March 2025 Indie Next List
Wild Dark Shore: A Novel
Charlotte McConaghy (Flatiron Books)
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“An achingly beautiful novel, a page-turning thriller, and an ode to the landscapes disappearing before our eyes. It so perfectly captures the deep heartbreak of loving a place in your very bones and knowing there is nothing you can do to save it. Still, the book was full of hope.”
— Nina Lundstrom, Maria's Bookshop, Durango, CO
March 2025 Indie Next List
Inspired Recommendations from Indie Booksellers
By Agustina Bazterrica, Sarah Moses
Scribner
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“In a world broken by climate disaster, a young woman is a low-level member of a cult cloistered in a convent. Control and abuse maintain order, but at least she is fed and safe. As she tries to piece her past together, we experience the horrors outside and inside, past and present.”
— Alana Haley, Schuler Books (Grand Rapids), Grand Rapids, MI
By Amal El-Mohtar
Tordotcom
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“This is a perfect little jewel of a book. It reads like a fairy tale I’d somehow missed as a child, but told in prose that weaves and shimmers and feels to always have a meaning just at the edges of my reach. Sapphics stay winning.”
— Becca Title, Meet Cute Romance Bookshop, San Diego, CA
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“This book is a love song. It’s a love letter to music, to connection, to friendship and romance and collaboration and connection and talent and pain. I wish I could have written this book. I’m jealous of people who haven’t read this book yet.”
— Jamie Thomas, Women & Children First, Chicago, IL
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“I was blown away (pun intended) by The Antidote! Such a wonderful book. A dust bowl novel with elements of magical realism intrigued me and Russell did not disappoint. It reminded me of The Giver, but for adults.”
— Hunter Gillum, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, IA
By Clare Leslie Hall
Simon & Schuster
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“Broken Country is a novel filled with love and broken hearts. Told in three timelines, each filled with so much love and loss. I forced myself to slow down and enjoy every sentence. The mystery kept me riveted to my chair, within reach of a box of tissues.”
— Leslie Jennings, Brewster Book Store, Brewster, MA
By Sophie Stava
Gallery/Scout Press
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“Count My Lies is an absolute thrill ride! A woman lies her way into the lives of a couple and their young daughter. But is she the only one keeping secrets? Order some take-out and settle in. Once you start reading, it’s impossible to stop!”
— Mary O'Malley, Skylark Bookshop, Columbia, MO
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“In my life as a bookseller, there have been only a handful of books that I feel are absolutely necessary. This is one of those books. El Akkad’s analysis and fury stand as beacons that will illuminate our path forward. I urge you to read and find a place in your heart for this book.”
— Paul Yamazaki, City Lights Books, San Francisco, CA
By Robert Seethaler, Katy Derbyshire
Europa Editions
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“Seethaler perfectly captures the essence of community — the importance, the beauty, the pitfalls. The characters are flawed, just like any assortment of people you’d find at a café. It’s the small moments in life that matter so much.”
— Susan Reckers, Rakestraw Books, Danville, CA
By Kim Fay
G.P. Putnam's Sons
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“Learning to be an adult in the world is hard, but it is far easier with a good friend, even if it’s one who can only support you from afar. Heartwarming, humorous, and ultimately hopeful, this novel perfectly captures the power of friendship.”
— Leslie Logemann, Highland Books, Brevard, NC
By Kimberly Lemming
Berkley
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“Hilarious and adventurous in Kimberly Lemming’s signature style! The characters and story are so imaginative, from the dinosaurs, to talking owl-like creatures, to flamethrowing sexy aliens with hooves and horns. Such a fun read!”
— Vanessa Nicolle, Femme Fire Books, Jacksonville, FL
By Nathaniel Ian Miller
Little, Brown and Company
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“A moving and well-crafted story of a young man’s return to his family’s struggling cattle farm in western Iceland. Told with wit, insight, and a keen eye for the landscape of the human heart.”
— Ann Woodbeck, Excelsior Bay Books, Excelsior, MN
By Eric Puchner
Doubleday
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“Dream State is a wide-ranging, richly textured novel that defies any simple description. Starting in a familiar past, old college pals prepare for a wedding in Montana and end up decades ahead in an uncomfortably plausible near future.”
— Stan Hynds, Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, VT
By Chris Bohjalian
Doubleday
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“Set during the Civil War, The Jackal’s Mistress is a gripping tale. The true story of a Southern woman who harbored a gravely injured Union soldier and nursed him back to health grappling with the ethics of her actions and her developing feelings for the soldier.”
— Caroline Buchta, Andover Bookstore, Andover, MA
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“Swordheart chronicles the travels of Halla and Sarkis with Kingfisher’s quick wit and charm. A hard-won adventure with a blossoming relationship — equally awkward and delightful — that captures what it means to find love where you least expect it.”
— Tori Finklea, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, TN
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“Go Luck Yourself is absolutely everything I could have hoped for in a sequel to The Nightmare Before Kissmas. I was delighted to see Kris’ inner workings and his quest for his own happily ever after, and I adored Lochlann and his sisters.”
— Emily Hall Schroen, Main Street Books (MO), St. Charles, MO
By Torrey Peters
Random House
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“Filled to the brim with visceral and liberatory queer writing. I found two of these stories years ago and they molded me into the reader I am today. To say I’m over the moon that people will finally read these stories is an understatement. Flawless!”
— Grace Sullivan, Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, VA
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“Dalton’s prose is as light and quick-footed as the hare who lives with her. She captures everything I love about good nature writing: observations that leave you with a new sense of astonishment and appreciation for the small lives interwoven with our own.”
— Shannon Guinn-Collins, Bookworks (NM), Albuquerque, NM
By Alice Austen
Grove Press
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“Set in Brussels as the storm clouds of WWII amass over Europe, the residents of an apartment building are forced to make difficult choices that will forever change their lives. Fans of The Postcard and All the Light We Cannot See, this is your next great read.”
— Cody Morrison, Square Books, Oxford, MS
By Laura Anthony
Gallery Books
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“I was riveted to this fictionalized account of women in 1970s Ireland — a time when women had no rights to their bodies, their future, and their voice. From each woman’s story to their effect on history, this book hits all the right notes.”
— Terry Gilman, Creating Conversations, Redondo Beach, CA
By Matt Kracht
Chronicle Books
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“I love this series and cannot wait for the next installment! People squeal with delight when they find it and know exactly who to gift it to. If you can’t get enough ‘weird legs’ and ‘egotistical jackasses’ of the bird world, this book is for you!”
— Meghan Hayden, River Bend Bookshop, Glastonbury, CT
By Nick Newman
G.P. Putnam's Sons
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“This book is creepy. It has a ton of twists and turns. What is actually happening and what comes from the mother’s twisted imagination? Should the sisters keep going the way they always have, or take a look at the outside?”
— Andrea Iriarte, Molly's Bookstore, Melrose, MA
By Shubha Sunder
Graywolf Press
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“Elegantly written, Optional Practical Training chronicles coming of age as a young immigrant with nuance and wit. Through intimate glimpses of a very specific point in Pavitra’s life, this book sharply investigates larger questions of agency and self.”
— Kazumi Fish, Yu and Me Books, New York, NY
By Nussaibah Younis
Tiny Reparations Books
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“Nussaibah Younis’ witty debut novel fetches a relevant focus on today’s societal views of women and what they are capable of. Read it through and embrace the character arc — you won’t put this book down until the very last page.”
— Desirae Wilkerson, Paper Boat Booksellers, Seattle, WA
By Vijay Khurana
Biblioasis
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“Join two teen boys in a joyride to nowhere as they light out for the territories with Chekhov’s gun behind the front seat. Khurana’s debut novel rumbles like a ‘67 Impala; readers will long for their seatbelts as it peels off toward its inevitable conclusion.”
— Austin Carter, Pocket Books Shop, Lancaster, PA
Now in Paperback
Indie Next List Selections Come to Paperback