Fiction A to Z
July 2025

Events @ the Library
Summer Reading Program
Our Summer Reading Program (June 1-July 31) is open to ALL ages, from pre-readers to adults, so sign up today for a chance to win some great prizes this summer!
Friends of the Library Summer Book Sale
Join us at the FREE Friends of the Library Summer Book Sale at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds (Hobby, Arts & Craft Bldg at 3100 Gen. Pershing Blvd) Sat, Aug 8-Sun, Aug 9 from 9am-5pm. Fri, Aug 7 from 4-7 pm is a Members Only Pre-Sale event for those who become a Friends member between July 1, 2025 and August 8, 2025 at supportmls.org/fol/booksale.
Recent Releases
Flashlight
by Susan Choi

Flashlight follows American Louisa Kang and her family across locations and years, but focuses on the night young Louisa and her ethnically Korean father walk on a beach in Japan. Later, she washes ashore, amnesiac and clinging to life, but her dad can't be found. Covering family relationships and geopolitics, this slow burn novel is "never sentimental, never predictable" (Kirkus Reviews). Try this next: Kyung-Sook Shin's I Went to See My Father.
Great Black Hope
by Rob Franklin

Amid the glitz and glamour of New York, a 20-something gay Black man from a well-to-do Atlanta family flounders after the mysterious death of his roommate, the daughter of a famous singer. Grief-stricken, he's soon arrested for cocaine possession and caught between the worlds of race and class in this debut that's perfect for book clubs. For fans of: Rumaan Alam's Entitlement; Vinson Cunningham's Great Expectations.
The Road to Tender Hearts
by Annie Hartnett

PJ Halliday is a 63-year-old hoarder who drinks too much. When he learns his old high school girlfriend is newly single, he sets out on a cross-country road trip from Massachusetts to Arizona, bringing along his newly orphaned grandniece and grandnephew, his 26-year-old daughter, and Pancakes, a death-predicting cat. Funny and bittersweet, this novel works for fans of Steven Rowley's The Guncle and Kevin Wilson's Run for the Hills.
Open, Heaven
by Seán Hewitt

In this lyrical and poignant first novel by a poet and memoirist, librarian James looks back on his youth as a shy, gay 16-year-old. Growing up in a remote northern English village in 2002, James feels isolated from most people, except his ill younger brother, but he soon develops a friendship and consuming crush on the troubled new boy in town. For fans of: Douglas Stuart.
Big Chief
by Jon Hickey

Having moved around a lot, 30-year-old lawyer Mitch Caddo is an outsider at his Wisconsin reservation. But with his old friend Mack up for reelection as tribal president, political fixer Mitch works hard to defeat a nationally known activist, whose young aide is Mack's sister and Mitch's old flame. Jon Hickey, a member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, debuts with a timely, thought-provoking novel. For fans of: David Heska Wanbli Weiden's Winter Counts.
Awake in the Floating City
by Susanna Kwan

In a flooded near-future San Francisco, grieving artist Bo lives in a high rise and hopes for the return of her mother, missing for two years. On the verge of finally leaving the city, she instead stays to help her 130-year-old neighbor, whose stories inspire Bo's creativity. Exploring grief, art, memory, climate change, and multi-generational friendships, this is a "marvelously graceful debut" (Kirkus Reviews). Read-alike: Eiren Caffall's All the Water in the World.
Food Person
by Adam Roberts

Uncomfortable on camera, digital cooking magazine writer Isabella Pasternack is forced to go live on Instagram, which results in her firing. Desperate for a job, she's soon ghostwriting a cookbook for a scandal-plagued actress who's not interested in food. This fun debut combines the culinary world with friendship, ambition, and romance to create a great summer read. Try this next: Beth Harbison's The Cookbook Club.
So Far Gone
by Jess Walter

In a divided 2016 America, retired Rhys Kinnick decks his son-in-law Shane at Thanksgiving and then goes off-grid in Washington State. A few years later, his grandkids show up, brought by a neighbor at the request of Rhys' daughter. But then Shane sends members of his church militia after the kids, leading Rhys to team up with an eccentric group of old friends. Read-alike: The Feral Detective by Jonathan Lethem.
eResources @ Your Library
Tailored Titles
Looking for what to read next? We can help. Complete a reading interest survey and one of our reading experts will use your responses to build you a personalized reading list. Tailored Titles is your reading list, made to fit!
Fiero Code
Fiero Code is a self-paced learn-to-code software program for kids ages 8-18. Through fun and engaging tutorials and projects, Fiero Code teaches kids coding languages - such as HTML, Python and JavaScript - that they can use to build their own websites, video games, apps and more. Fiero Code also includes a portfolio feature for coders to display their work, and a "Share with Parents" feature for them to share their projects with family and friends.