Staff Favorites 2025: Alaina's Favorites

Alaina is the Assistant Director at Berwick Public Library and oversees our young adult collection. Check out her favorite books, movies, and games from this past year.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

This sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea continues the story of Arthur, Linus, and the magical children in their care. Was this story necessary? Absolutely not. Did I still devour it and bawl my eyes out? Most definitely. I love these characters with my entire heart, and I welcome any opportunity to spend more time with them. Klune's writing truly touches my soul, and I will happily read anything he writes.

Cher: The Memoir, Part 1 by Cher

I love Cher as an entertainer, but I admittedly don't know much about her as a person, so I was intrigued when I saw she was releasing a 2-part memoir. This book, part one, covers Cher's childhood up until the late 70s/early 80s. At almost 500 pages, it's definitely a commitment. I went the audiobook route with this one, and I'm so glad I did. Cher narrates a portion of each chapter (turns out she's dyslexic and narrating the entire book was too difficult for her), and Broadway actress Stephanie J. Block, who won a Tony for portraying Cher in The Cher Show, provides the rest of the narration. Cher has led a truly wild life, and I eagerly shared little tidbits I learned about her with my co-workers and family while I read this. I'm eager to jump into Part 2 when it's released at the end of 2026.

An American Girl Anthology: Finding Ourselves in the Pleasant Company Universe edited by Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler and K.C. Hysmith

I grew up in the 90s when American Girl was HUGE. I can still vividly remember the Christmas I got my first doll (Samantha, of course - she's the best!). I have been having a blast the past couple years reading books and listening to podcasts by fellow millennials about our shared nostalgia for all things American Girl. An American Girl Anthology is a collection of essays covering a range of topics, from the clothing and historical recipes presented in American Girl publications to the lack of disability representation. This book is both a love letter to the characters, toys, and books that had such a massive impact on my generation and a critical look at the Pleasant Company and its products. I found a lot of the essays to be eye-opening, and I'd love to spend some time in the coming year re-visiting some of my favorite AG books with a more critical eye.

Other favorites:

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