All My Rage is a meditation on the things that threaten to break us and the people and the things that mean so much: Family, forgiveness, love, and the promise of hope.
All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir, (List Price: $19.99, Razorbill, 9780593202340, March 2022)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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This beautiful tale is cleverly oozling with allegory–but it boils down to a simple message: knowledge, education, and the written word are power, kindness matters, and together we are stronger. Kelly Barnhill has crafted a masterpiece chock full of mistrusting citizens in a ruined village, an ogress with a big heart, orphans who pay attention, crows with a language of their own, a scarily charismatic mayor who isn’t who he seems, and an unnoticed stone at the heart of it all. This reader was thoroughly bedazzled and charmed by its brilliance.
The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill, (List Price: $28, Algonquin Young Readers, 9781643750743, February 2022)
Reviewed by Damita Nocton from The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, NC
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Readers will be stunned by the force of Kaitlyn Greenidge’s latest novel. Set in Brooklyn during the Civil War era and the turbulent times after, the voice of Libertie Sampson describes her unique childhood as the freeborn daughter of a Black, widowed female doctor. Libertie’s mother has aspirations for her daughter to follow her path and join her in her practice. Two things prevent Libertie from choosing this course: her darker skin tone lessens her level of acceptance in the community and she doesn’t have the aptitude for medicine. Rather than face her mother’s disappointment, she marries a Haitian doctor and leaves the country with him. She finds herself lonelier than ever in this tumultuous island country.This is a highly immersive and unforgettable literary accomplishment.
Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge, (List Price: $16.95, Algonquin Books, 9781643752587, February 2022)
Reviewed by Damita Nocton, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, North Carolina
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This book is a treat, about a strong woman who embodied the post emancipation strength that coursed through many in the bright years before Jim Crow. Kianna Alexander brought the real Josephine Leary to life in her page-turning book of historical fiction that leapt off the page as Josephine became a new wife, a landowner, a business partner, a working woman creating a family life, a visionary with business dreams and eventually a real estate legend. While she built this life she encountered love, other strong women, racism, heaps of sexism, love and lots of friends. Great book!
Carolina Built by Kianna Alexander, (List Price: $27.99, Gallery Books, 9781982163686, February 2022)
Reviewed by Kimberly Daniels, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, North Carolina
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The Frick Museum is housed in a building built as the home for the Henry Clay Frick family, full of spectacular art. Two storylines tell the tale of the home and the family who lived there in the early 20th century, and then another storyline set in the 1960’s at the museum. With secrets and betrayals, life was not placid in either era.
The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis, (List Price: $27.00, Dutton, 9780593184011, January 2022)
Reviewed by Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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I enjoyed the novel of Sylvia Beach, who founded Shakespeare and Company book store in 1919 Paris and published James Joyce’s initial edition of Ulysses. It is full of the details of Sylvia’s life with Adrienne Monnier, who owns a French bookstore across the street, and the many trials Beach endures dealing with Joyce until she finally lets her interest in the book go.
The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher, (List Price: $26.oo, Berkley, 9780593102183, January 2022)
Reviewed by Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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When the world is too boring or too hard or too angry for them, a brother and sister are reminded by their very wise grandmother that somewhere in the world somebody else felt the same way. This stunningly illustrated (by Rafael López) masterpiece from Jacqueline Woodson, former Ambassador for Children’s Literature, highlights the power of the imagination and encourages young readers to believe in something, leave troubles behind, and imagine a better world.
The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson, Rafael López, (List Price: $18.99, Nancy Paulsen Books, 9780399545535, January 2022)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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For years, Atlas Obscura has been the go-to volume for adventurers who are looking for those off-the beaten-path journeys. Now foodies can join in the fun with Gastro Obscura, a deep dive into the wild and wonderful world of travel food, and with entries like giant Dallah ( Arabic coffee pots) fountains, there’s plenty to keep the curious reading way too late.
Gastro Obscura by Cecily Wong, (List Price: $42.50, Workman Publishing Company, 9781523502196, October 2021)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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Diana is going to the Galapagos with her doctor boyfriend when the pandemic hits and he tells her to go on without him. Stuck on the island, her life takes a different turn, and then…she wakes up with Covid in a NYC hospital. Both experiences, one real, one not, change her. And she discovers it doesn’t really matter what happened to you in the past, it’s what you do with the rest of your life. This book brings the pandemic up close and personal and yet gives a great perspective to it. I loved it!
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult, (List Price: $28.99, Ballantine Books, 9781984818416, November 2021)
Reviewed by Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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These are the voices. The voices we need to hear, to represent the voices that need to be heard. This collection from fifteen influential Young Adult writers from the Latinx diaspora is the perfect launch pad for conversations and the perfect door to new ideas.
Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed by Saraciea J. Fennell, (List Price: $18.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250763426, November 2021)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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Move over Dogman, there’s a new kid on the graphic novel shelf and he has things to say. Portico is wrestling with some real big kid issues, finding his footing, and using his super power to making sure all of the special people in his world stay super and stay safe. With a story by the award winning Jason Reynolds and illustrated by the amazing Raoul the Third, Stuntboy is sure to rocket straight to the top of everyone’s list this Fall.
Stuntboy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds, (List Price: $13.99, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 9781534418165, November 2021)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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A Fall Read This Next! Selection
When you are growing up, the world can seem to change around you in shocking ways. Things you have taken for granted are often turned on their head and ideas and beliefs to which you have always held unquestioning faith sometimes leave you wondering what you do really believe. New York Times bestselling author Gayle Forman makes her middle grade debut with the story of Frankie and Bug and the challenges and difficulties they face during the summer the world opens up for them.
Frankie & Bug by Gayle Forman, (List Price: $17.99, Aladdin, 9781534482531, October 2021)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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A square or a frog? orange or an oval? The way things seem really is all about perception. For fans of Brendan Wenzel’s They All Saw A Cat comes this fun new story of perspective that will have young readers laughing and thinking and saying ” Again! AGAIN!”
Circle Under Berry by Carter Higgins, (List Price: 15.99, Chronicle Books, 9781797205083, September 2021)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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Art is all around us. In the sky, the trees, the faces of our neighbors, and also sometimes in the graffiti sprayed on buildings, trains, and streets. The art world was changed forever by graffiti artists Basquiat and others and graffiti artists were masters of appreciating the beauty and joy all around us. This original book is rhyme and poetry and beauty in motion and is the perfect family read-together.
Boogie Boogie, Y’all by C. G. Esperanza, (List Price: 18.99, Katherine Tegen Books, 9780062976222, August 2021)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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The cow says moo and the dog says ruff, but there’s always that kid who wants to turn everything on its head and this is the perfect book for those little rebels. Fun animal facts combine with a bit of ridiculousness to make for a fun read-aloud that would be perfect for storytime or any time!
Bat Wings! Cat Wings? by Laura Gehl, (List Price: 15.99, Creative Editions, 9781568463742, August, 2021)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Pittsboro, North Carolina
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