As the year winds down and twinkle lights start appearing in windows, December invites us to slow down—if only for a chapter or two. It’s the perfect moment to reach for something new. These December releases are ready to brighten the darkest days and help you finish the year with a story worth savoring.
Fiction
Bodyguard Affair by Amy Lea
By day, Andi is the Prime Minister’s wife’s personal assistant. At night, she writes and publishes romance novels under her pen name. When a misleading photo fans speculation that Andi is actually the Prime Minister’s mistress, the press have a field day, leading them to one of her books, which they insist is more truth than fiction. But when the PM’s new bodyguard ends up being Nolan, the other half to Andi’s failed one-night stand 3-years ago, the fake-dating solution seems obvious. Of course, as they get to know each other better, it becomes hard to parse which feelings are real and which ones are just for the cameras in this steamy romance that deftly balances humor and emotionally heavy moments. Available Dec. 2. // Library catalog link here.
Berlin Shuffle Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, translated from German by Philip Boehm
On one turbulent day in 1929, a blind accordionist, a beggar and his companion, a grieving widow, a disgraced bailiff’s daughter, and a pimp pushed into the role by economic desperation all navigate a Berlin battered by unemployment, inflation, and political unrest. As night falls, they converge at the Jolly Huntsman pub, where schnapps flows, tempers flare, and a tragic confrontation shatters the thin veneer of escape the bar provides. First published in 1937 and newly translated into English, Boschwitz blends vivid character portraits with sharp observations about the social collapse that paved the way for fascism’s rise. This haunting, clear-eyed look at a country edging toward disaster resonates powerfully today. Available Dec. 9. // Library catalog link here.
The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick
Greta and her family once starred in a long-running series of coffee commercials, but now Greta and her husband are separated, her teenage daughter won’t talk to her, and she’s having a hard time finding new roles to play. When Greta goes to a new coffee shop, she finds a perfect cup of coffee that transports her back to the perfect world of those coffee commercials, complete with the perfect family she thought she had. Caught in the fantasy, Greta spends more time in the alternate universe, even bending the coffee shop rules to do so. But when her actions cause consequences in both worlds, she needs to decide if she wants the perfect fantasy or messy reality in this delightful and heartwarming tale. Available Dec. 9. // Library catalog link here.
The Red Scare Murders by Con Lehane
After refusing to name names, Hollywood blacklists animator Mick Mulligan and his wife leaves him. He’s now working as a private investigator in New York, hired to exonerate a Black communist who’s set to be executed in a few weeks for murdering his boss. Mick’s not sure he can find any new evidence this late in the game, but he’s willing to try and dives into a world of communists, FBI informants, rapid-anticommunists, mobsters, and a few femme fatales. It’s a wry and big-hearted noir full of historical detail and atmosphere. Available Dec. 16. // Library catalog link here.
Nonfiction
Evergreen: The Trees that Shaped America by Trent Preszler
There is nothing humble about the evergreen. They’ve been around since prehistoric times and have long been revered as symbols of immortality. In colonial times, their lumber fueled construction and vital industries such as shipbuilding, but their forests hindered transportation and agriculture. Early Puritan settlers despised the use of evergreen boughs in Christmas celebrations, but later waves of German immigrants popularized the now-iconic Christmas tree. Blending science, history, and culture, Preszler traces the role the evergreen and its contradictions have had in shaping America. Available Dec. 2. // Library catalog link here.
Frostlines: A Journey Through Entangled Lives and Landscapes in a Warming Arctic by Neil Shea
National Geographic writer Neil Shea has spent nearly two decades returning to the Arctic, and in this sweeping blend of travel narrative, natural history, and cultural reportage, he traces how a rapidly warming climate is reshaping one of the planet’s most fragile regions. Beginning with his first reporting trip in 2005—when narwhals, wolves, and polar bears still seemed abundant—Shea follows scientists and Indigenous communities across Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Norway to witness how melting sea ice, shifting migrations, and thawing permafrost are changing daily life. He tracks wolves over Ellesmere Island’s stark terrain, joins hunters navigating increasingly unpredictable ice, and considers the lessons of the Norse settlements that vanished during the Little Ice Age. His lyrical, observant prose emphasizes the deep interconnectedness of people, animals, and landscape in this transporting look at a region on the cusp of profound transformation. Available Dec. 2. // Library catalog link here.
The Worst Day: A Plane Crash, a Train Wreck, and Remarkable Acts of Heroism in Washington DC by Bruce Goldfarb
On January 13, 1982, a plane took off from DCA in the middle of a fierce snowstorm and crashed into the traffic-filled 14th street bridge. As first responders enacted a daring rescue in the icy river, an orange line train derailed between Federal Triangle and Smithsonian. In addition to the first responders, several bystanders also sprang into action, doing everything they could to save lives. A former firefighter and EMT, journalist Goldfarb tells the story of a tragic day through the eyes of those who were there, giving a minute-by-minute account of tragedy, heroism, and survival. Available Dec. 9. // Library catalog link here.
A Danger to the Mind of Young Girls: Margaret C Anderson, Book Bans, and the Fight to Modernize Literature by Adam Morgan
Raised in privilege in Indiana, Anderson remade herself in Chicago’s vibrant arts scene and soon launched The Little Review, an avant-garde magazine that championed writers such as Djuna Barnes, T.S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound. Her unwavering editorial vision—whether supporting anarchist Emma Goldman or serializing James Joyce’s Ulysses—often courted controversy, culminating in a 1921 obscenity trial that branded her “a danger to the minds of young girls.” This lively and deeply researched biography traces her creative partnerships, her romantic relationships with women, and the eccentric spiritual commune she later joined, all while situating her work within the cultural battles of the early twentieth century. Illuminating both modernist and queer history, this engaging portrait restores Anderson to her place as a bold editor who reshaped American literature and refused to back down. Available Dec. 9. // Library catalog link here.
Middle Grade
Calamity Before Jane by Noah Van Sciver
When two runaway children sneak into her tent at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, Martha Jane Canary doesn’t tell them about the embellished exploits she performs onstage as Calamity Jane. Instead, she tells them of her years as a destitute orphan on the Oregon Trail, the grinding work that kept her alive, and the loneliness that shaped her. Sepia-toned art and period detail help contrast the stories Canary tells the children with the mythmaking that surrounded her in her lifetime and after, capturing both the allure and the harsh reality of the Wild West. A postscript by scholar Dr. Susana Geliga provides essential historical context, particularly regarding the exploitation of Native people in Wild West shows. Engaging and clear-eyed, this is an illuminating look at a complicated figure whose life never fit the tall tales told in her name. Available Dec. 23. // Library catalog link here.
Teen
There’s Always Next Year by Leah Johnson and George M Johnson
Set over a single, chaotic New Year’s Day, this dual-POV romcom follows cousins Andy and Dominique Cole as they scramble to fix the mistakes—big and small—that have pushed them apart. Andy, an aspiring journalist, wakes to the realization that her car has been stolen along with the evidence she needs to expose the gentrification threatening her family’s hardware store. Meanwhile, Dom, a rising influencer returning home from New York, is poised to become the face of the very hotel project putting Oakrun’s longtime residents at risk. As each navigates their own swoony, unexpected romance and the ethical dilemmas tied to their town’s rapid change, the cousins find themselves on a collision course toward reconciliation. Warm, funny, and sharply attuned to questions of community and justice, this is a joyful holiday tale about family, forgiveness, and the courage to choose what—and who—matters most. Available Dec. 2. // Library catalog link here.
Jennie Rothschild is a collection engagement librarian for Arlington Public Library.