Staff Picks: Fiction for Adults

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Silver Nitrate By Silvia Moreno-Garcia Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780593355367
Availability: Coming soon - preorder now!
Published: Del Rey - July 18th, 2023

A couple of friends stumble upon some literal movie magic!  This is another great story by the writer of Mexican Gothic.  It contains a few bits of film history & lore."  -Rowan


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The Guest: A Novel By Emma Cline Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780812998627
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Random House - May 16th, 2023

Relentlessly & quietly disturbing, the novel's main character, Alex scams, steals, & flirts herself into the lives of the wealthy.  Though dark & edgy, Cline's precise, true prose has me hopeful for a sequel to the cliffhanger ending."  -Nancy


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Dust Child By Que Mai Phan Nguyen Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9781643752754
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Algonquin Books - March 14th, 2023

Deeply researched, full of power and poetry.  It delves into the complex relationships among US soldiers in Vietnam, the people they fought & befriended there, and the cultures of both countries."  -Christie


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Yellowface: A Novel By R. F. Kuang Cover Image
$30.00
ISBN: 9780063250833
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: William Morrow - May 16th, 2023

Brace yourself for a terrible protagonist spiraling into increasingly desperate meltdowns in this satire on the publishing industry.  Kuang is upfront in her critiques of the industry, perhaps heavy handed at times, but there is nuance beneath the spectacle.  A total page-turner that had me screaming!"  -Molly


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None of This Is True: A Novel By Lisa Jewell Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9781982179007
Availability: Coming soon - preorder now!
Published: Atria Books - August 8th, 2023

Wow!!  Truly, a psychological thriller at it's best.  Masterful writing develops this layered plot packed with creepy characters and so may unexpected twists and turns.  Set in present-day London about a podcast too juicy to believe."  -Nancy


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Things We Found When the Water Went Down By Tegan Nia Swanson Cover Image
$22.95
ISBN: 9781646221691
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Catapult - December 6th, 2022

Remarkable storytelling!  It draws a link between missing/murdered inigenous women and violence against the environment - all in the conext of a body-on-page-one murder mystery.  A rewarding read."  -Christie


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Razzmatazz: A Novel By Christopher Moore Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780062434135
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - April 11th, 2023

Stumble through 1947 San Francisco amidst a dark humorous world of smoke-filled nightclubs, mysterious statues, and the best drag kings the city by the bay has to offer... packed into one amazingly fun genre-bending, paranormal, fast-paced, dramatic, crime noir thriller that you'll hate to put down."  -Rob


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Walking Practice: A Novel By Dolki Min, Victoria Caudle (Translated by) Cover Image
By Dolki Min, Victoria Caudle (Translated by)
$26.99
ISBN: 9780063258617
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: HarperVia - March 14th, 2023

Graphic violence and body horror, plus critique of gender, meditation on disability, and yearning for connection.  This book is gorgeous, disgusting, delicious, and queer AF.  I loved it."  -Molly


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Ghost Eaters: A Novel By Clay Chapman Cover Image
$21.99
ISBN: 9781683692171
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Quirk Books - September 20th, 2022

Pop a pill and get haunted!  When a group of friends go to a graveyard at night and do drugs to help them see ghosts, they get exactly what they wanted, which turns out to be more than they bargained for.  This book is FUN, SPOOKY, and INTENSE, filled with HAIR-ON-YOUR-ARM-STANDING-UP action!  The scares are amazing!"  -Rob


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My Lovely Wife By Samantha Downing Cover Image
$12.99
ISBN: 9780593637753
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Berkley - February 7th, 2023

Deliciously twisted, superbly written, and the best example of a psychological thriller!!!"  Recommended by Nancy


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How to Sell a Haunted House By Grady Hendrix Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780593201268
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Berkley - January 17th, 2023

Imagine having to return to the hometown you couldn't wait to get out of and staying in a haunted house while you're there.  Then, tell that story with horror and humor and believable characters.  That's what Hendrix does.  I love this book!!"  -Rob


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Beloved (Vintage International) By Toni Morrison Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781400033416
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Vintage - June 8th, 2004

*A Haunting Story  * Beautifully written  *Deserves all of the awards."  -Rowan 


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A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot #1) By Becky Chambers Cover Image
$20.99
ISBN: 9781250236210
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Tordotcom - July 13th, 2021

A monk goes on a pilgrimage and befriends a robot.  This is crazy sci-fi with a warm spiritual vibe.  Greatly uplifting." -Rowan


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The Librarianist: A Novel By Patrick deWitt Cover Image
$30.00
ISBN: 9780063085121
Availability: Coming soon - preorder now!
Published: Ecco - July 4th, 2023

Much of what's notable about the Librarianist are the quiet parts - BobComet's introvertedness and the people not present.  They fill the book." -Rowan


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The Farewell Tour: A Novel By Stephanie Clifford Cover Image
$29.99
ISBN: 9780063251137
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Harper - March 7th, 2023

Lots of fun, but serious and well-written.  Perfect, right?  Bonus:  you learn about the roots of West Coast country music.  I hadn't heard of the "Bakersfield Sound."  Now I know!  -Recommended by Christie


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Users: A Novel By Colin Winnette Cover Image
$27.00
ISBN: 9781593767372
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Soft Skull - February 21st, 2023

Winnette's writing has an "underneath" to it, a nagging vagueness that bores into you & unnerves you.  He knows how people don't communicate, don't connect, don't act- the way they stay in their own head & refrain from just saying what they mean.  And he knows how to write tension and anxiety.  This book is tense.  -Recommended by Rowan


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Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories By Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9780063117044
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Amistad - September 13th, 2022

A beautiful tapestry with a gorgeous narrative running through it.  The characters come alive with distinct voices.  The arc, from boarding school revolution to speculative fiction ending, is marvelous.  -Recommended by Rowan


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Hungry Ghosts: A Novel By Kevin Jared Hosein Cover Image
$30.00
ISBN: 9780063213388
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Ecco - February 7th, 2023

This one is for my brave readers:  those who appreciate difficult stories, brilliantly told.  One family tries to navigate brutal social divisions in 1940s Trinidad, with unexpected results.  -Recommended by Christie


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The Cutting Room (Canons) By Louise Welsh Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9781838850906
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Canongate Books - May 3rd, 2022

A subtly layered & intensely engrossing investigation in a gothic Glasgow setting, this book is an amazing & unsettling read with a cast of true-to-life a-typical characters led by a queer auctioneer in the not-so-long ago, before it was "safe" to be out and proud.  -Recommended by Lauren


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Wrong Place Wrong Time: A Reese's Book Club Pick By Gillian McAllister Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9780063252349
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: William Morrow - August 2nd, 2022

*A mother witnesses her son commit an unspeakable act.  *She wakes up, the day before, desperate to stop the murder from happening.  *She wakes up the day before the day before, realizing that something bigger is unfolding.  *This is a mind-bending, page turning, edge of your seat mystery.  Can you solve it before it happens?  *Amazing story-telling!  -Recommended by Rob


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The It Girl By Ruth Ware Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781982155261
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: Gallery/Scout Press - July 12th, 2022

Most definitely, this summer's "IT" beach read!!  What really happened at Oxford University that glorious evening ten years ago?? 

An eclectic assortment of college pals and an odd University employee, power this psychological thriller.  -Recommended by Nancy


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The Enigma of Room 622: A Novel By Joël Dicker, Robert Bononno (Translated by) Cover Image
By Joël Dicker, Robert Bononno (Translated by)
$29.99
ISBN: 9780063098817
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: HarperVia - September 13th, 2022

Set in the Swiss Alps, this most layered mystery will stun readers with its tantalizing plot twists, unique characters, and overall creativity.  Humor, wisdom, and masterful writing develop this truly original mystery.  - Nancy Recommends


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What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier #1) By T. Kingfisher Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781250830753
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Tor Nightfire - July 12th, 2022

If you haven't read T. Kingfisher, you need to, now.  And this re-telling of Poe's Fall of the House of Usher is a great place to start!  For anyone who's read a Gothic short, shivered, the  found themselves wondering "but why?"  Harrowing and hilarious- I could not put it down!  -Recommended by Lauren


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Lucy by the Sea: A Novel By Elizabeth Strout Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780593446065
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Random House - September 20th, 2022

An elegant, thoughtful novel set on the Maine coast during the early days of the pandemic.  Walk with Lucy along the shore as she befriends like-minded and not-so-like-minded folks struggling with life's uncertainties.  Brilliant Writing, of course!  -Recommended by Nancy


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Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution By R. F. Kuang Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9780063021426
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Harper Voyager - August 23rd, 2022

Hands down, this is my favorite book I've read this year.  It's a dark academia/ historical fantasy that punches its own genre in the face.  It broke my heart and I loved every minute of it.  Ten out of ten.  No note.  -Recommended by Molly


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Daisy Darker: A Novel By Alice Feeney Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781250843937
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Flatiron Books - August 30th, 2022

I cannot praise this magnificent mystery enough!  Narrated by the kindly Daisey Darker and set in the isolated, crumbling family mansion on the rocky Cornish coast, the Darker family reunites for the final time.  Much wisdom and many surprises make this novel impossible to put down until the last delicious page.  -Recommended by Nancy


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The Maid: A Novel By Nita Prose Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780593356159
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: Ballantine Books - January 4th, 2022

One of the best mysteries I've read!  Molly Maid, narrator and protagonist, delights in sanitizing the Regency Grand's rooms.  Her refreshingly sweet and insightful persona unpacks the evil "dirt" polluting the dusty corners of the hotel.  Wonderful writing!!"    -Recommended by Nancy


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Animal: A Novel By Lisa Taddeo Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781982122133
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster - May 31st, 2022

A Journey forward toward a goal.  A journey backward explaining why.  A gut punch of a book.  -Recommended by Rowan


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Nettle & Bone By T. Kingfisher Cover Image
$25.99
ISBN: 9781250244048
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: Tor Books - April 26th, 2022

Why is a hero set an impossible task?  So they wont be able to do it.  So whatever was asked in return wiill not have to be given, because it also cannot be taken back.  This feminist fable wears the well-loved skin of a fairy tale, absorbing & eerie, funny & tragic by turns.  Fans of Robin McKinley, Peter S. Beagle, Patricia A. McKillip, & Peter Dickinson, you need to read T. Kingfisher now!  -Recommended by Lauren


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Bloomsbury Girls: A Novel By Natalie Jenner Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9781250276698
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: St. Martin's Press - May 17th, 2022

"Wonderfull!  Intelligent!  Delightful!  Worth cheering about!  My new favorite bookshop book.  (There's a great audio version at Libro.fm)"  Recommended by Alena


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The Paris Bookseller By Kerri Maher Cover Image
$26.00
ISBN: 9780593102183
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: Berkley - January 11th, 2022

"A romantic telling of real-life people and events.  A love letter to literature and how it transforms us.  A fight against censorships.  This book is my jam!"  Recommended by Rowan


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Woman, Eating: A Literary Vampire Novel By Claire Kohda Cover Image
$26.99
ISBN: 9780063140882
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: HarperVia - April 12th, 2022

An introspective vampire coming-of-age novel about art, legacy, fitting in, and being an outsider.  Beautifully descriptive and morbid in a curiously life affirming way.  It left me feeling happily melancholy."  -Recommended by Molly


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For Your Own Good By Samantha Downing Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780593100981
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Berkley - April 26th, 2022

"A wickedly good mystery set in an American boarding school.  How bad can the food be?  Bizarre plot twists and crafty characters will keep readers engaged and guessing."  Recommended by Nancy


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Goodnight Beautiful: A Novel By Aimee Molloy Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780062881915
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Harper Paperbacks - October 19th, 2021

A juicy psychological thriller packed with layers of plot twists surrounding a popular therapist, his brilliant professor-wife, and a very generous landlord.  Be prepared to read this in one sitting!!  -Recommended by Nancy


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When the Stars Go Dark: A Novel By Paula McLain Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780593237915
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Ballantine Books - April 5th, 2022

McClain creates moments of sustained terror as her detective/narrator, a product of the foster home system, discovers a riveting truth about adolescent love, loss, and inner-strength.  -Recommended by Nancy


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The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer By Janelle Monáe Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9780063070875
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: Harper Voyager - April 19th, 2022

"If you enjoyed Monae's Dirty Computer, you'll love her further exploration of Memory, Time & Tie travel, Sexuality, and Marginalizationin a dystopian near-future.  This dirty computer loved it!"  -Recommended by Rowan


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Hidden Pictures: A Novel By Jason Rekulak Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9781250819345
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Flatiron Books - May 10th, 2022

A quick but creepy read filled with paranormal eeriness.  If you never thought a five year old could be creepy, this book will put pictures in your head you cannot unsee.  It's a clever good scare from a favorite new author.  -Recommended by Rob


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The Atlas Six (Atlas Series #1) By Olivie Blake Cover Image
$25.99
ISBN: 9781250854513
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: Tor Books - March 1st, 2022

"In a world where the Library of Alexandria did not burn, but was hidden by a secret society with access to all scientific and magical knowledge.  6 Talented magicians compete for 5 positions in the society.  Compelling, layered charaters and thought-provoking magic.  For fans of Dark Academia & The Magicians."  -Recommended by Julie


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Book Lovers By Emily Henry Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780593334836
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Berkley - May 3rd, 2022

"All of Emily Henry's romances are delightful.  This one is no different with witty banter, emotional depth, and a satisfying enemies-to-lovers romance.  I couldn't put this smart, funny, book down!"  -Recommended by Julie


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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: A novel By Gabrielle Zevin Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780593321201
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Knopf - July 5th, 2022

"This book follows the long and fraught friendship of Sam and Sadie.  It's an immersive world, full of references, parallels, and where one learns that the "play's" the thing, even when one hurts."  Recommended by Rowan.


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Reeling By Lola Lafon, Hildegarde Serle (Translator) Cover Image
By Lola Lafon, Hildegarde Serle (Translator)
$17.00
ISBN: 9781609457310
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Europa Editions - March 8th, 2022

"Powerful!! Intriguing characters expose the exploitation and sexualization of teen girls in Paris during the 1980s to the present.  Lafton brilliantly inspires the readers to challenge the casual attitudes that dehumanize women." -recommended by Nancy


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Klara and the Sun: A novel (Vintage International) By Kazuo Ishiguro Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9780593311295
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Vintage - March 1st, 2022

Ironically, Klara is anything but an "artificial friend" to her human, Josie.  Consistently thought provoking as Ishiguro ponders futuristic scenarios that challenge the ethos of love and friendships.  Recommended by Nancy.


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Piranesi By Susanna Clarke Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781635577808
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Bloomsbury Publishing - September 28th, 2021

A Too-Good-Too-Short magical realism fantasy about innocence, memory, connection with the earth, and impossible spaces.  The story is told through the journals of it's titular character, who lives in an infinite expanse by the sea.  Susanna Clarke plays with dramatic irony in such an endearingly clever way.  Fantastic stuff.  -Connor


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The Guest List: A Reese's Book Club Pick By Lucy Foley Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780062868947
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - August 3rd, 2021

"A masterfully crafted mystery set at an over-the-top wedding on a gloomy island off the coast of Ireland.  So may unexpected moments make this a truly satisfying read."  -Nancy


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Sankofa: A Novel By Chibundu Onuzo Cover Image
$26.00
ISBN: 9781646220830
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: Catapult - October 5th, 2021

"Ever wonder how an idealist could morph into an authoritarian ruler?  Join a midlife woman in this absorbing novel as she travels to an African nation to find the father she never knew, in what also becomes a journey of self-discovery." -Jeanette


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The Lost Village: A Novel By Camilla Sten, Alexandra Fleming (Translated by) Cover Image
By Camilla Sten, Alexandra Fleming (Translated by)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250803290
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: Minotaur Books - February 22nd, 2022

A filmmaker goes deep into the hinterland to make a documentary about the residents who vanished from Silvertjarn back in 1959. What she finds is more horrifying than she could ever have imagined. Dark, eerie, & will haunt you long after you've finished it. I really think this is the horror I've been looking for. Recommended by Rob


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The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett: A Novel By Annie Lyons Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780063026070
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - October 19th, 2021

"A funny and deep story of a grumpy old lady finding a way to not be so...
Every aging woman will enjoy."  Recommended by Mary


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The Final Girl Support Group By Grady Hendrix Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780593201244
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Berkley - June 14th, 2022

Recommended by a horror lover AND a non-horror lover!

Final Girl Support Group is: 

  • A story using all the horror movie tropes you grew up on
  • Beautifully told by an unreliable narrator
  • Horrifying, humorous, clever, and oddly realistic
  • A place where the final girls dare to survive.


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Small Things Like These By Claire Keegan Cover Image
$20.00
ISBN: 9780802158741
Availability: On our shelves now!
Published: Grove Press - November 30th, 2021

"This author has a way of writing crucial, intimate stories so softly.  A gentle, quiet family man pays attention and casually but firmly comes to the aid of a girl in need.
A sweet but smart story for men and women readers."  Recommended by Mary


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Mary Jane: A Novel By Jessica Anya Blau Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9780063052291
Availability: We can get this for you pretty soon!
Published: Custom House - May 11th, 2021

Mary Jane is simply the most refreshing book I've read all year! For fans of Daisy Jones and the Six and for adults who did their thing when they were kids, despite what adults told them. Trust me. You'll love it!! Recommended by Rob