THE OLD SOUTH, RICHLY portrayed in 1946 by bestselling Black author Frank Yerby. Gorgeous prose puts GWTW to shame.

THE FOXES OF HARROW
Frank Yerby
2016

GORGEOUS, HEARTBREAKING JAMAICAN novel captures the beauty of the country, the struggles of its people. A MINUS

HERE COMES THE SUN
Liveright Publishing Corporation
2016

FASCINATING, THOUGHTFUL MEMOIR of a childhood spent in the Transcendental Meditation community in Iowa. B PLUS

GREETINGS FROM UTOPIA PARK: SURVIVING A TRANSCENDENT CHILDHOOD
HarperCollins
2016

WELL-CRAFTED HORROR tale centers on a house’s malign influence on a neighborhood. Clever premise, prose. B PLUS

HOLLOW HOUSE
Omnium Gatherum
2016

BEHIND THE MYTHOLOGY of eccentric writer Joe Gould, historian Jill Lepore uncovers a more complicated truth. B PLUS

JOE GOULD’S TEETH
Knopf Publishing Group
2016

MARVELOUS FAUX-VICTORIAN THRILLER mashes up the Brontës and Dickens with a fierce, unconventional heroine. A MINUS

JANE STEELE
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
2016

FAST-PACED PARANORMAL THRILLER with a wicked sense of humor mixes aliens, vampires, and a surfer heroine. B PLUS

DAY FOR NIGHT
Vagabondage Press
2016

A FOOD LOVER’S MEMOIR of his celiac diagnosis, its impact on his life. Thoughtful if a bit over-impassioned. SOLID B

IN MEMORY OF BREAD
Clarkson Potter Publishers
2016

A SCANDAL IN TURIN pits neighbor against neighbor in this whip-smart satirical mystery from Amara Lakhous. A MINUS

THE PRANK OF THE GOOD LITTLE VIRGIN OF VIA ORMEA
Europa Editions
2016

UNSETTLING MISOGYNIST DYSTOPIA has strong characterization, atmosphere, but fuller worldbuilding needed. B MINUS

THE MATCHING (THE PAPER DUCHESS BOOK 2)
Bogus Caller Press
2016