Book List

12 Must-Reads for February

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

FEEL FREE

by Zadie Smith

Judiciously political, Smith wears her liberalism gracefully, though with qualifications. She is never less than a... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

CURRENT EVENTS & SOCIAL ISSUES

EVERYTHING YOU LOVE WILL BURN

by Vegas Tenold

For those interested in charting the currents of domestic terrorism, a well-reported if dispiriting chronicle. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

FICTION

WHITE HOUSES

by Amy Bloom

Bloom elevates this addition to the secret-lives-of-the-Roosevelts genre through elegant prose and by making Lorena Hickok a... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

EDUCATED

by Tara Westover

An astonishing account of deprivation, confusion, survival, and success. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

THRILLER & SUSPENSE

SUNBURN

by Laura Lippman

Plotty, page-turning pleasure plus instructions on how to make a perfect grilled cheese sandwich and how to stab a man in... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

THE LINE BECOMES A RIVER

by Francisco Cantú

A devastating narrative of the very real human effects of depersonalized policy. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

FICTION

ONLY KILLERS AND THIEVES

by Paul Howarth

While this book has a historical point to make, it also works as a suspenseful mystery and a resonant bildungsroman. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

HISTORY

DIRECTORATE S

by Steve Coll

In this era of fake news, Coll remains above it all, this time delivering an impeccably researched history of “diplomacy at... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT

THE BELLES

by Dhonielle Clayton

With a refreshingly original concept, this substantial fantasy, the first in a duology, is an undeniable page-turner Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

FICTION

THE CHÂTEAU

by Paul Goldberg

Following up his acclaimed debut, The Yid (2016), Goldberg confirms his status as one of Jewish fiction's liveliest new... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

FICTION

TESS OF THE ROAD

by Rachel Hartman

Like Tess’ journey, surprising, rewarding, and enlightening, both a fantasy adventure and a meta discourse on consent,... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

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