December 2022 Indie Next List
The Light Pirate
Lily Brooks-Dalton (Grand Central Publishing)
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“A survivor of a book. In the not-too-distant future, Florida is hurricane central, and Wanda (a hurricane namesake) is in the eye of this story that wraps around you; you’ll hold on for dear life, with everybody else.”
— Michelle Bear, Edmonds Bookshop, Edmonds, WA
December 2022 Indie Next List
Inspired Recommendations from Indie Booksellers
By Ashley Herring Blake
Berkley
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“I think I loved this book even more than Delilah Green Doesn’t Care. There is something so comforting about returning to a group of characters for a second book. I can’t wait to read Iris’ story next!”
— Aedan Richter, Nowhere Bookshop, San Antonio, TX
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“I love how Dade writes plus-sized heroines and how they are always strong, confident women. They always love themselves for who they are, not who society tells them they should be. This book is hilarious, adorable — and yes, very steamy.”
— Kaitlyn Craig, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH
By Rebecca Roanhorse
Gallery / Saga Press
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“At this point, I’ll read anything Rebecca Roanhorse writes. This little book packs a powerhouse of a story! It’s 1920s noir with demons and angels, but with Rebecca’s personal twist. I loved it and I can’t wait to give it to everyone I know!”
— Annie Carl, The Neverending Bookshop, Edmonds, WA
By Sabrina Imbler
Little, Brown and Company
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“The only thing more impressive than Imbler’s marine knowledge is their knowledge of themselves. Searching the ocean for new ways of being, they describe personal, familial, and communal trauma with astonishing honesty and lyricism.”
— Amy Woolsey, Bards Alley, Vienna, VA
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“Cormac McCarthy’s coda to The Passenger feels refreshingly different from, yet fully in-step with its predecessor. Stella Maris certainly makes The Passenger all the more tragic. If you read The Passenger, don’t skip dessert.”
— Mary Wahlmeier, Raven Book Store, Lawrence, KS
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“Sweet as can be! Well Traveled is a warm, witty romance that will complement any reader’s shelves. Jen DeLuca has hit it out of the park with this one.”
— Kailey Fox, Kingfisher Bookstore, Coupeville, WA
By Mariah Fredericks
Minotaur Books
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“Mariah Fredericks’s The Lindbergh Nanny is a fresh and profound take on America’s most notorious kidnapping. This engaging historical fiction novel vividly describes the secrets and sadness surrounding the Lindbergh kidnapping.”
— Susan McBeth, Adventures By The Book, San Diego, CA
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“An incredibly thought-provoking new novel from Jane Smiley. Her characters are so well drawn out that I felt like I was living the narrative alongside them. The writing is evocative and makes the pages fly. I can't wait to sell this!”
— Brooke Beehler, Books Revisited, St. Cloud, MN
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“A touching novel that is meant to be read with a warm cup of tea. A Quiet Life beautifully explores how loss, in its many forms, can lead to new hope in the most unexpected places.”
— Angela Pursel, The Next Chapter Bookstore (OR), Hermiston, OR
By Rae Meadows
Henry Holt and Co.
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“Rae Meadows’ Winterland is more than a story of women, and more than an expose of the abuse young gymnasts endure. It is a moving portrait of an authoritarian country and how hard it is to know when or how to stand up to what we know is wrong.”
— Sarah Bagby, Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, KS
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“They’re Going to Love You is simply wonderful. Perfect. The most trenchant and emotionally rich novel I’ve read this year.”
— Matt Nixon, A Cappella Books, Atlanta, GA
By S. A. Cosby
Flatiron Books
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“Former deputy Nathan Waymaker agrees to look into the sudden death of a beloved preacher of a Black church in a small Southern town. Cosby is a master of drawing you into a world where every knock on the door sounds like a harbinger of death.”
— Alden Graves, Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, VT
By John Boyne
Pamela Dorman Books
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“Gretel Fernsby is a character for the ages! She’s a 91-year-old full of guilt with stories to tell. Boyne writes her with great compassion — maybe more than she deserves — and brings alive a story spanning decades and continents.”
— Claire Benedict, Bear Pond Books, Montpelier, VT
By Buddy Levy
St. Martin's Press
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“Imagining how it feels to watch your ship crushed by ice and leave you stranded on an ice floe at 30 degrees below zero is terrifying. Full of details, good and not-so-good characters, Levy brings us a great armchair adventure in the Arctic.”
— Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT
By Lauren Graham
Ballantine Books
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“This book is like sitting down with an old friend! Learn about an actor’s climb to the top, what book she keeps by her bedside, and what she thinks about when she walks around town. I read it as quickly as her Lorelai Gilmore character talked!”
— Margaret Walker, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, TN
By Sue Lynn Tan
Harper Voyager
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“This was such a satisfying sequel to Daughter of the Moon Goddess. The pacing is fantastic and the story is unpredictably magical and exciting. I really loved the world building and appreciated the romance.”
— Hillary Smith, Black Walnut Books, Hudson Falls, NY
By Rin Usami, Asa Yoneda
HarperVia
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“A riveting exploration of fandoms and obsession, Idol, Burning is short but packs a real punch. It reads like a modern-day Mishima, using discomforting prose and slow-burn writing to set the tone for a melancholic and insightful read.”
— Katrina Wallace, Carmichael's Bookstore, Louisville, KY
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“Dionne’s essays cover fat-shaming, plus-size characters, love and sex, the pain of weight loss due to illness, and weight-discrimination legislation. Based both on research and her own experiences, there’s much here to think about.”
— Susan Posch, The Book Shoppe (IA), Boone, IA
By Tegan Nia Swanson
Catapult
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“Remarkable. This novel draws a parallel between missing/murdered Indigenous women and violence against the environment — all within a body-on-page-one murder mystery. It’s heavy lifting, but makes a lasting impression.”
— Christie Olson Day, Gallery Bookshop & Bookwinkle's Children's Books, Mendocino, CA
By Will Betke-Brunswick
Tin House Books
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“Will Betke-Brunswick’s graphic memoir captures a family facing an unimaginable loss, without signposts or explanations. Readers feel an increasing connection to the characters as the story unfolds; a powerful reading experience.”
— Keith Mosman, Powell's Books, Portland, OR
By Ewan Morrison
Harper Perennial
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“It's much too early to start naming the best pandemic novels of our uncanny reality, but I have a feeling that How to Survive Everything will be remembered as one of the greats.”
— Jordan Pulaski, Small Friend Records & Books, Richmond, VA
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“Shotgun Seamstress scratches a deep itch for more diverse representation in music writing and publishing. In eight collected zines written by and about marginalized punk trailblazers, Osa Atoe proves that form follows function.”
— Audrey Parks, New Dominion Bookshop, Charlottesville, VA
By Kevin Powell
Soft Skull
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“Powell’s return to poetry shines a light on the small details of everyday life — fear, tenderness, and what really matters in this vulnerable world. He does not forget the figures that shaped his world and influenced this album of hope.”
— Shannon Alden, Literati Bookstore, Ann Arbor, MI
By Jason Guriel
Biblioasis
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“Guriel tracks the change in consumer culture from buying in-person to online; he mourns the loss of connection to what we buy. Whether in small independent stores or shopping malls, discovery is a different experience in the flesh.”
— Todd Miller , Arcadia Books, Spring Green, WI
Now in Paperback
Indie Next List Selections Come to Paperback
