Top 15 in Fiction
Week of August 24, 2026

by Katherine Applegate
From #1 New York Times bestelling author, Katherine Applegate, here is a stunning tale of kindness and second chances. For fans of Odder, Wishtree, Willodeen, and The One and Only Ivan. Thimble-born from tip to toe, Pocket Bear remembers every moment of his becoming: the glimmering needle, the silken thread, the tender hands as each careful stitch brought him closer to himself. Born during the throes of WWI, he was designed to fit into the pocket of a soldier’s jacket, eyes sewn a bit higher than normal so that he always gazed upward. That way, glancing at his pocket, a soldier would see an endearing token of love from someone back home, and, hopefully, a good luck charm. Now, over a century later, Pocket serves as unofficial mayor of Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured, where stuffed toy animals are refurbished and given a fresh opportunity to be loved. He and his best feline friend Zephyrina, known far and wide as “The Cat Burglar,” have seen it all, and then some. An unforgettable tale of bravery, loyalty, and kindness, Pocket reminds us all that love comes in many forms (sometimes filled with fluff), and that second chances are always possible.

by T.C. Boyle
WINNER OF THE PEN/FAULKNER AWARD • In this stunning novel, one man traces the tangled histories of three very different families—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Tortilla Curtain “Boyle has emerged as one of the most inventive and verbally exuberant writers of his generation.”—The New York Times Haunted by the burden of his family’s traitorous past, woozy with pot, cheap wine, and sex, and disturbed by a frighteningly real encounter with some family ghosts, Walter Van Brunt is about to have a collision with history. It will lead Walter to search for his lost father. And it will send the story into the past of the Hudson River Valley, from the 1960s back to the anticommunist riots of the 1940s to the late seventeenth century, where the long-hidden secrets of three families—the aristocratic Van Warts, the Native American Mohonks, and Walter’s own ancestors, the Van Brunts—will be revealed.

by Jen Calonita
The game is far from over. In fact, it's only just begun. Having finally reached the Isle of Ever, Everly "Benny" Benedict thinks she's won the game of clues her ancestor Evelyn Terry set out for her in her will. Only she can't prove it yet--not until her new friends are safe from the curse that has kept them trapped for centuries! And now there's a new game. It turns out that Evelyn has more secrets in her diary and another task for Benny: to find the lost piece of pirate treasure needed to break the curse once and for all. It won't be easy. One of her best friends has betrayed her; the kids from the island are just discovering twenty-first- century life, and a mysterious stranger mentioned in Evelyn's diary has somehow turned up in present-day Greenport. Benny has to figure it all out in just a few days. If time runs out, someone else can claim the inheritance, and the Isle of Ever will disappear again for another two hundred years!

by Steve Foxe
Meet Mario and his friends in the first-ever Super Mario(TM) Little Golden Book! It's game on for even the youngest gamers who love Super Mario when they meet Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and all their friends from the Mushroom Kingdom! Featuring stunning illustrations and beloved characters, this Little Golden Book is perfect for Nintendo, Super Mario--and Little Golden Book--fans of all ages. Mario first appeared in 1981 in the classic arcade video game Donkey Kong, and has since gone on to star in many adventures, allowing him to evolve into the beloved icon he is today. He is a video-game sensation, appearing across all genres--from action-platformers to sports to kart-racing and beyond.

by Joris-Karl Huysmans
Joris-Karl Huysmans' shocking novel of an innocent's descent into a world of depraved, blasphemous rituals Durtal, a shy, censorious man, is writing a biography of Gilles de Rais, the monstrous fifteenth-century child-murderer thought to be the original for 'Bluebeard'. Bored and disgusted by the vulgarity of everyday life, Durtal seeks spiritual solace by immersing himself in another age. But when he starts asking questions about Gilles's involvement in satanic rituals and is introduced to the exquisitely evil madame Chantelouve, he is soon drawn into a twilight world of black magic and erotic devilry in fin-de- siècle Paris. Published in 1891, The Damned cemented Huysmans's reputation as a writer at the forefront of the avant-garde and as one of the most challenging and innovative figures in European literature. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

by Ann Patchett
The acclaimed, prize-winning #1 New York Times bestselling writer returns with a moving, luminous novel that reminds us of the sweetness and impermanence of life and the power of connection to defy time. When Daphne Fuller and her husband Jonathan visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they notice an older, white-haired gentleman following them. The man turns out to be Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather, who had been married to her mother for a little more than year when Daphne was nine. Now fifty-three, Daphne hasn't seen Eddie for many years, not since the fateful event that changed the direction of both their lives. Meeting again, time falls away; while their relationship was brief, it had a profound impact on them both, and now that they are reunited, they have no intention of ever being separated again. Whistler is a story about two adults looking back over the choices they made, and the choices that were made for them. It's a story about bravery, memory, the often small yet consequential moments that define our lives, and the endless stream of loss that in time comes for us all. Beautiful in its simplicity, it is ultimately about how love endures, and how the feeling of being known by one other person, even for a short period of time, can change everything.

by America's Test Kitchen Kids (COR), America's Test Kitchen
"100+ recipes that you'll love to cook and eat!"--Front cover.

by Sara Pennypacker
The acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of Pax delivers an historical novel about an orphan during WWII who discovers unexpected courage within himself when he becomes involved with the Resistance. Petit éclair. That’s what the other boys at the orphanage call Lucas DuBois. Lucas is tired of his cowardly reputation, just as he’s tired of the war and the Nazi occupation of his French village. He longs to show how brave he can be. He gets the chance when he saves a litter of kittens from cruel boys and brings them to an abandoned stable to care for them. There he comes upon a stranger who is none too happy to see him: Alice, the daughter of a horse trainer, who is hiding her filly from German soldiers. Soon Lucas begins to realize they are not the only ones in the village with secrets. The housekeeper at the German maternity home and a priest at the orphanage pass coded messages; a young mother at the home makes dangerous plans to keep her baby from forced adoption; and a neighbor in town may be harboring a Jewish family. Emboldened by the unlikely heroes all around him, Lucas is forced to decide how much he is willing to risk to make the most courageous rescue of all. Perfect for fans of Alan Gratz, Ruta Sepetys, and Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, this accessible novel, told in short chapters, illuminates a little-known aspect of World War II history.

by Ayn Rand
The story of a gifted architect, his struggle against conventional standards, and his violent love affair.

by Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro
New York Times #1 best-selling authors Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro collaborate again on a new adventure in which Nico di Angelo teams up with his half-sister Hazel Levesque to protect . . . monsters? A few months after returning from the depths of Tartarus, demigods Nico di Angelo and Will Solace agree to join Nico's half-sister Hazel Levesque at Camp Jupiter on the West Coast. She needs their help in managing a situation that the boys inadvertently brought about: the demigods showed the monsters of the Underworld that they have options; they don't have to be evil. Now some of those monsters have taken up residence at Camp Jupiter to seek refuge. Nico and Will are on site assisting Hazel when one by one monsters start disappearing from camp. A mysterious dark force is at work, and its plan is to punish all monsters for their past crimes. Things only get worse when Nico, Will, and Hazel learn that they're all connected to it . . .

by Maurice Charney
In Shakespeare on Love & Lust, Maurice Charney delves deeply into Shakespeare's rhetorical and thematic development of this largest of subjects to reveal what makes his plays and poems resonate with contemporary audiences."--BOOK JACKET.
by Oliver Bowden
Assassin's Creed: Revelations is the thrilling novelisation by Oliver Bowden based on the game series. Older, wiser and more deadly than ever, Master Assassin Ezio Auditore embarks on an epic journey to find the lost library of Altair - a library that may hold the key to defeating the Templars for ever. However, a shocking discovery awaits him. The library holds no only a hidden knowledge but also the most unsettling secret the world has ever known; a secret the Templars hope to use to control humankind's destiny. Five keys are needed to access the library - to find them, Ezio must travel to the troubled city of Constantinople, where a growing army of Templars threaten to estabalize the Ottoman Empire. Walking in the footsteps of his predecessor, Altair, Ezio must defeat the Templars for the final time. For the stakes have never been higher, and what started as a pilgrimage has become a race against time... Assassin's Creed: Revelations is based on the phenomenally successful gaming series. Fans of the game will love these stories. Other titles in the series include Assassin's Creed: Renaissance, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade, and Assassin's Creed: Forsaken. Oliver Bowden is the pen-name of an acclaimed novelist.

by Jasmine Warga
From the Newbery Honor-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Rover's Story comes the moving story of a cheetah who forms a friendship with a rescue dog–a bond that will change their lives forever. Perfect for fans of Katherine Applegate and Rosanne Parry.

by Tracy Wolff
Penelope and her twin brother attend Anaximander's Academy where she discovers her true destiny as the Myth Weaver with the ability to change stories.
