Ask a Bookseller: ‘American Mythology’ by Giano Cromley

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.

If you’re looking for an outdoor adventure novel about friendship and wonder and — why not? a cryptid — Ellyn Grimm of Dog-Eared Books in Ames, Iowa, has the book for you. She recommends Giano Cromley's novel “American Mythology,” out this week.

Here’s Grimm’s synopsis of a book she calls “heartwarming and a bit creepy:”

“’American Mythology’ is about two friends, Jute and Vergil, from a town in Basic, Mont., and together, they form the Basic Bigfoot Society. Every year, the two of them go on a Bigfoot expedition, hoping to find Bigfoot or find evidence. And this is rooted in a childhood encounter that Jute had, supposedly with Bigfoot. And after that, his father was never the same and and not in a good way.

“This year, it’s going to be a little bit different for them, because Vergil is holding onto a secret that he needs to share. They’re also being joined by Vergil’s college-aged daughter, a professor with somewhat dubious motivations and a documentarian.

“I’m always down for some good Bigfoot content, but this offers so much more, because it’s really a story about friendship; Jude and Virgil have carried each other through some really tough times in their lives. It‘s about the worthiness of pursuing wonder in the world, and the importance of preserving the spaces where wonder can thrive.”