The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!
Hayley Kiyoko adds author to her list of accomplishments with Girls Like Girls, based on her hit song and video of the same name. Coley has had to move away from her home in California to live with the father she barely remembers after her mother’s death. But things feel bleak for her as she tries to make new friends and deal with her father. She doesn’t want to be there and she’s convinced he doesn’t want her there either.
Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko, (List Price: 20, Wednesday Books, 9781250817631, May 2023)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
An absorbing tale that begins with a single, terrible act of violence a father unleashes upon his son before tracing the ripple of that act as it courses over many lives across decades. Structurally, the novel is quite unique; nearly every named character in the novel, all of them affected in some way by this act of violence, have their perspectives shared with us. Childs’s precise writing makes their anguish and their frustration feel so real despite the short time we spend viewing the story through each character’s eyes. A queer coming-of-age story for the ages.
Dreaming Home by Lucian Childs, (List Price: 16.95, Biblioasis, 9781771965491, June 2023)
Reviewed by Sam Edge, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Filled with a neat balance of relatable humor and serious topics, You Truly Assumed is a memorable coming-of-age novel that touches on the struggles of three black, Muslim women and their fight to create a safe space and a voice to be heard for people just like them. You Truly Assumed is the perfect novel for teens or young adults who feel they don’t have a voice in the face of prejudice and fear, as it features funny, relatable characters and the raw effects of real events.
You Truly Assumed by Leila Sabreen, (List Price: $10.99, Inkyard Press, 9781335428646, February 2023)
Reviewed by Makayla Summers, Main Street Reads in Summerville, South Carolina
