IndieBound: Other Indie Favorites

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 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle: A Novel by Stuart Turton (Sourcebooks Landmark, $25.99, 9781492657965). "I didn't know how badly I needed to escape my own life and sink into someone else's, or, in this case, many lives. Multiple perspectives give this book a mind-blowing mash-up feeling of Clue and the best Agatha Christie. There's a certain delicious joy to being confused and then ignoring the rest of the world while you read, desperate to discover the answers. Sure, it's the basic premise of a mystery, but for some readers it's a forgotten joy in need of reviving. Fun, inventive, and thoroughly entertaining, perhaps 'leave your own reality' reading is the new binge-watching." --Beth Reynolds, Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, Vt.

Hardcover: An Indies Introduce Title
All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung (Catapult, $26, 9781936787975). "Nicole Chung's memoir is a moving account of a young woman's gradually evolving understanding of family and of herself as she uncovers the truth about the circumstances behind her adoption. Refusing the false dichotomy of adoption as inherently positive or negative, she reminds us that adoption is a fact and that it's always complicated. This is an extraordinary account, told with candor and empathy. Though the transracial adoption of Asian Americans into white families and communities is common, few books have been written from the perspective of the adoptee. Chung has much to teach us, and readers approaching this book with a heart as open as hers will find much to nourish them here." --Karen Maeda Allman, The Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, Wash.

Paperback
This Could Hurt: A Novel by Jillian Medoff (Harper, $16.99, 9780062660770). "Who knew that a novel about a faltering company's HR department could be so gripping and compassionate? Anyone who has worked in a company with other people will appreciate the resentments, friendships, and competitions that develop in a long-time team. Medoff does a great job of making the reader care about each and every character." --Susan Taylor, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y.

For Ages 4 to 8
King Alice by Matthew Cordell (Feiwel & Friends, $17.99, 9781250047496). "Idea: get this book for every child in your life who rightly, knightly deserves their own kingdom and the freedom to create their own perfect day and fantastic story." --Joanna Parzakonis, Bookbug, Kalamazoo, Mich.

For Ages 9 to 12: An Indies Introduce Title
The House With Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson (Scholastic, $16.99, 9781338209969). "Twelve-year-old Marinka is not like most girls. She has a pet jackdaw, a foundling lamb, a yaga for a grandmother, and a house that routinely walks, runs, or canters to an entirely new location without consulting its occupants. What Marinka THINKS she wants most is to just be a normal girl with normal friends and the chance to determine her own future. What Marinka REALLY wants is indeed something very, very different. A bit of folk tale, a dose of adventure, and a lot of quirky humor tossed in, The House With Chicken Legs takes readers on a ride they will not soon forget." --Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, N.C.

For Teen Readers
Mirage by Somaiya Daud (Flatiron Books, $18.99, 9781250126429). "Amani is stolen from her home on the moon of Cadiz and forced to serve as the princess's double for the heartless Vathek, usurpers of her people. With her life at stake, Amani must now learn how to think and act like her enemies while trying to keep true to her own people's outlawed customs and beliefs--and to herself. Whereas some young women might become depressed and lose hope in the face of such a loss of control, Amani boldly embraces her new circumstances with a rare surety; she waits, and she plans. The narration is poetic, the worldbuilding beautifully crafted. This Moroccan-influenced fusion of fantasy and science fiction is a positively stunning debut novel." --Leah Atlee, Changing Hands, Tempe, Ariz.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

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