Starred Review Roundup (9/2/2026)

Stars all around! These titles all received multiple starred reviews:

THE AGI CHRONICLES: The Inside Story of the Race to Create an Artificial Superintelligence by Kevin Roose
9780374618759 | 10/6/26

“Clear-eyed, deeply reported, and brisk, Roose’s account is an indispensable window into how the world arrived at a precarious technological inflection point.”—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

“The best single explainer of how artificial intelligence came about, and what might happen next.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

BAD COMPANY by Sara Paretsky
9781250412195 | 11/10/26

“Utterly thrilling, BAD COMPANY is pure Paretsky, with an intrepid heroine who will let neither age nor the U. S. government get in the way of her making things right.”—Booklist, starred review

“Paretsky once again creates a strong woman protagonist dedicated to truth and important social and environmental issues.”—Library Journal, starred review

FREEDOM’S DAUGHTERS: How a Generation of Black Women Resisted Oppression Through Literacy and Education by Celeste Headlee
9781250340412 | 10/6/26

“Headlee’s engaging writing style smoothly incorporates her extensive research, and she also makes connections to today’s political climate. It is a must-read for those looking for stories of Black women’s advocacy and triumph, and of fighting back when obstacles seem insurmountable. Essential for public and academic libraries.”—Booklist, starred review

“A stirring contribution to America’s historical narrative.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

THE NAMES OF THE NEW WORLD by Kawai Strong Washburn
9780374619701 | 10/6/26

“Pages flying to the very end, this not-to-be-missed novel will leave readers thinking about what’s possible in their own futures long after closing the back cover.”—Booklist, starred review

“The book follows the trio of characters closely for three years, then in its last quarter leaps forward two decades into a vividly imagined and convincingly rendered future that is both terrifying and exhilarating—and achingly hopeful. Human resilience in the face of climate disaster illuminates this powerful novel.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

THE CONFEDERACY MYTH: How an Insurrection of Slaveholders Tried to Destroy the United States by Connor Williams
9781250397362 | 10/13/26

“This urgent, enthralling book will appeal to general readers who are unfamiliar with much recent scholarship on the Confederacy and might give more than a few readers cause to rethink old assumptions about American history.”—Booklist, starred review

“There is a blistering urgency in Williams’s narrative, as he repeatedly suggests that such fanatical and fabulously wealthy elites are again posing a grave threat to American democracy. This is a much-needed reframing of what catalyzes civil strife.”—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

A WALL IS ALSO A ROAD by Annalee Newitz
9781250228031 | 10/6/26

“Newitz’s newest (since AUTOMATIC NOODLE, 2025) starts slow but quickly becomes a compelling exploration of the ethics of discovery, the change that can come from studying difference, and the potential for even the most incomprehensible-seeming alien life to be on some level just like our own.”—Booklist, starred review

“There’s still sufficient dramatic tension in the story, including the sadness inherent in Gardenpath and Murtis’ significantly different life spans; plus it’s pleasing to see justice done to a predatory senior academic, which seems to happen so rarely in real life. Very strange and strangely satisfying.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

THE TELEPHONE: A New History by James Gleick
9780374618940 | 11/10/26

“Everything you ever wanted to know about the telephone—and then some.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“With characteristic wit and a boundless appetite for anecdote, Gleick transforms a quotidian device into a prism through which to see the world anew.”—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

CORMAC MCCARTHY: A Legacy Revisited by Tracy Daugherty
9781250348722 | 10/6/26

“Readers interested in American literary history or anyone who’s ever read a McCarthy story will be fascinated by this book.”—Library Journal, starred review

“Daugherty illuminates this enigmatic figure, navigating the tension between the ‘hermit of Santa Fe’ and the reality of a man drawn to the theoretical research at the Sante Fe Institute, all while exploring the cost of genius and the enduring, stark brilliance of a singular American voice.”—Booklist, starred review