Page 158 Books

The Madstone by Elizabeth Crook

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The Madstoneby Elizabeth Crook
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Westerns are back in the spotlight, and this one doesn’t disappoint! It has everything you need in a book rolled into one. When Benjamin happens on a pregnant woman and her child, he envelopes them and scurries away with them to escape Texas. It’s the wild west, so shenanigans are afoot, and some savory characters are on the trail. But this isn’t one of those, it is filled with heart. Fascinating.

The Madstone by Elizabeth Crook, (List Price: $29, Little, Brown and Company, 9780316564342, November 2023)

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

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Red by Annie Cardi

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Red by Annie Cardi
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In this young adult retelling of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Tess is forced to find the strength to break the cycle of abuse occurring in her church after getting an abortion. Told in a way that doesn’t demonize faith, but rather shows how it can come up short and allows Tess to find her voice again.

Red by Annie Cardi, (List Price: $18.99, Union Square & Co., 9781454951308, 2024-01-30)

Reviewed by Shannon Rogers, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

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Captain America: The Ghost Army (Original Graphic Novel) by Alan Gratz

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Captain America: The Ghost Army (Original Graphic Novel) by Alan Gratz
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Alan Gratz brings his ability to make young kids want to read to graphic novels, and it’s great! Merging an exciting story with historically accurate information on WII, any fan of history, Marvel, or ghost stories will love this book.

Captain America: The Ghost Army (Original Graphic Novel) by Alan Gratz, (List Price: $14.99, Graphix, January 2023)

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

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The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett

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The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett
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A modern-day retelling of one of my favorite books as a kid. They don’t change the story, which I liked, they just add some modern takes. So much fun and beautiful. You will want this in your collection!

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett (List Price: $18.99, Orchard Books, 9781338673845, November 2022)

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

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Blue Baboon Finds Her Tune by Helen Docherty

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Blue Baboon Finds Her Tune by Helen Docherty
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Love this rhyming, colorful book full of fun! Your child will quickly fall under the spell of Blue Baboon. When you find your place on Earth you can do anything.

Blue Baboon Finds Her Tune by Helen Docherty, (List Price: $14.99, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 9781728238906, September 2022)

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

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Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin

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Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin
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I loved Saint X so when I saw Elsewhere I knew it had to go home with me. This book is masterfully done in her hands. With a similar tone to Handmaids Tale you will follow Vera through her little town where mothers go missing for no reason. It is just the way things are. What happens when she goes? So good!

Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin, (List Price: $26.99, Celadon, 9781250219633, June 2022)

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

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A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys

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A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys
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This is a first-contact novel set in the near future when international governments have broken down in the face of climate crisis and local networks built around watersheds (known as the dandelion networks) have grown up to save the world. A member of the Chesapeake network is monitoring things one night when she gets a strange reading and takes her wife and infant daughter to check it out. There they meet with an alien ship that has come to save humanity by taking them away. But what if humanity does not want to leave? The ensuing story weaves together elements of science fiction, Jewish storytelling, politics, and family dynamics into a tale that is as contained as it is sweeping. As a mother of young children there was a lot that really resonated with where I am in my own life, which was an amazing thing to find in a sci-fi novel and also made it difficult to read at times. I absolutely cannot wait to see this out in the world. If this is the future of climate fiction then maybe there is a future beyond the climate crisis as well.

A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys, (List Price: $26.99, Tordotcom, 9781250210982, July 2022)

Reviewed by Faith Parke-Dodge, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

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Magic Season by Wade Rouse

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Magic Season by Wade Rouse
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They say truth is better than fiction and with Magic Season I completely agree. Wade and his rigid engineer father had a contentious relationship for quite awhile. When Ted learns he is dying Wade returns home for one final season of the one thing the men share a passion for-The St Louis Cardinals. This is inspiring and heartwarming and told with Wade’s poignant sense of humor. It gives hope to any one suffering from a desire to have a close relationship with a parent. There is always a chance for your team in baseball and a relationship with your parent.

Magic Season by Wade Rouse, (List Price: $27.99, Hanover Square Press, 9781335475176, May 2022)

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

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Sister Stardust by Jane Green

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Sister Stardust by Jane Green
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I inhaled this book in a day! If you loved Daisy Jones and the Six you will adore this book based on Talitha Getty and her husband as they lived the sex, drugs and abundantly hippie lifestyle. Told through the naive eyes of a girl who happened on the scene after being thrown out of her home by her evil step-mother, this takes you behind the scenes to what it was really like. “Close” friendships and love affairs are not what they seem and the lifestyle can only burn out. The ride you are on with this book is incredible. Fun introspective read.

Sister Stardust by Jane Green, (List Price: $26.99, Hanover Square Press, 9781335425782,  April 2022)

Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey from Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC

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I Color Myself Different by Colin Kaepernick

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I Color Myself Different by Colin Kaepernick
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What a great way to share with a young child why they are different and why they matter. Colin learns he was chosen and was adopted into a family of loving people. Great colorful illustrations and a wonderful message. For kids and adults

I Color Myself Different by Colin Kaepernick, (List Price: $18.99, Scholastic Inc., 9781338789621,  April 2022)

Reviewed by Gina Norris, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

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Let’s Not Do That Again by Grant Ginder

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Let's Not Do That Again by Grant Ginder
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A behind-the-scenes look into politics and what goes into keeping secrets even for a good politician. This book is filled with current event topics and the story of a family discovering themselves. Funny and poignant in parts. This is one to read for pure pleasure.

Let’s Not Do That Again by Grant Ginder, (List Price: $27.99, Henry Holt and Co., 9781250243775,  April 2022)

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

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A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

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A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
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“I was twelve years old when those shadows started to form a shape, a face. Started to become less of an apparition and more concrete. More real. When I began to realize that maybe the monsters lived among us.”In the deep South, Chloe Davis is a therapist with a secret. Her father is in jail for the murder of multiple young girls who disappeared from her rural town when she was only a child. But now it is happening again and this time it seems the girls have connections to Chloe herself. But can Chloe find the truth and stop the killer, even if they are someone close to her?Stacy Willingham’s A Flicker in the Dark is a solid debut thriller, full of the thick humidity of Southern summers spent running through the woods. Readers will race to the end to find who is at fault and may discover that no one can be trusted.

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham, (List Price: $27.99, Minotaur Books, 9781250803825, January 2022)

Reviewed by Faith Parke-Dodge, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina


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Let’s Be Friends by Violet Lemay

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Let's Be Friends
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Violet represents so many different types of people in this magical picture book. In the end we are more alike than we think. Cute fun illustrations and happiness throughout this book make a a winner

Let’s Be Friends by Violet Lemay, (List Price: $8.99, HarperFestival, 9780063045972, December 2021)

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

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My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

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My Monticello
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A black professor uses his own son in a study comparing him to ACMs (American Caucasian Males) in “Control Negro.” A single mother lists what to do when “Buying a House Ahead of the Apocalypse.” A young woman changes herself in an attempt to leave behind her past. An immigrant widowed father finds himself distanced from his children. And, a group of Charlottesville neighbors flee white suprematists seeking refuge in Jefferson’s historic plantation home. Each story examines what happens when “home” is not very hospitable. This collection—the characters and the writing will stay with me. An emotional and brilliant must read.

My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, (List Price: $26.99, Henry Holt and Co., 9781250807151, October 2021)

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

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Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger

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Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger
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WOWZA! Was not expecting this! This fast paced thriller will leave you stunned. When Wren falls hard for a man she met through a dating site she is heartbroken when he ghosts her. Was it because she showed her soul? Never read a story quite like this. Can see as a movie. Don’t read alone.

Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger, (List Price: $27.99, Park Row, 9780778311041, October 2021)

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


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