Liam is the boy, lying in the hospital, in grave condition, a bullet lodged in his head. Otto is his father, a commercial artist whose marriage has collapsed in the wake of the disaster. The Book of Otto and Liam is a brave novel that taps directly into the vein of a uniquely American tragedy: the school shooting. We know these grotesque and sorrowful events too well. From the irredeemable act of the shooter to the anger and devastation of the victims’ families, Paul Griner has managed to make an amazing, incredibly powerful book, one that is like no other....

Tom Lin’s astounding debut reimagines the classic Western through the eyes of a Chinese American assassin on a quest to rescue his kidnapped wife and exact his revenge on her abductors. Jonathan Letham calls The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu “a fierce new version of the Westward Dream,” and “declares the arrival of an astonishing new voice.” “Beautifully imagined,” raves Booklist. “Lin’s first novel is an extraordinary epic with page-turning, often cinematic action that transcends the parameters of genre fiction....

It was going to be silly and informative. I’d start by telling you the journey I’ve had with the book: how it was assigned in school and I finished it early and hated it, and then I read it again to try to understand why it was so revered and still hated it. About how I grew up to be (briefly) an English teacher, and reading it as an adult, I found new appreciation for the language, and more importantly, I learned that it was meant to be a response to books that paint British school boys as angelic....

TBR is Book Riot’s subscription service offering Tailored Book Recommendations for readers of all stripes. Been dreaming of a “Stitch Fix for books?” Now it’s here! Tell TBR about your reading preferences and what you’re looking for, and sit back while your Bibliologist handpicks recommendations just for you. TBR offers plans to receive hardcover books in the mail or recommendations by email, so there’s an option for every budget. Visit mytbr....

Jenny McLaine’s life is falling apart. Her friendships are flagging. Her body has failed her. Her boyfriend just left. She’s having a breakdown. Jenny is the only one who will be able to pick up the pieces and learn how to, more or less, grow up. Or will she? The complexities of contemporary life — intersections of late stage capitalism, rapidly advancing technology, and general rudderlessness — make these episodes of uncertainty perfect novel fodder....

There have been tough decisions. What platform do we use? Will our WiFi hold up? How do I let my audience know it’s happening? Will hackers hack in? How do we ensure accessibility? Reading series curators and lit lovers are all still wading through these questions. Some answers are easy. Some need to be tweaked. Overall, the series are doing their best to complete their mission: sharing creativity. If you’d like to listen to literature read out loud in real time, join in....

Hot as Hades by Alisha Rai Imprisoned in the Underworld, Persephone just wants to be free. But, according to Zeus, this is for her own good—above ground is just not safe for the Goddess of Vegetation. While she gets along well with Cerberus, Hades is another thing entirely. Rough around the edges, as Persephone might expect King of the Underworld to be, Hades is hot, and she’s not just talking about hellfire....

You might know splatterpunk under its other names: hardcore horror or extreme horror. In some ways, they’re more descriptive and give you a better idea of what you’re in for. The downside, however, is that they erase the “punk” aspect. Like other literary “punk” subgenres, splatterpunk is a reaction. In this case, it pushes back against traditional horror narratives, which rely on suggestion and implication to instill unease. How? By showing everything....

What separates the good fantasy transportation from the bad? It’s totally subjective, of course, but personally, I think that the major factors are how imaginative the transport is, whether it elevates the story, and, rather selfishly, how much I’d enjoy travelling that way. Some forms of fantasy or speculative transportation score high on imagination points, but lose out because they sound uncomfortable, unsettling, or downright horrifying. (I would definitely be one of those Star Trek characters who believes that the transporter simply kills you and then 3D-prints an unwitting copy....

I am writing to you out of concern. After reading your story first with my entire junior kindergarten class and then three more times with small groups, I feel that I know you better than any other anthropomorphic barnyard animal and can offer you some advice. Your story made me madder than a wet hen! You allowed a cat, a dog, and a goose to lounge around your house while you planted, harvested, ground, and baked wheat into bread....

The Mission of Libraries is Not Books But ultimately, the mission of the library is not books — or, at least, paper ones. The real mission — the one that the books have been supporting all these years — is to make sure that information is available. The paper codex has been the most efficient way to make this happen for several hundred years, but fetishizing printed text over library ebooks defeats the actual purpose of a library....

See, I am not a horror person. In fact, before last year, horror was not a genre I usually read, or cared about at all. But there’s a redaction here: I am was not a horror person. That was before I read The Only Good Indians for the first time last year, after I heard some buzz about it on social media. I’m easily scared. As someone who grew up in an environment where the paranormal isn’t a question, but a certainty, and stories about encounters with evil spirits abound, it is no surprise that I try to stay away from things that give me the heebie jeebies....

It’s the end of the year—and decade, apparently—so book lists are all about Best Of Lists right now. This is not that list exactly, but these are the great mystery, thriller, and true crime books I read in November that you should definitely read or at the very least put on your TBR—of course there’s more room on your TBR; it is infinite. Anyhoo, there’s lady Sherlock (my favorite Sherlock!...

Elisa Shoenberger: I have to ask: what was it like being Guerrilla Girl? Donna Kaz: Oh, it was mainly a lot of fun. It was empowering and it felt really good to focus on an issue and to be able to name names and call people out for their discriminatory practices. It was a very creative time. The girls are full of humor and creativity; making posters and stickers about the art world and the theater world was joyful....

Rena Barron’s newest Kingdom of Souls will bring you magic, high stakes, and a main character who will do everything in her power to stop a being powerful enough to destroy the things she loves the most. It introduces Arrah, a young girl, ready to start an adventure she will never forget. I’m grateful that author Rena Barron agreed to answer a few of my questions. Below, she talks about the process, the story and the excitement of her debut novel....

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is “an alluring feminist fairy tale” (Kirkus Reviews) about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch and who discovers what power might lie in such a curse. at AutoStraddle: 8 Speculative Fiction Books by Black Authors about Black Futures for Imagining a New World at Brightly: 11 Inspiring Illustrated Biographies That Introduce Kids to Diverse Heroes at Bustle: These 5 Books About Voter Suppression Will Inspire You To Be Politically Active at BuzzFeed: 16 Romance Novels That Are Explicitly, Scorchingly, Don’t-Read-In-Public Sexy at Crime Reads: 7 Books Told From the Perspective of Domestic Workers at Electric Lit: 8 Spine-Chilling Books About Occult Mysteries at Epic Reads: 16 Boarding School Books That Will Make You Wish You Went to One at Get Literary: Read like a Hargreeves with These 8 Books for Umbrella Academy Fans at Mental Floss: 6 Beach Reads from 100 Years Ago at Nerdist: 3 Chilling Gothic Novels for Your Summer Reading at POPSUGAR: These 20 New Romance Books Will Turn Up the Heat on Your Summer at Riveted: 15 Sizzling YA Thrillers for Scorching Hot Summer Days at Romper: 10 Books That’ll Remind You Of Childhood Summers at Tor....

From flight attendant and debut novelist T. J. Newman, Falling is the #1 bestseller and blockbuster thriller that grew out of a diabolical question the author would ask pilots, only to watch their faces go pale with fear: What would you do if terrorists kidnapped your family and told you that if you did not crash this plane, your wife and children would be killed? Hello, I Am a Professional Bookworm Button ($9): BRB, getting business cards made up as well....

For fans of My (Not So) Perfect Life and Jasmine Guillory’s While We Were Dating, a disarmingly fun debut novel follows Carlisa Henton as her life comes undone after a chance meeting with a rising pop star. With fresh and honest prose, Good Morning, Love examines the uncertainty of being a new professional looking to chase a dream while also trying to survive in a world that’s not always kind to ambitious women....

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman for $1.99 The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert for $1.99 Originals by Adam Grant for $1.99 When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Cullors and asha bandele for $2.99 The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning for $2.99 I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest for $2.99 The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman for $2.99 Sigh, Gone by Phuc Tran for $2....

Today’s edition of Daily Deals is sponsored by Gallery Books. Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost by Lindsay Marcott for $1.99 Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett for $2.99 The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt for $1.99 Sadie by Courtney Summers for $2.99 A Hero Born by Jin Yong & Anna Holmwood (translator) for $1.99 The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman for $2.99 In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt for $3....