ADULT FICTION
“Back After This: A Novel” by Linda Holmes — “Holmes once again crafts an engaging, appealing tale of a woman coming into her own and learning to leave her people-pleasing ways behind. But it is not just Cecily who readers will connect with; all of the cast members are fully realized, with their own motivations and insecurities. Blending witty humor, a tender romance, and true character growth, this is a winner.” — Booklist, starred review
“Daikon: A Novel” by Samuel Hawley — “What if not two but three atomic bombs wound up in the Pacific theater?…Hawley’s impeccably detailed narrative offers an unnerving fictional answer…The novel’s tension mounts in highly cinematic fashion, despite our awareness of what the history books tell us.” —The New York Times
“Food Person: A Novel” by Adam Roberts — “In cookbook author and food blogger Roberts’ delightful debut novel, Isabella, a lost, twentysomething foodie agrees to ghostwrite a has-been actress’ cookbook….Roberts’ love for food shines….Filled with ‘salty surprise,’ Food Person is perfectly cooked.” —Booklist, starred
“Ordinary Love: A Novel” by Marie Rutkoski — “A raw and moving second-chance love story that tenderly tracks a woman’s determined efforts to regain self-worth as she heals from an abusive marriage and reunites with a past love…. Rutkoski tracks their slow rekindling in stunning prose that skillfully weaves past and present. The result is a brutal yet beautiful story that captures what it means to genuinely support, cherish, and love another person.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“People of Means: A Novel” by Nancy Johnson — “Johnson’s rich examinations of ambiguities in this moral dilemma take center stage, but institutional racism and its constant, draining impact are the boards these players stand on. And can’t escape…The Kindest Lie is an easy, accessible novel filled with hard, important truths.” — New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice
“Port Anna: A Novel” by Libby Buck — “Readers looking for an escape to coastal Maine, with both its bucolic and forbidding moods, will find that here, along with the depiction of a community where everybody minds everybody else’s business, and a touch of romance. A reassuring look at making peace with a rocky past and place.”—Kirkus
“So Far Gone: A Novel” by Jess Walter — “Propulsive…Walter serves up a rollicking and heartrending adventure about a broken man determined to set things right in an increasingly divided America….Walter offers an honest and even touching look at the [characters’] need for purpose while finding deadpan humor in their failings….This captivates.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The Bright Years” by Sarah Damoff — “Social worker Damoff’s heartfelt debut focuses on the impact of alcohol addiction on a family over four generations…This family drama rings true.”—Publishers Weekly
“The Dirty Version: A Novel” by Turner Gable Kahn — “Set during heated nights on Florida’s coast, with characters who are flawed, fabulous, and forced to write sexy scenes together, this is a sizzling romance debut from Kahn.” — Library Journal, starred review
“The Girls Who Grew Big: A Novel” by Leila Mottley — “This striking novel tracks the friendships among a group of teen moms as they struggle and strive in a small, gossipy beach town in Florida’s sticky-hot panhandle.” —The New Yorker
“The Monkey Wrench Gang(50th Anniversary Edition)” by Edward Abbey — “A thing of beauty. . . . A wildly funny, infinitely wise, near to tragic tale of man against the bog god machine.” —Houston Chronicle
“Wild Dark Shore: A Novel” by Charlotte McConaghy — “Spellbinding…Captivating…McConaghy keeps the novel moving at a blustery pace, thanks to her deft plotting and shared point of view…To read this exceptionally imagined, thoroughly humane novel feels like following the last people on Earth as they prepare to leave some part of their souls to the most beautiful place they’ll ever know.” ―Washington Post
ADULT MYSTERY
“Edge of Honor:A Thriller (Scott Harvath, #24)” by Brad Thor — “After six months abroad, elite spy Scot Harvath returns to a shifting political landscape in America, where a powerful secret cabal threatens to destabilize the nation in the latest addition to the long-time series following Shadow of Doubt.” — Atlas Publishing
“Killer on the Road: The Babysitter Lives” by Stephen Graham Jones — Sixteen-year-old Harper’s friends, sister, and ex join her on the road to keep her from hitchhiking, but a serial killer has been trolling the highway and is after them all; when Charlotte babysits the Wilbanks twins, the house is filled with noises only the twins understand, echoes of horrors from years before.” — Atlas Publishing
“The Red Queen (Richard Jury Mysteries, #26)” by Martha Grimes — “A sudden murder in an English village pub sets off the twenty-sixth novel in the bestselling series starring superintendent Richard Jury, from bestselling author Martha Grimes, still “one of the most fascinating mystery writers today”” — Houston Chronicle
“The Woman in Suite 11 (Lo Blacklock, #2)” by Ruth Ware — “Journalist Lo Blacklock travels to a luxury Swiss hotel hoping to revive her career, but when a mysterious woman draws her into a dangerous chase across Europe, she must weigh ambition against survival in a world of wealth and shifting alliances.” — B & T Entertainment
ADULT BIOGRAPHY
“Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism” by Sarah Wynn-Williams — “Careless People is darkly funny and genuinely shocking…Not only does [Sarah Wynn-Williams] have the storytelling chops to unspool a gripping narrative; she also delivers the goods.” –Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times
“Deep House: The Gayest Story Ever Told” by Jeremy Atherton Lin — “A strong cocktail of memoir, legal history and sociology…Atherton Lin beautifully captures the Bay Area at the turn of the millennium: the creeping gentrification, the tech bros, the video shops, the aging hippies. He’s also not shy in his descriptions of sex of many kinds and configurations, with all the attendant sensations. (At times you can almost smell it.)”―The Washington Post
“Passing for Human: A Graphic Memoir” by Liana Finck –“This story is as tender as it is wry. . . . Becoming human is a lifelong task—but Finck illustrates it with humor and panache.”—Publishers Weekly
ADULT NON-FICTION
“Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free” — Elizabeth Dickinson — “In the hands of Dickinson, this is more than just the biography of a fashion revolutionary: It is a story of the fight for women’s identity and, incidentally, the birth of an American industry.”—The New York Times
“Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life” by Jaxon Roberts — “[An] engaging and thought-provoking book, one focused on the theatrical politics and often deeply troubling science that shape our definitions of life on Earth.”—The New York Times
“Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji” by Keith Houston — “Houston knows that any language whose mascot is a smiling poop pile can be treated only so seriously, so the text is charmingly filled with emoji as illustrations and within sentences, making it both a product of a new way of communicating as well as a study of it. A pleasurable and well-researched journey into pop iconography.” ― Kirkus Reviews
“Garlic, Olive Oil + Everything Mediterranean: Simple Recipes for the Home Cook” by Daen Lia — “…Lia’s enthusiasm is infectious and the rustic photography appeals… Anyone looking to expand their Mediterranean repertoire will find this a handy resource.” —Publishers Weekly
“Strata: Stories From Deep Time” by Laura Poppick — “Making a convincing argument that understanding strata can help scientists better respond to climate change, Poppick movingly describes these layers of rock and sediment. … [Strata] provides an impressive look at how scientific ideas take shape and evolve as new data enters the picture. … Poetic and passionate, this is science writing with flair.”― Publishers Weekly
“The Furies: Women, Vengeance and Justice” by Elizabeth Flock — “Incisive. . . . In the hands of a less adept journalist, The Furies might read as a predictable, even formulaic feminist exposé. But Flock acknowledges the women’s fallibilities as readily as she does their strengths. . . . Flock clears space for opposing truths, demonstrating how many women embody myriad, simultaneous contradictions to survive. . . . Though Brittany, Angoori, and Cicek ultimately fall prey to systemic patriarchal forces, Flock’s work feels hopeful, even rebellious. Because, just as women confront similar challenges, so too can they stage analogous forms of resistance.” — Los Angeles Review of Books
PICTURE BOOK
“Sydney and Taylor Explore the Wide World” by Stuart Gibbs
“Through the Fairy Door” by Lars De Goor
JUVENILE FICTION
“Greatest Gift, (Heartwood Hotel #2)” by Kallie George — “Settle in a cozy chair and pass the cheese crumble! Mona’s adventures continue in this critter-crammed sequel that will pull at your heartstrings as well as your funny bone.” ―Cyndi Marko, author and illustrator of the Kung Pow Chicken series
“Goats for Christmas” by Jacqueline Kelly — “Callie and Travis need sheep for the town Christmas pageant. Travis is playing the shepherd in the Nativity scene, and what’s a shepherd without his flock? Unfortunately, Fentress is low on sheep–but not on goats. When Callie and Travis decide to borrow two goats from their neighbor, they don’t know what they’re in for. As it turns out, the main trouble with goats is that they’ll eat just about anything. This will be one Christmas pageant Fentress won’t forget!”– Baker & Taylor
JUVENILE GRAPHIC NOVELS
“Evil Spy School The Graphic Novel” by Stuart Gibbs — “After being expelled from spy school, 12-year-old Ben Ripley accepts an offer to join evil crime organization SPYDER, crossing over to the dark side until he discovers their sinister plan and must get word to the good guys without getting caught.”– Atlas Publishing
“Spy Ski School The Graphic Novel” by Stuart Gibbs — “A 13-year-old Ben Ripley has been kidnapped, shot at and survived a bomb and missiles, so the CIA sends him on a mission to become friends with the daughter of a suspected Chinese crime boss and learn her father’s secrets.” — Atlas Publishing