Staff Picks: June 2025

JCPL staff love these books!

Updated June 2, 2025
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Watership Down
Adams, Richard
Paper Book
Now with a new introduction by Madeline Miller, the New York Times bestselling author of The Song of Achilles and Circe. The 50th anniversary edition of Richard Adam's timeless classic, the tale of a band of wild rabbits struggling to hold onto their place...
The penguin who knew too much
Andrews, Donna.
Paper Book
Meg Langslow plays hostess to a gaggle of penguins and investigates a puzzling murder in the latest delightful mystery from the bestselling author of No Nest for the Wicket. Martin's Press.
The cruel prince
Black, Holly
Paper Book
By #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, the first book in a stunning new series about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a web of royal faerie intrigue. Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will...
The indifferent stars above : the harrowing saga of a Donner Party bride
Brown, Daniel James
Paper Book
From the #1 bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat comes an unforgettable epic of family, tragedy, and survival on the American frontier "An ideal pairing of talent and material.... Engrossing.... A deft and ambitious storyteller." - Mary Roach, New York Times Book Review In...
The bog wife : a novel
Chronister, Kay
Paper Book
"A lush, beautifully written novel about trying to be a person in our strange world . . . Pick this one up for its exquisite characterization, decaying settings and a dash of Southern gothic horror." --Kiersten White, The New York Times Book Review A "haunting, brilliant"...
By book or by crook : a lighthouse library mystery
Gates, Eva
Paper Book
Get bound up in murder in the first Lighthouse Library mystery! For ten years Lucy has enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but she has not enjoyed the demands of her family's social whorl or her sort-of-engagement to the staid son of her...
The blue hour
Hawkins, Paula
Paper Book
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK "The best Paula Hawkins yet - by a tense and haunting mile." - Lee Child "An atmospheric, stylish puzzle box of a thriller... truly exceptional." - Liz Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The God of the Woods "A masterful...
The girl on the train
Hawkins, Paula.
Paper Book
Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. 'Jess and Jason', she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect...
The paper magician
Holmberg, Charlie N.
Paper Book
"Charlie is a vibrant writer with an excellent voice and great world building. I thoroughly enjoyed the Paper Magician." --Brandon Sanderson, author of Mistborn and The Way of Kings Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having...
Lula Dean's little library of banned books : a novel
Miller, Kirsten
Paper Book
"Kirsten Miller has that rare ability to take a serious subject and make it very, very funny. I enjoyed this novel and you will too."--James Patterson The provocative and hilarious summer read that will have book lovers cheering and everyone talking! Kirsten Miller, author of The Change,...
This is what it sounds like : what the music you love says about you
Rogers, Susan
Paper Book
One of the Next Big Idea Club's Favorite Nonfiction Books A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2022 A legendary record producer-turned-brain scientist explains why you fall in love with music. This Is What It Sounds Like is a journey into the...
Holes
Sachar, Louis
Paper Book
Nothing to see here
Wilson, Kevin
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller  *  A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, People, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, TIME, The A.V. Club, Buzzfeed, and PopSugar ...
One of our kind : a novel
Yoon, Nicola
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestselling author Nicola Yoon's daring new work of dystopian horror is a propulsive satire set in an all-Black gated community. For fans of The Sellout and Erasure, with a shocking ending you'll never see coming, Jodi Picoult calls it "Brilliant,...

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