5 new books worth a read, including ‘Barrio America’ and Tomi Adeyemi’s latest fantasy

Also: Lee Child turns to nonfiction for an essay on ‘The Hero,’ 17 writers riff on American paintings, and ‘Kosher Capones’ offers ‘a history of Chicago’s Jewish gangsters.’

SHARE 5 new books worth a read, including ‘Barrio America’ and Tomi Adeyemi’s latest fantasy
Andrew Sandoval-Strausz focuses on Little Village and Dallas’s Oak Cliff neighborhood in “Barrio America,” a “judicious account of the role that Latino immigrants have played in revitalizing American cities.”

Andrew Sandoval-Strausz focuses on Little Village and Dallas’s Oak Cliff neighborhood in “Barrio America,” a “judicious account of the role that Latino immigrants have played in revitalizing American cities.”

Penn State University

‘Barrio America: How Latino Immigrants Saved the American City’ by A.K. Sandoval-Strausz

(Basic Books, nonfiction, $32)

What it’s about: Andrew Sandoval-Strausz, director of the Latina/o studies program at Penn State University, who got his master’s degree and doctorate at the University of Chicago, focuses on Little Village and Dallas’s Oak Cliff neighborhood in what Publishers Weekly calls a “judicious account of the role that Latino immigrants have played in revitalizing American cities.”

The buzz: Publishers Weekly calls this “a helpful guide to understanding the mechanisms of systemic racism” that “reminds readers that the current immigration debate is grounded in decades of local and national policy.”

‘Children of Virtue and Vengeance’ by Tomi Adeyemi

(Henry Holt and Co., fiction, $19.99)

What it’s about: The author of the West Africa-inspired fantasy “Legacy of Orïsha” trilogy offers her second installment, a sequel to “Children of Blood and Bone.”

The buzz: “The last chapter will undoubtedly leave fans shaking with questions until the final installment of the trilogy is published,” USA Today says.

‘From Sea to Stormy Sea: 17 Stories Inspired by Great American Paintings,’ edited by Lawrence Block

(Pegasus Books, fiction, $26.95)

What it’s about: Crime writer Lawrence Block put together an anthology of 17 stories that riff on American paintings, mostly through the lens of writers who specialize in crime and genre fiction.

The buzz: “One of the very best is ‘Baptism in Kansas’ by . . . Sara Paretsky, who uses the 1928 John Steuart Curry painting to conjure a vivid portrait of the hardscrabble lives of white farmers in Kansas in the early 1900s,” The Associated Press writes. “Other standouts include ‘The Man From Hard Rock Mountain,’ a post-apocalyptic fantasy by Jerome Charyn based on the eerie Rockwell Kent engraving ‘Twilight of Man,’ the deliciously noir ‘On Little Terry Road’ by Tom Franklin and ‘Get Him’ by Micah Nathan, inspired by paintings of the lesser known artists John Hull and Daniel Morper.”

‘The Hero’ by Lee Child

(TLS, nonfiction, $12.99)

What it’s about: This slim, 64-page volume by Lee Child, known for his Jack Reacher novels, sees the crime fiction writer turn to nonfiction for the first time with an essay on the myth of the hero.

The buzz: AP calls this “a thought-provoking discussion of the origins of language, storytelling and what makes all of us human.”

‘Kosher Capones: A History of Chicago’s Jewish Gangsters’ by Joe Kraus

(Northern Illinois University Press, nonfiction, $26.95)

What it’s about: Tales from a century of Jewish organized crime figures in Chicago that includes the likes of Benjamin “Zukie the Bookie” Zuckerman and Lenny Patrick.

The buzz: “The level of drama is frequently low, and Kraus doesn’t look deeply into their Judaism, Chicago Jewish culture or other Jews’ reactions to their dealings,” Publishers Weekly says.

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