The top forthcoming books in Canadian libraries

October 2025 Adult List

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  1. The Black Wolf
    by Louise Penny Canada
    Minotaur Books
    Oct 28, 2025
    FICTION/Mystery & Detective/Traditional
    Hardback

    Description

    The 20th mystery in the #1 New York Times-bestselling Armand Gamache series.

    Somewhere out there, in the darkness, a black wolf is feeding.

    Several weeks ago, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his team uncovered and stopped a domestic terrorist attack in Montréal, arresting the person behind it. A man they called the Black Wolf.

    But their relief is short-lived. In a sickening turn of events, Gamache has realized that plot, as horrific as it was, was just the beginning. Perhaps even a deliberate misdirection. One he fell into. Something deeper and darker, more damaging, is planned. Did he in fact arrest the Black Wolf, or are they still out there? Armand is appalled to think his mistake has allowed their conspiracy to grow, to gather supporters. To spread lies, manufacture enemies, and feed hatred and division.

    Still recovering from wounds received in stopping the first attack, Armand is confined to the village of Three Pines, leading a covert investigation from there. He must be careful not to let the Black Wolf know he has recognized his mistake. In a quiet church basement, he and his senior agents Beauvoir and Lacoste, pore over what little evidence they have. Two notebooks. A few mysterious numbers on a tattered map of Québec. And a phrase repeated by the person they had called the Grey Wolf. A warning…

    In a dry and parched land where there is no water.

    Gamache and his small team of supporters realize that for the Black Wolf to have gotten this far, they must have powerful allies, in law enforcement, in industry, in organized crime, in the halls of government.

    From the apparent peace of his little village, Gamache finds himself playing a lethal game of cat and mouse with an invisible foe who is gathering forces and preparing to strike.

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  2. The Widow
    by John Grisham
    Doubleday
    Oct 21, 2025
    FICTION/Thrillers/Suspense
    Hardback

    Description

    #1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham is the acclaimed master of the legal thriller. Now, he’s back with his first-ever whodunit, even more suspenseful than his courtroom dramas, as a small-time lawyer accused of murder races to find the real killer to clear his name.

    “A classic, compulsive, taut and thrilling novel from one of the great storytellers of our time. The Widow is John Grisham at his irresistible, unforgettable best.”—Chris Whitaker, author of All the Colors of the Dark


    Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, making just enough to pay his bills while his marriage slowly falls apart. Then into his office walks Eleanor Barnett, an elderly widow in need of a new will. Apparently, her husband left her a small fortune, and no one knows about it.

    Once he hooks the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But soon her story begins to crack. When she is hospitalized after a car accident, Simon realizes that nothing is as it seems, and he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn’t commit: murder.

    Simon knows he’s innocent. But he also knows the circumstantial evidence is against him, and he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. To save himself, he must find the real killer….
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  3. Gone Before Goodbye
    by Harlan Coben
    Grand Central Publishing
    Oct 14, 2025
    FICTION/Thrillers/Medical
    Hardback

    Description

    An unforgettable suspense novel that combines the storytelling talents of Academy Award-winning actor Reese Witherspoon and internationally bestselling author Harlan Coben. Gone Before Goodbye is the story of a woman trapped in a deadly conspiracy—where uncovering the truth could cost her everything.

    Maggie McCabe is teetering on the brink. A highly skilled and renowned Army combat surgeon, she has always lived life at the edge, where she could make the most impact. And it was all going to plan ... until it wasn’t.

    Upside down after a devastating series of tragedies leads to her medical license being revoked, Maggie has lost her purpose, but not her nerve or her passion. At her lowest point, she is thrown a lifeline by a former colleague, an elite plastic surgeon whose anonymous clientele demand the best care money can buy, as well as absolute discretion.

    Halfway across the globe, sequestered in the lap of luxury and cutting-edge technology, one of the world’s most mysterious men requires unconventional medical assistance. Desperate, and one of the few surgeons in the world skilled enough to take this job, Maggie enters his realm of unspeakable opulence and fulfills her end of the agreement. But when the patient suddenly disappears while still under her care, Maggie must become a fugitive herself—or she will be the next one who is ... Gone Before Goodbye
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  4. The Proving Ground
    by Michael Connelly
    Little, Brown and Company
    Oct 21, 2025
    FICTION/Thrillers/Crime
    Hardback

    Description

    From #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly, the Lincoln Lawyer is back with a case against an AI company whose product may have been responsible for the murder of a young girl.

    Following his “resurrection walk” and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty.

    Representing the victim’s family, Mickey’s case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails. Along the way he joins up with a journalist named Jack McEvoy, who wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. But Mickey puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case. McEvoy’s digging ultimate delivers the key witness, a whistleblower who has been too afraid to speak up. The case is fraught with danger because billions are at stake.

    It is said that machines became smarter than humans on the day in 1997 that IBM’s Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparov with a gambit called “the knight’s sacrifice.” Haller will take a similar gambit in court to defeat the mega forces of the AI industry lined up against him and his clients.
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  5. The Intruder
    by Freida McFadden
    Poisoned Pen Press
    Oct 07, 2025
    FICTION/Thrillers/Psychological
    Hardback

    Description

    "A dark and stormy night. An isolated cabin in the woods. A runaway child with a mysterious past...Thriller fans, buckle up!" — Jason Rekulak, New York Times bestselling author of The Last One at the Wedding

    There's someone at your front door – should you let them in? Find out in a riveting new thriller from global sensation and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid, Freida McFadden!

    Who knows what the storm will blow in…

    Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window.

    She's young. She's alone. And she's covered in blood.

    The girl won't explain where she came from, or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse.

    The girl has a dark secret. One she'll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.

    In this taut, deadly tale of survival and desperation, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden explores how far one girl will go to save herself.

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  6. Twice
    by Mitch Albom
    Harper
    Oct 07, 2025
    Hardback

    Description

    A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

    What if you got to do everything in your life —twice? The heart of Mitch Albom’s newest novel is a stunning love story that dares to explore how our unchecked desires might mean losing what we’ve had all along.

    When he is eight years old, Alfie Logan discovers the magical ability to get a second chance at everything. He can undo any moment and live it again. The one catch: he must accept the consequences of his second try—for better or worse.

    He grows up correcting his mistakes and saving himself from adolescent embarrassments. He even takes foolishly dangerous risks, just to see what it’s like to come close to death, before tapping back to safety.

    Eventually, Alfie turns his gift to his love life, studying his crushes and going back to make himself more appealing. In time, he falls deeply in love with Gianna, the woman he believes is the one. He seems to find contentment.

    But as the years pass, Alfie’s eye begins to wander. Which is when he learns a lone caveat to his power: once he undoes a love, that person can never fall in love with him again. Knowing if he gives into to temptation, he will risk losing what he has with Gianna, Alfie makes a choice that changes his life forever.

    The book begins many years later, after an ailing Alfie is arrested for allegedly cheating and winning millions at a casino roulette wheel. As a curious detective interrogates him, he slowly uncovers Alfie’s incredible story, and its most unlikely conclusion.

    In Twice, America’s favorite storyteller, Mitch Albom, is at the top of his powers. A love story that is enchanting, probing, and clairvoyant in matters of the heart, Twice will make you think, weep, and overflow with love from beginning to end.

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  7. Remain
    by Nicholas Sparks
    Doubleday Canada
    Oct 14, 2025
    FICTION/Romance/Paranormal/General
    Hardback

    Description

    A haunting love story from the minds of two brilliant storytellers: the bestselling author of The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks, and the blockbuster filmmaker of The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan.

    When New York architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home, he is hoping to make a fresh start. Recently discharged from an upscale psychiatric facility where he was treated for acute depression, Tate is still wrestling with the pain of losing his beloved sister. Sylvia’s deathbed revelation—that she can see spirits who are still tethered to the living world, a gift that runs in their family—sits uneasily with Tate, who struggles to believe in more than what reason can explain. But when he takes up residence at a historic former bed-and-breakfast on the Cape, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Wren who will challenge every assumption he has about his logical and controlled world.

    Tate and Wren forge an immediate connection, one that neither has ever experienced before. But Tate gradually discovers that below the idyllic surface of Wren’s small-town life, hatred, jealousy, and greed are festering, threatening their fragile relationship just as it begins to blossom. Tate realizes that in order to free Wren from an increasingly desperate fate, he will need to unearth the truth about her past before time runs out . . . a quest that will make him doubt whether we can ever believe the stories we tell about ourselves, and the laws that govern our existence. Love—while transformative—can sometimes be frightening.

    A story about the power of transcendent emotion, Remain asks us all: Can love set us free not only from our greatest sorrows, but even from the boundaries of life and death?
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  8. Final Orbit
    by Chris Hadfield Canada
    Random House Canada
    Oct 07, 2025
    FICTION/Action & Adventure
    Hardback

    Description

    From the #1 bestselling author and astronaut Chris Hadfield, an edge-of-your-seat thriller set about China's secret role in the 1970s Space Race between the US and the USSR.

    Houston, 1975. A new Apollo mission launches into orbit, on course to dock with a Russian Soyuz craft: three NASA astronauts and three cosmonauts, joining to celebrate a new dawn of Soviet-American cooperation. But as NASA Flight Controller Kaz Zemeckis listens in from Earth, a deadly accident changes everything.

    Meanwhile, from a remote location in East Asia, the first Chinese spacecraft secretly launches. On board is China’s first astronaut, Fang Guojun, whose mission puts him on a collision course with the Apollo crew. As Kaz races against an enemy on the ground and for answers beyond the sky, the safety of the remaining crew hangs in the balance…

    Full of intrigue and real history—including the fascinating story of Professor Tsien Hsue-shen, the “Father of Chinese Rocketry” and founder of China’s space program—Final Orbit accelerates to a thrilling conclusion that captures the beauty and terror of survival 270 miles above Earth, as could only be written by one of the most experienced astronauts alive.
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  9. Mate
    by Ali Hazelwood
    Berkley
    Oct 07, 2025
    FICTION/Romance/Paranormal/Shifters
    Hardback

    Description

    A Human hybrid and an Alpha Were claw against the bonds of fate in the highly anticipated companion novel to the New York Times bestselling Bride.

    Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left—if he’ll have her.

    As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn’t matter if Serena doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe.

    But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her—and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation…
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  10. Sharp Force
    by Patricia Cornwell
    Grand Central Publishing
    Oct 07, 2025
    FICTION/Thrillers/Suspense
    Hardback

    Description

    From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell “at the very top of her game,” a serial killer wreaks havoc on Northern Virginia, appearing as a ghostly apparition before striking—and Scarpetta must avoid becoming their next victim, with SCARPETTA soon to be a streaming series starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis. (David Baldacci)

    NO ONE IS SAFE FROM THE SERIAL KILLER

    NOT EVEN SCARPETTA…

    During the early hours of Christmas morning, chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta receives a chilling call. The Phantom Slasher has struck again.

    The serial killer has terrorized Northern Virginia for months. His pattern is to stalk with a sophisticated technology that enables him to invade his victims' homes and watch their every move. They wake up to a ghost-like hologram before being murdered in their beds.

    Scarpetta is summoned to Mercy Island, the site of a notorious psychiatric hospital where two people have been brutalized, one of them from Scarpetta’s past. It soon becomes apparent that she could be next…
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September & October 2025 Juvenile and Young Adult List

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  1. Jessi Ramsey, Pet-sitter: A Graphic Novel (The Baby-sitters Club #18)
    by Ellen T. Crenshaw
    Graphix
    Oct 07, 2025
    JUVENILE FICTION/Comics & Graphic Novels/General
    Hardback

    Description

    A Baby-sitters Club graphic novel adapted by National Book Award longlister and Eisner-nominated cartoonist Ellen T. Crenshaw!

    The Mancusis don't have any kids... but they sure do have a lot of pets! So when they're desperate for a sitter, who do they call? The Baby-sitters Club! Kristy feels pretty sure that the BSC does not pet-sit. But Jessi has always liked animals, and she talks Kristy into being okay with her taking the job.

    With snakes on the loose and sick hamsters, Jessi's got plenty of pet-sitting troubles, and things don't get any easier when she and her friends get into a big fight. Will Jessi be able to handle her pet-sitting job when things are going wrong with the baby-sitters, too?

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  2. Warriors Graphic Novel: The Prophecies Begin #3
    by Erin Hunter
    HarperAlley
    Sep 30, 2025
    Paperback / softback

    Description

    The third full-color graphic novel adaptation of the blockbuster Warriors series covers the fifth and sixth novels of The Prophecies Begin (A Dangerous Path and The Darkest Hour).

    In the heart of the forest, the uneasy harmony between the four warrior cat Clans is in graver peril than ever before. ShadowClan has chosen Tigerclaw—now Tigerstar—as their new leader, and Fireheart fears that he still harbors dark plans for vengeance on his old clan.

    With the forest on the brink of battle, in which all the warriors must fight for their home and clan, the time has come for Fireheart to face his destiny.

    Ever since the first Warriors book hit shelves, readers have devoured these epic adventures. These stunning new adaptations retell the original Warriors story arc as full-color graphic novels.

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  3. The Perfect Paper Airplane
    by Robert Munsch Canada
    North Winds Press
    Oct 21, 2025
    JUVENILE FICTION/Humorous Stories
    Hardback

    Description

    Kevin tries his best to make a paper airplane that will zoom really far, like his dad’s. But all his attempts go SPLORT! Finally he succeeds in making the perfect paper airplane — will it ever come down?
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  4. Spy School Blackout
    by Stuart Gibbs
    Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
    Oct 07, 2025
    JUVENILE FICTION/Action & Adventure/General
    Hardback

    Description

    In the thirteenth book in Stuart Gibbs’s New York Times bestselling Spy School series, superspy middle schooler Ben Ripley goes off the grid to eliminate a cybersecurity threat.

    After a devious computer hacker pulls off the CIA’s worst-case scenario, shutting down power networks all over the world, Ben and his fellow spies-in-training are forced to make a harrowing emergency landing of their plane in Indonesia. While chaos begins to erupt around the planet, Ben deduces that his team is closer to the mysterious hacker’s base than anyone else. But with all computers and phones down, there’s no way to communicate with anyone at the CIA. On their latest mission to save the world, Ben and his friends face a conniving villain, assassins, pirates, sharks, and very big lizards in the most remote—and deadly—location of any spy school yet!
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  5. A Dance with Santa Claus
    by Sandra Boynton
    Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
    Oct 14, 2025
    JUVENILE FICTION/Holidays & Celebrations/Christmas & Advent
    Hardback

    Description

    Celebrate Christmas with one magical dance with Santa in this adorable picture book from a New York Times bestselling author, the inimitable Sandra Boynton.

    "Now everybody’s rushing toward Christmas Eve, but I’m quietly waiting. I’ve got to believe.
    It’s not about presents. No, here’s the cause: I just want to dance with SANTA CLAUS!"


    The only thing this sweet bunny child wants for Christmas is to dance the Rock-and-Roll Swing with Santa on Christmas Eve. Will it happen? (Spoiler: Of course!) Sandra Boynton’s jaunty lyrics and captivating, expressive illustrations come together in this cozy gift book for the festive season. Based on the magical song (gloriously sung by Zooey Deschanel) on Boynton’s Christmas album, Cows and Holly, this lovely picture book is the perfect read-aloud to celebrate Christmas with any little bunny in your life, year after year.
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  6. Steam Train, Dream Train: Next Stop, Christmas!
    by Sherri Duskey Rinker
    Chronicle Books
    Oct 07, 2025
    JUVENILE FICTION/Transportation/Railroads & Trains
    Hardback

    Description

    All aboard the dream train as the crew prepares for its next stop—Christmas! From the author of the Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site series, the long-awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller Steam Train, Dream Train is here at last.

    ’Tis the season for sharing delicious treats, singing Christmas carols, dazzling the world with sparkly decorations, wrapping gifts, delivering packages, and so much more. On the dream train, the workers know their tasks by heart, for when each new December starts, the Christmas Train takes to the air, transporting magic everywhere.

    Setting off on an epic journey of holiday cheer, the crew goes full steam ahead celebrating Christmas, inviting little readers to say goodnight to their favorite animals before tucking in for sweet holiday dreams. Sherri Duskey Rinker and AG Ford—the author-illustrator team behind many of the bestsellers in the Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site series—bring their playful rhyming text and vibrant illustrations to a merry bedtime book sure to become a family favorite and a new holiday classic.

    CHRISTMAS BOOK FOR KIDS: Full of exciting animals and Christmas cheer, with the ever-present appeal of the iconic dream train, this bedtime book makes a great gift for train enthusiasts and young readers who love holiday stories.

    JUST RIGHT FOR READING ALOUD: Lyrical prose and evocative rhymes, paired with vibrant, dreamy artwork, make this bedtime story a tremendously satisfying read-aloud experience. It’s perfect for engaging little ones who love trains and animals before lulling them to sleep at the end of a charming holiday adventure.

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING CREATORS: Sherri Duskey Rinker is the author of numerous #1 New York Times bestsellers, including Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site and Steam Train, Dream Train. AG Ford has illustrated many award-winning and bestselling books for children, including Construction Site on Christmas Night, Three Cheers for Kid McGear!, and Construction Site: Taking Flight!

    Perfect for:
    • Kids who love trains
    • Fans of holiday classics like The Polar Express
    • Anyone who loves animals and animal picture books
    • Parents, grandparents, teachers, and librarians looking for engaging bedtime books
    • Gift-givers looking for beautiful Christmas books
    • Fans of Steam Train, Dream Train and other Sherri Duskey Rinker books
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  7. War Games
    by Alan Gratz
    Scholastic Press
    Oct 07, 2025
    JUVENILE FICTION/Historical/Europe
    Hardback

    Description

    From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Refugee and Heroes comes this heart-pounding, high-stakes take on the 1936 Berlin Olympics, also known as the "Nazi Olympics."

    In 1936 Berlin, nothing is what it seems...

    Evie Harris can't believe her luck: She's competing in the Olympics, along with fellow American athletes like Jesse Owens. True, there's something creepy about Germany's leader, Adolf Hitler, who watches over the games with his Nazi henchmen. But Evie's just here to win a gold medal in gymnastics.

    Until she discovers a horrible secret.

    Behind all the Olympic fanfare, the Nazis have Berlin in an iron grip of terror and violence--and war is brewing. When Evie becomes embroiled in a mysterious plot to help steal Nazi gold, she must navigate the city's darkest corners and hidden passageways, never knowing who she can trust.

    With lives on the line and her family's future at stake, Evie has to choose between following her Olympic dreams and standing up to evil... before it's too late.

    #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz is back and better than ever with this heart-racing, plot-twisting story about the roots of World War II and the sacrifices we make for what matters most.

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  8. The Sneakiest in the World!
    by Ben Clanton
    Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
    Oct 28, 2025
    JUVENILE FICTION/Comics & Graphic Novels/Humorous
    Hardback

    Description

    Mutant potato Rot and his friends team up for a super-sneaky mission in this third installment of the hilariously silly graphic chapter book series from the bestselling creator of the Narwhal and Jelly books.

    Rot’s older brother Snot is always sneaking up and scaring him, and Rot has had enough. He’s determined to scare the snot out of Snot for once! And that means Rot is going to have to learn to be sneaky, maybe even…the sneakiest in the world!

    But when being the sneakiest spud proves a lot harder than Rot thought, he realizes this is a mission he can’t do alone. Can Rot and his Not-So-Sneaky Super Secret Spy Squad find a way to use their uniquely unsneaky skills to pull off a spud-tacular scare?
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  9. Mirror Mirror (Whatever After #17)
    by Sarah Mlynowski Canada
    Scholastic Press
    Oct 07, 2025
    JUVENILE FICTION/Fairy Tales & Folklore/Adaptations
    Hardback

    Description

    In this thrilling conclusion to the bestselling, beloved Whatever After series, Abby and Jonah return to where it all began--the story of Snow White--and also wind up reuniting with ALL of their favorite fairy tale characters...

    Abby and Jonah might be moving away, which means it's time for one last mission through the magic mirror in their basement!

    And where does the mirror send them? Back into the story of Snow White, where their adventures all began. Snow White is happily ruling the kingdom, hanging out with the seven dwarfs, and getting ready for her big royal wedding to Prince Trevor (while the evil queen is safely locked away.) Abby's mission is clear: free Gabrielle, the fairy trapped in Snow White's mirror. But a few wicked fairies are up to their old tricks, doing all they can to stop Abby from succeeding...

    When Abby herself gets trapped, she must turn to old friends--like Cinderella, Rapunzel, the Snow Queen, Aladdin, and many more--for help, which leads to an epic fairy-tale showdown between good and evil. With a magical mix of courage, quick thinking, and fairy power, will Abby, Jonah, and all their friends be able to save the day?

    The Whatever After series lives on with graphic novels! Look for If the Shoe Fits: The Graphic Novel in September 2025.

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  10. Welcome Aboard! (Pokémon: Scholastic Reader, Level 2)
    by Christy Webster
    Scholastic Inc.
    Oct 21, 2025
    JUVENILE FICTION/Readers/Beginner
    Paperback / softback

    Description

    Kids can practice their reading skills with Pokémon in this fun Level 2 Reader. It's designed just for kids mastering their phonics and reading comprehension skills!

    There’s a new Pokémon aboard the airship: Terapagos! It’s very curious. Liko keeps losing track of it as it explores! When the little Pokémon accidentally ends up in a dangerous spot, can Liko rescue it in time?

    This easy-to-read book features an exciting but simple story based on an episode from the hit Pokémon animated TV series. Full-color illustrations on every page of this Level 2 Reader!

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