Review: "Guard My Heart" by Sabrina Fedel

Guard My Heart by Sabrina Fedel
Published October 2026 via Delacorte Romance
★★★

For Ryleigh, hockey is just about everything—or, if not everything, it's at least her first love and (she hopes) her ticket to an elite university. Dating is definitely not in the plan. An attractive Canadian hockey player is definitely not in the plan.

Formula 1 books are on the rise, but in the meantime the sports romances all seem to be hockey hockey hockey. I suspect we all know what is responsible for this...and while I don't have a particular affinity to hockey books (no objection, of course, just no specific interest), here we are.

There's quite a bit to like here. First, although Ryleigh is good—she's a goalie and she knows her stuff—she's not the best or the strongest one out there. She can hold her own, but her last season was rough, and she knows that her college options may be limited. On the one hand this feels like a small thing (obviously not everybody can be the best!), but on the other hand I read so many YA books that have quite a lot of wish fulfilment in them—teenager gets a major publishing deal, wins a major science prize, is valedictorian, etc.—that it's always nice to read about teenagers who have dreams but a) have to work for them and b) have to be realistic about those dreams.

The romance is also nice. Ryleigh is a little prickly at first, but she loosens up once she starts to trust Jett a bit; Jett, for his part, manages to be an all-around good guy. (Having read one too many "she's a doormat and he's a raging asshole" books, it's always a relief when he's not a raging asshole. Did I say one too many? I might have meant a hundred too many.) There is a wee bit of wish fulfilment in their romance (he's the hottest new thing at school, smart and attractive and as sure a bet for the NFL as you can get, and he's spending all his free time with Ryleigh, etc. etc.), but I'll take that if it means we get a decent person in the mix.

I do have quibbles. First, Ryleigh is quite small for a hockey goalie (probably for a hockey player at all), and this is mentioned repeatedly—enough to remind me of the romance trend of "she's so little and he's so big, oh my" that, well, I wished she'd just been a bit taller and it wasn't a plot point. Second, there's a mean-girl plot, and although it's not the most dramatic mean-girl plot I've seen, I'm of an age where I'd just rather see more about platonic friendship and less about mean girls who are on the prowl. And finally...there's significant discussion in the book of what schools might be possibilities, and Cornell is one of the schools in play. The potential for a scholarship is one of the discussion points here, and it's not an insignificant one—Ryleigh's one of several kids, her family isn't wealthy, they're probably still paying off medical bills, etc. But: The Ivy League schools don't give athletic scholarships. This policy has been in place since the 1950s, and they (including Cornell) only give need-based scholarships. Now, I'm not saying that this policy has never been flaunted—I'm sure that creative recruiters have found ways to sweeten the deal for student athletes. But generally...as I understand it, it's not a thing. I did read an ARC, so this might be fact-checked and corrected before publication, but in a book that is so enthusiastic about hockey I found it a bit odd that nobody looked into what scholarships are likely from what schools.

Overall fun and nicely balanced; a couple of Fedel's other books have been on my radar for a while, and it's probably time to track them down.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "A Very Merry Detour" by Court Behr

A Very Merry Detour by Court Behr
Published October 2026 via Dial Press
★★★

Alaina had Christmas all planned out...but those plans didn't involve getting dumped. Then she made a plan B (mostly involving chasing down her ex and trying to win him back)...but it didn't involve a blizzard-induced car crash in Utah. It also didn't involve a stranger rescuing her, or being forced to rely on that stranger's goodwill in the lead-up to Christmas. And it didn't involve the stranger making her question her sexuality...

This is a sweet, feel-good romance, full of holiday vibes (and a lot of hot chocolate). There's a lot to like here—the conflict is largely internal, which is to say that the heroines each have to figure some things out but there's no real villain of the story, no evil ex or greasy-haired homophobe lurking in the corners to take them down. (Folks, I have read a lot of queer romance. I know by now what things make me specifically tired.) Priscilla is a little stilted at times, and Alaina a little intentionally kooky, but they're both fundamentally good people who are trying to do right by the people around them. Similarly, the secondary cast feel like they'd be fun to be around, which is not always a given.

I would have liked more open, honest conversation between Alaina and Priscilla, and perhaps a longer time frame. This isn't one of those books where all the conflict could be solved by an honest conversation, which is great, but the fact is that there are a lot of barriers to a relationship that they don't really discuss. Like: They live in different states. Alaina thought, until she met Priscilla, that she was straight. Alaina is actively pursuing her male ex for most of the book (spoiler warning) right up to the moment when she tells Priscilla that she could stay in Utah to be with Priscilla rather than going to New York to try to get her ex back. None of these is insurmountable (though, "if you don't want me I'll go see if my ex does" is not a great way to propose a relationship), (end spoiler warning!) and it's also completely understandable that either of them wouldn't necessarily want to discuss all this with someone they've known less than a week. But if I were in Priscilla's shoes—hot stranger crash-lands in my life, she talks a big game about how she's straight and trying to get her male ex back, we make out despite her professed straightness and I earn a toaster,* she uses the last of her savings on a ticket to New York visit said ex, and then (with the NY trip still apparently on the agenda) within a week of meeting she decides she wants to stay with me and make a go of a relationship...yeah, I'd have some concerns. And questions! Nothing wrong with taking a minute to figure out your sexuality, nothing wrong with taking a minute to figure out what you actually want, nothing wrong with realizing you want something different than you thought...just, it's a lot for the characters to get through in a week, and without being super comfortable having big conversations with each other for most of that week.

So all told it makes for an enjoyable winter holiday romance, complete with all the winter activities you could dream of (makes me want to go winter camping!). It also has a relationship worthy of U-Haul jokes** and not enough communication for my admittedly picky liking, so do with that what you will.

*I might be showing my age here; do people still make this joke?

**There are not enough of these in queer romance, to my great regret.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "Out of Left Field" by Jonah Newman

Out of Left Field by Jonah Newman
Published March 2024 via Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
★★★

A semiautobiographical graphic novel about baseball, identity, and being true to yourself. I recently made a list of a whole bunch of graphic novels that my library has that interest me, and this was (surprise!) on the list.

It's a story that takes a longer path than some—the entirety of high school rather than, e.g., just a summer or a year. Jonah (the book version) has a lot of growing up to do over the course of those four years, from figuring out his own sexuality to realizing who his true friends are to seeing the world a bit more clearly. And, of course, to getting better at baseball.

The art feels a little simple to me (more "comic" than "graphic novel", if that makes sense), though it's consistent and, you know, miles better than anything I could draw myself. I do wish the plotline with Jonah's lone female baseball teammate had gone into a bit more depth; she pops on page every once in a while to be (rightfully) annoyed that the coach has given her approximately zero playing time while dedicating a tremendous amount of time and effort to moving Jonah from "bad at baseball" to "decent at baseball". It's clear that the author can see the discrepancy, but even at the end of the book I'm not sure book-Jonah ever really gets that even if he's not actively impeding her himself, he's doing nothing to help. It does feel realistic (teenagers are going to teenager!), and I'm not sure quite what I might have hoped for, but I did want a little something else there.

A quick read, in any case, and I think one where a lot of readers will find something to relate to.

Review (Deutsch): "Cats Tagesbuch: Lass die Ratte aus dem Sack!" von Franziska Hollbacher

Cats Tagesbuch: Lass die Ratte aus dem Sack! von Franziska Hollbacher
Herausgegeben 2026 von Magellan
★★★★

Wunderst du dich, was eine Katze denkt...? Wundere dich nicht mehr. Jetzt wissen wir: Der Kater von Cats Tagebuch ist klug, hat viel Selbstvertrauen... und will nur, dass alle Leute und andere Haustiere wissen, dass er der "Top Dog" ist. Ähm, "Top Cat."

Hier gibt es ein kleines Geheimnis und viel, viel Sarkasmus—der Humor ist sehr trocken—aber meistens ist die Geschichte ein hemmungsloser Ritt durch ein paar Tage im Leben eines Katers. (Es gibt natürlich eine Katerstrophe oder zwei...)

Ich fand die Geschichte echt lustig, mit einfachen Zeichnungen und nur ein bisschen Chaos. Perfekt für ein Kind, das eine Katze hat...oder eine Katze wollte...oder eine Katze sein wollte.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley. Deutsch ist nicht meine Muttersprache, und alle Fehler sind meine eigenen.

Review: "Rupture Anthem" by Hera Naguib

Rupture Anthem by Hera Naguib
Published October 2026 via University of Pittsburgh Press
★★★★

Poems of belonging and loss. I've been very into poems of place of late—more generally, I like collections with strong themes, and this delivers. The book spans countries, from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan to the United States; there's a sense that what home means shifts in each place. At times I could nearly smell the difference in the air, the hot dry heat of Saudi Arabia's desert competing against street food stalls in Lahore.

The language is clear enough to follow and slippery enough to keep one thinking, which is just how I like poetry; this is all personal preference, of course, but I don't have a poet's brain and thus am happiest with things that have enough of the literal that I have a hope of understanding but that still make me work for it (poetry being one of those things that is most satisfying when you feel like you've earned it).

I couldn't take many notes on this one, because I had to read it on my phone, so I'll keep this short—but recommended to those looking for poetry about identity, place, home, navigating spaces not built for you.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "The Prince and the Dressmaker" by Jen Wang

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
Published February 2018 via First Second
★★★

Frances just wants to make dresses—someday she'd like to be a famous designer, but for now she's happy enough as a seamstress...more or less. When she's hired to work for a royal, though, things change: Prince Sebastian wants nothing more than to take the world by storm, wearing one gorgeous dress after another.

This is energetic and lively, with playful illustrations (and, credit to Frances, some truly fabulous gowns). I struggled a little with the very feel-good ending: The book is set in Europe in the past, and although there have always been queer and gender-non-confirming people making their place in society, the climax at the end here just didn't feel realistic for the time and place. And maybe that's the point; it's basically a fantasy of acceptance and self-expression. I do wonder what this would have felt like with a more ambiguous location, though. I also would have preferred romance to be taken out of the mix—again, this is a bit of a fantasy thing (prince falls for commoner), but I really liked Frances and Sebastian's dynamic as friends, and some of that was lost when they went all googly-eyed for each other.

Still lots of fun, but left me wondering in the end. 3.5 stars.

Review: "The Tyranny of Thinness" by Céline Leboeuf

The Tyranny of Thinness by Céline Leboeuf
Published October 2026 via North Atlantic Books
★★★

Part memoir, part philosophy: In The Tyranny of Thinness, Leboeuf looks at cultural standards of thinness—and at her own anorexia—through the lens of philosophers.

In its simplest form, my thesis is this: Changing your physique—whether through diet, exercise, cosmetics, or surgeries—to conform with beauty standards will never bring you true pleasure or lasting happiness, despite the false claims by diet culture and the beauty industry. Only alternative ways of thinking about your body, combined with your own suite of practices for being in your body, will deliver the pleasure and happiness you deserve. (loc. 71*)

I went into this knowing that the memoir portion would be more interesting to me than the philosophy portion, and that held true. Leboeuf's background as an academic here shines through, from the format of the book to the philosophers she cites; although she does pull on some contemporary writers, her heavy hitters tend towards big-name philosophers (and feminists). I did appreciate that in her own experience she was describing an illness that was entrenched but not...how do I put this...on the far end of the bell curve; rather, it was something that I think will resonate with a lot of readers who have struggled with body image and/or disordered eating and/or eating disorders. (Though—as always, would have preferred that numbers had not been included.)

This will work best for readers with a bit more of a philosophy background (or a desire to gain a bit more of a philosophy background) who are looking to view weight-loss culture from a broader but different-than-normal-approach lens.

*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "All That Dies in April" by Mariana Travacio

All That Dies in April by Mariana Travacio
Translated from the Spanish by Will Morningstar and Samantha Schnee
Published October 2026 via World Editions
★★★★

High in the mountains of Argentina, there is very little hope left. Lina and Relicario's son left years ago, looking for work; the region has dried up, and there is little work and little greenery and little hope for anything different in the future. Lina wants to leave, to seek her son and a different future. Relicario cannot imagine leaving their dead behind.

This is the first in the series of translated works, one for each letter of the alphabet. Argentina is A, Belgium is B, China is C, and the rest remains to be seen (as does what the series will do when it gets to W and X! At least with W there's the disputed territory of Western Sahara, but I'm not sure where you'd go with X). I love the concept; I've long liked the idea of doing a round-the-world book tour and reading a book from every country, but unfortunately, I've also met myself and am aware that I'm bad at that sort of challenge. There are just too many other things I want to read to lock myself into ~200 books based on location.

All That Dies in April makes for something of a curiosity of a book, drifting dream-like in places and all too aware of human frailty in others. Lina is too practical to hold on to all that she has ever known, while Relicario carries on soothing conversations with the dead. She's content to adapt to the unknown, I think, while he's content to adapt to a world withering around him, as long as it's the world he is familiar with.

Later in the book, perspectives shift, and I had a harder time holding on to who was speaking and what their content was. This turned the book from a 4-star to a 3.5-star read for me, but still a very engaging read. As the book goes on, the cracks lower down, where the grass is green and the living is relatively easier, start to show. The ending is fairly abrupt, but in a way that is fitting for the book.

I don't want to commit to ~26 unknown books (and am not all that interested in the Belgian or Chinese books picked for the series), but you can bet that I'll be keeping an interested eye on what comes next. (And: If you looked at a list of countries in alphabetical order, which countries would you choose to read books from?)

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "Like Glass" by Jen Ferguson

Like Glass by Jen Ferguson
Published October 2026 via Heartdrum
★★★★

Just over a year ago, Tatum's sister died—suddenly, unexpectedly. Her parents went to Chamonix to bring her body home, but her father hasn't been home since, and now Tatum is determined that she won't lose him too—that it's time to go bring him home.

Now. Yes please to travel books and books with indigenous main characters (especially ones interacting with their identities in interesting ways) and the unexpected. France is not an unusual place for a YA main character to visit (I mean, to be fair, it's not an unusual place for your average North American to want to visit, either), but the way Chamonix is approached is unusual: Tatum is there as a tourist, to some degree, but her father is there to work, and Tatum does not have the slightest interest in the classic touristy things or perfect Instagram shots. Tatum's father is Métis, and he knows what that means for his life and his work, but Tatum is still figuring out what that means for herself and her art...and how much other people get to define that.

Fundamentally of course this is a story about grief: Tatum's grief over the loss of her sister, her father's grief over the same, Tatum's grief over the emotional loss (for lack of a better term) of her father in the past year. They're past the rawest of it all, but they also know that things can't be and won't be the same again, and all there is to do is tromp through the murky tomorrows. Mixed in with that is friendship—Tatum is not shy about meeting new people—and some wee hints of romance, and, unexpectedly, ski jumping, which I will not ever complain about finding in books. (The only other ski-jumping book I've read, as far as I can remember, is The Finnish Line, and even then I think that's a different type of ski jumping.) There are some definite bad decisions, but those fall shy of catastrophe, which I appreciated; it would have been pretty easy for those decisions to derail the plot, and it got to go in more interesting directions because that didn't happen.

I particularly loved the author's note at the end about labels, and why this particular book doesn't contain a lot of them—namely, that Tatum is not a person who needs or necessarily wants a lot of labels, and so they're appropriate for some characters but not so much here. A lot to think about, both in the book itself and in that note.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Children's books: Deutsch II: "Ein Herz für Elefanten", "Sturmgefühle, Schattenbilder", und "Bagger Bens Tag am Meer"

Ein Herz für Elefanten von R.G. de Rouen
Sturmgefühle, Schattenbilder von Michelle Müller-Nagy (Verlag Monika Fuchs)
Bagger Bens Tag am Meer von Dörthe Horn (Lingen Verlag)

Kinderbücher...nochmal auf Deutsch!

Ein Herz für Elefanten ist die Geschichte von Daphne Seldrick, eine Frau, die als Kind ein Herz für Tiere entwickelt hat...und als Erwachsene hat sie ihr Leben den Elefanten gewidmet.

Ich habe dieses Bilderbuch zuerst auf Englisch gelesen, und natürlich wollte ich die Geschichte auf Deutsch probieren. Es gibt hier nichts zu kompliziert: einfache Wörter, einfache Bilder, am Ende interessante "Elefakten" (ich liebe ein gutes Wortspiel). Ich hätte gern ein bisschen mehr zum Thema Kenia (die 50er und 60er waren interessante Jahre!), aber das Buch ist kurz, und es gibt viel Information, besonders am Ende, für Kinder zum Thema Elefanten.

Sheldrick ist 2018 gestorben, aber sie hat auch ein paar Bücher geschrieben. Vielleicht wurde Ein Herz für Elefanten ein gutes Geschenk für ein Kind sein...und Eine afrikanische Liebesgeschichte (von Sheldrick) ein Geschenk für die Eltern sein.

Sturmgefühle, Schattenbilder ist ein nachdenkliches, informatives Buch für junge Kinder, die entweder starke Gefühle oder Eltern mit starken Gefühle haben. Sammy liebt seine Mutter...aber sie darf nicht mit Sammy und seinen Großeltern wohnen, weil ihre innerer Drache manchmal zu laut ist. Sammy hat ein gutes Leben mit vielen Leuten, die ihn lieben, und trotzdem gibt es auch komplizierte Dinge. Schön zu sehen, dass seine Mutter nie die Bösewichtin ist—und Sammy kann auch erkennen, dass der Drache auch nicht so böse ist.

Die Illustrationen passen gut zu der Geschichte: nicht sehr detailliert, aber evokativ. Außerdem ist es sehr schön, dass das Buch bewusst inklusiv ist.

Süß: Bagger Bens Tag am Meer ist ein neues Abenteuer für Bagger Ben, ein (surprise!) Bagger. Ben und seine Freunde haben einen Tag am Strand...ein Tag für Spaß und Spiele und Sonne und vielleicht ein bisschen Arbeit.

Dieses Buch hat viel für Kinder: Maschinen, die Umwelt, ein wenig Zerstörung (und Wiederaufbau). Die Bilder haben viele Farben und Details, und die Baufahrzeuge sind interessant und hilfreich—sie wollen Spaß haben, ja, aber sie wollen auch gute...Leute?...zu sein.

Es gibt andere "Bagger Ben"-Bücher, und ich werde sie definitiv für Kindern, die die Baufahrzeuge mögen, empfehlen.

Thanks to the authors and publishers for providing review copies through NetGalley. Deutsch ist nicht meine Muttersprache, und alle Fehler sind meine eigenen.