Índex per February 2025 a Booklist Reader

1. Who is Katy James when she is at home? When I’m at home, I’m a homebody! I live in an old house I renovated in a cute historic town, and if I could just stay home every day, I’d be happy. But I do have a non-writer career that takes up most of my time, working as an archivist and a rare-book librarian at a large university. I’m also a single mom, a cat and dog parent, a runner, dancer, gardener, tarot card reader, and general putterer around too many hobbies. 2. What would you like readers to know about The Grump Whisperer? I’d like all the horse girls (gender neutral) out there to know that this book is for them. So many of us grew up reading horse-girl…

Black History Month In 2021, PBS Books launched its partnership with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), which was founded by Carter G. Woodson in 1915. This successful collaboration between PBS Books and ASALH has resulted in numerous interviews with outstanding African American authors, poets, and filmmakers discussing their important work. Woodson is credited with the creation of Black History Month; this year marks its ninety-ninth anniversary. In celebration of our continued partnership with ASALH, PBS Books features renowned historian and lawyer Mary Frances Berry, PhD, who recently wrote a new book, Slavery after Slavery: Revealing the Legacy of Forced Child Apprenticeships on Black Families, from Emancipation to the Present. This book explores post–Civil War America and the system of apprenticeships that entrapped Black…

Older (S)Kin. By Ibi Zoboi. HarperCollins/Versify. Gr. 9–12. Critically acclaimed author Zoboi makes her fantasy debut with this novel in verse about the entwined lives of a Brooklyn teen and a fireball witch. The Otherwhere Post. By Emily J. Taylor. Putnam. Gr. 9–12. Maeve ventures to the Otherwhere Post, determined to discover the truth about her father’s crimes through the power of scriptomancy, finding romance and confidence along the way. Under the Same Stars. By Libba Bray. Farrar. Gr. 9–12. Best-selling, award-winning Bray’s latest features young adults across three eras marked by global unrest in a novel that explores the rise and fall of authoritarian regimes amid a compelling mystery of missing teens. Middle All the Blues in the Sky. By Renée Watson. Bloomsbury. Gr. 5–8. Watson, New York Times best-seller…

The Chinese Groove. By Kathryn Ma. 2022. Counterpoint. Bullied by his own family, 18-year-old Shelley is sent “away from this unhappy life and into a brighter world.” Relying on the titular Chinese groove that links even strangers as long as backgrounds overlap, Shelley lands in San Francisco to start anew with a “conveniently rich” uncle (who’s not). Shelley prevails, often aided by strangers, through English classes, boarding-house woes, homelessness, elder-, child-, and dog-care, app development, and more. By reconnecting broken bonds, Shelley attains the “Three Achievables … Family, Love, Fortune.” Days at the Morisaki Bookshop. By Satoshi Yagisawa. Tr. by Eric Ozawa. 2023. HarperPerennial. When Uncle Satoru offers to let Takako stay at the family bookshop after a debilitating breakup in exchange for opening the store in the mornings, she…

Beach Read. By Emily Henry. 2020. Berkley. While summering at neighboring beach houses, romance author January Andrews and literary-fiction writer Augustus Everett—both suffering from writer’s block—agree to switch genres for their next work-in-progress. The Blooming of Delphinium. By Holly Varni. 2024. Revell. Flower-shop owner Delphinium Hayes’ special talent for matchmaking is put to the test when she finds herself attracted to two different men: Mason McCormack and Elliot Sturgis. The Bride Test. By Helen Hoang. 2019. Berkley. Because of his autism, Khai Diep comes across as cold and emotionless, but his matchmaking mother hopes Esme Tran will be the woman who can unlock Khia’s heart. Delilah Green Doesn’t Care. By Ashley Herring Blake. 2022. Berkley. While playing photographer at her stepsister’s wedding, Delilah Green finds herself falling for bridesmaid Claire…

The Art of Small Business Social Media: A Blueprint for Marketing Success. By Peg Fitzpatrick. 2024. Rowman & Littlefield. Best-selling author Fitzpatrick delivers a supremely useful book on using social media to promote small businesses, analyzing numerous social media platforms, focusing on how to captivate audiences, and providing a blueprint for a successful online presence. Design Your Life: Your Career, Your Way. By Erifili Gounari. 2024. Kogan Page. Riding a wave of paradigm-shifting changes, Gounari delivers concrete advice targeting Gen Zers striving to find their place in the business world. Addressing the explosion of social media platforms alongside the shift away from “in-office” to a more flexible work life, this book guides readers to prioritize, reflect, and plan to travel the career path of their dreams. Dream Chasing: My Four…

Birding with Benefits. By Sarah T. Dubb. Read by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and Evan Sibley. 2024. Simon & Schuster Audio. Enthusiastic Celeste and reserved John team up as real birdwatching partners and fake lovers, at first. Each narrator is able to voice the other character in dialogue and balance the characters’ sometimes clashing energies. Expiration Dates. By Rebecca Serle. Read by Julia Whelan. 2024. Simon & Schuster Audio. Marvelous character development of supporting players adds to the enchantment of this magical realism–tinged romance. Voiced by award-winning narrator Julia Whelan, this audiobook is simply flawless. Funny Story. By Emily Henry. Read by Julia Whelan. 2024. Books on Tape. Henry’s romances are some of the most popular around, and Julia Whelan proves once again why she is one of the best romance narrators.…

As parents, we love sharing the stories that made impressions on us with our children. This February, as we honor Black History month, Booklist looks back at some parental favorite titles that were landmark books in their time, which many of us read and loved as kids, and suggests vibrant and engaging options with new and updated perspectives on similar topics from modern Black creators. Those titles also recommended as audiobooks are indicated with a If you loved: A Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats … Keats’ beloved picture book is a tiny adventure story about young Peter. Illustrated in a gentle style with paper collage, Peter’s story takes him throughout his urban neighborhood, exploring how his surroundings have changed on a very snowy morning before returning to the warmth…

Curvy Girl Summer. By Danielle Allen. 2024. Tor Bramble. Aaliyah’s family is pressing her to lose weight and secure a boyfriend before she turns 30, so she tries a dating app at her favorite bar, prompting the kind bartender, Ahmed, to offer comfort and advice. The Good Part. By Sophie Cousens. 2023. Putnam. Lucy Young is 26 and sick of bad dates, a stagnant career, and weird roommates when she stumbles upon a wishing machine, wishes to skip to the good part, then wakes up in her forties, married with kids. The Graham Effect. By Elle Kennedy. 2023. Sourcebooks/Bloom. Kennedy kicks off a new series with Gigi Graham’s determination to make it to the U.S. national women’s hockey team, which induces her to seek help from moody cocaptain Luke Ryder.…

Fall for Him. By Andie Burke. 2024. Griffin. A plumbing disaster sends Dylan Gallagher through the flooded floor of his apartment and into the bed of his hostile downstairs neighbor, Derek Chang, and the dog he is secretly taking care of. The Happy Ever After Playlist. By Abby Jimenez. 2020. Forever. After unsuccessfully trying to locate the adorable mutt’s owner, Sloan Monroe brings Tucker into her home and heart, but what will happen when Tucker’s owner, musician Jason Larsen, finally returns her messages? I Hate You More. By Lucy Gilmore. 2021. Sourcebooks Casablanca. Ruby Taylor helps her old friend out by showing Weezy in the Canine Classic dog competition, but grumpy judge Spencer Wilson thinks Ruby should stick to beauty pageants. Pardon My Frenchie. By Farrah Rochon. 2024. Forever. When…

I’m in Love with the Villainess. Original story by Inori. Adapted and illustrated by Aonoshimo. Seven Seas. Rei likes to unwind from her corporate job by playing her favorite dating sim, but she’s a little dissatisfied with the love interests and wants to pursue Claire, the game’s villainess. One night, Rei wakes up to find she’s now Rae Taylor, the game’s main character. Rather than panicking, Rae sees this as an opportunity to pursue Claire without the pesky guardrails of the game getting in the way! Rae’s uphill battle to win over Claire’s heart give this a cute and quirky quality, both in the illustrations and the quickwitted verbal sparring between the leading ladies. Given. By Natsuki Kizu. Art by the author. SuBLime. Four high-school students find solace, healing, and…

The Bletchley Riddle. By Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. 2024. Viking. Gr. 5–8. Powerhouses Sepetys and Sheinkin collaborate on this WWII novel, where 14-year-old Lizzie joins her 19-year-old brother in London, and the pair becomes enmeshed in efforts to break Germany’s Enigma codes while searching for their missing American mother. Boy 2.0. By Tracey Baptiste. 2024. Little, Brown. Gr. 7–10. Serial foster kid Win “Coal” Keegan’s world turns upside down when, after running from the police, he shockingly turns invisible and is thrust into the mysteries of a biotech company connected to his past. Bye Forever, I Guess. By Jodi Meadows. 2024. Holiday. Gr. 5–8. In this hilarious, pitch-perfect middle-grade romance, insecure Ingrid tries to juggle real life with her popular (but secret) online persona, in a story that comes…