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Librarians discuss most anticipated books of 2025

Reading fosters creativity and encourages new ideas. On a daily basis, Marshalltown Public Library librarians recommend books to patrons, receive feedback on what the public would like purchased and ensure they have preordered the hottest upcoming titles. The following are their most anticipated new releases for 2025.

• “Will the Pigeon Graduate?” by Mo Willems, March 4

Youth Services Manager Joa LaVille said Willems’ Pigeon adventures book series, first started in 2003, and continues to be popular with young readers.

“Those are fun books because they’re nostalgic and people want to catch up reading those,” she said.

• “The Christmas Sweater” by Jan Brett, Oct. 7

Jan Brett is a beloved author of classic children’s works such as “Gingerbread Friends,” “The Three Snow Bears” and “The Mitten.”

LaVille said youth elementary aged and up are crazy about graphic novels. And publishing companies are clearly listening.

• “Mallory and the Trouble with Twins: A Graphic Novel” by Arley Nopra (adapter, illustrator) and Ann M. Martin (author) March 4

• “The Capture” (Animorphs Graphixv #6) by K. A. Applegate (author), Michael Grant (author), Chris Grine (illustrator), March 4

• “‘The Babysitters Club’ is hugely popular right now in graphic novel form, but then that sort of pushes people to try the original chapter book series too,” she said. “The same goes for the ‘Animorphs’ series which are coming out with new graphic novels. Graphic novels are not going away. They continue to be more and more broadly popular.”

• “I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919” (I Survived Graphic Novel #11) by Lauren Tarshis (author), Karen De la Vega (illustrator), March 4

• “I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011” (I Survived Graphic Novel #12) by Lauren Tarshis (author), Chris Chalik (illustrator), Aug. 5

The “I Survived” book and graphic novel series for grades 2-7, brings history to life, told through the eyes of child protagonists.

“They’ve extremely popular and they’re very accessible, short reads and based on a part of history,” LaVille added.

• “Who Is Caitlin Clark?” (Who HQ Now) by Meri-Jo Borzilleri (author), Gregory Copeland (illustrator), April 1

The Who Was/Who Is series of books contains more than 250 titles that tell the stories of legends, innovators and creators.

LaVille said the upcoming one on Caitlin Clark has been preordered due to the Iowa basketball legend’s success.

“Books on athletes and singers — we try to keep up with that,” she said.

The library continues to acquire Fandom books like Marvel, Minecraft and Star Wars, which market to every age group and reading level. If a book has a movie tie-in, she added, it’s often in high demand.

Books by Raina Telgemeier continue to top the most checked out list, plus anything Manga or Dragon Ball.

“There’s stuff that’s broadly popular, but then there’s these niche types,” she said. “I really rely on kids to request too.”

• “Sunrise on the Reaping” (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins, March 18

LaVille said some books appeal to both teen and adult readers, such as “The Hunger Games.” The newest installment is the second prequel novel to the original trilogy, following “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” It is set 24 years before the events of the first novel, according to information obtained from the publisher.

“That will be just as in demand by adults as by teens. A lot of teen books get read by adults,” she said.

When it comes to how youth like to read books, LaVille said audiobooks are becoming more and more in demand.

“We have Playaways for younger kids, which are like these little MP3s. But teens have really moved more to the digital download, because I think they have their own phones, and I think part of it is a rejection of the constant screen time, because even though they’re using their phone to listen, you don’t have to look at it, so it’s more of an offline experience,” LaVille said. “This year, we’ll be investing more money in extra copies of digital downloads that would appeal to teens, because we’re really seeing that demand.”

In the adult books department, mysteries, thrillers, romance and Westerns continue to be top genres. But the most checked out “subject” of fiction books in 2024 was large print.

“People like them. They’re easier to read,” Public Service & Tech Manager Katie Fink said.

The top checked out author last year was James Patterson, who publishes approximately a book a month. Forthcoming titles from him include:

• “Paranoia” on Feb. 10, “The Writer” on March 17, “2 Sisters Murder Investigations” on April 22, and more.

“The new Women’s Murder Club book ’25 Alive’ comes out in April, which is probably one of his most popular series. He’s been writing those for 25 years,” Fink said.

Other highly anticipated fiction new releases for adults:

• “The Queens of Crime” by Marie Benedict, Feb. 11

• “Battle Mountain” by C.J. Box, Feb. 25

• “Strangers in Time” by David Baldacci, April 15

• “Hidden Nature” by Nora Roberts, May 27

• “The King’s Ransom” by Janet Evanovich, Oct. 28

Those seeking a romantic comedy book may like:

• “Great Big Beautiful Life” by Emily Henry, April 22

Biographies continue to be popular with library patrons, Fink noted.

• “Mark Twain” by Ron Chernow, May 13

“Chernow is best known for his biography of Alexander Hamilton, which was the basis for the Hamilton musical,” she said.

• “On the Hippie Trail” by Rick Steves, Feb, 4

“He’s a big travel writer, and his new biography is about his time backpacking on the Hippie Trail, which is from Istanbul to Kathmandu,” she added.

Fink’s other non-fiction picks include “The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780” by Rick Atkinson, coming out April 29 and “Big Dumb Eyes” by comedian Nate Bargatze, out May 6.

Fink said library staff members become aware of new releases through a variety of channels, including the trade publication “Library Journal,” Goodreads and Kirkus Reviews.

When the public requests a book, staff often check out those sites for reviews.

“We see if we think it’s something other people would want to read or has lasting interest in our community,” she said. “We might borrow it from another library for the person but not buy it ourselves.”

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