Meet Kaye! Kaye reads a mix of science fiction, romance, and books with beautiful covers that catch their eye. Kaye is always exclaiming while they read, which their coworkers love. After being a QABC bookseller for almost two years, Kaye left us mid-sping 2023 to become a fulltime librarian, and thus still happily surrounded by books.
An emotional, atmospheric story of an intersex woman set in the Appalachian mountains during the Great Depression. Lum's personal frustrations build alongside political turmoil in her town, and she tries to create a life for herself amid the chaos.
This book is not for the faint of heart, but if you can handle it, you'll love it!
A perfect fun, fast and steamy read for any trip or rainy day! I don't usually gravitate towards a fake dating trope, but Kris and D'Vaughn are so fun I had to!
Equal parts disturbing and beautiful, this book will stay with you long after you finish. It follows two immortal characters, who's opposing personalities and powers continually shape the world and lives around them.
"All Systems Red" meets "The Darkness Outside Us" in this engrossing, fun sci-fi. How Andy Weir managed to balance humor with incredibly high stakes set in deep space is beyond me, but I'm grateful for it!
I can't say I've ever read anything like this book! Literary fiction meets time-travel science fiction in this truly wild ride of a read.
In an alternative 1800s, New Orleans is a neutral zone during the Civil War. Within the city, there are sky pirates, gods inhabiting humans, and a weapon that could decide the war. This book is an action-packed and suspensful quick read!
The most funny, chaotic book I've read this year! The butterfly effect is on full display here, as Jameela prays for her book to be on the best sellers list, and soon after finds herself a spy, engaged (she is already married), and the target of a make-up crazy leader who wants her beheaded. Perfect for fans of "The 100 Year Old Man Who Jumped Out the Window and Disappeared"
Gripping high fantasy spread out in four novellas! A pair of twins is born by the empress to settle a debt, but what they do with their lives no one can control. Each novella follows a different character as the twins age, and change the empire forever.
I came to this book for the promise of tennis, but I stayed for the perfection that is a very imperfect Carrie Soto. Each match had me on the edge of my seat, and Carrie Soto will have my heart forever.
So creepy, so fun! Told from two perspectives, Larson takes on Chicago's World Fair in 1893, and it is a *page turner*
Anytime I need to get lost in a fun and heartwarming world, this is the book I turn to! This book will make any day better.
It wasn't until I finished this book that I realized how rare it is to read a calm sci-fi book! A beautiful setting and kind, interesting characters. A great read for a slow, contemplative day.
I *loved* this book. Under 150 pages, it is packed full of humor, action, and an apathetic murderbot who just wants to watch tv.
Everything you could possibly want from a queer coming-of-age story! Absolutely one of my favorite books of the year, cannot recommend enough!
This book is the thoughtful, complex, sweet sibling to the movie The Italian Job. A group of five bright college students risk it all to rob five museums across the Western World; to return priceless Chinese artifacts to their rightful place in China. Li effortlessly tackles issues of modern colonialism, strained family relationships, and how we choose our futures.
You heard it here first: You can be an assassin at any age!
An epic scifi mystery set in 1920s Egypt! This book has it all: dapper women detectives, moody magical beings, and arrogant Englishmen. If you ever loved Phryne Fisher, you will love this book as well!
Outwardly, 17-year-old Chinese American Lily doesn't say much, but inside it's all turmoil, confusion, and wonder. This book perfectly describes the overwhelming feeling of seeing yourself for the first time, and the internal and external struggles that follow. A stunning lesbian historical fiction!
Incredible world building in an ancient Mesoamerica world! We bounce between the two perspectives of a girl who has grown up in magical sect and a girl who is magical but lives isolated. The political structure of the kingdom is at risk, and these two both must struggle to figure out their fates in this conflict. A fantastic fantasy YA debut!
A thousand years ago, the whole world almost fell to a deadly beast. Now, the threat is back, but if the stories about that time are all wrong, how do you save the world again? Such an engrossing, high fantasy story!
One of my favorite reads of the year! The pace is perfect, the characters are complex and well developed, and the romance is heartwarming (and steamy).
Kelly Yang shows the power of taking a chance and working hard in this delightful series! Mia and her parents immigrate to California from China, and while working at the motel is difficult for her family, Mia loves it and is committed to making the motel better for her family and everyone!
The best sequel I've read in a while. Ifueko allows all of the characters to grow so much, together and on their own, and still has a plot that is fast paced and surprising!
There is something endlessly satisifying about a well done enemies to lovers story. Quindlen beautifully navigates past relationships, and allows for character growth that is so heartwarming to read!
One of the most indulgent romance books I've ever read! It gave me everything I wanted; a perfect holiday read!
I love Darcie's storytelling style! A teen girl believes the stories her families have told forever; that there is another world where animal people live. In that other world, a snake person is desperate to save his friend and risks crossing to the real world to save him. A beautiful story about the continued importance of old stories and wisdom.
The cathartic power of righteous anger is usually overlooked, but not in this book! This book is all about righteous anger. One young woman is born with a coveted power, and with that power she works to avenge not only her sister, but also all young women who are being sacrificed in the dystopia she lives in. A punch the air kind of read!
Beyond sweet! A cute young girl wants to wear a spectacular suit instead of a dress and *somehow* one appears in her room.
A precious queer story I wish had been around when I was little.
Such a thrilling book! Shelley Parker-Chan delivered an amazing debut book that tells the story of a young girl who, when her brother dies, takes his name, and his fate. With action, cunning, and desire, Parker-Chan pushes the reader to ask whether we are bold enough to accept our fate, and what we would do to see it realized. An exciting read for everybody!
Donna Higuera wrote a space odyssey that gave me goosebumps the whole way through! Almost everyone aboard a space ship is put under a deep sleep as they travel 400 years to a new planet, and when they wake up, only a young girl named Petra remembers where they came from. She had always wanted to be a storyteller like her abuela, and now she has to put her skills to the test to save everyone! A gripping nail biter about the dangers of creating a perfect society.
Acevedo expertly shows that even when people are juggling a lot, there is always room for humor and heart! Our main character has a passion for cooking, which leads to many highs and lows while she figures out what she's going to do after high school. I finished this book with a large grin on my face and craving one of Emoni's meals.
This collection of stories beautifully combines Kimmerer's experiences as an environmental biologist, a member of the Potawatomi tribe, a mother, etc. to create a body of work that is a must read. Through stories of strawberries, an algae covered pond, the learning of her tribe's language, and more, Kimmerer shows rather than argues how utilizing Indigenous knowledge is essential to the future of our natural world.
Brandon Sanderson builds such intricate, engaging worlds, and it's impossible not to get sucked in. A quiet, wary, teenage girl named Vin has spent her life surviving on the streets by any means necessary, until she finds out she is incredibly powerful and gets recruited into a theiving crew that has one goal: bring down the empire.
This book is a fast paced, page turning delight! It follows the two main characters, one girl who has lived her life struggling and fighting an oppressive system, and the other has risen to the top of that oppressive system and is granted immense power, but she hates it and is ready to leave. When they come together sparks fly, but all forces are against them as they work together to bring down the system they both hate. Mad Max meets The Host in this irresistable queer scifi book.
Ken Follett did the impossible, he made a 1000 page book about the building of a cathedral an epic, compelling page turner. This book contains multiple character's perspectives, which throughout this book are expertly woven together, to give the reader a full image of a small, medieval town.
A love story to the color blue, this collection of poems gifts the reader with new ways of seeing the world, insights into Maggie Nelson's life, and new lessons everytime you read it. With its slow paced, beautiful imagining of color, this is a perfect read for a calm day.
An incredibly written, suspenseful thriller that had me pacing while I read it. The book centers on a biracial Indigenous/White teenage girl named Daunis who, when multiple Indigenous girls die with connections to a specific drug, is sucked into a federal investigation. Daunis must figure out how to balance working with federal agents with generations of community distrust of any federal agent. Throughout the investigation, she relies on her elders and a forbidden romance to try and figure it out on her own. A thoughtfully written and ultimately uplifting must read!
Endlessly heartwarming! This book is a *rollercoaster* of emotions, and is a great read for every middle schooler. Any age really
An amazing debut Indigenous Futurism novel! The main character is a serious, asexual, Native American girl, who is out to solve the murder of a family member. She has some help though; a good friend, her ghost dog, and the stories and legacy of the ancestor who she was named after. A thrilling read!
This book is a haunting, poetic, magical realism take on a young girl's coming of age story set in a small coastal town. The real highlight of the book is Hunt's masterful use of language and words to pull you into the main character's head. As the main character gets lost in a tangle of her own thoughts and beliefs, so does the reader, until even we don't know what's up or down.
This book is mesmerizing. Alan Lightman writes out the many theories of time that Einstein thought of before arriving at his theory of relativity, and turns them into short stories. As you dive into each world, you explore and are able to contemplate alternate relationships to time through beautiful, poetic writing.
This book reads as both a love story to New York City and the people who live there, and an action-packed scifi novel. New York City has six representatives who harness the power the city, and throughout the book they have to find each other, and defeat whoever/whatever wants to destroy the city. I love Jemisin's writing, and this book has me impatient for the next book!
Clear your schedule, because once I opened this book I didn't put it down until I was finished. This book is the perfect combination of heartwarming and funny, and I closed the book with my cheeks hurting from smiling.
This book is a wild ride, beginning to end! Witchcraft, communing with ancestors, and huge technological advancements is only part of what makes this awesome book a must buy. Through engaging storytelling, humor, and heart, Sambury walks the main character, a 16-year old Black girl in Toronto, and the reader, through big topics of integenerational trauma, how far one person will go to protect their family, and what family even means.