An October Read This Next! Book
Erica Waters never disappoints with her dark and queer tales. I loved every bit of this dark academia story. I was on the edge of my seat and couldn’t stop reading. Don’t let this one pass you by!
All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters, (List Price: $19.99, HarperTeen, 9780063115965, October 2023)
Reviewed by Katlin Kerrison, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia
This book was amazing and such a fun and relatable read. I love the character development and growth of Eloise throughout the book. Austin’s sunshine personality perfectly fits with Eloise’s anxious and sad character, giving us the best of both worlds. Overall, it was a fantastic book that I will definitely be rereading.
All Alone with You by Amelia Diane Coombs, (List Price: 19.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781534493575, July 2023)
Reviewed by Meredith Church, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina
Though she’s hearing-passing (using hearing aids & lip reading), every day feels like an uphill battle to Lilah: struggling through interactions others find easy, guessing at bits and pieces of missed conversations, and pretending like everything’s totally fine. One of the few times she remembers feeling fully accepted and accommodated was at a summer camp for Deaf and blind kids that she attended many years ago. So when she gets the opportunity to return as a junior counselor, Lilah is thrilled…never mind that the camp is running out of money.
Sortino seamlessly blends spoken & signed dialogue, highlights a myriad of systemic issues facing the Deaf community, and showcases community thriving around disability difference. A sweet, summery coming-of-age story (with a hint of romance) that’s equal parts fun and important!
Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino, (List Price: $18.99, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 9780593533796, July 2023)
Reviewed by Talia Smart, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
A July 2023 Read This Next! Book
I adored this book! Ama and Elliott have my whole heart. I loved Ama’s tenacity and dedication to her career as a wedding planner; she is one of my favorite romance characters I’ve met this year. Elliott, the quietly ambitious florist who believes in happily ever afters, is the perfect balance to Ama. This will be one of the big romances of the summer! I can’t wait to talk about it with everyone!
Forget Me Not by Julie Soto, (List Price: $16.99, Forever, 9781538740880, July 2023)
Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
The trope of the lovable anti-hero is beaten out only by that of the detestable anti-hero. Sylvie Carter is inherently unlikable, the hapless victim of every event of the story, including her own poor decisions, the least of which is becoming sexually involved with yet another member of her ballet company, even after the first affair launched her fall from grace. Possibly the most frustrating character since Scarlet O’Hara, her narration is filled with shocking scandal and incredibly loving description of a professional dancer’s lifestyle – and I adored every page.
First Position by Melanie Hamrick, (List Price: 17, Berkley, 9780593638149, June 2023)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Graben, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina
A bittersweet story told by two teens on opposite sides of the 2019 Hong Kong protests. Phoenix is an upper-class prep school student who gets swept up in the protests; Kai is a recent immigrant from mainland China who joins the police force to gain the approval of his HK officer father. This book is beautiful, propulsive, and important–I’d recommend it highly to older teens, with the note that it includes some really intense, difficult scenes that may be too much for younger readers.
An Echo in the City by K. X. Song, (List Price: 18.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316396820, April 2023)
Reviewed by Talia Smart, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
[This story] was incredibly cathartic to write—though it’s equally terrifying to release it into the world. All my books are personal, but this one’s personal in ways that are unnervingly public. So much of Imogen’s internal monologue mirrors my own questioning process. And even though Imogen isn’t a public figure, she’s internalized the same discourse that kept me tied in knots. For me—and for Imogen—even the idea of questioning felt like a step out of bounds. ―Becky Albertalli, Interview, Nerd Daily
What booksellers are saying about Imogen, Obviously
About Becky Albertalli
Becky Albertalli is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including William C. Morris Award winner and National Book Award longlist title Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (now a major motion picture, Love, Simon); The Upside of Unrequited; Leah on the Offbeat; Love, Creekwood; What If It’s Us and Here’s to Us (cowritten with Adam Silvera); Yes No Maybe So (cowritten with Aisha Saeed); and Kate in Waiting. Becky lives with her family in Atlanta, and she’s still not tired of Oreos. You can visit her online at beckyalbertalli.com.
Dylan and Jonah have a long history of despising each other. Their friends have long insisted that the boys secretly have the hots for each other, though. So Dylan and Jonah agree to fake date for a while, and then they can break up and go about their lives without their friends trying to get them together. Except while they’re ‘dating’, they get to know each other — that Jonah works too much because his sisters are everything to him and he doesn’t want them to be taken away, and that Dylan has a brother he hasn’t even talked to in years because of something that happened in their past. And as they open up to each other, they find that maybe friendship — or more — could actually be there after all. This is a poignant story that is as much about Dylan and Jonah’s separate trials as it is about their romance, which makes it that much more satisfying when things work out for them.
They Hate Each Other by Amanda Woody, (List Price: 18.99, Viking Books for Young Readers, 9780593403099, May 2023)
Reviewed by Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina
Holly Goldberg Sloan has written the PERFECT beach book. With a little family drama, a handsome stranger who can rewire a crumbling hotel, a recent widow trying to help her three children find their place in the world, resident chickens, a beach ( of course) and a wicked twist that strikes out of the blue, Pieces of Blue begs to be in every beach bag this summer.
Pieces of Blue by Holly Goldberg Sloan, (List Price: 28.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250847300, May 2023)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
Dylan’s life revolves around his family — helping his aunt in their Chinese-Singaporian takeout restaurant, spending time with his cousins, remembering his mom. Then Theo comes into his life, with his private school and Ferrari and uber-wealthy family. The two are nothing alike, made even more obvious when Theo convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding and Dylan gets a look at the drama in Theo’s family. But there’s something real between them, and Dylan finds it harder and harder to ignore it. A super-cute romance with big YA Crazy Rich Asian vibes. And you’ll want to be sure to have snacks handy because the food sounds amazing, and you’ll definitely get hungry!
Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee, (List Price: 10.99, Underlined, 9780593569955, May 2023)
Reviewed by Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina
Set in NOLA, this book is full of intrigue, magic, messy family drama and mystery. This book tackles, homophobia, white supremacy, and race in a way I’ve never seen before. I love seeing Chris and Clem’s character development as they find themselves and step into their power. I enjoyed every twist and turn and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Loved it!
Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker, (List Price: 18.99, Tor Teen, 9781250825926, April 2023)
Reviewed by Keeshia Jacklitch, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Is there such a thing as a meet-ugly? Out of an utterly disastrous first "meeting" (they didn’t actually even meet, just started jumping to wrong conclusions) grew a ten-tissue romance for the ages. I also was delighted that the town of Wakan, the actual seemingly "inanimate" objects in the vaguely magical town, such a huge silent character in Part of Your World, got a bit role in Yours Truly. No one does foreshadowing like Abby Jimenez.
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez, (List Price: 16.99, Forever, 9781538704394, April 2023)
Reviewed by Lisa Yee Swope, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
An old man and brilliant inventor finds a run down cottage in a forest and decides to live there, far away from the rest of the world. One day he is surprised when a distraught couple who seem to be on the run leave a young boy in his care and ask him to raise the child. Two decades later, the tender-hearted, shy, and brilliant boy finds a broken AI robot and decides to repair it. Shortly after, the world descends upon his family in their forest idyll, forcing the young man to leave on a quest to the world beyond. A place of great danger and risk; but he is accompanied by a small crew of fiercely loyal friends who are determined to help him find what they are looking for. This novel holds all the beautiful, tender sentimentality, found family dynamics, loving humor, and self-discovery that I’ve come to expect from TJ Klune. I absolutely fell in love with every character in this motley crew of creatures. I laughed out loud frequently at the antics of Nurse Ratched and Rambo. I cried when things got tough and painful. I feared for the sweet young man who is trying to find his way. It has all the best parts of a huggable book for me.
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune, (List Price: 28.99, Tor Books, 9781250217448, April 2023)
Reviewed by Elizabeth DeWandeler, A Novel Escape in Franklin, North Carolina
After loving the first book in the series (and being quite charmed by Nash), I was eagerly awaiting the second installment in Score’s knock-out Knockemout series. Luckily for all of us, this book definitely lived up to the first. (I think I liked it more!) This is a delicious slow burn with all the suspense elements you come to expect with a Lucy Score novel. Lina & Nash made for great characters, and overall, these ~600 pages flew by.
Things We Hide from the Light by Lucy Score, (List Price: $18.99, Bloom Books, 9781728276113, February 2023)
Reviewed by Hannah Kerbs, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee
A February 2023 Read This Next! Title
Lily is stuck in a dead-end job as an editor’s assistant, the one Greene sister who hasn’t managed to make a success of her life. On a whim, one day she emails the author of her favorite fantasy book — and he unexpectedly writes back! They correspond regularly, opening up to each other in ways neither of them has before and becoming close, until Strick breaks things off suddenly. Lily is heartbroken…until she meets her hot new neighbor, who figures out pretty quickly that Lily is the Lily from the emails. But he has reasons for keeping his identity secret, so he agrees to help Lily find a date for her sister’s wedding, even though he can’t get her out of his own head. A fun, flirty, bookish romance that will appeal to anyone who’s had fantasies of hitting it off with their favorite author.
The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest (List Price: $17, Berkley, 9780593546437, February 2023)
Reviewed by Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina
