Young Adult

Good tweener. Jorge seems to have it all together. He's big enough that nobody really messes with him, but he's also a genuinely sweet guy with a solid, reliable group of friends. The only time he ever really feels off his game is when he crosses paths with a certain girl. But when the group dynamic among the boys starts to shift, will Jorge be able to balance what his friends expect of him versus what he actually wants? Fans of Raina Telgemeir’s books (Smile, Drama) might enjoy this even more.

Laugh-out-loud funny, this book captures teen girl life with all its ironies and contradictions. Explores important questions around body image, fat shaming and self-confidence. Great book for discussion groups in middle and high school.

Was Rawhide Robinson really there when the Grand Canyon came to be? Is he responsible for Pikes Peak? And how about riding horseback to Hawaii? Although an ordinary cowboy in every respect, Rawhide Robinson lays claim to these extraordinary accomplishments, and more in this tall tale students love.

What does betrayal look like when your best friend is in trouble? Maddie and Ivan have been friends forever. But all is not well in Ivan's world, and as control of his life slips farther away from him, Maddie agonizes over her role in his life.

A novel in verse, American Ace presents a quest to sixteen-year-old Connor Bianchini. When Connor’s Italian American grandmother dies, she leaves a note for his father, revealing that the man who raised him was not his birth father. With his own father hospitalized after a stroke, Connor undertakes the mission to uncover his grandfather’s identity, which he eventually traces back to the Tuskegee Airmen, the group of African American aviators in World War II.

Timely book for Black History Month. With wonderful illustrations by Nate Powell, March is the first of a trilogy of books that provide a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.

Whoever said titles don’t matter? This one grabbed my attention, and I was treated to a delightful read. Ben must be the hungriest cat ever. One moment, he was enjoying a breakfast of salmon trimmings in his home in South Wales. The next, he was teleported across time and space onto the cold stone floor of an evil warlock. Meanwhile, in a distant academy, a dragon is bored out of her mind. Is there anyone in this land who can ride her into battle against the forces of the evil warlocks? I had no idea what to expect from page to page. Terrific!

After a magical disaster saw his family thrown all across the world, Rudeus is determined to bring them all back together. The next step just might involve storming a castle, and Rudeus isn’t about to back down from the challenge. But how will his half-sister Aisha feel about a reunion with a brother who never came for her – a brother she’s never met? Great illustrations by Yuka Fujikawa make this a must-buy for Manga fans.

The pandemic has been a blessing in many ways, as I have had the opportunity to revisit a lot of my favorite books to read with my teens. Fifteen-year-old Megumi was very sad when her parents broke up. But now, with her mother running off on a “trip” to her own childhood home, Megumi is left to stay with her father (who is never around) and her cranky grandmother (who is unfortunately always around). Just when she feels that no one cares, Megumi meets Dr. Mizutani, a smart young woman who offers Megumi a part-time job in her veterinary office helping her heal sick birds. Dr. Mizutani seems to understand Megumi without asking a lot of questions. And as Megumi finally begins to accept why her mother had to leave, she discovers a confident strength within herself.

Looking for a thriller to start the year? This will keep you up at night. When 17-year-old Jamie arrives on the idyllic New England island of Little Bly to work as a summer au pair, she is stunned to learn of the horror that precedes her. Seeking the truth surrounding a young couple’s tragic deaths, Jamie discovers that she herself looks shockingly like the dead girl – and that she has a disturbing ability to sense the two ghosts. Why is Jamie’s connection to the couple so intense? What really happened last summer at Little Bly? As the secrets of the house wrap tighter and tighter around her, Jamie must navigate the increasingly blurred divide between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Sometime I grab books just because of the titles. David Gershwin’s summer is about to take a turn for the weird. When his dad’s new patient Zelda tells him she’s from outer space and on a quest to take Johnny Depp back to her planet, he knows he should run away screaming. But with one look from her mean, green eyes, David’s hooked, and soon he’s leaping across rooftops, running from police and stealing cars just to stay by her side. He might not be a typical hero, but David’s going to get the girl even if it takes him to the ends of the earth or beyond. Obviously, a fun read.

The story of Barbara Thorson, an acerbic fifth-grader so consumed with fantasy that she doesn't just tell people that she kills giants with an ancient Norse Warhammer – she starts to believe it herself. The reasons for Barbara's troubled behavior are revealed through the course of the book, as she learns to reconcile her fantasy life with the real world. Winner of the 2012 International Manga Award, with incredible illustrations by Ken Niimura.

Corinna is a Folk Keeper. Her job is to keep the mysterious Folk who live beneath the ground at bay. But Corinna has a secret that even she doesn't fully comprehend, until she agrees to serve as Folk Keeper at Marblehaugh Park, a wealthy family's seaside manor. There her hidden powers burst into full force, and Corinna's life changes forever...

When Dora, Elena’s older sister, is diagnosed with depression and has to be admitted to the hospital, Elena can’t seem to make sense of their lives anymore. At school, the only people who acknowledge Elena are Dora’s friends and Jimmy Zenk – who failed at least one grade and wears black every day of the week. And at home, Elena’s parents keep arguing with each other. Elena will do anything to help her sister get better and get their lives back to normal – even when the responsibility becomes too much to bear.

Eddie Corazon is angry. He’s also very smart. But he’s working pretty hard at being a juvenile delinquent. He blows off school, even though he’s a secret reader. He hangs with his cousins, who will always back him up – when they aren’t in jail. Then along comes Lupe, who makes his blood race. She sees something in Eddie he doesn’t even see in himself. A heart, and a mind, and something more: a poet. But in Eddie’s world, it’s a thin line between tragedy and glory. And what goes down is entirely in Eddie’s hands. Great debut novel from the author of My Posse Don’t Do Homework (which became the movie Dangerous Minds).