“Osman doesn’t disappoint… Everything is here that fans of the series have come to expect: humour, warmth, the confounding of expectations as these pensioners investigate… Along with the laughs, there is grief, and an ending that is handled sensitively (I was weeping)… We all need a regular injection of the Thursday Murder Club to keep our spirits up.” — The Guardian
ADULT FICTION
“A Council of Dolls” by Mona Susan Power — “Power’s deep knowledge of Indigenous history comes through in keen depictions of the Indian schools, and she illuminates the characters’ struggles with generation trauma, which arise as they try to sustain their co”nnections to the past. This story of survival shines brightly.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Against the Loveless World” by Susan Ajulhawa — “[A]t its heart, Abulhawa’s novel is a love story . . . but this is a love story that cannot escape its geography, and Abulhawa elegantly crafts a world where the tension between desire and survival is laid bare.” ― New Yorker
“Barn 8” by Deb Olin Unferth — “Kaleidoscopic. . . . Unferth’s lens, which telescopes through time and space, is unafraid to linger on the bizarre and vicious cycle of birth-death, need-fulfillment and supply-demand that this phantom-run barn universe perpetuates. . . . Yet Unferth never traffics in gratuitous shock. Instead, her sentences and constantly shifting point of view are embroidered with a great deal of unexpected tenderness and optimism.”―Los Angeles Times
“Blackouts” by Justin Torres — “The supreme pleasure of [Blackouts] is its slow obliteration of any firm idea of reality―a perfect metaphor for the delirious disorientation that comes with learning queer history as an adult . . . Torres haunts this book full of ghosts like a ghost himself, and with this novel, he has passed the haunting on, creating the next link in a queer chain from Jan to Juan to nene to you.”―Hugh Ryan, The New York Times Book Review“
“Day” by Michael Cunningham — “Michael Cunningham writes such eloquent, seductive sentences that we have to keep reminding ourselves to step back and pay attention to his appealing, dimensional characters and to his generous vision of childhood and adulthood, of work and love, of the pleasures and griefs of family life, and of all the rich complexities of being human.”—Francine Prose
“Holly” by Stephen King — “What makes King’s work so much more frightening than that of most other suspense writers, what elevates it to night-terror levels, isn’t his cruelty to his characters: It’s his kindness.” —Flynn Berry, New York Times Book Review
“In Another Time” by Jillian Cantor — “Cantor elevates love as a powerful force that transcends tragedy and shows how music speaks to even the cruelest hearts. [In Another Time is] a powerful story that exalts the strength of the human spirit.” — Kirkus
“Lilacs in the Dust Bowl” by Diana Stevan — “Heart-wrenching and uplifting saga. This series is a compelling, inspiring story of an immigrant family’s trials and tribulations. It follows Lukia Mazurets’ journey just before (and during) the Great Depression, as she and her children migrate from the Ukraine to North America. It is so well told and moving, and the detailed landscape made me feel right in the story.” — Martha Conway, author of The Physician’s Daughter
“Let Us Descend” by Jesmyn Ward — “Superb . . . Angry, beautiful, raw, visceral, and heartfelt, Let Us Descend is the literary equivalent of an open wound from which poetry pours. . . . Ward has taken Black history in a time of racial and political turmoil and used it to scream about grief and injustice, but also about beauty, queer love, history, determination, and joy.” —NPR
“Night Watch” by Jayne Anne Phillips — “Gorgeous prose, attention to detail, and masterful characters . . . Set in West Virginia during and after the Civil War, Phillips’ book takes as given that slavery was evil and the war a necessity, focusing instead on lives torn apart by the conflict and on the period’s surprisingly enlightened approach toward care of the mentally ill . . . Pitch-perfect voice . . . Haunting storytelling and a refreshing look at history.” —Kirkus, starred
“Red Rabbit” by Alex Grecian — “A witch, a demon, a shapeshifter, ghosts, and cannibals are just some of the characters whose exploits enliven this sprawling, picaresque post–Civil War weird western from Grecian.” ―Publishers Weekly
“So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men” by Claire Keegan — “Tight, potent . . . [Keegan] has chosen her details carefully. Everything means something . . . Her details are so natural that readers might not immediately understand their significance. The stories grow richer with each read . . . [These stories] have new and powerful things to say about the ever-mystifying, ever-colliding worlds of contemporary Irish women and the men who stand in their way.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Starling House” by Alix E. Harrow — “Harrow’s mash-up of twisted fairy tales and Southern gothic fiction is a haunting story of longing, lies, and generational curses.” ―Library Journal, starred review
“The Exchange: After the Firm” by John Grisham — “#1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham delivers high-flying international suspense in a stunning new legal thriller that marks the return of Mitch McDeere, the brilliant hero of The Firm.” — Baker & Taylor
“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin — “Woven throughout [Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow] are meditations on originality, appropriation, the similarities between video games and other forms of art, the liberating possibilities of inhabiting a virtual world, and the ways in which platonic love can be deeper and more rewarding—especially in the context of a creative partnership—than romance.” —The New Yorker
“Trust” by Hernan Diaz –“Intricate, cunning and consistently surprising…Much of the novel’s pleasure derives from its unpredictabiility…Add Henry James to Wharton, and Thomas Mann too…Exhilarating and intelligent novel.” —New York Times
ADULT MYSTERY
“12 Months to Live” by James Patterson and Mike Lupica — “An ex-NYPD beat cop, unrelenting PI and undefeated defense attorney, terminally ill Jane Smith, while knee-deep in the murder of trial of the century, is targeted by a killer who’s determined to end her life before her expiration date.” — Atlas Publishing
“Face of Greed” by James L’Etoile — “Smart-mouthed, tough, pull-no-punches Emily will do whatever it takes to solve the case, and she and Javier keep investigating until they finally uncover the tragic, shocking truth. The suspenseful, twist-a-minute, fast-moving plot . . . make[s] this an outstanding must-read.” —Booklist (Starred Review)
“From a Far and Lovely Country” by Alexander McCall Smith — “McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency is one of the most reliably entertaining cozy series running, soothingly returning readers to the tiny Botswana office of Mma Precious Ramotswe, the wise and resourceful founder of the agency that she operates with her comically snarky and over-reaching assistant, Mma Grace Makutsi, with whom she discusses detective strategy over mugs of South African red bush tea. . . . This is largely a comic novel, enlivened by Precious’ reflections, Grace’s jockeying for status, and part-time mechanic and apprentice detective Charlie’s struggles to overcome his unreliability. A total delight.” —Booklist [starred review]
“Killing Moon” by Jo Nesbo — “Readers are privy to the doings of a man calling himself Prim, who emerges as the creepiest villain this side of a Thomas Harris novel . . . Nesbø excels at manipulating this sort of ghoulish material. He can heighten suspense with a single word and wrong-foot the most attentive customer.” —Wall Street Journal
“Resurrection Walk” by Michael Connelly — “A stunning combination of police and legal procedural. . . As always, Connelly makes the tedious work of investigation fascinating as he shuttles between Mickey’s and Harry’s hard-bitten points of view.”―Booklist (starred)
“Robert B Parker’s Bad Influence” by Alison Gaylin — “Taking over the franchise for the first time, Gaylin proves the equal of Sunny’s creator in plotting….She doesn’t sound all that much like Parker; she sounds better. Gaylin brings Sunny to terms with contemporary social media even as she uncovers motives older than you can imagine.” —Kirkus Reviews
“The Collector” by Daniel Silva — “Legendary art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon joins forces with a brilliant and beautiful master-thief to track down the world’s most valuable missing painting but soon finds himself in a desperate race to prevent an unthinkable conflict between Russia and the West.” — Harper Collins
“The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons” by Karin Smirnoff — “Propulsive . . . Smirnoff adds new maturity and depth to the two leads, offers several jaw-dropping plot twists . . . Fans will find it a worthy addition to the series.”—Publishers Weekly
“The Last Devil to Die” by Richard Osman — “Osman doesn’t disappoint… Everything is here that fans of the series have come to expect: humour, warmth, the confounding of expectations as these pensioners investigate… Along with the laughs, there is grief, and an ending that is handled sensitively (I was weeping)… We all need a regular injection of the Thursday Murder Club to keep our spirits up.” — The Guardian
“The Raging Storm” by Ann Cleeves — “Cleeves crafts a devilishly intricate mystery that will surprise even seasoned genre fans, and Venn remains an appealing lead every bit as memorable as the author’s Vera Stanhope or Jimmy Perez. Cleeves’s fans and newcomers alike will be hungry for the next entry.”―Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
“The Secret” by Lee Child — “Reacher is the stuff of myth. . . . One of this century’s most original, tantalizing pop-fiction heroes.'”—The Washington Post
“The Secret Hours” by Mick Herron — “Herron keeps up his gravity-defying balancing act: belly-laugh spy spoof on one side, elegiac state-of-the-nation satire on the other, with a thin, taut line of polished prose between.”
—Financial Times
“The Spy Coast” by Tess Gerritsen — “This is a nice take on retirement―five old spooks whose bones may ache but whose minds remain sharp. You can expect mystery, action, and bloodshed in this exciting thriller launched straight from the peaceful shores of Maine.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Unto Us a Son is Born” by Donna Leon — “Venetians love to gossip, Donna Leon advises us in Unto Us a Son Is Given, her latest mystery featuring that most compassionate of policemen, Guido Brunetti, commissario di polizia. There’s bound to be talk when Gonzalo Rodriguez de Tejeda, the rich Spanish godfather of Brunetti’s wife, Paola, adopts his lover and makes the young man his legal heir . . . This cop is neither jaded nor callous, and he has that rare quality Italians would call ‘un cuore d’oro,’ a heart of gold.”―Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
ADULT BIOGRAPHY
“I’ve Been Thinking” by Daniel C. Bennett — “A delightful memoir from one of our deepest thinkers.” ― Kirkus (starred review)
“We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian Memory” by Raja Shehadeh — “Profoundly personal as well as historically significant…In his moral clarity and baring of the heart, his self-questioning and insistence on focusing on the experience of the individual within the storms of nationalist myth and hubris, Shehadeh recalls writers such as Ghassan Kanafani and Primo Levi…a quiet and deeply felt book that illustrates how being dispossessed and being occupied are not merely legal or political conditions.” —New York Times Book Review
ADULT NON-FICTION
“A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space and Have We Really Thought This Through?” by Kelly Weinersmith — “An exceptional new piece of popular science . . . Forceful, engaging and funny . . . an essential reality check for anyone who has ever looked for home in the night sky . . . hilarious. The breezy prose is studded with charming cartoons… This book will make you happy to live on this planet — a good thing, because you’re not leaving anytime soon.” —New York Times Book Review
“He/She/They: How We Talk about Gender and Why It Matters” by Schuyler Bailar — “A wonderfully clear and convincing guide to comprehending and defending gender diversity.”―Kirkus, Starred Review
“How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen” by David Brooks — “Drawing from the fields of psychology and neuroscience and from the worlds of theater, philosophy, history and education, one of the nation’s leading writers and commentators helps us become more understanding considerate toward others, and to find the joy that comes from being seen.” — Baker & Taylor
“My Vermont Table: Recipes for All (Six) Seasons” by Gesine Bullock-Prado — “This is an utterly charming title that delivers a sense of place with its beauty and narrative, but its wow factor comes from Bullock-Prado’s recipes, which are pure Vermont.” ― Library Journal
“The Core of an Onion: Peeling the Rarest Common Food — Featuring More than 100 Historical Recipes” by Mark Kurlansky — “Featuring historical images and his own pen-and-ink drawings, and including 25 recipes from around the world, a New York Times-bestselling and James Beard Award-winning author peels back the cultural, historical and gastronomical layers of one of the world’s most beloved culinary staples.” — Atlas Publishing
“The Hundred Years” War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017″ by Rashid Khalidi — “A richly informed, personalized account of a century of repression of a peoples’ national aspirations. . . . original and distinctive . . . a remarkable testament to the stubborn resistance that characterizes the Palestinians.” ―Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
“The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life’s Final Moments” by Hadley Vlahos, RN — “Tender and transformative . . . The great surprise of The In-Between is that it makes dying feel like a peaceful, dynamic, and nourishing event that can potentially transform the lives of those who are left behind. Readers will cheer on Hadley Vlahos and, like me, be forever grateful that she wrote this book.”—Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group
“The Mysteries” by Bill Watterson and John Kascht — “Bill Watterson’s return to print, after nearly three decades, comes in the form of a fable called “The Mysteries,” which shares with his famous comic strip a sense of enchantment.” (The New Yorker)
“The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA” by Liz Mundy — “Galvanizing . . . Brimming with startling, intriguing, and infuriating facts and insights, this arresting and suspenseful exposé is rooted in extensive interviews and research as exacting as that conducted by the brilliant women analysts Mundy profiles. . . . Every page is electric with revelations as Mundy vividly and perceptively portrays the remarkable women who covertly elevated this complicated, controversial, yet essential government agency.”—Booklist (starred review)
“When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion” by Laura E. Anderson — “Drawing on clinical research, stories from clients, and her own experience, an expert on religious trauma shows how readers can live as healing individuals after leaving a high-demand, high-control religious system”– Amazon.com
“Year of No Garbage: Recycling Lies, Plastic Problems, and One Woman’s Trashy Journey to Zero Waste: A Memoir” by Eve O. Schaub — “Between chicken coops, various storage containers for miscellaneous plastic, and multiple composting bins, Eve Schaub’s pandemic passion project looked a lot different than most people’s. . . . Schaub had the idea of completing an entire calendar year without throwing anything away. . . . The best-selling author has published her latest book documenting her most recent experimentation. . . . Despite the gravity of her findings, Schaub wanted readers to take away something positive from her lessons learned.” —NBC5, Vermont
PARENTING
“Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age in Digital World” by Devorah Heitner — “Astute advice on how parents can help their children navigate social media and other technology…. The levelheaded guidance is a refreshing antidote to more alarmist takes on the topic.” —Publishers Weekly
“Middle School Superpowers: Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times” by Phyllis L. Fagell — “A licensed clinical professional counselor and Washington Post education column contributor offers this practical, evidence-based and compassionate guide for parents and educators to help tweens navigate through challenging situations by providing 12 superpowers they need be confident, self-aware, independent and resilient. — Atlas Publishing
BLUE/DVD MOVIES
“Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning”
“PICTURE BOOKS”
“Around the Table that Grandad Built” by Melanie Heiuser Hill
“Cape” by Kevin Johnson
“Dear Unicorn” by Josh Funk
“How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?” by Mac Barnett
“I Love Strawberries” by Shannon Anderson
“Mine!” by Candace Fleming
“My Powerful Hair” by Carole Lindstrom
“Stillwater and Koo Save the World” by Jon J. Muth
“Tap! Tap! Tap! Dance! Dance! Dance!” by Herve Tullet
“The Time Machine: (Because It’s Never too Late to Apologize)” by Pauline David-Sax
“We Are Starlings: Inside the Mesmerizing Magic of Murmuration” by Robert Furros & Donna Jo Napoli
“When You Can Swim” by Jack Wong
JUVENILE BIOGRAPHIES
“Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior” by Carole Lindstrom — “From New York Times bestselling picture book author Carole Lindstrom and illustrator Bridget George comes Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior, an inspiring picture book biography about two Indigenous Rights Activists, Josephine Mandamin and Autumn Peltier.” — Publisher’s Anotation
“Christo and Jeanne-Claude Wrap the World: The Story of Two Groundbreaking Environmental Artists” by Greg Neri — “Haidle’s vivacious, stylized mixed-media illustrations underscore a sense of the duo’s energy, inquisitiveness, and determination; the visuals, which portray background characters with varying skin tones, culminate with expansive spreads depicting the couple’s remarkable, ephemeral outdoor work. . . a wonderful tribute to coupledom, collaboration, and creativity that offers conceptual thoughts about art.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
JUVENILE DVD MOVIES
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider Vers
JUVENILE FICTION
“Coyote Queen” by Jessica Vitalis — “Twelve-year-old Felicity Ulyssa Dahlers, “Fud,” lives in a trailer in rural Wyoming with her mom and Larry—her mom’s abusive, ex-boxer boyfriend who’s in the grip of alcoholism. . . . Scrappy Fud demonstrates admirable coping mechanisms alongside awareness she shouldn’t have to live in fear, and the book’s coyote facts and symbolism nicely bolster Fud’s survivor mentality: ‘Sometimes leaving one pack meant finding another.’ . . . An honest, slice-of-underrepresented-life story with a speculative twist.” — Booklist
“Elf Dog & Owl Head” by M. T. Anderson — “A sparkling fantasy by the ever-inventive M.T. Anderson. . . . Much of the early humor in this very funny book comes from the disjunction between ordinary human things and the astonishing stuff of elsewhere. . . . Dramatic story turns, witty dialogue and zestful monochrome drawings by Junyi Wu combine to make a reading treat for 8- to 12-year-olds.” —The Wall Street Journal
“Greenwild” The World Behind the Door” by Pari Thomson — “This charmingly detailed story is truly a garden of delights, full of danger and magic, mystery and friendship. Daisy’s thrilling adventures will sweep you into a botanical world of delightful possibilities and sinister threats, while themes of environmental conservation and community cooperation will resonate with readers of all ages.” ― Jennifer Adam, author of The Last Windwitch
“Mascot” by Charles Waters and Traci Sorrell — “The story’s catalyst is Callie, a new student who’s Cherokee and repelled by all the face painting, whooping and tomahawk-chop chanting. Seeing Callie’s discomfort, her peers variously react with defensiveness, disengagement and self-examination. Although “Mascot”’s outcome sometimes seems preordained, Waters and Sorell’s plain-spoken verse is always sharp and direct.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Odder” by Katherine Applegate — “Applegate uses strands of nonfiction detail to anchor and give stability to Odder’s fictional story, much as sea otters use lengths of kelp to hold themselves in place while they sleep. Charles Santoso’s endearing black-and-white illustrations, meanwhile, add to the buoyancy of this accessible and informative story.” ―The Wall Street Journal
“Ruby Lost and Found” by Christina Li — “What begins as an isolating and overwhelming journey through grief turns hopeful as Ruby learns that she doesn’t have to navigate change alone.” — Horn Book Magazine
“The Cricket War” by Tho Pham — “While the protagonist’s journey is plagued by trauma and upheaval, and the authors detail Phạm’s and other Vietnamese refugees’ experiences to tear-jerking effect, the creators also offer comfort via joyful interactions throughout this carefully crafted, fast-paced read.” ―Publishers Weekly
“The Hungry Place” by Jessie Haas — “Tender-hearted readers (that is, all horse-loving readers) will…cheer Rae’s persistence and faith in her dreams. Readers’ sympathetic agony is eventually replaced with tears of happiness as Haas brings the story around to a rousing happily-ever after ending.” —The Horn Book
“The Lost Library” by Rebecca Stead — “When a makeshift Little Free Library appears on the town green, almost 20 years after the mysterious fire that burned down the town library, the people of Martinville are drawn together once more to not just solve the mystery of the fire but also to decide what it means for their own fates. Mass and Stead employ a rich cast of characters―including ghost librarians, graduating fifth-graders, mice, and a cat―to dive into the heart of Martinville. … Full of heart, sly narration, and Stead’s expected air of mystery, this is well suited for lovers of books and libraries and novels featuring ensemble casts.” ―Booklist
“The Wild Robot Protects” by Peter Brown — “Action and epic confrontations keep the plot swimming along, but there are meaningfully punctuated moments of humor and kindness. Roz continues to learn and grow, and Brown’s superb illustrations make her journey truly unforgettable.”―Booklist, starred
JUVENILE GRAPHIC NOVELS
“Apple Crush” by Lucy Knisley — “Warm, fortifying, and cozy—like a drink of apple cider.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Clementine Fox and the Great Island Adventure” by Leigh Juna — “Warm colors provide a welcoming feel, animated facial expressions add verve, and themes of communal care, friendship, and overcoming obstacles permeate this gently humorous narrative.” — Publishers Weekly
JUVENILE NON-FICTION
“Ancestory: The Mystery and Majesty of Ancient Cave Art” by Hannah Salyer — “Breathtaking illustrations capture the beauty and power of prehistoric artwork with remarkable precision. This luminous picture book about humanity’s shared stories is full of discoveries.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Follow the Flyway: The Marvel of Bird Migration” by Sarah Nelson — “This beautifully illustrated book, with poetic text by a St. Paul author, follows ducks, geese, herons, giant-winged pelicans, egrets, sandpipers, swans, loons and snipes as their babies begin their first migration down the majestic flyway” – St. Paul Pioneer Press
YOUNG ADULT FICTION
“Phoebe’s Diary” by Phoebe Wahl — “Filled with sprawling, detailed drawings and comics panels and replete with references to early aughts indie culture, this vividly captures the voice of a teen curious about herself and her future, all in an intimate tone, as if talking to a friend unabashed about what’s on her mind.”―Booklist
“A Thousand Boy Kisses” by Tillie Cole — “One kiss lasts a moment. But a thousand kisses can last a lifetime. One boy. One girl. A bond that is forged in an instant and cherished for a decade. A bond that neither time nor distance can break. A bond that will last forever. Or so they believe. When seventeen-year-old Rune Kristiansen returns from his native Norway to the sleepy town of Blossom Grove, Georgia, where he befriended Poppy Litchfield as a child, he has just one thing on his mind. Why did the girl who was one half of his soul, who promised to wait faithfully for his return, cut him off without a word of explanation? Rune’s heart was broken two years ago when Poppy fell silent. But when he discovers the truth of her absence, he finds that the greatest heartache is yet to come”– Baker & Taylor
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
“A First Time for Everything: A True Story” by Dan Santat — “[A] relatable story of self-discovery… the perfect balance of humor and poignancy.” ―Kirkus, starred review
“Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy” by Faith Erin Hicks — “With a keen eye, Hicks (Ride On) delivers a heartfelt graphic novel that is both a perceptive subversion of gender roles and a remarkable tale of unexpected friendship, personal growth, and the transformative power of embracing one’s true self. “―Publishers Weekly, starred review
“How I Survived 4 Nights on Ice” by Serapio Ittusardjuat — “This graphic novel is gripping, and I was drawn in almost immediately…This book speaks to not only the importance of self-sufficiency, but also traditional lifestyle knowledge; something that was often stamped out by colonizers with residential schooling and legislation pointedly destroying cultural knowledge.”―The Tiny Activists
“Huda F Cares” by Huda Fahmy — “Comedic and poignant, Fahmy’s narrative captures universal feelings of fluctuating confidence and self-deprecation, the ups and downs of family dynamics, and the growing awareness of siblings’ humanity outside the family unit. The cartoonlike, full-color artwork is dynamic, with simplified features that accentuate facial expressions. Delightfully heartwarming.” —Kirkus
“Turtle Bread” by Kim-Joy — “When Yan stumbles upon Baking Club her social anxiety tries to keep her away, but the bakers encourage her to come out of her shell, especially the caring and supportive Bea, and soon Yan discovers her new friends may need her too.” — Baker & Taylor
“Victory Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice” by Tommie Smith — “In his phenomenal graphic memoir, “Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice,” Smith teams up with the award-winning author Derrick Barnes to tell his own riveting story of balancing athletic prowess and social activism. . . . Anyabwile’s stirring black-and-white illustrations propel this magnificently paced story, and underscore the infuriating professional repercussions of Smith’s activism. . . . Timely and timeless, Smith’s “Victory. Stand!” is a must read not just for sports fans but for everyone.” ― New York Times Book Review
“Where is Anne Frank” by Ari Folman — “Bringing to life Kitty, Anne Frank’s imaginary friend to whom she addressed her diary, this graphic novel, told from a unique perspective, recounts the complete story of Anne Frank’s life, while in the present day, Kitty discovers the true meaning of Anne Frank’s legacy.” — Atlas Publishing
YOUNG ADULT NON-FICTION
“The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East” by Sandy Tolen — “Tolan weaves together dramatically different perceptions of the conflict and its context and explains how the lemon tree grew to become a powerful symbol of home.” ―NPR.or
ADULT FICTION
“Around the World in Eighty Days: A New Translation” by Jules Verne — “This new and completely original translation of Around the World in Eighty Days renders Jules Verne’s classic novel in a style that is both more understandable and more faithful to the spirit of the original French text than the commonly reprinted older English editions.” — Amazon.com
“Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead” by Olga Tokarczuk — “While it adopts the straightforward structure of a murder mystery, [the book features] macabre humor and morbid philosophical interludes [that] are distinctive to its author. . . [and an] excellent payoff at the finale. . . . As for Ms. Tokarczuk, there’s no doubt: She’s a gifted, original writer, and the appearance of her novels in English is a welcome development.”— The Wall Street Journal
“Land of Milk and Honey” by C. Pam Zhang — “Gloriously lush. Zhang’s sensuous style makes us see, smell and, above all, taste the lure of that sun-dappled mountain enclave. . . An atmospheric and poetically suspenseful novel about all manner of appetites: for power, food, love, life.”—NPR/Fresh Air
“North Woods” by Daniel Mason — “Brilliantly combines the granularity of realism with the timeless, shimmering allure of myth. . .Sui generis fiction . . . The forest and the trees: Mason keeps both in clear view in his eccentric and exhilarating novel.”—The New York Times Book Review
“The Horsewoman” by James Patterson and Mike Lupica — “This “hugely entertaining, riveting page-turner” (Louise Penny) follows the complicated relationship between mother and daughter as they face off in the Olympics—and into a ride they can barely control.” — Amazon.com
ADULT MYSTERY
“The Logmire Defense” by Craig Johnson — “[A] standout . . . The whodunit, which presents a dizzying number of red herrings, is one of Johnson’s trickiest, keeping readers deliciously off-balance throughout. Series newcomers will have no problem jumping into the action, and longtime readers will relish the dive into Longmire’s family history.” —Publishers Weekly
BLUE/DVD MOVIES
“Barbie”
BOARD BOOK
“Bizzy Bear: My First Memory Game: Vehicles” by Benji Davies
“Bizzy Bear: Pet Vet” by Benji Davies
JUVENILE GRAPHIC NOVELS
“Lost Legends of Nothing” by Alejandra Green and Fanny Rodriquez — “In vibrant lineless art that’s reminiscent of classic animated films, Green and Rodriguez bring the castles, towns, and forests in the world of Nothing to life with expressive characters, a smattering of Spanish and Esperanto, and a strong cliffhanger that leaves room for a second installment.” — Publishers Weekly
JUVENILE DVD MOVIES
“Elemental”
“The Little Mermaid”
JUVENILE NON-FICTION
“Climate Warriors: Fourteen Scientists and Fourteen Ways We Can Save Our Planet” by Laura Gehl — “The featured climate warriors are not only a balanced mix of men and women scientists with racial and ethnic diversity, but they also depict an amazing array of science itself, from ecology and materials science to psychology and economics.”―Booklist
“Detector Dogs, Dynamite Dolphins and More Animals with Super Sensory Powers” by Christina Couch and Cara Giaimo — “A perfect book for animal lovers, this narrative nonfiction book is a fascinating read about animals with super senses and how they can use those senses to help people complete important and frequently unusual tasks. . . the upbeat and entertaining text combined with the high-interest subject matter makes this book a great choice.” —School Library Connection
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
“A First Time for Everything” by Dan Santat — “Dan’s book manages to capture all the things that make you fall in love in the first place―awkwardness, humor, a bit of teen pathos, and most of all, sincerity and vulnerability.” ―LEUYEN PHAM, New York Times-bestselling illustrator of the Friends series
ADULT FICTION
“Abigail” by Magda Szabo — “Sequestered at a boarding school during World War II, a rebellious teenager confronts secrets, lies, and danger. . . . Urgent moral questions underlie a captivating mystery.” —Kirkus
“Augusta” by Celia Ryker — “In this novel inspired by the challenging life of the author’s grandmother, a woman is left to raise her four children alone during the 1920s… Smooth-flowing prose carries the tale forward at a steady pace… farm and city vignettes create vivid images of time, place, and economic class, and Augusta emerges as a formidable woman in the face of daunting odds. A historically evocative period drama that’s poignant and disquieting.”– Kirkus Reviews
“Chenneville: A Novel of Murder, Loss and Vengenace” by Paulette Jiles — “In her richly lyrical prose, acclaimed author Jiles (Simon the Fiddler, 2020) turns to the waning weeks and months of the Civil War, a period when the scales of justice felt heavily tipped toward the war’s administrators and beneficiaries. Jiles uses John’s lawless quest to interrogate the inequalities in the justice system—inequalities that still echo loudly today.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Eastbound” by Maylis de Kerangal — “I read Maylis de Kerangal’s short novella Eastbound earlier this year, which is about a young Russian conscript who, once aboard the Trans-Siberian rail, decides to desert and meets a French woman who helps him. I haven’t stopped thinking about it . . . De Kerangal reminded me how transportive it is when an author successfully creates that itching desire to know what happens next—without forgoing an ounce of style.” —Maya Chung, The Atlantic““Eastbound” by Maylis de Kerangal — “I read Maylis de Kerangal’s short novella Eastbound earlier this year, which is about a young Russian conscript who, once aboard the Trans-Siberian rail, decides to desert and meets a French woman who helps him. I haven’t stopped thinking about it . . . De Kerangal reminded me how transportive it is when an author successfully creates that itching desire to know what happens next—without forgoing an ounce of style.” —Maya Chung, The Atlantic
“Heart Bones” by Colleen Hoover — “Sexy, brooding Samson, especially, is just the kind of hero Hoover readers thirst for. This is sure to scratch an itch for fans.” ― Publishers Weekly
“In Memoriam” by Alice Winn — “…When was the last time characters in a novel seemed so real to me, so cherishable, so alive? Alice Winn has made familiar history fresh; no account of the First World War has made me feel so vividly its horror, or how irrevocably it mutilated the world. That In Memoriam is also an extraordinary love story is a sign of Winn’s wild ambition and her prodigious gifts: this is a novel that claims both beauty and brutality, the whole range of human life.” —Garth Greenwell, author of Cleanness
“It Happened One Summer” by Tessa Bailey — “Bailey delivers on her usual trifecta of sharp banter, instant chemistry, and high-heat sex scenes, but they are coupled with intense soul-searching for both Piper and Brendan… Another winning romance from an author at the top of her game.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Kairos” by Jenny Erpenbeck — “Erpenbeck’s handling of characters caught within the mesh (and mess) of history is superb. Threats loom over their love and over their country. Hans is jealous, weak-willed, vindictive, Katharina self-abasing. At heart the book is about cruelty more than passion, about secrets, betrayal, and loss.” ― Kirkus Reviews
“Maggie Brown & Others” by Peter Orner — “This collection’s forty-four powerful tales express Orner’s talent for crafting captivating character sketches that read like memoirs…Readers will sympathize with Orner’s characters and identify with their all-too-human frailties.”―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Sold on a Monday” by Kristina McMorris — “The sale of two young children leads to devastating consequences in this historical tearjerker from McMorris… Set against the hardscrabble backdrop of the Great Depression, McMorris’s altruistic and sometimes damaged characters have moral compasses that realistically waver. A tender love story enriches a complex plot, giving readers a story with grit, substance, and rich historical detail.” ― Publishers Weekly
“The Book Club Hotel” by Sarah Morgan — “The Book Club Hotel is the kind of gift that arrives just when you most need it. Sarah Morgan has given us the perfect escape-and-find-yourself novel, featuring four very different women united by their shared love of books. Together, they illuminate the power of stories to validate and heal the heart, and the timeless bonds of friendship to keep us laughing, crying, and reading.” —Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author
“The Cook” by Maylis de Kerangal — “Narrated with almost documentary-like precision . . . this portrait of self-taught chef Mauro is not just a beautifully delineated character study or inside look at a hard way to make a living but a perceptive meditation on the meaning of work itself . . . All this in just over 100 pages and done brilliantly. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“The Invisible Hour” by Alice Hoffman — “Alice Hoffman’s The Invisible Hour is a rich, immersive, magical reading experience. This beautiful novel is about the stories women tell each other and the ones that save us, about the price and peril of motherhood, and the difficulties women have faced throughout history in controlling their own fates. Alice Hoffman, the reigning queen of magical realism, takes her readers on a fantastic, mystical journey that celebrates the joy and power of reading and dares to believe in the impossible.” —Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Four Winds
“The Path to Sunshine Cove” by RaeAnne Thayne — “Thayne is a master at creating richly dimensional and kind characters from different generations who find themselves facing difficult challenges.”—Booklist on The Path to Sunshine Cove
“The Summer Job” by Lizzy Dent — “Beach Read meets Sweetbitter in this laugh-out-loud and ultimately heartwarming debut of a good friend’s very bad decision and the summer job that stands to ruin or make her life.” — Publisher Annotation
“The Vaster Wilds” by Lauren Groff — “Transcendent. Mesmerizing. Dazzling. Incandescent. Audacious….All of those descriptors are accurate and none of them are sufficient to describe just how spectacular [Groff’s] new book is.” —Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“The Year of Second Chances” by Lara Very — “It speaks to Avery’s skill that the novel soars from this implausible beginning. While there is romance and there is humor, this is not (as it might first seem) a meet-cute rom-com. It’s a story about grief, and about finding a way to move ahead after a traumatic loss — even if ‘moving ahead’ might not mean what you think it does.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Us Against You” by Fredrik Backman — “Backman (A Man Called Ove) returns to the hockey-obsessed village of his previous novel Beartown to chronicle the passion, violence, resilience, and humanity of the people who live there in this engrossing tale of small-town Swedish life… Backman’s excellent novel has an atmosphere of both Scandinavian folktale and Greek tragedy. Darkness and grit exist alongside tenderness and levity, creating a blunt realism that brings the setting’s small-town atmosphere to vivid life.” ― Publishers Weekly
“Whalefall” by Daniel Kraus — “A crazy, and crazily enjoyable, beat-the-clock adventure story about fathers, sons, guilt and the mysteries of the sea . . . [Kraus] brings the rigor of a scientist and the sensibility of a poet to his descriptions of the undersea world.” —New York Times
ADULT MYSTERY
“The Hunting Party” by Lucy Foley — “Like a deliciously drawn out game of Clue, this novel brings together a group of Oxford friends at a remote Scottish highlands estate for the Christmas holidays….Foley paints such a vivid hunting-lodge-and-lochs setting that you’ll immediately be booking your own highland fling, clandestine killers or no.” — National Geographic
“The River We Remember” by William Kent Krueger — “Absorbing. . . combines nostalgic settings with depictions of the lingering hardships and traumas of war and the home front . . . in the decade after WWII.” —Booklist (starred review)
ADULT BIOGRAPHY
“Diary of an Invasion” by Andrey Kurkov — “Sergey is at once a war-weary adventurer and a fairy-tale innocent . . . His naive gaze allows Kurkov to get to the heart of a country bewildered by crisis and war, but where kindness can still be found . . . Translated by Boris Dralyuk with sensitivity and ingenuity.” —Uilleam Blacker, Times Literary Supplement
PICTURE BOOK
“The Little Blue Planet” by Anais La Rocca & Eve Grissinger
JUVENILE GRAPHIC NOVELS
“Class Act” by Jerry Craft — “A well-Crafted, visually rich, truth-telling tale for our troubled times that affirms the eternal importance of friends.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
YOUNG ADULT FICTION
“The Rage” by Lassiter Williams — “The Rage is fast-paced, gripping, and beautifully written, with a cast of appealing, unusual characters who struggle in a strange and threatening world.” — Reeve Lindbergh–Two Lives
ADULT FICTION
“The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride — “Enchanting . . . [a] rich, carefully drawn portrait of a Depression-era community of African Americans and Jewish immigrants as they live, love, fight, and, of course, work.” —The Boston Globe
“Tom Lake” by Anne Patchett — “Tom Lake is about love in all its many forms. But it is also about death and the ephemeral and how everything goes by so damned fast. It is an elegy of sorts but also a promise that there will be magic no matter what.” — Los Angeles Review of Books
ADULT MYSTERY
“All the Sinners Bleed” by S. A. Cosby — “Riveting. . . What elevates this book is how Cosby weaves politically charged salient issues ― race, religion, policing ― through the prism of a serial murder investigation and the perspective of one of the most memorable heroes in contemporary crime fiction. . . Deeply moving and memorable.” ―Washington Post
“Chaos” by Iris Johansen — “Though Flynn is a new star in Johansen’s pantheon, her personification of familiar tropes of female strength, power, sexual attraction, and supernatural talents will make her an instant hit with Johansen’s many loyal fans.”―Booklist
“City of the Dead” by Jonathan Kellerman — “A gripping, readable thriller that combines elements of the police procedural, murder mystery, and psychological thriller genres.”—Booklist
“Mercy” by David Baldacci — “With an interesting storyline, amazing characters, and packed with action, fans are sure to love Mercy.”―Seattle Book Review
“No Way Out” by Fern Michaels — “Struggling to remember the accident leading to her boyfriend’s disappearance, a coma patient and video-game developer starts over in rural Mississippi, before an inexplicable reunion threatens everything she has rebuilt. By the best-selling author of the Sisterhood series.” — Atlas Publishing
“Ocean Prey” by John Sandford — “Entertaining. . . Fans will enjoy seeing the two old buddies and their cohorts wading into dangerous [sic] waters.”—Publishers Weekly
“Over My Dead Body” by Jeffrey Archer — “In London, the Metropolitan Police set up a new Unsolved Murders Unit―a cold case squad―to catch the criminals nobody else can. In Geneva, millionaire art collector Miles Faulkner―convicted of forgery and theft―was pronounced dead two months ago. So why is his unscrupulous lawyer still representing a dead client? On a luxury liner en route to New York, the battle for power at the heart of a wealthy dynasty is about to turn to murder. And at the heart of all three investigations are Detective Chief Inspector William Warwick, rising star of the department, and ex-undercover agent Ross Hogan, brought in from the cold. But can they catch the killers before it’s too late?” — Publisher’s Annotation
“Overkill” by Sandra Brown — “Overkill is storytelling par excellence, weaving complex societal issues into the fabric of a thriller to create a terrific tapestry of emotionally wrought tension. The best book of the summer.”―Providence Journal
“Rising Tiger” by Brad Thor — “America’s top spy, Scot Harvath, with democracy itself hanging in the balance, is thrust into a completely unfamiliar culture where he can trust no one as he fights to take down the country’s most powerful enemy—and for his life.” — Atlas Publishing
“Serpentine” by Jonathan Kellerman — “LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis and brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware investigate a decades-unsolved case involving a rich and spoiled client, a mysterious birth mother and violent coincidences. By the Edgar Award-winning author of True Detectives.” — Atlas Publishing
“The Dark Hours” by Michael Connelly — “A masterpiece… Meticulous about actual police procedure, Connelly makes the fundamentals of detective work engrossing while providing plenty of suspense and action.”―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The Family Game” by Catherine Steadman — “The Holbecks are what you might come up with if you took the Roys from Succession and blended them with the Murdochs, the Macbeths, and the Borgias. . . . The mysteries accrue, as does our admiration for Steadman, whose gift for invention only increases with each novel. . . . Let the fun begin!.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“The Hunt” by Faye Kellerman — “Kellerman succeeds brilliantly in making the search for understanding as compelling as the search for the murderer.” — Publishers Weekly
“The Last Party” by Clare Mackintosh — “A superb blend of psychological thriller and police procedural…A gripping portrait of two fractured people merges with believable plot twists, and the author perfectly captures the ennui of a small town where gossip can destroy lives. Mackintosh consistently entertains.” ― Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
“Crisply written … a fine thriller.”―Booklist“The Night She Disappeared” by Lisa Jewell — “As usual, the British author draws you in with characters and plot, building just enough tension and suspense that you will be rushing to find out just what happened.” ― St. Louis Post Dispatch
“The Red Book” by James Patterson and David Ellis — “”Crisply written … a fine thriller.”―Booklist
“The Soulmate” by Sally Hepworth — “The book is many things: a crime story, a psychological study, a blueprint for how and when to mete out information in a thriller. But most of all it is an inquiry into the mysteries of marriage and commitment, and into what we owe our spouses and one another.” —The New York Times Book Review
“The Third Game” by Lisa Jackson — “When the skeletal remains of two bodies and what appears to be an empty grave are found in a secret crypt in the cellar of a decaying Savannah, Ga., mansion in bestseller Jackson’s workmanlike fourth Pierce Reed/Nikki Gillette novel, police detective Pierce investigates…Enjoy catching up with Pierce and Nikki.” — Publishers Weekly
“You Can Die” by Rebecca Zanetti — “Zanetti launches a romantic suspense series with this pitch-perfect blend of slow-burn romance and adrenaline-fueled thrills…Both awkward Laurel and dogged Huck are refreshing departures from typical leads while still remaining fiercely independent and easy to root for. Their romance only bolsters the deliciously intricate mystery. Readers will delight in this smart take on classic trope.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
ADULT BIOGRAPHY
“Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You” by Lucinda Williams –“Remarkable . . . Reading like it was written on a series of cocktail napkins in the absolutely best way, this ever-quotable memoir of a born songsmith has something to offer nearly any grownup who has listened to music for the last half-century.”—Booklist
ADULT NON-FICTION
“All the Ways Our Dead Still Speak: A Funeral Director on Life, Death and the Hereafter” by Caleb Wilde — “In a wonderfully conversational tone, Wilde tackles themes of mortality, history, and justice with masterful felicity, delivering bracing big picture ideas about death and community. The result is an exceptionally soulful and insightful take on identity and the ways the dead linger among the living.” –―Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Roche: A Culinary Journey through the San Juan Island’s Illustrious Harbor” by Chef William D. Shaw and James O. Fraioli
“Thank Your for Your Servitude: Donald Trump’s Washington and the Price of Submission” by Mark Leibovich — “A fascinating account . . . The greatest value of Thank You For Your Servitude is Leibovich’s ability to understand the startling motivations of members of the House and Senate and many White House advisers and aides.” —The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“The Ultimate Guide to Power and Influence: Everything You Need to Know” by Robert L. Dilenschneider — “An inspiring primer on navigating one’s life with self-knowledge and integrity.”—Kirkus Reviews
PICTURE BOOK
“The Pout-Pout Fish and the Mad, Mad Day” by Deborah Diesen
CHILDREN’S KIT
“Aaron Slater, Illustrator” by Andrea Beaty — “In the illustration, a tableau of colorful mythological beings embodies Aaron’s tale. . .Empathetic art and lyrical text blend for a touching and empowering tale.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Dog Diaries: Mission ImPAWsible” by James Patterson with Steven Butler — “Bolstered by Watson’s spry cartoons, Patterson and Butler’s rollicking story will catch–and hold–the attention of young readers, especially those of the dog-loving variety.” — Publisher’s Weekly
“Doggo and Pupper” by Katherine Applegate — “Declared boring by the cat of the house, a routine-oriented Doggo is dismayed by the messy antics of newcomer Pupper, who returns obedient, but decidedly unhappy, from puppy-training school.” — Atlas Publishing
“Marya Khan and the Fabulous Jasmine Garden” by Saadia Faruqi — “The characters are well-developed and feel like a well-integrated part of Marya’s universe. The humor is genuine, and warmth exudes from the dialogue and prose. Faruqi continues to create relatable protagonists with age-relevant and real-kid struggles and triumphs while offering an authentic portrayal of a Muslim, Pakistani family. Authentic friendships, layered family dynamics, and the adventures of an intrepid heroine make this a must-have series that should be shelved next to Renée Watson’s “Ryan Hart” books.”―School Library Journal
“The Mind-Blowing World of Extraordinary Competitions: Meet the Incredible People Who Will Compete at Anything” by Anna Goldfield — “This audiobook features music and special effects. Listen along and enjoy the fun that is The Mind-Blowing World of Extraordinary Competitions.” — Amazon.com
“Thirst” by Varsha Bajai — “The riveting story of a heroic girl who fights for her belief that water should be for everyone.” — Amazon.com
“What’s Inside a Flower: An Other Questions about Science & Nature” by Rachel Ignotofsky — “Budding backyard scientists can start exploring their world with this stunning introduction to these flowery show-stoppers – from seeds to roots to blooms. Learning how flowers grow gives kids beautiful building blocks of science and inquiry.” — Amazon.com
“When You Trap a Tiger” by Tae Keller — “Would you make a deal with a magical tiger? This uplifting story brings Korean folklore to life as a girl goes on a quest to unlock the power of stories and save her grandmother.” — Amazon.com
ADULT FICTION
“Palazzo” by Danielle Steel — “The head of her family’s haute couture Italian leather brand, Cosima Saverio, partnering with France’s most successful handbag company, must make an impossible choice when her brother loses a hefty sum at the casino and his debt must be repaid with money or his life”– Baker & Taylor
“The Beach at Summerly” By Beatriz Williams — “Full of evocative, whip-sharp dialogue… [T]he author’s deft exploration of many thought-provoking issues, from social class to personal responsibility and regret, make this one a winner. A well-researched exploration of love and redemption against the backdrop of post-World War II New England” — Kirkus Reviews
“The First Ladies” by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray —
“While the depictions of the women’s activism are inspiring, the novel really shines in the behind-the-scenes moments when the women support each other during personal struggles with marital infidelity, illness, and loss. This impeccably researched, relevant novel is a must-read and destined to be a book-club favorite.” —Booklist (starred review)
“The Ice Harp” by Norman Lock — “In The Ice Harp, Norman Lock deftly takes us into the polyphonic swirl of Emerson’s mind at the end of his life, inviting us to meet the man anew even as the philosopher fights to stop forgetting himself. Who will I be when the words are gone, the great thinker wonders, and how will I know what is right? I gladly asked myself these same impossible questions on every page of this remarkably empathetic and deeply moral novel.” —Matt Bell, author of Appleseed and Refuse to Be Done
“The Long March Home” by Marcus Brotherton & Tosca Lee — “Inspired by a true story, three best friends from Mobile, Alabama are captured in the Philippines during WWII–they vow to return home together. They struggle to survive against impossible odds that becomes known as the Bataan Death March”– Baker & Taylor
ADULT MYSTERY
“Dead Man’s Wake” by Paul Doiron — “Doiron creates an array of colorful, well-drawn characters, writes in vivid, graceful style, and accurately portray investigative procedures ― this time including the handling of underwater crime scenes. He spins his tale with enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing until the end.” ―Associated Press
BLUE/DVD MOVIES
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”
JUVENILE FICTION
“Monsters and Mold” by Asia Citro — “Citro takes the “girl helping animals” trope of beginning chapters to a whole new level. Filled with scientific language and experiments, including a helpful glossary, Zoey is encouraged to make mistakes, fail, and get up and keep trying. There’s no lack of child appeal either; both boys and girls will delight in the magical creatures and brisk storytelling and will be eager to try some of their own scientific experimentation, even if they can’t find a dragon!” — Jennifer Wharton, Jean Little Library
JUVENILE GRAPHIC NOVELS
“Adventuregame Comics: Leviathan” by Jason Shiga — “Shiga captures that thrill of limitless possibility in this choose-your-own-path style maze of a comic book wonder… The tantalizing glimpses of un-had adventures as you flip through pages on your current quest; and the labyrinth-winding, squat-figured, goggle-eyed fun of Shiga’s art all invite many return reads.”―Booklist
“Making Friends” by Kristen Gudnuk — “This charming graphic novel features full-color, manga-inspired illustrations and a breezy plot that blends wish fulfillment and fantasy with an approachable and contemporary storyline. With a broad brush, Gudsnuk hits many of the angst-y issues of middle school, including popularity, bullying, family relationships, body image, and fandom, creating appeal for a large swath of readers… A nifty pastiche of middle school matters.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Schnozzer and Tatertoes: Take Hike” by Rick Stromoski — “If you like funny, silly dogs (and who doesn’t), this book is for you!”—Patrick McDonnell, Mutts cartoonist and author of Me . . . Jane
“The Mighty Bite” by Nathan Hale — “In this quirky graphic offering, two extinct creatures team up with a human reporter. Hale’s tale, executed in blue and white with strong black linework, is unapologetically zany, replete with poop jokes, an adorable talking kitten head, a giant hair dryer, and a gorilla deity sporting a halo that is also a portal, making this a perfect choice for those who find joy in madcap comics in the vein of James Kolchalka. Kooky charmer. An exuberantly goofy romp.” — Kirkus Reviews
JUVENILE NON-FICTION
“Search for a Giant Squid: Pick Your Path” by Amy Seto Forrester and Andy Chou Musser — “An engaging, fun, and deep guide to how sea research happens.” ― Kirkus Reviews
ADULT FICTION
“Hang the Moon” by Jeannette Walls — “A rip-roaring, action-packed novel set during prohibition filled with head-spinning plot twists and enough dead bodies, doomed romances, and sudden betrayals to make you wonder if George R.R. Martin had decided to ditch fantasy for Southern Gothic.” —The New York Times
“Happy Place “ by Emily Henry — “If you’re looking for a magical second-chance romance that will make your heart ache and read compulsively to find out what happened to the perfect couple (and whether they’ll get their happily ever after), then Happy Place is sure to keep you up all night!”
—The Nerd Daily
“Homecoming” by Kate Morton — “Morton keeps the secrets coming, leading up to a powerful, emotional conclusion. This is storytelling at its finest.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Old Babes in the Wood” by Margaret Atwood — “Atwood explores love and loss in this brilliant collection that mixes fantastical stories about the afterlife with realism…She’s writing at the top of her considerable powers here.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The Librarian of Burned Books” by Brianna Labuskes — “Inspired by the fascinating real story of a little-known World War II-era group of librarians, authors, publishers, and booksellers who united to fight fascism with literature, THE LIBRARIAN OF BURNED BOOKS is a thoroughly engrossing page-turner that proves how powerful words and ideas can be, no matter the era. Filled with intrigue and secrets, this timely novel follows three women from Berlin to Paris to New York City to right past wrongs using books as their weapon of choice._ — Elise Hooper, author of Angels of the Pacific
“We All Want Impossible Things” by Catherine Newman — “Excruciatingly heartbreaking, but I laughed out loud on almost every page. And I am not an easy laughter. Newman’s voice is hilarious and warm; her characters feel like old friend . . . a winning novel.” — Julie Klam, New York Times Book Review
“Weyward” by Emilia Hart — “A promising debut…Hart links the three stories very cleverly in this entertaining read about witchcraft, maternal ties and the power of the natural world.” ––The Times (UK)
ADULT MYSTERY
“A Heart Full of Headstones” by Ian Rankin — “Outstanding. . . the well-constructed plot is matched by brooding, atmospheric prose. This is one of Rankin’s best Rebus novels in years.”―Publishers Weekl
“Murder in an Irish Castle” by Verity Bright — “I am hooked! This is the best book, bar none, that I have read this year… An extremely witty, fast-paced mystery… I love the heroine, intrepid adventuress… A most enjoyable read!” — Reviews by Carol in Tallahassee
“Simply Lies” by David Baldacci — “Baldacci is at his best in this standalone thriller. [He] keeps the twists coming fast and furious in this tense page-turner, never losing credibility even as it takes bigger and bigger swings. Readers will fall in love with Mickey and hold their breath for her through to the very end.”―Publishers Weekly, starred review
“The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden — “Don’t miss the USA Today bestseller and addictive psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist that’s burning up Instagram–Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid is perfect for fans of Ruth Ware, Lisa Jewell, and Verity.” — Grand Central Publishing
“The Last Remains” by Elly Griffiths — “The discovery of a missing woman’s bones force Ruth and Nelson to finally confront their feelings for each other as they desperately work to exonerate one of their own in this not-to-be-missed Ruth Galloway mystery from USA Today bestselling author Elly Griffiths….” — Publisher Annotation:
“The White Lady” by Jacqueline Winspear — “The White Lady is a phenomenal read. You are prisoner from the opening paragraph until the suspenseful conclusion . . . .This thrilling book reveals much about mankind. Humans can be brutal, tender, kind, treacherous, cold, friendly, tremendously loyal, deceiving, brave, cowardly. Jacqueline Winspear includes all of these traits in The White Lady.” — New York Journal of Books
ADULT BIOGRAPHY
“Master, Slave, Husband, Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom” by Ilyon Woo — “Master Slave Husband Wife is a suspenseful, sensitively rendered account of [Ellen and William Craft’s] four-day journey to the North. . . . Woo tells the story [with] a cinematic eye. She excels at setting scenes, conjuring the sensations experienced by the Crafts at each harrowing point. . . . The vivid details help Woo to convey the Crafts’ attention to every element of their plot.” — W. Caleb McDaniel ― The New York Times Book Review
“The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening” by Ari Shapiro — “The book keeps on giving, chapter after chapter, in turns humorous, introspective, or deeply serious, weaving together personal anecdotes, behind-the-scenes secrets, and heartbreaking profiles from war zones and refugee camps. Shapiro says he’s built his radio career on ‘empathy, connection, and listening’— qualities that ring true in his writing as well.” — Booklist (starred review)
ADULT NON-FICTION
“Rare Trees: The Fascinating Stories of the World’s Most Threatened Species” by Sara Oldfield — “A lavishly illustrated, lovingly detailed compendium of “rare trees” of the world…In their noble efforts to honor these “rare” trees, the authors will certainly sensitize readers to the trees’ value and their peril.”―Booklist
PARENTING
“The Read Aloud Factor: How to Create the Habit that Boosts Your Baby’s Brain” by Rehka Rajan — “A must, chock-full of usable ideas and recommended reads and sure to be a favorite for parents of preschoolers.” — Library Journal starred review
EASY READERS
“Alligator” by August Hoeft
“Eyes that Speak to the Stars” by Joanna Ho
“No Nibbling!” by Beth Ferry
“No, Monkey! & Rock Croc” by Katie Dale
PICTURE BOOK
“Eyes that Speak to the Stars” by Joanna Ho
“No Nibbling” by Beth Ferry
JUVENILE FICTION
“Amari and the Night Brothers” by B. B. Alston — “In this thrilling debut, Alston thrusts his intrepid heroine into a setting packed with magic, mythical creatures, and danger. Amari, a Black girl with limited means, confronts privilege and prejudice even while delving into a world of wonder, humor, and adventure, making this a sure-to-please winner.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
JUVENILE GRAPHIC NOVELS
“Bea Wolf” by Zach Weinersmith — “Weinersmith’s richly evocative turns of phrase run the gamut from hilarious to heart-rending and maintain the flavor of the original without bogging the pace down amid the kennings. Boulet’s illustrations imbue the shenanigans with gleeful energy and a touch of dark absurdity that children, seeing their own fears and triumphs reflected, will delight in.”―Kirkus, starred review
“Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea” by Dav Pilkey — “High-intensity, heartwarming, and, above all, hysterically funny.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Dream to Reality” by Brad Gann — “First Woman tells the tale of Callie Rodriguez, the first woman to explore the Moon. While Callie is a fictional character, the first female astronaut and person of color will soon set foot on the Moon – a historic milestone and part of upcoming NASA missions. Through a series of graphic novels and digital platforms, First Woman aims to capture our attention and unite the next generation of explorers who will return to the Moon.” — Goodreads.com
“Hilo: Gina and the Last City on Earth” by Judd Winick — “I”s Gina the hero the world needs? Gina, D.J., and Hilo are back with an epic time-turning adventure in the New York Times bestselling graphic novel series that kids and critics love!” — Amazon.com
“Mary Anne’s Bad Luck Mystery” by Cynthia Yuan Cheng — “Crisp and spot on.” — Booklist
“The Moth Keeper” by K. O’Neill — “In few words and a style reminiscent of Miyazaki, the Eisner Award-winning O’Neill spins a luminous fantasy about a fox girl, entrusted with protecting her night-village, who wonders what it would be like to live in the light.” —The New York Times
ADULT FICTION
“All the Dangerous Things” by Stacy Willingham — “Willingham is so relentless in linking Isabelle’s sleeplessness to her deepening sense of waking nightmare that fans can expect some seriously sleepless nights themselves.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Hell Bent” by Leigh Bardugo — “Bardugo doesn’t flinch from the dark sides of magic and human nature….This portrait of a survivor’s dogged determination to accomplish her goal will appeal to readers of dark academia, urban fantasy, and horror.” ―Booklist (starred review)
“It’s One of Us” by J. T. Ellison — “Betrayal, obsession, and familial ties that bind create a tension-filled story with an intriguing theme. Readers will race through the pages to an end they didn’t see coming.”—Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“Looking for Jane” by Heather Marshall — “Marshall makes an absorbing debut with a timely novel about the complexities of pregnancy and motherhood… [a] deftly braided narrative, Marshall keeps the tension high as she reveals the devastating consequences of denying women autonomy over their bodies. A charged topic handled with sensitivity and compassion.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Maureen” by Rachel Joyce — “This slim novella . . . contains a world of emotion . . . The kindness of strangers is Joyce’s theme, as well as forgiveness and grief. No one writes difficult feelings better.”—The Daily Mail
“Someone Else’s Shoes” by Jojo Moyes — “This is a novel about women of a certain age who suddenly find themselves invisible — to their spouses, to their colleagues, to the world — and find pleasure in being “seen” by each other.” —The New York Times
“The Bandit Queens” by Parini Shroff — “In Shroff’s acerbic debut, a woman helps other women escape their abusive marriages in their small village in India, often through murder. . . . Readers are in for a razor-stuffed treat.”—Publishers Weekly
“The Book of Everlasting Things” by Aanchal Malhotra — “A long and luxurious tale of love, loss, memory, and place, told against a backdrop of tumultuous historical events…It will be difficult indeed to forget this exquisite story.” ―Library Journal (starred review)
“The Book Woman’s Daughter” by Kim Michele Richardson — “Fierce, beautiful and inspirational, Kim Michele Richardson has created a powerful tale about brave extraordinary heroines who are downright haunting and unforgettable.” ― Abbott Kahler, New York Times bestselling author (as Karen Abbott) of The Ghosts of Eden Park
“The End of Drum-Time” by Hanna Pylväinen — “With engrossing details of reindeer herding, a beautifully rendered setting and powerful echoes of America’s own dark history of settlers forcing their religion on Indigenous peoples, The End of Drum-Time will leave a lasting impression on all readers of historical fiction.”
―BookPage (starred review)
“The House at the End of the World” by Dean Koontz — “Alone on Jacob’s Ladder island until two agents arrive in search of someone–or something–they refuse to identify, artist Katie, along with a brave young girl, finds herself in an epic and terrifying battle with a mysterious enemy that could bring aboutthe end of the world.” — Baker & Taylor
“The Night Travelers” by Armando Lucas Correa — “In The Night Travelers, Armando Lucas Correa returns to the tragedy of Nazi Germany. The Night Travelers depicts the dangers mixed race people faced under the Nuremberg Race Laws of the 1930s, and the fateful voyage of the St Louis liner to Cuba. Based on historical events, Armando has written a tale of love and survival, and the trauma of displacement in a new land as secrets and pain of the past follow new generations. A very good read.” —Maya Lee, co-author of The Nazis Knew My Name
“The Postmistress of Paris” by Meg Waite Clayton — “This gripping historical love story from Clayton brings readers into the courageous lives of those struggling just to stay alive and those risking everything to help.” — Booklist
“The World and All it Holds” by Aleksandar Hemon — “The World and All That It Holds is a twisting, turning epic rooted in love in all its forms; an odyssey of statelessness; a haunted museum of history ranging from Sarajevo to Shanghai and Jerusalem; and an apothecary of wit, folklore and unexpectable sentences. This life-stuffed novel is Aleksandar Hemon’s masterpiece.” ―DAVID MITCHELL, author of Cloud Atlas
“This Other Eden” by Paul Harding — “A superb achievement…Harding combines an engrossing plot with deft characterizations and alluring language deeply attuned to nature’s artistry. The biblical parallels, which naturally align with the characters’ circumstances, add depth, and enhance the universality of the themes…This gorgeously limned portrait about family bonds, the loss of innocence, the insidious effects of racism, and the innate worthiness of individual lives will resonate long afterward.”
― Sarah Johnson, Booklist (starred review)
“Victory City” by Salman Rushdie — “In its haunting, uncanny, predictive power Victory City shows once again why [Salman Rushdie’s] work will always matter.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
ADULT MYSTERY
“A Quiet Teacher” by Adam Oyebani — “A teacher trying to hide in the shadows finds himself embroiled in a murder investigation in this compelling and fresh read from a new unique, contemporary voice.” — Atlas Publishing
“Desperation in Death” by J. D. Robb — “The book’s real pleasure lies in watching Eve stride into danger and triumph over evil. That Roarke is happy to support his wife’s desire to go out and kick butt adds to the appeal. Series fans will be delighted.” – Publishers Weekly
“The Cabinet of Dr. Leng” by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child — “As Constance finds her way back to New York City in the late 1800s to prevent the death of her siblings and stop serial killer, Dr. Enoch Leng, FBI Special Agent Pendergast desperately tries to find a way to reunite with her before it’s too late.” — Baker & Taylor
ADULT BIOGRAPHY
“And Finally: Matters of Life and Death” by Henry Marsh — “By sharing his findings, And Finally will no doubt prompt others to contemplate their own existence and, more importantly, recognise what is truly worth living for.” — Financial Times
“Spare” by Prince Harry — “A landmark publication, Spare is full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.” — Amazon.com
ADULT NON-FICTION
“America: A Narrative History” by David Emory Shi — “David Shi’s America is the leading narrative history because students love to read it. New to the Eleventh Edition, additional coverage of immigration in American history enhances the timeliness of the narrative and provides students with the historical context to understand today’s immigration debates.” — Inside front cover
“Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers our Lives” by Siddharth Kara — “Meticulously researched and brilliantly written by Siddharth Kara, Cobalt Red documents the frenzied scramble for cobalt and the exploitation of the poorest people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
― Baroness Arminka Helic, House of Lords, UK
“Eight Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go” by Jay Shetty — “[A] refreshing look at love as a daily practice…Shetty combines spiritual wisdom and down-to-earth guidance in a surprisingly seamless way, making for lessons that have real staying power. Those looking to start or strengthen relationships will find this well worth a look.” —Publisher’s Weekly
“Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond” by Lydia Denworth — “In addition to examining the scientific underpinnings of friendship, Denworth capably demonstrates how loneliness…is truly a health- and life-threatening condition, and there are things to be done to avoid it. Convincing evidence that evolution endowed us with a need for friends, support, comfort, stimulation, and, ultimately, happiness.”― Kirkus Reviews
“Hands that Speak: Voices from the Upper Valley Dairy Farms” by Maria Clara de Greiff Lara — “Hands that Speak: Voices from the Upper Valley Dairy Farms is a bilingual collection of investigative journalism reports, story-based inquiry, critical essays, and photo documentation about the migrant workers who labor at six dairy farms in the Upper Valley and Franklin County. The book reveals the ways in which the migrant workers, who are our neighbors and yet who are often distanced by intercultural and linguistic barriers, have sought to build a sense of community. It also makes visible this essential workforce, with a deeper understanding of the vulnerabilities, inequities, and challenges that they face on a daily basis.” — https://spanport.dartmouth.edu
“Heart to Heart: A Conversation on Love and Hope for our Precious Planet” by His Holiness the Dalai Lama — “Complemented by charming illustrations, this book’s uplifting message is clear: while the planet’s forecast may be dire, each individual is able—and obligated—to harness personal power to help save it. This would make a life-affirming gift for people of all ages.” — Publishers Weekly
“Holding the Line: Inside the Nation’s Preeminent US Attorney’s Office and Its Battle with the Trump Justice Department” by Geoffrey Berman — “If Mr. Berman’s account is true, he and others in the department deserve praise for refusing to bow to political pressure. But more important is determining whether there are vulnerabilities in the Justice Department’s structure and procedures that need to be patched…The warning he sounds — about the fragility of justice and the danger that a second Trump presidency might pose — must not go unnoticed.” —The Washington Post
“Home Detox: Make Your Home a Healthier Place for Everyone Who Lives There: Identify and Eleminate Hidden Toxins, Combat Common Health Problems, Clean Away Toxins in Every Room, Make Your Own Cleaning Solutions” by Daniella Chace — “Daniella Chace, a professional toxicologist and health writer, teaches readers how to identify potential toxins in the household, with an easy-to-follow, room-by-room evaluation. She explains the connection between toxins in everyday objects and chronichealth issues, and offers strategies for eliminating toxins, along with easy recipes for effective homemade cleaning solutions”– Baker & Taylor
“How Stella Learned to Talk: The Groundbreaking Story of the World’s First Talking Dog” by Christine Hunger — “[A] fascinating study of the untapped potential in human-dog interaction.” — Booklist
“Lawns into Meadows: Growing a Regenerative Landscape” by Owen Wormser — “I like the straightforward, can-do approach of Lawns Into Meadows―whether for a replacing a curbside stretch of grass, or an island bed in your backyard, or something bigger.This is a really accessible, how-to book that’s also about sustainability, regeneration, and beauty. I’m so glad to get this book.”–Margaret Roach, A Way to Garden, New York Times contributor
“Molly: The True Story of the Amazing Dog Who Rescues Cats” by Colin Batcher — “Animal lovers will devour this British-toned, feel-good book, and might even develop some strategies in case their furry friends go missing.”
―Library Journal
“Philosopher of the Heart: The Restless Life of Søren Kierkegaard” by Clare Carlisle — “[Carlisle] judiciously mines Kierkegaard’s works and considerable scholarship to elucidate the philosopher’s life, mind, and struggles . . . A perceptive portrait of an enigmatic thinker.”―Kirkus
“Rough Sleepers” by Tracy Kid — “The powerful story of an inspiring doctor who made a difference, by helping to create a program to care for Boston’s homeless community—by the Pulitzer Prize–winning, New York Times bestselling author of Mountains Beyond Mountains” — Amazon.com
“Tales of Al the Water Rescue Dog: The Making of a Super Athlete” by Lynne Cox — “The moving, inspiring story of Al, the ungainly, unruly, irresistible Newfoundland puppy who grows up to become a daring rescue dog and super athlete—part of Italy’s elite, highly specialized corps of water rescue dogs who swoop out of helicopters and save lives.” — Random House, Inc.
“The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of the Power in America” by Philip Bum — “[A] highly detailed, data-driven, definitive story of how baby boomers changed America and a little forecasting of what might come next…Bump is a reliable, honest narrator who leans into complexity and refuses simple or singular explanations.” —The Washington Post
“The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens” by Richard Haas — “Americans argue a lot about their rights, but, as Richard Haass reminds us, democracy only works if we also recognize our responsibilities. His newest book reminds us of what those are, providing an indispensable guide to good citizenship in an era of division and rancor.” —Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism
“The Escape Artist: The Man who Broke out of Auschwitz to Warn the World” by Jonathan Freedland — “Raw and gripping . . . [a] compelling portrait of this neglected hero of Holocaust resistance leaves an inescapable imprint of a past now in danger of being minimized or forgotten. . . . It’s time to honor him for the incredible feat that helped save so many Jewish lives from Nazi extermination.” — Wall Street Journal
“The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness” by Robert Waldinger — “Fascinating. . . . Combining intensive research with actionable steps, this penetrating testament to the power of human connection offers gems for almost anyone looking to improve their happiness.” ― Publishers Weekly
“The Home-Scale Forest Garden: How to Plan, Plant, and Tend a Resilient Edible Landscape” by Dani Baker — “Dani Baker is the dreamer and planner behind the Enchanted Edible Forest. She shares experienced, friendly advice for gardeners of all experience levels….With fun stories, a methodical organization, and helpful appendices, this is a great primer full of gardening expertise.”―Foreword Reviews
“The Small-Scale Poultry Flock: An All-Natural Approach to Raising and Breeding Chickens and Other Fowl for Home and Market Growers” by Harvey Ussery — “Ussery’s outstanding book is certain to withstand the test of time both for its encyclopedic and practical information, and for its acknowledgment that the future of our culture and our food security is in the hands of the small farmer and backyard producer. If you are starting out with your first flock, this is your book. And when you’ve been keeping poultry for 30+ years, this will still be your best book.”--Shannon Hayes, author of Radical Homemakers
“Understanding the Heart: Surprising Insights into the Evolutionary Origins of Heart Disease -and Why it Matters” by Dr. Stephen Hussey — “The most mind-blowing information on heart disease. . . . I consider this to be one of the best books I’ve ever read on cardiovascular health.”―Ben Greenfield, New York Times best-selling author
“Unraveling: What I Learned about Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool and Making the Ugliest Sweater” by Peggy Orenstein — “Unraveling is a delight. A meditation on life, and how, if we miss a step (or a stitch), our lives (our sweaters) can unravel at record speed. Funny, moving, and brilliantly written and researched. I will never look at sheep again without a sense of wonder and awe.” — Julianna Margulies
ADULT AUDIO BOOK
“No Plan B” by Lee Child and Andrew Child — “No Plan B is not to be missed. A perfectly plotted, fast-paced thriller, with bigger twists than ever before. It’s no wonder Jack Reacher is everyone’s favorite rebel hero.”—Karin Slaughter
“The Perfect Assassin” by James Patterson & Brian Sitts — “Prof. Brandt Savage—grandson of the legendary action hero—is forced into a top-secret training program where he discovers his true calling…as the perfect assassin.” — Amazon.com
BLUE/DVD MOVIES
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Tar”
“The Menu”
PICTURE BOOK
“Caves” by Nell Cross Beckman
“Cozy in Love” by Jan Brett
“Digestion!: The Musical” by Adam Rex
“Endlessly Ever After: Choose Your Way to Endless Fairy Tale Endings!: A Story of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack, Hansel, Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, a Wolf, a Witch, a Goose, a Grandmother, Some Pigs, and Endless Variation” by Laurel Snyder
“Farmhouse” by Sophie Blackall
“Gibberish” by Young Vo
“How to Send a Hug” by Hayley Rocco
“Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You” by Sonia Sotomayor
“Little Blue Truck Makes a Friend” by Alice Schertle
“Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle” by Nina Lacour
“Mason Goes Mushrooming” by Melany Kahn
“The Little Blue Cottage” by Kelly Jordan
“The Three Billy Goats Gruff” by Mac Barnett
“The Year We Learned to Fly” by Jacqueline Woodson
“Whose Footprints are These?” by Gerda Muller
JUVENILE FICTION
“Two Degrees” by Alan Gratz — “Gratz plunges his middle schoolers into desperate, life-threatening straits in three wildly dangerous scenarios… delivered with wrenching, dramatic urgency.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Tumble” by Celia C. Perez — “Tumble is a complex, emotional story about loss, self-discovery and belonging, about forgetting who you were and remembering who you are.” —BookPage, starred review
JUVENILE NON-FICTION
“Action!: How Movies Began” by Meghan McCarthy — “Movie history deserves no less than this stunning encapsulation, cleverly designed and gorgeously rendered. ― Kirkus Reviews
“Blue: A History of the Colors as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky” by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond — “Brew-Hammond’s graceful prose and fluid organization, coupled with Minter’s emotive illustrations, set synapses firing.” —The Bulletin, starred review
“The Universe in You: A Microscopic Journey” by Jason Chin — “Giving the biggest impact to these tiniest bits are full-page watercolor-and-gouache illustrations in fine detail, with an illustrator’s note explaining methods for depicting and coloring particles too minuscule for humans to visualize. . . . stunning visuals. . . .”—Booklist, Starred Review
ADULT FICTION
“Great Circle” by Maggie Shipstead — “Transcendent . . . A rolling, roiling epic . . . Through the interwoven stories of impetuous flyer Marian Graves and flavor-of-the-month actress Hadley Baxter, Shipstead ponders the motivating forces behind acts of daring defiance, self-fulfillment and self-destruction. An ambitious, soaring saga—[Shipstead] takes her characters to dizzying heights, drawing readers into lives of courage and mystery.”
—Booklist
“In Love’s Time” by Kate Breslin — “MI6 agent Marcus Weatherford lives by the principle of duty before love, but with WWI nearing its end, he hopes to finally fulfill his promise of forever to Clare Danner …. Set in 1918 in England, In Love’s Time features the tender rediscovery of love amidst the high-stakes danger of wartime espionage tied to the Russian Empire in WWI. Clare embodies emotional vulnerability, resilience, and faith in the face of the unknown. Readers will be thrilled by the race-against-the-clock conclusion and the palpable passion between Marcus and Clare that is simmering below the surface.” — Kate Campos, AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2022.
“The Lies I Tell” by Julie Clark — “Intriguing…Clark skillfully fleshes out the strong, multifaceted characters. The story nicely mixes brisk plot points with slow burning reveals as it builds to a satisfying conclusion. Clark doesn’t disappoint.” ― Publishers Weekly
“The Mother-in-Law” by Sally Hepworth — “A deliciously entertaining novel about one woman’s complicated relationship with her mother-in-law that ends in death. This one is perfect for fans of Big Little Lies.” ―Good Morning America
ADULT MYSTERY
“Bloody Soil” by S. Lee Manning — “…the action rarely lets up…riveting, energetic…with lead characters worth rooting for.”-Kirkus Reviews
“The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections” by Eva Jurczyk — “Who doesn’t love a mystery involving rare books and bad librarians? This clever, deftly written story has all that and more. A great pleasure from beginning to end.” ― Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times bestselling author
“The Rising Tide” by Ann Cleeves — “A friend of mine once joked that the work of Ann Cleeves is the closest the crime-fiction genre comes to evoking ASMR ― the euphoric, pleasant, spine-tingling sensation that’s all the rage on YouTube. The books never get too dark, never venture too far into dangerous territory, but aren’t outright cozy, either…. This is the work of a pro ― a diverting, solidly crafted mystery that’s guaranteed to entertain.”―New York Times Book Review
ADULT BIOGRAPHY
“The Revolutionary Samuel Adams” by Stacy Schiff — “This enthralling biography is a persuasive exercise in rehabilitation. Through stylish prose and a close reading of Adams’s career as a canny propagandist, Schiff suggests that he may have done more than any other founder to prime colonists for armed rebellion and deserves to be better known.”―Gregory Cowles, New York Times, Editors’ Choice
ADULT NON-FICTION
“American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis” by Adam Hochschild — “A sweeping look at the years between World War I and the Roaring Twenties, when conscientious objectors to the war were maltreated and conflicts over race and labor were at a high pitch. Hochschild draws direct lines between events of that time and the unrest of today.” — New York Times, 15 Works of Nonfiction to Read This Fall
“Breathe In Breathe Out: Restore Your Health, Reset Your Mind and Find Happiness Through Breathwork” by Stuart Sandeman — “[The exercises] offer a variety of ways to try breathwork… [Breathe In, Breathe Out] gets the job done.” –Publishers Weekly
“Solar Power for Beginners, 2 in 1 bundle: A DIY Guide to Solar Energy, Designing and Installing Grid-tied, Hybrid, and Off-grid Solar Systems for Your House, RV, Camper Van, Boar, Cabin and Tiny Home” by DIY Source — “Are you willing to cut your electricity bill in half by adding a solar setup to your house?
If yes, then this 2 in 1 solar power DIY bundle book is written for you!” — Amazon
“The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture” by Gabor Mate — “In The Myth of Normal, Gabor Maté takes us on an epic journey of discovery about how our emotional well-being, and our social connectivity (in short: how we live), is intimately intertwined with health, disease and addictions. Chronic mental and physical illnesses may not be separate and distinct diseases, but intricate, multilayered processes that reflect (mal)adaptations to the cultural context that we live in, and the values we live by. This riveting and beautifully written tale has profound implications for all of our lives, including the practice of medicine and mental health.”–Bessel A. van der Kolk MD, President, Trauma Research Foundation, Professor of psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, #1 New York Times Bestseller: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma
“The Progress Illusion: Reclaiming our Future from the Fairytale of Economics” by Jon D. Erickson — “Erickson’s powerful new book shows how flawed economic thinking has shaped not only our economy but also our society and politics. The story is both deeply disturbing and hopeful, as Erickson describes an emerging brand of economics that shifts focus from GDP to well-being. Highly recommended.” — James Gustave Speth, former Dean, Yale School of the Environment; author of “America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy”
“The Woodchip Handbook: A Complete Guide for Farmers, Gardeners and Landscapers” by Ben Raskin — “Ben Raskin’s wide-ranging work in varied locations makes The Woodchip Handbook a really useful overview of the possibilities afforded by woodchip. It’s good for soil and good for plants, once you understand how it can work best for you, as he explains in this book.”―Charles Dowding, author of Charles Dowding’s No Dig Gardening
“Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life” by Lulu Miller — “Riveting. Surprising. Shocking, even! Why Fish Don’t Exist begins with a mesmerizing account of the life of distinguished biologist David Starr Jordan—and then, quite unexpectedly, turns into so much more. Narrated in Lulu Miller’s intimate, quirky voice, this is a story of science and struggle, of heartbreak and chaos. This book will capture your heart, seize your imagination, smash your preconceptions, and rock your world.” — Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus
PARENTING
“Sewing Quiet Books for Children: Easy to Make, Easy to Customize: 18 Step-by-Step Page Projects with Patterns” by Lily Zunic — “…Zunic shows how to construct two different types of cloth books–one for babies and one for toddlers–that will spark a sense of textile learning that can’t be matched by technology. Information on materials and basic techniques prefaces the project instructions, which feature how-to information on fabrics, zipper sewing, and pattern transfer as well as hands-on, step-by-step instructions for fabricating either a sewn-spine or ring-bound activity book. … Includes 14 full-size templates.” — Barbara Jacobs. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2022.
“The Sears Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know about Your Baby from Birth to Age Two” by William Sears, M.D. — “The million-copy bestseller by “the man who remade motherhood” (TIME) has now been revised, expanded, and bought thoroughly up-to-date — with the latest information on prenatal vitamins, breastfeeding practices, daycare, midwifery, hospital births, preventing and overcoming postpartum depression, and infant development.” — Amazon.com
BOARD BOOK
“Poppy’s Feelings”
“Poppy’s Shape Search”
“Where’s Poppy”
PICTURE BOOK
“After the Snowfall” by Rich Lo
“I am Human: A Book of Empathy” by Susan Verde
JUVENILE BIOGRAPHY
“Sanctuary: Kip Tiernan and Rosie’s Place, the Nation’s First Shelter” by Christine McDonnell — “Author Christine McDonnell, who has taught English to immigrants at Rosie’s Place, adeptly conveys the narrative arc of Tiernan’s life. . . . Victoria Tentler-Krylov’s atmospheric illustrations draw readers into Tiernan’s surroundings with immediacy and emotion. . . . This thoughtful book conveys a powerful, important message: ‘When you listen to others, you show respect; you learn who they are and what they need.'” —BookPage (starred review)
JUVENILE FICTION
“The Door of No Return” by Kwame Alexander — “Interweaving moments of joyful exuberance and heartbreaking sadness via sensate lines by turns sweet and stinging, Alexander’s sweeping novel conjures a captivating, resonant world of African tradition, life, and ancestral wisdom.”―Publishers Weekly, starred review
JUVENILE GRAPHIC NOVELS
“Claire and the Dragons” by Wander Atunes — “Claire and the Dragons is a female-centric fantasy adventure comic book series set in a Dark Ages-like world written and illustrated by Brazilian creator Wander Antunes and published by Scout Comics’ all-ages imprint Scoot. — Amazon.com
“Extraordinary” A Story of an Ordinary Princess” by Cassie Anderson — “While her sisters were blessed at birth with exceptional skills, Princess Basil’s “gift” is to be ordinary. But can a princess be ordinary? Inspired by M. M. Kaye’s beloved novel!” — Amazon.com
“Fish Girl” by David Wiesner and Donna Jo Napoli — “The triple Caldecott winner David Wiesner brings his rich visual imagination and trademark artistry to the graphic novel format in a unique coming-of-age tale that begins underwater. A young mermaid, called Fish Girl, in a boardwalk aquarium has a chance encounter with an ordinary girl. Their growing friendship inspires Fish Girl’s longing for freedom, independence, and a life beyond the aquarium tank. Sparkling with humor and brilliantly visualized, Fish Girl’s story will resonate with every young person facing the challenges and rewards of growing up.” — Onix Annotations,
YOUNG ADULT FICTION
“Big Boned” by Jo Watson — “Big Boned is an optimistic novel whose warm cast subverts convention, and whose heroine learns to take risks.” ―Foreword
“I was Born for This” by Alice Oseman — “A funny, wise, and heartbreakingly true coming of age novel. I Was Born for This is a stunning reflection of modern teenage life, and the power of believing in something — especially yourself.” — Amazon.com
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
“Unfamiliar” by Haley Newsome — “Based on the wildly popular webcomic from Tapas, Unfamiliar is an endearing and whimsical story full of magical mayhem, offbeat outsiders, and the power of friendships and found family. …” Onix Annotations
ADULT FICTION
“After Lives” by Abdulrazak Gurnah — “An appreciation for quiet, ordinary forms of heroism runs throughout. . . . One can take away lessons and meanings from this novel, yet such things are perhaps less significant than the sheer seeming realness of the characters, whose presences Mr. Gurnah has faithfully crafted into existence, with all of their dreaming, their sorrow and their resilience.”—Wall Street Journal
“Four Treasures of the Sky” by Jenny Tinghui Zhang — “Fierce and moving…Zhang delves into the history of violence and prejudice against Chinese people in the U.S. with her debut, a lyrical and sweeping Bildungsroman…The author skillfully delineates the many characters and offers fascinating details on Chinese calligraphy and literature, along with an unsparing view of white supremacy.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“No Land to Light” by Yara Zgheib — “Zgheib’s prose is sensory, piquant with the scent of spices even as it captures the sorrow of living in exile while war destroys your homeland. But the novel’s real power is in humanizing the cruelties and injustices visited on migrants caught up in the travel ban.” ― Library Journal (starred)
“The Book of Goose” by Yiyun Li — “This is a novel of deceptions and cruelty . . . But within this somber mood is something brilliant. With characteristic poise, Li depicts the intricacies of ordinary lives: childhood friendship, growing up, and existences as slow as the passively ‘floating’ geese Agnès watches.” ―Francesca Peacock, The Spectator
“The Boys from Biloxi” by John Grisham — “John Grisham returns to Mississippi with the riveting story of two sons of immigrant families who grow up as friends, but ultimately find themselves on opposite sides of the law. Grisham’s trademark twists and turns will keep you tearing through the pages until the stunning conclusion.” — Amazon.com
“The Dead Romantics” by Ashley Poston — “Romance, chaos, and complications are central components in Poston’s refreshingly fun, spirited rom-coms, and The Dead Romantics is no exception. The beauty and charm of Poston’s storytelling continues to make miraculous happy endings out of the messes in which ordinary people often find themselves entangled.” —Shelf Awareness
“The Dreamtime” by Mstyslav Chernov — “Chernov is a singular voice writing about Ukraine today, and The Dreamtime is essential reading to understanding the ways that war has infiltrated people’s everyday lives far beyond the front lines. It is an ambitious novel that draws together diverse perspectives to reflect the raw emotions of life and death.” ― Emily Channell-Justice, Director, Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program
“The Flight Portfolio” by Julie Orringer — “Magnificent . . . a deeply researched, almost unbearably tense, bruised-knuckle hybrid. Part real history and part love story, it’s also a deeply moral work, asking tough questions about what matters most to us personally—and to the world.” — The Boston Globe
“The Latecomer” by Jean Hanff Korelitz — “If this novel is funny, it is also cutting, a nearly forensic study of family conflict. Husband and wife are at odds; children pull away not only from their parents but from one another. Nimbly, Korelitz juggles the stories of each parent and child, weaving a tapestry of secrets, antipathies and private quests. … It’s testament to Korelitz’s achievement that her novel leaves us wanting more.” ―New York Times Book Review
“The Light Pirate” by Lily Brooks-Dalton — “A formidable young woman’s coming-of-age . . . Brooks-Dalton creates an all-too-believable picture of nature reclaiming Florida from its human inhabitants, and her complex and engaging characters make climate disaster a vividly individual experience rather than an abstract subject of debate.”―Kirkus, Starred Review
“The Rabbit Hutch” by Tess Gunty — “Ambitious . . . Despite offering a dissection of contemporary urban blight, the novel doesn’t let social concerns crowd out the individuality of its characters, and Blandine’s off-kilter brilliance is central to the achievement.”—The New Yorker
“The Reindeer Hunters” by Lars Mytting — “…Pastor Kai Schweigaard is haunted by the past; he was responsible for the loss of the village’s ancient stave church and its sister bells cast in the 1600s in memory of two famous weavers, conjoined twin sisters. These twins created the Hekne Weave, a tapestry depicting Skrapanatta, the end of days. While Schweigaard searches for the Weave and what it might portend, Jehans, a Hekne and son of Schweigaard’s lost love, struggles to make his way. Butangen lingers in the grip of feudalism, but change is inevitable. This novel explores themes of modernization and identity on various levels: national (Norway’s separation from its union with Sweden), familial, and religious (Norse myth and Christianity). The world Mytting creates is immersive, including descriptions of reindeer hunting and the feel of a scythe on a whetstone. The result is a fascinating story with centuries-old echoes, their muted peal resonating like the separated sister bells.” — Bethany Latham. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2022. — Booklist
“The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” by Shehan Karunatilaka — “Comic, macabre, angry and thumpingly alive… [Maali’s voice] has bite, brilliance, and sparkle… Still, the furious comedy in Mr. Karunatilaka’s novel never courts despair.”― Economist
“The Whalebone Theatre” by Joanna Quinn — “What’s remarkable, especially for a first novel, is Quinn’s deft way of depicting this lost world—whether a subsiding seaside aristocracy or a training school for British agents or a Parisian theater in wartime . . . Her vision is so fine and fully realized that it’s hard to imagine her doing anything else—and hard to have to wait to see what that might be.” —Washington Post
ADULT MYSTERY
“A World of Curiosities” by Louise Penny — “Penny delves into the nature of evil, sensitively exploring the impact of the dreadful events she describes while bringing a warmth and humanity to her disparate cast of characters that, unusually for a crime novel, leaves you feeling better about the world once you’ve finished.” ―The Guardian
“All Good People Here” by Ashley Flowers — “All Good People Here has enough twists and layers for three novels. Ashley Flowers has taken a premise familiar to true-crime fans and created a story that’s compelling and psychologically rich, with an ending that’s as unnerving as it is satisfying.” —Lou Berney
“City on Fire” by Don Winslow — “A masterwork of mob fiction. . . City on Fire does for Rhode Island what David Chase’s The Sopranos did for New Jersey. . . It’s Winslow’s ways with character, as well as his fluid narrative and highly visual scene-setting, that suggest this novel, the first in a planned trilogy, could well end up in the American-mob canon along with the works of Puzo, Scorsese and Chase.” — Washington Post
“Going Rogue” by Janet Evanovich — “Full of surprises, thrills, and humor, Going Rogue reveals a new side of Stephanie Plum, and shows Janet Evanovich at her scorching, riotous best.” — Amazon.com
“The Bangalore Detectives” by Harini Nagendra — “The first in an effervescent new mystery series by the ecology professor Harini Nagendra, The Bangalore Detectives Club turns the clock back a century. This is a treat for historical mystery lovers looking for a new series to savor (or devour).” — Sarah Weinman ― The New York Times Book Review
“The Bullets that Missed” by Richard Osman — “The Bullet That Missed hits on every front. Its quandaries stymie, its solutions thrill, its banter is worth reciting and its characters exemplify an admirable camaraderie. One can only hope that the Thursday Murder Club’s next outing appears before long.” —Wall Street Journal
“The Secrets of Winter” by Nicola Upson — “A truly brilliant twist…yet, it is the quality of writing that makes this pulpy novel not just for Christmas but for life.” —The UK Times
“The Twist of a Knife” by Anthony Horowitz — “In New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz’s ingenious fourth literary whodunit following The Word is Murder, The Sentence is Death, and A Line to Kill, Horowitz becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation—and only one man can prove his innocence: his newly estranged partner in solving crime, Detective Hawthorne.” — Publisher Annotation
“The Unkempt Woman” by Allison Montclair — “Exemplary… Montclair’s capable, funny, and fully developed leads set a gold standard.” –-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
ADULT BIOGRAPHY
“Alzheimer’s Canyon: One Couple’s Reflections on Living with Dementia” by Jane Dwinell & Sky Yardley — “… Jane Dwinell and Sky Yardley take us on a journey with them into the uncharted world of Alzheimer’s Disease. They bravely navigate the depths of Alzheimer’s Canyon, shining a light in a disorienting landscape. Their unflinching honesty about their lived experience serves as an emotional road map for anyone facing an unexpected challenge. Out of her grief, Dwinell offers this gift, and hope.” –David Goodman, bestselling author and host of The Vermont Conversation
“And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle” by John Meacham — “Biography at its best, the great historian Barbara Tuchman wrote, paints an intimate portrait of an individual which simultaneously provides a sweeping view of history. With this deep, compelling work, Jon Meacham has achieved this gold standard. Written with wisdom and grace, his story of Lincoln’s complex moral journey to Emancipation mirrors America’s long quest to live up to its founding ideals.” —Doris Kearns Goodwin
“Sigh, Gone: A Misfit’s Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock and the Fight to Fit In” by Phuc Tran — “Funny, poignant, and unsparing, Tran’s sharp, sensitive, punk-inflected memoir presents one immigrant’s quest for self-acceptance through the lens of American and European literary classics. A highly witty and topical read―an impressive debut.” ―Kirkus (starred review)
“The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times” by Michelle Obama —
“Obama’s road map for uncertain times resonates in ways that other self-help books do not. . . . Through her stories, experiences and thoughts, we’re finding the light with her.” —The New York Times
ADULT NON-FICTION
“15-Minute Ink Landscapes: Simple, Striking, Soothing Lineart of Forests, Mountains, Beaches and More” by Rosa Hoehn — “15-Minute Ink Landscapes is a great guide for beginners looking to get comfortable with drawing different nature-based designs. Rosa offers solid tips and guided examples along the way. I highly recommend this book!” ― Jason Yates, artist and founder of @Jy.Ink
“Best Road Trips Ontario & Quebec: Escapes on the Open Road” by Shawn Duthie & others — “The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet’s Ontario & Quebec’s Best Road Trips is perfect for exploring Ontario and Quebec via the road and discovering sights that are more accessible by car.” — Amazon.com
“Dorie’s Cookies” by Dorie Greenspan — “Dorie has written the perfect book to satisfy the Cookie Monster in all of us. These recipes are both classic and inventive and totally delicious.” — Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa cookbooks and television
“From Scratch: Adventures in Harvesting, Hunting, Fishing and Foraging on a Fragile Planet” by David & Jon Moscow — “This is delicious, adventuresome entertainment for the mind, soul, heart, and stomach. A dynamic, ruminative journal for food lovers and armchair globe-trotters.” — Kirkus Review
“Psychology of Positive Aging” by Ellen Heuven — “While it is undeniable that certain physical functions start to decline from a certain age, both the life stories of the interviewees and scientific literature show that psychological functioning can become more robust into old age. The women in this book are inspiring role models who show how you can grow, live a fulfilling live and achieve goals, not so much DESPITE but WITH or THANKS to aging.” — Amazon.com
“Turning Bowls with Richard Raffan” by Richard Raffan — “The worlds pre-eminent woodturning teacher provides everything you need to know to turn bowls. Richard Raffan draws upon his 30 plus years of experience to lead you through the key elements — from planning to completion.” — Amazon.com
PICTURE BOOK
“You Are Never Alone” by Elin Kelsey
JUVENILE FICTION
“Mapmaker” by Lisa Moore Ramee — “This is an exciting adventure full of friendship and heart with a likable nerdy-Black-kid protagonist…. Readers will enjoy the well-drawn characters as well as the fantastical landscapes and imaginative creatures in Walt’s magical world.” — Horn Book Magazine
JUVENILE GRAPHIC NOVELS
“Bobo and Pup-Pup: Let’s Make Cake” by Vikram Madan — “This hilarious and relatable graphic chapter book will have kids ages 5-8 laughing out loud while gaining confidence in reading.” — Amazon.com
“Bobo and Pup-Pup: The Funny Book” by Vikram Madan — “A super funny book has Pup-Pup literally laughing out loud!! Bobo wants to read it so he can laugh too, but he must wait till Pup-Pup is finished. But the more Pup-Pup laughs, the harder it is to wait! All kids know that waiting is not easy!! What happens when Bobo’s patience runs out and he takes matters into his own hands?” — Amazon.com
“Bobo and Pup-Pup: We Love Bubbles” by Vikram Madan — “Grab some bubble mix and join Pup-Pup and Bobo for a good read.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Bunnicula” by James Howe — “Before it’s too late, Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household — a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits… and fangs!” — GoodReads
“Cat Kid: Comic Club Collaborations” by Dav Pilkey — “Excitement and imagination run wild as Naomi, Melvin, Poppy, Gilbert, Curly, and their siblings get back to making comics with originality and laughter. But wait — have they cleaned their rooms yet?!” — Amazon.com
“Cat Kid: Comic Club on Purpose” by Dav Pilkey — “…. Here exploring the concept of purpose, Pilkey lets characters and readers ponder its complexity–with butt jokes keeping the tone light. While its theme is not as clearly developed as the previous volume’s, this episode nevertheless presents the series’ now-trademark winning mix of sibling hijinks and club members’ comics, rendered in a variety of styles.” — Kirkus Media LLC
“Cat’s Cradle: The Golden Twine” by Jo Rioux — “At times vividly hair-raising, the book never overwhelms the reader, making it a worthy entry in the too-small category of scary fun for middle grade readers… Thanks to Rioux’s crackerjack pace and dramatic panel composition, The Golden Twine is hard to put down.”―New York Times
“Crush” by Svetlana Chmakova — “Jorge seems to have it all together. He’s big enough that nobody really messes with him, but he’s also a genuinely sweet guy with a solid, reliable group of friends. The only time he ever really feels off his game is when he crosses paths with a certain girl… But when the group dynamic among the boys starts to shift, will Jorge be able to balance what his friends expect of him versus what he actually wants?” — Amazon.com
“Deep into the Amazon Jungle” by James O. Fraioli — “Vibrant and dramatic illustrations accompany this riverside adventure that introduces young readers to the diverse populations that reside in the Amazon. Kids will also learn about the consequences of deforestation for our entire planet—as well as the numerous ways that every person can do their share to preserve our forests, reduce waste, and help the environment.” — Amazon.com
“Enemies” by Svetlana Chmakova — “Felicity’s sure she’s going to do something big. Exactly what is still a mystery, but she’ll figure it out. Her sister, Letty, teases Felicity that she never finishes stuff, but that’s just because Letty is so perfect. Still, life is good with plenty of friends—drawing with the art club and playing games with her buddies keep her busy. But when she decides to join a contest to show Letty that she can get things done, Felicity begins to wonder if friends becoming enemies is easier than she thought. Are they really enemies, though…? What does it even mean to be enemies? And…who is it that she needs the most on her side…?” — Amazon.com
“Freestyle” by Gale Galligan — “A visually kinetic, emotionally complex story of finding a sense of self while navigating relationships and expectations. Fun and full of heart.” — School Library Journal, starred review
“Frizzy” by Claribel A. Ortega — “In the creators’ graphic novel debut, themes of anti-Blackness, colorism, and self-acceptance are explored with nuance and honesty. The subject of internalized racism is discussed in a way that will resonate with kids and families grappling with it for the first time.” ―School Library Journal, starred review
“Great White Shark Adventure” by James O. Fraioli — “This series opener will appeal most to young shark and science enthusiasts.” ― Booklist
“Green Lantern: Alliance” By Minh Le — “Tai Pham struggles with balancing school, his work in the family business, his friendships, and his new Green Lantern responsibilities. But Kid Flash arrives on the scene to become the super-hero partner Tai just might need.” — Amazon.com
“Hawai’i Sea Turtle Rescue” by James O. Fraioli — “Dive deep into this colorful and informative graphic novel adventure that brings readers up close and personal with the sea creatures of the vast and beautiful Pacific Ocean. Along the way, kids will also see how pollution and climate change can impact entire underwater ecosystems and find actionable steps that they can take to reduce waste and protect these precious reefs.” — Amazon.com
“I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944” by Lauren Tarshis — “… Lauren Tarshis’s New York Times bestselling I Survived series takes on vivid new life in this explosive graphic novel edition. Includes nonfiction back matter with historical photos and facts about World War II and the Holocaust.” — Amazon.com
“Investigators: Heist and Seek” by John Patrick Green — “Mango and Brash go undercover and under canvas as internationally renowned painters to expose a crook who has truly mastered the art of CRIME! Can they recover the missing masterpieces and save the city art museum’s fundraising gala before it’s too late…and they run out of appetizers? Find out in this latest pièce de résistance of action-packed illustrated fun.” — Amazon.com
“Invisible” by Christina Diaz Gonzalez & Gabriela Epstein — “Invisible celebrates individuality and community while transcending language barriers.” – Bookpage, starred review
“Journey Under the Arctic” by James O. Fraioli — “Join the team on this deep-sea expedition, and learn how the changing climate affects the ocean and its inhabitants, and discover what you can do to help save the planet!” — Amazon.com
“Leon the Extraordinary” by Jamar Nicholas — “In the city where Leon lives, superheroes — and supervillains — are commonplace. So how does an ordinary kid like Leon, who has no superpowers himself, become the superhero he wants to be? When all his classmates suddenly become obsessed with a new phone app that turns them into zombies, Leon gets his chance to prove that using his brain and following his heart can save the day.” — Amazon.com
“Miles Morales: Stranger Tides” by Justin A. Reynolds — “Miles Morales has just about gotten used to this being Spider-Man thing. Keeping Brooklyn safe, taking down bad guys, and finishing his homework―he’s got this! But when Spider-Man is invited to a launch for a brand-new video game, things go sideways fast. Anyone who plays the game is frozen, and it’s all because of a villain named the Stranger. He’s judged humanity and found it lacking, and his idea of justice is extreme.” — Amazon.com
“My Aunt is a Monster” by Reimena Yee — “Safia is an irresistible lead, and her innate sense of wonder and longing for adventure… is heartwarming to the very last page.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Nat Enough” by Maria Scrivan — “What elevates Maria Scrivan’s graphic novel is the refreshing honesty with which it approaches its subject matter. The tone is instructive but not preachy, as Natalie develops her talents as a cartoonist and discovers her individuality, which brings her not only the acceptance of others but, more importantly, self-acceptance.” — Financial Times
“Nico Bravo and the Cellar Dwellers” by Mike Cavallaro — “Orcus mistakenly unleashes a dangerous ‘Misery’ from the God of Misfortune’s pouch, threatening everyone in the Supply Shop, but also discovers the missing link between Nico, the Unicorn Wars, and Reality itself! What will happen to Nico and his friends when all their troubles converge in a desperate battle for the fate of the Universe?” — Amazon.com
“Nico Bravo and the Hound of Hades” by Mike Cavallaro — “But Nico’s world is about to be turned upside down, and it’s all thanks his latest customer: Eowulf, the pint-size descendant of the monster slayer Beowulf. Determined to carry on the family business, this would-be warrior plans to slay Cerberus, the terrifying, three-headed hound of Hades. There’s just one problem―Cerberus is the only thing preventing the hordes of the Underworld from entering the land of the living. Can Nico stop Eowulf from unleashing a zombie apocalypse?” — Amazon.com
“Nico Bravo and the Trial of Vulcan” by Mike Cavallaro — “Awesome fight sequences, imaginative onomatopoeia, and nonstop hilarity make for a brightly colored, fast-paced saga…Another on-brand entry in this fun, melting pot of mythologies.”―School Library Journal
“Prunella and the Cursed Skull Ring” by Matthew Loux — “This fun and spooky adventure has a twist that readers do not want to miss, and it serves as an effective and playful reminder to not judge based on appearances, encouraging young readers to be their most authentic selves.”―Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Shark Princess” by Nidhi Chanani — “A finny, funny foray that encourages inclusivity even when it comes to play.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Sir Ladybug” by Corey R. Tabor — “Visual humor, tongue-in-cheek declarations, and knock-knock jokes add to the fun absurdity of a story that subverts the natural phenomenon of a bird eating a bug. An endearing testament to the joys of friendship.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Sir Ladybug and the Bookworms” by Corey R. Tabor — “Tabor keeps the laughs coming in this new addition to his wonderful graphic-reader series. Though the bookish jokes and underlying message about everyone being welcome at the library will make it a particular favorite among librarians, kids will get a kick out of the story’s elevation of a common scenario…into a full-blown quest.” — Booklist
“Sir Ladybug and the Queen Bee” by Corey R. Tabor -“A gentle but fiercely loyal ladybug knight is joined by his faithful herald (a roly-poly bug who gets a little nervous sometimes but loves to loudly tell anyone who’ll listen how great his friends are) and his steed/squire (a snail with a surprisingly spacious shell and a love of adventure) in Tabor’s first two installments of a graphic-novel series for the early-reader set. …” — The Horn Book-
“Smaller Sister” by Maggie Edkins Willis — “The accessible tone and format allow a difficult topic to be gently revealed with painful honesty balanced by humor and silliness… Compassionately approaches the stigma and mystery surrounding eating disorders.” ―Kirkus, starred review
“The Bad Guys in the Others?!” by Aaron Blabey — “This book instantly joins the classic ranks of Captain Underpants and The Stinky Cheese Man. We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“The Cardboard Kingdom” by Chad Sell — “Readers may be inspired to craft their own cardboard kingdom after finishing the book. A must-have.”—School Library Journal, starred review
“The Cool Code” by Deirdre Langeland — “A humorous exploration of cracking the middle school social code for anyone craving more personified snarky llamas in their lives.” — School Library Journal
“The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza” by Mac Barnett — “Readers looking for the outer space high jinks and gentle humor of Brockington’s Catstronauts and the imaginative and fantastical worldbuilding of Andrews’s This Was Our Pact need look no further than this laugh-out-loud tale of the first cat in space.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“The Wondrous Wonders” by Camille Jourdy — “This is a must-buy for any library, packed with humor and heart.” ―School Library Journal
“Wings of Fire: Moon Rising” by Tui Sutherland — “Peace has finally settled on the kingdom of Pyrrhia. The former “dragonets of destiny” have started an academy for young dragons like themselves. One promising student, Moonwatcher, begins to discover her own secret powers and must decide if she should use them when the academy is threatened.” — THE HORN BOOK, c2015.
YOUNG ADULT FICTION
“Anne of Greenville” by Mariko Tamaki — “Every page of this glittery disco ball of a book explodes with imagination, effervescence, and joy ― prepare to find a kindred spirit in this thoroughly modern Anne Shirley.”―Sarah Kuhn, author of From Little Tokyo, with Love
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
“A Quick & Easy Guide to Asexuality” by Molly Muldoon & Will Hernandez — “This is a clear-cut primer for readers looking to support an ace person in their own life or those questioning their own identity.” ― Publishers Weekly
“Arden High: Twelfth Grade Night” by Molly Booth — “High school pranks, youthful dialogue, and a bright color palette make for a fun and inviting comedy to dive into, and a charismatic supporting cast offers plenty of material for more Shakespearean hijinks in future volumes.” ―The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
“Coming Back” by Jessi Zarbarsky — “A beautiful story of two young women who are so focused on proving they’re meant to be together that they end up hurting each other in the process. This gorgeous graphic novel is an LGTBQ+ romance about young love and how it can grow into something strong no matter what obstacles get in the way.” — Amazon.com
“Demon in the Wood” by Leigh Bardugo & Dani Pendergast — “An absolutely vital addition to the Shadow and Bone world…centering on the Darkling when he was just a boy, this tragic and beautiful story adds layers to the villain we know and the scared child he once was.” ― Nerdist
“Dinosaur Sanctuary” by Itaru Kinoshita — “A richly detailed manga about a rookie zookeeper learning how to care for dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes, sure to delight dinosaur lovers!” — Amazon.com
“Giantess: The Story of the Girl who Traveled the World in Search of Freedom” by J. C. Deveney — “A giant baby girl is found and adopted by a local family who bring her back to their village. She grows to become an even bigger giant, learning lifeâs lessons complicated even further by her enormous size and uniqueness. Can she weather a society that faces her with frightened hostility and prejudice to find live and, ultimately, the freedom to be herself? A wonderous, fantastical tale of feminism, difference, love, freedom, and the quest to be oneself.” — Publisher Annotation:
“Lore of Olympus: Volume Three” by Rachel Smythe — “If eyes could eat, [Lore Olympus] would be a feast. Smythe’s artistic style features bright washes of color and bold, suggestive lines. . . . It’s paced as a soap opera, all drawn-out tensions and long-simmering secrets, and I, for one, am thrilled to be along for the ride.”—New York Times Book Review
“Passport” by Sophia Glock — “A rare peek behind the curtain into life as the daughter of U.S. intelligence officers, this is a story full of secrets that expertly unfold one by one. …”―School Library Journal
“The Heartstopper Yearbook” by Alice Oseman — “Realistic yet uplifting, this tale of self-discovery will make readers’ hearts skip a beat.” — School Library Journal
“Tuki: Fight for Fire” by Jeff Smith — “Fans of classic adventure will not be disappointed… Smith (BONE) goes prehistoric in this fabulously drawn anthropological fantasy…. the characters and scenery remain consistently stunning to gaze at, page after page.” — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
YOUNG ADULT NON-FICTION
“Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants” by Robin Wall Kimmerer — “With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation.” — Amazon.com