Read our latest staff reviews and recommendations featured in The Southern Bookseller Review.
Vida is a joyful celebration of art bringing a community together. Tonatiuh’s vibrant illustrations capture the colors and whimsy of fantastical alebrije sculptures, an art form made famous in Mexico. As the title suggests, this picture book captures the life of a community through its art, language, and traditions. A joyful treasure of a book. Alegre!
Vida by Duncan Tonatiuh, (List Price: $18.99, Abrams Books for Young Readers, 9781419764592, November 2025)
Reviewed by Laura Hoefener, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
Anna North has written a tale with mysteries from a body found in the bog, believed to be 2,000 years old, and today’s struggle for the environment and development. Agnes is a young American forensic anthropologist who is hired to help identify a body believed to be buried in the bog from 196,1 and instead dates the remains as from the Druidic order of Celtic Europe, over 2,000 years old but preserved in the bog. Readers meet the young Druid as her mother has declared her, as she travels to Camulodunon and returns with gifts. She dies at a Solstice celebration and is buried in the bog. Readers will also know much of the life of Agnes as she spars with environmentalists and developers as she tries to save the bog. The mystery of the distant past and today’s conflict will haunt all who open these pages.
Bog Queen by Anna North, (List Price: $28.99, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781635579666, October 2025)
Reviewed by Nancy Pierce, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
Fans of the high drama of telenovelas will find plenty to enjoy in this Romeo and Juliet retelling. Julieta is the head chef at her family’s fish taco restaurant in a heavily Latinx area near La Jolla. But when their landlord sells their entire block to the Taco King owners, everyone is infuriated, bit none more than Julieta and her mom. See, when Julieta’s mom was young and living in Mexico, she had her own fish taco stand, and she fell in love with a young Mexican American man. But he stole her recipe and took it back to the US to create his fast food empire, and she never saw him again. But, not knowing who he is, Julieta meets the man’s son during the Day of the Dead celebration and falls for him immediately. But are they doomed to fail?
Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson, (List Price: $16, Berkley, 9780593336229, February 2022)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
Ready for adventure? Pack your bags and join Cabin Head and Tree Head as they save the world without losing their heads. The playful comic book-style illustrations paired with hilarious stories will have you falling head over heels with laughter! A truly unique picture book about once-in-a-lifetime friends.
Cabin Head and Tree Head (Cabin Head and Tree Head, Book #1) by Scott Campbell, (List Price: $13.99, Tundra Books, 9781774885055, September 2025)
Reviewed by Laura Hoefener, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
Leah Littman of Crooked Media takes the post-Warren Supreme Court and explains just exactly how they run on “conservative grievance, fringe theories, and bad vibes.” Using pop culture analogies at times, Littman compares the court to Mean Girls, Game of Thrones, and Arrested Development. If you’re looking for a book that clearly states exactly how we got to where we are today, this is absolutely the book for you.
Lawless by Leah Litman, (List Price: $29.99, Atria / One Signal Publishers, 9781668054628, May 2025)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
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