Innholdsfortegnelse for Booklist, Vol. 122, No. 1, September 2025 i Booklist

How fitting to begin a new volume year with spotlights on romance and food, themes that nourish the soul and help us prepare for challenges that lie ahead. At the start of each volume, I look back at the previous year and consider milestones reached and setbacks that caused disruption. Today I’m looking back even further to 2019, when I started at Booklist. Six months into it, the pandemic began. Since that time, book challenges and book bans grew substantially. From ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom: “In 2024, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 821 attempts to censor library materials and services. In those cases, 2,452 unique titles were challenged. Last year, ALA tracked 1,247 attempts with 4,240 unique titles challenged. Though the number of reports decreased in 2024, the…

There’s a picture of me, not quite a year old, in a blue sailor suit and a red ribbon tied around my neck, staring avidly at a picture book. I couldn’t have been reading yet, that wouldn’t happen until I was close to three, but the devotion and the calling were already there. I would always prefer reading to pretty much anything. Books were everywhere as I grew up because my parents and older brother were avid readers, too, and I know how fortunate I was. There were also books in the sprawling home of my great-uncle, a sales representative for Harper & Row, before it was absorbed into HarperCollins, now my own publisher, and in the duplex townhouses of my grandparents. Going to the library was special, though. School…

Not only shining examples of cookbooks and food writing, these extraordinary books also look at the how and the why, the history and the philosophy of what we eat. —Annie Bostrom All Consuming: Why We Eat the Way We Eat Now. By Ruby Tandoh. 2025. Knopf, $29 (9798217207862). This fascinating cultural history traces the many forces that determine how we discover new foods, how we shop, how we cook, and how our relationship with food has evolved since the 1940s. Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love. By Samin Nosrat. 2025. Random, $45 (9781984857781). Nosrat’s long-awaited follow-up to Salt Fat Acid Heat (2017) is a collection of essential recipes and kitchen wisdom that celebrates cooking as an opportunity for connection and community. How the World Eats:…

There are countless books from Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa that English-speaking readers simply aren’t able to delve into until an enterprising and hard-working translator gets to work. The breakaway success of works like My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein, and, more recently, What You Are Looking for Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama, translated from the Japanese by Alison Watts, shows that these works are accessible, compelling, and thought-provoking as any others. Here are some must-read translations by women authors for readers ready to broaden their horizons and read from all around the world. La Bastarda. By Trifonia Melibea Obono. Tr. by Lawrence Schimel. 2018. Feminist, $15.95 (9781936932238). Okomo is a teenage girl living in the oppressive household of her…

Adult Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. By Anaïs Flogny. Art by the author. Oct. 2025. 240p. Abrams ComicArts, $25.99 (9781419785696). 741.5. It’s 1938, and young Italian immigrant Jules catches the eye of Adam Czar, a kingpin in the Chicago Outfit. Clever and smart, Jules joins the organization knowing that in this world, everyone is dispensible. Rising in status, he drinks in the feeling of power he gets when people who used to look down on him are forced to treat him with respect. Jules and Adam become lovers, and the power dynamic is clear: Adam says they are partners, but in reality, he calls the shots. When a gang war breaks out, the two flee to New York City, where the Mafia is controlled by Italians, forcing Jules to take…

I recently made it a priority to unplug and take back the attention screens were demanding of me. It’s too easy to squander what little free time we have on screens, where algorithms that store our every view or click can pry away our time by coaxing us to observe people we do not know, buy things we do not need, and “learn” factoids that may be interesting but not necessarily true. After seven months being unplugged from screens, the hours that I used to spend doom scrolling are mine again, and it has led me to the deep conviction to be intentional: to treat my time like it is valuable, to be selective about what deserves my attention, and to fill gaps in my knowledge from trusted, verified sources.…

Bad Publicity. By Bianca Gillam. Read by Lucy Boynton. 2025. 8hr. Books on Tape, DD (9798217064403). Narrator Boynton brings warmth and depth to this second-chance slow-burn romance, enhancing the enemies-to-lovers dynamic with a heartfelt performance. Five years after graduating from college (and after her father’s passing), Andie has landed her dream job as a book publicist in New York City. But her excitement quickly fades when she discovers that her first client is none other than Jack Carlson, the bestselling author who also happens to be the college ex who broke her heart and nearly derailed her life. To make matters worse, Andie and Jack are now stuck on a promotional tour across Europe to promote his latest release. Boynton’s dynamic narration adds emotional weight to the story’s forced proximity,…

Flight Without End. By Joseph Roth. Tr. by David Le Vay and Beatrice Musgrave. Read by Alan Fraser. 2024. 4hr. Cicero Marketing, DD (9798347925070). In this 1927 novel—by an author whose genius in capturing the Austro-Hungarian Empire was overlooked by contemporary criticism in an attempt to archive the bygones—Roth demonstrates that his finger laid directly on the pulse of his time. Tunda, an officer of the Austro-Hungarian army, experiences more than his contemporaries: fighting for his homeland, being stranded in Siberia, caught in the Russian Revolution, and more. Fraser opens his narration with a hint of hesitation, conscious that this multifaceted 20th century odyssey is not a romanticized literary time stamp but an utmost search for meaning in the onset of modernism. Soon, the listener is absorbed in the fascinating…

Journalism & Publishing The Onion Story: How a Band of Misfits, Dropouts, and Sad Sacks Built the World’s Most Trusted News Source. By Scott Dikkers. Oct. 2025. 288p. BenBella/Matt Holt, $32 (9781637747513); e-book (9781637747520). 081. A so-called “area man” writes the funny, panoramic, and kinetic story of the a legendary humor juggernaut that launched careers, memes, and even a few failed films. The man is Scott Dikkers, and the juggernaut is The Onion, a name that has become synonymous with what news satire can be. The Onion Story begins in late 1980s Madison, Wisconsin, where a group of comedy devotees started a satirical weekly newspaper in a college town already brimming with them. The book is not quite a memoir or a comedy-writing career how-to, but The Onion Story, like…

Intrigued by the prospect of a film adaptation of Walter Mosley’s complexly philosophical and unnerving novel, The Man in My Basement, one of his imaginative explorations beyond his trailblazing crime fiction, we jumped at the chance to speak with Mosley and Nadia Latif, a London-based theatermaker and director. This is her first feature film. SEAMAN: Had you ever envisioned a film adaptation for The Man in My Basement? MOSLEY: Certainly at some point I did. But I try, when I’m writing a book, not to think about the book as a film, because then the writing starts to change, and not necessarily for the best. SEAMAN: The Man in My Basement came out in 2004, a year after What Next: A Memoir Toward World Peace. Was there any synergy between these…

Each month, members of our cookbook club take home a title, prepare recipes, and then gather at the library to share their culinary adventures. During our meetings, we discuss the book’s layout, photographs, narrative style, and, most importantly, the real-world success (or failure) of the recipes. After our conversation, I compile the group’s feedback into a collective review, which is added to the Chicago Public Library website for fellow readers to enjoy. I turned to this list recently when refreshing my cookbook collection for inspiration. Overall, we’ve discovered that a cookbook’s vibe is as essential as the recipes themselves—especially when we’re nudged beyond our culinary comfort zones—so we gravitate towards reassuring tones and character-filled narratives. We are happy to share with you some of our favorites; hopefully they’ll become your…

The enemies-to-lovers trope takes many forms in the most exceptional romance debuts reviewed in Booklist over the past year. —Donna Seaman The Austen Affair. By Madeline Bell. 2025. St. Martin’s/Griffin, $19 (9781250373519). Tess Bright, deeply serious about her role as Austen protagonist Catherine Morland, is frustrated with disrespectful costar Hugh Balfour as Henry Tilney, but they have worse problems after they end up back in 1815 in period costume. Bad Publicity. By Bianca Gillam. 2025. Penguin, $18 (9780143138600). Andie is beyond excited to score a job as a senior publicist in New York until she learns that her first major client is Jack Carlson, who nearly ruined her life. Crash Landing. By Annie McQuaid. 2025. Avon, $18.99 (9780063374867). Wyatt Brooks broke Piper Adams’ heart. Now they’re attending the same wedding…

Adult Calavera, P.I. By Marco Finnegan. Art by the author. Sept. 2025. 128p. Oni, $19.99 (9781637158463). 741.5. In this supernatural noir with a rock-solid premise, cartoonist Finnegan, who also worked on Dynamite’s 007, proves once again that he knows a thing or two about thrillers. Juan Calavera is a celebrated L.A. PI sadly killed on a case. When his former colleague Maria’s son is kidnapped, only Calavera can help her. Answering the call from beyond the grave, he returns from the dead, a stylish skeleton in a fedora, for one last case. What unfolds is a story with plenty of hardboiled action along with supernatural twists. We may not get to know Calavera well, but that also adds to the undead character’s mystique. The art is the real winner here,…

Older Readers Can Posters Kill? Antisemitic Propaganda and World War II. By Jerry Faivish and Kathryn Cole. Oct. 2025. 100p. illus. Second Story, paper, $22.95 (9781772604290). Gr. 6–10. 940.53022. This unique offering, an annotated collection of archival anti-Jewish propaganda posters, has several cross-curricular applications. The author, the son of Holocaust survivors, individually analyzes more than 30 banners, movie promotions, and posters. These range from a medieval manuscript to massproduced notices widely distributed throughout countries in Europe (not just Germany but also France, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Austria, Serbia, and Ukraine), the Soviet Union, and the U.S., dating from the 1890s Dreyfus Affair through post-WWII. Full-page reproductions face full-page commentaries: accessible paragraphs set up social and historic context, explain imagery and symbols, and interpret details such as word choice, font, the use of…

This announcement section offers a selected preview of nonfiction series for youth launching or adding new titles to existing series in the fall 2025 season. When possible, discounted prices for school and library professionals are used. Arts • Classical Composers. Red Chair. Individual titles, lib. ed., $22.99. 8-title set price, $245.20. Gr. 2–5. • Fierce and Fearless. Quarto/Epic Ink. Individual titles, $19.99. 2-title set price, $39.98. Gr. 7–12. • From Concept to Creation: Making Entertainment. Bearport/Roar! Individual titles, lib. ed., $32.95. 32-title set price, $123.80. Gr. 5–6. • Icons. Lerner/Twenty-First Century. Individual titles, lib. ed., $27.99. 2-title set price, $55.98. Gr. 8–12. • Music Superstars. Bellwether/Torque. Individual titles, lib. ed., $20.97. 6-title set price, $125.82. Gr. 3–7. • Voices in Hip-Hop. Creative Company/Creative Education. Individual titles, lib. ed., $30.95. 8-title…

Older Readers Bad in the Blood. By Matteo L. Cerilli. Sept. 2025. 400p. Tundra, $19.99 (9781774882337). Gr. 9–12. Cerilli transports readers into a world that is a rich blend of the 1920s, noir, steampunk, and fantasy. And, to top it all off, it is unapologetically queer. Puck’s Port is filled with tension between its mortal and fey inhabitants, the latter of which possess strong but lethal powers. Readers get a healthy dose of both perspectives via the main characters—who are also siblings—mortal Gristle Senan Maxim Jr. and fey Hawthorne Stregoni. Gristle is forced to follow in his father’s footsteps as a private investigator and solve a brutal murder, one that was committed by a fey with similar abilities to Hawthorne’s. Hawthorne is desperate to have complete control over her fey…

Romance often feels like a deliciously sweet treat to the genre’s fervent fan base, especially if there’s a little spicy rivalry or conflict that brings love interests together. In the following delectable tales, readers can expect foodies of all types, terse competitions or rivalries gone wrong, and of course, a generous helping of (sometimes forbidden) romantic escapades. Batter Royale. By Leisl Adams. Art by the author. 2022. 240p. Abrams/Amulet (9781419750755). Gr. 8–11. 741.5. High-school seniors Rose and Fred compete on the popular cooking show Batter Royale with the hopes of spending the $500,000 prize on culinary school and saving Fred’s mom’s restaurant, but the two aren’t quite prepared for the hijinks, sabotage, booby traps, and romance in store. Bingsu for Two. By Sujin Witherspoon. 2025. 360p. Union Square (9781454954026). Gr.…

This announcement section offers readers a selected preview of notable new titles for young-adult, middle-grade, and young readers. All titles will be published in the fall 2025 or winter 2026 seasons. Young Adult Nonfiction • Bad Boy: A Graphic Memoir. By Walter Dean Myers and Guy A. Sims. Art by Dawud Anyabwile. HarperCollins/Quill Tree, $16.99 (9780063099920). Gr. 8–12. Sept. • Ban This! How One School Fought Two Book Bans and Won (And How You Can Too). By Christina Ellis and others. illus. Lerner/Zest, lib. ed., $38.65 (9798765629970). Gr. 7–10. Sept. • Black History for Every Day of the Year. By David Olusoga and others. Illus. by Kemi Olusoga. The Experiment, paper, $19.95 (9798893030938). Gr. 8–12. Sept. • Can Posters Kill? Antisemitic Propaganda and World War II. By Jerry Faivish. Second…

Oh, it’s only a translation…” Have you ever moved past an originally tempting-looking audiobook because the original was not written in English? No judgement intended; don’t feel bad. Your mistrust was probably based on a past betrayal! A careless, unprofessional translation can sink any text, including titanic books! As a native speaker of a language smaller than minor, I depend on translations more than most, and I have had many moments when a work’s quality is “concealed” from me. I remember watching Ben Hur for the first time in my late teens. The dubbing in English was poorly done and I couldn’t finish watching that classic. Years later, when I chanced upon the original English version, I was swept away by the beauty and dignity of a film previously “lost…

This month’s hot list includes books that look to the future and those with eyes on the past—historical fiction, that is, and lots of it—alongside a memoir, a finance guide, and a few potential book-group hits. —Susan Maguire The Astral Library. By Kate Quinn. Morrow, $32 (9780063244788). Feb. Historical-fiction superstar Quinn (The Briar Club, 2024) ventures into the fantastical in a novel in which a hidden door at the Boston Public Library leads to a place where books are literally doors to new worlds. Daughter of Egypt. By Marie Benedict. St. Martin’s, $29 (9781250280732). Mar. Benedict again explores the forgotten women of history in this tale of a 1920s Egyptologist and, 3,000 years earlier, the reign of Hatshepsut, Egypt’s lost pharaoh. It’s Never Too Late. By Marla Gibbs. Amistad, $29.99…

General Fiction Art on Fire. By Yun Ko-eun. Tr. by Lizzie Buehler. Oct. 2025. 256p. Scribe, paper, $20 (9781964992198); e-book (9781761386381). Yun Ko-eun is back with another darkly humorous and biting satire after Disaster Tourist (2020). This novel is about the absurdity of making, appraising, and consuming art, literally by fire. The story starts with a viral photo taken by a Las Vegas photographer who captured a stunning wedding proposal in the Grand Canyon—except that it was a dog named Robert who took the shot. In South Korea, An Yiji, a 38-year-old, downtrodden painter working for a food-delivery service gets a life-changing invitation to be a resident artist for the Robert Foundation (yes, the same dog) in Los Angeles for 16 weeks. Robert was left 20 million dollars by a…

From the financial world to the racetrack, a floundering Scottish estate to a small New Hampshire town, diverse characters in various professions and predicaments pursue love in the very best romances reviewed in Booklist over the past 12 months. —Donna Seaman Can’t Get Enough. By Kennedy Ryan. 2025. Forever, $17.99 (9781538706855). Newly minted Black billionaire Maverick Bell is pursuing Hendrix Barry, but her mother has Alzheimer’s and her fund for Black businesswomen is threatened by a discrimination lawsuit tied to her suitor. Crash Test. By Amy James. 2025. Avon, $18.99 (9780063399051). Formula 1 driver Travis Keeping is having his best season until a crash lands Formula 2 driver Jacob Nichols in the hospital. If their relationship is revealed, it could ruin their careers. Dream On, Ramona Riley. By Ashley Herring…

These manga for older teens and adults blend together food and romance in a variety of ways, with combinations and delights to suit any reader’s palate! Adult How to Grill Our Love. By Shiori Hanatsuka. Art by the author. 2023–25. Kodansha. (16 volumes). In this adorable adult romance, a pair of barbecue enthusiasts dives into a longdistance marriage based on their mutual love of grilling! Filled with tips on grilling meat, the romance is a steady comfort read about building trust and love through food with moments of comedy sprinkled in. While the target audience is adult, older teens may enjoy this cozy romance. She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat. By Sakaomi Yuzaki. Art by the author. Tr. by Caleb Cook. 2022–25. Yen. (5 volumes). Nomoto uses…

Coach. By Jason Reynolds. 2025. 256p. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy (9798347102372). Gr. 5–8. Oct. This return to the popular Track series by needs-no-introduction Reynolds takes readers back to the childhood of Coach, aka Otie, as he comes of age and his relationship with his dad evolves. Coldwire. By Chloe Gong. 2025. 496p. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry (9781665960137). Gr. 9–12. Nov. In best-selling Gong’s new dystopian series starter, humanity takes refuge from the deteriorating real world in a virtual reality, where two soldiers get caught up in a cold war between two powerful nations. Firefox Moon. By Eoin Colfer. 2025. 368p. Roaring Brook (9781250372642). Gr. 3–7. Nov. This sequel to the best-selling middle-grade fantasy Juniper’s Christmas sees Juniper embark on a midsummer adventure as she fights to protect the magical Cedar Wood…

These top romances for youth from the past year highlight the best from the young-adult category. For tween romances, see our feature on p. 120. —Ronny Khuri All-Nighter. By Cecilia Vinesse. 2025. 384p. HarperCollins/Quill Tree (9780063285927). Gr. 8–12. In an all-in-one-night whirlwind, sworn enemies Autumn and Tara are thrown together in a fake-student-ID plot so that Autumn can get the girl. But which girl will she get? And They Were Roommates. By Page Powars. 2025. 304p. Roaring Brook (9781250347657). Gr. 9–12. Trans teen Charlie grapples with academic pressure and secondchance romance as his heartbreaker roommate Jasper ropes him into a love-letter-writing scheme. Come As You Are. By Dahlia Adler. 2025. 320p. St. Martin’s/Wednesday (9781250871695). Gr. 9–12. Evie runs away to boarding school for a fresh start, only to accidentally end…

Adult Fiction All-Star Superman. By Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Read by a full cast. 2025. 5hr. Books on Tape, DD (9780593915080). A full cast brings this classic graphic novel to life in an original take on our favorite superhero’s adventures. The idea of an audio original for a comic book sounds almost impossible at first, but the production quality, acting skills, and sound effects in this rendition (adapted by Meghan Fitzmartin) create an exciting and immersive experience. “Issues” are rendered in episodes featuring Superman’s supporting cast: Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Bizarro, and, of course, the evil Lex Luthor. Whether you’re a longstanding fan of this series, invigorated by this summer’s blockbuster hit about the Man of Steel, or just curious about the comic book world, this is a great…

The Spanish-language audiobook industry (particularly nonfiction) has recently been inundated with AI-generated narrations. At times, the virtual voices are even marketed with human names! Everybody deserves high-quality audio, and Spanishlanguage listeners will find much to love in these nuanced performances by verified, professional (human!) narrators. English titles are only provided if an English original or translation is available. Business & Professional Development Listeners can learn the “hows” of growing a business, developing a personal brand, or improving financial decision-making. In fact, these engrossing narrators will even inspire them to get started! Cómo hacer crecer tu negocio / How to Grow Your Small Business. By Donald Miller. Read by Manuel Domínguez. Tr. by Carlos Manuel Álvarez. 2024. 6h. Harper Audio, DD (9780063389786). La psicología del dinero / The Psychology of Money.…