Alliance Public Library

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil: A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces a battle with the invading king’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom, and perhaps to Maleficent’s true happiness as well.

Judy: Thirty years after rising to global stardom in The Wizard Oz, showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in London to perform a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town. While preparing for the shows, Garland battles with management, reminisces with friends and adoring fans, and embarks on a whirlwind romance with soon-to-be fifth husband Mickey Deans – all while bravely struggling to overcome intensifying anxiety and physical decline.

The Joker: Failed comedian Arthur Fleck encounters violent thugs while wandering the streets of Gotham City dressed as a clown. Disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as Joker.

The Goldfinch: Theodore Decker is 13 years old when his mother is killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption, and even love. Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day – a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch.

Ad Astra: Brad Pitt gives a powerful performance in this “absolutely enthralling” sci-fi thriller set in space. When a mysterious life-threatening event strikes Earth, astronaut Roy McBride goes on a dangerous mission across and unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe.

Parasite: Meet the Park family, the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim family, rich in street smarts but not so much else. The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks.

The Lighthouse:  From Robert Eggers, the visionary filmmaker behind the horror masterpiece The Witch, comes this hypnotic and hallucinatory tale of two lighthouse keepers on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. As an approaching storm threatens to sweep them from the rock and strange apparitions emerge from the fog, each man begins to suspect that the other has become dangerously unmoored.

Gemini Man: Retired hitman Henry Brogan is forced on the run by a young, highly skilled operative who will stop at nothing to eliminate his target. Now on a race around the globe, Henry must now outsmart the assassin at every step – but how far will he go once they finally come face to face? Packed with epic fight scenes and groundbreaking visual effects, Gemini Man is the future of action movies.  

The Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin: As chaos grips Westeros, a flaming red comet continues to burn a crimson path across the sky. Some see this fiery herald as a sign of their impending victory. Others see it as a mark of the blood and terror that will soon engulf this divided kingdom. But one thing is certain: None of the six contenders who seek either the Iron Throne, or the lands their ancestors once held as kings, are willing to back down.

Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Page: When the Xebellian military plots to overthrow Atlantis and break free of its oppressive regime, Mera seizes the opportunity to take control over her own destiny by assassinating Arthur Curry–the long-lost prince and heir to the kingdom of Atlantis. But her mission gets sidetracked when Mera and Arthur unexpectedly fall in love.

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell: Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, they’ve worked together at a pumpkin patch in Omaha, Nebraska. But this Halloween is different – they are finally seniors. What if they went out with a bang? And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years … What if their last shift was an adventure?

Batman: Nightwalker by Stuart Moore: A ruthless new gang of criminals known only as Nightwalkers is terrorizing Gotham, and the city’s elite are being taken out one by one. On the way home from his 18th birthday party, newly minted billionaire Bruce Wayne makes an impulsive choice that puts him in their crosshairs and lands him in Arkham Asylym, the once-infamous mental hospital. There, he meets Madeleine Wallace, a brilliant killer…and Bruce’s only hope.

Black Canary by Meg Cabot: Thirteen-year-old Dinah Lance is in a rock band with her two best friends and has a good relationship with her mom, but when a mysterious figure threatens her friends and family, she learns more about herself and her mother’s secret past.

Teen Titans: Raven by Kami Garcia: When a tragic accident takes the life of the only family she’s ever known, 16-year-old Raven is sent to New Orleans to start over. She soon discovers that she can hear the thoughts of others around her…and another, more disturbing, voice in her head.

Best Friends by Shannon Hale: When she becomes part of the in-crowd, Shannon begins to question whether she wants to remain there, in this autobiographical graphic novel about popularity, first boyfriends, and finding a path in life.

Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale by Lauren Myracle: When living with her mother’s abusive boyfriend becomes unbearable, fifteen-year-old Selina Kyle, the future Catwoman, runs away and struggles to find her own identity while living on the streets of Gotham.

When Less Becomes More by Emily Ley: Emily Ley brings a revolutionary exploration of how to live a life of more in a world that often overwhelms to the point of burnout. Emily empathizes with readers in the throes of exhaustion and provides tools for nourishing their spirits and achieving a life where less becomes more.

Finding Chika by Mitch Albom: Bestselling author Mitch Albom returns to nonfiction for the first time in more than a decade in this poignant memoir that celebrates Chika, a young Haitian orphan whose short life would forever change his heart. Finding Chika is a celebration of a girl, her adoptive guardians, and the incredible bond they formed–a devastatingly beautiful portrait of what it means to be a family, regardless of how it is made.

The Body by Bill Bryson: Bill Bryson guides us through the human body–how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Bryson-esque anecdotes. The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular.

A Republic, if You Can Keep It by Neil Gorsuch: This rich collection offers Neil Gorsuch’s most salient writings and speeches from his over three decades of thinking about the law as a student, practitioner, professor, judge, and now justice. For court watchers and the general public alike, it provides essential insight into his judicial philosophy and his views on the Constitution and the role of judges in our modern republic.

Pastry Love: A Baker’s Journal of Recipes by Joanne Change: During her time as a pastry chef, restauranteur, and cookbook author, Joanne Chang has created many a tasty treat and compiled the very best of them here, in what she considers not just a cookbook but her baking journal.

The Hero by Lee Child: In his first work of nonfiction, the creator of the multimillion-selling Jack Reacher series explores the endurance of heroes from Achilles to Bond, showing us how this age-old myth is a fundamental part of what makes us human. Child teaches us how classic stories still shape our minds and behavior in an increasingly confusing modern world.

Tap Code by Carlyle Harris: Tap Code is the untold story of ex-Vietnam POW Colonel Carlyle “Smitty” Harris, who brought hope, strength, and the love of God to fellow American POWs by secretly reviving a long-unused military communication code. It was a lifeline as they endured torture and abuse, bringing unity and ultimately helping them prevail over a brutal enemy.

Letters from an Astrophysicist by Neil deGrasse Tyson: Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has attracted one of the world’s largest online followings with his fascinating, widely accessible insights into science and our universe. Now, Tyson invites us to go behind the scenes of his public fame by revealing his correspondence with people across the globe who have sought him out in search of answers. In this hand-picked collection of 101 letters, Tyson draws upon cosmic perspectives to address a vast array of questions about science, faith, philosophy, life, and of course, Pluto.

The Case Against Socialism by Rand Paul: Rand Paul, U.S. senator for Kentucky and America’s most prominent libertarian, makes a case against socialist ideology, showing the impact of its deadly legacy and the threat of its new rise in America.

Tom Clancy Code of Honor by Marc Cameron: As President of the United States, Jack Ryan has faced many challenges, but none have been as personal as this and never has he been this helpless in the face of evil in the latest entry in Tom Clancy’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo: The mesmerizing adult debut from Leigh Bardugo, a tale of power, privilege, dark magic, and murder set among the Ivy League elite secret societies where occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.

A Minute to Midnight by David Baldacci: Atlee Pine has spent most of her life trying to find out what happened that fateful night in Andersonville, Georgia. Her six-year-old twin sister, Mercy, was taken and Atlee was left for dead while their parents were apparently partying downstairs. One person who continues to haunt her is notorious serial killer, Daniel James Tor, confined to a Colorado maximum security prison. Does he really know what happened to Mercy?

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern: Zachary discovers a rare book hidden in the library stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by fantastic tales, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues–a bee, a key, and a sword–that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to a subterranean library, hidden far below the surface of the earth

Spy by Danielle Steel: At eighteen, Alexandra Wickham is presented to King George V and Queen Mary and seems destined for a privileged life. But fate leads her down a different path. By 1939, Europe is on fire and England is at war. Fluent in French and German, she would make the perfect secret agent. Within a year, Alex is shocking her family in trousers and bright red lipstick. They must never know about the work she does–no one can know, not even the pilot she falls in love with.

Criss Cross by James Patterson: In a Virginia penitentiary, Alex Cross and his partner, John Sampson, witness the execution of a killer they helped convict. Hours later, they are called to the scene of a copycat crime. A note signed ‘M’ rests on the corpse. ‘You messed up big time, Dr. Cross.’ Was an innocent man just put to death?

Game of Snipers by Stephen Hunter: When Bob Lee Swagger is approached by a woman who lost a son to war and has spent the years since risking all that she has to find the sniper who pulled the trigger, he knows right away he’ll do everything in his power to help her. But what begins as a favor becomes an obsession, and soon Swagger is back in the action, teaming up with the Mossad, the FBI, and local American law enforcement, as he tracks a sniper who is his own equal…and attempts to decipher that assassin’s ultimate target before it’s too late.

Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry by Mary Higgins Clark: When investigative journalist Gina Kane receives an email from a “CRyan” describing her “terrible experience” while working at REL, a high-profile television news network, including the comment “and I’m not the only one,” Gina knows she has to pursue the story, but is shocked to discover the young woman has died tragically in an accident while on holiday. And when another accuser turns up dead, Gina realizes someone–or some people–will go to depraved lengths to keep the story from seeing the light.

The Starter Wife by Nina Lauren: They think my husband’s first wife disappeared or they think she is dead. There’s a big difference. My phone rings. The only answer to my slightly breathless hello is empty static. When the voice does finally come, it’s female, low, muffled somehow. “Where is it, Claire? What did you do with it? Tell me where it is.” A woman. A real flesh-and-blood woman on the other end of the phone. She’s not just in my head. A wave of panic spreads under my skin like ice water. It’s her.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: Seventeen-year-old Zelie, her older brother Tzain, and rogue princess Amari fight to restore magic to the land and activate a new generation of magi, but they are ruthlessly pursued by the crown prince, who believes the return of magic will mean the end of the monarchy.

The Old Success by Martha Grimes: When the body of a French woman washes up on a wild inlet off the Cornish coast, Brian Macalvie, divisional commander with the Devon-Cornwall police is called in. Who could have killed this beautiful tourist, the only visible footprints nearby belonging to the two little girls who found her in the days following the mysterious slaying of the Parisian tourist, two other murders take place: first, a man is shot at a country estate, then a holy duster turns up murdered in Exeter Cathedral. Macalvie, Jury, and Brownell set out to discover whether these three killings, though very different in execution, are connected

Final Option by Clive Cussler: Juan Cabrillo and his crew are sent to Brazil to rescue three CIA agents whose identities have been compromised.

Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich: Grandma Mazur has decided to get married again – this time to a local gangster named Jimmy Rosolli. If Stephanie has her doubts about this marriage, she doesn’t have to worry for long, because the groom drops dead of a heart attack 45 minutes after saying, “I do.” A sad day for Grandma Mazur turns into something far more dangerous when Jimmy’s former “business partners” are convinced that his new widow is keeping the keys to a financial windfall all to herself. But the one thing these wise guys didn’t count on was the widow’s bounty hunter granddaughter, who’ll do anything to save her.

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky: Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with Christopher at her side. Then Christopher vanishes. For six awful days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a tree house in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone in the town will never be the same again.

Scarlet Fever by Rita Mae Brown: Harry Dunbar, a member of the Jefferson Hunt club with a penchant for antique furniture, is found with his skull cracked at the bottom of the stairs to a local store. There are no telltale signs of foul play–save for the priceless (and stolen) fox ring in his pocket. Sister and her hounds set out to uncover the truth: Was this simply an accident or something much more sinister?

The Confession Club by Elizabeth Berg: When Iris Winters and Maddy Harris are invited to the club, they find that it’s just what each of them needs. Iris hasn’t yet told anyone about the unlikely man who has captured her attention, and Maddy has come back home to escape a problem too big for her to confront.