Showing results by narrator "Katharine Chin" in All Categories

“Short stories have to accomplish a nearly impossible magic trick: to introduce a world often much stranger than our own and make you care about it in a matter of pages,” writes R. F. Kuang in her introduction. “The most important part of this magic trick is just a willingness to get weird.” The stories in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2023 are brimming with bizarre and otherworldly premises.

Data Science Essentials For Dummies is a quick reference on the core concepts of the exploding and in-demand data science field, which involves data collection and working on dataset cleaning, processing, and visualization. This direct and accessible resource helps you brush up on key topics and is right to the point—eliminating review material, wordy explanations, and fluff—so you get what you need, fast.

Tony has a love of old comics… but when he goes poking around where he doesn’t belong, will he find himself discontinued? Kylie is thrilled to have a summer job at the local pet store… but will the store’s more gruesome creatures rub off on her? Teddy knows his new substitute teacher has a monstrous secret… but will telling the truth mean risking Mr. Howell’s wrath?

In her introduction to this year’s The Best American Essays, guest editor Vivian Gornick states that her selections “contribute materially to the long and honorable history of the personal essay by way of the value they place on lived experience.” Provocative, daring, and honest at a time when many writers are deliberately silencing themselves in the face of authoritarian and populist censorship movements, the twenty-one essays collected here reflect their authors’ unapologetic observations of the world around them.

From Not Here to Be Liked author Michelle Quach comes a smartly funny, heartfelt story told in dual POV about a young woman roping in her childhood crush to act as an honorary male heir to fulfill her grandfather’s dying wish. A story about first love, familial duties, and finding yourself—perfect for fans of Emiko Jean and Loan Le.

A mail order bride from Taiwan is packed up in a cardboard box and sent via express shipping to California, where her much older husband awaits her. Two teenage girls meticulously plan how to kill and cook their downstairs neighbor. An American au pair moves to Paris to find herself, only to find her actual French doppelgänger. A father reunites with his estranged daughter in unusual circumstances: as a background actor on the set of her film.

There are moments when a single choice can define an entire life. Haiwen and Suchi are teenage sweethearts in 1940s Shanghai; their childhood friendship has blossomed into young love, and they believe that they are soulmates. But when Haiwen secretly decides to enlist in the army to keep his brother from the draft, their shared future is shattered. Their paths take them far afield from each other, with the exception of one pivotal chance encounter on the Hong Kong ferry in 1966.

An epic guide to the history and mythology of dragons from around the world for fantasy-mad kids by medieval historian Cait Stevenson.

Lost Origins is an enthralling space odyssey set in a distant future where Earth is a lost legend. In this riveting tale, Maddy, a skilled smuggler, embarks on a perilous mission carrying vital medicine and a cryptic data crystal. Her journey plunges her into a universe brimming with danger, from space pirates to complex political intrigue. Maddy's character is a blend of strength and vulnerability, making her a compelling protagonist. Her journey is not just about the physical travel through space, but also an exploration of her own morals and choices.

Helen Zhang is the bestselling author who can't write her own happy-ever-after. Grant Shepard is the screenwriter with the movie-star looks who can't afford his therapist. When the two of them are put together to adapt Helen's books for television, it should be a dream come true. Helen can start a new life in Hollywood. Grant can pay his mortgage. Only, Grant Shepard is the last person that Helen wanted to see again. She's never forgiven him for what happened thirteen years ago. So no one is more surprised than her when sparks begin to fly between them in the writers' room.

The darkest days of Paris, 1790s. Riots ignite the street, classes struggle for power, and death rests at the foot of the guillotine. For Ani, the French Revolution is a catalyst for bringing down the corrupt aristocracy and avenging her fallen family, until she unwittingly befriends a high-ranking military nobleman who exposes the dark conspiracies of her own father’s pas

When Nozomi Nagai pictured the ideal summer romance, a fake one wasn't what she had in mind. That was before she met the perfect girl. Willow is gorgeous, glamorous, and…heartbroken? And when she enlists Nozomi to pose as her new girlfriend to make her ex jealous, Nozomi is a willing volunteer. Because Nozomi has a master plan of her own: one to show Willow she's better than a stand-in, and turn their fauxmance into something real. But as the lies pile up, it's not long before Nozomi's schemes take a turn toward disaster…and maybe a chance at love she didn't plan for.

Cincinnati Lee’s great great (great?) grandfather is famous. His adventures discovering ancient artifacts have been made into movies, and his work is widely respected by museums across the world. The thing is, in that line of work, you’re bound to get cursed. And that leaves your great great (great?) granddaughter to break the curse by returning the artifacts you “preserved.” Cincinnati’s own adventure begins in the Cosmopolitan Museum in New York City, where her single mom works and Cincinnati has grown up.

Lindsey Cormack's book, How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It's Up to You to Do It), speaks directly to an America in which civic knowledge is alarmingly sparse and many people dread politics. It's a tool for parents, educators, and anyone eager to fill this gap. In the book, Cormack offers an engaging and practical approach to discussing political issues and the inner workings of the US government with children.

Maya Hoshimoto was once the best art thief in the galaxy. For ten years, she returned stolen artifacts to alien civilizations – until a disastrous job forced her into hiding. Now she just wants to enjoy a quiet life as a graduate student of anthropology, but she's haunted by persistent and disturbing visions of the future. Then an old friend comes to her with a job she can't refuse: find a powerful object that could save an alien species from extinction. Except no one has seen it in living memory, and they aren't the only ones hunting for it.

In Kisia's conquered north, former empress Miko Ts'ai is more determined than ever to save her empire. Yet, as her hunt for allies grows increasingly desperate, she may learn too late that power lies not in names but in people. Dishiva e'Jaroven is fiercely loyal to the new Levanti emperor. Only he can lead them, but his next choice will challenge everything she wants to believe about her people's future. Abandoned by his Second Swords, Rah e'Torin must learn to survive without a herd. But honor dictates he bring his warriors home....

Joan Liang's life is a series of surprising developments: she never thought she would leave Taiwan (and for all places, California), nor did she expect her first marriage to implode - especially as quickly and spectacularly as it did. She definitely did not expect to fall in love with an older, wealthy American and become his fourth wife and mother to his youngest children. Through all this she asks herself the question familiar to so many of us: what are we living for? And are we ever truly satisfied?

Best friends Jia Lee, Ariel Kim, and Everett Hoang are inseparable. But this summer, they won’t be together. Everett, aspiring Broadway star, hopes to nab the lead role in an Ohio theater production, but soon realizes that talent and drive can only get her so far. Brainy Ariel is flying to San Francisco for a prestigious STEM scholarship, even though her heart is in South Korea, where her sister died last year. And stable, solid Jia will be home in Flushing, juggling her parents’ Chinatown restaurant, a cute new neighbor, and dreams for an uncertain future.

The most influential book of Taiwan’s #MeToo movement—a heartbreaking account of sexual violence and a remarkable reinvention of the trauma plot, turning the traditional Lolita narrative upside down as it explores women’s vulnerability, victimization, and the lengths they will go to survive.

Todd Mayer is dead. Now he's some sort of ghost, hovering over his body, which has just been found in the town park, naked and frozen in the snow. As detectives investigate Todd's homicide, talking to the very people who are responsible for how he died, Todd replays the events that lead him to his end in the park.