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Book Reviews

This cover image released by Norton shows "This Strange Eventful History" by Claire Messud. (Norton via AP)

Book Review: A grandfather’s 1,500-page family history undergirds Claire Messud’s latest novel

Claire Messud, bestselling author of 2006’s “The Emperor’s Children,” has a new novel out this spring called “This Strange Eventful History.”

This cover image released by Tor shows "When Among Crows" by Veronica Roth. (Tor via AP)

Book Review: Veronica Roth taps into her Polish roots for ‘When Among Crows,’ a lore-packed novella

This cover image released by Grand Central Publishing shows "The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis" by George Stephanapoulos with Lisa Dickey. (Grand Central Publishing via AP)

Book Review: Anonymous public servants are the heart of George Stephanopoulos’ ‘Situation Room’

This cover image released by Avid Reader shows "Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space" by Adam Higginbotham. (Avid Reader via AP)

Book Review: ‘Challenger’ is definitive account of shuttle disaster and missteps that led to tragedy

This cover image released by Dial Press shows "First Love" by Lilly Dancyger. (Dial Press via AP)

Book Review: Memoirist Lilly Dancyger’s penetrating essays explore the power of female friendships

Emily Henry’s romance novels rooted in respect, realism

Bestselling author Emily Henry is out with a new novel called ‘Funny Story.” Henry said she always writes relationships where the characters respect each other and that while there are romance novels of all kinds, she thinks books like hers are more realistic. (April 23)

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Children’s author Kate DiCamillo delights readers and heals herself with new book ‘Ferris’

A Black author takes a new look at Georgia’s white founder and his failed attempt to ban slavery

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This cover image released by Tin House shows "The Skunks" by Fiona Warnick. (Tin House via AP)

Book Review: Coming-of-age meets quarter-life crisis in Fiona Warnick’s ambitious debut ‘The Skunks’

Isabel’s just trying to do better in a world buzzing with diametrically opposing views of what that means.

This combination of cover images shows "The Backyard Bird Chronicles" by Amy Tan, left, and "The Birds that Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness" by Kenn Kaufman. (Knopf via AP, left, and Avid Reader Press via AP)

Book Review: Novelist Amy Tan shares love of the natural world in ‘The Backyard Bird Chronicles’

Best-selling novelist Amy Tan of “The Joy Luck Club” fame combines entries from her nature journal with astonishing illustrations thanks to lessons in bird illustration in “The Backyard Bird Chronicles,” to share a birdwatching obsession that dates back to before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This cover image released by Knopf shows "Real Americans" by Rachel Khong. (Knopf via AP)

Book Review: Rachel Khong’s new novel ‘Real Americans’ explores race, class and cultural identity

“Real Americans” is a sweeping, multigenerational novel about a Chinese American family. It is divided into three sections, each narrated by a different family member.

This cover image released by Dutton shows "Crow Talk" by Eileen Garvin. (Dutton via AP)

Book Review: ‘Crow Talk’ provides a path for healing in a meditative and hopeful novel on grief

Crows have long been associated with death, but Eileen Garvin’s novel “Crow Talk” offers a fresh perspective; creepy, dark and morbid becomes beautiful, wondrous and transformative.

This cover image released by Berkley shows "Funny Story" by Emily Henry. (Berkley via AP)

Book Review: Emily Henry is still the modern-day rom-com queen with ‘Funny Story’

“Funny Story” isn’t a funny story at all, but it is a good one. It starts with dueling breakups that have rocked the two main characters’ worlds and forced them to bond over their shared broken hearts.

This image released by St. Martin's Publishing Group shows "Nothing But the Bones" by Brian Panowich. (St. Martin's Publishing Group via AP)

Book Review: ‘Nothing But the Bones’ is a compelling noir novel at a breakneck pace

“Nothing But the Bones,” a prequel to Brian Panowich’s critically acclaimed Bull Mountain series of Southern noir novels, finds Nails McKenna on the run after killing a man in a barroom brawl.

This book cover image released by Doubleday shows "The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook" by Hampton Sides. (Doubleday via AP)

Book Review: Hampton Sides revisits Captain James Cook, a divisive figure in the South Pacific

In his fateful final Pacific voyage, Captain James Cook failed to find an ocean passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans but he did find Pacific islands, peoples and cultures unknown to Europeans.

This book cover image released by Penguin Random House shows "There's Going to Be Trouble" by Jen Silverman. Penguin Random House via AP)

Book Review: Jen Silverman’s gripping second novel explores the long afterlife of political violence

In 1968, an apolitical grad student at Harvard gets drawn into the takeover of a campus building because he is in love with one of the organizers.

This cover image released by Flatiron shows "The Black Girl Survives in This One" horror stories edited by Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell. (Flatiron via AP)

Book Review: Short story anthology ‘The Black Girl Survives in This One’ challenges the horror canon

“The Black Girl Survives in This One,” a short story anthology edited by Saraciea J. Fennell and Desiree S. Evans, is changing the literary horror canon.

This image released by William Morrow shows "City in Ruins" by Don Winslow. (William Morrow via AP)

Book Review: ‘City of Ruins’ completes a masterful Don Winslow trilogy

As “City in Ruins” opens, former mobster Danny Ryan is a silent partner in two Las Vegas casinos. He is fabulously rich but wants more. Why?

This image released by Holt shows "Glorious Exploits" by Ferdia Lennon. (Holt via AP)

Book Review: ‘Glorious Exploits’ turns classical history into an endearing comedy about tragedy

Best friends Lampo and Gelon are potters by trade, but in their souls they’re poets. It’s 412 B.C. and the ancient city of Syracuse doesn’t know what hit it when these two hatch up the best worst idea: They’ll put on a play using the Athenian prisoners of war who are starving to death down in the ro

This cover image released by Columbia University Press shows "Newshawks in Berlin: �� and Nazi Germany" by Larry Heinzerling and Randy Herschaft, with Ann Cooper. (Columbia University Press via AP)

Book Review: ‘Newshawks in Berlin’ illustrates tough choices news organizations face in wartime

“Newshawks in Berlin: �� and Nazi Germany” explores the challenges the world’s largest news organization faced in its coverage of World War II.

Book Review: Debut novel `Headshot’ gives us head shots of the psyches of teenage girl boxers

Rita Bullwinkel’s debut novel “Headshot” takes place in a rundown gym in Nevada, where eight teenage girls are competing in the final rounds of a youth boxing championship.

This cover image released by Hogarth shows "Great Expectations" by Vinson Cunningham. (Hogarth via AP)

Book Review: A coming-of-age story of a young Black man who works for an Obama-adjacent candidate

Vinson Cunningham’s day job is writing theater reviews for the New Yorker magazine. Now he has published his first novel, “Great Expectations.”

This cover image released by Farrar, Straus and Giroux shows "Feeding Ghosts" by Tessa Hulls. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux via AP)

Book Review: Tessa Hulls feeds her family’s ghosts by bringing them to light in rich graphic memoir

When Tessa Hulls sets out to tell her family’s story, she’s feeding their ghosts in the best way she’s learned how: by pulling them into the light.

This cover image released by Crown shows "Means of Control" by Byron Tau. (Crown via AP)

Book Review: ‘Means of Control’ charts the disturbing rise of a secretive US surveillance regime

In the book “Means of Control,” former Wall Street Journal reporter Byron Tau exposes in disturbing detail how private Beltway contractors have grown a secretive surveillance regime, AP technology reporter Frank Bajak writes.

This cover image released by Tin House Books shows "The Woman in the Sable Coat" by Elizabeth Brooks. (Tin House Books via AP)

Book Review: Elizabeth Brooks’ Austen-esque WWII novel has romance, betrayal and a touch of macabre

In a chance meeting in 1934, Nina invites the Nicholsons to dinner. She’s 14, trying on womanhood for the first time, and quickly becomes smitten with Guy Nicholson.

This cover image released by Viking shows "The Hunter" by Tana French. (Viking via AP)

Book Review: ‘The Hunter’ is a dark and lyrical tale of revenge, friendship and loyalty in collision

Trey Reddy, a teenage girl in a remote Irish village, blames her neighbors for the unsolved murder of her brother. She also despises her father for abandoning her.

This cover image released by Minotaur shows "The Rumor Game" by Thomas Mullen. (Minotaur via AP)

Book Review: Thomas Mullen’s portrayal of a divided nation in 1943 draws parallels to today

In 1943, as American soldiers confront a German Army in North Africa, the city of Boston is rife with antisemitic rumors, and support for the war is not universal.

This cover image released by Flatiron shows "The Bad Ones" by Melissa Albert. (Flatiron via AP)

Book Review: Melissa Albert’s ‘The Bad Ones’ is a gripping story of friendship and the supernatural

Four people have disappeared in a single night, and Nora’s best friend, Becca, is one of them. If they weren’t three months into a huge fight, maybe Nora would be able to parse out the clues Becca left for her.

This cover image released by Putnam shows "This Disaster Loves You" by Richard Roper. (Putnam via AP)

Book Review: Richard Roper charms and surprises with ’This Disaster Loves You’

Richard Roper, whose debut novel “Something to Live For,” featured a British sad-sack rediscovering his true self, returns with “This Disaster Loves You,” which �� Press review Rob Merrill writes, is “about another man whose story is not quite what it seems.”

This cover image released by HarperCollins shows "Fourteen Days," edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston. (HarperCollins via AP)

Book Review: New collaborative novel ‘Fourteen Days’ proves the pandemic couldn’t curb creativity

Almost four years since COVID-19 became a household term, a new work of fiction proves that even a global pandemic can’t curb creativity, writes Rob Merrill in his �� Press review of “Fourteen Days.”

This cover image released by Mulholland shows "Owning Up" by George Pelecanos. (Mulholland Books via AP)

Book Review: George Pelecanos’ ‘Owning Up’ has elegant prose and well-drawn characters

George Pelecanos has produced fine crime novels about Washington, D.C., and written for critically-acclaimed television shows including “The Wire.”

This cover image released by Mindy's Book Studio shows "Almost Surely Dead" by Amina Akhtar. (Mindy's Book Studio via AP)

Book Review: ‘Almost Surely Dead’ is a smart supernatural thriller for a stormy night

Dunia Ahmed disappeared over a year ago. But before she vanished, weird things were happening, including multiple attempts on her life.

This cover image released by G.P Putnam's Sons shows "Clover Hendry's Day Off" by Beth Morrey. (G.P Putnam's Sons via AP)

Book Review: ‘Clover Hendry’s Day Off’ is an infectious, Ferris Bueller-inspired 24-hour adventure

What starts as a normal Thursday quickly transforms into, well, not a normal Thursday. “Clover Hendry’s Day Off” by Beth Morrey is a Ferris Bueller-inspired 24-hour adventure in which one 40-something pushover of a working mom says to heck with it: Today, Clover Hendry is living life for herself for

This cover image released by Putnam shows "Come and Get It" by Kiley Reid. (Putnam via AP)

Book Review: ‘Come and Get It’ takes readers back to school, blending gossip with weightier themes

Kiley Reid burst on the scene in 2019 with “Such a Fun Age,” which was longlisted for the Booker Prize.

This cover image released by Knopf shows "Martyr!" by Kaveh Akbar. (Knopf via AP)

Book Review: Iranian-born Kaveh Akbar pens an unforgettable portrait of the poet as a young man

Kaveh Akbar is an up-and-coming young poet who has won numerous awards for poems that explore themes of spirituality and addiction.

This image released by Routledge shows "Out of Hiding, Extremist White Supremacy and How it Can Be Stopped" by Kathleen M. Blee, Robert Futrell and Pete Simi. (Routledge via AP)

Book Review: Scholars analyze extremist white supremacy’s grip on U.S. politics and culture

Three sociologists who have studied racist movements in the U.S. for decades chronicle in “Out of Hiding, Extremist White Supremacy and How It Can Be Stopped” the history of U.S. white supremacy from the Ku Klux Klan to today’s far-right groups that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

This cover image released by Bloomsbury shows "Sugar, Baby" by Celine Saintclare. (Bloomsbury via AP)

Book Review: ‘Sugar, Baby’ is a train wreck with no consequences that you can’t help but read

Agnes Green in the novel “Sugar, Baby” has been an outsider her whole life, with her strict conservative Christian upbringing directly at odds with her desire for romance, sex and parties.

This cover image released by Melville House shows "The Rebellious CEO: 12 Leaders Who Did It Right" by Ralph Nader. (Melville House via AP)

Book Review: Ralph Nader profiles corporate leaders he sees as role models in ‘The Rebellious CEO’

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader profiles business leaders he actually likes in “The Rebellious CEO: 12 Leaders Who Did It Right.”