Booksellers Picks for March
At number one on the just-released March Indie Next List is Joshilyn Jackson’s The Opposite of Everyone, (Harper/William Morrow; OverDrive Sample), a novel that stars a minor character from Jackson’s previous novel, Someone Else’s Love Story.
In her recommendation, Annell Gerson, of Bookmiser, Roswell, GA, says:
“Paula Vauss, née Kali Jai, is complicated, with every right to be so. When she was a young girl, her mother landed in prison and Paula spent time in foster care. Kai, Paula’s Southern, bohemian, Hindu story-telling, boyfriend-hopping mother, loves her, but circumstances surrounding the separation permanently alter their unique love and each spends time trying to make life work again. This is a poignant story of hurt and forgiveness, of secrets and courage, and ultimately of allowing love and family to make one whole again. Jackson’s The Opposite of Everyone will remain in readers’ hearts long after the last line is read.”
Also making the list is 13 Ways of Looking
at a Fat Girl, Mona Awad (PRH/Penguin Books; OverDrive Sample).
It was a LibraryReads pick in February and PW featured it in “Top Early 2016 Books.” In our online chat with Awad in December, she talked with librarians about the making of this literary debut (see also her video to librarians).
In her summary, bookseller Susan Hans O’Connor, of Penguin Bookshop, Sewickley, PA, says:
“For anyone who has ever, at any moment of her life, felt inadequate, insecure, inferior, or inept, and turned to the LifeCycle for a bit of solace only to find herself feeling even worse, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl will resonate, rattle, and inspire. Mona Awad is an exciting new voice, both honest and hilarious, with the ability to face, with head held high, all of the obstacles we throw at ourselves that often stand in the way of our own happiness.”
Also among the booksellers picks is another title being compared to The Girl on the Train, The Widow, Fiona Barton (PRH/NAL; OverDrive Sample).
Annie B. Jones, of The Bookshelf, Thomasville, GA, offers:
“Readers on the hunt for the newest, hottest thriller can take heart: Barton’s debut novel is impeccably paced and quietly terrifying, sure to fill any void left after reading The Girl on the Train. Jean Taylor is reeling over the loss of her husband, but the man she knows and the man the police know are two very different people. Told in alternating voices, The Widow is perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Tana French and will have readers on the edge of their seats.”
The full list is available online now. The March LibraryReads list comes out next week, on the 10th.