Main Street Books

Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell

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Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell
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Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm reads like smooth jazz music, with a full cast of interlocking characters creating a complex harmony that I could not get enough of. Circus Palmer is our main character, an aging and floundering jazz musician who charms and cheats on the women in his life. Never have I wanted so badly to grab a character by the shoulders and shake some sense into him! The women truly take center stage in this story, loved and abandoned by Circus in turns. The narrative was full of angst, but the ending was sweet and redemptive. Fans of Luster and Red At The Bone will love this one.

Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell, (List Price: $28, Pantheon, 9780593316443, September 2022)

Reviewed by Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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But Why? by Elizabeth Pulsford

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But Why? by Elizabeth Pulsford
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With gorgeous, dreamy illustrations, But Why? asks the big questions children (and adults alike!) have about themselves and their place in the world. This picture book would be a sweet and tender springboard for meaningful discussions for the children in your life.

But Why? by Elizabeth Pulsford, (List Price: $18.95, Ethicool Books, 9780648872382, August 2022)

Reviewed by Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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At Home on an Unruly Planet by Madeline Ostrander

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At Home on an Unruly Planet by Madeline Ostrander
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It’s no surprise that so many books are coming out addressing climate change or that distinguishing between them can get muddled. Ostrander offers a fine blend of practical and philosophical by following the current fates of towns and communities already deeply affected by flooding, chemical pollution, and land shifting under their feet. She finds no magical solutions while respectfully documenting the energy and resilience of those fighting to save a sense of home and community in the face of continuing change.

At Home on an Unruly Planet by Madeline Ostrander, (List Price: $28.99, Henry Holt and Co., 9781250620514, August 2022)

Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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Bark to the Future by Spencer Quinn

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Bark to the Future by Spencer Quinn
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Bernie and Chet stories can seem deceptively simple. Chet’s narration from a dog’s point of view provides humor but insights on how narrow human perspectives can be. Bernie’s ethical code and generosity are lessons in how to be a better human. All this comes into play as the duo seek to help a high school classmate fallen on hard times. Running underneath the mystery is a happy love interest for Bernie and the complications of Trixie for Chet.

Bark to the Future by Spencer Quinn, (List Price: $26.99, Forge Books, 9781250843272, August 2022)

Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

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Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
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An August 2022 Read This Next! Title

A poignant tale of wounded souls and their accompanying ghosts finding each other. Tinged with magic, interlaced with loss and longing, each character’s story unfolds in layers creating an intricate puzzle that teases and delights. A must read for fans of magical realism.!

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen, (List Price: $27.99, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250019868, August 2022)

Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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Gender Identity for Kids by Andy Passchier

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Darkhearts by James L. Sutter
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This fun and educational book by Andy Passchier helps kids understand the importance of understanding, respecting, and being kind towards everyone and understanding yourself with fun characters, illustrations, and more! This is a great book for young and old, people who already know a thing or two about the subject but want to learn more, people who know nothing at all, and people who know all about it. You are sure to enjoy this helpful guide to being and knowing yourself, and you most likely will learn something from it.

Gender Identity for Kids by Andy Passchier, (List Price: 15.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316411226, June 2023)

Reviewed by Adah Fitzgerald, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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Free at Last by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle

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Free at Last by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle
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Such an important message, beautifully told in Free at Last, A Juneteenth Poem. I hope this picture book depicting such an important part of our history is shared widely in homes and schools.

Free at Last by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle, (List Price: $17.99, Union Square Kids, 9781454943747, June 2022)

Reviewed by Jessica Nock from Main Street Books in Davidson, NC

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Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

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It All Comes Down to This by Therese Anne Fowler
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A June 2022 Read This Next! Title!

Five starry-eyed stars for Nora Goes Off Script! Screenwriter Nora makes a living writing Hallmark style romance movies that stick to the formula that all rom com fans know and love. When she goes off script and writes a movie that deals with the harshness of real life, and based on her own heartbreak, she lands a box office movie deal. Next thing she knows, her movie is being filmed on her own property, starring sultry hot throb, Leo. As a recently divorced mother of two, Norah knows she needs to stay focused on her daily life of raising two children alone. This becomes much more difficult when Leo, who needs a mental break from the glare of fame, asks to pay rent to extend his stay after filming ends. My favorite part of Nora Goes Off Script is that I honestly didn’t know how it would end. Pins and needles! I loved the small town setting, Norah’s chance to start over after a bad marriage, and Norah’s children and best friends. Highly recommend!

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan, (List Price: 27, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 9780593420034, June 2022)

Reviewed by Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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The Hurting Kind by Ada Limón

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The Hurting Kind by Ada Limón
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A May 2022 Read This Next! Selection

A eulogy of sorts to things we are always going to lose, and to the things that are taken from us, this is a beautiful body of work that trembles with hurt, but asks also for its due attention- a wounded thing not yet surrendering. Poems of movement, of worry, of a recognized grief and the subsequent small joys that can bloom out of dirt like small flower heads…Limón never, ever disappoints when it comes to understanding the great and terrible spectrum of emotions that is our cross to bear. It’s as if this newest collection is a honed and finely tuned string of metal hewn from her previous work, singing its own loud and new sound, ever reminding us that she belongs alongside Sontag, Lorde, James Welch, Oliver- the heralds of the Word that have come before and whose worlds will remain long after.

The Hurting Kind by Ada Limón, (List Price: $22, Milkweed Editions, 9781639550494, May 2022)

Reviewed by Aimee Keeble from Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

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All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
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Once you are captured into this story, you cannot help but ache for these characters. This is a beautiful story about two teens who are trying to balance the weight of the world on their shoulders, and Sabaa Tahir delivers their stories with poignance and grace once again. At this point, there is nothing she could write that I would not read. Seemingly able to traverse from fantasy into fiction, Tahir delivers a novel that is at times a stunningly accurate description of teenagers and their grief, while at others touching on relationships and the sway they hold over us. Bravo to her for being able to write such a gorgeous story.

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir, (List Price: $19.99, Razorbill, 9780593202340,  March 2022)

Reviewed by Hallie Smith, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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Decent People by De’Shawn Charles Winslow

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Decent People by De'Shawn Charles Winslow
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The shooting deaths of 2 sisters and their brother, prominent members of the African-American community, set tongues wagging in West Mills, NC. Except for those holding their voice over secrets. Told from alternating perspectives, the mystery unfolds amid lives threatened by the racism and homophobia of the 1960s and 1970s. This is a great read on so many levels, can’t wait to hand sell this one.

Decent People by De’Shawn Charles Winslow, (List Price: 28, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781635575323, January 2023)

Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King

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Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King
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A Fall Read This Next! Selection

I enjoyed every word in these brilliantly-written stories. Each story offered warm and immersive portraits of real, layered characters. Original, literary, human, and peppered with heart wrenching, high-stakes moments that jolt the reader’s emotions in the best way possible. A wonderful collection.

Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King, (List Price: 27, Grove Press, 9780802158765, November 2021)

Reviewed by Melissa Summers from Main Street Books in Davidson, NC


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The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel

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The Forest of Vanishing Stars
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The Forest of Vanishing Stars is about a young girl kidnapped from her wealthy German parents and raised in the forests of Eastern Europe. From her earliest years, she is taught to survive in the woods. When her captor dies, she is alone until she comes upon a group of Jewish people fleeing from the Nazis. She decides to do whatever she can to protect them until a family secret threatens everything. Atmospheric with hints of fairy tale, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a stand out in WWII Historical Fiction 

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel, (List Price: 28, Gallery Books, 9781982158934, July 2021)

Reviewed by Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, NC

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While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

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While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
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A Spring 2021 Read This Next! Title

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
Doubleday, May

Stacey Abrams shows us her genius in yet another way with this heart-pounding political thriller. I was hooked from page one when Avery Keene, a brilliant Supreme Court law clerk is named legal guardian and power of attorney for her difficult, enigmatic boss, Justice Howard Wynn after he slips into a coma. Lives, political careers, and billions of dollars are at stake as Avery works to figure out the clues that Justice Wynn left for her to figure out regarding one of the most controversial cases ever to come before the US Supreme Court. I was sitting on the edge of my seat for this one.

– Jessica Nock from Main Street Books in Davidson, NC

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