Week 17 Recap: Guatemalan Rhapsody Strikes the Right Note
Guatemalan Rhapsody wins with bold color and playful rhythm
With its blazing yellow backdrop, hand-drawn quetzal, and curved pink type that practically sings off the cover, Guatemalan Rhapsody stood out immediately. Voters responded to its clarity and vibrancy, giving it a decisive margin while the other three covers battled neck and neck for second place.
Week 17 Winner: Guatemalan Rhapsody by Jared Lemus
Congrats to Jared Lemus and the Ecco team!
Week 18: Water You Reading?
This week’s contenders dive deep into transformation, longing, and the mysteries of the sea. From surreal metamorphoses to psychological voyages, each book rides the currents of desire, grief, and wonder.
- The Sea Gives Up the Dead by Molly Olguín (Red Hen Press, Apr 29, 2025): A collection of queer, gothic fairy tales where grief and love meet mermaids, witches, and mourners at sea.
- Ultramarine by Mariette Navarro, trans. Eve Hill-Agnus (Deep Vellum, Mar 4, 2025): A female captain allows her crew a rare swim, only to return with one extra man aboard—an uncanny unraveling of reality at sea.
- Wanting by Claire Jia (Tin House Books, Jul 1, 2025): In Beijing, two friends navigate shifting desires, envy, and impossible choices between stability and longing.
- Clam Down by Anelise Chen (One World, Jun 3, 2025): After a divorce, a woman “clams down”—literally—transforming into a mollusk as she explores retreat, inheritance, and survival.
Week 18 Lineup
Voting is open now through Sunday at 10pm ET.
Tap Here to VoteYr friendly booklubber,
Will Pass
Book Jacket Bracket Guy