Reading Recommendations List

A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2024
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2024
3 Starred Reviews! 

Does art have to be perfect? Where do you begin? This inspiring picture book about making art doubles as an introduction to the multifaceted and diverse global history of art empowering readers to get creative.

Awed by the endless possibilities, a young girl begins asking meaningful questions about creating art. Her questions are answered by a diverse group of artists throughout time and history: from the earliest cave painters to the most recent digital illustrators. Rethinking the familiar Western European timeline of art history, this book introduces readers to diverse works from every era and continent in a playful and inspiring way.

Making both art history and art making accessible to all, Time to Make Art nourishes creativity, encouraging young readers to see the artist in themselves.

Sometimes the real treasures are the people you meet along the way. 

Fans of Mac Barnett, Jory John, and Chris Haughton will adore this hilarious story of a bank robbery that doesn't go according to plan. Loosely inspired by the most famous bank heist in Argentina, Joaquín Camp decided to explore what would happen if the thieves had not been successful and had instead been content with what they already have. If instead of arriving at the bank, our thieves had landed in all sorts of other surprising places. The result is a story of upending expectations, teamwork, acceptance, and above all friendship, enjoyed over a delicious meal, of course.

"Preposterous fun for the savvy young reader or read-aloud audience." The Horn Book

"Silly situations abound making this a great readaloud with downright kid-friendly art." Betsy Bird, Fuse #8

“It never occurred to me while growing up that art is an industry involving countless jobs, so if this book helps shed light to just one kid that it is a viable career option, then it has done its job, as art is indescribably important!” —Oliver Jeffers, Artist and Illustrator

“This book so beautifully explains to kids what goes into making an art exhibition. It’s not just about an artist hanging something on a wall for people to see: it’s so much more lively, layered, and community-driven. Even I learned a ton about what truly goes into a fantastic art show!” —Joy Cho, Author and Founder of Oh Joy!

“I wish I’d had this book when I was a kid! I always wanted my art to be in a big museum one day but, growing up in a small town, that just seemed impossible. Making a Great Exhibition is a beautifully illustrated behind-the-scenes peek at exactly how art makes its way from an artist’s mind to the big white walls of a fancy gallery. Turns out, there are a lot of people, with some very cool jobs, who make the magic happen—and any book that shows kids (and parents!) they can grow up to have a career in the arts is okay by me!” —Danielle Krysa, The Jealous Curator


An exciting insight into the workings of artists and museums, Making a Great Exhibition is a colorful and playful introduction geared to children ages 3-7

How does an artist make a sculpture or a painting? What tools do they use? What happens to the artwork next? This fun, inside look at the life of an artwork shows the journey of two artists’ work from studio to exhibition. Stopping along the way we meet colorful characters—curators, photographers, shippers, museum visitors, and more!

Both illustrator and author were raised in the art world, spending their time in studios, doing homework in museum offices, and going to special openings. They have teamed up to share their experiences and love for this often mysterious world to a young audience. London-based illustrator Rose Blake is best known for her work in A History of Pictures for Children, by David Hockney and Martin Gayford, which has been a worldwide success. Author Doro Globus brings her love for the arts and kids together with this fun journey.

Calling upon only the BRAVEST detectives with the STRONGEST noses--do you dare to scratch 'n' sniff and help solve this foul mystery!

There's been a robbery at the Museum of Very Bad Smells! Somebody stole the world-famous rotten egg . . . and everybody is a suspect. It's up to YOU to help sniff out the culprit and bring the prized exhibit back before the museum's grand opening.

From award-winning creator Monica Arnaldo comes a hilarious and interactive mystery about a robbery at the Museum of Very Bad Smells, with five stinky scratch elements in this hilarious picture book that encourages kids to scratch, smell, and--of course--pass it along to a friend.

The launch of a picture book series about the adventures of a book-loving bat and his buddies as they patrol and protect their library home.

Booker the bat has completed his training and he’s excited to report for duty as the newest guard at the Joanina Library in Coimbra, Portugal. His job is to fly through the stacks at night, gobbling down the bugs that are in turn eating the 200,000 antique leather books. It’s the perfect job for Booker, because he loves to read. And now he’s saving books!

There’s only one problem: how will he fit in with the other guards? They’re so cool and confident, and what if they don’t like him?

But when Booker spots a human attempting to steal pages from one of the valuable books, he summons his courage, (echo)locates the other bat guards, and swoops in with a plan to save the day!

Shelf Awareness Best Book of 2024 - CCBC Choices 2025

TO: Angel Wilson (LawAngel@IBLO.gov)

FROM: Stevie Henry (shenry@gmail.com)

Thanks for coming to see me; but by the time you read this, it will be too late. No one will have started to panic, yet; but in less than two months nothing will be the same. What came first, The Chicken or the Egg Flu? I wish it mattered. But let's just say, maybe go back to wearing a mask, bathing in sanitizer, and avoid birds and eggs for a bit...

I did not kill my brother. I did quite the opposite, really.

It's the year 2052. Stevie Henry is a Cherokee girl working at a museum in Texas, trying to save up enough money to go to college. The world around her is in a cycle of drought and superstorms, ice and fire ... but people get by. But it's about to get a whole lot worse.

When a mysterious boy shows up at Stevie's museum saying that he's from the future -- and telling her what is to come -- she refuses to believe him. But soon she will have no choice.

From the author of the Walter Award-winning Man Made Monsters comes a YA novel that conjures our futures in startling life - the ones that we are headed towards, and the ones we can still work towards.

When sixteen-year-old Violet agrees to spend the summer with her father, an up-and-coming artist in Seattle, she has no idea what she's walking into. Her father's newest clients, the Yamada family, are the victims of a high-profile art robbery: van Gogh sketches have been stolen from their home, and, until they can produce the corresponding painting, everyone's lives are in danger--including Violet's and her father's.

Violet's search for the missing van Gogh takes her from the Seattle Art Museum, to the yakuza-infested streets of Tokyo, to a secluded inn in Kyoto. As the mystery thickens, Violet's not sure whom she can trust. But she knows one thing: she has to solve the mystery--before it's too late.

A scandalous painting full of secrets is missing! An unlikely patron hires the greatest thief in the world, Bandette, to pilfer a painting whose brushstrokes hold centuries of hidden messages!

With other thieves competing to retrieve the painting, too, Bandette will have her work cut out for her. All their skills will be put to the test as they each strive to possess . . . The Six Finger Secret!

Written by hilarious author Paul Tobin (Plants vs Zombies) and with stunning art by Colleen Coover (Gingerbread Girl).

2024 Rainbow Book List

Adiba Jaigirdar, author of one of Time's Best YA books of all time, gives Titanic an Ocean's 8 makeover in this nail-biting heist set onboard the infamous ship.

Josefa is an unapologetic and charismatic thief who loves the thrill of the chase. She has her eye on her biggest mark yet--the RMS Titanic, the most luxurious ship in the world. But she isn't interested in stealing from wealthy first-class passengers onboard. No, she's out for the ultimate prize: the Rubiyat, a one-of-a-kind book encrusted with gems that's worth millions.

Josefa can't score it alone, so she enlists a team of girls with unique talents: Hinnah, a daring acrobat and contortionist; Violet, an actress and expert dissembler; and Emilie, an artist who can replicate any drawing by hand.

They couldn't be more different and yet they have one very important thing in common: their lives depend on breaking into the vault and capturing the Rubiyat. But careless mistakes, old grudges, and new romance threaten to jeopardize everything they've worked for and put them in incredible danger when tragedy strikes.

While the odds of pulling off the heist are slim, the odds of survival are even slimmer...

Perfect for fans of Stalking Jack the Ripper and Girl in the Blue Coat, this high-seas heist from the author of The Henna Wars is an immersive story that makes readers forget one important detail--the ship sinks.

*An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller*
"Brewed to perfection.” —Rebecca Ross, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Divine Rivals

Now available in a deluxe paperback edition with gorgeous stenciled edges, Hafsah Faizal's deliciously propulsive vampire-fantasy teems with slow burn romance, found family, and revenge, led by an orphan girl willing to do whatever it takes to save her self-made kingdom.

On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by night, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—she can’t do the job alone.

Calling on some of the city’s most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the sinister, glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.

VAMPIRES AND VENGENANCE ARE BREWING...

Don't miss these other titles from Hafsah Faizal:
We Hunt the Flame, the commercially acclaimed first book in the Sands of Arawiya duology
We Free the Stars, the second book in the Sands of Arawiya duology
A Steeping of Blood, the second book in the Blood & Tea duology

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster’s art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s (very crooked) history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

Marvin lives with his family under the kitchen sink in the Pompadays' apartment. He is very much a beetle. James Pompaday lives with his family in New York City. He is very much an eleven-year-old boy.After James gets a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Marvin surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature drawing. James gets all the credit for the picture and before these unlikely friends know it they are caught up in a staged art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could help recover a famous drawing by Albrecht Dürer. But James can't go through with the plan without Marvin's help. And that's where things get really complicated (and interesting!). This fast-paced mystery will have young readers on the edge of their seats as they root for boy and beetle.

In Shakespeare's Secret Elise Broach showed her keen ability to weave storytelling with history and suspense, and Masterpiece is yet another example of her talent. This time around it's an irresistible miniature world, fascinating art history, all wrapped up in a special friendship— something for everyone to enjoy.

Mysteries abound in this exciting race through Rome!

Beatrice Archer may love history, and Rome may be chock-full of it, but that doesn’t mean she wants to move there!

Too bad Beatrice’s father got a job as the head of the history department at the American Academy in Rome—now, Beatrice has no choice but to get used to the idea.

When she arrives in Rome she explores her new city as much as she can, but it isn’t until she hears talk of a strange neighborhood legend that Beatrice perks up. A centuries-old unsolved mystery about the beautiful turtle fountain outside her window? Sounds like fun!

Before Beatrice has a chance to explore, though, she sees a dark figure emerge from the shadows of the square in the middle of the night—and steal the famous turtle sculptures that give the fountain its name.

When no one believes her story, Beatrice knows that it’s up to her to solve the crime and restore the turtles to their rightful place. With the help of her new friend Marco, she navigates a world of unscrupulous ambassadors, tricky tutors, and international art thieves to unravel one of Roman history’s greatest dramas—before another priceless work of art is stolen.

When the world's greatest masterpieces are stolen, it's up to three kids to track down the culprits! 
Henry, Anna, and Jose head from Boston to Paris for their most dangerous mission yet: to solve the mystery of an international art heist! Shortly after they arrive, they learn that a member of the Silver Jaguar Society is working as a double agent, passing information to the criminal gang the Serpentine Princes -- but who could it be? When the senior members of the Society go missing, it's up to Henry, Anna, Jose, and their smug new comrade, Hem, to mount a rescue while staying hot on the trail of a missing masterpiece. Running around -- and below -- a foreign city filled with doppelgangers, decoys, and deceit, the three sleuths discover they're the only hope for the Society's survival!

An action-packed story about a group of children with a unique ability to jump into paintings and move around in them! 

Thirteen-year-old Vincent has a very special talent: He can jump into paintings and move around inside them! When the painting The Thunderstorm by an old Dutch painter is stolen from a London mansion, Vincent decides to track it down. During his search, to his great surprise, he meets Holly, who can dive into paintings just like him. The two make a bet: Whoever finds The Thunderstorm first wins! Vincent is sure that he will be faster than Holly, but the search turns out to be unexpectedly difficult. And suddenly something is also wrong with Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night. Why is it that when Vincent jumps into it, the painting feels like a fake?

When Sargent Singer discovers that the paintings in his father’s gallery are alive, he’s pulled into a captivating world behind the frame he never knew existed.

Filled with devious plots, shady characters, and a grand art heist, this inventive mystery-adventure celebrates art and artists and is perfect for fans of Night at the Museum and Blue Balliett’s Chasing Vermeer. School Library Journal said, “This middle grade read paints fantasy, humor, and mystery into a satisfying tale about the power of friendship.”

There’s one important rule at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery—don’t let anyone know the paintings are alive. Mona Dunn, forever frozen at thirteen when her portrait was painted by William Orpen, has just broken that rule.

Luckily twelve-year-old Sargent Singer, an aspiring artist himself, is more interested in learning about the vast and intriguing world behind the frame than he is in sharing her secret. And when Mona and Sargent suspect shady dealings are happening behind the scenes at the gallery, they set out to uncover the culprit. They must find a way to save the gallery—and each other—before they are lost forever. 

With an imaginative setting, lots of intrigue, and a thoroughly engaging cast of characters, The Frame-Up will captivate readers of Jacqueline West’s The Books of Elsewhere series. Booklist said, “This chapter book’s most memorable element is also its most unusual: the imaginative conviction that art is alive.” Includes images of the real paintings featured in the book.

A riveting historical art mystery for fans of Chasing Vermeer and The Westing Game, set in the Roaring Twenties 

It's 1929, and twelve-year-old Martha has no choice but to work as a maid in the New York City mansion of the wealthy Sewell family. But, despite the Gatsby-like parties and trimmings of success, she suspects something might be deeply wrong in the household--specifically with Rose Sewell, the formerly vivacious lady of the house who now refuses to leave her room. The other servants say Rose is crazy, but scrappy, strong-willed Martha thinks there's more to the story--and that the paintings in the Sewell's gallery contain a hidden message detailing the truth. But in a house filled with secrets, nothing is quite what it seems, and no one is who they say. Can Martha follow the clues, decipher the code, and solve the mystery of what's really going on with Rose Sewell?

Inspired by true events described in a fascinating author's note, The Gallery is a 1920s caper told with humor and spunk that readers today will love.

In this standalone companion to The Van Gogh Deception, Art and Camille team up once again to solve a large museum theft, using one of the biggest heists in history to help them solve the case. Perfect for fans of Dan Brown and the Mr. Lemoncello's Library and Book Scavenger series.

Something's brewing at the National Portrait Gallery Museum in Washington, D.C. twelve-year-old Art is sure of it. But his only proof that a grand heist is about to take place is iced mocha, forty-two steps, and a mysterious woman who appears like clockwork in the museum.

When Art convinces his best friend, Camille, that the heist is real, the two begin a thrilling chase through D.C. to uncover a villainous scheme that could be the biggest heist since the Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum theft in 1990. With a billion dollars' worth of paintings on the line, the clock is ticking for Art and Camille to solve the conspiracy.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler meets Chasing Vermeer in this clever middle grade debut

When Theodora Tenpenny spills a bottle of rubbing alcohol on her late grandfather's painting, she discovers what seems to be an old Renaissance masterpiece underneath. That's great news for Theo, who's struggling to hang onto her family's two-hundred-year-old townhouse and support her unstable mother on her grandfather's legacy of $463. There's just one problem: Theo's grandfather was a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she worries the painting may be stolen.

With the help of some unusual new friends, Theo's search for answers takes her all around Manhattan, and introduces her to a side of the city--and her grandfather--that she never knew. To solve the mystery, she'll have to abandon her hard-won self-reliance and build a community, one serendipitous friendship at a time.

This bewitching first novel is a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery, disguised as an adventure, and delivered as a work of art.

When a book of unexplainable occurances brings Petra Andalee & Calder Pillay together, strange things start to happen: seemingly unrelated events connect, an eccentric old woman seeks their company, & an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the center of an international art scandal. As Petra & Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth they must draw on their powers of intuition, their skills at problem solving, and their knowledge of Vermeer. Can they decipher a crime that has left even the FBI baffled?

A humorous look at how famous people got caught, including Joan of Arc, Blackbeard, Al Capone, and more! From the award-winning team that brought you How They Croaked and How They Choked.

Outlaw, assassin, art thief, and spy, these fourteen troublemakers and crooks--including Blackbeard the pirate, Typhoid Mary, and gangster Al Capone--have given the good guys a run for their money throughout the ages.

Some were crooked, some were deadly, and some were merely out of line--but they all got Caught! as detailed in this fascinating and funny study of crime, culture, and forensic science.

FEATURING HISTORY'S MOST WANTED: Joan of Arc, Sir Walter Raleigh, Caravaggio, Blackbeard, John Wilkes Booth, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Mata Hari, Typhoid Mary, Rasputin, Vincenzo Peruggia (Mona Lisa thief), Bernard Kuehn (Pearl Harbor spy), Anna Anderson (Anastasia impersonator), and Al Capone

The third book in this graphic nonfiction series about real FBI cases details the Isabella Stewart Gardner heist--the largest, and one of the most famous, art thefts in the world.

CASE NO. 003: THE GARDNER

MARCH 18, 1990

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

1:24 a.m.

Two thieves posing as Boston Police officers gain entry to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Once inside, they steal thirteen pieces of art, including several rare Rembrandts.

Eighty-one minutes later, these men walk off with $500 million worth of art. This heist is the single largest private property theft in the United States--and despite decades of investigation and dozens of false leads, the case remains unsolved to this day.

Visit the world's greatest museum without leaving your home through this imaginary art museum - a visually spectacular survey of world art for middle-grade reader, curated in collaboration with a global team of experts and educators

This imaginary art museum is an educational and inspiring experience without the constraints of space and time. Discover beautiful reproductions from pre-history to the present, arranged in easy-to-navigate, color-coded wings, galleries, and rooms, each with an informative narrative guide. Marvel at its remarkable range of styles and mediums - from classic to contemporary, and from paintings and sculptures to photographs and textiles. With a fold-out museum map and floor plans to follow, and interactive cross-referencing activities, this museum-in-a-book spotlights the iconic and important works and movements in art history and provides the perfect introduction to the history of human creativity.

Curated in collaboration with the team of experts and educators behind Phaidon's groundbreaking global bestseller The Art Museum, which won acclaim from the New York Times, The Times, NPR, Vogue, and more - and a starred Library Journal review. Every single piece in this book was selected to illustrate important historical, cultural, and artistic facts, not only in order to give children a comprehensive foundation in world art history, but to also share with them the idea that art history is a culmination of 40,000 years of people sharing themes, ideas, techniques and incredible creativity across time and space. With its lavish page size and over 300 wonderfully diverse artworks, this book is the ultimate resource for all art-hungry children and their parents.

Ages 8-12

This beautifully illustrated book seeks to tell children the true story of art, in which the rich visual canon from every culture is explored by looking at key works from different times and places.

Even before they could write, people were telling stories with pictures. And though art is universal, the story we know about it is not. A Whole World of Art opens your eyes to a global view of art by taking you on a whirlwind tour around the world and through time. With two companions—a boy and a girl—travel through 27 destinations from the history of art, circling the globe.

Each spread shows a stunning, edge-to-edge illustrated scene from art history portraying an artist or artists making important artwork within a detailed background. A paragraph of introductory text and small captions around the page give fascinating details about the artists and the time and place in which they lived. Art project ideas provide inspiration throughout. Visit:

• Athens, Greece (450 BCE), where you will marvel at the gleaming gold statues and marble architecture
• The Ming Dynasty, China (1368–1644), where you will discover intricate designs, drawings, and calligraphy on paper and porcelain
• Benin City, Africa (1550), where you will meet the brass-casters who create elaborately detailed plaques and ornaments only for the Oba (or king)
• Coyoacan, Mexico (1907–1954), where you will get to know the painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera

Written by art history teacher Dr. Sarah Phillips, who rewrote and decolonized the A Level syllabus in the UK, and illustrated by talented artist Dion Mehaga Bangun Djayasaputra, this gorgeous book offers a fresh, inclusive view of the history of art.

From Monet to Renoir and from Boston to Paris, kids search famous paintings to complete a checklist of things to find in each.

Are You an Art Sleuth? You probably are.

Each of the twenty full-page paintings, drawn from museums around the world, are fun, lively, and full of small details, that can be spotted, counted and checked off a list of things to find. Invite children to see what they can discover when they look at art very closely.

Following each close-up is an accompanying spread full of fun facts and activities related to the painting and the story it tells. Prepared by a member of the education staff of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the facts and historical bits are specially selected and written to engage young children and encourage them to come in closer and have fun looking at art.

Some of the artists included in the book are Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Seurat, Fra Angelico, Vittore Carpaccio, William Hogarth, Quentin Metsys, Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, William Holman Hunt, Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Breughel, and Henri Rousseau.

“A breakneck romp of a novel with a stolen Vermeer, a tangled love triangle, a half-baked heist and enough depraved opulence to make Gatsby gasp.” —People

“This novel pops— Cosmopolitan, sexy, and funny.” —Percival Everett, New York Times-bestselling author of James 

The White Lotus meets The Talented Mr. Ripley in this high-spirited novel of a stolen Vermeer, a Polish transplant in LA, and the charismatic couple who seduce her into a misguided international heist

One bright Los Angeles day, a young Polish émigré named Viva is driving along the freeway when she’s flagged down by a dazzling, disheveled woman in green chiffon. The woman is Bobby Sleeper, a fellow Eastern European and an erstwhile art gallerist with a mysterious background and even more mysterious filmmaker husband. Within days the couple hire Viva as their assistant, then enlist her as an accomplice in an improbable scheme involving a long-lost Vermeer masterwork, a multi-million-dollar reward, and several shadowy ex-husbands.

As Bobby and her husband weave her ever more tightly into their web, Viva is swept up in an escapade that’s one part art heist, one part love triangle, and one part education of a felon. Entranced by their lifestyle, alarmed by their ramshackle scam, Viva realizes she’s out of her depth—and that only luck, cunning, and her own hustler’s instinct can save her from disaster. Careening from the canyons of LA to the canals of Venice, The Lady Waiting is a page-turning caper, a cavalcade of twenty-first-century sins—rapacious capitalism, shameless fraud, and atrocious behavior—and a showcase for three of the biggest and most unforgettable characters in recent fiction.

Alex and Carole, friends since childhood, are now (literal) partners in crime. But the heist - to steal the Ingres painting The Grande Odalisque from the Louvre in Paris - is too much for the duo to handle, so they bring in Clarence, a bureaucrat’s son with a price on his head by a Mexican drug cartel and, more importantly, an arms dealer. Next is Sam, a stunt motorcyclist and boxer by trade, who proves trigger happy with tranquilizer darts. Using soda can smoke bombs, rocket launchers, and hang gliders, Alex, Carole, and Sam set off a set of circumstances that results in a battle with the French Special Forces - and their partnership, which was on the rocks, will never be the same again. Ruppert and Mulot, two of the most innovative comic creators in the world, team up with multiple Angouleme prize winner Bastien Vives to bring you this impossibly funny, violent, and sexy action-packed thriller.

"'Similarly thrilling' to Gone Girl...Smart social commentary meets taut heist when mom Sophie dips her toe into the black market art world, just so her family can have a nice home." -- Better Homes & Garden

Her Heists Paid the Bills.

Her Family Paid the Price.

Sophie Porter is the last person in the world you'd expect to be stealing Renaissance masterpieces--and that's exactly why she's so good at it. Slipping objects out of her husband's office at the Philadelphia Museum of Art satisfies something deep inside, during a time in her life when satisfactions are few and far between.

Selling the treasures also happens to keep their house out of foreclosure -- a house that means everything to Sophie. But the FBI is sniffing around, and Sophie is close to destroying the very life she's working so hard to build. She knows she should give up her thieving ways. But she may no longer be in control. The Objects of Her Affection is a riveting story about the realities of motherhood, the perils of secrecy, and the art of appraising the real treasures in our lives.

"Sonya Cobb combines the rarified atmosphere of museum scholarship, illegal art trafficking, and the sticky desperation of young motherhood to craft a superbly written thriller."--Karen Engelmann, author of The Stockholm Octavo

"Laugh out loud funny and poignant. I loved it!"--LORI FOSTER, New York Times bestselling author

Johanna is not a thief--and she is definitely not sorry.

In the back room at an elite gallery party, 40-something soccer mom Johanna Porter stands face to face with her younger self. The girl in the portrait, La Rosa Blanca, is fierce and fearless, and Johanna sees the great painter she almost was before her lover, the powerful artist Nestor Pinedo, torched her career.

When she cuts the million-dollar masterpiece out of its frame, rolls it up and walks out, it's not a theft. It's a rescue.

Hiding out in a shack on the Chesapeake Bay with La Rosa Blanca looking on, Johanna tries to paint again, but encounters only the cringe-worthy atrophy of her talent. When she reluctantly goes sailing with the injured surgeon two houses away, and chemistry flares between the struggling misanthropes, Johanna realizes that to fulfill the promise of her younger self, she's got to quit playing it safe.

Battling novice-thief paranoia, impostor syndrome and mom guilt, she can stay one step ahead of the law. But it will take an act of desperation to become the woman La Rosa Blanca was meant to be.

"Vivid, visceral, and sexy--I loved it."--JEN DEVON, author of Bend Toward the Sun

Don't miss Sara Read's next captivating book, Principles of Emotion, a smart, poignant STEMinist novel perfect for fans of Lessons in Chemistry

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
An Edgar Award Nominee for Best First Novel
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize
Named a New York Times Best Crime Novel of 2022
Named A Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by *Marie Claire* *Washington Post* *Vulture* *NBC News*  *Buzzfeed* *Veranda* *PopSugar* *Paste* *The Millions* *Bustle* *Crimereads* Goodreads* *Bookbub* *Boston.com* and more!

"The thefts are engaging and surprising, and the narrative brims with international intrigue. Li, however, has delivered more than a straight thriller here, especially in the parts that depict the despair Will and his pals feel at being displaced, overlooked, underestimated, and discriminated against. This is as much a novel as a reckoning."
—New York Times Book Review

Ocean's Eleven meets The Farewell in Portrait of a Thief, a lush, lyrical heist novel inspired by the true story of Chinese art vanishing from Western museums; about diaspora, the colonization of art, and the complexity of the Chinese American identity

History is told by the conquerors. Across the Western world, museums display the spoils of war, of conquest, of colonialism: priceless pieces of art looted from other countries, kept even now. 

Will Chen plans to steal them back.

A senior at Harvard, Will fits comfortably in his carefully curated roles: a perfect student, an art history major and sometimes artist, the eldest son who has always been his parents' American Dream. But when a mysterious Chinese benefactor reaches out with an impossible—and illegal—job offer, Will finds himself something else as well: the leader of a heist to steal back five priceless Chinese sculptures, looted from Beijing centuries ago. 

His crew is every heist archetype one can imag­ine—or at least, the closest he can get. A con artist: Irene Chen, a public policy major at Duke who can talk her way out of anything. A thief: Daniel Liang, a premed student with steady hands just as capable of lockpicking as suturing. A getaway driver: Lily Wu, an engineering major who races cars in her free time. A hacker: Alex Huang, an MIT dropout turned Silicon Valley software engineer. Each member of his crew has their own complicated relationship with China and the identity they've cultivated as Chinese Americans, but when Will asks, none of them can turn him down. 

Because if they succeed? They earn fifty million dollars—and a chance to make history. But if they fail, it will mean not just the loss of everything they've dreamed for themselves but yet another thwarted at­tempt to take back what colonialism has stolen.

Equal parts beautiful, thoughtful, and thrilling, Portrait of a Thief is a cultural heist and an examination of Chinese American identity, as well as a necessary cri­tique of the lingering effects of colonialism.

The new novel in the beloved New York Times bestselling Longmire series.

One of the most viewed paintings in American history, Custer's Last Fight, copied and distributed by Anheuser-Busch at a rate of over two million copies a year, was destroyed in a fire at the 7th Cavalry Headquarters in Fort Bliss, Texas, in 1946. Or was it? When Charley Lee Stillwater dies of an apparent heart attack at the Wyoming Home for Soldiers & Sailors, Walt Longmire is called in to try and make sense of a piece of a painting and a Florsheim shoebox containing a million dollars, sending the good sheriff on the trail of a dangerous art heist.

In this “sinister, jaw-dropping” (Sarah Penner, author of The Lost Apothecary) debut novel from the author of Saltwater, a circle of researchers uncovers a mysterious deck of tarot cards and shocking secrets in New York’s famed Met Cloisters.

When Ann Stilwell arrives in New York City, she expects to spend her summer working as a curatorial associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead, she finds herself assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its medieval art collection and its group of enigmatic researchers studying the history of divination.

Desperate to escape her painful past, Ann is happy to indulge the researchers’ more outlandish theories about the history of fortune telling. But what begins as academic curiosity quickly turns into obsession when Ann discovers a hidden 15th-century deck of tarot cards that might hold the key to predicting the future. When the dangerous game of power, seduction, and ambition at The Cloisters turns deadly, Ann becomes locked in a race for answers as the line between the arcane and the modern blurs.

“A tour de force by an important new voice” (Rachel Kapelke-Dale, author of The Ballerinas), The Cloisters is a haunting and magical blend of genres that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

In Cairo, private investigator Makana is called into the office of his new client, a powerful art dealer known as Kasabian. Kasabian wants him to track down a famous painting that went missing from Baghdad during the US invasion. All the dealer can tell Makana is that the piece was smuggled into Egypt by an Iraqi war criminal who doesn't want to be found.

The world of art is a far cry from the shady streets and alleyways of the Cairo that Makana knows, but he soon finds out that this side of the city has its own dark underbelly. As he sets out to find the lost work of art—and those involved in the case begin to die in horrific ways—Makana finds himself entangled in a mystery that many have attempted to keep hidden.

The trail will lead him back into the dark days of the war and threaten to send the new life he has built for himself up in flames.

An investigation into a gang of Nazi-affiliated art thieves leads Billy Boyle directly into the line of fire at the catastrophic Battle of the Bulge.

Winter 1944: Months after the Liberation of France, ex-Boston cop Billy Boyle finds himself in Paris. It is a city reeling from the carnage it has endured, but many are hopeful an end to war is in sight. When Billy finds a rare piece of artwork after a tense shoot-out in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, he thinks it could be connected to the Syndicat du Renard, a shadowy network of Nazi sympathizers known to be smuggling stolen artwork out of France.

Trailing the Syndicat, Billy discovers that someone with a high level of communications clearance—someone in the Phantom regiment of the British Army—may be using his position to aid the thieves. Billy, determined to stop the abettor, heads up to the frontlines where he experiences a last-ditch battle against overwhelming odds. There, the ruinous Battle of the Bulge unfurls in the Ardennes Forest. Can Billy and his team survive the bracing onslaught and return the stolen artwork to its rightful protectors?

A New York Times Bestseller

Now with Sharon Stone signed on to produce and star in the movie

From the author of the award-winning Fugitive Colors and The Unbreakables, a gripping tale of a young, ambitious journalist embroiled in an international art scandal centered around a Nazi-looted masterpiece--forcing the ultimate showdown between passion and possession, lovers and liars, history and truth.

After talking her way into a job with Dan Mansfield, the leading investigative reporter in Chicago, rising young journalist Jules Roth is given an unusual--and very secret--assignment. Dan needs her to locate a painting stolen by the Nazis more than 75 years earlier: legendary Expressionist artist Ernst Engel's most famous work, Woman on Fire. World-renowned shoe designer Ellis Baum wants this portrait of a beautiful, mysterious woman for deeply personal reasons, and has enlisted Dan's help to find it. But Jules doesn't have much time; the famous designer is dying.

Meanwhile, in Europe, provocative and powerful Margaux de Laurent also searches for the painting. Heir to her art collector family's millions, Margaux is a cunning gallerist who gets everything she wants. The only thing standing in her way is Jules. Yet the passionate and determined Jules has unexpected resources of her own, including Adam Baum, Ellis's grandson. A recovering addict and brilliant artist in his own right, Adam was once in Margaux's clutches. He knows how ruthless she is, and he'll do anything to help Jules locate the painting before Margaux gets to it first.

A thrilling tale of secrets, love, and sacrifice that illuminates the destructive cruelty of war and greed and the triumphant power of beauty and love, Woman on Fire tells the story of a remarkable woman and an exquisite work of art that burns bright, moving through hands, hearts, and history.

“An extraordinary piece of history...a fresh and lively read” (The Christian Science Monitor)—the passionate, gripping, true story of one man’s single-minded quest to reclaim his family’s art collection, stolen by the Nazis in World War II.

Simon Goodman’s grandparents came from German-Jewish banking dynasties and perished in concentration camps. And that’s almost all he knew about them—his father rarely spoke of their family history or heritage. But when his father passed away, and Simon received his old papers, a story began to emerge.

The Gutmanns, as they were known then, rose from a small Bohemian hamlet to become one of Germany’s most powerful banking families. They also amassed a magnificent, world-class art collection that included works by Degas, Renoir, Botticelli, Guardi, and many, many more. But the Nazi regime snatched from them everything they had worked to build: their remarkable art, their immense wealth, their prominent social standing, and their very lives. Only after his father’s death did Simon begin to piece together the clues about the Gutmanns’ stolen legacy and the Nazi looting machine. With painstaking detective work across two continents, Simon has been able to prove that many works belonged to his family and successfully secure their return.

“Fascinating...splendid and tragic” (The Wall Street Journal), “Goodman’s story is alternately wrenching and inspiring...An emotional tale of unspeakable horrors, family devotion, and art as a symbol of hope” (Kirkus Reviews). It is not only the account of a twenty-year detective hunt for family treasure, but an unforgettable tale of redemption and restoration.

The Wall Street Journal called him “a living legend.” The London Times dubbed him “the most famous art detective in the world.”

In Priceless, Robert K. Wittman, the founder of the FBI’s Art Crime Team, pulls back the curtain on his remarkable career for the first time, offering a real-life international thriller to rival The Thomas Crown Affair. 

Rising from humble roots as the son of an antique dealer, Wittman built a twenty-year career that was nothing short of extraordinary. He went undercover, usually unarmed, to catch art thieves, scammers, and black market traders in Paris and Philadelphia, Rio and Santa Fe, Miami and Madrid.

In this page-turning memoir, Wittman fascinates with the stories behind his recoveries of priceless art and antiquities: The golden armor of an ancient Peruvian warrior king. The Rodin sculpture that inspired the Impressionist movement. The headdress Geronimo wore at his final Pow-Wow. The rare Civil War battle flag carried into battle by one of the nation’s first African-American regiments.

The breadth of Wittman’s exploits is unmatched: He traveled the world to rescue paintings by Rockwell and Rembrandt, Pissarro, Monet and Picasso, often working undercover overseas at the whim of foreign governments. Closer to home, he recovered an original copy of the Bill of Rights and cracked the scam that rocked the PBS series Antiques Roadshow.

By the FBI’s accounting, Wittman saved hundreds of millions of dollars worth of art and antiquities. He says the statistic isn’t important. After all, who’s to say what is worth more --a Rembrandt self-portrait or an American flag carried into battle? They're both priceless. 

The art thieves and scammers Wittman caught run the gamut from rich to poor, smart to foolish, organized criminals to desperate loners. The smuggler who brought him a looted 6th-century treasure turned out to be a high-ranking diplomat. The appraiser who stole countless heirlooms from war heroes’ descendants was a slick, aristocratic con man. The museum janitor who made off with locks of George Washington's hair just wanted to make a few extra bucks, figuring no one would miss what he’d filched.

In his final case, Wittman called on every bit of knowledge and experience in his arsenal to take on his greatest challenge: working undercover to track the vicious criminals behind what might be the most audacious art theft of all.

When Nazis looked to flee Europe with stolen art, gems, and gold in tow, certain "neutral" countries were all too willing to assist them.

By the end of January 1945, it was clear to Germany that the war was lost. The Third Reich was in freefall, and its leaders, apart from those clustered around Hitler in his Berlin bunker, sought to abscond before they were besieged. But they wanted to take their wealth with them.

Their escape routes were diverse: Sweden and Switzerland boasted proximity, banking, and industrial closeness, while Spain and Portugal offered an inviting Atlantic coastline and shipping routes to South America. And in various ways, each of these so-called neutral nations welcomed the Nazi escapees, along with the clandestine wealth they carried.

Cashing Out tells the riveting history of the race to intercept the stolen assets before they disappeared, and before the will to punish Germany was replaced by the political considerations of the fast-approaching Cold War. Bestselling author Neill Lochery here brilliantly recounts the flight of the Nazi-looted riches--the last great escape of World War II--and the Allied quest for justice.

A thrilling, eye-popping look at true crime in the billion-dollar art world.

The art world is one of the most secretive of global businesses, and the list of its crimes runs long and deep. Today, with prices in the hundreds of millions for individual artworks, and billionaires' collections among the most conspicuous and liquid of their assets, crime is more rampant than ever in this largely unregulated universe. Increased prices and globalization have introduced new levels of fraud and malfeasance into the art world--everything from "artnapping," in which an artwork is held hostage and only returned for a ransom, to forgery and tax fraud. However, the extent of the economic and cultural damage that results from criminality in the global art scene rarely comes to light. The stories of high-stakes, brazen art crimes told by art experts Stefan Koldehoff and Tobias Timm are by turns thrilling, disturbing, and unbelievable (the imagination for using art to commit crimes seems boundless). The authors also provide a well-founded analysis of what needs to change in the art market and at museums. 
From the authors of False Pictures, Real Money (about the Beltracchi art forgery case), Art and Crime includes a chapter on art owned by Donald Trump. It is a thoroughly researched, explosive, and highly topical book that uncovers the extraordinary and multifarious thefts of art and cultural objects around the world.

Hot Art traces Joshua Knelman’s five-year immersion in the shadowy world of art theft, where he uncovers a devious game that takes him from Egypt to Los Angeles, New York to London, and back again, through a web of deceit, violence, and corruption. With a cool, knowing eye, Knelman delves into the lives of professionals such as Paul, a brilliant working-class kid who charmed his way into a thriving career organizing art thefts, and LAPD detective Donald Hrycyk, one of the few special investigators worldwide who struggle to keep pace with the evolving industry of stolen art. As he becomes more and more immersed in this world, Knelman learns that art theft has evolved into one of the largest black markets in the world, which even Interpol and the FBI admit they cannot contain. Sweeping and fast-paced, Hot Art takes readers into a criminal underworld like no other.

On Saint Patrick's Day, 1990, one of the largest art thefts in the world took place-the heist of Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in which thirteen works of art, worth over half a billion dollars, were stolen by two thieves posing as policemen. Had there been a prior practice run for this theft? Ten years earlier, during the Christmas season, two thieves who posed as delivery men, after hijacking a FedEx van and etherizing its female driver, were thwarted in their attempt of a nearly identical robbery at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, New York-an art museum modeled after a one in Boston. The young mastermind of these crimes was Brian McDevitt of Swampscott, Massachusetts. He arrived in the small NY town in the spring of 1980, posing as a rich Vanderbilt heir and freelance writer. Prior to his failed heist he spent two months ingratiating himself to the museum's director, the author of this story, in hopes of extracting vital information that would aid in his crime. The book investigates the planning and execution of The Hyde's attempted robbery and traces McDevitt's various escapades following his jail sentences in New York State and one in Massachusetts over a previous bank heist. Ten years later he fled Boston immediately after the Gardner heist and settled in Hollywood, California, masquerading as a screenwriter. When word of his criminal past hit the West Coast, he hightailed it to South America to avoid extradition where he mysteriously died. FBI and Gardner Museum officials act skeptical about McDevitt's association with the heist, yet they claim they know who the perpetrators were but that they are dead, raising suspicion that McDevitt may be in the witness protection program. This story also explores the fascinating history of these two rather impoverished sister museums with art collections of international renown, that were jolted into the recognition of their vulnerabilities, following one thwarted and one actual theft. And even more fascinating is the possibility that a single individual might have been the mastermind of both crimes.

At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuehrer had begun cataloguing the art he planned to collect as well as the art he would destroy: "degenerate" works he despised.
In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Momuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture. 
Focusing on the eleven-month period between D-Day and V-E Day, this fascinating account follows six Monuments Men and their impossible mission to save the world's great art from the Nazis.

Discover the extraordinary stories behind the world’s missing works of art.

Travel back in time to discover works of art that have vanished from the record, as well as those that went missing and have since been reclaimed or recovered. From the treasures of Tutankhamun to the altarpiece of Ghent, a missing Fabergé egg, and Vincent van Gogh’s majestic Sunset at Montmajour, numerous masterpieces have disappeared throughout history as a result of theft, looting, natural catastrophe, or conflict… And some have resurfaced decades or even centuries later!

Lost Masterpieces examines the unique story of the most significant of these artworks, the artists who created them, and those thought to be involved in their loss. It explores the various means by which museum curators and international crime investigators have unearthed missing treasures. It highlights the moral dilemma of museums that have profited from looted works of art and examines the recent “heists” made by some nations in an effort to regain their nation’s stolen works of art.

This awe-inspiring art history book promises:

- A selection of the most important “lost” cultural artifacts from ancient times to the present day
- Features images of the artworks where available, or specially commissioned illustrations of them based on written accounts
-Includes details of the ongoing debate about whether looted art should be returned to its country of origin

Delve into the mysteries of ancient Egyptian tombs, marvel at the hoards unearthed by archaeologists, and discover the skulduggery behind the disappearance of priceless Rembrandts and Vermeers, and see the world of art and antiquities in a whole new light! A must-have volume for adults and young adults with an interest in art, culture and history, whether you’re an art or history student, a collector of art antiques, or you’re simply a curious lifelong learner, Lost Masterpieces is sure to delight.

"Historian Charney tracks the eventful life of the Mona Lisa in this rollicking account.... The result is both a thrilling tale of true crime and a rigorous work of art history." — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

From the artwork to its theft and role in popular culture, the critically-acclaimed book The Thefts of the Mona Lisa (Foreword Reviews, Publishers Weekly Starred Review, Shelf Awareness, Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews) provides the complete story of this work of art, as written by a bestselling, Pulitzer finalist author.
Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait, called the Mona Lisa, is without doubt the world’s most famous painting. It achieved its fame not only because it is a remarkable example of Renaissance portraiture, created by an acclaimed artistic and scientific genius, but because of its criminal history. The Mona Lisa (also called La Gioconda or La Joconde) was stolen on 21 August 1911 by an Italian, Vincenzo Peruggia. Peruggia was under the mistaken impression that the Mona Lisa had been stolen from Italy during the Napoleonic era, and he wished to take back for Italy one of his country’s greatest treasures. His successful theft of the painting from the Louvre, the farcical manhunt that followed, and Peruggia’s subsequent trial in Florence were highly publicized, sparking the attention of the international media, and catapulting an already admired painting into stratospheric heights of fame. This book reveals the art and criminal history of the Mona Lisa.
Charney examines the criminal biography of Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, with a focus on separating fact from fiction in the story of what is not only the most famous art heist in history, but which is the single most famous theft of all time. In the process he delves into Leonardo’s creation of the Mona Lisa, discusses why it is so famous, and investigates two other events in its history of theft and renown. First, it examines the so-called “affaire des statuettes,” in which Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire were arrested under suspicion of involvement in the theft of the Mona Lisa. Second, there has long been a question as to whether the Nazis stole the Mona Lisa during the Second World War—a question that this book seeks to resolve.

The extraordinary life and crimes of heiress-turned-revolutionary Rose Dugdale, who in 1974 became the only woman to pull off a major art heist.

In the world of crime, there exists an unusual commonality between those who steal art and those who repeatedly kill: they are almost exclusively male. But, as with all things, there is always an outlier—someone who bucks the trend, defying the reliable profiles and leaving investigators and researchers scratching their heads. In the history of major art heists, that outlier is Rose Dugdale.

Dugdale’s life is singularly notorious. Born into extreme wealth, she abandoned her life as an Oxford-trained PhD and heiress to join the cause of Irish Republicanism. While on the surface she appears to be the British version of Patricia Hearst, she is anything but.

Dugdale ran head-first towards the action, spearheading the first aerial terrorist attack in British history and pulling off the biggest art theft of her time. In 1974, she led a gang into the opulent Russborough House in Ireland and made off with millions in prized paintings, including works by Goya, Gainsborough, and Rubens, as well as Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid by the mysterious master Johannes Vermeer. Dugdale thus became—to this day—the only woman to pull off a major art heist. And as Anthony Amore explores in The Woman Who Stole Vermeer, it’s likely that this was not her only such heist.

The Woman Who Stole Vermeer is Rose Dugdale’s story, from her idyllic upbringing in Devonshire and her presentation to Elizabeth II as a debutante to her university years and her eventual radical lifestyle. Her life of crime and activism is at turns unbelievable and awe-inspiring, and sure to engross readers.

Award-winning author Cynthia "Cina" Pelayo's acclaimed short story collection Lotería, now with added illustrations and new bonus stories...as well as an exclusive preview for her upcoming sequel to CHILDREN OF CHICAGO, THE SHOEMAKER'S MAGICIAN (out this Spring).

The Mexican board game of Lotería is a game of chance--similar to bingo. However, in Lotería instead of matching up numbers on a game board, players match up images. 
There are 54 cards in the Lotería game, and for this short story collection you will find one unique story per card based on a Latin American myth, folklore, superstition, or belief--with a slant towards the paranormal and horrific. In this deck of cards you will find murderers, ghosts, goblins and ghouls. This collection features creatures and monsters, vampires, werewolves and more. 
Many of these legends existed long before their European counterparts--passed throughout the Americas via word of mouth, collected just like the tales the Brothers Grimm. These are indeed fairy tales--Latin American fairy tales--but with a horrifying slant.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series—now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition.

You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.

Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.


Includes part one of the exclusive bonus story “Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret.”

A pickleball newbie looking to recover from life’s swings and misses crosses paddles with love in this debut romantic comedy.

Meg Bloomberg is in a pickle. When Meg’s ex turns out to be a total player, she and her bestie take off for a mood-lifting pickleball excursion to Bainbridge Island. It’s supposed to be an easy lob, a way to heal, not the opening serve to a new courtside romance that’s doomed to spin out.

No matter how Meg tries, she can’t shake her feelings for Ethan Fine. A charismatic environmental consultant and Bainbridge local, Ethan seems like the real dill. But when Meg discovers that Ethan is sabotaging her home court, she decides the match is over.

It’s time for Meg to take control of her own game. And maybe, just maybe…love will bounce back.

THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER!

"It's everything you want from a thriller--and then some. Hugely enjoyable." --Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author

They say the camera never lies. But on this show, you can't trust anything you see.

Stranded in the Welsh mountains, seven reality show contestants have no idea what they've signed up for.

Each of these strangers has a secret. If another player can guess the truth, they won't just be eliminated - they'll be exposed live on air. The stakes are higher than they'd ever imagined, and they're trapped.

The disappearance of a contestant wasn't supposed to be part of the drama. Detective Ffion Morgan has to put aside what she's watched on screen, and find out who these people really are - knowing she can't trust any of them.

And when a murderer strikes, Ffion knows every one of her suspects has an alibi . . . and a secret worth killing for.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Sam and Sadie—two college friends, often in love, but never lovers—become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. It is a love story, but not one you have read before. 

"Delightful and absorbing." —The New York Times • "Utterly brilliant." —John Green

One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book of the Century • A Los Angeles Times Best Fiction Book of the Last 30 Years • One of the Best Books of the Year: The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, GoodReads, Oprah Daily

From the best-selling author of The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. 

These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A National Indie Bestseller
Short-listed for the An Post Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year
Finalist for the Barnes and Noble Book of the Year

Named a Best Book of the Year and a Critics’ Pick by The New York Times 
Named an Essential Read by The New Yorker 
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Time, Financial Times, Vogue, The Guardian, Harper’s Bazaar, Vox, The Times (UK), Apple Books, and more
A USA Today, People, and Associated Press Top 10 Book of the Year

One of Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2024 
One of Chicago Public Library’s Favorite Books of the Year 

An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family—but especially love—from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney.

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common. 

Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke. 

Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined. 

For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.

Named a Best Book of 2021 by NPR * Harper's Bazaar * CrimeReads * Electric Literature * Autostraddle * The Globe and Mail



In this thrilling story of survival and anger, a woman has her whole life turned upside down after speaking out against workplace hostility-and inadvertently becomes the leader of a cultural movement.



Eliza Bright is living the dream as an elite video game coder at Fancy Dog Games, the first woman to ascend that high in the ranks--and some people want to make sure she's the last. To her friends, Eliza Bright is a brilliant, self-taught coder bravely calling out the misogyny that pervades her workplace and industry. To the men who see her very presence as a threat, Eliza Bright is a woman who needs to be destroyed to protect the game they love. 



When Eliza's report of workplace harassment is quickly dismissed, she's forced to take her frustrations to a journalist who blasts her story across the internet. She's fired and doxxed, and becomes a rallying figure for women everywhere. But she's also enraged the beast comprised of online male gamers--their unreliable chorus narrates our story. Soon, Eliza is in the cross-hairs of the gaming community, threatened and stalked as they monitor her every move online and across New York City. 



As the violent power of the angry male collective descends upon everyone in Eliza's life, it becomes increasingly difficult to know who to trust, even when she's eventually taken in and protected by an under-the-radar Collective known as the Sixsterhood. The violence moves from cyberspace to the real world, thanks to a vicious male super-fan known only as The Inspectre, determined to exact his revenge on behalf of men everywhere. We watch alongside the Sixsterhood and subreddit keyboard warriors as this dramatic cat-and-mouse game plays out to its violent and inevitable conclusion in this thrilling story of resilience and survival.

When an unexpected Player Two enters her life, a gamer must decide if their relationship is worth leveling up in this new romance from the author of The Love Con.

Samara Reynolds has built a large following as a gamer under an anonymous screen name, and uses her skills as a DEIA consultant to advocate for equal representation in video games. When she posted a video critiquing the popular game Legendsfall, she knew she’d get a reaction from her fans, but the video leads to hundreds of female gamers critiquing the game and its company, Artemis Games. The only thing more unexpected than starting an online movement is getting a job offer from the handsome CEO of Artemis.

Aron Galanis has been on a mission to get his company certified to create gaming content for people with disabilities. When he sees Artemis trending online for all the wrong reasons, he’s determined to right his wrongs and offers the originator a mea culpa, as well as a job offer to overhaul the character options in Legendsfall.

Working together turns Aron and Samara from adversaries into allies, allies into friends, and after that—something more. But once their relationship goes public, will Aron and Samara be able to weather the storm and fight for their happy ending, or is it game over?

"Tubati Alexander is a writer to watch!" --Emily Giffin

One of Good Morning America's 15 books to read heading into spring and a SheReads and Zibby Mag Most Anticipated Book of the Year

The author of Love Buzz follows her acclaimed first novel with a delightful Caribbean-set romp about an ambitious designer of apocalyptic video games with a strategy for (almost) everything who discovers what happens when her best-laid plans go off course . . .

Sloane Cooper is up for her dream job as a designer for a top video game company. During the interview, though, she somehow promises the all-male panel that she'll remain single and fully dedicated to the work. It's actually fine--after her last boyfriend cheated on her, she vowed to focus on her career anyway.

Enter Charlie, aka Hot Neighbor Guy, a near-stranger who shocks her with the offer of an all-inclusive trip to a Turks and Caicos resort. The catch? Charlie originally planned the trip with his ex, and asks Sloane to pose as his new girlfriend to make his old flame come running back. Against her better judgment, Sloane says yes; she can use the time away to develop a game design that will dazzle the Catapult team and get her a job offer.

Despite sparks flying in paradise, the trip can't lead to more. As their connection deepens, Sloane is reminded that she can't fall for Charlie and get knocked off her professional path. Besides, he's trying to win back his true love.

Can Sloane figure out a way to move past heartbreak, land the job of her dreams, and avoid catching feelings? The zombie apocalypse would be easier to solve--at least she's prepared for that.

The first in an ulta-charming new “quozy” mystery series starring Ben Rosencrantz, a queer 30-something English professor (and closet scifi fan) who’s returned to his hometown of Salt Lake City to run his family’s board game shop in the trendy Sugar House neighborhood – a community hotspot for players of all ages…and for killer collectors!

Back in his hometown of Sugar House running his family’s board game shop and café, Ben Rosencrantz just can’t seem to get his life to pass go, much less collect $200. Once he was a happily married English professor in Seattle. Now he’s a divorced caregiver, looking after his ill father and a Chihuahua named Beans while still figuring out the rules of retail management. At least the town has become more LGBTQ+ friendly than when Ben was a teenager—and that flower shop owner, Ezra McCaslin, enjoys flirting with him.

But despite his usual clientele of gamers, Ben is barely earning enough to keep the store running and stay on top of his father’s medical bills. Then a local toy and game collector named Clive offers him a winning strategy—to purchase a turn-of-the-twentieth-century edition of The Landlord’s Game, the realty and taxation game that inspired Monopoly, at a tenth of the rare edition’s true value. Suspicious of Clive’s shady, low-priced deal, Ben turns the offer down.

Then Clive turns up dead at the front door of Ben’s and a backpack full of $100 bills appears on his doorstep. Now Ben is the #1 suspect in Clive’s death, and unless he and Ezra can prove his innocence and find the real killer, he’ll go to jail for murder—and no amount of double dice rolls will set him free . . .

The first in an ulta-charming new “quozy” mystery series starring Ben Rosencrantz, a queer 30-something English professor (and closet scifi fan) who’s returned to his hometown of Salt Lake City to run his family’s board game shop in the trendy Sugar House neighborhood – a community hotspot for players of all ages…and for killer collectors!

Back in his hometown of Sugar House running his family’s board game shop and café, Ben Rosencrantz just can’t seem to get his life to pass go, much less collect $200. Once he was a happily married English professor in Seattle. Now he’s a divorced caregiver, looking after his ill father and a Chihuahua named Beans while still figuring out the rules of retail management. At least the town has become more LGBTQ+ friendly than when Ben was a teenager—and that flower shop owner, Ezra McCaslin, enjoys flirting with him.

But despite his usual clientele of gamers, Ben is barely earning enough to keep the store running and stay on top of his father’s medical bills. Then a local toy and game collector named Clive offers him a winning strategy—to purchase a turn-of-the-twentieth-century edition of The Landlord’s Game, the realty and taxation game that inspired Monopoly, at a tenth of the rare edition’s true value. Suspicious of Clive’s shady, low-priced deal, Ben turns the offer down.

Then Clive turns up dead at the front door of Ben’s and a backpack full of $100 bills appears on his doorstep. Now Ben is the #1 suspect in Clive’s death, and unless he and Ezra can prove his innocence and find the real killer, he’ll go to jail for murder—and no amount of double dice rolls will set him free . . .

A stunning debut novel from the acclaimed young Irish poet Seán Hewitt, reminiscent of Garth Greenwell and Justin Torres in the intensity of its evocation of sexual awakening

Set in a remote village in the north of England, Open, Heaven unfolds over the course of one year in which two teenage boys meet and transform each other’s lives.

James—a sheltered, shy sixteen-year-old—is alone in his newly discovered sexuality, full of an unruly desire but entirely inexperienced. As he is beginning to understand himself and his longings, he also realizes how his feelings threaten to separate him from his family and the rural community he has grown up in. He dreams of another life, fantasizing about what lies beyond the village’s leaf-ribboned boundaries, beyond his reach: autonomy, tenderness, sex. Then, in the autumn of 2002, he meets Luke, a slightly older boy, handsome, unkempt, who comes with a reputation for danger. Abandoned by his parents—his father imprisoned, and his mother having moved to France for another man—Luke has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle on their farm just outside the village. James is immediately drawn to him "like the pull a fire makes on the air, dragging things into it and blazing them into its hot, white centre," drawn to this boy who is beautiful and impulsive, charismatic, troubled. But underneath Luke’s bravado is a deep wound—a longing for the love of his father and for the stability of family life.

Open, Heaven is a novel about desire, yearning, and the terror of first love. With the striking economy and lyricism that animate his work as a poet, Hewitt has written a mesmerizing hymn to boyhood, sensuality, and love in all its forms. A truly exceptional debut.

"Reminiscent of Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See . . . Heart-stopping in its suspense and dramatic reveals." —The Boston Globe

A moving and deeply humane story about a trans man who must relinquish the freedoms of prewar Berlin to survive first the Nazis then the Allies, all while protecting the ones he loves

In 1932 Berlin, a trans man named Bertie and his friends spend carefree nights at the Eldorado Club, the epicenter of Berlin’s thriving queer community. An employee of the renowned Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science, Bertie works to improve queer rights in Germany and beyond. But everything changes when Hitler rises to power. The Institute is raided, the Eldorado is shuttered, and queer people are rounded up. Bertie barely escapes with his girlfriend, Sofie, to a nearby farm. There they take on the identities of an elderly couple and live for more than a decade in isolation.

In the final days of the war, with their freedom in sight, Bertie and Sofie find a young trans man collapsed on their property, still dressed in Holocaust prison clothes. They vow to protect him—not from the Nazis, but from the Allied forces who are arresting queer prisoners while liberating the rest of the country. Ironically, as the Allies’ vise grip closes on Bertie and his family, their only salvation is to flee to the United States.

Brimming with hope, resilience, and the enduring power of community, The Lilac People tells an extraordinary story inspired by real events and recovers an unknown moment of World War II and trans history.

"Big-hearted and hilarious, an ode to authenticity and a must-read in our current times." --Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

"Writing a funny book is hard. Writing a convincing takedown of one of America's most popular prejudices is harder still. Writing a funny novel in which complex, imperfect characters make a compelling case for one of our culture's most maligned groups--that takes smarts and heart. Fortunately for her readers, St. James is in full possession of both." --Meredith Maran, Washington Post

One of Book Riot's and The Mary Sue's 15 Most Anticipated Queer Books of 2025 * One of The Millions', Kirkus's, The AV Club's, Them's, and LGBTQ Reads's Most Anticipated Books of 2025 * One of Vol. 1 Brooklyn's, Autostraddle's, LA Times's, and BookBrowse's Most Anticipated Reads of March 2025 * One of Bustle's Best Books of Spring 2025 * Matty Maggiacomo's March Book Club Pick

An unforgettable and heartwarming book-club debut following a trans high school teacher from a small town in South Dakota who befriends the only other trans woman she knows: one of her students.

Erica Skyberg is thirty-five years old, recently divorced--and trans. Not that she's told anyone yet. Mitchell, South Dakota, isn't exactly bursting with other trans women. Instead, she keeps to herself, teaching by day and directing community theater by night. That is, until Abigail Hawkes enters her orbit.

Abigail is seventeen, Mitchell High's resident political dissident and Only Trans Girl. It's a role she plays faultlessly, albeit a little reluctantly. She's also annoyed by the idea of spending her senior year secretly guiding her English teacher through her transition. But Abigail remembers the uncertainty--and loneliness--that comes with it. Besides, Erica isn't the only one struggling to shed the weight of others' expectations.

As their unlikely friendship evolves, it comes under the scrutiny of their community. And soon, both women--and those closest to them--are forced to ask: Who are we if we choose to hide ourselves? What happens once we disappear into the woodwork?

Detransition Baby meets Fleishman is in Trouble in this remarkable debut novel from an incisive contemporary voice. A story about the awkwardness of growing up and the greatest love story of all, that between us and our friends, Woodworking is a tonic for the moment and a celebration of womanhood in all its multifaceted joy.

"A testament to the power of intergenerational trans stories . . . dazzling." --VOGUE
 

Set in the glossy world of New York City media, this sharp and witty debut novel follows a young woman caught in a toxic mentorship with an older, powerful executive as she grapples with career, belonging, and the complexity of modern relationships in the digital age.

Named a Best Book of 2024 So Far by Vogue, Elle, and Electric Lit
One of Autostraddle's Most Anticipated Queer Books for Spring 2024 
One of Chill Subs's 38 Books We Can't Wait to Read
 
When cosmetics mogul Billie rolls down her town car window and offers Lily a ride home from a glitzy Manhattan gala, Lily figures this could be a useful professional connection. She’s heard of Billie’s storied rise as a business titan, the product of white New England privilege and one of the few queer women in a corner suite. Billie could be just the jolt Lily needs to manifest her next step.
 
A magazine writer, Lily interviews influencers, actresses, and fashion designers for her publication’s stylish pages, all while navigating office microaggressions. Stalled at work, she worries that her dream print career will soon succumb to the rise of social media. She is at a standstill, too, in her relationship with her girlfriend Alison. And Lily feels unable to voice her authenticity when others’ sliding perceptions of her mixed race and bisexual identity repeatedly drown her out.
 
Charming and hyperconfident, Billie seems invested in mentoring Lily out of her slump, from the screen of her phone. But their text exchanges and Billie’s relentless worldview begin to consume Lily’s life. Eager to impress her powerful guide, Lily is perpetually suspended in an ellipsis, waiting for those three gray dots to bloom into a new message from Billie.
 
Ellipses explores one woman’s struggle for wholeness, in a world shaped by digital half-lives and aspirational fantasies. In the end, this stunning debut novel reveals the rewards and challenges of forging an uncharted path on one’s own terms.

"With a fresh mix of Little Miss Sunshine and Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Bump takes us on a laugh-out-loud and moving adventure. Wyatt and Biz are such vivid, relatable characters to root for as they navigate love and family with tears and hilarity. It's another sweet book from Sid and I didn't want this fun ride to end!"—Molly Shannon, New York Times bestselling author, comedian, and actress

Two men expecting a baby via surrogate go on the road trip of a lifetime in this hilarious and poignant novel by Sidney Karger, author of Best Men.

Wyatt Wallace is a practical, super organized director of TV commercials. Biz Petterelli is a child-actor-turned-magazine-writer who thrives on spontaneity. Though polar opposites, they are fully committed to their relationship and their life in Brooklyn with their dog, Matilda. They’re also about to have a baby together.

And they’re freaking out.

They’ve both dreamed of becoming parents, but now that it’s happening, they’re doubting everything. Their baby is due in a few weeks and instead of flying to California just before the birth as planned, Biz has a better idea. They could use one last hurrah, along with some serious “us-time” to mend the issues they’ve been having lately—before they get tied down by fatherhood and its impending responsibilities. So the daddies-to-be load up their 1992 Volkswagen Cabriolet and embark on an epic cross-country babymoon. They attempt to recharge at the beach in Provincetown, stumble through their impromptu baby shower in Chicago, and endure a Star Wars-themed wedding in Colorado before heading west for the baby. 
 
But when they take several unexpected detours, old wounds are reopened and secrets spill out that could change their relationship for better or for worse, forcing the couple to reexamine the meaning of family while building their own. After all, what’s a road trip without a few bumps along the way?

“Heartfelt.”—The New York Times

Hit the dance floor with a coven of queer witches on 1980s Fire Island in this gay fantasy romance about finding magic, love, and family in the face of tragedy. 

A heartwarming LGBTQ+ novel for fans of steamy romance, loathe-at-first-sight, and Red, White, and Royal Blue. 

The paperback edition will have sprayed teal edges and foil on the cover!

It’s 1989, and Joe Agabian and his best friend Ronnie set out to spend their first summer working in the hedonistic gay paradise of Fire Island Pines. Joe is desperate to let loose and finally move beyond the heartbreak of having lost his boyfriend to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The two friends are quickly taken in by a pair of quirky, older house cleaners. But something seems off, and Joe starts to suspect the two older men of being up to something otherworldly. In truth, Howie and Lenny are members of a secret disco witch coven tasked with protecting the island—and young men like Joe—from the relentless tragedies ravaging their community. The only problem is, having lost too many of their fellow witches to the epidemic, the coven’s protective powers have been seriously damaged.

Unaware of all the mystical shenanigans going on, Joe starts to fall for the super-cute bisexual ferryman who just happens to have webbed feet and an unusual ability to hold his breath underwater. But Joe’s longing to find love is tripped up by his own troublesome past as well as the lure of a mysterious hunk he keeps seeing around the island—a man Howie and Lenny warn may be a harbinger of impending doom. 

The Disco Witches need to find help—fast—if they’re to save Joe and the island from the Great Darkness. But how? Fans of spicy queer romances with a dash of fantasy will fall in love with this stunning novel of community, love, sex, magic, and hope in desperate times.

The celebrated and beloved New York Times bestselling author of the modern classic Fun Home presents a laugh-out-loud, brilliant, and passionately political work of autofiction.

"Truthful, rueful and delightful."--LA Times

In Alison Bechdel's hilariously skewering and gloriously cast new comic novel confection, a cartoonist named Alison Bechdel, running a pygmy goat sanctuary in Vermont, is existentially irked by a climate-challenged world and a citizenry on the brink of civil war. She wonders: Can she pull humanity out of its death spiral by writing a scathingly self-critical memoir about her own greed and privilege?

Meanwhile, Alison's first graphic memoir about growing up with her father, a taxidermist who specialized in replicas of Victorian animal displays, has been adapted into a highly successful TV series. It's a phenomenon that makes Alison, formerly on the cultural margins, the envy of her friend group (recognizable as characters, now middle-aged and living communally in Vermont, from Bechdel's beloved comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For).

As the TV show Death and Taxidermy racks up Emmy after Emmy--and when Alison's Pauline Bunyanesque partner Holly posts an instructional wood-chopping video that goes viral--Alison's own envy spirals. Why couldn't she be the writer for a critically lauded and wildly popular reality TV show...like Queer Eye...showing people how to free themselves from consumer capitalism and live a more ethical life?!!

Spent's rollicking and masterful denouement--making the case for seizing what's true about life in the world at this moment, before it's too late--once again proves that "nobody does it better" (New York Times Book Review) than the real Alison Bechdel.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things, a sparkling and funny new novel of entertainment, ambition, art, and love.

A TODAY SHOW SPRING PICK

"Sweet, sexy, sad, articulate, and funny." - Vogue
"As much heart, humor, and gritty realness as can fit between two covers." - People
"A funny and heartfelt tale of one woman grappling with grief, love and how to move forward.” - New York Times

Cherry Hendricks might be down on her luck, but she can write the book on what makes something funny: she’s a professional clown who creates raucous, zany fun at gigs all over Orlando. Between her clowning and her shifts at an aquarium store for extra cash, she’s always hustling. Not to mention balancing her judgmental mother, her messy love life, and her equally messy community of fellow performers.

Things start looking up when Cherry meets Margot the Magnificent—a much older lesbian magician—who seems to have worked out the lines between art, business, and life, and has a slick, successful career to prove it. With Margot’s mentorship and industry connections, Cherry is sure to take her art to the next level. Plus, Margot is sexy as hell. It’s not long before Cherry must decide how much she’s willing to risk for Margot and for her own explosive new act—and what kind of clown she wants to be under her suit. 

Equal parts bravado, tenderness, and humor, and bursting with misfits, magicians, musicians, and mimes, Stop Me If You've Heard This One is a masterpiece of comedic fiction that asks big questions about art and performance, friendship and community, and the importance of timing in jokes and in life.

*A Washington Post Best Book of January 2025*

*A Southern Review of Books Best Southern Book of January 2025*

*A Book Riot 13 of the Best New Queer Books Out in January 2025*

*A Book of the Month Pick for January 2025*

*From the Viral Clark Atlanta University Commencement Speaker*

*From the Georgia Author of the Year Award Winner*



The beloved author of Don't Cry for Me and Perfect Peace returns with a poignant, emotionally exuberant novel about a young queer Black man finding his voice in 1980s Chicago--a novel of family, forgiveness and perseverance, for fans of The Great Believers and On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous



Isaac is at a crossroads in his young life. Growing up in Missouri, the son of a caustic, hard-driving father, he was conditioned to suppress his artistic pursuits and physical desires, notions that didn't align with a traditional view of masculinity. But now, in late '80s Chicago, Isaac has finally carved out a life of his own. He is sensitive and tenderhearted and has built up the courage to seek out a community. Yet just as he begins to embrace who he is, two social catalysts--the AIDS crisis and Rodney King's attack--collectively extinguish his hard-earned joy.



At a therapist's encouragement, Isaac begins to write down his story. In the process, he taps into a creative energy that will send him on a journey back to his family, his ancestral home in Arkansas and the inherited trauma of the nation's dark past. But a surprise discovery will either unlock the truths he's seeking or threaten to derail the life he's fought so hard to claim.



Poignant, sweeping and luminously told, Isaac's Song is a return to the beloved characters of Don't Cry for Me and a high-water mark in the career of an award-winning author.

"Delightful! This novel will open your heart and preach to your funny bone."--Jill Conner Browne, New York Times bestselling author of the Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love

The debut of a dynamite new voice from the South, Love and Hot Chicken is a spicy and hilarious Tennessee story about family, friendship, fried chicken, and two girls in love.

The Chickie Shak is something of a historical landmark. Red clapboard walls, thriving wasp population, yard-toilets resplendent with sunflowers. My best friend Lee Ray and I used to come after our softball games and snag a picnic table while our mammas ordered the home team special. Truth is, most people around here order the same thing until the day somebody throws their ashes off a roller coaster at Dollywood. The line snakes around the building as far as you can see, the grimiest bunch of Jessies, Pearls, and Scooters you ever did behold, hobnobbing in the parking lot from noon until night.

When PJ Spoon returns home for her beloved daddy's funeral, she doesn't expect to stick around. Why abandon her PhD program at Vanderbilt for the humble charms of her hometown, Pennywhistle, Tennessee Mamma's broken heart, that's why. But truth be told, PJ's own heart ain't doing too good either. She impulsively takes a job as a fry cook at Pennywhistle's beloved Chickie Shak, where locals gather for Nashville-style hot chicken. It may not be glamorous, but it's something to do.

Fate shakes up PJ's life again when the town rallies around the terribly retro and terribly fun Hot Chicken Pageant. PJ finally notices her cute redheaded coworker Boof, a singer-songwriter with a talent as striking as her curly hair, and learns to fear her smack-talking manager, Linda.

As PJ and Boof fall for each other, Boof's search for her birth mother--a Pennywhistle native--catapults the budding couple into a mystery that might be better left unsolved. The Chickie Shak pageant takes off, spurring old rivalries and new friendships in this tale of unexpected connections and new beginnings.

From the award-winning author of For Today I Am a Boy, a gripping and deeply felt novel about a group of young girls at a remote camp--and the night that changes everything and will shape their lives for decades to come

A group of young girls descend on Camp Forevermore, a sleepaway camp in the Pacific Northwest, where their days are filled with swimming lessons, friendship bracelets, and camp songs by the fire. Filled with excitement and nervous energy, they set off on an overnight kayaking trip to a nearby island. But before the night is over, they find themselves stranded, with no adults to help them survive or guide them home.

The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore traces these five girls--Nita, Andee, Isabel, Dina, and Siobhan--through and beyond this fateful trip. We see them through successes and failures, loving relationships and heartbreaks; we see what it means to find, and define, oneself, and the ways in which the same experience is refracted through different people. In diamond-sharp prose, Kim Fu gives us a portrait of friendship and of the families we build for ourselves--and the pasts we can't escape.

The eerie, windswept Hatchet Island off the coast of Maine becomes the site of a double murder and a disappearance in this thriller from bestselling author Paul Doiron.

A call for help from a former colleague leads Maine game warden investigator Mike Bowditch and his girlfriend Stacey Stevens on a sea kayaking trip to a research station far off the coast. Stacey spent summers interning on the island, a sanctuary for endangered seabirds, and they are shocked by the atmosphere of tension they encounter when they come ashore. The biologists are being threatened and stalked by a mysterious boatman who they suspect is trespassing on the refuge late at night. And now the sanctuary’s enigmatic founder, whose mind has been slowly unraveling, has gone missing.

Camped on an islet for the night, Mike and Stacey waken to the sound of a gunshot. When they return to the refuge at dawn, their darkest fears are confirmed: two of the three researchers have been brutally murdered and the third has disappeared, along with the island skiff. Mike’s quest to find the missing man leads to a nearby island owned by a world-renowned photographer and his equally brilliant wife. The inhabitants of this private kingdom quickly close ranks, and Mike increasingly comes to believe that someone in the village knows more about the killings than they dare admit.

With no one to trust and miles from shore, Mike Bowditch must stop a ruthless murderer determined to make sure a terrifying secret never sees the light of day.

In this game-changing camping cookbook, food writer and adventurer Chris Nuttall-Smith introduces an ingenious prep-ahead approach to eating outdoors, with 80 easy-to-make and wildly tasty recipes.

“Cook It Wild showed me I can enjoy our incredible planet and still have a killer meal at the end of the day.”—Matty Matheson, chef, actor, and author of Matty Matheson: Home Style Cookery

A BEST COOKBOOK OF THE YEAR: Food Network, Epicurious, Globe and Mail

Say goodbye to ho-hum canned beans and freeze-dried backpacking meals. With prep-ahead recipes and field-tested advice, flavor-packed dishes like herby lemon chicken, vegan dan dan noodles and even fire-baked pecan sticky buns become deliciously doable and fuss-free. Each recipe is divided into “at home” and “at camp” sections, so most of the cooking is done before your trip. Extraordinary outdoor eating is often as simple as dropping fully prepped ingredients into a pot or onto a grill. Just like that, you’ll be feasting on showstopping sweet-tangy lemon ribs, sublime vegetarian pastas, or sizzling cumin lamb kebabs paired with puff-and-serve chapati. 

Plus, with fun and savvy camp kitchen advice, you’ll learn everything you need to become a master outdoors cook, including which cheeses travel best, how to chill drinks when you don’t have ice, how to pick (and use) a backpacking stove, and how to make great coffee in the wild! 

Whether your idea of wilderness is a beach, a mountain, a rushing river or your own backyard, you’ll want to make these recipes for friends and family. For cooks and campers of every level, Cook It Wild turns outdoor mealtimes into a cause for celebration—and the highlight of every trip.

From beloved American heritage brand Pendleton comes this collection of family-friendly tales of adventure and discovery in the wilderness.

This captivating collection of campfire stories is the perfect companion for anyone who enjoys the outdoors. These pages present a range of tales, including daring feats of endurance and strength, epic journeys through new frontiers, and exhilarating encounters with wild animals, plus spooky myths to bring campers closer together around the fire.

Readers will discover works by beloved naturalists John Muir and Henry David Thoreau, modern tales of adventure from Alex Honnold and Cheryl Strayed, and accounts of bravery and heroism from the adventures of Shackleton and the Donner party. With a combination of awe-inspiring stories and Pendleton's beloved patterns and engaging illustrations throughout, this handsome campfire collection is the ideal addition to any adventure and a wonderful gift for families and friends who love camping.

* BELOVED BRAND: For over 150 years, Pendleton Woolen Mills has been one of America's most beloved heritage brands. Known for their woolen blankets and clothing, their products are celebrated by people who love the great outdoors. This thoughtfully curated collection speaks to Pendleton's fans with stories that will elevate any adventure.
* FAMILY FUN: These family-friendly stories are the perfect way to bring everyone together after a day of fun outdoors. Reading the stories together is an easy activity for everyone to participate in, and offers tons of opportunities to bond with family or friends.
* BEAUTIFUL TO DISPLAY: Featuring more than 30 Pendleton patterns delivered in a handsome hardcover package with a cloth cover and lovely textured details, this eye-catching package is the perfect accessory for any outdoor occasion or mountain home, and makes for a wonderful Father's Day gift or holiday gift for those who enjoy the natural world.

Perfect for:

* People seeking a gift for Father's Day
* Fans of Pendleton
* Campers, nature lovers, and cabin owners

A potential Bigfoot sighting is linked to a vicious murder, but skeptical cryptozoologist Morgan Carter is on the case in this new Monster Hunter Mystery by USA Today bestselling author Annelise Ryan.

Business has been booming since Morgan Carter solved the case of the monster living in Lake Michigan. The Odds and Ends bookstore is thriving, of course, but Morgan is most excited by the doors that were opened for her as a cryptid hunter. 

Recently, there have been numerous sightings of a Bigfoot-type creature in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest area of Bayfield County, Wisconsin. After a man is found dead from a vicious throat injury in the forest, the conservation warden asks Morgan to investigate. 

When Morgan and her dog, Newt, go there to investigate, they uncover a trail of lies, deception, and murder. It seems a mysterious creature is indeed living in the forest, and Morgan might be its next target.

Dream It Camping Southern California details more than 450 campgrounds in the southern half of the state, including campsites managed by national, state, city, and county parks. This comprehensive guidebook will take you to the ideal spot to pitch your tent or park your RV. Plan It This guide provides the latest information to plan a customized trip: Campground locations, Facilities and hookups, Fees and reservations, Recreational activities, Do It The listings are organized by geographic area, and thorough area maps help simplify the search for the perfect campground. Camping Southern California provides useful tips on camping etiquette, camping with children, and enjoying the state's diverse and abundant wildlife. Campgrounds that allow you to take advantage of the state's many waterways, Jumping-off points for hiking in unique settings, Places that offer multiuse facilities perfect for camping with families, Meet Your Local Expert Bruce Grubbs is an avid camper, backpacker, hiker, mountain biker, and cross-country skier who has been exploring the American desert for more than thirty years. A professional outdoor writer and photographer, he has written numerous FalconGuides, including Hiking Arizona, Desert Hiking Tips, and Hiking Northern Arizona. He lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. Let Falcon be Your Guide Falcon is the premier publisher of outdoor recreation guidebooks in North America. Written by and for outdoor enthusiasts, these guides-chock-full of photos and maps-not only provide you with the skills you need but also take you along with our authoritative local experts on these experiences of a lifetime. Book jacket.

“Absolute, utter perfection.”―Chloe Liese, USA Today bestselling author of Only and Forever

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A married couple joins a week-long wilderness expedition to help them reconnect in this heartfelt companion novel to the viral TikTok sensation Out on a Limb.

High school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb Linwood have always been a sure thing. For the past seventeen years, they have had each other’s backs through all of life’s ups and downs.

But Sarah has begun to wonder . . . who is she without her other half?

When she decides to take on a project of her own, a fundraising gala in memory of her late mother, Sarah wants nothing more than to prove to herself—and to everyone else—that she doesn’t need Caleb’s help to succeed. She’s still her mother’s daughter after all, independent and capable.

That is, until the event fails and Caleb uninvitedly steps in to save the day.

The rift that follows unearths a decade of grievances and doubts. Are they truly the same people they were when they got married at nineteen? Are they supposed to be?


In a desperate attempt to fix what they fear is breaking, Sarah and Caleb make the spontaneous decision to get out of their comfort zones and join a grueling hiking trip intended to guide couples through rough patches.

What follows is a life-affirming comedy of errors as two nature-averse people fight their way out of the woods in order to find their way back to their roots.

Slow down. Simplify. Sleep with your ear to the earth. This is the ultimate guide to the art and joy of living outdoors, under canvas.

Whether it's a fast-and-light backpacking adventure, a sea kayak safari, a family camping trip, or simply living and cooking outside in your garden, camping can do it all. Offering an escape from the stresses of everyday life, the art of camping lies in living simply, well. It's about paring back our busy, hyperconnected modern lives and embracing the many joys of living more slowly and connecting more meaningfully.

The Camping Bible is the complete reference for newcomers and lifelong campers alike. Discover new adventures and clever hacks for Proper Camping, sleeping close to the earth in a shelter of stretched fabric held taught by pegs and guy lines, surrounded by the sounds of nature.

It includes:

- a complete introduction for beginners: tent selection; pitching tips; setting up portable kitchens
- family-friendly advice: making the tent a home; entertaining kids in bad weather
- glamping with bell tents and tipis: how to create a luxurious experience
- ideas and advice for seasoned campers: 'The Art of the Tarp', camp cookery; sustainability

Written by passionate and highly experienced outdoor experts, The Camping Bible is packed with wisdom, step-by-step instructions, tried-and-tested advice, top tips, recommended gear, adventure ideas, and beautiful photography and illustrations.

A heartwarming novel about a loving dad who drags his eleven-year-old daughter to “father-daughter week” at a remote summer camp—their last chance to bond before he loses her to teenage girlhood entirely. 

After his daughter, Avery, was born, John gave it all up—hobbies, friends, a dream job—to be something more: a super dad. Since then, he’s spent nearly every waking second with Avery, who’s his absolute best bud. Or, at least, she was.

When now eleven-year-old Avery begins transforming into an eye-rolling zombie of a preteen who dreads spending time with him, a desperate John whisks her away for a weeklong father-daughter retreat to get their relationship back on track before she starts middle school.

But John’s attempts to bond only seem to drive his daughter further away, and his instincts tell him Avery’s hiding something more than just preteen angst. Even worse, the camp is far from the idyllic getaway he had in mind. John finds himself navigating a group of toxic dads that can’t seem to get along, cringe-worthy forced bonding activities, and a camp director that has it out for him. With camp and summer break slipping away fast, John’s determined to conquer it all for a chance to become Avery’s hero again.

This brilliant and deeply funny father-daughter story is perfect for fans of poignant and hilarious books like The Guncle by Steven Rowley, Steve Martin’s family classic Cheaper by the Dozen, and Judd Apatow’s bighearted comedies.

**From the #1 bestselling camping guidebook brand Where Should We Camp Next?**

The essential planning guidebook for anyone searching for fun, memorable travel destinations--on a budget!

The outdoor adventure landscape is vast, exciting, and accessible to everyone! Whether you're searching for a relaxing beach vacation, exciting mountain adventure, or calming forest retreat, Where Should We Camp Next?: Budget Camping will help you find the best destinations, free and low-cost activities, and accommodations that won't break the bank. Family camping and RV experts Stephanie and Jeremy Puglisi make it easy for you to plan an unforgettable travel experience anywhere in the United States by sharing hard-to-find information about budget-friendly camping options, including:

• State Parks
• National Forests and National Parks
• Army Corps of Engineer Campgrounds
• Money-saving organizations like Kampgrounds of America and Harvest Hosts
• And more!

Where Should We Camp Next?: Budget Camping makes it easy to travel to our country's most beautiful destinations for a fraction of the cost of more expensive options--allowing you to stress less about the cost of your vacation and spend more time enjoying trips with the people you love the most.

All the Buzz for Beekeeping Beginners

"The book oozes with bee facts and trivia....Bees do make good pets and this book is a gentle introduction to the world of backyard bee keeping." --Patsy Bell Hobson, writer and master gardener emeritus

#1 New Release in Entomology and Insects & Spiders

What happens when a writer sets up a backyard beehive? You get a beekeeping book full of fun and fascinating facts about honey bees and our other favorite pollinators.

A nature guide book for beekeeping beginners. Full of trivia, tips, legends, and lore--this quirky bee book swarms with interesting information, so you can have fun, learn stuff, grow your farm, or just relax. Writer and beekeeper Jack Mingo lives with half a million bees, and has picked up a thing or two at his bee farm. In this collection of humorous and often unusual observations, Mingo shows us a glimpse of the mystical and matriarchal world of bees.

The save the bees sign you've been looking for. How many legs do bees have? Enough not to crowd your bed at night. They don't track mud or bugs into your house, and they won't bark and whine. They even greet you with raw honey and beeswax. And these are just some of the reasons bees make the best pets of all. Whether you're a beekeeping beginner, looking to save the bees, or interested in fun nature facts about bugs and insects, there's something here for every nature lover.

Step into Mingo's hive for tidbits like:

• Fun and interesting tips and tricks for beekeeping beginners
• Knowledge about the color, quality, and benefits of local honey
• The history and legendary stories of bees, like the role they played in the Civil War and the Legend of the Caroling Bees

If you liked Beekeeping for Dummies, The Beekeeper's Handbook, or Beekeeping for Beginners, you'll love Bees Make the Best Pets.

The Bee Book shows you step-by-step how to create a bee-friendly garden, get started in beekeeping, and harness the power of honey for well-being.

Fully illustrated with full-color photographs throughout, this beautiful guide covers everything you need to know to start your own backyard hive, from setup to harvest. Practical beekeeping techniques are explained with clear step-by-step sequences, photos, and diagrams so you'll be prepared to establish your own colony, deal with diseases, collect a swarm, and much more.

A comprehensive gardening chapter features planting plans to fill container and border gardens, bee "hotel" and habitat projects, and an at-a-glance flower gallery of bees' favorite plants. The Bee Book also shows you how to harvest honey, beeswax, and propolis from the hive and use these ingredients in 38 recipes for home remedies, beauty treatments, and candle-making.

Discover the wonder of bees in nature, in your garden, and in the hive with The Bee Book, lavishly bound in a beautiful gold-foil and texture cover and perfect for gift giving.

Save the Bees with Natural, Chemical-Free Beekeeping

Rob and Chelsea McFarland first started caring for bees, then founded the nonprofit HoneyLove, to meet a need often heard today - we've got to save the bees. For more than two decades, honeybee colonies have steadily declined around the world. Bees and other pollinators are one of the most critical components of our food supply - if they disappear, so do we. You can make a difference by becoming a natural, treatment-free beekeeper right in your backyard. Save the Bees offers different, easy and healthier ways to keep your own hive!

Rob and Chelsea share all the wisdom from this ancient practice in a way that is fresh, modern and easy for anyone to do. Along the way, they bust up some common bee myths:

- You don't need to spend thousands of dollars on equipment. They tell you the most essential tools you need to get started and what you can make yourself.
- You don't need any chemicals, pesticides or supplements to keep your bees healthy. Rob and Chelsea tell you how to recognize and maintain a healthy hive and how to save a failing one. The treatment-free way is not just a way to keep bees; it's the best way - good for you, the bees and the world.

Save the Bees breaks down the complexity of beekeeping so you can learn step-by-step how to acquire a colony, care for it and reap the reward - that incredibly delicious, all-natural, chemical-free, unprocessed, sweet, sweet honey. Not to mention you'll be welcomed into the quirky, amazing and fun family of beekeepers around the world. So get on board and let's save some bees.

Featuring over 40 DIY projects that illustrate how to transform one of the world’s most natural ingredients into tangible creations, Beeswax Alchemy is the perfect amalgamation of recipe craft book and beekeepers’ guide.

Considered the miracle of the beehive and used by humans for 8,000 years, beeswax remains a vital ingredient to society and is still used as the foundation for many household products in the twenty-first century. Learn from apiarist and entrepreneur Petra Ahnert about the history of beeswax, as well as tips and techniques on how to mold it into beautiful, reusable creations.
 
An introduction details the different ways in which beeswax has been used throughout history, as well as the products that contain it today. You’ll also find an explanation of the different types of beeswax, as well as insider tips on working with beeswax, followed by step-by-step instructions for making candles, balms, salves, creams, scrubs, soaps, ornaments, art, and more out of beeswax (either your own or store-bought). Color photos illustrate the processes and show finished results throughout. Among the useful and beautiful things you’ll learn to make out of beeswax:

• Hand-Dipped Birthday Candles
• Lip Balm with Cocoa Butter
• Rosebud Salve
• Solid Natural Perfumes
• Honey, Oats, and Beeswax Soap
• Beeswax Luminaries

Whether you are an expert beekeeper or experimental crafter, Beeswax Alchemy is the best guide for anyone aspiring to make wellness-boosting treasures to keep or gift to friends and family.

As seen on PBS's American Spring LIVE, the award-winning author of The Triumph of Seeds and Feathers presents a natural and cultural history of bees: the buzzing wee beasties that make the world go round.
Bees are like oxygen: ubiquitous, essential, and, for the most part, unseen. While we might overlook them, they lie at the heart of relationships that bind the human and natural worlds. In Buzz, the beloved Thor Hanson takes us on a journey that begins 125 million years ago, when a wasp first dared to feed pollen to its young. From honeybees and bumbles to lesser-known diggers, miners, leafcutters, and masons, bees have long been central to our harvests, our mythologies, and our very existence. They've given us sweetness and light, the beauty of flowers, and as much as a third of the foodstuffs we eat. And, alarmingly, they are at risk of disappearing.
As informative and enchanting as the waggle dance of a honeybee, Buzz shows us why all bees are wonders to celebrate and protect. Read this book and you'll never overlook them again.
 

This trusted handbook is a must-have for novice and seasoned beekeepers alike. Now totally redesigned and featuring color photos and graphics, the second edition also includes up-to-date information on honey bee health. The go-to reference presents comprehensive yet accessible information on everything from planning hives and installing a colony to preventing disease and managing productive hives that will bear bountiful honey harvests year after year.

“A successful and funny book that is sure to swell the ranks of the world’s beekeepers.”
—New York Times 

A fascinating foray into the obsessions, friendships, scientific curiosity, misfortunes and rewards of suburban beekeeping—through the eyes of a Master Beekeeper . . .
 
Who wants to keep bees? And why? For the answers, Master Beekeeper Frank Mortimer invites readers on an eye-opening journey into the secret world of bees, and the singular world of his fellow bee-keepers. There’s the Badger, who introduces Frank to the world of bees; Rusty, a one-eyed septuagenarian bee sting therapist certain that honey will be the currency of the future after the governments fail; Scooby the “dude” who gets a meditative high off the awesome vibes of his psychedelia-painted hives; and the Berserker, a honeybee hitman who teaches Frank a rafter-raising lesson in staving off the harmful influences of an evil queen: “Squash her, mash her, kill, kill, kill!” 
 
Frank also crosses paths with those he calls the Surgeons (precise and protected), the Cowboys (improvisational and unguarded) and the Poseurs, ex-corporate cogs, YouTube-informed and ill-prepared for the stinging reality of their new lives. In connecting with this club of disparate but kindred spirits, Frank discovers the centuries-old history of the trade; the practicality of maintaining it; what bees see, think, and feel (emotionless but sometimes a little defensive); how they talk to each other and socialize; and what can be done to combat their biggest threats, both human (anti-apiarist extremists) and mite (the Varroa Destructor). 
 
With a swarm of offbeat characters and fascinating facts (did that bee just waggle or festoon?), Frank the Bee Man delivers an informative, funny, and galvanizing book about the symbiotic relationship between flower and bee, and bee and the beekeepers who are determined to protect the existence of one of the most beguiling and invaluable creatures on earth.

“A very entertaining book.” 
—American Bee Journal 
 
“A playful storyteller… A compelling memoir.” 
—Foreword Reviews 
 
“A useful how-to guide as well as an affectionate ode to nature’s pollinators and honey makers.” 
—Publishers Weekly 
 
“This book includes great humor and a use of allegory that reveals tremendous background knowledge.” 
—San Francisco Book Review 
  
“Frank’s personal stories of his beekeeping journey are entertaining, well written, and will quickly have you happily lost in the world of bees.” 
—Paleo Magazine 
  
"Bee People and the Bugs They Love is the bee's knees and getting a ton of buzz. Bee smart, people, and read this un-BEE-lievably interesting look at the quirky world of beekeeping." 
—Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A delightful portrayal for non-beekeepers of what life is like for those of us who are always thinking about bees.” 
—Tom Seeley, author of The Lives of Bees
  
“A fun and exciting tale of the wonder-filled world of beginner beekeeping.” 
—Noah Wilson-Rich, author of Bee: A Natural History , and CEO and partner The Best Bees Company

A year in the life of New York City's premier beekeeper, who chronicles his adventures and the quirky personalities he encounters while spreading his infinite knowledge of and passion for the remarkable honey bee

"Coté's charming and poignant essay collection delivers the entertainment and smarts required to make real change in how we look at our planet, and ourselves."--Andrew Zimmern

From the humble drone to the fittingly named worker to the queen herself--who is more a slave than a monarch--the hive world, Andrew Coté reveals, is full of strivers and slackers, givers and takers, and even some insect promiscuity (startlingly similar to the prickly human variety). Written with Coté's trademark humor, acumen, and a healthy dose of charm, Honey and Venom illuminates the obscure culture of New York City "beeks" and the biology of the bees themselves for both casual readers and bee enthusiasts.

Coté takes readers with him on his daily apiary adventures over the course of a year, in the city and across the globe. In Manhattan, among his many duties, he is called to capture swarms that have clustered on fire hydrants, air-conditioning units, or street-vendor umbrellas. Beyond maneuvering within a metropolitan populace as frenzied as the bees', Coté is able to escape from the hive mind and the rigors of city dwelling with his philanthropic, international approach to apiculture. Annually, he travels to regions across the world with his organization, Bees Without Borders, where he teaches beekeepers how to increase their honey yield and income via beekeeping endeavors. For Coté, a fourth-generation beekeeper, this is a family tradition, and this personal significance pervades his celebration of the romance and mystery of bees, their honey, and the beekeepers whose lives revolve around these most magical creatures.

Guess what: Bees are incredible. If you don't think so, you're wrong; but you're also in luck! Extreme bee enthusiast and bestselling author Matt Kracht is here to set the record straight with this helpful guidebook to all things bees.

Are you ready for the ultimate bee book? With lighthearted watercolor and ink drawings, humorous quips, lists, and musings, OMFG, BEES! will show you just how important these esteemed bee-list celebrities really are. (Hint: We can't live without them.)

Delving into various bee topics, from distinguishing between bees and not bees (very crucial), to exploring the absolute wonder that is bee behavior (they do a coded dance directing their bee friends to food, for crying out loud!), to divulging the mind-blowing bee-magic behind honey making (within some extremely intricate and precisely constructed hexagonal honeycomb, no big deal), and more, Kracht's ode to bees paints a charming and enthusiastic picture of our favorite pollinators.

Bee-autiful full-color illustrations fill these pages that playfully and earnestly examine different kinds of bees, from the honeybee to the teddy bear bee, providing unbelievably cool facts about bees and reasons why they deserve a lot more credit as well as our appreciation and advocacy. Because omfg, BEES!!

BESTSELLING AUTHOR: Matt Kracht is the author of the bestselling Field Guide to Dumb Birds series: The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America, The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World, and The Big Dumb Bird Journal. Now, Kracht offers something special for the more insect-inclined audience with OMFG, BEES!, an enthusiastic celebration in the same vein as Dumb Birds, with a little less fowl language and a bit more earnestness.

A FRESH TAKE FOR BEE LOVERS: Most books on bees are serious in tone and highly academic. OMFG, BEES! is the first of its kind: a celebratory, funny, and lighthearted illustrated compendium honoring the little guys that preserve humanity as we know it!

A HIGHLY GIFTABLE, QUALITY BOOK: This 5 x 7 inch, 4-color, compact book is packed with both information and humor, making it the perfect gift for novice bee enthusiasts to full-on bee experts.

BEES ARE IMPORTANT, FOR GOOD REASON: Without bees, Earth wouldn't be the same! We need bees. With an active Save the Bees movement erupting in the last few years, people are adamant about bee justice. According to Greenpeace, bees are responsible for one in every three bites of food humans consume--spreading this awareness and knowledge is ample reason to celebrate them!

Perfect for:

• An informative and insanely fun option for anyone seeking books about bees for adults
• A great resource for general bee enthusiasts, Save the Bees advocates, environmentalists, and beekeepers
• Fans of animal humor books and nature shows
• Followers of #BeeTok and popular bee Instagram accounts
• A buzz-worthy gift for students, aspiring entomologists, gardeners, urban farmers, hikers, and all who want to learn about bees without the academic feel
• Pairing with honey-related gifts for sweet birthday, anniversary, holiday, housewarming, or hostess gift giving

The Insect Artist offers a complete course in illustration and lifelike artwork.

The 15 projects are designed to build on one another, beginning with techniques that strengthen drawing and acrylic painting skills. More advanced projects focus on design principals, realistic environments, and creative challenges. Clear instructions and visual demonstrations describe each step of the process and reference photos show the anatomy and coloration of each insect. Short outdoor exercises are included as lessons on actively observing the nature. This is a book for artists of all levels and anyone interested in rediscovering the natural world through artistic expression.


Packed with creative tips:* Achieve rich colours, surface textures, and spatial depth
* Measure proportions accurately
* Simplify tricky forms and patterns
* Establish an inspiring and supportive art practice

"Art and science collide beautifully in this must-have book for insect and nature lovers everywhere... Prepare to be amazed at the artworks you create!" -Lila Higgins, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, co-author of Wild LA

Three women uncover the secrets of a Georgia plantation that embodies the intertwined histories of Indigenous and enslaved Black communities—the fascinating debut novel, inspired by a true story, of the National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of All That She Carried, now featuring a new introduction and discussion guide.

“The Cherokee Rose is a mic drop—an instant classic. An invitation to listen to the urgent, sweet choruses of past and present.”—Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST

Conducting research for her weekly history column, Jinx, a free-spirited Muscogee (Creek) historian, travels to Hold House, a Georgia plantation originally owned by Cherokee chief James Hold, to uncover the mystery of what happened to a tribal member who stayed behind after Indian removal, when Native Americans were forcibly displaced from their ancestral homelands in the nineteenth century.

At Hold House, she meets Ruth, a magazine writer visiting on assignment, and Cheyenne, a Southern Black debutante seeking to purchase the estate. Hovering above them all is the spirit of Mary Ann Battis, the young Indigenous woman who remained in Georgia more than a century earlier. When they discover a diary left on the property that reveals even more about the house’s dark history, the three women’s connections to the place grow deeper. Over a long holiday weekend, Cheyenne is forced to reconsider the property’s rightful ownership, Jinx reexamines assumptions about her tribe’s racial history, and Ruth confronts her own family’s past traumas before surprising herself by falling into a new romance.

Imbued with a nuanced understanding of history, The Cherokee Rose brings the past to life as Jinx, Ruth, and Cheyenne unravel mysteries with powerful consequences for them all.

"There are certain things you want in a village mystery: a pretty setting, a tasteful murder, an appealing sleuth . . . Malliet delivers all that." —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times

G. M. Malliet has charmed mystery lovers, cozy fans, and Agatha Christie devotees everywhere with Wicked Autumn and A Fatal Winter, the critically-acclaimed mysteries that introduced former spy turned cleric Max Tudor. Now, Max returns to the small English village of Nether Monkslip, where some new residents cause quite a stir.

Vicar Max Tudor, reveling in his new-found personal happiness with Awena Owen, feels that life at the moment holds no greater challenge than writing his Easter sermon. With Awena away, he looks forward to a dinner that includes newcomers to the village like West End dramatist Thaddeus Bottle and his downtrodden wife Melinda. But when one of the dinner guests is found dead in the pre-dawn hours, Max knows a poisonous atmosphere has once again enveloped his perfect village of Nether Monkslip. Connections to long-ago crimes, some sparked by the paintings of a famous local artist, help Max unravel the clues—but can he restore peace to Nether Monkslip and still manage to finish his sermon? Funny, smart, and perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Louise Penny, Pagan Spring is a one-of-a-kind mystery featuring everyone's favorite attractive vicar.

New York Times bestselling author LISA KLEYPAS delivers the unforgettable tale of a strong-willed beauty who encounters her match in one of London’s most notorious—yet irresistible—rakes . . .

An eccentric wallflower  . . .

Most debutantes dream of finding a husband. Lady Pandora Ravenel has different plans. The ambitious young beauty would much rather stay at home and plot out her new board game business than take part in the London Season. But one night at a glittering society ball, she’s ensnared in a scandal with a wickedly handsome stranger.

A cynical rake  . . .

After years of evading marital traps with ease, Gabriel, Lord St. Vincent, has finally been caught by a rebellious girl who couldn’t be less suitable. In fact, she wants nothing to do with him. But Gabriel finds the high-spirited Pandora irresistible. He’ll do whatever it takes to possess her, even if their marriage of convenience turns out to be the devil’s own bargain.

A perilous plot  . . .

After succumbing to Gabriel’s skilled and sensuous persuasion, Pandora agrees to become his bride. But soon she discovers that her entrepreneurial endeavors have accidentally involved her in a dangerous conspiracy—and only her husband can keep her safe. As Gabriel protects her from their unknown adversaries, they realize their devil’s bargain may just turn out to be a match made in heaven . . .

“Breathtaking…Riveting and profound! I adored this book!” —Ellen Marie Wiseman, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan Collector

“A deeply involving and important novel by a master storyteller.” —Susan Wiggs, # 1 New York Times bestselling author

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

In this moving, suspenseful debut novel, three courageous women confront the complexities of trust, friendship, motherhood, and betrayal under the rule of a ruthless dictator and his brutal secret police. Former foreign correspondent Gina Wilkinson draws on her own experiences to take readers inside a haunting story of Iraq at the turn of the millennium and the impossible choices faced by families under a deadly regime.

A BuzzFeed Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Release
A Target Book Club Pick
A Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books Selection

At night, in Huda’s fragrant garden, a breeze sweeps in from the desert encircling Baghdad, rustling the leaves of her apricot trees and carrying warning of visitors at her gate. Huda, a secretary at the Australian embassy, lives in fear of the mukhabarat—the secret police who watch and listen for any scrap of information that can be used against America and its allies. They have ordered her to befriend Ally Wilson, the deputy ambassador’s wife. Huda has no wish to be an informant, but fears for her teenaged son, who may be forced to join a deadly militia. Nor does she know that Ally has dangerous secrets of her own.

Huda’s former friend, Rania, enjoyed a privileged upbringing as the daughter of a sheikh. Now her family’s wealth is gone, and Rania too is battling to keep her child safe and a roof over their heads. As the women’s lives intersect, their hidden pasts spill into the present. Facing possible betrayal at every turn, all three must trust in a fragile, newfound loyalty, even as they discover how much they are willing to sacrifice to protect their families.

“Vivid…secrets and lies mingle as easily as the scent of apricot blossoms and nargilah smoke. Wilkinson weaves in the miasma of fear and distrust that characterized Hussein’s regime with convincing detail. Richly drawn characters and high-stakes plot.” —Publishers Weekly

After surviving the unthinkable, one young woman finds healing in nature, friendship, and a surprising kind of love.

Lovely and winsome May Seymour graduated from college with the world at her feet and no idea what to do with it. A spontaneous mission trip to Africa brought great surprise--love--and a strong sense of purpose. But in loving others there, she encountered a severe tragedy that left her deeply wounded.

She comes to heal at the farm of Claudius Borne--a sweet, kind old man who understands plants and animals far better than people. And his farm becomes May's home.

There on the farm, May renews a friendship with an old college flame named Eli whose path has taken unexpected turns too. As May tries to convince Eli to grab hold of life once again, he begins to pull May from her sheltered existence. Like old Claudius's farm in Spring, May begins to blossom back into life. But no resurrection ever comes without sacrifice--and this sacrifice will forever transform May.

• Thoughtful, inspirational read
• Stand-alone novel
• From the author of Embrace Me, Quaker Summer, and The Passion of Mary-Margaret

An Oprah Daily Top 25 Fantasy Book of 2022

From an award-winning team of authors, editors, and translators comes a groundbreaking short story collection that explores the expanse of Chinese science fiction and fantasy.

In The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories, you can dine at a restaurant at the end of the universe, cultivate to immortality in the high mountains, watch roses perform Shakespeare, or arrive at the island of the gods on the backs of giant fish to ensure that the world can bloom.

Written, edited, and translated by a female and nonbinary team, these stories have never before been published in English and represent both the richly complicated past and the vivid future of Chinese science fiction and fantasy.

Time travel to a winter's day on the West Lake, explore the very boundaries of death itself, and meet old gods and new heroes in this stunning new collection.

A "beautifully rendered" novel about war, migration, and the power of telling our stories, Peach Blossom Spring follows three generations of a Chinese family on their search for a place to call home (Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author).



A country at war. A family searching for home.



China, 1938. Meilin and her four-year-old son, Renshu, flee their burning city as Japanese forces advance. On the perilous journey that follows, across a China transformed by war, they find comfort and wisdom in their most treasured possession, a beautifully illustrated hand scroll filled with ancient fables.



Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter, Lily, is desperate to understand her heritage, he refuses to talk about his childhood in China. How can he tell his story when he's left so much behind?



Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving story about the haunting power of our past, the sacrifices we make to protect our children, and one family's search for a place to call home.



A BOOK OF THE MONTH CLUB PICK AND NOMINEE FOR "BOOK OF THE YEAR"

NOMINATED FOR THE GOODREADS CHOICE "BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR"



"An accomplished first novel." --New York Times Book Review



"A stunning achievement . . . I absolutely adored this novel about love and war, migration and belonging." --Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo



"I so enjoyed this book." --Alisa Chang, NPR's All Things Considered



"Magical and powerful, Peach Blossom Spring brings to life the costs of wars and conflicts while illuminating the spirit of human survival."―Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, author of The Mountains Sing



"Expansive, atmospheric, and affecting." --Susie Yang, author of White Ivy



 

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A new Anne Tyler novel destined to be an instant classic: a socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding.

“What a treat.” —Washington Post

“Simply exquisite.” —Liane Moriarty

“Nobody understands human nature better than Tyler. And nobody understands the complexities of love the way she does.” —Boston Globe

“Three Days in June is like reading a hug.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

Gail Baines is having a bad day. To start, she loses her job—or quits, depending on whom you ask. Tomorrow her daughter, Debbie, is getting married, and she hasn’t even been invited to the spa day organized by the mother of the groom. Then, Gail’s ex-husband, Max, arrives unannounced on her doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay, and without even a suit.

But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares with her parents a secret she has just learned about her husband to be. It will not only throw the wedding into question but also stir up Gail and Max’s past.

Told with deep sensitivity and a tart sense of humor, full of the joys and heartbreaks of love and marriage and family life, Three Days in June is a triumph, and gives us the perennially bestselling, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer at the height of her powers.

A triumphant family story and sharply observed exploration of privilege, identity, and love in all its forms, following four estranged siblings whose lives collide in the lead-up to a family wedding, when new clues surface about their long-missing father



"Truly a great American novel that does the very best of what fiction can do: sink us into other people's lives, show us new worlds, make our hearts pound and our breath catch. Superb." --Julia Phillips



April, May, June, and July Barber don't have much in common anymore. An upcoming family wedding will place the four siblings in the same room for the first time in years. But shortly before, when April spots their father, who went missing while serving overseas a decade ago, their reunion becomes entirely more complicated.



While the siblings' search for the truth about their father forces them back into each other's lives, it also intensifies their private dramas. April loves her husband, but seeks excitement outside their marriage. May had big dreams for the future, but she's still stuck living at home. June is eager to marry her girlfriend, so why does she need a drink at every wedding-related event? And then there's baby brother July, whose unrequited love for his straight roommate has him more confused than ever.



Confronting the past together, April, May, June, and July will find not only answers about their father, but new romance, hope, and understanding as they learn to embrace the beauty of their shared history.

A sweetly humorous picture book about composting, told from the point of view of a worm.

Meet Worm. He might be little. He might have no hands. But Worm would love to make a sandwich, just for you! 

To get started he'll need just one thing: garbage! Delicious, delectable garbage like apple cores and mushy grapes, broccoli bottoms and carrot tops, sad celery, and drippy cucumbers. Worm and his friends eat the garbage. And then they do what everyone does after they eat garbage. They poop! The poop goes in the compost and the compost goes in your garden, which is where the vegetables for your sandwich come from!

Simple, right? Worm thought you'd agree. He might just need a bit of assistance along the way . . .

This hilarious, engaging picture book is the perfect introduction to the process of composting from start to finish, told from the perspective of one little worm who is very eager to help.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the former Poet Laureate of the United States and New York Times bestselling author of Aimless Love comes a wondrous new collection of poems focused on the joys and mysteries of daily life.

“Among the best poems that [Billy] Collins has ever written.”—Maureen Corrigan, NPR

“Witty, wry and tender when it hurts, Water, Water is a pleasure to read and easy to give.”—The Washington Post

“Collins remains the most companionable of poetic companions.”—The New York Times

One of People’s Best New Books

In this collection of sixty new poems, Billy Collins writes about the beauties and ironies of everyday experience. A poem is best, he feels, when it begins in clarity but ends with a whiff of mystery. 

In Water, Water, Collins combines his vigilant attention and respect for the peripheral to create moments of delight. Common and uncommon events are captured here with equal fascination, be it a cat leaning to drink from a swimming pool, a nurse calling a name in a waiting room, or an astronaut reciting Emily Dickinson from outer space. With his trademark lyrical informality, Collins asks us to slow down and glimpse the elevated in the ordinary, the odd in the familiar. It’s no surprise that The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both call Collins one of America’s favorite poets.

The Monet Conundrum

Is every one of these poems
different from the others
he asked himself,
as the rain quieted down,

or are they all the same poem,
haystack after haystack
at different times of day,
different shadows and shades of hay?

#1 New York Times Bestseller • Goodreads Choice Award Winner

"A tour de force of suspenseful pacing and empathetic writing." ―The New York Times

"All hail the queen of dark academia!" ―NPR

Wealth. Power. Murder. Magic. The Ivy League is going straight to hell in the sequel to the smash New York Times bestseller Ninth House from #1 bestselling author Leigh Bardugo.

Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy “Alex” Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory—even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale.

Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can’t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies’ most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren’t just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she’ll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university’s very walls.

Thick with history and packed with Bardugo’s signature twists, Hell Bent brings to life an intricate world full of magic, violence, and all too real monsters.

Winner of the 2020 Crawford Award!
Winner of the 2021 Hugo Award!
A Hugo Award-Winning Series!

A 2021 Locus Award Finalist
A 2021 Ignyte Award Finalist
A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist
A Book Riot Best Debut Fantasy of All Time

"Dangerous, subtle, unexpected and familiar, angry and ferocious and hopeful... The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a remarkable accomplishment of storytelling."—NPR

"Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today."—Taylor Jenkins Reid on Siren Queen

A Book Riot Must Read Book of 2023 | A 2020 ALA Booklist Top Ten SF/F Debut | A Book Riot Must-Read Fantasy of 2020 | A Paste Most Anticipated Novel of 2020 | A Library Journal Debut of the Month | A Buzzfeed Must-Read Fantasy Novel of Spring 2020 | A Washington Post Best SFF of the Year So Far Pick

Named Book Riot's Best Book Cover of 2020

Named a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR | Library Journal | NYPL | Chicago Public Library | The Austen Chronicle | Autostraddle

With the heart of an Atwood tale and the visuals of a classic Asian period drama, Nghi Vo's The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a tightly and lushly written narrative about empire, storytelling, and the anger of women.

A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully.

Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.

At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece.

The Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle

The Empress of Salt and Fortune
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain
Into the Riverlands
Mammoths at the Gates
The Brides of High Hill

The novellas of The Singing Hills Cycle are linked by the cleric Chih, but may be read in any order, with each story serving as an entry point.

Praise for The Empress of Salt and Fortune

“An elegant gut-punch, a puzzle box that unwinds itself in its own way and in its own time. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Gorgeous. Cruel. Perfect. I didn't know I needed to read this until I did.”—Seanan McGuire

"A tale of rebellion and fealty that feels both classic and fresh, The Empress of Salt and Fortune is elegantly told, strongly felt, and brimming with rich detail. An epic in miniature, beautifully realised."—Zen Cho

"Nghi Vo's gracefully told debut . . . resides in the intimate margins of its (beautifully imagined) world's history, portraying how the marginalized may yet shape those narratives and harness the power of stories."—Indrapramit Das

Master of razor-edged literary humor Binnie Kirshenbaum returns with her first novel in a decade, a devastating, laugh-out-loud funny story of a writer's slide into depression and institutionalization.

It's New Year's Eve, the holiday of forced fellowship, mandatory fun, and paper hats. While dining out with her husband and their friends, Kirshenbaum's protagonist--an acerbic, mordantly witty, and clinically depressed writer--fully unravels. Her breakdown lands her in the psych ward of a prestigious New York hospital, where she refuses all modes of recommended treatment. Instead, she passes the time chronicling the lives of her fellow "lunatics" and writing a novel about what brought her there. Her story is a brilliant and brutally funny dive into the disordered mind of a woman who sees the world all too clearly.

Propelled by razor-sharp comic timing and rife with pinpoint insights, Kirshenbaum examines what it means to be unloved and loved, to succeed and fail, to be at once impervious and raw. Rabbits for Food shows how art can lead us out of--or into--the depths of disconsolate loneliness and piercing grief. A bravura literary performance from one of our most indispensable writers.