Check This Out features author and host Rachel Barenbaum in conversation with up-and-coming authors you may not have discovered yet.
Bar Fridman-Tell's debut novel "Honeysuckle" is a dark fantasy about love and power, autonomy and consent.
A lonely boy named Rory has a magical companion, a girl made of flowers and words created for him. The flower-girl Daye must be rewoven each season to survive in this reimagining of the Welsh myth of Blodeuwedd.
As Rory's attempts to extend Daye's life become increasingly controlling, lines are crossed and blurred, leading to a codependent and morally complex relationship.
Later in the hour on our Book Biz segment we talk to Ron Charles, former book editor at the Washington Post.
In February 2026, The Washington Post eliminated Book World, its book review and literary coverage section.
Ron Charles now writes a column on Substack.
We discuss the current state of book reviews and literary criticism and what we might see in the future.
Check This Out is proud to partner with The PEN/Faulkner Foundation and Zibby's Bookshop to champion new voices in literature.
