Staff Selections: Best Books of 2024

A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view.

"A masterpiece that will help redefine one of the classics of American literature, while also being a major achievement on its own." --Chicago Tribune

Towles (The Lincoln Highway, 2021) turns to short fiction in this collection of six expansive stories, ranging in setting from Russia to Manhattan, and a noir-tinged novella that takes place in late 1930s Hollywood.

“Superb ... This may be Towles’ best book yet. Each tale is as satisfying as a master chef’s main course, filled with drama, wit, erudition and, most of all, heart.” —Los Angeles Times

"I loved this book so much I read it twice this year. It is a fictional story based on the life of artist Ana Mendieta (Anita de Monte in the book) who died at the age of 36 after falling (or very possibly being pushed by her husband) out of her apartment window. The book explores issues of gender and race in the art world, while being fiercely funny at the same time. The author also includes aspects of magical realism, which made the story even more enjoyable for me." --Micaela Soucy

"It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over is a work of quietly detonative imagination. Written in the guise of a zombie novel, it quickly reveals itself to be a deeply felt meditation on the many afterlives of memory, the strange disorienting space where our pasts go to disintegrate. As the heroine wanders a shattered world, clutching a dead crow that is still muttering away, she becomes an incarnation of grief―its numbness and regrets and heartbreaks―and of the inevitability of our decline: we are what we lose. Haunting, poignant, and surprisingly funny, Anne de Marcken’s book is a tightly written tour de force about what it is to be human."
― jury of the 2024 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction

Weaves together biography, memoir and history and takes readers along on the emotional journey she and her husband embarked upon in the last years of his life.

"An illuminating and inspiring blend of biography, history, memoir and marital banter." —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The long-awaited new novel from Haruki Murakami, his first in six years, revisits a Town his readers will remember, a place where a Dream Reader reviews dreams and where our shadows become untethered from our selves. The City and Its Uncertain Walls is a love story, a quest, an ode to books and to the libraries that house them, and a parable for these strange post-pandemic times.

"More than any author since Kafka, Murakami appreciates the genuine strangeness of our real world." --San Francisco Chronicle

At the Hotel Balzaar, Marta’s mother rises before the sun, puts on her uniform, and instructs Marta to roam as she will but quietly, invisibly. One day, a mysterious countess with a parrot checks in, promising a story—in fact, seven stories in all, each to be told in its proper order. As the stories unfold, Marta begins to wonder: could the secret to her father’s disappearance lie in the countess’s tales?

"A delightful, thoughtful escape to a magical world."
—Kirkus Reviews

Hannah must choose the impossible--put her nephews into foster care so she can stay true to her dream, or take them on and lose everything she's worked so hard to achieve.

"Moldover (Every Moment After) employs sensitivity and nuance to depict Hannah's determination to secure financial stability and do right by her nephews and herself. Her evolution from reticence to fierce advocate radiates with heart. Ages 14--up." --Publisher's Weekly

In 1965, nursing student Frankie McGrath, after hearing the words "Women can be heroes, too," impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows her brother to Vietnam where she is overwhelmed by the destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America.

"A moving, gripping tale that pays tribute to the under-appreciated skill and courage of combat nurses." --Booklist, starred review

A missing coat, an intruder alarm, a note for Chief Inspector Gamache reading "this might interest you", a puzzling scrap of paper with a mysterious list--and then a murder--all propel Gamache and his team toward a terrible realization: something much more sinister than any one murder or any one case is fast approaching.

“Penny’s most ambitious novel to date… I read it in one sitting, because I could not put it down.” ―BookPage (starred review)

A fictionalized account of the author's experiences and emotions living in residential treatment facilities as a young teen with an eating disorder, Louder than Hunger is a triumph of raw honesty. With a deeply personal afterword for context, this much-anticipated verse novel is a powerful model for muffling the destructive voices inside, managing and articulating pain, and embracing self-acceptance, support, and love.

"Every so often a book comes along that is so brave and necessary, it extends a lifeline when it's needed most. This is one of those books." --Katherine Applegate, author of the Newbery Medal-winning, The One and Only Ivan

"Barry has become one of my favorite authors. You never know what type of story you are going to get. This story, set in 1890s Montana, showcases Barry's unique use of language and his ability to make you care about characters who might not always be the best of people." --Will Adamczyk

"This was just excellent. Rushdie balances his description of a horrible attack and long recovery with a subtle, but effective sense of humor. You learn so much about the author in so few words." --Will Adamczyk

When eleven-year-old Hank's mother does not come home after a week, he and his toddler sister, Boo, seek out the stranger listed as their emergency contact, even though it means social workers, a new school, and having to answer questions about his mom that he has been trying to keep secret.

"Five stars" --Sara Truog

"Hank’s story will break readers’ hearts before putting them back together again. Highly recommended." —School Library Journal, starred review

A wealthy widow revives a beloved famous local landmark--and restores joy and sparkle to her own life in the process.

"With multifaceted characters, crystal-clear prose, and a luminous story, The Phoenix Ballroom sparkles as kaleidoscopically as the chandeliers that are alight once more. A hugely entertaining read." -- " Sarah Haywood, author of The Cactus"

Through new prose, an award-winning poet considers and comments upon recent events in modern America, from the Covid-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing nation-wide protests, to unchecked capitalism, mass shootings and gentrification.

"Smith's collection is a powerful exploration of what it means to live in a world that feels like it is collapsing, amid global warming, racism, gentrification, and gun violence." --Library Journal

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

"I sacrificed sleep to keep reading, just as I did with Moore's novel Long Bright River. Everything works - plot, characters, suspenseful tone. Amazing." --Regan Mulcahy

Three estranged siblings return to their family home in New York after their beloved sister's death in this "deeply nuanced and compelling" (Vogue) novel, from the acclaimed author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein.

"A beautiful portrait of grief and the world-shaping bond sisters share."-- Real Simple

A collection of humorous short stories for aging millennials including tales about a discarded participation trophy that dreams of the one field day in 1993 when he meant something and a 40-year-old Super Mario who contemplates his bad life choices.

“Thoughtful and revelatory…I marveled at Rich's ability to juxtapose a really off-the-wall idea with a tender-hearted ending...He's always been this good.”―Minneapolis Star-Tribune

From an award-winning author and illustrator comes this picture book biography about beloved librarian and storyteller Augusta Braxton Baker, the first Black coordinator of children's services at all branches of the New York Public Library.

"Harrison’s intricate mixed-media collages employ shifting scale to bring to life this vital history of a vital figure." —Publishers Weekly, starred review