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Adventures of Mary Jane
by Hope Jahren

​Jahren has done a remarkable job of marrying fact and fiction to create a wonderfully memorable novel that begins in 1846 in the Minnesota Territory, where 14-year-old Mary Jane must travel 400 miles south by boat to help her aunt who, she discovers, is in extremis.

Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth: 2024
by Maggie Reagan

Covering everything from ancient Aztec civilizations to the aftermath of 9/11 in America, these historical fiction novels, reviewed in Booklist between May 15, 2023, and May 1, 2024, lay bare the human condition in times of turmoil.

10 Questions for Amita Murray
By John Charles

Amita Murray lives in London and can be found writing and tweeting about life and chocolate. Her novels take you on a romp through the edgier streets of Regency England. Her Arya Winters mysteries are under a TV option. Her mystery novel Thirteenth Night won the Exeter Novel Prize, and her short story “A Heist in Three Acts” appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.

Booklist Backlist: Community Gardens
by Kit Ballenger

​​A bumper crop of recent picture books about community gardens can grow your collection of green stories while nurturing a fruitful sense of shared investment across generations of readers.

Listen-alikes: Mysteries for True Crime Podcast Fans
by Terry Hong

​Some of these titles feature full, star-power casts; others are performed by a solo (wow!) narrator. All are high entertainment for sure, and Amy Tintera’s podcast-informed adult debut, Listen for the Lie, will drum up demand for more audiobook thrillers that make great use of the format.

Essentials: Recent California Noir
by Donna Seaman

California is the birthplace of hard-boiled detective novels, with James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, and Dashiell Hammett seeding the genre. Now, longtime heavy-hitters continue to add new titles to vibrant series, while California noir blossoms all across the Golden State in tales clever, wrenching, and comedic as ranks of noir writers expand to include women and writers of color, deeply enriching the tradition.

10 Questions for Nicola Solvinic
​By John Charles

Nicola Solvinic has a master’s degree in criminology and has worked in and around criminal justice for more than a decade. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and cats, where she is surrounded by a secret garden full of beehives.