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Imagine: Remy from the classic Pixar film Ratatouille is fed up with the high-pressure life of a chef. He quits his job, opens up a worm-selling business on a Parisian street corner, and gets really into ketamine. This is the vibe of City of Rats. We follow Gouri, a Parisian rat, through a disastrous double date, a prison break, a meeting with the Rat Devil, an animal uprising, and, ultimately, the end of the world (sort of). It is a joyous, madcap, absolute TREASURE of a book, at once strange, sweeping, and deeply personal. I cannot express how much I loved this book.

City of Rats by Copi, (List Price: $15.95, New Directions, 9780811238373, March 2026)

Reviewed by Charlie, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA

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A stunning, heartbreaking, story that was well-performed by the voice actor on the audiobook. Every line seemed to tug my heartstrings, and yet this story felt grounded. Beautiful.

A Map for Falasteen by Maysa Odeh, (List Price: $19.99, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 9781250896704, November 2024)

Reviewed by Nyawira Nyota, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

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Livonia Chow Mein is a slow burn that turns into a book full of drama that makes it impossible to put down. Grappling with intertwined story lines of belonging and togetherness, the Brownsville community finds ways to fight back against systemic racial disparities in its communities. It follows a myriad of people throughout the book as the histories that have once plagued the town are slowly discovered and brought to light. Livonia Chow Mein portrays immigrants in America grappling with the dreams that brought them here, only to discover that becoming their truest selves sometimes means letting go of old ideals and embracing an unexpected new path. It became impossible for me to believe I was just reading. The vivid imagery and clear, deliberate prose made me feel as if I was also working to change this town for the better.

Livonia Chow Mein by Abigail Savitch-Lew, (List Price: $29, Simon & Schuster, 9781668075234, April 2026)

Reviewed by Chloe, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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The coast of Turkey was the perfect backdrop for this tragic coming of age story. It was refreshing to see the older man/young woman trope from the young woman’s perspective as well as the complexities of growing up, finding one’s place, and cultivating relationships with the people around you. This was a refreshing look at an age old theme.

Holiday Country by Inci Atrek, (List Price: $28.99, , 9781250889461, January 2024)

Reviewed by Sara Putman, Bookish: An Indie Shop For Folks Who Read in Fort Smith, Arkansas

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Be forewarned: begin reading Aaron John Curtis’s Old School Indian and you’ll quickly fall into a conspiratorial relationship with the protagonist Abe’s alter ego, Dominick Deer Woods, a poet, and a tell-it-like-it-is fella. Suffering from a life-threatening illness baffling his doctors, Abe goes home to the Ahkwesáhsne reservation to see his family and escape the isolation of his marriage. Dominick Deer Woods’s familiar tone when schooling the reader on the true history of Indigenous peoples in America is brutal, funny, and heart-wrenching. It’s an honor to witness Abe’s journey to remember and embrace his past while seeking clarity for the future. Old School Indian is gorgeously written and brutally beautiful.

Old School Indian by Aaron John Curtis, (List Price: $28, Zando – Hillman Grad Books, 9781638931454, May 2025)

Reviewed by Mitchell Kaplan, Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida

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I picked this book up two days after the loss of my 15-year-old beagle, and I am so glad I didn’t put it right down. The first story alone – about the love of a dog for her person – made the book more than worth the time. I was her person, and now I truly understand the depth of her devotion. As a full-fledged imaginer, I think all the time about what animals, birds, and bugs even think as they navigate the same world we do. These stories brought my vague notions alive. What do migrating birds think about on long, solitary flights compelled only by instincts? Why does that wasp continue to dig and tunnel and finally surface to a life that is fraught from the beginning? The scientific among us may scoff at these stories. Anyone who has owned a beagle knows they are true.

Only a Little While Here by María Ospina, (List Price: $28, Scribner, 9781668097083, March 2026)

Reviewed by Doloris, Book No Further in Roanoke, VA

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Another poignant work from Lily King, who has tremendous talent for authentically capturing the emotional reality of her protagonists over decades. In Heart the Lover, King shows us how our hearts vividly remember the way long-ago things felt, even when our minds have mixed up or forgotten the factual particulars. If you’ve ever been in love–especially if you’ve ever been deeply in love with a soul-match but were too young to consider a lifelong go of it–this book will be especially meaningful for you. Like Writers & Lovers, Heart the Lover is a delicious, aching, and deep-digging story that will hit home for all readers, but perhaps with more gravity for English majors and creative writers. Seeking catharsis regarding romantic entanglements of your early adulthood? This one’s for you.

Heart the Lover by Lily King, (List Price: $28, Grove Press, 9780802165176, September 2025)

Reviewed by Janet Geddis, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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In this wickedly funny yet touching novel, the reader follows Jean as she recalls a turbulent summer spent studying French churches and persecuted saints, watching the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal unfold on television, and sparking an unseemly relationship with her much older teacher. Featuring an all-knowing heavenly Monica Lewinsky, breathtaking moments of irony and beauty, and an array of saintly women, this novel—evocative and timely—enchanted me beyond words. Praise Saint Monica—tortured unjustly not for her actions, but for his.

Dear Monica Lewinsky by Julia Langbein, (List Price: $30, Doubleday, 9780385551502, April 2026)

Reviewed by Joshua, The Underground Bookshop in Carrollton, GA

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A powerful book that celebrates the development of the female body over 200 million years, tracing our ancestral mothers and their unique contributions to humanity. Fascinating, fun and full of facts that will leave you amazed in a multitude of ways.

Eve by Cat Bohannon, (List Price: $20, Knopf, 9780345806208, October 2023)

Reviewed by Maggie, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC

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Fans of Mary Alice Monroe will be delighted to discover the debut novel, The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor. Even sharkaphobes like myself will find their attitudes toward sharks changing as they meet passionate marine biologist Maeve Donnelly, who fears she may love sharks more than people. I found The Shark Club to be a beautiful novel of love, forgiveness, family, and second chances.

The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor, (List Price: $16, Penguin Books, 9780735221482, June 2018)

Reviewed by Jill Hendrix, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina