The Compound

 

The Compound

by Aisling Rawle

Random House, 2025. 292 pages. Fiction

Lily, a disillusioned young woman, competes in a high-stakes reality show on a desert compound where personal bonds, hidden desperation, and escalating challenges blur the lines between game strategy and survival amidst a crumbling outside world. 

For all of my fellow reality TV lovers and haters, this one is for you! Particularly the Love Island variety. The book starts out innocuously enough, but once it picks up, it is hard to put down. Recommended for readers who enjoy suspenseful, character-driven fiction and reality TV social commentary. 

If you like The Compound you might also like:

The Book of Luke
by Lovell Holder
Grand Central Publishing, 2025. 394 pages. Fiction

Following the car accident that ended his football career and left his body scarred, 22-year-old Luke Griffin joins the cast of Endeavor, a new competition-based reality show that pits the tabloids' darlings against one another in tasks of endurance and problem solving. Soon a series of betrayals leads to irreversible tragedy, changing the course of his and his felllow contestants' lives forever. Ten years later, Luke is now a father of two and the stay-at-home husband to America's only openly gay senator. When his husband's serial cheating is exposed, Luke impulsively joins the cast of Endeavor's latest season in a desperate bid to earn some fast cash. 

Patricia Wants to Cuddle
by Yumei Kitasei
Flatiron Books, 2025. 376 pages. Fiction

On this season of The Catch, a Bachelor-style show, contestants must compete for love...and their lives. 

RBL 

Pigeons!

Pigeons!: A fable for our times
by Marc Chalvin
Street Noise Books, 2025. 191 pages. Graphic Novels

A contemporary political allegory of power, to remind us of the dangers of following a dictator and surrendering your freedom. Life is simple for the pigeons. They have no desire to contemplate their future or take control of it. Free from responsibility, they are all too willing to submit to a strong authority. This is precisely what a cruel and power-hungry crow was waiting for--a perfect opportunity to wield his natural talents as a tyrant. The crow enforces law and order, but also terror and arbitrary rules. Everyone seems to accept this situation--or maybe, they are too scared to resist. Until an idealistic seagull steps in determined to challenge the system through debate and free elections. 

The allegory is blunt, and the pigeons and their story are equal parts frustrating and comical. However, the illustrations and ruminations are still on point, and you might be feeling some kinship with a certain seagull by the very end. 

If you like Pigeons! : a fable for our times you might also like:

Birds of Maine
by Michael Deforge
Drawn & Quarterly, 2022. 459 pages. Graphic Novels

Long after the demise of humankind, birds roam freely around a new earth complete with fruitful trees, sophisticated fungal networks, and an enviable socialist order. The universal worm feeds all, there are no weekends, and economics is as fantastical a stud as unicorn psychology. No concept of money or wealth plagues the thoughts of these free-minded birds. Instead, there are angsty teens who form bands to show off their best bird song and other youngsters who yearn to become clothing designers even though clothes are only necessary during war. (The truly honorable professions for most birds are historian or librarian). These birds are free to crush on hot pelicans and live their best lives until a crash-laded human from the moon threatens to change everything. 

Maus: A Survivor's Tale
by Art Spiegelman
Pantheon Books, 1997. 295 pages. Graphic Novels

Using animal figures to suggest the nature of the characters -- Nazis are cats, Jews are mice, Americans are dogs -- Spiegelman movingly portrays his parents' experiences and, my extension, the widespread horrors of the Nazi campaign to exterminate the Jews in Europe. 

RBL

Hekate

Hekate
By Nikita Gill
Little, Brown and Company, 2025. 364 pages. YA Fiction

Orphaned by the war between the Titans and Olympians, Hekate is raised in the Underworld by Styx and Hades, and after discovering her powers and ascending to Goddess status, she becomes the key to ending an immortal war that threatens both the Underworld and Mount Olympus. 

Gill explores themes of identity, resilience, and the effects of war on the children it leaves behind. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy mythology with a feminist lens, coming of age stories, and beautifully written poetry. 

If you like Things No One Taught Us About Love, you might also like:

Ariadne
By Jennifer Saint
Flatiron Books, 2021. 308 pages. Fiction

A feminist retelling of Theseus and the Minotaur, which imagines what motivated Cretan princess Ariadne to defy her father and the gods and help Theseus escape the labyrinth alive. 

Circe
By Madeline Miller
Little, Brown and Company, 2018. 393 pages. Fiction

Circe, the much-misunderstood enchantress of the Odyssey recounts her life, from her childhood among the gods to her exile on the island of Aiaia.

RBL

The Correspondent

The Correspondent

By Virginia Evans

Crown, 2025. 285 pages. Fiction 

At 73, retired lawyer and devoted letter writer Sybil Van Antwerp navigates her daily life and reflects on her past, but when unexpected letters open old wounds, she must confront a painful chapter that reshapes her understanding of herself and her world.

This is a fantastic and engrossing read for relationship fiction lovers. It is equally yoked between snarky commentary and heartbreaking realizations. And if you are an audio-book listener this has an exceptional cast. Highly recommended. 

If you liked The Correspondent, you might also like: 

No Two Persons

By Erica Bauermeister 

St. Martin's Press, 2023. 314 pages. Fiction

When a devastating event breaks her heart open, aspiring writer Alice creates a stunning debut novel in which her words find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness to a widower rent by grief, who, due to her book, find new paths forward.

Remarkably Bright Creatures

By Shelby Van Pelt 

Ecco, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, 2022. 360 pages. Fiction

A luminous debut novel about a widow's unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium--and the truths she finally uncovers about her son's disappearance 30 years ago. 

RBL

The Last Time We Spoke

The Last Time We Spoke

By Jesse Mechanic

Street Noise Books, 2025. 146 pages. Graphic Novels

When he was a teenager, Jesse Mechanic's mother passed away after a long struggle with cancer. In this memoir, he looks back on that time, and on the ways that experience followed him throughout his life. Struggling with school while dealing with attentional problems and the overwhelming tsunami of grief, this book tells the story of Mechanics slow work to figure out a life for himself. It's about obsessive-compulsive disorder, intrusive thoughts, and depression. It's about what loss can teach us, and how trauma can be both debilitating and beautiful. It's about standing in dark rooms for long enough for your eyes to adjust. 

This is an emotionally vulnerable look into a life colored by loss. With beautiful illustrations and tender ruminations, this is recommended to all those who have experienced the death of a loved one, young or old.  

If you liked The Last Time We Spoke, you might also like:

Something, Not Nothing

By Sarah Leavitt

Arsenal Pulp Press, 2024. 141 pages. Graphic Novels

In April 2020, cartoonist Sarah Leavitt's partner of twenty-two years, Donimo, died with medical assistance after years of severe chronic pain and a rapid decline at the end of her life. About a month after Donimo's death, Sarah began making comics again as a way to deal with her profound sense of grief and loss.

Dancing at the Pity Party

By Tyler Feder

Dial Books, 2020. 201 pages. YA Comics 

Tyler Feder shares her story of her mother's first oncology appointment to facing reality as a motherless daughter in this frank and refreshingly funny graphic memoir.

RBL

Cry Out Loud

Cry Out Loud

By Tara O'Connor

Random House Graphic, 2025. 243 pages. YA Comics

Nobody understands Nell. Strongheaded, fiercely independent, and constantly furious, Nell just wants to be free to carve out her own path in life. And she doesn't care whether her mom or anyone else approves of her choices. But what Nell doesn't know is that her destiny was etched in stone generations ago. After getting suspended from school, Nell is forced to go live with an aunt and uncle whom she's never met before. Her sense of unease quickly evolves into terror when Nell discovers that she's been chosen as the latest victim in a perilous plot that spans centuries and has left countless bodies in its wake.

This is a fun YA horror graphic novel perfect for teens (and adults!) with just enough unease built in to satisfy. I particularly enjoyed the full color illustrations, and looking up how to pronounce the Irish names. A great read for spooky season and for those who enjoy coming of age and found family stories.  

If you liked Cry Out Loud, you might also like:

Creepy Cat

By Cotton Valent

Seven Seas Entertainment, 2021. 127 pages. YA Comics

Flora moves into a mysterious mansion and finds it inhabited by a strange creature-Creepy Cat! Thus begins her strange and sometimes dangerous life with a feline roommate. This gothic comedy brings the chuckles...and the chills.

Muted

By Miranda Mundt

Ten Speed Graphic, 2025. 313 pages. Graphic Novels

A summoning ritual gone awry kicks off a lush, witchy graphic novel series with joyful streaks of found family and sapphic romance.

RBL

The Navigating Fox

The Navigating Fox

By Christopher Rowe

Tor Publishing Group, 2023. 157 pages. Fantasy

Quintus Shu'al, the world's only navigating fox, is in disgrace after guiding an expedition to its doom, leaving no survivors. One year later, Quintus is offered the chance to redeem himself: he will need to lead a motley, fractious team-- both human and animal--all the way to the gates of Hell. 

This small novella with anthorpomorphic characters packs a punch.  And while it doesn't give the reader a tidy ending, which I normally prefer, I still found satisfaction with the story. Overall, The Navigating Fox was a highly enjoyable and meditative fable.

If you like The Navigating Fox, you might also like:

Library of the Sapphire Wind

By Jane M. Lindskold 

Baen Publishing Enterprises, 2022. 289 pages. Fantasy

Instead of mentors, they got monsters...That's what Xerak, Vereez, and Grunwold think when three strange creatures shimmer into being within the circle of Hettua Shrine. Their conclusion is reasonable enough. After all, they've never seen humans before. As for Margaret Blake, Peg Gallegos, and Tessa Brown-more usually known as Meg, Peg, and Teg-they're equally astonished but, oddly enough, better prepared. Age and experience have accustomed them to surprises. A widely varied course of reading material has intellectually prepared them for the idea that other worlds, even worlds where people with traits more commonly ascribed to "animals" may exist. Then there is the mysterious verse that Teg speaks as they arrive, words that seem to indicate that the Shrine must have been at least partially responding to the request made of it. Despite doubts on all sides, the three unlikely mentors join forces with the three young "inquisitors" and venture out into the world Peg dubs "Over Where." First they must find the Library of the Sapphire Wind, destroyed years before. Will they find answers there, or is this only the first stage in their search?

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

By Becky Chambers

Tordotcom, 2021. 147 pages, Science Fiction

It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They're going to need to ask it a lot.

RBL

It Rhymes With Takei

It Rhymes With Takei

By George Takei

Top Shelf Productions, 2025. 332 pages. Graphic Novels Biography/Memoir

In a moving, emotional graphic memoir, the Star Trek actor, activist and social media star shares his personal journey from a closeted youth in the 1950s to coming out at 68, revealing how love, fear and activism shaped his identity.

A candid story told beautifully through words and art.  Recommended for those interested in this famous actor and activist, or simply in reading more books by members of the LGBTQIA+ community about their lived experiences.  

If you liked It Rhymes With Takei, you might also like: 

The Color of Always
By Brent Fisher
A Wave Blue World, 2023. 138 pages. Graphic Novels Nonfiction

The flutter of first dates, the thrill of a text-back, the heart-stopping seconds before coming out, and the rush when finally discovering who you truly are--all of these life-changing moments across the full spectrum of LGBTQIA+ experience are ready to explore in this bright and inspiring comics anthology! The Color of Always is a collection of personal stories, testimonies, heirlooms, evocations, and evangelisms for queer creators and readers that celebrates feeling good about who you are, and coming into your own at last.

Gaythiest:Coming out of my Orthodox Childhood

By Lonnie Mann

Street Noise Books, 2024. 256 pages. Graphic Novels Biography/Memoir

A coming-of-age graphic novel memoir about a young man who, growing up in an Orthodox Jewish community, realizes he's gay and struggles to reconcile his faith with who he is.

RBL

Everything is Tuberculosis

 

Everything is Tuberculosis

by John Green
Crash Course Books, 2025. 198 pages. Nonfiction

Tuberculosis has been entwined with hu­manity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it. In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John be­came fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequi­ties that allow this curable, preventable infec­tious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year.

Green does a fantastic job weaving the historical atrocities of tuberculosis with the current ones.  I, like probably most of those living in an overall wealthy country, have hardly given tuberculosis more than a cursory thought in my whole life. Even if I managed to contract it, I have never worried about the course of treatment being unavailable to me. The book is an inspiring call to action, well-researched, and should be required reading for all those that care about global health.    

If you like Everything is Tuberculosis you might also like:

Mountains Beyond Mountains
by Tracy Kidder
Random House, 2003. 332 pages. Biography

A portrait of infectious disease expert Dr. Paul Farmer follows the efforts of this unconventional Harvard genius to understand the world's great health, economic, and social problems and to bring healing to humankind.

Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Plagues
by Jonathan Kennedy
Crown, 2023. 294 pages. Nonfiction

Drawing on the latest research in fields ranging from genetics and anthropology to archaeology and economics, this revelatory book takes us through 60,000 years of history to show how the major transformations in history have been shaped by eight major outbreaks of infectious disease.

RBL

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

by Becky Chambers

Tordotcom, 2021. 147 pages. Science Fiction

It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They're going to need to ask it a lot.

Leisurely paced and full of atmospheric worldbuilding. Perfect for when you want to take a moment to reflect on yourself, your purpose, and your connection to the greater world.  A beautifully cozy Science Fiction piece.

If you like A Psalm for the Wild-Built, you might also like:

In the Lives of Puppets
by TJ Klune
Tor Publishing Group, 2023. 420 pages. Science Fiction.

When an unwitting act of betrayal leads to the capture of his android Gio, who once hunted humans, Victor Lawson and his assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to the City of Electric Dreams to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

The Wild Robot

by Peter Brown
Little, Brown and Company, 2016. 279 pages. Juvenile Fiction.

Roz the robot discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island with no memory of where she is from or why she is there, and her only hope of survival is to try to learn about her new environment from the island's hostile inhabitants.

 -RBL

Gather

Gather
By Kenneth M. Cadow

Candlewick Press, 2023. 325 pages. Young Adult Fiction.

A resourceful teenager in rural Vermont struggles to hold on to the family home while his mom recovers from addiction in this striking debut novel.

This is a first person narrative that quickly acclimates the reader directly into the life and story of young Ian. You see first-hand how he thinks and processes event after event, sometimes awkwardly or a bit out of hand--as you would expect of a young teenager--but always with reason. A moving and beautiful story about the resiliency of a teenager.  

If you like Gather, you might also like: 

Everything's Not Fine

By Sarah J. Carlson

Turner Publishing Company, 2020. 304 pages. Young Adult Fiction.

When seventeen-year-old aspiring artist Rose Hemmersbach finds her mother dying on the kitchen floor from a heroin overdose, she is forced to put her art school dreams aside and help piece her family back together.

And Then There Was Us

By Kern Carter

Tundra Books, 2024. 223 pages. Young Adult Fiction.

A mother's death forces a teen girl to reevaluate their tumultuous relationship.

RBL

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

By Grady Hendrix
Berkley, 2025. 482 pages. Horror.

Four teenage girls trapped in a secretive maternity home for unwed mothers in 1970 St. Augustine, Florida, find an unexpected source of power through witchcraft.

The pace is pretty slow until after the midpoint, but once it picks up it doesn't stop. In the end what makes the story truly scary isn't witchcraft, but the reality of the mostly powerless pregnant characters in regards to their bodies and their babies. As well as the societal atrocity of trying to collectively erase their experiences. However, the body horror does add an extra punch. Perfect for Hendrix's fans and for those who like their books with a smidgen of witchcraft. 

If you like Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, you might also like: 

The Furies

By Kathryn A. Lowe

St. Martin's Press, 2019. 358 pages. Fiction.

In 1990s England, at an elite boarding school connected to seventeenth-century witch trials, troubled sixteen-year-old Violet is drawn into a circle of friends dabbling in witchcraft to avenge wrongs done to them.

The Girls Who Went Away

By Ann Fessler

Penguin Press, 2006. 362 pages. Nonfiction.

This book brings to light the lives of 1.5 million single American women in the years following World War II who, under enormous social and family pressure, were coerced to give up their newborn children. It tells not of wild and carefree sexual liberation, but rather of a devastating double standard that has had punishing long-term effects on these women and on the children they gave up. Single pregnant women were shunned by family and friends, evicted from schools, sent away to maternity homes to have their children alone, and often treated with cold contempt by doctors, nurses, and clergy. The majority of the women interviewed by Fessler, herself an adoptee, have never spoken of their experiences, and most have been haunted by grief and shame their entire adult lives.

RBL