See what Kayla is reading....
Night of the Living Rez is a series of short stories that follow the same characters to connect them. The writing masterful and haunting, and the characters are very well developed and unique. This book reads like you're catching up with a long-time friend. If you liked Tommy Orange's There, There, you'll love this!
Loved this book! A well written and compelling historical fiction novel about Joan of Arc. I loved the depiction of Joan, she has a unique and prominant personality and the novel does a good job at contextualizing the historical and cultural without being overwhelming.
This book was orignially reccomended to me by bookseller Emily--thanks Emily!
Annihilation is the start of an excellent triology, but also a fantastic stand-alone novel. It's weird, surrealist, eco-sci fi that absolutely terrified me. Even if you've seen the Annihilation film (2018), this book is drastically different--and I think the better of the two. The other two books are good, but this one is definitely my favorite of the three!
A horor classic! This is my favorite of Ito's work and rapidly spirals out of hand (pun intended). It's weird and a great place to start if you're looking to start reading Japanese manga or graphic novels.
Emezi's debut novel, Freshwater, may be my favorite of their works. I have never read a novel like this one. The narration, the tone--everything--about this novel makes it truly unique and gripping, intense read.
This book is a historical horror novel and I love everything about it--the characters, the depictions of Slewfoot, the full page color illustrations, the historical accuracy, and to make it even better: it's also a revenge narrative. Incredibly original and based in New England folk horror, Slewfoot is great to fill that spot in your heart if Robert Eggers' 2015 film The Witch left you wanting more puritian folk horror.
If the artwork seems familiar to you, it's because Brom is also an illustrator for Wizards of the Coast!
Heaven was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022!
This book is incredibly intense but also incredibly beautiful. It's a coming of age story at it's center, with bullying and trying to find your identity and values at the forefront. Kawakami is usually compared to Haruki Murakami, and I agree with the comparison, especially in regards to Heaven. While Heaven is incredibly intense, it has some of the most beautiful writing I've read this year so far.
This book was originally reccomended to me by our bookbuyer, Hannah and our bookseller, Amanda--thank you for the amazing rec!
As you can tell by the rest of my shelf, I rarely read any romance or romance-centered fiction; yet here I am wholeheartedly endorsing The Flatshare! This book is fantastic and will make a great summer beach read; the chapters are quick, the plot is original, the characters are well-written and unique, and the non-romance plotline is amazing. There is so much happening in this book and all of it is excellent--this book set the bar high for me of what romance novels can--and should be!
