books on my shelf

Under the Whispering Door

Tj Klune • 2023

A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND INDIE BESTSELLER<br/>One of Buzzfeed's "Best Books of 2022"!<br/>An Indie Next Pick!<br/>A Locus Awards Top Ten Finalist for Fantasy Novel<br/><br/>A Man Called Ove meets The Good Place in Under the Whispering Door, a delightful queer love story from TJ Klune, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The House in the Cerulean Sea.<br/><br/>Welcome to Charon's Crossing.<br/>The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through.<br/><br/>When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.<br/><br/>And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.<br/><br/>But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.<br/><br/>Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.

The Stolen Heir

HOLLY BLACK • 2023

A Magic Steeped in Poison (The Book of Tea, 1)

Judy I. Lin • 2022

Rule of Wolves (King of Scars Duology, 2)

Leigh Bardugo • 2021

<p><b>Instant #1 <i>New York Times </i>Bestseller!<br><br>Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fantasy!<br></b><br><b>See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, <i>Shadow and Bone </i>-- Season 2 streaming now!</b><br><br><b>Discover what comes next for the daring rogue Nikolai in the riveting sequel to <i>King of Scars </i>from #1 bestselling author, Leigh Bardugo.</b><br><br><b>The Demon King.</b> As Fjerda’s massive army prepares to invade, Nikolai Lantsov will summon every bit of his ingenuity and charm—and even the monster within—to win this fight. But a dark threat looms that cannot be defeated by a young king’s gift for the impossible.<br><br><b>The Stormwitch. </b>Zoya Nazyalensky has lost too much to war. She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected, and she refuses to bury another friend. Now duty demands she embrace her powers to become the weapon her country needs. No matter the cost.<br><br><b>The Queen of Mourning. </b>Deep undercover, Nina Zenik risks discovery and death as she wages war on Fjerda from inside its capital. But her desire for revenge may cost her country its chance at freedom and Nina the chance to heal her grieving heart.<br><br><b>King. General. Spy.</b> Together they must find a way to forge a future in the darkness. Or watch a nation fall.<br><br>Read all the books in the Grishaverse!<br><br><b>The Shadow and Bone Trilogy</b><br>(previously published as The Grisha Trilogy)<br><i>Shadow and Bone</i><br><i>Siege and Storm</i><br><i>Ruin and Rising</i><br><br><b>The Six of Crows Duology</b><br><i>Six of Crows</i><br><i>Crooked Kingdom</i><br><br><b>The King of Scars Duology</b><br><i>King of Scars</i><br><i>Rule of Wolves</i><br><br><i>The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic</i><br><i>The Severed Moon: A Year-Long Journal of Magic<br>The Lives of Saints<br>Demon in the Wood Graphic Novel</i><br><br><b>Praise for the Grishaverse</b><br><br>“A master of fantasy.” —<i>The Huffington Post</i><br>“Utterly, extremely bewitching.” —<i>The Guardian</i><br>“This is what fantasy is for.” —<i>The New York Times Book Review</i><br>“A world that feels real enough to have its own passport stamp.” —NPR<br>“The darker it gets for the good guys, the better.” —<i>Entertainment Weekly</i><br>“Sultry, sweeping and picturesque. . . . Impossible to put down.” —<i>USA Today</i><br>“There’s a level of emotional and historical sophistication within Bardugo’s original epic fantasy that sets it apart.” —<i>Vanity Fair</i><br>“Unlike anything I’ve ever read.” —Veronica Roth, bestselling author of <i>Divergent</i><br>“Bardugo crafts a first-rate adventure, a poignant romance, and an intriguing mystery!” —Rick Riordan, bestselling author of the Percy Jackson series</p>

King of Scars (King of Scars Duology, 1)

Leigh Bardugo • 2019

No One Knows What Nikolai Lantsov Endured In His Country's Bloody Civil War. Now Enemies Gather At His Weakened Borders, And The Young King Must Find A Way To Refill Ravka's Coffers, Forge New Alliances, And Stop A Rising Threat To The Once-great Grisha Army. Zoya Nazyalensky Is Devoted To Rebuilding The Army -- But She Also Has Enemies To Conquer. Nina Zenik Wages Her Own War To Save The Grisha -- And Must Face The Pain Of Her Past. As A Dark Magic Within Nikolai Grows Stronger, He Must Journey Where The Deepest Magic Survives -- And Vanquish The Terrible Legacy Inside Him. -- Adapted From Jacket

The House in the Cerulean Sea

TJ Klune • 2020

A Magical Island. A Dangerous Task. A Burning Secret. Linus Baker Leads A Quiet, Solitary Life. At Forty, He Lives In A Tiny House With A Devious Cat And His Old Records. As A Case Worker At The Department In Charge Of Magical Youth, He Spends His Days Overseeing The Well-being Of Children In Government-sanctioned Orphanages. When Linus Is Unexpectedly Summoned By Extremely Upper Management He's Given A Curious And Highly Classified Assignment: Travel To Marsyas Island Orphanage, Where Six Dangerous Children Reside: A Gnome, A Sprite, A Wyvern, An Unidentifiable Green Blob, A Were-pomeranian, And The Antichrist. Linus Must Set Aside His Fears And Determine Whether Or Not They're Likely To Bring About The End Of Days. But The Children Aren't The Only Secret The Island Keeps. Their Caretaker Is The Charming And Enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, Who Will Do Anything To Keep His Wards Safe. As Arthur And Linus Grow Closer, Long-held Secrets Are Exposed, And Linus Must Make A Choice: Destroy A Home Or Watch The World Burn. An Enchanting Story, Masterfully Told, The House In The Cerulean Sea Is About The Profound Experience Of Discovering An Unlikely Family In An Unexpected Place-and Realizing That Family Is Yours--

The Bronzed Beasts

Roshani Chokshi • 2022

Returning To The Dark And Glamorous 19th Century World Of Her New York Times Instant Bestseller, The Gilded Wolves, Roshani Chokshi Dazzles Us With The Final Riveting Tale As Full Of Mystery And Danger As Ever In The Bronzed Beasts. After Séverin's Seeming Betrayal, The Crew Is Fractured. Armed With Only A Handful Of Hints, Enrique, Laila, Hypnos And Zofia Must Find Their Way Through The Snarled, Haunted Waterways Of Venice, Italy To Locate Séverin. Meanwhile, Séverin Must Balance The Deranged Whims Of The Patriarch Of The Fallen House And Discover The Location Of A Temple Beneath A Plague Island Where The Divine Lyre Can Be Played And All That He Desires Will Come To Pass. With Only Ten Days Until Laila Expires, The Crew Will Face Plague Pits And Deadly Masquerades, Unearthly Songs And The Shining Steps Of A Temple Whose Powers Might Offer Divinity Itself...but The Price Of Godhood May Just Cost Them Everything They Hold Dear.

Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves, 2)

Roshani Chokshi • 2021

The Gilded Wolves: A Novel

Roshani Chokshi • 2019

The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air Book 3)

Holly Black • 2019

<b>A powerful curse forces the exiled Queen of Faerie to choose between ambition and humanity in this highly anticipated and jaw-dropping finale to The Folk of the Air trilogy from a #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author.</b><br><br><i>He will be the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne</i><br><br>Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.<br><br>Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan's betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her twin sister, Taryn, whose life is in peril.<br><br>Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict's bloody politics.<br><br>And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity . . .<br>

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air Book 2)

Holly Black • 2019

<b>The enchanting and bloodthirsty sequel to the <i>New York Times </i>bestselling novel <i>The Cruel Prince.</i></b><br><i>You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.</i><i><br></i><i>The first lesson is to make yourself strong.</i><i><br></i>After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.<br>When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air Book 1)

Holly Black • 2018

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, comes the first book in a stunning new series about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a web of royal faerie intrigue. Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe. Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him--and face the consequences. In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

Piranesi

Susanna Clarke • 2020

New York Times Bestseller Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction World Fantasy Awards Finalist From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality. Piranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house. There is one other person in the house-a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known. For readers of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller's Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds.

The Burning God (The Poppy War, 3)

R. F Kuang • 2021

The exciting end to the Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang’s acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.<br/>After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.<br/>Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much—the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges—and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.<br/>Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix’s intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it?

The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War, 2)

R. F Kuang • 2020

Rin’s story continues in this acclaimed sequel to The Poppy War—an epic fantasy combining the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters.<br/><br/>The war is over.<br/>The war has just begun.<br/>Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has just ended, shaman and warrior Rin cannot forget the atrocity she committed to save her people. Now she is on the run from her guilt, the opium addiction that holds her like a vice, and the murderous commands of the fiery Phoenix—the vengeful god who has blessed Rin with her fearsome power.<br/>Though she does not want to live, she refuses to die until she avenges the traitorous Empress who betrayed Rin’s homeland to its enemies. Her only hope is to join forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who plots to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new republic.<br/>But neither the Empress nor the Dragon Warlord are what they seem. The more Rin witnesses, the more she fears her love for Nikan will force her to use the Phoenix’s deadly power once more.<br/>Because there is nothing Rin won’t sacrifice to save her country . . . and exact her vengeance.

The Poppy War: A Novel

R. F. Kuang • 2018

One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time “I have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the year...I have absolutely no doubt that [Kuang’s] name will be up there with the likes of Robin Hobb and N.K. Jemisin.” -- Booknest From #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, the brilliantly imaginative debut of R.F. Kuang: an epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liu’s Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy. When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising. But surprises aren’t always good. Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school. For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . . Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.

Crooked Kingdom

Leigh Bardugo • 2016

See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone -- Season 2 streaming now! Discover what comes next for Kaz, Jesper, Inej, and Wylan, and the star-crossed Nina and Matthias, in Crooked Kingdom, the spectacular sequel to Six of Crows. When you can’t beat the odds, change the game. Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets—a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world. #1 New York Times bestseller The Six of Crows Duology Six of Crows Crooked Kingdom Praise for the Grishaverse “A master of fantasy.” ―The Huffington Post “Utterly, extremely bewitching.” ―The Guardian

Six of Crows

Leigh Bardugo • 2015

<p><b>See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series,<i> Shadow and Bone</i> -- Season 2 streaming now!</b><br><br><b>Meet Kaz Brekker and his crew: Jesper, Inej, Wylan, and the star-crossed Nina and Matthias, on the heist of a lifetime in <i>Six of Crows </i>from #1 bestselling author, Leigh Bardugo. </b><br><br> Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone. . . .<br><br> <i>A convict with a thirst for revenge.<br><br> A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.<br><br> A runaway with a privileged past.<br><br> A spy known as the Wraith.<br><br> A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. <br><br> A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. </i><br><br> Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.<br><br> <i>Six of Crows</i> by Leigh Bardugo returns to the breathtaking world of the Grishaverse in this unforgettable tale about the opportunity—and the adventure—of a lifetime.<br><br> Read all the books in the Grishaverse!<br><br> <b><u>The Shadow and Bone Trilogy </u></b><br> (previously published as The Grisha Trilogy)<br> <i>Shadow and Bone</i><br> <i>Siege and Storm</i><br> <i>Ruin and Rising</i><br><br> <b><u>The Six of Crows Duology</u></b><br> <i>Six of Crows</i><br> <i>Crooked Kingdom</i><br><br> <b><u>The King of Scars Duology</u></b><br> <i>King of Scars<br> Rule of Wolves</i><br><br> <i>The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic</i><br> <i>The Severed Moon: A Year-Long Journal of Magic<br> The Lives of Saints</i></p>

White Nights

Fyodor Dostoyevsky • 2016

'My God! A whole minute of bliss! Is that really so little for the whole of a man's life?' A poignant tale of love and loneliness from Russia's foremost writer. One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Penguin Classics)

James Joyce • 2003

James Joyce's coming-of-age story, a tour de force of style and technique<br/><br/>The first, shortest, and most approachable of James Joyce’s novels, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man portrays the Dublin upbringing of Stephen Dedalus, from his youthful days at Clongowes Wood College to his radical questioning of all convention. In doing so, it provides an oblique self-portrait of the young Joyce himself. At its center lie questions of origin and source, authority and authorship, and the relationship of an artist to his family, culture, and race. Exuberantly inventive in style, the novel subtly and beautifully orchestrates the patterns of quotation and repetition instrumental in its hero’s quest to create his own character, his own language, life, and art: “to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race.”<br/><br/>This Penguin Classics edition is the definitive text, authorized by the Joyce estate and collated from all known proofs, manuscripts, and impressions to reflect the author’s original wishes.<br/><br/>For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Letters to a Young Poet (Penguin Classics)

Rainer Maria Rilke • 2014

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde • 2023

“The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray<br/><br/>The Picture of Dorian Gray is a 1891 gothic and philosophical novel by Irish writer and playwright Oscar Wilde. First published as a serial story in the July 1890 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, the editors feared the story was indecent, and without Wilde's knowledge, deleted five hundred words before publication.<br/><br/>Despite that censorship, The Picture of Dorian Gray offended the moral sensibilities of British book reviewers, some of whom said that Oscar Wilde merited prosecution for violating the laws guarding the public morality. In response, Wilde aggressively defended his novel and art in correspondence with the British press.<br/><br/>Wilde revised and expanded the magazine edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) for publication as a novel; the book edition (1891) featured an aphoristic preface — an apologia about the art of the novel and the reader. The content, style and presentation of the preface made it famous in its own literary right, as social and cultural criticism. In April 1891, the editorial house Ward, Lock and Company published the revised version of The Picture of Dorian Gray.<br/><br/>A True Classic that Belongs on Every Bookshelf!

Frankenstein: The 1818 Text (Penguin Classics)

Mary Shelley • 2018

<b>Mary Shelley’s classic novel, presented in its original 1818 text, with an introduction from National Book Critics Circle award-winner Charlotte Gordon</b><br>  <br> <b>Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s <i>The Great American Read</i></b><br>  <br>The original 1818 text of <i>Frankenstein</i> preserves the hard-hitting and politically-charged aspects of Shelley’s original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice. This edition also emphasizes Shelley’s relationship with her mother—trailblazing feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, who penned <i>A Vindication of the Rights of Woman</i>—and demonstrates her commitment to carrying forward her mother’s ideals, placing her in the context of a feminist legacy rather than the sole female in the company of male poets, including Percy Shelley and Lord Byron.<br>  <br> This edition includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by National Book Critics Circle award-winner and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon, and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson. <br>  <br>Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics)

Alexandre Dumas père • 2003

Alexandre Dumas’s epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment—nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read<br/><br/>Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo, and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration.<br/><br/>Robin Buss’s lively translation is complete and unabridged, and remains faithful to the style of Dumas’s original. This edition includes an introduction, explanatory notes, and suggestions for further reading.<br/><br/>Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Stationery Shop

Marjan Kamali • 2020

A poignant, heartfelt new novel by the award-nominated author of Together Tea—extolled by the Wall Street Journal as a “moving tale of lost love” and by Shelf Awareness as “a powerful, heartbreaking story”—explores loss, reconciliation, and the quirks of fate.<br/><br/>Roya, a dreamy, idealistic teenager living amid the political upheaval of 1953 Tehran, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhri’s neighborhood stationery shop, stocked with books and pens and bottles of jewel-colored ink.<br/><br/>Then Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer—handsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumi’s poetry—and she loses her heart at once. Their romance blossoms, and the little stationery shop remains their favorite place in all of Tehran.<br/><br/>A few short months later, on the eve of their marriage, Roya agrees to meet Bahman at the town square when violence erupts—a result of the coup d’etat that forever changes their country’s future. In the chaos, Bahman never shows. For weeks, Roya tries desperately to contact him, but her efforts are fruitless. With a sorrowful heart, she moves on—to college in California, to another man, to a life in New England—until, more than sixty years later, an accident of fate leads her back to Bahman and offers her a chance to ask him the questions that have haunted her for more than half a century: Why did you leave? Where did you go? How is it that you were able to forget me?

Book Lovers

Emily Henry • 2022

An insightful, delightful, instant #1 New York Times bestseller from the author of Funny Story. “One of my favorite authors.”—Colleen Hoover One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming... Nora Stephens' life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby. Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute. If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

The Fever Code (Maze Runner, Book Five; Prequel) (The Maze Runner Series)

James Dashner • 2017

Book five in the blockbuster Maze Runner series that spawned a movie franchise and ushered in a worldwide phenomenon! Don’t miss the highly-anticipated series conclusion that finally reveals the story of how Thomas and WICKED built the Maze. Also look for James Dashner’s newest bestselling series—The Mortality Doctrine: The Eye of Minds, The Rule of Thoughts, and The Game of Lives!<br/><br/>Once there was a world’s end.<br/>The forests burned, the lakes and rivers dried up, and the oceans swelled.<br/>Then came a plague, and fever spread across the globe. Families died, violence reigned, and man killed man.<br/>Next came WICKED, who were looking for an answer. And then they found the perfect boy.<br/>The boy’s name was Thomas, and Thomas built a maze.<br/>Now there are secrets.<br/>There are lies.<br/>And there are loyalties history could never have foreseen.<br/>This is the story of that boy, Thomas, and how he built a maze that only he could tear down.<br/>All will be revealed.<br/><br/>The Maze Runner and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials are now major motion pictures featuring the star of MTV's Teen Wolf, Dylan O’Brien; Kaya Scodelario; Aml Ameen; Will Poulter; and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. The third movie, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, will hit screens in 2018.<br/><br/>Praise for the Maze Runner series:<br/>A #1 New York Times Bestselling Series<br/>A USA Today Bestseller<br/>A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of the Year<br/>An ALA-YASLA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book<br/>An ALA-YALSA Quick Pick<br/><br/>"[A] mysterious survival saga that passionate fans describe as a fusion of Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and Lost."—EW.com<br/><br/>“Wonderful action writing—fast-paced…but smart and well observed.”—Newsday<br/><br/>“[A] nail-biting must-read.”—Seventeen.com<br/><br/>“Breathless, cinematic action.”—Publishers Weekly

The Kill Order (Prequel)

James Dashner • 2012

The fourth book in the blockbuster phenomenon MAZE RUNNER SERIES now features chapters from The Fever Code, the highly-anticipated conclusion to the series—the novel that finally reveals how the maze was built!     Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth, killing most of the population.     Mark and Trina were there when it happened. They survived. But now a virus is spreading. A virus that fills humans with murderous rage.     They’re convinced that there’s a way to save those who are left—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some you’re worth more dead than alive.        The Maze Runner and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials are now major motion pictures featuring the star of MTV's Teen Wolf, Dylan O’Brien; Kaya Scodelario; Aml Ameen; Will Poulter; and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. The third movie, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, will hit screens in 2018.      Also look for James Dashner’s edge-of-your-seat MORTALITY DOCTRINE series!   Praise for the Maze Runner series: A #1 New York Times Bestselling Series A USA Today Bestseller A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of the Year An ALA-YASLA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book An ALA-YALSA Quick Pick   "[A] mysterious survival saga that passionate fans describe as a fusion of Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and Lost."—EW.com   “Wonderful action writing—fast-paced…but smart and well observed.”—Newsday   “[A] nail-biting must-read.”—Seventeen.com   “Breathless, cinematic action.”—Publishers Weekly   “Heart pounding to the very last moment.”—Kirkus Reviews   “Exclamation-worthy.”—Romantic Times “James Dashner’s illuminating prequel [The Kill Order] will thrill fans of this Maze Runner [series] and prove just as exciting for readers new to the series.”—Shelf Awareness, Starred "Take a deep breath before you start any James Dashner book."-Deseret News

The Death Cure (Maze Runner, Book 3)

James Dashner • 2011

The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner, Book 2)

James Dashner • 2011

Book two in the blockbuster Maze Runner series that spawned a movie franchise and ushered in a worldwide phenomenon! And don’t miss The Fever Code, the highly-anticipated series conclusion that finally reveals the story of how the maze was built!<br/><br/>Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.<br/>The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.<br/>There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive.<br/>Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.<br/><br/>The Maze Runner and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, and Maze Runner: The Death Cure are all now major motion pictures featuring the star of MTV's Teen Wolf, Dylan O’Brien; Kaya Scodelario; Aml Ameen; Will Poulter; and Thomas Brodie-Sangster.<br/><br/>Also look for James Dashner’s edge-of-your-seat MORTALITY DOCTRINE series!<br/><br/>Praise for the Maze Runner series:<br/>A #1 New York Times Bestselling Series<br/>A USA Today Bestseller<br/>A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of the Year<br/>An ALA-YASLA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book<br/>An ALA-YALSA Quick Pick<br/><br/>“[A] mysterious survival saga that passionate fans describe as a fusion of Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and Lost.” —EW<br/><br/>“Wonderful action writing—fast-paced…but smart and well observed.” —Newsday<br/><br/>“[A] nail-biting must-read.” —Seventeen<br/><br/>“Breathless, cinematic action.” —Publishers Weekly<br/><br/>“Heart pounding to the very last moment.” —Kirkus Reviews<br/><br/>“Exclamation-worthy.” —Romantic Times<br/><br/>“James Dashner’s illuminating prequel [The Kill Order] will thrill fans of this Maze Runner [series] and prove just as exciting for readers new to the series.” —Shelf Awareness, Starred<br/><br/>“Take a deep breath before you start any James Dashner book.” —Deseret News

The Maze Runner (Book 1)

James Dashner • 2010

<b>THE #1 <i>NEW YORK TIMES </i>BESTSELLING MAZE RUNNER SERIES • A teenager with no memory must navigate a deadly maze to survive in book one of this post-apocalyptic phenomenon.</b><br><br><b>“[A] mysterious survival saga that passionate fans describe as a fusion of <i>Lord of the Flies</i> [and] <i>The Hunger Games</i>” (<i>Entertainment Weekly</i>)</b><br><br>When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.<br> <br>Outside the towering stone walls that surround them is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.<br><br>Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying: <i>Remember. Survive. Run.</i><br><br><b>Look for more books in the blockbuster Maze Runner series:</b><br><b>THE MAZE RUNNER • THE SCORCH TRIALS • THE DEATH CURE • THE KILL ORDER • THE FEVER CODE</b>

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) (The Hunger Games)

Suzanne Collins • 2020

Ambition will fuel him.Competition will drive him.But power has its price.<br/>It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined -- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

Mockingjay (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 3)

Suzanne Collins • 2010

The Greatly Anticipated Final Book In The New York Times Bestselling Hunger Games Trilogy By Suzanne Collins. The Capitol Is Angry. The Capitol Wants Revenge. Who Do They Think Should Pay For The Unrest? Katniss Everdeen. The Final Book In The Hunger Games Trilogy By Suzanne Collins Will Have Hearts Racing, Pages Turning, And Everyone Talking About One Of The Biggest And Most Talked-about Books And Authors In Recent Publishing History!!!!

Catching Fire (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 2)

Suzanne Collins • 2010

Against All Odds, Katniss Everdeen Has Won The Annual Hunger Games With Fellow District Tribute Peeta Mellark. But It Was A Victory Won By Defiance Of The Capitol And Their Harsh Rules. Katniss And Peeta Should Be Happy. After All, They Have Just Won For Themselves And Their Families A Life Of Safety And Plenty. But There Are Rumors Of Rebellion Among The Subjects, And Katniss And Peeta, To Their Horror, Are The Faces Of That Rebellion. The Capitol Is Angry. The Capitol Wants Revenge.

The Hunger Games (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 1)

Suzanne Collins • 2009

This Special Edition of <i>The Hunger Games</i> includes the most extensive interview Suzanne Collins has given since the publication of <i>The Hunger Games</i>; an absorbing behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the series; and an engaging archival conversation between Suzanne Collins and YA legend Walter Dean Myers on writing about war. The Special Edition answers many questions fans have had over the years, and gives great insight into the creation of this era-defining work.<p></p>In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to death before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Still, if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

We Are Okay

Nina LaCour • 2019

Nina LaCour's award-winning, achingly beautiful novel is now available in paperback!<br/><br/>–Includes a new foreword by Nicola Yoon, #1 bestselling author of The Sun is Also a Star and Everything, Everything–<br/><br/>Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award<br/><br/>“Short, poetic and gorgeously written.” –The New York Times Book Review<br/>“A beautiful, devastating piece of art." –Bookpage<br/><br/>You go through life thinking there’s so much you need. . . . Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother. Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.<br/><br/>An intimate whisper that packs an indelible punch, We Are Okay is Nina LaCour at her finest. This gorgeously crafted and achingly honest portrayal of grief will leave you urgent to reach across any distance to reconnect with the people you love.<br/><br/>Praise for We Are Okay<br/><br/>“Nina LaCour treats her emotions so beautifully and with such empathy.” —Bustle<br/><br/>★ “Exquisite.” —Kirkus<br/><br/>★ “LaCour paints a captivating depiction of loss, bewilderment, and emotional paralysis . . . raw and beautiful.” —Booklist<br/><br/>★ “Beautifully crafted . . . . A quietly moving, potent novel.” —SLJ<br/><br/>★ “A moving portrait of a girl struggling to rebound after everything she’s known has been thrown into disarray.” —Publishers Weekly<br/><br/>★"Bittersweet and hopeful . . . poetic and skillfully crafted." —Shelf Awareness<br/><br/>“So lonely and beautiful that I could hardly breathe. This is a perfect book.” —Stephanie Perkins, bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss<br/><br/>“As beautiful as the best memories, as sad as the best songs, as hopeful as your best dreams.”<br/>—Siobhan Vivian, bestselling author of The Last Boy and Girl in the World<br/><br/>“You can feel every peak and valley of Marin’s emotional journey on your skin, in your gut. Beautifully written, heartfelt, and deeply real.” —Adi Alsaid, author of Never Always Sometimes and Let’s Get Lost

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

Zoulfa Katouh • 2022

A love letter to Syria and its people, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a speculative novel set amid the Syrian Revolution, burning with the fires of hope, love, and possibility. Perfect for fans of The Book Thief and Salt to the Sea.<br/><br/>Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her big brother; she still had her home. She had a normal teenager’s life.<br/><br/>Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe.<br/><br/>But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.<br/><br/>Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are—not a war, but a revolution—and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.

The Hate U Give: A Printz Honor Winner

Angie Thomas • 2017

8 starred reviews · Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best · William C. Morris Award Winner · National Book Award Longlist · Printz Honor Book · Coretta Scott King Honor Book · #1 New York Times Bestseller!<br/>"Absolutely riveting!" —Jason Reynolds<br/>"Stunning." —John Green<br/>"This story is necessary. This story is important." —Kirkus (starred review)<br/>"Heartbreakingly topical." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)<br/>"A marvel of verisimilitude." —Booklist (starred review)<br/>"A powerful, in-your-face novel." —Horn Book (starred review)<br/>Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.<br/>Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.<br/>But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.<br/>Want more of Garden Heights? Catch Maverick and Seven’s story in Concrete Rose, Angie Thomas's powerful prequel to The Hate U Give.

Concrete Rose

Angie Thomas • 2021

International phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood. <br/> <br/>If there’s one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it’s that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. With this money he can help his mom, who works two jobs while his dad’s in prison. <br/> <br/>Life’s not perfect, but with a fly girlfriend and a cousin who always has his back, Mav’s got everything under control. <br/> <br/>Until, that is, Maverick finds out he’s a father. <br/> <br/>Suddenly he has a baby, Seven, who depends on him for everything. But it’s not so easy to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child. So when he’s offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. In a world where he’s expected to amount to nothing, maybe Mav can prove he’s different. <br/> <br/>When King Lord blood runs through your veins, though, you can't just walk away. Loyalty, revenge, and responsibility threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. He’ll have to figure out for himself what it really means to be a man. <br/>([source](https://www.harpercollins.ca/9780062846754/concrete-rose/))

If You Could See the Sun

Ann Liang • 2022

"Academic rivals portrayed to perfection… An all-time top favorite." —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends<br/><br/>"Utterly unique, thought-provoking, and wonderfully written." —Gloria Chao, author of American Panda and Rent a Boyfriend<br/><br/>In this genre-bending , speculative YA debut, a Chinese American girl monetizes her strange new invisibility powers by discovering and selling her wealthy classmates’ most scandalous secrets.<br/><br/>Alice Sun has always felt invisible at her elite Beijing international boarding school, where she’s the only scholarship student among China’s most rich and influential teens. But then she starts uncontrollably turning invisible—actually invisible.<br/><br/>When her parents drop the news that they can no longer afford her tuition, even with the scholarship, Alice hatches a plan to monetize her strange new power—she’ll discover the scandalous secrets her classmates want to know, for a price.<br/><br/>But as the tasks escalate from petty scandals to actual crimes, Alice must decide if it’s worth losing her conscience—or even her life.

The Astonishing Color of After

Emily X.R. Pan • 2019

"Emily X.R. Pan's brilliantly crafted, harrowing first novel portrays the vast spectrum of love and grief with heart-wrenching beauty and candor. This is a very special book."<br/>--John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down<br/>An instant New York Times bestseller, this stunning, heartbreaking novel about grief, love, and family is perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson and Celeste Ng.<br/>Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird.<br/>Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet hermaternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined tofind her mother, the bird. In her search, she winds up chasing afterghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forging a new relationship withher grandparents. And as she grieves, she must try to reconcile the fact that on the same day she kissed her best friend and longtime secretcrush, Axel, her mother was taking her own life.<br/>Alternating between reality and magic, past and present, hope and despair, The Astonishing Color of After is a luminous debut novel about finding oneself through family history, art, bravery, and love.

The Benefits of Being an Octopus: A Novel

Ann Braden • 2021

One of Edutopia's "25 Essential Middle School Reads from the Last Decade," NPR Best Book of 2018, Bank Street List for Best Children's Books of 2019, Named to the Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher List, Maine's Student Book Award List, Louisiana Young Reader's Choice Award List, Rhode Island Middle School Book Award 2020 List, 2020 Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Nominee, 2021 South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee, 2020-2021 Truman Award (Missouri) Nominee, Middle School Virginia Readers’ Choice Titles for 2020–2021, Charlie May Simon Award 2020–2021 List, 2021–2022 Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee, and 2023 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award nominee.<br/><br/>Some people can do their homework. Some people get to have crushes on boys. Some people have other things they've got to do.<br/><br/>Seventh-grader Zoey has her hands full as she takes care of her much younger siblings after school every day while her mom works her shift at the pizza parlor. Not that her mom seems to appreciate it. At least there's Lenny, her mom's boyfriend—they all get to live in his nice, clean trailer.<br/><br/>At school, Zoey tries to stay under the radar. Her only friend Fuchsia has her own issues, and since they're in an entirely different world than the rich kids, it's best if no one notices them.<br/><br/>Zoey thinks how much easier everything would be if she were an octopus: eight arms to do eight things at once. Incredible camouflage ability and steady, unblinking vision. Powerful protective defenses.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, she's not totally invisible, and one of her teachers forces her to join the debate club. Even though Zoey resists participating, debate ultimately leads her to see things in a new way: her mom’s relationship with Lenny, Fuchsia's situation, and her own place in this town of people who think they're better than her. Can Zoey find the courage to speak up, even if it means risking the most stable home she's ever had?<br/><br/>This moving debut novel explores the cultural divides around class and the gun debate through the eyes of one girl, living on the edges of society, trying to find her way forward.

The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry • 2000

<p>This beloved, world-famous allegorical classic about a young prince on a quest for knowledge is an essential read for every home library.</p> <p>Combining Richard Howard's translation with restored original full-color art, this definitive English-language edition of The Little Prince will capture the hearts of readers of all ages.</p> <p>Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince. When a pilot crashes in the Sahara Desert, he meets a little boy who asks him to draw a sheep. Gradually the Little Prince reveals more about himself: He comes from a small asteroid, where he lived alone until a rose grew there.</p> <p>But the rose grew demanding, and he was confused by his feelings about her. The story unfolds further from one planet to the next in a thoughtful philosophical exploration of love and the ephemeral.</p>

CIRCE

Madeline Miller • 2018

This #1 New York Times bestseller is a "bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story" that brilliantly reimagines the life of Circe, formidable sorceress of The Odyssey (Alexandra Alter, TheNew York Times). In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child -- not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power -- the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love. With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world. #1 New York Times Bestseller -- named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, the Washington Post, People, Time, Amazon, Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, Newsweek, the A.V. Club, Christian Science Monitor, Refinery 29, Buzzfeed, Paste, Audible, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Thrillist, NYPL, Self, Real Simple, Goodreads, Boston Globe, Electric Literature, BookPage, the Guardian, Book Riot, Seattle Times, and Business Insider.

Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder

Asako Yuzuki • 2024

The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer, and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story<br/>There are two things that I simply cannot tolerate: feminists and margarine<br/>Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in the Tokyo Detention House convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, whom she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination, but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew, and Kajii can’t resist writing back.<br/>Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a master class in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii, but it seems that Rika might be the one changing. Do she and Kajii have more in common than she once thought?<br/>Inspired by the real case of a convicted con woman and serial killer—the “Konkatsu Killer”—Asako Yuzuki’s Butter is a vivid, unsettling exploration of misogyny, obsession, romance, and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan.

What You Are Looking for is in the Library

Aoyama Michiko • 2024

Breasts and Eggs

Mieko Kawakami • 2020

A novel that “considers the agency . . . women exert over their bodies and charts the emotional underpinnings of physical changes . . . with humor and empathy” (The New Yorker). On a sweltering summer day, Makiko travels from Osaka to Tokyo, where her sister Natsu lives. She is in the company of her daughter, Midoriko, who has lately grown silent, finding herself unable to voice the vague yet overwhelming pressures associated with adolescence. Over the course of their few days together in the capital, Midoriko’s silence will prove a catalyst for each woman to confront her fears and family secrets. On yet another summer’s day eight years later, Natsu, during a journey back to her native city, confronts her anxieties about growing old alone and childless. Bestselling author Mieko Kawakami mixes stylistic inventiveness and riveting emotional depth to tell a story of contemporary womanhood in Japan. “Took my breath away.” —Haruki Murakami, #1 New York Times–bestselling author The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle “Kawakami lobbed a literary grenade into the fusty, male-dominated world of Japanese fiction with Breast and Eggs.” —The Economist “A sharply observed and heartbreaking portrait of what it means to be a woman.” —TIME “Raw, funny, mundane, heartbreaking.” —The Atlantic “A bracing, feminist exploration of daily life in Japan.” —Entertainment Weekly “Timely feminist themes; strange, surreal prose; and wonderful characters will transcend cultural barriers and enchant readers.” —The New York Observer “Bracing and evocative, tender yet unflinching.” —Publishers Weekly “Kawakami writes with unsettling precision about the body—its discomforts, its appetites, its smells and secretions. And she is especially good at capturing its longings.” —The New York Times Book Review

I Decided to Live as Me - English Translation

Kim Soo-Hyun • 2020

If I Had Your Face: A Novel

Frances Cha • 2020

A riveting debut novel set in contemporary Seoul, Korea, about four young women making their way in a world defined by impossible standards of beauty, after-hours room salons catering to wealthy men, ruthless social hierarchies, and K-pop mania “Powerful and provocative . . . a novel about female strength, spirit, resilience—and the solace that friendship can sometimes provide.”—The Washington Post ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, NPR, Esquire, Bustle, BBC, New York Post, InStyle Kyuri is an achingly beautiful woman with a hard-won job at a Seoul “room salon,” an exclusive underground bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink. Though she prides herself on her cold, clear-eyed approach to life, an impulsive mistake threatens her livelihood.   Kyuri’s roommate, Miho, is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage but won a scholarship to study art in New York. Returning to Korea after college, she finds herself in a precarious relationship with the heir to one of the country’s biggest conglomerates.   Down the hall in their building lives Ara, a hairstylist whose two preoccupations sustain her: an obsession with a boy-band pop star, and a best friend who is saving up for the extreme plastic surgery that she hopes will change her life.   And Wonna, one floor below, is a newlywed trying to have a baby that she and her husband have no idea how they can afford to raise in Korea’s brutal economy.   Together, their stories tell a gripping tale at once unfamiliar and unmistakably universal, in which their tentative friendships may turn out to be the thing that ultimately saves them.

Heaven

Mieko Kawakami • 2021

“A raw, tender portrait of adolescent misery, reminiscent of Elena Ferrante’s fiction.” —NPR From the bestselling author of Breasts and Eggs, a sharp and illuminating novel about the impact of violence and the power of solidarity. Tormented by his peers because of his lazy eye, Kawakami’s protagonist suffers in silence. His only respite comes thanks to his friendship with a girl who is also the victim of relentless teasing. But what is the nature of a friendship if your shared bond is terror? Unflinching yet tender, intimate and multi-layered, Heaven is yet another dazzling testament to Kawakami’s uncontainable talent. “An argument in favor of meaning, of beauty, of life.” —The New York Times Book Review “If you enjoyed Mieko Kawakami’s brilliant Breasts and Eggs, you’re certain to be astonished by her latest novel exploring violence and bullying with fierce, feminist and damning candor.” —Ms. Magazine “This is the real magic of Heaven, which shows us how to think about morality as an ongoing, dramatic activity. It can be maddening and ruinous and isolating. But it can also be shared, enlivened . . . and momentarily redeemed through unheroic acts of solidarity.” —The New Yorker “Quietly devastating.” —TIME Magazine “Keen psychological insight, brilliant sensitivity, and compassionate understanding.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “Raw and eloquent. . . . An unexpected classic.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “An incredible literary talent.” —Booklist, starred review “Kawakami writes with jagged, visceral beauty.” —Oprah Daily “Kawakami never lets us settle comfortably, which is a testament to her storytelling power.” —Los Angeles Review of Books “One of Japan’s brightest stars.” —Japan Times

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

Cho Nam-Joo • 2021

Kim Jiyoung is a girl born to a mother whose in-laws wanted a boy. Kim Jiyoung is a sister made to share a room while her brother gets one of his own.<br/><br/>Kim Jiyoung is a female preyed upon by male teachers at school. Kim Jiyoung is a daughter whose father blames her when she is harassed late at night.<br/><br/>Kim Jiyoung is a good student who doesn't get put forward for internships. Kim Jiyoung is a model employee but gets overlooked for promotion. Kim Jiyoung is a wife who gives up her career and independence for a life of domesticity.<br/><br/>Kim Jiyoung has started acting strangely.<br/><br/>Kim Jiyoung is depressed.<br/><br/>Kim Jiyoung is mad.<br/><br/>Kim Jiyoung is her own woman.<br/><br/>Kim Jiyoung is every woman.<br/><br/>Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is the life story of one young woman born at the end of the twentieth century and raises questions about endemic misogyny and institutional oppression that are relevant to us all. Riveting, original and uncompromising, this is the most important book to have emerged from South Korea since Han Kang's The Vegetarian.

Monsoon Mansion

Cinelle Barnes • 2018

Educated: A Memoir

Tara Westover • 2022

#1 NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER • One of the most acclaimed books of our time: an unforgettable memoir about a young woman who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University<br/><br/>“Extraordinary . . . an act of courage and self-invention.”—The New York Times<br/><br/>NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW • ONE OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR • BILL GATES’S HOLIDAY READING LIST • FINALIST: National Book Critics Circle’s Award In Autobiography and John Leonard Prize For Best First Book • PEN/Jean Stein Book Award • Los Angeles Times Book Prize<br/><br/>Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.<br/><br/>“Beautiful and propulsive . . . Despite the singularity of [Westover’s] childhood, the questions her book poses are universal: How much of ourselves should we give to those we love? And how much must we betray them to grow up?”—Vogue<br/><br/>ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, O: The Oprah Magazine, Time, NPR, Good Morning America, San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian, The Economist, Financial Times, Newsday, New York Post, theSkimm, Refinery29, Bloomberg, Self, Real Simple, Town & Country, Bustle, Paste, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, LibraryReads, Book Riot, Pamela Paul, KQED, New York Public Library

Crying in H Mart

Michelle Zauner • 2021

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the indie rock sensation known as Japanese Breakfast, an unforgettable memoir about family, food, grief, love, and growing up Korean American—“in losing her mother and cooking to bring her back to life, Zauner became herself” (NPR). • CELEBRATING OVER ONE YEAR ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her. Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner's voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

The Bone Houses

Emily Lloyd-Jones • 2020

Coraline

Neil Gaiman • 2012

This edition of New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning author Neil Gaiman’s modern classic, Coraline—also an Academy Award-nominated film—is enriched with a foreword from the author, a reader's guide, and more.<br/>"Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house...."<br/>When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous.<br/>But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.<br/>Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.<br/>Neil Gaiman's Coraline is a can't-miss classic that enthralls readers age 8 to 12 but also adults who enjoy a perfect smart spooky read.

House of Hollow

Krystal Sutherland • 2022

A New York Times Bestseller!<br/>An Instant Indie Bestseller!<br/><br/>A dark, twisty modern fairytale where three sisters discover they are not exactly all that they seem and evil things really do go bump in the night.<br/><br/>Iris Hollow and her two older sisters are unquestionably strange. Ever since they disappeared on a suburban street in Scotland as children only to return a month a later with no memory of what happened to them, odd, eerie occurrences seem to follow in their wake. And they're changing. First, their dark hair turned white. Then, their blue eyes slowly turned black. They have insatiable appetites yet never gain weight. People find them disturbingly intoxicating, unbearably beautiful, and inexplicably dangerous.<br/><br/>But now, ten years later, seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow is doing all she can to fit in and graduate high school on time--something her two famously glamourous globe-trotting older sisters, Grey and Vivi, never managed to do. But when Grey goes missing without a trace, leaving behind bizarre clues as to what might have happened, Iris and Vivi are left to trace her last few days. They aren't the only ones looking for her though. As they brush against the supernatural they realize that the story they've been told about their past is unraveling and the world that returned them seemingly unharmed ten years ago, might just be calling them home.

Her Lost Words: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley

Stephanie Marie Thornton • 2023

All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel

Anthony Doerr • 2017

<b>*NOW A NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES—from producer and director Shawn Levy <i>(Stranger Things)</i> starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti*</b><br> <br><b>Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, the beloved instant <i>New York Times</i> bestseller and <i>New York Times Book Review </i>Top 10 Book about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.</b><br><br>Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris, and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.<br> <br>In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the Resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.<br> <br>Doerr’s “stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (<i>San Francisco Chronicle</i>) are dazzling. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, he illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, <i>All the Light We Cannot See</i> is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer “whose sentences never fail to thrill” (<i>Los Angeles Times</i>).

The Tattooist of Auschwitz: A Novel

Heather Morris • 2018

#1 New York Times Bestseller and #1 International Bestseller • Now a Peacock Original Series starring Harvey Keitel and Melanie Lynskey This beautiful, illuminating tale of hope and courage is based on interviews that were conducted with Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov—an unforgettable love story in the midst of atrocity. “The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an extraordinary document, a story about the extremes of human behavior existing side by side: calculated brutality alongside impulsive and selfless acts of love. I find it hard to imagine anyone who would not be drawn in, confronted and moved. I would recommend it unreservedly to anyone, whether they’d read a hundred Holocaust stories or none.”—Graeme Simsion, internationally-bestselling author of The Rosie Project In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive. One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her. A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov's experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.

The Vanishing Half: A Novel

Brit Bennett • 2020

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak • 2007

<b>#1 <i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTSELLER • ONE OF <i>TIME</i> MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME <b>• A <i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> READER TOP 100 PICK FOR BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY • A <i>KIRKUS REVIEWS</i> BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE CENTURY</b><br><br>The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times.</b><br><br><i>When Death has a story to tell, you listen.</i><br><br>It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.<br><br>Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. <br><br>In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of <i>I Am the Messenger,</i> has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.<br><br>“The kind of book that can be life-changing.” —<i>The New York Times</i><br><br>“Deserves a place on the same shelf with <i>The Diary of a Young Girl </i>by Anne Frank.” —<i>USA Today</i><br><br><b>DON’T MISS <i>BRIDGE OF CLAY</i>, MARKUS ZUSAK’S FIRST NOVEL SINCE <i>THE BOOK THIEF.</i></b>

A Man Called Ove: A Novel

Fredrik Backman • 2015

Now a major motion picture A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks!<br/><br/>#1 New York Times bestseller—more than 3 million copies sold!<br/><br/>Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?<br/><br/>Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.<br/><br/>Fredrik Backman’s beloved first novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others. “If there was an award for ‘Most Charming Book of the Year,’ this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down” (Booklist, starred review).

Stars Above: A Lunar Chronicles Collection (The Lunar Chronicles)

Marissa Meyer • 2016

<p><b>The #1 <i>New York Times </i>Bestselling Series!</b><br><br>The enchantment continues. . . . <br>The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories - and secrets - that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?<br>With six stories - two of which have never before been published - and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer's novel, <i>Heartless</i>, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, <i>Stars Above </i>is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.</p>

Winter

Marissa Meyer • 2015

Princess Winter is admired for her grace, kindness and beauty, despite the scars on her face. She's said to be even more breath-taking than her stepmother, Queen Levana...<br/><br/>When Winter develops feelings for the handsome palace guard, Jacin, she fears the evil Queen will crush their romance before it has a chance to begin.<br/><br/>But there are stirrings against the Queen across the land. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even find the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long.<br/><br/>Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter claim their happily ever afters by defeating Levana once and for all?

Cress

Marissa Meyer • 2014

The third book in Marissa Meyer's New York Times/USA Today-bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, inspired by Rapunzel.

Scarlet

Marissa Meyer • 2013

Cinder

Marissa Meyer • 2012

The #1 New York Times Bestselling Series!<br/><br/>Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .<br/><br/>Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.<br/><br/>Don’t miss the full Lunar Chronicles series:<br/><br/>Cinder<br/>Scarlet<br/>Cress<br/>Winter<br/>Fairest<br/>Stars Above

If We Were Villains: A Novel

M. L. Rio • 2018

<p><b>“Much like Donna Tartt’s <i>The Secret History</i>, M. L. Rio’s sparkling debut is a richly layered story of love, friendship, and obsession...will keep you riveted through its final, electrifying moments.”<br>—Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>The Nest<br></i></b><br><b>"Nerdily (and winningly) in love with Shakespeare...Readable, smart.”</b><br><b>—<i>New York Times Book Review</i></b><br><br>On the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it.<br><br>A decade ago: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. In this secluded world of firelight and leather-bound books, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingénue, extras. <br><br>But in their fourth and final year, good-natured rivalries turn ugly, and on opening night real violence invades the students’ world of make-believe. In the morning, the fourth-years find themselves facing their very own tragedy, and their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, each other, and themselves that they are innocent. <br><br><i>If We Were Villains</i> was named one of Bustle's Best Thriller Novels of the Year, and <i>Mystery Scene</i> says, "A well-written and gripping ode to the stage...A fascinating, unorthodox take on rivalry, friendship, and truth."</p>

Strange Houses

Uketsu • 2025