From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:
Hardcovers
Bird Box: A Novel by Josh Malerman (Ecco, $25.99, 9780062259653). "Imagine a world invaded and devastated by a monster that, if gazed upon, makes the viewer insane and prone to acts of violence. Insert into this world a young mother living in a shrouded house with two young children whom she has trained from birth to listen, but never to look. Now, she is going to take them blindfolded on a trip 20 miles downriver in a canoe in hopes of a better life. This is the world of Bird Box that will keep you up reading well past your bedtime. Creepy, wonderful, and un-put-downable." --Lori Haggbloom, Books Inc., San Francisco, Calif.
Jack of Spies: A Novel by David Downing (Soho Crime, $26.95, 9781616952686). "This thought-provoking and moving historical epic about a British man with linguistic talents who gradually becomes a spy takes place in the year before World War I breaks out. Women were fighting for the right to vote and oppressed peoples all over the world were rebelling against colonial power structures. Downing captures all these complexities without slowing down the pace of this gripping thriller. Highly recommended!" --Bina Valenzano, the BookMark Shoppe, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Paperback
We Need New Names: A Novel by NoViolet Bulawayo (Back Bay Books, $15, 9780316230841). "Bulawayo gives her character Darling an emotionally powerful voice while telling her story in such sparse and brilliantly crafted sentences, I had to put the book down just to savor the writing and take a break from the heartbreaking scenes of the strife in Zimbabwe. Bulawayo takes us on one young immigrant's journey from a country being destroyed by violence to one where the grandness and wealth are overwhelming and the Midwestern cold is piercing. This is a debut novel not to be missed!" --Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books, Mystic, Conn.
For Teen Readers
The Truth About Alice by Jen Mathieu (Roaring Brook Press, $16.99, 9781596439092). "Free-spirited, bold, and beautiful, Alice has always been the object of boys' lust and other girls' jealousy and admiration at her small-town high school. After a party, rumors about Alice start to spread: she's a slut, she had sex with two boys in one night, and she was responsible for the death of one of them. Told from multiple perspectives, The Truth About Alice details what it means to be bullied and what it takes to stand against it. At times harshly funny, at times heart-wrenching, this is ultimately a hopeful story." --Emily Ring, Inklings Bookshop, Yakima, Wash.
[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]
