The Best Books Coming Out in December

“A young Korean girl realizes she will have to pass as Japanese in order to get by in 1930s Japan. Miyoung dreams of a brighter future than her small farming village in Japanese-occupied Korea has to offer. So when she’s offered the chance to live with her older sister and receive an education in Japan, she’s elated. But anti-Korean sentiment runs rampant in Kyoto. To achieve the future she’s always dreamed of, Miyoung changes her name to Miyoko and pursues a career as a nurse. Soon, though, war looms on the horizon, and she’ll have to decide what version of herself she wants to fight for.” — Rachel Brittain

“Set in an unnamed Latin American country, this Jan Michalski Prize-winning novel tells the story of a plague that erases the memory of those affected. When Angustias Romero attempts to leave, she loses her children in transit and finds herself in a rough town called Mezquite, where she puts her children’s bodies to rest. The world Angustias finds herself in is troublingly violent, and there’s something about Mezquite that creates a hallucinatory quality that blurs the lines between life and death.” — Emily Martin

“The Dreamwave is a gaming console that people play while they’re asleep, making it the perfect method of escape for the Cemetery Kids, four friends whose real lives are anything but fun and games. Their attempts to use a horror game to forget their problems take a dark turn when the game refuses to let them go.” — Eileen Gonzalez

“After her family arranged for her to be married at 15, on her wedding night, Jaha Marie Dukureh learned that she had undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) as an infant. Her experience led her to found Safe Hands for Girls, a nonprofit that campaigned for banning FGM in Gambia. In I Will Scream to the World, Dukureh tells her story, highlighting her commitment to the banning of child marriage and FGM worldwide.” — Kendra Winchester

“When Thea’s father has a premonition, he moves their family to southern Colorado’s Bloodless Valley. The plan is to unschool Thea and her sister, but it quickly becomes apparent that living on a remote farm takes far more time than they have, so Thea and her sister are left to educate themselves. Except the girls are forbidden from going to the library, as they might become “poisoned” by the internet or books.

But the real poison isn’t in knowledge. The farm where they’ve moved and how it won’t grow anything because of the climate.

So when Thea is allowed to take a job at a local café and meets Ray—a partially Deaf teen just like her—she begins to put together the pieces of the world she’s just entered. It’s declining and quick.” — Kelly Jensen

“City girl Genesis has inherited a farm, which is trouble enough in its own right. But then she discovers that her new neighbor is the man she had a one-night stand in a moment of weakness, and the man is just as fine as he was all those years ago. His help with her new venture leads to lots of time together, but they’re not destined to be together. Right?” — Jessica Pryde

“For those of you who feel like the end is nigh, here’s an exciting post-apocalyptic novel! It’s set in 2048, after a virus has wiped out most of the people in the world. Nature has already begun to reclaim the lands, and the remaining survivors are few and far between. One lone man in Colorado decides to make the dangerous journey to deliver a potential cure for the virus, and he is joined by a teenage girl, a cat, and a clever crow on his travels.” — Liberty Hardy

“This is such a sweet picture book centering a Southeast Asian Hindu family’s bedtime lullaby for their newborn. It features gods and goddesses from the Hindu pantheon protecting the infant, from mighty Durga to wise Saraswati and beloved Ganesha. The lilting, rhyming text is calming and lovely, and the warm illustrations depicting the pantheon, infant, and caring family are gorgeous.” — Margaret Kingsbury