Next Stop is an endearing graphic novel that made me laugh out loud on one page, then tear up on the next. Fong’s ability to discuss grief and loss without sacrificing charm makes Next Stop a must-read for children and adults.
Next Stop by Debbie Fong, (List Price: $13.99, Random House Graphic, 9780593425183, March 2024)
Reviewed by Courtney Ulrich Smith, Underbrush Books in Rogers, Arkansas
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Battles defending honor and fighting sexism, this graphic novel has it all. Set in samurai times with a modern twist, The Worst Ronin shows the progression of a young girl learning how to fight for her life and a worn-down drunken warrior learning how to be kind.
The Worst Ronin by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, (List Price: $18.99, HarperAlley, 9780358464938, May 2024)
Reviewed by Sara Dimaria, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana
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I know I was technically an adult when I wrote my first book, but Real Americans feels, to me, like the first book I’ve written as an adult. What I mean is that I worked at it diligently and devotedly. It felt more like a marriage—something I committed to, that I worked at—whereas Goodbye, Vitamin felt like flings, stolen moments. Even when I was at my busiest I made sure to carve out an hour in the mornings to write. On mornings I did the opening shift at The Ruby, I would make the communal pot of coffee, then place myself in the “podcast room” (this tiny dark closet hung with egg cartons and moving blankets) and write. For the first couple years, I only had those daily hours. And in the last years of writing the book it required more: three to four hours, artist residencies. I mean that in the best way, though. I got married a few months before Goodbye, Vitamin was released, and I think I learned a lot about writing a novel by being in my committed relationship. To both marriage and novel writing, there are challenges, annoyances and frustrations, but also really deep satisfaction, joy, belonging, intimacy, transcendence.
― Rachel Khong, The Rumpus
What booksellers are saying about Real Americans
About Rachel Khong
Rachel Khong is the author of Goodbye, Vitamin, winner of the California Book Award for First Fiction, and named a Best Book of the Year by NPR; O, The Oprah Magazine; Vogue; and Esquire. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Cut, The Guardian, The Paris Review, and Tin House. In 2018, she founded The Ruby, a work and event space for women and nonbinary writers and artists in San Francisco’s Mission District. She lives in California.
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This bestseller sat on my shelf for two years before I had the courage to read it. I knew it would wreck me, and wreck me it did. Through a son’s letter to his mother, we learn the story of Little Dog and the meaning of love, loss, family, and belonging. Ocean Vuong creates a surreal experience of the senses, redefining the meaning of narrative — each page more breathtaking than the last. As someone who rarely keeps fiction past the first read, this one has a permanent place on my bookshelf.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, (List Price: $18, Penguin Books, 9780525562047, June 2021)
Reviewed by RC Collman, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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After reading Sleepless in Dubai, you will be itching for a trip to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi! Nikki and Yash have been best friends since birth. But this last summer, their friendship blew up and they’ve been avoiding each other since. Now their families have a trip planned together to Dubai for Diwali and they’re going to have to find some way to get along.
Sleepless in Dubai by Sajni Patel, (List Price: $30, Amulet Books, 9781419766961, October 2023)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
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More fun and intrigue await in Manansala’s newest mystery with our favorite Filipino baker. Lila and her godmothers are back on the scene. The Calendar Crew (April, Mar, and June) are opening up a new laundromat, but their main competition is furious about the development. And their gossiping ways have another townsman blaming them for the breakup of their marriage. So when the laundromat is vandalized, those are the two main suspects. But when April’s niece is found dead in the laundromat, things just got a little more serious. This time, Lila will have to call on all her friends to break the case.
Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala, (List Price: $17, Berkley, 9780593549162, September 2023)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
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“And then there was this moment when the food actually came to the table. And everything just changed; the tenor of the conversation paused and when we started eating, I could just see both of us fall out of our anxious brains back into our bodies.” ― C Pam Zhang, Interview, This Is TASTE 271
What booksellers are saying about Land of Milk and Honey
About C Pam Zhang
C Pam Zhang is the author of How Much of These Hills Is Gold, winner of the Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Award and the Asian/Pacific Award for Literature, longlisted for the Booker Prize, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award and the National Book Critics’ John Leonard Prize, and one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of the year. She is a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree and a New York Public Library Cullman Fellow.
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To Have and to Heist is a wild-ride from start to finish. Think Oceans 11 with serious screwball romantic comedy energy. The plot is complex, but Desai is no novice. A seasoned romance author whose previous works have charmed us for the last few years (The Single’s Game, The Wedding Planner & The Dating Project), Desai is known for loveable, awkward leads caught in the cross hairs of cultural expectations and hijinks. Simi, her floundering heroine with zero filter, is instantly loveable. Jack is Simi’s perfect foil; secretive and gruff but also floundering in his own way. Their chemistry is instant. While Simi and Jack’s relationship takes the lead, sizzling with sexual tension, their heist crew provides the perfect goof-ball comedic relief. Would I trust an Uber driver, a hit-man, a nerdy man-child, and an animal loving HIMBO to have my back in a heist? In these circumstances… you bet. Sara Desai brings us the experiences of many young, second generation Indian Americans- pressure to live up to familial expectations, be successful, and, of course, get married. Expertly weaving these experiences into laugh out loud romances. To Have and To Heist is the fun, heart-racing, summer romance adventure that we all deserve.
To Have and to Heist by Sara Desai, (List Price: $17, Berkley, 9780593548509, July 2023)
Reviewed by Katie Garaby, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee
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Victor’s life is turned upside down at the young age of 15. Diagnosed with Hansen’s disease (leprosy), he’s forced to leave his family and move to Carville, LA to a federal leprosarium. Scared and alone, he wants to flee. However, with the wide and varied cast of characters in his new home at Carville, he finds hope, love, and tragedy…but always hoping for the elusive cure. When Victor’s time at Carville nears the end, difficult choices must be made. You’ll find you are holding your breath at many points of this story. I could not put it down.
King of the Armadillos by Wendy Chin-Tanner, (List Price: 28.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250843005, July 2023)
Reviewed by Amy Loewy, Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans, Louisiana
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A fresh adaptation of Pride and Prejudice set in Chinatown, NYC in the 90s. Elizabeth Chen is the heroine we know and love—unyielding in her beliefs and self-reliant. This book both nails the retelling and holds its own with themes exploring class, identity, family dynamics, and community.
Good Fortune by C.K. Chau, (List Price: 29.99, HarperVia, 9780063293762, July 2020)
Reviewed by Andrea Jasmin, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina
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The seed of Banyan Moon was an image of a locked trunk I used to see in my mind, from a Bluebeard-like folk tale my mother used to tell me as a child. I come from a great line of storytellers and we’d often spend evenings listening to the stories of my family’s lives or the tales that’d be handed down to them over the generations. Folklore has always felt to me as less of a practice, and more of a space of the imagination that you can return to. The shared, communal aspect of a folk tale, as well as its oral nature, creates a different sort of narrative magic that can feel larger and more epic than other storytelling modes. One day I’ll tell my daughter the same folk tales I was told as a child, and I imagine it’ll feel like a sort of homecoming. ― Thao Thai, Interview, Indies Introduce
What booksellers are saying about Banyan Moon
About Thao Thai
Thao Thai is a writer living in Ohio with her husband and daughter. Her work engages with tangled family relationships and the intersections of motherhood and identity. She’s been published in Cup of Jo, Eater, Catapult, Sunday Long Read, and more. A recipient of the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, she has also been nominated for multiple Pushcart Prizes and earned fellowships in creative writing. She received her MFA from The Ohio State University and her MA from The University of Chicago.
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Chang-Eppig’s debut novel is a thriller from the first page – reading this book is like watching a pirate battle come to life! The perfect blend of action and historical fiction, Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea is a thriller from the very first page! Rita Chang-Eppig brings Chinese pirate Shek Yeung to life in such vivid detail that you can’t help but feel like you’re fighting alongside this ruthless warrior. The story is so gripping you won’t want it to stop, but you’ll be dying to know how it ends. A must-read for anyone who loves a historical thriller!
Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig, (List Price: 28.99, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781639730377, June 2023)
Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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The Double Life of Benson Yu is a clever novel about art, childhood trauma, and survival. Comic book artist Benson Yu found commercial success with his Iggy Samurai series, but a letter from someone from his past prompts him to start a new project. This project, an autobiographical graphic novel about growing up in 1980s Chinatown, forces him to revisit his pre-teen self (and vice versa). Different versions of characters from his past seem to coexist as Benson writes and rewrites his past to try to deal with traumatic experiences. For fans of complex stories (with a little time travel).
The Double Life of Benson Yu by Kevin Chong, (List Price: 27, Atria Books, 9781668005491, April 2023)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Hardin, The Snail On the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama
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This is a sweet story about a modern neighborhood and how the reality of 2023 settles in across generations and races. While the writing is sometimes bland, the characters are interesting and accessible, and you’ll find yourself a little more invested in a mall closing than you thought possible.
You Are Here by Karin Lin-Greenberg, (List Price: , Counterpoint, 9781640095434, May 2023)
Reviewed by Sarah Catherine Richardson, Snail on the Wall in Huntington, Alabama
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Dylan’s life revolves around his family — helping his aunt in their Chinese-Singaporian takeout restaurant, spending time with his cousins, remembering his mom. Then Theo comes into his life, with his private school and Ferrari and uber-wealthy family. The two are nothing alike, made even more obvious when Theo convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding and Dylan gets a look at the drama in Theo’s family. But there’s something real between them, and Dylan finds it harder and harder to ignore it. A super-cute romance with big YA Crazy Rich Asian vibes. And you’ll want to be sure to have snacks handy because the food sounds amazing, and you’ll definitely get hungry!
Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee, (List Price: 10.99, Underlined, 9780593569955, May 2023)
Reviewed by Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina
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