LIBRARYREADS for April — A.J. FIKRY is #1
The growing excitement about The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (Algonquin) has been quantified; it’s the #1 pick for the April LibraryReads list as well as #1 on the IndieNext list. The annotation makes it clear why:
“A middle-aged bookseller mourning his lost wife, a feisty publisher’s rep, and a charmingly precocious abandoned child come together on a small island off the New England coast in this utterly delightful novel of love and second chances.”
Beth Mills, New Rochelle Public Library, New Rochelle, NY
Also on both lists is Emma Dongohue’s Frog Music, (Hachette/Little Brown), which may surprise fans who came to the author via the wrenching contemporary novel, Room, as this one is a historical novel. Diane Scholl of Batavia [Il) Public library says it is “based on the unsolved murder of Jenny Bonnet, a cross-dressing frog catcher with a mysterious past. Set in 1870s San Francisco, this brilliant book includes impeccable historical details, from a smallpox epidemic to period songs.”
A thriller with a great title and clever cover (click on the cover an it to get a closer look at the skull; can’t wait to see it as a tattoo), The Intern’s Handbook by Shane Kuhn (Simon and Schuster), is also featured on both list. Nancy Russell, Columbus [OH} Metro Library, says it manages to be both “funny and romantic, too! In a totally quirky way, of course. You have to read it to believe it.”
Many of the April titles are available as e-galleys on Edelweiss and/or NetGally until publication date. Those of you going to PLA can also check for print galleys at the publishers’ booths.