April 2023 Indie Next List
Yours Truly (Part of Your World)
Abby Jimenez (Forever)
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“Yours Truly embodies humor and humanity. Readers will laugh hysterically while simultaneously sobbing from Jimenez’s page-turning plot. From pen pals to partners, the protagonists’ undeniable chemistry brings this story to life.”
— Amber Reinhart, Adventures By The Book, San Diego, CA
April 2023 Indie Next List
Inspired Recommendations from Indie Booksellers
By Jeannette Walls
Scribner
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“A rollicking adventure set in the Virginia mountains during Prohibition, starring the unforgettable Sallie Kincaid. To say she is bold and fearless would be unjust to her wit and vulnerability. This is a fun and thrilling read.”
— Sarah Goddin, McIntyre's Fine Books, Pittsboro, NC
By Curtis Sittenfeld
Random House
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“It’s a joy to read Curtis Sittenfeld’s fun new novel. Clearly written as a healing project during the pandemic, it emphasizes the magical nature of crushes and human connection, and how we come together with other people against all odds.”
— Pete Dyer, McNally Jackson Books, New York, NY
By Megan Miranda
S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books
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“Megan Miranda’s newest novel is a propulsive, hold your breath and grip your book, wild ride that builds. No one does suspense better than Miranda, and her newest novel showcases that talent perfectly!”
— Meagan Dallner, Books Are Awesome, Parker, CO
By Maggie Smith
Atria/One Signal Publishers
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“Maggie Smith’s first memoir digs deeper into her life after divorce. The writer zooms in close and then offers wider shots, back and forth, to slowly reveal her heart, and in the process, she discovers her power to create something new.”
— Linda Kass, Gramercy Books, Bexley, OH
By Victor LaValle
One World
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“This book was absolutely amazing. Adelaide is a superbly drawn protagonist. You feel for her and the growth of her character was beautiful to read. The novel reads like a wonderful character study, with a shade of horror mixed in.”
— Trina Ortiz, Arts & Letters Bookstore, Granbury, TX
By Monica Brashears
Flatiron Books
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“I am so, so in love with this book. Monica Brashears is such a skilled writer, and this is a great, macabre, spicy Black Southern gothic novel. It is real and unreal, strange and familiar — that perfect liminal space book.”
— Anton Bogomazov, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC
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“Some Desperate Glory was palms-sweatingly incredible! I desperately sprinted through its pages to get to the end, then cracked it open again to read more slowly. THIS is the sci-fi book I’ve been waiting for. Readers won’t be disappointed!”
— Annie Carl, The Neverending Bookshop, Edmonds, WA
By Laura Spence-Ash
Celadon Books
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“When a family takes in a young British girl during World War II, she changes their lives and they change hers. Summers on a Maine island add to the wonder of the story. Told over decades and on both sides of the ocean, this story captured me.”
— Sue Boucher, The Cottage Book Shop, Glen Arbor, MI
By Julia Langbein
Doubleday
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“American Mermaid is a total charmer of a novel. A crackling satire of the contemporary book market, and a winning portrait of an artist as a young woman, American Mermaid rides a fine line between hilarity and heartbreak.”
— John Francisconi, P&T Knitwear Bookstore, New York, NY
By Que Mai Phan Nguyen
Algonquin Books
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“This is one of the most important books I have read this year. Thoroughly researched, beautifully written, Dust Childbrings to life and humanizes important dimensions of the Vietnam War otherwise untold.”
— Harvey Dong, Eastwind Books of Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
By T. Kingfisher
Tor Nightfire
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“Kingfisher does horror in her own wonderful way. A House With Good Bones is a witty, clever, and fresh take on the haunted house sub-genre of horror. I especially loved Hermes, what a good boy!”
— Hannah Cloutier, The Bookery Manchester, Manchester, NH
By Cecile Pin
Henry Holt and Co.
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“A slim novel, but there is so much here that I just love — beautiful language, devasting subject, and exquisite structure — there is something urgent about the way Pin tells this story. She’s created something special!”
— Julie Slavinsky, Warwick's, La Jolla, CA
By Alex North
Celadon Books
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“What a suspenseful read! I was obsessed with The Whisper Man and this new book held up. I can’t wait to show this to our customers who love suspense and horror.”
— Jessica Jones, Browseabout Books, Rehoboth Beach, DE
By Rachel Heng
Riverhead Books
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“An epic historical fiction in an area most Americans know little about. Ah Boon and Siok Mei’s paths diverge between fighting oppression and moving Singapore into the ‘modern’ world. So many relevant issues in this thought-provoking read.”
— Audrey Huang, Belmont Books, Belmont, MA
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“A heartbreaking, yet deeply loving memoir about the complexities of healthcare inequality. Chung draws on her experiences in her white adoptive family to understand how inequalities perpetuate distance and divisiveness.”
— Erin Pastore, Water Street Bookstore, Exeter, NH
By Sally Hepworth
St. Martin's Press
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“Sally Hepworth doesn’t disappoint with this latest domestic thriller. She hooked me from the first few pages and shows how any of us can question what we think we see and believe about our spouses.”
— Jennifer O'Neal-Rojas, Walls of Books Oviedo, Oviedo, FL
By Tara Conklin
Mariner Books
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“This is a totally unique story about finding your community — whether that’s a couple people you meet or a whole town. It is laugh out loud funny and completely relatable. Highly recommended for those looking for a delightful and funny read.”
— Kristen Beverly, Half Price Books, Dallas, TX
By Kelly Link, Shaun Tan
Random House
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“Kelly Link doesn’t write a bad sentence. Each story is eerie, compelling, and beautiful. Link takes a crumb of each folk tale and twists it until it is nearly unrecognizable, creating entirely new fables that discomfort and provoke.”
— Fisher Nash, Carmichael's Bookstore, Louisville, KY
By Rachel Beanland
Simon & Schuster
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“The House is on Fire captures the early 1800s in the United States through the lens of a theater fire in Richmond. Beanland reconstructs the story of the fire while discussing slavery and abuse, womanhood, misogyny, and child labor.”
— Kyle Churman, Werner Books, Erie, PA
By Kate Morton
Mariner Books
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“Homecoming provides the perfect atmosphere and suspense to immerse readers in a tale of family both lost and found. The book will take you on a trip down under to a rich, satisfying and surprising conclusion.”
— Betsy Von Kerens, The Bookworm of Omaha, Omaha, NE
By Jinwoo Chong
Melville House
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“If I had to choose one word to describe Flux, it would be sharp. The way that Chong wrote this brilliant book still amazes me. With plot twists so subtle you’re not even fully aware you just encountered one. This kept me on the edge of my seat.”
— Libby Monaghan, Twice Told Tales, McPherson, KS
By Kweku Abimbola
Graywolf Press
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“Kweku Abimbola’s collection is a dazzling appreciation of Black life. It reaches both backwards, to Ghana and a pre-American cultural past, and forwards to a life beyond violence, where Blackness and joy coexist in a single, uninterrupted river.”
— Camden Avery, The Booksmith (CA), San Francisco, CA
By Tiffany Clarke Harrison
Soft Skull
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“Blue Hour is a raw and unflinching look at Black motherhood in America. Tiffany Clarke Harrison’s almost stream of consciousness writing style is reminiscent of Natasha Brown and Jenny Offill, making it quick but packing a punch.”
— Lizzy Rolando, Salmonberry Books, Port Orchard, WA
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“Wow, this southern noir thriller is gripping! Blood is thicker than water in these Ozark towns, but family relationships are complicated and there are no easy answers, leading to hard — and surprising — choices. Absolutely unforgettable.”
— Lia Lent, WordsWorth Books (AR), Little Rock, AR
Now in Paperback
Indie Next List Selections Come to Paperback
