Buddy Read

Mira Jacob's touching, often humorous, and utterly unique graphic memoir takes readers on her journey as a first\-generation American. At an increasingly fraught time for immigrants and their families, Good Talk delves into the difficult conversations about race, sex, love, and family that seem to be unavoidable these days. Inspired by her popular BuzzFeed piece "37 Difficult Questions from My Mixed\-Raced Son," here are Jacob's responses to her six\-year\-old, Zakir, who asks if the new president hates brown boys like him; uncomfortable relationship advice from her parents, who came to the United States from India one month into their arranged marriage; and the imaginary therapy sessions she has with celebrities from Bill Murray to Madonna. Jacob also investigates her own past, from her memories of being the only non\-white fifth grader to win a Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest to how it felt to be a brown\-skinned New Yorker on 9/11\. As earnest and moving as they are sometimes laugh\-out\-loud funny, these are the stories that have formed one American life.

The emperor's reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire's many islands. Lin is the emperor's daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic. Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright - and save her people.