Richly imaginative and provocative, The Wondrous Lives and Loves of Nella Carter (Lake Union 2025) is a time- and continent-spanning novel with social significance. Just as Octavia Butler’s Kindred revealed the depths of humanity’s racism through time travel, so does this debut novel by Brionni Nwosu. But the story goes far beyond exposing negative qualities […]
“Boy With Wings” by Mark Mustian
March 21, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Is Johnny Cruel an angel or a demon or just an ordinary boy with an unusual birthmark? In Mark Mustian’s literary novel Boy With Wings (Koehler Books 2025), characters often struggle to make sense of Johnny Cruel’s unusual wings—and readers may feel the same. At times, Johnny is heroic; at others, vengeful. In this novel of […]