Ledding Library Staff Favorites of 2025

Books that Ledding Library's staff enjoyed in 2025, new or old!

Updated December 30, 2025
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About Grace : a novel
Doerr, Anthony
Paper Book
The first novel by Anthony Doerr, the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning author of Cloud Cuckoo Land, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning #1 New York Times bestseller All the Light We Cannot See, one of the most beautiful, wise, and compelling debuts of recent...
Abundance
Klein, Ezra
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2025 * NEW YORK TIMES 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2025 * KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOKS OF 2025 * NPR BOOKS WE LOVE 2025 "A must-read for progressives who want a blueprint for reforming...
All the blues in the sky
Watson, Renée
Paper Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year | A Chicago Public Library Best Kids' Book of the Year | An NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book | A 2025 Horn Book Fanfare Selection Book # 1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor author...
Atmosphere: A Love Story
Reid, Taylor Jenkins
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK * From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go...
The bewitching
Moreno-Garcia, Silvia
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic. "In Silvia Moreno-Garcia's sure hands, every uncovered secret is...
The blanket cats
Shigematsu, Kiyoshi
Paper Book
"Utterly charming . . . I would read a hundred of these stories." --Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures Seven struggling customers are given the unique opportunity to take home a "blanket cat" . . . but only for three days,...
Blue sisters : a novel
Mellors, Coco
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY * Three estranged siblings return to their family home in New York after their beloved sister's death in this "deeply nuanced and compelling" (Vogue) novel, from the acclaimed author of...
Bunny
Awad, Mona
Paper Book
"Jon Swift + Witches of Eastwick + Kelly 'Get In Trouble' Link + Mean Girls + Creative Writing Degree Hell! No punches pulled, no hilarities dodged, no meme unmangled! O Bunny you are sooo genius!" --Margaret Atwood, via Twitter "A wild, audacious and ultimately unforgettable novel."...
Burn : a novel
Heller, Peter
Paper Book
From the best-selling author of The Dog Stars and The Last Ranger, a novel about two men-friends since boyhood-who emerge from the woods of rural Maine to a dystopian country racked by bewildering violence Every year, Jess and Storey have made an annual pilgrimage...
Children of time
Tchaikovsky, Adrian
Paper Book
Adrian Tchaikovsky's Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars....
Compound fracture
White, Andrew Joseph
Paper Book
A Michael L. Printz Honor Book A queer Appalachian thriller that pulls no punches--following a trans autistic teen who's drawn into the generational struggle between the rural poor and those who exploit them. The INSTANT New York Times, USA Today, and Indie...
Cover Story
McFarlane, Mhairi
Mr. & Mrs. Smith meets The Hating Game in this heartfelt, witty, and utterly unputdownable enemies-to-lovers romance from international bestseller Mhairi McFarlane, about two journalists who must fake a relationship in order to land a huge story. Bel has just landed a job at...
Crenshaw
Applegate, Katherine.
CD
In her first novel since winning the Newbery Medal, Katherine Applegate delivers an unforgettable and magical story about family, friendship, and resilience. Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his...
Custodians of wonder : ancient customs, profound traditions, and the last people keeping them alive
Stein, Eliot
Paper Book
Named one of the best travel books of the year by National Geographic, Smithsonian, and Afar "Eliot Stein's quietly powerful new book celebrates the kind of singular, site-specific expertise that's endangered by globalization and technology...smart, genial and...
Dan in Green Gables : a modern reimagining of Anne of Green Gables
Terciero, Rey
Paper Book
In this modern reimagining of Anne of Green Gables, effervescent extrovert Dan Stewart- lvarez is surprised to find home and community in rural Tennessee. Despite a life on the road with his free-spirited mother, fifteen-year-old Dan Stewart- lvarez has always wanted to...
Disappearing Earth
Phillips, Julia
Paper Book
One of The New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year National Book Award Finalist Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize Finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Finalist for the New York Public Library's Young Lions...
Doppelganger : a trip into the mirror world
Klein, Naomi
Paper Book
A finalist for the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Award Winner of the Women's Prize for Nonfiction NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | National Indie Bestseller A New York Times notable book of 2023 | Vulture's #1 book of 2023...
Dungeon crawler Carl
Dinniman, Matt
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series--now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition. You know what's worse than breaking up with your...
Ferris
DiCamillo, Kate
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! The beloved author of Because of Winn-Dixie has outdone herself with a hilarious and achingly real love story about a girl, a ghost, a grandmother, and growing up. It's the summer before fifth grade, and for...
The great believers
Makkai, Rebecca
Paper Book
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF 2018 LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER ALA CARNEGIE MEDAL WINNER THE STONEWALL BOOK AWARD WINNER Soon to Be a Major Television Event, optioned by...
Great big beautiful life
Henry, Emily
Paper Book
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK ∙ AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ∙ Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping novel from Emily Henry. As...
Growing home
Ferry, Beth
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestseller! "A meditative, charming delight." --School Library Journal (starred review) An unlikely team of talkative plants, a curious spider, and a grumpy goldfish use their newfound magical abilities to defend their...
The harder I fight, the more I love you : a memoir
Case, Neko
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AN APPLE BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH Singer-songwriter Neko Case paints a vivid portrait of an extraordinary life--one forged through a poverty-stricken childhood, obsessive desire, bursts of comedy, and...
Hemlock & silver
Kingfisher, T.
Paper Book
DELUXE EDITION--a gorgeous hardcover edition featuring bright green sprayed edges, a foil stamp on the casing, and custom endpapers illustrated by the author. From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Hemlock & Silver, a...
Hijab butch blues : a memoir
H, Lamya
Paper Book
A queer hijabi Muslim immigrant survives her coming-of-age by drawing strength and hope from stories in the Quran in this "raw and relatable memoir that challenges societal norms and expectations" (Linah Mohammad, NPR). "A masterful, must-read contribution to conversations on...
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...
Lilac Girls A Novel
Kelly, Martha Hall.
Audiobook
Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this powerful debut novel reveals an incredible story of love, redemption, and terrible secrets that were hidden for decades.   New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French...
A little less broken : how an autism diagnosis finally made me whole
Schembari, Marian
Paper Book
"An inspiring memoir about coming home to who you are." --People Magazine One woman's decades-long journey to a diagnosis of autism, and the barriers that keep too many neurodivergent people from knowing their true selves Marian Schembari was thirty...
Llama destroys the world
Stutzman, Jonathan
Paper Book
Meet Llama, the next great picture-book megastar, who has most definitely driven a bus and who loves tacos way more than you. He also loves cake, and that's where our story begins. On Monday, Llama discovers a pile of cake, which he promptly eats. On Tuesday, Llama...
The lost library
Stead, Rebecca
Paper Book
Now a New York Times bestseller and a #1 Indie Bestseller, readers won't want to miss this story of a little free library guarded by a cat, and a boy who takes on the mystery it keeps. A TODAY SHOW Kids' Read Pick! * The Amazon #1 Best Book for Kids * "A...
The memory police
Ogawa, Yĺoko
Paper Book
*** 2019 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST *** *** LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE AND THE 2020 TRANSLATED BOOK AWARD *** *** NEW YORK TIMES 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEAR *** A haunting Orwellian novel about the terrors of state surveillance, from the...
North woods : a novel
Mason, Daniel
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR A WASHINGTON POST TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR * FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD AND THE MARK TWAIN AMERICAN VOICE IN LITERATURE AWARD A sweeping novel...
Orbital : a novel
Harvey, Samantha
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024 * A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER **New York Times Book Review Book Club Pick** **Stephen Colbert's The Late Show Book Club Pick** Winner of the 2024 Hawthornden Prize Shortlisted for the 2024...
Outside in
Underwood, Deborah
Paper Book
A 2020 Caldecott Honor Book From the New York Times best-selling author behind The Quiet Book comes a mindful contemplation on the many ways nature affects our everyday lives, even when we're stuck inside. Five starred reviews!
Raising hare : a memoir
Dalton, Chloe
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * FINALIST FOR THE 2025 WOMEN'S PRIZE * A moving and fascinating meditation on freedom, trust, loss, and our relationship with the natural world, explored through the story of one woman's unlikely friendship with a wild hare....
Remarkably bright creatures : a novel
Van Pelt, Shelby
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Soon to be a Netflix Film A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! NAMED A BEST BOOK OF SUMMER by: Chicago Tribune * The View * Southern Living * USA Today "Remarkably Bright Creatures [is] an ultimately...
The road to tender hearts : a novel
Hartnett, Annie
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A darkly comic and warm-hearted novel about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush--bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death--by the beloved author of Rabbit Cake and Unlikely...
A rover's story
Warga, Jasmine
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestseller * Best Book of the Year from The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library The One and Only Ivan meets The Wild Robot in this unique and deeply moving middle grade novel about the journey of a fictional...
Rules for ghosting : a novel
Shore, Shelly Jay
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * To save his family's failing funeral home--and his own chance at a queer love story--a reluctant clairvoyant must embrace the gift he long ignored in this poignant and warmhearted debut. "For top-notch drama, this year's medal goes to Rules for Ghosting....
The school for good mothers : a novel
Chan, Jessamine
Paper Book
Longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence | Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize | Selected as One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of the Year! In this New York Times...
Sea of Tranquility
Mandel, Emily St. John
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The award-winning, best-selling author of Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel returns with a novel of art, time travel, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon five hundred years...
The secret book of Flora Lea : a novel
Henry, Patti Callahan
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER When a woman discovers a rare book that has connections to her past, long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood spent in the English countryside during World War II are revealed. In the war-torn London of...
The secret life of groceries : the dark miracle of the American supermarket
Lorr, Benjamin
Paper Book
The product of five years of research and hundreds of interviews across every level of the business, The Secret Life of Groceries is essential reading for those who want to understand our food system - delivering powerful social commentary on the inherently American quest for more and compassionate...
Shark heart : a love story
Habeck, Emily
Paper Book
A New York Times Editors' Choice A USA TODAY Bestseller A Booklist Editor's Choice A Goodreads Choice Award Nominee A "beautifully written" (Anthony Doerr, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the Light We...
Solito : a memoir
Zamora, Javier
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller * Read With Jenna Book Club Pick as seen on Today * Winner of the Los Angeles Times Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiography * Winner of the American Library Association Alex Award * A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century
The story of Gumluck the wizard
Rex, Adam
Paper Book
A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2023  A 2023 Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book  FIVE STARRED REVIEWS!    "Adorable."--Shelf Awareness, starred review
The third Gilmore girl : a memoir
Bishop, Kelly
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Goodreads Choice Awards Winner "Come for the Gilmore Girls anecdotes, stay for the revealing truths about what it takes to build a lifelong career in and out of Hollywood" (The A.V. Club) in...
Tilt : a novel
Pattee, Emma
Paper Book
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Excellence in Fiction A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice A USA TODAY Bestseller A Best Book of 2025 for Vogue Named one of Time...
Tiny beautiful things : advice from Dear Sugar
Strayed, Cheryl
Paper Book
NOW A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * An anniversary edition of the bestselling collection of "Dear Sugar" advice columns written by the author of #1 bestseller Wild--featuring a new preface and six additional columns. ...
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, from the...
Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire
Martin, Don
WELCOME TO FOXFIREThe rules here are simple:Don't look in the trees.Don't whistle in the woods at night.Don't answer if you hear yourname called.And remember . . . everything wants.Verity Vox is a witch-in-training who has never met a problem her spells can't solve. But when a cryptic plea for help...
We all live here
Moyes, Jojo
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestselling author, whose books so many love, brings us a fresh, contemporary story of a woman and her unruly blended family "Nobody writes women the way Jojo Moyes does." --Jodi Picoult Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken...
The wedding people : a novel
Espach, Alison
Paper Book
The runaway New York Times bestseller with over one million copies sold A Today Show #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick, New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, and a #1 Indie Next Pick Named a Best Book of the Year by The Guardian, Time,...
Where the wild ladies are
Matsuda, Aoko
Ebook
The yellow bus
Long, Loren
Paper Book
An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller A #1 Indie Bestseller With stunning illustrations and an inspiring, universal message, The Yellow Bus from #1 New York Times bestselling Loren Long is a tender and hopeful modern classic--the...

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