IndieReader Discovery Awards 2024 Entrants
Added as our reviewers read them, find the latest verdicts for the 2024 IndieReader Discovery Award entrants, leading up to the big winner announcement in June!
Readers looking for a sharp, original, and funny literary narrative need look no further than THE TYRANNY OF DESIRE. Morty Shallman’s clever and incisive novel moves along at a rapid clip, introducing a cast of engaging characters. The book is often laugh-out-loud funny; Shallman turns one remarkably witty phrase after the next with perfect ease. Very much an adult novel for acerbic readers, THE TYRANNY OF DESIRE is memorable and riveting from the first to last pages.
The second book of the fantasy Slickdust Trilogy, Noah Lemelson’s THE LIONESS AND THE RAT QUEEN is part dystopian road trip, part revenge story. The plot is intricate and twisty and the layers of connections and of the consequences of decisions made in the stress of moment, slowly unravel. The worldbuilding is excellent, with visceral, sensory detail. THE LIONESS AND THE RAT QUEEN is a page turner that ends on a cliffhanger, promising a thrilling conclusion in book three.
Roxana Arama’s thriller EXTREME VETTING looks at some of the darkest sides of the broken US immigration system. Full of sure-footed writing and deep compassion with an engaging, determined protagonist, it is a story that is beautiful and brutal.
In Sally Avery Bermanzohn’s, INDIAN ANNIE, the titular character–a Chickasaw woman–tells the story of her people’s culture, history, and survival of war. Annie’s family had refused to leave their ancestral home during the tumultuous years of former president Andrew Jackson’s Indian removal during the 1830s and remained in Freedom Hills located in Northwestern Alabama Mountain ranges, where the survivors worked tirelessly to preserve their culture and native language. A captivating work of historical fiction.
The tale of MAKING FRIENDS WITH MONSTERS by Sandra L. Rostirolla unfolds through the eyes of Sam Nolen, a twelve-year-old with a captivating blend of quirkiness and wit. Set on a drought-stricken rural Australian sheep farm, this powerful book takes readers on a journey of self-discovery, leaving a profound message for both adults and teens grappling with challenging emotions such as anger, envy, and depression.
While there are entire libraries’-worth of books written about starting and growing a business, there are incredibly few that deal with entrepreneurial succession plans. How can a business that is based almost entirely on the management and vision of the entrepreneur who started it succeed after they have stood down? In his book YOUR MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR EXIT author Wayne M. Zell highlights a number of simple but effective strategies to both inform and prepare the reader to exit from business, whether that entails a hasty exit due to unforeseen circumstances, or handing the business over to a carefully groomed team after years of planning.
A book of reverent poetry themed around mountains and climbing, Alan Goldman’s REFLECTIONS ON MOUTAINEERING is a mix of the descriptively abstract and the very real, a book of sharp and sometimes bleak poetry that explores his love of high, angular peaks. Some parts are storylike, like a glance at his final ascent of Kilimanjaro, and others more oblique, as they praise experiences with snowy overhangs, cling-able cracks, avalanches, bears, and beautiful skylines. The overall impact, perhaps, best serves as a text for those who share Goldman’s deep affection, or at least find it readily relatable.
In a photographic story, David Alan Bardwick calls to action for the plight of the forgotten, THE UNSEEN PEOPLE OF BALI. He implores readers to help by showcasing the faces of the Balinese people in this photojournalistic story of people coming together to help others when the world shut down for COVID-19.
Blunt, relatable, straight-forward, and with a wonderful infusion of levity, TO CARRY WONDER is the new one-stop shop for pregnancy and beyond. Born out of author Emese C. Parker’s personal and clinical experiences, reading this book will instill a sense of confidence and calm normally found in open, honest conversations with your sister, mother, best friend… The memoir and guide will be an asset to anyone even tangentially connected to a pregnancy.
Children are thought to be like rubber balls; able to bounce back easily from physical and emotional traumas and dilemmas. But the truth is, unresolved inner conflicts can shape the mindsets of those who are on a struggling path. THE MAGIC IN METAPHOR (by Harley Sears presents fictional situations and conversation starter lessons to help caregivers address very young children’s fears and insecurities. Each story makes a nice addition to a bedtime routine.
Immensely descriptive and full of action, Jacqueline Pretty’s POWERLESS constructs an imaginative story where the “super” hero characters are not what they initially seem and organizations shrouded in mystery help the young, powerless protagonist uncover more truth than she’s ever known.
Balancing the emotion of love lost and found again centered on daily reservation life, NATIVE LOVE JAMS, author Tashia Hart’s debut romance is set on the Red Lakes Nation reservation. The entertaining and heartfelt story is packed with an array of Native culture and culinary ethnobotany references, which pulls the reader deep into the setting.
Author Gwen Chavarria blends several spiritual and religious beliefs to create this fictional treatise on life and the afterlife. In NOTES ON THE NEXT LIFE, the reader journeys through life on earth, heaven, and hell, following the stages of life and subsequent death of a female character through her struggles and triumphs.
Piper Holly is a well-behaved, Christian teenage girl; that is, aside from a series of reoccurring dreams that keeps her up at night about a house she doesn’t recognize and a woman from the past she doesn’t know. Upon moving to a small town with her family, Piper happens upon the house from her dreams. Samuel Miles Morley’s THAT WHICH IS HIDDEN is a haunting tale of a young woman with strong convictions whose personal faith is instrumental in defeating the evil that has chosen to attack her. Piper is a confident protagonist, self-assured and not afraid to face her demons – literally.
THE RING ACADEMY: The Trials of Imogene Sol, by C.L. Walters, is the first in a series and a mix of science fiction, mystery, and coming of age, but its most important drive is the romance in the story. The action is well-paced, the situations have a wonderful mix of tension and escalation, the characters are strong and interesting and funny. There’s a good balance of the science fiction elements with the mystery/thriller elements, and humor. But most of all, the book is above love–the love between friends, family, chosen family, and the enduring romantic love for which the characters long.
History, nonfiction, and a bit of fictional storytelling come together in Norman W. Holden’s THE LUCKY SEVEN . True to life but fictionally re-constructed, this page-turning detailed account of a World War II mission gives readers an intimate look at human reaction and fortitude, as an initially-successful attempt at bombing Nazi targets turned to into a life-threatening situation. Those who enjoy learning about WWII’s military interactions may find THE LUCKY SEVEN difficult to put down.
When a strangely ominous cloud appears above Scott’s dilapidated farmhouse in Illinois, it becomes terrifyingly apparent to him that this is no ordinary storm and his family needs to stay inside for any chance of survival. Frantically he battles to convince his frustrated wife and children to keep out of the rain while wrestling with his internal demons and those the downpour is bringing forth. Set within a stifling atmosphere of tense family dynamics and unexamined emotional baggage, DOWNPOUR is a chilling and vivid novel that reverberates with fear and desperation. Author Christopher Hawkins’s masterfully builds the suspense to nerve-shredding effect in his fast-paced, claustrophobic narrative that expertly fuses horror with familial psychodrama.
THE HONOLULU SITUATION follows Jafir, a young man living in the fictional Taboor City who finds himself, along with his younger brother Rahim, on the run after murdering the son of a local warlord in self-defense. In his escape, he is saved by a man named Shwarma who sees an opportunity to take advantage of their difficult situation. Oftentimes very funny, Jafir’s adventure in America is contrasted by the manipulating and miscommunication Shwarma is weaving back in their fictional home country to keep these brothers apart and milk them for all the situation is worth. The book is populated with many colorful characters and the author builds a compelling, fictional world for readers to enjoy. A fish out of water tale, the mix of comedy and action both shine through, alongside a lot of heart.