Sarah Smith's Favorites

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco web-design drone - and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new job working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. After just a few days on the job, Clay finds that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to...

"Rae Carson has proved she's a master and has shaken up the YA genre."—USAToday.com

The first book in Rae Carson's award-winning and New York Times–bestselling trilogy! The Girl of Fire and Thorns is a sweeping journey full of adventure, sorcery, heartbreak, and power. Fans of Shadow & Bone and Game of Thrones, will devour this fantasy series.

Once a century, one person is chosen for

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In Cecilia Grant’s emotionally rich and deeply passionate Regency romance debut, a deal with a rumored rogue turns a proper young woman into . . . A Lady Awakened.
Newly widowed and desperate to protect her estate and beloved servants from her malevolent brother-in-law, Martha Russell conceives a daring plan. Or rather, a daring plan to conceive. After all, if she has an heir on the way, her future will be secured. Forsaking...

"[The] weird, beautiful, unapologetically apocalyptic Last Policeman trilogy is one of my favorite mystery series."—John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns
Winner of the 2013 Edgar® Award Winner for Best Paperback Original!

What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway?
 
Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since

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In Seth Dickinson's highly-anticipated debut The Traitor Baru Cormorant, a young woman from a conquered people tries to transform an empire in this richly imagined geopolitical fantasy. Baru Cormorant believes any price is worth paying to liberate her people-even her soul. When the Empire of Masks conquers her island home, overwrites her culture, criminalizes her customs, and murders one of her fathers, Baru vows to swallow her hate, join the Empire's...

"From stand-up comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish comes The Last Black Unicorn, a hilarious, edgy, and heart-wrenching collection of autobiographical essays that will leave you laughing through tears. Tiffany Haddish grew up in one of the poorest parts of South Central Los Angeles. Her mother wound up with a debilitating brain injury after surviving a car accident. Tiffany never fit in anywhere: not in the households she rotated through in the foster...

Lieutenant James Shelley commands a high-tech squad of soldiers in a rural district within the African Sahel. They hunt insurgents each night on a harrowing patrol, guided by three simple goals: protect civilians, kill the enemy, and stay alive. In a for-profit war manufactured by the defense industry there can be no cause worth dying for. To keep his soldiers safe, Shelley uses every high-tech asset available to him, but his best weapon is a flawless...

The author describes her experiences as a young Vietnamese immigrant, highlighting her family's move from their war-torn home to the United States in graphic novel format. "Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family's daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves"--Publisher...

"An international sensation that has sold more than a million copies in Japan and was named a Best Book of the Year by U.S. publications from Buzzfeed to the New Yorker, Convenience Store Woman is the charming and unforgettable story of Tokyo sales clerk Keiko Furukura. Keiko is an unusual person, someone who has never fit in, but when she takes a job at a 'Smile Mart' she finally finds peace and purpose in her daily tasks. But there is huge pressure...