What Should You Read Next? Here Are the Best Reviewed Books of the Week

Hannah Lillith Assadi’s Paradiso 17, Tara Menon’s Under Water, and Ian Baruma’s Stay Alive: Berlin, 1939-1945 all feature among the best reviewed books of the week.

Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s home for book reviews.

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Fiction

1. Paradiso 17 by Hannah Lillith Assadi
(Knopf)

6 Rave

“Read Assadi’s wistful and elegiac novel, brimming with contradictions and heartache yet rife with the unquenchable desire to find oneself safely at home.”
–Lauren LeBlanc (Alta)

2. Under Water by Tara Menon
(Riverhead)

3 Rave • 2 Positive

“There is something truly special about this novel … I loved every sentence, every word, and only wished there were more of them.”
–Adelina Zamboni (The Indiependent)

3. The Plans I Have For You by Lai Sanders
(Simon and Schuster)

3 Rave • 1 Positive

“Psychological thriller fans will race through this twisted tale of revenge and horror.”
–Amia Wheatley (Booklist)

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Nonfiction

1. Stay Alive: Berlin, 1939-1945 by Ian Buruma
(Penguin Press)

7 Rave • 1 Positive • 2 Mixed

“Subtly nuanced and beautifully written.”
–Victor Sebestyen (The Spectator)

2. Stephen Sondheim: Art Isn’t Easy by Daniel Okrent
(Yale University Press)

5 Rave • 1 Positive

“An insightful look at a complicated man and talented artist whose work transformed twentieth-century musical theater.”
–Carolyn Mulac (Booklist)

3. In Search of Now: The Science of the Present Moment by Jo Marchant
(Liveright)

2 Rave • 2 Positive

“Fascinating and wide-ranging.”
–Andrew Crumey (The Wall Street Journal)