Our latest issue of Foreword Reviews.

April’s crazy-making rain then snow then glorious sunshine—rinse & repeat—weather promises to give way to warmer days soon, so get in the sleeveless mood early with the latest issue of Foreword Reviews. With features on Nature & Environment, Cookbooks, and Debut Fiction you’ll find plenty of books to inspire your summer of outdoorsiness, whether hiking, grilling, or chilling on the beach with the work of a newly launched literary wunderkind.

Yes, the call of the wild motivates us this time of year—look no further than the icy stare of a Toklat grizzly bear on our May/June cover, a photo taken from America’s Holy Ground: 61 Faithful Reflections on Our National Parks, published by Chalice Press; or the art we sourced for our Table of Contents: newly hatched salmon—all eyeballs and egg yolk sacks—calling to mind an alien family portrait (The Salmon Way, Mountaineers Books).

We’re also suckers for debuts. Of the five we feature, reviewer Letitia Montgomery-Rodgers bestows starred-review status on Carrie Laben’s A Hawk in the Woods (Word Horde), and Attend—“somewhere between a Bible story and an ugly fairy tale: never wanting to settle on either”—by West Camel (Orenda Books).

Of the 130 new books reviewed in total, let’s not forget the 20 fiction and nonfiction titles in our LGBTQ+ Spotlight. In her Editor’s Note, Michelle Anne Schingler laments that more than half the books challenged in libraries last year were objected to for LGBTQ content. She wonders, “How can we still be here? It’s a question that readers keep asking, even as we support the publishers, writers, librarians, and booksellers who are the vanguard of LGBTQ stories.”

In reference to the 20 books she selected for review, she says, “These are crucial titles for this and every time.”