Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

Debut YA novelist Jordan Ifueko joins us to discuss Raybearer (Amulet Books, Aug. 18), “A fresh, phenomenal fantasy that begs readers to revel in its brilliant world” (Kirkus, starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Veronica Chambers, Raquel Vasquez-Gilliland, Ilan Stavans, and Margot Livesey. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brazilian American novelist Gabriella Burnham joins us to discuss It Is Wood, It Is Stone (One World, July 28), “A transporting debut that deftly probes the complex nature of relationships between women” (Kirkus). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, M.T. Anderson and Jo Rioux, and Raven Leilani. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Melissa Faliveno joins us to discuss Tomboyland (Little A, Aug. 1), an expansive essay collection exploring Midwestern values, families and teams, natural disasters, gender identity, and New York City. As our reviewer writes, this promising debut showcases “an expressive voice evolving deliberately, resisting having to be one thing or the other.” Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Aunty Joy Murphy, Andrew Kelly, and Lisa Kennedy, Syed M. Masood, Jacob Soboroff, and Maggie O'Farrell. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michelle Bowdler joins us on this week’s episode to discuss Is Rape a Crime? A Memoir, an Investigation, and a Manifesto (Flatiron Books, July 28). In 2007, the author was called to activism after reading a Boston Globe article exposing thousands of unexamined rape kits in the possession of police departments across the country. Kirkus calls her personal, powerful, profound debut, “An urgent, necessary, stark exploration of ‘one of the most horrific violations that can happen to a human being.’” Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Hannah Barnaby, Eddie Glaude, and Sarah MacLean. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Emma Donoghue joins us on this week’s episode to discuss The Pull of the Stars (Little, Brown, July 21). The bestselling author, screenwriter, and literary historian’s latest novel is inspired by the 1918 flu pandemic; set in the maternity/flu ward of a Catholic hospital in Dublin, it is “Darkly compelling, illuminated by the light of compassion and tenderness: Donoghue’s best novel since Room (2010)” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Julie Lee, Margot Harrison, Mary L. Trump, and Lynn Steger Strong. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marke Bieschke discusses Into the Streets: A Young Person’s Visual History of Protest in the United States (Zest Books, July 7), “an engaging overview to inspire socially minded readers.” From the Pueblo Revolt to 2018’s March for Our Lives, Bieschke provides a vivid chronology of the many movements that shaped the course of our country and a primer for staging your own protest. Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Lisa Moore Ramée, Sarah Crossan, Joe Sacco, and David Mitchell. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Anonymous discusses Becoming Duchess Goldblatt (HMH, July 7), the story of the person behind the saucy-yet-supportive Twitter persona that became a favorite of the literati and Lyle Lovett. Kirkus: “A fascinating memoir by a 21st-century original” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Kate Messner, Brandy Colbert, Bakari Sellers, and Talia Hibbert. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to Fully Booked: Summer Reading 2020! In this special episode, editor in chief Tom Beer joins host Megan Labrise to present the hottest books for the sultriest months. First up, young readers editors Vicky Smith and Laura Simeon give their top picks in children’s, middle-grade, and YA books for July and August. Then fiction editor Laurie Muchnick and nonfiction editor Eric Liebetrau sign on for a second segment celebrating novels, memoirs, essay collections, and more. We’ve got frontlist, we’ve got backlist, we’ve got reading recommendations from former Kirkus Prize winners and finalists, and one spirited debate on the merits of summer reading programs. You won’t want to miss it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jia Lynn Yang discusses One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965 (W.W. Norton, May 19), an outstanding history of the fight for U.S. immigration reform. Exploring questions of what it means to be an “American,” who gets to be one, and who gets to decide, Yang’s authorial debut is “critical in understanding today’s immigrations issues” (starred review). Then Kirkus’ editors make their weekly reading recommendations, with books by Lauren Soloy, Deb Caletti, Masha Gessen, and Brit Bennett. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s episode is sponsored by Penguin Young Readers Group, publishers of Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/contest/darius-the-great/). In our lead interview, bestselling novelist Max Brooks discusses Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre (Dey Street, June 16). Then Kirkus’ editors make their weekly reading recommendations, with books by Ben Clanton, Abdi Nor Iftin, Robert Kolker, and Connie Schultz. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.