From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:
Hardcover
Pony Confidential: A Novel by Christina Lynch (Berkley, $28, 9780593640364). "A talking horse? Not only that, a talking horse with some real powers of deduction and a thirst for revenge! This mystery gallops along from one end of the U.S. to the other; you'll be bouncing in your seat until the very satisfying conclusion." --Anne Holman, The King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah
How Does That Make You Feel, Magda Eklund?: A Novel by Anna Montague (Ecco, $28, 9780063353640). "This novel follows a 70-year-old woman on a road trip with her best friend's ashes. Along the way, she confronts her grief and her sexuality, showing that honesty and connection are there if we are brave enough to reach for them." --Colleen Schneider Cameron, Read Between the Lynes, Woodstock, Ill.
Paperback
An Image of My Name Enters America: Essays by Lucy Ives (Graywolf Press, $20, 9781644453117). "Lucy Ives is a brilliant, singular, and encyclopedic thinker, and this collection of essays--spanning topics as wide-reaching as My Little Pony, the Assyrian Genocide, and the troubled history of romantic love--is astonishing." --Scott Broker, Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena, Calif.
Ages 5-7
Open Me... I'm a Dog! by Art Spiegelman (TOON Books, $18.99, 9781662665486,). "Open Me... I'm a Dog! uses clever word play and mixed media to encourage kids to have a hands-on experience. Spiegelman uses a combination of artistic styles to illustrate the story. This is a great book to introduce to a toddler and bring out for story time." --Lea Bickerton, The Tiny Bookstore, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Ages 8-12
The Graveyard Gift by Fern Forgettable, as told by Piper CJ (Random House Books for Young Readers, $14.99, 9780593810477). "This book gave me all the Wednesday Addams vibes. Young Rosemary can see how people die. She's a student at Fern's school for other demi-fae. When classmate goes missing, she'll have to use her gifts to find him. Mystery, friendship and so much more!" --Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Teen Readers
Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews (Feiwel & Friends, $19.99, 9781250895660). "Beautifully cutting and achingly full of writhing love, painful loss, and horrors beyond imagination. Love is a weapon full of cutting ribs and thorns in this gut-wrenching story by CG Drews." --Kaitlyn Mahoney, Under the Umbrella Bookstore, Salt Lake City, Utah
[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]
