School Library Journal Gr 9 Up-A trio of high-born, determined, and wildly charismatic teenagers get more than they bargained for in this rollicking 18th-century Grand Tour of the Continent gone awry. Endearing rake Lord Henry Montague (or Monty) and his biracial best friend (and unrequited love), the infinitely patient Percy, leave England to drop Monty's fiercely intelligent sister Felicity off at finishing school. The friends then spend a year traveling. After the Grand Tour, Monty will return home to help his demanding father run their estate and Percy will go to Holland to law school. If Monty's dad catches wind of him still "mucking around with boys," Monty will be cut off from the family. The trip is intended to be a cultural experience. However, no one could have predicted that one seemingly petty theft would set off an adventure involving highwaymen, stowaways, pirates, a sinking island, an alchemical heart, tomb-raiding, and a secret illness. From the start, readers will be drawn in by Monty's charm, and Felicity and Percy come alive as the narrative unfolds. The fast-paced plot is complicated, but Lee's masterly writing makes it all seem effortless. The journey forces Monty and friends to confront issues of racism, gender expectations, sexuality, disability, family, and independence, with Monty in particular learning to examine his many privileges. Their exploits bring to light the secret doubts, pains, and ambitions all three are hiding. This is a witty, romantic, and exceedingly smart look at discovering one's place in the world. VERDICT A stunning powerhouse of a story for every collection.-Amanda MacGregor, formerly at Great River Regional Library, Saint Cloud, MN © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list *Starred Review* Henry Montague is the son of a lord, and as such, his behavior is entirely inappropriate. A lover of vice and hedonism, Monty prefers to spend his time drinking (acceptable) and trysting, both with girls and boys (decidedly not acceptable). Still, Monty is in high spirits as he prepares for his grand tour of the Continent. At his side is his best friend: polite, gentlemanly Percy is the orphaned product of an English lord and a woman from Barbados. Monty, of course, is hopelessly in love with him and plans to make the most of the tour, until his distinct flair for trouble gets in the way. Several miscommunications, one truly terrible party, and an act of petty thievery later, Monty and Percy find themselves on the run across Europe with Monty's sister Felicity in tow. Tongue-in-cheek, wildly entertaining, and anachronistic in only the most delightful ways, this is a gleeful romp through history. Monty is a hero worthy of Oscar Wilde (What's the use of temptations if we don't yield to them?), his sister Felicity is a practical, science-inclined wonder, and his relationship with Percy sings. Modern-minded as this may be, Lee has clearly done invaluable research on society, politics, and the reality of same-sex relationships in the eighteenth century. Add in a handful of pirates and a touch of alchemy for an adventure that's an undeniable joy.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2017 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Kirkus An 18th-century Grand Tour goes exquisitely wrong. Eighteen-year-old white viscount Henry "Monty" Montague is as known for his dashing looks as his penchant for boozeand boys. Before his abusive father grooms him to run the estate, he and his mixed-race best friend, Percy, orphan son of a British colonist and a Barbadian woman, are sent on a yearlong Grand Tourafter which he and Percy will likely be separated forever. Adding insult, their Tour begins under the proviso that, after Monty's sister is delivered to school in Marseille, Monty will remain on the sober straight and narrow or else risk loss of title and fortune. Monty wastes no time in demolishing this agreement in Paris when he gets hammered, offends Percy, insults a duke, ends up naked at Versailles, and steals an objet from the palace in a fit of childish rage. The theft ignites an adventure that illuminates a side of life the trio wouldn't have otherwise seen. Issues of same-sex romance walk in stride with those of race as Monty and Percy find their footing amorously, sexually, and socially. Their realized attraction could mean imprisonment or death, and their relationship is often misconstrued as lord and valet due to Percy's brown skin. The book's exquisite, bygone meter and vernacular sit comfortably on a contemporary shelf. And the friction of racism, tyrannical entitled politicians, and misguided disapproval of homosexuality also have a relevance rooted in current culture's xeno- and homophobia. Austen, Wilde, and Indiana Jones converge in this deliciously anachronistic bonbon. (Historical fiction. 12-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Horn Book Eighteen-year-old Monty, spoiled heir to a wealthy estate in eighteenth-century Britain, is determined to retrieve an alchemical panacea and cure his lifelong best friend Percy (with whom Monty is hopelessly in love) of his epilepsy. Mayhem, adventure, and a swoon-worthy emotional roller coaster of a romance ensue. A genre tribute, satire, and exemplar in one: trope-filled in the most gleeful way. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Eighteen-year-old Henry "Monty" Montague-scandal prone, acid tongued, and a bit too fond of boys, girls, and gin-is embarking on a grand tour of Europe, a last hurrah before taking up the mantle of lordship. The tour quickly veers off course for Monty, his longtime friend (and not-so-secret crush) Percy, and his headstrong sister Felicity when Monty and a young lady are caught in a compromising situation at Versailles, after which Monty absconds with a small trinket. Pursued by the Duke of Bourbon, Monty learns that the object may hold the key to unlocking powerful alchemical secrets. Without funds or connections, the three haphazardly make their way across the continent, crossing paths with secretive Spanish siblings, an inexperienced pirate crew, and others. It's a gloriously swashbuckling affair, but Lee (This Monstrous Thing) doesn't shy from addressing the era's overt racism, sexism, homophobia, and prejudice regarding illness. Percy, a biracial epileptic, and Felicity, a young woman dreaming of medical school, are well-rounded and fascinating supporting characters, and the romantic relationship that develops between Monty and Percy is sure to leave readers happily starry-eyed. Ages 13-up. Agent: Rebecca Podos, Rees Literary. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Publishers Weekly This heartrending story by German writer Raschke is narrated by 10-year-old Jette, who describes the death of her terminally ill six-year-old brother Emil in unvarnished prose (“He lay there completely still. And pale, like yogurt”). Her parents are too devastated to offer much comfort. Earlier on, when Emil wasn’t as ill and they were on vacation, Jette asked her father whether fish could sleep. “Dad gave me a funny look and mumbled something. I saw that he didn’t know.” It’s an early hint that the parents she depends on are as lost as she is. Another time, Jette and Emil talk frankly about death, and she offers Emil a version of Heaven that he likes: “pizza heaven, where he can eat as much pizza as he wants all day.” Cartoonish drawings by Rassmus contribute to the straightforwardly painful mood, as when Jette is seen in the back of her car on the way to the funeral home with Emil’s seat empty beside her. Brutally honest about the suffering that follows the death of a young sibling, Raschke’s narrative is at once excruciating, honest, and compelling. Ages 8–12. (Oct.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Book list Sedaris can take the most mundane task, like buying new underwear, and make it seem like the most momentous endeavor anyone could hope to pursue. Even walking down the street and encountering a passing dog is cause for—pick one—wonder, outrage, delight, all of the above. In his latest essay collection, following Happy-Go-Lucky (2022), Sedaris embraces new travel adventures (lions pooping in Africa) and revisits old emotional upheavals (mom, dad, neighbors, boyfriends). He rises to the occasion of caregiver, reluctantly in some cases, extravagantly in others. Strangers both charm and confound him. Ditto celebrities and authors he encounters both in real life and on the page. What makes Sedaris so engaging as an essayist is his elevation of the commonplace to a state of exoticism. With his laconic delivery, Sedaris lures the reader into believing that the topic under discussion might be unremarkable, a you-and-me-in-this-together moment. But then, given Sedaris’ worldview and world weariness, eventually a knotty twist or spicy dash is delivered with the realization that Sedaris’ land is unparalleled, and its people are peerless.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Sedaris fans will be queuing for this, craving new expressions of his signature wit and frankness.

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly Humorist Sedaris (Happy-Go-Lucky) returns with a funny and heartfelt essay collection on friendship, family, and aging. Snapshots of his life with Hugh, his partner of more than 35 years, include his reluctance to assume the caretaker role after Hugh had hip-replacement surgery (he decries “the puffy, foot-tall toilet seat” Hugh needed after the operation, calling it “a specter of death no less chilling than the Grim Reaper himself”). The couple’s humorous dynamic is further showcased in “A Long Way Home,” which chronicles the time Sedaris invited a stranger on a seven-hour drive to keep Hugh company so Sedaris could lay in the back and indulge in his Duolingo addiction. Moments of sadness also bubble to the surface, such as the discovery that his childhood best friend, whom he hadn’t spoken to in 47 years, had died of throat cancer. The news leads Sedaris to reflect on the memories they shared and, even though they grew apart after a painful incident, conclude that his life is “different now, diminished” knowing his former friend is gone. Elsewhere, he discusses his eccentric family, his world travels, and unfortunate encounters with strangers. Throughout, Sedaris’s wit and keen awareness of life’s absurdities are on full display. These essays are among the best of his career. (May)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Kirkus In his 14th collection, our premier comic essayist does what he does best. The 28 essays collected here, most previously unpublished, along with some familiar to readers of theNew Yorker, are a welcome return to form for the much-awarded and much-loved humorist. His last two collections,Calypso (2018) andHappy-Go-Lucky (2022), were shadowed by the deaths of both his parents and his sister, Tiffany, the pandemic, and revelations about sexual abuse. These essays find the author back to thinking about his signature material: the little weirdnesses of living; his relationship with his husband, Hugh; the odd things people say and do; manners, bad and good; his travels and observations thereof; his quirky friendships; and his practice of walking 10,000 Apple Watch–monitored steps per day—all in his signature key of delightfully petty and wonderfully peevish. He might be the only person who jokes about how much fun it is to be obscenely wealthy, as in an essay where he reveals that he has a Paul Klee, a Franz Kline, and an Alexander Calder in the office where he writes; another where he buys a $2,400 cashmere cape for his sister, Gretchen, during a cancer scare, planning to inherit it back after her death; and several others in which his credit card appears as a deus ex machina to slice through various predicaments. A few essays dig back into his already-well-excavated childhood, including what is likely the sweetest essay he has ever written about his mother, “Cool Mom.” Here he applies seven principles he found in an article online (“A cool mom lets her kids see her try new things and take healthy risks”) to arrive at an emotional conclusion of rare poignancy. An essay recalling his teen volunteer job in a Raleigh, North Carolina, mental asylum makes one wonder if his hometown might someday consider erecting what would surely be an adorable and pilgrimage-worthy monument. Sedaris remains a national treasure. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.