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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Ms. Demeanor
"After a neighbor’s complaint, Jane finds herself with her law license suspended and wearing an ankle monitor for six months. Her sister persuades her to try food blogging and soon Jane’s cooking for another house-arrested tenant while trying to discover the identity of her accuser." (LibraryReads)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Boys Weekend
"Trans femme Sammie begrudgingly joins a debauched and treacherous bachelor party in this ingenious horror-satire from Ignatz Award winner Lubchansky." (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: All copies in use
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Cursed Bread
"A baker's widow processes grief, obsession, and desire for the enigmatic couple who may have caused a townwide poisoning." (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
"Chicken Hill, a pre—World War II Pennsylvania community, doesn't seem like much: it's poor, with no running water and a population consisting of multiple marginalized groups—Jewish, Black, Italian—all struggling, scheming, and hoping for the best while writhing in seemingly intractable disappointment. But in this latest from McBride, their defeats evolve into triumphs." (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Adventure Zone
"Adapting a Dungeons & Dragons podcast to a graphic novel makes a lot of sense, turning audio to visual is a delight for both incoming readers and long time fans. This was my favorite chapter of the original campaign and the book does not disappoint. It hits everything from the podcast while adding inside jokes and additionally funny explanations for why certain things were cut." --Dylan Z.
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: Available
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The Sun Walks Down
"I loved this book; it felt so immersive and emotional rich to me, particularly within the Wallace family and Billy. I appreciated that Fiona McFarlane, a white settler writer, approached the Indigenous characters (Billy, Arranyinha/Nancy, Jimmy) with some humility and characterized her settler characters (the vast majority of those in the book) without totally romanticizing their existence in the so-called Flinders Range." --Bean Y.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Lost in the Moment and Found
"In the Shop Where the Lost Things Go, Antoinette cannot find her father, but she does discover many different doors by which she can leave. Each goes to a different world, though leaving is not that easy." (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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That Summer Feeling
"Spending a week at her new friends’ reopened sleepaway camp, newly divorced Garland Moore, seeking signs from the universe, reconnects with Mason, a man from her past, but instead finds herself drawn to his sister, discovering her stars have aligned in a way she never could’ve predicted." (NoveList Plus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Shubeik Lubeik
"Three wishes that are sold at an unassuming kiosk in Cairo link Aziza, Nour, and Shokry, changing their perspectives as well as their lives." (NoveList Plus)
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: All copies in use
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Hello Beautiful
"Hello Beautiful features reserved William, who's hamstrung by his upbringing in a household shadowed by tragedy but lucky enough to have found effervescent Julia and gained her sisters' seal of approval--until trouble from his past threatens the relationship." (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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