"They're his roots, not mine," Mia insists as she seethes on a flight bound to Vietnam with her father. "I'm a Laguna Beach girl who can paddleboard one-legged and live on fish tacos and mango smoothies. My parents should be thanking the Buddha for a...
When Samantha Young swoops out of her father's dry goods store still angry from the news that they will soon be leaving Missouri for California – the exact opposite direction from New York – she couldn't possibly have realized that her life would literally be...
On the night high school senior Kristin Lattimer is crowned homecoming queen, she decides the time is just right to become intimate with her boyfriend. As ready as she thought she was, however, nothing prepares her for the pain – both physical and mental – that follows....
Most of this true, part of this is reasonable conjecture, all of it is electrifying. Filmmaker Jack Baxter arrives in Tel Aviv in 2003 to make a film that never happens. But on the night before his departure back to New York, he stumbles upon a...
Full disclosure: I'm an utter Mies van Hout groupie! When I see her name on a cover, I barely need to open the book to know that I'll be getting some giddy glee. Uh-Oh Octopus! authors Elle van Lieshout & Erik van Os provide van Hout just...
If you look up Gary Clement’s Twitter, you'll see just two labels he reveals about himself: "Cartoonist, swimmer." His talent and passion for both are clearly evident here. Artist that he is, Clements' illustrations, of course, speak volumes – the endpapers back and front even include a 'how-to'...
Some strong suggestions first: 1. Don't read this hungry (just the phrase "Asian street food" will have many of you salivating); 2. Don't read this all alone at night. And, if you decide to 'read' by listening to narrator Feodor Chin, be further warned: he...
Having lived most of my life in cities, being temporarily stuck in a small ski resort town in the Wild West has been quite the challenge. Whenever I leave Dodge, I seem to take a good percentage of the diversity with me. When – shall...
Who needs text when you've got an outsized imagination and playful perspective like Korean artist JiHyeon Lee? Looking beyond the surface should always garner such audacious rewards! A boy in goggles surveys the crowded pool before him. Floats, oars, laughter, screeching, frowns confront him with virtually...
In spite of the thunderous rainy hail that greeted me upon arrival at the Salt Lake City airport on Thursday night, I've convinced myself that summer really is on the way in these here mountainous parts! And mark my words: I'm looking forward to the star-gazing...
Meet Abukacha, who lives "in a village far, far away" with his family. "Everyone knew Abukacha because he had the biggest shoes in the whole wide world." After so many years of working and traveling, they're no longer made for walking, so Abukacha visits his...
If these Tokyo lovebirds don't steal your heart, they'll certainly inspire you to feed your growling belly. As you slobber your way through this latest volume of Shiro and Kenji's culinary delights, you might even be inspired to create something tasty of your own. The step-by-step panels...
"I have a confession to make." Uh-oh. But no worries, the news is actually good. Wonderfully touching even: "I think I am in friend-love with you." No weirdness or discomfort, please. "I just so desperately want for you to think that I am this super-awesome...
Re Jane cleverly recasts Jane Eyre as a Korean American from Queens If nothing else, choosing to retell a revered classic as a first novel requires either supreme spunk or reckless fatuity. For Patricia Park – who happens to be a thesis-advisee and protégée of National...
