Life Hacks for a Little Alien, by Alice Franklin (2025)

Premise: Told in second person, the story of what it‘s like to grow up neurodivergent in a world in which one feels utterly alien.

Review: When we talk about ‘window‘ books, this is the kind of book we talk about. The descriptions of the main character‘s confusion at the world and its response to her are as visceral as they are heartbreaking. Cont.

The Widows of Malabar Hill (Parveen Mistry 1), by Sujata Massey (2018)

Premise: India‘s first female solicitor takes the case of three Muslim widows living in seclusion, but must think quickly when the estate‘s overseer is found dead.

Review: This was a fascinating novel. The mystery was compelling but I appreciated it most as a window into the complex relationships between ethnic and religious communities in India under British rule. Cont

Isaac‘s Song, by Daniel Black (2025)

Premise: A Black gay man tasked with writing the story of his relationship with his estranged father uncovers inconvenient truths that upend his assumptions.

Review: While I don‘t think that for me this hit quite as hard as his previous book, this is still an incredible and powerful work of art. Cont.

A Minor Chorus, by Billy-Ray Belcourt (2022 🇨🇦)

Premise: An Indigenous graduate student, jaded by the institutional game and the broader lack of effective action on Indigenous Reconciliation in Canada, returns to his home community to find the voice for the novel he knows he has within him.

Review: This is incredibly well-done and is thought-provoking in all the best, most challenging ways. Cont.

Oscar Wars, by Michael Schulman (2023)

Premise: A history of the Academy Awards told through the stories of several pivotal moments across the decades.

Review: This is a fascinating and generally successful piece of nonfiction. My only struggle with it is the decision to tell the story of the Oscars through long, in-depth vignettes, rather than through a traditional survey. (Cont.)