2023 - 2024

Book of the Week

MAY 30, 2024

Ay, Mija! : my bilingual summer in Mexico by CHRISTINE SUGGS

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Sixteen-year-old Christine takes their first solo trip to Mexico to spend a few weeks with their grandparents and tía. At first, Christine struggles to connect with family they don’t yet share a language with. Seeing the places their mom grew up—the school she went to, the café where she had her first date with their father—Christine becomes more and more aware of the generational differences in their family.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection and on ebook.

MAY 23, 2024

THEIR VICIOUS GAMES by JOELLE WELLINGTON

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this searing thriller that’s Ace of Spades meets Squid Game with a sprinkling of The Bachelor.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection and on ebook and audio.

This selection is in observance of Mental Health Awareness Month, held annually in May.
MAY 16, 2024

it's loney at the center of the earth by zoe thorogood

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Cartoonist Zoe Thorogood records 6 months of her own life as it falls apart in a desperate attempt to put it back together again in the only way she knows how.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection.

This selection is in celebration of Jewish Heritage Month, which is observed annually in May. See our collection featuring author Becky Albertalli here. This book of the week feature was written by CSW Library Ambassador Matilda Leighton '24.
MAY 9, 2024

IMOGEN, OBVIOUSLY BY BECKY ALBERTALLI

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Imogen may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s Greatest Ally title locked down. And when she visits her best friend, Lili, at college who is newly-out, newly-graduated, and newly thriving, with a cool new squad of queer college friends, no one knows that Imogen’s a raging hetero – not even Lili’s best friend, Tessa. The more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with. 

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, as well as on ebook and audio.

This selection is in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which is observed annually in May.
MAY 2, 2024

MY FATHER, THE PANDA KILLER BY JAMIE JO HOANG

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

A poignant coming-of-age story told in two alternating voices: a California teenager railing against the Vietnamese culture, juxtaposed with her father as an eleven-year-old boat person on a harrowing and traumatic refugee journey from Vietnam to the United States.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, as well as on ebook and audio.

This selection is in celebration of Earth Day, which happens annually at the end of April. This year, CSW welcomes Our Children's Trust, which is the organization that helped bring the lawsuit featured in this book.
APRIL 24, 2024

the 21 BY eLIZABETH RUSCH

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Compelling and timely, award-winning author Elizabeth Rusch’s The Twenty-One tells the gripping inside story of the ongoing landmark federal climate change lawsuit, Juliana vs. United States of America.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, as well as on ebook and audio.

This selection is in celebration of National Poetry Month, observed annually in April.
APRIL 18, 2024

TIME IS A MOTHER BY OCEAN VUONG

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Vuong contends with the meaning of family and the cost of being the product of an American war in America. At once vivid, brave, and propulsive, these poems circle fragmented lives to find both restoration as well as the epicenter of the break.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection.

This selection is in celebration of Arab American Heritage Month, observed annually in April. It's also featured in our latest collection celebrating Arab American authors.
APRIL 11, 2024

I MISS YOU, I HATE THIS BY SARA SAEDI

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Best friends Parisa Naficy and Gabriela Gonzales grapple with the complexities of their relationship even while they spend their senior year apart due to a pandemic that disproportionately affects young people.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection and available on ebook and audio.

This selection is in celebration of Arab American Heritage Month, observed annually in April. It's also featured in our latest collection celebrating Arab American authors.
APRIL 4, 2024

THE NEXT NEW SYRIAN GIRL BY REAM SHUKAIRY

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

When their worlds collide, Khadija Shami, a sheltered Syrian American high school senior with a monstrous ego, and Leene Tahir, a Syrian refugee doing her best to survive school and family pressures while battling panic attacks, become the unlikeliest of friends.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection and available on ebook and audio.

MARCH 28, 2024

AS YOU WALK ON BY BY JULIAN WINTERS

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Seventeen-year-old Theo Wright has it all figured out. His plan (well, more like his dad's plan) is a foolproof strategy that involves excelling at his magnet school, getting scouted by college recruiters, and going to Duke on athletic scholarship. But for now, all Theo wants is a perfect prom night. A YA-rom com that feels like The Breakfast Club meets Can't Hardly Wait!

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection and available on ebook and audio.

MARCH 7, 2024

SHUT UP, THIS IS SERIOUS BY CAROLINA IXTA

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

An unforgettable YA debut about two Latina teens growing up in East Oakland as they discover that the world is brimming with messy complexities. A fierce, intimate examination of friendship, chosen family, and the generational cycles we must break to become our truest selves.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection and available on audio.

This book of the week feature is curated and written by 2024 CSW Library Ambassador Andon Van Colen '25 in celebration of Black History Month 2024–the theme is African Americans in the arts. 
FEBRUARY 29, 2024

IN THE BLACK FANTASTIC by EKOW ESHUN

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

This book is an expansion on a 2022 exhibition called In the Black Fantastic from London Hayward Gallery.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection.

This book of the week feature is curated and written by 2024 CSW Library Ambassador Andon Van Colen '25 in celebration of Black History Month 2024–the theme is African Americans in the arts. 
FEBRUARY 22, 2024

muted by tami charles

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Denver is seventeen when she and her friends get the chance to meet Sean “Mercury” Ellis, the biggest R&B star in the world. Merc gives them the opportunity to break big, but as Denver and her friends fall deeper into Merc’s world, they realize they may not be able to get out.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, as well as in ebook and audiobook.

This book of the week feature is curated and written by 2024 CSW Library Ambassador Andon Van Colen '25 in celebration of Black History Month 2024–the theme is African Americans in the arts. 
FEBRUARY 15, 2024

MAYBE AN ARTIST by LIZ MONTAGUE

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Liz Montague’s graphic memoir about becoming an artist, starting with growing up post 9/11 all the way to becoming a cartoonist for the New York Times. 

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, as well as in ebook.

This book of the week feature is curated and written by 2024 CSW Library Ambassador Andon Van Colen '25 in celebration of Black History Month 2024–the theme is African Americans in the arts. 
FEBRUARY 8, 2024

punching the air by ibi zaboi + yusef salaam

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Young artist and poet Amal Shahid is accused of a crime he didn’t commit and found guilty, he finds himself in prison using his art to tell his truth.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, as well as in ebook and audio.

This book of the week feature is curated and written by 2024 CSW Library Ambassador Andon Van Colen '25
FEBRUARY 2, 2024

WOLFSONG by T.J. KLUNE

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

This book follows Oxnard Matheson as he grows up next to the Bennetts, a family of werewolves. Over a number of years, and through one murder, Ox and Joe Bennett grow closer and heal together.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection.

January 25, 2024

family style by thieN pham

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Told through the lens of meaningful food and meals, this graphic memoir chronicles the author's [life], beginning with his childhood immigration to America, where food takes on new meaning as he and his family search for belonging, for happiness and for the American dream.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection and on ebook.

January 18, 2024

blood snow by dg okpik

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

dg okpik’s second collection of poems, Blood Snow, tells a continuum story of a homeland under erasure, in an ethos of erosion, in a multitude of encroaching methane, ice floe, and rising temperatures. Here, in a true Inupiaq voice, okpik’s relationship to language is an access point for understanding larger kinships between animals, peoples, traditions, histories, ancestries, and identities. 

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection.

This book of the week feature is curated and written by 2024 CSW Library Ambassador Bella Camargo '25
January 10, 2024

The art thief by michael finkel

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

The true story of art thief Stéphane Breitwiser and his girlfriend, and how they managed to seize over 200 works of art--estimated to be worth $2 billion total. In an unusual twist, Breitwieser never stole for money; instead he set up secret rooms where he could display the works of art where he could admire them. His talent in thievery caused him to develop a lack of regard for consequences and risks, and ignored his loved ones' pleas for him to end his time as a thief. 

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection.

December 20, 2023

THIS WINTER: A HEART STOPPER NOVELLA BY ALICE OSEMAN

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Tori Spring and her brother, Charlie, face some difficulties during the holiday season.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, as well as an ebook and audio.

December 14, 2023

HOW TO EXCAVATE A HEART BY JAKE MAIA ARLOW

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Snowy weather and fish fossils help bring together two Jewish college freshmen spending winter break in Washington, D.C.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, as well as an ebook and audio.

December 8, 2023

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis baldree

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned. Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk--so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it. What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do? Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection.

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, observed annually in November.
November 30, 2023

REZ BALL by BYRON GRAVES

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

These days, Tre Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school team--even though he can't help but be constantly gut-punched with memories of his big brother, Jaxon, who died in an accident. When Jaxon's former teammates on the varsity team offer to take Tre under their wing, he sees this as his shot to represent his Ojibwe rez all the way to their first state championship. 

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, as well as on ebook and audio.

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, observed annually in November.
November 16, 2023

BAD CREE: ÂCIMOWIN by JESSICA JOHNS

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

A young Cree woman is tormented by vivid dreams from before her sister's untimely death and wakes up with a severed crow's head in her hands before returning to her rural hometown in Alberta seeking answers.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection.

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, observed annually in November.
November 9, 2023

WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED by ANGELINE BOULLEY

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

With the rising number of missing Indigenous women, her family's involvement in a murder investigation, and grave robbers profiting off her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry takes matters into her own hands to solve the mystery and reclaim her people's inheritance.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, and in ebook and audio.

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, observed annually in November.
November 2, 2023

MAN MADE MONSTERS by ANDREA L. ROGERS

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Haunting illustrations are woven throughout these horror stories that follow one extended Cherokee family across the centuries and well into the future as they encounter predators of all kinds in each time period.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, and in ebook and audio.

October 26, 2023

i FEED HER TO THE BEAST by JAMISON SHEA

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an axe to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a Black girl can take center stage. To level the playing field, Laure ventures deep into the depths of the Catacombs and strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, and in ebook and audio.

October 19, 2023

MASTERS OF DEATH by OLIVIE BLAKE

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Viola Marek is a struggling real estate agent, and a vampire. But her biggest problem currently is that the house she needs to sell is haunted. The ghost haunting the mansion has been murdered, and until he can solve the mystery of how he died, he refuses to move on. 

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection.

This book is in celebration of Latinx Heritage Month 2023, celebrated annually September 15 - October 15.

October 12, 2023

BLACKWATER by JEANNETTE ARROYO

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Riverdale meets Stranger Things in this debut queer YA graphic novel, developed from a hit webcomic. Set in the haunted town of Blackwater, Maine, two boys fall for each other as they dig for clues to a paranormal mystery.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, and on ebook.

This book is in celebration of Latinx Heritage Month 2023, celebrated annually September 15 - October 15.

October 4, 2023

THE WITCH OWL PARLIAMENT by DAVID BOWLES

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Resurrected by her brother using a forbidden combination of alchemy and engineering, apprentice curandera Cristina vows to protect the Republic of Santander against the lechuzas terrorizing immigrants and plaguing the country. A brilliant steampunk reimagining of Frankenstein set in colonial Mexico.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, and on ebook.

This book is in celebration of Latinx Heritage Month 2023, celebrated annually September 15 - October 15.

September 28, 2023

lucha of the night forest by tehlor kay mejia

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

One girl caught between the freedom she always wanted and a sister she can't bear to leave behind. Under the cover of the Night Forest, will Lucha be able to step into her own power...or will she be consumed by it? This gorgeous and fast-paced fantasy novel is brimming with adventure, peril, romance, and family bonds--and asks what it means for a teen girl to become fully herself.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, and on ebook and audio.

This book is in celebration of Latinx Heritage Month 2023, celebrated annually September 15 - October 15.

September 21, 2023

BINDLE PUNK BRUJA by DESiDERIA MESA

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Hiding her supernatural and Latina identity in pursuit of owning an illegal jazz club, Rose negotiates with dangerous criminals as she climbs up Kansas City's bootlegging ladder, but when she finds herself surrounded by greed and bigotry, she must use her earth magic to save her friends and family.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection.

This book is in celebration of Latinx Heritage Month 2023, celebrated annually September 15 - October 15.

September 14, 2023

the wicked bargain by gabe cole novoa

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Sixteen-year-old Mar, a transmasculine Latinx pirate hiding magical abilities, must learn to use their magic to save their papá and newfound pirate family from losing their souls to El Diablo.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, as well as available in ebook and audio.

September 7, 2023

only this beautiful moment by abdi nazemian

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this sweeping intergenerational story, examining queer identity at the end of different decades, follows three boys in the same Iranian family as they each gain a new understanding of their history, culture--and themselves.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, as well as available in ebook and audio.

August 31, 2023

ENTER THE BODY by JOY McCULLOUGH

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

In the room beneath a stage’s trapdoor, Shakespeare’s dead teenage girls compare their experiences and retell the stories of their lives, their loves, and their fates in their own words. Bestselling author Joy McCullough offers a brilliant testament to how young women can support each other and reclaim their stories in the aftermath of trauma.

GOOD TO KNOW

WHERE TO CHECK IT OUT

This book is available to check out from our physical collection, as well as available in ebook and audio.