Содержание выпуска: August 2025 — Booklist Reader

The Boy and the Dog. By Seishu Hase. Tr. by Alison Watts. 2022. Viking. Six months after the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, a driver for a theft ring finds a German shepherd mix in a parking lot. He dubs the dog Tamon, after a guardian deity. Thus begins an epic journey for Tamon, whose steady presence and focus on finding his way home deeply affect the people who care for him along the way. Bug Hollow. By Michelle Huneven. 2025. Penguin. In mid-1970s California, Phil and Sibyl Samuelson’s oldest child, allegedly college-bound Ellis, goes on a road trip, moves into a rundown rental hippie nirvana called Bug Hollow, and dies. Throughout the family’s struggles, their Manchester terrier, Hinky, attuned to everyone’s feelings, offers soothing companionship, leaps with…

The Possession of Alba Díaz : A Novel Isabel Cañas (Berkley) Well, Actually Mazey Eddings (St. Martin’s Griffin) Katabasis R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager) Zomromcom: A Novel Olivia Dade (Berkley) Five Found Dead Sulari Gentill (Poisoned Pen Press) We Are All Guilty Her Karin Slaughter (William Morrow) To Old for This Samantha Downing (Berkley) Hemlock & Silkver T. Kingfisher (Tor Books) Forget Me Not Stacy Willingham (Minotaur Books) Find out more at ww.LibraryReads.org/HOF…

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us. By Ed Yong. Read by the author. 2022. Books on Tape. Yong’s fascination with the animals he studies shines through in this ode to their secret lives. Animals’ umwelts, their perceptions of the world, are impossible to experience through our human lens, but with Yong’s narration, we’re lucky to have a glimpse into this magical universe. The Indigo Girl. By Natasha Boyd. Read by Saskia Maarleveld. 2017. Blackstone. The lyrical voice of the narrator helps us root for 16-year-old Eliza Clark as she overcomes the odds stacked against her in the struggle to plant indigo and harvest it into a dye, inspired by historical documents from 1739. None of This Is True. By Lisa Jewell. Read by a…

All’s Fair in Love and Field Hockey. By Kit Rosewater. 2025. Delacorte Romance. Gr. 9–12. Evelyn’s life is fully engulfed by field hockey, but this new season brings two challenges in one package: Rosa, a highly skilled new player at the rival school who’s also causing a big case of sexual identity crisis. A sweet, sporty, and hopeful look at figuring out life after high school and learning to make your own way and accept your own identity. Alondra. By Gina Femia. 2023. Farrar. Gr. 7–10. Alondra watches an amateur wrestling group outside her window and dreams of joining them. Opportunity strikes when Alondra is welcomed into the group, and she creates an alter ego exemplifying her most fearless traits. But grief over the loss of her mother lingers, and…

Older Bubonic Panic: When Plague Invaded America. By Gail Jarrow. 2016. Astra/Calkins Creek. Gr. 6–9. A plague outbreak in early twentieth-century San Francisco, primarily Chinatown, is the focus of Jarrow’s comprehensive volume, which begins with a history of the infectious disease before moving on to describe how prejudice against Asian Americans hindered public health officials and mistrust of scientific research complicated mitigation efforts. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World. By Tracy Kidder and Michael French. 2013. Delacorte. Gr. 7–12. Renowned epidemiologist and medical anthropologist Paul Farmer dedicated his career to improving public-health policy at a global scale, and this young readers’ adaptation of Kidder’s adult title describes not only his life and work but also the values and convictions driving…

The Age of Diagnosis: How Our Obsession with Medical Labels Is Making Us Sicker. By Suzanne O’Sullivan. 2025. Thesis. O’Sullivan examines the concerning rise of overdiagnosis and overmedicalization, noting that fear and billing requirements are two possible forces behind the rush to apply unnecessary medical labels to individuals. The Centered Heart: Evidence-Based, Mind-Body Practices to Stress Less and Improve Cardiac Health. By Susi Amendola. 2024. Rowman & Littlefield. Yoga therapist Amendola offers instructions for “centering” moments, gentle movements, relaxation, meditation, compassion, nature consciousness, and unity to reduce stress and support healing. The Chair and the Valley: A Memoir of Trauma, Healing, and the Outdoors. By Banning Lyon. 2024. Penguin/Open Field. Lyon details his horrific experiences, at age 15, in a psychiatric facility where violent abuse was masked as treatment. Everything…

The Best Life Book Club. By Sheila Roberts. 2024. MIRA. After dumping her cheating husband, Karissa is ready for a new home with her young daughter and a new job with Heron Publishing. Divorced and out of work, Margot hopes to develop an app. Widowed Alice Strong’s sister, Josie, believes that Alice’s world is shrinking. When the four women form a neighborhood book club, they bond over books and discover a brighter future. The Book Club for Troublesome Women. By Marie Bostwick. 2025. Harper Muse. Three suburban women in early-1960s Virginia are seeking more in life. When they meet unconventional Charlotte, they start a book club and Charlotte has them read the newly published and controversial The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan, which assures them that they are not alone…

Fiction Hemlock & Silver. By T. Kingfisher. Tor. Kingfisher, known for moody, atmospheric horror and fairy-tale retellings, turns her attention to Snow White, rendering the familiar story new in a unique way by telling it from the perspective of an independent, blunt healer whose expertise lies in antidotes to poison. Katabasis. By R. F. Kuang. Harper Voyager. When her dissertation advisor explodes (and it might be her fault), a student of Magick knows she has to go down to Hell to retrieve him. She is annoyed to be joined by her rival and former friend, and the two must learn to trust each other. At turns hilarious and sobering, Katabasis combines magic rooted in paradox with witty world building to give readers a simultaneous satire of and love letter to…

PBS BOOKS READERS CLUB This year marks the 250th birthday of Jane Austen, one of the most important and influential novelists in English literature. Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen’s most iconic novel, blending wit, romance, and sharp social commentary. It showcases her narrative innovation, and explores themes of class, pride, gender roles, and self-discovery. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was reimagined in Bridget Jones’s Diary, by Helen Fielding, published in 1996. This clever, laugh-out-loud story, which is now considered a culturally iconic book, is told through the eyes of a hilariously imperfect modern heroine, Bridget; it popularized the chick lit genre as the novel explores the pressures women face to improve, adapt, and appear effortlessly put-together. For our August read, PBS Books Readers Club has selected Bridget Jones’s Diary,…

Energy Follows Thought: The Stories behind My Songs. By Willie Nelson and others. Read by Willie Nelson and Ethan Hawke. 2023. HarperAudio. Nelson’s long artistic career is a great model of tenacity and fortitude—good qualities to aspire to as we exercise. Each chapter is narrated by Hawke with a nostalgic twang and covers the history of a song in Nelson’s vast catalog, which allows listeners to decide if they’re having a “Twisted and Confused” kind of yoga session or are ready for a “Crazy” trail run instead. The Golden Compass. By Philip Pullman. Read by Ruth Wilson. 2024. Listening Library. Gr. 7–12. It’s the start of a three-book epic adventure; what makes a book like this ideal for a workout pick? It’s certainly long enough, and thoroughly engaging in a…

Be Dazzled. By Ryan La Sala. 2021. Sourcebooks/Fire. Gr. 8–12. Raffy hopes to win this year’s cosplay competition at Controverse, which could land him a sponsorship and even secure a path to art school, but his mother sees his cosplay designs as childish, and his former flame Luca has returned to compete against him. The Best at It. By Maulik Pancholy. 2019. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray. Gr. 5–7. In this heartening debut novel, gay Indian American seventh-grader Rahul deals with his insecurities as he tries to find what he’s best at. After reluctantly joining the Mathletes team, he works hard and excels. Bird Nerd. By Jennifer Ann Richter. 2024. Holiday. Gr. 3–6. As Nyla’s Philadelphia school holds a birding tournament against a more affluent suburban class, she balances changing friendships even as she works…

Already Toast: Caregiving and Burnout in America. By Kate Washington. 2021. Beacon. Washington chronicles the exhausting caregiving stint she took on when her husband was diagnosed with lymphoma, then widens the lens to consider the challenges faced by caregivers and call for new and improved caregiver-centered government, employer, medical, and insurance policies. First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream. By Jessica Hoppe. 2024. Flatiron. Hoppe, a high-fashion-focused social media influencer, delves into her family’s traumas, how such hardships can lead to drug and alcohol use as a coping mechanism, and how often BIPOC individuals are omitted from recovery research and practices. Get Rooted: Reclaim Your Soul, Serenity, and Sisterhood through the Healing Medicine of the Grandmothers. By Robyn Moreno. 2022. Hachette Go. TV host,…

1. Who is Stella Hayward when she is at home? Good question. Stella Hayward is me, Rowan Coleman, longtime novelist owned by dogs and whimsical Brit who lives in Yorkshire and writes in a turret in the seaside town of Scarborough. 2. What can you tell us about The Good Boy? When Genie’s accidental wish turns her golden retriever, Rory, into a human, he is very upset because being a human is rubbish (except that he is allowed chocolate). But as Genie and her best friend, boy-next-door Miles, search for a way to reverse the wish, Rory teaches them some of the wisdom and ways of being a dog and shows Genie her true feelings for Miles. Will they turn Rory back in time, and will Genie finally tell Miles…

Dearborn. By Ghassan Zeineddine. Read by Sarab Kamoo and Qarie Marshall. 2023. Dreamscape. A debut short-story collection provides many avenues for viewing varied lives in the Muslim community of Dearborn, Michigan. Two narrators display excellent accent work. Exodus: The Shanghai Jews. By Kate McAll. Performed by a full cast. 2023. L.A. Theatre Works. This full-cast stage play portrays Jewish sojourners as they seek freedom, leaving listeners feeling that they have seen through a window into the hearty souls of these survivors. Five-Star Stranger. By Kat Tang. Read by Julian Cihi. 2024. Simon & Schuster Audio. The unnamed narrator becomes more vivid on audio as he shifts from one role to another in his job as a rent-a-stranger. Tang’s debut offers much to discuss. Gender Queer. By Maia Kobabe. Read by…

Middle Readers Aniana del Mar Jumps In. By Jasminne Mendez. 2023. Dial. Gr. 4–8. After receiving a diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Aniana is forbidden from swimming by her anxious mami. However, her doctor believes that swimming and medication might be just what Ani needs to manage her pain. It’s All or Nothing, Vale. By Andrea Beatriz Arango. 2025. Random. Gr. 5–8. Vale returns to fencing after a car accident and months of physical therapy, but she can’t move the way she used to due to chronic pain. Arango relays the challenges of recovery, disability, and queer awakening in quick, vibrant verse. Not Quite a Ghost. By Anne Ursu. 2024. HarperCollins/Walden Pond. Gr. 4–6. In this middle-grade reinvention of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Violet grapples with anxiety and chronic fatigue syndrome…

Older The Raven Boys: Graphic Adaptation. By Maggie Stiefvater. Adapted by Stephanie Williams. Art by Sas Milledge. Viking. Gr. 9–12. Stiefvater’s best-selling Raven Cycle gets the graphic treatment in this adaptation, the first volume in a planned series. This Place Kills Me. By Mariko Tamaki. Art by Nicole Goux. Abrams/Fanfare. Gr. 8–12. New-girl Abby investigates the murder of an elite theater-society student at her prep school in this twisty graphic mystery from acclaimed Tamaki. Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire. By Don Martin. Page Street YA. Gr. 7–12. Verity sets out to remove the curses afflicting the Appalachian town of Foxfire, encountering both the coziness of a pastoral town and the eldritch horrors of ancient magic. White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History.…