Every month we let you know what we’ve been reading and our monthly recommendations. You’ll get to see new titles with fabulous reviews from the Bay Books team. We’re sure you’ll love these fantastic books just as much as we do. We recommend a wide range of genres and themes. So get ready to explore more books!
Wendy’s Pick
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
This was undoubtedly one of my tops reads of 2025 – a solid FIVE star. This intense story takes place on a remote island near Antarctica, more than 1500 miles from civilization – and the location of the world’s largest seed bank. Dominic and his 3 children are caretakers of the island and are its only inhabitants. Rising ocean levels threaten the stability of the island and the cadre of researchers who once lived and worked in the island’s research center are now gone. The novel begins as a woman mysteriously washes up on shore after an epic storm. Who is she? How and why did she possibly come to be in the vicinity of this extraordinarily isolated part of the world? If you are like me, you will find yourself compelled to look up various plants and animals woven into the narrative – fascinating. This is an un-put-downable tale with clever twists and turns and themes of climate change/earth science, relationships, personal choices, and the lengths we will go to, to protect those we love.
Tina’s Picks
Culpability by Bruce Holsinger
We’re all thinking about how A.I. will impact our lives and author Holsinger takes us there in this tightly paced novel. The plotline revolved around a car crash while a teen-age boy is at the wheel of a car with an automated assistant. This raises all those questions of who is really liable, morally or financially? Who was really driving? Who is responsible? Adding to this drama is the fact that the family’s vacation house, which is where they are when the accident occurs, is next door to a tech billionaire, which unleashes all kind of madness. Plenty of drama and thought provoking questions!
Is a River Alive by Robert MacFarlane
MacFarlane is best known for his books on landscape, nature, place, people and language and this focus on rivers is no exception. Written in a travelogue manner, he explores three different rivers in Ecuador, India, and Canada and asks if a living thing, such as a river, be regarded as having legal rights, similar to corporations. He stresses the importance of rivers to our environmental sustainability and human health. This is a fascinating book that will make you think in different ways about our rivers’ and waterways’ importance to our humanity.
Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water by Vicki Valosik
Valosik is editorial director at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, but she is also a master synchronized swimmer. She’s the perfect choice to show how women have fought for equality, one of which has been in the pool. Swimming for women first became popular in Britain in the mid 1800’s and one Australian woman became famous as a swimmer but also as an advocate for equal rights. Esther Williams made her professional and well known ‘splash’ through Hollywood and in 1984, synchronized swimming was finally acknowledged as an Olympic sport. Synchronized swimming is demanding, complex and becoming increasingly dangerous. This historical narrative makes for a fascinating read and you’ll certainly look at this sport differently. Enjoy!
Isola by Alegra Goodman
This is an incredible true story of power and greed, but also of cultural biases and history during the 16th century as countries vie for slices of the wealth that is found in the ‘new world’. Using the wealth of a young Marguerite de la Rocque, a French noblewoman, her guardian seeks to become an adventurer and win wealth through establishing a colony in what is now known as Nova Scotia. Marguerite was marooned on an island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence after her guardian discovered her romance with his secretary while sailing to the “new world”. Formerly a young lady of privilege, she must learn to survive the harsh cruelties of being stranded with her lover and ladies maid. The story is riveting, all the more so as it is based on historical events. You’ll love it!
Skye’s Pick
Some Days Are Yellow by Suzanne Slade and illustrated by Michelle Lee
A great book for introducing reading! “Some days are yellow” is focused on how some days may not be the best, but a new day is a new start. Sometimes we may have big feelings but we can work through them to find calm. A cute short book that can help children understand everyday emotions and everyday life that both children and even adults can relate to. This story features beautiful illustrations and is perfect for story time!
Becky’s Picks:
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The story of an ambitious young woman finding her voice and her passion as she
strives to become one of the first female NASA astronauts in the early ‘80’s.
Author’s note: “I hope very much that you enjoy this story. But I hope, even more, that
Jean Goodwin can convince you to go outside tonight, after the stars have come out,
and look up. I hope, with all my heart, Joan can convince you to be open to wonder.”
The Names by Florence Knapp
One name – three different lives. How can the choice of a name shape the course of
one’s life?
When Cora goes to register her new son’s name, she hesitates — and what follows are
three very different versions of her son’s life. The author takes us on three journeys of
the son, which includes his mother, his sister and his grandmother.
What if…?
Guest Review by Grace, age 13
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Avery Grambs is an average teenager whose goal is to survive high school, but when
billionaire Tobias Hawthorne leaves his fortune to her on the one condition that she
moves into his mansion that is filled with riddles and secret passageways, everything
changes. Avery will have to encounter Tobias Hawthorne’s children and grandchildren,
who were all raised believing that they would one day inherit his fortune. In this book
filled with romance, puzzles and danger, Avery isn’t playing this game for fun. She’s
playing the game to survive.
This book is amazing for readers who love plot twists and family drama. The adventures
of Avery and the Hawthornes continue in the Hawthorne Legacy, The Final Gambit and
The Brothers Hawthorne. Enjoy them all!
