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Reading Deacon King Kong reminded me of listening to a rich and soulful jazz composition played by a brilliant ensemble that improvises playfully like nobody's business and in doing so takes my breath away. I won't even try and extend this metaphor.

I loved this new time travel novel from Emily St. John Mandel. Covering a span of several hundred years from 1912 onwards, we are taken to moments in time connected to a mysterious time slip or glitch.

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco is a book full of thrilling twists. There are the mysteries of the paranormal that are explained as they go through. As it also mentions Italian culture and talks of food with accurate descriptions of them.

This thoughtful poetic writer is applicable for our times, opening the reader to compassion and a system understanding of oppressive systems. Their approach to social activism is inviting and ingenious. 

-Teen Reviewer

In 2021, poet, scholar, and Atlantic Magazine staff writer Clint Smith published his first major work of nonfiction,

A lesser known title in Jane Austen's collection of novels, Mansfield Park is certainly a wild ride and does not disapoint in all that is ridiculous and full of drama. Heroine Fanny Price is born to a poor family with many, many siblings, and is taken in by her aunt and uncle who can afford to give her a proper, respectable upbringing. Her experience in her new home, Mansfield Park, is something to be desired as her family members constantly treat her as their servant, entertainment, and charity case, while they behave in the most selfish, unobservant way possible.

The Sparrow (1996), by Mary Doria Russell, opens in 2059, in the aftermath of a disastrous Jesuit mission to make first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. Emilio Sandoz, a priest and linguist who is the only survivor among the mission’s crew, has just returned to Earth physically mutilated and spiritually broken.

If you enjoy poetry, I recommend this collection of classics. There are a variety of long and short poems as well as a plethora of authors and topics. 

-Teen Reviewer

Yes, or dying, would be Metaxas' answer to the title of his book Is Atheism Dead? (2021). 

Meg's science fiction journey to find her father is a thoughtful read. It's use of quantum physics and theology is an interesting mix. I highly recommend it and the series it is part of. One of my favorite books and authors. 

-Teen Reviewer

Kate Grenville takes us back to the colonization of Australia in this hauntingly atmospheric tale. Thornhill, a British convict, is sentenced to be deported to Australia for a petty crime committed in his quest to survive poverty.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (2021), by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, is a Chinese fantasy novel series centering on cultivators, magic users who develop supernatural powers through training and meditation.