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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.

Michelle Tuplin of Serendipity Books in Chelsea, Mich., recommends the YA novel “Come Home to My Heart” by Riley Redgate. 

It’s a queer coming-of-age story about first love. Within five pages, Tuplin says, she found herself caring so deeply for these characters that she didn’t want to put the book down. 

The story moves back and forth between the points of view of Gloria and Xia, two high schoolers in a small South Carolina town. They aren’t looking to become friends, let alone fall for each other. 

Xia is determined to fly under the radar and keeps up her protective self-isolation. Popular Gloria comes from a Christian family who kicks her out when she tells them she’s gay, leading Gloria to sleep in the school’s theater while keeping her situation hidden.  

Gloria is desperate to please her parents, desperate to be what she considers good and how that has been defined by her church. She feels like she’s a good person, but then she also wants to be true to her queerness.  

The story deals with important subjects, but also it's so beautifully told. The way the homelessness happens and is described, it just feels like it could happen in any small town in America. And I just cared so deeply. I was immediately engaged.

Tuplin shared a lovely story of her small town of Chelsea, Mich., coming together. When her bookstore moved to a new location recently, she asked for community help. Some 300 people answered the call and stood shoulder to shoulder, handing books down the line from one location to the next. 

Not only did they move over 9,000 books in two hours, but they were able to re-shelve the books in their proper places in the new space!

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Michelle Tuplin of Serendipity Books in Chelsea, Mich., recommends the YA novel “Come Home to My Heart” by Riley Redgate. 


Michelle Tuplin of Serendipity Books in Chelsea, Mich., recommends the YA novel "Come Home to My Heart" by Riley Redgate. 

Ask a Bookseller: ‘Come Home to My Heart’ by Riley Redgate

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