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The week of April 15, 2025 Great one-liners…  ….about new April books. Sometimes it just takes a few very enthusiastic words, and suddenly several extra books have found their way into your shopping cart! Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry Any Trope but You by Victoria Lavine Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, Dan Santat (Illus.) The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner Bad Nature by Ariel Courage Sky Daddy by Kate Folk The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata, Ginny Tapley Takemori (Trans.) Read This Now | Read This Next | Book Buzz | The Bookseller Directory |
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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Ecstasy: Poems by Alex Dimitrov Adult Nonfiction, American, LGBTQ+, Love & Erotica, Poetry Ecstasy reads like a film, shot on an iPhone, bone-crushing and mesmerizing. Dimitrov is THE contemporary poet, and his work is unforgettably original. Reviewed by Emily Tarr, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama |
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Atavists by Lydia Millet Adult Fiction, Short Stories (single author) In an age of futility, where "abnormality is the new normal," where everything feels depressing, and where rationality is not a given, the interconnected stories and characters of Atavists feel like a portrait of now. These stories are like moral litmus tests, digging into the compulsions of everyday people during this five-years-post-covid time, where regression is high and the worst base instincts of humanity are on display (jealousy, greed, fear, rage, etc.), all set among the absurd bleak backdrop of living at the end of the world among divided neighbors and messy morals. Yeah, it’s bleak, but it’s also compulsively readable thanks to Lydia Millet’s talent of getting at the granularity and nuance of what is going through people’s minds, what still makes us human, even and especially as tension is pulled to snapping points. Reviewed by Julie Jarema, Hub City Bookshop in Spartanburg, South Carolina |
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The Pretender by Jo Harkin Adult Fiction, Literary The Pretender is an absolute blast. In a similar vein to writers such as Maggie O’Farrell or Hilary Mantel, Jo Harkin has taken a footnote from the history books – in this case Lambert Simnel, a 15th-century pretender to the English throne – and from it created a character and story that just leaps off the page. It’s bawdy, earthy, irreverent and witty, and I absolutely loved it. Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Hellions by Julia Elliott  The father in the story “All the Other Demons” is an exaggerated version of my own dad, a weird, verbose man who loved to spellbind his children with strange tales and arcane lore, patchwork narratives drawn from whatever sources he needed to hold our imaginations captive. As I grew older and started performing my own version of the charismatic raconteur, my father said I suffered from a “hyperbolic condition,” a genetically inherited illness enhanced by a steady diet of tall tales. By the time I started writing poetry in high school, I was possessed with the power of language, and my main goal was to enchant readers with streams of words—never mind the subject matter. ― Julia Elliott, Interview, Countercraft What booksellers are saying about Hellions by Julia Elliott 
Julia Elliott is the author of the story collection The Wilds, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and the novel The New and Improved Romie Futch (both from Tin House). Her work has appeared in The Georgia Review, Tin House, Conjunctions, and the New York Times. She has won a Rona Jaffe Writers’ Award, and her stories have been anthologized in Best American Short Stories and Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses. She teaches English and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina and lives in Columbia with her husband, daughter, and five hens. |
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Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Fiction, Romance Abby Jimenez tackles two topics we don’t see a lot in romance: long-distance relationships with tangible obstacles, and the harsh realities of care-giving for someone with dementia. Anyone who’s experienced either situation will resonate deeply with Xavier and Samantha’s struggles. So beautiful. – Bree Reviewed by Sarai Rivera, Spellbound Bookstore in Sanford, Florida |
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Adventures in the Louvre by Elaine Sciolino Adult Nonfiction, Art, Business & Economics, Europe, France, History, Museum Administration & Museology, Travel "I had to learn how to visit the Louvre" goes an early line in this exceptional book, and I wish I’d had it with me when I visited the overwhelming museum-palace years ago. Simply and personally written, in short, punchy chapters, liberally sprinkled with excellent reproductions of some of the most important works, Sciolino blends access to everyone from curators, directors, guards, and fire fighters with history and (very) personal reflection. Brutally, amusingly blunt at times ("…the subsequent history of France in the nineteenth century is both incoherent and confusing…."!), Adventures in the Louvre is composed of bite-sized chapters on the history, architecture, pop culture, and even global significance, which makes it much more manageable than the museum itself, and will be in my luggage next time I travel to Paris. There’s even a chapter on ghosts, as well as a fascinating aside on things to do around the museum when it is closed on Tuesdays, a fact which would make this book worth its cover price alone!) It’s also filled with fascinating trivia: who knew the museum was once named the Museé Napoléon, or that the Mona Lisa is behind bulletproof glass, or that Beyoncé recently made it cool?) I’m already salivating at the thought of a fully illustrated version showing every piece mentioned – and there are a lot! A masterpiece worthy of its subject! Reviewed by Doron Klemer, Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana |
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On Again, Awkward Again by Kelly Erin Entrada Romance, Romantic Comedy, Young Adult Fiction First loves and crushes are always awkward, but never have they been this awkward. From raging bowels to horrible allergy attacks, Star Trek references and Vanilla Ice, Pacy and Cecil are two hot messes. This story of nerd love will leave your heart full as you can’t help by root for these two to get together, but you also can’t help feeling a little vicarious embarrassment as things go horribly wrong. Reviewed by Melissa Taylor, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia |
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All About Brains by Lake Bell Children, Juvenile Fiction, Neurodiversity This is another of what we call "conversation starters" in our bookstore. It’s a great entry point for kids — and their grown-ups, too — to learn about differences. Each portrait of a child is explained in facts and straight language, making what could be sensitive topics into approachable conversations. I love how this book normalizes difference and helps give kids (and adults) language to use and grow in their own understanding. Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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Ripening Time by Patrice Gopo Children, Cooking & Food, Juvenile Fiction Gopo weaves themes of family heritage, the joy of anticipation, and the small pain of waiting into a sweet story of purchasing plantains and watching them ripen before the family can fry them up for a delicious treat. Gopo’s poetic talent meets kids and families in a sweet spot that is not heavy-handed, but wonderfully inspiring. I can’t wait to share this with our readers. Reviewed by Adah Fitzgerald, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina |
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Precious Rubbish by Kayla E. Biography & Memoir, Comics & Graphic Novels, Nonfiction Kayla E. is a ferociously inventive and blisteringly effective comix maker with an incredibly focused, original vision. Something of Chris Ware’s laser-honed visual sense and brutally tragicomic writing is in her artistic DNA, but melded with a rawer, bodily expression not unlike Lynda Barry or Phoebe Gloeckner’s. Precious Rubbish almost violently morphs and subverts the bubblegum slapstick of Nancy, Little Lulu, et al, and subverts the candy shine surfaces of 20th C. commercial illustrations, to make a universe of pain, sorrow, and black humor go down like a Coke and a smile mixed with acid and lye. Utterly brilliant. Reviewed by Jonathan Hawpe, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky |
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Decide for Yourself Books that appear on PEN America’s list of challenged books. |
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz Banned Books, LGBTQ+, Young Adult Fiction This book is perfect for anyone who wants to read beautiful prose while being absolutely wrecked in the process. Two boys so different you would think they wouldn’t work, but their care for each other runs deeper than their differences. Follow Aristotle and Dante as they grow together and apart. A story about growth and learning to love all the pieces you hated about yourself. A story about healing from the past and letting those feelings be expressed. Reviewed by Gabriela Warner, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
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Parting Thought “I hate it that Americans are taught to fear some books and some ideas as though they were diseases.” |
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