HDL Staff Picks February 2025Like this list

18 items

• Mystery Royale

  Cavalancia, Kaitlyn,

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  "It's like a Inheritance Games meets Caraval. So, magic and a "game" with the bonus of no love triangle." - Heather

• Murder in the Dressing Room

  Stars, Holly

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  Recommended by Kelly

• A Language of Dragons

  Williamson, S. F.,

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  "This historical fantasy set post-WWI with dragons and a focus on language/linguistics hooked me from the beginning, and now I want to read more from this world." - Amanda

• Evocation

  Gibson, S.T.

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  Recommended by Jen

• Mid-Air

  Williams, Alicia, 1970-

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  "Mid-Air has an authentic middle-school-boy voice, and is such a beautiful and sad story of a kid going through something huge and horrible." - Aaryn

• Bog Myrtle

  Sharp, Sid,

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  "This kids book is spooky, whimsical, and has a seriously surprising ending. I loved it." - Lindsay

• Service Model

  Tchaikovsky, Adrian, 1972-

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  Recommended by Jen

• Taiwan Travelogue

  A Novel

  Yang, Shuang-zi

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  "Framed as a retranslation of a lost novel, Taiwan Travelogue looks at issues of colonialism and culture (particularly food) and is a powerful story. It also won the National Book Award for translation!" - Steve

• The Serviceberry

  Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

  Kimmerer, Robin Wall,

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  "It's short but delivers a message on community that is pretty important on our rapidly changing Earth!" - Liz

• The Beast of Beswick

  Howard, Amalie

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  Recommended by Jen

• James

  a Novel

  Everett, Percival,

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  "This book was a treat to read and not just because it's a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim's perspective. It's an important book for that purpose, and it's just as interesting to read an adult's perspective of events as much…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Mismatched

  a Modern Graphic Retelling of Emma

  Camlin, Anne,

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  "This was a really fun, queer YA graphic novel retelling of Emma! Definitely recommend if you're a fan of Jane Austen... or of Clueless!" - Allison

• An Instruction in Shadow

  Jacka, Benedict

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  Recommended by Jen

• The Trees

  A Novel

  Everett, Percival

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  "Recommended to me because I enjoyed James so much. Fantastic read that you can't put down." - Lori

• This Is Happiness

  Williams, Niall, 1958-

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  "A wonderful coming of age story of a 17year old in Ireland, told by the same man when he is in his 70's. The writing is wonderful, the Irish humor is delightful, and the story is tender." - Elizabeth

• Bringing Down the Duke

  Dunmore, Evie,

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  "A refreshing take on the sometimes-stale historical romance genre. Fierce bluestockings! Grumpy-yet-handsome dukes! And the fight for women's rights! ... with a heady mix of romance." - Lindsay

• Nowhere Boy

  Marsh, Katherine,

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  Recommended by Magda

• Uzumaki

  Spiral Into Horror

  Itō, Junji, 1963-

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  "If you like horror or comics AT ALL you need to read Junji Ito." - Annaka