Each year we ask our staff across the library for their favorite books published in the current year. Below you will find some of the fiction books that stood out to library staff in 2025. Find the full list of staff faves in our catalog: Seattle Staff Faves 2025: Fiction, Part 1 and Seattle Staff Faves 2025: Fiction, Part 2.
Malinalli by Veronica Chapa
Malinalli is a complicated figure in history, known as an interpreter who assisted conquistadors in Mexico, but Chapa’s haunting debut novel gives her a new story. Booklist says, “this novel is a must-read for fans of magical realism and stories that challenge traditional views of history.”
Crawl by Max Delsohn
Delsohn recently visited the Seattle Public Library to discuss this sharp and humorous short story collection, which explores the transmasculine experience in 2010s Seattle. In a starred review, Kirkus called Delsohn’s debut “entrancing” and “a no-skips collection.”
A Palace Near the Wind by Ai Jiang
A princess from the wild land of Feng, a home to tree people, must marry a human king to appease the human government’s desire for more land. However, the princess has other ideas. Nebula Award-winning author Jiang’s atmospheric fantasy is the first installment of a duology.
Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd
Kidd’s new cozy mystery series kicks off with a large cast of likeable characters in 1950s Kent, England. A nun who has recently asked to be released from her vows aims to solve both a murder and the mysterious disappearance of her friend.
Unsex Me Here by Aurora Mattia
Author Mattia spans genres in this surrealist short story collection featuring queer and transgender characters who explore desire and sexual attraction. Staff member Eliza says “Mattia is one of the most lush and descriptive writers I’ve ever read” and that “she is truly writing a new queer mythology.”
Tilt by Emma Pattee
Here in the Pacific Northwest, we get regular reminders about the “Big One,” a catastrophic earthquake that will have a major and life-changing structural impact on the region. Author Pattee vividly imagines this frightening scenario, focusing on a pregnant woman in Portland whose world shifts in a moment when she’s on a routine shopping trip to IKEA.
The word “tilt” may also refer to your to-be-read pile after reviewing our staff faves! Happy reading!
~ posted by Eric G.