The Bookies Bookstore offers a number of unusual stories for all ages

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we offer staff recommendations from bookstores across Colorado. This week, the staff at The Bookies Bookstore in Denver recommends an app-based novel, a delightful children’s book, and a cozy fantasy.

Five Star Stranger

By Kat Tang
Writer
$27 (hardcover)
August 2024
Purchase

From the publisher: In an age where online reviews mean everything, “Five-Star Stranger” follows the adventures of a top-rated man on the Rental Stranger app — a place where users can hire a fake fiancée, a wingman or an extra mourner for a funeral. The narrator, referred to only as Stranger, navigates New York City under the guise of characters he plays, always maintaining a professional distance from his clients.

But when a nosy protector threatens to disrupt his longtime role as father to a young girl, Stranger begins to reckon with his attachment to his fake daughter, her mother, and his own troubled past. Now he must confront the boundaries he’s drawn and examine the legacy of abandonment that has shaped his life.

From Bess Maher, Events Contact: “Five-Star Stranger” has a unique premise that explores an idea most of us can relate to: being afraid to get close to other people. The novel’s narrator has perfected his ability to distance himself from others to the point that he’s the perfect “rental stranger” — with no real-life connections whatsoever. If you can relate to this, work in the gig economy, or enjoy fast-paced literary fiction, you’ll love this novel.

The last apple tree

By Claudia Mills
Vacation home
$17.99 (hardcover)
June 2024
Purchase

From the publisher: Twelve-year-old Sonnet’s family has just moved across the country to live with her grandfather after her grandmother passed away. Gramps’ once-sweeping apple orchard has been demolished to make way for a housing development, leaving only one heirloom tree. Sonnet doesn’t want to think about Gramps and his tree both growing old—she just wants everything to be okay.

Sonnet is not Alright with her neighbor, Zeke, a boy her age who doesn’t like her and sticks around when he tries to pick her grandfather to interview for an oral history assignment. Zeke irritates Sonnet with his nosy questions, which brings out the sad side of Gramps that she’d rather not see. Meanwhile, Sonnet joins the school’s Green Club and, without telling Zeke, asks his activist father to speak at the Arbor Day gathering—a clash of worlds that Zeke wanted to avoid more than anything.

From Marilyn Robbins, Children’s Book Buyer and Program Manager: “The Last Apple Tree” tells the story of Sonnet, who has just moved from Colorado to the Midwest with her mother and sister to live with her elderly grandfather. There, Sonnet discovers that her grandfather’s apple orchard has only one tree left. What does this mean for her family, especially her grandfather? This book is perfect for ages nine to twelve. It’s by far my favorite of the year! Grab a slice of apple pie and get ready to enjoy a delicious read.

You can’t spell betrayal without tea

By Rebecca Thorne
Tor/Smith
$19.99 (paperback)
May 2024
Purchase

From the publisher: All Reyna and Kianthe want is to open a bookstore that serves tea. Worn wooden floors, plants on every table, firelight floating between the rafters…all topped off with love and good company. The thing is, Reyna works as one of the queen’s private guards, and Kianthe is the most powerful mage in existence. Leaving their lives isn’t so easy.

But after an assassin takes Reyna hostage, she decides she’s had enough of risking her life for a self-centered queen. Meanwhile, Kianthe waits for a chance to escape responsibility—all the better if her friend joins in. Together, they settle in Tawney, a town in the icy tundra near Dragon Country, and open the shop of their dreams. What follows is a cozy tale of mishaps, mysteries, and a murderous queen throwing the biggest tantrum in the realm.

From Krista Carlton, manager: Sometimes you just need a break from everything and want to run away to a remote town and open a bookstore/tea café. The main characters in this book do just that, but one of them is the best magician in the region and they have to fight dragons at some point. This book was a delight, a relaxation after a long day and a really cozy fantasy.