Best Reads 2023 at BCIT Library: Fiction

"When an Australian butcher with a very unaristocratic mien and accent comes forward claiming to be the long-lost missing heir to a British title and estate, the resulting court case becomes a divisive cause célèbre in Victorian England." From NPR

"Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney...When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down." From Indigo

"Nine-year-old Elsa witnesses the slaughter of her reindeer – a hate crime against the Indigenous Sámi community – and is threatened into silence by the killer. But when he strikes again a decade later, she is ready to take down both the killer and the criminal justice system that allowed him to terrorize her people with impunity. This coming-of-age thriller explores themes of white male entitlement, rural despair, generational trauma, colonialism and gatekeeping." From NPR

"A tight sister posse, a neglected son who finds his purpose and his love in basketball, Chicago winters, mental health, an underachieving but lovable dad – it’s hard to figure out how Ann Napolitano packed all these ideas into this lovely, poignant story about … all of the things I just said, but she did and somehow it works. You don’t have to have a sister (or wish you did) or love basketball to enjoy this novel, but it helps." From NPR

"The Circle is the third and final book set in the world of The Strangers and The Break, featuring some of the same characters. With Phoenix set for release from prison for the assault she committed in The Break, the news is sending ripples through the community. Her sister Cedar has been both dreading and longing for her return, while M, the girl Phoenix assaulted is triggered by the news. When Phoenix goes missing shortly after her release, past grievances, revenge plots and accusations begin swirling — and the community and the people who live there all search for healing in their own ways." From CBC

"In The Berry Pickers, a four-year-old girl from a Mi'kmaq family goes missing in Maine's blueberry fields in the 1960s. Nearly 50 years later, Norma, a young girl from an affluent family is determined to find out what her parents aren't telling her. Little by little, the two families' interconnected secrets unravel." From CBC

"Harriet and Wyn were the perfect couple with the perfect friend group – until they weren’t. Now, on their annual friend vacation, they must keep the truth from the people closest to them. Together, they will pretend to be the happily engaged couple everyone believes them to be." From NPR

"The oh-so-recent history here is the COVID-19 pandemic, and the historical figures are characters based on Saturday Night Live writers, producers and actors. It’s a very satisfying plot that Sittenfeld pulls together from the strands of our familiar lives and from sources documenting SNL." From NPR

"Sasha, who marries into wealth, is the reader’s ambassador to a world of Brooklyn Heights brownstones and prenuptial agreements. Among the more compelling family members is Georgiana, who learns that her trust fund is far more staggering than she had thought. An ill-fated romance helps her realize that she needs to do something more with her money than join the world of the ladies who lunch." From NPR

"Our nameless protagonist’s journey through the looking glass of K-pop fandom will have you thinking deeply about what it means to live and to love in our profoundly online age." From NPR

“Elizabeth Lim’s specialty is fairytales with an East Asian focus, pairing good against evil but not shying away from darker, complicated characters or a non-obvious female hero. Her Radiant Curse is an origin story with complex world-building, and I savored the richness of the writing from beginning to end.” From Elle

"VenCo is a subversive and imaginative adult novel about a coven of modern-day witches. The book's protagonist, Lucky St. James, finds herself down on her luck when she and her grandmother Stella are set to be evicted from their apartment. One night, doing laundry in the building's basement, Lucky finds a tarnished silver spoon that features an illustration of a witch over letters that spell out S-A-L-E-M.
This alerts Lucky to Meena, someone who is part of VenCo, an international headhunting firm that seeks out exceptional women. An adventure unfolds involving secret witches, witch hunters, magic spoons and an epic road trip from Toronto to Salem, through Appalachia and into New Orleans." From CBC

"In Komachi’s unique book recommendations they will find just what they need to achieve their dreams. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is about the magic of libraries and the discovery of connection. This inspirational tale shows how, by listening to our hearts, seizing opportunity and reaching out, we too can fulfill our lifelong dreams." From Indigo

“Nail-biting thriller about the world of book publishing...with the added dimension of a toxic friendship, an identity thief and, of course, some racebending." From NPR

"In this enticing follow-up to the heightened heist novel Harlem Shuffle, after 15 years in business, uptown anti-hero Ray Carney, the industrious son of a notorious career criminal, has earned the trappings of respectability. A property owner and merchant, he’s expanded his landmark store and ensconced his family in a Strivers’ Row brownstone that even his persnickety in-laws should envy. And yet, Ray remains both prosperous and twitchy – just itching for a reason to stray. So when his daughter begs for sold-out Jackson 5 concert tix, down the illicit rabbit hole he goes." From NPR

"Victory City tells the story of a young woman who becomes a vessel for a deity, while also chronicling the history of a city as it changes through 250 years. Presented to readers as the translation of an ancient epic, Victory City is a superb tale of love, grief, war, sibling rivalry, myth, growth and adventure that could’ve come only from one of the best living writers." From NPR

"Fern Brookbanks has wasted far too much of her adult life thinking about Will Baxter. She spent just twenty-four hours in her early twenties with the aggravatingly attractive, idealistic artist, a chance encounter that spiraled into a daylong adventure in Toronto. The timing was wrong, but their connection was undeniable: they shared every secret, every dream, and made a pact to meet one year later. Fern showed up. Will didn’t." From Indigo

"The Adversary features two rivals who represent the largest fishing operations on Newfoundland's northern outpost. When a wedding that would have secured Abe Strapp's hold on the shore falls apart it sets off a series of events that lead to year after year of violence and vendettas and a seemingly endless feud " From CBC

"A Grandmother Begins the Story tells the story of five generations of Métis women as they raise children, reclaim lost heritage, heal past traumas, tell stories that will carry healing forward and make peace in the afterlife. Introducing the women at different life stages, including after death, the book showcases a diversity of voices and personalities." From CBC