BEST NEW BOOKS
YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO WHAT’S IN STORES NOWMORE ON
EW.COM
For reviews, author
interviews, and pub-
lishing news, head
toew.com/booksEWFICTIONA LINCOLN IN THE BARDO By George SaundersNOVEL
Saunders’ first novel—set over the course of a single night in a graveyard—is
a beautiful meditation on death and grief told through the story of Abraham
Lincoln’s beloved son Willie, who died at age 11.A– THE ANIMATORS^ By Kayla Rae WhitakerNOVEL
Mel Vaught and Sharon Kisses, creative partners and best
friends, turn their childhood traumas and rural upbringings
into cult-favorite animated cartoons. But before long, the
blinding light of fame and unyielding pressures of creativity
start to chip away at their once-solid foundation.A– CAR AVAL By Stephanie GarberYOUNG ADULT
The Hunger GamesmeetsThe Night Circus in this tale of two sisters
enmeshed in a deadly magical game.A– SIX FOUR By Hideo YokoyamaPOLICE PROCEDURAL
In this measured and elegant translation from Japanese, two kidnapping-for-
ransom cases—one cold, one new—collide.B+ PACHINKO By Min Jin LeeFAMILY SAGA
The epic story of one Korean family unspools over generations as the shame
of an unplanned pregnancy forces a young woman to flee the country.B+ A SEPARATION^ By Katie KitamuraTHRILLER
No one knows that our unnamed protagonist has separated
from her husband—so when he goes missing on a trip to
Greece, she is sent to a strange, wildfire-ravaged village to
search for him. Narrating in an eerily calm, almost passive
tone, she reflects on marriage, intimacy, and identity.NONFICTIONA– CANNIBALISM By Bill SchuttSCIENCE
Butterflies, toads, bears, and humans all eat each other—and as Schutt
explains, this grotesque phenomenon is more natural than we think.B+ ILLUSION OF JUSTICE^ By Jerome F. ButingNONFICTION
As Steven Avery’s co-counsel, Buting became a household name to fans of
Netflix’sMaking a Murderer. Here the attorney delves into both his experience
on that high-profile case and the larger failings of the U.S. justice system.B+ THIS CLOSE TO HAPPY^ By Daphne MerkinMEMOIR
Through vivid descriptions and sparkling insights, Merkin shows what it’s like
to live with debilitating clinical depression.B– ISABELLA OF CASTILE^ By Giles TremlettBIOGRAPHY
If you’re enjoying Victoria on PBS, you’ll like Tremlett’s juicy
history of Queen Isabella of Castile, who ascended the
Spanish throne in 1474 at 23.SHORT STORIESA– HOMESICK FOR ANOTHER WORLD
By Ottessa MoshfeghCOLLECTION
The author of the 2015 thrillerEileen returns with a deliciously unsettling
collection of dark short stories.B DIFFICULT WOMEN
By Roxane GayCOLLECTION
Take a break from reading our favoriteBad Feminist’s excellent
tweets and revel in the complicated—and yes, quite difficult—
women of these tales.“WHEN I WAS 12, MY PARENTS
had two talks with me,” narrator
Starr Carter recalls early on in
Angie Thomas’ smart, unflinching, and
fiercely topical coming-of-age novel.
“One was the usual birds and bees.” The
second? What to do if she is pulled over
by a police officer: “‘Keep your hands
visible. Don’t make any sudden moves.
Only speak when they speak to you.’”
By 16, Starr is used to that kind of dis-
sonance; it’s something she confronts
every day, toggling between the bleak
realities of black life in Garden Heights
and the leafy privilege of Williamson, a
private prep school located approximately
45 minutes and a thousand light-years
away. At home, she’s the wry, tough-
talking girl who teases her brothers,
obsesses over Air Jordans, and fills in shifts
at the convenience store her dad, once a
gangland legend, has turned into a neigh-
borhood anchor. At school, she speaks flu-
ent Hogwarts and claims a favorite Jonas
brother, carefully editing herself for any
stray trace of slang or back talk that might
give someone a reason to call her “ghetto.”
But when her childhood best friend is
fatally shot during a routine traffic stop,The Hate U Give
BY Angie Thomas | PAGES 450GENRE YAREVIEW BY Leah Greenblatt@LeahbatsBooks
KEY = E-BOOK =CD = AUDIBLE