Harper Collins

National Book Award winner Elizabeth Acevedo returns to verse in this meditation on the complexities of themes, including grief, betrayal, family, secrets, identity, class, and toxic masculinity. Acevedo’s characterizations (the two main characters—sisters—have very distinctive voices) are stellar. I was particularly struck by how the book highlights the way men’s choices have a profound impact on the lives of the women and girls around them.

Climate change is threatening the continued existence of one of the world’s oldest living species, sharks. Largely misrepresented and misunderstood, sharks are not nearly as dangerous as commonly perceived and they play a pivotal role in our oceans’ ecosystem. There is still so much we don’t know about sharks (like their mating habits and lifespan). In an effort to advocate for the species, McKeever travels the world, talking to experts and learning what our oceans would be like without sharks in them and why that would be very dire indeed. 

When asked, my favorite genre will always be “nonfiction microhistory about weird stuff.” And when I find a book that fits into that wedge of my heart, I tell people to read it, even if it may seem a little odd at first. So please, read The Book of Eels. It’s that wonderful mix of memoir and science, nature writing and childhood experiences. There are rituals shared, passed down through generations of humans and eels, sometimes overlapping and always, it seems, tugging on opposite ends of the same line.

Have you ever stopped to think about the ways in which your language informs your worldview? Have you ever pondered whether the patriarchy participates in forming the way you think about sex, politics, and identity? If you are curious about these topics, reach for Wordslut. Bet you never realized how sexist it is to hate vocal fry! Amanda Montell will tell you why.

This riveting historical page-turner is complex, unexpected, and empowered. Sara Collins’s Frannie Langton will linger in your mind, and Collins holds a mirror to the white reader’s embedded expectations—demands, even—of black stories and black suffering. Beautifully written, powerfully told, this debut is a standout.

If ever you need to leave behind the fast-paced, app-filled, droning noise of this time, open up the world of Simon the Fiddler. This meandering story, set at the end of the Civil War, follows Simon, his fiddle, his dreams for a simple, peaceful life, and his quest to marry the Irish lass he fell in love with at first sight. There are saloon fights, friendships, alligators, hoop skirts, letter writing, and tragic loss. I’m telling you, I thought the music and the Southern scenes were all going to just fade into the Texas sunset, until I got to the final chapters—plot twist!