Go for the Gold

The newly minted Newbery and Caldecott Medalists enjoyed their best weekly sales yet after the award announcements on January 23 at ALA Midwinter. The middle grade fantasy The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill debuts at #8 in children’s frontlist fiction, and Radiant Child, Javaka Steptoe’s picture book biography of a young Jean-Michel Basquiat, also showed a big postaward bounce, selling nearly 1,100 print copies.

(See all of this week's bestselling books.)

That Girl

The week’s top hardcover fiction debut, at #5, is The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney, the latest femme-focused psychological thriller and a book our review called “riveting.” The pseudonymous Delaney “has previously written bestselling fiction under other names,” according to the author’s bio. Universal Pictures bought the screen rights, with Ron Howard slated to direct.

Mass Appeal

The New York Times’ decision to cut several of its bestseller lists is not sitting well with many in the trade. In a January 31 statement, the 10,000-member-strong Romance Writers of America urged the Times to reconsider: “To dismiss these authors and the millions of readers who buy their books is to ignore what ‘bestseller’ truly means.” PW will continue to publish its weekly mass market list. This week, five mass market titles debut on the list, including Dark Witch by Nora Roberts and Make Me Love You by Johanna Lindsey.

New & Notable

History of Wolves

Emily Fridlund

#20 Hardcover Fiction

Our starred review called this BEA buzz pick a “stellar debut novel” with “a striking protagonist whose dark leanings cap off the tragedy at the heart” of the story.

Gosnell

Ann McElhinney & Phelim McAleer

#9 Hardcover Nonfiction

This account of the murder investigation and conviction of Kermit Gosnell, an unlicensed abortion provider, includes a foreword by Duck Dynasty’s Alan Robertson.

Different

Sally & Nathan Clarkson

#17 Trade Paperback

A mother and her son—who has been diagnosed with learning issues, anxiety, and OCD—share perspectives on life with mental illness and offer thoughts on why such differences are part of God’s plan.

Reality Bites

The #1 book in the country is 1984 by George Orwell. It’s among several titles that are speaking to readers in the current political climate; for our look at 10 books whose recent surge in print unit sales reflect the national mood, see “The Trump Book Bump."

Top 10 Overall

Rank Title Author Imprint Units
1 1984 George Orwell Signet Classics 25,884
2 Hidden Figures (movie tie-in) Margot Lee Shetterly Morrow 22,466
3 A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman Washington Square 21,887
4 A Dog’s Purpose (movie tie-in) W. Bruce Cameron Forge 20,817
5 The Apartment Danielle Steel Dell 20,687
6 Never Never Patterson/Fox Little, Brown 20,040
7 Hillbilly Elegy J.D. Vance Harper 19,982
8 Milk and Honey Rupi Kaur Andrews McMeel 17,288
9 Double Down (Wimpy Kid #11) Jeff Kinney Amulet 16,684
10 Tools of Titans Timothy Ferriss HMH 15,015

All unit sales per Nielsen BookScan except where noted.