Staff Fiction Favorites

Music is Momo's refuge, a gift that he hopes will shelter Junie through her childhood and an ocean of separation. It's a trans-Pacific love letter set amidst China's cultural revolution. Love exists in the unexpected everyday moments: music drifting from windows, flower bulbs, and hushed hellos. These small moments alter lives in profoundly meaningful ways. - Charlotte

Moreno-Garcia transplants the tropes and trappings of the classic European gothic romance to 1950s Mexico, creating a vivid novel that comments on the genre while standing on its own as a modern fable. Mysterious, lovely, creepily chilling—but driven by the determination of its indomitable heroine to carry through to the last page. Every person I've recommended this to has likewise devoured it, and immediately called me up to discuss it. - Jocelyn

Torn between following their passion for painting by working for the Razanei government and upholding their duty to their sister and the rebellion, Gyen Jebi becomes embroiled in the political and magical power of their art. As an artist myself, I found Gyen Jebi's passion and angst all too relatable! This fantastical steampunk world is wholly original with a slew of great characters. - Eli

Lauren has "hyperempathy syndrome," rendering her incapable of witnessing pain. This is complicated by the fact that her world is nothing but pain: the novel is set against a dystopian backdrop in which water is reserved for the rich and suffering is rampant. To cope with her reality, Lauren is creating a new religion, wherein God is Change.

—Holly

Elaborate magical heist? Brilliantly realized world inspired by historical Amsterdam, filled with complex characters coming together for the pay-off of their lives—and maybe to save the world? I devoured this novel of criminals and misfits who refuse to accept a world that won’t accept them. A follow-up to Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone series that stands on its own (and may in fact be the best place to start, if you're new to the Grishaverse).. - Jocelyn

Out is the story of four women working a drab and monotonous graveyard shift at a bento factory in Japan. Kirino explores the desire to escape one’s circumstances and live a truthful life, good or bad, through some seriously twisted, but very human feelings. Follow these characters into the dark—from murder to scattering dismembered body parts to outmaneuvering Yakuza.

A teenage girl, Danuis, whose mother's family is white and father's family is Ojibwe, gets pulled into an undercover FBI meth investigation. The author wanted to write a "Native Nancy Drew" and Danuis is a heroine you want to root for—her culture and connection to community is her strength. With a distinct sense of place, this taut thriller is almost impossible to put down. - Celeste

Set in Nigeria, this beautiful and heartbreaking exploration of sexuality and gender identity is a story of family secrets, love, and grief. Vivek Oji is dead, found wrapped in cloth on his mother's doorstep. How this came to be is a riveting tale that Emezi tells with simple, evocative, profound prose. A rich, emotionally rewarding read, I found this difficult to put down. - Trey

Full disclosure: I used to be a bookseller with Maryse. When she moved on my life got a little less weird. If you, too, are missing a little weird in your life, or feel like you haven't recently read enough books that feature ossophilia and radical environmental activism, then check out this wonderfully strange book. It brought my weird quotient up by seven points!

—Dave

This is possibly my favorite contemporary romance. A tattoo artist and a budding CEO, haunted by a shared past, are given a second chance—at love, but more importantly at their own lives. Their story is a taut tale of redemption, betrayal, sex, and romance. With complex characters, sizzling tension, juicy drama, and intricate tattoos (and desert) I finished fully satisfied. - Jocelyn