From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:
Hardcover
Miracle Creek: A Novel by Angie Kim (Sarah Crichton, $27, 9780374156022). "Miracle Creek is a courtroom drama with impeccable pacing, an original plot, and stellar writing. It’s also a remarkably empathetic book, exploring the ripple effects of causality and the urgent need to do right by each other in big and small ways, recognizing that even the best of us will fail once in a while. It is a lovely reminder that even when doing the right thing feels like swimming upstream, we never know what harm may be prevented and what good might come from our actions. A great read that deserves broad success." --Sara Hinckley, Hudson Booksellers, Marietta, Ga.
Courting Mr. Lincoln: A Novel by Louis Bayard (Algonquin, $27.95, 9781616208479). "This is a beautifully rendered, historically compelling exploration of the idea that the powerful and unseen gravitational force acting on what we know to have been a complicated courtship between Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd was Lincoln's ambiguous friendship with Joshua Speed. Bayard's complex characters live believably on these pages, reminding us that love is not--and never has been, even for the iconic figures of history--a this-or-that thing, but instead takes on many forms, depending on its circumstances. A great book club selection!" --Nina Barrett, Bookends & Beginnings, Evanston, Ill.
Paperback
Tin Man: A Novel by Sarah Winman (Putnam, $14, 9780735218765). "Michael loves Ellis, Ellis loves Annie, and Annie loves them both. Yet Sarah Winman's blistering novel Tin Man is anything but the usual love triangle. Instead, Winman asks us to consider what remains of love after its object is gone. She crowds this spare little book, set in London, Oxford, and the south of France, with vivid portraits of loss and mourning. At once terse and expansive, Tin Man is a firework flashing in the night--gone too soon but burned forever into the reader's memory." --David Enyeart, Common Good Books, St. Paul, Minn.
For Ages 4 to 8
Ida and the Whale by Rebecca Gugger, illustrated by Simon Röthlisberger (NorthSouth, $17.95, 9780735843417). "Dwell on the dreamy watercolors as Ida goes for a whale ride that takes her away from the world but at the same time allows her to really understand it. Reassuring text creates the perfect opportunity to ponder big questions together with a small child." --Jamie McCauley, R.J. Julia Booksellers, Madison, Conn.
For Ages 9 to 12
The Rambling by Jimmy Cajoleas (HarperCollins, $16.99, 9780062498786). "This adventure story is about a boy searching for his wayward--then kidnapped--father. It's an intriguing tale featuring a card game called Parsnit, which is overseen by a witch and played in the nearby swamplands. In this increasingly magical world, Cajoleas highlights the complex relationship between a father, his adoring son, and the truth. The Rambling is an engaging book for middle-grade readers." --Lia Lent, WordsWorth Books, Little Rock, Ark.
For Teen Readers
Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell (Simon Pulse, $19.99, 9781534410633). "Far into the future, humans have left earth and now inhabit The System Divine, with French colonists living on the planet Laterre, where citizens starve under the watch of an indifferent ruling class. But revolution is brewing, and three teens are drawn in as a terrorist group threatens to tear apart their home. Should they be fighting to save such a broken system, or should they be working to help the spark catch? Each must decide for themselves in this thrilling sci-fi retelling of Les Misérables." --Madeline Dorman, Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, Tex.
[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]
