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Book Reviews!

Publishers Weekly Magazine

Best Books: 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 Summer Reads: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012

And Now I Spill the Family Secrets: An Illustrated Memoir

Margaret kimball (harperone).

With a precision that slices through to the core of suppressed family history, Kimball’s debut graphic narrative investigates her mother’s suicide attempt in the 1980s, peeling back layers of betrayal, custody drama, and inherited mental health issues. She redraws documents and home video stills, obsessively footnotes research, and interviews her brother as his own mind breaks, in an achingly intimate quest.

Sarah Hall (Custom House)

Booker finalist Hall’s story of a devastating pandemic revolves around an artist working on a sculpture to memorialize the dead. In the process she reflects on her mother, a writer who was altered by a brain injury, and on her lover, who died from the virus. Hall conveys intense sex scenes, superb descriptions of the artist’s practice, and insights on the transformations of bodies in stunning prose.

Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora [A Cookbook]

Bryant terry (4 color).

This exuberant work cooked up by James Beard Award–winning chef Terry is way more than a notable collection of recipes. Stuffed with essays, poetry, and artwork from a cast of brilliant creatives with their finger on the pulse of Black culture and the culinary world, it sweeps readers from West Africa to Jamaica to New York with sumptuous stories that feed the soul.

The Anatomy of Desire

L.r. dorn (morrow).

Told in the form of a true crime docuseries, the pseudonymous Dorn’s debut focuses on the trial of Cleo Ray, a fitness coach and social media influencer, who’s accused of drowning her girlfriend while canoeing on a California lake. This innovative update of Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy , told from multiple perspectives, is un-put-downable.

Beautiful Country: A Memoir

Qian julie wang (doubleday).

In this striking debut, Wang reflects on her family’s time surviving in the shadows of the American dream as undocumented Chinese immigrants in 1990s New York City. Through passages that are powerful and poetic, she creates a provocative and timely portrait of a nation failing to deliver on promises of freedom and opportunity.

The Church of the Dead: The Epidemic of 1576 and the Birth of Christianity in the Americas

Jennifer scheper hughes (nyu).

Historian Hughes’s authoritative examination of the aftermath of a 1576 epidemic in what is now Mexico offers an intriguing take on the spread of Christianity in the New World and an intelligent reconsideration of the ways Spanish missionaries and Indigenous peoples interacted.

The Essential June Jordan

June jordan, edited by jan heller levi and christoph keller (copper canyon).

This carefully curated collection provides an era-by-era snapshot of Jordan’s literary legacy, serving as the perfect introduction to her poetics on historical violence, race, gender, and culture. Jordan’s fierce voice and linguistic invention shines through in these vital pages that reckon with injustices that reverberate through time.

The Duke Heist

Erica ridley (forever).

Ridley introduces a family of lovable rascals, each with their own whimsical criminal talent, in her utterly enchanting Wild Wynchesters series launch, which sees con artist Chloe Wynchester falling for her latest mark, the tortured Duke of Faircliffe. The heist itself is wildly entertaining, and the central couple combine playfulness and passion to swoonworthy effect, making for an unforgettable Regency romp.

A Desolation Called Peace

Arkady martine (tor).

Martine’s sequel to her Hugo Award winning A Memory Called Empire takes the series to even more dizzying heights, using its intricate extraterrestrial worldbuilding to delve into the complexities of cultural assimilation and identity. Combining exhilarating deception, diplomacy, and daring with thought-provoking thematic exploration, this is space opera of the highest order.

Natasha Brown (Little, Brown)

A young Black woman deals with a London finance job, a posh white fiancée, and a cancer diagnosis in Brown’s fully realized debut. References to bell hooks and Claudia Rankine abound, laying the groundwork for an incisive and unforgettable mixed-genre critique of race, class, and gender relations. This accomplishes in 96 pages what other books do in 300.

The Beatryce Prophecy

Kate dicamillo, illus. by sophie blackall (candlewick).

Set “during a time of war” when “terrible things happen everywhere,” and tenderly illuminated by Blackall’s atmospheric, fine-lined art, DiCamillo’s engrossing, deliberately told medieval fable follows Beatryce, a girl who can read despite her society’s mores, and Answelica, the ferocious goat who protects her.

Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon (Quill Tree)

Young Black love glows throughout this tender anthology, which follows six couples through a summer blackout in New York City. Twined with a primary arc are connections—some gentle, some combative, all thrilling—that feature characters experiencing love across the city’s landmarks. This joyful anthology brings a wonderful elation to stories of Black love, queer love, and alternative forms of affection.

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water

Nikole hannah-jones and renée watson, illus. by nikkolas smith (kokila).

In forthright poems by Watson and Hannah-Jones, a family offers a Black child “a proud origin story,” reaching back to the Kingdom of Ndongo, where their West Central African ancestors “had a home, a place, a land,/ a beginning.” Smith’s emotionally evocative art ranges from images of peace and joy to those of violence and grief in a powerful volume that emphasizes perseverance and hope.

No One Else

R. kikuo johnson (fantagraphics).

Fans who heralded the talent of frequent New Yorker cover artist Johnson’s debut, Night Fisher , are rewarded some 15 years later with this gorgeously told graphic novella, which returns to Hawaii for an immersive family drama. It plays out via short scenes in which spare dialogue allows the elegant, glowing art to symbolize grief, hope, and renewal, and it’s all set against a backdrop of burning sugarcane fields.

Cloud Cuckoo Land

Anthony doerr (scribner).

Doerr makes clever and spellbinding use of the vignette-style narration found in his Pulitzer-winning All the Light You Cannot See with this sprawling story of a book from Ancient Greece that passes through 15th-century Constantinople, present-day Idaho, and a spaceship in the distant future. The disparate threads tie together perfectly, adding up to a deeply affecting page-turner.

Flavors of the Sun: The Sahadi’s Guide to Understanding, Buying, and Using Middle Eastern Ingredients

Christine sahadi whelan (chronicle).

This transportive tour through the flavors of the Middle East couldn’t be steered by a better captain: as the co-owner of the beloved Brooklyn market Sahadi’s, Whelan’s been in the family business for years, and it shows in the recipes she confidently doles out. From familiar regional staples such as tahini to the more obscure Urfa pepper, no ingredient is given short shrift in this exemplary guide.

The Anomaly

Hervé le tellier (other press).

A commercial plane flight from Paris to New York hits some unusual turbulence shortly before landing safely. A few months later, it becomes clear something extraordinary has happened to the passengers and crew that requires the FBI to isolate them all. This Prix Goncourt winner is a brilliant mix of existential thriller and speculative fiction.

Can’t Knock the Hustle: Inside the Season of Protest, Pandemic, and Progress with the Brooklyn Nets’ Superstars of Tomorrow

Matt sullivan (dey street).

The basketball court serves as the stage for social justice in this slam-dunk work from sportswriter Sullivan. Projecting the Brooklyn Nets’ 2019–2020 NBA season against the backdrop of one of the most tumultuous years in recent history, Sullivan passionately recounts how a floundering team became heroic figures in the Black Lives Matter movement; readers will be left stunned.

The Gospels: A New Translation

Sarah ruden (modern library).

The four canonical Gospels get a substantial makeover in translator Ruden’s bold reconsideration. With modernized language and plentiful departures from existing translations, the texts are true to their origins yet have a contemporary feel. This is quite an accomplishment.

frank: sonnets

Diane seuss (graywolf).

Seuss’s 120 sonnets bend the rules of meter and rhyme, breathing fresh life into a favorite form while still delivering its 14-line potency. Through this astounding exercise in constraint, Seuss demonstrates her mastery of the poetic line and her gifted ear for sound and syntax, and offers shrewd insights into artistic purpose of limitations.

A Lot Like Adiós

Alexis daria (morrow).

The heat’s cranked up in Daria’s vibrant, standalone follow-up to You Had Me at Hola , a friends-to-lovers romance that beautifully captures the weight of history and depth of emotion between its leads. There’s no denying the sizzling chemistry between reunited childhood friends Gabe and Michelle, and it’s an absolute pleasure watching them grow toward each other.

Joanne M. Harris, illus. by Charles Vess (Saga)

The interconnected fairy tales that make up this brilliant, fabulist work come together to form a mosaic portrait of a lush, enchanted, and often dangerous otherworld where the Lacewing King rules over the Silken Folk. The parts are deceptively simple, but the whole conjures an undeniable sense of wonder and awe.

Second Place

Rachel cusk (farrar, straus and giroux).

Cusk’s latest work of fiction after her acclaimed Outline trilogy breaks new ground with the fiercely intelligent story of a woman named M’s gradual self awareness after hosting L, an artist, at her guest house on the English coast. As M and her family get to know L, a cascading series of poignant revelations and beautiful images leads to a startling conclusion.

Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood

Edited by kwame mbalia (delacorte).

Focusing on Black boys’ happiness, this luminous, genre-bending anthology edited by Mbalia features 17 stories by as many Black male and nonbinary authors, including Jerry Craft, Lamar Giles, and Jason Reynolds. Filtering perennial subjects such as friendship, gender identity, and family through lenses of magic, space travel, superheroes, and more, this is a profoundly exuberant celebration of carefree Black experiences.

Firekeeper’s Daughter

Angeline boulley (holt).

Annishinabe author Boulley’s debut thriller centers Daunis Fontaine, 18, who, amid mounting local meth overdoses, uses her knowledge of chemistry as well as traditional plants and medicine to source the drug and reveal its seller. Hitting hard on issues such as language revitalization and how the presence of drugs impacts Native communities, this wonderfully tribally specific story will stand long in the hearts of readers.

The Big Bath House

Kyo maclear, illus. by gracey zhang (random house studio).

As Maclear remembers the local bathhouse she frequented during childhood visits to Japan, Zhang captures a child, her grandmother, and her aunties strolling along in yukata, entering a bathhouse, and soaking in the hot water together: “Ahhhhh.” Dazzling candid portraits portray groups of nude girls and women sharing the big communal pool in this treasured recollection grounded in a specific place.

The Secret to Superhuman Strength

Alison bechdel (mariner).

Bechdel’s become one of comics’ true household names, but this funny and philosophical memoir retains a profound sense of humility as she tracks decades of her fixations on exercise fads and their resonance in queer and American culture, from skiing to “feminist martial arts.” Challenging her body to “escape the self,” she pursues literary inspiration and ultimately enlightenment, marking kinship with similar seekers from Kerouac to Adrienne Rich.

Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

A hippie Christian youth group outside Chicago in the early 1970s provides the nexus for a fascinating family drama involving a bitter pastor; his complex wife, who’s beginning to reckon with a mental health episode from decades earlier; and their four soul-searching children, one of whom forfeits his draft deferment. Even Franzen’s critics would have to admit this makes psychological realism great again.

Let’s Make Dumplings!: A Comic Book Cookbook

Hugh amano and sarah becan (ten speed).

Combining quirky illustrations with recipes from across the Asian continent, this festive and freewheeling outing deconstructs the dumpling for adventurous home cooks craving more fun in the kitchen. Folding techniques are offered alongside snackable trivia (surprise: the Chinese takeout classic crab rangoon most likely isn’t Asian at all) and doused with sauces both savory and sweet.

Carin Gerhardsen (Scarlet)

A fatal two-car collision on a Swedish island, initially deemed a single-car accident after one car is buried in snow, has serious repercussions for the three women and two men involved. Plotted with mathematical precision, this complex psychological thriller of flawed people who make bad choices is an outstanding example of Scandi noir.

Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist’s Memoir of the Jim Crow South

Winfred rembert, as told to erin i kelly (bloomsbury).

The effects of racism are strikingly rendered in this mix of art and personal history from the late painter Rembert. The artist lays bare the horrors he encountered working as a field hand in Georgia and juxtaposes them with the hope he found after meeting his wife. “Memory,” he writes, “can take you for a ride.” This is a ride like no other.

A Most Peculiar Book: The Inherent Strangeness of the Bible

Kristin swenson (oxford univ.).

The unexpected story of how the Bible came to be is at the center of this magnificent and thoughtful history. Swenson doesn’t shy from puncturing myths or taking on sacred cows, and the result is a study fit for any reader, no matter where they are on the faith spectrum.

Playlist for the Apocalypse

Rita dove (norton).

In Dove’s commanding first collection of new poems since her 2017 NAACP Image Award–winning Collected Poems: 1974–2004, she offers an unforgettable exploration of contemporary crises while still finding beauty and cause for hope. Her ruminations on illness, climate change, and political upheaval deliver sharp perspectives on life’s difficulties and wrongs big and small, while encouraging readers to see current possibilities for effecting future change.

Love and Lotus Blossoms

Anne shade (bold strokes).

Spanning the course of resilient heroine Ness Philips’s life, this thoughtful and sensual queer romance showcases the value and power of love in all its forms, including familial and platonic. It’s as much a story of self-acceptance as it is of Ness’s winding path to happily ever after, and Shade’s sophisticated emotional shading makes every note ring true.

In the Watchful City

S. qiouyi lu (tordotcom).

Lu’s full-length debut, a groundbreaking, futurist novel-in-stories, takes readers into the dystopian city-state of Ora. As one of Ora’s guardians, it’s Anima’s duty to surveil the citizens—until the arrival of a mysterious merchant with stories of the outside world knocks everything off-kilter. This astounding, gorgeously rendered meditation on power and privacy wows with every sentence.

Keith Ridgway (New Directions)

Experimental but completely accessible and utterly visceral, Ridgway’s work takes on a Jocyean recursive structure, beginning with a woman climbing through a hole in her wall to peer into her neighbors’ flat during a party, and ending with the perspective of those neighbors and their guests. Don’t call it a novel in stories or a collection; just call it the Irish writer’s masterpiece.

Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Shutdown

Steve sheinkin (roaring brook).

Immediately hooking readers with the account of a hollow coin’s chance finding, Sheinkin’s twisty, tautly paced spy story documents the Cold War period and escalating conflict, extending to the Cuban Missile Crisis. In addition to spies and political machinations, it skillfully describes the science behind the race via a charged narrative that maintains a keen attention to detail.

From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial That Galvanized the Asian American Movement

Paula yoo (norton young readers).

In 1982 Detroit, anti–Asian American sentiment is on the rise, leading to two white autoworkers killing Chinese American Vincent Chin. In six well-structured parts, Yoo’s carefully recreated historical account exhaustively details Chin’s murder and considers its resulting impact via a resonant volume that draws parallels between the haunting account and present-day hate crimes.

Bob Shea (Little, Brown)

Shea puts a fresh spin on the villain reformed via Bob, a lazy alligator intent on gobbling birds. When he opens Chez Bob, a restaurant on his nose, it becomes so popular that Bob finds himself a pillar of the community (a “positive role model for the birds I’m going to eat”) in a book that spoofs contemporary rhetoric around communal good.

Stone Fruit

Lee lai (fantagraphics).

The cannily shifting drawings in Lai’s spellbinding debut pull readers into and out of imaginary worlds through an acutely felt breakup story that fractures stereotypes and boundaries. Three women—a single mother, her sister, and her sister’s lover—all care for the same magnetic child with devotion that binds them together even as they are pushed apart in solitary self-discovery.

Dear Miss Metropolitan

Carolyn ferrell (holt).

Ferrell astounds with the complex and formally inventive story of three young women who are kidnapped and held captive at a house in Queens, N.Y., and of their discovery a decade later. Ferrell also turns the lens on the neighbors of their captor who are now wracked with guilt, including a newspaper advice columnist. It’s a powerful examination of collective trauma.

The New York Times Cooking No-Recipe Recipes

Sam sifton (ten speed).

New York Times food editor Sifton gives home cooks permission to forgo the rules and wing it in this cookbook that’s less about getting things right than it is about listening to one’s gut. It’s a liberating take on cooking that yields delectably satisfying results.

Concepcion: An Immigrant Family’s Fortunes

Albert samaha (riverhead).

Samaha unearths his relatives’ past while reckoning with the weight of his Filipino American identity in this sweeping and cinematic memoir. Using historical records, extensive reportage, and family interviews, he brings to bear the reverberating effects of colonialism through a cast of real-life characters whose inextinguishable hope and charisma are impossible to forget.

The Souls of Womenfolk: The Religious Cultures of Enslaved Women in the Lower South

Alexis wells-oghoghomeh (univ. of north carolina).

This trenchant take on the spiritual lives of enslaved women offers a deep and intellectually rigorous consideration of the power of faith, and the way it informed and was itself shaped by the experiences of women who would never know freedom.

The Sunflower Cast a Spell to Save Us from the Void

Jackie wang (nightboat).

The dreamlike unfolding of Wang’s enigmatic, surrealist debut makes this unlike any other collection. Her reflections on dangers and catastrophes of the modern age sparkle with captivating details and contemplative insights. Wang also muses on the role that writing plays in reflecting on trauma, adding another layer to this remarkably captivating book.

One Last Stop

Casey mcquiston (griffin).

McQuiston’s laugh-out-loud sophomore outing features a vibrant New York City backdrop, an endearing queer cast who form a heartwarming found family, and a time-traveling lesbian love interest. The genre mash-up works remarkably well; the hint of magic only enhances the romantic tension. Add in plenty of wit, heartache, and some truly steamy scenes, and the result is rom-com gold.

The Jasmine Throne

Tasha suri (orbit).

Suri expertly uses the fraught budding relationship between an imprisoned princess and a temple servant with a magical secret as a way in to a searing critique of empire and colonialism in the spellbinding epic fantasy that launches her Burning Kingdoms series. The India-inspired worldbuilding, wonderfully inventive magic system, and fierce, queer, morally gray heroines set this apart.

The War for Gloria

Atticus lish (knopf).

Preparations for the Next Life established Lish’s singular voice with an intense look at characters on the margins, and here he surpasses himself with a deeply moving and harrowing story of a teenage boy who takes care of his ALS-stricken mother and tries to distinguish himself from his toxic biological father. Confident and humble, this is a once-in-a-decade triumph.

Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood

Gary paulsen (farrar, straus and giroux).

In a raw and riveting survival story about personal resilience amid trauma, the late Paulsen shares the turbulent early experiences—from life as a boy in 1944 Chicago to his enlistment in the military—that led to his writing career, rendering “the boy” a curious and savvy protagonist who constantly forges ahead in this hopeful third-person memoir.

Himawari House

Harmony becker (first second).

In Becker’s stunningly layered graphic novel debut, 19-year-old Nao, Japan-born and Midwest-raised, spends a gap year at a Tokyo-based sharehouse to reconnect with her roots. The language learning process, language’s role in defining identity, and multilingual experiences are lovingly illuminated in mostly translated Japanese, Korean, and English as the multiplicities of diasporic Asian identity are examined and held close.

Circle Under Berry

Carter higgins (chronicle).

As brilliantly hued forms appear against white backdrops, Higgins economically examines ways to observe color, shape, pattern, and position. Page turns build on the concept, presenting stacked objects alongside descriptions of them and their relationships to one another. Via “a stack of shapes” that “can make you think/ and wonder what you see,” Higgins offers seeds of conversation about naming and classification.

The Waiting

Keum suk gendry-kim, trans. from the korean by janet hong (drawn & quarterly).

Hope endures through terrible sorrows in this gloriously rendered graphic novel saga of the Korean refugee experience, following a woman who was separated from her husband and toddler son as they flee what became North Korea. Decades later, living in South Korea and having raised a new family, she still strives in vain for a chance at reunification.

Filthy Animals

Brandon taylor (riverhead).

Taylor follows up his Booker-shortlisted Real Life with a collection exploring similar ground on and around the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, to even greater effect. Short stories are Taylor’s bread and butter, and each one here offers a master class in characterization, interior monologues, and complex backstories. What’s more, they make a satisfying whole.

Zero Proof: 90 Non-Alcoholic Recipes for Mindful Drinking

Elva ramirez (mariner).

Ramirez’s debut lifts the spirits with cocktails that are free of alcohol. While that concept may cause some revelers to pause, the drinks here are nothing to scoff at—exotic ingredients meet boozy flavors to make sobriety a delicious affair.

The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred

Chanda prescod-weinstein (bold type).

Particle cosmologist Prescod-Weinstein’s debut is a dazzling introduction to particle physics. In wonder-filled prose, she describes quantum mechanics, string theory, and gravity. She also takes a trenchant stand against the inequalities that run rampant in the field, making a moving plea that the cosmos be accessible to all.

The Bloodless Boy

Robert j. lloyd (melville house).

In 1678 London, real-life scientist Robert Hooke, a member of the Royal Society, helps investigate a series of murders that turn out to be connected to the complicated English politics of the day. With its nuanced characterizations, graceful prose, and intricate mystery, this debut and series launch is a standout in the historical subgenre.

The Truth at the Heart of the Lie: How the Catholic Church Lost Its Soul

James carroll (random house).

The very structure of the Catholic church is to blame for the church’s sexual abuse crisis, according to Carroll’s damning critique that posits the historical hoarding of power at the top of the hierarchy has led to any number of ill outcomes. Carroll, who for a time was a Paulist priest, knows the terrain and pulls no punches.

A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure

Hoa nguyen (wave).

With linguistic and stylistic flourishes, Nguyen powerfully considers her relationship with her mother and her homeland of Vietnam. Nguyen’s attention to language, both on the line level and as a larger motif, makes this a rich meditation on power, historical and cultural inheritance, and the past’s impact on the present.

Beverly Jenkins (Avon)

The reigning queen of Black historical romance does not disappoint with the transfixing second installment to her Women Who Dare series. Jenkins pairs a fiercely independent female rancher with a gentle newspaper reporter in post–Civil War Wyoming for a tender love story that doesn’t shy from the racist realities of the time but keeps the focus firmly on joy.

Nnedi Okorafor (DAW)

Set in a near-future Nigeria in the shadow of a vastly overreaching, Amazon-esque mega-corporation, Okorafor’s remarkable latest combines cyberpunk elements with a high-stakes trek across the desert and timely political commentary as outcasts AO and DNA band together to evade the authorities and survive their inhospitable world. Okorafor packs a punch with this one.

Dana Spiotta (Knopf)

A midlife crisis with a twist: rather than have an affair or take a trip to Europe, a white married woman from a nice suburb buys a rundown house in a neglected part of Syracuse, N.Y.; moves in; and throws her—and her patient husband’s—money at its myriad problems. Spiotta brings her trademark wit and verve to themes of aging, privilege, and local history.

How to Become a Planet

Nicole melleby (algonquin).

Melleby follows Pluto Jean Timoney, diagnosed with depression and anxiety after being gripped with a desire to “just stop” a month before seventh grade’s end. Uninterested in her traditional summer activities, space-loving Pluto begins a tentative journey navigating her mental health while embarking on a friendship with gender-questioning Fallon in this acutely observed, authentically told tale sprinkled with astronomy metaphors.

In the Wild Light

Jeff zentner (crown).

After discovering a bacteria-eating mold in a local cave, two Appalachian students are offered full scholarships to a prestigious prep school in Zentner’s tender novel of love and loss. Though introspective nature lover Cash Pruitt is loath to move away, the change helps him to develop new passions, such as poetry, that allow him to see the world, and himself, through new eyes.

Katie Yamasaki (Norton)

Inspired by families affected by incarceration, muralist Yamasaki conjures a deceptively simple picture book about a father who bakes bread—at work and at home with his child. Richly saturated, dynamic paintings showcase inclusive community, and intricately detailed spreads offer plenty to pore over in this meditative tale centering the significance of daily rhythms and familial love.

Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts

Rebecca hall and hugo martínez (simon and schuster).

Combining radical scholarship and raw, expressive comics, Hall and Martínez reconstruct revolts led by enslaved women whose stories have been hidden in buried records. Hall also brilliantly captures her struggle to research the material while facing racism and barriers thrown up by institutions still vested in keeping history closed.

The Five Wounds

Kristin valdez quade (norton).

Valdez Quade expands a story from her NBCC-winning collection Night at the Fiestas into a novel about a man entering his 33rd year unemployed and addicted to booze. There’s some hope after he accepts the starring role in his New Mexico village’s annual Passion play, but it fades to destruction and drama. The author pulls off a loving, empathetic portrait of a vibrant community.

Five Decembers

James kestrel (hard case crime).

Shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a Honolulu police detective investigates a gruesome double murder. The detective’s quest for the killer takes him on a long journey that exposes him to some of the worst horrors of WWII. Full of surprising twists of fate, this crime novel includes searing scenes of love, devotion, hardship, and courage.

A Ghost in the Throat

Doireann ní ghríofa (biblioasis).

At once a frank autobiography of a middle-aged mother and poet, an insightful critical study of a classic Irish poem, and a sparkling fictional narrative of the poem’s inspiration, Ní Ghríofa’s text attracts the reader even as it resists categorization. This special brew offers both challenges and rewards.

Midnight, Water City

Chris mckinney (soho crime).

In the 22nd century, an unnamed investigator looks into the murder of a brilliant scientist, who was found frozen and hacked to pieces in her underwater home at the bottom of the world’s tallest seascraper. This highly original SF noir combines social commentary with the classic loner PI trope for thought-provoking results.

Harlem Shuffle

Colson whitehead (doubleday).

Whitehead comes off back-to-back Pulitzers with a heist novel that offers a rich portrait of Harlem in the 1950s, and a memorable cast of characters good, evil, and somewhere in the middle, who rope a furniture dealer into a dangerous robbery. This demonstrates, once again, that Whitehead can do just about anything.

The Photographer

Mary dixie carter (minotaur).

Delta Dawn has achieved success as a photographer of children’s parties among the well-to-do of Brooklyn. Then needy, self-centered Dawn gets a job babysitting for the Straub family, makes herself at home, and starts uncovering their darkest secrets. In a crowded field, this debut psychological thriller stands out from the pack.

Lean Fall Stand

Jon mcgregor (catapult).

A technician on a geographic research crew in Antarctica suffers a stroke after an accident in McGregor’s powerful story. The descriptions of the continent’s blank whiteness are stunning, and so is the subsequent chronicle of the man’s recovery, which offers a brilliant depiction of speech therapy. This shows the acclaimed author at the top of his game.

Jean Hanff Korelitz (Celadon)

Jake Bonner, a failed novelist who teaches creative writing in an MFA program, steals a plot from a student of his who dies soon after leaving the program. When the book Jake writes using the plot becomes a bestseller, someone in the know threatens to expose Jake. This is a compulsively readable send-up of the book publishing world.

The Morning Star

Karl ove knausgaard, trans. from the norwegian by martin aitken (penguin press).

Fans of Knausgaard’s My Struggle series remarked on how those books were page-turners even though not much happens. His latest, in contrast, revolves around a momentous fantastical event: a new star appears in the sky, causing people and animals to act erratically and dangerously. The result evokes the horror of the everyday as well as the otherworldly.

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty

Patrick radden keefe (doubleday).

This investigative tour de force from New Yorker staff writer Keefe ( Say Nothing ) builds a devastating case against the family behind OxyContin, who spent decades whitewashing their image with philanthropic gifts to arts institutions while their deceptive marketing practices, aggressive sales techniques, and denial of evidence of addiction helped plunge America into the opioid crisis.

Ashley Audrain (Viking/Dorman)

In this stunning debut, reluctant mother Blythe worries that something’s wrong with her first child, Violet. To save her deteriorating marriage, Blythe has a second child, Sam, whom she adores. Then seven-year-old Violet precipitates a tragedy that leads into the darkest corners of motherhood. This is psychological suspense at its disquieting best.

On Fragile Waves

E. lily yu (erewhon).

This masterful debut offers a humane and unflinching look at the plight of refugees as siblings Firuzeh and Nour travel from war-torn Afghanistan to Australia with their parents, bolstering one another along the harrowing journey with fantastical stories and flights of imagination. In shimmering prose, Yu balances despair with hope as she probes the limits and the power of storytelling.

All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, A Black Family Keepsake

Tiya miles (random house).

MacArthur fellow Miles blends meticulous scholarly research with novelistic imagination to explore how material objects—in this case, a cloth sack packed by an enslaved woman for her nine-year-old daughter when she was sold to a new master—can illuminate the hidden corners of the American past. No other history this year was more revelatory or compassionate.

The Insiders

Mark oshiro (harpercollins).

Investigating the idea of safe spaces while injecting a contemporary story of middle school cliques with magical realism, Oshiro’s gentle, intersectionally inclusive saga drops 12-year-old Héctor Muñoz, an assured gay theater kid from San Francisco, into a new suburban school, where a janitor’s closet appears whenever he requires a refuge.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club

Malinda lo (dutton).

In San Francisco, 1954, 17-year-old Lily Hu discovers a lesbian hangout called the Telegraph Club. Dawning recognition of her own lesbianism comes alongside a budding connection with classmate Kathleen Miller, against a landscape of contemporarily resonant sociopolitical turmoil. Smoothly referencing places with historic Chinese American significance, Lo transcends historicity through a sincere exploration of identity and love.

Fish and Sun

Sergio ruzzier (harperalley).

In this early reader comic by Ruzzier, Fish escapes a “cold and dark and boring” underwater world to spend a day of light on the surface, frolicking with Sun until the orb’s movements result in Fish’s sorrow—and eventual joy. An understated plot allows new readers to focus on the words and emotional arc, and Ruzzier’s slightly bonkers visual worldbuilding keeps things fresh.

Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering How the Forest Is Wired for Intelligence and Healing

Suzanne simard (knopf).

“The trees have shown me their perceptiveness and responsiveness, connections and conversations,” writes forest ecologist Simard in this stunning mix of memoir and scientific discovery. She highlights the proof she’s found about tree communication and the struggles she’s faced to receive acceptance in the scientific community. The story is inspiring, and Simard’s findings are awe-inducing.

Rivers Solomon (MCD)

Vern, an albino Black woman, escapes her cult leader husband and raises her twins in monster-infested woods in this gut-wrenching, genre-bending horror novel. As Vern fights for survival and wrestles with conflicting identities, Solomon’s signature lyricism and no-holds-barred approach to confronting America’s horrific histories give rise to a painful, powerful story that’s equally accessible and deeply philosophical.

All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler

Rebecca donner (little, brown).

This spellbinding WWII espionage tale begins with the facts—the author’s great-great-aunt, Mildred Harnack, was a leader of the largest underground resistance group in Berlin until she was captured by the Nazis and executed in 1943—and weaves a thrilling and utterly unique story of courage, conviction, inheritance, and the vagaries of fate.

Katie the Catsitter (Katie the Catsitter #1)

Colleen af venable, illus. by stephanie yue (random house).

When preteen New Yorker Katie Spera takes a cat-sitting gig, she’s surprised to learn that her neighbor’s 217 cats are both evil and extremely capable, with specialties including computer hacking, lock picking, and talent scouting. Yue’s expressive cartoons and Venable’s text make for a laugh-out-loud funny, well-paced series starter that’s Neko Atsume meets The Tick .

Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human

Erika moen and matthew nolan (random house graphic).

Moen and Nolan apply their signature humor to this accessible guide covering the “in-between stages” of intimacy, “from having a crush to... putting a condom on something.” Showcasing variations in ability, body shape, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, and pairings, this refreshingly inclusive read takes individual desires and needs into account while offering comprehensive, no-nonsense information on sex and sexuality.

Have You Seen Gordon?

Adam jay epstein, illus. by ruth chan (simon & schuster).

As elaborately detailed spreads by Chan show anthropomorphized animals in various seek-and-find settings, Epstein’s chirpy narrator insists that readers spot an eager-eyed purple tapir named Gordon. But Gordon quickly grows disenchanted with the premise, foiling the search, then announcing he’s intent on standing out—a refusal that raises big questions about authority and autonomy, allyship and consent en route to the book’s sweetly affirming end.

Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law

Mary roach (norton).

Nature’s a rule breaker in Roach’s witty latest, a showstopping exploration of what happens when nature breaks “laws intended for people.” Fascinating anecdotes abound: bears burglarize restaurants, gulls vandalize a flower arrangement for the Pope, and the lethal rosary pea makes the USDA’s “list of top criminals.”

Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America

Eyal press (farrar, straus and giroux).

Military drone operators, slaughterhouse laborers, prison guards, and oil rig workers discuss the physical and emotional burdens of their jobs in this deeply reported and extraordinarily empathetic account from New Yorker contributor Press, who finds that such “dirty work” falls disproportionately to the poor and people of color. This probing study lays bare the machinery of exploitation.

The Last Cuentista

Donna barba higuera (levine querido).

Centuries after boarding one of the last ships off-world, an aspiring storyteller discovers that she alone remembers life on Earth and must use her wits and her knowledge of Mexican folklore as protection against a cultlike group. Gripping, euphonious, and full of storytelling magic, Higuera’s suspenseful speculative novel explores how story can awaken empathy, hope, and even resistance.

The Mary Shelley Club

Goldy moldavsky (holt).

Following a home invasion, Rachel Chavez spends her time bingeing scary movies to process her trauma and joins the Mary Shelley Club, a secret society whose members share a passion for all things horror—a devotion that takes a sinister turn. At once gripping teen melodrama, incisive meditation on fear, and love letter to horror tropes, Moldavsky’s adrenalized novel enthralls.

Keeping the City Going

Brian floca (atheneum/dlouhy).

Paying tribute to the frontline workers helping to make New York City run during the pandemic, Floca brings precision and expert draftsmanship to renderings of working vehicles, centering the heroes striving to get supplies out and save lives, and the equipment that helps them do it.

The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America’s Judicial Hero

Peter s. canellos (simon & schuster).

This masterful biography intertwines the lives of Supreme Court justice John Marshall Harlan, whose lone dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson influenced Thurgood Marshall’s campaign to reverse decades of racial discrimination, and his rumored half brother, Robert Harlan, who was born a slave, made a fortune in the California Gold Rush, and became a political power broker in Cincinnati.

A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance

Hanif abdurraqib (random house).

Abdurraqib studies Black artists and their influence on American culture in this phenomenal collection. He movingly captures the power of Josephine Baker, the history of dance marathons, the work of magician Ellen Armstrong, and his own relationship with music and performance. It’s vivid, gorgeous, and full of life.

Playing the Cards You’re Dealt

Varian johnson (scholastic press).

Via an engaging, “mostly hands-off” omniscient narrator who dynamically breaks down the “great African American institution called spades,” Johnson deftly addresses themes of toxic masculinity, family, and legacy in this vividly told novel centering Black 10-year-old card shark Anthony “Ant” Joplin, who prepares for an annual spades tournament while learning truths about his family and navigating friend dynamics.

The Mirror Season

Anna-marie mclemore (macmillan/feiwel and friends).

Referencing Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” McLemore’s spellbinding tale, written with due consideration and care, centers queer teen Ciela, who has inherited her bisabuela’s ability to “know what bread or sweet would leaven the heart of anyone she met.” After Ciela and a visiting boy are sexually assaulted at the same party, however, her gift disappears—and a strange season begins.

Let Me Fix You a Plate

Elizabeth lilly (holiday house/porter).

A road trip leads to two different midnight kitchens, and a shared form of love, as a family visits their elders—the three young siblings’ paternal grandparents in West Virginia, and their large maternal family in Florida. With clear, bighearted text and an expressive ink line, Lilly offers an appreciation of memory and familial richness across generations and cultures.

The Ground Breaking: An American City and Its Search for Justice

Scott ellsworth (dutton).

In this gripping portrait of a community peering into the darkest corners of its past, Tulsa native Ellsworth chronicles the origins and aftermath of the city’s 1921 race massacre, when white rioters marched through a thriving Black neighborhood shooting residents and looting stores while planes dropped incendiary bombs from overhead.

Somebody’s Daughter: A Memoir

Ashley c. ford (flatiron).

This one isn’t for the fainthearted, but those who read this staggeringly beautiful work will close it having been entirely changed. Recalling the years she spent growing up while her father was serving a 24-year prison sentence for rape, Ford offers up a stunning story about love, forgiveness, truth, and the ways in which familial bonds can both make and break a person.

The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book: A Greenglass House Story

Kate milford, illus. by nicole wong (clarion).

Fifteen stranded individuals alternately spin stories during a storm in this deliciously folkloric, carefully plotted compilation that has roots in Milford’s Greenglass House . The tales, which focus on “peddlers, tricksters, gamblers, and lovers,” coalesce to form an elegant feat of telescopic storytelling that serves as both map and key to a dazzling and immersive mystery.

The Other Merlin (Emry Merlin #1)

Robyn schneider (viking).

Schneider’s first foray into fantasy, a clever trilogy starter based in the King Arthur mythos, changes most of the canonical facts but gets everything that matters right. As bisexual teen Emry Merlin befriends Arthur and his best friend Lancelot, the bawdy jokes land, the magic flies, and the court politics feel high-stakes.

The Longest Storm

Dan yaccarino (mineditionus/russo).

In decisive lines conveying instantly recognizable stresses, Yaccarino crafts an emotionally nuanced tale that delicately alludes to recent events: “It was unlike any storm we’d ever seen,” the volume’s narrator says; “We were going to have to stay inside.” As the event rages, domestic life unravels under the pressure of unrelenting proximity, until a moment gentles the family’s connection.

My Year Abroad

Chang-rae lee (riverhead).

Lee spins a wild and moving picaresque about an American college student named Tiller who winds up stranded in China by a shady entrepreneur who’d promised him a business opportunity. Tiller then makes it home and shacks up with an older Chinese American woman, and their relationship helps him explore his Asian ancestry. Each page is full of life and real-feeling sentiment.

Brandon Webb and John David Mann (Bantam)

People are dying aboard an American aircraft carrier headed home from the Persian Gulf. A Navy SEAL traumatized by a recent failed mission in Yemen suspects a serial killer is on the loose. Authentic naval detail and the highly unusual setting help make this edge-of-your-seat, character-driven series debut, the authors’ first foray into fiction, a winner.

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America

Clint smith (little, brown).

The critical questions of how, when, and where to confront the legacies of slavery and racial inequality lie at the heart of Atlantic contributor Smith’s probing and often poetic tour of landmarks—including Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate, Angola prison, and the Blandford Cemetery for Confederate soldiers—tied to America’s original sin.

Samira Surfs

Rukhsanna guidroz, illus. by fahmida azim (kokila).

In 2012, Samira, an 11-year-old Rohingya refugee living in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, steers clear of the water following the boat trip from Burma that took her grandparents. But when she sees a group of Bengali surfer girls, she finds that surfing offers a secret pleasure and a sisterhood. With immersive illustrations by Azim, Guidroz’s riveting novel-in-verse employs sensory diction and spare poetic touches in a richly told story.

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People

Kekla magoon (candlewick).

Magoon presents an incisive, in-depth study of the Black Panther Party, starting with a history of slavery, emancipation, and segregation before diving into the civil rights and Black Power movements and ending with Black Lives Matter. Providing visual breaks that inform while contributing to a digestible pace, the volume offers nuanced information about the group’s self-defense stance, community programming, and dedication to legal action.

Corey R. Tabor (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray)

With Mama temporarily away from the nest, a chick named Mel strides to the edge of a tree branch and announces that she’s going to fly. Tabor’s art shows Mel executing an impressive aerial somersault before blithely hurtling downward, toward a visual surprise that shows she’s a kingfisher through and through. “Hope” may be the thing with feathers, but Mel proves that “gutsy” can be, too.

No One Is Talking About This

Patricia lockwood (riverhead).

A young woman, famous for a viral post, becomes a globe-trotting social media pundit. Then she finds out her sister is struggling with a pregnancy, and reluctantly returns to her Ohio hometown to help. The tonal shift leads to a staggering meditation on real life versus screen life. In a glut of novels about the internet, Lockwood’s is one for the ages.

These Toxic Things

Rachel howzell hall (thomas & mercer).

Digital archaeologist Michaela Lambert has an appointment with a client, Nadia Denham, who’s showing signs of Alzheimer’s and wants Michaela to create a digital scrapbook for her. But Nadia is dead, an apparent suicide, when Michaela arrives at Nadia’s shop. This complex, nuanced mystery puts an original spin on the serial killer theme.

I Live a Life Like Yours: A Memoir

Jan grue (fsg originals).

Norwegian novelist Grue, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at age three, contends with how the disabled are erased by a society that believes “it’s easier not to look too closely” at others’ differences. In rewriting the narrative around living with a wheelchair—and how he was able to achieve his dreams—he shatters cultural stereotypes with trenchant humor and astonishing humanity.

Sisters of the Neversea

Cynthia leitich smith (heartdrum).

Centering a mixed Creek and British family, Smith’s smart Peter Pan reboot follows 12-year-old stepsisters Lily and Wendy, whose family is on the brink of separation when Peter Pan enters, looking for his shadow and enticing Wendy and her young brother Michael to fly to Neverland. Lily shortly follows, soon learning Peter isn’t what he seems in this sharp, contemporary retelling starring Indigenous kids.

Skin of the Sea

Natasha bowen (random house).

Simidele is a mermaid tasked with ushering to the afterlife the souls of West African people thrown overboard from passing slave ships, but when a teen lands in the water during a storm, she defiantly saves his life. Recognizing West Africa as a place of great invention, fellowship, and hope, Bowen centers a headstrong protagonist coming into her own power in an age of change.

Milo Imagines the World

Matt de la peña, illus. by christian robinson (putnam).

On a long subway ride through New York City, a Black boy named Milo imagines existences for other passengers in his sketchbook until an interaction transforms his perspective. De la Peña and Robinson celebrate a city’s kaleidoscope of scenes, offer a glimpse at a child’s experience with parental incarceration, and convey that child’s keen observations about his circumstances and surroundings.

The Orphanage

Serhiy zhadan, trans. from the ukrainian by reilly costigan-humes and isaac stackhouse wheeler (yale univ.).

Poet and novelist Zhadan, also a Ukrainian independence activist, delivers a profound road story about a teacher named Pasha and his attempt to retrieve his nephew from an orphanage during an onslaught of devastation by Russian-backed separatists. A blend of naturalism and lyrical metaphors conveys Pasha’s struggle as well as the corrupt Ukrainian authorities’ crippling distortion of the truth.

Who Is Maud Dixon?

Alexandra andrews (little, brown).

Aspiring novelist Florence Darrow, whose publishing career is going nowhere, welcomes the opportunity to be the live-in assistant to famous writer Maud Dixon. On a research trip to Morocco, things get complicated when Florence wakes up in the hospital after a car crash to find Maud has disappeared. This debut is worthy of Patricia Highsmith.

Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres

Kelefa sanneh (penguin press).

Surveying the history of pop music through the genres that have defined it, New Yorker writer Sanneh provides fascinating insights into the iconic sounds of everyone from Eminem to Aretha Franklin. His dazzling criticism blends the cultural and political, illuminating how genre mirrors the “very American” tendency to “define ourselves as much by what we hate as what we love.”

Lisa Fipps (Penguin/Paulsen)

To avoid the bullying she’s long endured, 11-year-old Ellie lives by the unspoken Fat Girl Rules—the rules one learns “when you break them—/ and suffer/ the consequences.” Finding solace in her pool, and growing support from new friends, her father, and a therapist, aspiring poet Ellie discovers her voice in Fipps’s triumphant verse novel centering self-acceptance and self-advocacy.

A Snake Falls to Earth

Darcie little badger (levine querido).

With a basis in Apache stories, this sharply told speculative novel by Little Badger is a smartly intertwined, shifting-perspective story about two characters in worlds that diverged thousands of years ago: Earth-dwelling Nina, who is nine, and shape-shifting, Reflecting World–dwelling Oli, 15.

The Night Walk

Marie dorléans, trans. from the french by polly lawson (floris).

In this graceful, perfectly paced appreciation of nature by Dorléans, a family takes a blissful summer night walk into the countryside. Prose shines with sensory acuity as the family leaves a village behind them, and suspense builds as sparse beams of light illuminate the darkness, each spread carrying the family forward through the night—and toward a breathless conclusion.

Anna North (Bloomsbury)

North’s revisionist western follows a young newlywed on the run from accusations of witchcraft in the late 19th century. In the Dakota Territory, she joins up with a gang of women and gender-nonconforming people who want to build a town for outsiders like themselves. A plan to rob a wagon for gold goes terribly wrong, but everything is just right in this blistering adventure.

A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World’s Smartest Birds of Prey

Jonathan meiburg (knopf).

Meiburg’s enthusiasm is infectious in this evocative study of caracaras, birds of prey found in South America. They’re “one of the strangest and most wonderful animals on Earth,” he writes as he lyrically sheds light on their habits and striking intelligence.

Stuntboy, in the Meantime

Jason reynolds, illus. by raúl the third (atheneum/dlouhy).

In a lively apartment community, Portico Reeves navigates the stress of his ever-fighting parents and his own “frets”; as secret alter ego Stuntboy, he watches over the building’s larger-than-life characters, keeping “other superheroes safe, so they can save the world!” Vibrant, comic book–style art and running gags balance serious moments in this engaging, high-energy collaboration by Reynolds and Raúl the Third.

Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet

Laekan zea kemp (little, brown).

Combining deliciously described food, expressive prose, and contemporary romance, Kemp follows two Latinx teens after their lives intersect at a beloved neighborhood restaurant on her last—and his first—day working there. Serving up finely rendered, stirring character arcs for both, the novel also offers an intimate portrait of two teens grappling with mental health, complicated family relationships, and newfound love.

Nina: A Story of Nina Simone

Traci n. todd, illus. by christian robinson (putnam).

In this skillfully paced portrait, Todd traces Simone’s journey from her childhood in North Carolina to later years as a performer, protest song pioneer, and civil rights activist, while Robinson contributes distinctive vignettes of historical scenes. An engaging, affecting, and powerful biography that aptly situates Simone’s enduring legacy in musical and social history.

Hanne Ørstavik, trans. from the Norwegian by Martin Aitken (Archipelago)

A woman named Liv leaves her seminary in Germany for a post at a church in northern Norway, the site of a Sami rebellion against Christian missionaries. Liv’s reflections on that fraught history dovetail brilliantly with her responses to the conservative and sexist men she meets in the Church of Norway. Ørstavik’s slow-burning narrative crescendoes as a potent feminist anthem.

People Love Dead Jews: Notes from a Haunted Present

Dara horn (norton).

Novelist Horn’s piercing intellect and caustic wit enliven these meditations on the “many strange and sickening ways in which the world’s affection for dead Jews shapes the present moment.” Surveying Holocaust memorials, media coverage of anti-Semitic crimes, Jewish heritage sites in the Chinese city of Harbin, and other topics, Horn punctures shibboleths and provokes genuine soul-searching.

Too Bright to See

Kyle lukoff (dial).

In this gently paced debut, 11-year-old Bug’s beloved uncle Roderick has just died, and his family’s house, always haunted, has gained a new ghost—one intent on sending Bug a message. Lukoff makes thought-provoking use of the ghost story framework to reflect Bug’s experiences as a trans boy, using creepy horror elements to portray dysphoria and societally enforced femininity.

The Witch King (The Witch King #1)

H.e. edgmon (inkyard).

Having fled the fae kingdom where he was persecuted for Texas, a trans witch must face his former fiancé—a royal from that world attempting to secure the throne against a rival upstart. Technomagic and queer activism sparkle in Edgmon’s wisecracking, intimate debut, a vividly lovable, revolution-tinged celebration of trans joy, which refreshingly builds its conflict without jumping for trauma tropes.

The People’s Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art

Cynthia levinson, illus. by evan turk (abrams).

Levinson’s smooth, well-researched profile of Jewish artist and activist Ben Shahn, who emigrated from Lithuania to America in 1906, highlights the threads of compassion and social justice that ran through his work. Bold, richly layered multimedia illustrations by Turk feature abstracted characters in Shahn’s style in this comprehensive introduction to a justice-minded painter.

The Promise

Damon galgut (europa).

South African playwright and novelist Galgut, twice shortlisted for the Booker, conceives of a damning and explosive story of a white family that fails to make good on a promise to a Black woman who once worked as their maid. The prose and the voices are pitch-perfect in this tragic, all-too-plausible drama.

Pessoa: A Biography

Richard zenith (liveright).

Translator Zenith untangles the many personae of Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa in this expert biography. He considers Pessoa’s rich intellect, the literary movements he spearheaded, and the mass amount of his work that went unpublished before his death in 1935, bringing the elusive and exceedingly eccentric poet into full view.

Too Small Tola

Atinuke, illus. by onyinye iwu (candlewick).

In this trio of stories, Atinuke and Iwu introduce counting whiz Tola, who lives with her siblings and industrious grandmother while their father works abroad. Invoking all senses to render contemporary Nigeria and consistently affirming the value of community care, the creators celebrate the beauty of daily life through Tola’s joy, wonder, and perseverance.

The Rock from the Sky

Jon klassen (candlewick).

In this pleasurably tense five-episode volume that’s just right for uncertain times, Klassen provides 96 pages of dark, Beckett-caliber comedy and proves himself a top-notch student of the way that conscious beings seek to take charge of their own realities while facing inexorably advancing events—efforts that nearly always fail and are sometimes punctuated by falling rocks.

Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir

Brian broome (mariner).

Structuring his starkly gorgeous debut around Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem “We Real Cool,” Broome recalls his fraught coming-of-age as a young Black gay man in Ohio in the early ’80s. As he interrogates his own understanding of manhood amid the swirling racism around him, he delivers with devastating clarity a searing indictment of the relentless pressures Black men face in society today.

Soul Food Sunday

Winsome bingham, illus. by c.g. esperanza (abrams).

In Bingham and Esperanza’s abundantly satisfying picture book, as a large family—“Mommas and Poppas,/ aunts and uncles,/ nieces, nephews, and a whole lot of cousins”—gathers for Soul Food Sunday, the child narrator follows Granny into the kitchen to learn how to cook each of the meal’s elements. A nourishing story for anyone who’s experienced how food and tradition can strengthen bonds.

Pure America: Eugenics and the Making of Modern Virginia

Elizabeth catte (belt).

Historian Catte’s lacerating and exquisitely crafted study of the links between present-day economic and racial inequalities and the history of eugenics in America has its roots in the transformation of a Virginia hospital where 1,700 people were involuntarily sterilized between 1924 and 1967 into an upscale hotel and condominiums.

Thank You, Neighbor!

Ruth chan (harpercollins).

Each day, Chan’s protagonist trades “Thank you!” with neighbors: a firefighter, a person sweeping leaves on a sidewalk, a garbage collector. As text reminds readers that connection is “what makes our neighborhood// feel like home,” crisp art highlights a range of apartment dwellers liaising on narrow sidewalks—the book’s strong sense of community is as invigorating as a brisk walk.

Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature

Farah jasmine griffin (norton).

In this majestic mix of literary criticism and memoir, African American studies professor Griffin offers illuminating takes on the works of such writers and artists as James Baldwin, Miles Davis, and Toni Morrison. She tells her own story of falling in love with literature along the way, and extracts urgent lessons from each work.

Andrea Wang, illus. by Jason Chin (Holiday House/Porter)

In a multilayered autobiographical narrative employing elegant free verse, Wang conveys a car ride, portrayed in muted watercolors by Chin, that’s interrupted when a child’s parents notice watercress in a roadside ditch, and stop to pick it. Though her older brother readily picks, and subsequently eats, the watercress, the narrator is resistant—until her mother shares an affecting childhood memory that makes “a/ new memory of/ watercress.”

The Right to Sex: Feminism in the Twenty-First Century

Amia srinivasan (farrar, straus and giroux).

Oxford University philosopher Srinivasan foregoes easy answers and calls on the feminist movement to be “relentlessly truth-telling, not least about itself” in these incisive, up-to-the-minute essays on incel culture, consent, digital pornography, the slogan “Believe all women,” and other issues at the intersection of sex and power.

Ramadan Ramsey

Louis edwards (amistad).

It’s been two decades since Whiting winner and New Orleans music industry veteran Edwards published a novel, and this saga of a 12-year-old NOLA boy’s search for his father in the Middle East was worth the wait. The author writes on a Dickensian scale with quick-witted young characters reminiscent of Twain. This has the feel of a classic.

Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic

Glenn frankel (farrar, straus and giroux).

Frankel goes behind the scenes of a classic in this colorful study of the only X-rated movie to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. His rich analysis of Midnight Cowboy makes for an eye-opening cultural history of New York in 1969, and a fascinating look at the cast and crew that brought the film to life.

The Removed

Brandon hobson (ecco).

A Cherokee family reunites for an annual independence celebration a year after the killing of one of the children by police. The uneasy mix of trauma and celebration sets the tone, and the story is filled with the spirits of the family’s ancestors along with cameos from the ghosts of David Foster Wallace and Jimi Hendrix. Heartfelt and painful, Hobson’s latest is a revelation.

Truffle Hound: On the Trail of the World’s Most Seductive Scent, with Dreamers, Schemers, and Some Extraordinary Dogs

Rowan jacobsen (bloomsbury).

James Beard Award–winning journalist Jacobsen brings readers along on a joy ride deep into the forests of France, Hungary, Italy, and beyond as he hunts down the history of the elusive and captivating truffle. The book is as potent as its subject’s intoxicating aroma, and is packed to the gills with deception, intrigue, and accounts of illegal trading.

The Sentence

Louise erdrich (harper).

This inventive story from NBA, NBCC, and Pulitzer winner Erdrich rises like a phoenix from its grief-stricken setting: the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic and the racial justice movement in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis. At the center of these overlapping historical moments is a resilient bookstore. An ingenious structure and the urgent tone make this impossible to turn away from.

Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future

Elizabeth kolbert (crown).

Kolbert follows up The Sixth Extinction with a powerful and carefully observed account of the many ways humans have changed nature already, and how they’re responding to those changes. With razor-sharp reporting, she sheds light on the people working to fix, solve, and reverse the damage that humans have already done, covering what she calls “the control of the control of nature.”

Winter in Sokcho

Elisa shua dusapin, trans. from the french by aneesa abbas higgins (open letter).

A young French Korean woman works at a seaside inn near the DMZ in South Korea. After an older Frenchman, a comic book writer, visits in search of inspiration, a complex relationship develops between the two. Dusapin’s spare, ornate prose evokes French writers such as Nathalie Saurraute, while her heroine’s resistance to Korean beauty standards feels direct and incendiary. It makes for a brilliant and infectious stylistic mix.

Warmth: Coming of Age at the End of Our World

Daniel sherrell (penguin books).

Climate activist Sherrell’s insightful and incendiary meditation on the looming climate crisis takes the form of a cautionary tale told to his hypothetical future child. His writing swings between hope and despair as he considers how humanity can harness both to move forward in a world that’s warming.

Why Didn’t You Just Do What You Were Told?: Essays

Jenny diski (bloomsbury).

This posthumous collection from novelist Diski is full of striking originality. She trains her sharp eye on pop culture, literature, and her own life, covering death, Howard Hughes, and fashion, among other topics. Diski never lets herself off the hook, and her incisive humor and relentless curiosity are striking.

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Blog – Posted on Friday, Mar 29

17 book review examples to help you write the perfect review.

It’s an exciting time to be a book reviewer. Once confined to print newspapers and journals, reviews now dot many corridors of the Internet — forever helping others discover their next great read. That said, every book reviewer will face a familiar panic: how can you do justice to a great book in just a thousand words?

As you know, the best way to learn how to do something is by immersing yourself in it. Luckily, the Internet (i.e. Goodreads and other review sites , in particular) has made book reviews more accessible than ever — which means that there are a lot of book reviews examples out there for you to view!

In this post, we compiled 17 prototypical book review examples in multiple genres to help you figure out how to write the perfect review . If you want to jump straight to the examples, you can skip the next section. Otherwise, let’s first check out what makes up a good review.

Are you interested in becoming a book reviewer? We recommend you check out Reedsy Discovery , where you can earn money for writing reviews — and are guaranteed people will read your reviews! To register as a book reviewer, sign up here.

Pro-tip : But wait! How are you sure if you should become a book reviewer in the first place? If you're on the fence, or curious about your match with a book reviewing career, take our quick quiz:

Should you become a book reviewer?

Find out the answer. Takes 30 seconds!

What must a book review contain?

Like all works of art, no two book reviews will be identical. But fear not: there are a few guidelines for any aspiring book reviewer to follow. Most book reviews, for instance, are less than 1,500 words long, with the sweet spot hitting somewhere around the 1,000-word mark. (However, this may vary depending on the platform on which you’re writing, as we’ll see later.)

In addition, all reviews share some universal elements, as shown in our book review templates . These include:

• A review will offer a concise plot summary of the book. 
• A book review will offer an evaluation of the work. 
• A book review will offer a recommendation for the audience. 

If these are the basic ingredients that make up a book review, it’s the tone and style with which the book reviewer writes that brings the extra panache. This will differ from platform to platform, of course. A book review on Goodreads, for instance, will be much more informal and personal than a book review on Kirkus Reviews, as it is catering to a different audience. However, at the end of the day, the goal of all book reviews is to give the audience the tools to determine whether or not they’d like to read the book themselves.

Keeping that in mind, let’s proceed to some book review examples to put all of this in action.

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Book review examples for fiction books

Since story is king in the world of fiction, it probably won’t come as any surprise to learn that a book review for a novel will concentrate on how well the story was told .

That said, book reviews in all genres follow the same basic formula that we discussed earlier. In these examples, you’ll be able to see how book reviewers on different platforms expertly intertwine the plot summary and their personal opinions of the book to produce a clear, informative, and concise review.

Note: Some of the book review examples run very long. If a book review is truncated in this post, we’ve indicated by including a […] at the end, but you can always read the entire review if you click on the link provided.

Examples of literary fiction book reviews

Kirkus Reviews reviews Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man :

An extremely powerful story of a young Southern Negro, from his late high school days through three years of college to his life in Harlem.

His early training prepared him for a life of humility before white men, but through injustices- large and small, he came to realize that he was an "invisible man". People saw in him only a reflection of their preconceived ideas of what he was, denied his individuality, and ultimately did not see him at all. This theme, which has implications far beyond the obvious racial parallel, is skillfully handled. The incidents of the story are wholly absorbing. The boy's dismissal from college because of an innocent mistake, his shocked reaction to the anonymity of the North and to Harlem, his nightmare experiences on a one-day job in a paint factory and in the hospital, his lightning success as the Harlem leader of a communistic organization known as the Brotherhood, his involvement in black versus white and black versus black clashes and his disillusion and understanding of his invisibility- all climax naturally in scenes of violence and riot, followed by a retreat which is both literal and figurative. Parts of this experience may have been told before, but never with such freshness, intensity and power.

This is Ellison's first novel, but he has complete control of his story and his style. Watch it.

Lyndsey reviews George Orwell’s 1984 on Goodreads:

YOU. ARE. THE. DEAD. Oh my God. I got the chills so many times toward the end of this book. It completely blew my mind. It managed to surpass my high expectations AND be nothing at all like I expected. Or in Newspeak "Double Plus Good." Let me preface this with an apology. If I sound stunningly inarticulate at times in this review, I can't help it. My mind is completely fried.

This book is like the dystopian Lord of the Rings, with its richly developed culture and economics, not to mention a fully developed language called Newspeak, or rather more of the anti-language, whose purpose is to limit speech and understanding instead of to enhance and expand it. The world-building is so fully fleshed out and spine-tinglingly terrifying that it's almost as if George travelled to such a place, escaped from it, and then just wrote it all down.

I read Fahrenheit 451 over ten years ago in my early teens. At the time, I remember really wanting to read 1984, although I never managed to get my hands on it. I'm almost glad I didn't. Though I would not have admitted it at the time, it would have gone over my head. Or at the very least, I wouldn't have been able to appreciate it fully. […]

The New York Times reviews Lisa Halliday’s Asymmetry :

Three-quarters of the way through Lisa Halliday’s debut novel, “Asymmetry,” a British foreign correspondent named Alistair is spending Christmas on a compound outside of Baghdad. His fellow revelers include cameramen, defense contractors, United Nations employees and aid workers. Someone’s mother has FedExed a HoneyBaked ham from Maine; people are smoking by the swimming pool. It is 2003, just days after Saddam Hussein’s capture, and though the mood is optimistic, Alistair is worrying aloud about the ethics of his chosen profession, wondering if reporting on violence doesn’t indirectly abet violence and questioning why he’d rather be in a combat zone than reading a picture book to his son. But every time he returns to London, he begins to “spin out.” He can’t go home. “You observe what people do with their freedom — what they don’t do — and it’s impossible not to judge them for it,” he says.

The line, embedded unceremoniously in the middle of a page-long paragraph, doubles, like so many others in “Asymmetry,” as literary criticism. Halliday’s novel is so strange and startlingly smart that its mere existence seems like commentary on the state of fiction. One finishes “Asymmetry” for the first or second (or like this reader, third) time and is left wondering what other writers are not doing with their freedom — and, like Alistair, judging them for it.

Despite its title, “Asymmetry” comprises two seemingly unrelated sections of equal length, appended by a slim and quietly shocking coda. Halliday’s prose is clean and lean, almost reportorial in the style of W. G. Sebald, and like the murmurings of a shy person at a cocktail party, often comic only in single clauses. It’s a first novel that reads like the work of an author who has published many books over many years. […]

Emily W. Thompson reviews Michael Doane's The Crossing on Reedsy Discovery :

In Doane’s debut novel, a young man embarks on a journey of self-discovery with surprising results.

An unnamed protagonist (The Narrator) is dealing with heartbreak. His love, determined to see the world, sets out for Portland, Oregon. But he’s a small-town boy who hasn’t traveled much. So, the Narrator mourns her loss and hides from life, throwing himself into rehabbing an old motorcycle. Until one day, he takes a leap; he packs his bike and a few belongings and heads out to find the Girl.

Following in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac and William Least Heat-Moon, Doane offers a coming of age story about a man finding himself on the backroads of America. Doane’s a gifted writer with fluid prose and insightful observations, using The Narrator’s personal interactions to illuminate the diversity of the United States.

The Narrator initially sticks to the highways, trying to make it to the West Coast as quickly as possible. But a hitchhiker named Duke convinces him to get off the beaten path and enjoy the ride. “There’s not a place that’s like any other,” [39] Dukes contends, and The Narrator realizes he’s right. Suddenly, the trip is about the journey, not just the destination. The Narrator ditches his truck and traverses the deserts and mountains on his bike. He destroys his phone, cutting off ties with his past and living only in the moment.

As he crosses the country, The Narrator connects with several unique personalities whose experiences and views deeply impact his own. Duke, the complicated cowboy and drifter, who opens The Narrator’s eyes to a larger world. Zooey, the waitress in Colorado who opens his heart and reminds him that love can be found in this big world. And Rosie, The Narrator’s sweet landlady in Portland, who helps piece him back together both physically and emotionally.

This supporting cast of characters is excellent. Duke, in particular, is wonderfully nuanced and complicated. He’s a throwback to another time, a man without a cell phone who reads Sartre and sleeps under the stars. Yet he’s also a grifter with a “love ‘em and leave ‘em” attitude that harms those around him. It’s fascinating to watch The Narrator wrestle with Duke’s behavior, trying to determine which to model and which to discard.

Doane creates a relatable protagonist in The Narrator, whose personal growth doesn’t erase his faults. His willingness to hit the road with few resources is admirable, and he’s prescient enough to recognize the jealousy of those who cannot or will not take the leap. His encounters with new foods, places, and people broaden his horizons. Yet his immaturity and selfishness persist. He tells Rosie she’s been a good mother to him but chooses to ignore the continuing concern from his own parents as he effectively disappears from his old life.

Despite his flaws, it’s a pleasure to accompany The Narrator on his physical and emotional journey. The unexpected ending is a fitting denouement to an epic and memorable road trip.

The Book Smugglers review Anissa Gray’s The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls :

I am still dipping my toes into the literally fiction pool, finding what works for me and what doesn’t. Books like The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray are definitely my cup of tea.

Althea and Proctor Cochran had been pillars of their economically disadvantaged community for years – with their local restaurant/small market and their charity drives. Until they are found guilty of fraud for stealing and keeping most of the money they raised and sent to jail. Now disgraced, their entire family is suffering the consequences, specially their twin teenage daughters Baby Vi and Kim.  To complicate matters even more: Kim was actually the one to call the police on her parents after yet another fight with her mother. […]

Examples of children’s and YA fiction book reviews

The Book Hookup reviews Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give :

♥ Quick Thoughts and Rating: 5 stars! I can’t imagine how challenging it would be to tackle the voice of a movement like Black Lives Matter, but I do know that Thomas did it with a finesse only a talented author like herself possibly could. With an unapologetically realistic delivery packed with emotion, The Hate U Give is a crucially important portrayal of the difficulties minorities face in our country every single day. I have no doubt that this book will be met with resistance by some (possibly many) and slapped with a “controversial” label, but if you’ve ever wondered what it was like to walk in a POC’s shoes, then I feel like this is an unflinchingly honest place to start.

In Angie Thomas’s debut novel, Starr Carter bursts on to the YA scene with both heart-wrecking and heartwarming sincerity. This author is definitely one to watch.

♥ Review: The hype around this book has been unquestionable and, admittedly, that made me both eager to get my hands on it and terrified to read it. I mean, what if I was to be the one person that didn’t love it as much as others? (That seems silly now because of how truly mesmerizing THUG was in the most heartbreakingly realistic way.) However, with the relevancy of its summary in regards to the unjust predicaments POC currently face in the US, I knew this one was a must-read, so I was ready to set my fears aside and dive in. That said, I had an altogether more personal, ulterior motive for wanting to read this book. […]

The New York Times reviews Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood :

Alice Crewe (a last name she’s chosen for herself) is a fairy tale legacy: the granddaughter of Althea Proserpine, author of a collection of dark-as-night fairy tales called “Tales From the Hinterland.” The book has a cult following, and though Alice has never met her grandmother, she’s learned a little about her through internet research. She hasn’t read the stories, because her mother, Ella Proserpine, forbids it.

Alice and Ella have moved from place to place in an attempt to avoid the “bad luck” that seems to follow them. Weird things have happened. As a child, Alice was kidnapped by a man who took her on a road trip to find her grandmother; he was stopped by the police before they did so. When at 17 she sees that man again, unchanged despite the years, Alice panics. Then Ella goes missing, and Alice turns to Ellery Finch, a schoolmate who’s an Althea Proserpine superfan, for help in tracking down her mother. Not only has Finch read every fairy tale in the collection, but handily, he remembers them, sharing them with Alice as they journey to the mysterious Hazel Wood, the estate of her now-dead grandmother, where they hope to find Ella.

“The Hazel Wood” starts out strange and gets stranger, in the best way possible. (The fairy stories Finch relays, which Albert includes as their own chapters, are as creepy and evocative as you’d hope.) Albert seamlessly combines contemporary realism with fantasy, blurring the edges in a way that highlights that place where stories and real life convene, where magic contains truth and the world as it appears is false, where just about anything can happen, particularly in the pages of a very good book. It’s a captivating debut. […]

James reviews Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight, Moon on Goodreads:

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is one of the books that followers of my blog voted as a must-read for our Children's Book August 2018 Readathon. Come check it out and join the next few weeks!

This picture book was such a delight. I hadn't remembered reading it when I was a child, but it might have been read to me... either way, it was like a whole new experience! It's always so difficult to convince a child to fall asleep at night. I don't have kids, but I do have a 5-month-old puppy who whines for 5 minutes every night when he goes in his cage/crate (hopefully he'll be fully housebroken soon so he can roam around when he wants). I can only imagine! I babysat a lot as a teenager and I have tons of younger cousins, nieces, and nephews, so I've been through it before, too. This was a believable experience, and it really helps show kids how to relax and just let go when it's time to sleep.

The bunny's are adorable. The rhymes are exquisite. I found it pretty fun, but possibly a little dated given many of those things aren't normal routines anymore. But the lessons to take from it are still powerful. Loved it! I want to sample some more books by this fine author and her illustrators.

Publishers Weekly reviews Elizabeth Lilly’s Geraldine :

This funny, thoroughly accomplished debut opens with two words: “I’m moving.” They’re spoken by the title character while she swoons across her family’s ottoman, and because Geraldine is a giraffe, her full-on melancholy mode is quite a spectacle. But while Geraldine may be a drama queen (even her mother says so), it won’t take readers long to warm up to her. The move takes Geraldine from Giraffe City, where everyone is like her, to a new school, where everyone else is human. Suddenly, the former extrovert becomes “That Giraffe Girl,” and all she wants to do is hide, which is pretty much impossible. “Even my voice tries to hide,” she says, in the book’s most poignant moment. “It’s gotten quiet and whispery.” Then she meets Cassie, who, though human, is also an outlier (“I’m that girl who wears glasses and likes MATH and always organizes her food”), and things begin to look up.

Lilly’s watercolor-and-ink drawings are as vividly comic and emotionally astute as her writing; just when readers think there are no more ways for Geraldine to contort her long neck, this highly promising talent comes up with something new.

Examples of genre fiction book reviews

Karlyn P reviews Nora Roberts’ Dark Witch , a paranormal romance novel , on Goodreads:

4 stars. Great world-building, weak romance, but still worth the read.

I hesitate to describe this book as a 'romance' novel simply because the book spent little time actually exploring the romance between Iona and Boyle. Sure, there IS a romance in this novel. Sprinkled throughout the book are a few scenes where Iona and Boyle meet, chat, wink at each, flirt some more, sleep together, have a misunderstanding, make up, and then profess their undying love. Very formulaic stuff, and all woven around the more important parts of this book.

The meat of this book is far more focused on the story of the Dark witch and her magically-gifted descendants living in Ireland. Despite being weak on the romance, I really enjoyed it. I think the book is probably better for it, because the romance itself was pretty lackluster stuff.

I absolutely plan to stick with this series as I enjoyed the world building, loved the Ireland setting, and was intrigued by all of the secondary characters. However, If you read Nora Roberts strictly for the romance scenes, this one might disappoint. But if you enjoy a solid background story with some dark magic and prophesies, you might enjoy it as much as I did.

I listened to this one on audio, and felt the narration was excellent.

Emily May reviews R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy Wars , an epic fantasy novel , on Goodreads:

“But I warn you, little warrior. The price of power is pain.”

Holy hell, what did I just read??

➽ A fantasy military school

➽ A rich world based on modern Chinese history

➽ Shamans and gods

➽ Detailed characterization leading to unforgettable characters

➽ Adorable, opium-smoking mentors

That's a basic list, but this book is all of that and SO MUCH MORE. I know 100% that The Poppy War will be one of my best reads of 2018.

Isn't it just so great when you find one of those books that completely drags you in, makes you fall in love with the characters, and demands that you sit on the edge of your seat for every horrific, nail-biting moment of it? This is one of those books for me. And I must issue a serious content warning: this book explores some very dark themes. Proceed with caution (or not at all) if you are particularly sensitive to scenes of war, drug use and addiction, genocide, racism, sexism, ableism, self-harm, torture, and rape (off-page but extremely horrific).

Because, despite the fairly innocuous first 200 pages, the title speaks the truth: this is a book about war. All of its horrors and atrocities. It is not sugar-coated, and it is often graphic. The "poppy" aspect refers to opium, which is a big part of this book. It is a fantasy, but the book draws inspiration from the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Rape of Nanking.

Crime Fiction Lover reviews Jessica Barry’s Freefall , a crime novel:

In some crime novels, the wrongdoing hits you between the eyes from page one. With others it’s a more subtle process, and that’s OK too. So where does Freefall fit into the sliding scale?

In truth, it’s not clear. This is a novel with a thrilling concept at its core. A woman survives plane crash, then runs for her life. However, it is the subtleties at play that will draw you in like a spider beckoning to an unwitting fly.

Like the heroine in Sharon Bolton’s Dead Woman Walking, Allison is lucky to be alive. She was the only passenger in a private plane, belonging to her fiancé, Ben, who was piloting the expensive aircraft, when it came down in woodlands in the Colorado Rockies. Ally is also the only survivor, but rather than sitting back and waiting for rescue, she is soon pulling together items that may help her survive a little longer – first aid kit, energy bars, warm clothes, trainers – before fleeing the scene. If you’re hearing the faint sound of alarm bells ringing, get used to it. There’s much, much more to learn about Ally before this tale is over.

Kirkus Reviews reviews Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One , a science-fiction novel :

Video-game players embrace the quest of a lifetime in a virtual world; screenwriter Cline’s first novel is old wine in new bottles.

The real world, in 2045, is the usual dystopian horror story. So who can blame Wade, our narrator, if he spends most of his time in a virtual world? The 18-year-old, orphaned at 11, has no friends in his vertical trailer park in Oklahoma City, while the OASIS has captivating bells and whistles, and it’s free. Its creator, the legendary billionaire James Halliday, left a curious will. He had devised an elaborate online game, a hunt for a hidden Easter egg. The finder would inherit his estate. Old-fashioned riddles lead to three keys and three gates. Wade, or rather his avatar Parzival, is the first gunter (egg-hunter) to win the Copper Key, first of three.

Halliday was obsessed with the pop culture of the 1980s, primarily the arcade games, so the novel is as much retro as futurist. Parzival’s great strength is that he has absorbed all Halliday’s obsessions; he knows by heart three essential movies, crossing the line from geek to freak. His most formidable competitors are the Sixers, contract gunters working for the evil conglomerate IOI, whose goal is to acquire the OASIS. Cline’s narrative is straightforward but loaded with exposition. It takes a while to reach a scene that crackles with excitement: the meeting between Parzival (now world famous as the lead contender) and Sorrento, the head of IOI. The latter tries to recruit Parzival; when he fails, he issues and executes a death threat. Wade’s trailer is demolished, his relatives killed; luckily Wade was not at home. Too bad this is the dramatic high point. Parzival threads his way between more ’80s games and movies to gain the other keys; it’s clever but not exciting. Even a romance with another avatar and the ultimate “epic throwdown” fail to stir the blood.

Too much puzzle-solving, not enough suspense.

Book review examples for non-fiction books

Nonfiction books are generally written to inform readers about a certain topic. As such, the focus of a nonfiction book review will be on the clarity and effectiveness of this communication . In carrying this out, a book review may analyze the author’s source materials and assess the thesis in order to determine whether or not the book meets expectations.

Again, we’ve included abbreviated versions of long reviews here, so feel free to click on the link to read the entire piece!

The Washington Post reviews David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon :

The arc of David Grann’s career reminds one of a software whiz-kid or a latest-thing talk-show host — certainly not an investigative reporter, even if he is one of the best in the business. The newly released movie of his first book, “The Lost City of Z,” is generating all kinds of Oscar talk, and now comes the release of his second book, “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” the film rights to which have already been sold for $5 million in what one industry journal called the “biggest and wildest book rights auction in memory.”

Grann deserves the attention. He’s canny about the stories he chases, he’s willing to go anywhere to chase them, and he’s a maestro in his ability to parcel out information at just the right clip: a hint here, a shading of meaning there, a smartly paced buildup of multiple possibilities followed by an inevitable reversal of readerly expectations or, in some cases, by a thrilling and dislocating pull of the entire narrative rug.

All of these strengths are on display in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Around the turn of the 20th century, oil was discovered underneath Osage lands in the Oklahoma Territory, lands that were soon to become part of the state of Oklahoma. Through foresight and legal maneuvering, the Osage found a way to permanently attach that oil to themselves and shield it from the prying hands of white interlopers; this mechanism was known as “headrights,” which forbade the outright sale of oil rights and granted each full member of the tribe — and, supposedly, no one else — a share in the proceeds from any lease arrangement. For a while, the fail-safes did their job, and the Osage got rich — diamond-ring and chauffeured-car and imported-French-fashion rich — following which quite a large group of white men started to work like devils to separate the Osage from their money. And soon enough, and predictably enough, this work involved murder. Here in Jazz Age America’s most isolated of locales, dozens or even hundreds of Osage in possession of great fortunes — and of the potential for even greater fortunes in the future — were dispatched by poison, by gunshot and by dynamite. […]

Stacked Books reviews Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers :

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Malcolm Gladwell’s writing. Friends and co-workers tell me that his subjects are interesting and his writing style is easy to follow without talking down to the reader. I wasn’t disappointed with Outliers. In it, Gladwell tackles the subject of success – how people obtain it and what contributes to extraordinary success as opposed to everyday success.

The thesis – that our success depends much more on circumstances out of our control than any effort we put forth – isn’t exactly revolutionary. Most of us know it to be true. However, I don’t think I’m lying when I say that most of us also believe that we if we just try that much harder and develop our talent that much further, it will be enough to become wildly successful, despite bad or just mediocre beginnings. Not so, says Gladwell.

Most of the evidence Gladwell gives us is anecdotal, which is my favorite kind to read. I can’t really speak to how scientifically valid it is, but it sure makes for engrossing listening. For example, did you know that successful hockey players are almost all born in January, February, or March? Kids born during these months are older than the others kids when they start playing in the youth leagues, which means they’re already better at the game (because they’re bigger). Thus, they get more play time, which means their skill increases at a faster rate, and it compounds as time goes by. Within a few years, they’re much, much better than the kids born just a few months later in the year. Basically, these kids’ birthdates are a huge factor in their success as adults – and it’s nothing they can do anything about. If anyone could make hockey interesting to a Texan who only grudgingly admits the sport even exists, it’s Gladwell. […]

Quill and Quire reviews Rick Prashaw’s Soar, Adam, Soar :

Ten years ago, I read a book called Almost Perfect. The young-adult novel by Brian Katcher won some awards and was held up as a powerful, nuanced portrayal of a young trans person. But the reality did not live up to the book’s billing. Instead, it turned out to be a one-dimensional and highly fetishized portrait of a trans person’s life, one that was nevertheless repeatedly dubbed “realistic” and “affecting” by non-transgender readers possessing only a vague, mass-market understanding of trans experiences.

In the intervening decade, trans narratives have emerged further into the literary spotlight, but those authored by trans people ourselves – and by trans men in particular – have seemed to fall under the shadow of cisgender sensationalized imaginings. Two current Canadian releases – Soar, Adam, Soar and This One Looks Like a Boy – provide a pointed object lesson into why trans-authored work about transgender experiences remains critical.

To be fair, Soar, Adam, Soar isn’t just a story about a trans man. It’s also a story about epilepsy, the medical establishment, and coming of age as seen through a grieving father’s eyes. Adam, Prashaw’s trans son, died unexpectedly at age 22. Woven through the elder Prashaw’s narrative are excerpts from Adam’s social media posts, giving us glimpses into the young man’s interior life as he traverses his late teens and early 20s. […]

Book Geeks reviews Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love :

WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5

SUBJECT: 4/5

CANDIDNESS: 4.5/5

RELEVANCE: 3.5/5

ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5/5

“Eat Pray Love” is so popular that it is almost impossible to not read it. Having felt ashamed many times on my not having read this book, I quietly ordered the book (before I saw the movie) from amazon.in and sat down to read it. I don’t remember what I expected it to be – maybe more like a chick lit thing but it turned out quite different. The book is a real story and is a short journal from the time when its writer went travelling to three different countries in pursuit of three different things – Italy (Pleasure), India (Spirituality), Bali (Balance) and this is what corresponds to the book’s name – EAT (in Italy), PRAY (in India) and LOVE (in Bali, Indonesia). These are also the three Is – ITALY, INDIA, INDONESIA.

Though she had everything a middle-aged American woman can aspire for – MONEY, CAREER, FRIENDS, HUSBAND; Elizabeth was not happy in her life, she wasn’t happy in her marriage. Having suffered a terrible divorce and terrible breakup soon after, Elizabeth was shattered. She didn’t know where to go and what to do – all she knew was that she wanted to run away. So she set out on a weird adventure – she will go to three countries in a year and see if she can find out what she was looking for in life. This book is about that life changing journey that she takes for one whole year. […]

Emily May reviews Michelle Obama’s Becoming on Goodreads:

Look, I'm not a happy crier. I might cry at songs about leaving and missing someone; I might cry at books where things don't work out; I might cry at movies where someone dies. I've just never really understood why people get all choked up over happy, inspirational things. But Michelle Obama's kindness and empathy changed that. This book had me in tears for all the right reasons.

This is not really a book about politics, though political experiences obviously do come into it. It's a shame that some will dismiss this book because of a difference in political opinion, when it is really about a woman's life. About growing up poor and black on the South Side of Chicago; about getting married and struggling to maintain that marriage; about motherhood; about being thrown into an amazing and terrifying position.

I hate words like "inspirational" because they've become so overdone and cheesy, but I just have to say it-- Michelle Obama is an inspiration. I had the privilege of seeing her speak at The Forum in Inglewood, and she is one of the warmest, funniest, smartest, down-to-earth people I have ever seen in this world.

And yes, I know we present what we want the world to see, but I truly do think it's genuine. I think she is someone who really cares about people - especially kids - and wants to give them better lives and opportunities.

She's obviously intelligent, but she also doesn't gussy up her words. She talks straight, with an openness and honesty rarely seen. She's been one of the most powerful women in the world, she's been a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, she's had her own successful career, and yet she has remained throughout that same girl - Michelle Robinson - from a working class family in Chicago.

I don't think there's anyone who wouldn't benefit from reading this book.

Hopefully, this post has given you a better idea of how to write a book review. You might be wondering how to put all of this knowledge into action now! Many book reviewers start out by setting up a book blog. If you don’t have time to research the intricacies of HTML, check out Reedsy Discovery — where you can read indie books for free and review them without going through the hassle of creating a blog. To register as a book reviewer , go here .

And if you’d like to see even more book review examples, simply go to this directory of book review blogs and click on any one of them to see a wealth of good book reviews. Beyond that, it's up to you to pick up a book and pen — and start reviewing!

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Features • News

Publishers Weekly Is Calling for Book Reviewers. Here’s Why You Should Apply  

by Otosirieze Obi-Young

February 11, 2020

As the conversation around diversity, and the lack of it, peaks in the publishing industry, the most effective solution remains not only the increased publication of non-White voices but the inclusion of non-White personnel behind the scenes, from executive and editorship positions to marketting and book reviewing. Publishers Weekly , noted for important pre-publication book reviews and known as “the bible of the book business,” is calling for reviewers, and it is important to get African voices in.

If you have been paying attention to the language of book reviewing in major outlets, you’d notice monotonous descriptions reserved for books by Africans; the books are praised mostly, and sometimes only, for their “themes” rather than aesthetics, as if the writers are sociologists and not artists. And more often than not, such books are misunderstood and, consequently, not fleshed out. This has been written about in a 2016 piece by Brittle Paper founder Ainehi Edoro, comparing reviews for the American David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah. And in response to the reviews in The New York Times , Edoro started a review series that has included books by Nnedi Okorafor, Wayetu Moore, and Jumoke Verissimo. How books are reviewed, either with insight or with passing acquaintance with a continent’s literature, affects how it makes its way into the world, whether it would get sales, more reviews, awards, whether it will get into bestseller lists, and, worryingly, whether more books like it would even get published. The call by Publishers Weekly , which publishes up to 8,500 reviews yearly, might be understood as an effort to make up for the disparity in critical focus on non-White voices.

Here is Publishers Weekly ‘s call .

________________________________________________

CALL FOR REVIEWERS

Publishers Weekly , the international news platform of the book publishing industry, is looking for freelance book reviewers with experience in the following subject areas:

• Essay collections General fiction/Literary fiction/YA fiction (specifically: contemporary and historical African-American, Asian-American, Native-American, and Latinx narratives; LGBTQ stories; and immigrant narratives) Health/Fitness
• Inspirational/Spirituality/Religion (of all types)
• Mystery/thriller
• SF/Fantasy/Horror
• YA nonfiction

PW  pays a modest honorarium per review.

If you are interested in reviewing for  PW , please send a resume and a sample review (approximately 200 words) of a recently published book to  [email protected] . (Please look at published  PW  reviews for editorial formatting examples.) Use the email subject heading “Book Reviewing:” followed by the categories you are interested in. For example, “Book Reviewing: Psychology, Romance.” Applications submitted any other way will not be considered.

Members of diverse communities are highly encouraged to apply.

No phone calls, please.

Publishers Weekly , familiarly known in the book world as  PW  and “the bible of the book business,” is a weekly news magazine focused on the international book publishing business running for over 145 years. It offers feature articles and news on all aspects of the book business, bestsellers lists in a number of categories, and industry statistics, but its best known service is pre-publication book reviews, of which it publishes more than 8,500 per year.

_______________________________________________

Find out more HERE .

• African literature
• ainehi edoro
• book reviews
• diversity in publishing
• publishers weekly
• reviews by ainehi

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COMMENTS ( 28 ) -

GODSWILL IGHOYINWIN SUBI August 09, 2024 18:07

Looking forward to a favourable response from you

Mercy Dameh August 08, 2024 05:51

My name is mercy,I love reading

Saurabh Meena July 19, 2024 12:20

Sir i am a saurabh my interest your books reading and your book review please help

Ritu Singla July 08, 2024 22:36

I want to be a reviewer

Mulenga Anthony Mumena April 09, 2024 00:11

Iam interested in reading books on Church History, Philosophy, Culture, Theology and politics

Anubha Rustagi March 11, 2024 23:53

I like reading books. How to become a reviewer.. let me know..

Josephine Amutenya January 17, 2024 08:10

Hello! I would like to review books for PW. Thank you for your consideration.

Vitalis Anokwuru August 17, 2023 18:33

Make me your publisher

Obeka Queen Oyidu August 15, 2023 08:06

I will like to be a reviewer.

Precious Davesena June 02, 2023 08:03

I am interested in joining the publishers weekly so that I will be reviewing books to earn money

Kelly Fowler May 08, 2023 14:08

Dear Publishers Weekly: I would be glad to review books for PW, and given the opportunity I will be mindful to give my honest opinion of the book(s), through constructive criticism; not rude criticism. Regarding my love for reading, I am the one who would get caught in my younger years for reading beneath the bed covers by pin light flashlight. Finally, if there is training to go through to become a book reviewer I will be glad to complete such training. Please, just say the word, and I will complete any training necessary to review books. Respectfully, Kelly Fowler

Ntombi Sharol Mothupi April 08, 2023 17:27

My name is Sharol. I am reader also pray to be writer in the near future as i approach my 50s it has been my dream to be writer. I can read half a book a day depending on my interest of the book. This could be an opportunity for me to explore my dream and getting paid doing it will be a bonus.

Hailey January 04, 2023 18:17

Love to read stories that amazes me

Love to read

JYOTTI B DHINGRA November 14, 2022 04:55

Good evening , my name is Jyotti B Dhingra and I am a Psychotherapist, my forte is Relationship and Family counseling. I love reading books . It will be a great honour to review your books.

Make money reading books in 2022 (Earn up to $100 per review) » passiveearningonline July 29, 2022 02:43

[…] has been specified for payment towards review of books at Publishers Weekly, but a modest honorary amount for book review can be expected for review of […]

Ekafa Gift May 21, 2022 18:37

Good evening, my name is Gift and I am from Nigeria. I love reading different books because I tend to see different sides of writers,their feelings and how passionate they are towards writing. I have only done few book reviews in my school...and I will so much love to be part of your review team because I know that you can impact me in many ways and I could also share my views and my knowledge about books. I hope you write to me back. Thank you.

Jacinta ndanu May 12, 2022 07:20

Am Jacinta a passionate student from Kenya I love reading and I will be of great honour in joining the publishers weekly reviewers team.

Samuel Mensah February 14, 2022 00:50

Good morning. I am a student and I love reading . It will be a great honor to review your books.

Chukwuemela Okoronkwo January 17, 2022 16:29

Good day, am Chukwuemela. A student who believes that a reader is a leader. I would love to be your book reviewer

Abhilasha khanal August 22, 2021 07:52

Greetings, I am abhilasha from India starting writing stories. I am passionate to read books of different zoners. Even though m beginner with no job background or experience still accepting me and my way of book reviews will be rewarding to both sides. Every new Reader always seeks for review. I hope you will consider me .

Auma Prisca Hope July 16, 2021 12:17

Good evening, I'm a Ugandan, 21 years of age, passionate about reading and I would really love to be a Publisher's Weekly book reviewer. Is there a way I can apply

Jessica Marie Erguiza July 06, 2021 03:24

Hi, I am interested in freelance reviewing. I am from Philippines. I am a writer and a novelist. So tell me how can I apply to this job? I love to read and write books of stories. There's a quaratine here in the Philippines that's why I am looking for a job that is suitable in our situation right now. I am waiting for your quick response. Tysm!

ANGANA BORAH June 14, 2021 02:36

Hi my name is Angana and I want to perform freelancer book review sector so how can I apply for this sector?

Aneeha June 14, 2021 00:23

My name is Aneeha.I'm a reader from India. I'd like to go for publishers Weekly freelance book reviewers. There's lockdown in India and won't be able to buy any fresh book, please advice me to how to sign up for the job.

Andrea Smith June 06, 2021 20:48

Hi I'm inquiring to apply for a book reviewers job position.If I may I have no former job history as a book reviewer,But I'd like to upgrade My Title in life as a book reviewer which was my goal to obtain as a child / teen ,I feel this would b very exciting an rewarding for both the company and myself,being that love to read as well having a passive voice is helpful of written poetry for previously writtinf fir the National Poeyry Contest 1997-99 Entering into a contest poem title New Found Respect of Manner winning a $25.00 cash prize after entering the contest .I look forward to obtaining the job position for or thru ur company publishers Weekly job Applicant Andrea (Nicole )Smith New Orleans born & raised native [email protected]

Tanya May 25, 2021 11:13

My name is Tanya. I'm a reader from India. I'd like to go for publishers Weekly freelance book reviewers. There's lockdown in India and won't be able to buy any fresh book, please advice me to how to sign up for the job and is there anything that I can review about.

Publishers Weekly Is Calling for Book Reviewers. Here’s Why You Should Apply   | The Blue Nib February 13, 2020 02:57

[…] Sourced through Scoop.it from: brittlepaper.com […]

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Top 5 Book Review Sites Every Author Should Submit To

Written By Write With Light Publications, LLC

0 comment(s), october 13, 2021, don’t rush your book.

We can’t say it enough and yet we see it happen all the time.

When on the verge of publishing a book, we see one big mistake happen, especially if the author is rushing the publication process of their book.

Many times, we see them write, edit and then publish, giving no time or space to properly market or get the word out about their book.

So how is a reader supposed to find your book if it’s not even out there yet? How will they see it without proper awareness?

Authors who self-publish for the first time (usually) are missing a crucial piece to the publishing process: Submitting their book to book review sites.

Why Do I Need to Submit My Books for Review?

Submitting your book to review to a good review source can help you leverage your book before it’s even launched.

Having people review your book from these five book review sites we are talking about later, even if the reviews are positive or negative, can be powerful.

There are a few reasons all authors should be submitting their book for review.

• You can gain quality reviews
• Create awareness for your book
• Book reviewers could possibly share your work with others (word of mouth marketing)
• Can influence readers to pre-order your book
• It’s free marketing!

Although sharing your work with others to get their opinion on your book is daunting, it’s still a necessary step to take before you even publish. Don’t forget this crucial step in the publishing and promotion process if you don’t want to sabotage your book .

How Long Does the Review Process Take?

The review copy process can take some time, which is probably why a lot of people skip the process. But if you want a good quality review from a quality source, you need to take the time to fit a book review process into your book publishing timeline.

The review copy process can take anywhere from 3-4 months. So why is that?

A majority of book reviewers and credible book review sites require at least 3-4 months after submission and before launch to review your book.

Reviewers get a lot of inquiries and a lot of books, some of which they give to two different readers for review. If they choose your book for review you need to give them 3-4 months to review it.

The downside is, you just have to be patient.

When Should I Submit My Books For Review?

If you’re finished writing your book, we highly recommend getting it edited by a professional before handing it off to reviewers.

Before you even submit your books for review, edit your book. Period.

Even if you have an amazing cover with a captivating synopsis, it will mean nothing if you send a book in with a wealth of mistakes roaming freely.

Reviewers will not read through your book if there are mistakes. Only send your book out for review when it is 100% ready.

Who Should I Be Submitting Books to For Review?

If you do decide to work this book review timeframe into your schedule, there are five sites you can get started with, some of which are free and some of which are paid.

So the top 5 book review sites you absolutely should at least consider,

• Publisher’s Weekly
• Write With Light Publications

We’ll explain all of them and their benefits below!

It’s also important to keep in mind that there are multiple other avenues for getting book reviews including having bookstagrammers on Instagram review your work, or sending it out to other smaller publications that would fit your niche.

For now, we’ll just cover some of the essential sites that will give you actual reviews without you having to ask freelance book reviewers.

Kirkus (Paid)

Kirkus has been around since 1933 and was founded by Virginia Kirkus. Back then, she realized there was a need for book reviews not backed by the publisher themselves. Seeing this need, she started a business that would give writers the book reviews they need while also allowing American booksellers to buy products backed by unbiased opinions.

As far as book review sites go, Kirkus is one of the most prestigious and trusted book reviewers in the business and offers an unbiased assessment of your book—which could be negative or positive. But their outstanding reviews come at a price. That being said, the review is worth it to many.

Here are some of the prices for Kirkus Reviews:

• Traditional Reviews: Costs $425 for a 250-word review.
• Expanded Reviews: Costs $525 for a 500-word review.
• Picture Book Reviews: Cost $350 for a 200-word review.

All of the reviews are turned around in 7-9 weeks but can be expedited for an additional fee. After receiving your review, you can add some of the best quotes to your product listings on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sites to help promote the book.

You also have the option to publish your review on Kirkus if you like what they have to say. If you do choose to publish it, Kirkus may consider your review for publication in their magazine which reaches 50,000 users.

If you’re ready to get your book reviewed, visit Kirkus to get started .

Booklife (Paid)

To receive another guaranteed book review for a price, you can also choose Booklife .

Booklife is an extension of the popular site, Publisher’s Weekly, and provides publishing advice and assistance to find authors.

Booklife is usually great for indie authors who need a great review from a reputable source. It is also slightly less in cost than Kirkus.

A Booklife review costs $399 for 300 words.

Authors will get their review back in an estimated 4-6 weeks. The one downside of submitting for review with Booklife is there is a word count limit. Only books 100,000 words are less can be considered for a review.

The upside is the review with be featured on Booklife’s website and Publisher Weekly’s website. To learn more about the submission guidelines and get reviewed, visit Booklife’s Review FAQs page .

Reedsy (Paid)

Probably one of our favorite places to get books reviewed is Reedsy .

We love this site because it is so affordable and you get an honest book review from a professional book reviewer. See a Reedsy book review for one of our authors!

Like Booklife and Kirkus, you will get a quality book review but at a much lower price and it is guaranteed. Reedsy can also be synced with Goodreads, which allows your reviewer to publish their review before the book even launches.

Authors who choose to get their books reviewed with Reedsy will spend only $50 per book for a lengthy review from a frequent book reviewer.

The great thing is, your book is available to be reviewed by anyone who is interested. Additionally, you can contact the reviewers to ask them to review your book

On Reedsy, your book can only be reviewed once, although, we really wish they would allow more, especially if other reviewers want to take a peek.

Publisher’s Weekly (Free)

Like we mentioned earlier, Publisher’s Weekly is associated with Booklife, which is a paid review service.

Publisher’s Weekly, however, is a free review service , which will bring a smile to most indie authors who are on a tight budget with marketing.

The one downside of submitting a book review to Publisher’s Weekly is your review is not guaranteed. Publisher’s Weekly reviewers take a very slim amount of submissions for review, which means they take the elite when it comes to books.

If your book is chosen for review by Publisher’s Weekly, you’ve probably got yourself a great book. Although there is no guarantee for a book review, it’s worth submitting anyways.

To get your book reviewed with Publisher’s Weekly, check out their submission guidelines .

Write With Light Publications (Free)

We know we have a long ways to go to be as great and revered as websites like Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus. But hey! We all have to start somewhere!

At Write With Light Publications, we have a deep desire to help indie authors get their books out there in the world. One of the best ways to do that is to read your book and give you a quality review.

Our reviews are completely free to you as long as you follow our strict guidelines.

To learn more about our book reviews, check out our submission guidelines !

New More Publishing Help?

Write With Light Publications offers a variety of publishing services that are intended to support indie authors with their self-publishing endeavors.

If you’re feeling lost with marketing, publishing, or even creating your book, consider getting some assistance from us!

You can see more about our services here .

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Independent Book Review

A Celebration of Indie Press and Self-Published Books

30+ Top-Notch Book Review Sites for Readers & Writers

Here are 30+ top-notch book review sites for booksellers, librarians, readers, & writers. Learn more about 30 bookish companies helping spread the word about the best & latest books.

Top-Notch Book Review Sites for Readers & Writers

Book reviews are for all of us.

Readers need to know whether books with the best covers are worth the time they’re about to put into it. They find it helpful (and fun!) to check out reviews after reading the books, too, so they can see what other real-life humans had to say about it.

Authors & publishers need to get book reviews to build buzz and credibility for their product. Librarians & booksellers need to hear from trusted sources that the book they are about to buy for their collection has the capability to get picked up & to satisfy. 

Book review sites have transformed the book-recommending landscape.

We can write reviews on product pages, on social media apps, and some of us, for publications that have been around since before the internet. Book reviewing has changed. But maybe it also hasn’t.

What kind of book review sites are you looking for? Chances are, this list has you covered.

Here are 30+ book review sites to read, write, and bookmark. 

1. Independent Book Review

Does this logo look familiar? (Hint: You’re sitting on it).

IBR, the website you’re on RIGHT NOW, is all about indie books . There are so many books in the world right now, but if you feel like you keep seeing the same ones recommended over and over, start reading indie!

Independent presses & self-published authors are doing some incredible work right now. IBR reviews books, curates lists, does indie bookstore round-ups, and uses starred reviews & best-of-the-year lists to show which books are going to blow your mind.

2. Book Marks

Lit Hub rules. You already knew this.

But do you know about Book Marks? They’re a branch of the Lit Hub network, and they are an excellent way for booksellers and librarians to get shorter recaps from multiple sources and voices.

Their staff peruses book review sites and shares pull-quotes from them in book lists & more. By reading all of these sites, they can give the book a rating based on the average: “Rave, Positive, Mixed, or Pan.”

My favorite book-buying platform, Bookshop , uses Book Marks’ scale for their books’ ratings, and I love getting access to that.

3. Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly has been around since 1872. By now, they’re a review churning machine. They cover so much of the book industry in so many different ways, reviewing nearly 9,000 books per year and providing publication announcements, agency announcements, industry job listings , bestseller lists, industry stats, a self-publishing partner, and more. 

4. Kirkus Reviews

Another one that’s been around since before the internet! 1933 to be exact. Kirkus is a widely recognized publication that book buyers & librarians follow carefully. I dare you to find a bookstore or library that doesn’t have multiple books with Kirkus Reviews plastered on their front and back covers.

5. Booklist

The American Library Association runs Booklist , a platform dedicated to helping libraries, educators, and booksellers choose books. They’ve got a magazine (since 1905!), book reviews, lists, awards, and one of my favorite bookish podcasts out there: Shelf Care .

6. Library Journal & School Library Journal

As you might be able to guess, Library Journal & School Library Journal focus on librarians too! They review a ton of books, and they write often about library-related news, collection management, technology, programs, and more. If you’re an author hoping to land your book in libraries, these are essential targets.

7. BookPage

You may have seen BookPage in your local library or bookstore. Some shops provide it for free so that patrons can look through it to find which books to buy in-store. Their website is clean and intriguing and always full of the most up-to-date releases and bestsellers.

Speaking of libraries! Have you seen our gifts for librarians ?

8. Foreword

Foreword is such an enthusiastic and dedicated champion of indie books, and they’ve been doing it since the 90s! I love how much attention university presses get here too. Their reviews are well-written & thorough, in both print & digital, and I always find something to speed-purchase once the Foreword Indie winners come out.

9. LoveReading

LoveReading is a top book-recommendation website in the UK. They’ve got starred reviews, lists, staff picks, a LitFest , eBooks, and they even donate 25% of the cover price of their books to schools of your choice. It’s reader-friendly and apparent how much they appreciate the wonder of books. 

10. Washington Independent Review of Books

What’s not to love about The Independent?

Back in 2011, a group of writers & editors were frustrated by newspapers dropping book review sections and decided to do something about it. The Washington Independent Review of Books is quite a lovely something! This nonprofit posts every day: from reviews to interviews to essays and podcasts. They host events too!

11. Book Riot

Try being a reader and not finding something you love on Book Riot. Book lists, podcasts, personalized recommendations, newsletters, book deals—this site is a haven.

It doesn’t post solo book reviews like other sites, but they do share mini-reviews in book lists and talk about reading in unique & passionate ways. The Book Riot Podcast is such a winner too! I love listening to Jeff & Rebecca laugh about the latest in books & reading.

12. Electric Lit

From novel excerpts to original short fiction & poetry, they might not only be a book review site,  but they do offer a lot in the world of book recommendations. Their Recommended Reading lit mag features unique staff picks and short, insightful book reviews.

13. The Millions

The writing in The Millions is something to behold. They are an artful source for all things book reviews & recommendations. They write stunning essays about books & reading and long reviews of new and old books. They’ve got some of my favorite Most Anticip ated lists too.

What are the biggest benefits of reading ? 🧐

14. Bookforum

Did you hear? Bookforum is back ! This book review magazine announced in December 2022 that they were closing, and my heart sank a little bit. This company means so much to the publishing industry and has for 20+ years, so when I saw (last week!) that they are returning, I did more than a few jumps for joy.

Welcome back, Bookforum! Can’t wait to see what you’ve got coming for us in book world coverage.

BOMB is in it for the art. Art, literature, film, music, theater, architecture, and dance. There are reviews and interviews, and the literature section is a real delight. The reviews are like poignant essays, and the author interviews are in-depth and feature some fascinating minds.

16. The Asian Review of Books

The only dedicated pan-Asian book review publication! It’s widely cited and features some of the best in Asian books and art, so booksellers and librarians have a source to trust to stock their collections with high-quality pan-Asian lit.

Have you seen our gifts for book lovers yet?

17. Chicago Review of Books

I love so much of what Chicago Review of Books does. They have a clean & sleek design that features some of the buzziest books as well as plenty of hidden gems from our favorite indie presses. I’m a particularly big fan of the spotlight they put on books in translation .

18. Rain Taxi

I love Rain Taxi ’s style! They champion unique books, publish their own fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, and put a real emphasis on art for their magazine covers . It’s a beautiful print magazine to subscribe to, but they also share free online editions & digital archives. They even run the Rain Taxi Reading Series & Twin Cities Book Festival if you’re a real-lifer in Minnesota!

19. The Rumpus

Oh, The Rumpus ! This mostly volunteer-run online magazine publishes reviews, interviews, essays, fiction, and poetry. The reviews are in-depth and personal and heart-melting, and in addition to the site, they’ve got cool perks like the Poetry Book Club  and Letters in the Mail . The book club is where you get a pre-release book and meet the poet via Slack with other club members at the end of the month, and Letters in the Mail are actual postcards sent in the mail to you twice a month from your favorite authors.

20. Book Reporter

The selection in Book Reporter is carefully curated & enticing: hot new releases, forthcoming books, major presses, & indies. And there are plenty of unique ways to learn about them, like video interviews and monthly lists & picks. It launched in 1996 and is in The Book Report Network, which includes Reading Group Guides , a super useful resource for book clubs.

21. BookTrib .

BookTrib does such a great job of making their site browsable. The different ways you can enjoy what they offer—from book lists to giveaways to ebook deals —are difficult to keep your purchase finger off of.

23. Lit Reactor

Writers & readers—where bookish people meet! LitReactor’s book reviews are in the magazine portion of their website, and they’ve got plenty of them! Reviews, interviews, lists, introspectives, writing tips, and reading discussions. I’ve found some really unique content on Lit Reactor, like this ranking of literary parents . The website is a haven for writers especially, as there are workshops, writing blog posts, and even a forum to participate in.

24. Crime Fiction Lover

Dark alleys. Stray bullets. Hard-boiled detectives. Runaway thrills. If you’re a mystery-thriller reader, you’ve got to know about Crime Fiction Lover. They’ve got a passionate group of readers and writers talking about the best books in the genre and the ones that are soon to come out too.

25. SF Book Reviews

Speculative fiction fans unite! SF Book Reviews has been reviewing sci-fi and fantasy books since 1999, and while they’re a relatively small staff, they publish regularly, feature books of the month, and work wonders for their fantastical community.

26. Historical Novel Society

For all you historical fiction fans out there, the Historical Novel Society has reviewed more than 20,000 books in its twenty years. This one works like a membership for “writers and readers who love exploring the past.” You get a quarterly print magazine as a member, and if you’re a writer, you can join critique groups and ask for book reviews.

27. The Poetry Question

The Poetry Question writes about poetry published by indie presses and indie authors. They are a small passionate team dedicated to showing the world why indie presses continue to be a leading source for award-winning poetry.

28. Goodreads

Did you know that there are over 125 million members on Goodreads? When users review books, they can have conversations with fellow readers and follow reviewers too. If you’re looking for the biggest community, there’s no doubt Goodreads is the one. I like using sites like this because it helps you catalog books, one of my favorite ways to build a strong reading habit . 

29. The Storygraph

A big community of active users that’s Amazon free! Come review books, use half & quarter stars (!), and complete reading challenges. You got this.

29. Bookwyrm

Bookwyrm is small (around 5,000 members at the time of this writing), but doesn’t that sound kind of nice? There are active members and a genuine collective goal in talking books. Grow with it. I think you’ll be comfy here. There are other communities within the Bookwyrm umbrella too, like Bookrastinating .

30. Reedsy Discovery

I hold a special place in my heart for book review sites dedicated to helping writers! I got into this business as a book marketer, and I experienced first-hand, through hundreds of books, how hard it was to get exposure & validation for small press and self-published authors. 

Reedsy Discovery is a branch of Reedsy (the author resource company) that connects authors & reviewers so that people can read free books, sometimes receive tips for it, and authors can get more reviews in the process. Readers can choose from the latest books as well as the ones that are getting the best reviews.

31. Netgalley

Netgalley is a book review site for pre-released books. Reviewers sign up for a free account, request galleys from publishers and indie authors, and get to read them before they’re published so that they can leave reviews for the book, preferably on Amazon, Goodreads, or their blog. They also run Bookish , the editorial arm of Netgalley, which has book recommendations, interviews, and more.

32. Online Book Club

This review site combines a bunch of cool things! The 4-million member community gives me a lot of Goodreads vibes, especially with the Bookshelves app . But Online Book Club is a place for you to get eBook deals and talk about books in reviews and forums.

What are your favorite book review sites to follow? Let us know in the comments!

Thank you for reading “ Top-Notch Book Review Sites for Readers & Writers !” If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

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6 of the Best Ways to Get Paid to Read Books

Arvyn Cerézo

Arvyn Cerézo is an arts and culture writer/reporter with bylines in Book Riot , Publishers Weekly , South China Morning Post , PhilSTAR Life , the Asian Review of Books , and other publications. You can find them on arvyncerezo.com and @ArvynCerezo on Twitter.

View All posts by Arvyn Cerézo

It’s true that reading books is beneficial in so many ways, including improving our mental health . But there’s an unpopular benefit that reading books can also provide: money. Indeed, reading can become an income stream, turning passion into profit. Ever wondered how to get paid to read books?

While there are several, broad avenues to do that — such as getting a job in the publishing industry , becoming a book editor or proofreader , narrating an audiobook , developing ebooks for a living, or becoming an audiobook proof listener — I’d narrow in on the easiest route, something that could be done right away: book reviewing.

I’m a writer and journalist regularly reviewing books for Publishers Weekly , and I’ve been doing this for four years now. Although the pay isn’t that great, it helps me hone my writing and reviewing skills. It also helps me build connections within the publishing industry. But a gig such as this might as well be a full-time job itself; reading a book for review purposes is a different thing from reviewing a book for leisure. There’s a lot of things to consider, and it might not seem that enjoyable at it appears.

But if you’re interested to become a book reviewer and get paid to read books along the way, I have a list of six ways for you to try below. The list includes writing for traditional magazines and publications that are proven to pay freelancers after a published review. Maybe after trying these gigs out, you might get interested in working in publishing. So, to test the waters, a book reviewing side hustle might be ideal.

Here’s how to get paid to read books through reviewing gigs:

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Writing Book Reviews for Publishers Weekly

PW , the industry magazine, pays $25 per review that runs about 180–200 words. You can choose how many books you can review in a month. In my case, I recently switched to one book per three weeks because of my schedule. But before, I used to do two books a month. In addition to that, you can decline a book if you don’t feel like it, but I’m not sure if it’s the case with every editor.

There are also opportunities for other kinds of writing, such as a Q&A and an author profile, which you can pitch to your editor.

Publishers Weekly accepts reviewer applications occasionally. All you have to do is send a CV and a sample review à la PW . They don’t assign a byline, however.

Writing Book Reviews for Kirkus Reviews

This magazine also accepts applications for freelance reviewers . However, it won’t be for traditionally published books, unlike with PW . Instead, reviewers would be working on self-published books for the indie section of the magazine called Kirkus Indie.

The review runs about 350 words and is due two weeks after the book is assigned. They pay $50, but it could go upwards to $75 if they see some great writing. For picture books, they pay $40 for a review of 250 words. As with PW , they don’t give a byline.

“Reviewing for Kirkus Indie was fun. I got sent a steady stream of books to recommend, usually 1–2 per month,” shares Sarah S. Davis, former Kirkus Indie reviewer and a Book Riot contributor. “I did have an opportunity when I first started to list what genres were my preferred genres to recommend. You don’t get to choose which book you get, but they will often give you a sub-genre or category that you connect well with. For example, for me that was books about health, psychology, and spirituality. My friend who reviewed for Kirkus, however, ‘specialized’ in geotechnical thrillers.”

To be considered, submit a sample review in the style of Kirkus.

Reviewing for Booklist

Booklist is a magazine catered toward librarians. They also occasionally publish reviews in their print and online versions. Just like the magazines aforementioned, Booklist is also constantly looking for reviewers.

For a word count of 150–175, the pay is a meager $15. If you reject a book, you get $5. Nonetheless, the best thing here is that the reviews are signed. That means you get to have a byline attached to the review, whether in print or online. In some instances, however, the payment could be delayed because the review is scheduled for a later issue. But once it gets published, you get to be paid.

Here’s how to apply as a Booklist reviewer . Once accepted, you’d become an apprentice reviewer.

Writing Audiobook Reviews for AudioFile Magazine

AudioFile is a magazine that regularly reviews audiobooks. If you’re an avid audiobook listener and feel like recommending best new titles, then this is for you.

AudioFile assigns a couple audiobooks in a month, and you have to write a review of about a hundred words. They pay $10 apiece, which is disbursed twice a year. Because of this payment scheme, it would take a long while to receive the payment. Still, you have the freedom to choose the genre of audiobook you want to review, such as young adult, fantasy, classics, literary fiction, etc. In the review that appears in print and online versions, you get to have initials as your byline, but you don’t get to have your name printed in full.

Reviewing an audiobook, however, is an altogether different realm. Make sure to read the magazine to get familiarized with the style.

Writing Book Reviews for Online Book Club

This is a forum that publishes book reviews, and they always accept reviewers. Since it’s a forum — not a magazine or a publication — you get to choose what appears as your byline. Pay varies per book, but it usually ranges from $5–60 per review according to their website.

“Reviewing books for the Online Book Club was a good experience because I got to read books and give my opinion about them, which I enjoyed,” says Yolimari Garcia, a former reviewer. “You can choose which books you want to review from a list. However, you can only pick the books with higher payments if you have a high reviewer score. I reached the highest level, which was six. A level-six reviewer is allowed to be an editor, which I was too.”

According to Garcia, the reviewers receive feedback from the editors, who also assign ratings based on the Review Team Guidelines. The objective is for the high-quality reviews to receive a high score and those with low quality to receive a low score. Some reviews cannot be published because it is clear that the writer did not read the book or adhere to the rules, according to Garcia.

“You can review as many books from the list as you can in a month as long as you follow the Review Team Guidelines and meet the deadlines…The payment is lower if you are a low-level reviewer and higher if you are a high-level reviewer,” she adds. As with other publications that publish book reviews, Garcia says that “don’t expect to make a salary” and “see it as a hobby, a side gig, or a medium for gaining experience writing professional book reviews .”

Here’s how to apply as a reviewer for Online Book Club .

Pitching Directly to Magazines and Publications

This is the recommended option if you’ve already gained an experience writing professional book reviews or if you have a stellar writing portfolio. Many publications allow unsolicited pitches to editors; The New York Times , The Guardian , and other major outlets may accept such pitches.

The rate is significantly higher, reaching as high as $800 for a 1,000-word review . However, since this is the high-paying path, it’s also the most difficult one. It takes a lot of effort to craft the perfect pitch to an editor, and sending the pitch doesn’t even guarantee an assignment. It might depend on the quality of the pitch, the publication’s editorial calendar, the strength of the writing portfolio, relevance of the book, etc. To get paid to read books in this manner, one must already be an established literary critic. Think of it as the be-all and end-all of reviewing.

For more tips on how to pitch an article to a major publication, here’s a guide .

There are several ways to get paid to read books, but book reviewing seems to be the easiest path. Because of the nature of this gig, though, you might want to supplement it with other book-related jobs. Here are audiobook narrator jobs for beginners and other jobs for book lovers !

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7 Paid Book Review Services to Elevate Your Self-Published Book

Are paid book review services worth the price? Below, we’ll discuss paid book review services, their pros and cons, and what to look for when selecting one. 

What is a paid review service? 

A paid review service is a company that offers book reviews for a fee. When using paid book review services, the hope is that they will create a well-written, impartial review that can push people to buy and boost sales—if it’s a good review. It can be used on social media, your website, or your product page (e.g., Amazon’s A+ Content).

What are the benefits of using paid book review services? 

For authors, the crowded book market makes getting a well-written review within your preferred time frame a challenge. Reputable paid book review services can take some of the stress out of waiting for that “perfect” review to show up from early readers. When you pay for the service, you have better control over aligning the timing of your marketing campaign. You’ll also have a higher likelihood of getting a well-written review you can use.

What are the cons of using a paid review service?

If potential buyers know the review is from a paid service, it can feel inauthentic from the reader’s perspective. It’s similar to popular magazines that run featured articles written by their journalists, but in contrast, also run featured articles that PR companies pay for. One has journalistic integrity, while the paid article can come with questions attached like “Can I trust this?” Harsh, yes, but something to consider, so make sure that any paid service you use has a reputation for being impartial.

Where can you get paid book reviews?

• Kirkus Reviews has been around since 1933 and earned a reputation within the publishing industry as one of the go-to resources for the best books on the market. According to their website , “As an unpublished or self-published author, it can be a relentless struggle to attract a significant amount of attention to your book or manuscript. By purchasing a Kirkus indie review, authors can have the opportunity to build some name recognition and get noticed by agents, publishers and other industry influencers. Authors can expect to pay between $399-$599 for a review with a 7-9 week turnaround .
• Reedsy – For $50/title , you can get a book review through Reedsy’s Discovery service. If you are on a tight budget, then Reedsy’s service could work for you, but a review is not guaranteed. Books that are selected for review could be upvoted on their website, featured in one of their newsletters, and seen by a large pool of readers in your genre.
• NetGalley – Starts at $450 per title for a 6-month subscription . NetGalley is a professional review service that has been around since 2008. They offer a large community of readers and valuable feedback that can be beneficial for streamlining the book before it is published. Learn more about their service.
• Clarion Reviews is a part of Foreword Reviews Magazine. The magazine has a limited number of reviews per issue, so they offer a 450-word review for independent authors and self-publishers for $549 . Turnaround time is 4-6 weeks .
• Self-Publishing Review – $99-$329 – (7-30 day turnaround) . This publishing service offers a variety of options, from a 70-word review to a 500-word review. Each review is broken down by type, where it will be shared on social media, and additional perks associated with the service type.
• Indie Reader – For $299-$399 (4-9 week turnaround based on the service selected) , authors receive a book review with a minimum of 350 words. Books that receive a 4+ star review are included in their monthly newsletter roundup, and the author will receive an invitation to be interviewed for their reader site. Reviews are distributed or made available for distribution on Amazon, Banes and Noble, IndieReader, and Ingram.
• Blue Ink Review – $445-$745 (4-9 week turnaround depending on the service selected) Founded by a literary agent and award-winning editor, the company offers the following details about their services: “While fee-based, all BlueInk reviews are honest appraisals,  written by professionals  drawn largely from mainstream media outlets or editors who have worked at well-respected publishing houses.”

How do you select a paid review service? What should you look for? 

If you pay for a review, get one from a reputable provider—one that has a reputation for being impartial and uses vetted reviewers who know how to properly analyze a book and give a professional review. 

If the review site publishes their reviews (e.g., Reedsy Discovery), read their reviews and ask:

• Is the review professionally written?
• Is it thorough without giving away spoilers?
• Does the review persuade (or dissuade)? Does it choose a side and lead the buyer in that direction?

Public reviews won’t always align with the paid review but they should sound like they’re talking about the same book. If not, there will be a disconnect that readers won’t hesitate to mention.

How do you know if paying for a review is the best choice for you?

If you’re having trouble finding people to review your book, or you’re working with a short time frame and don’t have time to wait, then a paid review could be a smart move. Another reason to choose a paid service is if your initial reviews weren’t the quality that you were looking for. If this is your experience, a professional reviewer could give you the result you’re seeking. 

Steer clear of pop-up sites that look more like a money trap than a legitimate review site. When it comes to reviews, a company’s reputation adds value, so look for companies that have a strong reputation, not just with readers but within the publishing industry as well.  

Words matter. If you use a paid review site, make sure that they can give your book the foundation it deserves. 

Key Takeaways

Book marketing is all about strategy and making your money work for you. Don’t waste your marketing budget on a service that’s not going to help you level up as an author.  If paid book reviews are part of your marketing strategy, they should push people to buy your books. 

Look for paid review services that will get your book in front of your ideal reader. 

This might take some research, but it’s a good investment of time. 

If the reviews you find are basic, don’t persuade or dissuade the reader, and feel generic, trust your instinct. 

You want a review that’s going to move the needle in your favor. A positive review is great, but if it doesn’t work for you, it’s a waste of money. 

Strong reviews are great for social proof. If you can get a good one from a reputable site, it could help push your book sales.

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6 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

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Our recommended books this week include four new novels that, taken together, offer a pretty good snapshot of the cultural zeitgeist: a polyamorous breakup story, a surreal post-pandemic fever dream, a book about the deep, cloistered pleasures of academic study and a novel that applies the “Romeo and Juliet” template to the federal siege of a doomsday cult like the one that rocked Waco, Texas, three decades ago. (That book is Bret Anthony Johnston’s “We Burn Daylight,” and it contains this kindling-dry line from the cult leader, after the local sheriff asks how he would respond to a visit from the taxman: “I’d assure him any money changing hands here is a donation to our church. Then I’d ask him if he’d prefer to shoot or pray.”)

In nonfiction, we recommend Jean-Martin Bauer’s firsthand account of efforts to eradicate global food shortages and Yuan Yang’s group portrait of four young women navigating social change in contemporary China. Happy reading. — Gregory Cowles

THE NEW BREADLINE: Hunger and Hope in the Twenty-First Century Jean-Martin Bauer

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From Alec MacGillis’s review

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WE BURN DAYLIGHT Bret Anthony Johnston

“Romeo and Juliet” meets the 1993 Waco, Texas, siege in Johnston’s new novel, which follows two teenage lovers on opposite sides of an increasingly dire confrontation. One is connected to a heavily armed doomsday cult, while the other is the son of the sheriff investigating it.

“The music of it all is just so damn seductive. … A darkly dazzling pilgrimage of violent delights, and violent ends.”

From John Wray’s review

Random House | $29

STATE OF PARADISE Laura Van den Berg

Van den Berg’s latest is a fever dream of a novel ostensibly about a narrator’s search for her missing sister, but more broadly about the borders of reality and the surreal nature of our post-pandemic life.

“Moody and hallucinatory, the novel asks: How do we distinguish reality from its opposite — whatever that might be?”

From Ruth Franklin’s review

Farrar, Straus & Giroux | $27

PRACTICE Rosalind Brown

Starring an undergraduate student at Oxford, Brown’s debut novel is exquisitely attuned to the thrill and boredom of academic life; it is hard to think of another novel that describes so precisely what happens when an ardent young person sits down to read and learn and write.

“Conveys the hesitancy, extravagance and naiveté of a young mind discovering what writing can do.”

From Brian Dillon’s review

Farrar, Straus & Giroux | $26

PRIVATE REVOLUTIONS: Four Women Face China’s New Social Order Yuan Yang

For six years, the journalist Yuan Yang followed four very different young women as they navigated what she calls China’s “new social order” — a country changing dramatically to an industrial superpower. The result is a moving work of reportage, whose scale toggles between global to personal.

“A powerful snapshot of four young Chinese women attempting to assert control over the direction of their lives, escape the narrow confines of their patriarchal rural roots and make it in the big city.”

From Michelle T. King’s review

Viking | $30

MISRECOGNITION Madison Newbound

The protagonist of Newbound’s witty debut novel returns to her hometown nursing a catatonic sorrow after her brutal breakup with a couple — a male artist and a female gallerist — who were her employers before they were also her lovers and roommates.

“‘Misrecognition’ is sharp and funny, but never cruel or condescending, when skewering quarter-life crises, contemporary sexual mores and internet addiction. … A quietly commanding debut by a writer of intense precision and restraint.”

From Justin Taylor’s review

Simon & Schuster | $27.99

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BookLife Reviews for Independent Publishers Originally Limited to Self-Published Authors, the Paid Reviews Service Is Now Open to Indie Publishers

A BookLife Review is a respectful, knowledgeable, detailed review that includes information designed to help in the marketing of a book– including a capsule review, pull quote, comp titles, and more –all crafted by a professional  Publishers Weekly  reviewer who’s an expert in the book's genre or field. 

Here is an example of a BookLife Review.

The Advantage for Indie Publishers

A BookLife Review guarantees a review by a Publishers Weekly reviewer. You'll have the option to approve your BookLife Review, and if you do, your review is syndicated to data services and e-retailers like Ingram, Bowker, Proquest, Baker & Taylor, EBSCO, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. In other words a BookLife Review provides a review by a trusted third-party that can be added to a book's meta data. Plus, if you approve it, your BookLife Review runs in Publishers Weekly .

Here's How It Works

First you go to the PW's GalleyTracker site and submit the title to be reviewed .*** The cost is $399 ($499 for books over 100,000 words).

In six weeks (four weeks if you pay a $150 expedite fee) you receive via email a copy of your review.

If you approve your review:

• it gets syndicated to the data services and e-retailers
• it runs in an upcoming issue of Publishers Weekly
• it becomes available on BookLife.com

Appearance in Publishers Weekly

If you approve your BookLife Review, it will run in an upcoming issue of Publishers Weekly .  (We tell you the date of that issue when you approve your review. You can also order extra copies at that time.)  BookLife Reviews run in the BookLife section of Publishers Weekly . Your BookLife Review will run along with those from other independent publishers and author publishers.

Appearance Online

If you approve your BookLife Review, a version of the individual review becomes available on BookLife.com. Here's an example of what that looks like.  BookLife Reviews do not appear on PublishersWeekly.com.

More Information

Check out the BookLife Reviews FAQ and our BookLife Reviews Terms & Conditions .

*** Using GalleyTracker to purchase a BookLife Review means a BookLife account for you or your author will not be created.

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