The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Apocalyptic Post-Apocalyptic

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

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What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
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I’m gonna need a minute after this one. This book has me questioning every motive of every person I’ve ever met. Even if I haven’t met you, you’re included in my scrutiny if I’ve read about you, seen a picture of you or been made aware of your existence. I have more questions than answers right now. WHAT ACTUALLY CAN WE KNOW?!?!

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan, (List Price: $30, Knopf, 9780593804728, September 2025)

Reviewed by Amanda Kirkland, G. J. Ford Bookshop in St. Simons Island, Georgia

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Book Buzz: Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei

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Yume Kitasei, photo credit Sylvie RosokoffI’ve always considered myself a pragmatic optimist, and part of that is my day job. My career has been in government. And I think you kind of have to be a bit of an optimist to sort of throw your entire life into that, because if you don’t believe that the world can be better, then what are you doing? What are you doing with your life? So I like to say that working in government is sort of trying to think about what the world should be, and science fiction is sort of like thinking about what the world could be. And so there’s sort of an interesting intersection between the two. So, yeah, no, I think I’m fundamentally an optimist, but obviously, it’s hard to be in this world and not see everything that’s going on and feel very concerned. And so I think that’s where the little bits of darkness come in.

― Yume Kitasei, Interview, Reader Tangents

Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei

What booksellers are saying about Saltcrop

  • An odyssey of sisterhood and isolation in a near-dystopian world that seems to look back on our own as its logical predecessor. Nora and her research have gone missing. In their search to find her, her sisters Carmen and Skipper are pulled into the controversy and corruption surrounding the monopolistic agri-corp she worked for. Kitasei blends the literary and speculative in this environmentally-focused thriller, an urgent reflection on the corporate greed that precipitates ecological disaster.
      ― Flora Arnsberger, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina | BUY

  • Saltcrop is a beautiful story about the bonds of sisterhood, set against the backdrop of our world ravaged by climate change! The story was atmospheric and compelling with gorgeous writing. This was my first book by this author, and I am so excited to read their backlist!
      ― Sarah Blackwell, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina | BUY

  • A uniquely hopeful and relatable post climate apocalypse epic about two sisters who embark on a perilous journey by sea to rescue the third sister from the arctic company town where they believe her to be imprisoned. While its examination of the sisters’ relationships is the pulse of this dystopian adventure (eldest daughters will find much to identify with in the character of Nora), it’s also a tribute to stubborn human determination, and a fond, battleworn wish that we can find ways to thrive after the end of the world.
    ― Kat Leache, novel. in Memphis, Tennessee | BUY

  • Kitasei presents a future all too imaginable where people’s lives are impacted and controlled by climate change and big agriculture. Even in a broken world the audacious acts of love by Skipper, Carmen and Nora provide a gritty hope that change is still possible. Like a seed that can crack stone don’t underestimate how small acts can make huge impacts. Saltcrop and stories like it make me hopeful for how the average person is going to weather an increasingly changeable and hostile world. There is a spelling error on page 363. “Sounds like [t]he Bumblebee”
    ― Holly Wunsch, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina | BUY

About Yume Kitasei

Yume Kitasei is the author of Saltcrop , The Stardust Grail, and The Deep Sky. She is Japanese and American and grew up in a space between two cultures—the same space where her stories reside. She lives in Brooklyn with two cats, Boondoggle and Filibus

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Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid

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Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid
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This book was great. I loved the Hunger Games-inspired plot it took me back to reading dystopian YA from when I was a teenager. I loved the characters Reid created and how real they felt. I could not put this book down as I followed Inesa and Mel during the gauntlet. The commentary on climate change and big corporations was equal parts intriguing and terrifying. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes a fast-paced story with great characters.

Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid, (List Price: $19.99, HarperCollins, 9780063211551, March 2025)

Reviewed by Ruth Heckendorf, Pretty Good Books in LaGrange, Georgia

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The Ancients by John Larison

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The Ancients by John Larison
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A detailed and unswerving fable about the impossible choices ahead of us—both as individual people and as a collective species. John Larison’s particular concern is the way that stories of the past can function either as cautionary tales, informing our commitment to a wiser trajectory, or, in the wrong hands, as convenient and exploitative mythology to waylay any doubts that our bright and bountiful future is somehow guaranteed. This book is a testament to the importance of stories that remind us to watch our footing while we climb, and always extend a hand behind us.

The Ancients by John Larison, (List Price: $30, Viking, 9780593831168, October 2024)

Reviewed by Charlie Monroe, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

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Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
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I didn’t think it was possible to read a book and feel both completely hopeless and hopeful at the end but leave it up to Octavia Butler to write the impossible.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler, (List Price: $16.99, Grand Central Publishing, 9781538732182, April 2019)

Reviewed by Ndobe Foletia, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Spotlight on: The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei

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Yume Kitasei , photo credit Sylvie Rosokoff

“For me, there’s always been self-doubt inherent to growing up “in between.” There’s also a dissonance between feeling one thing and often being perceived as another. When I write, I think that introspection and uncertainty often leak into my characters, no matter the situation. And I can never help poking that tender spot where the protagonist realizes the world may not view her the way she views herself.” ― Yume Kitasei, Interview SmokeLong Quarterly

The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei

What booksellers are saying about The Deep Sky

  • On a mission to colonize a distant planet, funded by a billionaire who trained them from adolescence, a lethal explosion rocks not only their spaceship but the crew’s faith in each other. This promising debut is part space thriller, part character study of a Japanese-American girl struggling with belonging and self-worth. There are some pacing issues, but I loved the world-building across timelines and would have followed this crew indefinitely!
      ― Megan Bell from Underground Books in Carrollton, GA | Buy from Underground Books

  • A crew of 80 women on spaceship from Earth to Planet X have their skills and loyalty tested after a bomb on the ship knocks them off course. Vibes of Lord of the Flies, The Matrix, and 2001 a Space Odyssey kept me guessing throughout this sci-fi whodunit..
      ― Darinda Sharp from Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, AR | Buy from Pearl’s Books

  • This is a sci-fi novel for everyone! It successfully mashes up the sci-fi genre with a locked-room mystery — after a disaster on board a ship carrying a crew of women to a new planet, it becomes clear that someone on board must have been responsible. I loved that the person who fits in the least with the crew, Asuka, is the person who ends up working on solving the mystery. Although most of the story takes place on board the ship, there are some flashbacks to Asuka’s time training on Earth, which brings up issues relating to climate change and international politics. An interesting, fun, and thought-provoking read.
      ― Kate Storhoff from Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC | Buy from Bookmarks

About Yume Kitasei

Yume Kitasei is a writer of speculative fiction. She is half-Japanese and half-American and grew up in a space between two cultures—the same space where her stories reside. She lives in Brooklyn with two cats, Boondoggle and Filibuster. Her stories have appeared in publications including New England Review, Catapult, SmokeLong Quarterly, and Baltimore Review, and her short story was spotlighted in the 2022 Best Small Fictions anthology by Sonder Press. The Deep Sky is her first novel.

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Arca by Jesse Lonergan Van Jensen

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Arca by Jesse Lonergan Van Jensen
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The Arca is spaceship filled with the last remaining survivors of the human race as they head off in search of a habitable planet in this fun, new post apocalyptic graphic novel. The elite run the show and reap the rewards, while the young people toil as servants, hoping to one day become elite themselves. Naturally, all is not as it seems, as the mystery behind this oppressive social structure starts to unravel. I blazed through this fun, ground level sci-fi story and loved it. The perspective and the art lend a much more enjoyable indie tone to what would normally come off as a big, dumb Hollywood style space epic. Recommended!

Arca by Jesse Lonergan Van Jensen, (List Price: 16.99, IDW Publishing, 9781684059980, July 2023)

Reviewed by Seth Tucker, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao

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The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao
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It is a slow burn in the beginning because the surroundings and terms are unfamiliar and confusing. However, even though it remains confusing, it is a gripping story different from anything I have read. The characters are difficult but interesting. It is wonderful to think of a flying city but sad to think of a world in violent turmoil that doesn’t allow them to land. It has a surprising ending that is ‘eyebrow raising.’

The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao, (List Price: 16.95, Titan Books, 9781803361246, June 2023)

Reviewed by Robin, A Novel Escape in Franklin, North Carolina

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The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter

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The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter
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The Thick and The Lean by Chana Porter is part sci-fi, part speculative fiction, part cookbook, and part love story. At its core, it’s a simultaneous celebration of life’s pleasures – including food, sex, community, nature, and reading – and a critique of the things that plague our modern world – namely corporate greed, classism, and the shame we’ve been taught to feel for who we are and what we desire. The story itself is captivating, the characters are wonderful, and the world-building is incredible. Beyond being a great book, The Thick and The Lean also feels important. It asks big questions like what makes a person worthy or good? And where do our societal values come from? Why do we deny ourselves things like food, ambition, and love? And what happens when we embrace our nature, our history, and begin living in a way that’s not only true to ourselves but also better for our world as a whole?

The Thick and The Lean is a small revolution all by itself. It’s a sort of handbook for subtle and not-so-subtle civil dissent, one act at a time, one person at a time. It encourages you to focus on the real important things in life rather than the superficial ones we’ve been taught. The Thick and The Lean was eye-opening in the most refreshing way. It will make you stop and think about body politics, self-esteem, and your body image (not just in terms of weight, but race and fashion as well). While reading, you will start consider your own hunger – for food, for success, for happiness, love, community, equity and equality. And you’ll finish the book knowing that hunger is the most lethal weapon you have in fighting for a better world. Your shame might even melt into pride.

The Thick and The Lean does deal with a lot of heavy topics, but don’t let that deter you. It’s chock full of hope and beauty too. In a world where reality is quite bitter, it’s a story of human kindness, found and chosen family, and the power of a good book. The Thick and The Lean is a buffet of delicious characters, a story meant to be savored and explored. In a word, it’s umami. Don’t deny yourself the pleasure of devouring this book!

The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter, (List Price: 28.99, Gallery, Saga Press, 9781668000199, April 2023)

Reviewed by Emily Lessig, The Violet Fox Bookshop in Virginia Beach, Virginia

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Leech by Hiron Ennes

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Leech by Hiron Ennes
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The narrator of this scalpel-sharp and intoxicatingly gross debut is a parasite who is about to meet its match in the battle for control over the human heart, mind, and body. Fans of gothic lit, haunted mansions in ill repair, and biological or medical horror, eat your optic nerve—I mean, your heart—out! I generally don’t consider myself a fan of the above actually, but the incredibly unique narrator, the excellent and atmospheric world-building, and the both chillingly creepy and chillingly cold setting really hooked me. Highly recommended for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic and T. Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead!

Leech by Hiron Ennes, (List Price: $27.99, Tordotcom, 9781250811189, September 2022)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

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A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
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A July 2022 Read This Next! Title

A Psalm for the Wild-Built was a perfect book. So much so that I put off reading A Prayer for the Crown-Shy because I couldn’t imagine a world where it could live up to the flawless beauty and meaning the first novella held for me. But once again, Becky Chambers has crafted a book that is just as philosophically resonant and wonderfully generous as its predecessor. Dex and Mosscap have become two of my favorite characters in all literature and I will love them till my dying day. No matter who you are, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy will speak to you in some way and remind you that the world is indeed full of wonder and that you are okay.

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers, (List Price: 21.99, Tordotcom, 9781250236234, July 2022)

Reviewed by Caleb Masters, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. Mandel

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Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. Mandel
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Good grief I loved this book. The Glass Hotel makes more sense now, but I already loved it anyway. Nobody does time “travel” like Emily St. John Mandel. She manages not to lose us in the weaving of the timelines and characters. Despite being set in both the past and the future, the themes are so timely. A pandemic, wealth inequity, the idea of home, the role of art in society, family dynamics–it’s all there, plus there are colonies on the moon and maybe we’re all living in a simulation. It might seem like a stretch, but I think her only peer in speculative fiction is Margaret Atwood herself..

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. Mandel, (List Price: $25.00, Knopf, 9780593321447,  April 2022)

Reviewed by Angela Schroeder, Sunrise Books in High Point, North Carolina

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Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi

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Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi
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Goliath sets us down on a not-so distant future Earth destroyed by disease, climate change, and war. Those left behind to inherit the skeletal remains of society fight each day to survive as they watch their communities waste away. As dark and grim as the world is, though, Tochi Onyebuchi gives us characters fully alive with voices to lend to the fight against racism and gentrification. On every page is a deeply profound honesty and poignant thoughtfulness that cannot and should not be ignored. I am once again blown away by the magic of his words and the power of his stories. Everyone needs to read Goliath.


Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi, (List Price: $16.99, Tordotcom, 9781250782953, January 2022)

Reviewed by Sophie Giroir, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana


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The Last She by H. J. Nelson

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The Last She by H. J. Nelson
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Arabella is the last girl on earth, well as far as she knows. A terrible virus wiped out many children and women, and no one’s sure why. When her father tells her to run “back to the beginning” she tries to make her way home only to be captured by the infuriating and handsome Kaden. While she might not like him, she’ll have to ally with him to find what her father wanted her to know. I was pleasantly surprised by this novel! While this book was a quick and easy read, I really enjoyed the plot and find myself looking forward to the next one!

The Last She by H. J. Nelson, (List Price: $17.99, Wattpad Books, 9781989365717, December 2021)

Reviewed by Katlin Kerrison, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia


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The Past Is Red by Catherynne M. Valente

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The Past is Red
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Tetley Abednego lives on a floating patch of trash (much like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that exists here and now), the only solid ground left on a flooded earth. Tetley’s not alone but she is the only one who knows the simple, vital, and lifesaving truth that Garbagetown is the most wonderful place in the world. The Past Is Red is an electrifying parable for this era of climate change, as bitterly optimistic and cheerfully furious as this dire hour demands. All that, and its hilarious and heroic protagonist is sure to steal that gorgeous garbage patch in your chest you call a heart.

The Past Is Red by Catherynne M. Valente, (List Price: 20.99, Tordotcom, 9781250301130, 2021-07-20)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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