The best books of the year, as selected by Los Angeles Public Library staff.
A victory lap of sorts, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Southern Reach Trilogy (Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance) with a fourth installment, continuing the thread of earthy, cosmic horror into multiple directions, carried by VanderMeer's usual stunning, sparkling prose.
What might have been a straightforward story of middle-aged self-discovery takes some unexpected turns–most literally when the narrator exits the highway twenty minutes into a planned cross-country drive and subsequently camps out in a Monrovia motel room for two weeks, lying to her family while exploring an attraction to a local car rental employee. July is typically frank and funny throughout, though the back half of the book is a slightly more conventional story of a 40-something blowing up her life and finding herself in the process.
Ana Mendieta. Remember that name.
One of the recent trends in science fiction seems to be how humans will interact with artificial intelligence. The author tells the story of one human and his relationship with his AI robot girlfriend, Annie, as she seeks to understand the range of human emotions. At times, heartbreaking and cruel, the author examines the best and worst of romantic relationships.
Having to return to the world of antiques after her mentor dies under mysterious circumstances, Freya must work with her Aunt Carole to find out what truly happened and if there's murder afoot.
Arthur Edwards, after living his entire life in the small town of Northbridge in northern England, at the age of 79, and after 50 years of marriage and two adult children, wants everyone to know that he's gay.
Arthur's 21-year-old grandson, Teddy, is also gay, but he hasn't told anyone in his family yet. As Teddy watches his grandfather come out to his family and his family's reactions, especially his mother's, he begins to question if he, too, should come out to his family or if he should continue to hide who he is from them. Can these two men, one at the beginning of his life, the other closer to the end, help each other and their family accept who they really are?
In Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out, debut author Ryan Love puts an interesting spin on the "coming out" story. By focusing on two different people, decades apart in age, he deftly illustrates the challenges individuals face when taking that step. He also shows how the process of coming out can be more challenging for older adults due to others' refusal to accept a recently revealed truth about someone they've known for a long period of time. While the novel is focused on Arthur and Teddy coming out to their family and friends, the overarching theme of Arthur and Teddy are Coming Out is to live life to the fullest. Accept and embrace yourself and those around you, and do your best to live your life with as few regrets as possible. And, honestly, that's very good advice for everyone.
Karys makes her living as a death speaker, investigating suspicious deaths by obtaining information from the dead; she bargained away her soul in exchange for this skill, and the debt is about to be called in. Meanwhile, she has accidentally absorbed a man named Ferain into her shadow, and a bunch of extremists has called for her assassination. The plot is intricate, and the writing is both humorous and evocative.
Here, the author posits the existence of books that grant special powers to their possessors. These range from the Book of Joy to the Book of Pain to the Book of Control and beyond. Cassie Andrews, a bookstore clerk, is given one of these books, The Book of Doors, by a beloved customer on his death. The Book of Doors says, "Any door is every door," and soon Cassie is off stepping across the world courtesy of her book. But, naturally, this is not a paradise. There are people who want the books for the power they offer, and they would love to lay their hands on The Book of Doors. Cassie must cope with ever-spiraling complications as she tries to work out a solution that leaves everyone at peace.
When the children of the ruling tyrant disappear into the wild and dangerous Elmever Forest one night, Veris Thorn is commanded to go in and save them. Once, many years ago, she brought a child back out of this mystical woods. But only she knows the price she paid.
A unique, intense and thoughtful look at a lonely life. The night cleaner spends her career cleaning, but also masterminding the work life of the office workers by moving, stealing or changing things they have or need. As she gets more entangled in the lives of the day shift, more issues arise about herself and those around her.
Jane and Lenny are struggling artists living in L.A. with their two small children, bouncing from borrowed house to borrowed house. While Jane works on her long-anticipated second novel about biracial people, she starts to dive into the world of television writing and the colorful people involved in that industry, keeping it a secret from her family.
The story begins with Veronica traveling to the moon in the 1930s at the behest of her husband to enter a sanitorium to cure her depression. The truth of what she discovers is far worse than she could ever imagine. Within this short novella, Ballingrud builds a fantastical and horrifying world where the moon is populated by spiders who spin mind-altering silk. Still, the real monsters are the men who use it to control and manipulate. The first book in a new series, this title is a must-read for anyone who is a fan of weird fiction and horror.
Multiple award-winning author P. Djèlí Clark’s latest is, in essence, a pulp novel where Clark has taken elements of adventure, horror, sci-fi, and fantasy pulp stories and expertly mixed them into a rousing adventure filled with fight scenes, chases, and nearly cataclysmic confrontations. It also involves undead assassins, each with their own unique identity and who are beholden to a vengeful god, science, magic, questions about identity, memory, and the question of doing something that seems right while clearly also breaking established rules.
In The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, multiple award-winning author P. Djèlí Clark again illustrates why he is one of the most interesting and fascinating fantasy writers working today. His worlds are carefully crafted and filled with marvels and wonders. His characters are smart, brash, and almost fearless. The dialogue is whip-smart, and there is an impish sense of humor that runs throughout the novella. It seems clear that Clark is having as much fun writing as his readers will have reading his work. This makes The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, on top of everything else, fun! It is a great read for those looking for fun, adventure, and a wicked sense of humor.
Alternating between 1983 and 2012, delves into a hypnotizing murder mystery set in the north of Iceland at a former sanatorium. Detectives couldn't solve it, and when a criminologist starts studying the case, he discovers that the ghosts of the past are not yet settled.
Horror meets historical gothic mystery in this excellent page-turner about a Harlem Renaissance painter and a present day author trying to make ends meet.
This LitRPG follows Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, as they navigate the end of the world and are forced into an underground, alien televised survival game. It's equal parts violent and funny and 100% worth the ride. The audiobook is narrated expertly by Jeff Hayes and is a great listen.
Here, we have a video game come to life. Aliens have come to Earth to stage a very fatal reality television show, and Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, are swept into the mix. Follow along as they fight for survival in this action-packed, if very gruesome, story.
Cozy romantic fantasy lovers, this is for you. The second installment of the Emily Wilde series, this book continues with the adventures of neurodivergent faerie scholar Emily Wilde and her fellow Cambridge professor, Wendell Bambleby. This time, they're headed to the Austrian Alps. Wendell is under a nasty curse, and naturally, Emily is the one to put an end to it. Told in a journal entry format, this book is best enjoyed in a comfy nook with a steaming mug of tea.
In 1913, a sensitive young man checks into a tuberculosis treatment resort in a picturesque mountain town. There, he falls in with a group of "gentlemen" who regularly discuss gender dynamics from a misogynistic perspective over hallucinogenic-infused liquor, eager to ignore the severity of their ailments. However, it is not just the disease that hangs a morbid cloud over these men.
Wonderfully written, End of Story delivers!
In 1994, an abused teen runaway, obsessed with Kurt Cobain, gets a second chance when a grieving rancher takes him in to help with the spring lambing season. Rural Montana sets a beautiful backdrop for this novel.
This murder mystery meets Jurassic Park plot has everything: woolly mammoths, shady scientists, unscrupulous billionaires, abandoned mines, Monopoly tokens, and a meddlesome film crew.
Think The Hunger Games... but with children. A TV reality show where you can select your own Metababy, and the world votes for your ultimate outcome.
In her debut, Genoveva Dimova tells a story spread across two novels, Foul Days and Monstrous Nights, about the cities of Chernograd from Belograd. Chernograd is surrounded by a magical wall that keeps its citizens inside the city. It also keeps the monsters inside as well. Once a year, beginning on New Year’s Eve, the barrier between the human world and the monster world is at its thinnest and Chernograd is besieged with monsters. It is the job of Kosara and witches like her to protect her city and its citizens during the "Foul Days" (the first12 days of the new year) while the monsters run rampant.
With a bit of magic, adventure, a touch of romance, and Monsters(!!!) drawn from Slavic folklore, The Witch’s Compendium of Monsters novels are a marvelous debut from an author to watch.
A well-written, gripping read. Full of new ideas and seldom-used folklore.
Effortlessly melding the fantastical with picturesque 1908 Manchuria, Choo depicts the journey of a heart-wrenching heroine named Snow seeking vengeance for her lost child. Bring in a world-weary detective, rumors of foxes, and deaths in the snow, and you'll be lost for days. Treat yourself to the author reading the audiobook—she's marvelous!
The first in a novella trilogy, this is a quick, fast paced space heist with a fun and sassy narrative voice.
When a teen goes missing from her summer camp cabin, a chain of events is set into motion. The history of the camp and those involved with it unfold in a dramatic fashion, exploring the haves and haves not and another unsolved mystery from the same family.
This fun novel tells the story of a group of senior citizens who want to save their town’s community center from being sold. It’s a group of strong personalities with many secrets between them and proof that age can’t stop you from having a good time.
A follow up to The Searcher, French's atmospheric thriller continues the story of Cal Hooper, a retired American cop who sought peace in a remote Irish village, and found himself embroiled in a complex web of violence and secrets.
A retelling of the classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The author tells the story from Jim's perspective, how he views the world and its complexities as a slave. Although set in a different time period, so many of the themes and ideas resonate today.
Lange has made a name and won awards writing about society's forgotten outsiders, usually in the gritty underside of Los Angeles. With his newest novel Joe Hustle, he continues to fire on all cylinders. In this novel that is part romance, part neo-noir thriller, Joe Hustle's struggles seem to be at an end when he falls in love with Emily, the black sheep of a rich family. When circumstances get sticky, they run away together, but trouble never sleeps, and they are forced to confront their demons, both external and internal.
Libby, who has anonymously written a best-selling fantasy series, is slated to write a much anticipated final installment in the series. However, she suddenly finds that she has early-onset Alzheimer's and is unable to finish the final book. Trying to hide this from her publisher, Libby desperately seeks help from Peanut Bixton, a passionate 11-year-old fan and budding writer. Their lives and the lives of the characters in Libby's book intertwine to make this a moving story with an unexpected ending.
A tightly woven page-turner about two young women who get caught up in murder, love and the ties that bind us all together.
A group of scientists taken captive by terrifying aliens beyond their understand try to survive, keep their humanity, and solve the problems put before them, knowing that if they do so they may be putting human civilization at greater risk.
Mercy of the Gods is a fast paced and high stakes space opera full of puzzles, human drama, and the struggle to survive in an uncaring universe.
The twentieth and last installment of this hilarious cozy mystery series brings us back to Jaine Austen, author, and part-time murder solver who has to clear her name once again after her new boss is murdered on a train from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara.
A fast paced sci-fi opera with a crew of space traveling misfits who want to watch K-dramas together and eat snacks, which is very relatable.
Theo and Kit are two exes who unexpectedly end up on the same European food and wine tour. Despite their past and unresolved issues, they challenge each other to a hookup competition to prove they are totally over each other. If you are in the market for a super messy relationship story punctuated with McQuiston’s signature witty banter and lavish descriptions of food and drinks amongst the backdrop of Europe, this book will fulfill your European vacation romance fantasy!
The first in a promised trilogy, Polostan finds Stephenson returning to sprawling historical fiction. Intricately researched, the book follows Dawn Rae Bjornberg, raised by anarchist cowboys and eventually groomed as a KGB spy. Fans of Stephenson's Baroque Cycle will find much to like, though this is just a prelude to a hopefully enjoyable series.
If you enjoy historical novels based on actual historical events and characters, Precipice is an extremely satisfying read that sheds light on the outbreak of WWI. I found the book hard to put down. The text is a mixture of prose and actual historical letters that provide a unique perspective on British society in the Edwardian era.
Although historical fiction, the book follows closely the first Black actor to win an Oscar's life story, including her actual friendship with Gone With the Wind costar Clark Gable.
Incredibly riveting tale of a detective whose missing sister disappeared twenty years ago. When a local, missing teen is found alive and wandering readers learn that she might hold the key to secrets of the past.
A novel for royal biography buffs. A truly rewarding guilty pleasure because at the heart of the cotton candy are authentic historical details about place, time, and personages. You will appreciate the good dialogue the author creates for your favorite nineteenth-century royals.
Biblical story intertwined with Hollywood's Golden Age. It showed how Hollywood executives "paired" couples and made unwanted news 'disappear' until the coast was clear and also showed the blatant racism that was very prevalent in Hollywood and how the celebrity gossip columnists could make you or break you by the power of their pen. A great read!
In A Short Walk Through a Wide World, debut author Douglas Westerbeke takes readers on an adventure that spans decades, continents, and, seemingly, space/time itself. Westerbeke tells Aubry’s story through her recounting of it herself to fellow travelers she encounters on her journey. Her travels span decades, and she has seen and experienced marvels. Westerbeke pointedly highlights the locales in Aubry’s travels that are "off the beaten path," allowing her and readers to learn about places and peoples not commonly covered in popular travelogues.
While the emphasis is placed on all of the places Aubry has seen and experienced, Westerbeke stresses the importance of home, family, and the idea that everyone needs a place and people they can call their own. A Short Walk Though a Wide World allows readers the best of both worlds: to join Aubry on her journey to wild and exotic adventures while doing so from the comfort of whatever place they call home.
"Small Rain" is a moving meditation on illness, love, and the tiny tender moments that make a human life worth living. Each carefully crafted sentence is like a perfectly formed pearl, adding up to a novel of remarkable beauty and tenderness. A triumph!
Someone You Can Build A Nest in is the story family trauma, mystery, and strife told from the point of view of a horrific monster with a the purest and most romantic heart, ever.
Here TJ Klune continues the story begun in The House in the Cerulean Sea. Arthur, Linus, and their house full of magical children continue to have a joyous existence in the face of an oppressive and limiting government. The family must cope with a government inspector determined to find against them and take the children away, all while trying to welcome a new member of the family. Can happiness, individuality, and common sense prevail?
This eleventh volume of the series Wars of Light and Shadow completes the journey which started in 1993 with Curse of the Mistwraith. Possibilities previously hinted at come to fruition, and conflicts are resolved, often in surprising and unpredictable ways.
A dark yet beautiful retelling of The Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl. An adolescent girl, an evil sorceress mother, a wealthy squire and his spinster sister, a horse named Falada, some geese, magic, obedience, abuse, love, friendship, good and evil... this book had it all!
A wonderfully written book, bringing fresh life to several old fairy tales. An interesting perspective on power, including women's previous roles in it. And despite everything, I'm glad the 'horse' isn't really dead.
All over Daretana, people are dying a terrible and unnatural death when trees sprout from within their bodies. On the case is the brilliant and eccentric investigator Ana Dolabra, aided by her new young assistant Dinios Kol, who magically remembers with precision everything he sees and hears. Quirky characters and strong world-building enhance this fantastical murder mystery.
Samara lands a dream job at a fashion house in a gentrifying neighborhood of Los Angeles. However, her California dream turns into a nightmare when the fashion industry's dark side shows itself. Even worse, she’s haunted by the ghosts of the neighborhood’s sinister past.
A novel about the love and determination between common people in extraordinary times, this doesn't flinch from the horrors of World War I but honors the resilience that sees people through.
A sensible, anxious, sweater-vest-wearing werewolf orders a plastic crystal from eBay after a night of too many drinks and winds up with a vengeful, centuries-old vampire-succubus assassin hell-bent on destroying the witch who imprisoned her. Naturally, chaos ensues. Full of humor, romance, action, and sensitivity from start to finish.
How far would you go for your child? And what lengths would you go to to protect them? Two families. One disappearance. What would you do to get justice?
In her debut novel, Sophie Wan follows Rina, Jane, and Lulu, three women who have bonded over the fact that they are "sheng nu" or 'leftover women' a term for unmarried, often well-educated, women over the age of twenty-seven and therefore past the appropriate age for marriage. When Lulu, through a series of unexpected circumstances, finds herself engaged to Shanghai’s most eligible bachelor, the three friends realize this may be the opportunity for which they have been waiting. None of them is happy with their lives. They realize that Lulu’s marriage will be attended by the most elite, and wealthy, of Shanghai and they will all be bearing gifts and will be hoping to outshine others with their generosity, The wedding gifts would be more than enough for each woman to be able to pursue the life they really want. Over the ten months leading up to the wedding, they research, recruit, strategize, and execute their plan to steal the wedding gifts. Needless to say, a lot happened over the course of those ten months, and many of those developments directly impacted the women in ways they did not anticipate. Wan explores the motivations each woman has for undertaking the risk of the theft, and as the wedding date approaches, each comes to the realization that even if they are able to pull off the heist, there will still be considerable costs associated with their desires. In the end, Wan emphasizes that while we are often driven to extremes in the pursuit of what we want, we often ignore the fact that what we already have is infinitely more valuable. We just need to recognize it.
This engrossing slim novel set in 1920s Appalachia finds Leslie assigned to help a small community through a nursing service. They see a failed woman, but he knows he can handle it all until he sees the community's hatred focused on a young person who refuses to conform. As violence simmers, the woods may hold the key to freedom.
