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We're stepping into summer with some outstanding coverage of recent releases. Below you'll find simmering reviews from Los Angeles Review, Vulture, Maudlin House, and more. To view previous review highlights, click this link to check out our archives.
Commonplace by Hugo García Manríquez, Translated by The North American Free Translation Agreement (Translator)  | Cardboard House Press

" The way the reader moves from one page to the next with no distinct individual identity is representative of the way this collection uses a single country (Mexico) to speak on global issues, problems that impact all living things. Featuring Spanish on one side and English on the other, these poems move out of the confines of countries, of language, and into a space that unites us all."   — Los Angeles Review
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Anangokaa by Cameron Alam | Blackwater Press
"The author has clearly done her research and presents information in a way that highlights and supports the story and players. Flora is an engaging protagonist whose fears, hopes, struggles, and teen angst are palpable throughout the tale. Her siblings are relatable, and their love for one another and conflicts are understandable and realistic given the awful circumstances they find themselves facing. Their plight and Flora’s absorbing story fill the pages of this wonderful book, which maintains a steady pace and delivers a satisfying ending.”
   —  Starred Kirkus Review

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Bookworm: Conversations with Michael Silverblatt by Michael Silverblatt | The Song Cave
"Bookworm, is satisfying to both cultish and well-known tastes alike. Grace Paley, Octavia Butler, and David Foster Wallace are joined by the likes of John Ashbery, Toni Morrison, and Susan Sontag. Neither self-conscious about its influence nor overtly critical in its approach, this collection of author interviews is refreshingly deferential — each author’s voice and sensibility commanding the reader’s attention."
   — Vulture

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Tropical Sacrifice by Lucas De Lima | Birds, LLC
"Tropical Sacrifice is a meditation on complicity as well as freedom, from the “order and progress” of the Brazilian flag with its fascist overtones to the “‘death & love’” that form “the two refrains of brazilian poetry."
   — Los Angeles Review of Books

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Ex-Members by Tobias Carroll | Astrophil Press
“Centered around the brief lifespan of a local punk band called the Alphanumeric Murders, the book deftly shifts point of view and format from chapter to chapter while maintaining a sharp focus on how formative early relationships and events can determine and sometimes even enslave people for all the rest of their days. By honing in on a particular subculture, Carroll is able say something universal about often invisible and insignificant ties that bind us to one another.”
   — Maudlin House

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