Sink

Joseph Earl Thomas

“Joseph Earl Thomas’s Sink is a powerful, moving, and artful testament to the sustaining powers of the imagination. This compelling coming-of-age memoir is often brutal but also loving; it’s at turns critical, empathic, funny; it’s searching and revelatory the whole way through.” – Mitchell S. Jackson

B.F.F.

Christie Tate

“A meaningful, memorable journey from inner pain to honest, open, and enduring friendship.” – Kirkus Reviews

Enchantment

Katherine May

Katherine May’s Enchantment is a must-read for anyone seeking to rediscover the sense of wonder we carry about the world as children. A highly relatable and thought-provoking read that’ll help you recognize beauty in the mundane. – Rudy K.

Brutes

Dizz Tate

An incredible debut novel that swirls around the sinister, mesmerizing undertow of girlhood. The story is mythic and startling; the writing is lush and moving and strange. I loved every second of this book. (Also: check out that cover!!) – Kelsey F.

A Day of Fallen Night

Samantha Shannon

“Epic in scope, yet careful and tender in its depiction of personal grief, A Day of Fallen Night shows the heights of courage and depths of hope that people can find during terrifying, destruction chaos. A triumph of a book.” – Helen Corcoran

Our Share of Night

Mariana Enriquez (tr. Megan McDowell)

I’ve been obsessed with Mariana Enriquez, an Argentinian author, ever since her collection, Things We Lost in the Fire. This book is so unsettling. It burrowed under my skin and stayed there. 10/10, will absolutely read again. – Kelsey F.

Your Driver Is Waiting

Priya Guns

A gender flipped reboot of Taxi Driver amidst our current culture of alienation. A cover that basically stared me down, daring me to read it. Jean Kyong Frazier correctly said “this novel had its hands around my neck.” Bring it on. – Sarah R.

World Running Down

Al Hess

“Full of adventure, charm, and deeply human insights, the world in Hess’s World Running Down is an apocalypse you won’t want to leave.” – Seth Fried

Big Swiss

Jen Beagin

This book is a wild ride; it is full of lines so funny that you will be compelled to text them out of context to your friends while you read. But Jen Beagin is also doing something more profound that will keep resonating long after you finish. – Keith M.

The Sun Walks Down

Fiona McFarlane

This story of a lost child in nineteenth-century Australia and the people who go looking for him is riveting, beautiful, and wise. I don’t know how to better say it: this is literature at its best. – Keith M.

I Have Some Questions for You

Rebecca Makkai

I Have Some Questions for You swims through the gray areas of memory, perception, blame, guilt, and the ways we claim ownership over narratives that are maybe not ours to claim. Even while mentally screaming “maybe don’t enable this!” to the protagonist, I blazed through. – Sarah R.

Scorched Grace

Margot Douaihy

“Douaihy’s prose is fresh and energetic, and she brings the delightfully original character of Sister Holiday vividly to life. Holiday believably leads her own investigation, and the story satisfies right up until the very twisty end.” – Karin Slaughter

Wolfish

Erica Berry

God, I love nonfiction books that combine a serious, compassionate look at a particular species alongside a look at their cultural foot(paw?)prints and their impact on the author and the author’s story. Wolfish starts with OR-7, the legendary wolf wandering through northeast Oregon, and then spirals out from there. – Kelsey F.

The Wise Hours

Miriam Darlington

“A beautiful book; wise and sharp-eared as its subject.” – Robert Macfarlane

Couplets

Maggie Millner

In Couplets, Maggie Millner has written a highly structured, accessible book about the fluidity and restraint of relationships and sexuality. These rhyming couplets interspersed with prose meditations thrilled me. I’ve never read a book quite like this one before. – Adam P.

Peek-A-Boo Haiku

Danna Smith and Teagan White

Sitting quietly
Peeking at cute animals
Reading here with you
This is a cozy and cute read-aloud that introduces the power of simple verse. – Tina M.

Nayra and the Djinn

Iasmin Omar Ata

“Presenting a slice of life with a tinge of magic, the story’s overall mellow tone is heightened by the color palette's deep jewel tones...Fresh and interesting.” – Kirkus Reviews

On Air with Zoe Washington

Janae Marks

“A thoughtful sequel that revisits an admirable protagonist and accessibly explores challenging subjects.” – Kirkus Reviews

The Swifts

Beth Lincoln

The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels is a clever whodunnit that manages to simultaneously take us on a suspenseful and charming journey and celebrate the magic of language and words. Beth Lincoln lets us into the world of Shenanigan and her exciting adventure of self-discovery. – Tina M.

Once Upon a Book

Grace Lin and Kate Messner

With rhythmic text and beautiful gouache art full of lush hints of magic — like the dress that changes color to mirror the different places Alice travels to in her journey through the pages of her book — Once Upon a Book is a lovely celebration of imagination and reading. – Gigi L.

Evergreen

Matthew Cordell

On more than one occasion I have felt like a very small and timid squirrel sent on a quest through the big wide forest. I hope to always face my fears with as much tenacity (and as little soup-spilling) as little Evergreen. A beautiful picture book brimming with classic charm and gentle humor. – Sarah R.

A First Time for Everything

Dan Santat

“Dan Santat perfectly captures all the humor, confusion, awkwardness, and pure joy of being a young person stepping out into the world. Read this book! You’re going to love it, and you are going to laugh and cry so much!” – Christina Soontornvat

Chaos Theory

Nic Stone

“A thoughtful, realistically messy emotional wallop that destigmatizes mental disorders.” – Kirkus Reviews

She Is a Haunting

Trang Thanh Tran

Vietnamese, bisexual, sapphic, atmospheric horror debut with a Silence-of-The-Lambs-esque cover written by a non-binary author? And you think I’m above making this book my entire personality?? Think again. There’s no way I’m not obsessing over this book. – Stacy Wayne D.

One of Us Is Lying

Karen M. McManus

“This fast-paced blend of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and classic John Hughes will leave readers racing to the finish as the try to unravel the mystery on their own” – Kirkus Reviews