Ask a Bookseller Minnesota Public Radio

Call the midwife: Jolie Hughes of Morgan Hill Bookstore in New London, N.H., recommends two recent historical fiction books that both feature midwives — one real, one fictional — set at different points within American history.

“The Sweet Blue Distance” by Sara Donati follows a descendent of her bestselling Wilderness series.

Young midwife Carrie Ballentyne travels from her home in New York to work in Sante Fe. It’s set in 1857, at an interesting moment in U.S. history: seven years after the U.S. claimed the territory from Mexico and four years before the start of the Civil War.

Carrie finds herself in a complicated, multicultural community, highly segregated among Spanish, Indigenous and white inhabitants. She’s comfortable in all these communities, Jolie says, but not everyone is comfortable with her being there. Of course, as a nurse midwife, she sees the most intimate parts of people’s lives, including secrets her employer and his wife are keeping from her.

Jolie says she enjoyed the history, politics and romance of this epic novel, adding, “I read it all the way through to get to the end, and then I read it again because I wanted to get all the details.”


Jolie also recommends “Frozen River” by Ariel Lawhon. Set in 1789 Maine, in pre-Bill of Rights America, the novel features midwife Martha Ballard, a real-life figure who delivered over 1,000 babies and never lost a mother.

“Frozen River” is also a murder mystery, with the frozen river being where a body is discovered. Called to the scene, Martha declares the death a murder, much to the consternation of those who'd rather the death be hushed up as an accident.

“It’s about women’s voices and women’s truth being closed down because it makes men uncomfortable.”

In a December 2023 interview with NPR host Scott Simon, Ariel Lawhon spoke about the importance, to her, of featuring a mature woman as a heroine. At age 54, Martha has a supportive husband of 35 years and several adult children as well as an important career within her community.

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Mojade Adejokun of Paper Hearts Bookstore in Little Rock, Ark., recommends the novel “Women of Good Fortune” by Sophie Wan for your next fun summer read. 


Mojade describes the story as a heist that grows out of a group chat. You know the ridiculous things you text with your friends?

In this case, a reluctant bride and her two best friends decide to follow through on their crazy idea to get money by stealing the cash envelopes from her lavish wedding. 

Lulu doesn’t love her husband-to-be, and her friends feel the money could transform their lives. One friend is determined that plastic surgery would make her prettier and therefore change her fortune. The other longs to have a child, but IVF is way out of her price range.  

All they need to do is swap out the fancy boxes and thick red envelopes of wedding cash with fakes and they’re free! Right? 

“Throughout the story,” Mojade says, “the friends find out more about what they actually want and what they’re willing to do to get it. And if it’s at all worth it. It really is like the Sandra Bullock version of ‘Ocean’s Eight’: There’s twists and turns, and you bring in outside help, and there’s car chases! There’s a little bit of high intensity, but it’s still just a fun little story with a little bit of romance. But the biggest story of all is just the importance of friendship.”

On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now. 

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Jhoanna Belfer of Bel Canto Books in Long Beach, Cal., recommends the novel “Hula” by Jasmine ‘Iolani Hakes.

Jhoanna calls it a “gorgeously written family saga” offering an “insider look” at Hawaii. The lyrical writing incorporates Hawaiian place and family names, and if you love audiobooks, she says this one makes for excellent listening. 

Jhoanna says: There are three generations steeped in the tradition of hula, and they’re wrestling with what it means to be Hawaiian and how to preserve and pass on that heritage.


Hakes delves deeply into questions of sovereignty, cultural ownership and self-determination. It definitely also deals with family expectations, and trying to find your place in a family that is highly regarded in your community, and trying to stand out as an individual, while also taking pride in being part of that heritage. 

And it really leads you to question your own responsibilities as a tourist and a traveler. The beginning of the book is kind of a Greek chorus in the third person plural. And it opens with letting you know point-blank that this is not the book that you think it is.

This is not the Hawaii that you think you know. This is an insider's look. A peek behind the curtain, so to speak.

— Jhoanna Belfer 

On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now. 

Click here.


Emily Sands of the Williams Bookstore in Williamstown, Mass., recommends a sci-fi/fantasy quest to keep you company this summer. It’s called “Star Bringer” by Tracy Wolf and Nina Croft.


The voice-driven novel is marketed as “Firefly” meets “The Breakfast Club,” and Emily says that description is spot-on. 

Here’s the deal: The sun is dying — quickly — and no one knows why.  

At first glance, the story gives off “Dungeons and Dragons” vibes, in the sense that it draws together a sheltered princess, a high priestess who believes she’s part of a prophecy, an escaped rebel prisoner and some grumpy soldiers on a quest.

They find themselves aboard a fall-apart spaceship, having escaped an interplanetary conference. Where should they go? Can they trust each other? Conflicting personalities, ulterior motives, and an LGBTQ+ romance all come together for a quick, entertaining read, says Emily. 

On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now. 

Maris Herrington of McLean and Eakin Booksellers in Petoskey, Mich., says one of the best books she’s read so far this year is Chris Whitaker’s mystery/thriller, “All the Colors of the Dark.” It comes out on Tuesday, June 25.  

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Maris has this preview: It is all about this young boy named Patch. He has one eye, and he kind of considers himself as a pirate.

It’s getting towards the end of that time, and he sees a young girl being taken by a man into his vehicle. He ends up intervening and gets taken instead. And everybody has written him off for dead. But his best friend, Scout, is still convinced that he is alive. She ends up finding him a year later.

Patch is convinced that during that year that he was down in the dark in the basement, there was another girl with him down there named Grace. He’s convinced that she’s still alive. So he dedicates his life to finding Grace.


And thats just how it gets started! It’s a book about friendship, love and obsession. It’s one of the better books I’ve read this year. And it’s sure to capture everyone’s heart. Wow. 

There’s a string of murders that are going on as well. There are so many layers to this book, it’s insane. He’s an incredible writer to add those twists and turns and make them all come together. Throughout the entire book, he keeps you guessing. It’s a book that you will not want to put down.

— Maris Herrington

Whitaker will be at the bookstore in Petoskey, Mich., on July 29 as part of a U.S. tour. He does not have a stop currently planned in Minnesota, according to the Penguin Random House website.

On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now. 

Click here.


Emma Presnell of Carmichaels Bookstore in Louisville, Ky., recommends a brand new short story collection that was released just in time for Pride Month.

It’s a YA anthology called “We Mostly Come Out at Night: 15 Queer Tales of Monsters, Angels, and Other Creatures,” edited by Rob Costello.

Here’s what Emma has to say: This is one of the best collections of works in the young adult genre that I’ve seen in a really long time. Every single story has something so unique about it that makes it shine, but the stories also complement each other and no one story feels like it's out-shadowing the others.


To have so many new voices within the queer and trans community in the young adult genre coming together has been so fascinating. And the spins on the different monsters has just been one of the most delightful things to see.

Some of the stories involve monsters that appear in our day to day. Like, it’s just kind of weird, but we go along with it. Others are right on the edge of being spooky, but not being too scary that you’re gonna completely not be able to sleep at night.

— Emma Presnell

While Emma says no story overshadows the others, she says the story about Mothman continued to haunt her for days, "but in the best way possible."