Jess H. Staff Picks
Not Available
This book has gotten a lot of comparisons to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and in some ways, that's a valid comparison. They're both funny and have big, complex universes. In other ways, however, this is a superior book (and I say that as someone who has a Hitchhiker's tattoo). Valente's world has all of the whimsy of her Fairyland series or of Hitchhiker's but still isn't afraid to ask the Big Questions. Valente engages with politics, morality, and what it means to be human, and moreover she does it all while dousing everything in glitter and glam. It's a big, beautiful heart of a book, and I just loved it to pieces.
-- Jess
Not Available
Part Saga, part Abarat, part American Gods, and part something entirely its own, this series about angels and demons is my current obsession. Taylor weaves a rich mythology through this complex and action-packed book, leaving me desperate for more of both the world and the characters.
-- Jess
Uprooted is, quite simply, the lush, beautifully written, morally complex, darkly magical, feminist fantasy noel that you've been waiting for. Both the world and the characters give you plenty of reasons to fall in love with this tale that is rooted in a rich fantastical tradition. you won't want to put it down, even as you want it to last forever.
-- Jess
The Sparrow is a book that is not afraid to ask the big questions - what does it mean to be human? To love? To believe in something? But what is so captivating about it is the way it asks these questions. Russell treats her characters with compassion and respect, all while weaving an engrossing story about aliens.
-- Jess
This is the best book I've read in years. There is literally nothing not to love about this story (or its sequel, The Wise Man's Fear). Stories-within-stories, a unique and logical system of magic, compelling characters, beautiful writing - this is everything you want in your high fantasy and more.
-- Jess
NK Jemisin is a master world-builder, here crafting a world that crackles with the tension of the upcoming end of the world and is populated with a memorable cast of characters. The Fifth Season follows several of these characters in an unexpectedly intricate plot that Jemisin deftly weaves together. This is an author at the height of her craft, and reading the Broken Earth trilogy is a joy.
-- Jess
Not Available
Life in I Crawl Through It is both totally surreal and all too realistic. Characters struggle with life both literal and metaphorical in this stunning, difficult, and weird book. You have to be willing to be very uncertain and unsettled, but this story is totally worth it.
-- Jess
Not Available
This magic-touched story tells of a girl who grows roses out of her wrist and a bout who hangs moons from the tress. The perfect blend of reality and fantasy, this beautiful novel explores identity, love, and myth in prose that took my breath away.
-- Jess
Not Available
By blending Latin American culture and elements of Wonderland with a dark note of the Underworld, Cordova creates a rich, complex, and magical world. The characters who inhabit this world are also beautifully drawn and complicated. Together, they make a labyrinth that you won't want to leave once you've entered it.
-- Jess
