This is a MUST MUST MUST read if you like plants and a woman who kills terrible men! The plant lady is tense, bloody, and surprisingly heartfelt. Yoohee may blend into the background and be unassuming to the people around her, but to the reader, she is unforgettable.
Plant Lady by Kang Minyoung, (List Price: $28, Berkley, 9798217187577, August 2026)
Reviewed by Sarah, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, LA
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Marissa Eller delivers a sophomore novel with everything I loved about her debut, but even better. Nova is a high-achieving, neurodivergent student on the edge of burnout, surrounded by classmates facing similar problems. This novel highlights a much-needed conversation around student mental health and disillusionment, but it also manages to preserve some of the starry-eyed English Major nerd magic. Left on Read is for teens who read classics for fun, for former gifted kids with adult ADHD diagnoses, and for anyone who has strong opinions on the correct Pride & Prejudice adaptation.
Left on Read by Marissa Eller, (List Price: $19.99, Holiday House, 9780823460564, August 2026)
Reviewed by Becca, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC
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An exciting addition to the history of literacy and Appalachian history. The illustrations beautifully reflect a moonlit environment. This picture book tells the story of the first classes geared towards remedying the high illiteracy rate in Appalachia in the early 20th century.
My Kentucky Moonlight School by Kim Michele Richardson, (List Price: $18.99, Norton Young Readers, 9781324054085, August 2026)
Reviewed by Frankie, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, KY
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Though labeled a paranormal romance, I think this story is best enjoyed as steamy gothic fiction with a slow-burn cat-and-mouse romance intertwined. Speculative fiction writers gather in Key West for a conference, staying in a haunted hotel that has everyone on edge. July, a hard-shelled, enigmatic fantasy author, is reluctantly pulled to the ghostly presence on the property as well as the attention of fellow author Leo, who’s been drawn to her for a decade. Stellar writing that gives slightly more suspense than swoon— romance skeptics will appreciate this exploration of self-discovery, love, and real and metaphorical ghosts!
Old Flames by Nadine Gonzalez, (List Price: $18.99, MIRA, 9781335001214, August 2026)
Reviewed by Julia, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA
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This is indeed a ghost story, but truly a very eerie tale even for a spooky ghost story. The haunting begins with a realtor showing an empty house that includes an apparition of a young boy who lived in the house. The next time she enters the house, which seems to have a hold on her, the realtor also sees herself as a ghost. The haunting gets even stranger…..hold on….with suspended time and eternal recurrences with the boy and his family. Dear reader, you have not happened upon a more bizarre and lonely tale than Last Day of a Prior Life.
Last Day of a Prior Life by Andrés Barba, (List Price: $26, HarperVia, 9780063352056, August 2026)
Reviewed by Nancy, Bookmiser in Marietta, GA
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Kayley will do anything for her older sister, Zoey. Zoey has developmental disabilities and needs a match for a kidney transplant. Kayley insists they take a road trip to see their estranged father. A drag race, a clash with a deer, and a secret side trip to see her boyfriend in college follow in this heartwarming story of family and the importance of showing up for each other.
Heartbreak and Other Organ Failures by Taylor Hobbs, (List Price: $18.99, Norton Young Readers, 9781324124832, August 2026)
Reviewed by Rae Ann, Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN
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Have you ever experienced sleeping away from home when you were young? The author very gently describes how a child might feel doing just this – what it feels like to be away, having new experiences, and what it’s like to go back home.
Homesick by Audrey Vernick, (List Price: $18.99, Neal Porter Books, 9780823457144, August 2026)
Reviewed by Judith, Octavia Books in New Orleans, LA
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If you’ve enjoyed contemporary Lovecraftian stories like The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle, N.K. Jemesin’s The City We Became, Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark, or Hiron Ennes’ Leech, then Kim Bo-Young’s A Plagued Sea should tickle your cosmic horror fancy with its Korean cultural take on oceanic terrors, and smart twists on classic tropes of the subgenre.
A Plagued Sea by Kim Bo-Young, (List Price: $24.99, Tor Nightfire, 9781250380753, August 2026)
Reviewed by Jonathan, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, KY
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Etna is a story about continuing on when everything you have known and loved is lost and gone forever. We follow Etna as he strives towards the coast where he was a puppy before enduring the harsh realities of being a working dog in a devastating war that ravaged his country. The land is forever changed, and other animals are now a rare sight. Most notably, there is an absence of birds in the country. The missing birds bring into sharp focus the lack of peace and the total disruption to a way of life. Nothing will ever be the same. All Etna has left is a memory of that coastal place where he once had a mother and siblings, and he clings to the possibility of a future in the last place he knew safety and happiness in the past. The novel ends with the hopeful message that we can endure terrible things and yet, in the ruins, there is always new life waiting for us if we are strong enough to accept what has occurred and move forward with a sense of hope for the future, even if that new life is a different life, a stranger to us. With time, a strange life, like a stranger, can become as familiar to us and as much our home as that echo of the past.
Etna by Paul Yoon, (List Price: $28, Scribner, 9781668020821, August 2026)
Reviewed by Savannah, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, NC
An accessible, thorough analysis of the history of depraved art, this engaging book seeks to highlight the nuance between immorality, obscenity, and malevolence in art. Can art cause violence, or does it just stoke already volatile conditions? Dixon pays close attention to the way charges of depravity have been levied against the art of minority cultures throughout history to paint them as inferior. The book also offers a new perspective on “separating art from the artist”. Spoiler: often, you can’t! A fun, intelligent read, full of examples from classical art but also including music, film, and video games.
Depraved by Daisy Dixon, (List Price: $32, Viking, 9798217061846, August 2026)
Reviewed by Julia, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA
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Fascinating, enlightening, educational, and one of the best history books I’ve ever read. I love that Sam Kean interwove a fictional day-in-the-life story through all of his experiments, investigations, interviews, and travel information. In order to truly understand ancient peoples and cultures, Kean gets down and dirty with figuring out the HOWs and the WHYs throughout history. For archaeology enthusiasts, for history lovers, and for those who want to feel connected to those who paved the way many, many years ago.
Dinner with King Tut by Sam Kean, (List Price: $22.99, Back Bay Books, 9780316496537, May 2026)
Reviewed by Hannah, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina
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I am still buzzing as I write this. This book is tapped so hard into my subconscious that it feels magical. Bethany Peters is a hero our times need and are still waiting for.
Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun, (List Price: $33, Hogarth, 9780593978382, October 2026)
Reviewed by Zack, novel. in Memphis, Tennessee
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This book was excellent! It tied together a lot of complex themes and concepts that affect successful resistance in a very comprehensive yet understandable way by analyzing nine different moments of rebellion and/or resistance in the history of the United States from before the American Revolution up to the Reconstruction Era, and walks the reader through the flaws, strengths, successes, and outcomes of each one. Certainly a must-read for anyone frustrated with the state of our nation, or for anyone looking for some context as to how we ended up where we are now!
A Resistance History of the United States by Tad Stoermer, (List Price: $19.95, Steerforth, 9781586424367, June 2026)
Reviewed by Iris, E. Shaver, Booksellers in Savannah, Georgia
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Etna is one of those rare books that quietly sneaks into your heart and stays there. Told through the eyes of a war dog searching for home after unimaginable loss, this novel is both devastating and deeply hopeful. Paul Yoon’s writing is spare, lyrical, and so beautifully observant that every page feels like poetry. I laughed, I cried, and more than once I had to stop reading just to sit with a particularly stunning line. Etna’s journey is ultimately about belonging, resilience, and finding light after darkness. If you’re drawn to character-driven stories that leave a lasting mark, keep tissues nearby and make room on your shelf for this unforgettable novel.
Etna by Paul Yoon, (List Price: $28, Scribner, 9781668020821, August 2026)
Reviewed by Stephanie, Story Hollow in Madisonville, Tennessee
A girl cryogenically frozen with her family after a dictator takes over the country wakes early to a world in chaos. She and her brother risk everything to get back to each other and rewrite history in this propulsive dystopian thriller..
The Season of Light and Darkness by Jillian Cantor, (List Price: $21.99, Simon Pulse, 9798347107285, August 2026)
Reviewed by Rae Ann, Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN
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