No one would blame you if you couldn’t quite imagine reading about a plague right now. But if you’re going to make room for one plague book this year, make it this one. In 2030, an archaeologist finds the remains of a young girl who seems to have died of an ancient virus. As you might imagine, things go downhill from there. The novel unspools in a series of connected short stories as the Arctic Plague devastates the world. It ties humanity together, unpacking all the ways that we’re intricately connected to the rest of the world, and while it can be bleak — warning that many children die in this book — there’s something quietly hopeful in its portrayals of resilience and grief.