The Keeper

The Keeper (Cal Hooper #3) by Tana French (2026), 496 pages 

The Keeper concludes French's Cal Hooper series. I will miss Cal, a retired Chicago police detective, and his struggles to feel at home in the entrenched Irish village of Ardnakelty. I really enjoyed the first installment of the series, The Searcher, and mainly continued on as I like Cal's character. I just did not enjoy #2 and #3 as much. French is VERY wordy. While she does a fantastic job of evoking the essence of Ardnakelty and its people, the story gets bogged down with the minutia. Unlike #2 (The Hunter), though, you actually get to the mystery in the first third of the book! yay! I appreciate French bringing topical issues to her novels and The Keeper brings home issues of change vs. tradition that many communities are facing. What I did not care for was the ending. I do not want to give spoilers, but I don't believe the character would do what the character did. 

After the Fall

After the Fall by Edward Ashton, 277 pages

More than a century after the fall of human civilization and the appearance of aliens on Earth, humans have lost autonomy and are owned by the grays who invaded. Born and bred to serve grays, John belongs to Martok, a gray who floats from one low-paying job to another, often without a place to live and barely enough to feed both of them. But Martok is a constant optimist, and when he leverages John's bond to start a business serving grays in need of rest and relaxation (even though grays are definitely not into that), John is understandably concerned. Especially when he learns that Martok has just 60 days until the first payment before John's bond is transferred to a gray that's likely to murder him just for fun. He'll have to figure out something to make this new business work, ideally something that won't end in death.

This is an interesting take on post-contact dystopia, in that the story is human-centric, even if the world isn't. I appreciated the way that the author makes us consider how exactly we define humanity, intelligence, and autonomy, but without sacrificing the plot and with a solid helping of dry humor. The relationship between John and his fellow bondsperson Six is both relatable and fresh, and nothing is ever quite as it seems in this book. A quick and thought-provoking read.

The Obake Code

The Obake Code by Makana Yamamoto, 352 pages

Three years after her "last heist," hacker Malia is getting bored with fixing cyber fights and living off the spoils. Convenient, then, that gangsters catch her redhanded and force her to help take down a crooked politician by stealing and decrypting some incriminating documents. However, after getting her crew together, Malia gains the attention of Maddox, a man who performed illegal experiments on her as a child. Yes, those experiments made her the best hacker around, but they also caused a world of mental, physical, and emotional trauma. So Maddox's arrival as right-hand man to the politician astronomically complicates the heist.

This was billed as a standalone novel in the world of Hammajang Luck (Yamamoto's first novel), and while you can read it without reading that first book, I don't really think you should. There are lots of references to the first book, and since I hadn't read it, I was left feeling like I was missing something. The vibes of the criminal crew skew toward The Fast & the Furious (especially with the prevalence of cruising and car thefts going on in the story), and honestly, the drama with Maddox overwhelmed the plot to the point where I forgot what they were meant to be stealing by the time they got there. So cool vibes and a decent found family, but maybe not the best heist novel out there.

The Republic of Memory

The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed, 480 pages

For 200 years, the Safina has been traveling away from Earth, heading toward a new planet that will house the thousands of colonists encased in stasis pods. Along with all those colonists, however, are thousands of crew members, many of whom are the descendants of the colonists and spend their lives keeping the Safina heading toward its new home. However, there are several factions aboard that don't think the ship should be using such a large amount of energy to maintain the stasis pods for the people who ruined the Earth they were forced to flee from. And despite a heavily regulated and structured world aboard the ship, some crew members are determined to bring change, starting with waking up their ancestors.

Following a wide range of characters, this debut novel is a captivating and wonderfully told story of revolution, based loosely on the Arab Spring uprising of the early 2010s.  The only minor quibble I had with this book is the Clockwork Orange-esque slang used by revolutionary crew members. I was listening to the book, and it took me quite a while to figure out what they were saying as they skipped around languages and euphemisms. But overall, the points of view are compelling and varied, the plot is propulsive, and the cliffhanger ending has me chomping at the bit for the next book.

Ungifted Series

Ungifted series by Gordon Korman 

Ungifted (2012), 280 pgs.
Donovan Curtis is not the first student that teachers would describe as particularly "gifted." Impulsive: yes. Creative: certainly, in terms of developing unique ways of getting into trouble. Gifted: not the first word that comes to mind. So, when Donovan mistakenly ends up at the Academy for Scholastic Distinction in classes with kids who have IQs twice his own, he feels a little out of place. However, for the sake of his family and his dignity, he is determined to fit in. So what if he is not academically "gifted," Donovan brings his own strengths to the table. 

Supergifted (2018), 297 pgs.
Noah Youkilis has always been extraordinary. With an IQ over 200, he can perform complex calculations and analyses in his sleep; he can master any academic skill without even trying; but what he'd really like to perfect is the ability to be normal. Finally, Noah's chance has arrived, now that he has been given the chance to attend the "regular" middle school in his district. With Donovan's help and Noah's enthusiasm, what can go wrong?

Hypergifted (2026), 260 pgs. 
Donovan Curtis is going to college--four whole years early! Noah Youkilis, the thirteen year old certified genius, has been accepted into Wilderton University, and he needs someone his age with him to help ease his transition from middle school into college. That's where Donovan comes in. Working as a camp counselor while Noah attends classes, Donovan does his best to make the most of his "free" time, which as it turns out is mostly spent keeping his campers--and Noah--out of trouble. It doesn't take a high IQ to know that this summer will be a chaotic one.  

The first book in this series was one of my favorites growing up, and I think it is the strongest so far (although that could just be my nostalgia talking). Ungifted does a good job of recognizing that there are many different ways to be "gifted," you just need to give people the attention and space to show it. With Supergifted, Korman took a turn for the dramatic, upping the ante quite a bit, but still included a good message: if you give people a chance, they might surprise you. These first two books are all about perception--how people perceive others based on certain assumptions and how to cut through those assumptions and get to know the person underneath. Hypergifted is more of a story written for entertainment. Reading about Noah and Donovan getting into shenanigans on a college campus is fun, but there doesn't seem to be a deeper message--which is okay! Overall this series is a pretty fun ride for middle-grade readers (and fully grown adult me). 

Everything in Color

 Everything in Color: A Love Story by Stephanie Stalvey (2026) 528 pages

I am loving the works publisher 23rd St, under the umbrella of First Second Books, is putting out in the world. This shares some themes with Craig Thompson's Blankets that I reviewed earlier this year. This story of a church kid growing up in purity culture and later deconstructing their Christian beliefs through falling in love with a man (a seminary student) and becoming a mother is so honest. The art (both black & white and color) is stunning. I especially love her use of the wolf imagery. Stephanie Stalvey has the revelation that the message of love, sold by many churches, is in reality primarily concerned with obedience and a punitive system for sin. The narrative of this graphic memoir is clear and strong.

The Butler

The Butler by Clare Macintosh, 201 pages

Freelance butler Baxter has never had trouble with the uberwealthy in his career. But when he arrives at a glamorous estate in Cannes (during the film festival, of course), he's in for a challenge. The "caretakers" have been hosting wild parties, and the family renting the mansion for the duration of the festival have more than their fair share of secrets and grudges. Throw in a pickpocket, some attempted robberies, and,  eventually, a dead body in the pool, and well, yes, Baxter is in over his head. However, he's determined to solve the many mysteries in the house, whether his clients want him to or not. (Not so spoiler: the butler did not do it in this one.)

The setup for this book is kind of fantastic, seeing the rich and obnoxious through the eyes of the high-end hired help. However, it didn't really follow through on that promise. It's too slow to be a thriller, and the dead body doesn't really appear until the middle of the book, making it a bit short on the mystery side too. That said, the setting for this book, both the mansion and Cannes itself, are so wonderfully created on the page that I felt like I was there. Or maybe I just wished I was.

And Side By Side They Wander

And Side By Side They Wander by Molly Tanzer, 112 pages

In the very near future, humans have nearly destroyed the planet, without any real way to fix it. In came an alien race that offered technologies and other solutions to Earth's problems, and all they asked in return was to take some of the best art humans had to offer and display it a their vast treelike space station/museum. The aliens would, of course, give it all back once humans had sufficiently gotten their act together. Three hundred years after the art left earth, we've managed to meet the criteria the aliens laid out so that we can get our art back. But they don't want to give it back, and they've repeatedly put off any efforts at resolution. So what can we do but send some forgeries with a crew of clones, synthetic humans, and a pilot from a different alien race to steal the originals back?

This is billed as a science fiction heist novel (which is like catnip to me), but that's not quite right. Yes, there's a heist, but that's kind of in the background of the main character's musings on what makes something art, what make someone human, why real art is more valued than forgeries, and the nature of museums in general. (That super-helpful alien race sounds suspiciously like the British Empire from time to time) It's a decent book though, one that would be good for a book discussion as there are PLENTY of meaty topics shoved into a very short book.

Angel Down

 Angel Down by Daniel Kraus (2025), 283 pages

This is an intense book. I actually listened to it (narrated amazingly by Kirby Heyborne) and felt unsettled through pretty much the whole novel. Forewarning - if your read it, it is ONE sentence. 

It is very hard to describe or categorize this book. On one level, it is the story of Private Cyril Bagger during WWI. On another level, it is humanity's reckoning with our collective morality (or lack thereof) and our inability to (on a group level) progress. There are a lot of heavy topics addressed through the background of war and the discovery of an Angel. I would not call this book fantasy, nor is it sci-fiction or magical realism. Maybe it is the reality that sits in the back of our minds and presents itself when under extreme duress. I don't know, but it is worth a read.

Isola

Isola by Allegra Goodman (2025), 346 pages

Isola is loosely based on the life of Marguerite de La Rocque de Roberval who was stranded on an island off of New France (Canada) in the 1500s. Fascinatingly, her story is known because the regaled her saga to the Queen of Navarre who was a known writer and included it in her book Heptameron. 

We follow Marguerite from her life as a wealthy young woman to one that (as a woman) has no livelihood due to the death of her father. She is put under guardianship and is forced to join her Guardian, an explorer for the King, on an expedition to New World. During this time, she falls in love with her Guardian's assistant. The Guardian becomes enraged about this and strands Marguerite, his assistant, and Marguerite's maid on an island. 

The book has a heavy, almost gothic feel to it. While this is definitely a fictionalized version of the real events, I am honestly amazed she survived. The 1500s were no joke on the life-expectancy front. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but would have loved a little more detail on how she actually survived it all. I would have also enjoyed a little more background on her Guardian and the Assistant. The book covers a lot so tends to stay a bit surface level and I wanted the nitty-gritty.