A GROUP OF MYSTERIOUS CHILDREN descend on a provincial city in Argentina, and everything about life there becomes unmoored. Haunting parable with a deep, sad love at its heart. B PLUS

A LUMINOUS REPUBLIC
Mariner Books
2020

TELEPORTATION IS NOW AN EVERYDAY thing, but it hasn’t brought about utopia at all. A group of angry teens risk everything to uncover a megacorp’s terrible secrets. Great characters, great thriller, don’t miss it! A MINUS

POINT B (A TELEPORTATION LOVE STORY)
Drew Magary
2020

TWO SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN ARTISTS navigate friendship, social media, and the quest for fame. Wickedly sharp portrayal of the Toronto arts scene, heartbreaking evocation of missed human connections. B PLUS

THE SUBTWEET
ECW Press
2020

THE WAVE OF KIDNAPPINGS IN THE 1930s US, vividly revisited in an engaging, hard-boiled style. Shocking to see how far beyond the Lindbergh baby case this stretched. SOLID B

THE KIDNAP YEARS
Sourcebooks
2020

WITH THE AFTERLIFE IN PERIL, a ragtag team of immortals try to mend the walls of Chaos. Clever, fun fantasy adventure. B PLUS

THE LEAGUE OF UNUSUAL DENIZENS (CIRCLES IN HELL BOOK 7)
Mark Cain
2020

A MYSTERIOUS GOVERNMENT EXPERIMENT, a young Black woman in need of cash: the stage is set for a tense, brilliantly timely thriller. Outstanding. SOLID A

LAKEWOOD
Amistad
2020

HUMANS AND SWIMMING: A LOVE AFFAIR thousands of years old, beautifully explored in a captivating, solidly reported book. A MINUS

WHY WE SWIM
Algonquin Books
2020

THE UNLIKELIEST SURVIVORS of a sudden apocalypse are a tender-hearted, massively obese recluse and his beloved dog. Fascinating worldbuilding, memorable protagonist. B PLUS

BEFORE AND AFTER
Andrew Shanahan
2020

THE EXTRAORDINARY INSIGHTS OF DARRYL PINCKNEY—on history, art, race, sexuality, class, and national identity—captured in a marvelously readable collection of essays. A MINUS

BUSTED IN NEW YORK AND OTHER ESSAYS
Farrar
2019

AN ICELANDIC WOMAN’S BOLD adventures to Greenland, then to Vinland. Beautiful recreation of the world of a character from the ancient sagas, told in lush, vivid prose. B PLUS

THE SEA ROAD
Canongate Books
2020