The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Young Adult Fiction

This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki

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This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki
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What a pair! Thrilled to see Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux team up for This Place Kills Me, bringing together their signature skills in creating wonderful misfit weird girls to this beautifully drawn, dark, theatrical mystery. Set at an all-girls boarding school in the ’80s/’90s, I couldn’t put this book down as the secrets of the Wilberton Theatrical Society spilled out in devastating and compelling ways.

This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki, (List Price: $26.99, Abrams Fanfare, 9781419768460, August 2025)

Reviewed by Julie Jarema, Hub City Bookshop in Spartanburg, South Carolina

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Legendary Frybread Drive-In by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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Legendary Frybread Drive-In by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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I loved this collection of intertribal stories that center on Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-in. Sandy June’s exists where and when it is needed. Sandy June’s is a gathering place for Indians across the country to find comfort, community, hope, and acceptance. You find it in your time of need: are you lonely or grieving? Want to help a friend? Need to forgive? Or build your confidence? In love?. Sandy June’s is a comforting place to gain solace and understanding, and the perfect place to hang out with friends and family. Each story is written by a different author, but some characters and elements cross over. A very enjoyable and comforting book.

Legendary Frybread Drive-In by Cynthia Leitich Smith, (List Price: $19.99, Heartdrum, 9780063314269, August 2025)

Reviewed by Amy Dance, The Snail On the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama

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A Spell to Wake the Dead by Nicole Lesperance

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A Spell to Wake the Dead by Nicole Lesperance
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Witchcraft, ghosts, cults, and romance! I was stressed out at every turn, worried about this teen friend group’s safety and sanity.

A Spell to Wake the Dead by Nicole Lesperance, (List Price: $19.99, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 9780593856338, August 2025)

Reviewed by Eden Haymon, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana

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Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen

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Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen
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A burnt-out teen joins a local theater program in this delightful story for fans of Eliza, From Scratch. Finding solace in messaging with Peri, the bear in their production of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, Angelica works to uncover his true identity, finding community and new love along the way.

Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen, (List Price: $27.99, Random House Graphic, 9781984892676, October 2025)

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

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Fateless by Julie Kagawa

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Fateless by Julie Kagawa
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It was so awesome being back in a world created by Julie Kagawa. It’s so easy to get swept up in her world-building and storytelling. It did take a little bit to get into, but I truly think that is only because of the immense world-building needed. The only problem I have now is how long do I have to wait for book 2?!?

Fateless by Julie Kagawa, (List Price: $19.99, HarperCollins, 9781335448804, July 2025)

Reviewed by Mandy Harris, Angel Wings Bookstore & Bistro in Oxford, North Carolina

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (10th Anniversary Edition) by Sherman Alexie

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (10th Anniversary Edition) by Sherman Alexie
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Simultaneously heartbreaking and humorous. A fictionalized tale of the author’s life as a young teen, chronicling his battle with being loyal to his home and breaking away to meet who he was destined to be.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (10th Anniversary Edition) by Sherman Alexie, (List Price: $20.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316504041, September 2017)

Reviewed by Mallory Sutton, Bards Alley in Vienna, Virginia

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A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid

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A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid
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Dive deeper into the world of A Study in Drowning, into the dreams of Preston Héloury and the lore of the Sleepers, as Ava S. Reid’s Welsh folklore-infused dark academia fantasy continues! With the lush literary romance of Divine Rivals and the incisive magical dark academia of Babel, this series is a must-read, and A Theory of Dreaming only swept me further off my feet and out to (a palace beneath the) sea.

A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid, (List Price: $19.99, HarperCollins, 9780063421677, July 2025)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Identical by Ellen Hopkins

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Identical by Ellen Hopkins
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Brilliant work by the author. This one is dark and hard to read, but the shock at the end… It’s a doozy!

Identical by Ellen Hopkins, (List Price: $24.99, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 9781416950059, August 2008)

Reviewed by Courtney Niederer, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

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The Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgwick by S. Isabelle

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The Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgwick by S. Isabelle
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Stella Sedgwick is a young black woman in late 19th-century England. She wants to be a writer and an independent woman. When a surprise inheritance brings her into London society, she resurrects her mother’s newspaper advice column anonymously in this fun YA historical romance.

The Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgwick by S. Isabelle, (List Price: $19.99, Isabelle, S., 9781335006967, July 2025)

Reviewed by Rae Ann Parker, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee

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Arcana: The Lost Heirs by Sam Prentice-Jones

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Arcana: The Lost Heirs by Sam Prentice-Jones
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A hidden society of witches? An orphan with a strong lineage to a long-gone family? Cute queer romances and yearning? Tarot card foreshadowing? What more could one want? This is a world where witches work to keep the balance between natural and unnatural forces, and the Arcana is one of the specific societies that does this. But when four students’ lives are thrown together, they realize there is something connecting their blood, and it smells like murder, it smells like power, it smells like secrets. You won’t be able to put this one down!

Arcana: The Lost Heirs by Sam Prentice-Jones, (List Price: $19.99, 8. Feiwel & Friends, 9781250290229, June 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Let Them Stare by Jonathan Van Ness, Julie Murphy

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Let Them Stare by Jonathan Van Ness, Julie Murphy
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This is the power writing couple we didn’t know we needed! Murphy and JVN have crafted the most adorable rom-com with a ghosty twist! It’s sweet, spicy (but appropriate for YA spice!), and timely. Sully has just graduated high school, and they’re ready to take NYC by storm with their dream internship – until it gets canceled at the last minute. Sully finds a gorgeous vintage bag in their local thrift store and gets more than they bargained for when Rufus, a queer ghost from the 50s, appears. Sully and their crush hunt to find out what happened to Rufus and find some town secrets and a little romance along the way. I say this about every Juile Murphy collab, but I will read as many books as this pair creates.

Let Them Stare by Jonathan Van Ness, Julie Murphy, (List Price: $22.99, Storytide, 9780063346246, May 2025)

Reviewed by Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

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The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
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This adorable graphic novel about a shape-shifting selkie and a teen lesbian who hasn’t fully accepted her queerness is heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. This is a great book for young queer people with a diverse cast of characters and a lovely sapphic romance that you can easily devour in one sitting. Can’t wait to get this into the hands of young readers!

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag, (List Price: $14.99, Graphix, 9781338540574, June 2021)

Reviewed by Candice Huber, Tubby & Coo’s Traveling Book Shop in New Orleans, Louisiana

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A Mastery of Monsters by Liselle Sambury

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A Mastery of Monsters by Liselle Sambury
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Amazing amazing amazing!! From the first chapter, I was immediately drawn into the story and only put it down when absolutely necessary. If you love Legendborn like I do, this is the book for you. I loved!! the main ensemble, and watching each of their dynamics grow against the backdrop of the story was beyond enjoyable. The budding forbidden, slow-burn romance alongside the steady increasing tension was chef’s kiss. Can’t wait for the second one!

A Mastery of Monsters by Liselle Sambury, (List Price: $24.99, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 9781665957366, July 2025)

Reviewed by Sol Johnson, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina

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Espada by Anabel Colazo

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Espada by Anabel Colazo
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There is so much push and pull in this story of a magical Princess who does not believe she alone should have the power she’s been given by her adopted mother, the queen. A beautifully illustrated graphic novel that focuses on the stories that are told.

Espada by Anabel Colazo, (List Price: $19.99, Oni Press, 9781637157596, May 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Tenderly, I Am Devoured by Lyndall Clipstone

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Tenderly, I Am Devoured by Lyndall Clipstone
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Yearnful, beautifully haunting, and seeping with emotion, Tenderly, I Am Devoured is an exquisite blend of gothic fantasy and folk horror. This book is for those of us in our soft-goth era and was written to be read on a seaside cliff in the last rays of summer daylight.

Tenderly, I Am Devoured by Lyndall Clipstone, (List Price: $19.99, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 9781250348906, July 2025)

Reviewed by Courtney Ulrich Smith, Underbrush Books in Rogers, Arkansas

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