EDUCATION EMPOWERED

According to the author, K-12 education today is widely regarded as inadequate, and there is a connection between its failings and the “steady decline in our children’s well-being” in general. Unfortunately, per Jallepalli, our pedagogical philosophies have become stagnant and intractably resistant to revision, “almost like religions.” The central problem, as he understands it, is …

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COVID WARS

The author, an engineer and “volunteer activist by avocation,” scrupulously documents the trajectory of Covid-19’s march across the U.S. He focuses on Ravalli County, Montana, his own home, described as a “microcosm of what many communities in America have gone through.” Through this compilation of essays, interviews, and conversations, Olsen explores a diverse cross-section of …

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Walking with Awareness

Shuttle and Bell decided to travel along the Appalachian Trail for several weeks, equipped with little more than “fifteen pounds of dried bomb shelter food.” Neither was an experienced hiker or camper, but both were looking for the tranquility that sometimes only nature can provide—a sense of solace that the authors affectingly portray. Bell had …

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THE TALES OF CHARLIE WAGS

Charlie Wags is a small and fluffy brown dog who lives in a house with a lovely garden. He’s a very ordinary dog aside from his love of travel and his unique ability to wag his tail and teleport to brand-new fabulous locations. Today, Charlie has decided on Paris, and with a little wag, he’s …

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FOREVER, CEDAR KEY

Roughly a year after the nuclear meltdown that precipitated the events of Godspeed, Cedar Key (2024),the remaining few hundred residents of the titular locale—about a quarter of its former population—are slowly rebuilding their economy and infrastructure. Despite damage from nuclear fallout and extreme weather, the locals have managed to start breeding chickens again and have even …

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SHOW

Following his father’s death, white farm boy Solomon Hunt, 15, sets off in hopes of supporting his mother and younger siblings. He meets the Seer, a nonspeaking little person with a mysterious history, and helps free him from the museum where he’s on display. The two go on the run, crossing the American Empire border …

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THE GROUND THAT DEVOURS US

It’s been approximately a decade since vampires crawled from the grave and destroyed most of human civilization in a brutal, blood-soaked uprising. Orphaned twins Ripley and Ruby Clemmons were rescued from the Open—the wasteland between human enclaves where monsters roam free—by a man named Barnett who took them to Vaille (North Carolina’s biggest human compound) …

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KENTE FOR JOJO

The day has arrived to select little Jojo’s kente, a Ghanaian cloth known for its striking patterns. Kente has a rich cultural history; as Daddy says, it all began many years ago, when, according to lore, two hunters saw the spider Ananse spinning a beautiful web and asked him to teach them. Mummy, Daddy, baby …

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IN THE END WE ALL DIE

A family urn is stolen and three armed gangsters set off to retrieve it. They trace the urn back to two thieves who live in a three-story, six-unit apartment building in a small town, but complications quickly arise, and what could have been a simple task quickly spirals out of control. As they drive into …

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THE COURTYARD. A MEMOIR

The Parkiets—mother Rikla, father Joseph, and two sons, Sevek and Henek—emigrated from Warsaw to Paris in 1931. Binem, aka Bernard, the narrator, was born in 1933 after the move. They’re poor but hardworking and close-knit. Joseph was a furnisher finisher by trade. They found a place in an ancient apartment building that surrounded a large …

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