17 Books to Kick-Start Fall
A debut novel reveals the agony and ecstasy of Midwestern youth...Jacqueline Woodson on the power of diversity in kid lit...a new volume collects the letters Nelson Mandela wrote from behind bars...and more.
16 of 17
A River of Stars
By Vanessa Hua
304 pages;
Ballantine Books
When the child she's carrying turns out to be a girl, Chinese factory worker Scarlett flees her baby-daddy boss to peddle hanbaobao from a food cart in San Francisco ("a teacup of a city") and forge the independence she couldn't back home. A marvel of a first novel.
— Claire Luchette
Published 08/24/2018
