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A 2022 December Read This Next! Title

What happens when nature isn’t natural? When in the end, Climate Change is unstoppable? Lily Brooks-Dalton renders a shockingly real depiction of this possibility in the harrowing and beautiful novel, The Light Pirate. Florida’s struggle with the aftermath of violent weather has always been a reality, but in this story, the rapidly changing landscape overwhelms the will and stamina of most human beings. Wanda, who was born during, and named after, a particularly vicious hurricane, frequently navigates a new, storm-carved home as the Florida coast shifts and neighborhoods are swallowed by wind, water, and human dereliction. Wanda adapts as nature does, to a strange new world–one dependent not on human infrastructure–but on that which matters most in the end: humility, kindness and bravery. This story is important. This story could happen. This story is happening. A must-read.

The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton (List Price: $28, Grand Central Publishing, 9781538708279, December 2022)

Reviewed by Laura Simcox, Sunrise Books in High Point, North Carolina

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Gregson’s final book in the Above the Black series is an incredibly satisfying ending. There’s tension, fighting, betrayals, scary creatures, and even a smidge of romance. Downfall is everything you would want in a sci-fi adventure! Conrad’s uncle, the king, has sent him down to the Below. He says it’s to conquer the colonies there, but Conrad knows it’s a suicide mission. Now it’s his plan to not only survive, but to thrive and eventually take down his uncle.

Downfall by Marc J. Gregson, (List Price: $22.99, Peachtree Teen, 9781682637081, March 2026)

Reviewed by Jennifer, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia

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Imagine you have an insightful, articulate friend who’s created a deeply personal playlist to share with you. Niko Stratis has done it in The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman. Hers is a memoir of intense honesty, one that provides a freewheeling musical education. Niko uses songs from her dad’s love of music that connect with pivotal times in her life as she discovered who she was and found the courage to transition into who she was meant to be. I was absorbed in her journey, even as I had to resort to YouTube to discover most of the artists. (Now I know you, Wilco.)

The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman by Niko Stratis, (List Price: $27.95, University of Texas Press, 9781477331484, May 2025)

Reviewed by Rosemary Pugliese, Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina