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The week of November 7, 2023 Votes are pouring in for the Southern Book Prize!
On this Election Day we’re happy to say that the response to last week’s announcement of the Southern Book Prize finalists, and the opening of the ballot for voting, has been wildly enthusiastic. The 2024 Southern Book Prize Ballot Within the first week of voting, the tally is already approaching 1000 ballots, representing reader/customers of over 125 Southern indie bookstores. It is far too early to make any predictions, but one thing is clear — readers love their local authors. Cities and towns with ties to one of the finalists all show surges in votes for their hometown writer. Readers also love their local bookshops! The last question on the ballot is "Say something nice about your local bookstore." The things people have written have been utterly charming:
From now until voting ends on February 1, 2024, SBR will run bookseller reviews of each of the eighteen finalist books. Look for the Southern Book Prize logo with each review, such as the one for Chaos Theory by Nic Stone below. And don’t forget to Voice Your Choice. Read This Now | Read This Next | Book Buzz | The Bookseller Directory |
A ballot readers are happy to cast!|
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters Adult Fiction, Coming of Age, Family Life, Fiction, Indigenous, Siblings
The Berry Pickers is the debut novel from indigenous author Amanda Peters. When four-year-old Ruthie goes missing, the youngest of five in a Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia, her older brother Joe is despondent and the loss of Ruthie haunts the family for fifty years. Meanwhile, a white family in Maine is raising a child named Norma with overbearing and almost suffocating familial love. Norma’s faint memories and dreams of her missing life are confusing until they almost vanish. The Berry Pickers considers lost lives, second chances, and the power of forgiveness. Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: Last Girl Breathing by Court Stevens 
I read and write young adult fiction for the same reason people go to high school reunions — there’s something about figuring out how to be a person that begs us to return. Fiction is a natural place to explore those beautiful themes.
The first time we loved, lost, were heartbroken, broke hearts, made mistakes, had success, won trophies, came in last, found freedom, felt contained by adults, broke rules, were punished, got away with something, cared about people, cared about the world, etc. The first time. That’s the key. You don’t have to read young adult to know that formative experiences are vital understanding humanity on the whole and self-identity. We don’t ask people about the third or fourth time they fell in love. We ask them about the first time so we’ll understand their starting point. If every person is a road map with a marked journey; we want to put a pin in the place they began. Young adult fiction is that pin. What booksellers are saying about Last Girl Breathing 
About Court Stevens Court Stevens grew up among rivers, cornfields, churches, and gossip in the small-town South. She is a former adjunct professor, youth minister, and Olympic torchbearer. These days she writes coming-of-truth fiction and is the director of Warren County Public Library in Kentucky. She has a pet whale named Herman, a bandsaw named Rex, and several novels with her name on the spine: The June Boys, Faking Normal, The Lies About Truth, the e-novella The Blue-Haired Boy, Dress Codes for Small Towns, and Four Three Two One. Find Court online at CourtneyCStevens.com; Instagram: @quartland; Facebook: @CourtneyCStevens; Twitter: @quartland. |
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System Collapse by Martha Wells Action & Adventure, Adult Fiction, Science Fiction 
If you already love Murderbot, you’ll continue to love it. This newest installation still has the wonderful mix of snark, action, and Murderbot struggling with being a construct of free will. This book in particular, Murderbot is processing the trauma and learning to deal with its own extreme emotional responses. My only criticism of the book is that I wish I would have reread Network Effect before I read this one, because this book takes places immediately after and heavily leans on events that happened in that book. Overall, though, I loved it! Reviewed by Kelly McLeod, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama |
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The Farmer’s Wife by Helen Rebanks Adult Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Happiness, Personal Growth, Personal Memoirs, Women Jointly, The Farmer’s Wife and The Shepherd’s Life (written by Helen’s husband James), provide a unique look at both the travails of small farm life and married life. On its own, The Farmer’s Wife reminded me of Laurie Colwin with deep insights into daily life and the joys of cooking good food. Thoughtful, challenging with delicious recipes and beautifully illustrated, this will be a go-to gift book for me. Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina |
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Chaos Theory by Nic Stone African American & Black, Diversity & Multicultural, Mental Illness, Southern Book Prize Finalist, Young Adult Fiction 
2024 Southern Book Prize Finalist Shelbi has resisted making friends at her new school since she’s had bad experiences in the past. But when she witnesses Andy at a low point, she can’t help but reach out to let him know she knows what it’s like. And like that, despite Shelbi’s best efforts, a friendship is born. But both Shelbi and Andy have demons, Shelbi’s in the form of bipolar disorder that has impacted relationships in her past, and Andy’s in the form of alcoholism that started after his sister died. This is a moving story of two teens, both together and individually, as Shelbi learns the maybe she can rely on other people, and Andy learns to prioritize himself and his mental health. Reviewed by Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina |
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The Apartment House on Poppy Hill by Nina LaCour Children, City & Town Life, Friendship, Humorous Stories, Juvenile Fiction, Social Themes Fans of Ramona Quimby will love Ella, the unofficial ambassador of Poppy Hill. She’s lived in the building her whole life and knows the ropes, so she’s happy to help new neighbors Cleo and Leo when they move in. This darling book is full of quirky characters and is LGBTQ-positive and really heartwarming. I am already looking forward to more in the series! Reviewed by Ashley Michael, Plenty on Spring in Cookeville, Tennessee |
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Duel by Jessixa Bagley Children, Comics & Graphic Novels, Humorous, Juvenile Fiction I loved the creativity in the book. I really like how they included other kids of people in the story. It shows that you have to have courage to do something even if you don’t win. I enjoyed the mostly black-and-white illustrations in the book. I love graphic novels. Overall I really liked this book and recommend it! Reviewed by Mandy Harris, Angel Wings Bookstore in Stem, North Carolina |
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Decide for Yourself Books that appear on PEN America’s list of challenged books. |
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I Kissed Alice by Anna Birch Banned Books, Boarding School & Prep School, LGBTQ+, Romance, Young Adult Fiction This is a true enemies-to-lovers read. Both faced with pressures unknown to the other, these art school students battle it out for a life-altering scholarship, while their online personalities collaborate on a webcomic (unknowingly duh). What made this book feel so raw for me, was that both characters had valid reasons for hating the other, reasons that cannot be easily resolved. Reviewed by Jamie Kovacs, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
[ See the full list ] |
Parting Thought “Reading and writing, like everything else, improve with practice. And, of course, if there are no young readers and writers, there will shortly be no older ones. Literacy will be dead, and democracy – which many believe goes hand in hand with it – will be dead as well.” |
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Publisher:
The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance /
siba@sibaweb.com |
SIBA | 51 Pleasant Ridge Drive | Asheville, NC 28805
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