Yoohee has finally created the life she’s always wanted: a quiet plant shop filled with lush greenery and customers seeking her expert gardening advice. But she doesn’t just tell her clients how to deal with plant pests—she also helps make abusive men disappear. Plant Lady(opens in new tab) by Minyoung Kang and translated from Korean by Shanna Tan is an atmospheric and chilling tale of feminist revenge.

After a lifetime of putting her four children first, retired widow June heads to Boca Raton for a little peace and quiet in Jeff Bercuson’s Queen of Florida(opens in new tab). But her troubled son follows her, disappearing after yet another relapse. Retirement is looking a lot less like paradise as June finds herself dealing with drug dealers, crooked cops and a shady private investigator while trying to find her wayward son.

Punctuation may be small, but it has a surprisingly big impact on how we communicate. From the first triangular mark pressed into clay in ancient Mesopotamia to the exclamation points and emojis of today, On the Mark(opens in new tab) by Florence Hazrat explores the fascinating history behind the marks we use every day. Along the way, Hazrat introduces forgotten symbols, explains why spaces between words took centuries to catch on and reveals how a tiny dot or dash can change the meaning of an entire message—shaping elections, moving the market or deciding the fate of someone on death row.

What does it take to sum up an entire life in just a few hundred words? After nearly a decade on the New York Times obituary desk, journalist Sam Roberts has written more than a thousand obituaries and discovered that the best ones are about much more than death. Are They Dead Yet?(opens in new tab) explores who gets an obituary, how writers capture the essence of a life and the surprising details that can bring a person’s story to life.

Why do we get scared, and why do some of us actually enjoy it? Boo!(opens in new tab) by Clive Gifford and illustrated by Rohan Daniel Eason explores the science, history and psychology of fear, from how the brain and body react to danger to the origins of superstitions, ghost stories, monsters and Halloween traditions. Along the way, readers will discover famous hauntings, phobias, scary games, horror writers and the surprisingly big business of “scare-tainment.” A great pick for middle grade readers who like spooky nonfiction. 

Filipino American siblings Lily and Caleb have a secret: they’re manananggal, vampirelike creatures from Filipino folklore who transform into winged beings and hunt at night. They’ve learned that hiding their identities is the safest way to survive, until a legendary monster hunter arrives in their California community and marks Caleb as his next victim. Now, the siblings must decide whether to keep hiding or fight back against the hunter threatening their family and their entire community. Fast-paced, suspenseful and steeped in Filipino mythology and culture, Nest of Tongues(opens in new tab) by Randy Ribay is a gripping teen horror that combines a paranormal mystery with a moving story about family, identity and the fierce bond between siblings.