From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:
Hardcover
All the Broken Places: A Novel by John Boyne (Pamela Dorman, $28, 9780593653067). "Gretel Fernsby is a character for the ages! She's a 91-year-old full of guilt with stories to tell. Boyne writes her with great compassion--maybe more than she deserves--and brings alive a story spanning decades and continents." --Claire Benedict, Bear Pond Books, Montpelier, Vt.
Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham (Ballantine, $28, 9780593355428). "This book is like sitting down with an old friend! Learn about an actor's climb to the top, what book she keeps by her bedside, and what she thinks about when she walks around town. I read it as quickly as her Lorelai Gilmore character talked!" --Margaret Walker, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, Tenn.
Paperback
How to Survive Everything: A Novel by Ewan Morrison (Harper Perennial, $17, 9780063247321). "It's much too early to start naming the best pandemic novels of our uncanny reality, but I have a feeling that How to Survive Everything will be remembered as one of the greats." --Jordan Pulaski, Small Friend Records & Books, Richmond, Va.
For Ages 5 to 8
Agatha May and the Anglerfish by Nora Morrison and Jessie Ann Foley, illus. by Mika Song (Dial Books, $18.99, 9780593324752). "My heart was stolen by Agatha May and her love for the anglerfish. This picture book is a love letter to kids who struggle with fitting in, with hearts full of unique and quirky passions." --Tori-Lynn Bell, House of Books, Kent, Conn.
For Ages 8 to 12
Santiago!: Santiago Ramón y Cajal--Artist, Scientist, Troublemaker by Jay Hosler (Margaret Ferguson Books, $14.99, 9780823454891). "Santiago! is a delight! A graphic novel is perfect for Jay Hosler's dramatic biography of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, a neuroscientist who won the Nobel prize in 1906. Santiago! presents Cajal's inspiring life with both humor and respect." --Christopher Rose, Andover Bookstore, Andover, Mass.
For Teen Readers
The Poison Season by Mara Rutherford (Inkyard Press, $19.99, 9781335915801). "A beautiful and elegant dark fantasy! The world is so unique with a magical wandering forest, its people with magical songs, and a poisonous lake with a secret that enhances the atmosphere of the novel. This standalone is so addicting!" --Haley Calvin, The Novel Neighbor, Webster Groves, Mo.
[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]
