From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:
Hardcover
Daikon: A Novel by Samuel Hawley (Avid Reader Press, $29.99, 9781668083055). "A historical novel that really opens your eyes to what Japanese people experienced at the end of World War II. Daikon fills in the emotion that strict history does not. Wonderful characters and beautiful writing!" --Becky Anderson, Anderson's Bookshops, Naperville, Ill.
Hot Girls with Balls: A Novel by Benedict Nguyen (Catapult, $28, 9781646222476). "Hot Girls with Balls is a searing satire of a hostile world that asks minorities to speak on behalf of their communities and then silences them. I couldn't help but root for Six and Green as they navigated their roles as two Online Famous Trans Girls in the men's pro-Volleyball league--all while being hot sweaty girls in love." --Ellis Breunig, Page 2 Books, Burien, Wash.
Paperback: An Indies Introduce Title
Make Your Way Home: Stories by Carrie R. Moore (Tin House Books, $17.99, 9781963108286). "I mean it when I say this book is breathing life into me. Each story is a slow burning tale set in the South, braiding history, love, family, and self-discovery together with crisp prose and honest storytelling." --Nadi Hinojosa, Lark and Owl Booksellers, Georgetown, Tex.
Ages 4-8
Island Storm by Brian Floca, illus. by Sydney Smith (Neal Porter Books, $18.99, 9780823456475). "This is beautiful. The perfect match of text and image bring an island storm to life. You can feel the anxiety. You can hear the cry of the neighbor to 'go home' just as you can hear the wind building, the thunder rumbling, and the trees creaking." --Kristine Jelstrom-Hamill, Buttonwood Books and Toys, Cohasset, Mass.
Ages 8-12
Into the Bewilderness: A Graphic Novel by Gus Gordon (HarperAlley, $24.99, 9780063246126). "Utterly charming and utterly hilarious! Furball and Turnip--er, Luis and Pablo, journey to the big city to find some high culture. Profound questions are asked and not answered. Maybe it doesn't matter when you have a best friend walking by your side!" --Joan Trygg, Red Balloon Bookshop, St. Paul, Minn.
Ages 14+
Tenderly, I Am Devoured by Lyndall Clipstone (Holt, $19.99, 9781250348906). "Lacrimosa Arriscane is a heroine as sharp as she is vulnerable, and her entanglement with the enigmatic Felimath siblings pulses with gothic tension and forbidden heat. Part divine horror, part tragic romance, and wholly original, this book will leave you breathless, unsettled, and aching for more." --Cassidy James Taylor, Grump & Sunshine Bookshop, Belfast, Maine
[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]
