A Perfectly Pacific Northwest Reading List
A selection of addictive regional reads for the season
BY KATIE LEONE SNO-ISLE LIBRARIES
As we get ready for summer vacations, beach days, and hours spent in the backyard hammock, it’s essential to have some good books lined up.
The librarians at Sno-Isle Libraries have curated a delightful list of Pacific Northwest-themed titles.
Available as eBooks, digital audiobooks, or good, old-fashioned physical books; you can borrow these books using your Sno-Isle Libraries card.
DEVOLUTION: A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT OF THE RAINIER SASQUATCH MASSACRE
by Max Brooks
First Matt Brooks took zombies and turned them into a terrifyingly real threat. Now Brooks takes on the Pacific Northwest’s favorite cryptid: Sasquatch.
Mount Rainier has erupted, and the disaster leaves a small community in Washington cut off from the world, their dreams of living off-the-grid becoming a horrifying reality. But that’s not all they have to worry about. Something is hunting them. Something large, dangerous, and eerily humanoid.
Told in a series of interviews and journal entries, this chilling survival adventure will have you gripping the edge of your seat until the very end, with a few laughs along the way. As a bonus, the audiobook has a full cast that really brings the story to life.
THE LANGUAGE OF SEABIRDS
by Will Taylor
Middle Grade books aren’t just for kids! If you want something sweet, quiet, and tender, this novel by Seattle author Will Taylor is for you.
Jeremy just turned 12, and he can feel his whole life unraveling. His parents recently divorced, he doesn’t know where he’ll be living next year, and now he must spend two whole weeks this summer with his dad in a seaside cabin in Oregon. As he tries to settle into his new life, Jeremy meets Evan and their immediate friendship blossoms into something neither of them expected. A soft tale about growing up, family, and first love that will embrace you like a warm hug.
THE EX TALK
by Rachel Lynn Solomon
They say don’t text your ex, but what about your fake ex? Shay Goldstein has been working at Seattle Public Radio for a decade, but despite having the job of her dreams at 29, she feels like she doesn’t quite have adulthood down.
Enter Dominic Yun, her infuriating know-it-all coworker who also happens to be intimidatingly tall and attractive. Luckily for the station, their banter makes for perfect radio. Before long Shay and Dominic are assigned to be cohosts of The Ex Talk, where they pretend to be exes delivering relationship advice live on air. As the show quickly grows in popularity, Shay finds herself falling for the man behind the cocky smile and witty quips. Enemies to lovers, excellent banter, swoon-worthy moments, a dog, and a great cast of side characters – this has everything you could ask for in a romance novel!
THE FOREVER WITNESS: HOW DNA AND GENEALOGY SOLVED A COLD CASE DOUBLE MURDER
by Edward Humes
In November 1987, a teenage couple was murdered on a trip to Seattle, leaving no evidence behind except for a single handprint. Over 30 years later, after the case had gone cold, Snohomish County Detective Jim Scharf and genetic genealogist CeCe Moore would come together to track down the murderer using the latest in DNA and genetic technology.
Humes takes on the details of this case alongside the history of genetic DNA, and the political, social, and legal ramifications of the technology. A thrilling narrative true crime novel filled with fascinating facts and questions to ponder long after you’re finished reading.
RED PAINT: THE ANCESTRAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A COAST SALISH PUNK
by Sasha taqwšablu LaPointe
Red Paint isn’t a light read, but it is a transformative one. LaPointe tells the story of her own life, intimately intertwined with stories of her Coast Salish ancestors. With the gift of her great-grandmother’s name and the spirit of punk to guide her, she takes readers along on her powerful journey for home and healing. Interspersed with humor and of course punk, this is a book that’s both beautiful and gutting – refusing to look away from the horrors of colonization and genocide while ultimately celebrating Indigenous knowledge, hope, and joy.
COMEUPPANCE SERVED COLD
by Marion Deeds
This fun and glamorous heist novel is set in an alternate 1920s Seattle where wealth, violence, and magic rule in equal measure. Dolly White is thrilled to accept a job as lady’s companion to the unruly daughter of Seattle’s Commissioner of Magi, Ambrose Earnshaw. Afterall, what she really wants is the prized item in the Commissioner’s vault. What follows is a whirlwind tale of con artists, mystery, and revenge filled with complex side characters and wit.
