Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

On this episode, Chelsea Bieker discusses Godshot (Catapult, March 31), a dynamic debut novel set in the drought-stricken town of Peaches, California: 14-year-old Lacy May Herd and her mother, a beautiful woman with a troubled past, are acolytes of Gifts of the Spirit church. Pastor Vern, their Christ-like leader, promises to bring back the rains to the land - as he’s reputed to have done before - if his congregants remain devout and carry out the “assignments” he gives them. Kirkus: “A dark, deft first novel about the trauma and resilience of both people and the land they inhabit.” (starred review) Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Carole Boston Weatherford and Michele Wood, Dean Atta, David Carr, and Mary Pauline Lowry.

Legendary poet, author, and essayist Julia Alvarez joins us on this episode to discuss Afterlife (Algonquin Books, April 7), her first adult novel in 14 years. A modern “Book of Job,” it is the story of Antonia Vega, a recently widowed and retired English professor, who’s discovering life’s next chapter. Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by David Elliott and Rob Dunlavey, Samira Ahmed, and Emily St. John Mandel.

Bestselling thriller icon Dean Koontz joins us on this week’s episode to discuss DEVOTED, the heart-pumping novel kicking off a new five-book deal with Thomas & Mercer. The standalone thriller centers on a brilliant mute 11-year-old boy, his attentive artistic mother, and a dangerous old acquaintance with the power to upend their lives and wreak havoc worldwide. Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by N. K. Jemisin, Maira Kalman, Jenny Valentine, and Ernesto Cisneros.

Kirkus’ editors lead this episode with an acknowledgement of the COVID-19 pandemic and special segment on quarantine reading. Host Megan Labrise welcomes poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning (One World, March 3), “a fierce and timely meditation” on her lived experience as a Korean American woman and artist. Then our editors rejoin with their weekly reading recommendations, including books by Brandy Colbert, Ashley Woodfolk, Ross Gay, and Lily King.

This week’s guest is Deb Olin Unferth, author of Barn 8 (Graywolf Press, March 3), a blazing heist story starring a sharp and funny 15-year-old from Brooklyn who, through a series of misfortunes over a number of years, becomes a U.S. egg industry auditor and foments a revolution. Kirkus: “If this novel isn’t a movement, it has enough heart to start one” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Carole Lindstrom and Michaela Goade, Gene Luen Yang, Rebecca Solnit, and Lorrie Moore.

This week’s guest is Deb Olin Unferth, author of Barn 8 (Graywolf Press, March 3), a blazing heist story starring a sharp and funny 15-year-old from Brooklyn who, through a series of misfortunes over a number of years, becomes a U.S. egg industry auditor and foments a revolution. Kirkus: “If this novel isn’t a movement, it has enough heart to start one” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Carole Lindstrom and Michaela Goade, Gene Luen Yang, Rebecca Solnit, and Lorrie Moore.

Kate Elizabeth Russell discusses her highly anticipated debut novel, My Dark Vanessa, about an affair between a 15-year-old student and her 42-year-old English teacher at a boarding school in Maine. The narrative flows between 2000, when the affair takes root, and 2017, when The MeToo movement forces Vanessa, as a struggling thirtysomething, “to confront the abusive relationship that defines her sexual and romantic past” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Maya Tatsukawa, Samantha Mabry, Andy Greene, and Hilary Mantel.

On this special episode - The Woman Episode, sponsored by Sourcebooks - director and screenwriter Jan Eliasberg discusses her debut novel, Hannah’s War, a thrilling story inspired by the life of the brilliant unsung woman who discovered nuclear fission. Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books from Sayantani DasGupta, David Enrich, and Quan Barry.

On this episode, TIME national correspondent Charlotte Alter discusses We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For: How a New Generation of Leaders Will Transform America. Centering on 10 millennial political officials, from Mayor Pete Buttigieg to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Alter’s new nonfiction offers a spirited analysis of the events that shaped them and the many ways they’re diverging from their predecessors. Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books from Nikki McClure, Alechia Dow, Ezra Klein, and Aravind Adiga.

On this episode, Alaskan explorer and ecologist Roman Dial discusses The Adventurer’s Son, a highly affecting account of the tragic disappearance of his 27-year-old son, Cody Roman Dial, from Costa Rica’s Corcovado National Park in 2014. “A poignant, highly moving memoir of tragic circumstances and a lifelong love of exploring” (Kirkus). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books from Margaret McNamara (ill. by Micah Player), Jenny Offill, and Jenn Shapland.