Talking to Strangers is, without a doubt, Malcolm Gladwell at his finest. His skill at combining stories and examples with scientific study in order to keep you engaged and demonstrate complex psychological phenomena is unparalleled.

The Witches Are Coming is straight-up feminist / liberal candy. She’s definitely going to be preaching to the choir — but members of that choir are going to eat. it. up.

Gretchen McCulloch is (as you would hope, with this subject matter) conversational, fun, and very in touch with internet trends and spaces. She brings relatable examples together with smart research to make clear what so-called “internet people” can naturally sense but not explain.

Where the Crawdads Sing was beautiful, heartbreaking, and entirely worth reading. Delia Owens writes prose that cuts to the quick, leaves you aching for her characters, and opens your eyes just a little bit more.

Survive and Resist offers an intriguing premise: to look at actual dystopian political theory through the lens of fiction, film, and television. Um, helloooooo, sign me up!

This book was FANTASTIC. In fact, I liked it so much that after I finished my library’s audiobook copy, I bought a physical copy so I could loan it out to friends.

Okay, everyone. I’m going to need you to go out and buy SLAY as soon as it’s published on September 24. Because Brittney Morris has written one hell of a book!

Wow. This book. What did we ever do to you, Jacqueline Woodson?? How can you be allowed to just swoop in there, break our hearts ten times in ten different ways, and then just leave?? So beautiful.

Lost Children Archive was absolutely stunning. Melancholy, reflective, narrative, musical. The moments she brings to life are so creative and specific that it’s hard to believe she made them up.

This novel is a masterpiece of modern history. I'm still processing it, healing the small wound in my chest that it left, hoping to internalize this sliver of connection to humanity. But I will try to find the words to review it for you.

Without hesitation: Cantoras is a masterpiece of a novel. It’s brimming with humanity, turmoil, heart (-warming and -breaking), hope, and beauty.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January is a delightful, whimsical, magical story and a beautiful debut novel to have emerged from Alix Harrow’s heart.

The In-Betweens is a fascinating, journalistic look into a world that quietly exists right under all of our noses — the religion and community of Spiritualism. Her neutral but relatable reporting will leave you thinking long after you close the book.

The Dearly Beloved is a masterpiece of literary fiction. There’s not a word out of place. It’s a gorgeous examination of what it means to exist side by side. I was hypnotized, heartbroken from the first page.

If you've heard anything about this book, you don't need me to tell you that it's phenomenal. I read it in a single sitting, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

The Confessions of Frannie Langtonis heartbreaking, moving, enraging, surprising, and much more. It addresses so many different issues — race, class, slavery, mental health, substance abuse, same-gender relationships, feminism.

Sometimes the summary blurb on a book does the perfect job of summing it up — in the case of Hollow Kingdom, those words are “a humorous, big-hearted, and boundlessly beautiful romp.”

Rating: 4.5/5 | I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. I have loved all of Leigh Bardugo's past books, and while I knew that Ninth House was going to be really, really different, I trusted her to bring me something great. And both of those things are true: This book was WAY different than any of her other books, and it was also great work. (Click the post to read more.)

Rating: 4.5/5 | A Darker Shade of Magic is a breath of fresh air in the fantasy genre. Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy, but this one was just so light (in writing style, not subject matter) and enchanting and magical. I instantly fell in love with the world and its characters — even the bad ones. (Click the post to read more.)