Book Reviews

At the start of Meg Wolitzer's new novel, a young woman is groped at a fraternity party — and her question, "Why is it like this, and what are we supposed to do about it?" echoes through the book.

Sloane Crosley returns to form with her first essay collection in eight years, covering everything from an escalating battle with her neighbor's hip but noisy children to mountain climbing in Ecuador.

Mary H.K. Choi's new novel follows Penny and Sam, both so loaded down with emotional baggage that at first, all they can do is swap numbers and agree to be each other's emergency contacts.

French cartoonist Yvan Alagbé uses a stark black and white palette to investigate the ways Western comics portray race — and the ways his country treats (and mistreats) its immigrant population.

Jan Morris chronicles the final days of the most powerful warship in the Imperial Japanese Navy in her latest book. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls Battleship Yamato a work of both power and restraint.

Christine Mangan's new novel, set in Morocco in the 1950s, centers on the sinister tension between two ex-friends — but the dusty, detailed Moroccan scenery sometimes gets in the way of the story.

Damian Dibben's novel follows a 217-year-old dog (yes, you read that right) as he searches for his wizardly master, who's disappeared somewhere in Europe in the middle of the Napoleonic Wars.

Rebecca Kauffman's new novel centers on a group of friends who reunite after a funeral, and spend an evening together. It's a deceptively simple story with a powerful message: Accept your feelings.

Jon Pineda's new novel follows a young girl living with her father in an old boathouse, somewhere in the Southern United States. It's a well-written book that manages to be both honest and poetic.

Audrey Niffenegger's new book is a collaboration with her husband, comics artist Eddie Campbell — but Campbell's style doesn't jell with Niffenegger's writing, leading to an uneven experience.