Crowning a New Monarch
After a 26-week streak at the top of our Children’s Frontlist Fiction list, The Long Haul drops to #4, thanks in part to strong sales for two YA novels. (Don’t cry for the Wimpy Kid just yet: release-to-date unit sales of book 9 are approaching 1.9 million print units.)
This week’s #1 is The Heir, with 20K print units sold. It’s the fourth novel in Kiera Cass’s Selection series, sometimes described as The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games. The series—four novels, plus companion stories—has sold some 540K print units.
Another name-brand author, Sarah Dessen, takes second position with Saint Anything, which debuts with 11K print units sold. Dessen’s 12 novels have made her a powerhouse of contemporary YA, with almost 4.8 million print units sold.
And Sarah J. Maas is no slouch at #5, with 6,744 units sold. A Court of Thrones and Roses launches a new series for Maas, author of the Throne of Glass high-fantasy series, who has sold almost 192K print units total.
High on the List
For many authors, writing a bestseller is just a pipe dream. Not so with these two musicians turned memoirists. It’s a Long Story, by Willie Nelson, lands at #9 on our Hardcover Nonfiction list, with 15.6K units sold. Deal, by Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, is at #18, with almost 7K units sold. We’re not sure, but given that Nelson and Kreutzmann have performed at the same gigs—including Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic in 1978—it’s possible that, in addition to their books debuting in the same week, the two authors might be buds.
Other Notable Debuts
The Wright Brothers
by David McCullough
#1 Hardcover Nonfiction
45,561 units
McCullough—who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for Truman, and in 2002 for John Adams—tells the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright, whom Inc. magazine recently called “the original gangsters of startup culture.”
Clinton Cash
by Peter Schweizer
#2 Hardcover Nonfiction
31,843 units
The new book by Schweizer, author of favorable portraits of Ronald Reagan and the Bush family, has stirred up controversy for its allegations of financial wrongdoing on the part of former president Bill and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
American Wife
by Taya Kyle, with Jim DeFelice
#5 Hardcover Nonfiction
20,507 units
The widow of U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle writes of her life in the aftermath of his 2013 death. Coauthor Jim DeFelice also shared writing responsibilities with her husband on American Sniper.
A God in Ruins
by Kate Atkinson
#9 Hardcover Fiction
8,612 units
In 2013’s Life After Life, Atkinson’s heroine, Ursula Todd, dies and is reborn repeatedly, her life pursuing different courses each time. This companion novel follows World War II fighter pilot Teddy, her younger brother.
Top 10 Overall
| Rank | Title | Author | Imprint | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14th Deadly Sin | Patterson/Paetro | Little, Brown | 61,117 |
| 2 | The Wright Brothers | David McCullough | Simon & Schuster | 45,561 |
| 3 | The Girl on the Train | Paula Hawkins | Riverhead | 37,466 |
| 4 | Personal | Lee Child | Dell | 35,318 |
| 5 | Clinton Cash | Peter Schweizer | Harper | 31,843 |
| 6 | All the Light We Cannot See | Anthony Doerr | Scribner | 28,207 |
| 7 | Oh, the Places You’ll Go! | Dr. Seuss | Random | 27,261 |
| 8 | Enchanted Forest | Johanna Basford | Laurence King | 26,345 |
| 9 | Memory Man | David Baldacci | Grand Central | 26,250 |
| 10 | Cat’s Lair | Christine Feehan | Jove | 22,857 |
Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Peter Schweizer's surname and incorrectly identified him as a political consultant. He is not a political consultant.
