Table of contents for May 2025 in Booklist Reader

Fiction Can’t Get Enough. By Kennedy Ryan. Forever. Ryan is known for her emotionally intense romances and her latest—about a fabulous, ambitious businesswoman who is caring for an aging parent and has no time to date, and the tech mogul who challenges her—is sure to sizzle. Fever Beach. By Carl Hiaasen. Knopf. In what could be his funniest book yet, Hiaasen skewers right-wing conspiracy theorists, corrupt politicians, and shady philanthropists—all in Florida, of course—while marking the return of independently wealthy ecowarrior Twilly Spree. Going Home in the Dark. By Dean Koontz. Amazon/Thomas & Mercer. Three adult friends travel back to their childhood hometown when the fourth in their crew falls into a coma there, returning to his scary mother, long-buried secrets, and a murderous creature they were supposed to forget…

Agent Zo: The Untold Story of a Fearless World War II Resistance Fighter. By Clare Mulley. Read by Kristin Atherton. Our modern era has lost almost all of its WWII veterans to time, but their stories continue to emerge and inspire. In Atherton’s simmering British-accented narration, Polish-born foreign agent Zo’s tenacity emerges in full force. Listen-alikes • When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day. By Garrett M. Graff. Read by a full cast. 2024. Simon & Schuster Audio. Every soldier, journalist, official, and family member on the home front had a story of this fateful day. This remarkable full-cast recording collects and presents a wide range of tales drawn from historic source materials. • A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who…

Chaos Theory. By Nic Stone. 2023. Crown. Gr. 8–12. New-ish student Shelbi has bipolar depression and a complicated past, both of which make her cautious about making new friends. Popular judo champion Andy turns to alcohol to avoid his grief. Positioning their healing journeys side by side allows readers to witness not only a variety of mental health issues addressed but also how progress can take many shapes, forms, and lengths of time. All this authentic representation is wrapped in a compelling plot with realistic characters, relatable conflicts, and delightful dialogue—an utterly unputdownable novel. Every Last Word. By Tamara Ireland Stone. 2015. Disney/Hyperion. Gr. 9–12. Sam’s popular friends would never expect her to be struggling with OCD. Yet Sam is plagued by dark thoughts and spirals she can’t escape. Then…

Older From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial That Galvanized the Asian American Movement. By Paula Yoo. 2021. Norton/Young Readers. Gr. 8–12. In 1982, Chinese American Vincent Chin was killed near Detroit, Michigan, and Yoo displays high journalistic standards as she relates the controversy surrounding Chin’s murder, which sparked the Asian American civil rights movement. Michi Challenges History: From Farm Girl to Costume Designer to Relentless Seeker of the Truth: The Life of Michi Nishiura Weglyn. By Ken Mochizuki. 2023. Norton/Young Readers. Gr. 8–11. In this well-researched book, Mochizuki movingly shares the life of Michi Nishiura Weglyn, author of the revelatory Years of Infamy, who was brought up to be restrained in her speech and respectful of government officials yet became a…

Austral. By Carlos Fonseca. Tr. by Megan McDowell. 2023. Farrar. Before she died, Costa Rican literature professor Julio Gamboa’s first love asked him to edit and publish her final book, sending him on an ever-deeper quest to understand how language, culture, and memory survived the brutal annihilation of Indigenous communities in the Southern Hemisphere after WWII. The Café with No Name. By Robert Seethaler. Tr. by Katy Derbyshire. 2025. Europa. Robert Simon opens his café in a struggling neighborhood in Vienna in 1966, hiring Mila after she passes out from hunger on the curb and serving laborers, markettraders, and shift-workers contending with their woes as the city is transformed around them. Canoes. By Maylis de Kerangal. Tr. by Jessica Moore. 2024. Archipelago. Canoes make curious appearances in each surprising story…

Ædnan: An Epic. By Linnea Axelsson. Tr. by Saskia Vogel. Read by Angela Dawe. 2024. Books on Tape. In the beautiful, heartrending epic Ædnan (land, soil), the listener is immersed in the history of the Sámi, the only Indigenous people of Europe. From the excellent translation from Swedish by Saskia Vogel, Dawe lends her gentle, dreamlike voice to this haunting verse novel. How to Be a Good Savage and Other Poems. By Mikeas Sánchez. Read by a full cast. 2024. Milkweed. This poetry collection by Sánchez, an Indigenous Mexican poet, is rich in visceral and natural imagery. On audio, Sánchez reads her own Indigenous Zoque verse and her own Spanish translation, followed by the translators’ narrations of each poem in English. Marigold Mind Laundry. By Jungeun Yun. Ed. by Shanna…

Abuelita and I Make Flan. By Adriana Hernández Bergstrom. Illus. by the author. 2022. Charlesbridge. PreS–Gr. 1. Excellent pictures and a recipe give this multigenerational story about kitchen fun lots of family appeal. El Cucuy Is Scared Too! By Donna Barba Higuera. Illus. by Juliana Perdomo. 2021. Abrams. PreS–Gr. 2. Perdomo’s bright, large-scale, page-filling artwork paired with simple sentences makes this especially well suited to a group storytime. Federico and the Wolf. By Rebecca J. Gomez. Illus. by Elisa Chavarri. 2020. Clarion. K–Gr. 2. While this retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood” has more words than some of the other books on this list, the exciting storytelling will keep a group of kids engaged. How to Fold a Taco. By Naibe Reynoso. Illus. by Ana Varela. 2020. Con Todo. PreS–Gr.…

Middle and High School Readers Brown v. Board of Education: A Fight for Simple Justice. By Susan Goldman Rubin. 2016. Holiday. Gr. 6–9. Rubin presents an uncommonly comprehensive picture of the events leading up to the Brown v. Board of Education decision and the resistance to school desegregation that followed. She discusses each of the five cases involved, lucidly profiles a wide array of individuals, and incorporates archival photos in this appealing and inviting large-format volume. Finding a Way Home: Mildred and Richard Loving and the Fight for Marriage Equality. By Larry Dane Brimner. 2020. Boyds Mills & Kane/Calkins Creek. Gr. 7–10. This concise, well-organized account of the landmark Loving v. Virginia case uses quotes from the Lovings, their attorneys, and the court proceedings to present a thorough presentation of the…

Austen Years: A Memoir in Five Novels. By Rachel Cohen. 2020. Farrar. Cohen found herself seeking comfort in reading and rereading Jane Austen’s five complete novels, as she recounts in this wondrous mix of memoir, biography, and literary history. The Black Joke: The True Story of One Ship’s Battle against the Slave Trade. By A. E. Rooks. 2022. Scribner. Rooks follows the Black Joke, a captured British slave ship redeployed to pursue slavers and liberate trafficked humans, recounting swashbuckling moral battles on the high seas and the Sisyphean task of seizing slavers only for them to return, under new management, to the grotesque transatlantic slave trade. Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture. By Sudhir Hazareesingh. 2020. Farrar. Hazareesingh presents an energetic, comprehensively reenvisioned study of the extraordinary life…

The Abandoners: On Mothers and Monsters. By Begoña Gómez Urzaiz. 2024. Norton. Spanish journalist Urzaiz shares her fascination with mothers who shirked or neglected their maternal duties in 16 relatable, wise, surprising, and sometimes even humorous essays about women, famous and not, who stretched or escaped the bonds of motherhood. Anyone trying to be a good mother and a creative, free, self-contained person will feel seen. Am I Doing This Right? Making Choices without Mom Guilt. By Rebecca Fox Starr. 2025. Familius. In this banish-the-mom-guilt guide, Starr, a clinical therapist and a licensed clinical social worker, provides a nonfiction variation on “choose your own adventure” novels, offering various scenarios for parents coping with various challenges. First Love: Guiding Teens through Relationships and Heartbreak. By Lisa A. Phillips. 2025. Rowman & Littlefield.…

Already Enough: A Path to Self-Acceptance. By Lisa Olivera. Read by the author. 2022. Simon & Schuster Audio. The California therapist and Instagram self-help sage narrates with warmth, guiding listeners to reexamine the stories we tell about ourselves and break free from negative judgements and expectations. Go Higher: Five Practices for Purpose, Success, and Inner Peace. By Big Sean. Read by the author. 2025. Simon & Schuster Audio. Sean Anderson, aka rapper Big Sean, guides listeners through the practices he has employed to find peace, satisfaction, and personal fulfillment in the midst of the hustle culture, high pressure, and wide swings of success that one can find in the music industry. Effortlessly approachable and ideal for fans and younger adults. How Are You, Really? Living Your Truth One Answer at…

Older Come as You Are. By Dahlia Adler. St. Martin’s/Wednesday. Gr. 9–12. Evie Riley runs away to boarding school for a fresh start, only to accidentally end up housed in the boys’ dorm. With the help of the upstairs bad boy, she’ll learn how to be a badass in this sparkly romance. A Fix of Light. By Kel Menton. Little Island. Gr. 9–12. This atmospheric read draws on Irish mythology and the challenges of mental illness to tell a fantastical love story between Hanan, who is unsure if he’s experiencing magic or psychosis, and Pax, an enigmatic new presence in town. The Invisible Wild. By Nikki Van De Car. Running Press Teens. Gr. 9–12. Emma finds a very real legendary society of menehune and agrees to help protect them from…

And Yet You Shine: The Kohinoor Diamond, Colonization, and Resistance. By Supriya Kelkar. Illus. by the author. 2024. Candlewick. Gr. 2–5. Keklar’s dazzling picture book charts the journey of the Kohinoor diamond—stolen from what is now India though eventually returned—through the lens of colonialism. Born Naughty: My Childhood in China. By Jin Wang and Tony Johnston. Illus. by Anisi Baigude. 2024. Random/Anne Schwartz. Gr. 2–5. Bursting with delightful shenanigans, merry adventures, and family love, this memoir follows eight-year-old Jin Wang’s experiences in her Mongolian village during the year 1982. Coming Home: A Hopi Resistance Story. By Mavasta Honyouti. Illus. by the author. Tr. by Marilyn Parra. 2024. Levine Querido. K–Gr. 3. This heartfelt story celebrates familial bonds alongside the strength of the Hopi people while powerfully portraying the emotional and…