Books

NPR's Scott Simon asks Kathleen Rooney about her book, "Man Overboard!," and about finding the energy to overcome doubt.

David S. Reynolds' book examines the twin legacies of the Mayflower, which carried the Pilgrims to Plymouth in 1620, and the White Lion, which brought the first enslaved Africans to Virginia in 1619.

Saachi, 12, is a head-strong, confident 6th grader when the book opens, but soon she finds herself increasingly frustrated as the social dynamics of elementary school seem to unravel before her eyes.

The romance books Ryan read growing up rarely included characters who looked like her. Now she deliberately centers people the genre has left out, including Black, Indigenous and queer women.

"London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth," centers around the enigmatic life and death of 19-year-old Zac Brettler.

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with acclaimed television showrunner and writer Mara Brock Akil about her debut novel, "The Revelation of Dionne Daphne."

NPR's Juana Summers speaks with author Jenny Jackson about her new novel The Shampoo Effect.

Paul Tremblay has made a career of pushing the horror genre in new directions. This time, a woman must use a video-game-like controller to get a man, stuck in a vegetative state, across the country.

Author Isaac Butler explains how the religious right embraced culture wars, starting in the 1970s with school book bans, and continuing now with the Trump administration's efforts to defund the NEA.

Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray bring readers a new historical novel that presents two women on opposite ends of the law who must partner to bring down a crime boss in 1930s New York.