ADULT FICTION
“Godwin” by Joseph O’Neill – “The next Pelé’ or ‘the next Messi’ are words sure to ignite the fantasies of soccer fans anywhere. When tech writer Mark is contacted by his sports agent, half-brother Geoff, Mark leaves Pittsburgh to join him on a madcap adventure to find such a phenom: an African teenager known only as Godwin. O’Neill combines the brothers’ exploits with sharp observations about international business and issues like greenwashing and corruption that have tarnished the world’s game.” —Los Angeles Times
“My Friends” by Hisham Matar — “Dazzling . . . a personal, deeply felt work . . . tightly structured and controlled, looping back and forth through time and memory, building on itself in a process of gradual expansion and revelation.”—Toronto Star
“One Good Thing” by Georgia Hunter — “Epic, intimate, thrilling and beautiful. One Good Thing is a story of unbreakable friendship, of remarkable resilience, of how love and hope can shine through even the darkest, most unimaginable horrors. Stunning.” —Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark
“Onyx Storm” by Rebecca Yarros — “Get ready to fly or die in the breathtaking follow-up to Fourth Wing and Iron Flame from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.” Empyrean series, Publisher Annotation
“The Book of Love” by Kelly Link — “[The Book of Love] pushes our understanding of what fantasy can be.”—The New York Times, 100 Notable Books of 2024
“The Most” by Jessica Anthony — “An expertly compressed, post-modern historical novella set over the course of a single, unseasonably warm day in November of 1957. Kathleen, a standout college tennis player, mother of two boys and wife to flagrantly handsome, aimless life insurance salesman, Virgil, decides to get into the pool in their Delaware apartment complex instead of going to church. And she won’t come out. As Sputnik 2 orbits the earth carrying that poor little doomed Soviet space dog, Kathleen and Virgil hurtle toward each other, and toward a reckoning that will either shatter the smooth edifice of their marriage or transform it, at last, into something real”– Baker & Taylor
“There are Rivers in the Sky” by Elif Shafak — “There Are Rivers in the Sky explodes into a roaring journey through ecology and memory… genuinely moving.”—The New York Times Book Review
ADULT MYSTERY
“Black River” by Nilanjana Roy — “…Offering readers a gripping mystery and a sweeping state-of-the-nation saga, Black River stands as a searing critique of modern India, weaving an intricate narrative that captures the essence of a nation grappling with its own complexities and contradictions.” — Random House, Inc.
“The Oligarch’s Daughter” by Josephv Finder — “The excitement in The Oligarch’s Daughter comes from its ever-surprising plot, as Paul navigates a world where friends become foes, villains can be allies and the path to salvation runs through his own past.” — Wall Street Journal
“The Wolf Tree” by Laura McCluskey — “McCluskey is masterful at building suspense around a sense of place and a feeling of otherness. And George, fretfully uncomfortable in her skin and her partnership, is a prickly, vulnerable, completely engaging heroine with a cop’s instincts through and through, a stubborn streak that nearly gets her into trouble and the courage to risk herself in the quest for truth. Idealistic, maybe. But properly gothic as well.” —Kirkus
ADULT BIOGRAPHY
“Cold Crematorium” Reporting from the Land of Auschwitz” by Josef Debreczeni — “[Debreczeni’s] powers of observation are extraordinary. Everything he encounters in what he calls the Land of Auschwitz―the work sites, the barracks, the bodies, the corpses, the hunger, the roll call, the labor, the insanity, the fear, the despair, the strangeness, the hope, the cruelty―is captured in terrifyingly sharp detail…Debreczeni has preserved a panoptic depiction of hell, at once personal, communal and atmospheric.”
―New York Times (10 Best Books of 2024)
“I Heard Her Call My Name” by Lucy Sante — “Reading this book is a joy. Sante is funny and warm . . . I Heard Her Call My Name has much to say about the trans journey and will undoubtedly become a standard for those in need of guidance. But the book speaks to a wider audience, too: for anyone who needs to break out of their self-imposed ‘prison of denial,’ as Sante puts it, or to stop punishing themselves for wanting what they want.” —The Washington Post
“The Survivor: How I Survived Six Concentration Camps and Became a Nazi Hunter” by Josef Lewkowicz — In this memoir, Josef Lewkowicz shares a poignant and gripping account of his life, capturing the indomitable spirit and enduring soul—the neshama—of the survivor. It is a testament of the resilience of the human spirit and a tribute to those who defied the darkest moments of our history.” — Amazon.com
ADULT NON-FICTION
“Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis” by Jonathan Blitzer — “The new book every American needs to read before they vote . . . The masterstroke accomplishment of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here is the way that Blitzer weaves the gripping stories of refugees with the 45-year history of policymaking in Washington, where elected officials and key bureaucrats—some craven and nakedly political, others well-meaning—repeatedly fought the wrong wars and worried about the wrong things to spin the tangled web of policies that caused a humanitarian nightmare.” —Philadelphia Inquirer
“Lonely Planet’s Guide to Death, Grief’ and Rebirth” by Anita Isalska — ‘Organized around themes of celebration, commemoration, mourning, and offering, this book by journalist Isalska (Offbeat North America) shares themes, food practices, traditions, music, monuments, and burial practices, finding commonalities and differences in how cultures address death and their beliefs in what lies beyond. Three- to five-page entries with ample photos explore Mexico’s Dia de Muertos, Irish wakes, pet cemeteries, Lakota soul keepers, Swedish death cleaning, green burials, Papua New Guinea’s mummies, and more. VERDICT Fascinating, uplifting, and often beautiful coverage of a topic that touches everyone.” — Maggie Knapp. LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2024.
“Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist” by Liz Pelly — “Pelly has written a groundbreaking examination of the music-streaming giant Spotify and its effects on 21st-century music. . . . A provocative, insightful, disturbing, and well-researched indictment of Spotify, the music industry, and streaming platforms, which daily mine billions of data bits from listeners/viewers to maximize profits and churn out musical formulas. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“Valcour: The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty” by Jack Kelly — “Must reading for everyone interested in how a critical military campaign and pivotal battle on Lake Champlain set the stage for American victory in the War for Independence. Beautifully written, Valcour deserves and will command a wide readership. Highly recommended.” ―James Kirby Martin, author of the award-winning Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero
“We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America” by Roxanna Asgarian — “Asgarian debuts with a comprehensive and searing look at systemic issues within the foster care and adoption systems . . . Emotional and frequently enraging, it adds up to a blistering indictment . . . Sensitive, impassioned, and eye-opening, this is a must-read.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
PICTURE BOOK
“Bear Snores On” by Karma Wilson
“Hush, Hush Forest” by Mary Casanova
“Jumper” by Jessica Lanan
“The Dark was Done” by Lauren Stringer
“The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent” by Irene Vasco
“This is a Story” by John Schu
“To Make” by Daneille Davis
“Vulture View” by April Sayre
“Who I Am” by Susan Verde
JUVENILE FICTION
“The Grace of Wild Things” by Heather Fawcett — “An inventive and fantastical reimagining of Anne of Green Gables—with magic and witches!—that explores found family, loss, and the power of a girl’s imagination, from the acclaimed author of The Language of Ghosts and The School Between Winter and Fairyland. — Amazon.com
“Will’s Race for Home” by Jewell Rhodes — “Ripe with historical facts and moments of high tension, this adventurous story reflects on the aftereffects of violence on soldiers and what life looked like for Black citizens following the conclusion of the Civil War. It’s an empowering read that never loses sight of Will’s profound exploration of adolescence.”―Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
JUVENILE GRAPHIC NOVELS
“Unicorn Boy” by Dave Roman — “The story zigzags between characters and mini-challenges, providing thrills even as Brian’s quest and Avery’s fate seem dire. Gentle throughlines emphasize the value of devoted friendship and the joy of understanding oneself through storytelling.” –Kirkus
