Nonfiction

Credit: Vintage, Experiment

Lolita in the Afterlife: On Beauty, Risk, and Reckoning with the Most Indelible and Shocking Novel of the Twentieth Century, edited by Jenny Minton Quigleynifer Ryan (Vintage)

"What do we do with Lolita? When it first published in 1958 it was a bestselling scandal. Today our discomfort lingers, but has shifted — in the midst of a cultural reckoning around gender, consent, wealth, race, and trauma, does Lolita still merit celebration, not to mention its prominent place in academia? In sharp, thought-provoking original essays from brilliant writers like Cheryl Strayed, Roxane Gay, Mary Gaitskill, Victor LaValle, Alexander Chee, and Lauren Groff, this insightful collection grapples with these and other thorny questions." —Arianna Rebolini

Get it from Bookshop for $15.59, Target for $16.99, or Amazon for $16.95.

The Lost Art of Doing Nothing: How the Dutch Unwind with Niksen by Maartje Willems and Lona Aalders (Experiment)

"I haven’t had tons of opportunities to do nothing in the past year (full time job, 19-month-old son, pandemic, etc.) so I’d really like to luxuriate in those rare free moments I do have, instead of just panicking about all of the things I could (/should) be doing. For the Dutch, this “doing nothing” is known as “niksen,” and in The Lost Art of Doing Nothing, Maartje Willems and illustrator Lona Aalders offer philosophical and practical guidance in adopting the lifestyle. These ideas will be familiar to anyone who’s read up on meditation and mindfulness, but it’s all good advice, and I’ll take whatever help I can get — from any and all corners of the world. In this case, Willems has provided a charming and accessible how-to guide to chilling out. Check out an excerpt: 7 Tips For People Who Want To Get Better At Doing Nothing." —Arianna Rebolini

Get it from Bookshop for $15.59, Target for $14.49, or Amazon for $14.49.

Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Credit: Feiwel & Friends, G.P. Putnam's Sons

The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore (Feiwel & Friends)

"In this beautiful and affecting YA contemporary fantasy novel loosely inspired by the fairy tale 'The Snow Queen,' two teens heal and learn how to find joy after a sexual assault. Ciela and Lock flirted at the beginning of a party, but by its end, they’ve both been sexually assaulted, and Ciela has dropped Lock off at a hospital, still unconscious from the drug that had been mixed into his Dr. Pepper. As a brown, queer teen, Ciela knows that no one will listen to her story, especially since the classmates who assaulted her and Lock are white and from wealthy families. Ciela is also a pastelería witch — she can sense exactly which dessert a customer wants, a magic she's inherited from her grandmother — but after the assault, her magic leaves her. When school starts back, she and Lock find themselves attracted to one another once more, but while he knows he was sexually assaulted that night, he doesn't remember the details. While The Mirror Season focuses on a traumatic event and will undoubtedly make many readers (like myself) cry, it’s also a magical, hopeful, and empowering novel." —Margaret Kingsbury

Get it from Bookshop for $17.47 or Amazon for $18.99

A Queen of Gilded Horns by Amanda Joy (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers)

"The eagerly anticipated sequel to the fantastic River of Royal Blood finds Eva on the run with her sister in tow, heading to the north in the hopes of finding allies. With the past on their heels, Eva is convinced that peace between her and Isa is needed for the queendom to survive — despite the fact that after the Entwining ceremony, Isa and Eva are the only ones that can kill each other." —Rachel Strolle

Get it from Bookshop for $17.47, Target for $16.99, or Amazon for $16.99.

Romance

Credit: Berkley Books

The Dating Plan by Sara Desai (Berkley Books)

"For the most part, software engineer Daisy Patel has her life figured out...just not her love life, to the dismay of her family. To avoid their matchmaking schemes, she lies about being engaged. The problem is that her fake fiancée happens to be Liam Murphy, her childhood crush who broke her heart. She reluctantly asks him to go along with her scheme, and Liam agrees — a fiancée is exactly what he needs to fulfill the requirement in his grandfather's will and keep his brother from selling off the family distillery. Not to mention, he can convince Daisy to forgive him for how he treated her in the past and give him a second chance." —Shyla Watson

Get it from Bookshop for $14.72, Target for $14.49, or Amazon for $14.40.

Young Adult & Middle Grade

Credit: Flatiron Books, Henry Holt & Company

That Way Madness Lies: 15 of Shakespeare's Most Notable Works Reimagined, edited by Dahlia Adler (Flatiron Books)

"Following in the footsteps of classics like West Side Story, 10 Things I Hate About You, and more, That Way Madness Lies features 15 unique spins on some of Shakespeare's works. From comedy to tragedy to sonnet, from texts to storms to prom, this collection is a knockout." —Rachel Strolle

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Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley (Henry Holt & Company)

"Set to be adapted by the Obamas (!), this book follows 18-year-old Daunis, who has been dreaming of a fresh start in college, since she's never felt like she fit in her hometown or on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. But after family tragedy strikes, she stays to look after her mother, meeting Jamie, a new recruit on her brother's hockey team, in the process. And when Daunis witnesses a murder, she's pulled into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug, and ends up undercover to track down the source." —Rachel Strolle

Get it from Bookshop for $17.47, Target for $14.99, or Amazon for $14.99.

Across the Pond by Joy McCullough (Atheneum Books)

"This middle grade novel follows Callie as she moves from San Diego to a real-life castle in Scotland. After starting off on the wrong foot with the gardener's granddaughter, only contributing to her nerves about making new friends, she makes a deal with her parents to be homeschooled. But as their condition was she had to participate in a social activity, she joins a birding club, inspired by a journal that she found hidden in her bedroom." —Rachel Strolle

Get it from Bookshop for $16.55, Target for $17.99, or Amazon for $17.99.

Now in paperback:

Docile by K.M. Szpara: “Docile is compulsively readable book about sex, power, and love. In a world where children inherit their parents’ debt, they can choose to become ‘Dociles’ to the rich and powerful to work it off. When Elisha becomes Alex’s Docile, neither of them expects to fall for the other. From their first lines, Elisha’s and Alex’s voices are immediately captivating. Szpara has crafted a tale that’s scorching both in its smut and its critique of capitalist structures. I spent every spare moment I had devouring this book, as I was pulled further into the troubling — but disturbingly believable —world Szpara created. A must-read for socialists with a penchant for smutty fanfic.” —Read D., Harvard Book Store (38 Great Books To Read This Summer, Recommended By Our Favorite Indie Booksellers)

The Herd by Andrea Bartz: "The exclusive women-only coworking space “The Herd” is the place to be for young women looking to connect with the right people and make their way up in the world. Katie Bradley is being considered for membership, leaning on her sister — best friend of Eleanor Walsh, the Herd’s founder — for acceptance. But when Eleanor goes missing, the police suspect foul play — and everyone is a suspect." —Arianna Rebolini

This Is Chance! The Shaking of an All-American City, a Voice That Held It Together by Jon Mooallem: "On March 27, 1964, the very young state of Alaska was struck by what is still the most powerful earthquake in American history, and Anchorage — a city that had been a beacon of progress in this new frontier, a manifestation of its residents’ optimism — was literally torn apart. This Is Chance! is the riveting account of the following three days — the resilience and resourcefulness of a town that hadn’t yet established a system or infrastructure to handle such an emergency, and the bravery of Genie Chance, an ambitious and underestimated radio reporter whose impromptu three-day broadcast became the beating heart of a community struggling to survive. It’s a beautifully wrought and profoundly joyful story of compassion and perseverance." —Arianna Rebolini (29 Books We Couldn't Put Down In 2020)

The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai: "As the communist government rises in Vietnam, Trần Diệu Lan is forced to flee her family farm with her six children. Years later, her granddaughter, living in Hanoi, has to watch her parents and uncles leave to fight in a war threatening to tear her life apart. —Arianna Rebolini