The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Young Adult

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len

,
Only a Monster by Vanessa Len
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Only A Monster uses my favorite type of time travel device (the fixed timeline) to craft an incredible tale spanning decades and centuries. I felt like I was right alongside Joan, trying to unravel the mysteries of the monster world. The idea of these sort of monsters moving throughout our world is a fascinating, if terrifying, one, and I was immediately intrigued. I wasn’t sold on the story right away, but the monster mystery was enough to keep me hooked until I really fell in love with the story itself. The world feels well-developed and larger than Joan and Aaron and our protagonists, and you get a distinct sense that a lot is going on in the “normal” world, while we see only a small fraction where we’ve chosen to focus our lens. Only A Monster is both heartbreaking and spellbinding, leaving you breathless for a happy ending. Will you get one? Only time will tell!

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len, (List Price: $18.99, HarperTeen, 9780063024649, February 2022)

Reviewed by Kate Wilder, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia



Only a Monster by Vanessa Len Read More »

An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan

, , , , , , ,
An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

I picked up this book because 1. it has a full moon on the cover. I’m a complete sucker for a moon and as I have yet to be steered wrong by this, it will continue to be an indicator of a great story to me. And 2. I am adoring this retelling trend YA is on right now. Romeo and Juliet meets Chinese mythology had me swiftly plucking this from the arc box. Other favorite motifs include: unearthly fireflies, a mysterious and magical book, & unexplainable “natural” happenings. The romance between Luna and Hunter is so sweet and swoon-worthy and doesn’t veer outside the plot (which is a pet peeve of mine).The story takes place in the early 90s which I forget until someone mentions a windbreaker, lol. I learned SO MUCH about Chinese versus Taiwanese culture–I never knew there was/is an identity issue and found it fascinating as Pan expertly weaves it into the Romeo & Juliet narrative. And speaking of R&J, the closer I got to the ending, the more anxious I was about how close to the play Pan would go. No spoilers here, but the ending is chef’s kiss.

An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan, (List Price: $18.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316464055,  April 2022)

Reviewed by Candice Conner, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan Read More »

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

, , ,
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Ruta Sepetys tackles the little-known subject of communist Romania with the gut-wrenching, suspenseful story of Cristian. He dreams of writing but instead is blackmailed to turn on everyone he loves. His story explores the endurance of the human spirit even in the toughest circumstances.

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys, (List Price: $18.99, Philomel Books, 9781984836038, February 2022)

Reviewed by Chelsea Stringfield from Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee


I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys Read More »

Golden Boys by Phil Stamper

, , , , ,
Golden Boys by Phil Stamper
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Stamper brings his trademark storytelling, full of heart and magic, to his story of 4 boys and one incredible summer. Sal, Gabriel, Heath, and Reese are the best of friends, but they’re all headed their separate ways for the summer. Sal is headed to DC to intern for a senator. Gabriel is headed to Boston to work for a nonprofit and save the trees. Heath is headed to Daytona to work with his aunt and cousin while his parents work out their divorce. And Reese is off to Paris for a summer design school. They’ve always been inseparable, so how will they make it through the summer?


Golden Boys by Phil Stamper, (List Price: $18.99, Bloomsbury YA, 9781547607372, February 2022)

Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia


Golden Boys by Phil Stamper Read More »

Reclaim the Stars by Zoraida Córdova

,
Reclaim the Stars by Zoraida Córdovas
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Reclaim the Stars is a knockout collection of young adult SFF short stories from voices of the Latin American diaspora. Each story feels personal, powerful & stands strong on its own, but I love the marvelous tapestry this book creates by binding them all up.


Reclaim the Stars by Zoraida Córdovas, (List Price: $19.99, Wednesday Books, 9781250790637, February 2022)

Reviewed by Cristina Russell, Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida


Reclaim the Stars by Zoraida Córdova Read More »

The Big Reveal by Jen Larsen

, , ,
The Big Reveal
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Addie is a fat dancer, and proud of it–not letting her peers or anybody else allow her to feel shame or inferiority because of her body. She has a group of truly excellent friends, who throughout the book are self-affirming, endlessly supportive, and outright hilarious. I wish I’d had anything close to these friends when I was in high school. Scratch that, I wish I had these friends now. Together, they hatch a plan to financially support Addie’s potential post-graduation job with a dance company in Milan that involves an underground burlesque show, and through it, Addie discovers the self-affirming and body-positive power of burlesque, which she and her friends had previously cast aside as creative stripping. But she also has, and does, stand up to misogyny, slut-shaming, and fatphobia from her peers and superiors, and Larsen is truly excellent at illustrating exactly how internalized bigotry can hurt you even when you think you love who you are, just because we live in a world where anything that isn’t the default is constantly assumed to be aberrant. The best YA I’ve read all year!!

The Big Reveal by Jen Larsen, (List Price: $17.99, 9781250252173, December 2021)

Reviewed by Akil Guruparan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

The Big Reveal by Jen Larsen Read More »

Medusa by Jessie Burton

, , ,
Medusa
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Burton’s feminist retelling of Medusa is filled with wonderful illustrations, and a story with which we’re all somewhat familiar. Medusa has been exiled to a remote island with her two sisters. But they are immortal and have wings, so Medusa’s existence is fairly lonely. But one day, a beautiful boy named Perseus arrives by boat and he and Medusa strike up a friendship, talking while each is on the other side of a giant rock. They each find themselves heartbroken, telling the other their story.

Medusa by Jessie Burton, (List Price: $19.99, Bloomsbury YA, 9781547607594, January 2022)

Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia

Medusa by Jessie Burton Read More »

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

, , ,
Anatomy: A Love Story
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Anatomy: A Love Story is a dark and deadly tale about just how far you’d go to achieve your dreams in a world designed for you to fail. I fell in love with Hazel and Jack. This was a gothic story of resurrection men and women surgeons in disguise that had me guessing until the last moment.

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz, (List Price: $18.99, Wednesday Books, 9781250774156, January 2022)

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

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz Read More »

The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman

, , ,
The Ivory Key
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Families are hard to live with, even more so when it seems like everything you do tears you apart further. The Ivory Key opens with a family torn asunder, tossed to four separate lives, yet they’re still as connected as ever, and they need each other, even though they refuse to admit it. I loved every single second of this book, but mostly, I loved the realistic nature of every relationship. I loved that the true backbone of this story was a family, that even though the plot was something much greater than them, they were the most important thing. Raman has a gift for storytelling, and it shines brightly from within the pages of The Ivory Key.

The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman, (List Price: 18.99, Clarion Books, 9780358468332, January 2022

Reviewed by Caitlyn Vanorder, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman Read More »

The Last She by H. J. Nelson

, ,
The Last She by H. J. Nelson
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Arabella is the last girl on earth, well as far as she knows. A terrible virus wiped out many children and women, and no one’s sure why. When her father tells her to run “back to the beginning” she tries to make her way home only to be captured by the infuriating and handsome Kaden. While she might not like him, she’ll have to ally with him to find what her father wanted her to know. I was pleasantly surprised by this novel! While this book was a quick and easy read, I really enjoyed the plot and find myself looking forward to the next one!

The Last She by H. J. Nelson, (List Price: $17.99, Wattpad Books, 9781989365717, December 2021)

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


The Last She by H. J. Nelson Read More »

When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord

, , ,
When You Get the Chance
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Millie’s summer is turned upside down when she finds her father’s old Livejournal that hints at her absent mother’s identity. Already obsessed with Mamma Mia! and all things Broadway, Millie tracks down three women and wedges herself into their lives. With a great cast of secondary characters and a slow-burn romance, Millie’s journey of self-discovery and growth is a delightful read.

When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord, (List Price: $18.99, Wednesday Books, 9781250783349, January 2022)

Reviewed by Chelsea Stringfield, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee

When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord Read More »

Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds, Jason Griffin (Illustrator)

, , ,
Ain't Burned All the Bright
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

A beautiful and unconventional book capturing what the year 2020 felt like to the youngest child of a fictional Black American family, told in three long sentences and a notebook’s worth of art. Haunting and gorgeous, the unnamed narrator’s observations speak powerfully to a wide range of emotions, from the despair felt watching the world crumble and seeing the country’s betrayal of its Black citizens, to the balm that family connections can provide in the darkest times.

Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds, Jason Griffin (Illustrator) (List Price: $19.99, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 9781534439467, January 2022)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds, Jason Griffin (Illustrator) Read More »

Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross

, ,
Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Clementine is a dream warden apprentice to her father until two usurpers show up one day and tear her dreams apart. Now her only concern is getting revenge. But when she finds that the men who stole her role have deeper motives that entangle her father and family, she has to tread more carefully than she ever expected. I absolutely loved Dreams Lie Beneath! This is one of those books that even the minor characters are lively, so much so that I found myself more fascinated with them than the main characters! All in all, this will be perfect for any YA fans of magical mystery.

Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross, (List Price: Greystone Kids, 9780063015920, November 2021)

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


Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross Read More »

A Rush of Wings by Laura E. Weymouth

, ,
A Rush of Wings by Laura E. Weymouth
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

This book is all the things I love about Weymouth’s writing: atmospheric, complex characters, compelling narrative, quietly philosophical. Rowenna is a force and I loved her!

A Rush of Wings by Laura E. Weymouth, (List Price: 18.99, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 9781534493087, November 2021)

Reviewed by Lauren Brown, The Story Shop in Monroe, Georgia


A Rush of Wings by Laura E. Weymouth Read More »

The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks by Mackenzi Lee

, , ,
The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

It’s finally here! The third and final installment of the Montague siblings has arrived, and it is well worth the wait! The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks introduces you to Adrian Montague, the youngest of the Montague siblings, and the only one who is completely unaware that he has siblings. When Adrian discovers a partial spy glass that belonged to his mother, questions arise: Where did this spy glass come from And did it have anything to do with his mother’s death?

While searching for answers, Adrian stumbles across Henry “Monty” Montague, the brother Adrian never knew he had. Adrian is delighted and curious to discover more about his brother, but Monty wants nothing to do with him. Yet after some persuasion, Monty decides to assist Adrian on this quest for answers. Adrian and Monty now find themselves embarking on a journey to find their sister Felicity and discover the secrets of the spy glass. But as always, a simple task for the Montague siblings will take a Herculean effort to keep them out of trouble and alive. The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks is one of the best books I have read this year. It’s filled with laughter, very relatable characters, mystery, and ghosts. Mackenzi Lee has created a historical world that takes the reader into the past and gives us characters that we can recognize and relate to.

The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks by Mackenzi Lee, (List Price: $18.99, Katherine Tegen Books, 9780062916013, November 2021)

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

The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks by Mackenzi Lee Read More »

Scroll to Top