The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Southern Book Prize Finalist

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

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How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
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Mark and Louise hate each other, but when their parents flee their home in the middle of the night and die in a car crash the siblings are forced to re-unite. What happens when you walk into your family home and see the attic door bolted up? Or your mom’s massive puppet collection whose eyes seem to follow you wherever you go? Well, I’m afraid you may have some trouble selling the house. Filled with family secrets, twists, and an uneasy tone that had me on the edge of my seat, this book was WILD and FUN. It had me second guessing everything around me. Did I turn on the TV? Okay, that milk was not there 5 minutes ago.Is someone messing with me?I loved this. It was creepy. It was weird. It was emotional. It was absolutely bonkers in the best way possible!

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix, (List Price: 28, Berkley, 9780593201268, January 2023)

Reviewed by Janisie Rodriguez, Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda, Florida

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

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Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
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This book is no mere pick of the month. This is the kind of book that comes along once in a generation. The kind of book that makes us want to open bookstores. The kind of book that will be required reading for our children and grandchildren as they go through school. The kind of book that will be filmed page by page and line by line because there is not one thing about it that needs to be changed. I can only hope that we are ready to let this book change us. This is a story that needed to be told, but couldn’t be told without a great deal of pain. For Jesmyn Ward to explore this territory and tell this story amid her own personal grief is an act of bravery. It is an act of service to American society to tell this story no matter how hard it got, and to withhold shortcuts and saviors and swooping gestures, to force us to look at the honest truth of the human toll of our history. And it is an act of love to each and every individual who we will never know but whose story this could be.

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward, (List Price: $28, Scribner, 9781982104498, March 2023)

Reviewed by Emily Liner, Friendly City Books in Columbus, Mississippi

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

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The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
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n immersive trip through Southern Gothic Early America. The narrative follows a lone girl down the Potomac River, from Jamestown and into the unknown. Nameless or many-named like a barn-cat drifter, Girl wields caution, imagination and a blade to survive the crystalline forests of Virginia and Maryland. She drafts off a peloton of memories–as the British orphan, the mistress’s servant, Bess’s friend, the glassblower’s lover—that pull her forward to eat dirt and vibe with a bear in the present. It’s all about the stories that keep us alive. Groff’s easy and percussive writing, along with her use of time, space and inner dialogue, create an immediacy that had me trying to locate Girl’s coordinates on a map so I wouldn’t lose her. Captivating. Awesome. Great.

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

Reviewed by Jackie Carlson, Tombolo Books in St Petersburg, Florida

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

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Starling Houseby Alix E. Harrow
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As someone who has always been a little too soft for the world, nothing delights me more than living vicariously through fierce and hard as nail protagonists like Opal. Opal is fighting every day to make sure her brother doesn’t go without in the town of Eden. Despite barely having time to think, Opal begins to dream of Starling House, the Secret that no one talks about, and even though she knows better, she finds herself at the front door. Arthur is going to be the last warden of the Starling House, taking its legacy of monsters and magic down with him. He’s determined to be so until Opal breaks down the walls around his heart with her knock at Starling House’s door. This is a story of two people who are less than beautiful that smile with crooked teeth and black eyes, and I didn’t want it to end.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow, (List Price: $28.99, Tor Books, 9781250799050, October 2023)

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

Above Ground by Clint Smith

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Above Ground by Clint Smith
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Clint Smith’s latest collection of poems is so good. I love how he intersperses poems about his first child with poems about the state of America as a whole. His voice is soft and sharp at the same time, and works so well in both settings.

Above Ground by Clint Smith, (List Price: 27, Little, Brown and Company, 9780316543033, March 2023)

Reviewed by Daniel Jordan, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas

We Are Too Many by Hannah Pittard

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We Are Too Many by Hannah Pittard
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We Are Too Many is a memoir of the end (and beginning) of a marriage. Told hilariously over three parts, Hannah Pittard invites readers to follow her through ten years of time-jumped remembered conversations. Her story is written with a refreshing amount of honesty as she leads the reader through her discovery that her husband and best friend have had sex, along with what came before and after. Unfinchingly honest and hilarious, Pittard seamlessly blends fact with fiction to make an unforgettable memoir. I finished this in one afternoon. I could not put it down — nor did I want to. A gem for anyone who loves memoir, language play, a book that reads like a documentary, or a delightful and entertaining read.

We Are Too Many by Hannah Pittard, (List Price: 26.99, Henry Holt and Co., 9781250869043, May 2023)

Reviewed by Deva, The Snail On the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama

The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl

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The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl
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An October Read This Next! Book!

Margaret Renkl’s writing is the literary equivalent to being wrapped in a soft blanket in your favorite chair with a cup of tea on a crisp day. The Comfort of Crows continues her beautiful way with words (after her stellar Late Migrations) with 52 essays of her observations that take the reader through the seasons of the year…from the beauty of nature and all it encompasses to the varying human emotions and stages of life. You will want to plant something, feed something, preserve something, and protect something all at the same time. You don’t have to be a nature lover to read this book, but you will be by the time you finish it.

The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl, (List Price: 32, Spiegel & Grau, 9781954118461, October 2023)

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

Chaos Theory by Nic Stone

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Chaos Theory by Nic Stone
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Shelbi has resisted making friends at her new school since she’s had bad experiences in the past. But when she witnesses Andy at a low point, she can’t help but reach out to let him know she knows what it’s like. And like that, despite Shelbi’s best efforts, a friendship is born. But both Shelbi and Andy have demons, Shelbi’s in the form of bipolar disorder that has impacted relationships in her past, and Andy’s in the form of alcoholism that started after his sister died. This is a moving story of two teens, both together and individually, as Shelbi learns the maybe she can rely on other people, and Andy learns to prioritize himself and his mental health.

Chaos Theory by Nic Stone, (List Price: 18.99, Crown Books for Young Readers, 9780593307700, February 2023)

Reviewed by Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby

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All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby
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All The Sinners Bleed is crime fiction at its best. Cosby has created a genre all his own with this and his first two novels that I’d call “Virginia noir.” And I’m totally here for it. This one follows a small-town sheriff (with an FBI background) that’s chasing a serial killer that has an obsession with religious iconography and targeting very specific victims. This police procedural that sets a new standard for thrillers and it also highlights the overt/covert social tensions that are prevalent in rural communities.

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby, (List Price: 27.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250831910, June 2023)

Reviewed by Stuart McCommon, Novel. in Memphis, Tennessee

This Isn’t Going to End Well by Daniel Wallace

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This Isn't Going to End Well by Daniel Wallace
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Daniel Wallace’s newest work is a combination memoir and biography, telling his own story alongside that of friend and brother-in-law, William Nealy. This Isn’t Going To End Well begins in 1970s Alabama capturing llaissez-faire parenting, and the idleness and creativity of childhood at the time. Fast forward to our beloved Chapel Hill, the book moves from adolescence to adulthood, asking the question: How well do we ever really know someone? Wallace makes you feel like you are sitting with an old friend, reminiscing. The people rattle around in your head, and the writing is clean and clever. An especially great read for outdoor enthusiasts and artists, writers and lovers. Wallace has written a story of family, adventure, following your dreams, and sadly, tragedy. This Isn’t Going To End Well is gentle and kind, even when life is not.

This Isn’t Going to End Well by Daniel Wallace, (List Price: $28, Algonquin Books, 9781643752105, April 2023)

Reviewed by Peggy Mulqueen, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina

Where Are the Aliens? by Stacy McAnulty

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Where Are the Aliens? by Stacy McAnulty
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Stacy (local-to-me author!) is like the teacher who gets passionately excited about something and her enthusiasm drags the entire class into that geekdom. The kind that when you see a oddly specific kitschy item you know it has to belong to them so you buy it and gift it to them and they tell you a story about something you had no idea about in that item you are handing them. I am delighted that her Our Universe picture books have a middle grade book for their readers to grow into.

Where Are the Aliens? by Stacy McAnulty, (List Price: 16.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780759553996, September 2023)

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

Okra Stew by Natalie Daise

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Okra Stew by Natalie Daise
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You can almost smell the salt marsh in this stunning homage to Gullah culture, father-son love, and Okra. With art reminiscent of Lois Ehlert or Faith Ringold this one is a must for all young southern foodies.

Okra Stew by Natalie Daise, (List Price: 19.99, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 9781250849663, October 2023)

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

When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn

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When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunnr
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This is now one of my favorite books. I was devastated for myself and every character I had met along the way while reading this wonderfully crafted story. This book will rip your heart out and put it back together perfectly. I highly recommend When Sea Becomes Sky for readers young and old.

When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn, (List Price: $16.99, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 9781547610853, February 2023)

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

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

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Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker
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Blood Debts is a magical novel about reckoning- societal reckoning, familial reckoning, and personal reckoning. Clem and Cris Trudeau are practitioners of Generational magic, magic derived from the moon and the power of their ancestors. Their family has been torn apart, their connection to magic is unstable at best, and they don’t trust anyone, least of all themselves. Clem and Cris are furious at the injustice their family has been handed- from the violent lynchings of their grandparents, to the racist anti-magic laws being debated in New Orleans, to the recent murder of their father, to the way white vultures keep trying to appropriate Generational magic. Blood Debts handles all of these difficult, emotional topics with care and still gives these teenagers space to experience being kids. Dramatic friendship breakups, sibling bickering, and the beauty of queer, Black love add even more layers to this breathtaking tale. Pursue answers, love, and most importantly, justice, with Clem and Cris in Blood Debts… you won’t be sorry.

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker, (List Price: 18.99, Tor Teen, 9781250825926, April 2023)

Reviewed by Julia Hirschfield, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

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Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
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An August 2023 Read This Next! Book

Ann Patchett does it again! Tom Lake is so good it’s like eating a favorite dessert. Do you gobble it up quickly, or slowly savor it so that it lasts longer? I would give a million stars to this one. I loved it so much. Everyone should read this book. It is gorgeous. Tom Lake is a heartwarming tale about a woman recounting her youth to her daughters who see her as their mother, not as a girl who navigated the trials of early love, the temptations of Hollywood, and the love of a man who became a star. It explores family bonds, parental love, sisterly love, and the very events that make us who we are. A fantastic read for parents and young adult children alike. You will see yourself in many of the characters. Absolutely delicious.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, (List Price: 30, Harper, 9780063327528, August 2023)

Reviewed by Monie Henderson, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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