North Carolina Bookstores

How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney

, , , , , , ,
How to Build a Boatby Elaine Feeney
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

I feel very fortunate to have had read this beautiful book. Autism is so hard and not having anyone in my family with it, I only know what I hear. When these 3 characters come together to help build a boat they bond and learn so much about themselves and each other. People are afraid of what they don’t understand and autism is one of those things we just don’t know enough about. It’s hard enough to be a freshman in high school, compound that with being different. This is a love story for the 3 generations involved. I guarantee you will see the world a bit differently after.

How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney, (List Price: $17.95, Biblioasis, 9781771965859, November 2023)

Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney Read More »

Champions of the Fox by Kevin Sands

, , , ,
Champions of the Fox by Kevin Sands
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Oh wow, what an amazing conclusion to a thrilling trilogy! Cal and his squad of thieves have one last mission to carry out before the Eye will let them go… but what if their success means the end of the world as they know it? To thwart the Eye, they must find allies among Spirits, industrialists, and runners for the rival thieves guild. These characters were as electric as ever, and the magic of this world was tantalizing.

Champions of the Fox by Kevin Sands, (List Price: $18.99, Viking Books for Young Readers, 9780593620953, November 2023)

Reviewed by Jordan April, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Champions of the Fox by Kevin Sands Read More »

Emperor of Rome by Mary Beard

, , ,
Emperor of Romeby Mary Beard
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Mary Beard is a legend among historians, and a queen to history lovers. As both, I need everyone to know that this book is the perfect way to explore the psychology of what it meant to be THE Emperor of Rome. What it meant to the historical figures around them. Everything. It’s such a fascinating look at such complex figures that we realistically only know a limited amount about due to how long ago Rome was, and how often their successors attempted to erase them from history, even casually so after their deaths. If you’re looking for further exploration into the archetype of the Roman Emperor, you’ll delight in this book.

Emperor of Rome by Mary Beard, (List Price: $39.99, Liveright, 9780871404220, October 2023)

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

Emperor of Rome by Mary Beard Read More »

Blackouts by Justin Torres

,
Blackoutsby Justin Torres
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

This book wrecked me in ways I can’t find words for and can’t stop talking about anyway. At its core, this is a story of two queer men sharing memories and talking about their lives, both of them knowingly hazy on the details and emotionally honest, but it’s also an intimate collage of factual records, fictional accounts, lived reality, erasure, and oral history. The result is a gift: a tender, challenging, loving retelling of queer experience that is nothing short of exquisite. Structurally inventive and emotionally expansive, this is a book to spend time with, to read what isn’t there as well as what’s left on the page, the redactions—and the act of redacting—inseparable from the story.

Blackouts by Justin Torres, (List Price: $30, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 9780374293574, October 2023)

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

Blackouts by Justin Torres Read More »

The Farmer’s Wife by Helen Rebanks

, , , , ,
The Farmer's Wife by Helen Rebanks
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Jointly, The Farmer’s Wife and The Shepherd’s Life (written by Helen’s husband James), provide a unique look at both the travails of small farm life and married life. On its own, The Farmer’s Wife reminded me of Laurie Colwin with deep insights into daily life and the joys of cooking good food. Thoughtful, challenging with delicious recipes and beautifully illustrated, this will be a go-to gift book for me.

The Farmer’s Wife by Helen Rebanks, (List Price: $29.99, Harper Horizon, 9780785290483, September 2023)

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

The Farmer’s Wife by Helen Rebanks Read More »

I Kissed Alice by Anna Birch

, , , ,
I Kissed Alice by Anna Birch
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

This is a true enemies-to-lovers read. Both faced with pressures unknown to the other, these art school students battle it out for a life-altering scholarship, while their online personalities collaborate on a webcomic (unknowingly duh). What made this book feel so raw for me, was that both characters had valid reasons for hating the other, reasons that cannot be easily resolved.

I Kissed Alice by Anna Birch, (List Price: $9.99, Square Fish, 9781250792068, May 2021)

Reviewed by Jamie Kovacs, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

I Kissed Alice by Anna Birch Read More »

Class by Stephanie Land

, ,
Classby Stephanie Land
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Land once again takes readers into the lived experience of poverty and class divides. She calls out the emotional and physical cost of being a single parent and a student and the bizarre barriers courts and agencies throw up. An education in inequality and perseverance, you will never think of resilience in the same way again.

Class by Stephanie Land, (List Price: $28, Atria/One Signal Publishers, 9781982151393, November 2023)

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

Class by Stephanie Land Read More »

Duel by Jessixa Bagley

, , ,
Duelby Jessixa Bagley
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

I loved the creativity in the book. I really like how they included other kids of people in the story. It shows that you have to have courage to do something even if you don’t win. I enjoyed the mostly black-and-white illustrations in the book. I love graphic novels. Overall I really liked this book and recommend it!

Duel by Jessixa Bagley, (List Price: $14.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781534496545, November 2023)

Reviewed by Mandy Harris, Angel Wings Bookstore in Stem, North Carolina

Duel by Jessixa Bagley Read More »

So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan

, , , , ,
So Late in the Dayby Claire Keegan
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

So Late in the Day is brilliantly written with Keegan’s beautiful prose. The underlying theme in the stories is the fractured relationships between a man and woman, told with a nuanced tension that grips the reader from beginning until end. A quietly delightful, tense, and gripping read.

So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan, (List Price: $20, Grove Press, 9780802160850, November 2023)

Reviewed by Kelley Barnes, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan Read More »

This Isn’t Going to End Well by Daniel Wallace

, , ,
This Isn't Going to End Well by Daniel Wallace
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Daniel Wallace’s newest work is a combination memoir and biography, telling his own story alongside that of friend and brother-in-law, William Nealy. This Isn’t Going To End Well begins in 1970s Alabama capturing llaissez-faire parenting, and the idleness and creativity of childhood at the time. Fast forward to our beloved Chapel Hill, the book moves from adolescence to adulthood, asking the question: How well do we ever really know someone? Wallace makes you feel like you are sitting with an old friend, reminiscing. The people rattle around in your head, and the writing is clean and clever. An especially great read for outdoor enthusiasts and artists, writers and lovers. Wallace has written a story of family, adventure, following your dreams, and sadly, tragedy. This Isn’t Going To End Well is gentle and kind, even when life is not.

This Isn’t Going to End Well by Daniel Wallace, (List Price: $28, Algonquin Books, 9781643752105, April 2023)

Reviewed by Peggy Mulqueen, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina

This Isn’t Going to End Well by Daniel Wallace Read More »

Where Are the Aliens? by Stacy McAnulty

, , , , ,
Where Are the Aliens? by Stacy McAnulty
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Stacy (local-to-me author!) is like the teacher who gets passionately excited about something and her enthusiasm drags the entire class into that geekdom. The kind that when you see a oddly specific kitschy item you know it has to belong to them so you buy it and gift it to them and they tell you a story about something you had no idea about in that item you are handing them. I am delighted that her Our Universe picture books have a middle grade book for their readers to grow into.

Where Are the Aliens? by Stacy McAnulty, (List Price: 16.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780759553996, September 2023)

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

Where Are the Aliens? by Stacy McAnulty Read More »

Okra Stew by Natalie Daise

, , , , , ,
Okra Stew by Natalie Daise
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

You can almost smell the salt marsh in this stunning homage to Gullah culture, father-son love, and Okra. With art reminiscent of Lois Ehlert or Faith Ringold this one is a must for all young southern foodies.

Okra Stew by Natalie Daise, (List Price: 19.99, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 9781250849663, October 2023)

Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

Okra Stew by Natalie Daise Read More »

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

, , ,
Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Blood Debts is a magical novel about reckoning- societal reckoning, familial reckoning, and personal reckoning. Clem and Cris Trudeau are practitioners of Generational magic, magic derived from the moon and the power of their ancestors. Their family has been torn apart, their connection to magic is unstable at best, and they don’t trust anyone, least of all themselves. Clem and Cris are furious at the injustice their family has been handed- from the violent lynchings of their grandparents, to the racist anti-magic laws being debated in New Orleans, to the recent murder of their father, to the way white vultures keep trying to appropriate Generational magic. Blood Debts handles all of these difficult, emotional topics with care and still gives these teenagers space to experience being kids. Dramatic friendship breakups, sibling bickering, and the beauty of queer, Black love add even more layers to this breathtaking tale. Pursue answers, love, and most importantly, justice, with Clem and Cris in Blood Debts… you won’t be sorry.

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker, (List Price: 18.99, Tor Teen, 9781250825926, April 2023)

Reviewed by Julia Hirschfield, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker Read More »

If You’ll Have Me by Eunnie

, ,
If You'll Have Me by Eunnie
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

In her first year of university, kind, anxious, people-pleasing Momo develops a crush on PG, an unattainable player known for her many one-night stands. The two gradually develop a flirty friendship, but can they let their guards down and allow love to bloom? A likable, cute WLW graphic novel, recommended for fans of Heartstopper and other character-driven contemporary YA romance.

If You’ll Have Me by Eunnie, (List Price: 17.99, Viking Books for Young Readers, 9780593403235, October 2023)

Reviewed by Talia Smart, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

If You’ll Have Me by Eunnie Read More »

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

, , ,
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

With Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo created a perfect blend of tense, tightly-plotted action and bold character work. The impossible heist the narrative centers around is exciting, and Bardugo’s magical setting sets her plot apart from other heist stories. Her six protagonists, all of whom have their own compelling reasons to agree to such a dangerous job, are dense and rich, and their dynamics with each other are definitely the novel’s greatest strength. The dialogue is sharp and the budding romances are impossible to not root for. Fans of fantasy, romance, mysteries, thrillers, and character dramas will absolutely find something to like in Six of Crows.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, (List Price: $12.99, Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks, 9781250777904, April 2021)

Reviewed by Sam Edge, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Read More »

Scroll to Top