The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Fiction

Family Lore \ Sabiduría familiar por Elizabeth Acevedo

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Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
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La primera novela para adultos de Acevedo es un homenaje al intermedio, ocupando los espacios entre los sueños y la realidad, la vida y la muerte, y la República Dominicana y los Estados Unidos. Contadas desde las perspectivas de las mujeres Marte, cuatro hermanas y sus dos hijas, toda la familia contempla las historias y las mujeres que las formaron, mientras se preparan para que su hermana mayor les diga que alguien está a punto de morir. Escrito en la tradición de Sandra Cisneros y otras autoras latinas, Acevedo teje una historia que te abraza con la fuerza de las limas de Yadi, negándose a soltarla mucho después de voltear la última página.

Sabiduría familiar por Elizabeth Acevedo, ($18.99, Ecco, 9780063207318, November 2023)

Reseña escrita por, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews en Chapel Hill, North Carolina

My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse

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My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse
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Iris Prince, a second-generation Mexican American, has spent her life being the model minority, but when a law is passed requiring everyone to wear ‘The Band’ – a piece of wearable tech – she quickly becomes a second-class citizen: she can’t get one as her parents weren’t born in the US. My Name is Iris is a frighteningly real work of dystopian fiction that explores issues of identity, immigration and belonging, as well as showing how quickly fear can escalate and life can unravel.

My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse, (List Price: $28, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster, 9781982177850, September 2023)

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

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

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Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
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Acevedo’s first adult novel is a homage to the in-between, occupying the spaces between dreams and reality, life and death, and the Dominican Republic and the United States. Told from the perspectives of the Marte women, four sisters, and their two daughters, the whole family contemplates the stories and women who shaped them, as they prepare for their eldest sister to tell them someone is about to die. Written in the tradition of Sandra Cisneros and other Latina authors, Acevedo weaves a story that embraces you with the strength of Yadi’s limes, refusing to let go long after the last page is turned.

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo, (List Price: $30, Ecco, 9780063207264, September 2023)

Reviewed by Sydney Mason, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara

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This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara
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This collection feels so alive. It’s not just the memorable characters set spinning toward questionable ventures, it’s the sense of play and fun that pervades each story, each line. In never taking any moment too seriously, Vara accomplishes the serious work of truth-telling that actually feels true.

This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara, (List Price: $26.95, W. W. Norton & Company, 9780393541731, September 2023)

Reviewed by Kristen Iskandrian, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

Wellness by Nathan Hill

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Wellness by Nathan Hill
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Nathan Hill has done it again! Wellness is so good, I think my heart both broke and grew at the same time, while reading it. Hill’s ability to capture both the beauty and horror of life are astounding. There is so much more I could say about this book, but I don’t want to spoil the magic of it for other readers! "Behind curtains, this, he thinks, is what lovers do-they are alchemists and architects; they invent the world around them." Indeed, this is what lovers do. Thank you for this wonderful book!

Wellness by Nathan Hill, (List Price: 30, Knopf, 9780593536117, September 2023)

Reviewed by Jessica Osborne, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

Chenneville by Paulette Jiles

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Chenneville by Paulette Jiles
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Paulette Jiles has written another amazing book on post civil war Texas. John Chenneville comes home to Missouri after a devastating head injury that left him hospitalized for over a year. Upon returning home he finds that his beloved sister, her husband and new baby have been murdered. Chenneville sets out on a journey to bring the killer to justice. Along the way he encounters all types of people trying to make their way in the world after the devastation of civil war. The author does an outstanding job of bringing these characters to life, the same as she did in News of the World.

Chenneville by Paulette Jiles, (List Price: $30, William Morrow, 9780063252684, September 2023)

Reviewed by Kathy Clemmons, Sundog Books in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles

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A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles
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A September 2023 Read This Next Book!

This review is just me screaming to anyone who will listen what an absolute joy it is to read KJ Charles. The newest Doomsday book has us returning once again to Romney Marsh and cheering like crazy for Luke and Rufus to get their well deserved HEA. Hijinks, hilarity and heart stopping charm, Charles is a must read for historical romance lovers.

A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles, (List Price: 16.99, Sourcebooks Casablanca, 9781728255880, September 2023)

Reviewed by Katie Garaby, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

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The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
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A September 2023 Read This Next Book!

Full confession, I adore Lauren Groff, her writing and subject matter are exactly my cup of tea, so it is unlikely that I would not like this book. That said, I was a little skeptical, I kept turning the pages wondering when she was going to be rescued, live happily ever after with her Native husband? This is not that story. What this is, is an amazing meditation on what it means to be alive, to want to stay alive, and the big question, why do we live at all. What if everything you have learned about life in your time on earth is stripped away and you are left with a more beautiful and brutal understanding of God and the world? (I also love that she wrote a draft in iambic pentameter just for fun and to get into the rhythm of the language of the time, it makes my nerdy heart go pitter pat!). Thank you Lauren Groff for writing books for book lovers like me.

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff, (List Price: 28, Riverhead Books, 9780593418390, September 2023)

Reviewed by Jessica Osborne from E. Shaver, bookseller in Savannah, GA

My Shadow Is Yours by Edoardo Nesi

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My Shadow Is Yours by Edoardo Nesi
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It is rare that I burst into tears reading the last sentence of a novel. I can count the number of times it has happened on one hand. Bawdy, ballsy, and brainy, My Shadow Is Yours is also tender and wise. A recent college graduate is hired to accompany a reclusive middle-aged novelist on a road trip to Milan. There he is scheduled to speak to an audience for the first time in 25 years when his one and only cultural landmark of a novel was published. As they travel across Italy, they bond over women, wine, and have violent, intensely personal arguments about life. Crushing and raw, caustic and funny. For me, it was perfection!

My Shadow Is Yours by Edoardo Nesi, (List Price: 16.99, Other Press, 9781635420685, September 2023)

Reviewed by Kelly Justice, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

Family Meal by Bryan Washington

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Family Meal by Bryan Washington
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At times heartwarming, others heartrending, this tender work from Washington is delectable. Lust, hunger, grief, and a longing for belonging squeeze up against the forces that seek to tear us apart, but, what Family Meal serves is a generous familial communion made up of the people we love and those who, despite our flaws, love us back. A restorative novel to be shared, undoubtedly set to bring its readers together.

Family Meal by Bryan Washington, (List Price: $28, Riverhead Books, 9780593421093, October 2023)

Reviewed by Luis Correa, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

To Have and to Heist by Sara Desai

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To Have and to Heist by Sara Desai
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To Have and to Heist is a wild-ride from start to finish. Think Oceans 11 with serious screwball romantic comedy energy. The plot is complex, but Desai is no novice. A seasoned romance author whose previous works have charmed us for the last few years (The Single’s Game, The Wedding Planner & The Dating Project), Desai is known for loveable, awkward leads caught in the cross hairs of cultural expectations and hijinks. Simi, her floundering heroine with zero filter, is instantly loveable. Jack is Simi’s perfect foil; secretive and gruff but also floundering in his own way. Their chemistry is instant. While Simi and Jack’s relationship takes the lead, sizzling with sexual tension, their heist crew provides the perfect goof-ball comedic relief. Would I trust an Uber driver, a hit-man, a nerdy man-child, and an animal loving HIMBO to have my back in a heist? In these circumstances… you bet. Sara Desai brings us the experiences of many young, second generation Indian Americans- pressure to live up to familial expectations, be successful, and, of course, get married. Expertly weaving these experiences into laugh out loud romances. To Have and To Heist is the fun, heart-racing, summer romance adventure that we all deserve.

To Have and to Heist by Sara Desai, (List Price: $17, Berkley, 9780593548509, July 2023)

Reviewed by Katie Garaby, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee

King of the Armadillos by Wendy Chin-Tanner

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King of the Armadillos by Wendy Chin-Tanner
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Victor’s life is turned upside down at the young age of 15. Diagnosed with Hansen’s disease (leprosy), he’s forced to leave his family and move to Carville, LA to a federal leprosarium. Scared and alone, he wants to flee. However, with the wide and varied cast of characters in his new home at Carville, he finds hope, love, and tragedy…but always hoping for the elusive cure. When Victor’s time at Carville nears the end, difficult choices must be made. You’ll find you are holding your breath at many points of this story. I could not put it down.

King of the Armadillos by Wendy Chin-Tanner, (List Price: 28.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250843005, July 2023)

Reviewed by Amy Loewy, Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans, Louisiana

Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen

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Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen
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Jessica Tran returns home from LA after a bad breakup hoping to get back on her feet, but things are just as crazy at home: her parents’ nail salon is facing competition from an Instagram-worthy gentrified salon across the street. All five Tran family members — Jessica, her workaholic brother, her immigrant parents, and recently-arrived cousin — get POV chapters as they try to figure out what’s next and how to keep Sunshine Nails afloat. With a light tone, stylized characters, and page-turning short chapters that read faster than quick-dry polish can set, Sunshine Nails is a fun read, even if the ending feels a little rushed and smudged.

Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen, (List Price: 26.99, Atria Books, 9781668010495, July 2023)

Reviewed by Melanie, The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
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An August 2023 Read This Next! Book

In Pottstown, PA in 1972 a skeleton is found at the bottom of a old well. McBride takes us back more than four decades to tell the story of a community of Black and Jewish characters in the Chicken Hill neighborhood, along with the white characters who run the town (and march in the annual KKK parades.) It’s hard to think of a more compassionate writer than McBride. This story is captivating, funny, exciting and absolutely wonderful.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, (List Price: $28, Riverhead Books, 9780593422946, August 2023)

Reviewed by Christine Lavigna, Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

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Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
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An August 2023 Read This Next! Book

In a debut as profound as it is strange, Emily Habek explores what happens when a newlywed couple is split apart by a strange mutation–one of them is turning rapidly, limb by fin, into a great white shark. With imagination and heart, Habek startles the reader awake with the questions we all have living in us: can I survive loss in my life? How do I remain open when I am suffering? What does it mean to learn myself again?

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck, (List Price: 28, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books, 9781668006498, August 2023)

Reviewed by Julia Paganelli Marin, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas

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