Born in Georgia, Sara spent her childhood living in various parts of the Southeast corner of the United States before finishing her Bachelor's degree in Psychology. She now lives on Bainbridge with her husband, daughter, and two crazy dogs. Her reading tastes include sci-fi, fantasy, horror, fiction, graphic novels, and science, but she’ll read just about anything you put in front of her. Her favorite thing to do at the store is to rant about Brandon Sanderson books! Here at the bookstore, Sara wears many hats - bookseller, portrait artist, mom, Director of Mirth - she does it all. When you purchase one of our gift certificates, you are getting one of her artistic creations!
Sara's picks:
Fantasy and science fiction combine in this charming, unexpected novel with quite a case of characters; a violin teacher who convinces her students to barter their souls to the devil, an extremely talented but abused trans runaway, and a starship captain – a refugee who has rescued her family from an intergalactic war and now runs a donut shop in the greater Los Angeles area. Scenes made us laugh and cry and laugh again. Insightful and unsparing, yet preposterous, hilarious, and deeply, inspiringly compassionate, Aoki’s book encompasses seemingly impossible dichotomies while enfolding you in its world. ~McNevin & Sara
This book has so much to offer: humor, spooks, empowerment, and cute spiders, to name just a few! Following the story of one of the most relatable protagonists I’ve ever read, I found myself recognizing a lot of the same character flaws we examine in her, and felt introspective by the end of the novel. I highly recommend Cackle as a fun—and surprisingly validating—read.
A well-researched and well-written tale of love and loss in World War II, Posey’s debut novel is captivating historical fiction at its finest. He takes us on an emotional journey as we watch the growth of two characters, in whom we all can find reflections of our own doubts and failures, all while immersing us in a rich array of settings. Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, I recommend this novel to anyone interested in a character-driven story.
Fantasy/sci-fi fans are probably familiar with the name Brandon Sanderson either from his contributions to the Wheel of Time series, or from one of his several other works like the Mistborn trilogy. For those looking to sample his writing before committing to one of his epic sagas, look no further than this, his first novel. Elantris gives readers a taste of Sanderson’s gifts for writing, unique and captivating worlds, characters, and plots. For the already initiated, it’s also worth reading as one of his lesser-known works! Either way, I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for an excellent story.