Part seek and find adventure and part ode to nature, this stunning tale is the perfect read-together for young nature lovers.
Where the Deer Slip Through by Katey Howes, (List Price: $19.99, Beach Lane Books, 9781665918275, June 2025)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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This wild ride of a YA novel follows (D)Wayne, a high school student invited as a participant in a bizarre experiment that may or may not be part of an undercover government plot. Sort of a Mysterious Benedict Society meets the Tuskegee experiment, this quirky tale tosses together a mix of family dynamics, neurodivergent challenges, and teen drama with some Andrew Smith-ish humor thrown in for spice. I couldn’t put this one down.
This Moth Saw Brightness by A. A. Vacharat, (List Price: $20.99, Dutton Books for Young Readers, 9780593698600, May 2025)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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I’m really excited for this boy and dog graphic novel readers looking for something after burning through Dogman. With adventure, a real-life challenge, and some gross-out humor, this one’s sure to be a hit for summer reading.
Good Boy by Andy Hirsch, (List Price: $14.99, First Second, 9781250291950, 2025-05-20)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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I’m not usually a fan of dystopian books, but I really enjoyed this one! I think in part because this world doesn’t feel overtly dystopian. The dystopian elements felt subtle but clearly defined. The writing is very good and was done in a way that allowed the plot to shine. The characters felt consistent in their behaviour, which I really appreciated. I read it in one day, and the cliffhanger left me intrigued and wanting to know what happens next.
Silver Elite by Dani Francis, (List Price: $32.99, Del Rey, 9780593875469, May 2025)
Reviewed by Savannah Laughlin, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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Setting out on a journey, one often sees the path forward as clear and straight, but when that journey intersects with the past, ghosts, sideways pathways, and surprising intersections may appear. Pull up a chair, pour yourself a drink, and dive straight into fiction master Desai’s brief and powerful journey into the pathways both forward and back into a world of family, country, art, and possibility.
Rosarita by Anita Desai, (List Price: $22, Scribner, 9781668082430, January 2025)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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Victor, The Wolf With Worries, immediately stole my anxious heart. A beautifully illustrated book with an important message. Having the courage to share our worries can make us feel braver, and bigger, and fiercer. With a few great tools to help keep worries away, and the bigger message of realizing that everyone worries, this book is sure to help some littles, and their parents, feel much more wolfish.
Victor, the Wolf with Worries by Catherine Rayner, (List Price: $18.99, Boxer Books, 9781915801838, January 2025)
Reviewed by Mary Salazar, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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To hear an owl takes patience, to see one- well, that’s magical. Caldecott winning author/illustrator Cordell brings the magic of the woods to life in this stunning picture book just perfect for those nature lovers in your life.
To See an Owl by Matthew Cordell, (List Price: $18.99, Random House Studio, 9780593649893, January 2025)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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A birthday! A gift? Hmmm… A delightful journey ends with a celebration of found things, group effort, and a very happy Gran. A perfect read-together for those families who delight in the joys of nature, music, and time together.
On Our Way! What a Day! by JaNay Brown-Wood, (List Price: $18.99, Nancy Paulsen Books, 9780593110751, January 2025)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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A beautiful memoir about the importance of making things with your hands and how a point of crisis can bring what is important back into focus.
Ingrained by Callum Robinson, (List Price: $30, Ecco, 9780063350830, December 2024)
Reviewed by Holly Wunsch, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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There’s always that one book that’s so weird it’s wonderful. If that’s your holiday jam, Stickler will definitely stick with you. And yeah, we all know that one kid who really might just love a really cool stick for Christmas.
A Stickler Christmas by Lane Smith, (List Price: $18.99, Random House Studio, 9780593815281, October 2024)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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Those etchings you see on frozen windows, that’s frostfire — snow dragon breath — you know. Of course they live in snowbanks and happily dine on pinecones, and if you’re quiet and if you believe, maybe you’ll see one. I am absolutely in LOVE with this magical snowy title, and if you believe, maybe you should invite a snow dragon onto your bookshelf.
Frostfire by Elly MacKay, (List Price: $18.99, Tundra Books, 9780735266988, October 2024)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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I love dragons and a good historical fiction as much as anyone, but lately I find myself seeking good old realistic fiction, and there’s no one better for that than Maylis DeKerangal. Following her English language publication of Eastbound, comes Canoes, a delicious, delightful collection of stories of women living life. Strange, funny, sad, curious, beautiful. The stories of Canoesoffer pinhole insights into lives lived, and will absolutely leave readers changed for the good.
Canoes by Maylis De Kerangal, (List Price: $19, Archipelago, 9781953861962, October 2024)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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This book is a rapid fire entrance into the moment when punk rock merged into indie music and a creative community was blossoming in North Carolina. Not only a memoir of one of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, this is a drop into the coolest spots in the 1990s. The musicians, venues, record stores, promoters, sound people. artists for posters and albums and indie labels were all part of a collective moment of creativity- A Really Strange and Wonderful Time.
A Really Strange and Wonderful Time by Tom Maxwell, (List Price: $30, Hachette Books, 9780306830587, April 2024)
Reviewed by Kimberly Daniels, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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What can’t he do? After opening conversations about gun violence, the importance of belonging, bravery, and superheroes, now Jason Reynolds has turned the conversation to what real love looks like as navigated by sweet, kind, confused, scared (of dogs!) insightful 17-year-old Neon. This honest book is basically Judy Blume’s Forever written for today’s teen and should absolutely be required reading for every freshman English class.
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now . . . by Jason Reynolds, (List Price: $19.99, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 9781665961271, October 2024)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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“Make good Choices, Leon” is something Leon hears on the way to school every morning. As much as he tries, Leon knows he sometimes messes up and sometimes is conflicted about just what the best choices are. Sometimes things are just too much, but maybe figuring it all out is Leon’s superpower.
Leon: Worst Friends Forever: A Graphic Novel (Leon #2) by Jamar Nicholas, (List Price: $12.99, Graphix, 9781338744200, October 2024)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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