Review of Holloway, by Elana K. Arnold

Historical, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Holloway

by Elana K. Arnold

Clarion Books, 2026. 330 pages.
Review written September 11, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

After I heard Elana Arnold speak about this book at the National Book Festival, I put it on the top of my TBR pile. I’m going to call it Historical fiction, but it could also be called Paranormal or Science Fiction.

Our protagonist is Nora, an autistic teen whose senior year happened during the pandemic. Now she’s backpacking in France on her own in 2021, looking for a place to scatter her anti-vax mother’s ashes.

After a stranger disrupts her campsite, Nora wanders into a Holloway without her phone or her gear. When she meets a nice young man with a dog the next day, he agrees to take her to the village. There are some odd things along their journey. When Nora gets to the village and realizes that it’s 1946, she doesn’t respond calmly.

Nora gets taken to an asylum. As a reader, I thought that was a disaster and the book would be about escaping. I’d heard in the National Book Festival talk that the asylum was a real place, and the characters Nora meets were real people – patients and staff – who lived there.

There are no locks on the doors of the asylum, and it turns out to be a place of refuge, as something called “asylum” should be. Nora meets people who are also dealing with losses and horrors from the past year. She realizes that her mother had long been trying to make Nora act like everyone else, and Nora’s learning what it means to be herself. The result is immersive, thoughtful, and beautiful.

Maybe time, like love, isn’t a straight line. Maybe it’s a curve and an arc and a spiral, too. Maybe it’s a cord wrapped around the neck of a half-birthed child. Maybe time is a cave, so deep there seems no end. Maybe it’s a constellation, each moment a sharp bright point, revealing its meaning only if one can step back, back, back again – or in, closer and closer, and closer, still. Maybe time is a breath, held and released.

elanakarnold.com

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Review of Mary Morland in the Time of Dinosaur Discovery, written by Jane Kurtz, illustrated by Giselle Potter

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

Mary Morland in the Time of Dinosaur Discovery

written by Jane Kurtz
illustrated by Giselle Potter

Beach Lane Books, 2026. 48 pages.
Review written September 18, 2026, from a book sent to me by the publisher.
Starred Review

Mary Morland in the Time of Dinosaur Discovery is a picture book biography of a woman scientist who didn’t get much credit in her time. It’s told in a conversational style.

Mary Morland was born in a time of ribbons and lace, when small girls were seen as dainty, delicate decorations to make a room pretty.

Did she perch on her chair like a prim little miss?

Well, what would you do if the whole world was waiting outside?

Mary tromped around, exploring.

Wouldn’t you?

We learn how after Mary’s mother died, she went to live with a scientist and journaled about his collection of fossils and shells and went to discover her own. She sent specimens and drawings to a famous scientist, impressed him, and started a correspondence.

Then she met and married a man also interested in fossils. She did drawings for him, organized his collections, and helped with his work.

Did William say, “I am so fortunate that my wife is not a cork brain”?
Did he say, “Let us make sure your name is on these papers so the world will know your part?”
Did he say, “Without you, my dear, my work would be a shemozzle”?

No.
No, he did not.

In those days, women couldn’t vote, couldn’t own property, couldn’t go to college.
Mary did important work for science, but she worked in the shadows.

The Author’s Note at the back explains that it’s mostly through the writings of two of her children that we know how much Mary contributed to the work that her husband got credit for. This book shines light on those contributions in a way that children can understand and enjoy.

I think my favorite spread is about Mary’s housekeeping. (It pictures nine children – I would have liked details in the back matter, but I did get the idea.)

Mary chose to be in charge of a household of chaos.
Every room was stuffed with science books and papers and dusty rocks. One time, she said, she tried to clean things up.

Never again.

If you tiptoed down the hall, past cages full of snakes and green frogs, would you see an elegant and neat dining room?

Not at all.

Is that a pony running around the table with three of Mary’s laughing children on its back?

Yes. Yes, it is.

janekurtz.com
gisellepotter.com

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Review of The Late Mrs. Willoughby, by Claudia Gray

Austenalia, Fiction Review, Historical, Mystery 0

The Late Mrs. Willoughby

by Claudia Gray
read by Billie Fulford-Brown

Books on Tape, 2023. 12 hours, 20 minutes.
Review written July 9, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

I was delighted recently to see that the library has ordered another mystery from Claudia Gray featuring characters from Jane Austen books, following up the delightful The Murder of Mr. Wickham. Well, when I looked up the author to put the book on hold – I discovered that somehow I’d already missed three volumes in the series! But my dismay was quickly turned to delight, as this means I get to binge on the three I missed – before the new one comes out.

The Late Mrs. Willoughby is definitely a sequel to The Murder of Mr. Wickham, and you’ll want to read it second – because they refer to the events in the first book, including who did the killing. Once again, though, our sleuths are Jonathan Darcy, the firstborn son of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, and Juliet Tilney, the daughter of Catherine and Henry Tilney.

Once again, many characters from different Austen novels come together. Juliet is visiting Marianne Brandon and her husband, but Marianne’s one-time love, John Willoughby, has recently inherited a large estate nearby. Meanwhile, Jonathan Darcy was invited to the home of school “friend” John Willoughby, and despite his inclinations, he was urged by his parents to go – as they want him to have actual friends. But it soon becomes clear that Willoughby invited him only to mock him, continuing as he did at school.

But Mr. Darcy and Juliet are happy to be thrown together again – especially when there is a new death to investigate. This time it’s Mr. Willoughby’s new wife, and she dies in an unpleasant way at a dinner party where many are present, after drinking a toast to their new home.

The Willoughbys were clearly not a happy couple. And there seem to be many who hate Mr. Willoughby in the group, but why would they kill his wife? Did Willoughby decide he needed better access to her money without having to deal with her? Or perhaps the young man whom she passed over in favor of Willoughby was feeling vengeful? In polite society, it’s tricky to ask the questions to get to the bottom of the case, but Juliet and Jonathan have done it before, after all.

Something I love about this book is Jonathan Darcy’s social awkwardness. Pretty much the definition of adorkable. He’s portrayed as pretty far on the autism spectrum before such a diagnosis existed. But his earnestness, trying to get things right, and blunt honesty are all endearing to the reader – and perhaps to Juliet Tilney as well. And yes, that fits. He probably inherited some of that from his father….

Another fun mystery for Jane Austen fans.

claudiagray.com

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Review of Kaho’olawe, by Kamalani Hurley and Harinani Orme

Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Starred Review 0

Kaho’olawe

The True Story of an Island and Her People

written by Kamalani Hurley
illustrated by Harinani Orme

Millbrook Press, 2025. 32 pages.
Review written February 4, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
2026 Asian/Pacific American Literature Pasifika Picture Book Award Winner

I read this book because it won the Asian/Pacific American Literature Pasifika Picture Book Award – and I wasn’t prepared to learn a story that’s completely new to me.

It turns out, there’s an island named Kaho’olawe in the middle of the Hawaiian Islands that was used for target practice by the U. S. Navy for over fifty years, beginning the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked.

But this book doesn’t start with that. It begins when the island was formed, and tells us about early settlers and abundant growth on the island. And it tells how, even before the bombs, bringing goats to the island devastated its natural habitat.

Twenty years after the U. S. military took over the island, people started protesting. Many pages of the book are taken up with their brave and peaceful protests to restore and heal the island.

But when the military moves out,
it leaves a terrible mess behind!

Debris from the bombings litters the land
where plants and grasses used to grow.
Kaho’olawe’s reefs are covered in red dirt, and
marine animals and plants struggle to live there.

Kaho’olawe endures.

The book goes on to tell us about the volunteers who lovingly are still working to restore the island.

There’s a lot of love and hope in this book, with facts backing it all up in smaller print. An inspiring winner.

kamalanihurley.com
harinani.org

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Review of Pufflings Fly Free! by Colleen Paeff, illustrated by Linda Ólafsdóttir

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Pufflings Fly Free!

A Rescue Tale from Iceland

by Colleen Paeff
illustrated by Linda Ólafsdóttir

Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2026.
Review written September 18, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Pufflings Fly Free! is a sweet picture book based on real events that happen every year in the Westman Islands of Iceland.

The book starts with a girl named Freya, the youngest in her family, going out late on a full-moon night on Puffling Patrol.

More than a million puffins come to the Westman Islands every year to breed. The parents leave their chicks – their pufflings – when they’re barely able to fly. Most of the pufflings make it to the ocean, where they live on the water, feast on fish, and their wings grow strong. But some unlucky babies accidentally end up on the land of the islands. There, the pufflings are vulnerable to cars, predators, and even starvation.

So – families like Freya’s go on Puffling Patrol. They capture frightened pufflings and place them safely in grass-lined boxes for the night.

Tomorrow they will check its health with a local scientist, then release the bird over the ocean. There, it will learn to fly and dive for fish, like all adult puffins. But tonight, it will stay at Freya’s house, safe from cars and cats and other kinds of danger.

Freya is good at spotting pufflings. But when it comes to catching them, she gets flustered when they flap and nip and can’t seem to hold onto them. Everyone else seems better at it than she is.

But when they’re almost done for the night, a little bird dives into the mouth of an excavator claw – an opening where only Freya can follow. This time, she speaks calming words to the puffling and to herself, and she gathers the baby up without fumbling.

The next day after the scientist checks and bands the birds, Freya gets to set her rescued puffling free to fly out over the water and grow strong.

Six pages of back matter give us more information about puffins and the Puffling Patrol. This is a lovely story packed with real-life facts that will make you want to visit Iceland.

colleenpaeff.com
lindaolafsdottir.com

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Review of One Mad Cat and the Missing Book, by Vicky Fang

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

One Mad Cat and the Missing Book

by Vicky Fang

Candlewick Press, 2026. 58 pages.
Review written September 16, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

I’m writing this review in honor of my six-year-old great-nephew Hayden, whom I recently met for the first time, and who is learning to read. This book achieves that tricky combination of simple language, lots of picture clues for decoding, and an engaging story with a fun plot twist at the end to reward the beginning reader.

Best of all, there’s a #1 on the side of this book, so it’s the first book in a series.

In this book we meet Cat. She is mad. We learn the things she doesn’t like (with pictures): toys, hugs, and jokes. Then there’s a whole spread with other things, and small pictures: dust, noise, parties, wall-to-wall carpeting, bad art, rain, sock puppets, stripes, sneezing, car trips – “Well, you get the idea.”

The only things Cat does like are
snacks,
naps,
and puzzles.

Oh, and her friends!

So when one of her friends, Hedgehog, has a missing book, Cat sees it as a puzzle she can solve. She asks questions and finds clues. She even diagrams a little map of how to get through her school to the library. Some of the things she finds along the way make Cat mad, but she keeps looking to help her friend.

And when Cat solves the puzzle, it’s a surprise for everyone. But we’re not surprised when Cat gets mad about it.

There are six chapters in this small book with about five spreads per chapter, and not a lot of words in each spread. It’s the perfect opportunity for a kid just beginning to sound out words to read a real chapter book. Maybe with a little help, but with enough clues that they’ll probably be able to do it themselves the second or third time around. And this is one that the parents won’t get sick of hearing. In fact, like the best beginning readers, it’s one that older kids will enjoy for the story, even if they already know how to read.

vickyfang.com

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Review of Work in Progress, by James Martin, SJ

Biography, Christian, Nonfiction Review, Starred Review, True Stories 0

Work in Progress

Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest

by James Martin, SJ

HarperOne, 2026. 352 pages.
Review written June 11, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

I just finished reading a book by the same author about the life of Jesus – in the context of the author’s trip to the Holy Land. It was packed full of spiritual insights and meaningful applications from the Bible and blessed me on every page. This book was completely different.

Don’t get me wrong – Fr. Martin is a great writer, and I enjoyed this book thoroughly. But it’s a memoir about growing up in Philadelphia – and all the different jobs he tried and what he learned from them. Yes, there’s some wisdom along the way (mostly what he didn’t learn as a kid) – but this is a just plain fun story.

The subtitle gives you a hint at the variety of jobs he covers. And he tells about them with a full dose of humor at the kid he was, doing good work, but mainly wanting to have a good time.

I enjoyed the stories – beginning with when the Bicentennial Wagon Train went by the Ice Cream Inn where he was working, he cleared all the tables while the customers were out watching it, not realizing what was going on. Fr. Martin is apparently only a few years older than me, so I remembered being young during those same years.

Honestly, there were few hints that this kid – who he freely admits was partying, drinking, and smoking pot – would end up becoming a priest. He covers that calling in the last chapter, and yes, we get some spiritual insights to go with the fun there.

But mainly this is a story of student jobs in the America of the 70s and 80s – in the hands of a skilled and personable writer. A lot of fun to relive the escapades with him.

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Review of Like Glass, by Jen Ferguson

Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Like Glass

by Jen Ferguson

Heartdrum, October 6, 2026. 322 pages.
Review written July 10, 2026, from an Advance Reader Copy.
Starred Review

A year ago, Tatum Nova Lambert’s big sister, Bronwyn Moonbeam, died of a brain aneurysm in Chamonix, in the French Alps. Their father, a world-class chef, decided to open a restaurant there in her honor. Now Tatum has come to Chamonix over Spring break for the opening of the restaurant – and to get her father to come back to Toronto.

It doesn’t begin well: He forgets to pick her up from the bus station. They’re staying in what used to be Bronwyn’s apartment, and Tatum finds Bronwyn’s necklace there – the one they buried with her sister. Her father doesn’t really talk with her, he grew out his beard, and Tatum’s pretty sure he’s drinking again.

But as Tatum explores Chamonix, she meets people who help her gain perspective. There’s Beetle, the kid who pickpocketed the necklace before she confronted him and got it back. And then there’s Agatha, who’s training to be on the U.S. Olympic Team as a ski jumper. Agatha gets her. But how much trouble will she get into if Tatum knocks her out of her training schedule?

This isn’t a gripping plot book, but it is, like all Jen Ferguson’s books, nuanced and meditative and full of people you enjoy spending time with, including queer people and people with indigenous heritage.

It’s also about Art and about Identity. Tatum’s art teacher back home doesn’t think her art is Native enough. But what does that even mean? And how does he, with settler heritage, have any right to say that?

And it’s about Grief. Bronwyn was never good about answering Tatum’s postcards, and Tatum’s finding out all she didn’t know about her sister’s life.

I like the way the book comes together at the end, though I won’t give away the many threads that involves. They aren’t tied up in a neat bow, but Tatum got some good interior work done on her trip, and it was a pleasure to get to bear witness to it.

jenfergusonwrites.com

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Review of Rewriting the Rules, by Danna Zeiger, illustrated by Josée Bisaillon

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

Rewriting the Rules

How Dr. Kathleen Friel Created New Possibilities for Brain Research and Disability

by Danna Zeiger
illustrated by Josée Bisaillon

Millbrook Press, 2025. 36 pages.
Review written August 19, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Rewriting the Rules is a picture book biography of a scientist I’d never heard of – Dr. Kathleen Friel, who has cerebral palsy.

One of my friends has a child with cerebral palsy, so I’ve seen for myself how children with cerebral palsy are underestimated. It does depend on where in their brain the damage exists, but in general trouble walking and speaking does not mean the person has trouble thinking.

This book covers the many challenges Kathleen faced as a child with cerebral palsy, including a doctor who told her parents to put her in an institution. (They found a better doctor.)

It was harder for Kathleen to do some simple things like buttoning her clothes and cutting up food. This author frames her finding ways to do these things as rewriting the rules.

In high school, science became Kathleen’s favorite subject. Her teachers showed her that scientists found new solutions to problems, and she knew she wanted to do the same.

After all, she’d always been rewriting the rules.

The book goes on to explain Kathleen’s doctoral work on monkeys with brain damage doing training to create new brain connections.

After getting her PhD, Dr. Friel runs a lab that helps children with cerebral palsy find treatment to help their brains make new connections. And she models all that a person with cerebral palsy can achieve.

The author of this book was a scientist before she became an author – and was mentored by Dr. Friel, so her love and admiration shines in the text.

This picture book biography of a distinguished scientist teaches kids about cerebral palsy in a way they can understand, framed in the story of a person who overcame tremendous challenges – and helps others do the same.

Kathleen and her research are paving the way for people with cerebral palsy and other disabilities
to be heard,
to find their own approaches,
and to rewrite the rules.

dannazeiger.com
joseebisaillon.com

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Review of Translation State, by Ann Leckie

Fiction Review, Science Fiction, Starred Review 0

Translation State

by Ann Leckie
read by Adjoa Andoh

Hachette Audio, 2023. 12 hours, 4 minutes.
Review written February 25, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

I’m not sure why it took me so long to discover that Ann Leckie has another book set in the universe of her Ancillary trilogy with AI spaceships trying to get status as a species, but I was delighted to discover Translation State.

Ann Leckie does mind bending so well! One of the three viewpoint characters in this novel is Qven, a juvenile Presger Translator – a species made by the Presger to interface with humans. We get the viewpoint of this creature when they’re young and driven to discover what is inside other beings by dismembering and eating them. As they grow, they’re taught how to behave to fit in with humans – to eventually become an adult and merge with another to get their final form. But Qven finds themself not always wanting to follow the rules.

The adult Presger Translators don’t let humans know about this. But they assert that it’s dangerous for humans to be around their juveniles.

And the treaty with the Presger is up for renewal in a great Conclave – most think it’s what has kept the Presger from destroying humankind across the galaxies. So most want it to continue.

Meanwhile we meet Enae, who had been taking care of her grandmother for most of her life, but has to leave after her grandmother’s death. Ze’s sent on a diplomatic mission no one expects hir to complete to track down a Presger translator who went rogue two hundred years ago. Surely they’re dead by now.

But that brings hir to Reit, who was abandoned as an infant and adopted into a loving family. Now he’s thirty years old and working a boring job. When he was small and tried to eat another kid, he was told in no uncertain terms not to do that any more, so he’s learned to keep those urges in check, but he does wonder what’s wrong with him. When some activists on his planet hail him as the long-lost heir of the captaincy of a space station that was destroyed, he likes thinking he belongs at last. But working for them in the diplomatic corps lets him meet Enae, who gets interested in his story.

And all this leads to the three characters eventually meeting in the context of treaty negotiations with the Presger. And then a catastrophe happens, and they have to work together.

I love the way Ann Leckie can get me inside even such an alien mind and feel like I understand it. This very alien universe becomes full of beings you care about. Absolutely brilliant. (Do read the Ancillary trilogy first. This book made me want to reread that – maybe I’ll listen this time.)

annleckie.com

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