9 books by New England authors to read this winter

A new year and fresh snow make for a promising clean slate! These nine books by authors with New England ties are all about subverting expectations. There are Black prodigies who prove the undeniability of Black excellence and a scrappy indie music label that turned Boston's hatred of the Yankees into its cash cow. We have a poignant novel about the profound grief felt after the death of a best friend and a poetry/theater hybrid with vibrant lyricism that would make Ntozake Shange proud. These winter reads take big swings and inspire you to do the same.

In this magical, mouth-watering debut graphic novel by Everett-based Robert Mgrdich Apelian, Katah Fustukian struggles to find his place in his family of chefs, even before his mother’s life depends on cooking the perfect dish. But what 17-year-old Katah lacks in culinary skills, he makes up for in prophetic dreams that lead him to unleash a trickster div, a creature from Persian mythology. The div offers to save his ailing mother in exchange for a meal worthy of his late father, a famous chef. Inspired by Armenian cuisine, Katah’s older brother wants to honor their Hye heritage in the dish they prepare for the div, while his older sister thinks they should cook recipes from the Pars Empire and channel their father’s spirit of innovation and creativity. Even though the Fustukian siblings clash over what to cook, the power of food may heal more than just their sick mother. Apelian is an Armenian American author-illustrator who hopes to celebrate the cultural diversity of the Middle East with his work.

How do prodigies feel about being defined by their potential? How do Black prodigies navigate a world where their exceptionalism challenges society’s anti-Black narratives? Poet, MIT professor and former prodigy Joshua Bennett explores this dichotomy in “The People Can Fly.” Part memoir, part cultural history, Bennett examines the talents of figures like Malcolm X, James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni and Nina Simone alongside his own upbringing. Especially poignant is how Bennett celebrates and uplifts the genius of neurodiverse prodigies “in a world that does not always cherish them, and too often calls them by other names.” Discover Bennett’s fascinating exploration of the question, “What is the shape of a praiseworthy mind?”

Nothing brings Red Sox fans together like chanting “Yankees suck!” Slinging DIY bumper stickers, T-shirts and other merchandise with this phrase enabled one local record label to bankroll its music. “Fenway Punk” tells the colorful history of Bridge Nine Records, the underground label founded by author Chris Wrenn, alongside the Sox’s miraculous reversal of the “Curse of the Bambino” in the early 2000s. This thrilling “right place, right time” story charts how Bridge Nine went from scraping together funds to press 7-inch singles for Wrenn’s hardcore punk friends to making more money outside Fenway Park in one night than Wrenn’s biweekly paycheck from Tower Records. “Fenway Punk” promises to be a rowdy good time for music fans, baseball fans and the Affleck brothers — who have visibly supported Bridge Nine in the form of Ben’s T-shirts and posters in “Manchester by the Sea.”

Life of the rich and infamous is not all it’s cracked up to be in Boston-based author Makana Yamamoto’s latest sci-fi thriller. ​​Malia already helped take down the galaxy’s most loathsome trillionaire with high-level hacker skills three years ago, so now what’s a girl to do? Her cure for boredom: Rigging cybernetic prizefights — child’s play compared to the coding she accomplished as an actual child. But when Malia gets caught by a local mob boss, he threatens to kill her if she doesn’t take down the politician who’s hindering his operations. There’s no doubt Malia has the expertise (and her own criminal connections) to get the job done, but the extreme measures she took during her last heist are coming back to haunt her. Succeeding in the mob boss’ task may still end in her death.

Families are complex. Especially when your father murdered your great-uncle. Even more so when your great-uncle is a revered politician. Following his National Book Award-winning “The Association of Small Bombs,” Karan Mahajan’s latest novel embarks on a decades-long family saga embroiled in abuse and set against the tumultuous political landscape of 1970s Delhi, India. Introduced as a martyred local hero in the prologue, “The Complex” is a book-length character assassination of great-uncle Laxman. His rise to power is shown through the eyes of Gita, Laxman’s nephew’s wife, whom he sexually assaults. Mahajan masterfully explores the depths of every facet of the word “complex,” from the titular complex referring to the family compound in Delhi, to how a young independent India was “complexed” comparing their government policies with America’s, to the complexities of legacy. Mahajan is an associate professor at Brown University.

Why settle for one love triangle when you can have three? In TJ Alexander’s latest Regency romance, Verbena Montrose plots a lavender marriage to save her friend Étienne from scandal, her family from poverty, and herself from her family. With wedding planning underway, Verbena intends to head off the source of the ruinous rumors about Étienne — the poet Flora Witcombe. Verbena doesn’t expect to become smitten by her. Flora knows she can’t court another woman in public, but William Forsyth could. Not that the genderqueer poet could ever disclose that Flora and William are the same person. With Étienne’s powderkeg secret still looming, will Verbena’s marriage of convenience prevail over two potential love matches? “A Lady for All Seasons” offers humor, charm and a deliciously queer take on the romance novel miscommunication trope. Alexander received their master’s from Emerson College.

What if the witch from “Hansel and Gretel” actually rescued children from cruel families? In Tori Anne Martin’s cozy feminist reimagining of the classic fairy tale, the daughter of a woodcutter becomes a witch’s apprentice, falls in love and seeks revenge. Miria’s father leaves her with an alleged blood-drinking witch in exchange for wealth and power. Under the loving tutelage of the First Witch of the Shadow Wood, Miria grows up to be kind, helping the townsfolk who blame her for their misfortune. But Miria isn’t entirely selfless. When the sword-wielding Adaline is forced to marry Hans, the brother who shows no remorse for the sister he abandoned, Miria must save the woman she loves without succumbing to rage and fear. These powerful forces could fuel Miria’s magic — but destroy herself in the process. Martin lives in New Hampshire.

This stunning debut poetry collection from Boston-based KÁNYIN Olorunnisola leaps off the page through the voices of five Nigerian Americans, the music of the algaita and West African drums, and chiaroscuro lighting cleverly portrayed through white text on a black page. “Ará'lúèbó” is a choreopoem, a form combining poetry, theater, song and dance coined by Ntozake Shange. Olorunnisola’s dynamic storytelling about love, identity and community is as evocative as Shange’s momentous work “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf” in a wholly new way. Using highly inventive forms ranging from dictionary definitions, flow charts and collage, “Ará'lúèbó” cuts to the heart with what it means to be “ara’luebo boys & girls who have/ been told that there is no place for them here,/ that they will always be foreign to whatever/ they dare call home, that love will always be/ an exercise in wanting that which you cannot name.” “Ará'lúèbó” is a tour de force.

In Tara Menon’s melodic debut novel, Hurricane Sandy submerges Marissa in traumatic memories of losing the person most dear to her in the world. Bearing a name of what her mother loved best, “Marissa, from the Latin maris, of the sea,” she too became enamored with the ocean. Marissa grew up on an island in the Andaman Sea, off the coast of Phuket, Thailand, where she and her best friend Arielle swam daily amongst the coral reefs and knew the local manta rays by name and personality. But nature would betray her with the 2004 tsunami that killed Arielle. This deeply moving introspection of grief reflects on human cruelty towards nature’s majesty and the profound importance of friendship. Menon is an assistant professor at Harvard University.