Indies Introduce Interview

As the three siblings in The Second Home “struggle to untangle years of hurt, secrets, and betrayal, you ache for them to save their home and themselves,” said Maxwell Gregory of Lake Forest Book Store.

How Much of These Hills Is Gold is “an unflinching portrait of burgeoning adulthood, solitude, and the search for home,” said Jake Cumsky-Whitlock of Solid State Books.

Efrén Divided is “a well-written account of something very topical and I hope that kids get to read it,” said Jackie Jou of Mysterious Galaxy.

“A love story buried within a mystery, The Animals at Lockwood Manor is sure to keep the reader turning pages,” said Cary Shapiro, a bookseller at Plot Twist Bookstore until its recent closing.

The family in Rader’s The Wanting Life “captures the wanting that is life — what could have been, what might still be, the pain of loss,” said Nadine Melahn of CoffeeTree Books.

Here, author Alexis Schaitkin talks about her early love of atmospheric books, and how that and other life experiences influenced her debut novel, Saint X.

“Layoverland is a reader’s paradise,” said Bethany Strout of Tattered Cover Book Store about Noone’s debut.

“The Vanished Birds speaks to where we are now by showing us where we can go — and asking us how much will really change when we arrive,” said Barak Lake of Pegasus Books.