The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Young Adult Fiction

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

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A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
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An orphan with her own agenda of revenge, Arthie is forced to steal from vampire society in order to keep her teahouse and her found family safe. The worldbuilding, the vibes, and the cast of characters are all perfection. Faizal has delivered a twisty page-turner that I haven’t stopped thinking about.

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal, (List Price: $20.99, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 9780374389406, February 2024)

Reviewed by Chelsea Stringfield, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee

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Off Menu by Oliver Gerlach

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Off Menu by Oliver Gerlach
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I love a good cooking duel and this was great! The artwork was adorable and I loved the found family aspect of this!

Off Menu by Oliver Gerlach, (List Price: $24.99, little bee books, 9781499815030, October 2024)

Reviewed by sarah dimaria, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana

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Lonely Places by Kate Anderson

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Lonely Places by Kate Anderson
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Chase and Guthrie are two sisters who essentially grew up traveling the country with their parents and living in a renovated school bus after a tragedy occurred in their lives. After another accident happens to Guthrie, the family decides they need stability. Settling in Pando, they take up residence in a fire lookout in the middle of a forest. Not long after, Guthrie becomes obsessed with some of the trees and begins talking to herself. The significance? Guthrie’s past tragedy rendered her mute. Trying to save money for college and escape from the “hippie” lifestyle, Chase takes a summer job at a nearby camp. Even though she tries to resist, she soon makes friends and has a summer crush. Throughout the summer, strange things continue to occur in the forest – trees appear to have faces, Guthrie brings home collections of bones, and the summer is overshadowed by the story of a girl who went missing in the same forest decades ago. Next – Guthrie goes missing, and the family must find her before it’s too late. To find Guthrie, Chase and her family must face their past and the trauma that brought them to Pando. Lonely Places is a “slow burn” YA horror novel that mixes the past with the present and presents a psychological plot twist that will keep the reader guessing to the very end.

Lonely Places by Kate Anderson, (List Price: $14.99, Flux, 9781635831016, October 2024)

Reviewed by Marcia Honeycutt Roseman, Editions Book Store in Kannapolis, North Carolina

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Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher

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Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher
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I’ve been a big fan of Lex Croucher’s work for a while now, so I didn’t need much convincing to enjoy this book, but I’m so glad it still exceeded all my expectations. With top-notch character banter, a ragtag found family, silly woodsy shenanigans, and a tender slow burn romance between the granddaughter of Robin Hood and the healer she accidentally kidnaps, it was so easy to fall in love with this book!

Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher, (List Price: $20, Wednesday Books, 9781250847232, November 2024)

Reviewed by Matilda McNeely, Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Georgia

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Leap by Simina Popescu

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Leap by Simina Popescu
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I loved everything about this story! This touched on typical dancer struggles, like eating disorders, cruel instructors, and envy among the students but it was done in a way that I feel lots of people who aren’t in dance can relate to. But much more than just a story about dancers, we are following Ana, who is struggling with her identity, her relationships, being queer, and her struggle to figure herself out. I also really appreciated the color pallet that was chosen for this story and the times when the artist utilized other brighter colors as part of the storytelling.

Leap by Simina Popescu, (List Price: $17.99, Roaring Brook Press, 9781250838308, November 2024)

Reviewed by Sarah Blackwell, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Sync by Ellen Hopkins

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Sync by Ellen Hopkins
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Loved this book. It had a really engaging plot and it is my favorite realistic fiction book I have ever read. This book is great for older teens and young adults. This book did a really good job of keeping the reader engaged and entertained. Whether you like cliffhangers or not, you’ll love this book! I can not wait for the sequel to come out, and I definitely recommend this book to all young adult readers.

Sync by Ellen Hopkins, (List Price: $13.99, Nancy Paulsen, 9780593463260, August 2025)

Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in , North Carolina

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The Bitter End by Alexa Donne

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The Bitter End by Alexa Donne
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Who doesn’t feel a little murdery from time to time? In Donne’s The Bitter End, eight teens are stranded on top of a mountain, cut off by the snow and the lack of phones for their digital detox retreat. When one student turns up dead, it’s mostly chalked up to an accident. But when another is found, they aren’t quite so sure. Soon, it’s a race to figure out the culprit and escape the mountain with their lives. You can never go wrong with an Alexa Donne book, and I’m happy to report that this one is no exception!

The Bitter End by Alexa Donne, (List Price: $19.99, Random House Books for Young Readers, 9780593651063, October 2024)

Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia

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One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

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One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
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Surrounding the unsettling mystery of the death of an infamous high school tattler, One of Us is Lying focuses on the 4 suspects in the murder of Simon Kelleher. A thrilling “whodunnit”, One of Us is Lying will leave you guessing until the very last page and make your blood run cold at every unexpected turn. This chilling novel is both unpredictable and impossible to put down, keeping you engaged through the twists and betrayals of the story.

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus, (List Price: $12.99, Delacorte Press, 9781524714758, February 2023)

Reviewed by Makayla Summers, Main Street Reads in Summerville, South Carolina

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A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

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A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
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I’ve had an itch for a really riveting heist story ever since I finished Six of Crows, and I’ve always been weak for found family stories, so when I saw this come in I immediately snatched it up and I’m so glad I did. The world-building is intricate and vivid; the White Roaring is a perfectly dark, glittering gothic city with so much personality, and the characters are wonderful. Arthie and Jin are some of my new favorites; Arthie is chaotic and clever and selfish at times but in the best way, and Jin is so charming and a complete flirt and so fun to follow. I could say great things about all the characters, no one feels shorted in terms of development and personality, they all mesh together so well, and the conflict is so tangible and easy to get invested in. The plot is a little slow at times, but those slow moments aren’t wasted, the found family dynamic is always showcased and developed in these moments, so they never feel wasted, and it definitely picks up when it needs to. I’m already ready for the sequel, I adore this.

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal, (List Price: $20.99, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 9780374389406, February 2024)

Reviewed by Winter Goldsmith, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

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Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo

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Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo
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I loved the twists laced through this thrilling story. A mystery full of heart and at times deeply unsettling. Teenagers are messy, but they are wholly human with all the pain that often includes. This story takes them seriously in an important way giving voice to true loss and the devastation it can leave behind.

Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo, (List Price: $19.99, Bloomsbury YA, 9781547614004, April 2024)

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

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Twenty-Four Seconds from Now . . . by Jason Reynolds

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Twenty-Four Seconds from Now . . . by Jason Reynolds
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What can’t he do? After opening conversations about gun violence, the importance of belonging, bravery, and superheroes, now Jason Reynolds has turned the conversation to what real love looks like as navigated by sweet, kind, confused, scared (of dogs!) insightful 17-year-old Neon. This honest book is basically Judy Blume’s Forever written for today’s teen and should absolutely be required reading for every freshman English class.

Twenty-Four Seconds from Now . . . by Jason Reynolds, (List Price: $19.99, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 9781665961271, October 2024)

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

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Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews

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Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews
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If a hauntingly unhinged fever dream could physically exist, it would take form of this book. This is the type of story I will spend MONTHS thinking about.

Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews, (List Price: $19.99, Feiwel & Friends, 9781250895660, October 2024)

Reviewed by Shannon Rogers, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

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Heir by Sabaa Tahir

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Heir by Sabaa Tahir
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As a long-time fan of Sabaa Tahir’s work, from her National Book Award-winning All My Rage, to the Ember in the Ashes quartet that Heir follows, I was ecstatic for her newest adventure. Heir did not disappoint. With characters that are somehow even more fearsome than their predecessors, Tahir’s most recent novel is blistering, romantic, and convoluted in a fantastical ode to all of the different definitions of family. Tahir subtly weaves in callbacks to her Ember series that will excite earlier fans of her work, all while skillfully making it accessible to every reader, whether or not they know the haunted halls of Blackcliff Academy. Tahir has already penned her name in the annals of young adult greats, and Heir’s scim-sharp prose only further cements her legacy.

Heir by Sabaa Tahir, (List Price: $21.99, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 9780593616949, October 2024)

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

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The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee

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The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee
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This Grand Tour was supposed to be Monty’s last big hurrah before adulthood, but it has quickly turned into an unmitigated disaster. Instead of partying and gambling through Europe in style with his (unfairly handsome) best friend Percy, Monty is stuck with a dour chaperone who’s forbidden him from doing anything fun, his unpleasantly bookish sister, and a growing rift between him and (the still handsome) Percy. And that is before the highwaymen attack, setting Mackenzi Lee’s delightful characters on a swashbuckling caper from the highways of France, through Barcelona’s darkened alleys, to the sparkling (and sinking) islands of Venice. A Room with a View meets The Goonies in waistcoats and cravats, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice & Virtue is charming, witty, and heartfelt, and it’s bound to become an instant classic!

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee, (List Price: $15.99, Katherine Tegan Books, 9780062382818, August 2018)

Reviewed by Rebecca Speas, One More Page Books in Arlington, Virginia

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The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette’s by Hanna Alkaf

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The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette's by Hanna Alkaf
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Both horror and mystery, this book gave me chills and made me question how we define “monster.” It combines supernatural and real-life horror to tell a story about trauma, protection, and the bonds of girls. I was constantly trying to piece together how all the screamers were connected if the past had any impact on the current, and if the terrors inside St. Bernadette’s were real. Hanna Alkaf’s use of multi-perspective drove the story in a way that I really enjoyed. The girls felt real and I related strongly to Rachel and her constant drive to be a perfect daughter. I also loved that the book was set in Malaysia. It’s not an area I’m familiar with, so I enjoyed researching some of the phrases and other cultural references. For anyone who has an interest in mass hysteria events, old buildings full of secrets, or the ways in which trauma impacts protection, The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette’s is the perfect fit.

The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette’s by Hanna Alkaf, (List Price: $19.99, Salaam Reads, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781534494589, September 2024)

Reviewed by Ashley White, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana

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