Our annual librarian-curated roundup of books, TV shows, movies, and music is here! Explore staff favorites across every age and interest. Discover our staff’s favorite teen fiction and nonfiction titles on this page or browse more using the links below.
Adult fiction: General | Adult fiction: Romance, lives & relationships |
Adult fiction: Thriller, graphic novel, sci-fi & fantasy | Adult nonfiction |
Teen fiction & nonfiction | Kids books | Picture books | Movies & TV shows | Music
Teen fiction & nonfiction
Absolute Wonder Woman: Volume 1, The Last Amazon by Kelly Thompson
Why you should try it: “Goth Wonder Woman with a big sword and skeleton horse? It’s like this was made just for me!” —Andrea, Collections Services Library Clerk
Description: In a different, darker world, Diana of Themyscira was not raised in paradise, but instead was exiled to the underworld as a baby and raised by an enemy. Darkness and exile did not destroy her; instead, they made her all the stronger—honed into an even greater weapon by tragedy, danger, and magic. Long denied her Amazonian heritage, Diana has finally reached the time for her to rejoin the surface world. Armed with new weapons forged in Hell, and a mission that looks a bit more like justice than peace, Diana will not be stopped on her quest to save the world and discover her place in it, even if that means carving it herself.
Angelica & the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen
Why you should try it: “I absolutely adored this graphic novel! There are such sweet and heartwarming lessons of identity and growing into oneself when in the company of people who love and care for you. The fairy tale elements sprinkled throughout the plot and their ties to contemporary issues that we as people face today were also lovely! Of course, I’m a sucker for a sweet romance, and this story definitely delivered on that front too.” —Camila, Patron Services Library Assistant
Description: Angelica was the girl who could do it all—until suddenly, she couldn’t. Now, after some very low moments, she’s ready to get her life back together, thanks to her friends and one very surprising source of comfort. A bear. Peri is the mascot of the local theater. He’s been sending Angelica supportive messages from his social. They’ve become friends, and Angelica might even have . . . a crush? Determined to find the human behind the bear costume, Angelica gets an internship at the theater. She might never go back to being the girl who can do everything, but perhaps she is becoming the girl who can magically have it all.
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal & the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming
Why you should try it: “I’ve heard of Jonestown, but I never really knew the details; it was so much more horrific than I ever dreamed. This is such a timely, masterful look at how Jim Jones became who he was and how cleverly he manipulated thousands of people. I think this should be required reading in high school, and for adults, too.” —Shelley, Children’s Services Librarian
Description: Using riveting first-person accounts, author Candace Fleming reveals the makings of a monster: from Jones’s humble origins as a child of the Depression to his founding of a group whose idealistic promises of equality and justice attracted thousands of followers to his relocation of Temple headquarters from California to an unsettled territory in Guyana, South America, which he dubbed “Jonestown” to his transformation of Peoples Temple into a nefarious experiment in mind-control.
Empty Heaven by Freddie Kölsch
Why you should try it: “This book is a wild folk story style hayride through a small town in New England. The ragtag team of teenagers set on protecting their chosen family find themselves up against dark magic, cursed scarecrows, and a mob mentality in the face of both mass and personal tragedy.” —Maya, Collections Services Supervising Librarian
Description: Darian Sabine Arden is haunted by a monster who claims to love her. Her only respite is the New England village where she spends summers with her three best friends. Kesuquosh is serene and idyllic, and the townsfolk’s odd worship of a godlike scarecrow only adds to the charming local color. But when Darian pays a surprise Halloween visit to her summer crush—a beautiful, unreadable girl named KJ—just in time to see her swept up in a bizarre harvest ritual, she’s forced to admit that Good Arcturus is more than a quaint superstition. He’s terrifyingly real.
The Leaving Room by Amber McBride
Why you should try it: “This novel in verse about Keepers in the afterlife was unlike anything I’ve ever read. Gorgeous and deeply moving.” —Jenna, Collection Management Librarian
Description: Gospel is the Keeper of the Leaving Room—a place all young people must phase through when they die. The young are never ready to leave; they need a moment to remember and a Keeper to help their wispy souls along. When a random door opens, and a Keeper named Melodee arrives, their souls become entangled. Gospel’s seriousness melts, and Melodee’s fear of connection fades, but still—are Keepers allowed to fall in love? Now they must find a way out of the Leaving Room and be unafraid of their love.
The Meadowbrook Murders by Jessica Goodman
Why you should try it: “This twisty thriller set at a boarding school in Connecticut will satisfy your dark academia craving and have you on your toes until the last page.” —Maddie, Patron Services Library Assistant & Fiona, Middle School Librarian
Description: It’s the first week of senior year at Meadowbrook Academy. For Amy and her best friend Sarah, that means late-night parties at the boathouse, bike rides through their sleepy Connecticut town, and the crisp beginning of a New England fall. Then tragedy strikes—Sarah and her boyfriend are brutally murdered in their dorm room. Now the week Amy has been dreaming about for years has turned into a nightmare, especially when all eyes turn to her as the culprit. Liz, editor of the school newspaper and social outcast, is determined to uncover the truth about what happened on campus, in hopes her reporting will land a prestigious college scholarship. The deeper Liz digs, the messier the truth becomes—and with a killer still on campus, she can’t afford to make any mistakes.
The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith
Why you should try it: “Victorian-era London setting. Magic fae romance. This duology opener felt tailor-made for me, and I’m anxiously waiting for book two next year!” —Jenna, Collection Management Librarian
Description: Ivy Benton must enter into a marriage contest with a fae prince in order to free her sister from a bargain previously made with the vicious fae queen of England.
Stardust Family by Aki Poroyama
Why you should try it: “The ending had me in my feels.” —Andrea, Collection Management Librarian
Description: In the midst of a declining birth rate and rampant reports of child abuse, Japan has required prospective parents to pass a test for the right to conceive. The test’s evaluators are children themselves, deliberately behaving badly to provoke couples into an aggressive response and disqualify them on the spot. Hikari is one such evaluator in this system, and he thinks he’s seen it all—that is, until he’s assigned to the Hirokawa family…
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Why you should try it: “Suzanne Collins returns with a new addition to The Hunger Games, this time centered on Haymitch Abernathy. As someone who grew up with these books, I’m thrilled for any excuse to revisit the series. Sunrise on the Reaping is packed with clever easter eggs and offers new characters, new details, and a new perspective on Panem, all of which make the original trilogy hit that much harder. The story is beautiful and will grip you by the heart. This installment definitely spoke for and reflected the world we are living in today. Bonus points for being a great audiobook with a narrator whose voice I could listen to all day!” —Camila, Patron Services Library Assistant, Fiona, Middle School Librarian & Maddie, Patron Services Library Assistant
Description: As the day dawns on the 50th annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves. When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.
Ultimate X-Men: Volume 2, Children of the Atom by Peach Momoko
Why you should try it: “I love Peach Momoko’s creepy watercolors, and I like her versions of X-Men characters blended with Japanese folk horror.” —Andrea, Collections Services Library Clerk
Description: Meet the mutants’ new mentor, Psylocke! After recent climactic events and the surprise new teammate they found, Mei, Hisako, Nico, and the mutants need some guidance. Fortunately, the mysterious Kanon is an older student with a surprising amount of expertise. But bigger questions remain: What exactly are mutants? Where do they come from? And how has the Maker’s Council been keeping them under control?