The book deftly explores the economic power that millennials could hold in the demographic spread of society, and recognizes the unique position in history they represent – a pre- and post-Internet generation with a strange blend of psychological characteristics from both sides of that watershed. The focus is cutting-edge contemporary and offers a perspective that includes […]
A comprehensive, thoughtful, and compassionate guide for parents to properly connect with and support their children on the spectrum, Yes! You Will Understand Your Teen With ADHD: A Parent’s Journey to Find, Learn, and Develop Effective ADHD Tools to Help Her Teen Communicate and Thrive by Jennifer Pagano is an accessible and powerful read. Pagano’s lived experience comes across in quite a few of the narrative sections, providing a first-person account of common conversations and potential challenges that might help avoid conflict or confusion in the future. There are some overly informal passages, and sections that feel a bit too […]
Author Nick Snape raises the ante in his immersive military sci-fi series with Zuri’s War, a first contact thriller that is equally thought-provoking and action-packed. Leaving the dangers of Haven behind, Zuri, Noah, Finn, and Yasuko find a horrific new enemy on a human-seeded planet, and they are quickly pulled into an interspecies war of epic proportions. The world-building on Bathsen is done beautifully, showing readers how “humanity” could evolve on a separate path, while the three-dimensional characters of this tight-knit crew continue to deepen and strengthen. Neatly balancing action sequences, interpersonal plot development, and philosophical questions of extraterrestrial intervention, […]
Expanding his Eudora Space Kid series with another interstellar romp, author David Horn crafts another hilarious and heartfelt adventure in The Greatest Matchmaker in Space! A wild and whimsical story set onboard the AstroLiner Athena means more adventures and mischievous plots by Eudora, a human adopted by alien parents on an intelligence-gathering mission across the stars.
Nothing gets past Eudora onboard her star-crossing home, and whether it is an impossible engineering puzzle to solve, or the personal problems of the highest-ranking man on the ship, she is ready to take on the challenge. However, inventing a foolproof scheme for falling […]
A middle grade adventure with an original twist and a cast of endearing young heroes, Time for PsyQ by Marti Ward is a phenomenally fun read. Certain schoolchildren who live near the Large Hadron Collider develop psionic abilities, leading to some very clever mystery-solving, in a kind of mash-up of Scooby Doo and Harry Potter. Like other young fellowship series, the key is the strong relationship dynamics, which are especially strong here, specifically between Airlie and her parents, as well as Yan and Kate, two of her eccentric powered-up pals. The story is marred somewhat by formatting mistakes, grammatical […]
Daughter of a career diplomat, Clarissa’s life begins by criss-crossing the globe, but her passion for art drives her forward, straight into a hunt for a historic treasure, and into an unexpected relationship that will come to define her life. This long-form tale of Clarissa’s life, along with some love and looting, is entrancing and educational, particularly her tête-à-têtes with Nathan, which are both flirtatious and fascinating to follow, making for an outstanding duo […]
Twenty-five years after witnessing the violent clash of religion and politics firsthand, Pastor Grant must once again unravel the deadly relationships of power – both divine and diplomatic. As is often the case, the theological and the political become tightly knotted in this fast-moving novel, specifically socialist philosophy and Christian dogma. The book also neatly explores the shadowy history of CIA interests, theological autocracies of the past and present, […]
A wickedly smart story of a mother losing patience and a son finding direction in the most unusual way possible, Thar She Blows by Susan Emshwiller is a deep dive into the tenderness and tension of mothers and sons. Pushing the literary boundaries of magical realism, this one-of-a-kind novel is a bizarre tale of losing, seeking, and finding…inside the belly of a whale. The tongue-in-cheek prose offsets the serious issues at hand, while the premise of a booze cruise gone ridiculously awry teeters perfectly on the brink of allegory, parable, and farce. With whip-smart characters, exceptional comedic timing, and high […]