Stop wrapping gifts for a minute and put these fiction and nonfiction titles on your TBA list: a ghost story set in Wisconsin, a teenager’s discovery of the pitfalls of school testing, and an exploration of how AI is changing us. (Courtesy of Lake Vermillion Press) “Bubble Sheet Blues”: by Wil liam Durbin (Lake Vermillion Press, $11.95) William Durbin (Courtesy of the author) It’s going to be a good year for readers if William Durbin’s funny and timely new novel for young readers is an example of what’s to come. Adults have been talking about mandatory student testing for years, but we rarely hear the feelings of the kids who are forced to take them. That’s why Durbin, two-time Minnesota Book Award winner and a former English teacher, introduces us to Luke Collins, an eighth-grader who’s not very interested in school. Luke has been coasting through several grades by rewriting a research paper about manatees, earning him the nickname Manatee Cowboy from friends Claire and Gabe. But now he’s been caught by the librarian and has to come up with a new research topic. During a session with his third-grade reading buddy, Luke watches the little kids sob as they face the coming Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) required by Jeb Bush, Florida’s governor from 1999 to 2007. If kids don’t pass the test (marking answers on a “bubble sheet”) they will have to repeat third grade, even if they are smart and their day-to-day work is excellent. No wonder the first chapter is titled “Bubble Sheet Blues or Dead Dogs and Puke Piles.” Luke is interested in why this test incites terror in the kids and unease among teachers. As he begins to research the test, he realizes the injustice inherent in the system. He uncovers financial benefits to the testing companies, collusion with lawmakers, and how the tests are unfair to students for whom English is a second language and those with conditions such as dyslexia. Some wealthy families can move their kids to private schools, which don’t give the test. But trailer park students like Luke remain in the public schools. He figures out the standardized tests aren’t for the students’ benefit, but are a way to keep from critical, thoughtful learning by making teachers spend weeks and sometimes months preparing for the test. The more Luke learns the angrier he gets, leading to outright revolution in the school, led by Luke, optimistic Claire and tech-savvy Gabe. What happens then, thanks to sympathetic teachers and some parents, makes for a great ending. The trio is so jazzed they might even take on banned books for their next project. Luke’s eighth-grade voice is spot on, serious when he’s talking about his research but also funny in dialogue with his friends. Although this story is being marketed for young adults, every adult with interest in education should read it, too. Durbin, who lives near Lake Vermillion in northern Minnesota, is known for his young adult historical fiction, including Minnesota Book Award-winners “The Broken Blade” and “Song of Sampo Lake.” Among his other popular books are “Blackwater Ben” and its sequel “Dead Man’s Rapids.” Teaser quote: “I walked back to the computers and did a web search of ‘standardized testing in Florida.’ I expected to find a bunch of dull, professor-type essays, but I was surprised to see that two of my all-time favorite authors — Carl Hiaasen and Dave Barry, both newspaper columnists — had written about public school testing in Florida.” (Courtesy of the author) “Murder in Skoghall”: by Alida Winternheimer (Wild Woman Typing, $16.99) Alida Winternheimer (Courtesy of the author) The red-haired mirage won’t leave Jessica Vernon alone until Jess finds the ghost’s killer and learns what happened to the woman’s infant son. Part paranormal, part mystery, part psychological drama with some romance, this genre-jumping first book in the author’s Skoghall Mystery series is set in a town inspired by Stockholm, Wis., and the Mississippi River Road bluff country along Lake Pepin. Newly divorced Jess has left her life and job in Minneapolis after buying an old farmhouse in Skoghall. The area is familiar to her but she doesn’t know anybody in the town until she meets a sexy cafe owner and Beckett, a no-nonsense potter who also owns the hardware store. Jess has heard tales about her old house, which she loves, from a previous owner who lasted only three years of haunting. Objects moved around and there were bloody footprints on the floors. Jess herself sees images of the ghost’s body hanging in the smokehouse. Jess’ experiences alternate with chapters showing the ghost’s family life when she was alive and living in the farmhouse with her loving husband and little boy. Nothing is going to drive Jess from her home, which she shares with her new puppy, even though a lead toy soldier she found in the mud keeps moving around the house. When the red-haired ghost appears, Jess and her ally Beckett plunge into investigating why the woman’s husband was blamed for her death and has been in prison for 40 years. And what happened to their son? Jess meets rejections when she interviews people about the murder, but she keeps going when most people would quit. Beckett is her sometime-ally although her obsession with solving the murder worries him. And he should worry, since she is physically attacked several times. This is more than a murder mystery and ghost story. The author delves into the torments PTSD causes Vietnam veterans as well as family dynamics. Winterheimer writes gracefully and unapologetically about Jess’ sexual intimacies, assuming the reader will take it for granted a 30-something woman enjoys time in the bedroom (or other places). “Murder in Skoghall,” published in 2024, won the 2025 Best Indie Published Adult Fiction award presented by the Minnesota Library Association and the Minnesota Library Foundation. She is a developmental editor, story craft coach and host of the Story Works Round Table podcast. She also has taught writing at many places, including prisons. This edition of the first Skoghall mystery includes a couple of pages from the second book, “Dark Corners in Skoghall,” published in September. Teaser Quote: “The image of the pink torso — a hog , she assumed — struck her as particularly gruesome. It was well and good for other people, but she didn’t want any part of it. Jess wondered if the energy of the slaughter was stuck to the smokehouse, like some ghostly imprint …” (Courtesy of Beaver's Pond Press) “Turning on Machines”: by Zac Engler (Beaver’s Pond Press, $19.95) For people who don’t pay much attention to the tech world, it seems that artificial intelligence appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly, everyone’s talking about AI, including Minnesota-born futurist Zac Engler. If even the word “algorithm” scares you, let Engler be your guide to AI in a clear and friendly way. He traces the beginning of technology back to the Stone Age, emphasizing human need to keep moving forward and learning. He writes that his book “is not a prediction of collapse or a blueprint for techno-utopia, it’s a reflection.” Central to his thinking is that humans must become partners with AI, as seen in his subtitle “How the Rise of Artificial Intelligence Will Rewire the Way We Work, Live, and Love.” His framework is the six phases of Human-AI  Evolution: Masters (2014-2018), Shepherds (2018-2026), Teachers (2026-2034), Peers (2034-2038) and Partners (2038-2042). Of the Teachers phase, which will begin in the New Year, he writes: “We begin training AI agents like interns or apprentices, constantly improving them through iteration.” AI is here to stay, and although Engler admits, and discusses, job displacement and other worrisome changes brought about by this innovation, he is optimistic humans and AI can co-exist for the good of humankind. Teaser quote: “The future belongs to the bold, those who see AI not as an adversary but as a catalyst. 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