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The week of March 4, 2025 The books for young readers we’re looking forward to this spring.  The spring titles on the Read This Next! Kids list for March and April include books for all "young readers" — from picture books to middle grade to young adult. The themes cover a wide range as well; "family" and "friendship," are important topics that keep coming up. But then, there is also "fish" and "robots." What the booksellers have to say: Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven At Night, They Danced by Victoria Scott-Miller, Toni D. Chambers (Illus.) Home by Matt de la Peña, Loren Long (Illus.) Candle Island by Lauren Wolk Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, Dan Santat (Illus.) Ripening Time by Patrice Gopo, Carlos Vélez Aguilera (Illus.)
Read This Now | Read This Next | Book Buzz | The Bookseller Directory |
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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The Human Scale by Lawrence Wright Adult Fiction, Crime, Fiction, Thrillers Tony Malik is a Palestinian American on leave from his position in the FBI due to a traumatic injury suffered when a terrorist bomb detonated while being defused. While on leave, he travels to Gaza to attend the wedding of his niece, whom he has never met. Shortly after his arrival, an Israeli police chief is brutally murdered, and Tony becomes a suspect in the crime. While working to prove his innocence, Tony forms an unlikely alliance with an anti-Arab hardline Israeli police officer who is investigating the murder. Both men are racing to discover the truth, which culminates on October 7th, 2023, in a way that neither could have foreseen. As a fiction thriller, this book stands by itself, but as a deftly written portrayal of real-world issues (with heroes and villains on both sides), it should be required reading for those seeking a deeper understanding of the history that drives the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is truly a masterpiece. Reviewed by Brent Bunnell, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina |
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Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall Adult Fiction, Family Life, Fiction THIS is what reading is all about! Literary genius. Striking, evocative, and intense. It’s like it knocked the wind out of me for the 24 hours it took me to read it. For fans of The Notebook, The Unmaking of June Farrow, and Kristin Hannah. This book didn’t just break my heart, it shattered it. A piece for Beth’s lost son, another for her grieving husband, and one more for the life she might have had with Gabriel. It’s rare to find a book that captures the full depth of human emotion the way this one does. Reviewed by Shelby Barnett, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana |
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Dancing Woman by Elaine Neil Orr Adult Fiction, Fiction, General, Historical I wish I had this book when I had children. I was scared, I was alone and had no idea where or who I was supposed to be. Imagine being first married in another continent, having a distant husband, and then twins. Isabel has a lot on her mind, and we follow her as she begins to transform as she reckons with the fact she cheated on her husband before she had the twins. Is her husband the father of these beautiful but vastly different-looking girls? Can she fall in love with her husband again? Is the sculpture of the Dancing Woman calling her to be the best version of herself? This book is so provocative, realistic, and poignant. I can’t wait to recommend it to book clubs. So beautifully written. Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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The Witch’s Table by Melinda Beatty 
In her official bio, Melinda Beatty says she is, by day, "a mild-mannered bookseller at an independent bookstore." She spoke to Books Forward about what it means to wear that particular hat as a children’s author, including taking pains to clarify "sitting around reading all day” myth: "There is WAY too much to do to have time to stand still long enough to read. There’s always a customer to help, a shipment to receive, displays to make, shelf-talkers to write or dusting to do! For pure aesthetics, my favorite area of the bookstore is our children’s section. It is just marvelous! The back of the store is enclosed in a little tiki hut, which holds our board books, picture books and emergent readers section. Just outside is our middle grade and YA. But sci-fi/fantasy is my soul section — it’s where I do most of my reading! In our store, this section is housed on a huge baker’s cart, front and back and it’s the area I do most of my recommendations from!"" ― Melinda Beatty, Interview, Books Forward What booksellers are saying about The Witch’s Table by Melinda Beatty 
Melinda Beatty has had years of practice trying to explain to others why she was just having an imaginary conversation between two people that don’t exist, so becoming a writer seemed like the best way to stop everyone from looking at her funny. After years of narrowboat living on the English canals, she and her British husband are now back on dry land in Maryland, where by day, she’s a mild-mannered indie bookseller, and by night, she wrangles words, crafts projects, and raises a Labrador and two fierce mini-women. Stefano Tambellini was born in a small town in Tuscany, Italy. He studied traditional animation at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and then moved to London, where he worked as a freelance illustrator for animation and publishing. He lives with a gray cat named Mandragola, and he’s also a stop-motion puppet maker and filmmaker. See more of Stefano’s work at ste-tambellini.format.com. |
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Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik Adult Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Entertainment & Performing Arts "Art, my God, Joan, I’m embarrassed to mention it in front of you, you know, but you mentioned burning babies in locked cars, so I can mention Art." Eve Babitz to Joan Didion, 1972. In this blazing memoir, one feels like they’re out for drinks discussing ’70s Hollywood sleaze, female chauvinist pigs, and Charles Manson with your wildly messy and entertaining friend. Anolik’s powerful storytelling and adept reporting remind one of Eve Babitz, the "secret genius of L.A." Oscillating between moments of unbelievable grief, Didion-esque cold distance, and the hot it-girl urge to push it all away, this memoir is a testament to artists, their craft, and the lovers’ spat between two of the greatest Californian writers of our time. Reviewed by Joshua Lambie, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia |
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Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult Fiction
A March/April Read This Next! Kids Title This may be the most beautifully written book I’ve ever read. I need to process and come back, but this made me feel all the feels. There are so many insanely gorgeous lines I would love to quote here. Suffice it to say, I about ran out of ink in my highlighter. If you liked Addie LaRue, you will like this book. Even if you didn’t, you will probably like this book. Another note: I It doesn’t remotely read as YA. More like literary fiction. Reviewed by Kelley Dykes, Main Street Reads in Summerville, South Carolina |
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Your Forest by Jon Klassen Bedtime & Dreams, Children, Concepts, Imagination & Play, Juvenile Fiction Everything Jon Klassen writes has me hypnotized (not to mention my 4-year-old). This one has even more eyes in it than usual! Reviewed by Doron Klemer, Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana |
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Milk White Steed by Michael Kennedy Comics & Graphic Novels, Literary Michael Kennedy’s comix are somewhere between jazz, surrealism, Greek tragedy and Krazy Kat. Suffused with the grain and pain of hard luck life, these strange tales dot along the timeline of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora like messages from the Gods drawn in blood and fruit juice. Reviewed by Jonathan Hawpe, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky |
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Decide for Yourself Books that appear on PEN America’s list of challenged books. |
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Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon Banned Books, Contemporary, Emotions & Feelings, New Experience, Romance, Social Themes, Young Adult Fiction I’m a hoofer. Tap has always been my dance love, and one of Vicki’s Tap Pups’ neatest dances was a compilation of dances of the 50s and 60s. Needless to say, ballroom dancing is not my strength, although a simple jitterbug has given hubs and me a surprising amount of wedding attention. Thing is, it’s not the jitterbug, it’s the connection. I’m proud to say we’ve been married for 20 years. In Instructions for Dancing, Evie receives a dubious superpower that she sees the love lives of couples — how they met, how they grew together, and, prophetically, the tragic breakups that haven’t happened yet but will. That, coupled with her parents’ ugly divorce (and not being allowed to tell her younger sister that her dad had an affair), makes her hesitant to engage in a relationship. But she accepts a challenge that "not everybody can dance good, but everybody can dance", and ends up paired with X, who lives by a "just say yes" philosophy, and things change in ways she never expected. Reviewed by Lisa Yee Swope, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
[ See the full list ] |
Parting Thought “My weapon has always been language, and I’ve always used it, but it has changed. Instead of shaping the words like knives now, I think they’re flowers, or bridges.” |
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Publisher:
The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance /
siba@sibaweb.com |
SIBA | 51 Pleasant Ridge Drive | Asheville, NC 28805
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