May 30 2025
with delightful illustrations by Poly Bernatene. Bear with me while I tell you an anecdote here. I used to work in some decently nice restaurants, and at one of them had a manager of Mexican descent who loathed Cinco de Mayo. According to him, it’s a holiday made up by American beer companies that no …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/30/cousins-in-the-time-of-magic-by-emma-otheguy/
May 29 2025
Friends and readers, what a glorious thing it is to have music in the world! Whether you appreciate it for itself, or for the ways in which it can bring you closer to divinity — as Johann Sebastian Bach, among so many others, believed — music is a gift that connects the interior world ineffably …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/29/allegro-by-ariel-dorfman/
May 28 2025
I can’t be the only person who picked up this title thinking that there’d be a religious subtext here. And perhaps there is, but the creators chose a much more interesting way to use the title word in this graphic novel, that collects the first (?) four books of the series. Science Officer Orrin Kutela …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/28/convert-by-john-arcudi-savannah-finley/
May 27 2025
with illustrations from the award-winning Terry and Eric Fan. Oh my heart. I actually had to check my calendar to make sure that I wasn’t being particularly susceptible to this book due to hormones, and that I was in fact laughing and crying solely due to Growing Home’s charm, wit, and deeply understood and portrayed …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/27/growing-home-by-beth-ferry/
May 25 2025
Kassandra tells the tale of the fall of Troy in a first-person flashback narrated by Cassandra herself. At the time of the telling, she has been in Greek captivity and is on her way to her execution. Cassandra was the daughter of Priam, the king of Troy, and his wife Hecube. Long before this novel’s …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/25/kassandra-by-christa-wolf/
May 23 2025
Hello, readers! We’re doing a third roundup column of Most Anticipated Titles this May because there are so many good books still pouring in here at the end of the month and in the first weeks of June. Gosh, how is it almost June already? It feels like we were just slogging through the five …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/23/tantalizing-tales-may-2025-part-three/
May 22 2025
What a terrific murder mystery graphic novel! I read a lot of both, and know how difficult it can be to perfectly encapsulate a crime novel — and one that involves not only a murder but political intrigue, as well — into graphic format. Ozge Samanci has managed that in this compelling tale, that’s rightfully …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/22/evil-eyes-sea-by-ozge-samanci/
May 21 2025
This middle grade mystery-adventure hearkens back to the Famous Five and similar novels I devoured as a kid, tho with one crucial difference I’ll talk about later in this review. Thirteen year-old twins Brice and Brianna Hendrix have recently moved to Florida, and are spending the summer helping their mom by volunteering at the retirement …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/21/sabotage-at-casa-grande-springs-by-dd-sterner/
May 20 2025
Even for the decidedly bookish, it can be tough to stay current with new grown-up graphic narratives from small publishers! Here are four gems out this season that are worth having on your radar. Checked Out by Katie Fricas is out today, May 20th; Second Shift by Kit Anderson, and George Takai’s next graphic memoir …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/20/grown-up-graphic-novels-to-seek-out/
May 19 2025
As a chronic thinker who tries not to over-dwell on things, I cannot even begin to tell you what a relief it is to find a book like this. My constant compulsion to justify myself is likely a product of being raised by overly critical parents, so finding a kids’ book that short-circuits the idea …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/19/there-doesnt-have-to-be-a-reason-by-mc-kasper/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire