Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved review – sword, sorcery and smartphones

Those not up to speed on the Miss Kobayashi manga may struggle with the full nuance of this dimension hopping anime, but the visuals are stunningly to look at

The Last Kings of Hollywood by Paul Fischer review – the rise and reign of Spielberg, Lucas and Coppola

An epic account of how three demigod directors, in pursuit of indie freedom, redefined American film-making

Becoming George by Fiona Sampson review – the remarkable story of a cross-dressing 19th century novelist

A reappraisal of one of literature’s most sensational personalities, the author of more than 70 books

The Daffodil Days by Helen Bain review – virtuoso portrait of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath’s final year

Portraying the breakdown of the couple’s marriage through the eyes of the people around them, this deeply researched and utterly convincing debut is an astonishing achievement

Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

A mission to grow plants in the desert; a potato’s adventures; a film-maker’s dreams; wartime bravery; a feminist fantasy and more

Ancient by Luke Barley review – the secret history of Britain’s woodlands

A former ranger tells the story of how the UK’s forests intimately shaped – and were shaped by – its people

Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li audiobook review – a deconstruction of grief

The author’s prize-winning memoir about losing both her sons to suicide is a calm, sensitive account of ‘radical acceptance’

On Not Climbing Mountains by Claire Thomas review – impressive, for a patient reader

This ambitious novel follows a grieving woman who distracts herself with research on famous names who had connections to Switzerland

The Unfragile Mind by Gavin Francis review – a GP’s guide to mental health

Powerful case studies can’t make up for this book’s superficiality when it comes to the broader issues

Railsong by Rahul Bhattacharya review – a heartfelt tale of life on the Indian railways

We follow one woman across decades of change in this deeply compassionate novel of independence and dreams

Evening All Afternoon review – Erin Kellyman makes blazing stage debut as spiky stepdaughter

The 28 Years Later star joins the impressive Anastasia Hille in Anna Ziegler’s two-hander about grief and family

My Bags Are Big by Tibor Fischer review – how to make it in crypto

Amusing oddballs populate a wise-cracking wheeler-dealer’s tale of leaving London for Dubai in search of loot and laughs

Homeschooled by Stefan Merrill Block review – a true ‘Misery’ memoir

A compelling and fitfully harrowing child’s-eye account of a mother’s unravelling

Bird Grove review – George Eliot’s true story embellished in a tender drama

Elizabeth Dulau is terrific in Alexi Kaye Campbell’s new play as the young woman set to become a daring pioneer in fiction and real life

Suckerfish by Ashani Lewis review – the ordeals of having a difficult mother

This is a wry and likably feisty account of the destructive power an unstable parent can wield over her offspring