Greenlight Bookstore’s pick: “Dragons in a Bag,” by Zetta Elliott
There is a portal to another dimension at the entrance of Prospect Park, and 9-year-old Jax has been tasked with returning three baby dragons back to their world, because magic cannot exist in ours anymore (metaphor, anyone?). This is an excellent Brooklyn-based middle grade fantasy — one that all kids would love, but that our city’s children should find extra exciting, since it can be read as an escape into fantasy while still recognizing all the local landmarks of our borough.
— Rebecca Fitting, Greenlight Bookstore [686 Fulton St. between S. Elliott Place and S. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 246–0200, www.greenlightbookstore.com].
Word’s picks: “Alien Virus Love Disaster,” by Abbey Mei Otis
You should pick up this collection of a dozen short stories if you loved the tales in the [Brooklyn Public Library’s Literary Prize-winning] book “Her Body and Other Parties,” or if you’ve ever loved a scientist who gave you an alien virus and never texted you back.
— Melissa Lozada-Oliva, Word [126 Franklin St. at Milton Street in Greenpoint, (718) 383–0096, www.wordbookstores.com].
Community Bookstore’s pick: “Muck,” by Dror Burstein
In his psychedelic, surrealist retelling of the old testament book of Jeremiah, Israeli novelist Dror Burstein presents us with a moving collage of the ancient and the post-modern Middle East. Corrupt Israeli politicians swill champagne at craps tables next to ancient Babylonian warriors at a Las Vegas casino built by the Egyptian Pharaoh, who still rules in AD 2018. Through this fever dream-world, our hero, the poet and reluctant prophet Jeremiah, must make sense of the madness and warn the world of impending doom before it is too late.
— Samuel Partal, Community Bookstore [43 Seventh Ave. between Carroll Street and Garfield Place in Park Slope, (718) 783–3075, www.communitybookstore.net].
