Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews PodcastOne

On the Fully Booked Takeover, special guest host David Levithan celebrates the publication of Wide Awake Now (Knopf, April 16) with friend and fellow #1 New York Times-bestselling author Gayle Forman (If I Stay, I Have Lost My Way, etc.). Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week.

Darcie Little Badger joins us to discuss Sheine Lende (Levine Querido, April 16), a magnificent prequel to her acclaimed YA debut Elatsoe. Kirkus: “Two generations before the events of Elatsoe (2020), Shane, a 17-year-old Lipan Apache girl, helps her mother, Lorenza, perform volunteer search-and-rescue operations….A classic fantasy adventure and a balm for any soul weary of oppression” (starred review). Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week.

Ornithologist, professor, poet, and essayist J. Drew Lanham joins us to discuss Joy Is the Justice We Give Ourselves (Hub City Press, April 2), “another luminous mixture of prose and poetry…. that memorably, vibrantly shows how choosing joy is an act of resilience, courage, and power” (starred review). Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week.

Kirkus’ editors join host Megan Labrise in celebration of the Best Books of April, with their top picks in books for the month and a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the making our book lists. Then Julia Alvarez joins us to discuss The Cemetery of Untold Stories (Algonquin, April 2), in which a retiring Dominican American professor and novelist conceives of a unique way to contend with her unpublished manuscripts. Kirkus: “Buried stories find their way to the light in this finely crafted novel” (starred review).

Illustrator Nikki McClure joins us to discuss Something About the Sky (Candlewick Studio, March 12), her stunning new picture book with words by Rachel Carson. Kirkus: “Reflections on clouds and other wonders of our atmospheric ‘ocean’….Contemplative and stirring—definitely for wonderers” (starred review). Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week.

On this week's Fully Booked Takeover, special guest host Téa Obreht, author of The Tiger’s Wife, Inland, and The Morningside—out today, from Random House—talks with friend and fellow novelist Parini Shroff (The Bandit Queens). Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week.