The Creation of Half-Broken People is a work of literary fiction told from the perspective of an anonymous woman who sees visions of three other women. Entangled with the Good family (descendants of King Solomon’s Mines’ Captain John Good), the anonymous woman travels to Holdengarde castle in Zimbabwe to plan a centennial celebration for the Good Foundation. During her time there, she writes the stories of the misremembered, misbegotten, and forgotten women in her visions. Though not immediately attention grabbing, Ndlovu writes in a simple yet flowing prose that sweeps the reader along in an overall engrossing story that transcends generations. Addresses topics of colonialism, mental illness, and race. For ages 15+.

Louisa, freshly out of the foster system, has always loved a famous painting of the sea because of the three almost unnoticeable people painted in the corner. When she meets the artist by chance, he bequeaths the painting to her and Ted–the artist’s friend and one of the figures in the painting–attempts to give Louisa the painting and move on. But Ted cannot shake Louisa as she pushes her way into his life and unravels the story of the friends in the painting and the summer it was created. The narrative moves between the past, where the friends each face personal struggles but find strength in each other, and the present, as Ted and Louisa travel together. Although lengthy in places, Backman captures the intensity of the adolescent experience while also addressing topics of domestic violence, grief, and friendship. Good for a public library collection and young adult readers.

Beginning with his father’s death as a child, Kostya receives “aftertastes” of meals he’s never had. After accidentally summoning a spirit and meeting Maura, the clairvoyant love interest, Kostya learns that aftertastes are spirits trying to connect with the living and, if he recreates what he tastes, he can bring the spirit back for the duration of the recreated meal. The possibility of bringing his dad back, if only briefly, motivates Kostya as he works his way up through the New York City culinary scene; but, with little knowledge of the paranormal, Kostya unwittingly meddles with affairs in the Afterlife. Rife with food metaphor and description, Aftertaste is a fun paranormal romance read that also thoughtfully addresses grief and demonstrates how food can be a conduit for connection. Recommended for ages 16+.

Who Deserves Your Love is a helpful guide in navigating relationships and teaching readers how to create boundaries. The book is divided into three parts and discusses topics such as differentiating between mistreatment and abuse in relationships, how to emotionally regulate and understand what boundaries are, and how they should be used. The illustrations and teal-coloured text help emphasis the book’s content and break down topics into manageable parts, making it easier to read. There is a bibliography at the end of the book with citations and additional resources for each chapter. Who Deserves Your Love is mainly directed towards adults; however, adolescents can greatly benefit from learning about relationships and boundaries, as well. This book would be suitable for both public libraries and high school libraries.

Soul Machine, Jordana Globerman’s debut graphic novel, is a sci-fi dystopian tale about family, connection, humanity, meaning and technology. Ever since their father disappeared, Chloe’s older sister Lacey runs the family business, spinning the fibers of a plant called breth into souls by hand. With crops of the plant failing and with the MCorp corporation’s threat to take over with their new synthetic Digibreth technology, Chloe goes on a mission to find answers in the city and beyond. With beautiful and vibrant illustrations and very unique worldbuilding, Globerman explores complex topics in an engaging way. A great addition to a high school library or classroom, Soul Machine is an accessible story addressing big ethical and philosophical questions about corporate greed and a culture of commodification. It is an excellent book club selection sure to encourage lively discussion.