This Week's Bestsellers: July 7, 2014

A Dystopian Graduation

In Joelle Charbonneau’s Graduation Day, which concludes her dystopian trilogy about an elite group of teens subjected to a lethal testing procedure to determine whether they are equipped to revive a scarred, fractured U.S., heroine Cia Vale vows to end the process once and for all. For the Testing series, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt departed from tradition with its publishing schedule, releasing the hardcover installments in six-month intervals, beginning in June 2013. “We wanted to get the books into the hands of readers as soon as possible,” said HMH’s Margaret Raymo. Graduation Day debuted last week at #21 on our Children’s Fiction list; the trilogy has sold more than 175,000 copies to date. And it didn’t take long for the buzz to reach Hollywood: a week before the first book was published last June, Paramount Pictures optioned movie rights to the series. —Sally Lodge

‘Blood Feud’ Sparks Sales

Author Edward Klein’s previous books have won him plenty of critics, as well as sales, and his newest book, Blood Feud, is no exception. The book, which publisher Regnery says is an examination of the “rocky relationship” between the Obamas and Clintons, lands at #2 this week on our Hardcover Nonfiction list. Blood Feud has been attracting attention ever since Regnery signed Klein in April, following the author’s split from HarperCollins, which had originally bought the book. At the time it signed Blood Feud, along with a second book, Regnery said that Klein initiated the parting of ways with HC, though some media outlets suggested that the publisher dropped the book over concerns about its reporting. Whatever the case, Blood Feud sold over 17,000 copies in its first week on sale. Klein has been published by a number of different houses, but in 2012, Regnery released his most recent bestseller, The Amateur, a critical look at President Obama.—Jim Milliot

The Royal Treatment

After a few weeks on the market, Helen Rappaport’s The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra bursts onto our Hardcover Nonfiction list at #16, with this week’s sales surpassing the 2,600-unit mark and total sales of over 9,700 copies. PW gave the book a starred review, calling it a “leisurely yet informative narrative.” We weren’t the only ones to hold the book in high regard. St. Martin’s publicist Kathryn Hough said that “People magazine, Parade, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Charlotte Observer all included The Romanov Sisters in their summer reading features,” with

Parade.com running an excerpt online. Hough also noted that St. Martin’s promoted the book to librarians early in the year and did “targeted outreach to history and nonfiction bloggers, and partnered with Goodreads and BookBrowse.” It all worked, and the book, just like its four subjects, finally gets its due.—Alex Crowley

Top 10 Overall