Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Morningside by Téa Obreht & All Our Yesterdays by Joel H. Morris

   

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

The Morningside by Téa Obreht
Publication: March 19th, 2024
Random House
Hardcover. 304 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"There’s the world you can see. And then there’s the one you can’t. Welcome to the Morningside.

After being expelled from their ancestral home, Silvia and her mother finally settle at the Morningside, a crumbling luxury tower in Island City where Silvia’s aunt Ena serves as the superintendent. Silvia feels unmoored in her new life because her mother has been so diligently secretive about their family's past. Silvia knows almost nothing about the place where she was born and spent her early years, nor does she know why she and her mother had to leave. But in Ena there is an a person willing to give the young girl glimpses into the folktales of her demolished homeland, a place of natural beauty and communal spirit that is lacking in Silvia's lonely and impoverished reality.

Enchanted by Ena’s stories, Silvia begins seeing the world with magical possibilities and becomes obsessed with the mysterious older woman who lives in the penthouse of the Morningside. Bezi Duras is an enigma to everyone in the building. She has her own elevator entrance and leaves only to go out at night and walk her three massive hounds, often not returning until the early morning. Silvia’s mission to unravel the truth about this woman’s life, and her own haunted past, may end up costing her everything."

I'm not entirely sure what to expect from this one outside of the intriguing premise, but Obreht always has really beautiful prose so I know it'll be a great read. 

All Our Yesterdays by Joel H. Morris
Publication: March 12th, 2024 (US)
G.P. Putnam's Sons
Hardcover. 368 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A propulsive and piercing debut, set ten years before the events of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, about the ambition, power, and fate that define one of literature’s most notorious figures: Lady Macbeth

Scotland, 11th Century. Born into a noble household and granddaughter of a forgotten Scottish king, a young girl carries the guilt of her mother’s death and the weight of an unknowable prophecy. When she is married at fifteen to the Mormaer of Moray, she experiences the violence of a sadistic husband and a kingdom constantly at war. To survive with her young son in a superstitious realm, she must rely on her own cunning and wit, especially when her husband’s downfall inadvertently sets them free.

Suspicious of the dark devices that may have led to his father’s death, her son watches as his mother falls in love with the enigmatic thane Macbeth. Now a woman of stature, Lady Macbeth confronts a world of masculine power and secures the protection of her family. But the coronation of King Duncan and the political maneuvering of her cousin Macduff set her on a tragic course, one where her own success might mean embracing the very curse that haunts her and risking the child she loves."

I always enjoy these retellings of literary figures, and after reading Lady Macbethad last year, I think I'm primed for another take on her story!

Review: The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert

The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert

Flatiron Books

Publication Date: February 20th, 2024

Hardcover. 400 pages.

About The Bad Ones:

"Goddess, goddess, count to five

In the morning, who’s alive?

In the course of a single winter’s night, four people vanish without a trace across a small town.

Nora’s estranged best friend, Becca, is one of the lost. As Nora tries to untangle the truth of Becca’s disappearance, she discovers a darkness in her town’s past, as well as a string of coded messages Becca left for her to unravel. These clues lead Nora to a piece of local folklore: a legendary goddess of forgotten origins who played a role in Nora and Becca’s own childhood games..."

The Bad Ones is a YA mystery/horror that I think has great crossover appeal for YA and adult readers alike. I don’t really read all that much YA anymore, but I was intrigued by the premise for The Bad Ones and since the only Melissa Albert book I’ve read was The Hazel Wood back in 2018, I figured it was time to give her another read–and I was not disappointed.

The Bad Ones takes place in the small town of Palmetto where four people disappear over the course of one night. We follow Nora, a high school girl whose best friend, Becca, is one of the four people that went missing, leaving Nora behind to dive into what’s behind all of the disappearances. At the center of what Nora knows about Becca’s disappearance is an old local legend about a vengeful goddess who inspired a childhood game that has been played for decades by people in Palmetto.

We are immediately thrust into the story in the first chapter as we learn of the mysterious disappearances and Nora receives cryptic texts from Becca on the same night of her disappearance. Nora was a compelling and relatable character and I found myself really empathizing with her throughout the story. Nora’s relationship with Becca has been fraught in recent months with the two not talking after a fight, and I really felt like I could understand the tension and longing that is present in any struggling friendship. Becca has long used Nora as her ‘rock’ of sorts after losing both of her parents throughout her childhood, and it’s easy to see how this has caused excessive pressure for Nora throughout their friendship.

Albert tells the story through chapters set in both the present day and those set in the past that focus on Nora and Becca’s friendship, the goddess game, and more general background that helps readers slowly put all the pieces together as the story progresses. This is a slower-paced mystery that really takes readers through the ins and outs of different relationships between characters and sets up plenty of foundation for later events and explanations. I really liked the inclusion of the goddess game and all of the lore surrounding it, and I think that added so much mystery and intrigue to the story and kept me wanting to find out more about how the game would play into everything in the end. 

Albert also spends a good amount of time setting the tone of the story to be one that is dark, cryptic, and consistently foreboding. There is always an heir of something ‘other’ that is happening that left me always teetering between wondering if this book included only real, tangible elements or if there was something just a bit more in the ‘other’ or supernatural realm. I won’t tell you the answer to that, but I wanted to note it because I think it’s really magical how Albert seems to incorporate such a strong sense of wonder and disquietude to her writing.

Overall, I've given The Bad Ones four stars! I was really hooked on this story and found myself reading through it pretty quickly because I found it to be one of those riveting slow-burn horror/mysteries that draws you in quickly and makes it hard to put down. I think readers of both YA and adult will enjoy this one and if the premise intrigues you, then I'd encourage you to check it out!

*I received a copy of The Bad Ones in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Anticipated March 2024 Releases

A new month means new releases and March is packed with some incredible ones! March is shaping up to be a busy month of releases, and I'm sure that even with everything I've included on this list I've still managed to miss some. That being said, I'm really excited about a lot of these and hope to have a chance to read as many as I can (I've given up on ever staying caught up on new releases a long time ago, haha). I've already managed to read a couple March ARCs and have some more up next on my TBR and I'm looking forward to it! I'm currently reading The Cloud Roost (which has been fantastic so far!) and plan to jump into Glorious Exploits next. Which March releases are you most looking forward to!? Have a look below and let me know–or let me know which ones I've missed!

The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones || March 26th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé || March 19th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo || March 19th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner || March 12th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene || March 12th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Jumpnauts by Hao Jingfang || March 12th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Cloud Roost (Jekua #5) by Travis M. Riddle || March 12th -- Amazon

The Invisible Hotel by Yeji Y. Ham || March 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang || March 26th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Stars Turned Inside Out by Nova Jacobs || March 19th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Clever Creatures of the Night by Samantha Mabry || March 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff || March 12th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Island Rule by Katie M. Flynn || March 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Morningside by Tea Obreht || March 19th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon || March 26th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Green Frog by Gina Chung || March 12th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon || March 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Under This Red Rock by Mindy McGinnis || March 19th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez || March 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Memory Piece by Lisa Ko || March 19th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Where Rivers Part by Kao Kalia Yang || March 19th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft || March 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black || March 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

All Our Yesterdays by Joel H. Morris || March 12th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Asteroid Hunter by Dante S. Lauretta || March 19th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger || March 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

What are your anticipated March releases?

Review: The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

   

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

Tordotcom

Publication Date: February 27th, 2024

Paperback. 160 pages.

About The Butcher of the Forest:

"A world-weary woman races against the clock to rescue the children of a wrathful tyrant from a dangerous, otherworldly forest.

At the northern edge of a land ruled by a monstrous, foreign tyrant lies the wild forest known as the Elmever. The villagers know better than to let their children go near—once someone goes in, they never come back out.

No one knows the strange and terrifying traps of the Elmever better than Veris Thorn, the only person to ever rescue a child from the forest many years ago. When the Tyrant’s two young children go missing, Veris is commanded to enter the forest once more and bring them home safe. If Veris fails, the Tyrant will kill her; if she remains in the forest for longer than a day, she will be trapped forevermore.

So Veris will travel deep into the Elmever to face traps, riddles, and monsters at the behest of another monster. One misstep will cost everything."

I utterly devoured this book.

The Butcher of the Forest is a dark fantasy novella featuring a woman named Veris who is tasked with rescuing some wayward children of the tyrant of the land from an uncanny forest. This is a dark fantasy novella with just a hint of a grimdark note due to how melancholy and somewhat hopeless the tone felt at times throughout.

Veris is sent into the forest on orders from the tyrant because she once rescued another child from the forest, so the tyrant thinks she'll be able to do it again.  However, she’s self-aware enough–and just aware in general–to know that although her abilities might be enough to where she could survive the forest, it’s more about her understanding that if the forest doesn’t want her to survive or make it back with the children, she won’t. But knowing what’s at stake for her family and her village back home, she puts everything into her task and has some of the strongest determination and steeliness that I’ve seen in a character in a long time. I think it’s this steely mentality of hers that makes her a character I would incredibly confident being with–if I was stuck in this forest, she is the only person I would want to be with. She’s not going to lie and tell you everything will be alright or not to be scared, but she’s will tell you the rules and be extraordinarily careful, clever, and cautious at all times.

Veris is a realist and an incredibly resilient character that I found myself rooting for and connecting with in ways I don't often do with characters. She is someone who has suffered a lot in her life, and although I wouldn’t say she is necessarily better for it, she has learned from her experiences how to adapt, survive, and keep her wits about her no matter what comes her way. Veris understands that she’s the only one who has ever managed to survive entering and exiting the forest and I appreciated that she knew herself well enough to know that she is very capable and confident about her abilities to do this.

This is really the dark forest story that I’d love to have written myself. I was just absolutely captivated. I wanted to keep inhaling this book and learn more and more about this forest and everything within it. It has some truly horrifying creatures and ideas that lurk within and make you want to look away or cover your eyes while also creating an urge to constantly peek through your fingers to see what’s happening because you don’t want to miss anything. There’s so many very particular rules to follow in this forest that have dangerous consequences if not followed, and there’s very little mercy–if any–to be found in this forest. There is nothing that can help you in this forest that won’t also demand something in return, no matter how big or small it may be. You can absolutely never let your guard down in this forest, be sure not to harm anything in the forest itself, and be very careful of what you say both to yourself and to anything else within it.

Premee Mohamed’s writing is evocative and has a riveting flow to it that I couldn't look away from. I thought there was a fantastic mix of creatures and beings or elements of the forest that we get to see and interact with as readers along with those that we only really hear hints about from Veris or observe through what she sees while in the forest, and this kept a truly delightful balance of horror of both the scene and unseen. Altogether, this made it genuinely terrifying to imagine being in this forest knowing–and not knowing?–what might be waiting inside. I would never want to step foot in it, as most people in this story don’t want to, and I think even my undying curiosity wouldn’t be enough for me to give it anything but a wide berth.

I feel like cozy books have been the trend lately, and this book is anything but cozy. Still, there’s something oddly comforting about this book to me. It’s almost as if it really scratched that itch in my brain that yearns for something dark to explore, something that feels both impossible and all too real at the same time, and I think this book really did that.

If it wasn’t already clear from what is probably an overly gushing review, I thought The Butcher of the Forest was an absolutely stunning book. I don’t think it’s going to be for everyone, as I think some people may find it a bit slow paced and may not connect with it in the same way, but for other it will hit that spot and will instead feel like something slow paced but that you could inhale in a matter of hours (I inhaled it like oxygen I desperately needed, personally). I was hooked the entire time and cannot wait to check out more of her work as well as see what she may publish in the future.

Overall, I’ve given The Butcher of the Forest five stars! I cannot recommend it enough. It you are someone who likes things a little on the darker side or just loves a forest that is dark and mysterious and dangerous, then this is the book for you.

*I received a copy of The Butcher of the Forest in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Green Frog by Gina Chung, The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang, & Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff

   

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

Green Frog by Gina Chung
Publication: March 12th, 2024
Vintage
Paperback. 240 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A short story collection that explores Korean American womanhood, bodies, animals, and transformation as a means of survival.

Equal parts fantastical—a pair of talking dolls help twins escape a stifling home, a heart boils on the stove as part of an elaborate cure for melancholy, a fox demon contemplates avenging her sister's death—and true to life—a mother and daughter try to heal their rift when the daughter falls unexpectedly pregnant, a woman reexamines her father's legacy after his death—the stories in this collection are hopeful and heartbreaking, full of danger and full of joy.

Chung is a master at capturing emotion, and her characters—human and otherwise—will claw their way into your heart and make themselves at home."

Another short story collection that sounds like it'll be weird and wonderful and I'm looking forward to  checking it out!

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
Publication: March 26th, 2024 (US)
MIRA
Hardcover. 312 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"“What if I told you that the feeling we call love is actually the feeling of metaphysical recognition, when your soul remembers someone from a previous life?”

In the year 4 BCE, an ambitious courtier is called upon to seduce the young emperor — but quickly discovers they are both ruled by blood, sex and intrigue.

In 1740, a lonely innkeeper agrees to help a mysterious visitor procure a rare medicine, only to unleash an otherworldly terror instead.

And in present-day Los Angeles, a college student meets a beautiful stranger and cannot shake the feeling they’ve met before.

Across these seemingly unrelated timelines woven together only by the twists and turns of fate, two men are reborn, lifetime after lifetime. Within the treacherous walls of an ancient palace and the boundless forests of the Asian wilderness to the heart-pounding cement floors of underground rave scenes, our lovers are inexplicably drawn to each other, constantly tested by the worlds around them.

As their many lives intertwine, they begin to realize the power of their undying love—a power that transcends time itself…but one that might consume them both."

I'm not typically a big romance fan, but I'm just so intrigued by the setup of this story that I'm really excited to see what it's all about, as it sounds really creative!

Empire of the Damned (Empire of the Vampire #2) by Jay Kristoff
Publication: March 12th, 2024 
St. Martin's Press (US)/Harper Voyager (UK)
Hardcover. 736 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hands sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.

Gabriel de León has saved the Holy Grail from death, but his chance to end the endless night is lost. Drawn into an uneasy alliance with the mysterious vampire Liathe, Gabriel must now deliver the Grail to ancients of the Blood Esani, and learn the truth of how Daysdeath might be finally undone.

But the Last Silversaint faces peril, within and without. Pursued by terrors of the Blood Voss, drawn into warfare between the Blood Dyvok and duskdancers of the frozen Highlands, and ravaged by his own rising bloodlust, Gabriel may not survive to see the Grail learn her truth.

And that truth may be too awful for any to imagine."

I've actually already read an ARC of this back in December that the publisher so generously offered to me, but I still am looking forward to seeing the final product with all the illustrations and everything. This has been a pretty fun series so far, I'm curious to see where Kristoff will take the story.

Mini-Review: What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

What Feasts at Night (Sworn Soldier #2) by T. Kingfisher

Tor Nightfire

Publication Date: February 13th, 2024

Hardcover. 147 pages.

About What Feasts at Night:

"After their terrifying ordeal at the Usher manor, Alex Easton feels as if they just survived another war. All they crave is rest, routine, and sunshine, but instead, as a favor to Angus and Miss Potter, they find themself heading to their family hunting lodge, deep in the cold, damp forests of their home country, Gallacia.

In theory, one can find relaxation in even the coldest and dampest of Gallacian autumns, but when Easton arrives, they find the caretaker dead, the lodge in disarray, and the grounds troubled by a strange, uncanny silence. The villagers whisper that a breath-stealing monster from folklore has taken up residence in Easton’s home. Easton knows better than to put too much stock in local superstitions, but they can tell that something is not quite right in their home. . . or in their dreams."

You can find my review for the first book in the Sworn Soldier duology, What Moves the Dead, here!

What Feasts at Night allows us to return to the side of Alex Easton as they travel back home to Gallacia in order to check up on their old hunting lodge that has been in the hands of a caretaker known as Codrin. Upon arriving at the loge, however, they find that Codrin is nowhere to be found and the lodge has, for all intents and purposes, been abandoned, with Codrin nowhere to be found. When they ask around, they discover that Codrin had died, and that there are rumors circulating about a creature known as the moroi who steals people's breath...

What I liked: The dry, witty voice of our protagonist and narrator, Alex Easton, remains front and center in this book and made for a highly enjoyable reading experience. I felt Kingfisher did a great job of capturing Alex's struggles with PTSD and how those effects have continued to impact their everyday life, all while incorporating the trademark humor and cleverness of the narrative voice. I also continue to really love Alex and Angus' friendship and how well they are able to understand and be there for one another in all the unique ways they both need it. I really liked the new characters introduced in this book as well, such as the Widow Botezatu and her grandson, Bors, who come to work at the hunting lodge and bring some vibrancy to the story with their distinctive personalities. The horror elements of this book were a bit muted, but still wonderfully creepy and unsettling in all the ways Kingfisher writes them best, and I loved all the inclusions of various Gallacian folktales and superstitions, as I felt they added some more color and intrigue to the story.

What I didn't like: This book was a bit on the slower side, and it honestly felt a bit more like it was just 'going through the motions' rather than bringing a lot of new ideas to the table. If I look back on this book and try to recount what happened, I feel like there's really not all that much to say about it, and while that's not always a bad thing, it just feels like something was missing from this story. Kingfisher's writing is always excellent, but this book lacked a little of the energy What Feasts at Night held. I also missed that we didn't get to spend just a bit more time with the delightful Miss Potter, as I really enjoyed her in the previous book. 

Overall, I've given What Feasts at Night 3.75 stars! Although this isn't what I'd consider one of my favorite T. Kingfisher book, it's still a very solid short horror novella that has plenty of humor, creepiness, and interesting characters to keep things entertaining. 

*I received a copy of What Feasts at Night courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones, Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, & Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

   

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

The Angel of Indian Lake (The Indian Lake Trilogy #3) by Stephen Graham Jones
Publication: March 26th, 2024
Saga Press
Hardcover. 464 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"The final installment in the most lauded trilogy in the history of horror novels picks up four years after Don’t Fear the Reaper as Jade returns to Proofrock, Idaho, to build a life after the years of sacrifice—only to find the Lake Witch is waiting for her in New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones’s finale.

It’s been four years in prison since Jade Daniels last saw her hometown of Proofrock, Idaho, the day she took the fall, protecting her friend Letha and her family from incrimination. Since then, her reputation, and the town, have changed dramatically. There’s a lot of unfinished business in Proofrock, from serial killer cultists to the rich trying to buy Western authenticity. But there’s one aspect of Proofrock no one wants to confront…until Jade comes back to town. The curse of the Lake Witch is waiting, and now is the time for the final stand.

New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones has crafted an epic horror trilogy of generational trauma from the Indigenous to the townies rooted in the mountains of Idaho. It is a story of the American west written in blood."

I've been having a great time with Stephen Graham Jones' Indian Lake Trilogy and I'm excited to dive into the final book!

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Publication: March 19th, 2024 (US)
Feiwel & Friends
Hardcover. 416 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"It’s like I keep stumbling into a dark room, searching for the switch to make things bright again. To make me remember. But the switch isn’t there. Was it there before?

Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school, this time at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school. After being home-schooled all her life and feeling like a magnet for misfortune, she’s not sure what will happen. What she doesn’t expect though is for her roommate Elizabeth to disappear after Sade’s first night. Or for people to think she had something to do with it.

With rumors swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the most popular girls in school – collectively known as the ‘Unholy Trinity’ – and they bring her into their fold. Between learning more about them - especially Persephone, who Sade finds herself drawn to - playing catch-up in class, and trying to figure out what happened to Elizabeth, Sade has a lot on her plate. It doesn’t help that she’s already dealing with grief from the many tragedies in her family.

And then a student is found dead.

The more Sade investigates, the more she realizes there’s more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than she realized. Secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface…secrets that rival even her own."

I'm a little obsessed with that cover, and I'm equally intrigued by the premise. School settings can get a bit old, but I have high hopes for this one!

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
Publication: February 27th, 2024
Knopf
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"AColorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion Prison Castle, where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture, and identity. A generation later, Star’s son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father’s jailer. Under Pratt’s harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines.

Oakland, 2018. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield is barely holding her family together after the shooting that nearly took the life of her nephew Orvil. From the moment he awakens in his hospital bed, Orvil begins compulsively googling school shootings on YouTube. He also becomes emotionally reliant on the prescription medications meant to ease his physical trauma. His younger brother, Lony, suffering from PTSD, is struggling to make sense of the carnage he witnessed at the shooting by secretly cutting himself and enacting blood rituals that he hopes will connect him to his Cheyenne heritage. Opal is equally adrift, experimenting with Ceremony and peyote, searching for a way to heal her wounded family.

Extending his constellation of narratives into the past and future, Tommy Orange once again delivers a story that is by turns shattering and wondrous, a book piercing in its poetry, sorrow, and rage—a masterful follow-up to his already-classic first novel, and a devastating indictment of America’s war on its own people."

I enjoyed Tommy Orange's There There and have been as eager as everyone else to read a new book from him, and this one sounds like it'll be fascinating.