Staff Picks: November 2024 (All Ages!)

Movies | Adult Books | Teen Books | Kid Books

Find out what Denver Public Library staff are reading and watching this month!

Movies

Check out these Staff Recommendations!

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Born into an upper-class family with a doting mother who foots the bill for her indolent lifestyle, 24-year-old combative Amanda searches for boyfriends but only finds misfits who are repelled by her intensity. She longs for connection but has never had a friend of her own, until she discovers a long lost childhood bond, spurring a mission to convince another recluse that they are still best friends.

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Following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man faces his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic, Kafkaesque journey back home.

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A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, and creation, in tribute to friendship, from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.

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The wife of a cruel headmaster and his mistress conspire to kill him, but after the murder is committed, his body disappears, and strange events begin to plague the two women.

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Performances by various rock performers of the late sixties.

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Stuck in their antiquated ways, a group of age-old vampire flat mates struggle to adjust to 21st century customs, like paying rent, sharing household chores, and getting expressly invited into nightclubs.

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Based on a stranger than fiction true story, this ferociously funny mystery follows two neighbors: deeply conservative Edith Swan and foul-mouthed Rose Gooding. When Edith begins to receive wicked letters full of hilarious profanities, Rose is charged with the crime. However, as the towns women begin to investigate themselves, they suspect that something is amiss.

Adult Books

Check out these Staff Recommendations for adult readers!

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A moving collection of twenty powerful essays, poems, and more that capture and celebrate the modern Native American experience, featuring entries by Angeline Boulley, Madison Hammond, Kara Roselle Smith, and many more.
 

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This anthology joins in the poetic tradition of the Yazidis, which has historically preserved and documented instances of their traditions, dispossessions, and erasures. It is its own act of witnessing to recount the 2014 genocide for future generations.

Translated from both Arabic and Kurmanji, the poets in this anthology affirm that they, indeed, will not let Yazidi voices be missed from this world.

 

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A collection of new and exclusive short stories inspired by, and in tribute to, Shirley Jackson. Chilling, human, poignant and strange, her stories have inspired a generation of writers and readers. This anthology, edited by legendary horror editor Ellen Datlow, will bring together today's leading horror writers to offer their own personal tribute to the work of Shirley Jackson.

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Anderson, Leslie (Leslie J.)

Marshall, a journalist, is sent to a small town to look into an improbable rumor that a horse has given birth to a human baby. As she investigates, she discovers evidence of a murder and becomes drawn into an even deeper and stranger mystery than she expected.

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Auđur A. Ólafsdóttir

The extraordinary new novel from Nordic Council Literature Prize-winning Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, Miss Iceland tells the incisive story of Hekla, a brilliant young woman named after an active volcano who longs to make it as a writer in 1960s Iceland.

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Austin, Emily (Emily R.)

"Meet Enid: a lesbian who's a serial dater and deaf in one ear. She works at The Space Agency as an information architect, and when she's not obsessing over true crime podcasts, she's managing her crippling phobia of bald people. While she tries not think about her teenage years, she can't seem to stop obsessively watching her childhood YouTube channel. But as Enid fumbles her way through her first serious relationship and navigates a new family life with her estranged half-sisters, she starts to worry that someone is following her. As her paranoia starts to take over her life, and the personal growth she's worked to achieve, she gradually discovers the one thing she can't outrun-herself. Brimming with Emily Austin's signature style, charming characters, and irresistible humor, Interesting Facts about Space will remind you to treasure the relationships you hold most dear, and will offer hope to those who seek to connect in ways they never thought to be possible"-- Provided by publisher.

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Battershill, Andrew

Rocky meets Elmore Leonard meets Miranda July as Pillow Wilson, a past-his-prime boxer, trains for his last title shot. Shenanigans ensue.

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Clarke, August

For fans of The Princess Bride and Gideon the Ninth: a bloody lesbian revenge tale and political fantasy set in a glittering world transformed by industrial change – and simmering class warfare.

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Dara, Maxie

Murder is (literally) not her department, but this grim reaper has to solve one--fast--or her new client won't be able to move on.

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Dhaliwal, Aminder

A witch's work is never done when she works for the people. With the success of her town relying on her magic, demands are high. But what happens when a witch can't keep up with the magical requests? She is burnt, of course--in a cruel ritual that extinguishes her magic and erases all her memories, making her just like everybody else. But when a burning ceremony is interrupted by rain in Chamomile Valley, a witch is left writhing at the stake. It's up to a witch doctor and her toad friend to save the singed witch and nurse her back to health. Can they help her before her magic is lost forever?

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Du Maurier, Daphne

A young girl becomes the second Mrs. Max de Winter, only to find that she is not the mistress of Manderley. Instead the house and its occupants are dominated by the memory of Rebecca, her predecessor.

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Emezi, Akwaeke

A thrilling new novel from the bestselling, award-winning Akwaeke Emezi, about five friends trying to outrun and outmatch a powerful, underground world.

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Gailey, Sarah

'When they said all happy families are alike, I don't think this is what they meant...' Evelyn Caldwell's husband Nathan has been having an affair - with Evelyn Caldwell. Or, to be exact, with a genetically cloned replica. After a morning that begins with a confrontation and ends with Nathan's body bleeding out on the kitchen floor, the two Caldwell wives will have to think fast-before sharing everything includes sharing a jail cell. The Echo Wife is a non-stop thrill ride of lies, betrayal, and identity, perfect for fans of Big Little Lies and Killing Eve.

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Gorman, W. R.

There are always two sides to a story. This dark and twisted reimagining of Cinderella, told from her stepsister's POV, is perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher and Naomi Novik.
 

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Greer, Sierra

For fans of Never Let Me Go and My Dark Vanessa, a powerful, provocative novel about the relationship between a female robot and her human owner, exploring questions of intimacy, power, autonomy, and control.

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Harrison, Rachel

A woman must learn to take life by the throat after a night out leads to irrevocable changes in this juicy, thrilling novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Such Sharp Teeth and Black Sheep.
 

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Johnston, Anna

For readers of Remarkably Bright Creatures and The Pilgrimage of Harold Frye, a warm, life-affirming debut about a zany case of mistaken identity that allows a lonely old man one last chance to be part of a family.

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Katsu, Alma

An exhilarating spy thriller about two women CIA agents who become intertwined around a threat to the Russia Division--one that's coming from inside the agency.

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Kelly, Anita

The first openly nonbinary contestant on America’s favorite cooking show falls for their clumsy competitor in this delicious romantic comedy debut that USA Today hailed as “an essential read.”

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Khaw, Cassandra

From Cassandra Khaw, USA Today bestselling author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth, comes a razor-sharp and bewitching fairy tale of discovering the darkness in the world, and the darkness within oneself.

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Kingfisher, T.

A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family.

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Kliewer, Marcus

From an author “destined to become a titan of the macabre and unsettling” (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), a haunting debut—soon to be a Netflix original movie—about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house’s previous residents unexpectedly visit.

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Klune, TJ

Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E in the woods in this new standalone fantasy from beloved New York Times and USA Today bestselling author TJ Klune

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Labuskes, Brianna

The double murder of a married couple in a small Washington town draws FBI forensic linguist Raisa Susanto into an investigation that mirrors a decades-old crime in which the perpetrator supposedly took his own life.

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Leavitt, Sarah

A poignant graphic memoir about the power of art to transform and heal after the death of a loved one.

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Martini, Karen

Cook is your essential, creative and knowledgeable friend in the kitchen: it delivers both an expert take on the foundations of good food and it offers new ways to bring together the very best, most joyful, flavourful meals.

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Montgomery, Sy

A splendid and luminous celebration of one of nature’s most perfect and mysterious creatures—the hawk—from the New York Times bestselling author of the “astoundingly beautiful” (NPR) The Soul of an Octopus.

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Ogawa, Yōko

A haunting Orwellian novel about the terrors of state surveillance, from the acclaimed author of The Housekeeper and the Professor.

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Parsons, Kimberly King

A young mother, in denial from the sudden loss of her sister, finds herself forced to navigate the dizzying landscapes of grief, guilt, and desire.

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Perrin, Valérie

Justine is 21 years old and has lived with her grandparents and cousin Jules since the death of her parents. She works as a career at a retirement home and spends her days listening to her residents' stories. After bonding with Helene, an almost 100-year-old resident, the two women slowly reveal their stories to one another. Whilst Justine helps Helene to relive her memories of love and war, Helene encourages Justine to confront the secrets of her own past, and the loss she has buried deep within. One day, trouble arrives in the form of a mysterious phone call that shakes the retirement home to its core and uncovers a shocking revelation.

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Quinn-Kong, Erin=

Influencer Whitney Golden has it all: beautiful, photogenic children; a handsome new boyfriend; a gorgeous house; and designer clothes and beauty products that arrive on her doorstep every day. After spending years building her brand as a widowed mother of four (including twins!) to over a million followers, the thirty-seven-year-old is at the peak of her career. But it all comes to a screeching halt when Mia, her teenaged daughter, announces she's tired of the social media life. She wants nothing more to do with her mother's online brand--and demands that not just she, but her siblings and their deceased father be removed from Whitney's Instagram, blog, and just about everywhere else on the Internet. When Whitney doesn't agree, Mia does the unthinkable: she sues her mother.

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Raasch, Sara

Nicholas 'Coal' Claus used to love Christmas--until his father, the reigning Santa, turned the holiday into a PR façade. Coal will do anything to escape the spectacle, including getting tangled in a drunken, supremely hot make-out session with a beautiful man behind a seedy bar one night. But the heir to Christmas is soon commanded to do his duty: he will marry his best friend Iris, the Easter Princess and his brother's not-so-secret crush. A situation that has disaster written all over it. Things go from bad to worse when a rival arrives to challenge Coal for the princess's hand--and Coal comes face-to-face with his mysterious behind-the-bar hottie: Hex, the Prince of Hallween.

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Roanhorse, Rebecca

The interwoven destinies of the people of Meridian will finally be determined in this “stunning, fevered conclusion” (NPR) to New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky trilogy.

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Tintera, Amy

What would you do if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thinks so too? What if the truth doesn't matter? As Lucy Chase's Texas hometown begins to tell versions of what happened and who Lucy is to a nationwide, true crime obsessed audience, at the bequest of her grandmother, she returns to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend's murder, even if she is the one that did it.

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Toews, Miriam

Acerbic, funny, tender, sorrowful and wise, Women Talking is composed of equal parts humane love and deep anger. It is award-winning writer Miriam Toews' most astonishing novel to date, containing within its two short days and hayloft setting an expansive, timeless universe of thinking and feeling about women--and men--in our contemporary world.

Teen Books

Check out these Staff Recommendations for teen readers!

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Akhbari, Parisa

Two best friends, bonded by their shared love of poetry, uncover all the different meanings if "I love you" once they begin dating their senior year of high school.

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Cho, Ian X.

Black Mirror meets Superstore in this laugh-till-you-cry YA novel about Jasper, a seventeen-year-old check-out clerk who lost his family, his memory, and maybe the love of his life when demons erupted out of the hell portal that opened up in the discount mart where he works. Now it's up to Jasper to stop the apocalypse that's coming on Black Friday—from rising star debut author Ian X. Cho.

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Dugan, Jennifer

In this queer, supernatural YA graphic novel from the author of Some Girls Do and the illustrator of Wonder Woman: Warbringer, a reluctant teen werewolf would do anything to be human—if that's what it takes to win her crush's heart.
 

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Gonzales, Sophie

In this enemies-to-lovers romcom for fans of Ashley Poston and Rainbow Rowell, a fangirl brings her fictional heartthrob to life and finds that the real world might just be better than fiction…
 

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Lockette, Tim

When feisty 13 year old Atticus Peale meets a mysterious boy in her Alabama town, she has to make a tough choice between her values as an activist and her first real love.
 

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Lukens, F. T.

Carry On meets Arthurian legend in this subversive, “delightfully original and whimsical” (Kirkus Reviews) young adult fantasy about what happens after the chosen one wins the kingdom and has to get married to keep it…and to stay alive.
 

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Rogers, Andrea L.

From the author of the Walter Award-winning Man Made Monsters comes a YA novel that conjures our futures in startling life – the ones that we are headed towards, and the ones we can still work towards.

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Schrefer, Eliot

They Both Die at the End meets The Loneliest Girl in the Universe in this mind-bending sci-fi mystery and tender love story about two boys aboard a spaceship sent on a rescue mission from two-time National Book Award finalist Eliot Schrefer.

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Tahir, Sabaa

Told in alternating voices, three teens, whose fates intertwine to stop the murder of innocent children, journey across two warring nations to ensure a better future for their people.

Kid Books

Check out these Staff Recommendations for kid readers!

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Agna, Gwen

In this photographic picture book, the authors record and transcribe the words of displaced children, raising up their voices-who they are, where they came from, and the many different reasons that they had to leave their home country.

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Anderson, V. P.

After ice-skater and Olympic hopeful Mina wipes out at her biggest competition she gets recruited by a squad of vampires who need a human player to complete their Paranormal Roller Derby team.

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Averling, Mary

Dark secrets and unnatural magic abound when a twelve-year-old girl ventures into a bog full of monsters to break a mysterious curse.

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Beer, Sophie

From a high five to a fist bump, from a wave to a kiss, there are so many wonderful ways to say hello!

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Blexbolex

Magic gives three children the power to change their appearance and reinvent a world, but soon a a fierce young Huntress and a mechanical lion-dragon named Clinker are hunting them down and will not rest until every magician is vanquished.

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Boynton, Sandra

An extremely exuberant chicken has an important message to share in this entertaining rhyming book that reminds readers that trying your best is reason enough to celebrate.

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Burgos, Hilda Eunice

With a new sibling (her fourth) on the way and a big piano recital on the horizon, Dominican-American Ana María Reyes tries to win a scholarship to a New York City private school.

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Chen, Kat

A little child invites the reader to share a playdate with them and their stuffed toy in a playground in this interactive board book.

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Cuevas, Adrianna

A Cuban American boy must use his secret ability to communicate with animals to save the inhabitants of his town when they are threatened by a tule vieja, a witch that transforms into animals.

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Doerrfeld, Cori

Finn is in a bad mood, so his grandfather takes him on a walk in the forest, and tells him about all the things that are beneath the surface of plants and animals--and even people.

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Drago, Flavia Z.

Vlad is a vampire with the misfortune of having rosy cheeks that--gasp!--make him look abysmally alive. But being the fabulous vampire that he is (and hoping to avoid rejection), he hides his rosy complexion behind elaborate vampire outfits in traditional black. That is, until he finds out that his best friend has a pink secret of her own.

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Escabasse, Sophie

Adèle just wants to spend her winter break at the library, but she learns she comes from a long line of mediums and that not only can she interact with ghosts, but apparently they have been using her sister's car to get around the city for years.

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Fang, X.

When three mysterious visitors from 'Europe' crash-land in Mr. Li's field, he does what any good host would: he invites them back to his farmhouse and offers to help fix up their 'car.' No, there's nothing strange about these guests at all. Just like other humans, they 'make business,' 'play sportsball,' and 'wear hat.' As the townsfolk also come to the aid of the visitors and the gathering turns into a little party, interplanetary relations reach an all-time high.

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Johnson, Kevin

When a child loses the person in his life that he loves more than anything, he uses his cape as protection from his grief. On the day of the funeral, he uses it to block out the pictures and stories people share, refusing to acknowledge the memories that keep bubbling up. He won't think about them. He doesn't want to. He avoids the memories, until he no longer can. He remembers then. Their laugh, their smile, the moment they gave him the cape. The cape transforms, becoming a source of comfort and strength as the child navigates the sadness and joy that these memories bring up.

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Lloyd, Rosamund

Count the brave babies as they set out on a host of adventures! Featuring an engaging mix of illustrations and photographic images. These brave babies are fearless! And they're excited to have some adventure--from skydiving and surfing, to performing circus tricks and going deep-sea diving. After all that fun, they can't help but fall fast asleep in the clouds. This fun, sturdy board book introduces first numbers in a lively and engaging way, with additional prompts to help young readers practice counting from 1 to 10. Features a bouncy rhyme, adorable baby photos, engaging illustrations, and a mylar mirror!

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Patton, Jay Jay

A stunning graphic novel memoir about growing up with an incarcerated parent.

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Pla, Sally J.

Follows thirteen-year-old neurodivergent Maudie during an eventful summer in California with her father, where she struggles with whether to share a terrible secret about life with her mom and stepdad.

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Smith, Nikkolas

Motivated by the realization of global inequities, a young boy embraces his dual identities as an artist and activist, becoming an "Artivist" to make a difference by using his viral mural as a catalyst for positive change.

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Versini, Marie-Hélène

A funny and quirky celebration of the imagination. A young child imagines all the things that monsters don't do! They don't go to the dentist, or like wearing glasses. They never get haircuts and they don't like strawberry milk. A brilliant exploration of the universal theme of monsters under the bed.

Summaries provided by DPL's catalog unless otherwise noted. Click on each title to view more information.