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Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

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Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
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This is one of my favorite books of all time. Following Simon and his friends, Rowell’s fantasy centers their fight against the Insidious Humdrum, an evil that’s sucking magic out of the world and Simon is prophesied to defeat (and they’re trying to finish their last year of magic school at Watford). Featuring a ghost story, a love story, and an epic arc, this book has everything a book should have! Inviting queer characters to the forefront of the fight, Simon Snow discovers himself and his limitations, tackles his worst fears, copes with the trauma that comes with being Chosen, and falls in love, working through the pitfalls of a relationship built in the rubble of a war. His journey is incredibly poignant for anyone who has had to face their nightmare and came away scarred, only to discover that wasn’t the end of it. A wonderful, approachable, and shockingly personal fantasy trilogy that’s completely different from what you’d expect, Carry On stole my heart from the first page, and I hope it makes your heart sing the way it makes mine.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, (List Price: $19.99, Wednesday Books, 9781250806918, July 2021)

Reviewed by Shae Jordan, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

While We Were Dreaming by Clemens Meyer

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While We Were Dreaming by Clemens Meyer
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While We Were Dreaming sits well on the shelf ‘midst Trainspotting, Stand By Me (er, The Body) and Requiem for a Dream, those disturbing yet nostalgic tales of the rise and fall of childhood chums slumming down life’s yellower brick roads, but what makes this kaleidoscopic coming-of-age collection really stand (by me) out is the punch-in-the-gut pivotal point of turning 13 in East Berlin, 1989. The pre/post Wall stories run out of chronological order, so the cast of characters are at times 8-year-old Pioneer Scout cutups, any-agers getting out of prison for the Nth time, preteens caught on the wrong team’s side of a football riot or stealing their first (of many) case of beer, yet constantly bailing each other out of any messed up situation their messed up situations situate them in. The emotion varietals are all over the map, multifaceted and always well-played.

While We Were Dreaming by Clemens Meyer, (List Price: 20, Fitzcarraldo Editions, 9781804270288, September 2023)

Reviewed by Ian McCord, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki

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This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki
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This poignant story paints those subtle shifts from childhood to adulthood for Rose as she spends time at a lake house with her parents, who are going through a rough patch, and her younger friend Windy, who suddenly seems immature. It’s a quiet story, full of melancholy and growing pains, but still so lovely and achingly honest.

This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki, (List Price: $18.99, First Second, 9781596437746, May 2014)

Reviewed by Julie Jarema, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

Family Meal by Bryan Washington

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Family Meal by Bryan Washington
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At times heartwarming, others heartrending, this tender work from Washington is delectable. Lust, hunger, grief, and a longing for belonging squeeze up against the forces that seek to tear us apart, but, what Family Meal serves is a generous familial communion made up of the people we love and those who, despite our flaws, love us back. A restorative novel to be shared, undoubtedly set to bring its readers together.

Family Meal by Bryan Washington, (List Price: $28, Riverhead Books, 9780593421093, October 2023)

Reviewed by Luis Correa, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead

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The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead
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An August 2023 Read This Next! Book

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass is a middle grade mystery that celebrates the power of a good book. Evan has grown up in a town without a library and none of the adults talk about the fire that destroyed such a beloved place. A librarian, a cat, a few ghosts, and a handful of mice put in motion an unraveling of a collective puzzle that may make you gasp! Highly recommend.

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead, (List Price: 17.99, Feiwel & Friends, 9781250838810, August 2023)

Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca

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Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca
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Eric Larocca’s newest novel Everything the Darkness Eats weaves cosmic horror with small town prejudice into a tale of creeping dread. Larocca never shies away from the gruesome or the traumatic and weaves these darkest parts alongside love. This Connecticut town is neither cozy nor warm, and is instead full of mysterious and bizarre disappearances, unrestrained bigotry and the dark effects of its most powerful resident Mr. Crowley. Interweaving two resident’s attempts to uncover and stop the horror, Larocca forces his characters to reckon with what means the most to them and to what lengths they’ll go for closure, revenge, and love. Perfect for fans of Clive Barker and other cosmic horror.

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca, (List Price: 16.95, CLASH Books, 9781955904278, June 2023)

Reviewed by Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

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In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
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An engrossing and necessary work of memoir, queer perspective, and groundbreaking from examining a history of abuse through a series of prismatic episodes dissecting road trips, meetings with parents, Disney villains, and gaslighting. Stumbling through each new layer you delve deeper into the unshakeable, irrational hold of abuse. At times what seemed like romance transforms in the next page into folklore, raw emotion, queer theory, criticism, and horror. I am immensely grateful for the work Carmen Maria Machado has done in writing as generous a book as In the Dream House.

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, (List Price: $18, Graywolf Press, 9781644450383, December 2020)

Reviewed by Luis Correa, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
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Through the eyes of precocious 9-year-old protagonist Oskar Schell, Foer grapples with questions like why do tragedies happen, how to handle loss and grief, and how to keep going. As he asks these impossible questions, he takes you through a kaleidoscope of a quest through points in history and through New York. It’s a tale of loss and searching, but also light and hope.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, (List Price: $16.99, Mariner Book Classics, 9780618711659, March 2006 2023)

Reviewed by Julia Jarema, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay

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The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay
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Ross Gay is an ambassador of pure joy—not the sugar-coated, roll-your-eyes kind of happiness, but the subversive, wink-and-nod kind of delectation. Whether he is comparing clusters of harvested sweet potatoes to snuggled bunnies or finding beauty at his aunt’s funeral, Gay’s eye for the oft-overlooked wonders of life is unrivaled, and his conversational, familiar delivery is perfection. Each tiny essay in this beautiful book digresses again and again, which, no surprise, makes it all the more delightful. Do we need a book of more delights? Yes, yes, yes. This book is a ray of sunshine, a juicy peach, a warm hug, a sunflower growing out of a crack in the sidewalk.

The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay, (List Price: $28, Algonquin Books, 9781643753096, September 2023)

Reviewed by Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

Good Men by Arnon Grunberg

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Good Men by Arnon Grunberg
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For a book that claims to “chart the downfall” of its protagonist, I knew the ride I was potentially in for. However, the end of the book seems to kick the reader down a notch as well. The trainwreck rubbernecker in me really loved the first 3/4ths of this one: just-a-guy, content with his simple job, generic work friends, paint-by-most-numbers marriage and run-of-the-offbrand-mill child(ren), marking off each on his failure checklist. These tragedies are handled in such off kilter ways, laced with a stealthy wit, to keep the story fresh and engaging without the need to step it up to a fast pace. And though I didn’t NOT like the final quarter, where people are just plain disgusting (the reader just as lackadaisically unobservant as our “hero” to the clues displayed throughout), the final lap just felt like the author rubbing your face in the filth of life. But then again, the book’s a self-proclaimed downfall chart. Please watch your feet as you exit the ride.

Good Men by Arnon Grunberg, (List Price: 18.95, Open Letter, 9781948830652, May 2023)

Reviewed by Ian McCord, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

Cousins by Aurora Venturini

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Cousins by Aurora Venturini
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My kinda fare: a colorful palette of characters reminiscent of school days when you mush all the cafeteria food together on the tray then dare your neighbor to eat it. Blushworthy moments galore, like being shot from an early-oeuvre John Waters canon, to land in a Leonora Carrington net. A gourmet gag-fest, even more chokingly delicious in hindsight.

Cousins by Aurora Venturini, (List Price: 17.95, Soft Skull, 9781593767297, May 2023)

Reviewed by Ian McCord, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

The Best Strangers in the World by Ari Shapiro

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The Best Strangers in the World by Ari Shapiro
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As a near-constant NPR fanatic (my ringtone is "All Rings Considered" from Bojack Horseman and I wake up to Morning Edition) with friends in journalism, really enjoyed this peek behind the curtain of journalism and the human element of stories that cannot always be told on air. Ari Shapiro weaves together stories of his childhood growing up in North Dakota, with the story of meeting his husband, with his journalism, and his cabaret show with Alan Cumming in a way that makes this memoir irresistible to put down. Moments in this collection of journalistic stories made me laugh out loud, while others made me tear up in their poignancy and relevance. A beautiful collection to remind any reader of the importance of human connection.

The Best Strangers in the World by Ari Shapiro, (List Price: 28.99, HarperOne, 9780063221345, April 2023)

Reviewed by Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

Ancient Night by David Alvarez

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Ancient Night by David Alvarez
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Álvarez’s illustrations alone are enough to make this stunning picture book a winner—the dreamy feel of the milky moonlight against the deep-dark night and the crisp simplicity of the animals and their world is masterful. When paired with interwoven traditional Mesoamerican tales of the magic and power of our lunar companion, the story sings, enchanting readers with its mystery and beauty. Don’t miss this one!

Ancient Night by David Alvarez, (List Price: $18.99, Levine Querido, 9781646142514, March 2023)

Reviewed by Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

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We All Want Impossible Things by Terry Crews
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Oh my goodness. I never thought any book would have me weeping more than A Little Life, but Catherine Newman’s We All Want Impossible Things broke that record along the floodgates. This is not to say the novel is a depressing one: in fact, its depictions of life-affirming, forever-friendships veritably burst with love and wit. Newman perfectly captures the confusing contradictions that accompany end-of-life care: the emergencies among the mundanity, the darkly hilarious moments that punctuate the slow-motion, eviscerating heartbreak. Some readers who’ve said goodbye to terminally ill beloveds may find that their wounds are too raw for this novel. I, on the other hand, read it a few months after cancer took a very close friend of mine and I found it to be incredibly cathartic. Many moments were eerily—no, magically!—similar to moments I shared with Becky toward the end. I underlined like mad and scribbled in the margins; more than once I started to make a mental note to share certain excerpts with Becky, knowing she’d recognize herself and our friendship in the words, then remembering she’s not anywhere I can reach her. Five stars. Pairs well with Kathryn Schulz’s Lost & Found and/or Janine Kwoh’s Welcome to the Grief Club.

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman (List Price: $25.99, Harper, 9780063230897, November 2022)

Reviewed by Janet Geddis, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

Foster by Claire Keegan

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Foster by Claire Keegan
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Claire Keegan’s books are little, quietly epic works of art. Foster is the story of a lonely child sent to live with relatives one summer, not knowing whether she would return home. The love and compassion shown to her on the Irish farm starkly contrast with the child’s family. Keegan’s prose is gorgeous.

Foster by Claire Keegan, (List Price: $20, Grove Press, 9780802160140, November 2022)

Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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