Alabama Bookstores

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

, ,
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Black River Orchard hit me like a combination of Stephen King and really good Magnus Archives episode, in the best of ways. For my fellow booksellers, this book is a mix of Stephen King’s IT and Faust — like if Faust was an apple farmer, and then mix up layers of horror–there’s psychological horror of domestic abuse and being trapped, of seeing people change for the worse. There’s body horror. Hooo boy, there’s body horror. And on top of all of that, I learned about apples!

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig, (List Price: $29.99, Del Rey, 9780593158746, September 2023)

Reviewed by Alex Mcleod, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig Read More »

Alebrijes by Donna Barba Higuera

, , , ,
Alebrijes by Donna Barba Higuera
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

I always like to see more middle grade science fiction coming out on bookshelves! This one felt like it was slow to start out with and really ramped up when Leandro started uncovering all the secrets the Pocatelan leaders have been hiding. Then it was like hold on to your drone beaks. With an unputdownable blend of heart, bravery, Old-World fusion technology, and Mexican folklore, these Cascabeles will slither in and have you wringing out every drop of hope in this harsh landscape. Want to point out that this is upper middle grade for 10 Undoubtably for a certain scene that I was for sure not expecting, and don’t want to spoil. But definitely caused me to eek.

Alebrijes by Donna Barba Higuera, (List Price: $18.99, Levine Querido, 9781646142637, October 2023)

Reviewed by Candice Conner, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

Alebrijes by Donna Barba Higuera Read More »

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

, , ,
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

In this story that spans five generations of women in Cuba, Texas and Florida, you come away with a rather complex picture of immigration plights and political and social pressures. The recurring theme is a book—an aptly named book— that unites the women in a beautifully written, heart-wrenching story. It reminds us that every woman is created with multiple layers whether she knows it or not.

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia (List Price: $26.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250776686, March 2021)

Reviewed by Easty Lambert-Brown, Ernest & Hadley Booksellers in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia Read More »

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

, , ,
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

How are two Japanese 14-year-olds to deal with continuous bullying by their classmates and still have the presence of mind to genuinely care about others and question their place in their community? This is more than a story about bullying—it delves into the raw and moral relationships that most people don’t experience until they are adults. Beautiful to read, thoughtful in intent, and worthy of remembering.

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami, Sam Bett (Trans.) (List Price: $23.00, Europa Editions, 9781609456214, May 2021)

Reviewed by Easty Lambert-Brown, Ernest & Hadley Booksellers in Savannah, Georgia

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami Read More »

Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

I have always been fascinated with the history of the Dust Bowl and the Depression and Hannah brings it all alive. Confronted with the effects of man’s assault on the environment in the Texas Panhandle, the main character, Elsa Martinelli, has to weigh the decision of staying where she was raised and potentially starving or moving to California for a better life. The result is a constant affront on the lives of Elsa and her two children in a world that has little tolerance for outsiders and the afflicted. It is a story “of time and land and the indomitable will a a people.”

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (List Price: $28.99, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250178602, February, 2021)

Reviewed by Easty Lambert-Brown, Ernest & Hadley Books in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Four Winds by Kristin Hannah Read More »

Scroll to Top