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.

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.

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.

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.