The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Dystopian

Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich

If you are a fan of Margaret Atwood, and specifically The Handmaid’s Tale, this book is a must-read. Erdrich’s storytelling feels very intimate, which I prefer in a dystopian novel. A larger picture comes into focus through the perspective of Cedar’s individual experience. Quietly disturbing, this story will stick with you long after you’ve read the last page. Though this book is not a new release, I would put it in league with The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan and Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng.

Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich, (List Price: $17.99, Harper Perennial, 9780062694065, November 2018)

Reviewed by Krista Roach, E. Shaver, Booksellers in Savannah, Georgia

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The Definitions by Matt Greene

A captivating, dystopian-esque story, The Definitions questions what truly makes one’s identity theirs. After a supposed virus ravages humanity and leaves people with no memory of themselves, victims of this virus are sent to the Center where they relearn things like ethics, language, and art. With no knowledge of who they were before arriving, the narrator waits for memories to return and to be released. But definitions aren’t adding up, and the ethical dilemma solutions seem skewed, and we learn there is something sinister going on. This is a quick read that you won’t want to put down until you find the real reason the patients are there.

The Definitions by Matt Greene, (List Price: $17.99, Henry Holt and Co., 9781250399342, December 2025)

Reviewed by Gabriela Warner, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Anzuelo by Emma Rios

>Anzuelo plunges readers into a dreamy world of risen oceans and mythic creatures as a trio of young people try to understand the epic metamorphosis that engulfs them. Emma Rios’ beautiful graphic novel turns the apocalypse inside out, finding poetry in nature’s awesome power, and humankind’s ability to survive.

Anzuelo by Emma Rios, (List Price: $19.99, Image Comics, 9781534330160, December 2025)

Reviewed by Jonathan Hawpe, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall

All the Water in the World begins in the near future, where catastrophic floods have reshaped cities as we once knew them. On the roof of the American Museum of Natural History, a girl and her family have joined a team of researchers, working not only to survive but to preserve the museum’s history and records. As they are forced to flee the city, the dwindling group confronts the best and worst aspects of humanity, all while searching for hope, community, and belonging. Eiren Caffall weaves a story that both terrifies readers with the stark realities of climate change and reminds us that hope can shine even in the darkest moments. A must-read for fans of Station Eleven, The LIghtest Object in the Universe, and Lark Ascending.

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall, (List Price: $29, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250353528, January 2025)

Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

I was unsure whether I would truly enjoy this book or have to pretend that I enjoyed it due to its significance and popularity. I am pleased to say that I absolutely loved it – and although quite dark and bleak, this dystopian world does not seem so far away. While I don’t think that it’s something everyone would enjoy, I do think that it’s something everyone should at least try.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, (List Price: $18, Vintage, 9780385490818, March 1998)

Reviewed by Niamh Kenny, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah , Georgia

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The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

The Grace Year is the year that all girls in the county must take before they are married off in order to burn off their magic. Tierney isn’t looking forward to this year, especially when she finds out she’s going to be married when she comes back. This book is advertised as a mixture of Lord of the Flies and The Handmaid’s Tale. That is a fairly accurate description, but it also made it hard for me to see it as anything else. I enjoyed the story and was kept on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed how things that you thought at the beginning were carefully planted to reveal an overarching truth in a beautiful and meaningful way. I feel like The Grace Year has the potential to be just as impactful as The Handmaid’s Tale.

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett, (List Price: $10.99, Wednesday Books, 9781250145451, October 2020)

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

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Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken

Came for the comparisons to Maggie O’Farrell and AK Blakemore, stayed for the evocative and immersive tale of a medieval woman born centuries ahead of her time. Bright I Burn is inspired by the real-life story of Alice Kyteler, who, in the 14th century, was the first woman in Ireland to be persecuted as a witch. In Aitken’s richly detailed telling, Kyteler is a wealthy, powerful and intelligent money lender, full of desires and secrets – all things that women of her time were not supposed to be. I absolutely loved it.

Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken, (List Price: $28, Knopf, 9780525658399, September 2024)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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Fledgling by S. K. Ali

In this dystopian sci-fi commentary on the ever-aching sociopolitical battle of choosing between the individual and the many, love and peace, and what is worth fighting for, Ali emphasizes the importance of knowing your story and safeguarding your truth under the thumb of a colonial regime. With beautifully nuanced characters to root for, Fledgling forces you to engage with the effects of war, forced assimilation, and imposing enlightenment head-on without metaphors to hide behind. After you finish this book, flip back to the first page and begin again as the lessons learned last a lifetime.

Fledgling by S. K. Ali, (List Price: $21.99, Kokila, 9780593531242, October 2024)

Reviewed by Sol Johnson, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina

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Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

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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The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

I wasn’t entirely sure whether I wanted to read this one or not; I didn’t want my impression of The Handmaid’s Tale to be ruined or tainted if I didn’t enjoy it. Luckily for me, I LOVED it. It was definitely a lighter/easier read and – while answered some questions – it still left a lot of room for imagination (which I love).

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, (List Price: $18, Anchor, 9780525562627, September 2020)

Reviewed by Niamh Kenny, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah , Georgia

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Snowglobe by Soyoung Park

I am not generally a sci-fi reader but this book grabbed me! It’s a chilling tale of dystopian future where those that live in the Snowglobe trade comfort for privacy. Their lives are broadcast on TV constantly and in exchange, they get warmth and safety. Chobahm longs to be a Director, the most coveted role in Snowglobe. When her chance to get out of her family’s poverty arises, she leaps without looking, regardless of the cost.

Snowglobe by Park, Soyoung, (List Price: $20.99, Delacorte Press, 9780593484975, February 2024)

Reviewed by Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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Yours for the Taking by Gabrielle Korn

I devoured this wild queer dystopian novel! In a near future devastated by climate change and social unrest, society is reinvented by a “girlboss” feminist billionaire with dreams of an elite society without men who will go to great, unethical lengths to see her vision through. Spanning decades and seamlessly following a cast of flawed, interesting characters on both the inside and outside of an exclusive living community, this novel is part coming-of-age tale, part queer love story, and part terrifying thriller.

Yours for the Taking by Gabrielle Korn, (List Price: $29, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250283368, December 2023)

Reviewed by Julia Lewis, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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Julia by Sandra Newman

I have read 1984 more than any other book in my life…maybe 12-15 times. Being overly familiar with the inspiration for this retelling, I was skeptical. From Julia’s perspective, Orwell’s classic is reframed from a feminist perspective. While Winston Smith is undoubtedly sympathetic in the original as are the other male victims of the Oceania regime, they still possessed the freedoms and advantages of their gender in the classic. Imagining the same world through largely female characters was even more shocking and heartbreaking. Julia is a survivor. She does what is necessary whether it is fitting into or subverting the system. It’s is hard to like her, but even harder not to deeply admire her and hang on her every move. This powerful, uncomfortable book left me feeling much the same. Recommended!

Julia by Sandra Newman, (List Price: $30, Mariner Books, 9780063265332, October 2022)

Reviewed by Kelly Justice, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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Spotlight on: Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

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C Pam Zhang, photo credit Clayton Cubitt

“And then there was this moment when the food actually came to the table. And everything just changed; the tenor of the conversation paused and when we started eating, I could just see both of us fall out of our anxious brains back into our bodies.” ― C Pam Zhang, Interview, This Is TASTE 271

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

What booksellers are saying about Land of Milk and Honey

  • Land of Milk and Honey is a feast for the senses. C Pam Zhang’s control of language is simply remarkable; her words pour off the page like peach juice drips down your arm in the heat of the summer. Lush descriptions of fresh fruit, aged cheese, and fragrant wine mixed with the heady rush of queer desire in a broken, fragile ecosystem works to create a landscape so vividly rich and complex that I wanted to eat it all with a spoon. Good food can light up the palate; this book lit up mine.
      ― Gaby Iori from Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, NC | Buy from Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews

  • I can’t stop thinking about this sensuous fever dream of a novel. A deadly smog has decimated earth’s food supply in this dystopian novel about pleasure, gluttony and greed. Land of Milk and Honey will make you savor and appreciate the bounty we have and think about ways to be better stewards of our resources. Excellent writing.
      ― Jessica Nock from Main Street Books in Davidson, NC | Buy from Main Street Books

  • Set in an eerily plausible near future ravaged by climate catastrophe, Land of Milk and Honey takes readers on a journey alongside a chef who accepts a rare opportunity to not only escape dismal environmental conditions but also use some of the world’s most coveted ingredients cooking for some of the world’s wealthiest individuals in a private mountaintop community. This story celebrates the joys of food and pleasure while exploring themes of privilege, humanity’s role in science, and our complex relationship with nature. Zhang’s writing moved me to tears more than once; this book celebrates food in a way that STATION ELEVEN celebrated the arts. This is my favorite book of 2023, and I expect the same will be true for many readers!
      ― Beth Seufer Buss from Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC | Buy from Bookmarks

About C Pam Zhang

C Pam Zhang is the author of How Much of These Hills Is Gold, winner of the Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Award and the Asian/Pacific Award for Literature, longlisted for the Booker Prize, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award and the National Book Critics’ John Leonard Prize, and one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of the year. She is a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree and a New York Public Library Cullman Fellow.

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Arca by Jesse Lonergan Van Jensen

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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