Childrens

Fiction

Non-fiction

Children's

Childrens

Fiction

Non-fiction

Children's
Cahokia Jazz
This hard-boiled mystery of alternate history hits the high notes. The world-building is astounding in its detail, from the urban design to the belief systems of the city. Shrouded in the guise of pulp fiction is a stunning exploration of ambiguous utopias, placing this as one of the finest neo-noir novels this century so far.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
My Roman Year
The sensuousness with which Italian-American writer Andre Aciman renders his adolescent exile in Rome makes My Roman Year one of the most unforgettable memoirs of 2024. One has to envy the Call Me By Your Name author for his handle on memory and his ability to whip his recollections into resplendent prose.
Shawn Hoo, The Straits Times
Mina's Matchbox
The third novel by Japanese author Yoko Ogawa, who has won every major Japanese literary prize, Mina’s Matchbox is a near-perfect example of how well-written literary fiction can be highly engaging.
Charmaine Lim, The Straits Times
Parade

The book’s organising principle is elusive – not as clearly elucidated as in the Outline Trilogy, surely – and feels random. But it also imbues a welcome open-endedness in a wide-ranging novel which tackles abortion, death, abuse, suicide and self-hatred. These are not pleasurable things by any measure and there is little to no beauty and redemption in Cusk’s monologues. But the chief pleasure of a Cusk novel is in the quality of the eavesdropping on such taboo topics and, in this case, Parade delivers a generous and illicit transcript.

Less a study of the woman artist and more a study of how the woman artist is talked about, Parade finds Cusk at the limits of the novel and the essay, saying something truly new.

Shawn Hoo, The Straits Times
All This & More

While it is not an overt happily-ever-after, it echoes the sentiments of something else Shepherd tells readers in her author’s note: “I want All This & More to ask what it is to be happy and to examine what a choice really costs, but most of all, I want to invite you on an adventure.” And an adventure it certainly is.

Charmaine Lim, The Straits Times
Asa: The Girl Who Turned Into A Pair Of Chopsticks

Imamura’s writing appears to be vanilla, but her monotonous, matter-of-fact storytelling does not sugarcoat the depth of emotion. And as Imamura sets up everyday situations and lets them unfold with turns that can only be described as weird, she hooks the reader as she blurs the lines between reality and illusion.

Walter Sim, The Straits Times
Pineapple Street
Be it banning red wine from parties because it stains people’s teeth or playing tennis being the way the Stockton women show their love for one another, the book is packed with funny one-liners and well-observed writing that creates a fully realised upper-class family with all its unspoken norms and eccentricities.
Jan Lee, The Straits Times
The Great Reclamation
Rachel Heng’s The Great Reclamation is many things. It is an epic of nation-building. It is a historical fantasy. It might be the next great Singapore novel. It is almost certainly the most gripping tale of land reclamation you will read.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
Lore Olympus: Volume Three
But it is a measure of Smythe’s nuanced touch as a storyteller that there is the clear ring of emotional truth to all the characters, whether they are behaving well or badly. ... Her true Olympian achievement is in creating a lively story that skips lightly, yet respectfully, through its root sources while blooming with a delightful freshness for a new generation of readers. 
Ong Sor Fern, The Straits Times
Now You See Us
As a whodunnit, Now You See Us delivers twists aplenty and a satisfying ending. As social commentary, it holds up a mirror to Singaporean readers.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
The Visible Invisibles
It is an important book for anyone who has engaged a migrant worker, or walked past one on the way to work.
Shermaine Ang, The Straits Times
The Shards
It is the perfect vehicle for Ellis, in sparkling form here, as the observer par excellence of the numbness and dissociation prevalent in those who have had the (mis)fortune to see too much too young.
Clement Yong, The Straits Times
The Fraud Squad
The novel reads easily, resembling young adult fiction though the characters are in their early 20s – it also expertly weaves between commentary about the lives of the Singaporean middle class and name-dropping expensive designers at the best parties.
Charmaine Lim, The Straits Times
Babysitter
Babysitter is yet another example of Oates’ daring to tread where other writers might avoid. Hannah, an essentially uninteresting character, manages to come alive, even if the choices that she makes at different junctures make sympathy for her difficult. This is an in-depth look at the randomness of human evil, and at its effects on the mind of an ordinary woman.
Clement Yong, The Straits Times
Terry Pratchett
It is full of insights into Pratchett’s writing process . . . Through Wilkins’ eyes, one witnesses the genius of Pratchett and how hard he worked.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
Babysitter
Babysitter is yet another example of Oates’ daring to tread where other writers might avoid. Hannah, an essentially uninteresting character, manages to come alive, even if the choices that she makes at different junctures make sympathy for her difficult. This is an in-depth look at the randomness of human evil, and at its effects on the mind of an ordinary woman.
Clement Yong, The Straits Times
Lessons
Without a doubt, though, McEwan’s languid, sensitive prose remains one of the most articulate in modern literature. He writes of youth and old age with equal perspicacity, never allowing sentimentality to compromise how his characters behave.
Clement Yong, The Straits Times
Shrines of Gaiety
Atkinson’s world teems with sordid colour drawn from scrupulous research. . . . It is a fine read with which to ring in yet another year of these less-than-roaring Twenties.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
Babel
Babel, the latest to hit the shelves, is a delight to read and a testament to the magic of translation. It will hold particular appeal for readers who love languages, words and their etymologies.
Toh Wen Li, The Straits Times
The Crane Wife
Hauser builds her life’s inventory out of deconstructed personal narratives, resulting in a reading experience that’s rich like a complicated dessert—not for wolfing down but for savoring in small bites.
Mary Laura Philpott, The New York Times