Season's Readings 2025: Home

*A top pick, submitted by three staff members!* Sent to the Wellwood Home for unwed mothers, fifteen-year-old Fern and the other “wayward girls” are trapped in a strict, controlling world where every choice is denied and secrets must be buried. When Fern is given a book of witchcraft by the bookmobile librarian, the girls taste power for the first time—but it comes with a dangerous, bloody price. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls offers a fresh twist on horror—because the scariest part isn’t the magic, but how women were treated in the 1970s and how adults controlled pregnant teens in the name of “protection.”

An Arthurian, Joan-of-Arc epic that paints itself as a love story on the surface. But underneath, this is a fable about the stories that empire tells about itself in order to maintain power. Not the new Alix Harrow book I thought I wanted, but the new Alix Harrow book that we all need in this moment.

Twice explores the paradox of control and consequence through Alfie Logan, a man who can alter his past but not escape its ripple effects. Albom’s narrative invites readers to ponder whether true happiness lies in rewriting life—or accepting it as it is.

When Beth's old flame moves back to town, she finds herself spending time with his son because he reminds her of her own boy who was lost in an accident. Her choices lead to tension, drama, and some solid twists.

It’s the year 2139, an era degraded by a nuclear accident and climate change. Thomas Metcaff is searching for a lost poem while reconstructing the poet’s charmed life from the archived materials of 100 years past, only to learn later of deceit, infidelity and murder.

Gardener and serial killer Harper is the protector of the seaside tourist town of Cape Carnage. When Nolan, tourist and fellow serial killer with a mission to kill Harper, shows up in town, the two make an uneasy alliance against a true crime investigator and feelings begin to take root.

In 1926, men were dangerously lowered over the Yorkshire cliffs to snatch seabird eggs. Depending on pattern and color, these unique eggs would command high prices while collector's obsessions could lead to serious skullduggery. Based on historical facts.

A fresh fantasy setting full of creative monsters, a clever princess, a legendary monster-slaying prince, and a good old-fashioned forced marriage trope.

A mystery about a woman who disappears while hiking the Appalachian Trail. A cast of characters try to unravel the mystery of her disappearance and find her before it's too late.

Samantha and Xavier share the perfect, never-ending date the night before she moves across the country to take care of her mother with dementia. Despite the distance and responsibilities tying them to their locations, the couple try to build a life and love together.  

A historical fiction novel set during the Civil War tells the story of a Southern woman who nurses a grievously wounded Union soldier back to health. Libby Steadman's husband is being held in a Union prison, leaving her to run the family gristmill with two freed slaves and her niece. The love that develops between Libby and the soldier reveals the humanity on both sides of a violent war.

At the fresh end of a long and well enjoyed Joe Pickett series, Joe and his ally Nate Romanowski converge in the Sierra Madre with separate challenges leading to the same traumatic and dangerous trail. Emerging from grief, loss, and desperation, a vendetta unwinds and a conspiracy plays out.

Pregnant sixteen year old Adela is sent away to stay with her grandmother, where she finds herself part of an outcast crew of teen moms as she grapples with questions of identity, friendship, and motherhood. 

When her daughter calls into a romance hotline looking for dating advice for her mother, hopeless romantic Lucie signs up to find love through the radio show. However, while looking for her happy ending, sparks fly between Lucie and Aiden, the radio host who no longer believes in love.  

Grumpy and once-powerful witch Sera runs her great-aunt's inn, hoping to one day regain her magical powers. When Luke, a magical historian, takes up residency at the inn, Sera hopes he can help her unlock the secrets in an old spellbook and finally reclaim her lost magic.  

Alice Law is on the cusp of her magickal academic career, she just needs to finish her PhD and get the perfect recommendation from her advisor. But then her advisor suffers an accident and gets pulled into hell, and there's nothing for it but to go in and pull him out. Except then her academic nemesis decides to tag along and everything might be ruined. Even more ruined than the abusive, co-dependent relationship that academia is to begin with...

Trying to get over bad breakup and her approaching 30th birthday, Alice impulsively books a three-week all-female literary bus tour. However, she wasn't expecting the bus tour to consist only of older women, a load of travel mishaps, or to catch feelings for their infuriating Scottish tour guide, Robbie.  

Based loosely on the Sahara Desert’s multi-day ultra, the Marathon des Sables, and with echoes of Lazarus Lake’s quirky Barkley Marathons productions, race director Boones assigns Race Bib #13 to someone he expects to be noticed for daring exploits. This year, it proves a curse as the wearer must fight for her life as the master puppeteer manipulates each stage of the event.

Tegan's hopeful road trip takes a wrong turn when a crash during a blizzard leaves her stranded. A couple is there to help her just in the knick of time, but she soon realizes that their compassion is hiding something. 

Blake Porter is in desperate need of a tenant for his new brownstone after he suddenly loses his job. So he's thrilled when Whitney applies. However, the whole house and even the neighborhood start to feel unsettled when she moves in.

* A top pick submitted by two staff members!* A non-fiction book that paints both a humanistic and scientific approach to understanding a disease that has plagued humanity for centuries. After meeting Henry, a young tuberculosis patient in Sierra Leone, John Green became obsessed with everything related to the disease: the history, the injustice and the healthcare inequities surrounding TB in modern day. Between historic and scientific findings, John weaves Henry’s story, illustrating the impact that tuberculosis has had and continues to have on our world.  

A New York Times journalist generates a deep dive into the stock market crash of 1929 accounting for the forces that made it happen and the lasting impact that redirected a nation. With a lens on comparisons between 2025 stock market trends and the 1929 crash, Sorkin raises concerns about obvious parallels.

Actor, activist, and author George Takei is back with the memoir (in graphic novel format) about his life in the closet, and how he decided it was time to stop playing a role and step into the fullness of his identity. Filled with sorrow about the history of the gay rights movement, this book is also full of gratitude for how far we've come, and how we can work together to go further.

With a writing style that rivals Born to Run’s Christopher McDougall’s penchant for abandoning story line to investigate culture and historical background, Shannon Hogan examines ten athletes’ experiences. What are the unforgiving hours? The hours of darkness? Or any hours when you struggle to point yourself towards a significant goal?

In 1664 England sent a flotilla to the Dutch Manhattan bent on conquest, but creative negotiation invented America's first modern city. Newly translated primary sources open new dimensions of insight to exciting characters and the first merger of capitalism and pluralism.

The 100 mile an hour winds and 50-foot waves that sunk the biggest, most profitable ship on Lake Superior sealed the Edmund Fitzgerald in the minds and hearts of many. This renewed, illustrated account is based on a hundred interviews with those left behind by the 29 men lost in the legendary maritime disaster.

Former Siena College president and military leader Chris Gibson interrogates the history of ideas and philosophy of America's founding fathers with a call to reconsider and recover their principles. A close retrospective on the needs and rights of individuals  and the nation, Gibson knowingly analyzes policy, faith, bipartisan collaboration, and political participation.

What to do when you know it’s a crush but do no want to minimize your child’s feelings.

Chernow, well known for his depth and breadth of biographical illumination, goes far beyond the expected account of this literary icon. Access to archives, letters, and notebooks infuses detail about the adventurous, sometimes misguided, truly tragic, gifted creative force in American literature.

How to connect with your child through every day playful interactions.

For fans of Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark and Paul Holes' Unmasked, this book by Sacramento County D.A. Thien Ho completes the chronicle of the Golden State Killer by explaining how he prosecuted the most feared serial criminal in California history, and gave the victims their voice and power back in the process.

Science journalist Jay Ingram breaks new ground with out-of-the-mainstream questions and curious answers regarding the wide range of the one billion pets that we treasure. Addressing myths and misconceptions about a menagerie of critters, science blends with humor and broadens the pet universe exponentially.

A welcome one-stop resource for aspiring or established organic vegetable gardeners with expert guidance that is arrayed in practical topical segments. Choosing an area of interest or broadening working knowledge, this core volume offers flexible, well illustrated, and high interest value.

In a near future dystopian Appalachia, supernatural entities take the form of masses of flies and worms known simply as "Hives", which make deals with traumatized humans to take care of their lives for them in exchange for complete loyalty and obedience, forming cults across the country. A member of one of these hives is Crane, a transgender man who is forced by the creatures and the other human members to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. 

When a century-old diary is discovered in Montana, it unravels the harrowing story of a massacre that claimed 217 Blackfeet lives. Through the confessions of Good Stab, a Blackfeet man with an unnaturally long life, the novel delivers a chilling tale of vengeance, survival, and the haunting legacy of injustice in the American West. 

The third book in a series where the main character is the assistant to a morally grey fantasy villain, and sparks and (severed) heads fly! Tons of found family, romance, plot twists, and a cute frog wearing a crown and holding tiny signs!

This new Hunger Games prequel tackles the backstory of Haymitch Abernathy as he competes in his first Hunger Games. Collins adds some new twists to the well-documented Hunger Games while using these surprises to help us understand how Haymitch became the person he is. 

The second book in the Ana and Din series, this mashup of a Sherlockian detective, Lovecraftian setting, and Game of Thrones-style politicking will drag you to the deep and not let you go.

Jess, a struggling actress mourning her past, takes in a terrified runaway boy — only to discover that his monstrous, wolf-like father and the boy’s ability to make his fears come-to-life will force them both into a blood-soaked, shape-shifting nightmare. An innovative and ground-breaking take on the ageless werewolf story. 

During a camping trip, five friends stumble upon a mysterious staircase in the forest, and when one of them vanishes, the staircase disappears without a trace. Twenty years later, the friends are drawn back to uncover the fate of their lost companion—and the dark secrets that await beyond the stairs.

A slowburn romance set in a fantasy kingdom with immpecable gothic vibes and a truly unique magic system.

Noah must confront a horrifying, 24-hour news media-fueled “possession” epidemic that’s overtaken his family — and possibly the entire country — as he races to save the loved ones he fears are no longer themselves. Both an incredibly powerful (dare we say “eye-opening”) and divisive work of...fiction? 

THIS is the episode of “Murder She Wrote” you always wanted to see! When a series of murders occur inside a decaying senior living facility, the residents of Autumn Springs must band together—walkers, wheelchairs, and all—to survive an ordeal that proves growing old doesn’t mean going quietly.

In this anthology of reimagined tales inspired by The Stand, survivors scattered across a plague-ravaged world confront new horrors and unexpected destinies as the remnants of humanity face the terrifying question of what—and who—comes after the end of the world. It’s also a superb collection of the greatest voices currently writing speculative fiction.

When influencer Clio Louise Barnes inherits the childhood home her mother claimed was possessed, renovating it for content forces her to confront a sinister presence that blurs the line between childhood trauma and real horror. 

"I had just taken poison when the king arrived to inform me that he had murdered his wife." So begins this mysterious, unsettling retelling of Snow White by master of fairy tail retellings T. Kingfisher. A grumpy, relatable protagonist; a fierce, fix-it-herself princess; and an insufferable cat make for an irresistible take on a classic.

When college student Arthur Oakes is coerced into stealing rare books, he and his friends hatch an implausible, incredible plan to summon a dragon using a cursed journal. But their daring scheme unleashes a deadly bargain with the dragon, known as King Sorrow, forcing them to choose a human sacrifice each year—or risk becoming the next victims. 

When Ruth, a queer woman trapped in her small-town life, is caught shoplifting at a craft store run by a sinister religious cult, her attempt at revenge quickly turns into a fight for survival. Locked inside the big-box store and facing fanatical employees, she must uncover the cult’s horrifying secret before it—and she—becomes another victim. 

Haunted by the mysterious death of her fiancé, Hannah seeks a fresh start at a spiritual retreat in Joshua Tree, hoping for healing and solace. But when a killer begins targeting attendees, her journey of self-discovery turns into a desperate fight for survival. A skillful work of horror fiction that pokes some fun at both the slasher genre and the wellness industrial complex! 

In 1710 Carolina, enslaved Willie is offered a dark path to liberation when Rafazi, the last of an ancient African vampire tribe, turns him into a blood-powered agent of revolt. As they gather an army of vampiric avengers, Willie must navigate love, loyalty, and the violent price of freedom in a reimagined, blood-soaked history of slavery and the antebellum south in the United States. 

Margot has grown up in the shadow of her mother’s dark appetites, living a quiet life in their forest cottage punctuated by the arrival of “strays.” But when a mysterious newcomer appears during a snowstorm, Margot must navigate her mother’s violent desires, her own awakening instincts, and the dangerous path toward freedom.

Haunted Vietnam Veteran Duane Minor's attempt to rebuild his life in 1975 Portland is shattered when a vampire murders his wife, igniting a furious, cross-country quest for vengeance while accompanied by his grieving teenage niece, Julia. Driven by a shared thirst for blood, the splintered family dives into a grim, violent underworld populated by undead children and broken men to hunt the monster who ruined their lives. 

In the middle of worrying about college applications and scholarships, Brenda accidently stumbles into a coffee shop in an alternate, magical version of her home town Los Angeles, where she meets Kat, the reluctant "Chosen One" of this world. As they fall for each other, they have to work together to figure out what's causing the portals between their worlds to open, and put a stop to their potential destruction. 

A poetic retelling of the story of the Greek goddess Hekate, starting with the war between the Titans and Olympians, it's aftermath, and Hekate's journey to discover her divine purpose in The Underworld. 

After burning out from school life, Angelica begins messaging the social media account for Peri the Bear, her town's theater mascot. When messaging turns into a crush, Angelica begins an internship at the theater in hopes of discovering the supportive (and mysterious) stranger behind the account.

In this sequel, gothic romance loving Haley finds herself back at Willowweep when survivors from a mystery themed pocket universe take refuge at the manor. But when her friends all start disappearing, it’s up to Haley to play detective and solve the mystery, all while navigating classic who-dunnit tropes.

On her eighteenth birthday, Sivon reports to the government to learn about her past lives through a soul-identification system. After her report comes back shockingly abnormal, Sivon is saddled with a forbidden bodyguard and thrust into the public eye where not every soul is to be trusted.

A new, beautifully illustrated, and easy to enjoy graphic novel adaptation of the classic fantasy book.

Former childhood best friends Dani and Alec reunite when Dani moves back to town for her senior year following her parents' divorce. When circumstances force them into fake dating, the fake couple face both real feelings and complicated misunderstandings from the past.

When a young man is gifted with a partridge in a pear tree experience, we come to realize how crowded things can get when each traditional gift is repeated over and over. Read to discover what happens on the 13th day!

Unlike her sheet friends, Little Ghost Quilt loves flying outdoors in the cold weather and feels sad that her friends are too cold to enjoy winter fun. When she notices the festive holiday trees the humans create, she helps her friends decorate an indoor tree they all can enjoy.

The latest entry in the Questioneers picture book series, this is a rhyming tale of a middle child's struggle to find their talent, with a reassuring and heartwarming conclusion. 

A super silly story with a big heart, for any young camper or cryptid-lover in your life.

Jess Hannigan is at it again with another original tale — it gives the feeling of classics like Goldilocks or Little Red Riding Hood, but with humorous twists and turns. Check out her other book Spider in the Well if you haven't already!

Croco is a story about a resourceful crocodile that falls into a deep hole and, despite the advice of well-meaning animals, learns that only his own tears will help him find his way out. This is a sweet tale of resilience, self-reliance, and friendship.

From the podcast of the same name comes a fun and detailed guide to gathering evidence, assessing myths and forming an opinion. Great for exploring myths or training debate skills.

Super Ty! features joyful art and captivating, rhythmic text, just like the 7 other books in this award-winning series for beginning readers. Ty loves superheroes, so he puts on a cape and becomes Super Ty! He flies around helping Momma and others. When he can't solve every problem, his brother uses his superpowers to step in and help. Other books include: All Aboard! (2020), Zip, Zoom! (2020), Beach Day (2021), Lab Magic (2022), Winter Wonderland (2022), Camp Out (2023) and Showtime! (2024).

Santiago’s dad is bilingual, and Santiago has always felt embarrassed by his poor understanding of Spanish, so this summer he is going to stay with his grandmother who speaks Spanish as her primary language. He will get to know her better and practice his Spanish through immersion, and hopefully make friends with some neighborhood kids.

A detailed but approachable introduction to 22 indigenous cultures across the world. Each two-page spread features an interview with a child and a beautiful nature-based portrait illustration.

The second book in the series, this adventure explores a spooky-yet-cozy world of witches, vampires, seasons changing, werewolves, ghosts, farming, family, and the powerful Pumpkin King.

Any 46er or aspiring 46er will enjoy Kate Messner's poetic take on the mountains from the point of view of seventh grader, Finn Connelly who is struggling with the death of his father. Get ready to laugh out loud, wipe away a few tears and be inspired.

Written in dyslexic font, this graphic novel chronicles Stella's struggles to read the sudden onslaught of course work that comes with fifth grade. When her learning difference is diagnosed, she is at first embarrassed and isolates herself from her friends, but eventually learns that having a unique learning style is nothing to be ashamed of.

If you've been reading the Front Desk series, you know that Mia Tang and Jason Yao are now friends, even though he is the son of the mean motel owner that bullied her family. It turns out, Mia and Jason have a lot in common: they're both bold, hilarious and like coming up with all sorts of zany ideas to achieve their dreams. Read along as the two of them cook up an outlandish scheme to help Jason open a restaurant in his dad's motel. This is Book #6 in the Front Desk series.

Maggie Fishbone is not a proper, well behaved young lady. After being kicked out of her orphanage for pushing a boy into the river (he deserved it), she is sent to the Midwatch Institute – a dreary, prison-like school for misbehaved girls... Or is it? It turns out, the Midwatch Institute is a front for a spy school, where girls take classes like hiding, observing, and sending secret messages.

This graphic novel is an excellent companion book to the popular Mexikid, by Pedro Martin, with a family struggling to find ways to stay “together” despite a divorce and Mexican/American immigration regulations.

In this sequel to Max in the House of Spies, Max, a Jewish-German, mechanical genius, is recruited by British spymasters to infiltrate Nazi propaganda center where he must separate the difference between Hitler’s big lies and smaller, everyday lies. The stunning parallels to our own confused society encourage older readers to evaluate their own responses.

Verity, Very for short, is student council president and an excellent student in every subject but math. If she can’t get her math grade up, she may be disqualified from serving on student council. Despite her best efforts, she can’t seem to improve her grades... until a teacher helps her realize she has Dyscalculia, and numbers get jumbled up in her head.  

A military war games exercise descends upon a 1950’s Texas farming community, but soon morphs into a secret mission to locate an alien family that fell from the sky. In their effort to protect the family and eject the military takeover, the townspeople learn that differences are not only to be grudgingly accepted, but enthusiastically celebrated.

Every child on their tenth birthday gets a magical tattoo on their hand, which is meant to reveal their fate. Meticulous Jones is so excited to get her tattoo, but her excitement turns to dread when she gets a tattoo that means she is fated to kill someone if she uses her magical powers.

Keedie and her twin sister, Nina, used to be best friends but as adolescents they find themselves growing apart. Determined to pave the way for her younger sister, who is also autistic, Keedie launches an anti-bullying agency. A true perspective on negotiating the spaces between two dissimilar worlds, by an author who is herself on the spectrum.

Maggie’s mother has disappeared without a trace, but when Maggie refuses to give up the search, she and her friends are pulled into a story world where their lives are in danger too. There are so many twists and turns to this mystery/adventure/fantasy, that the ending is not readily anticipated.

This spooky book for fans of ghosts and paranormal investigators features twins who are spiritual mediums and visit hauntings for their YouTube channel, which is run by their mother. But in their latest haunting, they may have taken on something more powerful and malevolent than they expected.  

Kaylani McKinnon is 12 years old and never been out of Brooklyn, but her life takes a sharp turn when her parents abruptly send her to spend the summer in Martha's Vineyard. Happily, she clicks with a teenage boy she meets on the first day, which takes the edge off the island's elitist vibe and stuck-up granddaughters of her parent's friends. But when he winds up dead, she's a murder suspect and has to figure out who did it to save herself. This masterful middle-grade mystery by Tiffany D. Jackson will keep you turning pages long into the night.