BostonPL_BPL Staff Picks: Best Reads of 2023Like this list

42 items

• Lone Women

  A Novel

  LaValle, Victor

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  Fiction. An African American homesteader with a mysterious heavy trunk must survive bleak conditions and deal with family secrets. I got fully immersed in the harshness of Montana in 1915, and loved the women characters. The horror element isn't…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• You Don't Have a Shot

  Marie, Racquel

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  Teen Fiction. After a rough end to her soccer season, Vale escapes to soccer camp only to discover that her rival Leticia is also attending...and will be her co-captain for the summer. Racquel Marie is one of the best YA authors out there right now.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Cloud Cuckoo Land

  A Novel

  Doerr, Anthony

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  Historical Fantasy. Cloud Cuckoo Land spans three timelines—the 1453 siege of Constantinople, present-day Idaho in a library, and a future space voyage to an exoplanet—where characters are unknowingly shaped by a pivotal ancient text. Doerr's…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

  Chambers, Becky

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  Science Fiction. In the second book of the Monk and Robot series, Tea Monk Dex and robot Mosscap continue to explore their own relations to themselves and other humans and robots. This series is exactly what we need right now: a prediction of the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• My Government Means to Kill Me

  A Novel

  Newson, Rasheed

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  Fiction. Newson creates a fictional memoir about a young gay Black man navigating 1980s New York City. Trey becomes involved in the AIDS movement and has to navigate the struggles of LGBT+ people of color. The reader forgets this book is not an…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything

  Winans, Justine Pucella

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  Teen Mystery. To cope with their anxiety disorder and burgeoning gender identity crisis, 16-year-old closeted lesbian Bianca takes up birdwatching and accidentally witnesses a neighbor's murder. Authorities believe it was a suicide, so Bianca…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Braiding Sweetgrass

  Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

  Kimmerer, Robin Wall,

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  Memoir/Nonfiction. Kimmerer is both a botanist and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Here, she combines her knowledge of plants and personal stories into one beautiful and heartbreaking memoir. This is a book that needs to be taken in…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

  Fawcett, Heather (Heather M.),

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  Fantasy. Heather Fawcett's "Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries" is a delightful blend of fantasy and romance that immerses readers in a charming tale of academic rivalry, hidden secrets, and the enchanting realm of faeries. Emily Wilde, a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Vampires of El Norte

  Cañas, Isabel,

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  Fiction. Vampires and vaqueros face off on the Texas-Mexico border in this supernatural western from the author of The Hacienda. I loved this gothic western which had just enough horror and just enough romance. Highly recommend if you’re looking for…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Blight

  Fungi and the Coming Pandemic

  Monosson, Emily

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  Nonfiction. Books about fungi are always fascinating and this one delved into how they are adapting to warming climates and may soon be able to survive inside warm bodies. It also covered how entire plant species can be destroyed by fungi brought in…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Simon Sort of Says

  Bow, Erin

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  Children's Fiction. Simon and his parents move to a town with no internet after a Very Bad Thing happens to him. The sole survivor of a school shooting, Simon begins to make new sense of his life with the help of friends, family, and aliens. I found…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ellie Engle Saves Herself

  Johnson, Leah

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  Children's Fiction. When a freak accident gives Ellie the power to bring things back to life, she has to learn how to navigate the world not only as someone with superpowers, but someone who isn't quite sure who she's meant to be yet. - Allison H.,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Thornhedge

  Kingfisher, T.

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  Fantasy. Re-imaging of the classic Sleeping Beauty story. I enjoyed variation on the story and the twist ending. - Shane J., Charlestown Branch Library

• The Thursday Murder Club

  Osman, Richard

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  Mystery. A fun read about a retirement community that solves crimes. This unlikely gang of sleuths had me laughing out loud, and anticipating the next installment! - Jane S., Central Library

• The Light Pirate

  Brooks-Dalton, Lily, 1987-

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  Science Fiction/Fantasy. As Hurricane Wanda begins drenching Florida, Kirby Lowe heads into the storm to find his two missing sons, while his wife gives birth at home to a daughter named after the storm. Brooks-Dalton then unfolds a story in four…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• All the Dead Shall Weep

  Harris, Charlaine

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  Fantasy. Book 5 of the Gunnie Rose series, exploring how magic winds it's way through the politically fractured North American continent. I love reading about what might have been and this series keeps me on my toes. - Maija MH., Central Library

• Heaven

  Kawakami, Mieko, 1976-

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  Fiction. "Hailed as a bold foray into new literary territory, Kawakami's novel is told in the voice of a 14-year-old student subjected to relentless torment for having a lazy eye. Instead of resisting, the boy chooses to suffer in complete…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Vernon Subutex. 1

  Despentes, Virginie, 1969-

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  Fiction. I've been a big fan of Despentes' work since "Baise-moi", but her writing's really hit another level with "Vernon Subutex". It's centered around the titular Vernon Subutex, an agoraphobic 50-something former record shop owner who's made…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• When the Angels Left the Old Country

  Lamb, Sacha

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  Teen Fantasy. An angel and a demon emigrate from a nameless shtetl in the Pale of Settlement to New York City, following the trail of a girl from their shtetl whose letters home have gone missing. On their journey, they face the horrors of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Wilds of the United States

  the Animals' Survival Field Guide

  Vidal, Alexander,

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  Children's Nonfiction. We read this book every night, and my little guy delighted in learning about new animals every night. - Maija MH., Central