Powerful and devastating. The language is so concise and brilliantly moving. Every word makes a massive impact in this slim, arresting poem.
The BrushThe Brush by Eliana Hernández-Pachón, (List Price: $17, Archipelago, 9781953861863, March 2024)
Reviewed by Emily Tarr, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama
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I am a devoted follower of the cult of Amanda Montell, and The Age of Magical Overthinking is the psychological balm I didn’t know I needed right now. Amanda Montell has the unique ability to give us perspective on the current cultural zeitgeist that we are too close to to see wholly and to equip us with the tools and language to have important conversations about them. The Age of Magical Overthinking is an astute examination of the cultural moment of now and how we as individuals exist within it…all told with her signature wit and enthusiasm that makes Amanda Montell one of my perennially favorite authors to hand-sell at our bookstore.
The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montell, (List Price: $28.99, Atria/One Signal Publishers, 9781668007976, April 2024)
Reviewed by Caroline Barbee, Friendly City Books in Columbus, Mississippi
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This silly sing-songy book will have your child bubbling over with laughter. The pictures are funny colorful animals outfitted in diapers and are sure to make your little one cover their mouths trying to keep from giggling. It is the perfect book to help encourage potty training.
Would You Dare Put a Diaper on a Bear? by Lillias Kinsman-Chauvet, (List Price: $18.99, Boxer Books, 9781915801654, April 2024)
Reviewed by Keeshia Jacklitch, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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Underwood’s bold reimagining of Penelope’s hanged maids cements her among the ranks of Rick Riordan and Jennifer Saint. Lies We Sing to the Sea is a a magical take on feminine rage that girls of all ages can empathize with. The love story is ephemeral, and my pages were tear-soaked by the end. I will never look at daffodils the same way.
Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood, (List Price: $15.99, HarperTeen, 9780063234499, April 2024)
Reviewed by Laura Taylor, Oxford Exchange in Tampa, Florida
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Between the ephemeral sense of dread that vanishes as quickly as it appears and the all too well-known terror of family vacation, Diavola kept me both frightened and intrigued! It’s a great read for anyone who loves haunted houses, with a dash of family drama!
Diavola by Jennifer Thorne, (List Price: $27.99, Tor Nightfire, 9781250826121, March 2024)
Reviewed by Courtney Ulrich Smith, Underbrush Books in Rogers, Arkansas
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Goodness, was this good! Where to start? The power politics and marriage of convenience love story put me in mind (in a good way) of Winter’s Orbit, but there’s also talking mammoths, climate crisis commentary, twists, tidbits for language nerds, and delightfully fleshed-out characters! Highly recommend!
The Mars House by Natasha Pulley, (List Price: $32.99, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781639732333, March 2024)
Reviewed by Angela Trigg, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama
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Perfectly positioned for Poetry Month and Earth Day, Poetrees is a poetry book, an art book, and a science primer all in one. From the humble seed to the Giant Sequoia there’s sure to be an ode to your favorite forest giant.
PoetreesPoetrees by Douglas Florian, (List Price: $8.99, Beach Lane Books, 9781665957946, April 2024)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
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I read Beetle & the Hollowbones in one sitting over morning coffee. The art and story charmed me to no end! This middle-grade graphic novel is a perfect recommendation for fans of Corpse Bride and Halloweentown, a creepy-cute and sweet tale of growing up, friendship, magic, and love. A must-read for fellow year-round Halloween lovers!
Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne, (List Price: $12.99, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 9781534441545, April 2020)
Reviewed by Cristina Russell, Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida
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Is it nature? Nurture? Unacknowledged familial trauma? Kabbalah? God? Does it matter? Toby Lloyd’s stunning novel debut feels like a long-lost dream, rippling with uncertainty for the best kind of unsettled reading experience — just after finishing, I wanted to read it all again.In a London, modern Ashkenazi Jewish home, our intersecting narrators offer multiple realities, inviting us to hold them amidst reflections on tradition, power, and existence with heart-wrenching beauty. Impressively succinct writing that unfolds in the mind like a flower in bloom with heart-wrenching beauty and depth – the rest of 2024’s reads are up against a powerhouse.
FervorFervor by Toby Lloyd, (List Price: $28, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster, 9781668033333, March 2024)
Reviewed by RC Collman, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Sociopath is an illuminating memoir about Patric Gagne’s lifelong quest to understand herself and her lack of emotion. As a child who is aware that she is different from her family and peers to an adult striving for true intimacy, Patric shines a light on sociopathy and related antisocial behaviors. I started reading Sociopath with my own preconceived notions and prejudices around the word “sociopath” and finished with a deeper understanding and empathy.
Sociopath by Patric Gagne, (List Price: $28.99, Simon & Schuster, 9781668003183, April 2024)
Reviewed by Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina
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To say I’m obsessed is an understatement. Sade arrives at a boarding school, escaping her past, when her new roommate disappears the next day. Layers of secrets and twists are uncovered as Sade tries to find her roommate. I couldn’t put this down and will immediately read anything she writes!
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, (List Price: $19.99, Feiwel & Friends, 9781250800848, March 2024)
Reviewed by Kayla Matykunas, Bookmarks in , North Carolina
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Can I just live in this book please? A perfect book boyfriend, lovely world-building, just the right amount of spice….what more can we ask for? There is a reason it’s the most beloved book in the fantasy realm.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, (List Price: $19, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781635575583, June 2020)
Reviewed by Kelley Dykes, Main Street Reads in , South Carolina
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With Dead Silence (a haunted Titantic in space!) and now Ghost Station, Barnes is set to become the queen of intense, claustrophobic space horror! Again with a small crew of deeply disturbed and damaged people, Barnes sets them loose on an icy, abandoned planet to do some dangerous work for an uncaring corporation. Everyone is hiding something. There is a jump-startle behind every closed door and every corner. If it was just these things, that would be great, but under the chills and thrills there are thoughtful explorations of class, the definition of family, the nature of trauma, and opening oneself up to trust and love.
Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes, (List Price: $27.99, Tor Nightfire, 9781250884923, April 2024)
Reviewed by Kelly Justice, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia
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What I hope is the beginning of a Leila Mottley renaissance, woke up no light is a poetry collection that solidifies Mottley’s status as one of our time’s best new young writers. Split into four sections defined as girlhood, neighborhood, falsehood, and womanhood, Mottley’s poetry reads as tender yet raw, her musings especially on womanhood and coming into your own are glittering pieces of writing that any reader can acknowledge are full of both heart, hardships, and truth. A remarkable collection for people looking to get into poetry, or for the established readers of the genre!
woke up no light by Leila Mottley, (List Price: $28, Knopf, 9780593319710, April 2024)
Reviewed by Grace Sullivan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia
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A bilingual and elegiac collection that explores transnational sorrow with an openness to delving into the gulfs loss creates, rather than succumbing to them. Memories of family and political histories intertwine with cultural unrest and the sensorially intimate to form poems with a sketchy quality—much like the drawings in the book—with deep feeling and sense of possibility. Disarmingly beautiful.
The Blue Mimes by Sara Daniele Rivera, (List Price: $17, Graywolf Press, 9781644452790, April 2024)
Reviewed by Luis Correa, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia
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