Best New Books: Week of March 3, 2020

The following books, published this week, received starred reviews in Booklist. Want to read our starred reviews before the books go on sale? Subscribe to Booklist!

Adult Fiction

★ Barn 8, by Deb Olin Unferth

★ Blackwood, by Michael Farris Smith

★ The Book of Kane and Margaret, by Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi

★ Coming Up for Air, by Sarah Leipciger

★ Deacon King Kong, by James McBride

★ Eight Perfect Murders, by Peter Swanson

★ Engaged to the Earl, by Lisa Berne

★ The Evil Men Do, by John McMahon

★ Forced Perspective, by Tim Powers

★ Frying Plantain, by Zalika Reid-Benta

★ The God Child, by Nana Oforiatta Ayim

★ Hide Away, by Jason Pinter

★ House of Earth and Blood, by Sarah J. Maas

★ In the Absence of Miracles, by Michael J. Malone

★ The Night Watchman, by Louise Erdrich

★ On the Corner of Hope and Main, by Beverly Jenkins

★ Otaku, by Chris Kluwe

★ Please See Us, by Caitlin Mullen

★ The Runaway Bride, by Jody Hedlund

★ Star of Persia: Esther’s Story, by Jill Eileen Smith

★ These Ghosts Are Family, by Maisy Card

★ Trace Elements, by Donna Leon

★ The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, by Josie Silver

★ Without Sanction, by Don Bentley

★ Writers & Lovers, by Lily King

Adult Nonfiction

★ The Back Roads to March: The Unsung, Unheralded, and Unknown Heroes of a College Basketball Season, by John Feinstein

★ Fannie Lou Hamer: America’s Freedom Fighting Woman, by Maegan Parker Brooks

★ Fantasia for the Man in Blue, by Tommye Blount

★ Footprints: In Search of Future Fossils, by David Farrier

★ Frida in America: The Creative Awakening of a Great Artist, by Celia Stahr

★ Leading with Gratitude: Eight Leadership Practices for Extraordinary Business Results, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton

★ Open Kitchen: Inspired Food for Casual Gatherings, by Susan Spungen

★ Postcolonial Love Poem, by Natalie Diaz

★ Pretty Bitches: On Being Called Crazy, Angry, Bossy, Frumpy, Feisty, and All the Other Words That Are Used to Undermine Women, edited by Lizzie Skurnick

★ The Princess and the Prophet: The Secret History of Magic, Race, and Moorish Muslims in America, by Jacob S. Dorman

★ Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon through North America’s Stolen Land, by Noé Álvarez

★ Voyage of Mercy: The USS Jamestown, the Irish Famine, and the Remarkable Story of America’s First Humanitarian Mission, by Stephen Puleo

★ A Year in My Garden, by Jacqueline van der Kloet

Youth Fiction

★ All the Dear Little Animals, by Ulf Nilsson, illustrated by Eva Ericksson, and translated by Julia Marshall

★ Black Brother, Black Brother, by Jewell Parker Rhodes

★ The Girl Who Speaks Bear, by Sophie Anderson

★ I Go Quiet, by David Ouimet

★ Mañanaland, by Pam Muñoz Ryan

★ My Best Friend, by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

★ Nesting, by Henry Cole

★ The Phantom Twin, by Lisa Brown

★ Prairie Lotus, by Linda Sue Park

★ The Queen Bee and Me, by Gillian McDunn

★ Rita & Ralph’s Rotten Day, by Carmen Agra Deedy and illustrated by Pete Oswald

Youth Nonfiction

★ Amphibian Acrobats, by Leslie Bulion and illustrated by Robert Meganck

★ Flash and Gleam: Light in Our World, by Sue Fliess and illustrated by Khoa Le

★ Flight for Freedom: The Wetzel Family’s Daring Escape from East Germany, by Kristen Fulton and illustrated by Torben Kuhlmann

★ Peter’s War: A Boy’s True Story of Survival in World War II Europe, by Deborah Durland DeSaix and Karen Gray Ruelle and illustrated by Deborah Durland DeSaix

★ To Fly among the Stars: The Hidden Story of the Fight for Women Astronauts, by Rebecca Siegel

★ Votes of Confidence, 2nd Edition: A Young Person’s Guide to American Elections, by Jeff Fleischer