All the Water in the World

All the Water in the World
by Eiren Caffall
St. Martin's Press, 2025. 294 pages. Fiction

In the years after the glaciers melt, Nonie, her older sister, her parents, and their researcher friends have stayed behind in an almost deserted New York City, creating a settlement on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History (Amen for short). The rule: Take from the exhibits only in dire need. They hunt and grow their food in Central Park as they work to save the collections of human history and science. When a superstorm breaches the city's flood walls, Nonie and her family must escape north on the Hudson. They carry with them a book that holds their records of the lost collections. Racing on the swollen river towards what may be safety, they encounter communities that have adapted in very different and sometimes frightening ways to the new reality, but they remain determined to build a new world that honors what they’ve saved.

This book has a very unique tone, mixing lyrical, meditative writing with the urgency of a survival novel. The story is told in flashbacks, covering both the family's early days of making Amen a home, and following them as they search for a new home once Amen is destroyed. As the narrator, Nonie starts the story as a young girl with a childlike sense of wonder, but she spends most of it as a teenager coming to grips with the dualities of reality. While the overarching story is dark, the themes of the importance of both found family and the value of knowledge help brighten the message. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time.

If you like All the Water in the World you might also like:

After the Flood
by Kassandra Montag
William Morrow, 2019. 417 pages. Fiction

After years of slowly overtaking the continent, rising floodwaters have obliterated much of America, leaving nothing but an archipelago of mountaintop colonies surrounded by a deep expanse of open water. For seven years, Myra has grieved the loss of her oldest daughter, Row, who was stolen by her father after a monstrous deluge overtook their home in Nebraska. Then, Myra suddenly discovers that Row was last seen in a far-off encampment near the Artic Circle. Throwing aside her usual caution, Myra and her youngest daughter Pearl embark on a perilous voyage into the icy northern seas, hoping against hope that Row will still be there. On their journey, Myra and Pearl join forces with a larger ship and Myra finds herself bonding with her fellow seekers who hope to build a safe haven together in this dangerous new world.

The Dog Stars
by Peter Heller
Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. 319 pages. Fiction

Surviving a pandemic that has killed everyone he knows, a pilot establishes a shelter in an abandoned airport hangar before hearing a random radio transmission that compels him to risk his life to seek out other survivors.

 

MB

We Called Them Giants

We Called Them Giants
By Kieron Gillen
Image Comics, Inc., 2024. 104 pages. Young Adult Comic.

Lori wakes to find the streets empty. Everyone has gone. Or at least, nearly everyone. She's thrown into a world where she has to scrape by in the ruins of civilization, nearly starving, hiding from gangs when They arrive.

With stunning visuals, a moving plot, and an open ending, We Called Them Giants is such a fun graphic novel!  I liked the themes of found family, trust, and communication across barriers.  Lightly dystopian and somewhat post-apocolyptic, We Called Them Giants is a book I would recommend to everyone!
 
If you liked We Called Them Giants, you may also like:
 

I Kill Giants
By Joe Kelly
Image Comics, 2014. 232 pages. Graphic Novel.
 
Tells the story of Barbara Thorson, an acerbic fifth-grader so consumed with fantasy that she doesn't just tell people that she kills giants with an ancient Norse warhammer -- she starts to believe it herself. This book reveals the reasons for Barbara's troubled behavior, as she learns to reconcile her fantasy life with the real world.

Akira Book 1
By Katsuhiro Otomo
Kodansha Comics, 2009. 363 pages. Graphic Novel.
 
In Neo-Tokyo, built on the former site of Tokyo after World War III, two teenagers are targeted by agencies after they develop paranormal abilities.

ERB

The Garden Maker's Book of Wonder

The Garden Maker’s Book of Wonder 

by Allison Vallin Kostovick 

Storey Publishing, 2023. 256 pages. Nonfiction 

Each season in the garden brings new joy and fresh inspiration for connecting with the wonders of the natural world. In The Garden Maker's Book of Wonder, gardening lifestyle influencer Allison Vallin Kostovick (Finch + Folly) invites fans of cottagecore, gardening, and nature-based living to share her journey as she crafts, cooks, dreams, and creates. Drawing on decades of gardening experience, and illustrated with vibrant photography from her own home and garden, The Garden Maker's Book of Wonder offers sage advice on growing bountiful harvests of favorite vegetables, herbs, and flowers. All levels of gardeners, from dreamers to the experienced, will delight in the variety and creativity of Kostovick's projects, activities, and recipes for enjoying the magic and whimsy of the natural world—no matter what season. From planting a pollinator playground to building a rustic trellis from tree branches, cooking with freshly picked peas and mint to making a sweet viola tub soak, and growing a bird seed mix to crafting one-of-a-kind jewelry beads from the husks of the Job's Tears plant, the inventive ideas in this rich treasury are sure to make it a favorite to keep and to give to anyone who aspires to a more nature-connected lifestyle. 

This is a lovely book containing useful gardening tips and ideas of crafts and recipes for living seasonally. The pictures in the book are beautiful and it’s ideal for browsing through on a quiet afternoon in the sunshine. This book is recommended for people interested in gardening, cottagecore, living a slower life, or living seasonally. 

If you like The Garden Maker’s Book of Wonder, you might also like: 

The Cottage Fairy Companion 

by Paola Merrill 

Yellow Pear Press, 2022. 166 pages. Nonfiction 

The Cottage Fairy Companion is your accessible and beautiful guide to mindful living. It teaches the fundamentals of cottagecore style through the practices of The Cottage Fairy’s daily life. Use mindfulness for healing and fulfillment. Paola Merrill, author and creator behind the popular YouTube channel The Cottage Fairy, left a hectic life in the city for the rural mountains in search of a deeper connection to herself and the world. She learned that nature is the biggest teacher of all—if we open our eyes to its wisdom. Mindful living can be applied in most walks of life, and Merrill’s writing encourages you to find healing and fulfillment, wherever you are. Inside this enchanting book on mindful living, you’ll find: Insight to creating a cozy and inspiring space, living in alignment with natural cycles and seasons, and gardening and making tea. Original illustrations and breathtaking photos of the author’s cottage, crafts, and the countryside. Calming, meditative prose to promote tranquility and stillness in a hectic world. 

The Little Book of Cottagecore 

by Emily Kent 

Adams Media, 2021. 256 pages. Nonfiction 

Returning to the simpler life has never been easier. If you're craving the aroma of freshly baked bread, spending more time in nature, or seeing the sunlight filtering through homemade curtains, then cottagecore is for you! The Little Book of Cottagecore helps you make simple living a reality with delightful cottagecore activities you can enjoy no matter where you live. Whether you're interested in baking pies from scratch, basic sewing and cross stitch, gardening, beekeeping, or making candles and soaps, this book is full of fun, hands-on activities that make it easy and enjoyable to unplug from modern life. Full of step-by-step instructions and homegrown inspiration, you'll find fun, practical ways to enjoy rustic and relaxing cottagecore activities in your everyday life. 

Joy in Your Garden: A Seasonal Guide to Gardening 

by Joy Bossi and Karen Bastow

Cedar Fort, 2010. 336 pages. Nonfiction

Joy in Your Garden: A Seasonal Guide to Gardening contains loads of encouragement for novice and experienced gardeners. Joy Bossi and coauthor Karen Bastow have compiled all the information that newbies or novice gardeners will need to find success in their gardens. And more experienced gardeners will find new applications for old gardening traditions, plus enough humor to keep them 'digging' through the ups and downs of gardening in any yard.

Banned Together

Banned Together
Edited By Ashley Hope Pérez 
Holiday House, 2025. 294 pages. Young Adult Fiction

This book of short stories, Banned Together: Our Fight For Readers' Rights, is a call-to-action for young people living in a country where banning books is a reality. It spotlights the transformative power of books while equipping teens to fight for the freedom to read; fifteen diverse, award-winning YA authors from across the country offer their stories and their advice. It's part memoir, part graphic novel, part fiction, and all heart. From moving personal accounts to clever comebacks aimed at censorship, these authors/illustrators confront the high-stakes questions of what is lost when books are kept from teens. I read this book all in one sitting because it was captivating, gut-wrenching, and gave me that wonderful feeling of knowing I'm not alone in my worry.

If you like Banned Together, you might also like: 

You Can't Say That!
Edited By Leonard S. Marcus
Candlewick Press, 2021. 220 pages. Nonfiction 

What happens when freedom of expression comes under threat? Thirteen prominent authors of children's and young adult literature talk about one thing they all have in common: All have been the targets of attempts to ban or remove their work from schools and libraries. Beginning with an introduction that traces the history of censorship back to attempts at "regulating moral behavior" in ancient Greece and Rome, the book reveals many little-known historical facts about censorship. It really comes to life, however, when the authors discuss why their books have faced censorship - both blatant and "soft" - how the challenges have or haven't affected their writing, and why some people feel they have the right to deny access to books.

Banned Book Club
By Kim Hyun Sook
Iron Circus Comics, 2020. 198 pages. Young Adult Graphic Memoir

In 1983 South Korea, Kim Hyun Sook is a college freshman, determined to get the education her mother resents but her father, thankfully, supports. When she accepts an invitation to attend a seemingly benign book club that turns out to focus on banned books, she learns to navigate the university, but also political activism. As she learns the truth about her country's oppressive fascist political environment, she becomes closer to the other book club members and authorities grow increasingly desperate to identify and punish student dissidents. A tribute to young people's resistance in the face of oppression.

On Censorship
By James LaRue
Fulcrum Publishing, 2023. 130 pages. Nonfiction

In On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US, respected longtime public librarian James LaRue issues a balanced and reasonable call-to-action for citizens. The dangers of book banning and censorship in public and educational spaces are highlighted, while examples of past efforts at censorship and its dangerous impacts ask the reader to reflect on how those times are not so different from today. This book believes in free expression, supports libraries, and cherishes the central freedoms that American democracy represents. 

Our Stories, Our Voices
Edited By Amy Lynn Reed
Simon Pulse, 2018. 288 pages. Young Adult Nonfiction

This collection of essays is Our Stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real About Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America - and the intersection with race, religion, and ethnicity. The diversity of perspectives will likely provide window and mirror moments for a wide range of readers. 

LKA

Long Island Compromise

Long Island Compromise
by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Random House, 2024. 444 Pages. Fiction.

In 1980, a wealthy businessman named Carl Fletcher is kidnapped from his driveway in the nicest part of Long Island, brutalized, and held for ransom. He is returned to his wife and kids less than a week later, only slightly the worse for wear, and the family begins the hard work of trying to move on with their lives and resume their prized places in the saga of the American dream, coming to understand that though their money may have been what put them in danger, it is also what guaranteed them their safety in the end. But forty years later, when Carl's mother dies and the family comes home to mourn her, it becomes clear that nobody ever really got over anything. Carl's wife, Ruth, has spent her potential protecting her husband's emotional health. Their three grown children are each a mess: Nathan cannot seem to advance at his law firm and may have made a terrible investment with his trust fund; Beamer, a Hollywood screenwriter, will consume anything--substance, foodstuff, women--in order to numb his own perpetual terror; and Jenny has spent her life so bent on proving that she is not a product of the family's pathology that she comes to define it. Then there's Carl himself, the prickly, still-terrified father, who has been secretly seeking closure to the matter of his kidnapping for years, and the unthinkable act he commits that will alter the family's path forever.

This book was like watching a train wreck and I loved it. Every character is a hot mess! This is a great work of relationship fiction and has a very cinematic feel. It is already being adapted into a streaming series. Every family has dysfunction but its more fun to read about other family's fictional, over the top problems. It is irreverent but describes the family’s friction and faults in a witty, heartbreaking way. I listened to the audiobook and found the reader delightful.

If you liked Long Island Compromise, you might also like: 

Pineapple Street
by Jenny Jackson
Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, 2023. 304 pages. Fiction. 

Darley, the eldest daughter in the Stockton family, has never worried about money. The product of generational wealth and capitalist success, Darley renounced her inheritance when she married Malcolm, a first generation Korean American with a lucrative job in banking. Sasha, Darley's new sister-in-law, has come from more humble origins, and her hesitancy about signing a pre-nup has everyone worried about her intentions. Georgiana, newly graduated from Brown and proud to think of herself as a "do-gooder," has enough money from her trust that she's able to work for a pittance at a not-for-profit, where she has started a secret love affair with a senior colleague. But when a scandal derails Malcolm's career, leaving Darley financially in the lurch, when Sasha glimpses the less-than-attractive attributes beneath the Stockton brood's carefully-guarded fȧade, and when Georgiana discovers her boyfriend is married and still in love with his wife, they must all come to terms with what money can't buy--the bonds of love that can make and unmake a family. Rife with the indulgent pleasures of affluent WASPS in New York and full of recognizable if fallible characters (and a couple of appalling ones!), it's about the peculiar unknowability of someone else's family, about the haves and have-nots and the nuances in between, and the insanity of first love--Pineapple Street is a scintillating, wryly comic novel of race, class, wealth and privilege in an age that disdains all of it. 

Rental House 

by Weike Wang 

Riverhead Books, 2024. 215 pages. Fiction. 

Keru and Nate first meet in college, brought together by a joke at a Halloween party and marrying a few years later. Misfits in their own families, they find in each other a feeling of home. Keru is the only child of strict, well-educated Chinese immigrant parents who hold her to impossible standards even as an adult. Nate is from a rural, white, working class family that has never trusted his intellectual ambitions or - now - the citizenship status of his "foreign" wife. Nevertheless, some years into their marriage, Keru and Nate find themselves incorporating their families into two carefully planned vacations. The results are disastrous and revealing. First in a cozy beach house on Cape Cod, and later in a luxury bungalow in the Catskills, the couple is forced to confront the hidden truths at the core of their relationship. Alongside their giant sheepdog Mantou, Keru and Nate navigate visits from in-laws, a sibling, and surprising new friends, all while trying to determine if they have what it takes to make themselves and each other happy.

JK

Hugh Howey's Wool

Hugh Howey’s Wool
by Hugh Howey, Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Jimmy Broxton
Jet City Comics, 2014. 160 pages. Graphic Novels.

The world as we know it ended a long time ago. The earth's surface is a toxic wasteland, and the remnants of the human race reside in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep, governed by strict regulations for their own protection. One day, the well-respected Sheriff Holston unexpectedly breaks the greatest taboo of all: he asks to go outside. An unlikely candidate is appointed to replace him: Juliette, a mechanic who has spent most of her life working deep in the lower levels. Now Juliette is tasked with leading the people of the silo, and she will soon learn just how badly her world is broken...

Hugh Howey’s Wool is a comic book adaptation of Wool, Howey's 2011 novel (the book series has also been adapted recently into Silo, a series currently streaming on Apple TV+). I love a good post-apocalyptic drama, especially one with a big mystery to solve, and this book delivers on both fronts. Gray and Palmiotti have crafted a tightly focused version of Howey’s original story that serves well as a stand-alone read. Broxton’s artwork really captures the paradoxically vast yet claustrophobic atmosphere of the Silo. (Comic art fans will enjoy the bonus "making of" materials included in this volume.) Science fiction fans will find Hugh Howey's Wool is great by itself or as a jumping off point into the larger world of the Silo novels. Personally, I am eager to find out what happens next!

If you like Hugh Howey's Wool, you might also like:

Arca
by Van Jensen and Jesse Lonergan
IDW Publishing, 2023. 176 pages. Graphic Novels.

The world burned. But the rich and powerful... they had a plan. When society fell apart, a select group of billionaires had an escape hatch: a rocket aimed at the nearest habitable planet, a ship equipped with many of the luxuries of life on Earth--why survive if you can't survive in style? Their every need is tended to by teenagers who are willing to act as slaves in return for the promise of a new life. This is a good story. But, like so many stories, it is not true.

Eden
by Christopher Sebela and Marc Laming
Humanoids, Inc., 2024. 131 pages. Graphic Novels.

The world is dying. As government and the environment crumble, humanity's only hope is Eden, a newly discovered Earth-like planet unspoiled by the folly of man. Massive Edencorp spaceships begin to shuttle millions of people lucky enough to be chosen by the lottery to the bright future of Eden... but a bright future for whom?

-LAH

The Fireborne Blade

The Fireborne Blade
By Charlotte Bond
Tor Publishing Group, 2024. 167 pages. Fantasy.

Maddileh is a knight. There aren't many women in her line of work, and it often feels like the sneering and contempt from her peers is harder to stomach than the actual dragon slaying. But she's a knight, and made of sterner stuff. A minor infraction forces her to redeem her honor in the most dramatic way possible, she must retrieve the fabled Fireborne Blade from its keeper, legendary dragon the White Lady, or die trying. If history tells us anything, it's that "die trying" is where to wager your coin.

First of all, this book presented a new take on dragon lore, telling stories through snippets of historical documents, which I found delightful.  Secondly, it decenters the stories of men in power in such a way that I didn't even know it was happening until I discussed the book with my father, which is also extremely delightful.  Finally, it had an amazingly executed twist.  To sum it up, if you support women's rights, gay knights, or dragons you'll enjoy this bite-sized exploration of epic fantasy.

If you like The Fireborne Blade, you might also like: 

Burning Roses

By S.L. Huang

Tom Doherty Associates, 2020. 156 pages. Fantasy.

Rosa, also known as Red Riding Hood, is done with wolves and woods. Hou Yi the Archer is tired, and knows she's past her prime. They would both rather just be retired, but that's not what the world has ready for them. When deadly sunbirds begin to ravage the countryside, threatening everything they've both grown to love, the two must join forces. Now blessed and burdened with the hindsight of middle age, they begin a quest that's a reckoning of sacrifices made and mistakes mourned, of choices and family and the quest for immortality.

Spear

By Nicola Griffith

Tom Doherty Associates, 2022. 184 pages. Fantasy.

The girl knows she has a destiny before she even knows her name. She grows up in the wild, in a cave with her mother, but visions of a faraway lake come to her on the spring breeze, and when she hears a traveler speak of Artos, king of Caer Leon, she knows that her future lies at his court. And so, brimming with magic and eager to test her strength, she breaks her covenant with her mother and, with a broken hunting spear and mended armour, rides on a bony gelding to Caer Leon. On her adventures she will meet great knights and steal the hearts of beautiful women. She will fight warriors and sorcerers. And she will find her love, and the lake, and her fate.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune

By Nghi Vo
Tom Doherty Associates, 2020. 121 pages. Fantasy.

A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully. Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.

KJ

Isola

Isola
by Allegra Goodman
New York: The Dial Press, 2025. 346 pages. Fiction

Based on a piece of history, orphaned Marguerite de la Rocque, in 1531 France, is betrayed by her guardian, Jean Francois de la Rocque de Roberval, who sells her inheritance and takes her on an expedition to New France. Aboard the ship, Marguerite falls in love with the secretary, and their secret romance is discovered by Roberval, who punishes them including Marguerite's maid by marooning them on a remote island. As the harsh winter sets in, they struggle to survive. Soon, Marguerite is the only survivor, forced to confront her despair and uncover a strength she never knew she had.

I love stories that take a piece of history and imagine what it could have been like, and Isola by Allegra Goodman does just that in an incredible way. This novel reimagines a real historical event, and I was in awe of how Goodman brought it to life. It's a story of survival, and the details she weaves into the narrative are both thoughtful and moving. The adventure is gripping, and her lyrical writing pulls you in from the first page. The emotional depth of the characters made me connect with their journey on a deeper level, and it was easy to see why it’s a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. Isola is a heart-filled, unforgettable read that I couldn't put down.

If you liked Isola, you might also like: 

The Vaster Wilds
by Lauren Groff
New York: Riverhead Books, 2023. 256 pages. Fiction

A servant girl escapes from a colonial settlement in the wilderness. She carries nothing with her but her wits, a few possessions, and the spark of god that burns hot within her. What she finds in this terra incognita is beyond the limits of her imagination and will bend her belief in everything that her own civilization has taught her.

Whale Fall
by Elizabeth O’Connor
New York: Pantheon Books, 2024. 209 pages. Fiction

In 1938, a dead whale washes ashore on a remote Welsh island, sparking both dread and curiosity in Manod, a young woman trapped in a life of duty to her family. Yearning to escape the island's harsh existence, Manod sees hope in the arrival of two English ethnographers studying the island culture. As she becomes drawn to them, she experiences a sensual awakening, yet grapples with her community being misrepresented. Whale Fall explores how personal ambitions clash with community bonds and the consequences of confronting an outside world encroaching on their way of life.

BWW

Zendaya

Zendaya: Una Biografía No Autorizada
Por Alison James
Roca Editorial, 2024. 224 páginas. Biografía

Una biografía para saberlo todo de Zendaya: un icono de su generación con más de 200 millones de seguidores y una de las 100 personas más influyentes del mundo, según la revista Time.

Descubre cómo Zendaya ha conquistado el mundo del cine, la televisión y la moda para convertirse en el rostro de toda una generación. Desde sus primeras apiciones en Disney Channel, Zendaya ha ido conquistando el corazón del público y la crítica con cada nuevo paso en su carrera.

En esta detallada biografía, la periodista Alison James, colaboradora habitual de la prensa estadounidense y autora de otras biografías de personajes públicos, como Bruce Springsteen, la reina Elizabeth II o el rey Charles III, explora todos los aspectos de la vida de la actriz y su carrera hasta la fecha.

Lleno de fotografías a todo color, el libro incluye in repaso desde sus primeras incursiones en la música hasta su sensacional ascenso en el mundo de la moda y el cine; así como algunos apuntes en su vida pública y vida personal, incluyendo desde su activismo hasta su consolidada relación con Tom Holland.

Adéntrate por completo en el fascinante mundo de una de las estrellas más populares del momento. 
El libro resalta cómo Zendaya ha conquistado el mundo del cine, la televisión y la moda, convirtiéndose en el rostro de toda una generación. Analiza su influencia no solo como artista, sino también como figura pública que utiliza su plataforma para promover cambios positivos en la industria y la sociedad.

Esta biografía no autorizada ofrece una visión completa de Zendaya, desde sus humildes comienzos hasta su estatus actual como fenómeno global, proporcionando a los lectores una comprensión más profunda de su impacto cultural y su trayectoria profesional.

Si le gusta «Zendaya» le recomendamos:

El Libro Polinesio
Por Los Polinesios
Montena, 2025. 256 páginas. Biografía

En diez años ha sucedido de todo: giras internacionales, sold out a sus eventos en minutos, premios, botones diamante en YouTube, casi 80 millones de followers en total en sus redes sociales, hasta evolucionar profesional y personalmente, encontrar su esencia y convertirse en adultos que nos han dado lo mejor de sí.

Pero el camino no ha sido fácil, los tres hermanos han tenido momentos increíbles con los polinesios en distintas ciudades, y también instantes en los que han tenido que hacer a un lado “una vida normal” con tal de ser lo que siempre quisieron.

A través de este gran viaje en forma de libro, conocerás cada uno de esos instantes emblemáticos para la gran familia polinesia y descubrirás por qué se han quedado en el corazón de millones de personas. No olvidemos las palabras de Rafa, Karen y Lesslie a la comunidad polinesia: ningún sueño es demasiado grande si pones tu corazón, entusiasmo y trabajo en alcanzarlo.

"El Libro Polinesio" parece ser una obra que combina elementos biográficos con mensajes motivacionales, dirigida principalmente a los fans de Los Polinesios y a jóvenes aspirantes a creadores de contenido. Ofrece una mirada íntima a las experiencias y el camino al éxito de estos influyentes youtubers latinoamericanos.

Taylor Swift: Un Diario Swiftie
Por Marcos Bueno y Laia López

Alfaguara IJC, 2024. 123 páginas. Biografía

Sea cual sea tu era, este es tu libro.

Todo el mundo sabe quién es Taylor Swift: su reputación la precede. Artista, compositora, actriz, directora, ganadora de miles de premios. En conclusión, una de las figuras más importantes de la industria musical hoy en día.

Pero ¿cómo se ha transformado Taylor Swift en uno de los grandes iconos musicales del siglo XXI?? ¿Qué tiene su música para conseguir atrapar a tanta gente y despertar una fidelidad casi religiosa en sus seguidores? ¿Qué hay en sus letras para que toda una generación se sienta reflejada en ellas?

Este diario trata de responder a esas preguntas. Aquí, la vida de alguien que lleva toda su vida escuchando a Taylor Swift (alguien que podrías ser tú) y la de Taylor se mezclan y se confunden. Porque seguro que esto es lo que tú has sentido alguna vez, ¿verdad? Que Taylor, al hablar de sí misma, hablaba también de ti y de todas esas cosas que recuerdas demasiado bien.

El libro busca explorar el fenómeno cultural que rodea a Taylor Swift, analizando cómo su música ha logrado crear una conexión tan fuerte con sus seguidores y por qué sus letras resuenan con tanta fuerza en su audiencia. Este enfoque permite examinar no solo la carrera de Swift, sino también su impacto en la industria musical y en la cultura popular en general. Este libro promete ser una lectura atractiva tanto para fans dedicados como para aquellos interesados en comprender el fenómeno Taylor Swift y su influencia en la música contemporánea.

MEB

Labels: Español, MEB, No Ficcion, Adulto Joven, Biografía

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

The Honey Witch

The Honey Witch
By Sydney J. Shields
Hatchette Book Group, 2024. 359 pages. Fantasy.

Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude has always preferred the company of the spirits of the meadow to any of the suitors who've tried to woo her. So, when her grandmother whisks her away to her cottage on the tiny Isle of Innisfree with an offer to train her as the next Honey Witch, she accepts immediately. But her newfound magic and independence comes with a price: no one can fall in love with the Honey Witch. When Lottie Burke, a notoriously grumpy skeptic who doesn't believe in magic, shows up on her doorstep, Marigold can't resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. But soon, Marigold begins to care for Lottie in ways she never expected. And, when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her new home--at the risk of losing her magic and her heart.

This is without a doubt the book version of a bumblebee on a summer day, mostly lazy but still a bit alarming when you hear the sudden buzzing sometimes. It was mainly low stakes coziness that made me wish I was living in the countryside with my own sapphic love story. The plot progresses slowly giving the main character time to explore themes of grief, belonging, and wanting. But towards the end it picks up pace in order to resolve the main conflict in a rather dramatic showdown. If you need a break from high stakes fantasy series, this gentle stand alone is a great palate cleanser. 

If you like The Honey Witch, you might also like: 

The Spellshop

By Sarah Beth Durst

Bramble, 2024. 376 pages. Fantasy.

Kiela, a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, and her assistant Caz, a magically sentient spider plant, have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire's most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city's elite. Then a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames. She and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she'd see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy--and very handsome--neighbor who can't take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she's fed and help fix up her new home. In need of income and reluctantly inspired by the beauty and people of the island who have welcomed her into their hearts, Kiela discovers something that even the bakery in town doesn't have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries that become the town's, and her handsome neighbor's, new favorite confection. But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela decides to open the island's first-ever and much-needed secret spellshop.

The Midnight Bargain

By C.L. Polk

Erewhon Books, 2020. 375 pages. Fantasy.

Beatrice Clayborn is a sorceress who practices magic in secret, terrified of the day she will be locked into a marital collar that will cut off her powers to protect her unborn children. She dreams of becoming a full-fledged Magus and pursuing magic as her calling as men do, but her family has staked everything to equip her for Bargaining Season, when young men and women of means descend upon the city to negotiate the best marriages. The Clayborns are in severe debt, and only she can save them, by securing an advantageous match before their creditors come calling. In a stroke of luck, Beatrice finds a grimoire that contains the key to becoming a Magus, but before she can purchase it, a rival sorceress swindles the book right out of her hands. Beatrice summons a spirit to help her get it back, but her new ally exacts a price: Beatrice's first kiss . . . with her adversary's brother, the handsome, compassionate, and fabulously wealthy Ianthe Lavan. The more Beatrice is entangled with the Lavan siblings, the harder her decision becomes: If she casts the spell to become a Magus, she will devastate her family and lose the only man to ever see her for who she is; but if she marries--even for love--she will sacrifice her magic, her identity, and her dreams. But how can she choose just one, knowing she will forever regret the path not taken?

The Phoenix Keeper

By S.A. Maclean
Orbit Books, 2024. 486 pages. Fantasy.

As head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures, Aila's childhood dream of conserving critically endangered firebirds seems closer than ever. There's just one glaring caveat: her zoo's breeding program hasn't functioned for a decade. When a tragic phoenix heist sabotages the flagship initiative at a neighboring zoo, Aila must prove her derelict facilities are fit to take the reins. But saving an entire species from extinction requires more than stellar animal handling skills. Carnivorous water horses, tempestuous thunderhawks, mischievous dragons ... Aila has no problem wrangling beasts. But mustering the courage to ask for help from the hotshot griffin keeper at the zoo's most popular exhibit? Virtually impossible. Especially when that hotshot griffin keeper happens to be her arch-rival from college: Luciana, an annoyingly brooding and insufferable know-it-all with the face of a goddess who's convinced that Aila's beloved phoenix would serve their cause better as an active performer rather than as a passive conservation exhibit. With the world watching and the threat of poachers looming, Aila's success is no longer merely a matter of keeping her job.

KJ