Fall 2023 Reading Group Indie Next List
Dazzling Debuts
![Cover Image for Brother, Sister, Mother, Explorer: A Novel](https://images.booksense.com/images/219/221/9781646221219.jpg)
Buy Now
“In their childhood home riddled with memories and spirits, Rufina strikes a bet with her grief-stricken brother, Rafa. What follows is a mesmeric, incantatory story as two siblings attempt to grapple with the profound complexities of loss.”
— Serena Morales, Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, NY
![Cover Image for The Forest Brims Over: A Novel](https://images.booksense.com/images/373/095/9781640095373.jpg)
Buy Now
“A small novel that explores the misogynistic landscapes of everyday Japanese publishing through a collection of surreal scenes of sapling skin, forests, and monsters. Quietly powerful.”
— Iris Tobin, A Room Of One's Own Bookstore, Madison, WI
![Cover Image for Leech](https://images.booksense.com/images/202/811/9781250811202.jpg)
![Cover Image for A Map for the Missing: A Novel](https://images.booksense.com/images/688/300/9780593300688.jpg)
Buy Now
“This beautifully-crafted novel manages to weave past and present together in a meditation on choice, free will, and how our own actions — and the actions of those before us — affect entire generations. A must-read.”
— Debra Ginsberg, DIESEL, A Bookstore, Santa Monica, CA
![Cover Image for The Road to Dalton](https://images.booksense.com/images/260/459/9781609459260.jpg)
Buy Now
“I could feel the seasons of small town Maine pass as I read. I could also feel the weight — and the beauty — of the way individual people, with their complicated and private hearts, act on one another in a community.”
— Nora Sternlof, R.J. Julia Booksellers, Madison, CT
![Cover Image for Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm: A Novel](https://images.booksense.com/images/537/466/9780593466537.jpg)
Buy Now
“A story of agency, obsession, art, and love, this novel sings. Warrell builds a steady rhythm of women’s voices around Circus, hitting the right notes and some of the sour ones, as these women learn to lead in their own lives.”
— Miranda Sanchez, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews, Chapel Hill, NC
Family & Coming of Age
![Cover Image for The Hero of This Book: A Novel](https://images.booksense.com/images/296/971/9780062971296.jpg)
Buy Now
“This slim, beautifully written novel (or is it a memoir?) takes place in London as the writer/narrator copes with the death of her mother. It is about so much — bereavement, disability, writing, relationships — and is always engaging.”
— Nancy Felton, Broadside Bookshop, Northampton, MA
![Cover Image for Now Is Not the Time to Panic: A Novel](https://images.booksense.com/images/517/913/9780062913517.jpg)
Buy Now
“I can’t get enough of Kevin Wilson’s books, and Now is Not the Time to Panic gifts us two endearingly awkward misfits and their accidental foray into art’s subculture as they come of age in a small town.”
— Bari Dulberg, The Astoria Bookshop, Astoria, NY
![Cover Image for Our Missing Hearts: A Novel](https://images.booksense.com/images/666/492/9780593492666.jpg)
Buy Now
“A boy and his mother, a Chinese American poet, are torn apart by PACT: the Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act. Our Missing Hearts is a powerful testament to the bond between mother and child and the radical forms resistance can take.”
— Megan Bell, Underground Books, Carrollton, GA
![Cover Image for Tell Me I'm An Artist](https://images.booksense.com/images/570/767/9781593767570.jpg)
Buy Now
“Tell Me I’m an Artist goes through the mind of an artist who is struggling to fit in and pull away from family that is no longer loving. This reads like your personal diary and makes for a true coming of age story. Incredible and gut wrenching.”
— Ollie Mendez, Skylight Books, Los Angeles, CA
![Cover Image for They're Going to Love You: A Novel](https://images.booksense.com/images/005/468/9780593468005.jpg)
Buy Now
“I adored They’re Going to Love You so much that a part of me is convinced that Meg Howrey wrote it for me, specifically. This is a gorgeous novel about being an artist in the modern world, the sacrifices we make, and the people we hurt.”
— Lindsay Lynch, Parnassus Books, Nashville, TN
![Cover Image for The Work Wife](https://images.booksense.com/images/915/804/9781525804915.jpg)
Buy Now
“The Work Wife is worthy of every accolade! An absolute page-turner with an intricate plot that spins tighter and tighter as you move through the three points of view. Get this onto your book club calendar — there is a lot to talk about!”
— Mary O'Malley, Skylark Bookshop, Columbia, MO
Historical Fiction
![Cover Image for Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution](https://images.booksense.com/images/433/021/9780063021433.jpg)
By R. F. Kuang
Harper Voyager
“Dark academia that addresses race, class, and the role language plays in imperialism, Babel will blow you away. Kuang gives us a stunning work of historical fantasy and a fascinating take on translation and language.”
— Olivia Marchese, Author's Note, Medina, NY
![Cover Image for Carrie Soto Is Back: A Novel](https://images.booksense.com/images/708/158/9780593158708.jpg)
Buy Now
“Carrie Soto easily joins the ranks of Nina, Evelyn, and Daisy Jones! She is unapologetic to the point of ruthlessness, but readers will love her all the same! Each tennis match was intense and vividly described. TJR truly outdid herself.”
— Vina Castillo, Kew & Willow Books, Kew Gardens, NY
![Cover Image for The Marriage Portrait: A novel](https://images.booksense.com/images/088/315/9780593315088.jpg)
Buy Now
“A heartwrenching take on the short life of Lucrezia de’ Medici. O’Farrell’s writing is full of humanity, emotion, and the subtleties of interaction — Lucrezia shines. If you loved Hamnet, you’ll be right at home in The Marriage Portrait.”
— Eric Judy, Paper Boat Booksellers, Seattle, WA
![Cover Image for The Mitford Affair: A Novel](https://images.booksense.com/images/091/282/9781728282091.jpg)
Buy Now
“Based on the lives of the aristocratic Mitford sisters, this is an utterly engaging glance at the rise of fascism in Britain leading up to WWII and one sister’s infatuation with Hitler. A thought-provoking glipse at how ideologies can be dangerous.”
— Annette Steinmetz, The Well-Read Moose, Coeur d'Alene, ID
![Cover Image for The Night Ship: A Novel](https://images.booksense.com/images/829/180/9781982180829.jpg)
Buy Now
“Set at sea and on a desolate island off the western coast of Australia, The Night Ship is the well-woven parallel tale of youngsters Mayken in 1629 and Gil in 1989. A tale of disrupted youth replete with friendship, tenacity, sorrow, and love.”
— Susan Posch, The Book Shoppe (IA), Boone, IA
![Cover Image for Sister Stardust](https://images.booksense.com/images/580/449/9781335449580.jpg)
Buy Now
“Sister Stardust is a 1960s blast. An impressionable young girl’s chance encounter in London whisks her to Marrakesh, into a world full of rock stars, artists, fashion designers, socialites, and unimaginable wealth. A wild ride.”
— Damita Nocton, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, NC
Nonfiction & Memoir
![Cover Image for Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me](https://images.booksense.com/images/137/162/9780802162137.jpg)
Buy Now
“Also a Poet is simultaneously a moving and nuanced portrait of a complicated father-daughter relationship and a fascinating biography of Frank O'Hara, told with care and rigor.”
— Lesley Rains, City of Asylum Bookstore, Pittsburgh, PA
![Cover Image for Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional](https://images.booksense.com/images/640/731/9781639731640.jpg)
Buy Now
“In Dirtbag, Massachusetts Fitzgerald unapologetically grapples with body image, trauma, drugs, and alcohol. Reading it felt like swapping stories with a dear friend.”
— Audrey Beatty, River Bend Bookshop, Glastonbury, CT
![Cover Image for One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World](https://images.booksense.com/images/233/167/9781982167233.jpg)
By Michael Frank, Maira Kalman
Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
“Frank elicits Stella Levi’s moving story of the centuries-old Jewish community Juderia of Rhodes and their brutal deportation by the Nazis to Auschwitz in 1943. Frank’s loving portrait is luminescent.”
— Dale Szczeblowski, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA
![Cover Image for Solito: A Memoir](https://images.booksense.com/images/088/498/9780593498088.jpg)
Buy Now
“This is a call to action. Zamora is the embodiment of resilience and provides heartrending storytelling. We should all strive for a world where no child has to overcome these odds to pursue their dreams. This is urgent and impossible to forget.”
— Destinee Hodge, East City Bookshop, Washington, DC
![Cover Image for This Story Will Change: After the Happily Ever After](https://images.booksense.com/images/110/096/9781640096110.jpg)
Buy Now
“Crane faces her divorce head on with wit and grace. Each vignette builds on the last into something strangely beautiful. For those who enjoy a little Summertime (reading) Sadness.”
— Audrey Kohler, BookWoman, Austin, TX
![Cover Image for Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases](https://images.booksense.com/images/808/622/9781250622808.jpg)
Buy Now
“This is a unique look at the inner life of a prolific cold case investigator, told in his words as he walks us through some of California’s most notorious cases. Highly recommend for anyone interested in true crime and criminal justice.”
— Kelsey Frazier, Napa Bookmine, Napa, CA
Small Bites
![Cover Image for Bliss Montage: Stories](https://images.booksense.com/images/543/893/9781250893543.jpg)
Buy Now
“Contemporary Chinese American fiction is in good hands. Ling Ma is a master at blending the surreal and all-too-real, and these eight stories are full proof of her prowess.”
— Michelle Zhang, BookPeople, Austin, TX
![Cover Image for Dead-End Memories: Stories](https://images.booksense.com/images/103/096/9781640096103.jpg)
Buy Now
“Dead-End Memories highlights the universal and passive spirits that uplift us despite life’s hardships. Yoshimoto gives us, the reader, permission to cherish the tender, vulnerable parts of ourselves in this wondrous book. A treasure trove!”
— Thu Doan, East Bay Booksellers, Oakland, CA
![Cover Image for Graceland, at Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache from the American South](https://images.booksense.com/images/856/311/9781571311856.jpg)
By Margaret Renkl
Milkweed Editions
“Graceland, At Last goes beyond stereotypes and caricatures of the American South to reveal the real people, plants, and animals that live there, and how they band together during dark times. These columns illuminate all manner of hidden things.”
— Ellie Ray, Content Bookstore, Northfield, MN
![Cover Image for Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird: Stories](https://images.booksense.com/images/666/012/9781668012666.jpg)
Buy Now
“Agustina Bazterrica is so good at making my skin crawl with her writing, so naturally I had to read her short story collection. These nineteen stories will make you feel unsettled and question everything.”
— Lotte Dunnell, Bookends & Beginnings, Evanston, IL
![Cover Image for Stories from the Tenants Downstairs](https://images.booksense.com/images/828/145/9781982145828.jpg)
Buy Now
“Fofana’s immersive novel-in-stories brings a vivid humanity to the plight of gentrification. Full of life and sprinkled with humor, he reveals the personal and cultural consequences capitalism can have on a diverse, struggling community.”
— Alden Zeff, Water Street Bookstore, Exeter, NH
![Cover Image for Time Is a Mother](https://images.booksense.com/images/251/300/9780593300251.jpg)
Buy Now
“Time is a Mother is without a doubt one of the best things I've ever read in my life. While reading this collection, I felt as if I could breathe underwater. I could feel time slow down, allowing me to be present in the ephemeral stillness of grief and memory. I know I will return to these poems often.”
— Christine Bollow, Loyalty Bookstores, Washington, DC
More Indie Next Lists
- July 2024 Indie Next List
- Summer 2024 Reading Group Indie Next List
- July/August 2024 Kids Indie Next List
- June 2024 Indie Next List
- May 2024 Indie Next List
- May/June 2024 Kids Indie Next List
- April 2024 Indie Next List
- Spring 2024 Reading Group Indie Next List
- March 2024 Indie Next List
- March/April 2024 Kids Indie Next List