Open Books Challenge 2025: A Book with a Bilingual Character

Updated December 31, 2024
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Acevedo, Elizabeth
Paper Book
In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives. Camino Rios lives for the...
Americanah
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A modern classic about star-crossed lovers that explores questions of race and being Black in America--and the search for what it means to call a place home. * From the award-winning author of We Should All Be Feminists and Half of a Yellow...
Violeta : a novel
Allende, Isabel
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * This sweeping novel from the author of A Long Petal of the Sea tells the epic story of Violeta Del Valle, a woman whose life spans one hundred years and bears witness to the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century. "An immersive saga...
The City of Brass A Novel
Chakraborty, S. A.
Audiobook
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Library Journal | Vulture | The Verge | SYFYWire Step into The City of Brass, the spellbinding debut from S. A. Chakraborty perfect for fans of The Golem and the Jinni, The Grace of Kings...
The galaxy, and the ground within
Chambers, Becky
Audiobook
Return to the sprawling, Hugo Award-winning universe of the Galactic Commons to explore another corner of the cosmos--one often mentioned, but not yet explored--in this absorbing entry in the Wayfarers series, which blends heart-warming characters and imaginative adventure. ...
How not to drown in a glass of water
Cruz, Angie
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR'S CHOICE · A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW NOTABLE BOOK · REVIEWED ON THE FRONT COVER From GMA BOOK CLUB PICK and WOMEN'S PRIZE FINALIST Angie Cruz, author of Dominicana, an electrifying new novel about a...
You had me at hola : a novel
Daria, Alexis
Ebook
National Bestseller "I could not get enough of Jasmine and Ashton! I adored Jasmine--her ambition, her confidence, her attacks of self-doubt, and especially her hilarious, snarky, and loving cousins. She and Ashton have such a steamy, swoony, love story that I didn't want the book to end!"...
What my bones know : a memoir of healing from complex trauma
Foo, Stephanie
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A searing memoir of reckoning and healing by acclaimed journalist Stephanie Foo, investigating the little-understood science behind complex PTSD and how it has shaped her life "Achingly exquisite . . . providing real hope for those who long to heal....
The silence between us
Gervais, Alison
Ebook
Faced with the challenges of transitioning from a Hard of Hearing School to a Hearing high school, Maya has more than a learning curve. But what if she has more to learn about herself and how far she is willing to push for what she believes in? Perfect for contemporary fiction fans, The Silence...
Homegoing A novel
Gyasi, Yaa.
Ebook
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE'S JOHN LEONARD PRIZE * WINNER OF THE PEN / HEMINGWAY AWARD FOR DEBUT FICTION * Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and...
Tito, the firefighter
Hoppey, Tim
Paper Book
A New York firefighter answers an emergency call but he cannot speak Spanish. A neighborhood boy translates and is an honorary bombero for the day.
The devil takes you home : a barrio noir
Iglesias, Gabino
Paper Book
This genre-defying, Shirley Jackson and Bram Stoker award-winning thriller follows a father desperate to salvage what's left of his family--even if it means a descent into violence. Buried in debt due to his young daughter's illness, his marriage at the...
When stars are scattered
Jamieson, Victoria
Paper Book
A National Book Award Finalist, this remarkable graphic novel is about growing up in a refugee camp, as told by a former Somali refugee to the Newbery Honor-winning creator of Roller Girl. Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab,...
Tokyo ever after
Jean, Emiko
Paper Book
Emiko Jean's New York Times bestseller and Reese Book Club Pick Tokyo Ever After is the "refreshing, spot-on" (Booklist, starred review) story of an ordinary Japanese American girl who discovers that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan! Izumi Tanaka...
Happiness falls : a novel
Kim, Angie
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK * When a father goes missing, his family's desperate search leads them to question everything they know about him and one another in this thrilling page-turner, a deeply moving portrait of a...
Babel : or the necessity of violence : an arcane history of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
Kuang, R. F.
Paper Book
Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War   "Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial...
Crazy Rich Asians
Kwan, Kevin.
Paper Book
Crazy Rich Asians is the outrageously funny debut novel about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of...
Interpreter of maladies : stories
Lahiri, Jhumpa.
Paper Book
 With a new Introduction from the author for the twentieth anniversary Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, this stunning debut collection unerring charts the emotional journeys of characters seeking love beyond the barriers of nations and generations. In...
Pachinko
Lee, Min Jin.
Paper Book
One of the New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century In this New York Times bestseller, four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan-the inspiration for the television series on...
Arsenic and adobo
Manansala, Mia P.
Paper Book
In the small town of Shady Palms, Illinois, Lila Macapagal and her relatives run Tita Rosie's Kitchen, serve delicious Flipino dishes, and solve crimes on the side.
Behold the Dreamers A Novel
Mbue, Imbolo.
Paper Book
A compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream--the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy New York Times ...
A place for us
Mirza, Fatima Farheen
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD "5 UNDER 35" NOMINEE * NEW YORK'S "ONE BOOK, ONE NEW YORK" PICK Named One of the Best Books of the Year: Washington Post * NPR * People * Refinery29 * Parade * BuzzFeed "Mirza ...
The committed
Nguyen, Viet Thanh
Paper Book
The sequel to The Sympathizer, which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and went on to sell over a million copies worldwide, The Committed tells the story of "the man of two minds" as he comes as a refugee to France and turns his hand to capitalism. The long-awaited new novel from one...
Born a Crime Stories from a South African Childhood
Noah, Trevor.
Ebook
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * More than one million copies sold! A "brilliant" (Lupita Nyong'o, Time), "poignant" (Entertainment Weekly), "soul-nourishing" (USA Today) memoir about coming of age during the twilight of apartheid  
True biz : a novel
Nović, Sara
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * A "tender, beautiful and radiantly outraged" (The New York Times Book Review) novel that follows a year of seismic romantic, political, and familial shifts for a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the deaf,...
There there
Orange, Tommy
Paper Book
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A wondrous and shattering award-winning novel that follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize. A contemporary classic, this...
Still life
Penny, Louise.
Paper Book
Winner of the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a...
My grandfather's song
Phung, Nguyen Quang
Paper Book
A stunning picture book about a family's connection to their land, their home, and each other--from the creators of My First Day. Long ago, Grandfather came to a new land. Fish swam in the water, birds chirped in the sky, monkeys played in the trees. And in this wilderness...
A Woman of No Importance The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
Purnell, Sonia.
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Chosen as a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by NPR, the New York Public Library, Amazon, the Seattle Times, the Washington Independent Review of Books, PopSugar, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, BookBrowse, the Spectator...
Tag team
Raúl the Third
Paper Book
"Wildly imaginative and creative! Your kids will go loco for El Toro!" --Jeff Kinney, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series From New York Times bestselling, three-time Pura Belpré Award-winning author-illustrator Raúl the Third, Tag Team features El...
Never look back
Rivera, Lilliam
Paper Book
"Expertly blends reality and fantasy to explore what's behind love and loss, what it takes to heal." - Randy Ribay, author of National Book Award finalist Patron Saints of Nothing Acclaimed author Lilliam Rivera blends a touch of magical realism into a timely...
The island of missing trees
Shafak, Elif
Paper Book
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK Winner of the 2022 BookTube Silver Medal in Fiction * Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction "A wise novel of love and grief, roots and branches, displacement and home, faith and belief. Balm for our bruised times." -David...
Maus : a survivor's tale
Spiegelman, Art.
Paper Book
The definitive edition of the graphic novel acclaimed as "the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust" (Wall Street Journal) and "the first masterpiece in comic book history" (The New Yorker) * PULITZER PRIZE WINNER * One of Variety's "Banned and...
Dial A for Aunties
Sutanto, Jesse Q.
Paper Book
"Sutanto brilliantly infuses comedy and culture into the unpredictable rom-com/murder mystery mashup as Meddy navigates familial duty, possible arrest and a groomzilla. I laughed out loud and you will too."--USA Today (four-star review) "A hilarious, heartfelt...
I am not your perfect Mexican daughter
Sánchez, Erika L.
Ebook
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A "stunning" (America Ferrera) YA novel about a teenager coming to terms with losing her sister and finding herself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican American home. "Alive and crackling--a...
They called us enemy
Takei, George
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller! A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon -- and America itself -- in this gripping tale...
Cemetery boys
Thomas, Aiden
Audiobook
The Fellowship of the Ring Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings
Tolkien, J.R.R.
Ebook
Begin your journey into Middle-earth... The inspiration for the upcoming original series on Prime Video, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The Fellowship of the Ring is the first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure The Lord of the Rings. One Ring to rule them all...
A gentleman in Moscow
Towles, Amor
Paper Book
A New York Times "Readers' Choice: Best Books of the 21st Century" Pick The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers--Now a Paramount+ with Showtime series starring Ewan McGregor as Count Alexander Rostov From the #1 New York Times...
The picture bride
Yi, KÅ­m-i
Audiobook
Crying in H Mart : a memoir
Zauner, Michelle
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the indie rock sensation known as Japanese Breakfast, an unforgettable memoir about family, food, grief, love, and growing up Korean American--"in losing her mother and cooking to bring her back to life, Zauner became herself" (NPR). * CELEBRATING...
No land to light on
Zgheib, Yara
Paper Book
From the author of The Girls at 17 Swann Street comes a "masterful story of tragedy and redemption" (Hala Alyan, author of Salt Houses) "written in soul-searing prose" (BookPage, starred review) about a young Syrian couple in the throes of new love on the cusp of their bright...
No land to light on : a novel
Zgheib, Yara
Paper Book
From the author of The Girls at 17 Swann Street comes a "masterful story of tragedy and redemption" (Hala Alyan, author of Salt Houses) "written in soul-searing prose" (BookPage, starred review) about a young Syrian couple in the throes of new love on the cusp of their bright...
Four treasures of the sky
Zhang, Jenny
Ebook
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK · A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR'S CHOICE · REVIEWED ON THE FRONT COVER · INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER "Zhang's blend of history and magical realism will appeal to fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates' The Water...

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