A TEEN ARTIST WRESTLING with gender identity, an anonymous troll, and a complicated web of relationships, lovingly brought to life in a vivid, affirming story. B PLUS

FELIX EVER AFTER
HarperCollins
2020

YOUNG LOVE THREATENED by deadly secrets and police racism in post-World War II England. Compelling book combines mystery, romance, and a distinctive perspective on recent history. B PLUS

THIS LOVELY CITY
Anansi International
2020

A CLOSEKNIT BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD in St. Louis, swept away by “urban renewal,” brought vividly to life in a warm-hearted and loving memoir. B PLUS

THE LAST CHILDREN OF MILL CREEK
Belt Publishing
2020

A CUBAN GHOST STORY with a rich, beautiful heart and voice: a lost revolutionary haunts her own nephew in a desperate attempt to find the truth. B PLUS

THE BOOK OF LOST SAINTS
Imprint
2019

A LAST-CHANCE JOB for a Black political consultant takes him deep into rural white South Carolina, where he forms some unlikely alliances. Sharp, witty tragicomedy of political manners. B PLUS

THE COYOTES OF CARTHAGE
Ecco Press
2020

A BEIJING ARTIST, WIDOWED suddenly, searches for a way to recreate herself. Lovely, dreamlike, poetic prose. B PLUS

BRAISED PORK
Grove Press
2020

MURDER AT MESA VERDE! An archaeologist and his family encounter a set of brutal crimes at the ancient Native cliff city. Sharp, smart mystery with lots of local and historical detail. B PLUS

MESA VERDE VICTIM
Torrey House Press
2020

SPRAWLING, SURREAL EPIC about nothing and everything and adorable organic robots and the human propensities for cruelty and love. B PLUS

BUBBLEGUM
Doubleday
2020

A TEHRAN BUS DRIVERS’ STRIKE lands a man in solitary confinement. Beautiful, thoughtful novel captures decades of turmoil in Iran through the eyes of an idiosyncratic protagonist. B PLUS

THEN THE FISH SWALLOWED HIM
HarperVia
2020

TIME TRAVEL TO NEANDERTHAL days? High-concept science fiction with lots of action and a strong evocation of both the near future and wildly distant past. B PLUS

OBSOLETE THEOREM (ACROSS HORIZONS BOOK 1)
Stan C. Smith
2020