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Nigel and the Moon by Antwan Eady

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Nigel and the Moon by Antwan Eady
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Nigel and the Moon will make your heart swell in the best way! Sure to be a beloved book, Nigel’s story resonates deeply with those who are scared to share their dreams. When Nigel looks up at the moon, anything is possible; but in school he’s hesitant to share. Career week in school is tricky when you want to be an astronaut, dancer, and a superhero! I loved Nigel and his story, and applaud Antwan Eady on this superb debut!

Nigel and the Moon by Antwan Eady, (List Price: $17.99, Katherine Tegen Books, 9780063056282, February 2022)

Reviewed by Lauren Kean from Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina


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Isla to Island by Alexis Castellanos

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Isla to Island by Alexis Castellanos
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This wordless, gorgeous graphic novel is stunning in its delivery of a story that lives so close to my heart: exile and assimilation after leaving 1960s Cuba. On a personal level, this book’s very existence feels like a major triumph but I think it will reach any reader who picks it up. Hand Isla to Island to fans of Victoria Jamieson & Nidhi Chanani. I can’t wait for more work from Alexis Castellanos!

Isla to Island by Alexis Castellanos, (List Price: $12.99, Atheneum Books for Young Readers 9781534469235,  March 2022)

Reviewed by Cristina Russell from Books & Books in Coral Gables, FL

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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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Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz

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Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz
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An exquisite view into the inextricable relationship among love, grief, and hope, Kathryn Schulz’s Lost & Found is a masterpiece. It’s been a while since I’ve underlined so many sentences and created marginalia—from page one, it felt as if I myself was part of Schulz’s story. Her metaphors are spot-on and stunning; her fondness for research and etymology manage to deepen our relationship to the work instead of distancing us. Five stars. I’ve already created a mile-long list of loved ones who will, like me, treasure this memoir.

Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz, (List Price: 27, Random House, 9780525512462, January 2022)

Reviewed by Janet Geddis, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia


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How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

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How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
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When I started reading Sequoia Nagamatsu’s How High We Go in the Dark, I would have hesitated to call it hopeful, but now I think that’s a perfect description. This novel reads like a series of connected short stories, and part of the joy of this book is finding the threads that connect these characters. Each chapter centers on people struggling through their own slice of a world steeped in death and damaged by plague and floods. But by the time I got to the end of this novel, I felt hope that we can get through calamity; there are possibilities, and there is hope.

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, (List Price: $27.99, William Morrow, 9780063072640, January 2022)

Elizabeth Hardin, The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama


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Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds, Jason Griffin (Illustrator)

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Ain't Burned All the Bright
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A beautiful and unconventional book capturing what the year 2020 felt like to the youngest child of a fictional Black American family, told in three long sentences and a notebook’s worth of art. Haunting and gorgeous, the unnamed narrator’s observations speak powerfully to a wide range of emotions, from the despair felt watching the world crumble and seeing the country’s betrayal of its Black citizens, to the balm that family connections can provide in the darkest times.

Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds, Jason Griffin (Illustrator) (List Price: $19.99, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 9781534439467, January 2022)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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The Maid by Nita Prose

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The Maid
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The Maid is a cozy mystery the way cozies should be written. It is beautifully written, extremely entertaining, has a great mystery, twists you don’t see coming and most of all one of the most endearing and interesting characters you will ever meet. Molly Gray is on the autism spectrum. She does not react to people and circumstances like normal people do because she doesn’t understand their facial expressions and their emotions. But her Gran has taught her over the years to be honest, to be a hard worker and to be very, very polite. Molly is a maid in a luxury hotel. A job she loves and is very, very good at because she loves order, and neatness, and routine. When she finds a dead body in one of her rooms it is not surprising that the police keep thinking that she is hiding something because, while always answering truthfully, she takes things very literally. It is also not surprising when she is eventually arrested for the murder. What is surprising is everything else that happens. I normally like more thriller type books but this was one of the most delightful books I have read in ages and the mystery was top notch.

The Maid by Nita Prose, (List Price: $27.00, Ballantine Books, 9780593356159, January 2022)

Reviewed by Nancy McFarlane, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

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Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
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A Fall Read This Next! Selection

This tiny gem is destined to be a Christmas classic. Think in terms O’Henry’s The Gift of the Magi. Alice Munro and Raymond Carver also come to mind. Based on actual events in Irish history only recently brought to light, the story follows Bill Furlong, a coal merchant, husband, and father to five daughters, and his discovery of a coverup by the church. The town is largely controlled by the church in this 1985 setting, but he still risks his livelihood, reputation, and marriage to right a wrong. Readers who enjoy stories of characters confronting their pasts, embracing hope, and being quiet heroes will find much to love here. When I first read it I thought: “good story”. But I have picked it up over and over again, read and reread it, marveling at its depth charge emotional impact.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, (List Price: $20, Grove Press, 9780802158741, November 2021)

Reviewed by Kelly Justice from Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA


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Tidesong by Wendy Xu

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Tidesong by Wendy Xu
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A Fall Read This Next! Selection

Xu’s beautiful artwork in combination with such strong storytelling makes for an enchanting graphic novel. Sophie’s struggles with her inner thoughts reflect much of my own as a child, making this read all the more special. I can see this story so clearly in my mind’s eye as a Studio Ghibli film – it provides such similar comfort in small things, the beauty of nature, and how two young people can have such a central impact on each other. This graphic novel is certainly a favorite for this year.

Tidesong by Wendy Xu, (List Price: 12.99, Quill Tree Books, 9780062955791, November 2021)

Reviewed by Grace Quinn from Foggy Pine Books in Boone, NC


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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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Everybody in the Red Brick Building by Anne Wynter

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Everybody in the Red Brick Building by Anne Wynter
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A Fall Read This Next! Selection

An enchanting debut by author Anne Wynter with vivid illustrations by the incomparable Oge Mora (Saturday) that fairly leap of the page, Everybody in the Red Brick Building is fabulous! An engaging, story with lyrical language and wonderful sounds to mimic, we will want to live in the red brick building. We won’t get much sleep, but we will have a whole lot of fun! A joy to read for the whole family.

Everybody in the Red Brick Building by Anne Wynter, (List Price: $17.99, Balzer + Bray, 9780062865762, October 2021)

Reviewed by Kathy Neff from Square Books in Oxford, MS

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Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

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Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
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A Fall Read This Next! Selection

Well. That was nuts. Khaw threw together a fast-paced ghost story, the bitter lyricism of her writing conveying the complexity of feelings when you have History with someone, as well as the surreal when an offended ghost decides it’s making an example out of you.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw, (List Price: $19.99, Tor Nightfire, 9781250759412, October 2021)

Reviewed by Alex Mcleod, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

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Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea

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Twenty Years Later
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A Fall Read This Next! Selection

A great plot that incorporates family, lifelong friendship, betrayal, and the specter of 9/11. Avery seems like an all-American girl who has achieved her dream job. She is the new anchor for a well-received news/life show. It appears she has an amazing life. And she does, unfortunately much of it is in a deeply buried past. Walt is an unwilling retired FBI agent who has hidden away from life in the remote area of Jamaica. Their lives collide when Walt’s early career intersects with Avery’s current career. The plot is deep with several sub-plots that keep you guessing about how it will all come together. The ending is very unexpected on several fronts. Any good crime and mystery fan will enjoy this book.


Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea, (List Price: $27, Kensington, 9781496727169, December 2021)

Reviewed by Jackie Willey, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

 

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Murder Under Her Skin by Stephen Spotswood

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Murder Under Her Skin by Stephen Spotswood
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A Fall Read This Next! Selection I was already a fan of the series at the first book but this second really sold me on it. Great character development and originality make for a fun read. Murder Under Her Skin by Stephen Spotswood, (List Price: $27, Doubleday, 9780385547123, December 2021) Reviewed by Jamie Fiocco, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

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All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris
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A Fall Read This Next! Selection

Ellice Littlejohn is a Black corporate attorney who is promoted after her white boss and lover dies violently, by his own hand or someone else’s? She has secrets, but so do her coworkers. This fast-paced legal thriller hooked me from page one. I so enjoyed having a kick-ass protagonist in a legal thriller which also touches on the challenges of Black women in the male dominated corporate law firm environment. Definitely a book for fans of Stacey Abrams and Laura Lippman.

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris, (List Price: $16.99, William Morrow Paperbacks, 9780063082465, November 2021)

Reviewed by Lia Lent, Wordsworth Books in Little Rock, Arkansas


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