02/04/2025
Are you wondering what's new on the shelves at the Commerce Township Community Library? We've got you covered! Here are some of the library's newest offerings. Take a peek, put something on hold, or stop in and grab it before it's gone! You'll find Adult, Teen, & Youth items listed below.

Adult Collection: Featured New Books

Fiction

Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey 

A novel with life-and-death stakes, about the love between a mother and daughter, and the allure of a wild life--about what we gain and what it might cost us.

Saint of the Narrows Street by William Boyle

As an Italian American family's decades-old secret begins to unravel, they will have to bear the consequences--and face each other--in this thrilling south Brooklyn-set tragic opera of the highest caliber.

The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigamatsu

A peculiar pet shop in Tokyo has been known to offer customers the unique opportunity to take home one of seven special cats, whose "magic" is never promised, but always received. But there are rules: these cats must be returned after three days. They must eat only the food supplied by the owner, and they must travel to their new homes with a distinctive blanket.

In The Blanket Cats, we meet seven customers, each of whom is hoping a temporary feline companion will help them escape a certain reality, including a couple struggling with infertility, a middle-aged woman on the run from the police, and two families in very different circumstances simply seeking joy.

Show Don't Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld

In her second story collection, Sittenfeld shows why she's as beloved for her short fiction as she is for her novels. In these dazzling stories, she conjures up characters so real that they seem like old friends, laying bare the moments when their long held beliefs are overturned.

Hilarious, thought-provoking, and full of tenderness for her characters, Sittenfeld's stories peel back layer after layer of our inner lives, keeping us riveted to the page with her utterly distinctive voice.

Dawn of Grace by Jill Eileen Smith

From her earliest days, Mary Magdalene has known fear and loss at a level so deep she has no hope of surfacing. Bound to the demons within her and incapable of freeing herself, Mary walks in shadow--until one day she encounters a healer, a rabbi who is radically different from the religious leaders and family members who could do nothing to help her. One touch from Jesus and Mary is never the same.

Back After This by Linda Holmes

Cecily Foster loves to make podcasts. She fiercely protects her colleagues, dearly adores her friends, and never misses dinner with her sister. But after a disastrous relationship with a colleague who stole her heart and her ideas, she's put romantic love on hold.

When the boss who's disappointed her again and again finally offers her the chance to host her own show, she wants to be thrilled. But there's a catch--actually, two catches. First, the show will be about Cecily's dating life. And second, she has to follow the guidance of influencer and newly minted relationship coach Eliza Cassidy, whose relentlessly upbeat attitude seems ready-made for social media, not real life. To make matters more complicated, once she's committed to twenty blind dates of Eliza's choosing.

As Cecily struggles to balance the life she truly desires and the one Eliza wants to create for her, she finds herself at a crossroads. Can Cecily sort through all the advice and find a way to do what she loves without losing herself in the process?

Fagan the Thief by Allison Epstein 

Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish enclave of Stepney shortly after his father was executed as a thief, Jacob and his open-minded mother, Leah, are each other's whole world. But Jacob's prospects are forever altered when a light-fingered pickpocket takes Jacob under his wing and teaches him a trade that pays far better than the neighborhood boys could possibly dream.

The Vengeful Dead by Darcy Coates

How far will she go to save the damned? Keira is caught in a deadly battle. Her ability to help ghosts move on from the mortal world has made her a threat to Artec, a powerful corporation intent on trapping the tortured dead for profit. They've been tracking her for years and now, finally, there's nowhere left for her to run. Artec fears Keira and everything she's capable of. They will stop at nothing to eliminate her-including sending armed men after everyone she holds dear. Desperate and quickly running out of time, Keira races to hone her abilities as she searches for a way to destroy the twisted organization for good. But at least now she's no longer alone. Her friends have offered to follow wherever she leads, even if that means a direct strike deep into the heart of Artec's central base...and to the certain death waiting for them there.

Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray

In 1919, a high school teacher from Washington, D.C arrives in Harlem excited to realize her lifelong dream. Jessie Redmon Fauset has been named the literary editor of The Crisis. The first Black woman to hold this position at a preeminent Negro magazine, Jessie is poised to achieve literary greatness. But she holds a secret that jeopardizes it all.

Life Hacks for a Little Alien by Alice Franklin

Before she thinks of herself as Little Alien, our protagonist is a lonely little girl who doesn't understand the world the way other children seem to. So when a late-night TV special introduces her to the mysterious Voynich Manuscript--an ancient tome written in an indecipherable language--Little Alien experiences something she hasn't before: hope. Could there be others like her, who also feel like they're from another planet?

Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff

London, 1953. Louise is still adjusting to her postwar role as a housewife when she discovers a necklace in a box at a secondhand shop. The box is marked with the name of a department store in Paris, and she is certain she has seen the necklace before, when she worked with the Red Cross in Nazi-occupied Europe --and that it holds the key to the mysterious death of her friend Franny during the war.

Following the trail of clues to Paris, Louise seeks help from her former boss Ian, with whom she shares a romantic history. The necklace leads them to discover the dark history of Lévitan--a once-glamorous department store that served as a Nazi prison, and Helaine, a woman who was imprisoned there, torn apart from her husband when the Germans invaded France.

Louise races to find the connection between the necklace, the department store and Franny's death. But nothing is as it seems.

Dark Vector by Ward Larsen

In the wilds of Siberia, a top-secret Russian fighter goes missing on a test flight. The Russian Air Force begins a search, oblivious to their error: they are looking in the wrong spot. The pilot, Colonel Maxim Primakov, has crash landed during an attempted defection.

The new chief of CIA clandestine operations, David Slaton, wants desperately to find him, but only one man is in a position to reach Primakov--Tru Miller, a rookie operator. Soon a small group of Americans, including its top female test pilot, Kai Drake, find themselves hunted in the wilds of Russia. Their survival will depend on one thing--just how resourceful and lethal they can be.

The Owl was a Baker's Daughter by Grace Tiffany

At the ripe age of sixty-one, Judith Shakespeare, twin of the doomed Hamnet, finds herself fleeing provincial Stratford on horseback to avoid a witchcraft charge. Her traveling companions are a zealous Puritan woman and her mischievous young niece, bothdisplaced by the civil war between the Royalists and Roundheads. Judith also leaves behind her marriage, which has foundered since the wrenching loss of two adult sons to the plague. Her travels take her to London, where she reunites with an old love fromher acting days, and to the battlefield outside Oxford, where she serves as a surgeon for Cromwell's forces.

Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su

After getting dumped, lonely college dropout Vi Liu discovers a strange blob in an ally outside a bar and takes it home where she works with the increasingly sentient creature and molds it into her ideal partner.

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami

Sara has just landed at LAX, returning home from a conference abroad, when agents from the Risk Assessment Administration pull her aside and inform her that she will soon commit a crime. Using data from her dreams, the RAA's algorithm has determined that she is at imminent risk of harming the person she loves most: her husband. For his safety, she must be kept under observation for twenty-one days.

The Lamb by Lucy Rose

From an incendiary new talent, a contemporary folktale in which a mother and daughter take in passersby and eat them, exploring queerness, first loves, and tense mother-daughter relationships. Margot and Mama have lived by the forest ever since Margot can remember. They spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. People who have strayed too far from the road. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she picksapart their bodies and toasts them off with some vegetable oil. But Mama's want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a beautiful, white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, Margot must face the possibility that her life is changing for good. The Lamb is a folktale, a horror story, a love story, an enchantment. With this teeming, gothic debut, Lucy Rose wrings the relationship between mother and daughter until blood drips from it.

The Oligarch's Daughter by Joseph Finder

From the New York Times bestselling author of House on Fire, a breakneck thriller that marries the dynastic opulence of Succession with the tense and disorienting spy-craft of The Americans. Paul Brightman is a man on the run, living under an assumed name in a small New England town with a million-dollar bounty on his head. When his security is breached, Paul is forced to flee into the New Hampshire wilderness to evade Russian operatives who seem to be able to predict his every move. Flash to six years earlier, when Paul was a rising star on Wall Street who fell in love with a beautiful photographer named Tatyana-unaware that her father was a Russian oligarch, the object of considerable interest from several US intelligence agencies. In order to save his own life, Paul must unravel a decades-old conspiracy that extends to the highest reaches of the government.

Soft Core by Brittany Newell 

Ruth is lost. She's living in a drafty Victorian with her ex-boyfriend Dino, a ketamine dealer with a lingerie habit, overdosing on television and regretting her master's degree. When she starts dancing at a strip club, she becomes Baby Blue, seductress of crypto bros, outcasts, and old lovers alike. Plunged into this swirling underworld of beautiful women, fast cash, ungodly hours, and strangers' secrets, Baby's grip on reality begins to loosen. She is sure she can handle it--until one autumn morning when Dino disappears without a trace.

Thus begins a nocturnal quest for the one she still loves--through the misty hills of San Francisco; in dive bars and bus depots; at the BDSM dungeon where she takes a part-time gig. Along the way, she meets Simon, a recluse who pays her for increasingly bizarre favors; a philosophizing suicide fetishist named Nobody; and Emeline, the beautiful and balletic new hire who reminds Baby of someone.

This is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer

For fifty years, Abe and Jane have been coming to Central Park, as starry-eyed young lovers, as frustrated and exhausted parents, as artists watching their careers take flight. They came alone when they needed to get away from each other, and together when they had something important to discuss. The Park has been their witness for half a century of love. Until now.

Jane is dying, and Abe is recounting their life together as a way of keeping them going: the parts they knew--their courtship and early marriage, their blossoming creative lives--and the parts they didn't always want to know--the determined young student of Abe's looking for a love story of her own, and their son, Max, who believes his mother chose art over parenthood and who has avoided love and intimacy at all costs. Told in various points of view, even in conversation with Central Park itself, these voices weave in and out to paint a portrait as complicated and essential as love itself.

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

Grim Wolds, England: Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect governess—she’ll dutifully tutor her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, tell them bedtime stories, and only joke about eating children. But long, listless days spent within the estate’s dreary confines come with an intimate knowledge of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family—Mr. Pounds can’t keep his eyes off Winifred’s chest, and Mrs. Pounds takes a sickly pleasure in punishing Winifred for her husband’s wandering gaze. Compounded with her disdain for the entitled Pounds children, Winifred finds herself struggling at every turn to stifle the violent compulsions of her past. French tutoring and needlework are one way to pass the time, as is admiring the ugly portraits in the gallery . . . and creeping across the moonlit lawns. . . .

 

Non-Fiction

Dinner at Our Place by Shiza Shahid

Our Place, the cookware brand that took the food world by storm, has always been about more than their brilliantly designed products--it's about bringing people together, celebrating cultures, and cultivating connections. And what better way to do that, than through sharing a meal? Co-founder and CEO Shiza Shahid invited 11 pioneering tastemakers, chefs, and restauranteurs to take a month and throw a dinner party for you to join. In Dinner at Our Place, you'll find more than 100 recipes and 12 specially curated dinner parties, plus playlists, mood lighting guides, plating philosophies, scripts for talking to your fishmonger, and so much more:

Food for Thought by Alton Brown

From cameraman to chef, musician to food scientist, Alton Brown has had a diverse and remarkable career. His work on the Food Network, including creating Good Eats and hosting Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen, has resonated with countless viewers and home cooks. Now, he shares exactly what's on his mind, mixing compelling anecdotes from his personal and professional life with in-depth observations on the culinary world, film, personal style, defining meals of his lifetime, and much more.

Space Piracy: Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit by Mark Feldman

Space Piracy: Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit is a forward-thinking resource that considers, analyzes, and provides solutions to the influence of the ignoble side of humanity in the realm of outer space, where potential for crime, corruption, piracy, and war increases as the exploitation of space as a commercial resource continues to develop. This book blends the authors' knowledge with that of subject matter experts to deliver a holistic understanding of criminality in space and help readers broaden their horizons beyond their own area of specialization.

Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe by Carl Zimmer

The fascinating, untold story of the air we breathe; what lives in it and can make us sick; and the men and women who devoted their lives to showing us how.

When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance by Riley Black

Fossils plants allow us to touch the lost worlds from billions of years of evolutionary backstory. Each petrified leaf and root show us that dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, and even humans would not exist without the evolutionary efforts of their leafy counterparts. It has been the constant growth of plants that have allowed so many of our favorite, fascinating prehistoric creatures to evolve, oxygenating the atmosphere, coaxing animals onto land, and forming the forests that shaped our ancestors' anatomy. It is impossible to understand our history without them. Or, our future.

Assemblage by Shannon McGrath

A breathtaking survey of interior design, architecture, artists, and designers that illustrates how thoughtful styling can make a room.

How to be Avant-Garde by Morgan Falconer

he strange story of the twentieth-century artists who sought to destroy art by transforming it into the substance of everyday life.

Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us by Jennifer Finney Boylan

What is the difference between men and women? Jennifer Finney Boylan, bestselling author of She's Not There and co-author of Mad Honey with Jodi Picoult, examines the divisions-as well as the common ground-between the genders, and reflects on her own experiences, both difficult and joyful, as a transgender American. Jennifer Finney Boylan's She's Not There was the first bestselling work written by a transgender American. Since its publication twenty years ago, she has become the go-to person for insight into the impact of gender on our lives, from the food we eat to the dreams we dream, both for ourselves and for our children. But Cleavage is more than a deep dive into gender identity; it's also a look at the difference between coming out as trans in 2000-when many people reacted to Boylan's transition with love-and the present era of blowback and fear. How does gender affect our sense of self? Our body image? The passage of time? The friends we lose-and keep? Boylan considers her womanhood, reflects on the boys and men who shaped her, and reconceives of herself as a writer, activist, parent, and spouse. With heart-wrenching honesty, she illustrates the feeling of liminality that followed her to adulthood, but demonstrates the redemptive power of love through it all. With Boylan's trademark humor and poignancy, Cleavage is a sharp, witty, and captivating look at the triumphs and losses of a life lived in two genders. Cleavage provides hope for a future in which we all have the freedom to live joyfully as men, as women, and in the space between us.

American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice by Daniel Stone

At noon on October 27, 1924, a factory worker was admitted to a hospital in New York City, suffering from hallucinations and convulsions. Before breakfast the next day, he was dead. Alice Hamilton was determined to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

By the time of the accident, Hamilton had pioneered the field of industrial medicine in the United States. She specialized in workplace safety years before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created. She was the first female professor at Harvard. She spent decades inspecting factories and mines. But this time, she was up against a formidable new foe: America's relentless push for progress, regardless of the cost.

The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy by Jefrey Tobin

In this deeply reported book, Toobin explores why the Founding Fathers gave the power of pardon to the President and recreates the behind-the-scenes political melodrama during the tumultuous period around Nixon's resignation. The story features a rich cast of characters, including Alexander Haig, Nixon's last chief of staff, who pushed for the pardon, and a young Justice Department lawyer named Antonin Scalia, who provided the legal justification.

Ford's shocking decision to pardon Nixon was widely criticized at the time, yet it has since been reevaluated as a healing gesture for a divided country. But Toobin argues that Ford's pardon was an unwise gift to an undeserving recipient and an unsettling political precedent. The Pardon explores those that followed: Jimmy Carter's amnesty for Vietnam draft resisters, Bill Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich, and the extraordinary story of Trump's unprecedented pardons at the end of his first term.

Band of Sisters by Philippe Maynial

Band of Sisters tells the dramatic story of Madeleine Pauliac, a French army doctor, and a band of women known as the Blue Squadron in the final days of World War II operating in the most dangerous of circumstances to rescue and repatriate as many of the half million or so of their countrymen as possible.

The Countess and the Nazis : an American Family's Private War by Richard Jay Hutto

A prominent American heiress exchanges her wealth and identity to become a Prussian countess and mentor to a queen. But amid the gathering clouds of World War II, she finds herself cut off from her funds in the United States, divorced, and resisting the Nazis, who eventually force her to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save her two sons.

Ends of the Earth by Neil Shubin

A panorama of cutting-edge science in our planet's harshest and most remote environments.

Looking at Women Looking at War by Victoria Amelina

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Victoria Amelina was busy writing a novel, taking part in the country's literary scene, and parenting her son. Now she became someone new: a war crimes researcher and the chronicler of extraordinary women like herself who joined the resistance. These heroines include Evgenia, a prominent lawyer turned soldier, Oleksandra, who documented tens of thousands of war crimes and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, and Yulia, a librarian who helped uncover the abduction and murder of a children's book author.

Lorne by Susan Morrison

Ever since its debut in the fall of 1975, Saturday Night Live's impact on the culture has been lasting and profound. It has been a breeding ground for our brightest comedy stars, launching the careers of John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Pete Davidson, and many many more. Its iconic sketches - from Wayne's World to Weekend Update to Coneheads to the Californians to of course, More Cowbell -- have dominated water cooler talk for five decades, and its catchphrases, from "we're not worthy!" to ""Daaaaa Beeeears" are embedded in the public lexicon. And at the center of it all, from the moment of its inception to the present day, is one man: producer Lorne Michaels. Nearly a decade in the making, Lorne is an intimate, deeply reported, and wildly entertaining account of a man singularly obsessed with the show that would define his life - and change American culture.

Presidents at War by Steven Gillon

World War II loomed over the twentieth century, transforming every level of American society and international relationships and searing itself onto the psyche of an entire generation, including that of seven American presidents: John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush.

The lessons of World War II, more than party affiliation or ideology, defined the presidencies of these seven men. They returned home determined to confront any force that threatened to undermine the war's hard-won ideals, each with their own unique understanding of patriotism, sacrifice, and America's role in global politics.

The Survivor: How I Made It Through Six Concentration Camps and Became a Nazi Hunter by Josef Lewkowicz

The amazing, untold story of the Holocaust from a survivor turned Nazi hunter.

 

Graphic Novel

Kaijumax Complete Collection 1 by Zander Cannon

On a remote island in the South Pacific lies Kaijumax, a maximum security prison for giant monsters. Follow doting father Electrogor as he stands up to the cruel space superhero warden! See corrupt guard Gupta manage his illicit uranium-dealing empire and pay off his gambling debts to the Queen of the Moon! Watch Mecha-Zon battle his own programming when the monster he was created to destroy shows up on the pound! These stories and more will assault you from every angle in the cesspool of corruption that is Kaijumax. This softcover omnibus-the first of three epic volumes-collects Kaijumax Season One: Terror and Respect issues #1-6 and Kaijumax Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly issues #1-6, by two-time Eisner Award-winner Zander Cannon!

Heartpiercer by Rich Douek

Atala thought she was saving the world--but in hunting down the great beasts, she wound up dooming it.

Betrayed by her lord, Kurrn, and left for dead, she awakes in a dark world overrun by nightmares, with a single mission on her mind: revenge.

One Night in Prague by Constantin Warner

After young concert pianist Siwan loses part of his hand in a tragic accident, his family falls into a serious crisis. Following a strange prediction by a psychic, he departs for Prague with his supportive father Minkyu and good-humored uncle Jinwoo. They must find a mysterious white cat, who allegedly holds the key to Siwan's future. Once reaching the Czech capital, they're drawn into an ancient struggle between two groups of mystical shapeshifters!

Slightly Exaggerated by Curtis Clow

A dying treasure hunting girl must steal back a sacred artifact from a crazed cult leader to restore order before her sickness overcomes her in a whimsical fantasy world where religion is law.

Teen Collection: Featured New Books

Teen Fiction


Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers' Rights by Ashley Hope Perez 

A dazzling YA anthology that spotlights the transformative power of books while equipping teens to fight for the freedom to read, featuring the voices of 15 diverse, award-winning authors and illustrators.

A Catalogue of Burnt Objects by Shannon Youngdahl

A girl struggles to figure out her estranged brother, a new love, and her own future just as wildfires beset her small California town.

Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid

By encouraging massive accumulations of debt from its underclass, a single corporation, Caerus, controls all aspects of society.

Inesa lives with her brother in a half-sunken town where they scrape by running a taxidermy shop. Unbeknownst to Inesa, their cruel and indolent mother has accrued an enormous debt--enough to qualify one of her children for Caerus's livestreamed assassination spectacle: the Lamb's Gauntlet.

Hangry Hearts by Jennifer Chen

Julie and Randall, former best friends turned rivals due to their feuding families, reconnect while working on a community-service project, leading to rekindled feelings and secret dates, but their budding romance is threatened when their families discover their secret.

His Mortal Demise by Vanessa Lee

Told from two points of view, grief-stricken Kochin embarks on a quest to resurrect Nhika that will test his moral compass, while months later a revived Nhika sets out to find Kochin and discovers the lengths he took to bring her back.

The House No One Sees by Adina King

Penelope Ross has always felt like a passenger in her mother's fairytale - until the night of her 17th birthday, when she is forced to enter her own.

After a text from her estranged mother rips her away from a night with friends, Penny is forced into a kaleidoscope of memories locked inside the dark labyrinth of her childhood home. As Penny wanders between present and past--prose and verse--she must confront her mother's opioid addiction to mend her fractured past. But the house is tricky. The house is impossible. It wants her to dig up the dead to escape. And as Penny walks through herself to find herself, she is not sure she has the courage to free the light she trapped inside.

Lucha of the Forgotten Spring by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Fresh off her triumph in the Night Forest, Lucha Moya is back in Robado to settle unfinished business. The stunning fantasy duology about addiction, power, and love comes to a close in tale of treacherous villains, environmental disaster, and a love triangle its heroine doesn't see coming.

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J Taylor

In order to investigate her father's past crimes, eighteen-year-old Maeve poses as a scriptomancy apprentice allowing her to send letters between worlds.

Our Infinite Fates by Laura Stevens

Evelyn, who remembers each of her past lives in which she is always murdered before her eighteenth birthday by Arden, a supernatural being to whom she is tethered, must break their deadly curse to save her sister while resisting the pull of forbidden love.

Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli

Betrayed by the boy she loved, Rune Winters allies herself with a dangerous witch to survive, while Gideon, torn between his lingering feelings for her and his duty to stop the witches, faces an impossible choice between love and saving the world he fought for.

True Life in Uncanny Valley by Deb Caletti 

Eleanor, like so many others, is used to watching her famous father from afar. To the world, Hugo Harrison is the brilliant and charismatic tech genius whose AI inventions seem to create a new, better reality. But to Eleanor, whose mother had an affair with Hugo years ago, he is something even more intriguing, and dangerous--a secret.

When Eleanor's spying leads her to a posting for a live-in summer nanny job for Hugo's young son--her half-brother--she knows she has to apply. This is finally her chance to learn about her father, his family, and the life that could have been hers. She only has to do one thing: become someone else. With just a few well-placed lies, Eleanor is catapulted into an unfamiliar, intoxicating whirlwind of money and ego, and into a new romance with a cute boy who works for Hugo. But in a place where image is everything and reality can be rewritten, is anything real--even the Harrisons themselves?

Teen Non-Fiction

A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants: Wicked Weeds and Sinister Seeds by Rebecca E Hirsch

Explore the strange and remarkable stories of poisonous and even deadly plants.

Science, history, and true crime converge in an informative and exciting look at Mother's Nature's ghoulish garden. From a hallucinogenic fungus linked to the Salem Witch Trials to the weed that killed Abraham Lincoln's mother, learn how certain plants evolved toxicity to avoid being consumed by predators and became the predator on their own.

Eve by Cat Bohannon

Why do women live longer than men? Why do girls score better at every academic subject than boys until puberty, when suddenly their scores plummet? Is the female brain "wired differently?" These questions and common debates around scientific claims are thoughtfully examined in this adaptation perfect for young people.

This brand-new adaptation is a friendly, funny, and engaging read. It explores teen related topics such as mental health and the biology behind it, including insights on how adolescent brains are going through all kinds of changes, and shifting hormones. Author Cat Bohannon explains the roots of sexism and shows how, though it may have even served some evolutionary purpose long ago, it no longer serves us today, and it's high time we leave it in the past.

Houses with a Story by Seiji Yoshida

In Houses with a Story, more than 30 imaginative houses and the people who make them home offer unexpected worlds to wander through and explore. Who is the mischievous bridgetower keeper? What does the witch grow in her garden? How does the postal worker tame his delivery dragons? In each house, readers discover the contents of rooms and closets, what's at the top of the stairs, and where shadowy hallways lead. Story text provides background and details about the lives of the residents and hints about their past and future. Featuring lush illustrations, diagrams, and detailed descriptions of each character, the homes' locations and landscapes open doors to whimsy, wonder, and endless possibilities.

True Gretch by Gretchen Whitmer

When Gretchen Whitmer was growing up, her beloved grandmother Nino taught her that you can always find something good in other people. "Even the meanest person might have pretty eyes," she would say, a piece of advice that Gretchen carries with her today in her role as the governor of Michigan. (And one that resonated more than another her grandmother offered: "never part your hair in the middle.")

From navigating a kidnapping and assassination plot in which she herself was a target to facing monumental challenges during a global pandemic, Big Gretch (as she's now known) shares the key pieces of wisdom that have shaped her trailblazing career and personal experiences in this often hilarious, always uplifting book. Along the way, she tells stories about growing up gutsy in the Midwest, the wild comments she's encountered as a public figure, and how to neutralize high-profile bullies with a fearless sense of humor.

Teen Graphic Novel

Block'd by Brian Hawkins

In a small but not too quiet town, Cam Banter, a high school basketball star with a monstrous secret -- that he's part of a pack of paranormal shifters with the ability to change into werewolves -- struggles to find his place on the team and the changes happening in his life when his abilities begin to show and he's unable to control them. With an overbearing father whose expectations exceed what Cam is capable of and pushes him to his limit, teammates who no longer trust him or even like him, and a basketball rival from another school trying to rekindle things with one of the stars of the girls' basketball team that Cam has his eyes on and is a confidant for him, he is left trying to figure things out on his own...That is until his new coach, who has a secret of his own, attempts to make a difference in his life. But will Cam let him in before it's too late?

Garbage Night by Benji Lee

A trio of animals in a deserted world head out for the adventure of a lifetime: food and friends await!

Hunger's Bite by Taylor Robin

After growing up together on the luxurious SS Lark, Neeta Pandey and Emery Botwright are ready to start their lives. Emery wants to follow in his father's footsteps and sail the Lark forever, while Neeta yearns to travel the world. But neither will have any future at all if the Lark's new owner, Mr. Honeycutt, has his way. Mr. Honeycutt . . . The first-class passengers adore him, while he makes the ship a nightmare for the crew. Twisted by unnatural appetites, the rich are actually transforming into something less than human, and their insatiable demands soon push the staff toward a--quite literal-- burnout. Something otherworldly is undeniably aboard the SS Lark, something horribly hungry. But it's not Wick Farley: vampire, secret agent, and paranormal investigator. Alone and at sea, with only Neeta and Emery to help him, he must uncover the truth about Mr. Honeycutt. And fast--before a ravenous craving for power consumes them all. Taylor Robin's debut graphic novel is a thrilling supernatural adventure told in crackling, vibrant colors.

No Future by Cobeyran

Flying cars, robot butlers, and universal freedom for everyone to do as they please. A dream of the future, right? Not this future. The tipping point between Utopia and Dystopia is subjective and invisible, and civilization can't help but blindly trample that line underfoot on a regular basis. Far-left and far-right-leaning politics wrap completely around to the opposite ends of the spectrum, and the cycle of ideological struggle continues in a funhouse mirror reflection of itself.

Juvenile Collection: Featured New Books

Juvenile Chapter Books & Early Chapter Books

Eliza and the Flower Fairies by Megan MacDonald

Imagine a door. A teeny-tiny fairy door. Now imagine it is magic. Open the door. To some, the low door in Eliza's bedroom might look like an ordinary entrance to a crawl space under the stairs. But to a believer like Eliza of the Elves, it's the door to the Land of UnderStair, a secret hideout all her own. In that crawl space, festooned with twinkling lights, Eliza keeps her favorite book, her collections of precious items, her stuffed animals, and her new diary. And in that crawl space is another door, a teeny-tiny one that can transport Eliza to a world of tangerine sun and lemon-pudding sky, a place where flower fairies perch on every bloom and a new flower springs up whenever you pick one. But in a far corner of that world, Eliza tries to pick a strangely beautiful flower-"Nooooo!" cries her friend Poppy-and things soon go terribly awry. Can a brave, wilting Poppy rescue Eliza from beyond the hedgerow before the Demon Wind steals all the flower fairies' scents, leaving the snapdragons with no snap? In this launch of a new series, Megan McDonald brings her well-honed flair for wordplay to delicious villains like the witches Wolfsbane and Belladonna as she follows a child with a big imagination to a different fairy realm in each book. Lenny Wen's delightful, richly colored artwork brings Eliza's world to life with fanciful details sure to have readers creating their own cozy retreats-and visiting magical lands beyond the door.

It's Watching by Linda Currie

After attempting to prove the existence of a famous ghost for their school newspaper, Josie, Jackson, and Alison begin to receive sinister memes on their phones and must uncover the truth behind the terrifying messages before time runs out.

Inside the Park by Andrea Williams

Pumpsie needs a win. Or to be more precise, he needs the Nashville Wildcats to win. Pumpsie's been waiting his entire life--twelve whole years!--for his favorite team to make it to the playoffs. And this year--finally!--they're just one win away.

But when Pumpsie accidentally gets trapped in Lookout Field the night before the last game of the season, with only a lost dog named Campy for company, he may have accidentally stumbled into the best night of his life. For a baseball fan like Pumpsie, using the pro batting cages, running the bases, playing with the public address system, eating all the concession-stand junk food he can find is a dream come true . . . until he realizes he's not alone in the stadium. Foul plots are brewing beneath Lookout Field, and now it's on Pumpsie to swallow his fears, gum up his courage, and swing for the fences if he wants to save the Wildcats' postseason chances.

What Fell From the Sky by Adrianna Cuevas

All Pineda Matlage wants is to get through the school year and maybe pull an epic prank or two with his friends Junior, Ernesto, and Patsy. But class is disrupted when a slew of American soldiers descends upon their rural Texan town of Soledad. They'll be carrying out a training exercise and taking over everything, from Pineda's school to the local government.

But Pineda knows why they're really here. For days he's hidden the strange creature who fell from the sky in his parents' barn. He promised her he'd find her family and help them return home. But with soldiers now on every street corner and armed checkpoints across every road, reuniting his new friend with her missing parents seems an impossible task. Especially when they realize that the army's presence is really a coverup for capturing his alien friends--being observed in a laboratory by the US government for reasons of their own.

Max and the Land of Lies by Adam Gidwitz

Max is on a mission.
Well, two missions.

One has been assigned by his British spymasters: Infiltrate the Funkhaus, the center of Nazi radio and propaganda.

The other they have forbidden: Find his parents.

Max Bretzfeld was willing to do anything to return to Germany, even become a British spy. Training complete and forged papers in hand, the radio wunderkind's missions have begun. But nothing is as he expected. His parents are missing. Nazi intelligence is watching him. And the lines between lies and truth are becoming more blurred every day. Max will need every tool at his disposal, from his radio expertise and spy training to the help of Berg and Stein, the immortal creatures living on his shoulders. Even so, there's no guarantee he'll make it out of Berlin alive.

Juvenile Non-Fiction

How to Love the Whole World : A Story About Artist Agnes Martin by Henry Martin

How to Love the Whole World is a powerful, poetic picture book biography about fine artist Agnes Martin and how she painted to show her love for the world from international art scholar Henry Martin and author/illustrator Shelley Hampe.

Like her contemporary Georgia O'Keeffe, Agnes was deeply inspired by the New Mexican landscape and lived a solitary life there, painting what she loved. And what did Agnes love? She loved an eggshell blue sky at sunrise, and she loved the cotton candy pink sunset. Agnes loved the whole world. She said, "If I paint the things I love, then my paintings will be about love. And you will feel love when you look at them." She even painted a painting called I Love the Whole World--twice. But some days, Agnes did not love the whole world. Not everyone understood her art, or her, and she felt it all. Agnes painted solace in pale, barely-there, mercurial hues and painstakingly simple lines and squares.

Joan Mitchell Paints a Symphony : La Grande Vallě Suite by Lisa Rogers

It's 1983, and American artist Joan Mitchell is in her studio outside Paris, transforming her emotions and memories into a symphony of colors and shapes. Inspired by her friend's description of an idyllic hidden valley in France, Mitchell creates 21 massive paintings--her Grande Vallée series --bursting with vibrant, energizing hues. But she doesn't paint the valley's flowers and meadows. She paints a feeling about them--abundance, freedom, liveliness--creating a harmonious blend of drips, splashes, and brushstrokes in rainbow colors. When the paint dries, it's time to share her valley with the world.

Kahoʻolawe : the true story of an island and her people by Kamalani Hurley

In the middle of the great Pacific Ocean is a little island. Her name is Kanaloa Kaho'olawe.

Discover the story of an island sacred to Native Hawaiians. Beginning with her birth in a volcanic eruption, Kaho'olawe thrives surrounded by animals on land and in the sea. When Polynesian voyagers arrive and begin to raise their families there, the island is happy. As the years pass, invasive goats devastate the ecosystem, and during World War II and the decades that follow, the US military claims the island for target practice. Kaho'olawe is hurt. Yet activists never give up on the island, and they finally succeed in reclaiming her.

Kaho'olawe endures.

Love is hard work : the art and heart of Corita Kent by Dan Paley

Frances Kent always loved making things. When she joined the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, she took the name Corita--meaning little heart--and devoted her life to what mattered most to her: art and religion. As an art teacher, Sister Corita emphasized practice and process over the final product and taught her students to experiment and break the rules. As a religious person, she turned her faith into concrete action and spoke out about the injustices she saw in the world. In the height of post-war consumerist culture, Corita, a contemporary of Andy Warhol, turned advertising on its head and wrote a new kind of scripture. Complimented by Victoria Tentler-Krylov's vibrant illustrations that--like Corita's work--incorporate typography and ads, author Dan Paley paints a portrait of the little-known but immensely influential pop-art nun whose messages are just as relevant today as they were in years past.

Mighty : the story of an oak tree ecosystem by Henry Cole

This stunning, profound book explores the life cycle of a tree-not just through a season but across decades-as well as the other living things that depend upon it. How can something stay itself and yet change and grow? The oak tree shows us how.

Our Plastic Problem: A Call for Global Solutions by Megan Durnford

Part of the nonfiction Orca Footprints series for middle-grade readers and illustrated with color photographs throughout, this book explores the history and uses of plastic and the resulting environmental problems.

Juvenile Graphic Novel

Dizzy's New Fortune by Jason Muell

A full color, manga-style graphic novel telling a brand-new story in the world of Disney Descendants, starring Dizzy -- the granddaughter of Lady Tremaine -- and a whole cast of Villain Kids from the Isle of the Lost

The original Villain Kids have worked hard to prove they deserve to stay in Auradon, and now it's time some of their friends from the Isle of the Lost get that chance too When Dizzy receives a special invitation from King Ben to join the other VKs at Auradon Prep, at first she's thrilled But doubt soon creeps in, and she begins to question whether she can truly fit in outside the scrappy world of the Isle.

Half Way to Somewhere by Jose Pimienta

Ave must adjust to a new country, a new school, and a new family dynamic when their mom and younger brother move to Kansas while their father and older sister stay in Mexico during the parents' divorce.

Saphie the One-Eyed Cat by Joanna Ho

What exactly does a one-eyed cat do all day? Well, there's running, knocking things over, scratching things you're not supposed to, terrorizing your brothers, messing with your owner, stealing food, and generally causing mayhem left, right, and center!

Sea Legs by Jules Bakes

Janey's family is sailing to the Caribbean in their boat, but it means Janey has to leave all her friends behind for a life at sea, and she discovers that when you are constantly on the move it can be difficult to connect to people.

Juvenile Early Readers

Pokeman Battle Buddies by DK

Learn how to catch, train, and get the best out of your Pokémon team. Captain Pikachu and his friends will show you how!

The engaging text has been carefully leveled using Lexile so that children are set up to succeed. Colorful Pokémon images, clear vocabulary, and a fun quiz will help young readers build their reading ability as they uncover the exciting secrets of Pokémon.

A Fairy Finds her Song by Bea Jackson

Every fairy has a talent except Lily...or so she thinks. Her human friend, Willow, knows how special Lily truly is. Can she help Lily see that, too, and find her gift?

Go Team Spidey by DK

Meet the members of Team Spidey and some of their amazing friends, including Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, and Black Panther. With engaging, simple text, little ones can enter the world of reading whilst learning about bravery and teamwork with all of their favorite characters from the show.

Pokeman: A New Journey by DK

Discover their friendships, special skills, and the awesome mysteries they hope to uncover.

The engaging text has been carefully leveled using Lexile so that children are set up to succeed. Colorful Pokémon images, clear vocabulary, and a fun quiz will help young readers build their reading ability, as they uncover the exciting secrets of Paldea.

Peppa the Unicorn by Cala Spinner

Peppa Pig finds her inner unicorn in this magical Level 1 Reader!

Peppa has always wanted to be a magical unicorn, and Mummy Pig thinks she can help! But will Peppa's wish come true? Find out in this fantastical Level 1 Reader!

This Scholastic Level 1 Reader is designed to help kids master their phonics and reading comprehension skills!

Juvenile Picture Books

Hop Helps Out by Marc Brown

A new picture book from the creator of children's series Arthur! One morning, Hop and Benny meet a crying troll named Helga. She wants to see more of Fair Village but is worried about leaving her home beneath the bridge. As Hop helps out, Helga realizes the world is filled with many good things, especially when you have a friend by your side!

Good Golden Sun by Brenden Wenzel

Good golden sun, there is much we'd like to know! Are you happy? Are you lonely? Are you feeling well today? Does your belly ever ache? Won't you come down to play?

From sunbeam, to flower, to insect, to animal, to plant, to soil, and the earth itself...the sun makes, moves, and transforms life all around us. Celebrate the mysteries of light from sunup to sundown as it weaves its way through creation inspiring change, hope, wonder, and curiosity.

Every Monday Mable by Jashar Awan

Every Monday, Mabel wakes up early and peeks out her window to make sure she didn't miss the one thing she's been looking forward to the whole week. She drags her chair down the hallway, past her big sister and Mom and Dad, out the door, and waits.

What is Mabel waiting for every Monday? According to Mabel, it's the best thing in the world. But no one else in her family seems to understand...until they see what's honking down the street!

Caboose by Travis Jonker

Every kid knows the joy of being line leader. You can make the line go fast. You can make the line go slow. You can stop suddenly and make the line crash--oh, the power!

Cedric has all sorts of tricks to make sure he's first in line. There's the fast walk, the slow run, the shoulder tap, the slingshot, and so much more. But when Cedric's line leader antics go too far, he's banished to the back of the line. The very back of the line.

Now that Cedric's the caboose, he must hatch a whole new world of hijinks. The turtle walk, the step back, the cloak of invisibility, the "no, no, after you!" The possibilities are endless!

Eid for Nylah by Nizranna Farook

Nylah the cat is making her usual visits to the homes on her street, but something is very different today . . .

Families are creating decorations or making food, trying on new clothes, and decorating their hands with henna. Everyone is very busy, and they won't let Nylah help! But why does nobody have any time to play? All is finally revealed as the community comes together for a big Eid celebration, where everyone is welcome -- especially Nylah!

The Story Factory by Jam Dong

Once upon a time, all the books in the world were manufactured at one place--the Story Factory!

The workers at the story factory know exactly what it takes to make a book: characters, a plot, vocabulary, and punctuation. All the same elements are used over and over again, and everything has a precise order. Nothing new or original is ever added to the stories--that is, until the day the factory suddenly stops producing books. The workers must locate and remove the clog in the machinery, and what they find may just change the way they make books forever. With fun and wonderfully intricate illustrations, Jam Dong's charming story is a joyful ode to the imagination and to what it is that makes books so special.

Duckie & Snaps: We Cannot Be Friends by Ame Dyckman

The antics will have you cracking up as the newly hatched Duckie, an enthusiastic yellow duckling, and Snaps, a rather reserved green crocodile, wonder if they can be friends.

Media Collection: Featured New Items

DVD and Blu-ray

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

It tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm's Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their destruction.

Wicked

Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Glinda, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart. The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads, and their lives take very different paths. Glinda's unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba's determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences for her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Juror #2

Juror #2" follows family man Justin Kemp who, while serving as a juror in a high-profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict or free the accused killer.

In the Summers

Siblings Violeta and Eva live with their mother, but travel every summer to New Mexico to spend time with their loving but unpredictable father in this moving drama that follows them from adolescence to adulthood.

Decoding the Universe

How big is the universe? What is it made of? Are we alone? Questions like these have inspired amazing discoveries that have transformed our understanding of the universe since the 1970s, shedding light on everything from exoplanets to black holes to the mysterious dark matter and energy that rule the cosmos. And closer to home, quantum physicists have discovered the weird laws that govern the subatomic world, unlocking amazing technologies from the smart phone in your pocket to powerful new quantum computers taking shape in labs today.

 

Juvenile DVD and Blu-ray

Karma is Three Cats

Children and adults alike will love the delightful escapades of Taylor Swift's furry friends. The famous felines will bring a smile to your face and warmth to your heart.

Finnick

A grumpy monster's quiet life is interrupted when a new family moves into his house.

Easter Bunny Tales: Billy Mink

Join the Easter Bunny and his pals from the Fairytale Fun Force as they gather around the fire to tell bedtime stories! This time, the magical friends read a classic fairytale by Thornton Burgess. It's time for Easter Bunny Tales: Billy Mink.

Smurfs: Season 1

The Smurfs is the next iteration of the perennial fan-favorite franchise, featuring Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Brainy, Hefty, Baby Smurf, and the rest of the colorful cast the whole world knows and loves! This reimagined series is packed with more comedy and adventure than ever, featuring snappy dialogue, joyful anarchy, irresistible charm, and a healthy dose of magic. Blue and bold and only three apples high, Smurf's the limit with this season one collection that includes all 26 episodes!

 

Video Games

Unicorn Overlord

From the masterminds that brought 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim and Odin Sphere, ATLUS x Vanillaware presents the rebirth of tactical fantasy RPG. Fight against fate and embark on a royal adventure to regain your reign alongside trustworthy allies. Unicorn Overlord combines the timeless tactical RPG genre with overworld exploration and innovative battle system for a unique epic fantasy experience in the iconic Vanillaware style.

NHL25

EA SPORTS™ NHL® 25 is powered by ICE-Q, a new gameplay intelligence system that gives you the time and space to control every inch of the ice. Next-Gen Vision Control allows you to walk the blue line, square up to the puck carrier, stay locked on goal, and much more. Empowered AI completely overhauls Chel’s CPU player system, helping them execute authentic plays with a refreshed playbook that improves powerplays and opens up the ice for better overall positioning and offensive opportunities. Reactive Actions utilizes a series of new animations to make skaters more responsive in critical situations, increasing their urgency, collision avoidance, and reliability. ICE-Q is true hockey intelligence. Plus, the addition of a revamped Franchise Mode experience, a brand-new WOC Live Events structure, HUT Wildcard Mode, and a simplified, single-path XP progression shared across HUT kicks Chel’s game modes up a notch.

Undisputed

Play and craft your boxing technique as well as your strategies in the ring, as you compete to advance your career from amateur to undisputed champion.

Dynasty Warriors Origins

Combat, wars and battles, hand-to-hand fighting.