The Booksellers Association has today announced The Rest of You by Maame Blue as Fiction Book of the Month, and The River Thief by Hannah Peck as Children’s Book of the Month for November.
 
Independent bookshops around the UK and Ireland will be promoting The Rest of You and The River Thief throughout November on social media and in-store. The Booksellers Association will be supporting the promotion of the Indie Books of the Month through social media and promotional material.
 
The Rest of You follows the story of 30 year old Ghanaian Londoner Whitney Appiah who was born with a special gift. The massage therapist can physically sense where her clients' trauma lies and heal them. But Whitney has no idea that she too is suffering. Tragic events from her youth have left a terrible, unseen mark.
 
When a dangerous encounter with the man she's dating triggers a wave of fragmented recollections, Whitney embarks on a journey to reclaim her memories and the truth that is buried deep in her early years growing up in Kumasi, Ghana. The Rest of You is published by Verve Books (29^th October 2024) and is available to buy in bookshops now.
 
Maame Blue, author of The Rest of You, commented: “For me, independent bookshops are an essential part of our community; it's impossible for me to walk by one and not go in, no matter where I am in the country. They can provide a home to a little-known author's first book. They might be the first place a child ever saw themselves in a story. And they can be places of unity and resistance in the face of intolerance. Basically, independent bookshops are magic.”

The River Thief follows the story of Adderley who discovers Ef – a being who seems part human and part fish – in the river by her home, she is drawn into an adventure that challenges everything she's learnt about the world.
 
Ef is searching for a special stone that they say has been stolen from their people. Could this be the key to the drought that is destroying Adderley's home? Together, Adderley and Ef resolve to recover the stone and return it to its true home, but the river waters are not always on their side and the journey is filled with danger. The River Thief  is published by Piccadilly Press on 24^th October and is available to buy in bookshops now.
 
Hannah Peck, author of The River Thief, commented: “You can't beat an independent bookshop. Whenever I step inside one I feel I'm on the edge of meeting a friend for the first time – full of anticipation for someone I don't yet know but trust I'll like.”
 
Clare Calnan, bookseller at Browsers Dartmouth and member of the selection panel, said: “This book is a wonderful historical adventure full of twists and turns as an unlikely pair of children navigate the river to London in search of a stolen box of memories. An absolute delight.”
 
The Indie Book of the Month titles are selected by panels of booksellers from publisher submissions. The Children’s panel for November comprised members from Booka Bookshop, The Rabbit Hole, Browser Dartmouth. The Fiction panel were from Owl & Pyramid and Hewson Books.
 
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