3 YA fantasy novels for summer that bring out the monsters within
As we roll into the dog days of summer, these three YA novels move beyond being beastly — as their protagonists transform into the creatures that lie within.
Books
Author Adrienne Brodeur on what keeps her writing about family secrets
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with writer Adrienne Brodeur about her fiction debut "Little Monsters."
Hop in: Richard Ford and Lorrie Moore offer unforgettable summer road trips
Ford brings his Frank Bascombe saga to an end in Be Mine, while Moore weaves together a fragmentary Civil War plot with an off-kilter vision of the afterlife in I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home.
Parini Shroff's laugh-out-loud debut novel explores caste, domestic abuse and murder
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with author Parini Shroff about her debut novel The Bandit Queens, a story about a woman in an Indian village with a dangerous reputation.
Thinking she had just months to live, Laura Dern's mother 'spilled the beans'
Actor Laura Dern and her mother Diane Ladd have always shared a profession. But when Ladd was diagnosed with lung disease, the two started sharing so much more. Their new book is Honey, Baby, Mine.
3 works in translation: History and literature intertwined
It is easy to act as if fiction and history were separate. But they cannot be completely divided. Jenny Erpenbeck's Kairos and Oksana Lutsyshyna's Ivan and Phoebe help readers connect with time past.
Jennifer Vanderbes on her book 'Wonder Drug'
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe interviews author Jennifer Vanderbes on her new book, "Wonder Drug," about the sleeping pill Thalidomide, which caused birth defects when taken by pregnant women.
Caroline O'Donoghue on her book 'The Rachel Incident'
In a new novel, best friends navigate adult life amid the 2008 financial crisis in Ireland. NPR's Miles Parks talks with Caroline O'Donoghue about her book, "The Rachel Incident."
What's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend reading, viewing and listening
Each week, guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: Beware the Woman, Dungeons and Drag Queens, and the DVD menu of The Social Network.
The Academy of American Poets names its first Latino head
Ricardo Alberto Maldonado will become the almost-90-year-old academy's executive director and president.