This series just gets better and better. New characters, battles, love, loss, surprises galore, and characters resurfacing! What a wild ride!
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas, (List Price: $30, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781639731022, February 2023)
Reviewed by Courtney Niederer, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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Simultaneously heartbreaking and humorous. A fictionalized tale of the author’s life as a young teen, chronicling his battle with being loyal to his home and breaking away to meet who he was destined to be.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (10th Anniversary Edition) by Sherman Alexie, (List Price: $20.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316504041, September 2017)
Reviewed by Mallory Sutton, Bards Alley in Vienna, Virginia
Brilliant work by the author. This one is dark and hard to read, but the shock at the end… It’s a doozy!
Identical by Ellen Hopkins, (List Price: $24.99, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 9781416950059, August 2008)
Reviewed by Courtney Niederer, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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My skin feels like it’s buzzing and purring after having finished this book. Groff’s writing is very often quite breathtaking at the sentence level, so much so that I was occasionally forgetting to notice how masterfully she was setting up an intricate and many-layered plot. Lotto, Mathilde, and the other characters jump off the page so vividly, it’s hard for me to imagine they aren’t really out there, living their fierce and complicated lives. Five stars.
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff, (List Price: $18, Riverhead Books, 9781594634482, September 2016)
Reviewed by Janet Geddis, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia
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This adorable graphic novel about a shape-shifting selkie and a teen lesbian who hasn’t fully accepted her queerness is heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. This is a great book for young queer people with a diverse cast of characters and a lovely sapphic romance that you can easily devour in one sitting. Can’t wait to get this into the hands of young readers!
The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag, (List Price: $14.99, Graphix, 9781338540574, June 2021)
Reviewed by Candice Huber, Tubby & Coo’s Traveling Book Shop in New Orleans, Louisiana
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A hypnotic onion of a puzzle…peel back one layer and find more questions, fewer answers. All the more triumphant in its building frustration, eventual catharsis. Area X is all of us and none of us, nowhere and everywhere, peering at us with a thousand impossible eyes.”
Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer, (List Price: $18, Picador, 9781250824066, July 2024)
Reviewed by Morgan Holub, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
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I am very much a fan of these Remix Classics. I read several of these as a kid, and I never saw anyone who resembled me, and I’m sure other people of various backgrounds, abilities, and sexual orientations did not see themselves either. Just providing a slight twist to these stories breathes new life into these classic tales, and they feel great to read.
A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C. B. Lee, (List Price: $14.99, Square Fish, 9781250853509, September 2022)
Reviewed by Kim Brock, Joseph-Beth Booksellers Lexington in Lexington, Kentucky
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I adore Sarah J. Maas’s writing and her characters. Throughout the ACOTAR series, I didn’t care for Nesta. This book completely changed my mind. Nesta is a complex and beautiful character and I can not wait to see her in future books.
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas, (List Price: $19, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781635577990, September 2022)
Reviewed by Melissa Gray, Blytheville Book Company in Blytheville, Arkansas
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This is my second time reading this book, and even though it’s been over 15 years since I read it the first time, it still is as honest and poignant as ever. I adore Charlie, and his bluntness and naivety. This book perfectly captures being 15 and experiencing life for the first time. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and is a must-read.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, (List Price: $15.99, MTV Books, 9781665982412, September 2025)
Reviewed by Sarah Blackwell, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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The Damned picks up right where The Beautiful left off and introduces a few new POVs to keep things interesting. With Bastien now a walker of the night and Celine’s memories forgotten, the intrigue and drama are thicker than ever. Bastien is determined to become better than his uncle, while his sister Emilie is back from the dead as the head of the wolves. Fans of the first won’t be disappointed with this next thrilling volume in the series. The only disappointment is having to wait for the next! Renee Ahdieh is a skilled writer who has beautifully brought back the classic vampire, along with the fey and werewolves, intertwined. This is a must read for anyone who missed the classy vampires of Anne Rice, but loved the romance of True Blood.
The Damned by Renée Ahdieh, (List Price: $13.99, Nancy Paulsen Books, 9781984812605, August 2021)
Reviewed by Katlin Kerrison, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia
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I can still remember reading The Wrath and The Dawn for the first time, and how much the beautiful world, and incredible romance affected me. Today I’m gushing about Renee’s new book about vampires in 19th century New Orleans! The best part of it is, she doesn’t stick strictly to vampires, at all, nor the normal glittering, sometimes scary vampires we’re used to today! Ahdieh takes the vampire mythos and shapes it into something all her own, making it beautiful and lush and terrifying. But even without the vampires, our protagonist, Celine, is a french girl with passions and whims considered inappropriate for a girl of any age, let alone a young girl trying to find a proper husband. But truthfully, Celine comes to New Orleans to flee from a dark secret in her very near past, and from herself too. Celine is an incredibly interesting and complex protagonist that demands your love even as she pushes everyone away, because you the reader are the only one that knows her thoughts and can see beyond her actions. Sebastian is a powerhouse of a love interest, and when we do get a point-of-view chapter from him, he just continues to baffle and break hearts, but in more depressing ways. These two together make for an incredibly frustrating slow burn that grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let up. I also had no idea where the story was going to go. Ahdieh managed to keep me in the dark about many things, and that was perfect because it meant I was able to dive in further and really dig for clues and such. This all made The Beautiful an incredibly enchanting read that kept me on my toes the entire time and absolutely delivered on a delicious romance set in a New Orleans ruled by the supernatural.
The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh, (List Price: $5.99, Nancy Paulsen, 9781524738198, August 2021)
Reviewed by Caitlyn Vanorder, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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My first Colleen Hoover read! I can definitely see where all the hype is with her novels. She does pull you in and stir up all the feels. It was entertaining, I thought the female lead character did not stand up for herself enough, and love triangles are always tricky. The most interesting part was learning how the hearing-impaired male lead was able to teach himself to play and write music. Can’t wait to read more of her books!
Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover, (List Price: $16.99, Atria Books, 9781476753164, March 2014)
Reviewed by Krista Roach, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
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A modern high school rom-com in signature Albertalli fashion. As the fall musical approaches, Kate and her best friend, Anderson, want nothing more than to finally have their time in the spotlight. However, complications arise when their communal summer crush transfers to Roswell High and auditions for the musical. A dramatic and humorous coming-of-age tale centered around first crushes and the relationships that matter most. Kate in Waiting is sure to deliver all the warm and fuzzy feelings.
Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli, (List Price: $12.99, HarperCollins, 9780062643841, July 2022)
Reviewed by Asia Harden, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
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Gender Queer is Maia Kobabe’s autobiography about eir journey to identifying as nonbinary and asexual, and coming out to eir family and society. I devoured this book in one sitting. Usually, I struggle with graphic novels because my brain has a hard time processing images and words at the same time, but this was so seamless and gorgeously put together that I flew through it with no trouble at all! I laughed, I teared up, and most of all, I learned. As a heterosexual, cis-gender person, I can never fully understand what it’s like to identify as anyone else. But Kobabe’s memoir is so honest and vulnerable that I feel I’ve come that much closer to understanding. Gender Queer deals with so many issues that every young person goes through in life, no matter how they identify. Things like dealing with body hair that shows up during puberty, figuring out who you are and what you want in your friendships and relationships, how to say no in uncomfortable situations, self-acceptance, and how to express yourself. But it also deals with topics that we need to talk about more – like gender dysphoria, coming out, and using proper pronouns. It’s an essential read for everyone – whether you’re looking for beautiful representation or a path to learn more about our nonbinary and asexual friends. Gender Queer is an award-winning book for a reason! I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, (List Price: $19.99, Oni Press, 9781549304002, May 2019)
Reviewed by Emily Lessig, The Violet Fox Bookshop in Virginia Beach, Virginia
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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.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, (List Price: $24.99, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781665925419, November 2022)
Reviewed by Gabriela Warner, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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