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There’s Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib

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There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib
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Hanif Abdurraqib’s newest book focuses his signature poetic lyricism and prescient cultural criticism on yes, basketball, but also on so much more. Abdurraqib asks his reader to consider what it means to “make it,” who gets to achieve that success, and if that success could be considered worth it. Perhaps most poignant, to me, is the way that Abdurraqib weaves personal history with the narrative of city, team, and people. So yes, let us sit and commiserate, and let us share what we can in these pages for the time we have.

There’s Always This YearThere’s Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib, (List Price: $32, Random House, 9780593448793, March 2024)

Reviewed by Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Where the Dark Stands Still by A. B. Poranek

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Where the Dark Stands Still by A. B. Poranek
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Meet the darker, gothier little sister of Uprooted and The Bear and the Nightingale—with a hint of Howl’s Moving Castle! Rooted in Polish folklore and set in a wickedly magical wood full of dangers and wonders alike, this grim yet romantic young adult fantasy marks the debut of a writer to watch.

Where the Dark Stands StillWhere the Dark Stands Still by A. B. Poranek, (List Price: $19.99, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 9781665936477, February 2024)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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You Get What You Pay For by Morgan Parker

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You Get What You Pay For by Morgan Parker
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I have read everything Morgan Parker has written and thus knew this essay collection would be incredible, yet it still surpassed my expectations! I was immediately absorbed in her ideas and prose. I always love reading essays by poets because they don’t waste a single word. A fabulous, thoughtful, candid, collection that speaks straight from the heart. A must-read!

You Get What You Pay For by Morgan Parker, (List Price: $28, One World, 9780525511441, March 2024)

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

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The Road from Belhaven by Margot Livesey

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The Road from Belhaven by Margot Livesey
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Born in 1873, Lizzie Craig is raised by her grandparents at Belhaven Farm in Scotland. Lizzie discovers that she can see small pieces of the future but doesn’t always understand when and how these events will take place. Lizzie falls in love with a young man helping with the harvest and her devotion to him causes her to make some disastrous personal choices. This compelling story of choices, regrets and second chances is wonderfully written and hard to put down.

The Road from BelhavenThe Road from Belhaven by Margot Livesey, (List Price: $29, Knopf, 9780593537046, February 2024)

Reviewed by Mary Patterson, The Little Bookshop in Midlothian, Virginia

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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
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I LOVED this book. It begins as a loose retelling of “Beauty and the Beast”, but you’re constantly faced with the differences between the tale as old as time and “A Court of Thorns and Roses”. Feyre is a strong, wild character. She’s willing to risk it all to save the people she loves. The ending had me on the edge of my seat!

A Court of Thorns and RosesA Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, (List Price: $18, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781635575569, June 2020)

Reviewed by Melissa Gray, The Blytheville Book Company in Blytheville, Arkansas

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Memory Piece by Lisa Ko

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Memory Piece by Lisa Ko
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Get ready Memory Piece starts out slow and personal and then takes a whirlwind turn into the intense. Centered around three childhood friends spanning 40 years, Ko weaves together a connection through art, technology advancement, and what society considers valuable. For fans of stories that center around the near distant future, coming-of-age, and female friendships.

Memory PieceMemory Piece by Lisa Ko, (List Price: $28, Riverhead Books, 9780593542101, March 2024)

Reviewed by Jenny Gilroy, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

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Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang

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Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang
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Val believes that her family is cursed and they will always be unlucky in love. I loved the sweet and charming graphics and learning about the art of lion dancing. Val’s courage and determination to try and open her heart even if it may end in heartbreak is inspiring. I truly enjoyed this book!

Lunar New Year Love StoryLunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang, (List Price: $25.99, First Second, 9781626728103, January 2024)

Reviewed by Keeshia Jacklitch, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Treehouse Town by Gideon Sterer

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Treehouse Town by Gideon Sterer
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Just below the canopy built on sticks and stilts, thats where you’ll find treehouse town With sunset lookout towers, nooks for books, and soft willow tree beds treehouse town has something for everyone. Snuggle up, with a sweet story and illustrations that have stories of their own, this one is the perfect read-together.

Treehouse Town by Gideon Sterer, (List Price: $18.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316592628, February 2024)

Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Raeford, North Carolina

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Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

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by Adib Khorram
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This is one of the best YA novels I have read recently. Darius is an utterly relatable character who just feels like he never fits in: he’s too Persian for America, too American for Iran. When he travels to Iran for the first time, Darius could not feel more out of place, yet he meets a boy who finally makes him feel okay. This book is a powerful story of friendship and does a beautiful job of normalizing depression and discussing the experience of growing up with multiple cultural identities.

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram, (List Price: $8.99, Dial Books, 9780593857052, April 2024)

Reviewed by Tenley Soergel, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill

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The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
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I knew I would like this book, having loved The Woman in the Library. However, it is hard to review because I feel like so much I have to say would be a spoiler. This book has one or two twists that I anticipated, but the big twist left me shocked. I was invested from the first page. I liked that all my original questions were answered while still being open-ended. I believe that leaves room for dialogue if you were to have a book club surrounding this book.

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill, (List Price: $16.99, Poisoned Pen Press, 9781728285184, March 2024)

Reviewed by Missy Kelly, Novel. in Memphis, Tennessee

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Transient and Strange by Nell Greenfieldboyce

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Transient and Strange by Nell Greenfieldboyce
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As the kids of two scientists, reading Greenfieldboyce’s collection of musings felt like another night at the family dinner table: the warmth of the personal, but you’re also going to learn a little something. Her journalistic voice seamlessly layers science-fact with the soft moments of the day-to-day, intriguingly connecting her two world spheres. Equal fascination and reverence is granted whether she is discussing conversations with her children, connections made in shared silence, or the biological make-up of a common flea.

Transient and Strange by Nell Greenfieldboyce, (List Price: $27.99, W. W. Norton & Company, 9780393882346, January 2024)

Reviewed by Morgan Holub, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

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Love Is My Favorite Color by Nina Laden

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Love Is My Favorite Color by Nina Laden
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This might just be my favorite picture book of the year. This is a story of how to live well at any age, how to show wonder, joy, appreciation, and understanding. It’s the perfect read along, and the illustrations feel both of-this-world and deeply magical.

Love Is My Favorite Color by Nina Laden, (List Price: $18.99, Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 9781665913096, January 2024)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Werewolf at Dusk: And Other Stories by David Small

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Werewolf at Dusk: And Other Stories by David Small
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David Small always packs a punch in the most sublet ways. His illustrations perfectly compliment these stories of longing and the fragility of life.

Werewolf at Dusk: And Other Stories by David Small, (List Price: $25, Liveright, 9781324092827, March 2024)

Reviewed by Rayna Nielsen, Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans, Louisiana

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Dancing Woman by Elaine Neil Orr

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Dancing Woman by Elaine Neil Orr
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I wish I had this book when I had children. I was scared, I was alone and had no idea where or who I was supposed to be. Imagine being first married in another continent, having a distant husband, and then twins. Isabel has a lot on her mind, and we follow her as she begins to transform as she reckons with the fact she cheated on her husband before she had the twins. Is her husband the father of these beautiful but vastly different-looking girls? Can she fall in love with her husband again? Is the sculpture of the Dancing Woman calling her to be the best version of herself? This book is so provocative, realistic, and poignant. I can’t wait to recommend it to book clubs. So beautifully written.

Dancing Woman by Elaine Neil Orr, (List Price: $28.95, Blair, 9781958888339, January 2025)

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

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Snowglobe by Soyoung Park

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Snowglobe by Park, Soyoung
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I am not generally a sci-fi reader but this book grabbed me! It’s a chilling tale of dystopian future where those that live in the Snowglobe trade comfort for privacy. Their lives are broadcast on TV constantly and in exchange, they get warmth and safety. Chobahm longs to be a Director, the most coveted role in Snowglobe. When her chance to get out of her family’s poverty arises, she leaps without looking, regardless of the cost.

Snowglobe by Park, Soyoung, (List Price: $20.99, Delacorte Press, 9780593484975, February 2024)

Reviewed by Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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