From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:
Hardcover
And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready by Meaghan O'Connell (Little, Brown, $26, 9780316393843). "Times have changed, women have changed, and, naturally, the experience of young(ish) motherhood has changed as well. I often tell people that becoming a mother was equal parts wonderful and abysmally dark and get blank stares, but here it is: a tale like mine, articulated with clarity and wit! I'm excited to be able to recommend this honest and relatable account of modern pregnancy and motherhood." --Cristina Russell, Books & Books, Coral Gables, Fla.
Country Dark: A Novel by Chris Offutt (Grove Press, $24, 9780802127792). "Country Dark spans 1954 to 1971, opening with Tucker's return home from the Korean War, where he had special training in killing other men, to rural Kentucky near the Ohio border, where he takes up a job as a driver in a bootlegging operation. Tucker is devoted to his rural home life and to his young wife and children, and once their way of life is threatened, he understands he may have to employ his wartime skills to keep it together. Chris Offutt's new novel is almost impossible not to race through, but it also must be savored for its artful but unpretentious phrasing, and for its many surprises, which we won't talk about here." --Richard Howorth, Square Books, Oxford, Miss.
Paperback
Chemistry: A Novel by Weike Wang (Vintage, $16, 9780525432227). "The unnamed narrator of Wang's winning and insightful novel is working on her Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry, but the chemistry she really needs to learn is the one that makes relationships click. The prodigy daughter of high-achieving Chinese American parents, she's always strived to meet their demanding expectations. Then, suddenly, she just can't. Her lab work falters. She's unable to accept or decline her boyfriend's marriage proposal. But when she has a breakdown and loses in both academia and in love, she finally realizes how angry she is. Coming to terms with her past becomes her next project, and soon she can see her parents in a new light--and they aren't the fierce tiger couple they’d always seemed to be." --Laurie Greer, Politics & Prose Bookstore, Washington, D.C.
For Ages 4 to 8
All the Animals Where I Live by Philip C. Stead (Roaring Brook Press, $18.99, 9781626726567). "All the Animals Where I Live is a meditative, meandering picture book journey that exalts in the smallest details. Stead's welcoming voice and innovative illustrations are as delightful and gentle as ever." --Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop, Athens, Ga.
For Ages 9 to 12: An Indies Introduce Title
Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender (Scholastic Press, $17.99, 9781338129304). "Being a hurricane child myself, I instantly connected with Caroline and her bad luck. Caroline is used to being the outsider who can see ghosts, but she can't accept that her mom left her one day and never came back. When a new, charismatic girl who may see ghosts, too, starts at her school, Caroline desperately wants to befriend her. Soon the two are inseparable, and together they search for Caroline's mother. This wonderful, mystical tale takes the reader on a journey filled with grief and loss but also love, friendship, and hope." --Holly Alexander, Magic Tree Bookstore, Oak Park, Ill.
For Teen Readers
Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen (Viking, $18.99, 9780451478733). "I opened this book at 9:00 a.m. and closed it at 4:15 p.m. after turning the last page. At times, I felt like my eyeballs just couldn't move as fast as I wanted to be reading. As much of a page-turner as this is, it also delivers a real sense of history and an empowered and empowering 15-year-old heroine who has suffered yet never gives in to fear or hopelessness. It's like Harry Potter meets James Bond in Nazi Germany, starring a Jewish orphan who just keeps kicking butt." --Nina Barrett, Bookends & Beginnings, Evanston, Ill.
[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]
