Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from The Bookies Bookstore in Denver recommends a story about a girl and her (winged) horse and some unique historical fiction.
Skyriders
By Polly Holyoke
Penguin Young Readers Group
$9.99 (paperback)
April 2024
Purchase
From the publisher: Twelve-year-old Kiesandra’s best friend isn’t human, but that doesn’t stop her from sharing jokes and secrets with her winged horse, N’Rah. She, like every other person with a skysteed, can communicate with N’Rah through her mind. Their bond is critical when one day, monsters from long ago reemerge to ravage a nearby village. No one knows how to fight the fearsome chimerae except Kie’s uncle . . . and now Kie.
Not one but two of our staff members recommended “Skyriders” by Colorado author Polly Holyoke! “Skyriders” comes out in paperback on April 9, and even better, the next book in the series, “Sky King,” publishes May 7.
From Marilyn Robbins, children’s programs manager: Polly Holyoke’s “Skyriders” is the fantasy novel your middle-grade reader is looking for. It is filled with everything to make this book a perfect read: fast-paced action, unexpected heroes, friendships, mythological animals, and heart. You’ll be left clutching the book to your heart.
From Krista Carlton, manager: This book reawakened the horse girl tween in me and I loved every minute! Perfect for middle-grade readers or anyone needing an uncomplicated story of a girl and her (winged) horse.
The East Indian
By Brinda Charry
Scribner
$17 (paperback)
April 2024
Purchase
From the publisher: Meet Tony: insatiably curious, deeply compassionate, with a unique perspective on every scene he encounters. Kidnapped and transported to the New World after traveling from the British East India Company’s outpost on the Coromandel Coast to the teeming streets of London, young Tony finds himself in Jamestown, Virginia, where he and his fellow indentured servants — boys like himself, men from Africa, a mad woman from London — must work the tobacco plantations. Orphaned and afraid, Tony initially longs for home. But as he adjusts to his new environment, finding companionship and even love, he can envision a life for himself after servitude. His dream: to become a medicine man, or a physician’s assistant, an expert on roots and herbs, a dispenser of healing compounds.
From Bess Maher, event liaison: I really enjoyed this lively novel. The main character, Tony, makes the novel with his bright, at times funny way of looking at the world. He also shows us England and America of the colonial era through the eyes of someone whose homeland was colonized. “The East Indian” feels a bit picaresque in that we follow along with Tony on the bumpy ride of his life but also has a satisfying arc. Highly recommended!
THIS WEEK’S BOOK RECS COME FROM:
The Bookies Bookstore
We will reopen in our new location at 2085 S. Holly St. in early spring 2024. But we are open for online orders shipped directly to you!
As part of The Colorado Sun’s literature section — SunLit — we’re featuring staff picks from book stores across the state. Read more.