After the tragic deaths of her parents, Emmeline, who’s gifted with the ability to see the future, is separated from her sister and forced into the service of the cruel and abusive Mr. Chitwood. He disguises the 11-year-old girl as a boy and forces her to perform a fortune-telling act for wealthy clients. Its success leads Chitwood to consider taking Emmeline from America to England to perform for the king, and she fears that she may never see her sister again. Recognizing the power of Emmeline’s gift, a kind woman helps her escape and sends her to Mr. Imason, a schoolmaster in Tarrytown, New York. Imason promises to hide Emmeline from Chitwood and his imposing manhunter, Doon, and while in his care, she’ll aid the rebel cause by using her visions to help predict troop movements as the Revolutionary War looms. Hidden in Tarrytown, she takes a new identity—Roo—and befriends two other children who are also living without their parents: Izzy, a chatty and headstrong student and school custodian, has lost her mother and remains separated from her soldier father; River, a formerly enslaved runaway, has lost his father and has been away from his mother for the past four years. As tension between Patriots and Loyalists escalates, the children get to know a colorful cast of characters in the community, including Helga, a reclusive so-called “witch”; Mo, a friendly miller; and a mysterious ghost known as the Lady in White. Over the course of the novel, Fitzhugh employs well-crafted prose and creative descriptions (“her rifle, green with age, looked about ready to sprout mushrooms”) to build an immersive world that will keep readers engaged. Although the narrative becomes somewhat unfocused in the middle, introducing many different players and incorporating several new subplots, the main characters’ compelling personalities and the fast-paced action will keep readers hooked.

The author, a Viennese Jew who fought with the Free French Forces in Italy, returned from war physically wounded and spiritually devastated—trapped in what he calls “a black hole,” exiled from himself. The book traces his brutal trajectory: flight from Austria after the Anschluss, combat at Monte Cassino, serious injury, and paralyzing depression while living with his Parisian in-laws. Grunwald became a student of Gurdjieff, who materializes here through physical details: a bald skull “shiny as a billiard ball,” eyes radiating “intense affliction” along with “ironic malice.” He called prospective students “parasites” and presided over elaborate dinners where participants toasted a hierarchy of “idiots.” Gurdjieff compared his teaching to “onion soup with onion” in a wartime world of ersatz substitutes. Grunwald simultaneously managed a large fruit estate in Touraine, sold apples at Les Halles at night, and navigated domestic catastrophes when his mother-in-law discovered his secret spiritual life. His attempts to share Gurdjieff’s teachings mostly failed—his sister, brought uninvited to Gurdjieff’s table, left “in a gloomy mood, having understood nothing,” and a traumatized doctor demanded proof of “Mr. G’s ‘work’ ideas” in the form of the resurrection of his child. The teachings offered no escape from ordinary life—only a more conscious way to inhabit it. This is a difficult, rewarding book that resists easy consumption. Grunwald writes with unusual psychological precision about a transformation that happened slowly, through years of ordinary life rather than mystical breakthroughs. The prose is slightly formal and occasionally awkward, suggesting the author’s trilingual status. Readers seeking systematic instruction in Gurdjieff’s teachings should look elsewhere, but those willing to approach spiritual teaching obliquely, through one man’s stubborn, intimate account, will find something rare. The double life Grunwald describes (harvesting apples by day, learning sacred dances by night) makes the teachings feel simultaneously precious and practical, transmissible yet fragile.

Acadia, the last human city on Earth, surrounds its citizens with the Wall and the Eight Gates, which are steel-reinforced. However, true protection comes from the Validated: warriors enhanced by energy-pulsing, Greek Corinthian-style armor. They fight off Roaches—giant bug-like entities that periodically launch mass attacks. Cojax, like every Acadian at age 16, descends into the Mahghetto, where Disciples train and engage in battles to become the Validated. People expect good things from Cojax, as he’s the son of Titan, one of the Validated’s elite Fifty. Another Disciple, Jessica, is known as “the Aberration,” because she was discovered outside the Wall.Each Disciple needs to keep their “Sacred Score,”shown on a Placard on their chests, as high as possible; this is achieved in various ways, including defeating a fellow Disciple in combat. Many of the teens see Jessica as an outcast, but Cojax comes to see her as a worthy ally who knows a frightening truth about Acadia. Nixon masterfully blends action with suspense; Cojax and Jessica are in perpetual danger, because if their numbers drop too low, they’ll be “Rifted” and simply vanish from Acadia. Battles with Roaches showcase the Validated’s strength as they wield powerful Arc Blades, but also show their vulnerability, as anyone can fall prey to swarms. This book primarily sticks with Cojax and Jessica, but they’re just two members of a sublime cast that also includes Jessica’s guardian, Elena, who spends years preparing her for the Mahghetto, and Cojax’s older brother, Marcus, who’s worried about his upcoming Civil Union with a spouse he’s yet to meet. Pithy descriptions (“Panic built. Not a scream—but a still, clawing kind. The kind that curled inward and tried to make her disappear”) complement the author’s exceptional dialogue. Time in the Mahghetto entails plenty of politicking, especially from Adriana, a manipulative Disciple who seemingly targets Jessica. In the end, this opening installment leaves plenty to explore, including the likelihood that one person is plotting revenge.

Today, Mateo plans to spend the day with Gram, and what a day it will be! The youngster’s to-do list includes going to the park and the beach—“things that are exactly right for my sweet old Gram.” Looking fit in her red overalls and sporting dark hair with just a streak of gray, spry Gram surprises Mateo as she throws herself into each activity with vigor. When Mateo suggests “a nice, slow walk” through the park, active Gram challenges her grandchild to a race that leaves the little one gasping for air. And when Mateo suggests riding the jitney to the seashore, Gram spots two bikes and proposes they cycle there instead. At the beach, Mateo decides it’s time for a sedate dip in the shallow waters, but Gram wows onlookers with her surfing skills. Their busy day is capped with dinner and a story. Vowing to take good care of Gram, sleepy Mateo nods off; meanwhile, Gram’s still got items to cross off her own list. Throughout, Mateo narrates with a bewildered understatement that nevertheless exudes tenderness and affection. Soft-hued, blue-tinged artwork gently contradicts the text, resulting in a sweet-natured, witty narrative certain to be treasured by readers, especially those fortunate enough to have a grandparent as loving and involved as Gram. Mateo is brown-skinned; Gram is lighter-skinned.

“Without a system, your day can fill up with random stuff that feels urgent but isn’t actually moving you toward anything meaningful,” Decook writes in this pep talk for readers who feel unmoored or unmotivated. “When you’ve got a system—even a loose one—you’re in charge of your time, not the other way around.” In these pages, the author presents just such a system in the form of 10 tools to help readers change their lives. The prompts range from “Create the Picture of Your Future” (“Because once you can see it, you can start building it”) to “Align Yourself With Your Values” (“Know your values. And never compromise them just to fit in”) to “Clear the Space So You Can Soar” (“When we let go of the past—the pain, the people who hurt us, the resentment that’s been festering—we free up this massive amount of energy we can finally use to create a life that feels good”). Roadblocks, she reminds her readers, are a part of the journey. “They’re not a sign to give up,” she writes; “they’re part of the map.” Decook’s direct and affectionately encouraging tone runs throughout the book, underscored by frequent digressions into stories from the author’s own family life, from a childhood she didn’t particularly like to an adulthood full of its own challenges. Compassion is a major theme in the work, as Decook consistently urges her readers to practice kindness and healing: “When we forgive—others and ourselves—we’re not only generous. We’re giving ourselves a chance to heal.” “Action steps” accompany each of the author’s tools to ground the material in practicality, but it’s Decook’s general zest for improvement that will stick with readers.