner. Sept. 2023. 10hr. Macmillan Audio, DD (9781250899415). None of the people watching a sweat-soaked and bedraggled woman lugging a melting birthday cake across the park would believe that she, Grace Adams, ever approached amazing. But there she is, the one-time linguistic phenom attempting a grand gesture to win back the affection of her teenage daughter and recapture a glimmer of the family and future that once seemed so certain. She’s a frenetic and heartbreaking character, and Skinner captures that and more in a narration that is by turns frenzied, quietly reflective, brash, and deeply moving. Her English accent shifts to encompass those from different regions of the country, and she is confident in her use of other languages for…

My Cousin Rachel: Booktrack Edition. By Daphne du Maurier. Read by Jonathan Pryce. 2023. 12hr. Hachette Audio, DD (9781668626917). We have history here: the phenomenally lauded Welsh actor Pryce’s Rachel was originally released almost a decade ago in 2014. His performance, of course, proves timeless, as evidenced by the eerily, enthrallingly enhanced Booktrack Edition. “Booktrack brings your favorite stories to life through movie-style soundtracks, best heard on headphones with high quality audio settings,” the recording rightfully recommends. Pryce’s crisp, posh British intonations open with a voice of resolved regret as Philip Ashley considers the not-so-long-ago history of hanging murderers—“That is, if the law convicts him, before his own conscience kills him.” Revelations and confessions of his own are certainly forthcoming as over the next 12 hours he will ponder “Was…