Teen Reads

Description: "Marty arrives in London with nothing but his oboe and some savings from his summer job, but he's excited to start his new life--where he's no longer the closeted, shy kid who slips under the radar and is free to explore his sexuality without his parents' disapproval. sFrom the outside, Marty's life looks like a perfect fantasy: in the span of a few weeks, he's made new friends, he's getting closer with his first ever boyfriend, and he's even traveling around Europe. But Marty knows he can't keep up the facade. He hasn't spoken to his parents since he arrived, he's tearing through his meager savings, his homesickness and anxiety are getting worse and worse, and he hasn't even come close to landing the job of his dreams. Will Marty be able to find a place that feels like home?" --Amazon.

Description: After an especially rough tackle on the football field, Ash thinks he might be suffering some permanent damage, because suddenly stop signs are blue and always have been. After the second universe-altering hit, he drives a Beemer instead of a Dodge, and a pair of interdimensional twins promises him answers. The more universes he visits, the more Ash has to face perspectives he never thought to consider before, and the closer the universe gets to complete annihilation. There must be a way to fix everything, but can he really trust the only people who seem to understand what's going on?

Description: Daphne Walters moves to Los Angeles for her boyfriend Ronnie, ready to live her happily ever after. But when happily ever after turns into happily for a month, she's stuck in a strange city with no friends, family, or prospects for fun. Desperate to escape the lingering ghost of Ronnie's presence everywhere, Daphne sets out to explore the city--and ends up encountering ghosts of a more literal kind!

Description: "It's 1999, and Chris is living her dream: working at Vinyl Destination by day and fighting for (musical) justice by night in the world's coolest teen girl vigilante fight club, and playing in a band during her free time. When the girls enter a Battle of The Bands, they learn that the shadowy corporate masters of the music industry plan to destroy the fledgling world of digital music and blame it on Y2K" --Provided by publisher.

Description: "Not only is high schooler Tasuku Kaname the new kid in town, he is also terrified that he had been outed as gay. Just as he's contemplating doing the unthinkable, Tasuku meets a mysterious woman who leads him to a group of people dealing with problems not so different from his own. In this realistic, heartfelt depiction of LGBT+ characters from different backgrounds finding their place in the world, a search for inner peace proves to be the most universal experience of all" -- Provided by publisher.

Description: "Nora O'Malley's been a lot of girls. As the daughter of a con-artist who targets criminal men, she grew up as her mother's protégé. But when her mom fell for the mark instead of conning him, Nora pulled the ultimate con: escape. For five years Nora's been playing at normal. But she needs to dust off the skills she ditched because she has three problems: #1: Her ex walked in on her with her girlfriend. Even though they're all friends, Wes didn't know about her and Iris. #2: The morning after Wes finds them kissing, they all have to meet to deposit the fundraiser money they raised at the bank. It's a nightmare that goes from awkward to deadly, because: #3: Right after they enter the bank, two guys start robbing it. The bank robbers may be trouble, but Nora's something else entirely. They have no idea who they're really holding hostage" --Amazon.

Description: "In 'The Skin I'm In,' readers saw into the life of Maleeka Madison, a teen who suffered from the ridicule she received because of her dark skin color. For decades fans have wanted to know the fate of the bully who made Maleeka's life miserable, Char. Now in Sharon Flake's latest and unflinching novel, 'The Life I'm In,' we follow Charlese Jones, who, with her raw, blistering voice speaks the truths many girls face, offering insight to some of the causes and conditions that make a bully. Turned out of the only home she has known, Char boards a bus to nowhere where she is lured into the dangerous web of human trafficking. Much is revealed behind the complex system of men who take advantage of vulnerable teens in the underbelly of society" -- Provided by publisher.

Description: "Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died, Lo's sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project, leaving Lo in the care of their great aunt. Thanks to its extensive charitable work and community outreach, The Unity Project has won the hearts and minds of most in the Upstate New York region, but Lo knows there's more to the group than meets the eye. She's spent the last six years of her life trying―and failing―to prove it. When a man shows up at the magazine Lo works for claiming The Unity Project killed his son, Lo sees the perfect opportunity to expose the group and reunite with Bea once and for all. When her investigation puts her in the direct path of its charismatic and mysterious leader, Lev Warren, he proposes a deal: if she can prove the worst of her suspicions about The Unity Project, she may expose them. If she can't, she must finally leave them alone. But as Lo delves deeper into The Project, the lives of its members, and spends more time with Lev, it upends everything she thought she knew about her sister, herself, cults, and the world around her―to the point she can no longer tell what's real or true. Lo never thought she could afford to believe in Lev Warren . . . but now she doesn't know if she can afford not to" --Amazon.

Description: "When Jo, a headstrong maintenance technician, makes an error that destabilizes her planet's core, she only knows one way to fix things: leaving her underground home for a trip to the planet's dangerous, unruly surface. Soon she's wandering through deserts, riding on the backs of giant beasts, and cutting deals with con artists and bounty hunters. Meanwhile, agents of the core are in hot pursuit. J. N. Monk and Harry Bogosian (co-creators of the web-comic StarHammer) present a wild outer-space fantasy about fixing your mistakes and the friends you meet along the way" --Amazon.

Description: "Weeks ago, Andre Cobb received a much-needed liver transplant. He's ready for his life to finally begin, until one night, when he passes out and wakes up somewhere totally unexpected...in 1969, where he connects with a magnetic boy named Michael. And then, just as suddenly as he arrived, he slips back to present-day Boston, where the family of his donor is waiting to explain that his new liver came with a side effect―the ability to time travel. And they've tasked their youngest son, Blake, with teaching Andre how to use his unexpected new gift. Andre splits his time bouncing between the past and future. Between Michael and Blake. Michael is everything Andre wishes he could be, and Blake, still reeling from the death of his brother, Andre's donor, keeps him at arm's length despite their obvious attraction to each other. Torn between two boys, one in the past and one in the present, Andre has to figure out where he belongs―and more importantly who he wants to be―before the consequences of jumping in time catch up to him and change his future for good" --Amazon.

Description: Psychotherapist and youth advocate Amy Carpenter provides all the information young adults need to lower risk (while still having fun!). Use the tools Amy provides to feel confident in public settings, whether on campus, at a party or a club, on a date or a night on the town.

Description: This book addresses the hows and whys of coming out, as well as potential concerns teenagers may have--including how to know when you're ready to come out, who to tell first, and how to deal with unsupportive people. First-hand accounts from teenagers provide personal insight throughout.

Description: Amy Cherrix chronicles the lesser-known rivalry between former Nazi-turned-U.S. Cold War scientist Wernher von Braun and Russian rocket designer Sergei Korolev, explaining how their controversial scientific achievements shaped human history.

Description: A collective biography about five musicians and groups at the height of their careers, whose passion and talent influenced the Civil Rights Movement. This book introduces readers aged 12 to 15 to the history of the Civil Rights Movement and explores the vital role that music played in the tumultuous period of American history of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. As protests, demonstrations, rallies, and new laws characterized the Civil Rights Movement and brought about change to the socially unjust systems of racial and gender oppression, music provided a soundtrack.

Description: As WWII raged, millions of young Jewish people were caught up in the horrors of the Nazis' Final Solution. Many readers know of Hitler and the Nazi's genocidal campaign against European Jews and others. Yet so many of the individual stories remain buried in time. Of those who endured the Holocaust, some were caught by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps, some hid right under Hitler's nose, some were separated from their parents, some chose to fight back, some survived. This book allows the voices of Holocaust survivors to live on the page, recalling their persecution, survival, and resistance. It paints a moving and diverse portrait of the Jewish youth experience in Europe under the shadow of the Third Reich. This Holocaust history honors the courage of the victims, and reminds young readers that heroism begins with the ordinary, everyday feat of showing compassion toward our fellow citizens.