Honeysuckle: A Novel by Bar Fridman-Tell (Bloomsbury Publishing). Reviewed by Marcie Geffner. “Does Daye want to be refreshed for longer periods of time or even, as Rory hopes, permanently, like a ‘real’ girl? Does she want to be transformed from a child into a young woman with physical attributes that make her even more desirable to him? She’s not sure what she wants or even what she is, and whether she has the ability to refuse Rory (when she was created for him) is an awkward question that neither of them wishes to consider too closely.”

This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip through U.S. History by Beverly Gage (Simon & Schuster). Reviewed by Paula Tarnapol Whitacre. “On each stop of her journey, Gage first offers an account of the place’s past people and events. She then explores how subsequent generations interpreted and continue to interpret those same people and events. As one example of many, she spent time in Tennessee, where Andrew Jackson’s home, the Hermitage, sits outside Nashville. Jackson, she notes, was revered for almost two centuries as an up-from-nothing hero before the early 21st-century recognition of his brutality in the treatment of Native Americans (culminating in the Indian Removal Act of 1830). Today, he enjoys renewed glorification thanks to President Donald Trump, who visited the Hermitage to celebrate Jackson’s 250th birthday.”

Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life by Ellen Carol DuBois (Basic Books). Reviewed by Kitty Kelley. “Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) insisted on using her full name, lest she be referred to as ‘Mrs. Henry Stanton,’ an accessory to her abolitionist husband, or worse, be known simply as ‘Mrs. Stanton,’ the mother of seven children. As an author, the suffragist warrior sometimes wrote under the byline of E.C. Stanton so that her words would be taken seriously by men. Since her time, the status of women has progressed to the point that a professor emerita of history and gender studies at UCLA can now proudly publish Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life under her own full name, Ellen Carol DuBois.”

The Shock of the Light: A Novel by Lori Inglis Hall (Pamela Dorman Books). Reviewed by D.A. Spruzen. “Compellingly presented and beautifully written, The Shock of the Light is a story of heroism, the barbaric toll of war, and the unbreakable bond of twins. It mines the uplifting spirit of love and redemption that can arise amid extreme circumstances. This meticulously researched book is at once informative and engaging. Theo and Tessa will linger in the reader’s memory long after the last page has been turned.”

Sisters in Yellow: A Novel by Mieko Kawakami; translated by Laurel Taylor and Hitomi Yoshio (Knopf). Reviewed by Madeleine de Visé. “Still, Hana is loyal to Kimiko — and to her network of felonious friends. Instead of blaming Kimiko when the pressure mounts, Hana takes out her stress on Momoko and Ran. The three girls initially bonded over their shared runaway status, but their differences inevitably drive a wedge between them. Momoko was born into a wealthy family, while Hana and Ran grew up poor. Both Ran and Momoko have boyfriends (sleazy as they are) to fall back on for support, whereas Hana finds men repulsive. As they live and work together, the girls unwittingly recreate the patterns of abuse from their traumatic childhoods and must deal with the fallout.”

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