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What do you do when your whole world changes? That is the question Vasya must answer in Katherine Arden’s gorgeous story of Russian history and mythology.

Vasilisa Petrovna has always been a strange girl. Everyone in her village says so; her face looks like a frog’s, she runs around in the woods like some sort of wild thing, and she has a habit of talking to the air. What the villagers don’t know is Vasya has the sight and can speak with the chyruthi – spirits of nature and the home. And the chyruthi are afraid.

Brit Bennett‘s debut novel, The Mothers, earned well-deserved attention in 2016. 

Although novelist Mary Beth Keane received strong reviews for her previous publications, The Walking People (200

Written as an oral history of a fictional punk rock duo in the 70’s, The Final Revival of Opal and Nev draws a lot of comparisons to 

For those that are excited about the Shadow And Bone adaptation that is being brought to us by Netflix, we wanted to create a collection of books that you may enjoy if you enjoyed the Grishaverse series!

For curious minds who don’t know what The Grishaverse series consists of:

Kindred, by classic science fiction author Octavia Butler, is a novel about a Black woman from 1970s Los Angeles who finds herself repeatedly pulled back in time to pre-Civil War Maryland, where she must save the life of her white ancestor. While there, she experiences the horrors of slavery first-hand and is forced to make difficult choices in order to stay alive and return home.

Kathryn Stockett’s first historical fiction novel is amazing. It’s about the lives of African American maids/nannies who served white women in the 1960’s, particularly in Mississippi.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is written in letter form, which, admittedly, was a little confusing at first, but once I had a firm grasp of the main characters, I was hooked. The story takes place right after World War II. The letters span from January to September 1946. The characters reside in the UK (mostly London) and St. Peter Port. St. Peter Port is part of Guernsey, a Channel Island, located in the English Channel between the UK and France.

Reading The Henna Artist, first novel by Alka Joshi , transported me to 1956, post independence India. Main character, Lakshmi, after fleeing from her arranged marriage to an abusive husband, makes her way to rural India, learning to be a henna artist on the way , serving the wealthy who believe henna artistry has magical powers.

Although Case Histories is technically fiction, it is also a mystery. Or actually, mysteries. But what makes this book really stand out are the characters. The reader gets to know them, their thoughts, their flaws (and strengths), what motivates them, and what they feel. They are multilayered and complex, and most importantly for the reader, fascinating.

The Mountains Sing is the English debut novel of Vietnamese poet, Nguyẽ̂n Phan Qué̂ Mai.

Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson