Epilogue Books

Livonia Chow Mein by Abigail Savitch-Lew

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Livonia Chow Mein by Abigail Savitch-Lew
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Livonia Chow Mein is a slow burn that turns into a book full of drama that makes it impossible to put down. Grappling with intertwined story lines of belonging and togetherness, the Brownsville community finds ways to fight back against systemic racial disparities in its communities. It follows a myriad of people throughout the book as the histories that have once plagued the town are slowly discovered and brought to light. Livonia Chow Mein portrays immigrants in America grappling with the dreams that brought them here, only to discover that becoming their truest selves sometimes means letting go of old ideals and embracing an unexpected new path. It became impossible for me to believe I was just reading. The vivid imagery and clear, deliberate prose made me feel as if I was also working to change this town for the better.

Livonia Chow Mein by Abigail Savitch-Lew, (List Price: $29, Simon & Schuster, 9781668075234, April 2026)

Reviewed by Chloe, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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A Death Doula’s Guide to a Meaningful End by Jane K. Callahan

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A Death Doula's Guide to a Meaningful End by Jane K. Callahan
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A heartfelt look at a difficult subject, this book explores end-of-life care in a positive and honest way. Stories of personal experiences and lists of resources are masterfully woven together to confront the reality of death in a manner that should be more common than it is. Callahan doesn’t offer strict solutions or pretend to have all the answers; instead, she provides important insight and empowers the reader to find what will work for them when the time comes. The value of this conversation is not to be overlooked, and this book is a great addition for those both new to and already familiar with death acceptance.

A Death Doula’s Guide to a Meaningful End by Jane K. Callahan, (List Price: $21.99, Chicago Review Press, 9781556528262, April 2026)

Reviewed by Oliver Ditenhafer, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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The Oldest Bitch Alive by Morgan Day

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The Oldest Bitch Alive by Morgan Day
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A perfect blend of absurdity and philosophical musing, this novel takes on the perspectives of Gelsomina, an elderly French Bulldog, and the worms that are killing her. Controlled from the outside by the confines of her owners and now from the inside, Gelsomina provides us with beautiful meditations on autonomy, love, and the meaning of life. There is a stark contrast created by the pairing of heavy introspective text with base desire and the simple reality of existing that serves to better carry these complex themes, and it carries them well. The nauseating intimacy of parasitism is not to be forgotten and can even be found in the most surprising of places, like reflections on the glass house Gelsomina lives in. I find it almost hard to believe this is a debut novel, and I am ecstatic to see experimental works like these published.

The Oldest Bitch Alive by Morgan Day, (List Price: $28, Astra House, 9781662603372, March 2026)

Reviewed by Oliver, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Nadezhda in the Dark by Yelena Moskovitch

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Nadezhda in the Dark by Yelena Moskovitch
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This is truly what novels written in verse should be. Beautiful and devastating in equal measure, Moskovich reminds us that writing can be at its best when experimented with. Told over the span of one night, and arguably one sentence, this book is a blend of both styles and cultures. Following the Ukrainian Jewish narrator as she rests by her Russian lover in the dark, there are no words exchanged. Instead, what lies in the space between is history, both their own and that of their cultures. There is no clean plot, no clean anything left in their world. There is a series of vignettes: lesbian sex, folk tales, institutional antisemitism, Soviet jokes, the invasion of Ukraine. Through all of it though, is a love that, while it cannot fix their problems, shines beyond reason and uncertainty.

Nadezhda in the Dark by Yelena Moskovitch, (List Price: $17.95, Dzanc Books, 9781938603518, January 2026)

Reviewed by Oliver, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Horses by Jake Skeets

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Horses by Jake Skeets
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Opening with the death of almost 200 horses, this collection doesn’t pull any punches. Skeets explores the beauty of living in the Navajo Nation without ignoring the grief. The tragedy is even made an active participant in the pleasures that are still found. He finds a way to reflect these things in the layout of the text and use of punctuation as well, demonstrating an impressive understanding of poetry both as a visual and oral tradition. Everything is purposeful and heartfelt. An important read for everyone, these poems are a striking meditation on the end of the world as we know it and the creation of a new one in the process.

Horses by Jake Skeets, (List Price: $18, Milkweed Editions, 9781639551521, March 2026)

Reviewed by Oliver, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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When Trees Testify by Beronda L. Montgomery

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When Trees Testify by Beronda L. Montgomery
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I studied trees for my senior project in undergrad, and I remember the looks I would get when I tried to explain how magical these living beings are. My work explored plant autonomy and the ways humans interpret nature’s agency, but When Trees Testify deepens that understanding in ways I could have never imagined. The book’s poetic assertion that the breath of loved ones can remain alive through scientific processes is an astounding observation. It redefines the boundaries between the human and the natural. It reminds us that our actions are linked to the lives of the ecosystems we shape. When Trees Testify presents trees not as passive organisms, but as active participants—beings with resilience and a shared history.

When Trees Testify by Beronda L. Montgomery, (List Price: $27.99, Henry Holt and Co., 9781250335166, January 2026)

Reviewed by Chloe Strong, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk

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House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk
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House of Day, House of Night is a reversal of a common narrative structure; here, the setting, the rural Polish town of Nowa Ruda, is the main character, and the townsfolk are the setting within which the town’s legacy is formed. Each story fragment contributes to the never-ending cycle of life and death, of dreams and waking — from an old lady next door with elusive platitudes, to a gender-dysphoric monk on a journey to canonize a saint, to a knifemaking cult that worships the process of decay. Tokarczuk’s brilliant prose highlights the struggles of returning to a post-World War Poland, of feeling like a stranger in your own home, of sensing the ceaseless draw of entropy. Universal and bittersweet, this novel is a work of anthropology: a future classic in my book!

House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk, (List Price: $28, Riverhead Books, 9780593716380, December 2025)

Reviewed by Catherine Pabalate, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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The Definitions by Matt Greene

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The Definitions by Matt Greene
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A captivating, dystopian-esque story, The Definitions questions what truly makes one’s identity theirs. After a supposed virus ravages humanity and leaves people with no memory of themselves, victims of this virus are sent to the Center where they relearn things like ethics, language, and art. With no knowledge of who they were before arriving, the narrator waits for memories to return and to be released. But definitions aren’t adding up, and the ethical dilemma solutions seem skewed, and we learn there is something sinister going on. This is a quick read that you won’t want to put down until you find the real reason the patients are there.

The Definitions by Matt Greene, (List Price: $17.99, Henry Holt and Co., 9781250399342, December 2025)

Reviewed by Gabriela Warner, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Hellions by Julia Elliott

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Hellions by Julia Elliott
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Swampy Southern Gothic at its finest. These stories are lush, each driven by magical, wicked, wholly-alive characters so deeply rooted in their surroundings—or their desires—its difficult to see where person begins and wild ends. Discerning and empathetic, Elliott’s eye for the strange wonders that bring folklore and fairytale to life is unmatched.

Hellions by Julia Elliott, (List Price: $17.95, Tin House Books, 9781963108064, April 2025)

Reviewed by Miranda Sanchez, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

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Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
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Catalina Ituralde is a fascinating protagonist; prepare to be hooked by her twisting, turning narrative. Catalinatells the story of an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador, who is currently in her senior year at Harvard and hopes to be a writer. As she struggles to find her place in the world, Catalina works through her feelings on gender, desire, relationships, belonging, and family bonds. The book’s stream-of-consciousness prose style emulates authors such as Virginia Woolf and James Joyce, while also reflecting the state of Catalina’s jumbled thoughts. If you’re looking for a wry narrative with cheeky dialogue and plenty of literary references, this is the book for you!

Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, (List Price: $28, One World, 9780593449097, July 2024)

Reviewed by Catherine Pabalate, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera

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The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera
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This is a heartwrenching story that will bring you to tears. Graciela and Consuelo are two Indigenous sisters who were taken from their homes to serve under a dictator. When genocide strikes their community, they flee in an effort to make new lives for themselves. Both believing each other to be dead, fate brings them back together years later. This story feels like a fresh wound, and waiting for time to let it heal. This story explores the dark colonial past of a nation while still exploring hope, love, and the importance of family in the end.

The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera, (List Price: $28, Pantheon, 9780593317235, August 2025)

Reviewed by Gabriela Warner, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange

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For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
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Ntozake Shange both beautifully and tragically tells stories of Black girlhood that are all too familiar. Shange reminds me to be selfish, that I know my truth and what is true, and to remove white girls from my hopscotch games. “i found god in myself and i loved heri loved her fiercely”

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange, (List Price: $13.99, Scribner, 9780684843261, September 1997)

Reviewed by Mariah McCann, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon

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Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon
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There is indeed a queen of epic fantasy, and her name is Samantha Shannon. If this was in question before, Among the Burning Flowers is the final bolster in an already solid throne. Acting as a history of the events that occur immediately before the climax of Priory of the Orange Tree, the novel is told from the perspective of those cast to the edges of the original work. With intricate worldbuilding that pays shrewd attention to everything from the looming mountains to the style of a singular carved button, the chainmail of Virtudom is tightly woven. But despite the glittering and gritty descriptions, what stands out most is the choices of deeply flawed characters. Every point of view is given its chance to both shine and be utterly messy, the two in combination crafting characters that feel real to the point that you could converse with them. Even if you are unfamiliar with the world of Priory, Among the Burning Flowers is well worth the read.

Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon, (List Price: $29.99, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781639736010, September 2025)

Reviewed by Sydney Mason, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa

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Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa
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What sorts of communities can you build when the world refuses to see you? Pick a Color reminds me of Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway: a short novel meandering through the happenings of one single day. However, PPick a Color focuses on the microcosm of a quaint nail salon run by quick-witted, wisecracking Lao women, who build profound relationships in a world of privilege and racially-charged power dynamics. In the mind of Ning, the salon’s owner and a retired boxer, the prose reads like a boxing match, all swift jabs and feints. Through Thammavongsa’s incredible storytelling skills, the reader learns the ways in which Ning and her employees makes themselves known, how they tries to find stability in a fast-paced capitalist world.

Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa, (List Price: $28, Little, Brown and Company, 9780316422147, September 2025)

Reviewed by Catherine Pabalate, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert

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All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert
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All the Way to the River is a love letter to those struggling and trying to be better. Gilbert’s openness about her addiction and pathway to healing sheds light on a type of addiction many women are ashamed to admit for themselves, even with its commonality. She tells the story of the highs and lows of falling in love with another addict, Rayya, and how her death was an awakening to finding peace in her life. Addiction isn’t beautiful, but there is always beauty to be found in those that love you, even in their worst moments.

All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert, (List Price: $35, Riverhead Books, 9780593540985, September 2025)

Reviewed by Gabriela Warner, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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