Seattle Staff Faves 2023: Fiction
Every year we ask our staff across the system for their favorite books published in a given year. Enjoy this variety of fiction staff favorites, with annotations by staff members or as noted. (Created November 2023)
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The Vaster Wilds
"Escaping from a colonial settlement in the wilderness, a servant girl, with nothing but her wits, a few possessions and some faith, is tested beyond the limits of her imagination, forcing her to question her belief of everything her own civilization taught her." (NoveList Plus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Hula
"A young daughter of the legendary Hawaiian Naupaka dynasty dreams of healing the rift in her family by competing in and winning the next Miss Aloha Hula contest and proving herself worthy of carrying on her family’s name." (NoveList Plus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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This Other Eden
"Off the coast of Maine, Malaga Island supported a racially integrated community until the early 1900s, when the state evicted the islanders." (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Exiles
"Two unrelated crimes--one a disappearance, the other a hit and run-- collide when Aaron Falk takes a vacation to serve as godfather at a christening. It is up to Falk to ferret out ugly truths hiding in plain sight." (LibraryReads)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Planes, Trains, and All the Feels
"Trying to get home for her sister’s wedding, Cassidy shares the last rental car with a complete stranger with whom she falls in love, and after a lifetime of letting the expectations and needs of others drive her life, must decide if she’s ready to take the wheel." (NoveList Plus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Happy Place
"Though they broke up six months ago, Wyn and Harriet pretend they’re still together to avoid disrupting their college friends’ last annual getaway to a cottage in Maine." (LibraryReads)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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An Island Princess Starts A Scandal
"Cora Kempf Bristol, duchess of Sundridge, just needs one last piece of land to complete the route that will earn her company, South American Railways, a great deal of money. All it takes is the right financial incentive to convince Manuela del Carmen Caceres Galvan to sell the property to her. However, it turns out that painter Manuela, who is visiting Paris to show her art in the 1889 Exposition Universelle, has a different kind of proposition in mind." (Booklist)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Wellness
"Alongside the challenges of parenting, married couple Jack and Elizabeth encounter cults disguised as mindfulness support groups, polyamorous would-be suitors, Facebook wars and something called Love Potion Number Nine as they undertake separate, personal excavations in their quest to find health and happiness." (NoveList Plus)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Open Throat
"Pensive, gay mountain lion? Yes please."-- Toby T.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Laughter
"Becoming dangerously obsessed with his new colleague, a dynamic Pakistani Muslim law professor who ignites his long-dormant passions, tenured English professor Dr. Oliver Harding tries to reconcile his discomfort with the world in which she comes from and quiet his sense of dismay at the encroaching change she represents." (NoveList Plus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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