The top forthcoming books in Canadian libraries

January 2025 Adult List

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  1. Onyx Storm (Standard Edition)
    by Rebecca Yarros
    Entangled: Red Tower Books
    Jan 21, 2025
    FICTION / Romance / Fantasy
    Hardback

    Description

    After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty.

    Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.

    Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

    Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.

    They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth.

    But a storm is coming...and not everyone can survive its wrath.

    The Empyrean series is best enjoyed in order.
    Reading Order:
    Book #1 Fourth Wing
    Book #2 Iron Flame
    Book #3 Onyx Storm

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  2. The Crash
    by Freida McFadden
    Poisoned Pen Press
    Jan 28, 2025
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback

    Description

    A brand new psychological thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden!

    The nightmare she's running from is nothing compared to where she's headed.

    Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn't realize she's heading straight into a blizzard.

    She never arrives at her destination.

    Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she's made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle occurs: she is rescued by a couple who offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears.

    But something isn't right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven isn't what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly mistake yet.

    And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself—and her unborn child.

    A gut-wrenching story of motherhood, survival, and twisted expectations, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers a snowbound thriller that will chill you to the bone.

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  3. Never Say Never
    by Danielle Steel
    Delacorte Press
    Jan 07, 2025
    FICTION / Women
    Hardback

    Description

    #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel’s deeply moving novel is the story of a woman who finds her life turned upside down while living temporarily in the French countryside.

    Oona Kelly Webster has much to be grateful for. A striking woman with red hair and green eyes, she has a loving family and a job she adores, editing a prestigious line of books. To celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, she and her husband, Charles, have planned a visit to France.

    But then Charles drops a bombshell. He has been living a lie—hiding an affair for a year—and he is leaving Oona for a younger male lover.

    Although devastated, Oona decides to travel to France without Charles. She arrives in a charming village an hour outside of Paris, and settles into the house she has rented, called La Belle Florence—named after the king’s mistress for whom it was built. But just as she’s catching her breath, she’s dealt another blow: Her company’s merger will eliminate her job.

    In the space of a few months, everything she nurtured for decades has slipped through her fingers. The only silver lining is that she can remain in France, where the simple life in beautiful surroundings slowly begins to heal her, as does the little white dog she rescues, and her friendly neighbor hailing from Trinidad, who delights her with his openness and warmth.

    Though she does not recognize him at first, she soon realizes her neighbor is a well-known actor. As their feelings for each other begin to deepen, Oona wrestles with the risks of opening her heart again—especially to a younger, very famous man.

    Never Say Never is an inspiring novel about a woman who finds a second chance at happiness and love, all because she understands the importance of being brave enough to stay open to change.
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  4. More or Less Maddy
    by Lisa Genova
    Simon & Schuster
    Jan 14, 2025
    FICTION / Women
    Paperback / softback

    Description

    The powerhouse New York Times bestselling author and Harvard-trained neuroscientist returns with a breathless, exhilarating, and heartbreaking novel about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the ripple effects her mental health has on her family and her pursuit of a career in stand-up comedy.

    Maddy Banks is just like any other stressed-out freshman at NYU. Between heaps of homework, finals, and navigating life in the city, it’s normal to be feeling the pressure. It doesn’t help that she’s always felt like the odd one out in her “perfect” Connecticut family: her blonde, toned, and tanned mother; her flawless, high-achieving, engaged sister, Emily; and her always popular, athletic, easygoing brother, Jack. Yet lately, Maddy’s highs seem dizzyingly high, and the lows seem terrifyingly low. Suddenly, the things that used to make her happy are becoming harder and harder to grasp.

    When a spontaneous visit to a comedy club opens her eyes to a new hobby just as her mental health begins to spiral and an incident at a family Thanksgiving dinner leads to a terrifying breaking point—and to a new diagnosis—Maddy’s life starts to look quite different. As she struggles to accept her bipolar disorder and attempts to navigate her burgeoning stand-up career, she’ll have to figure out how to manage being both too much and not enough.
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  5. Holmes Is Missing
    by James Patterson
    Little, Brown and Company
    Jan 06, 2025
    FICTION / Thrillers / Crime
    Hardback

    Description

    “Best-selling author James Patterson populates his murder-mystery novels with cold-blooded killers and smart detectives” (USA Today). In Holmes is Missing, PI Brendan Holmes has committed the perfect crime—he’s made himself disappear.

    Success has come quickly to Holmes, Marple & Poe Investigations. The New York City agency led by three detectives—Brendan Holmes, “the brain,” Margaret Marple, “the eyes,” and Auguste Poe, the “muscle”—with famous names and mysterious pasts is one major case away from cementing its professional reputation.

    But as a series of child abductions tests the PIs’ legendary skills, the cerebral Holmes’s absence leaves a gaping hole in the agency roster.

    Only by closing ranks and solving the mystery within can they recover all that’s been lost.

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  6. Beautiful Ugly
    by Alice Feeney
    Flatiron Books
    Jan 14, 2025
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Paperback / softback

    Description

    “Her best book yet.” Harlan Coben
    The million-copy bestselling Queen of Twists Alice Feeney returns with a gripping and deliciously dark thriller about marriage. . .
    . . . and revenge.

    Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

    Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared.

    A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible – a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

    Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
    Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.

    “Magnetic and jaw-dropping.” —Mary Kubica, bestselling author
    "Unforgettable." —Chris Whitaker, bestselling author

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  7. The Texas Murders
    by James Patterson
    Little, Brown and Company
    Jan 14, 2025
    FICTION / Thrillers / Crime
    Hardback

    Description

    In this thrilling novel from a #1 New York Times bestselling author, the great Texas Rangers go on a no-holds-barred pursuit of the most dangerous killer ever to terrorize Texas.

    Texas Ranger Rory Yates protects his home state wearing a five-pointed silver badge and carrying a Sig Sauer.

    When a native woman disappears on the summer solstice, clues point to a cold case.

    Yates, a quick-draw champion, partners with expert archer Ava Cruz of the Tigua Tribal police.

    The investigation leads to the edges of Texas’s most unforgiving landscape, where the officers take dead aim with every shot in their arsenals.

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  8. The Big Empty
    by Robert Crais
    G.P. Putnam's Sons
    Jan 14, 2025
    FICTION / Crime
    Hardback

    Description

    Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, race to find a terrifying, unidentified killer in this twisting, unpredictable thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais.

    Traci Beller was thirteen when her father disappeared in the sleepy town of Rancha, not far from Los Angeles. The evidence says Tommy Beller abandoned his family, but Traci never believed it. Now, ten years later, Traci is a high-profile influencer with millions of followers and the money to hire the best detective she can find: Elvis Cole.

    Elvis heads to Rancha where an ex-con named Sadie Givens and her daughter, Anya, might have a line on the missing man. But when Elvis finds himself shadowed by a gang of vicious criminals, the missing persons cold case becomes far more sinister.

    Elvis calls his ex-Marine friend, Joe Pike, for help, and they follow Tommy Beller's trail into the depths of a monstrous, hidden evil. The case flips on its head, victims become predators, predators become prey, and the question becomes: Can Elvis Cole save them all from this nightmare?
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  9. The Note
    by Alafair Burke
    Knopf
    Jan 07, 2025
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback

    Description

    A vacation in the Hamptons goes terribly wrong for three friends with a complicated history.

    “I absolutely loved The Note. Trust no one in this irresistible page-turner.” —Ashley Elston, #1 New York Times best-selling author of First Lie Wins


    It was meant to be a harmless prank.

    Growing up, May Hanover was a good girl, always. Well-behaved, top of her class, a compulsive rule-follower. Raised by a first-generation Chinese single mother with high expectations, May didn’t have room to slip up, let alone fail. Her friends didn’t call her the Little Sheriff for nothing.

    But even good girls have secrets. And regrets. When it comes to her friendship with Lauren and Kelsey, she's had her fair share of both. Their bond—forged when May was just twelve years old—has withstood a tragic accident, individual scandals, heartbreak and loss. Now the three friends have reunited for the first time in years for a few days of sun and fun in the Hamptons. But a chance encounter with a pair of strangers leads to a drunken prank that goes horribly awry.

    When she finds herself at the center of an urgent police investigation, May begins to wonder whether Lauren and Kelsey are keeping secrets from her, testing the limits of her loyalty to lifelong friends.

    What had they gone and done?

    The Note is a page-turner of the highest order from one of our greatest contemporary suspense writers.
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  10. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
    by Grady Hendrix
    Berkley
    Jan 14, 2025
    FICTION / Horror
    Hardback

    Description

    "Superb ... a perfect horror for our imperfect age.” – The New York Times

    There’s power in a book…


    They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, to give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

    Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

    Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid...and it’s usually paid in blood.

    In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group delivers another searing, completely original novel and further cements his status as a “horror master” (NPR).
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November & December 2024 Juvenile and Young Adult List

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  1. Dog Man: Big Jim Begins: A Graphic Novel (Dog Man #13): From the Creator of Captain Underpants
    by Dav Pilkey
    Graphix
    Dec 03, 2024
    JUVENILE FICTION / Comics & Graphic Novels / Humorous
    Lexile measure GN340L
    Hardback

    Description

    In DOG MAN: BIG JIM BEGINS, discover the origin of our beloved characters from the Dog Man series as they join forces to stop the Space Cuties from destroying the city. Will the past predict the future for Dog Man and his friends? Will goodness and bravery prevail? Can anything happen if you truly believe?

    Get ready for another unforgettable book in the #1 worldwide bestselling series from acclaimed graphic novelist and award-winning illustrator Dav Pilkey. AND coming soon, the Dog Man movie from DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures!

    For more heartfelt and humorous adventures, join Flippy and Li'l Petey in the Cat Kid Comic Club series. Have fun with creativity with the official coloring book, Dog Man with Love. And don't forget about the series that started it all: Captain Underpants!

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  2. Haunting of the Ghost Dragon: A Branches Book (Dragon Masters #27)
    by Tracey West
    Scholastic Inc.
    Dec 03, 2024
    JUVENILE FICTION / Readers / Chapter Books
    Hardback

    Description

    In the latest action-packed installment of this New York Times bestselling series, Drake and Worm encounter a mysterious Ghost Dragon!

    Pick a book. Grow a Reader!

    This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!

    Zoltan, an evil wizard, has stolen a Dream Orb! With the orb, Zoltan has access to the Dream World -- a place that is forbidden to all wizards. Drake and Bo travel to Zoltan's castle in Gothica to stop him. There, they meet Dragon Master Sandor and his Ghost Dragon Phantom. Is Phantom a ghost or a dragon? Can Drake and Bo find the orb and stop Zoltan before he opens the Dream Gate?

    With engaging black-and-white artwork on every page, kids won't be able to put down this page-turning adventure!

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  3. Unraveled Book 9.5
    by Shannon Messenger
    Aladdin
    Dec 03, 2024
    JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic
    Hardback

    Description

    The past and present unravel into staggering truths in this can’t-miss installment of the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Keeper of the Lost Cities series told entirely from Keefe’s point of view.

    Please be careful. Please be happy. And PLEASE forget all about me. It’ll be better for everyone that way.

    Those were the last words Keefe Sencen wrote to Sophie Foster before he ran away to the Forbidden Cities. He didn’t want to leave, but it was the only way to keep his friends safe while he figured out how to control his scary new powers and searched for answers about his past.

    What he found was so much more than adventures in Humanland.

    Where did he go? What did he do? And who did he meet while the rest of his friends worked to solve the mystery of Stellarlune? The answers go far beyond anything anyone could have ever imagined and give Keefe the power to change his destiny.
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  4. Heavenly Tyrant (Iron Widow, Book 2)
    by Xiran Jay Zhao Canada
    Tundra Books
    Dec 24, 2024
    YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Science Fiction / General
    Hardback

    Description

    Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller
    CBC bestseller
    USA Today bestseller

    Zetian must balance dangerous politics with a new quest for vengeance in the sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller Iron Widow.

    Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in this blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction for YA readers.

    After suffering devastating loss and making drastic decisions, Zetian finds herself on the seat of power in Huaxia, but she has also learned that her world is not as it seems. Revelations about an enemy who dangles one of her loved ones as a hostage force Zetian to share power with a dangerous man she cannot simply depose. Despite their mutual dislike and distrust, the two must work together to take down their common enemy and stoke a revolution against the systems of exploitation that plague their world.

    However, power is not so easy to wield once seized, and a revolution is not so easy to control once unleashed. As Huaxia’s former elites strike back and the common people’s fervor for justice turns bloody and paranoid, can Zetian remain a fair and just ruler? Or will she be forced to rely on fear and violence and succumb to her darker instincts in her quest for vengeance and liberation?
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  5. Pete the Cat and the Wright Brothers
    by James Dean
    HarperCollins
    Nov 05, 2024
    Hardback

    Description

    Pete the Cat helps the Wright brothers build their first flying machine in this historical fiction Level 1 I Can Read from New York Times bestselling creators Kimberly and James Dean.

    When Pete the Cat learns that the Wright brothers' flying machine can’t fly without the wind, he has an idea. What if it didn’t need wind to fly? Together, the cats invent the perfect solution. Pete may even get the chance to fly! This early reader includes an author’s note about the real life Wright brothers and the true story of the first flight.

    Find out in this Level 1 I Can Read book complete with original illustrations from the creators of Pete the Cat, Kimberly and James Dean. Pete the Cat and the Wright Brothers is perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One books support success for children eager to start reading on their own.

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  6. I Am Powerful
    by Suzy Capozzi
    Random House Books for Young Readers
    Dec 31, 2024
    JUVENILE FICTION / Readers / Beginner
    Paperback / softback

    Description

    The Positive Power series introduce self-esteem and empathy to young readers. I Am Powerful is a fun and encouraging Step 2 Step Into Reading about believing in yourself!

    Even a young kid can make a difference in their community! I Am Powerful follows a young girl as she learns to trust in her abilities. In this installment of the Positive Power early reader series, children will learn the affirmation "I am powerful" through an encouraging story of self-confidence, self-empowerment and activism.

    Step 2 Readers use basic vocabulary and short sentences to tell simple stories, for children who recognize familiar words and can sound out new words with help. Rhyme and rhythmic text paired with picture clues help children decode the story.
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  7. Eloise the Flame Dragon (Dragon Girls #16)
    by Maddy Mara
    Scholastic Paperbacks
    Dec 24, 2024
    JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Dragons, Unicorns & Mythical
    Paperback / softback

    Description

    We are Dragon Girls -- hear us roar!

    Three friends, Eloise, Ash, and Maya, have just discovered that they share an amazing gift. They can transform into powerful Fire Dragons when they travel to the Magic Forest.

    Once there, Eloise learns that she is the mighty Flame Dragon. She must lead Ash and Maya on an epic quest to a place in the forest called the Fire Realm, which only appears once every one thousand years. An evil queen is gaining power there. She must be stopped—and Eloise and her friends are just the dragons for the job!

    Read all the books in the Fire Dragon arc!

    #16: Eloise the Flame Dragon

    #17: Ash the Blaze Dragon

    #18: Maya the Ember Dragon

    MORE
  8. Paddington in Peru: Paddington's Jungle Quest
    by Rebecca Gerlings
    HarperCollins
    Dec 03, 2024
    Paperback / softback

    Description

    London’s most adorable bear is back in the third installment of the blockbuster franchise Paddington in Peru, which features a star-studded cast, including Academy Award–winner Olivia Colman, Academy Award–nominee Antonio Banderas, and more!

    Join Paddington as he returns to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown family in tow, their trip reveals a mystery that leads to an epic quest in the Amazon and the mountain peaks of Peru.

    Packed with marvelous mishaps and marmalade sandwiches, this early reader is the perfect gift for those who want to relive Paddington's adventures at home! Filled with full-color images from the film Paddington in Peru, this Level One I Can Read is perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences.

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  9. I Want to Be an Artist
    by Laura Driscoll
    HarperCollins
    Dec 03, 2024
    Hardback

    Description

    A Level 1 I Can Read story for the child who says, “I want to be an artist when I grow up!” And for any child interested in the many ways people can have a career making art.

    Visit art shows and workspaces with Papa and his grandchild, soaking in all the art along the way, in this Level 1 I Can Read My Community book ideal for early readers learning to sound out words and sentences.

    Find out more about the community helpers who do so much for us in this ninth book in the I Can Read My Community series full of characters who are diverse in terms of gender, race, age, and body type. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One I Can Reads support success for children eager to start reading on their own.

    Meet these artists:

    • painter
    • sculptor
    • hand-lettering artist
    • potter
    • graphic designer
    • photographer
    • illustrator
    • animator
    • cartoonist
    • botanical illustrator
    • muralist
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  10. Disney Baby: I Love You More Each Day
    by Nancy Parent
    Disney Press
    Dec 03, 2024
    JUVENILE FICTION / Holidays & Celebrations / Valentine's Day
    Board book

    Description

    A parent’s love knows no bounds. Share the LOVE of favorite Disney animal families in this delightfully illustrated board book!

    This sweet board book illustrates that no matter time or distance, Mom and Dad’s love for their child only grows stronger with each passing moment.

    Perfect for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and EVERY day, this sweet story will delight little ones with adorable illustrations of favorite Disney characters, like Mrs. Jumbo and Dumbo, and Pongo, Perdita, and their pups.


    Add to your Disney Baby collection with such favorites as:

    · Disney Baby: I Love You This Much!
    · Disney Baby: I Love You Mom
    · Disney Baby: I Love You, Dad
    · Disney Baby: Love, Hugs, Hearts
    · And more!
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