Since no one can see our staff pick shelves in person, here they are virtually. Enjoy!
An orphanage for magical children, a cast of quirky characters, and a story that fills you with so much warmth and happiness that you wish it would never end. It's a delightful tale that gives you a much needed breath of fresh air. - Konner
I never wanted to live in New York before reading this book. I also never wanted to fall in love with a girl stuck in time on a grimy subway, but here we are. This lively love story of August and Jane is sure to lift your spirits and make you believe in love again (if you ever stopped). - Konner
As with every Claire Fuller book I've read (and I highly recommend them all), her beautiful prose, complicated characters, and intricate plots drew me into the world and consumed me completely. You'll get lost in the lives of these characters that are so effortlessly stretched out before you through the letters from the characters' pasts and their present day struggles as truths about their family are revealed. It's engaging and enchanting, and you'll think about it long after you've finished it. - Konner
Our main character makes a big mistake at the beginning of the book and traps himself in an alternate timeline much worse than his own (hint: it's our timeline). This book is time travel mixed with just enough of a love story that it makes it perfect for any fiction reader. The strong narrative voice and time travel shenanigans create a book that's nearly impossible to put down. - Konner
Shana Youngdahl brings starkly real characters to the forefront of her debut YA novel that each have their own personal struggles and stories that are wholly unique to those individuals, yet universal to its readers. Scarlett is a deeply honest and flawed character that you'll want to follow through this non-linear, winding narrative of her experiences told through incredible prose. Difficult topics and choices are met head-on with care, heart, and respect. It's a novel that doesn't talk down to its readers that can be both for YA readers and adults alike! - Konner
I want to climb inside these illustrations and explore them forever. The bold colors and flowing lines bring every page alive and captures readers immediately as we follow this young student on their first day of school along the Mekong River Delta. While it offers a glimpse at an experience very different from a lot of American students, it also draws universal parallels that provides a window into another part of the world. - Steph
Imagine that to join the Men in Black you have to attend a Camp Half-Blood style summer camp that is hosted inside the Ministry of Magic and you’ll begin to understand the challenge in front of Amari. Her new powers have been deemed too dangerous to train, but if she doesn’t make it through to the end of the summer she might never find out about the truth of what happened to her older brother. This is the beginning of an exciting new adventure series filled with heart and determination that is sure to become a favorite in every middle grade collection.
Charlie is beautiful and smart and creative and stylish and passionate, but sometimes she loses sight of that because it feels like there is only one thing the rest of the world notices: she's fat. And how can she forget it when her best friend is so... not.
This is a book to help readers navigate difficult conversations with parents, with friends, and with themselves as they learn to embrace the love they deserve. What I wouldn't give to have known Charlie when I was her age, and I can't begin to describe the joy I feel knowing others will. - Steph
THE PROJECT delves into the complexity of being wanted and finding purpose, making readers question how far they would go to find answers and whether they can discern the truth from desires--or if they even really want to. A tale of sisterhood wrapped in a roiling bundle of anticipation, this book pulls you in quickly and doesn't look back. - Steph
Perfect for fans of THE OVERSTORY, GREENWOOD takes place in the not too distant future when an event known as "The Withering" has destroyed most of the world's forests. The last living forest (located in Canada) has become a sanctuary where only the very wealthy can visit. We follow Jake Greenwood, a botanist and defacto tour guide for the preserve, as she learns that her connection to the GREENWOOD FOREST may be stronger than originally known. - Emily
A stunning, heartbreaking novel of the opioid epidemic. While it pulls no punches, it is simultaneously breathtakingly honest and generous. In writing about the place where faith and science meet and rub up against one another, Gyasi manages to capture that confusion? emptiness? beauty? where neither faith nor science alone can provide the necessary answers to healing grief. - Emily
Maybe it's COVID, maybe it's me, but I've been leaning hard into mysteries and horror stories lately. THE DEEP combines this clearly twisted need of mine to consume stories worse than the timeline we're currently living (why, I don't know...your guess is as good as mine) with my teenage obsession with the ill-fated Titanic. Alma Katsu's THE DEEP takes on the well-known story of the sinking of the Titanic, but adds a twist -- what if the ship was doomed from the very beginning? What if the ship was in fact haunted by evil spirits? It's deliciously creepy, so if you're interested in trying some horror novels without diving straight in, THE DEEP might be the perfect book for you to get your toes wet in. - Emily
I read this on the recommendation of author Chris Holm, who loved the fresh narrative structure of this novel and its unlikely protagonist and boy was he right. It's a classic who-dun-it, but with a fun twist. Our protagonist and hero comes in the form of a film editor. It's an enjoyable feminist take on the procedural page-turner, but what I loved most about this book is how much I learned about the process of film editing and how a movie gets made. It's fun and fresh, so if you're looking for a new mystery to try, this is a good one. - Emily
I loved Kaitlyn Greenidge's last book, and this one absolutely delivers! I can't think of a more interesting mother-daughter dynamic set in both time and place that is vivid and heart-wrenching and captivating. -Gracie
A western meets Handmaid's Tale in this amazing combination of speculative fiction. I found myself holding my breath throughout this entire book! - Gracie
Looking at the intersection of magic, science, and religion, this book distills the thread we are most likely to dismiss nowadays when in reality the other two would likely not exist without it. As someone who reads a lot of fantasy, this is the perfect non-fiction companion. - Gracie
I have been going through a phase after reading up on the NXIVM cult of suburbia-gone-wrong, stories about enigmatic sociopath men and the women who foil them, so this eerie suburban thriller caught my eye instantly. - Gracie
This book was hyped up everywhere for the past few months, so my only thought is FINALLY! As Lina Rather says "sad spaceboys in love romance of your dreams". - Gracie
I am not usually an avid reader of short stories, but woah boy, Philyaw's collection drew me in, tossed me around a bit, and then spit me out at the other end wanting more. Each story is clearly individual and complete yet the combination of them together tells a clear story of women's identities, physicality, needs and wants, all juxtaposed against the backdrop of the church and its expectations and teachings. Haunting, sometimes humorous, sensual, and honest. I loved this collection. - Becca
The ways in which Lawson describes her mental and physical illnesses are unflinchingly honest and sincere, yet gentle and created with such care and then WHAM she has you in tears laughing over cockchafer larvae, losing shoes to elevators, and the insanity that is life. This book is utterly and unfailingly human and I can't recommend it enough for anyone searching for a good laugh and a deep dive into what living with mental illnesses feels like and looks like.
Thank you, Jenny Lawson, for this book, for your encouragement to always embrace your beasties and for the laughter you bring to the world even while struggling with the dark. - Becca
HOW TO ORDER THE UNIVERSE is an eccentric gem; a quick read that is surprisingly grand in its scope and potency. - Becca
