Go ahead and admit it: you were immediately, gleefully smiling when you saw that adorable face on the cover! [That sweet visage, actually, is not so unlike her talented creator ...
*STARRED REVIEW Yan Lianke (Dream of Ding Village) has built his substantial career on exposing the surreal absurdity of China's 20th-century tragedies. His latest-in-translation features the 99th district of a reeducation camp, where intellectuals controlled by a maniacally cruel yet innocently naïve child endure merciless conditions...
So I confess I haven't seen a single episode, but the hubby seems addicted to the TV series, Masterchef Junior. Time magazine recently declared it "the Best Cooking Show on TV," especially noting that "here are some other things you don’t have on MasterChef Jr....
Happy Are the Happy spins a lively cluster of stories around a Parisian couple and their social network At a spare 160 pages, Yasmina Reza’s latest novel can easily be read in a single sitting. Presented as 21 interlinked short stories whose titles bear the names...
Here's an intriguing blend of vampiric dystopia: "One day ...
Mr. Brown is a bit of a curmudgeonly dandy. He's friendless on purpose, but he makes sure he looks good when he goes out. In spite of his protests, the truth is something else entirely: " ...
See how long this post title is above? Well, apparently, I seem to be discovering this spectacular story (and it really, truly is!) in its umpteenth iteration. Better late than never, I must say, because I'm convinced that this manga rendition is the very best...
From the same potty-mouthed, hysterically entertaining dynamic duo who brought you that other, not-for-children picture book, Go the F**ck to Sleep, comes the logical follow-up that confronts the next big parenting challenge: after not doing so well with the slumbering, now you've got the impossible task...
"Long ago in China there lived an honest, respectful and hard-working man named Tuan." He hasn't had the easiest life, having lost his parents as a child. But he was blessed with kind neighbors who raised him. He's left his adopted nest, and lives by...
Ready for a bit of inspiring whimsy? Meet the small boy who, "[o]ne quiet morning ...
By about page 50 or within the first of 12 parts stuck in the ears (the multi-reader cast is absolutely superb, by the way), the whodunnit is pretty clear. That said, serial murder mystery this is, finding out whydunnit-and-howdunnit is the thrill ride you won't be...
Just before Kumihiko Hidaka is to move from Tokyo to Vancouver, he's found in his home office ...
Girls on the Edge Adolescence without instant uploads, 140-character confessions, and constant connectivity was just so last century – survival in the 21st means a whole new set of unfamiliar, unpredictable challenges. In four recent, better-not-miss novels for young adults, four diverse women writers amplify the modern...
John Corey Whaley, who was a finalist for the 2014 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, shares the same first name with the ever-popular, mega-bestselling author John Green. Perhaps I might be delusional here, but Noggin feels like it could be some alternate-universe sequel to Green's The Fault...
Goodbye to 2014. Whew! 2015 can only be better, thank you! What makes me so sure? Because among the many things to look forward to throughout the new year is a brand new Naoki Urasawa series-in-translation! How bereft was I when the 24-volume 20th-into-21st Century Boys ended almost two years ago. And...
The text here is all about serious preparation ("a thick ninja stick"), effective tactics ("must master the element of ...
The Great War is over, but tragedy and hunger still haunt 1922 London. On Champion Hill, the Wray family's once-upon-a-posh life has vanished; most notably, all the men are gone. The brothers became casualties of war, the father died leaving substantial debts, and the servants have been...
Leaning toward something light, frothy, and just a little steamy for your next holiday season read? While the printed page is always grand, going audible here is also highly recommended: I'm thinking Priya Ayyar is quickly becoming one of my favorite crisp voices to stick in...
Okay, so don't be too confused: the two slightly different phoneticized spellings of creator Tohru/Toru Fujisawa’s name both appear on the various volume covers seen here. That 'o'-sound is a long vowel – as in Tōru (it's とおる in Japanese) – but diacriticals can often get lost in translation,...
If I were to choose the one book that affected me most this year – the one that ran the entire spectrum from giddiest to maddest, from eye-opening in wonder to eye-scrunching in horror – this is it. Bad Feminist has forever changed the way I read,...
