Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu is … weird. But in the very best sense. As a matter of personal preference, I don’t tend to gravitate toward speculative fiction, unless it’s exceptionally well done. But Fu is no slouch and may have finally converted me. The stories included in this collection are literary gems, each one phenomenally well-crafted. They blend realism with a slight turn toward the strange, the creepy, and at times, the grotesque.

The Sleeping Car Porter is lovely and heartbreaking and emotional … but most of all it, it delivers so much warmth and humanity. This meticulously researched historical novel explores the lived experience of Baxter, a young train porter with aspirations of becoming a dentist. A phenomenal read. It’s clear why it was selected for the Giller shortlist; this will be a hard one to beat!

Katherine Lawrence’s latest book of poetry is peppered with lines so breathtaking it demands that the reader pause, take a beat, and reread. Perhaps out loud. This only happens with the most resonant of poems. This only happens with a poet as accomplished and practised as Lawrence. Black Umbrella is highly recommended for seasoned poetry readers and for those who are just beginning. This collection will find a home in your heart; it will bring you home to your own memories.

This memoir is candid without being solacious and honest without being self-indulgent. Structured as a series of essays, the book moves through Polley’s life from being a child actor, to the death of her mother, to leaving home as a teenager, to becoming an activist, to becoming a mother herself. Run Towards the Danger is strangely inviting. Polley welcomes the reader into her life in a non-exhibitionist sort of way and keeps your attention.

If you’re looking for romance and whimsy and magic, look no further than Jeanette Lyne’s newest novel. If you are suffering from a case of the morbs, The Apothecary’s Garden is your balm. Enchantments abound and broken hearts become whole in this spellcasting novel.

On shelves June 28, 2022.