From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:
Hardcover: An Indies Introduce Title
The Readymade Thief by Augustus Rose (Viking, $26, 9780735221833). "Lee is a 17-year-old girl who has gotten into a bit of trouble. Not that she is innocent, or completely guilty either. She runs with the wrong crowd, steals something that is not hers, and now she is on the run with nobody to turn to. Rose takes readers into the underbelly of Philadelphia, the sections that people have abandoned, to solve the mystery Lee has fallen into, which has to do with the famous artist Duchamp. Rose melds together information and story methods with amazing skill, drawing on secret societies, hacking, art theft, conspiracies, drugs, and so much more. This plot moves; it does not slow down until it reaches the conclusion, which will have you gasping for breath. Such a brilliant journey." --Jason Kennedy, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, Wis.
Hardcover: An Indies Introduce Title
A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton (Counterpoint, $26, 9781619029224). "I loved the different generations in A Kind of Freedom, beginning with the parents of Evelyn and Ruby, who seem so proper and clean, to present-generation TC, a very likable, hopeful character, but one whose circumstances involve him in drugs and prison. I found the evolution of the family to present day sad but fascinating, and I couldn't help but root for every single character. In the end, you still feel hopeful despite it all." --Margot Farris, pages: a bookstore, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Paperback
Beast: A Novel by Paul Kingsnorth (Graywolf, $16, 9781555977795). "Paul Kingsnorth follows up the utter linguistic feat of his debut, The Wake, with another breathless and confounding work. Beast is comprised entirely of the hallucinatory ramblings of a self-imposed modern hermit, a Zarathustra or Thoreau kind of character who has left the modern world behind in search of communion with nature, the meaning of life, connection with a shadowy past, or maybe something more. Soon, he begins having surreal experiences in a strangely featureless and seemingly inescapable landscape and becomes obsessed with the only other living thing he can find--a large, mysterious cat roaming the moor. Written with a relentless intensity that will speed you along to the enigmatic ending, Beast traverses the realms of the mind and questions humanity's perceived place in the natural world." --Keaton Patterson, Brazos Books, Houston, Tex.
For Ages 4 to 8
Go Sleep in Your Own Bed by Candace Fleming and Lori Nichols (Schwartz & Wade, $17.99, 9780375866487). "It is bedtime on the farm, but when pig toddles off to snuggle down for the night, he finds someone sleeping there already. What ensues will have pajama-clad young readers giggling themselves to sleep--right after they ask to hear the story one more time." --Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, N.C.
For Ages 9 to 12
The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol (Chicken House, $16.99, 9781338118582). "When Arianwyn unexpectedly fails her witch qualification test, she's basically banished to a backwater town called Lull to work as an apprentice. No one expects that she'll have much to do, but there's something dark lurking in the woods around Lull and Arianwyn might be the only one who can figure out what's gone wrong. Full of lovely, familiar-feeling magic and a cast of entertaining characters, this book is a delightful read in the style of the best British fantasy." --Lillian Tschudi-Campbell, Red Balloon Bookshop, St. Paul, Minn.
For Teen Readers: An Indies Introduce Title
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee (Amulet Books, $18.99, 9781419725487). "The Epic Crush of Genie Lo is here to fill that Buffy- or Sailor Moon-shaped hole in your life. Warm, action-packed, and absolutely the most fun you'll have reading a book this summer. Give Genie Lo a CW series!" --Allison Senecal, Old Firehouse Books, Fort Collins, Colo.
[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]
