Jamie Ducharme
(Holt)
When Ducharmeâs 2019 Time article on Juul came out, it was pretty tough to walk around New York without seeing the vape device. I was excited when I found out that article was to grow into a book, and the story Ducharme offers is a bizarre, somewhat frightening page-turner (and is set to become a docuseries, to boot). âCarliann Rittman, reviews editor
The Atmospherians
(Atria)
A woman named Sasha Marcus is harassed and canceled by menâs rights activists after speaking her mind in response to an internet troll in McElroyâs engrossing novel. Sasha then accepts a new gig helping her failed actor friend start a cult designed for men to purge themselves of toxic masculinity. McElroyâs conceit works on multiple levels, with incisive satire, earnest explorations of male identity, and a gripping plot.
I thought for sure the
Monstress series by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda was going to be the best thing I read this year, but something I read in the last couple of weeks of 2020 just barely edged out the spot.
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo struck a chord in me, not only for its humor, but also because the teenagers
actually act and sound like teenagers. It’s not often that I find a book that I feel gives an authentic experience (whether it’s a teenage one or something else, like a southern one) but when I do, those books always end up on my shelf. Add to that a fun dive into Chinese mythology, and