Book Reviews

Audrey Coulthurst's tale of a princess who falls in love with her intended prince's sister will remind you of fantasy novels you loved as a child — all teen angst, horses and reluctant love.

Moonglow is a playful, fictional take on the family memoir. Set in 1990, it stars young author "Mike" Chabon, who's visiting his dying grandfather. Grandpa, it turns out, has led a remarkable life.

Claudia Salazar Jiménez's new novel is short and brutally effective. It's the story of three women from different walks of life, all caught up in the violence that convulsed Peru in the 1980s.

The narrator of Zadie Smith's new novel is never named — fitting, for a book about the illusions of identity and the ways people try and fail to know and define themselves.

Longtime Fresh Air TV critic David Bianculli's new book lays out what he calls the "Key Evolutionary Stages" in the development of the medium — and the constant conversation we're having with it.

Ron Wimberly's energetic re-working of Romeo and Juliet focuses on Tybalt, the "Prince of Cats." It mashes up wildly diverse elements into a fresh creation, the visual equivalent of a DJ's mix.

Simon Stålenhag's new book of paintings is a followup to his unique vision of a robot-and-monster haunted alternate Sweden. Each page is heavily freighted with dread, but you can't stop looking.

Rachel Neumeier's novel is classic high fantasy: A prince and princess must work together to save their kingdom. It's not new territory, but it is a richly imagined world worth spending time in.

In Vi Khi Nao's new novel, a husband and wife are falling apart after losing their two children in a terrible accident. Nao's poetic chops are on full display in this immersive, difficult book.