From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:
Hardcover
The German Girl: A Novel by Armando Lucas Correa (Atria, $26.99, 9781501121142). "On May 13, 1939, the S.S. St. Louis set sail from Germany to Cuba with many Jewish passengers fleeing Hitler. Despite all best efforts, they were turned away from Cuba, the U.S., and Canada, forcing the ship to return to Europe, where many of the passengers would die in Hitler's death camps. Correa puts a human face on this shameful episode. Hannah Rosenthal, the daughter of wealthy aristocrats, was 12 when she boarded the St. Louis. Seven decades later, Anna Rosen receives a package from an unknown relative in Cuba that inspires her and her mother to travel to Cuba to learn the truth about their family's mysterious and tragic past. A masterful debut!" --Deon Stonehouse, Sunriver Books & Music, Sunriver, Ore.
Orphans of the Carnival: A Novel by Carol Birch (Doubleday, $27.95, 9780385541527). "Orphans of the Carnival is the story of a time when the oddities of nature could be a lucrative path to fame and fortune. Although heartbreaking, it is the wonderful journey of a talented woman who just wants a normal life, in spite of being alternately vilified and celebrated. Filled with many unforgettable characters and amazing writing, this is a book that will stay with readers for a long time." --Mary McBride, Rainy Day Books, Fairway, Kan.
Paperback
Only Love Can Break Your Heart: A Novel by Ed Tarkington (Algonquin, $15.95, 9781616205263). "Tarkington's debut novel feels positively Shakespearean in its sense of family dynamics and the sometimes destructive power of love, but it speaks with the deceptively plain, poignant language of a Neil Young song. Set in the 1980s in a small Virginia town, the book tells the coming-of-age story of Rocky Askew as he copes with fraternal abandonment, dangerous liaisons, caregiving, and one town scandal after another with little help other than his brother Paul's old vinyl collection. Only Love Can Break Your Heart speaks to anybody working to function, however imperfectly, in any type of family." --Andrew Hedglin, Lemuria Bookshop, Jackson, Miss.
For Ages 4 to 8
A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston (Candlewick, $17.99, 9780763690779). "This book is a quiet and powerful homage to the transformative power of children's literature. Readers follow a young girl as she travels a sea of words to collect a boy in need of an adventure. The imaginations of both the reader and the boy bloom under the guidance of the young girl, and by journey's end everyone becomes a Child of Books. Jeffers' colorful illustrations draw new and familiar fans alike into the story, while Winston's typographic scenery holds many rewards for the careful and observant reader." --Amy Brabenec, Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, Mass.
For Ages 9 to 12
Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi (Dutton, $17.99, 9781101994764). "Welcome to Ferenwood, where the flowers are edible, colors are magic, and magic is currency. It is the home of Alice, who, in a world of beauty and magic, struggles with poverty, a missing father, and the fact that she alone in the entire village has almost no color. As her future seems empty, Alice grabs the chance for adventure and joins her nemesis, Oliver, in a bid to rescue her father from the dangerous land of Furthermore, finding far more adventure than she bargained for. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!" --Kelly Morton, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, Ohio
For Teen Readers
Wrecked: A Novel by Maria Padian (Algonquin, $17.95, 9781616206246). "Conundrum: The name of the campus house where Haley's freshman roommate claims to have been raped, and the exact position Haley is put in when she finds herself drawn into the campus investigation. At the same time, Haley is growing closer to Richard, a housemate of the accused and a boy who annoys her, excites her, makes her furious, and makes her laugh. Haley and Richard find themselves on opposite sides of somebody else's war, struggling and scrambling to discern just who is telling the truth about what really happened. Timely, poignant, and thought-provoking, Wrecked should be required reading for every high-school senior." --Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, N.C.
[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]
Hardcover
The German Girl: A Novel by Armando Lucas Correa (Atria, $26.99, 9781501121142). "On May 13, 1939, the S.S. St. Louis set sail from Germany to Cuba with many Jewish passengers fleeing Hitler. Despite all best efforts, they were turned away from Cuba, the U.S., and Canada, forcing the ship to return to Europe, where many of the passengers would die in Hitler's death camps. Correa puts a human face on this shameful episode. Hannah Rosenthal, the daughter of wealthy aristocrats, was 12 when she boarded the St. Louis. Seven decades later, Anna Rosen receives a package from an unknown relative in Cuba that inspires her and her mother to travel to Cuba to learn the truth about their family's mysterious and tragic past. A masterful debut!" --Deon Stonehouse, Sunriver Books & Music, Sunriver, Ore.
Orphans of the Carnival: A Novel by Carol Birch (Doubleday, $27.95, 9780385541527). "Orphans of the Carnival is the story of a time when the oddities of nature could be a lucrative path to fame and fortune. Although heartbreaking, it is the wonderful journey of a talented woman who just wants a normal life, in spite of being alternately vilified and celebrated. Filled with many unforgettable characters and amazing writing, this is a book that will stay with readers for a long time." --Mary McBride, Rainy Day Books, Fairway, Kan.
Paperback
Only Love Can Break Your Heart: A Novel by Ed Tarkington (Algonquin, $15.95, 9781616205263). "Tarkington's debut novel feels positively Shakespearean in its sense of family dynamics and the sometimes destructive power of love, but it speaks with the deceptively plain, poignant language of a Neil Young song. Set in the 1980s in a small Virginia town, the book tells the coming-of-age story of Rocky Askew as he copes with fraternal abandonment, dangerous liaisons, caregiving, and one town scandal after another with little help other than his brother Paul's old vinyl collection. Only Love Can Break Your Heart speaks to anybody working to function, however imperfectly, in any type of family." --Andrew Hedglin, Lemuria Bookshop, Jackson, Miss.
For Ages 4 to 8
A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston (Candlewick, $17.99, 9780763690779). "This book is a quiet and powerful homage to the transformative power of children's literature. Readers follow a young girl as she travels a sea of words to collect a boy in need of an adventure. The imaginations of both the reader and the boy bloom under the guidance of the young girl, and by journey's end everyone becomes a Child of Books. Jeffers' colorful illustrations draw new and familiar fans alike into the story, while Winston's typographic scenery holds many rewards for the careful and observant reader." --Amy Brabenec, Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, Mass.
For Ages 9 to 12
Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi (Dutton, $17.99, 9781101994764). "Welcome to Ferenwood, where the flowers are edible, colors are magic, and magic is currency. It is the home of Alice, who, in a world of beauty and magic, struggles with poverty, a missing father, and the fact that she alone in the entire village has almost no color. As her future seems empty, Alice grabs the chance for adventure and joins her nemesis, Oliver, in a bid to rescue her father from the dangerous land of Furthermore, finding far more adventure than she bargained for. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!" --Kelly Morton, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, Ohio
For Teen Readers
Wrecked: A Novel by Maria Padian (Algonquin, $17.95, 9781616206246). "Conundrum: The name of the campus house where Haley's freshman roommate claims to have been raped, and the exact position Haley is put in when she finds herself drawn into the campus investigation. At the same time, Haley is growing closer to Richard, a housemate of the accused and a boy who annoys her, excites her, makes her furious, and makes her laugh. Haley and Richard find themselves on opposite sides of somebody else's war, struggling and scrambling to discern just who is telling the truth about what really happened. Timely, poignant, and thought-provoking, Wrecked should be required reading for every high-school senior." --Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, N.C.
[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]