News - Book Reviews

News - Book Reviews

July 8, 2022

Keri Picolla published a wonderful review of Liska Jacobs’ THE PINK HOTEL for Kelp Journal. In the review, Picolla praises Jacobs’s rendering of Los Angeles’s twinned attraction and revulsion in the highest terms: “THE PINK HOTEL leaves a lasting impression, one of strange dichotomies of both hope and despair...Jacobs has deftly captured the bittersweetness of longing for the beauty that comes from hoping for a more perfect world. Even when the world is at its ugliest, spinning in an intoxicated shit show, there is an unbreakable human need to believe in love despite it all…The story of THE PINK HOTEL and its crazy cast of characters [will] stick with you, long after you’ve finished that last page. Hang on for a wild and haunting ride. You won’t be able to put this novel down.” MCD will publish the book on July 19, 2022.

June 30, 2022

VOICE OF THE FISH by Lars Horn was featured in a stunning piece in The Atlantic titled "Where to Turn When You Feel ‘at Odds With Being Human,’" alongside Alexis Pauline Gumbs' UNDROWNED. Alana Mohamed writes: “In the new essay collection VOICE OF THE FISH, Lars Horn wonders 'how common [it is] to feel completely at odds with being human,' and uses a long-standing fascination with marine life to reimagine the body’s potential...VOICE OF THE FISH attempts to undo ideas of what is ‘normal’ or ‘natural’ by teasing out the expansiveness of marine life…Horn and Gumbs ultimately turn to a different, more spiritual plane to reimagine the dichotomies between human and animal. In the process, they challenge us to think anew about the way our bodies can, or might be able to, move through the world.” Graywolf Press published the book on June 7, 2022.

June 30, 2022

On the day of its highly-anticipated release, Tomi Obaro’s DELE WEDS DESTINY received praise from The New York Times. VIRTUE author Hermione Hoby writes: “[A] loving and lively debut novel…I was carried smoothly through the travails of these women…[and] Obaro’s unadorned style [comes] into its own.” Knopf published the novel on June 28, 2022.

June 25, 2022

Kirkus praises JOBS FOR GIRLS WITH ARTISTIC FLAIR by June Gervais as “immersive and wholly alive” and “an enjoyable romp brought to life by its lovable, off-kilter protagonist,” with characters who are “original and a pleasure to read.” Pamela Dorman Books published the novel on June 21, 2022.

June 25, 2022

Laura Warrell’s SWEET, SOFT, PLENTY RHYTHM received a starred, rave review from Library Journal. Reviewer Barbara Hoffert calls it an "exceptional first novel with plenty of rhythm and tenderness, delivered in brisk, mordantly gorgeous language that has its own natural flow,” and “a highly recommended story of love and life that makes beautiful music.” Pantheon will publish the book on September 20, 2022.

June 17, 2022

HOW YOU GET FAMOUS by Nicole Pasulka received a rave review from Alexander Chee in The New York Times. He deems the book “[f]unny, poignant, dishy and even enlightening, all at the same time,” adding: “HOW YOU GET FAMOUS isn’t just the story of a niche nightclub scene in Brooklyn — it’s the story of America now.” The book was also featured on Mother Jones’ summer roundup alongside acclaim for Pasulka’s writing, which Maddie Oatman praises as “dripping in plush detail and drama and just enough historical asides.” Simon & Schuster published the book on June 7, 2022.

June 17, 2022

THE FIFTH ACT by Elliot Ackerman received its first trade starred-review from Kirkus. The reviewer raves: “Making sense of chaos is never easy, but this powerful book does much to explain why America’s debacle in Afghanistan ended the way it did…Ackerman should be commended not just for his work helping Afghans escape safely, but also for providing a must-read account of the end of America’s longest war…Courage and folly, dedication and tragedy: Ackerman deftly captures all dimensions of a protracted foreign policy failure. Penguin Press will publish the book on August 9, 2022.

June 17, 2022

Rebecca Stott’s novel DARK EARTH received a glowing review from the Guardian UK. Alex Preston raves: “Rebecca Stott’s superb third novel, DARK EARTH, dramatises the parallels between archaeology and historical fiction. Stott is a renowned historian, but in this excavation of London’s deep past she has created something radically new and beautiful, a book that retells a period of our national past that straddles the line between history and myth.” Random House will publish the novel on July 19, 2022.

May 26, 2022

Cleyvis Natera’s debut novel NERUDA ON THE PARK received stunning praise from The New York Times Book Review. Reviewer Mia Alvar praises it as “earnest [and] provocative,” adding: “[L]ove – profound, mundane, imperfect – so warmly suffuses the book its pages practically glow with it…Natera’s style is refreshingly direct and declarative, and at its best, this approach feels confident and sharp, a mirror capturing the bleak comedies of life in a threatened community…NERUDA ON THE PARK avoids pat answers, but tenderly and thoughtfully invites readers to weigh our own obligations to the places and people who made us. Ballantine Books published the novel on May 24, 2022.

May 21, 2022

AN IMMENSE WORLD by Ed Yong earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. The reviewer writes: “Pulitzer-winning journalist Yong (I CONTAIN MULTITUDES) reveals in this eye-opening survey animals’ world through their own perceptions…[Yong]’s a strong writer and makes a convincing case against seeing the world as only humans do: ‘By giving in to our preconceptions, we miss what might be right in front of us. And sometimes what we miss is breathtaking.’ This is science writing at its best.” Random House will publish the book on June 21, 2022.