A perfect example of when less is more. Sparse, but oh so evocative, prose makes scenes vibrant and visual. Expect twists, pensive moments, vulnerability, and humor. It’s subtitled a mini-memoir but it’s so much more.
The Irish Goodbye by Beth Ann Fennelly, (List Price: $22.99, W. W. Norton & Company, 9781324117407, 2026-02-24)
Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina
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Yesteryear was a wild ride! This is a really great book in that you can read it as an entertaining, page-turning thriller by the pool or you can dig into the themes and it would make for a wonderful book discussion book with a book club. Well done to the author. So much to discuss.
Yesteryear: A GMA Book Club Pick by Caro Claire Burke, (List Price: $30, Knopf, 9780593804216, April 2026)
Reviewed by Christina, The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, AL
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The Queen returns triumphant! Sarah Dessen is back to do exactly what she does best: Create a beautiful, hopeful, layered coming-of-age story with complex family dynamics, relatable friendships, blossoming romance, and overflowing heart. Reading Change of Plans felt like having a book club with my thirteen-year-old self. I felt the same type of ups and downs and yearnings and hope I experienced whenever I read anything in the Dessen oeuvre as a tween/teen. Not an “adult” version of those feelings tinged with knowing so much better now. I was truly transported to the moment at the library where I picked up my first Dessen book (Keeping the Moon) and feeling both seen and uplifted. These books promised me that life would get difficult sometimes and throw me a few curveballs, but these were the moments where I’d change and grow into the person I was meant to become. Sarah Dessen books made me almost want to face those curveballs head-on and see what I was made of, who I was going to be. Change of Plans bubbled up that exact reaction again, and although I wasn’t fully prepared for young Abigail to take the emotional wheel yet again, I’m glad she did because she is why I know I can handle anything. Sarah Dessen taught her that over and over again through her crackling dialogue and courageous protagonists and beautifully plotted epiphanies, and maybe I needed that reminder. Additional aspects I loved: every single person in Finley’s growing friend group as she struggled to get her feet beneath her in the Woods (especially Lana!!), the lovingly fleshed-out small summer town (reminiscent of Stars Hollow but summery, with its kooky cast of locals and strange traditions), the sweet (clean!) romance with Ben, the heart-wrenching and complicated sisterhood dynamics among the adults, and even the maybe-too-charismatic-for-his-own-good ex (Colin!) who really is just on his own journey, too. In re-reading this review, maybe I love absolutely everything.
Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen, (List Price: $21.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9798347108770, May 2026)
Reviewed by Abigail, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, GA
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This is a true tale of a Louisiana governor and his Tennessee attorney in a wild drama that plays out in courtrooms by day and New Orleans bars and restaurants at night.
The Ritz of the Bayou by Nancy Lemann, (List Price: $24, Hub City Press, 9798885740708, April 2026)
Reviewed by Rae Ann, Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN
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Move over, Hunter S Thompson: Here’s gonzo- journalism even more glorious in its excess! Written 40 years ago, Lemann’s reportage was groundbreaking at the time and today the story reads as bonkers and nutty as when she first wrote it. This is a side of New Orleans that is even wilder than you can imagine. As fun as the fresh new lush packaging suggests.
The Ritz of the Bayou by Nancy Lemann, (List Price: $24, Hub City Press, 9798885740708, April 2026)
Reviewed by Johanna, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, KY
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From the back cover copy, I thought I knew what I was getting into and I couldn’t have been more wrong. This book has an original and unique premise that was precisely executed. The social commentary regarding the expectations of women in society, combined with the social media machines that perpetuate an unrealistic ideal woman was spot on. I found it interesting that I little as I liked most of the characters, I did actually love the book. I’ll definitely be recommending it!
Yesteryear: A GMA Book Club Pick by Caro Claire Burke, (List Price: $30, Knopf, 9780593804216, April 2026)
Reviewed by Robin, Auburn Oil Company Booksellers in Auburn, Alabama
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Absolutely riveting. Spiked my cortisol levels EXPONENTIALLY. This author has cultivated such a fascinating character in Natalie. Her misery and confusion and the choices she makes to deal with a culture that requires her to “submit” to her incompetent husband makes me want to pull my hair out while at the same time there are many moments where I found myself deeply relating to Natalie in her rage. Its depictions of the failures of patriarchy and radical religious ideals and the horrors of motherhood are so incredibly compelling. I was sitting here SEETHING. This book is eerie and uncanny and so so culturally relevant.
Yesteryear: A GMA Book Club Pick by Caro Claire Burke, (List Price: $30, Knopf, 9780593804216, April 2026)
Reviewed by Shelby, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, LA
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I can’t tell you the last time I stayed up until almost 2:00 am to finish a book. Not since Gillian Flynn has someone so captured me – breakneck pacing, bonkers characters that feel real, and a book as timely as it is evergreen. A writer to watch. I will put this book in a lot of hands this year.
Yesteryear: A GMA Book Club Pick by Caro Claire Burke, (List Price: $30, Knopf, 9780593804216, April 2026)
Reviewed by Dominic, Book + Bottle in Saint Petersburg, Florida
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Ashley Belote has a tremendous gift for connecting with children of all ages through her incredible illustrations and simple messages. I particularly love her how-to lessons on drawing and problem-solving at the end of this short chapter book, perfect for emerging readers. Great length; it will give kids the confidence they can read longer books with ease, and the perfect mystery to keep parents engaged as a read-aloud. I hope this is a series!!!
Squirrel Lock Holmes #1: The Pet Rock Mystery by Ashley Belote, (List Price: $10.99, Random House Graphic, 9780593897829, March 2026)
Reviewed by Alissa, South Main Book Company in Salisbury, North Carolina
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“I think we have been embarrassed by the idea of children’s fiction since children’s fiction began. Martin Amis famously said, ‘People ask me if I ever write a children’s book, and I say, ‘if I had a serious brain injury, then I might write a children’s book.’ But my argument would be not only the children deserve a very finest work, because every time you write for a child, you might be writing someone for whom you are the first book they have ever read in its entirety, but also the greatest children’s books can speak to us about huge themes like power, endurance, fear, faith, care, love, doubt, passion.”
― Katherine Rundell, Interview, WBUR
What booksellers are saying about Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise
About Katherine Rundell
Katherine Rundell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Impossible Creatures series. Her other books for children include Rooftoppers, Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, The Wolf Wilder, The Explorer, and The Good Thieves. For adult readers, Rundell has written Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures and Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne, which won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. She was the recipient of the British Book Award for Book of the Year and Author of the Year. She grew up in Zimbabwe, Brussels, and London, and is currently a Fellow of St. Catherine’s College, Oxford.
A wonderful little essay/novella that reassures those of us who still love children’s lit that we’re not off base.
Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell, (List Price: $17.99, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 9798217230747, 2026-09-01)
Reviewed by liz, Columbus Bound Bookshop in Columbus, GA
This is a short story collection that is always honest. The stories move through themes of growing up, messy relationships, and the awkward and painful process of becoming an adult. There’s some body horror, some nonlinear storytelling, and a few second-person narratives that pull you in. The horror feels like late-night scary stories that are unnerving in a specific but familiar way. The strangest moments are very relatable (any other stress poopers?). Each story is different, but they share a common thread that keeps the collection together. The women at the center are messy, funny, and deeply human. The novel balances THE HORRORS with the curiosity of being alive. Beyond All Reasonable Doubt is understanding of what it’s like to move through the world in a body that feels both powerful and vulnerable.
Beyond All Reasonable Doubt, Jesus Is Alive! by Melissa Lozada-Oliva, (List Price: $26, Astra House, 9781662601828, September 2025)
Reviewed by Chloe, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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What in the world did I just read. This book was crazy and insane from start to finish and I am genuinely thinking so many things right now. I think it truly shows how animalistic human beings are. It’s horrifying, it’s gory, but it seems so completely realistic – making it worse. It’s the way that human beings change and adapt to new language in order for human horrors to not seem so animalistic, such as calling humans “special meat”. This in a way makes it seem like the atrocities they’re committing make it okay, makes it seem normal. While we’re horrified by what’s happening with these human beings, it’s the exact same thing that’s happening to cattle and other animals that we consume. But because we can physically distance ourselves from them, we don’t seem to care how the dairy industry and meat industry are committing the exact same things to their animals. I think the scene with the dogs is especially important to the story. As humans, we feel compassion for the puppies because we see them as pets and creatures that belong to us and need our care, making the horrific scene that happened to them disturbing. However, no one bats an eye when it’s a cow or another animal that is consumed. Really eye opening right there. Overall, it was amazing and incredibly done, as well as utterly horrific
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, (List Price: $17.99, Scribner, 9781982150921, August 2020)
Reviewed by Itzy, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina
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For fans of Angie Cruz, What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez is at times laugh out loud hilarious while also delivering an poignant account of a young woman searching for herself as she searches for her sister. The first page left me breathless! Jimenez delivers a sophisticated, plainspoken account of a Latina teen grappling with the urge and opportunity to escape her Staten Island family while also recognizing the value of the intense, turbulent bond she has with her mother and sister.
What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez, (List Price: $17.99, Grand Central Publishing, 9781538725979, February 2024)
Reviewed by Adah Fitzgerald, Main Street Books in Davidson, NC
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This book is short and small and oh-so-sweet. It’s great for gifting to a friend or loved one who shares your nostalgia for children’s books or who perhaps needs a gentle reminder that children’s books can ignite the imagination, reinforce a sense of justice, and expand our perspectives on the world – all in a playful, emotionally unapologetic, and visually appealing manner.
Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell, (List Price: $17.99, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 9798217230747, September 2026)
Reviewed by Burch, Righton Books in St Simons Island, GA
