** Rating Key **
Audience: A = Adult Audience | YA = YA Audience
Content: D = Death/Grief | L = Strong Language | MH = Mental Health |
P = Political/Social Issues | S = Sexual Content/Relationships | SU = Substance Use | V = Violence
Audience: A
Content: V
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
From the Publisher
*An international bestseller * Over 80 million copies sold worldwide * A PBS Great American Read Top 100 pick *
Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery, The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations.
Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different--and far more satisfying -- than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.
Audience: YA
Content: D, V
The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert
From the Publisher
* Instant New York Times and Indie Bestseller *
Bestselling author Melissa Albert returns with The Bad Ones, a supernatural horror novel about four mysterious disappearances in a town haunted by a sinister magical history
Goddess, goddess, count to five
In the morning, who's alive?
In the course of a single winter's night, four people vanish without a trace across a small town.
Nora's estranged best friend, Becca, is one of the lost. As Nora tries to untangle the truth of Becca's disappearance, she discovers a darkness in her town's past, as well as a string of coded messages Becca left for her to unravel. These clues lead Nora to a piece of local lore: a legendary goddess of forgotten origins who played a role in Nora and Becca's own childhood games. . . .
An arresting, crossover horror fantasy threaded with dark magic, The Bad Ones is a poison-pen love letter to semi-toxic best friendship, the occult power of childhood play and artistic creation, and the razor-thin line between make-believe and belief.
Audience: YA
Content: D, V
The Fellowship of the Ring : being the first part of the lord of the rings (Lord of the Rings, Book 1) by J. R. R. Tolkien
From the Publisher
* Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read *
The opening novel of The Lord of the Rings -- the greatest fantasy epic of all time -- which continues in The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
The dark, fearsome Ringwraiths are searching for a Hobbit. Frodo Baggins knows that they are seeking him and the Ring he bears -- the Ring of Power that will enable evil Sauron to destroy all that is good in Middle-earth. Now it is up to Frodo and his faithful servant, Sam, with a small band of companions, to carry the Ring to the one place it can be destroyed: Mount Doom, in the very center of Sauron's realm.
-- GRAPHIC NOVEL--
Audience: YA
Content: D, P, V
Hunger's Bite by Robin Taylor
From the Publisher
* A 2025 School Library Journal Best Graphic Novel of the Year * A 2025 Booklist Editors' Choice Graphic Novel *
A specter is haunting the Atlantic!
After growing up together on the luxurious SS Lark, Neeta Pandey and Emery Botwright are ready to start their lives. Emery wants to follow in his father's footsteps and sail the Lark forever, while Neeta yearns to travel the world. But neither will have any future at all if the Lark's new owner, Mr. Honeycutt, has his way.
Mr. Honeycutt . . . The first-class passengers adore him, while he makes the ship a nightmare for the crew. Twisted by unnatural appetites, the rich are actually transforming into something less than human, and their insatiable demands soon push the staff toward a--quite literal-- burnout.
Something otherworldly is undeniably aboard the SS Lark, something horribly hungry. But it's not Wick Farley: vampire, secret agent, and paranormal investigator. Alone and at sea, with only Neeta and Emery to help him, he must uncover the truth about Mr. Honeycutt. And fast--before a ravenous craving for power consumes them all.
Taylor Robin's debut graphic novel is a thrilling supernatural adventure told in crackling, vibrant colors.
-- GRAPHIC NOVEL--
Audience: YA
Content: V
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong by Brian Buccellato (Author), Christian Duce (Illustrator)
From the Publisher
The DC Universe is about to get shaken-up when the Legion of Doom unlocks a portal to another dimension, unleashing the fiercest Monsters in the Multiverse.
Godzilla, the King of the Monsters has emerged from the deep seas of Metropolis, interrupting Superman’s proposal to Lois Lane. King Kong is taking on the world’s greatest heroes in his home turf, Skull Island. Can the Justice League send these creatures back to their own dimension before it’s too late?
How do you destroy the Justice League? The question has been plaguing Lex Luthor and his Legion of Doom since the two titanic groups first came to blows. When confronted with the colossal entities of Skull Island, Lex believes he's found the answer to their eternal question.
It's Superman vs. Godzilla, Wonder Woman vs. Behemoth, Green Lantern vs. Scylla, Batman vs. Camazotz, and Supergirl vs. Kong in this all-out battle for the fate of the DC Universe.
Can Superman stand up to the power of Godzilla? Can Lex Luthor harness the primal forces of Skull Island? It's time to find out the answers to these questions and more!
Acclaimed writer Brian Buccellato (Injustice) and bestselling artist Christian Duce (Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point) bring the cataclysmic crossover event of the year as the DC Universe clashes with Legendary's MonsterVerse.
This collection contains: Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1-7.
Audience: YA
Content: P, V
The Magnolia Sword : a ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas
From the Publisher
Bestselling writer Sherry Thomas weaves an enthralling retelling of a story that has thrilled readers for centuries: the ballad of Mulan.
CHINA, 484 A.D.
A Warrior in Disguise
All her life, Mulan has trained for one purpose: to win the duel that every generation in her family must fight. If she prevails, she can reunite a pair of priceless heirloom swords separated decades earlier, and avenge her father, who was paralyzed in his own duel.
Then a messenger from the Emperor arrives, demanding that all families send one soldier to fight the Rouran invaders in the north. Mulan's father cannot go. Her brother is just a child. So she ties up her hair, takes up her sword, and joins the army as a man.
A War for a Dynasty
Thanks to her martial arts skills, Mulan is chosen for an elite team under the command of the princeling--the royal duke's son, who is also the handsomest man she's ever seen. But the princeling has secrets of his own, which explode into Mulan's life and shake up everything she knows. As they cross the Great Wall to face the enemy beyond, Mulan and the princeling must find a way to unwind their past, unmask a traitor, and uncover the plans for the Rouran invasion ... before it's too late.
Inspired by wuxia martial-arts dramas as well as the centuries-old ballad of Mulan, The Magnolia Sword is perfect for fans of Renee Ahdieh, Marie Lu, or Kristin Cashore -- a thrilling, romantic, and sharp-edged novel that lives up to its beloved heroine.
Audience: A
Content: D, P, V
The Metamorphosis by Kafka
From the Publisher
"When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin."
With this startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first sentence, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetlelike insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing -though absurdly comic -meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the most widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction.
First published in 1915, Kafka's surreal novel about living in an indifferent universe has long been considered a seminal work of Existentialist literature.
Audience: A
Content: D, P, V
The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas
From the Publisher
When a demonic presence awakens deep in a Mexican silver mine, the young woman it seizes must turn to the one man she shouldn’t trust…from bestselling author Isabel Cañas.
In 1765, plague sweeps through Zacatecas. Alba flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family’s isolated mine for refuge. But safety proves fleeting as other dangers soon bare their teeth: Alba begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and violent convulsions. She senses something cold lurking beneath her skin. Something angry. Something wrong.
Elías, haunted by a troubled past, came to the New World to make his fortune and escape his family’s legacy of greed. Alba, as his cousin’s betrothed, is none of his business. Which is of course why he can’t help but notice the growing tension between them every time she enters the room…and why he notices her deteriorate when the demon’s thirst for blood gets stronger.
In the fight for her life, Alba and Elías become entangled with the occult, the Church, long-kept secrets, and each other… not knowing that one of these things will spell their doom.
Audience: YA
Content: D, P, V
Raybearer (Raybearer, Book 1) by Jordan Ifueko
From the Publisher
* Named one of the best books of the year by: People magazine, Buzzfeed, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and more! *
Nothing is more important than loyalty. But what if you've sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy?
Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as the Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince's Council of 11. If she's picked, she'll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere.
But the Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won't stand by and become someone's pawn -- but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself? With extraordinary world-building and breathtaking prose, Raybearer is the story of loyalty, fate, and the lengths we're willing to go for the ones we love.
Audience: YA
Content: D, V
Thirsty by M. T. Anderson
From the Publisher
* YALSA’s Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers * Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books: Bulletin Blue Ribbons
"Entertaining, disturbing, memorable, and sophisticated, this mortality tale will continue to haunt after the last pages are turned." – School Library Journal
All Chris really wants is to be a normal kid, to hang out with his friends, avoid his parents, and get a date with Rebecca Schwartz. Unfortunately, Chris appears to be turning into a vampire. So while his hometown performs an ancient ritual that keeps Tch'muchgar, the Vampire Lord, locked in another world, Chris desperately tries to save himself from his own vampiric fate.
A savagely funny tale of terror, teen angst, suspense, and satire from National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson.
Audience: YA
Content: D
Welcome to the Pine Away Motel and Cabins by Katarina Bivald
From the Publisher
From New York Times bestselling author of The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend.
A charming tale of a ramshackle roadside motel: a heartwarming story of love, friendship, community, and the art of living, even when it's already too late.
The Pine Creek Motel has seen better days. Henny would call it charming, but she's always seen the best in things. Like now, when she's just met an untimely end crossing the road. She's not going to let a tiny thing like death stop her from living fully -- not when her friends and family need her the most.
After the funeral is over, her body is buried, and the last casserole dish is empty, Henny is still around. She's not sure why, but she realizes she has one last opportunity to help her friends discover the happiness they once knew before they lose the motel and cabins they've cherished for years.
Schitt's Creek meets The Chicken Sisters with a dash of small-town heart and a whole lot of hope, Welcome to the Pine Away Motel and Cabins is the perfect book club read.