Star Wars Darth Vader: Vol. 1 by Kieron Gillen fills in a necessary gap in the Star Wars canon, and could help fill the time before Star Wars: Rogue One arrives in theaters. Gillen’s Vader is trying to learn the identity of the young pilot who destroyed the Death Star, as well as regain the favor of Emperor Palpatine after failing to stop the Rebel Alliance. As Vader goes on these dual missions, he is forced to hire agents who can act as his public face. Navigating all of these situations and relationships, as well as his personal quest for vengeance against the Rebellion and suspicions about secrets in the Empire, create a world of intrigue and violence for this story to play out. Gillen balances all of these elements superbly and also unleashes Vader, using battle sequences and displays of the Force to remind readers why Vader is one of the most feared individuals in the galaxy. Read more about Darth Vader Vol. 1 by Kieron Gillen

Heartless is set before the events of Alice in Wonderland and tells the story of Cath, daughter of a Marquess who has caught the eye of the King of Hearts, but really just wants to open a bakery. Cath is an unconventional lady already, but when the new Joker catches her eye and her heart, she finds herself moving away from quirky and unconventional to all out rebel. She is determined to make her own way in the world, but her need to please her parents and her King may hold her back.

Many characters and places throughout this story will be familiar to fans of Alice in Wonderland. However, since Alice is an outsider who finds herself falling into Wonderland and Cath is a member of the gentry who has always lived there readers are given a more inside view of this topsy turvey world. Nothing is as it seems in Wonderland and now that the legendary jabberwocky is roaming the land again, no one is safe. Read more about Heartless, Marissa Meyer

Can’t say when the last time I read a book written by a seventeen-year old, but this memoir by a high school student was touching and well-written despite Nicolaia Rips' youth. Growing up in New York’s famed Chelsea Hotel gives one a head start, at least when it comes to knowing interesting characters.

The Chelsea’s fame reached its ascendency in the 60s and 70s with noteworthy residents:  Leonard Cohen, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Patsy Smith, who wrote her own memoir about it, Just Kids.

First Nicolaia describes how she came into being. Her mom was a globe-trotting artist, and her dad had zero interest in raising a child, but somehow the artist got pregnant, and the couple began a new way of life. Though not immediately.

While pregnant, her Mom traveled through Europe and along the Silk Road in Asia. Her dad, a non-practicing lawyer and writer, stayed in New York and added a psychiatrist’s office to his daily rounds of coffee shops. He also denied that he was the father, accusing a gay friend for parenting the child. However, once Nicolaia was born, he came around and warmly embraced being a dad, but still the family remained footloose, decamping for several years in Italy, and then roaming North Africa and India, before returning to NYC and the Chelsea Hotel. Read more about Trying to Float: Coming of Age in the Chelsea Hotel

This beautiful memoir had me weeping several times. The opening chapter describes in vivid detail the death of the author’s partner by drowning on a winter vacation to Jamaica. He died in the usual tranquil bay outside their cottage after he entered the wild surf to rescue their small son, Jake.

Decca, a Guardian journalist and author, noticed both her partner Tony and son flailing in the water. She ran to the beach, dove in and swam out to them, whereupon her partner passed their son to her and she swam back pulling her son by the chin. She assumed all was well, and that the morning would just provide an embarrassing story that they would later share about this vacation.

But when she turned to look over the bay, she noticed that Tony was much further out then he had been, and he was fighting both the waves and the current. She almost swam out to him, but a friend stopped her and pointed to three men who were already assisting Tony.

Decca felt reassured, but Tony kept flailing. The men pulled him in, and on the beach, white foam poured from his mouth. A local doctor bent over him, and felt his pulse, but Tony had died. It seemed unbelievable to Decca because most of the time he had not been underwater. This made her recall a conversation that they had shared at a party about how you could drown in a teaspoon full of water. Read more about All at Sea

Put on your robes, fasten your house tie (Hey to all my Ravenclaws!), and grab a few pumpkin pasties. We're going back to Hogwarts and it's about time. When we last left Harry, Ron, and Hermione they were dropping their children off at Platform 9 3/4 and, "All was well." Unfortunately for Harry and the gang, that wasn't the case for very long.

In this new story from J.K. Rowling writing with playwrights John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, Potter fans get to go back to the wizarding world. Our favorite trio is all grown up with families of their own, important positions in the Ministry of Magic, and newfound adult aches and pains. It's their children's generation who now take center stage. Quite literally, as this new story is a play. The show is currently running in London and will, hopefully, one day come to the US. Until then, we muggles can read the script. 

The Cursed Child is a much different story than the original Harry Potter novels, but with all the charm we've come to expect. Reading a script, for those who have never attempted, isn't all that different from reading a novel. It's more condensed since you're watching the action unfold rather than reading long descriptions, but readers will still find themselves immersed in the story Rowling is telling. It's a story of parent child relationships, friendship, redemption, and what it means to be the son of THE Harry Potter. This muggle was happy to check in on old friends and excited to find new favorite characters (I'm looking at you Scorpius Malfoy).

The holds list is long, but worth the wait. Maybe pick up the original novels on audiobook while you're waiting. Trust me, it's like experiencing the story again for the first time. The narrator, Jim Dale, is that good. And, for those of you who've already experienced The Cursed Child, make sure to stop by The Ground Floor and talk to me about it! I have some FEELINGS that cannot adequately be expressed right now. Because spoilers. Happy Reading!