Read the latest staff reviews and recommendations from E. Shaver Booksellers featured in the The Southern Bookseller Review.
As a Savannah local who loves everything ghost-related and was absolutely obsessed with the paranormal and ghosts tours as a kid (… and now), this book was a total delight from beginning to end! I loved our perceptive, clever, and imaginative narrator, Mony, and how she honored her authentic self with a level of confidence and self-assuredness I wish I saw in more female-led middle grade. It was a joy seeing Savannah through her eyes as a newcomer, a curious mind, and a girl experiencing liminality of all sorts: life and death, grief and celebration, childhood and adolescence, loss and discovery. Jackson, as always, writes a young voice with a sure, surgical hand, both validating the experience of young people and encouraging self-reflection and growth. I also adored Mony’s ghost-hunting pals: her skeptical pseudo-brother, Robby, and the fearless (but potentially untrustworthy) Myah. The three friends played off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses so beautifully, and even weathered a fight and uncovered secrets, while remaining whole individuals. The mystery itself provided historical facts about the city that will intrigue any young history buff, and kept the pace quick and the stakes high. The last few chapters absolutely flew by as tensions rose and the reveal was imminent. On the note of history, I particularly enjoyed the focus on Black and African ancestral history that this city is quite literally built on, and it’s a section of America’s past that is often ignored even now. I’d happily recommend this to any ghost story fan, history enthusiast, mystery devotee, or tween just looking to feel seen, heard, and understood.
Ghost in the Night by Tiffany D. Jackson, (List Price: $18.99, Scholastic Press, 9798225017477, August 2026)
Reviewed by Abigail, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, GA
The Queen returns triumphant! Sarah Dessen is back to do exactly what she does best: Create a beautiful, hopeful, layered coming-of-age story with complex family dynamics, relatable friendships, blossoming romance, and overflowing heart. Reading Change of Plans felt like having a book club with my thirteen-year-old self. I felt the same type of ups and downs and yearnings and hope I experienced whenever I read anything in the Dessen oeuvre as a tween/teen. Not an “adult” version of those feelings tinged with knowing so much better now. I was truly transported to the moment at the library where I picked up my first Dessen book (Keeping the Moon) and feeling both seen and uplifted. These books promised me that life would get difficult sometimes and throw me a few curveballs, but these were the moments where I’d change and grow into the person I was meant to become. Sarah Dessen books made me almost want to face those curveballs head-on and see what I was made of, who I was going to be. Change of Plans bubbled up that exact reaction again, and although I wasn’t fully prepared for young Abigail to take the emotional wheel yet again, I’m glad she did because she is why I know I can handle anything. Sarah Dessen taught her that over and over again through her crackling dialogue and courageous protagonists and beautifully plotted epiphanies, and maybe I needed that reminder. Additional aspects I loved: every single person in Finley’s growing friend group as she struggled to get her feet beneath her in the Woods (especially Lana!!), the lovingly fleshed-out small summer town (reminiscent of Stars Hollow but summery, with its kooky cast of locals and strange traditions), the sweet (clean!) romance with Ben, the heart-wrenching and complicated sisterhood dynamics among the adults, and even the maybe-too-charismatic-for-his-own-good ex (Colin!) who really is just on his own journey, too. In re-reading this review, maybe I love absolutely everything.
Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen, (List Price: $21.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9798347108770, May 2026)
Reviewed by Abigail, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, GA
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
I LOVED this!! There were so many twists and turns that I absolutely wasn’t expecting. It was the perfect combination of These Violent Delights, Heartless Hunter, and Red Queen. I literally finished this book like five minutes ago, so I don’t have the words to describe exactly how I’m feeling, but just know there were multiple audible reactions from me while reading the last 30ish pages, and I need more people to read this immediately so I have someone to talk to about it.
To Drown a Witch by Lindsey Olsson, (List Price: $20.99, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 9798217004799, July 2026)
Reviewed by Lola, E. Shaver, Booksellers in Savannah, Georgia
There are two things that drive my will to exist: studying spaces and having dreams that introduce me to new places. “Air” managed to fulfill both of these needs through a void of color in both its plotline and its world building (and I mean that with high praise believe it or not). While I don’t believe this book is for everyone, it was certainly for me.
Air by Christian Kracht, (List Price: $24.99, Liveright, 9781324094586, July 2026)
Reviewed by Maureen, E. Shaver, Booksellers in Savannah, Georgia
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