John Powers

Raven Leilani's novel centers on a young woman with a free-range libido who dreams of being a painter. Luster is a crackling debut about sex, art and the inescapable workings of race.

Smith began Intimations: Six Essays at the onset of the pandemic and finished it shortly after George Floyd's killing. Although only 100 pages, there's something worth quoting on virtually every page.

Charlize Theron plays the world-weary leader of a group of heroes in a new film that broadens the notion of who can be a superhero — and what it might feel like to be one.