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Must-Read Books November 2025 |
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| Bad Bad Girl by Gish JenBased on the life of the author’s mother, this “heartbreaking and stunning” (Library Journal) story follows Loo Shu-hsin, from her privileged but unhappy childhood in Shanghai to 1947 Chicago, where she studies for an advanced degree. Marrying a fellow immigrant, she settles in New York, but she isn’t happy and mistreats her eldest daughter. Try this next: Wendy Chen’s Their Divine Fires. |
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Helen of Wyndhorn
by Tom King
Following the tragic death of her ... father C.K. Cole, the esteemed pulp writer and creator of the popular warrior character Othan; Helen Cole is called back to her grandfather's enormous and illustrious estate: Wyndhorn House. Scarred by Cole's untimely passing and lost in a new, strange world, Helen wreaks drunken havoc upon her arrival; however, her chaotic ways begin to soften as she discovers a lifetime of secrets hiding within the myriad rooms and hallways of the expansive manor. For outside its walls, within the woods, dwell the legendary adventures that once were locked away within her father's stories.
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| The French Kitchen by Kristy CambronBoston's Kat Fontaine, who as a child spent summers in France, follows her brother into the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Working undercover as a kitchen maid in a chateau occupied by the Nazis, Kat faces danger helping the resistance and hears nothing from her sibling. After the war, she returns to uncover what happened to him, getting help from friends, including Julia Child. Try this next: Amy Lynn Green's The Codebreaker's Daughter.
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| The Last Death of the Year by Sophie HannahOn New Year’s Eve 1932, Hercule Poirot and Inspector Catchpool holiday on a small Greek island while Poirot investigates a threat against a guest in the rundown house where they are staying. Then a note appears, promising “the last and first death of the year,” which is followed by a murder. This clever latest from Sophie Hannah (Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night) is authorized by Agatha Christie’s estate and will appeal to fans of Colleen Cambridge's Murder at Mallowan Hall. |
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The Second Chance Cinema
by Thea Weiss
At the end of a cobblestone alley, shrouded by fog and empty storefronts, lies a glittering magical cinema, with 'The Story of You' presented on the marquee. Ellie and Drake, a newly engaged couple, stumble upon it while walking around their city late one night. Ellie, a dreamer who has made a career of writing about nearly forgotten businesses, is immediately intrigued. Tickets in hand, they make their way into the deserted red-velvet auditorium and to their great surprise, see projected before them memories from their respective pasts. Risk-averse Drake is reluctant when Ellie insists they return to the cinema, but he finally concedes. There's a moment she's haunted by from her past that she doesn't fully remember. If she could only watch what happened, then maybe she'd finally know she wasn't to blame. Meanwhile, Drake is concerned that Ellie will get the wrong idea about a past relationship from what she sees on the screen. As their memories inch closer to the day they met, they realize they both have been keeping secrets from each other.
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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.
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A Christmas Witness
by Charles Todd
Inspector Ian Rutledge investigates a possible attempted murder in this seasonal mystery novella from New York Times bestseller Charles Todd.
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6:40 to Montreal
by Eva Jurczyk
Agatha's husband bought her a first-class ticket on the famous six-hour train from Toronto to Montreal as a present - a one-day writing retreat so she could get some serious writing done on her book. The first-class car is the perfect place to be productive, with only a handful of other passengers, plenty of snacks and drinks, and beautiful views flying by outside the window. But when the train breaks down in the middle of the Canadian woods and one of Agatha's fellow passengers dies quietly in his seat, what started out as a pleasant day in transit with no distractions turns into a fight for survival against an unknown and unseen enemy. Will Agatha - or any of them - make it out alive?
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More Weight: A Salem Story
by Ben Wickey
In Salem, Massachusetts, 1692 is a year of terror. When accusations of witchcraft plunge the community into paranoia and death, curmudgeonly farmer Giles Corey and his great-souled wife Martha are forced to confront their troubled pasts, fighting to hold onto their principles even at the cost of their lives. In the 1860s, famed writers Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow stroll the streets of Salem together, reflecting on their own dark connections to those wicked days. Today, graphic novelist Ben Wickey wrestles with the complex legacy of the Witch City and what it shows us about the best and worst of humanity. Based on true events, set in three centuries, and hand-drawn over a decade, More Weight is a stunning visual symphony -- a unique and profound inquiry into the infamous Salem witch trials and the long shadows they still cast on us all.
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Something I Keep Upstairs
by J. D. Barker
For a haunted house to be born, somebody has to die. In the sleepy coastal town of New Castle, New Hampshire, seventeen-year-old Billy Hasler's life is about to take a terrifying turn. When his best friend David Spivey inherits a mysterious house on a nearby island, it seems like the perfect place to spend their final summer before heading off to college. No parents. No police. No responsibilities. As they dig into the island's dark past, they awaken an ancient evil that has influenced generations. What begins as an innocent summer adventure quickly descends into a nightmare. Something I Keep Upstairs is a haunting exploration of friendship, sacrifice, and the darkness lurking just beyond our understanding.
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The Defender (Deluxe Edition)
by Ana Huang
As the captain of Blackcastle Football Club and one of the highest-paid athletes in the game, Vincent DuBois should be on top of the world. But when his fame brings danger to his doorstep, he finds himself in a nightmare scenario; sharing a flat with his coach's daughter, knowing full well she's far too big a temptation for him to resist. ... As a sports nutritionist and the daughter of a legendary coach, Brooklyn Armstrong is used to dealing with hotshot athletes. However, no player gets under her skin like Vincent, her best friend's infuriatingly cocky (and gorgeous) brother. She left California hoping for a fresh start, and he's the kind of distraction she doesn't need.
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| We Met Like This by Kasie WestHopeless romantic and dating app-averse literary agent Margot keeps getting matched with Oliver, who she swiped right on three years ago but hasn't seen again since their single bad date. Will these opposites find a second chance at love? This banter-filled adult debut from YA author Kasie West (Better Than Revenge) will appeal to fans of The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai. |
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We Survived the Night
by Julian Brave Noisecat
Born to a Secwepemc father and Jewish-Irish mother, Julian Brave NoiseCat's childhood was full of contradictions. Despite living in the urban Native community of Oakland, California, he was raised primarily by his white mother. He was a competitive powwow dancer, but asked his father to cut his hair short, fearing that his white classmates would call him a girl if he kept it long. When his father, tormented by an abusive and impoverished rez upbringing, eventually left the family, NoiseCat was left to make sense of his Indigenous heritage and identity on his own. Now, decades later, Noisecat has set across the country to correct the erasure, invisibility, and misconceptions surrounding this nation's First Peoples, as he develops his voice as a storyteller and artist in his own right.
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| We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution by Jill LeporeHarvard University historian Jill Lepore's sweeping and accessible history surveys the creation and evolution of the United States Constitution, spotlighting key amendments that continue to shape the country. It's "urgent" (Kirkus Reviews) and "essential" (Library Journal) reading. Try this next: The Nation That Never Was: Reconstructing America's Story by Kermit Roosevelt III. |
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| Moon Song by Michaela Goade"Come! Haagú! Follow the light." So begins a bedtime story, spun by a Tlingit child for her anxious cousin. Together, they take an imaginary journey through nighttime wonders, from the snow-covered woods to the dark ocean waves to the glowing aurora borealis overhead. Illustrated in jewel-bright colors, this companion book to Berry Song is equal parts enchanting and soothing. |
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| War Games by Alan GratzDesperate to help her poor family, American gymnast Evie competes in the 1936 Berlin Olympics with a secret goal: to join with other Olympians in a high-stakes attempt to steal Nazi gold. Fans of author Alan Gratz will know to expect fascinating details and gripping twists in this historical heist thriller. |
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| The Scammer by Tiffany D. JacksonJordyn’s fresh start at Frazier University was going great until her roommate’s brother moved in. Fresh from prison, Devonte wields conspiracy theories and charisma to develop a cultlike campus following that Jordyn isn’t falling for. Fans of author Tiffany D. Jackson’s brand of thought-provoking thrillers will enjoy this propulsive tale.
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| Fake Skating by Lynn PainterA lot has changed since Dani and Alec fell out of touch in middle school. Finally reunited in hockey-obsessed Southview, Minnesota, they hatch a fake dating scheme that forces them to confront their complicated past. Read-alikes: Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick’s Make My Wish Come True; Ellen O'Clover’s Seven Percent of Ro Devereux.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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