Open Books 2024: Books with an Urban Setting

Updated December 29, 2023
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Midnight Riot Rivers of London Series, Book 1
Aaronovitch, Ben.
Paper Book
"Midnight Riot is what would happen if Harry Potter grew up and joined the Fuzz. It is a hilarious, keenly imagined caper."--Diana Gabaldon  Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London's Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to...
Turn right at Machu Picchu : rediscovering the lost city one step at a time
Adams, Mark
Paper Book
Mark Adams has spent his career editing adventure and travel magazines, polishing hair-raising tales about the exploits of famous explorers. So his plan to investigate the allegations against Bingham by retracing the explorer's perilous path to Machu Picchu isn't completely far-fetched, even if it...
The eternal city : a history of Rome
Addis, Ferdinand
Paper Book
The magnificent and definitive history of the Eternal City, narrated by a master historian. Why does Rome continue to exert a hold on our imagination? How did the "Caput mundi" come to play such a critical role in the development of Western civilization? Ferdinand...
Shrines of Gaiety A Novel
Atkinson, Kate.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The award-winning author of Life after Life transports us to a restless London in the wake of the Great War--a city bursting with money, glamour, and corruption--in this spellbinding tale of seduction and betrayal. A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR:...
Ragweed
Avi
Paper Book
The first book in the beloved Poppy series by Newbery Medal-winning author Avi, with illustrations from Caldecott Medal-winning artist Brian Floca A mouse has to do what a mouse has to do. Ragweed is determined to see the world. He leaves his family and cozy country home and sets off by...
The diviners
Bray, Libba.
Paper Book
A young woman discovers her mysterious powers could help catch a killer in the first book of The Diviners series--a stunning supernatural historical mystery set in 1920s New York City, from Printz Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Libba Bray. Evangeline O...
The City of Brass A Novel
Chakraborty, S. A.
Paper Book
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, an imaginative alchemy of The Golem and the Jinni, The Grace of Kings,...
The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963
Curtis, Christopher Paul.
Paper Book
During one of the most important times in the civil rights movement, one unforgettable family goes on a road trip in this Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree, from author Christopher Paul Curtis, recipient of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. ...
Evicted : poverty and profit in the American city
Desmond, Matthew.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE * ONE OF TIME'S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE * ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY One of the most acclaimed books of our time, this modern classic "has set a...
Learning to fall
Engelfried, Sally
Paper Book
Daphne doesn't want to be stuck in Oakland with her dad. She wants to get on the first plane to Prague, where her mom is shooting a movie. Armed with her grandparents' phone number and strict instructions from her mom to call them if her dad starts drinking again, Daphne has no problem being cold...
The Great Gatsby
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Paper Book
The only edition of the beloved classic that is authorized by Fitzgerald's family and from his lifelong publisher. This edition is the enduring original text, updated with the author's own revisions, a foreword by his granddaughter, and with a new introduction by National Book...
City of girls
Gilbert, Elizabeth
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! From the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and The Signature of All Things, a delicious novel of glamour, sex, and adventure, about a young woman discovering that you don't have to be a good...
The Vanderbeekers and the hidden garden
Glaser, Karina Yan
Paper Book
Return to Harlem's "wildly entertaining" family in this funny, heartwarming sequel. When catastrophe strikes their beloved upstairs neighbors, the Vanderbeeker children set out to build the best, most magical healing garden in Harlem--in spite of a locked fence, thistles and trash, and the...
The Maltese falcon
Hammett, Dashiell
Paper Book
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME * A special edition of this coolly glittering gem of detective fiction that has haunted three generations of readers, from one of the greatest mystery writers of all time. Featuring an introduction...
The city we became
Jemisin, N. K.
Paper Book
An instant NYT Bestseller! Four-time Hugo Award-winning author N.K. Jemisin crafts her most incredible novel yet, the first book in The Great Cities Duology, a crackling tale of culture, identity, magic, and myths in contemporary New...
Palaces for the people : how social infrastructure can help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life
Klinenberg, Eric
Paper Book
"A comprehensive, entertaining, and compelling argument for how rebuilding social infrastructure can help heal divisions in our society and move us forward."--Jon Stewart NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR * "Engaging."--Mayor Pete Buttigieg, The New York...
From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Konigsburg, E. L.
Paper Book
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) Run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with E. L. Konigsburg's beloved classic and Newbery Medal­-winning novel From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler! When Claudia decided to run away, she...
Last stop on Market Street
de la Pen?a, Matt
Paper Book
On Sundays, CJ and his nana ride the bus across town to their stop on Market Street. But today, CJ's not happy about it. Today, he's wondering out loud why they have to wait in the rain and why they don't have a car like his other friends. But it's Nana who opens young CJ's eyes and shows him the...
The Devil in the White City A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America
Larson, Erik.
Ebook
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile comes the true tale of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and the cunning serial killer who used the magic and majesty of the fair to lure his victims to...
Brooklyn crime novel
Lethem, Jonathan
Paper Book
Named a Best Book of the Year by: Boston Globe * New Yorker * NPR * PopMatters From the bestselling and award-winning author of The Fortress of Solitude and Motherless Brooklyn comes a sweeping story of community, crime, and gentrification, tracing more than fifty years...
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
McBride, James
Paper Book
In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the...
Make way for ducklings
McCloskey, Robert
Paper Book
Mrs. Mallard was sure that the pond in the Boston Public Gardens would be a perfect place for her and her eight ducklings to live. The problem was how to get them there through the busy streets of Boston. But with a little help from the Boston police, Mrs. Mallard and Jack, Kack, Lack, Nack, Ouack,...
One last stop
McQuiston, Casey
Paper Book
*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* *INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER* *INSTANT #1 INDIE BESTSELLER* From the New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue comes a new romantic comedy that will stop readers in their tracks... ...
Act cool
McSmith, Tobly
Paper Book
*Named a Rainbow Book List Title and one of Bank Street Children's Best Books of the Year* A trans teen walks the fine line between doing whatever it takes for his acting dream and staying true to himself in this moving, thought-provoking YA novel from the acclaimed author of...
Shadowshaper
Older, Daniel Jose
Paper Book
"Magnificent." -- Holly Black, New York Times Book ReviewCome to the crossroads, to the crossroads comeSierra Santiago planned an easy summer of making art and hanging with her friends. But then a corpse crashes the first party of the season. Her stroke-ridden grandfather starts...
Isla and the happily ever after
Perkins, Stephanie.
Paper Book
"Stephanie Perkins's characters fall in love the way we all want to, in real time and for good." --Rainbow Rowell, Award-winning, bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and Fangirl A New York Times Bestseller  Love ignites in the City That...
Ghost
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
A National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature. Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read. Ghost wants to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school track team, but his past is slowing him down in this...
Paris : the novel
Rutherfurd, Edward.
Paper Book
From the grand master of the historical novel comes a dazzling, epic portrait of the City of Light Internationally bestselling author Edward Rutherfurd has enchanted millions of readers with his sweeping, multigenerational dramas that illuminate the great achievements and...
A darker shade of magic
Schwab, Victoria
Paper Book
A Darker Shade of Magic, from #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab Kell is one of the last Antari--magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. Kell was...
Tomorrow will be better : a novel
Smith, Betty
Paper Book
"A rediscovered treasure." -- Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post From Betty Smith, author of the beloved classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, comes a poignant story of love, marriage, poverty, and hope set in 1920s Brooklyn. Tomorrow Will Be Better tells the story of...
The Joy Luck Club
Tan, Amy.
Paper Book
"The Joy Luck Club is one of my favorite books. From the moment I first started reading it, I knew it was going to be incredible. For me, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime reading experiences that you cherish forever. It inspired me as a writer and still remains hugely...
Fear and loathing in Las Vegas : a savage journey to the heart of the American dream
Thompson, Hunter S.
Audiobook
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is the best chronicle of drug-soaked, addle-brained, rollicking good times ever committed to the printed page. It is also the tale of a long weekend road trip that has gone down in the annals of American pop culture as one of the strangest journeys ever undertaken. Now...
Knuffle Bunny : a cautionary tale
Willems, Mo.
Paper Book
Mo Willems, #1 New York Times best-selling creator and three-time Caldecott Honoree, presents a brilliantly true-to-life tale about what happens when Daddy's in charge and things go terribly, hilariously wrong. Trixie, Daddy, and Knuffle Bunny take a trip to the...

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