A delightful story about Murphy the dog and how he spends his day waiting on his best human friend to come home from school. He gets up to some funny antics and has to wait, wait, wait. Would make a great story time book!
I Am Murphy and I Am Waiting by Dan Yaccarino, (List Price: $18.99, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 9781250424280, August 2026)
Reviewed by Claire, River & Hill Books in Rome, GA
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A thorough and biting critique of Western media and its complicity in hiding a genocide. Assal Rad makes a compelling case!
Don’t Say Palestine by Assal Rad, (List Price: $20, Vintage, 9798217010349, September 2026)
Reviewed by Rowan, Books & Books in Coral Gables, FL
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Smart. Well-written. Couldn’t put it down. Well-developed characters who are multi-dimensional. This is a fantastic take on a romance. For readers of romance, books about books, anyone who loves a look inside the publishing industry. Poses so many interesting questions about the book industry and what readers want from it, what writers want too.
Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson, (List Price: $30, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250431295, October 2026)
Reviewed by Christina, The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, AL
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To reduce this novel to any one aspect would do it a disservice. It’s about the book world, online discourse, and the relationship between art and criticism. It’s a romance between two industry rivals whose journey mimics the greatest rom-coms from the 90s. It’s clever, full of nuance, and boasts impeccable banter. What resonated with me the most was watching these two characters find common ground over a shared love for specific stories, which ultimately helps them view each other in a more empathetic light. By the end I was left with the hopeful reminder that books can help us see others, and ourselves, more clearly and compassionately.
Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson, (List Price: $30, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250431295, October 2026)
Reviewed by Becca, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC
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A touching look at Black life between the 1930’s and the 1960’s. This book is Morrison’s take on Homer’s Odyssey, with the protagonist Milk Man traveling back to his family’s roots and a supernatural feeling throughout. This one is my favorite!
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, (List Price: $17, Vintage, 9781400033423, June 2004)
Reviewed by Robin, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, AR
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Another great read by Amanda Peters! The Birthing Tree is a wonderful story of love, family, friends, and traditions. Aliet Paul was raised by her grandmother, Kiju, a Mi’kmaw women, after her own mother died in childbirth. She never knew who her father was, and no one would tell her. The “Birthing Tree,” where Kiju helped bring many children into the world, is its own character. A dual timeline book where the world has evolved and most women are choosing more traditional hospital births, both Kiju and Aliet fight to hold onto traditions and protect “the birthing tree.
The Birthing Tree by Amanda Peters, (List Price: $28, Catapult, 9781646223695, September 2026)
Reviewed by Barbara, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC
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I’m in awe of how Cline captures the texture and cadence of a brain in decline, or maybe more accurately, a mind en route to elsewhere. Much has been written about dementia and Alzheimer’s from the outsider’s or caregiver’s perspective. But to write the experience from the inside, from practically the point of view of memory itself, is truly remarkable. This is a book of overwhelming insight, compassion, and ingenuity.
Switzy by Emma Cline, (List Price: $32, Random House, 9780593595244, September 2026)
Reviewed by Kristen, Thank You Books in Birmingham, AL
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In a world powered by progress and logical principles, consumerism and conformity dominate. Brave New World is a deeply haunting discussion on intimacy, community, and – at its core – what is means to be human. What we want isn’t always what we should get. One of my favorite reads from high school, and a must-read dystopian classic.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, (List Price: $12, Harper Perennial, 9780063482708, September 2025)
Reviewed by Ana, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, LA
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Buzzard is the best piece of dystopian fiction I’ve read in a long time. Inez Ray drops the reader into a horrifying world for which we are already seeing road signs- patriarchy reigns, women’s rights are suppressed, climate catastrophe is reality, and paramilitary corporations run it all. Mae is serving a sentence for providing abortions in a time where fertility is controlled by companies like Obsityan, who also runs the prison; she spends long days and nights using her nursing skills to aid teenage drone pilot/prisoners and when one too many turns up pregnant, and an opportunity to have her sentence commuted by looking the other way arises, Mae thinks her time in this Orwellian prison is over and maybe, just maybe, she will get to see her two sons again. But in Ray’s world, Obsityan is everywhere, even in the middle of the desert, where Mae’s past catches up with her when a pregnant woman in labor shows up with a driver who has an agenda.
Buzzard by Inez Ray, (List Price: $19.95, Bindery Books, 9781967967261, September 2026)
Reviewed by Jamie, Duck’s Cottage Coffee & Books in Duck, NC
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Each short story in this collection caused me to consider the complexities of human nature and the full range of behaviors available to each of us. I will be thinking about these stories for a long time. Well done, Lauren Groff!
Brawler by Lauren Groff, (List Price: $29, Riverhead Books, 9780593418420, February 2026)
Reviewed by Kandi, WordsWorth Books in Little Rock, Arkansas
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Try as I might to slow down and savor Lauren Groff’s books, I can’t help but devour them in huge gulps, never really coming up for air until the last page! I come to Groff’s looking for humanity in the grey areas, and I always find it. She mines human emotion for the layers underneath the surface, and while her novels are some of my favorites, I can’t help but think that she shines in her short stories. Brawler is brilliant in it’s range while keeping a through line of central themes that masterfully connect each story. Through the book runs a current of deep longing, each story hums with desire: physical and emotional. Every time I think Lauren Groff can’t make me think and feel more, she moves the needle!
Brawler by Lauren Groff, (List Price: $29, Riverhead Books, 9780593418420, February 2026)
Reviewed by Kelsey, Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, FL
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Min Jin Lee has done it again! One of my favorite Asian American authors, Lee writes family sagas in such a way that it keeps me captivated, and I also easily learn more about Korean history.
American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee, (List Price: $36, Cardinal, 9781538752036, September 2026)
Reviewed by Jackie, The Lynx in Gainesville, FL
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Free Falling truly has it all: small-town romance, childhood frenemies, oh and ghosts! Clarke Cartwright has lived in Sweetwater Peak her entire life, and when her childhood crush, Leith Wilkes, catches her off guard, so does his dead father. Leith’s dad is trying to warn Clarke that there is a secret clause in his will that might disrupt Leith’s plan to inherit the family farm. These two are forced to work together to make sure Leith gets to keep his farm, and Clarke needs help repairing her family’s antique shop. Will the proximity force these two to finally admit their feelings for one another or only drive them apart…
Free Falling by Lyla Sage, (List Price: $20, Dial Press Trade Paperback, 9780593977798, September 2026)
Reviewed by Jennifer, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC
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First Lady Freeman has my vote in the upcoming First Lady USA pageant, but with scandals, relationships, and secrets breaking, she’s going to need more than God on her side. Sinfully good gossip with layered drama, tenderness, sexiness, and ferocity as you follow Scharisse biting the apple and letting the truth set her free. If you like the sound of Scam Goddess meets If Honk For Jesus Save Your Soul meets Celeste Ng, you’re gonna want to read this immediately!
The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw, (List Price: $32, Marnier Books, 9780063383074, September 2026)
Reviewed by Ashley, Underbrush Books in Rogers, Arkansas
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Another great read by Amanda Peters! The Birthing Tree is a wonderful story of love, family, friends, and traditions. Aliet Paul was raised by her grandmother, Kiju, a Mi’kmaw woman, after her own mother died in childbirth. She never knew who her father was, and no one would tell her. The “Birthing Tree,” where Kiju helped bring many children into the world, is its own character. A dual-timeline book where the world has evolved and most women are choosing more modern hospital births, both Kiju and Aliet fight to hold onto traditions and protect the birthing tree.
The Birthing Tree by Amanda Peters, (List Price: $28, Catapult, 9781646223695, September 2026)
Reviewed by Barbara, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC
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