Book Reviews

Books
Arts

'Sixteen Scandals' Rewinds A Teen Classic To Regency England

7:00am May 29, 2021

by Alethea Kontis

Sophie Jordan's romp of a novel follows Primrose Ainsworth, youngest of four sisters, who escapes the family on her 16th birthday for an adventure through Regency London with a charming mystery man.

The Great Whipplethorp Bug Collection, by Ben Brashares and Elizabeth Bergeland

Books
Arts

Give 'The Great Whipplethorp Bug Collection' A Buzz, You'll Bee Charmed

5:00am May 29, 2021

by Juanita Giles

In Ben Brashares and Elizabeth Bergeland's charming new picture book, a discontented young boy finds a new way to carry on his family's legacy of awesomeness — and without hurting any bugs.

King Richard: Nixon and Watergate--An American Tragedy, Michael Dobbs

'King Richard' Is A Fresh Retelling Of Watergate — With All The Drama

4:00pm May 27, 2021

by Ron Elving

Michael Dobbs writes of a time when a bipartisan group in Congress could command respect as investigators, and when even leaders of the president's party were prepared to acknowledge his wrongdoing.

Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution, by Carlo Rovelli

'Helgoland' Offers A New Way To Understand The World, And Our Place In It

11:52am May 27, 2021

by Adam Frank

Carlo Rovelli writes that quantum mechanics tells us reality is a net of interactions where there are no things, only relationships; nothing has properties until it interacts with something else.

Books
Arts

A Bullied Kid Finds Unconventional Freedom In 'Heaven'

5:00am May 25, 2021

by Lily Meyer

Following the success of Breasts and Eggs, Mieko Kawakami's publishers are releasing a beautiful new translation of her 2016 novel Heaven, about an unnamed teen dealing with bullies at school.

Books
Arts

May's YA Brings Unlikely Connections Between Very Different Stories

5:00am May 23, 2021

by Caitlyn Paxson

At first glance, The Ones We're Meant to Find and Luck of the Titanic don't have much in common — one's historical, one's dystopia. But as you read, you'll see surprising thematic connections.

Books
Arts

For May, 3 Romances About Staying True To Your Passions, Whatever They May Be

5:00am May 22, 2021

by Maya Rodale

This month, Romancelandia brings us three tales of staying true to what you love, whether that's old cars, wedding dresses or even a grade school crush — while still pursuing the future you want.

Evolution Gone Wrong: The Curious Reasons Why Our Bodies Work (Or Don't), by Alex Bezzerides

We've Been Evolving For Millions Of Years, So Why Are Our Bodies So Flawed?

6:40am May 21, 2021

by Barbara J. King

In his debut book Evolution Gone Wrong, Alex Bezzerides mixes the technical anatomical stuff we need to know with vivid examples and humorous phrases — in offering us some answers.

Books
Arts

'Unsettled Ground' Lets Its Oddballs Stay Defiantly Odd

5:00am May 20, 2021

by Ilana Masad

Claire Fuller's beautifully written new novel follows 51-year-old twins who never left home, forced finally to cope with the outside world and some unpleasant family secrets after their mother dies.

Books
Arts

Rachel Cusk's 'Second Place' Offers Sharp Perceptions About Love And Creativity

1:27pm May 19, 2021

by John Powers

A writer offers up her guest house to a famous painter in hope that something transcendent will happen. But he's selfish, amoral and flagrantly misogynistic — and monstrously at ease with all this.

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