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The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson

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The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson
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Epic in scope, epic in size and epic in ambition: The Wayfinder, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Adam Johnson, is a masterful and immersive wonder of a novel, one that – despite its heft – I raced through in a matter of days. Set hundreds of years ago, at the height of the Tongan empire in the South Pacific, it focuses on two groups of people – Korero and her people, on the brink of starvation on their isolated island, and the family of the Tongan leader, engaged both in a feud amongst themselves and a wider war across the region – whose fates become intertwined across the seas. Blending myth, storytelling, and historical fact, and touching on themes of over-consumption, power, family, and individual autonomy, The Wayfinder is brilliantly realised and impeccably researched. It is a mark of Johnson’s skill that he makes a story so remote in time and geography feel wholly alive and relevant to today’s world. Highly recommended.

The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson, (List Price: $30, MCD, 9780374619572, October 2025)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach

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Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach
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Mary Roach delves into the world of regenerative medicine, discussing everything from 3D-printed organs to the potential of stem cells. Not only informative, this book raises important questions about identity, mortality, and the future of medicine. Roach’s ability to blend humor with serious topics keeps readers entertained while prompting them to think critically about the implications of these technologies.

Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach, (List Price: $28.99, W. W. Norton & Company, 9781324050629, September 2025)

Reviewed by Mevelyn Romay Fernandez, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage

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To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage
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It’s hard to believe that this multifaceted novel is a debut, given how skillfully Eliana Ramage weaves the different strands of the story. At its heart is Steph, a Queer Cherokee Nation citizen, who decides at the age of six to become an astronaut and is single-minded in her ambition, pushing away both family and girlfriends in pursuit of her goal. But To the Moon and Back is so much more than that: it’s also about Native American history, identity, and culture, about how the past – and the stories we tell ourselves about it – shapes our futures, and ultimately about family and the need for connection with others. I loved To the Moon and Back, well, to the moon and back.

To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage, (List Price: $30, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster, 9781668065853, September 2025)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy

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Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
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When I moved to the US, I brought only two boxes of books with me, forcing me to choose only the most essential from the many that lined my shelves: my well-thumbed copy Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things was one of the precious few that made the cut. So it’s fair to say that I was predisposed to love Mother Mary Comes to Me. This extraordinary memoir is a portrait not only of Arundhati Roy’s life – from childhood in Kerala, to architecture school in Delhi, and from there to becoming an award-winning writer of both fiction and non-fiction – but also of her formidable mother, who defied convention but whose cruelty shaped her daughter’s life. Vivid, intimate and revelatory, Mother Mary Comes to Me is an absolute masterpiece, one that will stay on my shelves for years to come.

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy, (List Price: $30, Scribner, 9781668094716, September 2025)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén

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When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén
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Warning: this book WILL make you cry. But in a good way. When the Cranes Fly South follows the last few months in the life of Bo, an elderly man living in rural Sweden with just his pet dog, Sixten, for company. As his world becomes ever more circumscribed, Bo spends ever more time immersed in his memories — taking stock of his life, particularly his relationships with his family. Meanwhile, his days are interspersed with visits from caregivers, whose notes on Bo’s daily care form part of the novel, and visits from well-meaning family and friends. Profound, poignant, and achingly sad, When the Cranes Fly South is perfect reading for anyone who has ever loved and lost someone. In other words, all of us.

When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén, (List Price: $18, Vintage, 9798217006731, August 2025)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane

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Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane
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Nature writer par excellence Robert Macfarlane’s latest work is a treat for all the senses. In it, he visits three rivers – one in Ecuador, one in India, one in Canada; one protected, one dying, and one under threat – in search of answers to his own question: is a river alive? The result is this beautifully written work that explores the rights of nature movement and the idea that rivers are more than mere matter for human use. Drawing upon both indigenous and Western knowledge, Is a River Alive? is erudite and eloquent, intelligent and passionate, and much needed.

Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane, (List Price: $31.99, W. W. Norton & Company, 9780393242133, May 2025)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley

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The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley
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The Girls Who Grew Big had me gripped from the very first page and never let me go. Set in a small coastal town in the Florida panhandle, it follows the fortunes of three young women, Adela, Emory and Simone – part of a group of teenage mothers known as The Girls – as they navigate desire, friendship, poverty, motherhood, their own ambitions and the community’s disdain for them. Told in lyrical prose, and filled with characters who positively leap off the page, The Girls Who Grew Big is shot through with the ferocity of a mother’s love, proving that Mottley’s much-feted debut Nightcrawling was no fluke.

The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley, (List Price: $28, Knopf, 9780593801123, June 2025)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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A Flower Traveled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland

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A Flower Traveled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland
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A Flower Traveled in My Blood is the masterful account of the Abuelas of Plaza de Mayo: women in Argentina whose children were “disappeared” by the brutal dictatorship in the mid-1970s, and whose grandchildren were stolen. The story is remarkable in many ways – not just for the tenacity of the grandmothers, who refused to give up on their missing families, but also for the way in which their struggle helped further international law and science, most notably in DNA identification. Blending painstaking research with a nuanced exploration of family ties, identity, and memory, A Flower Traveled in My Blood is heartbreaking, complex, and utterly enthralling.

A Flower Traveled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland, (List Price: $30, Gilliland, Haley Cohen, 9781668017142, July 2025)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-Yeon

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The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-Yeon
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In this book a corner store is not just a place to grab milk, but a haven. For Mrs. Yeom, a retired history teacher with a heart as big as her store’s dwindling profits, it’s her lifeline. Then, a lost purse, a mysterious phone call, and a simple act of gratitude sets in motion a chain of events that will transform her little world. Enter Dok-go, a gentle giant “bear” of a man with a shadowed past, drawn to the warmth of Mrs. Yeom’s generosity and the simple comfort of a free lunch. He’s more than just a customer; he’s a silent force, a listener, a protector. But just as the store blossoms, a dark secret threatens to unravel everything, forcing Dok-go to confront the past that haunts him. The Second Chance Convenience Store isn’t just a story about a store; it’s a tender tale of found family, second chances, and the quiet miracles that happen in the most unexpected places.

The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-Yeon, (List Price: $17.99, Harper Perennial, 9780063354777, June 2025)

Reviewed by Kimberly Todd, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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The Names by Florence Knapp

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The Names by Florence Knapp
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What’s in a name? A lot – at least in Florence Knapp’s thought-provoking and assured debut novel. It’s 1987, and a young mother trapped in an abusive marriage is about to register the birth of her new son. Her controlling husband expects the child to be named after him, but she wants to give him his own identity. What follows is a Sliding Doors-esque split narrative, in which Knapp imagines three parallel futures for the child: in each one he’s given a different name, which alters the trajectory of his life. While at times The Names makes for difficult reading, there’s a beauty and tenderness at the heart of this novel that meant I couldn’t put it down.

The Names by Florence Knapp, (List Price: $30, Pamela Dorman Books, 9780593833902, May 2025)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli

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Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli
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A modern high school rom-com in signature Albertalli fashion. As the fall musical approaches, Kate and her best friend, Anderson, want nothing more than to finally have their time in the spotlight. However, complications arise when their communal summer crush transfers to Roswell High and auditions for the musical. A dramatic and humorous coming-of-age tale centered around first crushes and the relationships that matter most. Kate in Waiting is sure to deliver all the warm and fuzzy feelings.

Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli, (List Price: $12.99, HarperCollins, 9780062643841, July 2022)

Reviewed by Asia Harden, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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The Pretender by Jo Harkin

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The Pretender by Jo Harkin
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The Pretender is an absolute blast. In a similar vein to writers such as Maggie O’Farrell or Hilary Mantel, Jo Harkin has taken a footnote from the history books – in this case Lambert Simnel, a 15th-century pretender to the English throne – and from it created a character and story that just leaps off the page. It’s bawdy, earthy, irreverent and witty, and I absolutely loved it.

The Pretender by Jo Harkin, (List Price: $30, Knopf, 9780593803301, April 2025)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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The Flitting by Ben Masters

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The Flitting by Ben Masters
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The Flitting is a work of pure magic. After his father receives a terminal cancer diagnosis during the early days of the pandemic, Masters spends the summer chasing butterflies as a way to connect with his ailing parent while he still can. Blending memoir and literary commentary with stories of Masters’ own encounters with butterflies, The Flitting is a beautifully written reminder of the importance of accepting others as they are, and of the wonders of nature. You may never look at a butterfly the same way after reading this.

The Flitting by Ben Masters, (List Price: $18.95, Tin House Books, 9781959030812, October 2024)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo

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The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo
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Deep in the land of Norendy is the Hotel Balzaar where Marta and her mother live, waiting for Marta’s father to return from the war. Marta’s life is quiet and dull until the day that a mysterious Countess and her parrot arrive. The Countess says she has come to tell Marta seven tales. The tales teach Marta about hope and light, and take her on a fabulous journey of the imagination. A delightful read for anyone who enjoys being swept away by a dreamlike story!

The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo, (List Price: $17.99, Candlewick, 9781536223316, October 2024)

Reviewed by Monie Henderson, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken

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Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken
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Came for the comparisons to Maggie O’Farrell and AK Blakemore, stayed for the evocative and immersive tale of a medieval woman born centuries ahead of her time. Bright I Burn is inspired by the real-life story of Alice Kyteler, who, in the 14th century, was the first woman in Ireland to be persecuted as a witch. In Aitken’s richly detailed telling, Kyteler is a wealthy, powerful and intelligent money lender, full of desires and secrets – all things that women of her time were not supposed to be. I absolutely loved it.

Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken, (List Price: $28, Knopf, 9780525658399, September 2024)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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