The Passage
Justin Cronin (Ballantine Books)
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“Justin Cronin's incredible imagination takes the reader on a ride that is engrossing, thought-provoking, terrifying and above all, immensely entertaining. A diverse and engaging cast of characters dot the landscape in this sweeping novel that is both fantastical science fiction and heartbreaking drama. An absolutely thrilling read, The Passage is destined to reach a huge audience and leave everyone wanting more.”
— Tiffany Miner, Book People, Austin, TX
June 2010 Indie Next List
Inspired Recommendations from Indie Booksellers
By Joshilyn Jackson
Grand Central Publishing
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“Jackson writes like a woman on fire, hooking you in the very first sentence ('It was an airport gypsy that told me I had to kill my husband') and demanding total absorption straight through to the novel's stunning conclusion. There is nothing predictable in Backseat Saints except Jackson's strong voice and her genius at the art of storytelling.”
— Ellen Ward, FoxTale Book Shoppe, Woodstock, GA
By Aimee Bender
Doubleday
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“Aimee Bender's keen eye and delightfully quirky sensibilities are enchanting reflected in this novel. When nine-year-old Rose discovers that she can taste people's emotions in the food they prepare, she learns of her mother's despair. Meanwhile, her older brother is increasingly remote and her father blissfully naive. As Rose advances awkwardly into young adulthood, the depth of her family's peculiarities is revealed. Heartbreaking, sweet, and thoroughly engrossing.”
— Michael Keefe, Annie Bloom's Books, Portland, OR
By Brando Skyhorse
Free Press
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“This is a powerful, touching, and revelatory novel, reminiscent of The Bridge of San Luis Rey in its fatefully interrelated secret stories. These long-time Mexican-American residents of a changing L.A. neighborhood struggle for identity and are often almost invisible to the worlds they work in, but their compelling and sometimes shocking stories leave an indelible stamp on an increasingly gentrified neighborhood. Skyhorse is an important chronicler of a community that needs to be heard from.”
— Kerry Slattery, Skylight Books, Los Angeles, CA
By Evan Mandery
Harper Paperbacks
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“I am impressed with Mandery's concisely drawn yet vivid characters, with his 'translation' of the lives of aliens, and with the insightful commentary woven gently and insistently throughout the book. His handling of the post-modern, self-referential trope is masterful and refreshingly light. This could be confidently recommended to anyone who likes Vonnegut, Adams, Fforde, satire in general, and--yes-even Mr. Pratchett.”
— Emma Aprile, Carmichael's Bookstore, Louisville, KY
By Michael Koryta
Little Brown
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“Eric Shaw, once a promising filmmaker in Hollywood, has been reduced to filming weddings and funerals in Chicago. Offered a chance to make a documentary portrait of an ailing self-made millionaire, Eric finds himself in West Baden, Indiana, where abilities he has never been fully cognizant of draw him into an evil so powerful it reaches out to him from beyond the grave. Koryta's prose is fluid and masterful, making this a delightfully eerie and mesmerizing read!”
— Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH
By Craig Johnson
Viking Adult
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“The bodies pile up almost as fast as the Valentine's Day snow in the award-winning author's sixth mystery featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire. When a severed thumb is found in the local junkyard, a collision course is set between the locals and multimillion-dollar developers eyeballing the adjacent property. All of Johnson's trademarks are here - great characters, witty banter, serious sleuthing, and a love of Wyoming bigger than a stack of derelict cars.”
— Brian Woodbury, The Toadstool Bookshop, Milford, NH
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“Gripping and raw, set between the moral compass of the '40s and the social revolution of the '60s, this novel follows a West Virginia family though their turbulent relationships with war, poverty, social injustice and racial segregation. I It would be hard not to call this a piece of fine art, with its classic storytelling and brilliant writing.”
— Scott Fultz, Next Chapter Bookshop, Mequon, WI
By Heather Lende
Algonquin Books
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“Reading Heather Lende's book feels like sharing coffee with a true friend, taking the time to celebrate and mourn life's pleasures and sorrows. In 2010, when friends and time are sometimes forgotten, it is a real pleasure to pick up a book and find such a friend, with her thoughtful reflections and great sense of humor so close at hand.”
— Linda Ramsdell, The Galaxy Bookshop, Hardwick, VT
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“When you finish this delightful story you will want to grab your girlfriends, let your hair down, and call for a margarita! They say every seven years you reinvent yourself, and Jill Murray is ready to do just that. But first she must juggle two jobs, her 10-year-old daughter, an ex-husband, and an intriguing bike-riding entrepreneur. Get ready to laugh from the first page to the last.”
— Karin Beyer, Saturn Booksellers, Gaylord, MI
By Jeffery Deaver
Simon & Schuster
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“In this latest novel featuring the quadriplegic criminologist hero and his amazing support team, they find themselves faced with tracking down a high tech villain whose agenda is murder, by means of high voltage electricity that can melt steel, electrocute his victims or set them afire. A taut psychological thriller from a masterful crime writer, proving Deaver just gets better with each new novel.”
— Carol Hicks, Bookshelf At Hooligan Rocks, Truckee, CA
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“In her latest work, Egan presents a number of the kind of idiosyncrasies we tend to avoid, only in this collection of expertly layered stories, the flawed characters enrapture and entwine themselves in the reader's imagination. Egan's novel is a fresh form, the function of which merely hints at our own human imperfections and allows readers to forgive not just the characters in this collection, but themselves as well.”
— Brette Weinkle, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY
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“Okorafor's latest novel, her first for adults, is a sharp, evocative story of a woman born of rape into a post-apocalyptic African landscape. Okorafor brings her considerable talent for ambiguous characterizations and grappling with difficult questions of morality and power in an unjust world. Her prose is musical and emotionally raw, and Okorafor's imagery brings the novel's rich magic and religion into vivid relief. Onyesonwu is a protagonist whose clear voice and brutally memorable story will stay with you long after you've finished.”
— Gretchen Treu, A Room of One's Own Feminist Bookstore, Madison, WI
By Ann Brashares
Riverhead Hardcover
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“Daniel is one of the few people fortunate enough to have 'memory', or the ability to remember past lives in vivid detail. He has the ability to recognize souls he has met in his previous lives, including Sophia his 'soul mate'. Whenever Daniel manages to find her fate rips them apart in one way or another. Follow Daniel as he tries to locate Sophia, convince her to remember him (she doesn't have memory), and fight the forces keeping them from loving each other. A love story unlike anything I've ever experienced!”
— Sarah Hill, The River's End Bookstore, Oswego, NY
By Diane Chamberlain
Mira
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“Diane Chamberlain once more shows herself to be the mistress of family secrets! Two sisters this time are bound by a harrowing past that took the lives of their parents. A full-throttle, gothic turning plot sparked with the healing power of love and the strength of family, in all its forms.”
— Eileen Charbonneau, Merritt Books, Millbrook, NY
By Jill Dawson
Harper Perennial
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“In 1909, Nell Golightly is a young maid in the employ of Rupert Brooke's mother. Alternating between the voices of Nell and Rupert, Jill Dawson (a poet herself) brings Rupert Brooke to life in this striking and affecting novel of the poet as a young man. This moving story sparked my interest Brooke's poetry as well as my interest in his short life and tragic death.”
— Tova Beiser, Brown University Bookstore, Providence, RI
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“As a Cheesehead, I must admit to some initial skepticism re: Immortal Milk: Adventures in Cheese. However, Eric Le May's first three words:”
— Kathleen Dixon, Islandtime Books & More, Washington Island, WI
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“This memoir left me wanting to donate all my money to Friends of Bonobos. Vanessa has captured the spirit of an animal that so many of us now nothing about. Her writing drew me in from page one and the research about the civil war in the Congo region was just the right amount to not feel like you were reading a history book about the Congo, but enough so you could completely understand the impact that it has had on the Bonobo's. I can't wait for this to come out and for people to be made aware of her cause. I haven't read a non-fiction book before that I felt so drawn to be part of their cause.”
— Sarah Galvin, The Bookstore Plus, Lake Placid, NY
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“This is an interesting journey across small towns of heartland America which are named for places out of Greek Mythology.
The author is looking for meaning in his life. What he finds is as true today in the towns named like the Greek originals as it was in the original Greek towns. Heroes are everywhere if you just look for them. He searches and finds his own heroic story along the way.”
— Catherine Carpenter, Cate's Books and Stuff, Louisiana, MO
By Olen Steinhauer
Minotaur
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“Milo Weaver is an undercover spy for the CIA, and he doesn't know who to trust, even within his own organization. His job requires blind obedience, but a burgeoning sense of empathy has compromised his callousness, and when he is instructed to kill a young girl, he balks, grappling with his own moral identity. A terrific story of suspense and action, with powerful writing and unforgettable characters.”
— Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH
Now in Paperback
Indie Next List Selections Come to Paperback
