Virgin by Hollie McNish audiobook review – myth-shattering poetry about purity and sex
The author and spoken word artist’s delivery is full of tenderness and humour as she confronts the outdated notions of innocence that surround women
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash review – clever comedy for our conspiracy theory age
This tender satire of a dysfunctional American family’s search for moral guidance is precisely what our times need
The Puma by Daniel Wiles review – a visceral tale of cyclical violence
A father and son move to the Patagonian woods – but intensity wanes when a search for home becomes an obsessive quest for revenge
Two Women Living Together by Kim Hana and Hwang Sunwoo review – the Korean bestseller about platonic partnership
A quietly revolutionary account of cohabiting captured a nation’s heart – but what does it mean for the rest of the world?
Glyph by Ali Smith review – bearing witness to the war in Gaza
This second novel in a sharp duology offers a powerful interrogation of language in the age of mechanical mass destruction
A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar review – survival in a climate-ravaged Kolkata
This moral thriller offers a perceptive account of specifically Indian anxieties
The Bed Trick by Izabella Scott review – a bizarre story of sexual duplicity
A brilliant analysis of the trial of Gayle Newland and the literary and social antecedents of ‘sex by deception’
‘What the hell happened’ to Tucker Carlson? A new book tries to find out
Hated by All the Right People is the first book to reckon critically with arguably the most dangerous media personality of the Trump age
Everybody Loves Our Dollars by Oliver Bullough review – a jaw-dropping exposé of money laundering
From handbags to drug gangs to central banks – one of Britain’s finest investigative reporters reveals the surprising links in a global chain of crime
Beautiful Little Fool review – F Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald musical needs jazzing up
Despite the vocal bravura of the cast, this show doesn’t capture the Jazz Age power couple’s dazzle or darkness
Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels
Caring canines; daring donuts; a golden monkey; a boy from another planet; a dark take on Little Women and more
Custody: The Secret History of Mothers by Lara Feigel – why women still have to fight for their children
Feigel uses her own experience as a starting point to examine the past, present and future of separation
May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry review – a dazzling puzzle-box of a debut
The plight of a reluctant medieval king is glimpsed through scattered pieces of the past, in an ingenious novel that asks how much we can really know about history
Workhorse by Caroline Palmer review – a Devil Wears Prada-style tale of ambition
Dark obsessions drive this debut about the golden era of magazines – but its vile and hilarious heroine is not someone you want to spend so much time with
On Censorship by Ai Weiwei review – are we losing the battle for free speech?
China isn’t the only country imposing limits on creative expression, argues the provocative artist