Season's Readings 2024: Home

A dark historical fantasy and romance set in Madrid during the Spanish Golden Age, where a young maid possesses a hidden magical talent tied to her Jewish heritage. As her gift draws attention, she finds herself entangled in a dangerous world of court politics, alchemy, and the looming threat of the Inquisition.

Set in the 1970's and then spanning several decades, we see how the heroic actions of a young boy, Patch, in saving the life of a girl in his community changes the trajectory of not only his life but those around him. This novel defies genre, it's subject manner is not an easy read but the language is transcending.

Fans of Cork O’Connor and the Minnesota setting return to a tense and compelling narrative populated with a missing teenage girl, a murdered Ojibwe woman, and connections that threaten Cork’s grandson. As a manhunt proceeds, the storytelling skill of Krueger works its expected wonders and defies you to pick up the book for fear of what is on the next page.

Can a little library in Lula's front yard change how her neighbors think about book banning? Yes, reading can bring change!

Martha Ballard, an 18th century midwife, is tasked with finding out what caused the death of a man found frozen in the ice. Based on real-life diaries, the prose in this novel shines and you will keep reading to the end as the mystery is solved.

Shaken by the separation of her parents and her fiancé's cheating, romance novelist Truly agrees to share relationship advice on a podcast, where she meets Colin, a cynical divorce lawyer. After butting heads over their stances on happily-ever-afters, they go from enemies to friends to something else as Truly discovers they have more in common than she thought, including their shared queerness.  

Jolene accidentally sends an unedited email at work after years of keeping to herself. Instead of getting fired she accidentally gains access to the entire office's emails and needs to decide how much she'll use this to her advantage and when she'll admit the truth.

Justin and Emma both believe that they are cursed; every person they date finds their soulmate the second they break up. They hatch a plan to date each other, break up, cancel each other’s curses out, and find the loves of their lives. However, the temporary dating scheme quickly turns into something more when the two develop real feelings for each other. 

Start with a female psychiatric hospital employee, a response to a disturbance in a nearby Victorian home with extra atmosphere, and an encounter with William, shut away in the house for decades with waist length hair and beard. What transpires is fresh and evocative to the curious mind, and an impactful search to uncover the past of this brilliant artist turned recluse.

After seeing Hayden, a paranormal conspiracy theorist, discuss Bigfoot on late-night TV, skeptical producer, Hallie, pitches a new investigative web series. As they work together on production, and eventually become co-hosts, they develop feelings for each other that challenge their beliefs in love and the unknown.

A sweeping and highly imaginative journey of a bereaved main character seeking to find his beloved wife in an unimaginable future America. Action, wild at times, moves on the waters of a recreated Lake Superior on the precipice of despair yielding to hope.

Georgia is excited to celebrate her best guy friend's wedding but is terrified to spend the week near their once mutual friend, and now estranged ex-boyfriend, Eli. As Georgia and Eli step into the roles of best woman and man, a string of disasters leads the exes to rediscover their old chemistry despite their cataclysmic breakup five years ago. 

This third installment in the "Housemaid" series finds Millie and Enzo moving to a new neighborhood and hoping for a life that has been much quieter than their past. However, seeming-friendly neighbors are hiding dark secrets, and it's up to Millie to find out what's going on in order to protect her family. 

A thriller that stands out for its clever use of a fictional true crime podcast. It is also an excellent audiobook for anyone who prefers to listen!

After moving to her fiancé's hometown, Daphne’s fiancé, Peter, leaves her for his best friend Petra, who was also in a relationship. Now stranded in a new town, but with her dream job as a children’s librarian, Daphne has no choice but to become roommates with Miles, Petra’s ex-boyfriend. As Daphne and Miles bond over their shared break-ups, their roommate of convenience situation starts to blossom into an unlikely friendship and romance.

Tere Sanchez can float, fly, levitate, much like her namesake Saint Teresa of Avila. Recently widowed and scared of her unpredictable talent, Tere makes a pilgrimage to Avila in hopes of finding answers.

A new book by the author of Crazy Rich Asians. It's a fun read with some outlandish characters, descriptions of insane wealth, and a solid “it all comes together at the end” plot.

Follow Lucy through this psychological thriller after her daughter, Eden, has an accident and survives but says she's no longer Eden. Eden claims she's now Eli, her twin who was never born, and Lucy is left to sort through what is happening.

Jasmyn and King move their family to an all-black planned community called Liberty, California. In this community, Jasmyn hoped to find like-minded socially conscious people. Instead, the residents seem preoccupied with physical appearances and spending an unhealthy amount of time at the Liberty Health Spa. Disturbed by this, Jasmyn begins digging into the town's history and uncovers a truly terrifying secret about its founders.

Thirty years ago, Ethan Marsh's best friend disappeared from right next to him as they slept in a tent in his back yard. Now Ethan is back in his childhood home and strange things begin happening around the cul de sac in the wee hours of the night, prompting Ethan to dig into what might have really happened that night.

Ten years after an unspeakable tragedy caused Claire to flee her hometown in Delaware, Claire is finally healing and building a new life, full of new relationships. But when a person from her past suddenly appears, Claire must decide if she can confide in the new people in her life, or if her life will fall apart once more.

A woman spends her life trying to solve/prevent her own murder after a fortune teller at a country fair tells her she will be murdered.

In this twisty thriller, Hazel Sharp returns home after unexpectedly inheriting her childhood home just as a historic drought descends on the town. As the water level drops, tempers flare, secrets are uncovered, and Hazel's history is revealed to be more complex than she lets on.

Irish writer of literary acclaim draws us to the coast of Spain in the 1950's where Ireland's criminal pathologist Quirke is vacationing with his wife an Austrian psychiatrist.  A chance encounter due to a visit to the Emergency Room leads Quirke to attempt to open a closed murder file when he suspects the victim is still living. Be prepared for some harsh details and the author's disdain for the corruption in the both church and state.

James retells the story of Huckleberry Finn through the eyes of the enslaved “Jim,” maintaining the adventure, while revealing the protagonist to be as erudite as he is fierce.

Generations of women, centered around the matriarch “Herself” live off the land, endure the violence of men, and brew traditional cures for maladies that include unwanted pregnancies on an island accessible only by a footbridge, in this unsanitized rural noir tinged with a hint of fairytale.

Struggling to get her epic novel about mixed race people finished and published so she can get tenure, Jane and her artist husband, Lenny, land a gig house-sitting in the hills over Los Angeles, where she is tempted by a television producer to sell out to show business and write “diverse content” for a streaming network.

The glamour and scope of New York City department stores, usually led by men in the 1930s, thrived through the leadership and talent of several trailblazing women. This tells the story of how women become integral to the success of the stores, using their instincts, work ethic and research skills.

Any gardener can testify to climate change-induced stress in their backyard garden. Supporting the critical need to acquire survival skills for plant resilience, the how-to approach in this book is a life line for thriving food crops in a hotter, drier world. Illustrated and rich with common sense tips for success.

The Light Eaters brings the long hidden secrets of plant intelligence to light with compelling clarity, scientific evidence, astounding discoveries, and personal insight. Long in the shadows of doubt, plant intelligence and its amazing manifestations twists vines of chemical electricity, mutualism, defensive responses, and wonders the reader senses were always there waiting to be discovered.

With a specialized and innovative toolkit and the voice of an enthusiastic tour guide, the director of the Carl Sagan Institute takes the reader to unimaginable alien earths. The journey to the most unusual exoplanets amplifies what the Webb Telescope captures and switches on a sense of wonder intensified by brand new science.

Yuval Harari’s sweeping perspective and deep insight, takes the reader across millennia and the unfolding power of information. Shaping human history, information has arrived at a critical junction with the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence threatening survival or finding a middle ground still embracing what is true.

Join Lee Morgan, a seasoned member of the Iditarod’s veterinary corps as he journeys from checkpoint to checkpoint ensuring the health and safety of the huskies, sharing in their joy, teamwork and emotions. Morgan demonstrates there is so much more to communication than mere words alone.

A clever title like this is an irresistible invite to investigate this fresh take on navigating the road to adulthood. Complete with sample scripts to help with sticky situations.

A Social Psychologist at New York University, Jonathan Haidt shines the light of 15 years of data on the steep decline in the mental health of youth. As the smartphone and social media turned childhood into a screen-dominated reality, youth suffered the consequences of isolation and hours a day in a toxic, addictive virtual world. Parents, teachers, and families are challenged to mitigate the adversity of screen time and protect the mental health of the their loved ones with evidence based guidance.

With hunger on the rise across the planet and at home, the firsthand field experience and observations of the author generate a sense that everyone needs to know this. He presents insights regarding the reasons for the crisis and prospects to achieve an end to hunger. Bringing to light realities that are indeed disturbing snapshots, the author ultimately shares his hopeful rebuttal for the status quo.

After receiving his MFA from Syracuse University in New York, Toha returned to Gaza, shortly before the October 2023 crisis began. In this, his second book, he recounts, with startling metaphors and heartbreaking detail, the ongoing suffering encountered by Gazans. Largely influenced by American poets, Toha casts a wide net with his modes and poetic forms.

Rekdal has written a challenging but approachable introduction for the poetry-curious, and a comprehensive but friendly guide for poets, whether fledgling or experienced. A glossary of poetic terms is included. Each chapter takes the form of a question, as with the focus on personal address in "Who speaks, and to whom," in which Rekdal dives into Adrienne Rich’s "I Know You Are Reading This Poem" – a work that addresses everyone, one by one. The same can be said for this manual.

Maya used to be an art thief, stealing art and artifacts from museums and returning them to the alien cultures to which they belong. Now, she’s a graduate student of anthropology on Earth, and she has left her space-faring life behind. Until a friend shows up with a job that she cannot refuse – a job with the possibility of saving an entire species.  

In an own-voices, trans, coming-of-age adventure, Lorel puts on a dress and joins the witches, only to discover that she and her new friends must fight back against a magical blight afflicting the kingdom.

Cordelia has spent her life under the thumb of her mother who, as it turns out, isn't just emotionally controlling, she forces people to submit with her magic. When Cordelia's mother moves them into the house of a wealthy Squire and his sister Hester, Cordelia knows they are her mother's next victims. Can she find her voice in time to prevent a tragedy?

This darkly humorous coming-of-age love story follows a teenager as he grapples with his newfound abilities as a slasher, all while the body count rises in his small Texas town. I highly recommend the audiobook edition. Schting!

A sci-fi/horror mashup paying homage to The Thing and Event Horizon in which a space mining crew and a doctor investigating a mysterious illness that causes rage investigate a seemingly uninhabited, ancient planet.

Tao is an immigrant and a fortune teller, traveling to escape those who chase her and creating a found family along the way.

In this tale of a cursed film, the man who years ago played "The Thin Kid" in the film, in which only three scenes were ever released, is cast in a big-budget remake of the film. But some films are meant to lie on the cutting-room floor.

The Trans-Siberian Express is about to make its first journey across the Wastelands since something went horribly wrong on the last trip--something no one can seem to remember. But this trip, each passenger seems to have their own agenda, and the crossing may be even more dangerous than the last.

A collection of fantasy stories including a Pride & Prejudice retelling that involves Elizabeth Bennett commanding a dragon, an ocean voyage that discovers an abandoned continent, and a world that fights back against interstellar colonization.

Uber Driver Abbot picks up a young woman sitting on a big black box who offers him $200,000 to take her and the box across the country, which sets into motion a darkly comedic, madcap, terror-plot-foiling adventure!

A girls' night out turns out to be a very "transforming" experience for lifelong friends Sloane and Naomi!

A reclusive librarian named Kiela escapes a revolution with forbidden spellbooks and opens a secret shop on her childhood island, rediscovering community and the power of magic to heal​. This book is a sweet and comforting cozy fantasy.

A group of college students who set out to make a documentary on the roadside memorials populating Appalachian roadways cross paths with a sinister group with hell-bent plans for the power those memorials represent.

Shesheshen is a reclusive shapeshifter living in an abandoned manor, but her peaceful life has been disrupted by monster hunters. To escape, she navigates human society in disguise and forms an unlikely bond with Homily, a kind-hearted woman facing a family curse. This romantic fantasy explores what it truly means to be monstrous or human.

New York lawyer Andrew Larimer receives a cryptic and disturbing call from a childhood friend, still living in the small town of Kingsport. Andrew goes to his hometown to see what's happening with his friend and is confronted with childhood secrets he wished had stayed buried.

Five boys in Puerto Rico seek revenge over the killing of one of their mothers, but as a hurricane approaches, replete with the evil spirits hurricanes are believed to bring with them, this story of revenge turns into something even darker.

Hollywood screenwriter Misha is pressured by studio execs to kill off a popular gay character in his streaming series. Upon refusing, Misha finds himself stalked by his own horror-movie creations somehow come to life, looking for revenge.

In this folk-horror tale set in the Louisiana Bayou, Renee Pontiac, having heard stories of "The Piper" throughout her childhood, is convinced the Piper is real and killing the town's children.

A virus that causes extreme passion in those afflicted kicks off the end-times, in which Sophie, a devout Catholic, must navigate her way through to try and find her brother.

A terminally ill woman named Rae finds herself transported into her favorite fantasy novel, inhabiting the body of a villainess and assembling a team of misfit "villains" to defy fate and rewrite their destinies. It's laugh out loud funny.

At England’s secretive Bletchley Park, codebreakers, civilian and military, work 24-hrs a day to decipher German codes and prevent the immanent attack of London. Two young siblings there solve important mysteries, one deeply personal in nature, and inexplicably find fun and friendship in a very tense world. 

Jude is a photographer and Florence is a dancer. They both attend a prestigious summer camp for artistic teens each summer. When they meet on the last night of camp and hit it off, they decide not to exchange numbers, but to look for each other again next summer in this slow burning romance written in alternating verse and prose. 

Oliver Bennet, a transgender man, is trapped by society to live as a female and expected to marry to maintain his family’s wealth. When secretly dressed as a young gentleman, he meets Mr. Darcy, another queer boy, and is forced to choose between love or living inauthentically.

When Wes’s life is shaken by the death of his father, he breaks up with his girlfriend, Liz, despite still being in love with her. Two years later, and with his life back on track, Wes becomes determined to win her back with grand romantic gestures.

When replacing priceless art with his father’s forgeries, thief Icarus accidentally meets and falls in love with the son of his father’s target.

Riley, determined to save her high school musical, is grounded and stuck spending time at her dad’s game shop after school. When she and Nathan, a nerdy employee team up to fake flirt, Riley discovers her interest in both roleplaying in Nathan's Dungeons & Dragons game and in Nathan himself.

My Christmas pick of the year.  This familiar plot is enhanced by expressive illustrations and enough word play to keep children and adults captivated.

From the creator of Caldecott Honor award-winning Mel Fell, a new picture book on perspective will have kids turning their books and their heads!

Lush illustrations and rhyming text tell the story of a cautious porcupine learning how to be brave and face her fears.

A tale of true friendship, the soft and bright illustrations show what stays up even when your best ideas come crashing down.

Two siblings struggle to work together on an epic rhyming adventure. Relatable for anyone who has had a younger, constantly interrupting sibling.

A fun and heartwarming tale of a night spent waiting out a storm — recipe included! This story is a subtle way of teaching kindness, community, and how giving leads to receiving.

This colorful book (based on a true story) naturally addresses perceptions of gender, and gives nonbinary kids a chance to skate in the spotlight.

Recipes from around the world, explained by the families who contributed them in a detailed but fun graphic format.

Before we knew actor George Takei as the beloved Sulu on Star Trek, he grew up surrounded by barbed wire and armed soldiers in a US Incarceration camp. Like 125,000 other Japanese Americans forced from their homes and classified as "enemy aliens," he tells the great lengths his parents went to to ensure his world felt normal and safe while waiting 4 years to be released.

Following their 2022 Atlas of Dogs, Evans and Heaton present a global view of cats both domestic and wild! Lots of cool facts and playful but realistic illustrations.

Did you know that the Department of Defense military bases manage more threatened and endangered species than any other federal agency?  Discover how they team up with scientists to keep our wildlife safe.

After leopard tells Beetle of a farm with more dung Beetle sets off on a quest of aquistion, losing sight of his own desires in the process. A delightful and heartful tale about greed and finding your own perspective. 

A woodland fox encounters an arctic fox, and a hilarious story ensues as they try to outfox each other. This is the seventh book in the Fox series, 3 of them winning the Geisel Award for best beginning readers: Fox Has a Problem (2024), Fox at Night (2022), and Fox the Tiger (2019). Captivating plots, humor and illustrations combine with short sentences to keep new readers happily reading.

Best friends Sarah, West, and Hannah love solving escape rooms together, so when they learn the legend of an abandoned funhouse the next town over, which never opened to the public, they know they can sneak in and complete it. The best part is that the funhouse promises treasure for the first person to solve all its puzzles – treasure that Sarah desperately needs, before the bank forecloses on her family’s house.

Max, a Jewish boy growing up in pre-World War II Germany, is devastated when his parents send him to live with his uncle in London. So, when he finds out that his uncle is actually a British spy, Max convinces his uncle to train him to be an operative as well. After all, he is smart, he can speak German, and no one will expect that a kid is a spy! This first book of the duology focuses on Max’s training, and book two, which will follow Max’s mission in Germany comes out in February.  

This fast-paced fantasy adventure features an evil, fire-wielding warlord, a cursed prince, and two girls-turned-outlaws on a quest to save their kingdom and restore the rightful queen to power. The girls and their prince must journey through the Nowhere Wood, a forest full of magical creatures and dark magic. They will meet a host of characters on their way, but can they tell who is friend and who is foe?  

Christopher has a special connection with animals – like the foxes that ran onto the field to say hi to him during a football game, or the crows who bring him gifts. He has always thought that maybe he was destined for more, for something magical. When one day he rescues a drowning griffin from a pond, he realizes that he was right. Christopher learns that there is a hidden archipelago where magic and magical creatures still thrive, but a darkness has descended on the land and the magic is fading. Maybe Christopher and his new friend Mal can be the heroes the archipelago needs.  

The first book in a brand-new series from Scholastic Branches follows Kwame, an 8-year-old in a society where everyone has a magic power. Kwame is so excited to start his first day of school and learn what kind of magic he will wield, but when he gets there, he cannot cast a single spell, and no one can figure out his magic type.

Hank, 11, and little sister Boo, 2, fend for themselves when their mom fails to return home. Eventually, they find their way to a distant family friend and use humor and vulnerability to build a new life and family.

The award-winning author of the graphic novel Swim Team, a Saratoga Reads! 2024 selection, explores whether a summer spent camping sans devices or one practicing for gamer competition is the better option.  Turns out “the truth lies somewhere in between.”

Time travel with a unique twist. Grieving after the sudden death of her grandfather, Dally discovers a secret map that leads to a hidden library where she can explore her family’s hidden history.  The catch is that the adventures are not in sequential order, leaving her with much detective work and a life-changing opportunity.

Experience one “terrible, horrible, very bad day” in the life of Andrew, a middle schooler who suffers from anxiety and OCD.  The author’s stick figure diagrams of Andrew’s popcorn anxiety chart take you inside his mind.

Billed as the successor to Harry Potter, this is Hogwarts with a difference, where students are encouraged to explore all possibilities of their magical gifts. Some elements are vaguely familiar; others are a surprise. There will be a sequel!

The author of the bestseller Serafina series returns again to Asheville in a prophetic rendition of a 100-year flood, published just weeks after Helene. An Asheville resident himself, all profits from the sale of the book will be donated to the town’s recovery process.