Carmichael’s Bookstore

The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo

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The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo
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The Hotel Balzaar reminds me a bit of a Wes Anderson film. The story plays out as collection of highly stylized scenes, gathered into Acts, with the artifice on full display alongside the narrative. Not unlike watching a play unfolding upon a stage, and all to a very pleasing effect! The Hotel Balzaar brings an experienced reader a familiar setting and a familiar character in Marta, a curious young girl living out of sight in an old but posh hotel where her mother is a maid and her father is away at war. The hotel and its denizens are described in just enough rich detail to make it real but not so much as to get in the way of its magical story. Marta and the mysterious Countess, who arrives one day with a glorious parrot upon her shoulder and stories to share, are quite dynamic and engaging characters for a novella-length book.A great companion piece to the first of the Norendy Tales, The Puppets of Spellhorst.

The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo, (List Price: $17.99, Candlewick, 9781536223316, October 2024)

Reviewed by Tracy Billing, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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The Black Utopians by Aaron Robertson

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The Black Utopians by Aaron Robertson
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A book that feels groundbreaking: ambitious in scope and deeply felt. The Black Utopians is a necessary book, redefining the very Euro-centric image many of us hold of intentional communities that are rooted in the American experience. This is my favorite kind of history book- a re-visioning of not just of place and ideas but also a reframing of how we look forward. Robertson offers an elegant book of hope and expansiveness.

The Black Utopians by Aaron Robertson, (List Price: $30, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 9780374604981, October 2024)

Reviewed by Johanna Hynes, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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Dive, Dive into the Night Sea by Thea Lu

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Dive, Dive into the Night Sea by Thea Lu
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Dive, Dive into the Night Sea opens vertically. I mean, physically, the book’s orientation is 90 degrees from typical; which was delightful to discover! A lone diver, cloaked in darkness, plunges into the night sea. Together we descend, down, down, to where hidden creatures and their dwellings are revealed. Cleverly illustrated pages buoy the children’s story along with flaps that open to offer the science behind the scene. Thea Lu’s beautiful, monochromatic book shines light into the inky depths, a blend of picture-book storytelling and engaging non-fiction. Great for children with an interest in the ocean and its creatures or science in general. Or anyone with a strong sense of curiosity!

Dive, Dive into the Night Sea by Thea Lu, (List Price: $19.99, Candlewick Studio, 9781536234152, October 2024)

Reviewed by Tracy Billing, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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The Girl in Question by Tess Sharpe

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The Girl in Question by Tess Sharpe
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Tess Sharpe has absolutely knocked it out of the park with this follow-up to her 2021 hit The Girls I’ve Been. Readers follow Nora as she is hunting and being hunted by her stepfather with Wes and Iris in tow. Sharpe’s writing is impossible to put down, and the tension at the end left me in tears from the sheer overwhelming nature of it.

The Girl in Question by Tess Sharpe, (List Price: $18.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316574914, May 2024)

Reviewed by Emma Presnell, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden by Christy Mandin

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Millie Fleur's Poison Garden by Christy Mandin
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Inspired by a real-life poison garden in England, this adorable picture book is full of fun, detailed illustrations and highlights the importance of being yourself.

Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden by Christy Mandin, (List Price: $18.99, Orchard Books, 9781339023274, July 2024)

Reviewed by Jeannine Sons, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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Shae by Mesha Maren

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Shae by Mesha Maren
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How does someone end up falling down the hole of opioid abuse? In this tender-hearted and revealing novel by the acclaimed author of Sugar Run, she compassionately explores addiction, poverty, isolation, queerness, and family in a riveting tale that embraces complex and sometimes tragic characters with open arms.

Shae by Mesha Maren, (List Price: $28, Algonquin Books, 9781643755663, May 2024)

Reviewed by Seth Tucker, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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Batman: White Knight by Sean Murphy

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Batman: White Knight by Sean Murphy
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This arc follows a man named Jack Napier who is bent on taking down Batman and exposing Gotham’s corruption-but is he a savior or a doomsman? Murphy does an excellent job making you go back and forth with this idea until the end. The art is serious and dark, setting the tone of the story well. A fun read, and one you’ll want to return to again and again.

Batman: White Knight by Sean Murphy, (List Price: $19.99, DC Black Label, 9781401279592, October 2018)

Reviewed by Hilton Airall, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

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by Adib Khorram
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This is one of the best YA novels I have read recently. Darius is an utterly relatable character who just feels like he never fits in: he’s too Persian for America, too American for Iran. When he travels to Iran for the first time, Darius could not feel more out of place, yet he meets a boy who finally makes him feel okay. This book is a powerful story of friendship and does a beautiful job of normalizing depression and discussing the experience of growing up with multiple cultural identities.

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram, (List Price: $8.99, Dial Books, 9780593857052, April 2024)

Reviewed by Tenley Soergel, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang

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Lunar New Year Love Story by Yang, Gene Luen
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A rom-com focusing on a young woman who makes a deal with a spirit over her heart, unless she can find true love, and her partner, who is shy and healing after a major loss. Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham use their prose and art to share a fun story, as well as education on Asian-American culture and history. A good romp of a read for those in love or trying to find it.

Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang, (List Price: $17.99, First Second, 9781250908261, January 2024)

Reviewed by Hilton Airall, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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Arca by Jesse Lonergan Van Jensen

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Arca by Jesse Lonergan Van Jensen
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The Arca is spaceship filled with the last remaining survivors of the human race as they head off in search of a habitable planet in this fun, new post apocalyptic graphic novel. The elite run the show and reap the rewards, while the young people toil as servants, hoping to one day become elite themselves. Naturally, all is not as it seems, as the mystery behind this oppressive social structure starts to unravel. I blazed through this fun, ground level sci-fi story and loved it. The perspective and the art lend a much more enjoyable indie tone to what would normally come off as a big, dumb Hollywood style space epic. Recommended!

Arca by Jesse Lonergan Van Jensen, (List Price: 16.99, IDW Publishing, 9781684059980, July 2023)

Reviewed by Seth Tucker, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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