 If you're looking for some beautifully written fantasy/worldbuilding with a dash of real world, look no further than Dreamslinger! I loved the descriptions, and the magic system was so well-incorporated into a "real-life" scenario! The added themes are exceedingly relevant today, as well as poignant for the age group. If you like Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle, and enjoy the fights and foibles of Pokemon, then this is the book for you!
Not to mention: there are dragons. Lots and lots of dragons. Mariah Wills, Library Clerk Get Dreamslinger at the library.
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 If you’re looking for a horror novel that genuinely gets under your skin and stays there, This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno might just be the book to ruin your week in the best way possible.
The story follows Thiago, a guy reeling after the sudden death of his wife, Vera. He starts talking to her in the second person, so the whole book feels like a letter to someone who’s gone. And it’s not just sad (though it’s definitely sad). It’s weird, and unsettling, and at times downright terrifying. At first, the horror starts small. Strange noises, lights flickering, their smart speaker (Itza) acting possessed. You think, "Okay, haunted Alexa, that’s fun." But then it keeps escalating, and it becomes clear this isn’t just a haunted house or glitchy tech. There’s something bigger and stranger going on. Something that doesn't care about logic or closure. It’s like the horror version of grief itself. What really stuck with me, though, is how much heart is in this book. Thiago’s grief feels so real and so unfiltered. It’s messy. He’s angry, scared, numb, all of it at once. Moreno also weaves in subtle commentary on immigration, identity, and the alienation that comes with being a person of color in a country that treats you like an outsider even when you’re mourning. I will say, the book shifts gears pretty hard about two-thirds in. We move from haunted apartment to isolated cabin, and from domestic terror into full cosmic horror. Some people might find that jarring. I didn’t mind it. It felt like falling into the abyss alongside Thiago, but if you're someone who likes a neat resolution or grounded plot, the ending might leave you scratching your head. Still, for me, this book worked. It’s creepy. It’s sad. It’s strange in the best way. And it made me feel something deep in my gut. If you liked The Only Good Indians, or you want a horror novel that actually says something about what it means to lose someone, and to lose yourself in the process, pick this one up. Just… maybe don’t read it alone at night with a smart speaker nearby. Download the eBook with your SPL card. Aimee Clark, IT Librarian  The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is less a novel than it is a slow-burning revenge opera stitched together with melodrama, betrayal, and deliciously petty vengeance.
We start with Edmond Dantes, a painfully earnest young man who makes the fatal mistake of trusting people. He's falsely imprisoned, and while rotting away in a dungeon for over a decade, he transforms from wide-eyed sailor to cold-blooded mastermind with unlimited funds and a penchant for disguises. It’s part prison escape story, part philosophical meditation, part soap opera with wigs and duels, and all of it works. Somehow. And it's really good. The plot is sprawling, with enough twists to make a telenovela blush. Dumas doesn’t write characters so much as he unleashes them. Everyone is dramatically flawed or flamboyantly wicked, and nobody ever just talks when they can monologue. It’s long. It’s extra. It’s deeply satisfying. If you’ve ever fantasized about enacting slow, poetic justice on your enemies while dressed like a mysterious aristocrat, this is your book. If not, read it anyway. You might discover you’ve had a Count of Monte Cristo buried inside you all along. Check out the book at the library, or download the eBook or audiobook with your SPL card. Aimee Clark, IT Librarian  Sadie by Courtney Summers is one of those rare books where the format is just as powerful as the story itself. I tend to bounce between print and audio depending on what I’m doing, but for this one, the audiobook is absolutely the way to go. It uses a full cast and leans hard into the true crime podcast structure, which makes it feel chillingly real.
The novel alternates points of view between Sadie, a girl on a desperate, rage-fueled journey to track down her sister’s killer, and West McCray, a podcast host trying to piece together what happened after Sadie disappears. This shift between her raw, vulnerable narration and his more removed, investigative voice builds a slow-burn tension that’s impossible to shake. It’s like living inside two timelines at once—one spiraling forward with Sadie’s determination, and the other chasing her ghost. Both formats—print and audio—are strong, but the audiobook takes it to another level. It’s immersive, unsettling, and emotionally devastating in the best way. If you’re looking for something gripping and unforgettable, Sadie delivers. The library has the book in print, but I really recommend the audiobook, which you can download with your SPL card. Aimee Clark, IT Librarian  The September House by Carissa Orlando is a haunting in every sense of the word. Margaret buys a beautiful old home with her husband, only to discover it’s filled with screaming ghosts, blood that seeps from the walls each September, and something terrifying in the basement. But instead of running, she stays. She cleans up the blood. She pretends nothing is wrong. When her daughter comes back into the picture, the cracks in Margaret’s carefully managed world start to widen, and the story spirals into something both emotionally raw and deeply unsettling.
Orlando blends supernatural horror with real-world trauma, using ghosts as a metaphor for the things we live with, bury, and pretend not to see. It’s dark, eerie, sometimes funny, and emotionally sharp. If you like horror that lingers and means something, this one’s for you. Get the book at the library or download the eBook or audiobook with your SPL card. Aimee Clark, IT Librarian  Stephen King’s Never Flinch is like catching up with an old friend who’s tougher now, wearier, but still unmistakably herself. Holly Gibney is back, sharper and more grounded than ever, and the story wastes no time throwing her into the fire.
Detective Izzy Jaynes is chasing a chilling letter promising the deaths of “thirteen innocents and one guilty,” and she brings in Holly to help. At the same time, Holly’s guarding a feminist activist being stalked by a radicalized creep. It starts as two stories, but in true King fashion, the threads tighten into one deadly knot. Holly shines here, not just as an investigator, but as a person coming fully into her own. She’s still awkward and kind, but there’s more steel in her now, more control. The pacing is sharp, the tension constant, and while some dialogue stumbles (yes, she still says “poopy”), the emotional beats land hard. She's by far my favorite character that Stephen King has dreamed up. You could read this as a standalone, but it hits deeper if you’ve walked the whole path with Holly. Never Flinch doesn’t reinvent the genre, it just shows how far a character can go when the writing never lets her flinch. Check out the book at the library, or download the eBook or audiobook with your SPL card. Aimee Clark, IT Librarian  El Nino by Pam Munoz Ryan Illustrated by Joe Cepeda
Scholastic Press, released May 6, 2025 By Robin Munson El Nino is a Junior Fiction Fantasy book for ages 8-13. This is a story where reality and myth collide. Where one minute you are an elite swim team is training in the Ocean with your elite swim team off California and the next you, they stumble upon an underwater world with queens, mermalians, and cities of gold. Kai Sosa is grieving the disappearance of his sister, Cali. Although an elite swimmer, Cali is presumed dead after disappearing in the dense fog while swimming in the ocean leaving behind her family. Kai also ’s excitement of making the elite swim team swim team, but is overshadowed by his sadness and loss. He struggles with his swim times as he tries to work through his sadness and loss. Kai discovers Cali’s overdue library book, The Elusive Island of California, and reads it to get closer to his sister book about the myth of a sunken and mysterious underwater island. He decides to read the book in hopes to get closer to Cali and maybe figure out what happened to her. This is where reality and myth collide Throughout the book were the beautiful illustrations of Joe Cepeda’s artwork come alive. I appreciate the monochromatic blues of the art - how it is soothing even though the story of Kai’s grief is a heavy topic. This story was a fast read (only around 250 pages) and I found myself needing more. Kai sort of enters the world within the myth although I found this part of the book rushed. I felt the entry into the underwater world was abrupt and brief and it would have been nice for Kai to linger and show us more. That being said, I do understand that this was Kai’s grieving process and he seemed to need that last nudge to leave his sadness behind. The book is well written and worth the read. I recommend this book to any child interested in swimming, the ocean, or who have experienced a loss in their life. I give it three out of five stars. Thank you Scholastic Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Download the audiobook with your SPL card.  Internment by Samira Ahmed is one of those books that grabs you by the shirt and demands your attention like a warning siren you’d be a fool to ignore. It’s set in a disturbingly plausible near-future America where Muslim citizens are forced into internment camps by a xenophobic government emboldened by fear and nationalism. And yes, it’s fiction, but the kind that makes your stomach drop because you know it’s built on the bones of history and world events.
The story follows Layla Amin, a seventeen-year-old girl who refuses to accept the new regime’s cruelty. She and her family are sent to one of these camps, but Layla isn't going to be kept down. What unfolds is part dystopian rebellion, part raw teenage coming-of-age, and part love letter to resistance itself. Layla is fiery, flawed, and deeply human, and her voice is the driving force of the novel that feels both personal and revolutionary. Ahmed doesn’t pull punches. The prose is sharp and emotionally charged, and she forces the reader to confront how easily democracies can tip into tyranny when fear is weaponized. The villains in this book aren’t cartoonish, they're blandly bureaucratic, smiling fascists in polos and slacks. If you're a fan of The Handmaid’s Tale, 1984, or They Called Us Enemy, this one belongs on your shelf. It’s not comfortable, but it’s necessary. And in a time when book bans and hate speech are on the rise, Internment dares to ask the question: what will you do when it's at your door? Will you know? Get the book at the library, or check out the eBook or audiobook. Aimee Clark, IT Librarian |
The SPL StaffWe work here at the library, and we’re into all kinds of books! How Do I Get These Books?See our Quickstart Guides page for information on how to use the online catalog and how to get eBooks and audiobooks for your specific device. You can also contact us there if you need more help!
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