Chelsea Bieker

On this episode, Chelsea Bieker discusses Godshot (Catapult, March 31), a dynamic debut novel set in the drought-stricken town of Peaches, California: 14-year-old Lacy May Herd and her mother, a beautiful woman with a troubled past, are acolytes of Gifts of the Spirit church. Pastor Vern, their Christ-like leader, promises to bring back the rains to the land - as he’s reputed to have done before - if his congregants remain devout and carry out the “assignments” he gives them. Kirkus: “A dark, deft first novel about the trauma and resilience of both people and the land they inhabit.” (starred review) Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Carole Boston Weatherford and Michele Wood, Dean Atta, David Carr, and Mary Pauline Lowry.