Barstons Child’s Play — Favorites

The thrilling, wintry Nordic tale by Neil Gaiman, who weaves a magical story of legend and adventure that will enchant readers from beginning to end. Odd, a young Viking boy, is left fatherless following a raid. In his icy, ancient world there is no mercy for an unlucky soul with a crushed foot and no one to protect him. Fleeing to the woods,... Read more »

The Poet X

“The Poet X is written and narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo. It is a novel made up of poems by a teenager, Xiomara Batista, growing up in Harlem. Acevedo's narration is wonderful and brings the story to life. Xiomara's dad is MIA even though he lives at home; her mother is extremely religious and pushes her faith onto her daughter; her twin brother is quiet and also working through his own feelings; she starts her first relationship with a guy; and all the time Xiomara is told what she can and cannot do, gets accosted by men, has to defend herself because no one else will, is questioning God and has no one to open up to. She releases her pent of feelings in a notebook. It isn't until her new English teacher introduces her to spoken poetry that she realizes that is what she is meant to be: a poet. This is a lovely story of a young, misunderstood girl, coming of age and showing the world that she is worth it. Great for adults who enjoyed Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson and extremely relevant literature for the #metoo movement.”

Kelly, M. Judson Booksellers

Ready Player One

“If you are at all into video games or the 1980's you are going to love Ready Player One. In a future where people often prefer to live in virtual reality than the real world, the man who invented The Oasis is one of the most famous people in the world. Inside the Oasis you can travel from planet to planet, go to school and live out your wildest dreams. But when he dies and leaves his fortune to whoever can find his "easter egg" hidden inside The Oasis - the challenge begins. I'm not even a huge fan of video games and thought this book was a lot of fun. I listened to the audio book read by Wil Wheaton which was great.”

Madison, Ballast Book Co.

Sadie

“Engrossing, thrilling and original. The story alternates between a podcast format and Sadie’s voice. Sadie is a compelling protagonist - strong, determined and on a mission. Fantastic listen!”

Jennifer, East City Bookshop

HIS DARK MATERIALS IS NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SERIES STARRING DAFNE KEEN, RUTH WILSON, ANDREW SCOTT, AND LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA!

Featuring an exclusive bonus interview between the author, Philip Pullman, and His Dark Materials star, Ruth Wilson.

The modern fantasy classic that Entertainment Weekly named an “All-Time Greatest Novel” and Newsweek hailed as... Read more »

Each story in the popular and critically acclaimed series has been read by the talented actor, Victor Garber. Now fans who can't get enough of the vampire bunny, Bunnicula, will have something new to add to their collection. Read more »

Children of Blood and Bone

“A sprawling fantasy teeming with deep and meaningful magic. One of the things I like most about this debut is that it raises very real and important issues of our time through multiple character's perspectives. No character is one-dimensional, and every character must learn from failure and introspection to become who they were meant to be.”

Kelly, Mysterious Galaxy Books

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

“Nevermoor is The Unwanteds meets The Apprentice Witch, with a splash of Alice in Wonderland and The Mysterious Benedict Society. Seems like the perfect book right? This book weaves together a magical tale of cursed child, Morrigan Crow, who manages to escape her fate while traveling to alternate world. But how long can one really escape their fate? Morrigan must successfully complete every task to join the Wundrous Society, or risk being sent back home. I loved this adventure, and am sure that you will too!”

Jen, Vroman's Bookstore

This “luminescent” (Kirkus Reviews) story of anger and art, loss and redemption will appeal to fans of Lisa Graff’s Lost in the Sun and Vince Vawter’s Paperboy.Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the... Read more »

From the show's creators comes the groundbreaking, bestselling novel inspired by the hit Broadway show Dear Evan Hansen.

Dear Evan Hansen,

Today's going to be an amazing day and here's why...

When a letter that was never meant to be seen by anyone draws high school senior Evan Hansen into a family's griefover the loss of their son, he is given the... Read more »

Ender's Game

“For my first sci-fi book, this was recommended for me. I was NOT disappointed!”

Jimmy, Gottwals Books

"'Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to go.'"When the Knight Bus crashes through the darkness and screeches to a halt in front of him, it's the start of another far from ordinary year at Hogwarts for Harry Potter.... Read more »