Inhoudsopgave van December 2025 - Booklist Reader

An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman. By Pamela Aidan. 2006. Touchstone. Remaining true to the original source material, Aidan imagines Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy’s viewpoint, allowing for a deeper understanding of this legendary couple. The Clergyman’s Wife. By Molly Greeley. 2019. Morrow. Greeley places Charlotte Lucas at center stage as she imagines Charlotte’s life as the wife of Rev. William Collins in fresh and greater detail. Exploring Charlotte’s thoughts and emotions will give Pride and Prejudice fans something new to ponder. Godmersham Park. By Gill Hornby. 2022. Pegasus. In 1804, Anne Sharp accepted the position as governess with the Austen family, beginning a deep and thoughtful friendship with Jane. As Hornby imagines Anne’s relationships with her charge, Fanny, Jane’s niece; and Henry Austen,…

Access: Inside the Abortion Underground and the Sixty-Year Battle for Reproductive Freedom. By Rebecca Grant. 2025. Simon & Schuster/Avid Reader. Grant documents the decades-long fight for abortion access and reproductive justice from pre-Roe to post-Dobbs in this clear and compelling blend of history and journalism. Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves. By Johnathan Walton. 2025. Rodale. After television producer Walton was defrauded by a professional con artist who was sent to prison, he made a podcast about it, Queen of the Con: The Irish Heiress, and now he empowers readers by calling out the “red flags” that identify someone as a scammer. Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida. By Gilbert King. 2025. Flatiron.…

Daughters of Shandong. By Eve J. Chung. Read by Yu-Li Alice Shen. 2024. Books on Tape. Shen impressively enlivens a cast of dispersed Chinese women of three generations from 1948 onward, each individual effortlessly distinguished from every other. Flight of the Wild Swan. By Melissa Pritchard. Read by Jayne Entwistle. 2024. HighBridge. Entwistle’s Florence Nightingale is an excellent woman to spend time with: fierce, brilliant, furious about the limitations placed on her sex, petulant, impatient with family, and relentless in pursuit of the life she has envisioned for herself. A Home for Friendless Women. By Kelly E. Hill. Read by a full cast. 2024. Books on Tape. Nineteenth-century Kentucky isn’t particularly kind to young, single, pregnant women. Three distinctive narrators voice these women’s imagined backstories, resurrecting tragedies but also reclaiming…

Clear. By Carys Davies. Read by Russ Bain. 2024. Simon & Schuster Audio. On a sea-ravaged Scottish island, Ivar is the only man remaining after the rest of his community has passed on or moved to the mainland. The young minister charged with evacuating him needs Ivar’s help, and together they find a curious common language and personal connection. Gmorning, Gnight! Little Pep Talks for Me & You. By Lin-Manuel Miranda. Read by the author. 2018. Books on Tape. It doesn’t take long for Miranda’s infectious energy and sincerity to make a big impression! Begun as tweets, these micro-pep talks, read in the Broadway phenom’s own voice, are upbeat and reassuring; and at a mere 46 minutes, they’re something to come back to time and again. Liturgies for Hope: Sixty Prayers…

Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la Papa: Join the Quest with Peru’s Famed Scientist and Potato Expert. By Sara Andrea Fajardo. Illus. by Juana Martinez-Neal. 2025. Roaring Brook. K–Gr. 3. Soft, playful artwork helps introduce Alberto Salas, who scours the Andes Mountains for new potato species to bring to Peru’s International Potato Center genebank. Also available in Spanish. The Brilliant Calculator: How Mathematician Edith Clarke Helped Electrify America. By Jan Lower. Illus. by Susan Reagan. 2023. Astra/Calkins Creek. Gr. 2–5. Late nineteenth-century “human calculator” Edith Clarke defied convention, first by inventing a calculating tool and then by becoming America’s first woman electrical engineer. The Fire of Stars: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of. By Kirsten W. Larson. Illus. by Katherine Roy.…

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye. By Briony Cameron. 2024. Atria. In this wonderfully gripping adventure, a queer woman of color in the seventeenth century dreams of leaving her stifling life in Santo Domingo and becomes a notorious pirate captain. The English Problem. By Beena Kamlani. 2025. Crown. In 1931, a young Indian man arrives in London, which he finds both charming and repellent, to become a barrister and follow the path personally laid out for him by Mahatma Gandhi to help overthrow British colonial rule in India. Frederick Douglass. By Sidney Morrison. 2024. Hawthorne. This wrenching and insightful novel refocuses Douglass’ story on the personal and emotional, examining his relationships with his enslavers, mentors, and lovers, from those who tortured his family to those who tokenized him later in life.…

Christmas at the Ranch. By Julia McKay. Sept. 2025. Putnam. Hoping to escape the journalistic frenzy surrounding her father’s recent embezzlement indictment, Emory Oakes flees Toronto and ends up in the small town of Evergreen. There, 10 years earlier, she enjoyed her first kiss with Tate Wilder, who is still there, running his family’s horse ranch. In this heartwarming holiday romance, McKay delivers plenty of small-town charm and some adorable equine moments along with a message of love and forgiveness that is welcome all year round. Christmas People. By Iva-Marie Palmer. Sept. 2025. St. Martin’s/Griffin. After spending the last three years trash-talking Christmas, one holiday season, aspiring screenwriter Jill Jacobs wakes up in Sweetville, a place brimming with so much goodwill and cheer it could be the default setting for a…

American Stories: A Reading Road Trip goes to Alaska and Indiana Buckle up and join PBS Books and the Library of Congress as we journey into Alaska on American Stories: A Reading Road Trip! From the rugged peaks of Denali to the shimmering northern lights, discover the wild landscapes and resilient voices behind unforgettable stories. Along the way, hear from contemporary authors and visit literary landmarks, libraries, and beloved bookstores unique to the Last Frontier. Don’t miss this adventure on December 3 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Then, travel back to the Midwest as we make a pit stop in Indiana. From rolling farmlands to the bustling streets of Indianapolis, explore the voices and tales rooted in the heartland, hear from local authors, and visit libraries, bookstores, and other literary treasures.…

Asadora! By Naoki Urasawa. Art by the author. VIZ Media. Gr 9–12. This series opens in 1959 with violent Typhoon Vera bearing down on Japan along with a mysterious and unexplainable kaiju attack, which takes out most of Asa’s village. Next, readers travel to 1964, when Asa is deputized to save the opening of the Tokyo Olympics from this same kaiju attack before the Americans can become involved and loose another nuclear weapon. Barefoot Gen. By Keiji Nakazawa. Art by the author. Last Gasp. Gr 10–12. Based on Nakazawa’s personal survival of the bombing of Hiroshima, this classic 10-volume series, originally published in the 1970s–’80s, follows Gen, a small boy living with his family while WWII engulfs his country. The violence separates the family, turns neighbors on one another, and…

Adult The Backyard Bird Chronicles. By Amy Tan. Read by the author and David Allen Sibley. 2024. Books on Tape. In her melodic, refreshing voice, renowned novelist Tan shifts toward personal observations of nature and contemplations of morality and mortality. In this soothing chronicle of hope, Tan’s narration communicates endless patience and resourcefulness, spiced with self-reflective, teasing humor. Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun’s Rays. By Amanda Quaid. Performed by a full cast. 2025. L.A. Theatre Works. Eunice Foote, the central character in this play, published her research on greenhouse gases three years before the man largely credited with their discovery. Vignettes show Foote and her family living a vibrant, intellectual life while she balances motherhood, science, and the strain of sexism. This is a marvelously dramatic audio production…

Nonfiction Big Lies: From Socrates to Social Media. By Mark Kurlansky. Illus. by Eric Zelz. 2022. Tilbury. Gr. 8–12. This well-researched look at propaganda techniques offers a broad view of how and why political leaders, hucksters, and others with personal or political agendas lie; how technological changes and the advent of social media have magnified the lies’ effectiveness; and how critical-thinking skills enable people to recognize the big lies that can threaten a free society. Can Posters Kill? Antisemitic Propaganda and World War II. By Jerry Faivish and Kathryn Cole. 2025. illus. Second Story. Gr. 8–12. This title examines propaganda posters created by the Nazi regime to show how this disinformation campaign generated fear and hatred of Jewish people and paved the way to genocide. Every Falling Star: The True…

Young Adult A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions. By Sheena Boekweg. 2021. Feiwel and Friends. Gr. 8–11. Prohibition, Jim Crow, and gender norms still dominate the societal landscape in this alternate history novel. However, a group of women known as The First Ladies’ Society works behind closed doors to guide the country towards change by influencing powerful men. Inclusive, incisive, and invites curiosity about the time period. Dreamland Burning. By Jennifer Latham. 2017. Little, Brown. Gr. 8–11. This dual–time line historical fiction weaves a contemporary narrative with one set during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. After a skeleton is found in her family’s shed, Rowan becomes determined to find out who this person was. In 1921, Will faces escalating violence and impossible decisions as tragedy draws closer. Latham offers an unflinching…