February 2026 Prime Picks

Reviewer's Choice

Little Addictions
Catherine Gray
Aster/Octopus Publishing
9781804193242 $24.99
www.octopusbooksusa.com

Little Addictions: Freedom From Our Tiny But Mighty Compulsions surveys the smaller micro-addictions that have notable impacts on home, relationships, and health.

Catherine Gray does more than identify compulsions which range from dopamine-hunting and phones to shopping and television, addressing the process of obtaining freedom and understanding the changed life that stems from this process.

The result is a handbook for living in a more mindful, positive manner that teaches how to forego little addictions for big results. It’s a self-help psychology survey that presents these achievements in digestible exercises and routines anyone can follow – a big step towards a special form of freedom that few other self-help approaches can match.

Young Adult/Children

Penguin Books
www.penguin.com/kids

These new arrivals from Penguin offer engaging stories that should be on the shelves of libraries interested in long-lasting lending opportunities for young adults.

Alice With a Why by Anna James (9780593691991, $18.99) returns to Wonderland with the story of Alyce, who is sent to live with her grandmother, who is the original Alice of Wonderland fame. She never quite believed her namesake’s fantastic stories, but when she winds up in Wonderland herself, it’s to confront a revised milieu which is riddled with war and seems anything but magical.

This wonderful take-off on Lewis Carroll’s classic makes for a thoroughly engrossing leisure read highly recommended for young adults into adult circles.

Chanel Miller’s The Moon Without Stars (9780593624555, $17.99) tells of seventh grader Luna, a quiet girl who loves to write. When her zine becomes popular, Luna becomes part of the elite crowd at her school. There, she comes to realize that popularity poses its own challenges about identity and purpose.

Middle graders will find this story thought-provoking, compelling, and worthy of reading group discussion about the purposes and consequences of fame.

Both are exceptional, highly recommended picks for libraries catering to middle school and young adult leisure readers.