The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

People & Places

Ancient Night by David Alvarez

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Ancient Night by David Alvarez
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Álvarez’s illustrations alone are enough to make this stunning picture book a winner—the dreamy feel of the milky moonlight against the deep-dark night and the crisp simplicity of the animals and their world is masterful. When paired with interwoven traditional Mesoamerican tales of the magic and power of our lunar companion, the story sings, enchanting readers with its mystery and beauty. Don’t miss this one!

Ancient Night by David Alvarez, (List Price: $18.99, Levine Querido, 9781646142514, March 2023)

Reviewed by Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Ramen for Everyone by Patricia Tanumihardja

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Ramen for Everyone by Patricia Tanumihardja
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A March 2023 Read This Next! Title

Ramen for Everyone beautifully depicts the bond food represents to Hiro and his family. Hiro learns that perfect isn’t always the same for everyone, and that what he can cook is just as wonderful as his dad’s recipe.

Ramen for Everyone by Patricia Tanumihardja, (List Price: $18.99, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 9781665904353, February 2023)

Reviewed by Jamie Kovacs, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Ramen for Everyone by Patricia Tanumihardja

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Ramen for Everyone by Patricia Tanumihardja
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A March 2023 Read This Next! Title

From the title and cover alone this book attracted everyone in my friend’s family — they homeschool and we were looking at a stack of kidlit over bubble tea. The verbs-with-images pages reminded me of superhero graphics, but instead of "pow" "bang" "zoom" and the like, dad cooking "steeps" "shreds" "stews", ending up with joy and anime eyes! I love the family in the kitchen story, and that it goes disastrously when Hiro first tries for himself, but knowing what individuals uniquely love allows him to tailor the perfect ramen for each in a way someone out of the household never could.

Ramen for Everyone by Patricia Tanumihardja, (List Price: $18.99, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 9781665904353, February 2023)

Reviewed by Lisa Yee Swope, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao

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When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It is a story about grief, community, family and love. Chao’s writing invites you into a community that is rich in Chinese culture and traditions that you can see, smell, taste and hear. Throughout the story you get to see Kai and Liya grow as individuals and find their way back to each other in the most heartwarming way. This beautiful story is sure to tug on your heartstrings!

When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao, (List Price: $18.99, Viking Books for Young Readers, 9780593464359, February 2023)

Reviewed by Keeshia Jacklitch, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

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She Is a Hauntingby Trang Thanh Tran
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A February 2023 Read This Next! Title

A gothic ghost story set in Vietnam. A modern family who have been torn apart by time and a house possessed by its former occupants. Haunting is the perfect word for this story. I was engrossed from the very beginning and now that I have finished it I can’t stop thinking about it.

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran (List Price: $18.99, Bloomsbury YA, 9781547610815, February 2023)

Reviewed by Rayna Nielsen, Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans, Louisiana

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How We Say I Love You by Nicole Chen

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How We Say I Love You by Nicole Chen
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How We Say I Love You reminds readers there are many ways to show love in your family. The story follows an Asian American girl through a day with her family, who show their love through actions like packing a homemade lunch or doing their best at school. This book is a beautiful way to talk about love and families with even the youngest of readers.

How We Say I Love You by Nicole Chen (List Price: $18.99, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 9780593428399, December 2022)

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

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Ice! Poems About Polar Life by Douglas Florian

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Ice! Poems About Polar Life by Douglas Florian
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Brrrrfect poetry for the winter months. The poems contained in Ice! will warm the hearts of young readers with funny frozen antics of penguins, caribou, narwhals and more cold climate critters.

Ice! Poems About Polar Life by Douglas Florian (List Price: $8.99, Holiday House, 9780823452439, December 2022)

Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

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House of Yesterday by Deeba Zargarpur

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House of Yesterday by Deeba Zargarpur
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This debut is a compelling family drama about generational trauma and secrets in a large family of Afghan-Uzbeki immigrants. As Sara deals with the impending divorce of her parents and the slow painful loss of her grandmother to dementia, she begins to see ghostly apparitions in a home her family’s construction company is renovating. Sara gets pulled into a web of family secrets and realizes that even though her family has a strong storytelling tradition, the stories she’s been told her whole life aren’t the whole story. At times creepy, but ultimately redemptive, this story is all about confronting literal and figurative ghosts.

House of Yesterday by Deeba Zargarpur (List Price: $18.99, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 9780374388706, November 2022)

Reviewed by Melissa Taylor, E. Shaver bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

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I am Ruby Bridges by Ruby Bridges

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I am Ruby Bridges by Ruby Bridges
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Elementary school. Ruby tells her story, as she experienced it, when she was just six years old. Adapted for the youngest readers, this edition has beautiful illustrations that demonstrate Ruby’s words. There is a glossary to help children learn key terms. For older readers, the author and illustrator have included their own personal notes of what inspired this version. This is an excellent book to help encourage family discussions about America’s history of education. This is a children’s book. It is told from the eyes of a child. It is illustrated showing the world through a child’s eye. It is beautiful! I loved Ruby’s sass, especially when it came to her very old name. I loved her innocence and her spunk. She is, indeed, Ruby Bridges, the First!

I am Ruby Bridges by Ruby Bridges, (List Price: $18.99, Orchard Book, 9781338753882, September 2022)

Reviewed by Nicole McManus, My Sister’s Books in Pawley’s Island, South Carolina

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Still This Love Goes On by Buffy Sainte-Marie

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Still This Love Goes On by Buffy Sainte-Marie
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Beautiful and poignant, this stunning ode to Cree life sings with love for the relations that sustain it—between people, with the land, and the communal practices that have endured through generations. Flett’s warm, evocative artwork is, as always, a treasure, imbuing Sainte-Marie’s lyrics with tender resonance.

Still This Love Goes On by Buffy Sainte-Marie, (List Price: $18.95, Greystone Kids, 9781771648073, September 2022)

Reviewed by Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Invisible: A Graphic Novel by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

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Invisible: A Graphic Novel by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
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Community service gains a whole new meaning for five middle school students in this must-have dual language graphic novel. Edgar award-winning author Christina Diaz Gonzalez even adds a signature mystery twist to the story that is sure to resonate with any one who ever felt lost in the wild world of middle school.

Invisible: A Graphic Novel by Christina Diaz Gonzalez, (List Price: $12.99, Graphix, 9781338194548, August 2022)

Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

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The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson

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The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson
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One of the best things about reading is when you discover a book that brings back wonderful memories of childhood favorites. The Star That Always Stays made me remember two of my favorite books: Heidi and The Girl of the Limberlost. Norvia, the young heroine of The Star That Always Stays, and the young girls from these older stories long for love, acceptance and a true home. They face adversity and feel despair at times at a lack of control over their lives. Yet their strong faith, persistence in pursuing an education, and kind words from others around them sustain them and help them overcome the hardships in their lives. Norvia’s Ojibwe family and the pre-WWI setting provide a great background to this young woman growing up in 1914 Michigan. This is a new classic in the making and I hope we will have more stories about Norvia and her extended family.

The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson, (List Price: $17.99, Holiday House, 9780823450404, July 2022)

Reviewed by Mary Patterson, The Little Bookshop in Midlothian, Virginia

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Free at Last by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle

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Free at Last by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle
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Such an important message, beautifully told in Free at Last, A Juneteenth Poem. I hope this picture book depicting such an important part of our history is shared widely in homes and schools.

Free at Last by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle, (List Price: $17.99, Union Square Kids, 9781454943747, June 2022)

Reviewed by Jessica Nock from Main Street Books in Davidson, NC

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Kings of B’more by R. Eric Thomas

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Kings of B'more by R. Eric Thomas
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This is truly a novel for both teens and adults. I’m Gen X and saw Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in the theater back in the day and absolutely loved this plot! R. Eric captures the essence of teen friendship – how it really is your whole world once you start getting ready to fly the nest. His characters all have really interesting relationships with both peers and parents – no one is having the same experience yet they are all listening to and supporting one another. R. Eric is the funniest man on earth, and I knew I’d love this book.

Kings of B’more by R. Eric Thomas, (List Price: $18.99, Kokilas, 9780593326183, May 2022)

Reviewed by Sissy Gardner, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee

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Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean

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Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean
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Tokyo Dreaming is a breathtaking story that is so vividly written you will feel like you are walking next to Izumi as she navigates imperial life. Izumi has overcome so many challenges since discovering that her father is the Crown Prince Makotonomiya Toshihito of Japan. The transition from normal small town girl to Imperial princess has been difficult. Now Izumi’s mom has joined her in Japan, and they are living the happy family life that Izumi always dreamed of with her father. When Izumi’s father proposes to her mom, everyone is thrilled for the life that is to come. Everyone, except the Imperial council who has their doubts about the match. Izumi decides she will do whatever it takes to make sure her mom and dad have their happily ever after. But what will it cost her? Her future happiest, her friends, or even the true love of her life. Tokyo Dreaming continues the story that began with Tokyo Ever After. Perfect for fans of Sarah Kuhn’s I love you so Mochi, Katherine McGee’s American Royal, or Meg Cabot’s Princess Diaries.

Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean, (List Price: $18.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250766632, May 2022)

Reviewed by Gretchen Shuler, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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