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Hot new releases and under-the-radar gems for adults and kids.
Staff Pick
Curious about where our current sociopolitical trajectory might take us? Brace yourself. Set in a grimly plausible not-so-distant future, Anthem is the literary equivalent of a Netflix binge: nonstop action, wild plot twists, and unanswered questions will keep you turning pages well past your bedtime. A gritty, propulsive thriller that puts America on notice. Recommended By Tove H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
The first big novel of 2022: an epic literary thriller set where America is right now, in which a band of unlikely heroes sets out on a quest to save one innocent life — and might end up saving us all.
Something is happening to teenagers across America, spreading through memes only they can parse.
At the Float Anxiety Abatement Center, in a suburb of Chicago, Simon Oliver is trying to recover from his sister's tragic passing. He breaks out to join a woman named Louise and a man called The Prophet on a quest as urgent as it is enigmatic. Who lies at the end of the road? A man known as The Wizard, whose past encounter with Louise sparked her own collapse. Their quest becomes a rescue mission when they join up with a man whose sister is being held captive by the Wizard, impregnated and imprisoned in a tower.
Noah Hawley's new novel is an adventure that finds unquenchable lights in dark corners. Unforgettably vivid characters and a plot as fast and bright as pop cinema blend in a Vonnegutian story that is as timeless as a Grimm's fairy tale. It is a leap into the idiosyncratic pulse of the American heart, written with the bravado, literary power, and feverish foresight that have made Hawley one of our most essential writers.
Review
"...the social commentary of a Margaret Atwood novel with the horrors of a Stephen King book" Publishers Weekly
Review
"Immediate concerns within an ageless mission-driven, phantasmagorical format." Library Journal
Review
"A thoughtful and compelling page-turner... Hawley's writing is taut and clear, his characters richly developed... Readers may be moved to stand up and cheer." New York Journal of Books
Synopsis
What does it take to change the world? The "epic adventure" (Booklist) of a band of unlikely heroes on a quest to save one innocent life who may end up saving us all.
For decades, Judge Margot Burr-Nadir has worked tirelessly, case by case, to administer justice from the federal bench of the Eastern District of the United States. Her position already seems like the highest possible honor. So she is surprised when a call comes from the President of the United States inviting her to accept his nomination to the Supreme Court--not least because in choosing her, in an unprecedented attempt to heal a divided nation, the President has reached across party lines.
For Margot, this should be among the brightest spots of an already charmed existence. But the call comes on a family trip to visit their oldest daughter, Story, who has, without warning, vanished as if spirited away in the middle of the night by forces unseen. Margot soon finds herself thrust onto the national stage in the middle of every parent's worst nightmare.
The desperate search for Story's whereabouts soon intersects with the mission of teenagers Simon Oliver, Louise Conklin, and a young man known only as the Prophet. Together, they have escaped from the Float Anxiety Abatement Center in Chicago on the trail of man known as The Wizard: an unimaginably wealthy, almost mythical figure of unspeakable evil who has for years been taking whatever he wants without reaping the consequences. Stopping him, this band of young people hopes to accomplish what their elders can't or won't do: fix a broken world.
Noah Hawley's new novel is an adventure that finds unquenchable lights in dark corners. Unforgettably vivid characters and a plot as fast and bright as pop cinema blend in a Vonnegutian story that is as timeless as a Grimm's fairy tale. It is a leap into the idiosyncratic pulse of the American heart, written with the bravado, literary power, and feverish foresight that have made Hawley one of our most essential writers.
Synopsis
"A blistering thriller that follows a group of teenagers on an adventure through an apocalyptic America much like our own." ―Entertainment Weekly
Bestselling author of Before the Fall and Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Noah Hawley (FX's Fargo) returns with a chilling and prophetic allegory of America as it is now and as it could be.
It begins with a Song...
In a country divided by pandemic, climate change, and incendiary rhetoric, a new plague infects American teens via social media: a contagious new meme spreading chaos and fear. Desperate parents look for something, anything to stop the madness. At the Float Anxiety Abasement Center, in a suburb of Chicago, Simon Oliver is trying to recover from his sister's tragic passing. He breaks out to join a woman named Louise and a man called the Prophet on a quest as urgent as it is enigmatic. Who lies at the end of the road? A man known as the Wizard, whose past encounter with Louise sparked her own collapse. Their quest becomes a rescue mission as those most in danger race to save one life - and the country's future.
Anthem is rich with unforgettably vivid characters, as fast and bright as pop cinema. Noah Hawley takes readers along for a leap into the idiosyncratic pulse of the American heart, written with the playfulness, biting wit, literary power, and foresight that have made him one of our most essential writers.
About the Author
Award-winning author Noah Hawley is one of the most accomplished auteurs and versatile storytellers working in television, film and literature. Over the course of his more than 20-year career, Hawley's work as a novelist, screenwriter, series creator, showrunner and director has garnered acclaim — winning an Emmy(R), Golden Globe(R), PEN, Critics' Choice, and Peabody Award. As a bestselling author, Hawley has published six novels: A Conspiracy of Tall Men, Other People's Weddings, The Punch, The Good Father, Before the Fall and the upcoming Anthem.