Must-Read Books
May 2025
Adult Fiction
The Women on Platform Two
by Laura Anthony

In 2023, after a fight with her fiancé about having kids, Saoirse meets elderly Maura, who describes life when contraception was illegal in Ireland. In 1969, Maura, her friend Bernie (who another pregnancy may kill), and other women push against the status quo in this moving dual-timeline novel. Try this next: Heather Marshall's Looking for Jane or Dolen Perkins-Valdez's Take My Hand.
Breath of Oblivion
by Maurice Broaddus

In this sequel to Sweep of Stars, the empire of Muungano faces continued threats to its progress. Across the entire empire, citizens struggle to hold together ship crews, free children from a nightmarish prison, unlock hidden powers from their past, and much more. Sharply witty and incisive, this series will delight fans of Octavia Butler and Samuel R. Delaney.
A Fashionably French Murder
by Colleen Cambridge

In 1950 Paris, American expat Tabitha Knight and her friend Julia Child, who's a whiz in the kitchen, become involved in a murder case after visiting a fashion house in their evocative 3rd outing. Also investigating? Handsome Inspector Merveille. For a second helping of crime with a French food focus, try Martin Walker's Bruno Courreges mysteries.
Welcome to the Honey B&B
by Melody Carlson

With multiple narrators, including 60-something Honey, her husband CT, and their artist daughter Jewel, this moving Christian novel follows the family as they deal with CT's worsening dementia. To help out, Jewel and her 14-year-old daughter move to Oregon where they work to turn the family farmhouse into a bed-and-breakfast. Read-alikes: Katie Powner's A Flicker of Light; Pat Simmons' Lean On Me.
Fan Service
by Rosie Danan

Years after Devin Ashwood, the star of werewolf detective show The Arcane Files, broke bisexual superfan Alex Lawson's heart, he turns to her for help after he discovers he's turning into a werewolf for real. This steamy, paranormal enemies-to-lovers rom-com will appeal to fans of How to Help a Hungry Werewolf by Charlotte Stein.
The Pretender
by Jo Harkin

Lambert Simnel, a ten-year-old peasant in 1480s England, is tutored and trained, and then declared the hidden heir to the throne. Amid court politics, Lambert becomes part of the Yorkist cause in this witty, "wildly entertaining" (Booklist) novel based on a little-known true story. For fans of: Maggie O'Farrell, Alison Weir, and Hilary Mantel.
Audition
by Katie Kitamura

In a Manhattan restaurant, a celebrated middle-aged actress working on a new Broadway play meets a mysterious young man for lunch. But who are they to each other and what does their relationship mean for their futures? Presented in two disorienting parts, this sparsely written, unconventional novel defies reader expectations. Read-alike: Heidi Reimer's The Mother Act.
The Filling Station
by Vanessa Miller

In Oklahoma’s Black Wall Street area, high school senior Evelyn plans to study fashion in New York while her sister, new college graduate Margaret, is going to teach at a local school. But the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre destroys their neighborhood and their sense of safety. Finding refuge at a local filling station, they struggle with their faith and look for answers in this "novel that should be required reading" (Library Journal).
The Railway Conspiracy
by John Shen Yen Nee

In 1924 London, Judge Dee and his friend, professor Lao She, use deductive reasoning and martial arts as they investigate theft, murder, and a sinister international conspiracy involving Russia, Japan, and China. This 2nd series entry after The Murder of Mr. Ma is "fiendishly clever" (Publishers Weekly) and "a rollicking good tale" (Booklist).
The Antidote
by Karen Russell

A severe dust storm devastates a Nebraska town already suffering due to the burdens of its dark past and the Great Depression. Narrated by a teen basketball star, a Polish farmer, a scarecrow, a prairie witch who keeps memories, and a New Deal photographer with a time-bending camera, this buzzy latest by a Pulitzer finalist weds the supernatural to the historical. Read-alikes: Kali Fajardo-Anstine's Woman of Light; William Kent Krueger's This Tender Land.
Count My Lies
by Sophie Stava

In this debut thriller, Sloane, a habitual liar, enters the life of the wealthy Lockhart family by pretending to be a nurse and later becoming their nanny. As secrets emerge, Sloane’s view of their seemingly perfect life proves dangerously distorted in a suspense-filled story of deception and desire.
My Big Fat Fake Marriage
by Charlotte Stein

When editor Henry Samuel "Beck" Beckett confesses to his neighbor, aspiring writer Connie Evans, that he has lied to his coworkers about being married, she offers to pose as his wife at a company writing retreat. As the tension builds between them at the retreat, they discover that there's only one bed... For fans of: The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez.
This Book Will Bury Me
by Ashley Winstead

After her father’s death, Jane Sharp becomes fixated on a local murder, solving the case with her sharp investigative skills. She joins a group of sleuths and, when three women are murdered in Idaho, the team dives into the mystery, uncovering unsettling truths in this compelling, slow-burn thriller.
Upon A Starlit Tide
by Kell Woods

In 1758 Saint-Malo, Lucinde Leon, the rebellious daughter of a wealthy shipowner, rescues a drowning man. As she is drawn in by the stranger's unearthly charm, Lucinda falls into a world of faerie magic and secret desires. Combining elements of The Little Mermaid and Cinderella into an enticing historical fantasy, this vividly detailed and romantic tale will charm fans of Leslye Penelope's Daughter of the Merciful Deep and Leigh Bardugo's The Familiar. 
Adult Nonfiction
When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of...
by Graydon Carter

Journalist and former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter dishes on his 25 years working for the iconic periodical in this gossipy and self-deprecating "paean to the big, glossy, influential magazines of yore" (Booklist). For fans of: Dilettante: True Tales of Excess, Triumph, and Disaster by former Vanity Fair deputy editor Dana Brown.
The Mesopotamian Riddle: An Archaeologist, a Soldier, a Clergyman, and the Race to...
by Joshua Hammer

Journalist Joshua Hammer's (The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu) fast-paced latest chronicles the mid-19th century race among archaeologists and scholars to decode cuneiform script. This evocative adventure tale will appeal to fans of Margalit Fox's The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code.
The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America
by Kostya Kennedy

Released in time for the 250th anniversary of the event and featuring fresh insights, journalist Kostya Kennedy's accessible history chronicles Paul Revere's fateful midnight ride to warn American minutemen of the British army's impending arrival. Further reading: The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 by Rick Atkinson.
Integrated: How American Schools Failed Black Children
by Noliwe Rooks

Scholar Noliwe Rooks' thought-provoking history examines how school desegregation efforts in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education have adversely impacted Black students. Further reading: Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve L. Ewing.
Yoko: A Biography
by David Sheff

David Sheff (Beautiful Boy) draws on decades' worth of his interviews with Yoko Ono, including a 1980 interview for Playboy conducted shortly before John Lennon's murder, to deliver a nuanced portrait of the often misunderstood artist and activist. Further reading: We All Shine On: John, Yoko, and Me by Elliot Mintz.
Youth Fiction
When We Ride
by Rex Ogle

Although Diego tries to avoid trouble, driving around his weed-dealing best friend Lawson helps keep a roof over Lawson’s head. As Lawson’s business expands into increasingly dangerous goods, more than their friendship is at stake. Fans of S.E. Hinton’s classic The Outsiders will appreciate this gritty novel in verse.
Don't Trust Fish
by Neil Sharpson; illustrated by Dan Santat

While it might begin with innocuous animal introductions, this picture book soon reveals its bias, declaring that all fish are sneaky, rebellious outlaws who absolutely CAN’T be trusted. Kids and adults alike will appreciate the clever visual humor in this uproarious read-aloud, laughing all the way to the end (where the unreliable narrator is revealed).
The Cartoonists Club
by Raina Telgemeier & Scott McCloud

Makayla, Howard, Lynda, and Art all have different ideas and talents, but they have a common goal: making comics. Together, they form the Cartoonists Club, and you can follow along as they figure out friendships and discover tips and tools for creating graphic novels. With relatable characters and inviting art, this graphic novel is exactly what you’d expect from fan-favorite Raina Telgemeier and comics expert Scott McCloud.
Contact your librarian for more great books!