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Must-Read Books February 2025 |
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| Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod ChapmanWhen Noah Fairchild's parents stop returning his calls, he races to his childhood home in Richmond, Virginia, where he discovers them in a trance inflicted by a far-right cable news channel. Attempts to help them are met by physical attacks, and before long Noah and his young nephew are the only ones that remain unaffected. Can they stop this strange affliction from possessing more families before it's too late? Try this next: This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno. |
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| Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. DoveAs the new tribal marshal on the Oklahoma reservation where her dad grew up, ex-Chicago cop Carrie Starr, who struggles with addiction and her teen daughter's death, is assigned to work cold cases of missing Indigenous women. But on her third day, a new woman is reported missing and Carrie's determined to find her. "The suspense builds steadily into a stunning ending" (Booklist) in this compelling debut. |
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| Isola by Allegra GoodmanInspired by a real 16th-century heroine, an orphaned and betrayed young woman, Marguerite, is marooned on a desolate island with her lover, where she must confront nature's harshness and her own strength in a desperate fight for survival. |
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| Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady HendrixAt a home for unwed mothers in 1970 Florida, 15-year-old Fern is given a spellbook by a mysterious librarian, which she and her friends initially use to enact petty revenge on their keepers -- until they question whether they should use their newfound powers for darker purposes. This "pulpy throwback" (Kirkus Reviews) from bestselling author Grady Hendrix (How to Sell a Haunted House) offers a violent homage to Rosemary's Baby. |
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| No Ordinary Duchess by Elizabeth HoytIn Elizabeth Hoyt's 3rd steamy Greycourt novel, a chance encounter in a private library leads to romance between duty-bound Julian Greycourt, the heir to the Windemere dukedom, and Lady Elspeth de Moray, a spirited bibliophile with a secret. Try this next: Knockout by Sarah MacLean; Any Duke in a Storm by Amalie Howard. |
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| Hotel Lucky Seven by Kotaro IsakaIn this thrilling follow-up to Bullet Train, Tokyo's unluckiest assassin, Nanao, faces a new mission after a botched job at a hotel. A woman with an extraordinary memory seeks his protection from a team of killers. What follows in this "near-perfect thriller" (Booklist), is a high-stakes battle, culminating in shocking revelations and a surprising ending. |
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| The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt by Chelsea IversenIn 19th-Century London, Harriet Hunt has been abandoned by her father in their family manor with only her plants for company. After marrying a man even worse than him, Harriet learns that her garden magically responds to her emotions, and uses it to take back her own power. For fans of: fantastical stories of women overcoming abuse and societal expectation such as Threadneedle by Cari Thomas and Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid. |
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| The Last Room on the Left by Leah KonenHazel and Fox, former vigilante killers, settle in the suburbs to raise their baby. But when Hazel kills again, their peaceful life unravels. As a fellow mom investigates their past, Hazel must protect her family from the consequences of their deadly secret, threatening everything they've built. |
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| Johnny Careless by Kevin WadeThis debut by Blue Bloods showrunner Kevin Wade introduces former NYPD detective Jeep Mullane, who's the new police chief in his Long Island hometown. Things start rocky when Jeep's high school best friend Johnny Chambliss is found drowned. Convinced it's murder, Jeep looks to the past and to Johnny's wealthy family. Fans of fast-paced police procedurals like those by John Sandford will want to give this a try. |
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| The Lotus Shoes by Jane YangIn 1800s China, six-year-old Little Flower, an exceptional embroiderer with coveted bound feet, is sold to the wealthy Fong family to be a lady's maid to jealous six-year-old Linjing, whose family has chosen to ignore the old ways and not bind her feet. Told from the viewpoints of the two well-realized main characters as they grow up, this moving debut will please fans of Lisa See's Lady Tan's Circle of Women. |
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| The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You by Neko CaseThe New Pornographers vocalist Neko Case's candid and compelling debut shares how she survived a childhood marked by poverty, abuse, and neglect to become a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter. For fans of: Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You by Lucinda Williams. |
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| I Am Nobody's Slave: How Uncovering My Family's History Set Me Free by Lee HawkinsPulitzer Prize finalist and What Happened in Alabama? podcast host Lee Hawkins' intimate and thought-provoking family history utilizes genealogical research and interviews to examine the ongoing impacts of generational trauma stemming from enslavement and Jim Crow. Further reading: Go Back and Get It: A Memoir of Race, Inheritance, and Intergenerational Healing by Dionne Ford. |
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| To See An Owl by Matthew CordellYoung Janie is absolutely obsessed with owls, and her heart is set on spotting one in the wild. It's a challenging goal, but with support from understanding adults, Janie's determination might pay off. With evocative landscape illustrations and a deep respect for nature, this spellbinding picture book pairs with Jane Yolen's classic Owl Moon. |
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| After Life by Gayle FormanAmber shocks her family upon arriving home from school one day, because seven years ago, a car struck and killed her. Given this second chance, Amber investigates how she returned, and more importantly, why? Fans of author Gayle Forman's popular If I Stay will appreciate this character-driven meditation on life and death. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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