Sarah Gailey's River of Teeth
Well, this book has basically the best premise ever: apparently at some point in American history, some people wanted to raise hippos for meat down in the marshy south parts of the US. And this book posits: what if they actually DID that? And . . . what if it was a terrible idea, because hippos aren't exactly docile. Anyway, this book centers on a team of awesomely diverse characters, including a non-binary demolitions expert/love interest, who are working on a CAPER to move some feral hippos out to the Gulf of Mexico. It's great. They're like cowboys but they ride hand-raised tame hippos around. The visuals alone! I read an NPR review that was like "the only problem is that this book is too short!" which is true, but that's because the pacing feels really off--there just is no room for the characters or the plot to breathe. It's all super rushed. And there is a big "reveal" that I was pretty sure the protagonist already knew, so then I thought he was basically a major dope. BUT it has people riding hippos planning a caper, so like, it is still pretty awesome. There is a sequel due out in September. B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book is available now.
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