Table of contents for September 2021 in Booklist Reader

From the Editor & Publisher Hello and welcome to Booklist Reader, Booklist’s new digital publication for library patrons of all ages! Each month, Booklist Reader will publish a themed issue that will feature diverse content, like this one, highlighting top-10 lists; must reads; interviews with (and articles by) top authors and illustrators; and adult, youth, and audio recommendations for all communities and all who love to read. We are also thrilled to partner with LibraryReads, an organization that each month publishes a list of the top 10 books read by library workers across the nation. Find more about LibraryReads at www.libraryreads.org. We are excited to connect with you and hope Booklist Reader will serve as your trusted reading companion for years to come! —George Kendall gkendall@ala.org How to use Booklist…

Books for Youth YA Read-alikes Dark Academia Mystery is a genre that loves being mashed up with others—because who doesn’t love a good mystery?—and one particular mashup is thriving: the boarding school mystery. Inspired by three 2021 titles that bring darkness and suspense to boarding school (see sidebar), we compiled the below list of not-so-cozy mysteries that take place at elite academies, home to secret societies, cryptic histories, and—of course—murder. by Ronny Khuri In the Hall with the Knife. By Diana Peterfreund. 2019. Abrams/Amulet. Gr. 7–10. Blackbrook Academy is an elite prep school located in the remote Maine woods. After a storm strands six students there for winter break, Headmaster Boddy turns up dead, and all signs point to someone in the house having murdered him. This riff on the board…

Books for Youth The Essentials Artful Adaptation Graphic adaptations are nothing new—Classics Illustrated, anyone?—but the past several years have seen a wave of unusually artful adaptations, which not only illustrate characters and action but use the comics medium to powerfully reshape and enhance the original text. The following titles, a mix of books for adults and teens, not only solidly stand alone from their source material but make exceptionally good use of artwork and paneling to bring out new elements and features of the original. by Sarah Hunter After the Rain. By Nnedi Okorafor and John Jennings. Illus. by David Brame. 2021. Abrams ComicArts. Through a visit to her grandma and grandaunt in a small Nigerian village, hard-edged Chicago cop Chioma connects to her past and her Nigerian heritage. In this…

Adult Books The Essentials True Crime and Covertly Criminal Fiction Crime fascinates us, and the questions criminality raises are endless. Works of true crime are ascending in variety, literary excellence, and popularity, making true crime a magnet for book discussions. We’re recommending recent nonfiction titles that illuminate crimes personal, political, ecological, culinary, and corporate. On the fiction front, we sought alternatives to the crime genre, selecting compelling mainstream and literary novels catalyzed by wrongdoing and focused on the impact of crime and punishment on individuals, family, and society. We hope these exceptional, inquisitive, and disquieting works inspire exciting and enlightening dialogues. By Annie Bostrom, Susan Maguire, and Donna Seaman True Crime Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup. By John Carreyrou. 2018. Knopf. Carreyrou tells the fascinating…

September 2021 The LibraryReads Hall of Fame designation honors authors who have had multiple titles appear on the monthly LibraryReads list since 2013. When their third title places on the list via library staff votes, the author moves into the Hall of Fame. The Last Graduate A Novel by Naomi Novik (Del Rey) "El and her friends start their senior year, and if their fix worked, they should have a fighting chance against the maleficaria, beasts that feast on graduating students. But the school seems to be out to get El, as she's suddenly the only one being targeted by mals. Recommended for grown up fans of fantasy school stories that would appreciate the darker side of this one." —Mary Bell, Wilbraham Public Library, Wilbraham, MA NoveList read-alike:Master of Sorrows…

Audiobooks Must-Listen Mysteries & Thrillers These mysteries and thrillers on audio up the adrenaline with evocative narrations that will put you on the edge of your seat. By Candy Smith and Heather Booth Arsenic and Adobo. By Mia P. Manansala. Read by Danice Cabanela. 2021. 9.5hr. Books on Tape. A debut narrator’s expressive performance imbues Lila with energy and humor as she seeks to clear her name. The narration sparkles during lively Filipino family interactions. A delicious debut. The Big Sleep. By Raymond Chandler. Read by Scott Brick. 2020. 6.5hr. Books on Tape. Wisely skipping the Bogart impersonation, reader Brick gives Philip Marlowe a suitably gruff, clipped, world-weary tone that embodies Chandler’s noir classic. The Captive. By Fiona King Foster. Read by Courtney Patterson 2021. 8hr. HarperAudio. Patterson keeps the tension…

Books for Youth Reserve These Reads Children & Teens Get your hands on these hotly anticipated books, all out this month. Older The Robber Girl. By Franny Billingsley. Candlewick. Gr. 9–12. The eponymous protagonist of National Book Award finalist Billingsley’s latest dark fantasy must travel through perilous lands, solve puzzling riddles, and confront her own conflicting motivations. So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix. By Bethany C. Morrow. Feiwel and Friends. Gr. 9?12. In this entry in the Remixed Classics series, critically acclaimed Morrow reimagines the March sisters as a Black family living on Roanoke Island in 1863. White Smoke. By Tiffany D. Jackson. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen. Gr. 9?12. A creepy haunted house, an eerie new town, sly social commentary, and an intrepid teen at the heart of it all? In Jackson’s…

Audiobooks Podcast Connection True Crime on Audio These true-crime tales featuring great narration will pull listeners right in for the crime-solving, justice-seeking, and truthdiscovering storytelling that podcast fans crave. by Heather Booth Broken Faith. By Mitch Weiss and Holbrook Mohr. Read by Vivienne Leheny. 2020. 12hr. HarperAudio. John Cooper’s story of escaping a cult begins this investigative report. The cult’s highly charismatic leader excels at luring individuals looking to belong, and the price of belonging is high. Narrator Leheny’s voice strikes fear in the reader, while also depicting compassion for the church’s abused members. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer. By Michelle McNamara. Read by Gabra Zackman with Gillian Flynn and Patton Oswalt. 2018. 10hr. HarperAudio. This blend of memoir and true…