Table of contents for Booklist, Vol. 122, No. 3, November 2025 in Booklist

Native American Heritage Month and Picture Book Month are celebrated in November and, with Booklist’s long tradition of celebrating debuts this month, it feels to me like November should also be First Novels month. Our editors prepared incredible content for this issue, including New First Novels, Top 10 First Novels, New First Novels for Youth, New First Novels on Audio, and so much more. I love the underlying sense of pioneering and invention in First Novels authors, who are inspirational and courageous. Embarking on the new and different is difficult, but discovery and creativity are part of human experience and first-time novelists profoundly demonstrate this. My nine-year-old daughter (also a major motivator for me), who has a universe of discoveries ahead, is enjoying writing and is working on a novel…

General Fiction The Award. By Matthew Pearl. Dec. 2025. 256p. Harper, $30 (9780063445277); e-book (9780063445291). Who is a writer if not a person with unbridled ambition, a propensity for lying, and shameless self-indulgence? And what’s a novel about the literati without a little murder? Thriller meets satire in Pearl’s (The Dante Chamber, 2018) latest as novelist David Trent navigates the competitive literary circle of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Trent’s path is complicated when he becomes a neighbor to the spiteful but legendary writer Silas Hale. Through clever twists, including a mistaken award with devastating consequences, Pearl brings to life a character whose desperation for success is dangerously palpable. The Award also delivers sardonic humor, particularly in metafictional moments debating connections between fiction and morality. Pearl creates a thrilling, introspective, entertaining world where…

When it comes to kid-friendly manga, video-game adaptations are reliable constants on the shelves of children’s and elementary school collections, offering familiar characters to bring in first-time manga readers. Here are a few titles that will entice the video-gaming crowd with zany characters, humor, and creative storytelling. Animal Crossing: New Horizons; Deserted Island Diary, v. 1. By Kokonasu Rumba. Art by the author. 2021. 128p. Viz (9781974725922). Gr. 3–8. (9 volumes). This manga companion to the cozy game Animal Crossing: New Horizons is another Nintendo tie-in with zany characters and humor. Featuring the many villagers and oddball vendors from the game, this delightful and engaging manga about four residents living among the Animal Crossing cast is filled with humor and friendship and is perfect for young readers. Kirby Manga Mania,…

Older Readers Future Forward: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence. By Stephanie Sammartino McPherson. Nov. 2025. 160p. illus. Lerner/Twenty-First Century, lib. ed., $37.32 (9798765660454). Gr. 7–12. 006.3. “Can machines think?” asked computer scientist Alan Turing in 1950. In this wonderfully comprehensive volume, McPherson explores this conundrum and other concepts related to artificial intelligence through 12 connected chapters. An attention-grabbing true story opens each chapter, followed by segmented descriptions of this explosive technology. Interspersed photographs and spotlights on key figures and projects add to the accessibility of this complex topic. The author begins with a historical overview of computers and programming, from the World Wide Web, neural networks, and deep learning, to the advent of ChatGPT in 2022. After explaining how AI works and some of its initial benefits, McPherson takes a balanced dive into…

2025 was full of new literary voices, and that’s true for novels as well as picture books. The following titles represent some of the most exciting authors to hit the scene this calendar year. Picture Books New Shoes for Leo. By Lauren Agra Deedy. Illus. by Susan Gal. 2025. 40p. Scholastic (9781338770216). PreS–Gr. 3. In this tale of a familiar immigrant experience, William decides to send his new pair of shoes back “home” to Leo, a Cuban cousin he’s never met. ¡Mistaco! A Tale of Tragedy y Tortillas. By Eliza Kinkz. Illus. by the author. 2025. 40p. Penguin/Kokila (9780593700235). K–Gr. 3. Izzy’s frustrating day leaves her feeling like the President of Mistakes—until her abuelito teaches her to turn her missteps into delicious “mistacos.” Popo the Xolo. By Paloma Angelina Lopez.…

Older Readers Freddie and Stella Got Hot. By Maggie Horne. Jan. 2026. 336p. Feiwel and Friends, $19.99 (9781250377371). Gr. 8–12. Sapphic revenge is the name of Freddie and Stella’s game, and they are destined to triumph over Levi Preston. Or more accurately, that’s the name of Stella’s game, and Freddie is mostly along for the ride. The three girls were best friends in middle school, but Levi fully abandoned them to become Coral Cove Prep’s golden girl. Now, Levi will pay for years of slights, thanks to Stella’s fourstep plan to steal the school’s prestigious BG Award from under Levi’s nose. Fully channeling the spirit of Tina Fey’s recently remade Mean Girls in a way that remains authentic to both the film and young, sapphic experiences, Horne successfully balances snarky…

There’s an art to creating books designed to help kids read independently. The following beginning readers and early chapter books—reviewed in Booklist between November 2024 and October 2025—succeed as both fantastic literacy supports and entertaining reads. Bunny Hop. By Sarah Hwang. Illus. by the author. 2024. 32p. Simon & Schuster/Simon Spotlight (9781665950701). PreS–Gr. 1. A mischievous pink rabbit hops into a kitchen on a quest for a delicious meal in this adorable beginning reader. The sweet artwork helps young children understand the story’s rich adjectives and expressive verbs, making it an effective tool for language learning. Duckie & Snaps: We Cannot Be Friends. By Ame Dyckman. Illus. by Tim Miller. 2025. 40p. Scholastic/Orchard (9781338837872). PreS–Gr. 1. Though technically a picture book, this hilarious tale of a duckling and alligator hatchling…

Adult Fiction Bog Queen. By Anna North. Read by Lily Newmark. Oct. 2025. 8hr. Bloomsbury, DD (9781635579680). Agnes has grown up in a sheltered, highly curated environment with her doting father. Now a forensic pathologist, she is summoned to northwest England to investigate a body buried in peat moss. When the body is discovered to be much more ancient than expected, Agnes is forced to examine her own life and the risks she takes for herself and for others. Told from perspectives ranging from the ancient woman to even the peat moss, this narrative is related with tenderness and affection for the earth and the people who connect us to it across the centuries. Beautifully narrated by Lilly Newmark, this slower-paced novel gives time for characters to develop and interweave…

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard. By Kiran Desai. Read by Vidish Athavale. 2025. 6.5hr. Books on Tape, DD (9780593949993). Desai’s 1998 print debut arrives on audio the same month as the publication of her longawaited Sonia and Sonny. Virtuoso Athavale ensures an aural feast, expanding his single voice into an entire village of captivating characters. Sampath Chawla creates the titular hullabaloo when he climbs a guava tree and refuses to come down. At 20, he doesn’t want another job after the misery he endured at the post office; he’s claiming peace, quiet, and open spaces. Having arrived at “the right place at last,” his pronouncements—secrets he might have gleaned from opening letters not his—begin to earn him devotees for his “unusual spiritual nature.” His rapport with the local mischievous monkeys…

Philosophy & Psychology 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life. By Dick Van Dyke and Tal McThenia. Nov. 2025. 320p. Grand Central, $29 (9781538777909); e-book (9781538777923). 155.6. Despite the title, this autobiography, written by beloved actor and comedian Dick Van Dyke as he nears his 100th birthday, does not list 100 rules on how to live. It does, however, contain anecdotes from which readers can extrapolate meaning, with even stories of hardship ending with a punch line or life lesson learned thanks to Van Dyke’s sunny disposition. Fans will of course enjoy the legend’s behind-thescenes recollections of his most famous works, but they will also glean insights into his childhood in Danville, Illinois; Malibu Halloween party preparations; and performances with his a cappella group,…

The best first novels reviewed in Booklist over the past year represent just about everything a first novel can be: satire, dystopia, genre-blend, tender, haunting, funny. Here, too, are ten authors we look forward to seeing second novels from. All the Water in the World. By Eiren Caffall. 2025. St. Martin’s, $29 (9781250353528). Caffall channels her ecological expertise into this commanding and heart-pounding novel about four survivors of a superstorm in an already ravaged, mostly abandoned New York City. Boy from the North Country. By Sam Sussman. 2025. Penguin, $29 (9780593835050). Aspiring writer Evan returns to his rural New York home to help his mother through chemotherapy and endures a gauntlet of confounding and transforming revelations as he nurtures the long-held fantasy that Bob Dylan could be his father. The…

On Sale 2/3/26 MAGIC IS ALIVE AND WELL IN Tim WORLDr inside beings known as Maijiks. Ichi is a reclusive hunter who knows nothing of Witches and Majiks, but does have an obsession for hunting anything that exudes bloodlust. That instinct leads him to interfere in a battle between the great witch Desscaras and the horrifying King Majik Uroro. Ichi, acquires the destructive magic of Uroro, making him the only male Witch in the world! Desscaras herself is not prepared for the mayhem that is Ichi! Ichi the Witch, Vol. 1 Story by Osamu Nishi, Art by Shiro Usazaki Price: $11.99 US /$15.99 CAN • ISBN: 9781974757756 Distributed by Simon & Schuster Digital books distributed by Overdrive MADAN NO ICHI © 2024 by Osamu Nishi, Shiro Usazaki/SHUEISHA Inc.…

Learning to read does not have to be complicated for children who are bilingual. Studies demonstrate* that literacy in the children’s first language (if other than English) helps them enhance their learning of English, as well as strengthens their bilingual literacy skills. Teachers, librarians, and parents should encourage the use of guided or leveled readers for Spanish-speaking children, since helping them connect with engaging stories in a language that feels familiar will give those readers the confidence to pursue reading on their own. Reading-support series in Spanish are available through several publishers in the U.S. Some are translations of English titles, while others have been written by Spanish-speaking authors. Below are five recent and upcoming titles and a list of additional Spanish-language beginning-reader lines is included online. El mejor peor…

This month’s hot list features new sure-to-be hits from best-selling authors, a team written novel about an American’s run-in with British royalty, and a fascinating nonfiction book that blends memoir and social history. —Susan Maguire American Fantasy. By Emma Straub. Riverhead, $30 (9798217046850). Apr. Best-seller Straub returns with a tale of nostalgia and middle age in this story of a newly divorced empty nester who, at the urging of her sister, books a cruise featuring all five members of a boy band she loved when she was a teenager. Half His Age. By Jennette McCurdy. Ballantine, $30 (9780593723739). Jan. McCurdy follows the runaway success of her memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died (2022), with a darkly funny debut novel about a 17-year-old girl who longs for her paunchy English teacher,…

Adult Ace of Hearts: Lessons in Love from an Asexual Girl. By Cooklin. Art by the author. Nov. 2025. 272p. Street Noise, paper, $23.99 (9781951491451). 741.5. In this heartfelt book exploring her path toward discovering her asexuality, Cooklin narrates her life, beginning with her childhood in rural Ohio, through her wholehearted teenage acceptance of Evangelical Christian purity culture, realizations about her experiences of sexual assault, and college attempts at experimenting with hookups and risky sexual practices, always trying to fix what the world called broken. A lack of comprehensive education, poor therapy sessions, and the constant narrative that everyone desires a sexual relationship all contribute to her feeling not only lost but wrong. All art in the book is colored with hues of the asexual flag—black, white, gray, and purple—and…

Ranging from comical early reader comics to genre-blending teen romances, the debut graphic novels in this list, reviewed in Booklist from November, 2024, to October, 2025, offer a glimpse of the wide variety of new voices in this ever-expanding category. Avery and the Fairy Circle. By Rowan Kingsbury. Art by the author. 2025. 56p. Flying Eye (9781838741983). Gr. 1–4. Soft colors and rounded figures fill the panels of this story about Avery, who happens upon a fairy circle near her new house and be-friends Birch, a rambunctious fairy, who shows her the wonders of the forest. Don’t Cause Trouble. By Arree Chung. Art by the author. 2025. 256p. Holt (9781250887290). Gr. 3–6. Ming’s Chinese immigrant parents don’t understand his desire to fit in, and his efforts to be a cooler…

The Escape Game. By Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss. 2026. 416p. Putnam (9798217006120). Gr. 9–12. Apr. Mega best-seller Meyer’s latest is a murder-mystery that revolves around an escape room–themed reality TV show, on which a contestant was found dead. Hafsa’s Way. By Aisha Saeed. 2026. 224p. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen (9780593529379). Gr. 5–8. Mar. In the latest from the author of best-selling Amal Unbound, Hafsa is determined to one day be a doctor, despite resistance from her community and family. Nani and the Lion. By Alicia D. Williams. Illus. by Anna Cunha. 2026. 40p. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy (9781665914222). PreS–Gr. 3. Feb. This new picture book from award-winning Williams follows little village girl Nani as she uses her drum to stand up to the bullying Lion. Phoenix. By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. 2026. 176p. Dial…

If your new or emerging readers (or their guardians) have plowed through popular series and are desperate for something new, we’ve got you covered. Read on for a wealth of titles (some of which start lengthy series themselves) to delight kids hungry for similar literary flavors. Dog Man: With a feature film, over a dozen installments, and a consistent spot on the New York Times best sellers list, Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man has already unleashed a wave of similar titles, some of which have become runaway hits themselves (John Patrick Green’s Investigators and Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris’ The First Cat in Space, for instance). These have the same brand of raucous cartoon artwork and absurd humor. Read-alikes: • Cabin Head and Tree Head. By Scott Campbell. Art by the…

The human need to explore new places is as old as our race. Unfortunately, it is often paired with the impulse to devise borders that artificially determine which land belongs to whom and who belongs where. We promise gold-paved streets to those who approach our borders and require steel-plated nerves to any who wish to stay. As a person holding three nationalities (two through naturalization, one through heritage), I have heard the promises, steeled my nerves, and been fortunate enough to receive at least an official welcome. But in truth, receiving the official statement of belonging is only half the battle. The following fiction and nonfiction books explore the joy, pain, and courage of exchanging one home for another and the silent immigrant burden of proving you belong. American Street.…