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Adult Braces by Lindy West

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Adult Braces by Lindy West
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I gobbled up this heartfelt, hilarious memoir about getting out of town and getting some perspective. I cannot wait to shove this into people’s hands. I think this whole country could use a good laugh through tears, and there is nobody more talented at facilitating that than Lindy West.

Adult Braces by Lindy West, (List Price: $29, Grand Central Publishing, 9780306831836, March 2026)

Reviewed by Chelsea, Union Avenue Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell

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Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell
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I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Honeysuckle since I read it. A Frankenstein-esque spirit haunts the pages through Daye’s love for Rory, which is woven and tangled with her existence. Fridman-Tell writes characters whose thoughts, worries, and flaws spill off the page into people and experiences I’m sure most readers know in some way. This was a simultaneously familiar and altogether unique reading experience. I highly, highly recommend!

Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell, (List Price: $28.99, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781639736737, March 2026)

Reviewed by Tori, Union Avenue Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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Witchkiller by Ashlee Latimer

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Witchkiller by Ashlee Latimer
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Ashlee Latimer’s Witchkiller takes the story of Hansel & Gretel and completely flips it on its head with siblings who are increasingly at odds, witches who aren’t what they seem, and romance that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Gretel’s journey into learning who she is and who she wants to be is one that will resonate with young readers everywhere. Plus, it’s the perfect spooky season read!

Witchkiller by Ashlee Latimer, (List Price: $19.99, Scholastic Press, 9781546137689, October 2025)

Reviewed by Tori Finklea, Union Avenue Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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Chronicles of Whetherwhy: The Age of Enchantment by Anna James

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Chronicles of Whetherwhy: The Age of Enchantment by Anna James
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What a fun beginning for Anna James’s new series! The beautiful seasonal magic system, nefarious plotting, and adventure at Thistledown Academy were reminiscent of some of my favorite series growing up, while still surprising and delighting me every step of the way. I can’t wait for the next wave of young fantasy readers to get their hands on this one!

Chronicles of Whetherwhy: The Age of Enchantment by Anna James, (List Price: $9.99, Flamingo Books, 9780593691915, April 2025)

Reviewed by Tori Finklea, Union Avenue Books in knoxville, Tennessee

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Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

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Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
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I’ve been trying to think of words to describe Virginia Feito’s Victorian Psycho, and I’ve come up with: propulsive, visceral, disorienting, and riveting. The writing barrels you toward an ending that I was prepared to find shocking, but still managed to surprise me. I was amazed at how funny Feito is in the midst of the absolute chaos on the page and how big of a punch she managed to pack into a novella. You know exactly what you are getting into from page one: Virginia Feito grabs you by the neck (with her teeth) and does not relent until long after you’ve finished the book. Winifred Notty will haunt you, and since she can’t kill you, she will have to settle for that.

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito, (List Price: $24.99, Liveright, 9781631498633, February 2025)

Reviewed by Chelsea Bauer, Union Avenue Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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The Voyage Home by Pat Barker

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The Voyage Home by Pat Barker
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The next installment of Pat Barker’s Women of Troy series maintains her streak of incredibly nuanced and winning retellings of classical myth. This time, she’s telling the story of Cassandra and Clytemnestra mostly through the POV of Ritsa, an enslaved Troy survivor. As always, Barker’s writing is spectacular, and her portrayal of women of mythology is fully-faceted. A surefire hit for Madeline Miller fans!

The Voyage Home by Pat Barker, (List Price: $29, Doubleday, 9780385549110, December 2024)

Reviewed by Chelsea Bauer, Union Avenue Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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The Modern Fairies by Clare Pollard

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The Modern Fairies by Clare Pollard
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Clare Pollard has done it again! I loved this book. I was enthralled by the cast of characters and the vivid descriptions of the Sun King’s court. What really stuck out to me was the historical context of the origins of “fairy tales” and the weight that context (the drama and machinations of Louis XIV’s France) gives them. It will dazzle you then send you down a Wikipedia rabbit hole. Highly recommended!

The Modern Fairies by Clare Pollard, (List Price: $28, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster, 9781668049419, July 2024)

Reviewed by Chelsea Bauer, Union Avenue Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch

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Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch
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A July 2023 Read This Next! Book

I absolutely loved this book! Set in the Golden Age of Hollywood we follow Edie O’Dare, studio informant turned gossip columnist, as she sniffs out scandal and witnesses Hollywood close ranks around a repugnant but money-making star. The glittering glamour of late ’30s Hollywood is completely immersive, every character is fully formed and complex, and the writing is truly excellent. I cannot wait to shove this into the hands of customers this summer!

Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch, (List Price: $28, Doubleday, 9780385549370, July 2023)

Reviewed by Chelsea Bauer, Union Avenue Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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How to Think Like a Woman by Regan Penaluna

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How to Think Like a Woman by Regan Penaluna
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As a woman in philosophy, not only did How to Think Like a Woman challenge me, but it gave me an overwhelming sense of being known. Regan Penaluna reclaims the conversation surrounding "the problem of women" with an honesty and self-awareness that is unmatched.

How to Think Like a Woman by Regan Penaluna, (List Price: $28, Grove Press, 9780802158802, March 2023)

Reviewed by Union Ave Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor

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Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor
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Mixing identity conflict and family secrecy with blood-ties and murder, Eli Cranor delivers a literary punch with his newest novel, Ozark Dogs. Set in the Ozarks, this story follows a true crime case involving drug-smuggling Klansmen turned evangelicals and a Vietnam War vet named Jeremiah, who is committed to saving his granddaughter from a dark path, even if it means getting himself into trouble. I absolutely could not put this one down. The prose is immersive, and the depth with which Cranor writes is beautifully nuanced.

Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor, (List Price: 26.95, Soho Crime, 9781641294539, April 2023)

Reviewed by Leo Coffey, Union Ave Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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My Darkest Prayer by S. A. Cosby

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My Darkest Prayer by S. A. Cosby
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A 2022 December Read This Next! Title

In this novel, readers are introduced to a story where religion, region, karma, and race intersect. Nathan, (former marine and ex-cop) has experienced loss of his own, and he’s dealt his own hand of karma to others. So, when the local sheriff’s office doubles down on corruption, he takes the case of a local minister’s death into his own hands in an attempt to bring peace to the congregation. This novel is full of twists and turns that will leave your jaw on the floor. This novel dissects the weight of loss on a person’s moral compass. In this small Virginia community is where the darkest secrets are revealed–where the darkest prayers are heard. S.A. Cosby is a force to be reckoned with.

My Darkest Prayer by S. A. Cosby (List Price: $16.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250867636, December 2022)

Reviewed by Leo Coffey, Union Ave. Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

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Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
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A June Read This Next! Title!

Whew, what a ride. If you are an Ottessa Moshfegh fan, you will love this propulsive and constantly shocking story. The inequality of the medieval fiefdom that serves as the setting and the characters that populate this book are both utterly alien and depressingly familiar. In Lapnova, Moshfegh continues to do what she does best: illustrate unvarnished humanity in all its beauty and depravity.

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh, (List Price: 27, Penguin Press, 9780593300268, June 2022)

Reviewed by Chelsea Bauer, Union Ave Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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Bring Your Baggage and Don’t Pack Light by Helen Ellis

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Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light
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I’m going to start a change.org petition to force Helen Ellis to write books that are 400 pages or more. Her latest collection deals with topics as wide-ranging as aging and loss to poker and garage sales with her signature wit, warmth, and southern sass. The thing about Helen Ellis is you can feel her delight in her friends, her husband, and the world at large with every sentence. Everything she writes is worth reading and Bring Your Baggage and Don’t Pack Light might be her best yet. Do yourself a favor and pick this up, but be prepared to want more when you finish!

Bring Your Baggage and Don’t Pack Light by Helen Ellis, (List Price: 23, Doubleday, 9780385546157, July 2021)

Reviewed by Chelsea Bauer, Union Ave Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann

Olympus, Texas
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Stacey Swann spawns a unique cast of characters that erupts on the opening page: the prodigal son returns to town after a cooling-off period, but two years has not cooled his lust for his brother’s wife nor his brother’s rage at their affair. If that weren’t enough powder-keg tension, there’s an “accidental murder” a few pages later. These events set this family adrift as they scatter, then return in unfamiliar patterns. Swann takes her impetus from the Bible, but more so from Greek mythology, as the title teases. June (Juno) is married to Peter (Zeus) and abides his philandering to the point of treating his illegitimate adult twins as her own. Part of the enjoyment of reading Olympus, Texas, is guessing which character has a match in the mythology. However, familiarity with the myths is not a necessity; the story stands by itself. Olympus, Texas is an entertaining and engaging read.

Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann (List Price: $26.95, Doubleday, 9780385545211, 5/4/2021)

Reviewed by Jeannette Brown, union ave books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

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Klara and the Sun
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A true continuation of Ishiguro’s question posed by Never Let Me Go: what does it mean to be human? Klara and the Sun uses a different futuristic device more common these days, humanoid companion AIs, in this Brave New World meets Black Mirror-esque narrative. With vague and growing details in the Ishiguro style he perfected in The Buried Giant, your discovery of the ultimate human question arrives in a moment of horror confronting the relationship between Klara (the AI), Josie (the child under this AIs care), and a portraitist with a strange mission. Josie is positioned as a sickly child in a mess of parental control over educational outcomes and the harsh world of the ethical implications when we long to hold on to the people in our lives just a little bit longer than nature allows. In beautiful simplistic prose, we converge on an intimate and fractured family holding on to the hope of a very scary and unknown world, daring to test the bounds of what it means to be human. This understated sci-fi drama will again change the way you view AIs and their place in the human paradigm, all the while falling in love with Klara and her concerted effort to simply comprehend humanity.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (List Price: $28, Knopf, 9780593318171, 3/2/2021)

Reviewed by Davis Shoulders, union ave books in knoxville, Tennessee

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