The Heavens, by Sandra Newman

A while back—I’m not sure when exactly—a student asked me why Shakespeare was such a big deal. The student said …

The Library of Legends, by Janie Chang

After a lifetime of hiding under an assumed name, Hu Lian’s life has turned around with a full scholarship to …

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, by Natasha Pulley

I’ve been waiting impatiently for Natasha Pulley to write another book featuring the all-knowing Keita Mori and synesthetic Thaniel Steepleman, …

Westside Saints, by W.M. Akers

After the extraordinary events of her first outing in W.M. Akers’ Westside, Gilda Carr is even more determined to stick …

Creatures of Charm and Hunger, by Molly Tanzer

There’s a trope about how the Nazis might have won the war if they’d been able to create the atomic …

Sin Eater, by Megan Campisi

In Sin Eater, Megan Campisi took two ideas from our history and spun them into a strange thriller. The first …

The Cassandra, by Sharma Shields

Trigger warning for rape and self-harm. Mildred Groves lives through a modern version of a classic story that always found …

The Imperial Wife, by Irina Reyn

I supposed that most women will come off the worse when compared to Catherine the Great, as Irina Reyn’s novel …

Things in Jars, by Jess Kidd

The reviews of Things in Jars, by Jess Kidd, have been somewhat mixed. I have no idea why. I loved …

Westside, by W.M. Akers

I propose a new addition to the list of narrative rules, à la Chekhov’s Gun. My suggestion is that, whenever …