Michigan Notable Books

Every year, the Library of Michigan selects up to twenty of the most notable books, either written by a Michigan resident or about Michigan or the Great Lakes. The selected books are honored in the year after their publication or copyright date. Each selected title speaks to our state's rich cultural, historical, and literary heritage and proves without a doubt that some of the greatest stories are found in the Great Lakes State.


Updated February 6, 2026
Upper Peninsula Region of Library Cooperation
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The gales of November : the untold story of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Bacon, John U.
Paper Book
For three decades following World War II, the Great Lakes overtook Europe as the epicenter of global economic strength. The region was the beating heart of the world economy, possessing all the power and prestige Silicon Valley does today. And no ship represented the apex of the American Century...
Devouring time : Jim Harrison, a writer's life
Goddard, Todd
Paper Book
Devouring Time is the definitive biography of Jim Harrison--one of America's most beloved writers--and a penetrating deep dive into the life of the talent behind Legends of the Fall, Dalva, and True North. Jim Harrison (1937-2016) was widely considered one of the finest voices of his...
The hours are long but the pay is low : a curious life in independent music
Miller, Rob (Co-founder of Bloodshot Records)
Paper Book
"The music business is not a meritocracy: it is a crapshoot taking place in a septic tank balanced on the prow of the Titanic, a venal snake pit where innovation, creativity, and honest business practices are actively discouraged." Rob Miller arrived in Chicago wanting to escape...
Cooler than cool : the life and work of Elmore Leonard
Kushins, C. M.
Paper Book
AN EDGAR AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL WORK A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Consistently engrossing ... Kushins does an excellent job of guiding us through Leonard's stories, manuscripts and adaptations." - Wall Street Journal ...
Miss Betti what is this? : how Detroit's school lunch lady got good food on the menu
Nargi, Lela
Paper Book
Discover the changemaker who transformed the Detroit Public School lunch program--in stunning illustration. Miss Betti knew wholesome, nourishing food. She also knew the kids in Detroit's public schools were not getting wholesome, nourishing lunches. Luckily, as Detroit's school lunch lady...
Between the devil and the deep blue sea : a veteran's memoir
Queen, Khadijah
Paper Book
From award winning poet Khadijah Queen, a coming-of-age memoir about family, survival, and one servicewoman's search for autonomy.  Yanked out of college and torn from her sunny hometown of Los Angeles in the early 1990s, Khadijah Queen finds herself sharing a...
Waterline : a novel
Mrjoian, Aram
Paper Book
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2025 BY ESQUIRE "A gripping journey through time, Mrjoian brings readers deep into the heart of the Armenian Genocide and its ripples across generations. . . . Waterline is a must-read--intense, moving, and unforgettable."--Morgan Talty, national...
How to talk to your succulent
Persico, Zoe
Paper Book
After the loss of her mother, Adara struggles to communicate with her family about her grief. When a sympathetic ear arises in an unlikely place, Adara can finally find her words -- but can she find the time to listen? A stunning graphic novel for middle-grade readers about family, friendship and...
No human involved : the serial murder of Black women and girls and the deadly cost of police indifference
Neely, Cheryl L.
Paper Book
An urgent examination of the invisibility of Black women and girls as victims of targeted killings, and the lack of police intervention and media coverage When Black women and girls are targeted and murdered their cases are often categorized by police officers as "N.H.I." - "No...
Theater kid : a Broadway memoir
Seller, Jeffrey
Paper Book
A New Yorker, NPR, and Washington Independent Review Best Book of 2025 A coming-of-age tale from one of the most successful American producers of our time, Jeffrey Seller, who is the only producer to have mounted two Pulitzer Prize-winning musicals--Hamilton<...
The containment : Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the battle for racial justice in the North
Adams, Michelle
Paper Book
Winner of the MAAH Stone Book Award Winner of the 2025 Avern Cohn Award A New York Times Notable Book of 2025, A New Yorker Best Book of 2025 selection A Christian Science Monitor 25 Best Books of...
The lady with the dark hair : a novel
Bartels, Erin
Paper Book
2025 Michigan Notable Book "Bartels perfectly meshes the stories of two women, both artists, living half a world and nearly a century-and-a-half apart. Bartels' settings and historical details are unusual and compelling; the dual time lines work perfectly, and this well-researched...
Funny story
Henry, Emily
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ∙ A shimmering, joyful novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry. A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2024 Named a Must-Read Book of 2024 by...
My black country : a journey through country music's black past, present, and future
Randall, Alice
Paper Book
Alice Randall, award-winning professor, songwriter, and author presents "a celebration of all things country music" (Ken Burns) as she reflects on her search for the first family of Black country music. Country music had brought Alice Randall and her activist mother together and...
We live here : Detroit Eviction Defense and the battle for housing justice
Wilson, Jeffrey
Paper Book
We Live Here! is a graphic novel biography of the members of the local activist group Detroit Eviction Defence combatting and beating calls for their eviction. By illustrating the stories of families struggling against evictions, the book gives a voice to those who have remained in Detroit, showing...
Good dress : poems
Rogers, Brittany
Paper Book
Winner of the Lambda Award for Bisexual Poetry Longlisted for the 2025 Maya Angelou Book Award "A once-in-a-generation debut."―Angel Nafis "This self-assured, dazzling debut has a story to tell."―Aricka Foreman <...
I cheerfully refuse : a novel
Enger, Leif
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A BARNES & NOBLE BOOK CLUB PICK * A career defining tour-de-force from New York Times bestselling, award-winning and "formidably gifted" (Chicago Tribune) author of Peace Like a River Leif Enger. "A rare, remarkable book to be kept and...
The Black utopians : searching for paradise and the Promised Land in America
Robertson, Aaron
Paper Book
One of The New York Times's 100 Notable Books of 2024 One of the Washington Post's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 A Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History Finalist for the Zora Award | Hooks National Book Award<...
Old Time Hawkey's Recipes from the Cedar Swamp : A Cookbook
Old Time Hawkey.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Step into Old Time Hawkey's magical world with 100 comforting recipes and stories inspired by the beauty of Northern Michigan Well hello, buddy. In videos that have captured the hearts of millions online, Old Time Hawkey, aka Fritz...
The Lions Finally Roar: The Ford Family, the Detroit Lions, and the Road to Redemption in the NFL
Morris, Bill
Paper Book
The epic and tumultuous story of the Lions, the Ford family, the city of Detroit--and how all three have come together on the cusp of a new era. On Nov. 22, 1963, William Clay Ford, the youngest grandson of auto pioneer Henry Ford, made a successful bid to buy the Detroit Lions...
Firekeeper's daughter
Boulley, Angeline
Paper Book
An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller! A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick! A Printz Medal AND Morris Award Winner! Soon to be adapted at Netflix for TV with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground.
The luminous life of Lucy Landry
Johnson, Anna Rose
Paper Book
Lucy, a spirited French-Ojibwe orphan, is sent to the stormy waters of Lake Superior to live with a mysterious family of lighthouse-keepers--and, she hopes, to find the legendary necklace her father spent his life seeking... Selena Lucy Landry (named for a ship, as every sailor's...
True Gretch : what I've learned about life, leadership, and everything in between
Whitmer, Gretchen
Paper Book
From trailblazing Michigan governor, Democratic leader, and national advocate for women's rights, Gretchen Whitmer, comes an unconventional and deeply personal account of her life and career--"Not your nana's ponderous political memoir" (New York magazine)--offering insights into her...
The waters : a novel
Campbell, Bonnie Jo
Paper Book
On an island in the Great Massasauga Swamp--an area known as "The Waters" to the residents of nearby Whiteheart, Michigan--herbalist and eccentric Hermine "Herself" Zook has healed the local women of their ailments for generations. As stubborn as her tonics are powerful, Herself inspires...
Dearborn : stories
Zeineddine, Ghassan
Paper Book
Winner of the 2023 Khayrallah Book Prize Finalist for the 2024 CLMP Firecracker Award for Debut Fiction Shortlisted for the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing A Washington Post Best Book of September * Named a Best Book of the Year...
Strikers : a graphic novel
Phegley, Kiel
Paper Book
Evan just wants to win a game. Bobby would rather fight than win. Hockey--and life--keep handing them both losses. Their team, the Strikers, has a roster of rejects in hand-me-down coats but lacks good equipment, a deep bench, and a coach who shows up on time. Their town of Flint, Michigan...
Warrior girl unearthed
Boulley, Angeline
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times bestseller! A #1 Indies Bestseller! Six Starred Reviews! #1 New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter Angeline Boulley takes us back to Sugar Island in this high-stakes thriller about the power of discovering your stolen...
Everything I learned, I learned in a Chinese restaurant : a memoir
Chin, Curtis
Paper Book
This "vivid, moving, funny, and heartfelt" memoir tells the story of Curtis Chin's time growing up as a gay Chinese American kid in 1980's Detroit (Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers). Nineteen eighties Detroit was a volatile place to live, but above the fray stood a safe haven:...
Tom Lake : a novel
Patchett, Ann
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America's finest writers. "Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than...
In the upper country
Thomas, Kai
Paper Book
The fates of two unforgettable women--one just beginning a journey of reckoning and self-discovery and the other completing her life's last vital act--intertwine in this sweeping, powerful novel set at the terminus of the Underground Railroad. In the 1800s in Dunmore,...
The all American : a novel
Finkbeiner, Susie
Paper Book
A 2024 Michigan Notable Book "A moving novel, fit for inspiring any reader to dream big and believe that anything is possible."--BookPage *** Two sisters discover how much good there is in the world--even in the hardest of circumstances <...
My murder
Williams, Katie
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER  NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND GLAMOUR! "One of those rare emotionally intelligent books that are also fun reads... Going to keep readers turning pages late into the night." -The New York Times ...
In the upper country
Thomas, Kai
Paper Book
The fates of two unforgettable women--one just beginning a journey of reckoning and self-discovery and the other completing her life's last vital act--intertwine in this sweeping, powerful novel set at the terminus of the Underground Railroad. In the 1800s in Dunmore,...
Isaiah Dunn is my hero
Baptist, Kelly J.
Paper Book
A coming-of-age tale about a boy who proves that with superhero courage--and a few great sidekicks--you can take on even the toughest of odds. Adapted from a story that first appeared in Flying Lessons & Other Stories and perfect for fans of The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson....
The king of confidence : a tale of utopian dreamers, frontier schemers, true believers, false prophets, and the murder of an American monarch
Harvey, Miles
Paper Book
The "unputdownable" (Dave Eggers, National Book award finalist) story of the most infamous American con man you've never heard of: James Strang, self-proclaimed divine king of earth, heaven, and an island in Lake Michigan, "perfect for fans of The Devil in the White City" (Kirkus)<...
The turtle of Oman : a novel
Nye, Naomi Shihab
Paper Book
Praised by the Horn Book as "both quiet and exhilarating," this novel by the acclaimed poet and National Book Award Finalist Naomi Shihab Nye follows Aref Al-Amri as he says goodbye to everything and everyone he loves in his hometown of Muscat, Oman, as his family prepares to move...
Ancestor approved : intertribal stories for kids
Smith, Cynthia Leitich
Paper Book
Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride. Native families from Nations across the...
The wicked sister
Dionne, Karen
Paper Book
She thought she'd buried her past. But what if it's been hunting her this whole time? From the bestselling and award-winning author of The Marsh King's Daughter comes a startling novel of psychological suspense as two generations of sisters try to unravel their tangled...
Firekeeper's daughter
Boulley, Angeline
Paper Book
An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller! A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick! A Printz Medal AND Morris Award Winner! Soon to be adapted at Netflix for TV with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground.

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