Starred Reviews for Jodi Picoult, Téa Obreht, Sophia Smith Galer, Lauren Collins, and More!

“A Wyoming ghost town provides the stage for this spectacular novel from Obreht about the enduring myths of the Wild West…Obreht employs impressive restraint, providing just enough clues to create intrigue as the reader pieces together the connections between the three storylines…it careens to an explosive climax. Readers will have a blast.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“[Obreht] delivers a virtuoso performance. In her hands, these three narratives aren’t just satisfying on their own. They illuminate each other in ways that are both elegant and emotionally deep…An adventurous, rewarding novel from a writer who just gets better and better.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Obreht is riveting in each time frame as she exults in emulating and subverting tales of the Old West while exposing the poisonous complexities of gender, taboo love, myth, history, and our desecration of the wild in a breathtaking, shocking, and reverberating survival story.”
—Booklist, starred review

“Impressive, important, and fun to read…An intricate, twisty family drama spanning decades…Fans of My Sister’s Keeper will be glad to hear a character from that book is back…The queen of social activist novels has done it again.”  —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“In her speculative first novel, Goldstein expertly combines the nostalgia of historical fiction, the allure of science fiction, the humor of workplace fiction, and hints of romance to create an immersive tale that will appeal to diverse audiences, including fans of The Compound (2025) by Aisling Rawle, Oona Out of Order (2020) by Margarita Montimore, and The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (2024).” —Booklist, starred review

“Part coming-of-age novel, part crime story, part social commentary, Sisters in Yellow asks uncomfortable questions and gives uncomfortable answers.” —BookPage, starred reviews

“It’s dreamier and more intimate than many of Thompson’s (Never Been Shipped) other novels, but her voice still shines through. Absolute magic.” —Library Journal, starred review

“This well-researched, highly readable work examining the devasting Wilmington coup d’état is shocking and critically important. Essential reading for all academic and public libraries.” —Library Journal, starred review

“Smith Galer takes the fear of language loss or change that haunted early lexicographers like Samuel Johnson and transforms it into a relevant, necessary call to action, encouraging readers to think about what is lost when words and worlds are homogenized.” —Library Journal, starred review

“…In ElGendy’s masterful hands, his personal history becomes not only a beautiful, artistic expression of deliverance and redemption, but also a heroic clarion call for moral decency and liberation more broadly. Fearless and elegant—an uncompromising work from a new author with a mighty voice.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Turn (W)here: A Geography of Home is a superb, creatively structured, and often lyrical inquiry into the many facets of home. …  Similar to Clint Smith’s How the Word Is Passed, Chet’la Sebree questions and confronts what it means to be a Black American and who shapes the lens of history. Turn (W)here is a thoughtful, penetrating meditation on how one may or may not find their place in the world.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review

“This pain-filled memoir is both a record of the author’s coming to terms with the unspeakable through conscious struggle and the natural effects of time. It’s also a remarkable tribute to the memory of a young child’s potent presence during the time he was alive. It’s a gift, intentional or not, to any reader who has suffered a loss of like magnitude and also to those who want to understand such loss.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“A wrenching account of his toddler’s sudden death…[Schnipper] wisely avoids tidy takeaways, offering readers a portrait of unresolved anguish that’s both raw and artful. It’s a powerful record of a broken heart.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Readers will be rapt by this immersive recreation of an intellectual awakening.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review