Peak Picks Current Titles Book List
A complete list of current Peak Picks titles.
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Crux
NEW FOR JANUARY! Adult Fiction. “Tamma and Dan, two young teens living in the unforgiving California desert, dream of escaping their stagnant lives of abject poverty. They pin all their hopes on becoming hardcore rock climbers festooned with lucrative sponsorships and glory. Their symbiotic friendship enables them to survive--both literally and figuratively--as they hold each other's lives in their hands. Tallent's portrayal of his characters' emotional states is heartbreakingly realistic… His meticulous description of each climb builds excruciating tension, rewarding the reader with vicarious thrills and breathless catharsis.” Booklist
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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Dandelion Is Dead: A Novel About Life
NEW FOR JANUARY! Adult Fiction. “In this charming debut, a London woman catfishes her dead sister's Hinge match. Photographer Poppy Greene, 37, finds an intriguing message on the phone left behind by her sister, Dandelion, who died several months earlier, from a man named Jake. Despite having a live-in boyfriend, Sam, Poppy replies to Jake and sets up a date. When they meet, their attraction is instant… Storey handily balances the heavy themes of grief and trauma with snappy wit and intriguing character development. It adds up to a moving and wildly entertaining tale of self-discovery.” Publishers Weekly
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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Don't Think About Dinner
NEW FOR JANUARY! Adult Nonfiction. “As a college student, Jenn was struggling with health problems and tired of quick-fix ‘healthy’ recipes that relied on obscure, expensive ingredients that often spoiled before she could finish them. Overwhelmed and frustrated, she felt further from her health goals. So, she made a plan. Or rather, a list--filled with plants and proteins, plus simple recipes to make the most of them. Jenn includes a wide range of adaptable dishes that suit any vibe, budget, or dietary need.” Publisher
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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Firestorm
NEW FOR JANUARY! Adult Nonfiction. “Soboroff provides an emotional and intrepid account of the Los Angeles wildfires of January 2025. Alongside his own experiences…the book includes other perspectives: NOAA meteor-ologists warning about the region's tinderbox conditions, firefighters risking their lives to battle the blaze, CA governor Gavin Newsom desperately trying to find a cellphone signal to call President Biden, Donald Trump ‘fanning the flames of misinformation’ on Truth Social, and residents of Altadena fleeing the encroaching Eaton Fire. [I]t's a cathartically heart-breaking account of the unique horror of watching one's community reduced to ash.” Publishers Weekly
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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How To Commit A Postcolonial Murder
NEW FOR JANUARY! Adult Fiction. “In 1986, teenager Georgie Creel and her sister Agatha live in Marley, WY, with their mother, who is from India, and their white American father. Their uncle and his family have recently moved to Marley to live with the Creels. When the uncle turns up dead, Georgie and Agatha confess to the book's readers that they are responsible but also debate who is truly at fault. It must be the British, according to Agatha, tracing the act back to the original influence. Although it ends quickly, McConigley's impactful work will linger.” Library Journal
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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One Aladdin Two Lamps
NEW FOR JANUARY! Adult Nonfiction. “Critic and fiction writer Winterson anchors this dazzling memoir-in-essays in her childhood obsession with One Thousand and One Nights, the collection of Middle Eastern folktales that introduced magic lamps and flying carpets to the West. Casting herself as Aladdin, Winterson examines contemporary ills from climate change to doomscrolling--and more timeless concerns from misogyny to religion--in freewheeling essays that invite readers to take a closer look at the fabric of their daily lives. By the time it's over, readers will feel like they're seeing the world around them through brand new eyes.” Publishers Weekly
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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The Poet Empress
NEW FOR JANUARY! Adult Fiction. “In the final years of the Azalea Dynasty, Yin Wei, a peasant girl desperate to save her starving family, volunteers as concubine... This act of survival pulls her into a labyrinth of palace intrigue and rebellion, where each written word contains magic that can shape a person's destiny, but where female literacy is illegal. Against the lush backdrop of Tao's lyrical worldbuilding, which draws from Chinese history and myth to craft a court defined by both beauty and brutality, Wei's transformation from naive villager to calculating courtesan is expertly rendered.” Publishers Weekly
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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Two Women Living Together
NEW FOR JANUARY! Adult Nonfiction. “Uninterested in marriage but feeling they'd outgrown living alone, [Hana & Sunwoo] opted to elevate their online friendship and move in together, when both were in their 40s. Though much of [their] arrangement sounds idyllic, they're blunt about navigating their divergent perspectives on debt and cleanliness, and how ‘the way we fought led to even more fights.’ They've always reconciled, however; as Hwang explains, ‘It is precisely because, as we grow older, we see more of the world's ugliness and meet more cynics and pessimists that we're intent on staying positive.’ This is a winning testament to the power of friendship." Publishers Weekly
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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Vigil
NEW FOR JANUARY! Adult Fiction. “A ghost attempts to guide an unrepentant oil executive toward redemption and the afterlife in the staggering latest from Saunders. The story takes place over the course of one night, when the spirit of Jill Blaine descends to Earth and takes on human form at the home of K.J. Boone, her latest ‘charge.’ As opposed to the hundreds of others Jill has visited… the terminally ill Boone is uninterested in finding peace or reckoning with his misdeeds. As more of Boone's transgressions are revealed, Jill decides she hates him, and the novel barrels into gleefully absurd territory while posing weighty questions...” Publishers Weekly
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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When Trees Testify
NEW FOR JANUARY! Adult Nonfiction. “Plant biologist Montgomery…analyzes the historical and cultural roles of tree species that had particular significance to enslaved Africans in the U.S., as well as their descendants. The pecan tree was domesticated by an enslaved man, poplars were historically associated with lynchings, the willow bore medicinal bark, and cotton was the basis of an economy of enslavement. Oak trees, by their long lives, often became landmarks and gathering places, while sycamores marked the way for people escaping enslavement. Montgomery eloquently analyzes the cultural and historical strains in the Black South in this beautifully written work of history, natural history, and memoir.” Library Journal
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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