Most Anticipated Fiction of Spring 2023

One of the most important things that sets indies apart from our online and big box competitors is our curation - books chosen by book lovers for the particular community they serve! It’s the most time-intensive task Amanda and I are charged with as owners. Every few months, we review literally thousands of titles coming out in the season ahead and choose which we will include in our collection. 

This weeks-long process involves pajamas, coffee, take-out, and - obviously - some champagne. It’s not the worst gig in the world, but, dude, when you love books but have limited shelf space, it’s HARD to decide what will make the cut. Some of the many things we take into consideration are: how compelling or original the book’s plot seems, the author’s track record in our store, the size of the print run, the books listed as comparable to a title—and just our plain old gut feelings. 

Part of the process also includes requesting advance copies of the books that most pique our interest—titles we feel have the potential to be really exciting for our customers. We like to read books before their release, so we can be informed in our ordering and speak knowledgeably to all of you about their contents.

We’re currently in the throes of ordering for the summer season, but, today, I share with you some of the books from our spring curation that we’re most excited to put in your hands!

March

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (3/14/23)

Napolitano wrote the super-popular Dear Edward, and we expect this book to be just as great. In this tribute—but not retelling of—Little Women, a college student, William, finds respite from his traumatic childhood in the family of his new friend, Julia. When his past threatens Julia’s relationship with his sisters, William must contend with the consequences.

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez (3/7/23)

Snarky and tragic. I got my hands on an advanced reader copy of this one and thoroughly enjoyed it. Nearly 15 years ago, Ruthy Ramirez, aged thirteen, vanished. Her parents and two sisters have never recovered. When the sisters discover a reality tv show that seems to star their long-lost sister, they set out to find her.

American Mermaid by Julia Langbein (3/21/23)

I cannot even with this book in the very best possible way. Penny quits her job as a high school English teacher when her novel American Mermaid is optioned for a film and she is tapped to help with the screenwriting process. The book alternates between excerpts of American Mermaid (so absurd and delightful) and Penny's time working in Hollywood with two screenwriting bros who just don't understand her story or its central character. When weird shit starts going down, Penny begins to wonder if her fictional mermaid might not be fictional at all—has she risen from the depths of American Mermaid to take her revenge on those fucking with her story?

April

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal (4/18/23)

This is a very midwestern tale. A couple, both heirs to family restaurants, try to forge the best path forward, honoring their families while also making a living. In the aftermath of a tragedy, will they come to see their inheritances in a different light?

Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb (4/18/23)

Bern Hendricks, an expert on one of America’s most well-known composers, Frederic Ddlaney, is hired to get performance-ready when Delaney’s final composition, assumed lost, is discovered. In the course of his work, Bern and his sidekick, Eboni, start to realize that there’s a terrible secret behind the 20th century’s most celebrated musician - a secret that some powerful people don’t want revealed. What I like most about this book is its original description of music and sounds. Slocumb, Black, is a professional violinist and music educator, and his expertise and experiences within his profession are evident. “Symphony of Secrets” reads a little like a mystery/thriller. How much of what we believe to be a person’s achievements are built upon the work of those with less power and privilege?

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld (4/4/23)

Sittenfeld is tried and true and knows how to write a complicated female lead. Sally is a writer for a show a lot like SNL. Annoyed by the average men around her who are dating women so clearly out of their league, she creates a sketch about the phenomenon. She doesn’t expect, though, that she might find romance in the midst of it all.

May

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (5/2/23)

Best book I’ve read in a long-ass time. 

Few books have moved me so deeply or caused me to examine so carefully our obligations to one another as human beings. In this dystopian novel, prisoners serving long sentences or the death penalty can opt out of prison to participate in a program called CAPE (Criminal Action Penal Entertainment) in which they fight in death matches, rising through the ranks. If they survive three years on "the circuit", they are freed - something that has happened only once, and perhaps with the interference of CAPE officials.

Loretta Thurwar is only two matches away from freedom. The unofficial leader of her chain—a group of CAPE participants from the same prison system—Thurwar is keeping a secret that will forever change her and this family-of-sorts they've created.

The Guest by Emma Cline (5/16/23)

Emma Cline writes unmoored girls really well. In her second novel, The Guest, the main character, Alex, twenty-two, having lived as a prostitute for the last several years, feels like she might have found safe(ish) harbor with her wealthy, much older lover, Simon, who has allowed her to spend the season with him in his New England coastal summer home. When Alex miscalculates his care for her and behaves in a way he doesn’t like, Simon kicks her out; Alex convinces herself that this is not a permanent breakup—he really just needs some space. Besides, she literally has nowhere else to go. She’ll kill time for a week and then return to his house on Labor Day, when he’ll be throwing a big party. He’ll be thrilled to see her. With no money and no real relationships to call upon, Alex spends the week itinerantly, deceiving her way into various homes and social circles, all in the hopes of just finding a place to crash and food to eat until she can return to Simon.

The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor (5/23/23)

Hey, a book that takes place in Iowa City! Brandon Taylor is an extraordinary writer, and he continues to deliver with his latest, which follows a group of loosely connected friends over the course of a year as they contemplate their futures after graduate school. He does a masterful job of capturing being on the cusp of “real” adulthood, especially when one’s ideals come up against the harsh reality of making a living.