{"id":56044,"date":"2025-04-07T06:00:56","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T11:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/?p=56044"},"modified":"2025-03-14T11:12:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T16:12:16","slug":"winners-of-the-2025-libby-book-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/winners-of-the-2025-libby-book-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Winners of the 2025 Libby Book Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2025 Libby Book Award Winners<\/a> have been announced! As a lover of book awards, I wanted to share some of the winners that are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Check out the 2025 Libby Book Award Winners website<\/a> for a more comprehensive list of the winners and the runner-ups!<\/p>\n

At the time of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions are provided by the publisher.<\/p>\n

\n

Winner for Book of the Year \u2014 Adult Fiction<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>The Women<\/strong> <\/em><\/a>by Kristin Hannah<\/p>\n

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances \u201cFrankie\u201d McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.<\/em><\/p>\n

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets\u2014and becomes one of\u2014the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.<\/em><\/p>\n

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm\u2019s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.<\/em> – St, Martin’s Press<\/p>\n

\n

Winner for Book of the Year \u2014 Adult Nonfiction <\/strong>AND <\/strong>Winner for Audiobook of the Year<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>The Demon of Unrest<\/a><\/strong> <\/em>by Erik Larson<\/p>\n

On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter.<\/em><\/p>\n

Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln\u2019s election and the Confederacy\u2019s shelling of Sumter\u2014a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were \u201cso great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

At the heart of this suspense-filled narrative are Major Robert Anderson, Sumter\u2019s commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between them. In the middle of it all is the overwhelmed Lincoln, battling with his duplicitous secretary of state, William Seward, as he tries desperately to avert a war that he fears is inevitable\u2014one that will eventually kill 750,000 Americans.<\/em><\/p>\n

Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink\u2014a dark reminder that we often don\u2019t see a cataclysm coming until it\u2019s too late.<\/em> – Crown<\/p>\n

\n

Winner for Book of the Year \u2014 Young Adult Fiction<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>Heir<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Sabaa Tahir<\/p>\n

An orphan.<\/em>
\nAn outcast.<\/em>
\nA prince.<\/em>
\nAnd a killer who will bring an empire to its knees.<\/em><\/p>\n

Growing up in the Kegari slums, AIZ has seen her share of suffering. An old tragedy fuels her need for vengeance, but it is love of her people that propels her. Until one hotheaded mistake lands her in an inescapable prison, where the embers of her wrath ignite.<\/em><\/p>\n

Banished from her people for an unforgivable crime, SIRSHA is a down-on-her-luck tracker who uses magic to trace her marks. Destitute, she agrees to hunt down a killer who has murdered children across the Martial Empire. All she has to do is carry out the job and get paid. But when a chance encounter leads to an unexpected attraction, Sirsha learns her mission might cost her far more than she\u2019s willing to give up.<\/em><\/p>\n

QUIL is the crown prince of the Empire and nephew of a venerated empress, but he\u2019s loath to take the throne when his aunt steps down. As the son of a reviled emperor, he, better than anyone, understands that power corrupts. When a vicious new enemy threatens the survival of the Empire, Quil must ask himself if he can rise above his tragic lineage and be the heir his people need.<\/em><\/p>\n

Beloved storyteller Sabaa Tahir interweaves the lives of three young people as they grapple with power, treachery, love, and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed, on a journey that may cost them their lives\u2014and their hearts. Literally.<\/em> – G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers<\/p>\n

\n

Winner for Debut Author of the Year AND Winner for Best Science Fiction<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>The Ministry of Time<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Kaliane Bradley<\/p>\n

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she\u2019ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering \u201cexpats\u201d from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible\u2014for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.<\/em><\/p>\n

She is tasked with working as a \u201cbridge\u201d: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as \u201c1847\u201d or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin\u2019s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he\u2019s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as \u201cwashing machines,\u201d \u201cSpotify,\u201d and \u201cthe collapse of the British Empire.\u201d But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.<\/em><\/p>\n

Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry\u2019s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how\u2014and whether she believes\u2014what she does next can change the future.<\/em> – Avid Reader Press \/ Simon & Schuster<\/p>\n

\n

Winner for Best Book Club Book<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>Margo\u2019s Got Money Troubles<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Rufi Thorpe<\/p>\n

As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet’s always known she\u2019d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can\u2019t imagine how she\u2019ll ever make a living. She\u2019s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor\u2014and while the affair is brief, it isn\u2019t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone\u2019s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naivet\u00e9 and a yearning for something bigger.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion\u2014fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she\u2019ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx\u2019s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she\u2019s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo\u2019s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?<\/em> – William Morrow<\/p>\n

\n

Winner for Best Fantasy<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>The Spellshop<\/a><\/strong> <\/em>by Sarah Beth Durst<\/p>\n

Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn\u2019t had to.<\/em><\/p>\n

She and her assistant, Caz, a magically sentient spider plant, have spent the last eleven years sequestered among the empire\u2019s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city\u2019s elite. But when a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz save as many books as they can carry and flee to a faraway island Kiela was sure she\u2019d never return to: her childhood home. Kiela hopes to lay low in the overgrown and rundown cottage her late parents left her and figure out a way to survive without drawing the attention of either the empire or the revolutionaries. Much to her dismay, in addition to a nosy\u2014and very handsome\u2014neighbor, she finds the town neglected and in a state of disrepair.<\/em><\/p>\n

The empire, for all its magic and power, has been neglecting for years the people who depend on magical intervention to maintain healthy livestock and crops. Not only that, but the very magic that should be helping them has been creating destructive storms that have taken a toll on the island. Due to her past role at the library, Kiela feels partially responsible for this, and now she\u2019s determined to find a way to make things right: by opening the island\u2019s first-ever secret spellshop.<\/em><\/p>\n

Her plan comes with risks\u2014the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the kind and quirky townspeople of her former home, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must learn to break down the walls she has built up so high.<\/em> – Bramble<\/p>\n

\n

Winner for Best Horror<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>Bury Your Gays<\/a><\/strong> <\/em>by Chuck Tingle<\/p>\n

Misha knows that chasing success in Hollywood can be hell.<\/em><\/p>\n

But finally, after years of trying to make it, his big moment is here: an Oscar nomination. And the executives at the studio for his long-running streaming series know just the thing to kick his career to the next level: kill off the gay characters, “for the algorithm,” in the upcoming season finale.<\/em><\/p>\n

Misha refuses, but he soon realizes that he\u2019s just put a target on his back. And what\u2019s worse, monsters from his horror movie days are stalking him and his friends through the hills above Los Angeles.<\/em><\/p>\n

Haunted by his past, Misha must risk his entire future\u2014before the horrors from the silver screen find a way to bury him for good.<\/em> – Tor Nightfire<\/p>\n

\n

Winner for Best Thriller<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>One of Our Kind<\/a><\/strong> <\/em>by Nicola Yoon<\/p>\n

Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California hoping to find a community of like-minded people, a place where their growing family can thrive. King settles in at once, embracing the Liberty ethos, including the luxe wellness center at the top of the hill, which proves to be the heart of the community. But Jasmyn struggles to find her place. She expected to find liberals and social justice activists striving for racial equality, but Liberty residents seem more focused on booking spa treatments and ignoring the world\u2019s troubles.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jasmyn\u2019s only friends in the community are equally perplexed and frustrated by most residents\u2019 outlook. Then Jasmyn discovers a terrible secret about Liberty and its founders. Frustration turns to dread as their loved ones start embracing the Liberty way of life.<\/em><\/p>\n

Will the truth destroy her world in ways she never could have imagined?<\/em> – Knopf<\/p>\n

\n

Check out the 2025 Libby Book Award Winners website<\/a> for the complete list of winners and runner-ups!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2025 Libby Book Award Winners have been announced! As a lover of book awards, I wanted to share some of the winners that are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Check out the 2025 Libby Book Award Winners website for a more comprehensive list of the winners and the[Read more]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[361,10,14,5,1,8],"tags":[9460,9952,9953,3195,9946,8934,5673,5243,8326,9948,9955,9954,3445,9949,6457,9951,9947,8933,9950,9447],"class_list":["post-56044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio-books","category-books","category-library-news","category-read-a-likes","category-reference","category-staff-picks","tag-9460","tag-bury-your-gays","tag-chuck-tingle","tag-erik-larson","tag-heir","tag-kaliane-bradley","tag-kristin-hannah","tag-libby","tag-libby-book-awards","tag-margos-got-money-troubles","tag-nicola-yoon","tag-one-of-our-kind","tag-overdrive","tag-rufi-thorpe","tag-sabaa-tahir","tag-sarah-beth-durst","tag-the-demon-of-unrest","tag-the-ministry-of-time","tag-the-spellshop","tag-the-women"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd0CXx-ezW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56044"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56080,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56044\/revisions\/56080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}