INSIGHTFUL INQUIRY INTO HOW RACISM in the US has created a self-reinforcing caste system draws connections to the history of India’s caste system and Nazi Germany’s Nuremberg Laws. Thought-provoking and powerful. A MINUS

CASTE (OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB)
Random House
2020

ELEGANT STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS NOVEL presents a young woman’s day, bit by bit, as her thoughts reveal anxiety, self-harm, infatuation, impatience, alienation, and trauma. Daring and resonant. B PLUS

LITTLE SCRATCH
Doubleday
2020

SCIENCE FICTION AND METAPHYSICS MEET in this whimsical, witty interdimensional adventure. Clever fun! B PLUS

OCCAM'S ODYSSEY (A QUANTUM HEART TRILOGY BOOK 2)
Antonis Tsagaris
2020

A LAKOTA RESERVATION “ENFORCER” has to risk everything to protect his nephew and his people. Gorgeously written Native noir with sharp, unforgettable characterization. A MINUS

WINTER COUNTS
Ecco
2020

PALM BEACH REELS as its galas explode with inexplicable snakes, in this latest (and very timely) comic thriller from Carl Hiaasen. A MINUS

SQUEEZE ME
Knopf
2020

A BRAND-NEW BED-AND-BREAKFAST has a bit of a ghost problem. And then a bit of a murder problem. Cute paranormal mystery with a touch of romance and a quaint Maine setting. SOLID B

THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS: MURDER AND BREAKFAST (A CANINE CASPER COZY MYSTERY—BOOK 1)
Sophie Love
2020

A FIERCE LITTLE GHOST from the old Black Brooklyn community of Weeksville finds the right people to hear her story: a librarian haunted by her own sister’s early death and a young widower. Sweet novel about history, love, and loss. SOLID B

UNSEEN CITY
Red Hen Press
2020

ELENA FERRANTE, POET laureate of young women’s disaffection, triumphs again in a tale of a precocious, angry girl from two shattered families. A MINUS

THE LYING LIFE OF ADULTS
Europa Editions
2020

A WOMAN WITHOUT A MEMORY nonetheless feels compelled to help her husband become a rock star. But where did she come from? Why does 1969 feel so strange to her? Intriguing speculative fiction with a musical twist. A MINUS

HARMONY LOST (SONGS OUT OF TIME BOOK 1)
Imagine Imprints
2020

A GHANAIAN MARRIAGE STORY with a powerfully realized heroine captures some of the tensions between deep-rooted cultural traditions and global media ideals. Strong and evocative writing shines. B PLUS

HIS ONLY WIFE
Algonquin Books
2020