3. ‘Hilo: Rise of the Cat’ by Judd Winick – This 10th book in the graphic novel series centers on warrior cat Polly, who, after breaking one too many rules, is sent to Wombatton, a boarding school. But something strange is going on, and students are disappearing. Can Polly solve the mystery and reunite with her friends on Earth?
4. ‘My Dad is Awesome by Bluey and Bingo’ – Bluey and Bingo share all the reasons why their dad, Bandit, is awesome. Based on the popular animated series.
5. ‘The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine’ by Katherine Marsh – Middle-grade novel set against the Holodomor, a deadly famine that swept Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s. Inspired by the author’s family history.
6. ‘Farewell to Manzanar’ by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston – 50th anniversary edition of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston’s memoir of a childhood spent in a Japanese incarceration camp during WWII. This edition includes a new cover, a foreword by Traci Chee, and photographs by Toyo Miyatake.
7. ‘The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain’ by Peter Sís – Award-winning memoir from author, illustrator, and filmmaker Sís, detailing what it was like to grow up on the Red side of the Iron Curtain.
8. ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ by Holly Jackson – As her high school’s senior project, a teenager attempts to prove the wrong person is in jail for a closed case murder in her small town, possibly drawing the attention of the real murderer.
9. ‘The Eyes and the Impossible’ by Dave Eggers – Recently awarded the Newberry Medal for Children’s Literature. A dog named Johannes watches over a park on behalf of a trio of ancient Bison, reporting on the animals and humans and assuring that all is kept in balance in this lavishly illustrated (by Shawn Harris) and enchanting tale from New York Times Bestseller Dave Eggers.
10. ‘If He Had Been with Me’ by Laura Nowlin – A YA novel about love, loss, regret and romance.
Hot at the Word Horde Emporium
1. ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba, Volume 1’ by Koyoharu Gotouge – When charcoal seller Tanjiro Kamado’s family is slaughtered by a demon, and his sister is transformed into a demon, he vows revenge. Set against the backdrop of Taishō era Japan (1912-1926), the critically acclaimed “Demon Slayer” has become one of the best-selling manga series of all time.
2. “The Fisherman” by John Langan – This Bram Stoker Award-winning novel is a profound meditation of loss, grief and fishing, by way of an American weird tale.
3. “Ring” by Kōji Suzuki – This suspenseful supernatural Japanese thriller, centered on a mysterious cursed videocassette, was first published in 1991, and has spawned multiple sequels, manga, video game and film adaptations.
4. ‘Horror Movie’ by Paul Tremblay – Like “Ring,” Tremblay’s “Horror Movie” is a take on the “cursed film” genre. “Horror Movie” concerns a no-budget guerilla film, shot, but not completed in 1993, that has become legendary due to clips uploaded to YouTube. Now, on the verge of a big budget reboot, the last surviving cast member must reconcile with the past.
5. ‘My Darling Dreadful Thing’ by Johanna van Veen – This decadent Gothic page-turner centers on Roos Beckman, a young woman whose guardian uses her to channel spirits in backroom seances. Echoing tales in the Gothic tradition, particularly Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw,” while feeling wholly original, and balancing the shocking and grotesque with the tender, this book will get under your skin.
6. “Butcher & Blackbird” by Brynne Weaver – The first book of Weaver’s Ruinous Love Trilogy, “Butcher & Blackbird” is about a pair of serial killers, Sloane and Rowan, making a game of hunting far worse predators. Spicy, friends-to-lovers, pitch-black rom-com.
7. “From the Belly” by Emmett Nahil – Our Weird Book of the Week. See below for more information.
8. ‘Moby-Dick or, The Whale’ by Herman Melville – This 1851 work by Herman Melville consists of the sailor Ishmael’s narrative of his captain’s obsessive quest for vengeance against the massive white sperm whale Moby Dick (who ate Captain Ahab’s leg in a previous encounter). A commercial failure in its day, ‘Moby-Dick’ is now considered to be one of the Great American Novels, and it continues to influence and inspire new works (such as Emmett Nahil’s ‘From the Belly’) to this day.
9. ‘Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror’ edited by Jordan Peele – Winner of the 2023 Bram Stoker Award for Anthology. Jordan Peele, director of “Get Out,” “Us” and “Nope,” curates this anthology of all-new horror and science fiction stories of Black horror. Includes stories by P. Djèlí Clark, Tananarive Due, N.K. Jemisin, Nnedi Okorafor and many others.
10. ‘You Like it Darker: Stories’ by Stephen King – The latest collection from master storyteller King includes a dozen short stories and novellas, most set in Florida, including “Rattlesnakes,” a sequel to “Cujo.”