Hepburn’s image was once so ubiquitous that film producer Ferrer now in his 60s says that “while I was traveling with my children we used to play a game titled ‘three minutes to find Granny.’” Despite that ubiquity Ferrer’s agent told him that while many books had been written about her “There is yet to be the authorized biography.” With the help of British author Holden Ferrer has written this work a linear biography that covers the major events of Hepburn’s life. He mentions her father abandoning the family in the 1930s when she was a little girl in Belgium; her jettisoned dreams of becoming a ballet dancer; her family’s years in Holland under Nazi occupation; her lifelong identification with Anne Frank who like Hepburn was born in 1929; and her legendary film career. Ferrer’s hagiographic portrait of his mother celebrates her kindnesses and charitable actions a doting mom who not only hated being away from her children but was also praised for her work as a UNICEF ambassador with late-life visits to Sudan Somalia Ethiopia and elsewhere. The men in her life however had plenty of flaws. Ferrer’s father Mel Ferrer whom Hepburn divorced after 13 years was a “neurotic perfectionist” and “painfully aware that his career was never as successful as hers.” Her second husband Italian psychologist Andrea Dotti liked to drink “and when he did he lost all resistance to other women.” Her partner in her final years Rob Wolders “was adorable but a doormat.” All of this may be true but the one-sidedness of the narrative might make some readers question its veracity. The book is pleasant enough though and Ferrer shares details that only a son would know such as that Hepburn’s Best Actress Oscar for Roman Holiday “propped up books on our shelf like any other ornament.”

Little Gnouf and Mirabelle—two “Gnoufs” who look like pale-skinned children with snouts and animallike ears—are thrilled to be visiting the ocean for the first time. The pals are marveling at their surroundings when Mirabelle hears with her “magical ears” a far-off cry for help: It’s a baby whale trapped in a fishing net on the shore. Once Little Gnouf and Mirabelle manage to get the whale into the water the friends climb onto the creature’s back and offer words of encouragement which ultimately helps the calf reunite with his mom. The duo’s improvised efforts to save the whale—they make ropes from the fishing net and get an assist from some seagulls—are compelling though there’s a whiff of the cutesy about the story: “Little Gnouf and Mirabelle rushed to the baby whale because Gnoufs loved the earth and all its creatures.” “Mommy whale was so happy to have her baby safe she sang a joyful song that sent shivers through the sea.” But the illustrations make up for it; Grimard has a light hand creating willowy tableaux and hewing to a beachy palette except where sea life is concerned—then it’s open season on glorious color.

Some days Mom soars on the wind like a kite and “no matter how hard I pull the string I can’t bring her back down.” Other days Mom’s boat takes on water and begins to sink. The child tries to help bail it out from her own buoyant vessel but it’s not enough and Mom spends those days in bed while the child’s boat feels “cramped and heavy.” Mom takes the child to meet Grace a therapist who tells her it’s not her responsibility to monitor her mother’s moods. On another “sinking day” the child picks up crayons instead and draws. Later Mom joins her and asks for a picture to hang where she can see it from her bed. The child wonders if she’ll encounter similar troubles when she’s an adult. No one knows but nevertheless the young protagonist feels ready to face whatever happens. Detlefsen has crafted a heartfelt meditation on the effects of mental illness on family members. Metaphors are woven in with more concrete events; both reinforce the story’s positive message. Importantly Mom’s struggles are realistically depicted but so is the loving parent-child relationship. Dion’s illustrations use negative space to great effect and the gouache-style brushstrokes create a lovely textured softness. Mother and child are tan-skinned; Grace is paler.

Irene Sartori sells foreclosed houses—from a palazzo in smoldering Rome to an expensive property in sinking Venice—to wealthy foreigners impervious to the dystopian climate catastrophe befalling Europe. Renowned in her field Irene gets a mysterious call beckoning her to help sell an “unsellable” property in her hometown of Milan. The enchanting yet haunting spot known as Via Saterna is defined by its central staircase giving the building a circular interior that defies its ordinary square-shaped exterior: “The Via Saterna project is based on that deception on the assurance of a certain presumption in the eye of an onlooker and the subsequent unmasking of preconception the crumbling of logical deduction.” Most intriguing however is Via Saterna’s unlikely inhabitant Lidia whose mysterious relationship to the house quickly takes over Irene’s life. As Irene tries to piece together the intertwined history of Lidia and Via Saterna another narrative unfolds: one that begins decades prior when according to the narrator Lidia had a fatal fall down the house’s stairwell. The two concentric narratives—one moving forward in time and the other moving backward—create a gripping yet dizzying story that forces the reader to question its every detail. Both narratives oscillate between themes of birth and death balancing the puzzle of Lidia’s alleged death with Irene’s personal journey into motherhood which emphasizes the circularity of the novel’s timeline. The plot like the house is dotted with circular and geometric imagery: “I had waited forty years for the circle to close” says the house’s owner as the novel ends.

No one notices Joe! Though his buddy Tiago—whose many talents include soccer prowess and a gift for language—is reassuring Joe wants to start middle school “as a new person.” A YouTube video centered on an outdoor adventurer known as Wildman Mike convinces him to follow suit and the report of a mysterious creature in nearby Bentley Woods sends the pair off on a quest for Bigfoot. When Joe actually meets Wildman Mike his image of his hero is shattered and various challenges briefly strain the friendship between the boys to the breaking point necessitating a change of plans and requiring some leafy toilet paper. When they do eventually meet a real “wild man” in the woods he is both scary and enlightening and though Joe’s escapades don’t go as planned he emerges feeling ready at last for middle school. Tiago portrayed with shaded skin and black hair and Joe with skin and hair the color of the page make a lively contrast: Tiago’s calm rationality plays comically against Joe’s excitability and overconfidence. The pace of this U.K. import is fast and the action funny and suspenseful enough to keep readers turning pages (an especially hilarious scene sees the boys comparing their “pee arcs”). Deft prose and well-crafted characters are reinforced by amusing cartoon line illustrations.

Seventeen-year-old Naya Tambor was never a shoo-in for a spot in the Neo-Settlers Developers & Engineers: During her austere childhood which was filled with military training she struggled with combat. Because the aloof General was her mother she also faced bullying and extra scrutiny. In the indoor city of Emas the maze of corridors might suddenly “glitch” and change shape with lethal consequences. For her final test Naya must infiltrate a nest of Spiravits the creatures responsible for the glitches who “shift and morph between human and monster” and threaten Emas’ very existence. But as Naya who has light skin and curly hair departs for an unfamiliar outside world with a Spiravit named Zayn she learns surprising things. The Spiravits grow and eat delicious food—a contrast to the chemical-tasting lab-grown food she had back home. And in overcrowded Emas people avoid touch “a primary carrier of disease” unlike the Spiravits. Wondering if they’re more humane than the residents of her violent unfeeling city Naya must decide which side she’s on. After some clunky early exposition debut author Gales’ plot lifts off. The dichotomies are a bit too neat the characters’ feelings and motivations are baldly stated and observant readers may guess the big reveals but this is an otherwise gripping narrative set in an inventive world.

Our young narrator is beloved by his doting auntie. According to her he’s “the most perfect nephew to ever be born” and as we see him maturing from chubby-cheeked newborn to diapered and crawling toddler to sparkly-eyed little kid their mutual affection just increases. Durr’s artwork deploys pastel negative space bright contrasting neons and zoomed-in shots of tender embraces to great effect illustrating well the dramatic moment that reveals to readers and narrator alike that Auntie will soon be a mommy too! A newborn baby girl flips the script as our protagonist’s mother remarks that she is the “most perfect and most beautiful niece to ever be born.” But it doesn’t take long for the momentarily grumpy big boy cousin to make eye contact with his swaddled baby girl cousin which reminds him promptly of the room he has “for all this love.” Mommy and Auntie—siblings themselves—demonstrate how to make everyone feel included just as the next generation grows together with love. McDaniel’s dialogue and narration are both chock-full of sweetness and verve. Characters present Black and vary in skin tone.

After Weatherby arrived at the ritzy Boston School she discovered that she and Jack who come from very different backgrounds are cousins. The pair conquered challenges to gain membership in their school’s secret society Last Heir going from rivals to partners as they uncovered their family history. Last Heir—an anagram for “THE LIARS”—was established by their forebears the Hunts to cover up misdeeds but the kids are determined to reveal the truth. Now studying abroad in St. Moritz Switzerland they compete in the 72nd round of the game of la Victoire hoping to win the one open spot in the Last Heir’s inner circle. They need this access if they are to discover and expose the truth about their family however heinous it might be. They won’t be distracted from their goal by the glamour riches and power promised by Last Heir—or by anonymous threats. Together with loyal friends from their top-secret Liars Society the white-presenting cousins brave tests enact a rescue mission and unmask a host of enemies some of whom will resort to murder to keep the past buried. Knowledge of the first two books is essential to appreciating this one.

Because of a geological fluke bad air and brown skies settled over the Los Angeles basin even before the rise of the automobile. But over the last century as oil refineries and international shipping docks started dotting the coast and as millions moved into newly created suburbs too spread out to be reached easily by public transit Los Angeles became notorious for its smog. The cover was so thick that some newcomers to the area including author Carlson’s mother were unaware that the city was surrounded by mountains—until by chance extreme winds blew the filthy clouds away. “This is a book meant to celebrate and explain government’s great achievement in cleaning up my city’s air” writes Carlson an environmental law professor at the University of California Los Angeles and a former acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “But it is also a cautionary tale about corporate malfeasance and the massive harm it can do to public health and the environment.” Carlson presents a quick efficient history of the factors that came together to tackle the scourge factors that included concerned citizens both well-placed (like Dorothy Chandler of the Los Angeles Times dynasty) and downtrodden (including pioneering environmental justice groups from East Los Angeles and South Central Los Angeles); innovative scientists from regional institutions like UCLA and the California Institute of Technology; and local state and federal government combining to regulate oil and auto manufacturing companies that not only denied their role in creating the mess but spent billions to discourage action on it.

When 28-year-old Ali Azeem agrees to an arranged marriage with psychiatric resident Maryam Khan brilliant and gorgeous daughter of real estate billionaire Abbas Khan he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—not least because he’s having a hot affair with her ne’er-do-well sister Farhan. But Ali whose Mumbai-based family’s fortunes have slipped enough that his parents must leave their swank home in the city’s Breach Candy district is less savvy than he thinks; one of the high points of this complex book is how every sign Ali misses leads to his comeuppance. For example he fails to connect one family member’s work with their subterfuge revealing how little he’s had to think ahead during the years he’s worked as a successful wedding photographer and bon vivant. As the narrative alternates between Ali and Farhan the plot thickens. Abbas offers Ali a position in his Manhattan office but there are many strings attached—as well as rivals for Abbas’ approval. Farhan shares with Ali the terrifying story of her near-assault by a man she believes to be the Jackson Heights Killer or JHK a murderer who killed and cut out the hearts of at least nine young South Asian women in the early 2000s. Determined to track down the JHK Farhan enlists retired case detective Orlando Epps to the cause then Ali: perhaps the book’s electrifying opening scene involving a hidden corpse has to do with their success? Or not: Ahmad handles multiple villains all unreliable narrators in their own way with great aplomb as the novel hurtles to a possibly predictable but still remarkable finale.

When upon leaving a cafe Naomi realizes she has taken the wrong coat—it resembles her own—she returns it to the woman it belongs to. At the cafe on another occasion Naomi again spots this woman Laura who becomes the object of Naomi’s fascination (and eventually her lover). The novel swaps third-person narration for first-person narration by an unnamed woman whose job is to transcribe recordings of women’s personal stories for a ghostwriter. “I am transformed into every woman as I type” the narrator reflects. “We are in the moment I listen and type the same person.” Soon the novel switches to what seems to be a transcript of a woman’s personal story; “I’m so lonely!” it begins. The novel interweaves the three narratives inviting the reader to wonder how they’re connected. Alas while the book is written with marvelously cool composure none of the three strands is especially interesting: The reader is unlikely to share Naomi’s obsession with Laura whose ethereality seems performative. Nothing much is going on in the transcriber’s life; the transcript snippets don’t go anywhere. And the women’s musings on having or being a double ultimately leave the impression of intellectual noodling. Some readers may find the book seductively mysterious: Johansson the Swedish author of the novel Antiquity (2024) has set her scenes in an anonymous city in an unspecified past of landlines and cassette tapes. And some readers may be intrigued by the novel’s references to unnamed suspense films presumably invented by the author (although Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo and Marnie will come to mind). The transcriber’s summaries of the movie plots are compelling; if only this novel were equally so.

Seventeen-year-old Evangeline Bellefontaine daughter of Grand-Pré Nova Scotia’s wealthiest farmer is engaged to the love of her life blacksmith’s son Gabriel Lajeunesse. But trouble is brewing: British ships have dropped anchor in the Gaspereau River threatening the village with their cannons. Before the two can marry British soldiers force the community members from their homes and onto ships bound for the Thirteen Colonies and Gabriel and Evangeline are separated. Years pass but even through smallpox indentured servitude marriage proposals and missed connections Evangeline remains loyal and determined to reunite with Gabriel. This adaptation of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic 1847 poem “Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie” offers readers a happier resolution than the original narrative which sees the lovers reuniting just as Gabriel’s life slips away. Although Pelletier presents a somewhat idealized depiction of the Acadian diaspora she nonetheless offers well-researched historical insights. Despite the many years and many miles Evangeline travels the story avoids getting bogged down by excessive details (or Longfellow’s melodrama). Smiley’s sepia-toned spot art and occasional full-page color illustrations help readers visualize the setting and reinforce the love story.

Raised in Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park where the struggles of American health care are on full display Blackstone proposes a program to improve outcomes and rebuild public trust in this book. Beginning with the 1965 Medicare and Medicaid Act the author describes the development of the American medical system highlighting shocks like the opioid epidemic and Covid-19 that revealed the brittleness of this system. Discussions of medical bankruptcies the opacity and arbitrariness of insurance billing codes and the insidiousness of intermediaries like Pharmacy Benefit Managers will be painfully familiar to many American readers and demonstrate the author’s command of the subject matter. “The system [is] working exactly as designed” Blackstone writes meaning extracting profit rather than providing care. Her proposed response is the Health 4.0 (H4) system. H4 would use AI products and blockchain technology to allow patients greater autonomy for decision-making by recognizing cultural factors in health care decisions and lighten doctors’ workloads to allow for more careful consultation with patients. The author renders this vision in vignettes featuring imagined patients whose care and overall well-being are looked after by Doctor AI/the H4 system. While Blackstone is clearly speaking from professional provider-side experience and an intimate familiarity with the struggles of everyday Americans her central argument feels incomplete in part due to its overreliance on free-market capitalism to solve the very problems it has created. The same feeling pervades the discussion of AI since H4 is built on a substantial overestimation of the capacities of Large Language Model AI products which still regularly produce undesirable output. Blackstone’s case feels like a kind of ideological laundering—it’s easier to sell a common-sense socialized health care system with futuristic AI marketing.

Hazel and her mother have been in Minnesota for several weeks now since Grandma had a heart attack. A local summer writing workshop isn’t quite what Hazel had hoped for; the instructor is a journalist but Hazel wants to write fiction. In class she hits it off with another student Anjali but Hazel and her mother are scheduled to return to Chicago before the last class dashing her hopes of friendship with Anjali. Hazel feels out of sorts “like there’s a hole” inside her. KC (who uses they/them pronouns) and their younger brother Jonah the children of Hazel’s mom’s best friend seem closer to grumpy Grandma than Hazel is. Though KC and Hazel are both planning a play group for older dogs Grandma seems far more appreciative of KC’s contributions. And when the senior dogs finally gather one growls at Spot Hazel’s elderly dalmatian. Disappointments accumulate leading to frustration but with support Hazel carefully unpacks her feelings. Butler’s portrayal of preteen emotions is empathetic and recognizable while a peek at dog training offers an appealing second layer to Hazel’s account making for a lighthearted yet rich tale. Hazel and her family present white; Kote’s sunny grayscale illustrations suggest some diversity among the supporting cast.

Rose Allgood is lucky to be a citizen of Noah’s Valley; at least that’s what she tries to remind herself as she walks down the aisle on her wedding day. The marriage is prearranged as most everything is in the community in which the remnants of humanity find sanctuary from a world that’s now a wasteland.Her wedding however is interrupted by a scuffle in the crowd. Once the crimson cloaks of the spectators have parted Rose sees her mother lying in a pool of blood and her twin brother Jonas standing above her with a blade in his hand. Only minutes before Jonas had promised to tell Rose the secret truth of Noah’s Valley whispering “We’re not what you think Rose” but soon he’s sentenced to death as a Harvest sacrifice. With hardly a moment to breathe Rose weds Gryphon Tzu son of Jarek Tzu the lead Elder who tyrannizes the Valley. While adjusting to her new marriage home and in-laws she begins to uncover new information about her family members’ deaths. She soon finds herself entering a rabbit hole of investigation that reveals the origins of the Valley and the deep corruption that sustains it. As something begins to cull the population Rose must put herself in danger in order to unite and ultimately liberate herself and her fellow citizens. Many contemporary dystopian archetypes are present in Lourey’s novel—including an insular society kept within walls divided into craft-based sects and a council of shadowy elders keeping them all in line—but the conspiracy at the center of it all is pertinent to current anxieties over wealth inequality and corporate deregulation. The deft prose is enlivened by action sequences as well which are sure to draw readers into the central mystery. A fundamental question arises for readers to ponder: Can communities founded on the principles of injustice produce good and truly righteous people—and what happens if they do?

This is the first-ever collection that showcases Schlitten’s incredible career as a legendary jazz producer photographer of jazz artists and album-cover designer. The book includes rare black-and-white and color photos of jazz greats 25 album covers that he designed a biographical essay by jazz journalist Ted Panken and an introduction by the acclaimed record producer Zev Feldman—not to mention a Harvey Pekar American Splendor comic riff of Schlitten from 1991. For jazz lovers this is bounty indeed. Panken goes into great detail chronicling Schlitten’s career describing specific jazz sessions that Schlitten born in 1932 attended and photographed like his early shoot of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane in 1957. As more of his production work was recognized he took on all kinds of significant projects. He became involved in bringing back old recordings from the 1930s and ’40s for new audiences. In the 1970s he started his own label Xanadu releasing 111 albums paying royalties whenever he could. Schlitten’s second wife Nina urged him to form the label. “Start your own company; I’ll work with you” she said. “So we started it with $10000” Schlitten recalls. “She did all the legal work did all the secretarial work and got up early in the morning to pack records if we were lucky.” One of Schlitten’s final Xanadu productions was Billy Eckstine—I Want to Talk About You: Original 1940-1945 Recordings. Among the book’s many photos is a moody black-and-white image of Coltrane Monk and Shadow Wilson performing in 1957. And there’s one of Sonny Rollins and his sax at the Art Gallery. Also featured are Mahalia Jackson Ella Fitzgerald Miles Davis Ron Carter and Frank Sinatra. As Feldman writes Schlitten “witnessed history being made on a nightly basis.”

When Lajos von Lázár is born at the turn of the 20th century his father Sándor a Hungarian baron is “slightly unsettled”: The baby is translucent his organs visible “blond blue-eyed and jellyfish-skinned.” Sándor who suspects correctly the baby is not his biological child comes from a family beset with problems; their manor abuts a forest that “had swallowed his father killed his mother and driven his brother mad.” He is a strict unsmiling father to Lajos and his sister Ilona and a cold partner to his wife Mária a troubled woman who cuts her skin daily to remind herself she is still alive. Lajos and Ilona spend their childhood in the manor occasionally encountering mysterious creatures in the seemingly haunted forest finding happiness only when Sándor is out of town. Biedermann’s novel follows the Lázár family through the next several decades as the First and Second World Wars ravage central Europe: Mária dies by suicide which exacerbates the drinking problem that eventually leads to Sándor’s death. Lajos inherits his father’s estate and starts a family of his own but his life is marked by a cowardice he hates in himself especially when he fails to stand up to the Nazis who have occupied Hungary. Lajos’ skin isn’t the only magical-realist touch Biedermann includes; many come and go along the way but it’s not clear what the effect is supposed to be—they seem to be quirks for quirks’ sake. He introduces characters who disappear for long stretches and the novel features time jumps that jar and disorient. His prose in Bulloch’s translation has some shining moments but the novel as a whole never really comes together. At 21 Biedermann is an exceptionally young writer and it shows but he does display a talent that though unformed evinces promise.

When her grandmother falls ill 9-year-old Hazel and her mother travel from their home in Chicago to Minnesota. Grandma runs a doggy daycare out of her barn and Hazel and Mom are here to step in while she recovers. Grandma prefers dogs to people and she’s less than thrilled at their arrival (“Guests like fish begin to smell after three days” as she puts it). Still she begrudgingly accepts their assistance and everyone pitches in—including Mom’s longtime friend Mallory and her children 11-year-old KC (who uses they/them pronouns) and 7-year-old Jonah. Butler balances doggy antics with gently presented moments of emotional awareness. When Hazel struggles under the weight of keeping a secret from her mother Jonah points out that “tattling isn’t always bad.” And when Jonah inadvertently shares the secret with his mother Hazel astutely observes “Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do when you have a secret.” Authentic depictions of friendship and family dynamics and realistic opportunities for responsibilities and problem-solving are smoothly and entertainingly combined here. Hazel and her family appear white in Kote’s cheerful clear cartoon illustrations; the visuals add to the charm and hint at some diversity among the other humans.

To hear Layla Bailey tell it her divorce was amicable but now she’s regretting her decision to stay friendly with her ex-husband Jamie’s family. When Emily her former sister-in-law all but begs Layla to attend her wedding in Paris Layla can’t refuse. Then Jamie’s new girlfriend tags along and there’s another member of the wedding party who’s even more distracting: best man Griffin Testa. He’s gruff antagonistic incredibly handsome and visibly scarred in a way that hints at a traumatic past and he also knows how to get under Layla’s skin with little more than a look. After a girls’ night out results in Emily getting cold feet Griffin confronts Layla demanding to know what she’d said to talk the bride out of the wedding. While Griffin is strangely determined to make sure this event goes off without a hitch Layla doesn’t want to create a disruption for the family she once belonged to either. The two reluctantly team up to calm any doubts that Emily and Michael—Griffin’s best friend—might be having and as they’re increasingly forced into each other’s orbit Griffin offers to be a buffer so Layla doesn’t have to face Jamie alone. Clayborn’s latest romance takes big swings both in its approach to character and to some of the genre’s most well-trodden tropes—Griffin is likened to a dark fae prince at several turns in a way that feels like a teasing wink at romantasy. The book’s leads are both wounded in different ways but as the story progresses and their chemistry blossoms they lower the emotional walls they’ve spent years constructing in favor of embracing more vulnerability and honesty. The result is a tremendous love story that’s never overshadowed by its immersive Paris setting but poignantly accentuated by it proof that Clayborn only gets better with every book.

After surviving a battle against Napoleon’s forces Deckard Payne is left with two things: terrible injuries and a battlefield promise to care for the daughter of one of his men. Years later Dex is still living with both because despite the resources at his disposal as Duke of Warburton Analise Crewe has been impossible to find. Unbeknownst to Dex after her father’s death the now 18-year-old Ana was tucked away in Cornwall as the companion to a lady writer and only arrived in London recently to find a publisher for her own novel. Unfortunately publishers haven’t been receptive and as she is now unable to pay rent it seems that moving to a bawdy house is her only option. Just as she is pondering that fate however 35-year-old Dex appears offering her another life entirely. Though he’s never wanted a wife and she’s focused on her writing an attraction quickly grows between them. After turning his staid house upside down the impulsive and inexperienced Ana asks Dex to kiss her for the benefit of a novel she’s promised to complete—and then everything changes when they’re found in that compromising position and Dex has to marry Ana to preserve her reputation. The second volume of Bell’s Thunderbolt Club series has many of her signature touches but it’s emotionally inconsistent. Ana and Dex start out with a classic grumpy/sunshine dynamic but it often reads as immaturity on her part and coldness on his making their eventual connection feel sudden. This may be because though their age gap is historically accurate it’s likely to be outside the comfort zone of many readers especially as Dex spends the early part of the book reminding himself of how inappropriate it is to be attracted to his ward.