October's Bookseller Picks

Beautiful Country

“In this brutally honest coming-of-age memoir, Qian Julie Wang comes to terms with the deprivations and struggles of her undocumented Chinese upbringing in New York City in the 1990s.”

Kayleen Rohrer, InkLink Books

If you enjoyed The Donut Trap, then you’ll love The Love Hypothesis.

“There are some laugh-out-loud moments in this book, highlighted by tone-perfect narration. Olive is endearing and bumbling and just...she just tries so dang hard. A well-earned romance through and through.”

Jenny, Page 158 Books

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe

“This was just so darned delightful. I loved Moon, and her sharp retorts (she comes up with the best insults!), as well as her determination to succeed at her goals even though she constantly doubts herself. She and her twin sister, Star, are opposites in all ways. Star is the beautiful one, and Moon is not. Star is loved, and Moon is not. Star is a social influencer, and Moon, well, you'll find out. While there is a great enemies to lovers romance, with a wonderful cinnamon bun, Santiago, to me, this is more about Moon's family dynamics and how she reconciles them with her life. I listened to this and the narrator is fantastic.”

Audrey, Belmont Books

The Manningtree Witches

“A brilliant story set in 17th-century England about a women’s community at the margins of society and the constant dangers of religious fervor. Dark, unsettling, and highly entertaining.”

Ulrika Moats, Brazos Bookstore

Iron Widow

“This book was amazing, brutal, unique, and horrific. The audio book was absolutely fantastic. There was so much representation and so many difficult topics and situations handled really well. The characters are extremely morally grey but it made it so intriguing to never know what they were going to do next. I will definitely be recommending this book!”

Lauren, Schuler Books

The Moon, the Stars, and Madame Burova

“A feel-good family mystery, with a host of quirky characters. Travel back to the golden era of holiday camps in the UK, where magic and reality collide for a young clairvoyant, creating a tangled web for the next generation. I loved listening to this book on Libro.fm. ”

Amy, Bright Side Bookshop

Blackout

“Six YA superstars collaborate on this delightful collection of short love stories about black teenagers falling in love during a city-wide blackout. With such a diverse lineup of voices and romance tropes, there is a love story in here for every reader.”

Sofie, Phoenix Books

Olga

“Translated from German, this was a most excellent tale of Olga. It read like a memoir. I enjoyed the varied narrators, each with a different view of her simple, yet profound life. This felt like sitting down with my grandmother's journals and rediscovering she lived a thousand lives aside from the one I knew like the back of my own hand.”

Kathy, The Well-Read Moose

Fault Lines

“Emily Itami has given us an incredibly engaging, hilarious, and relatable narrator in Mizuki as she navigates the fault lines in her marriage, in her past, and within herself.”

Danielle Raub, Itinerant Literate Books

A Little Devil in America

“Hanif Abdurraqib's exploration of Black performance in America is a cultural keystone that is chillingly relevant. Whether discussing the fact that a knowing look or advice on a route from a cashier is a form of a living Green Book that still exists because there are places Black people are not safe, to the origin of the card game spades or the difference between showing out or showing off, at the heart A Little Devil in America circles back to the fact that Black Americans have been forced to survive in places there were not welcome. The section on Black funerals pierced my heart. This book needs to be read, taught, underlined and discussed.”

Rachel , Avid Bookshop

The Last Graduate

“My, my, my. This book evoked so many emotions out of me that I finished reading it last night, threw it across my room, and then screamed internally all night, picking it back up occasionally to see if the final few sentences changed, and then tossing it again when they hadn't. Novik has perfected the art of sucking you into her worlds and chucking you right down in a seat next to her characters, making you feel like you're one of them. And when something major happens, say a MASSIVE cliffhanger ending, you're left freaking out and trying to figure out why you feel like you also just got your heart stomped on. It's beautiful, it's terrifying, and I need to know more! I want ten more books in this world, but I'll be content with the next one in my hands as soon as possible so I can soothe my aching heart! ”

Caitlyn, Bookmarks

The Book of Form and Emptiness

“Im still rereading sentences pondering and listening to the voices. I've never even remotely read anything like this before....Hats off to Ruth Ozeki!”

Jayne, Mystery to Me

Harlem Shuffle

“Colson Whitehead's Harlem Shuffle is a historical fiction mystery set in 1960s Harlem. A furniture salesman playing both sides, Ray occasionally gets rid of his cousin Freddie's stolen goods. When Freddie involves him in a heist that goes south, Ray's life turns upside down. Harlem Shuffle. shows the changing landscape of Harlem with a side of gangsters, extortion, crooked cops, and the everyday struggle of a Black business owner. This book is suspenseful and funny but also examines race and power in the ways Whitehead writes so masterfully.”

Rachel, Avid Bookshop

Under the Whispering Door

“Full of heart, hope, grief, humor, delicious character development and perfectly steeped tea, Under the Whispering Door is one-of-a kind. I laughed, I cried, I stayed up far too late reading. You don't want to miss this book.”

Miriasha, Phoenix Books

Razorblade Tears

“At once gritty and graphic, tender and heart wrenching, Razorblade Tears is the story of two fathers hardened by life circumstances and their respective prejudices who seek vengeance against those who killed their gay sons. The audio was perfection. We NEED this novel to be on the big screen, with Denzel Washington playing Ike. ”

Jessica, Main Street Books Davidson

Cloud Cuckoo Land

“Spanning from the final days of Constantinople to the distant space-exploring future, this is about how stories resonant across space and time. I know that readers will emerge from its pages grateful: for our connections with each other, how great art outlasts all of us, how together we are all writing one big story, imperfect and hopeful.”

Samantha, Rediscovered Books

On Animals

“Loved the Libro.fm version of this book! Read by the author, it is engaging and entertaining. It is not deep or heavy, but whether you are an animal enthusiast or not, this book works!”

Rebecca, Rediscovered Books

An international bestseller!

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a thrilling, “dark coming-of-age adventure” (Culturess) about a teen girl with mythic abilities who must defend her world against restless spirits of the dead.

The spirits of the dead do not rest.

Artemisia is training... Read more »

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

“This book wraps you in all the beauty and sorrows of the world. The magical matriarch of the Montoya family, Orquídea Divina, invites each of her descendants to her funeral - even though she is still alive. As the past and present weave together, the Montoya family can only escape their curse by unspooling what happened to Orquídea. This story is full of wonder and love, a spell that I never wanted to break.”

Samantha, Rediscovered Books