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The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim

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The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim
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With beautiful, powerful prose, Crystal Hana Kim’s The Stone Home is a haunting look at the dark side of South Korea’s past and a tribute to the power of the human spirit. Kim weaves her tale as she moves effortlessly between characters and time, slowly revealing the truth of the past with each chapter. The Stone Home is an engrossing read that fully immersed me in the often painful and brutal world of its characters but left me with a reminder of humanity’s ability for empathy, kindness, and strength even in the darkest of places.

The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim, (List Price: $18.99, William Morrow Paperbacks, 9780063310988, April 2025)

Reviewed by Caleb Masters, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj

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Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj
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Behind You Is the Seais a powerful debut that tells the stories of three Palestinian American families living in Baltimore. Reading like intertwined short stories, each chapter is told from a different family member’s point of view–taking readers through the highs and lows of relationships both within and outside the family. Perfect for book clubs and readers who enjoyed A Woman Is No Man and Against the Loveless World.

Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj, (List Price: $16.99, HarperVia, 9780063324244, January 2025)

Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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All About Brains by Lake Bell

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All About Brains by Lake Bell
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This is another of what we call “conversation starters” in our bookstore. It’s a great entry point for kids — and their grown-ups, too — to learn about differences. Each portrait of a child is explained in facts and straight language, making what could be sensitive topics into approachable conversations. I love how this book normalizes difference and helps give kids (and adults) language to use and grow in their own understanding.

All About Brains by Lake Bell, (List Price: $19.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781665906753, April 2025)

Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

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Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
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Hey, peeps, stop giving out your personal information and password question answers! When Vera Wong (not Wang the designer, Wong the tea house owner and sometimes detective) gets snookered into giving the “police” her SSN and emailing them a copy of her ID, it snowballs quickly into a trip to the police station in person and Vera starting another adoption cycle of people of interest. How can you not be charmed by Vera “gathering a bunch of new people who are obviously slightly terrified and brazenly accusing them of murder”? And feeding them, of course. I am really needing some homemade Chinese food right about now.

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto, (List Price: $19, Berkley, 9780593546253, April 2025)

Reviewed by Lisa Yee Swope, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Washing My Mother’s Body by Joy Harjo

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Washing My Mother's Body by Joy Harjo
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A beautifully illustrated edition of one of Joy Harjo’s greatest poems – this book is a celebration of a mother’s life and a wrestling with the grief that comes after loss. Dana Tiger’s watercolors perfectly complement the emotions of the poem, elevating the text to something truly special. Full of emotion and memory, this book is a wonderful ode to a life – now gone but never forgotten.

Washing My Mother’s Body by Joy Harjo, (List Price: $17.99, Ten Speed Press, 9781984861368, April 2025)

Reviewed by Caleb Masters, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Les Normaux by Janine Janssen

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Les Normaux by Janine Janssen
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I tried so hard to NOT buy this book but I couldn’t resist this queer love story in a magical monster world that is a copy of the non-magical. We follow Sebastien as he begins school at a wizarding university and finally has the chance to learn how to use his powers after growing up with parents who don’t approve of magic or his being gay. We get to see him navigate a lot of new relationships and grow in his confidence that he belongs in this new world. Also, did I mention he made out with a beautiful stranger who he discovers lives in the same building as him?! I devoured this story and can’t wait to read more.

Les Normaux by Janine Janssen, (List Price: $22.99, Avon, 9780063414679, February 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Sunday by Marcelo Tolentino

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Sunday by Marcelo Tolentino
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A beautiful story about a child’s imagination. I loved the illustrations and the way this story felt like a classic from my childhood. The subtle attention to generational family members is of of my favorite reminders for young readers.

Sunday by Marcelo Tolentino, (List Price: $18.95, Blue Dot Kids Press, 9798989858811, January 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Scorched Earth by Tiana Clark

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Scorched Earth by Tiana Clark
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Tiana Clark’s words met me where I was — equal parts heartache, nostalgia, and ultimately healing. Accessible and lyrical, even when I couldn’t relate to the scope of Clark’s experiences, I still felt like I was offered a chair to sit and witness. The other relevant themes of sexuality and Black joy in this collection had me underlining and dog-earring almost every page.

Scorched Earth by Tiana Clark, (List Price: $17.99, Washington Square Press, 9781668052075, March 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

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Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
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I’m a hoofer. Tap has always been my dance love, and one of Vicki’s Tap Pups’ neatest dances was a compilation of dances of the 50s and 60s. Needless to say, ballroom dancing is not my strength, although a simple jitterbug has given hubs and me a surprising amount of wedding attention. Thing is, it’s not the jitterbug, it’s the connection. I’m proud to say we’ve been married for 20 years. In Instructions for Dancing, Evie receives a dubious superpower that she sees the love lives of couples — how they met, how they grew together, and, prophetically, the tragic breakups that haven’t happened yet but will. That, coupled with her parents’ ugly divorce (and not being allowed to tell her younger sister that her dad had an affair), makes her hesitant to engage in a relationship. But she accepts a challenge that “not everybody can dance good, but everybody can dance”, and ends up paired with X, who lives by a “just say yes” philosophy, and things change in ways she never expected.

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon, (List Price: $12.99, Ember, 9781524718992, May 2022)

Reviewed by Lisa Yee Swope, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson

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Don't Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson
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I know a family whose surname is Fish, and I have mightily amused them with the science/nature book Why Fish Don’t Exist. They are going to get a kick out of this one too. I love when science facts get presented in such a cheeky way, and the hint at the end that really this entire book may not be written by humans just compounds that mirth.

Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, (List Price: $18.99, Dial Books, 9780593616673, April 2025)

Reviewed by Lisa Yee Swope, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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The Kiss Bet Volume One by Ingrid Ochoa

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The Kiss Bet Volume One by Ingrid Ochoa
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Nothing is more awkward than a first kiss, and Ingrid Ochoa captures that so well and makes it interesting when senior student Sara Lin gets bet by her friend to kiss a stranger. What ensues is secret disguises, new crushes, and so many twists and turns. Will Sara get her kiss? Will she pass Calculus!? Can’t wait to see where this story goes!

The Kiss Bet Volume One by Ingrid Ochoa, (List Price: $18.99, WEBTOON Unscrolled, 9781998341146, February 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall

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All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall
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All the Water in the World begins in the near future, where catastrophic floods have reshaped cities as we once knew them. On the roof of the American Museum of Natural History, a girl and her family have joined a team of researchers, working not only to survive but to preserve the museum’s history and records. As they are forced to flee the city, the dwindling group confronts the best and worst aspects of humanity, all while searching for hope, community, and belonging. Eiren Caffall weaves a story that both terrifies readers with the stark realities of climate change and reminds us that hope can shine even in the darkest moments. A must-read for fans of Station Eleven, The LIghtest Object in the Universe, and Lark Ascending.

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall, (List Price: $29, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250353528, January 2025)

Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan

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Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan
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Full of bright colors and illustrations that move right off the page, Every Monday Mabel is what I’d call an “everyday picture book” — something that is good for reading at any time. What I loved the most about this book is that the reader is held in a bit of suspense — what is Mabel doing that everyone is commenting on? When you find out, it turns a stereotype on its head in a pleasantly unexpected way. I love the connection the author creates on the last spreads as we see Mabel as a part of a much larger community.

Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan, (List Price: $19.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781665938150, February 2025)

Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo

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But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo
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Where to even begin with this book other than wowza. I was not expecting to be given the most thrilling sapphic monster romance in the entire world. But Not Too Bold gave me goosebumps, and I fear that’s all you really need to know about how incredible it was.

But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo, (List Price: $24.99, Tordotcom, 9781250376633, February 2025)

Reviewed by Caitlyn Vanorder, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Saturday Morning at the ‘Shop by Keenan Jones

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Saturday Morning at the 'Shop by Keenan Jones
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Similar to Crown by Derrick Barnes, this ode to the community of a barber shop is touching and real. I love the way the illustrator brings the joy and love that exudes from the characters as they connect, laugh, tell stories, and be in community with one another. It’s celebratory and full of joy.

Saturday Morning at the ‘Shop by Keenan Jones, (List Price: $18.99, Beach Lane Books, 9781665940801, January 2025)

Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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