Staff Picks
June 2026

Adult Fiction
The Astral Library (Standard Edition) by Kate Quinn
The Astral Library (Standard Edition)
by Kate Quinn

From New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn comes a gorgeously written fantastical adventure which poses the question: Have you ever wished you could live inside a book? Welcome to the Astral Library, where books are not just objects, but doors to new worlds, new lives, and new futures.Alexandria Alix Watson has learned one lesson from her barren childhood in the foster-care system: unlike people, books will never let you down. Working three dead-end jobs to make ends meet and knowing college is a pipe dream, Alix takes nightly refuge in the high-vaulted reading room at the Boston Public Library, escaping into her favorite fantasy novels and dreaming of far-off lands. Until the day she stumbles through a hidden door and meets the Librarian: the ageless, acerbic guardian of a hidden library where the desperate and the lost escape to new lives...inside their favorite books.The Librarian takes a dazzled Alix under her wing, but before she can escape into the pages of her new life, a shadowy enemy emerges to threaten everyone the Astral Library has ever helped protect. Aided by a dashing costume-shop owner, Alix and the Librarian flee through the Regency drawing rooms of Jane Austen to the back alleys of Sherlock Holmes and the champagne-soaked parties of The Great Gatsby as danger draws inexorably closer. But who does their enemy really wish to destroy--Alix, the Librarian, or the Library itself?
Corrag by Susan Fletcher
Corrag
by Susan Fletcher

February 13, 1692. Thirty-eight members of the MacDonald clan are killed by soldiers who had previously enjoyed the clan's hospitality. Many more die from exposure. Forty miles south, the captivating Corrag is imprisoned for her involvement in the massacre. Accused of witchcraft and murder, she awaits her death. Lonesome, she tells her story to Charles Leslie, an Irish propagandist who seeks information to condemn the Protestant King William, rumored to be involved in the massacre. Hers is a story of passion, courage, love, and the magic of the natural world. By telling it, she transforms both their lives.As in her award-winning debut novel, Eve Green, Susan Fletcher shows that she is a novelist with the soul of a poet (Booklist). This deeply philosophical and dramatic book is about an epic historic event and the difference a single heart can make--how deep and lasting relationships can come from the most unlikely places.
Countess by Suzan Palumbo
Countess
by Suzan Palumbo

A queer Caribbean Count of Monte Cristo in which a betrayed captain is set on a journey of revenge against the interplanetary empire that has subjugated her people for generations.
Darling girls by Sally Hepworth
Darling girls
by Sally Hepworth

Two women who escaped an overly-strict home with a foster mother on a farm are called back to their childhood home and into the orbit of their former guardian when human bones are discovered beneath the farmhouse. 300,000 first printing.
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
by Cho Nam-Joo

THE BOOK THAT LAUNCHED THE 4B MOVEMENT --Arya James, Fourth Wave Longlisted - National Book Award (Translated Literature) A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 and Editors' Choice Selection Best Books of 2020 -- NPR, TIME Magazine, Chicago Public LibraryVulture - Best Books of the Year (So Far) A fierce international bestseller that launched Korea's new feminist movement, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 follows one woman's psychic deterioration in the face of rigid misogyny.
Louisiana Longshot: A Miss Fortune Mystery by Jana DeLeon
Louisiana Longshot: A Miss Fortune Mystery
by Jana DeLeon

It was a hell of a long shot....CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever-in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she's determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out of play.Unfortunately, she hasn't even unpacked a suitcase before her newly inherited dog digs up a human bone in her backyard. Thrust into the middle of a bayou murder mystery, Fortune teams up with a couple of seemingly sweet old ladies whose looks completely belie their hold on the little town. To top things off, the handsome local deputy is asking her too many questions. If she's not careful, this investigation might blow her cover and get her killed.Armed with her considerable skills and a group of elderly ladies the locals dub The Geritol Mafia, Fortune has no choice but to solve the murder before it's too late.Southern wit at its best! - NYT Bestselling author Gemma HallidaySinfully funny! - NYT Bestselling author CC Hunter/Christie Craig
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This: National Book Award by Omar El Akkad
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This: National Book Award
by Omar El Akkad

On October 25th, 2023, after just three weeks of the bombardment of Gaza, Omar El Akkad put out a tweet: 'One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.' This tweet was viewed more than ten million times. [This book] chronicles the deep fracture that has occurred for Black, brown, [and] Indigenous Americans, as well as the upcoming generation, many of whom had clung to a thread of faith in Western ideals, in the idea that their countries, or the countries of their adoption, actually attempted to live up to the values they espouse--
Platform Decay by Martha Wells
Platform Decay
by Martha Wells

A most-anticipated title from USA Today, Goodreads, BookPage, BookRiot, Seattle Times, and The Nerd Daily Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment of Martha Wells' bestselling and award-winning Murderbot Diaries series.Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good. After volunteering to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realizes that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn't know. Including human children. Ugh. This may well call for... eye contact (Emotion check: Oh, for f--) The Murderbot DiariesAll Systems RedArtificial ConditionRogue ProtocolExit StrategyNetwork EffectFugitive TelemetrySystem CollapsePlatform Decay
Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher
Snake-Eater
by T. Kingfisher

With only a few dollars to her name and her beloved dog Copper by her side, Selena flees her past in the city to claim her late aunt's house in the desert town of Quartz Creek. The scorpions and spiders are better than what she left behind. Because in Quartz Creek, there's a strange beauty to everything, from the landscape to new friends, and more blue sky than Selena's ever seen. But something lurks beneath the surface--like the desert gods and spirits lingering outside Selena's house at night, keeping watch. Mostly benevolent, says her neighbor Grandma Billy. That doesn't ease the prickly sense that one of them watches too closely and wants something from Selena she can't begin to imagine--
Someone You Can Build a Nest in by John Wiswell
Someone You Can Build a Nest in
by John Wiswell

Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by hunters intent on murdering her, she constructs a body from the remains of past meals: a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth. However, the hunters chase Shesheshen out of her home and off a cliff. Badly hurt, she's found and nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human. Homily is kind and nurturing and would make an excellent co-parent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen's eggs so their young could devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, she realizes humans don't think about love that way--
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
The Tainted Cup
by Robert Jackson Bennett

An eccentric detective and her long-suffering assistant untangle a web of magic, deceit, and murder in fantasy reimagining of the classic crime novel--
Tales from the Perilous Realm by J. R. R. Tolkien
Tales from the Perilous Realm
by J. R. R. Tolkien

The definitive collection of Tolkien's classic fairie tales, in the vein of The Hobbit, illustrated by Oscar winner Alan Lee Never before published in a single volume, Tolkien's four novellas (Farmer Giles of Ham, Leaf by Niggle, Smith of Wootton Major, and Roverandom) and one book of poems (The Adventures of Tom Bombadil) are gathered together for the first time, in a fully illustrated volume. This definitive collection of works -- which had appeared separately, in various formats, between 1949 and 1998 -- comes with a brand-new foreword and endmatter, and with a series of detailed pencil illustrations by Alan Lee, in the style of his other award-winning Tolkien work, most recently in The Children of Húrin. The book is the perfect opportunity for fans of Middle-earth to enjoy some of Tolkien's often overlooked yet most creative storytelling. With dragons and sand sorcerers, sea monsters and hobbits, knights and dwarves, this collection contains all the classic elements for Tolkien buffs of all ages.
Three Bags Full (the Sheep Detectives Movie Tie-In Edition) by Leonie Swann
Three Bags Full (the Sheep Detectives Movie Tie-In Edition)
by Leonie Swann

Now a major motion picture (The Sheep Detectives starring Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Galitzine, and Emma Thompson), this funny and surprising mystery stars a new breed of detectives you've got to read to baaaaa-lieve. This movie tie-in edition features a foreword by internationally bestselling author A. J. Finn, discussion questions, and bonus materials. Something is not right with George the shepherd. His sheep have gathered around him outside the cozy Irish village of Glennkill to assess the situation. George has cared for the sheep, reading them books every night, and now he lies pinned to the ground with a spade. His flock, far savvier about the workings of the human mind than your average sheep, sets out to find George's killer, led by Miss Maple, the smartest sheep in Glennkill (and possibly the world). Her team of investigators includes Othello, who was rescued from the Dublin Zoo; Mopple the Whale, who is always hungry and remembers everything; and Zora, an existential ewe--just to name a few. Together, the sheep discuss the crime late into the night, and their speculations vary wildly. Determined to unravel the mystery, they embark on furtive missions into the village, where they encounter a hoof-full of two-legged suspects. There's Ham, the terrifying butcher who smells of death; Rebecca, the secretive village newcomer; and Father Will, a sinister priest the sheep call God. With wit and heart, this clever international bestseller is a mystery to chew on--and savor.
Wife Shaped Bodies by Laura Cranehill
Wife Shaped Bodies
by Laura Cranehill

A Most Anticipated Book of 2026 Goodreads - LitHub - Chicago Review of Books - Debutiful - Metastellar - The Literary Grind - Books, Bones & Buffy - Cats Luv Coffee - Macabre Daily Sorrowland meets Manhunt in this literary horror debut in which an isolated newlywed, covered in fungal fruiting bodies, strikes a precarious balance between following her husband's strict rules and pursuing an intense connection with a woman who makes her question everything Forbidden from leaving her house from girlhood until marriage, Nicole has only her mother's lessons and what she can see from her bedroom window to draw on in forming her view of the world, and of herself. Taught that the mushrooms which cover the women in her village are repulsive and dangerous, she conforms to a rigid set of rules to protect herself and those around her. When her wedding day arrives, Nicole moves from one prison to another--an empty mansion on the very outskirts of town belonging to the husband she's been promised to since birth. As she haunts the edges of Silas's unknowable life and decaying home, maintaining control over her own transforming body becomes increasingly impossible. And when another wife with rebellious tendencies pays Nicole an unexpected visit, something within her cracks open. Their furtive explorations yield confusing answers, unearthing the long-buried secrets of the generations of resentful brides that came before. Unmoored, angry, and at last awakened, Nicole must reckon with who she really is, and perhaps, give in to what she truly wants. Raw, visceral, and relentless, Wife Shaped Bodies is an exploration of gender, power, and community through the lens of mycological body horror and an ode to the unsettling beauty of the natural world.
Wild Dark Shore: Reese's Book Club Pick (a Novel) by Charlotte McConaghy
Wild Dark Shore: Reese's Book Club Pick (a Novel)
by Charlotte McConaghy

A novel about a family living alone on a remote island, when a mysterious woman washes up on shore--
Wreck by Catherine Newman
Wreck
by Catherine Newman

If you loved Rocky and her family on vacation on Cape Cod, wait until you join them at home two years later. (And if this is your first meeting with this crew, get ready to laugh and cry--and relate.) Rocky, still anxious, nostalgic, and funny, is living in Western Massachusetts with her husband Nick and their daughter Willa, who's back home after college. Their son Jamie has taken a new job in New York, and Mort, Rocky's widowed father, has moved in. It all couldn't be more ridiculously normal--until Rocky finds herself obsessed with a local accident that only tangentially affects them--and with a medical condition that, she hopes, won't affect them at all--
Adult Nonfiction
The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther by Jeffrey Haas
The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther
by Jeffrey Haas

It s around 7:00 A.M. on December 4, 1969, and attorney Jeff Haas is in a police lockup in Chicago, interviewing Fred Hampton s fiancee. She is describing how the police pulled her from the room as Fred lay unconscious on their bed. She heard one officer say, He s still alive. She then heard two shots. A second officer said, He s good and dead now. She looks at Jeff and asks, What can you do? The Assassination of Fred Hampton is Haas s personal account of how he and People s Law Office partner Flint Taylor pursued Hampton s assassins, ultimately prevailing over unlimited government resources and FBI conspiracy. Not only a story of justice delivered, the book puts Hampton in a new light as a dynamic community leader and an inspiration in the fight against injustice.
The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft by Ulrich Boser
The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft
by Ulrich Boser

Boser cracks the cold case of the art world s greatest unsolved mystery. Vanity Fair The True Story of the World s Largest Unsolved Art Theft, The Gardner Heist by Ulrich Boser is a fascinating account of a brazen and amazing criminal act a book that could help police and investigators solve the mystery of the 1990 break-in and burglary at Boston s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. A tantalizing whodunit (Boston Globe) and a riveting, wonderfully vivid account [that] takes you into the underworld of obsessed art detectives, con men, and thieves (Jonathan Harr, author of The Lost Painting), The Gardner Heist is true crime history at its most spellbinding.
John Lewis: A Life by David Greenberg
John Lewis: A Life
by David Greenberg

A comprehensive, authoritative biography of Civil Rights icon John Lewis, 'the conscience of the Congress,' drawing on interviews with Lewis and approximately 275 others who knew him at various stages of his life, as well as never-before-used FBI files and documents
London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe
London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth
by Patrick Radden Keefe

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the bestselling, prizewinning author of Say Nothing and Empire of Pain, a spellbinding account of a family devastated by the sudden death of their nineteen-year-old son, only to discover that he had created a secret life which drew him into the dangerous criminal underworld that lies beneath London's glittering surface A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR In the early morning of November 29th, 2019, surveillance cameras at the headquarters of MI6, Britain's spy agency, captured video of a young man pacing back and forth on a high balcony of Riverwalk, a luxury tower on the bank of the river Thames. At 2:24 a.m., he jumped into the river. In a quiet London neighborhood several miles away, Rachelle Brettler was worried about her son. Zac had told her that he had gone to stay with a friend for the weekend, but then he did not come home. Days later, a police car pulled up and two officers relayed the dreadful news: Her son was dead. In their unbearable grief, Rachelle and her husband, Matthew, struggled to understand what had happened to Zac. He had had his troubles, but in no way seemed suicidal. As they would soon discover, however, there was a lot they did not know about their son. Only after his death did they learn that he had adopted a fictitious alter ego: Zac Ismailov, son of a Russian oligarch and heir to a great fortune. Under this guise, Zac had become entangled with a slippery London businessman named Akbar Shamji and a murderous gangster known as Indian Dave. As the Brettlers set about investigating their son's death, they were pulled into a different and more dangerous London than the one they'd always known, and came to believe that something much more nefarious than a suicide had claimed Zac's life. But to their immense frustration, Scotland Yard seemed unable--or unwilling--to bring the perpetrators to justice. In a bravura feat of reporting and writing, Patrick Radden Keefe chronicles the Brettlers' quest, peeling back layers of mystery and exposing the seedy truths behind the glamorous London of posh mansions and private nightclubs, a city in which everything is for sale, and aspirational fantasies are underwritten by dirty money and corruption. London Falling is a mesmerizing investigation of an inexplicable death and a powerful narrative driven by suspense and staggering revelations. But it is also an intimate and deeply poignant inquiry into the nature of parental love and the challenges of being a parent today, a portrait of a family trying to solve the riddle not just of how their son died, but of who he really was in life.
Wedding of the Foxes: Essays by Katherine Larson
Wedding of the Foxes: Essays
by Katherine Larson

An elegant collection of lyric essays that embraces fractures, contradictions, and the interconnectedness of life on Earth--
Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend by James S. Hirsch
Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend
by James S. Hirsch

Considered to be as monumental--and enigmatic--a legend as American sport has ever seen ( Sports Illustrated ), Willie Mays is arguably the greatest player in baseball history, still revered for the joy and passion he brought to the game. Mays began as a teenage phenom in the Negro Leagues, became a cult hero in New York, and was the headliner in Major League Baseball's bold expansion to California. With 3,383 hits, 660 home runs, and 338 stolen bases, he was a blend of power, speed, and stylistic bravado that fans had never seen before. Now, in the first biography authorized by and written with the cooperation of Willie Mays, James Hirsch reveals the man behind the player..Willie is perhaps best known for The Catch--his breathtaking over-the-shoulder grab in the 1954 World Series. It is a classic visual that represents a transcendent figure who ushered in a new era of baseball, received standing ovations around the globe, and--during the turbulent civil rights era--advocated understanding and reconciliation. However, the years of racial attacks, the stress of celebrity, and the mental and physical demands of the game also took a toll. Meticulously researched and drawing on lengthy interviews with Mays, as well as with close friends, family, and teammates, Hirsch presents a complex portrait of one of America's most significant cultural icons..
Adult Graphic Novels
The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman
The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
by Art Spiegelman

Maus is a haunting tale within a tale. Vladek's harrowing story of survival is woven into the author's account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. Against the backdrop of guilt brought by survival, they stage a normal life of small arguments and unhappy visits.
Rare Flavours by Ram V
Rare Flavours
by Ram V

Discover the tantalizing tale of Rubin Baksh, a demonic Rakshasa with a down-to-earth dream of being the next Anthony Bourdain. To achieve his vision, Rubin enlists Mo, a filmmaker who has seen better days, to document the world-renowned cuisine of India and the people behind such glorious food. But little does Mo know that there's more to Rubin than meets the eye, and the mortals play a darker role in the show than they were prepared for...--
Young Adult Fiction
Children of blood and bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Children of blood and bone
by Tomi Adeyemi

Seventeen-year-old Zâelie, her brother Tzain, and princess Amari fight to restore magic to the land and activate a new generation of magi, but they are pursued by the crown prince, who believes the return of magic will mean the end of the monarchy
I Am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew
I Am Made of Death
by Kelly Andrew

Following the death of his father, Thomas Walsh had to grow up quickly, taking on odd-jobs to keep food on the table and help pay his gravely ill mother's medical bills. When he's offered a highly paid position as an interpreter for an heiress who exclusively signs, Thomas -- the hearing child of a Deaf adult -- jumps at the opportunity. But the job is not without its challenges. Thomas is expected to accompany Vivienne wherever she goes, but from the start, she seems determined to shake him. To make matters worse, her parents keep her on an extremely short leash. She is not to go anywhere without express permission. She is not to deviate from her routine. She is, most importantly, not to be out after dark.--
Such Great Heights by Rajani Larocca
Such Great Heights
by Rajani Larocca

Siya Kumar is done with liars.Part of the reason Siya joins her school's mock trial team is to honor the memory of her mother, a lawyer who was killed in a car accident when Siya was just ten years old. Her mom always told her that the truth is like a flame that burns away lies.When Raj Raghavan, varsity soccer star and mock trial co-captain, seems interested in Siya, it feels too good to be true. Everything is golden until an overnight team bonding session, when Siya accidentally gets locked in a room with another guy until dawn. Even though Siya swears nothing happened, she doesn't feel like Raj believes her.At the same time, the details of the mock trial case are suspiciously similar to the circumstances of her mom's death--which leads Siya to wonder if it was really just a car accident that took her mother's life.From award-winning author Rajani LaRocca comes a contemporary retelling of the Ramayana that asks whether seeking the truth is always the right thing to do. Sometimes, is the past better left behind?
Juvenile Fiction
The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
The Incredible Journey
by Sheila Burnford

A Siamese cat, an old bull terrier, and a young Labrador retriever travel together 250 miles through the Canadian wilderness to find their family.
Return to the Secret Garden by Holly Webb
Return to the Secret Garden
by Holly Webb

Return to the Secret Garden and enjoy the wonder of childhood and the magic of friendship in this sequel that is sure to warm the hearts of young readers everywhere--Shelf AwarenessAs she turned it the door creaked a little and opened inwards...The only friend Emmie Hatton has ever had at the Craven Home for Orphaned Children is Lucy, the little black kitten that visits her on the fire escape every day. But when the children of Craven Home are evacuated out of London because of the war, heartbroken Emmie is forced to leave sweet Lucy behind. The children are sent to Misselthwaite Manor, a countryside mansion full of countless dusty rooms and a kind, if busy, staff. Emmie even finds a gruff gardener and an inquisitive little robin that just might become new friends.And soon, in the cold, candle-lit nights at Misselthwaite, Emmie starts discovering the secrets of the house--a boy crying at night, a diary written by a girl named Mary, and a very secret, special garden...Kids will love to return to the world of The Secret Garden with this enchanting new book that will delight fans of the original story and new readers alike Perfect for anyone looking for books: for 9-12 year old girls and boys.to give as gifts to the tweens in their life to add to their homeschool materials.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett

After losing her parents, young Mary Lennox is sent from India to live in her uncle's gloomy mansion on the wild English moors. She is lonely and has no one to play with, but one day she learns of a secret garden somewhere in the grounds that no one is allowed to enter. Then Mary uncovers an old key in a flowerbed - and a gust of magic leads her to the hidden door. Slowly she turns the key and enters a world she could never have imagined. With a heartwarming introduction by Sophie Dahl, The Secret Garden is one of the twenty best-loved classic stories being launched in the Puffin Classics series in March 2015.
Picture Books
The Blue Velvet Chair by Rio Cortez
The Blue Velvet Chair
by Rio Cortez

A young child describes the changes they see throughout the year when they climb the living room chair to look out the windows.
Crouton: One Cat's Adoption Tale by Kristine A. Lombardi
Crouton: One Cat's Adoption Tale
by Kristine A. Lombardi

Join Crouton, a lovable shelter cat, as she searches for her perfect person--because not everyone would be the right fit. But wait! Who is that over there? This heartwarming adoption story playfully told from the pet's perspective celebrates the joy of finding a furever home. Each day I watch people walk by my crate.I am always on the lookout for my person. Crouton is starting to wonder if her person is out there... But wait! Who is that adorable little girl? All the other animals are trying to adopt her! When Crouton finally takes the little girl home, she makes sure she is well-fed, well-groomed--she even helps her focus on her homework and lets her know when it's time to take a break! Perfect for cat lovers or anyone who has ever adopted a pet, this simple story told from Crouton's perspective will inspire readers to see the world through the eyes of the pets that chose them.

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