Young Adult

With one of my favorite subtitles of all time, “15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me,” this is the first book in the uproarious and heartwarming Ruby Oliver novels.

Good tweener that won the Newbery Award 40 years ago. All summer Sara Godfrey has fretted over herself, her impossible body, her terrible new haircut. One moment she's elated; the next, she's in tears. And she can’t figure out why. Maybe her wildly changing moods are tied to the sudden and unaccountable appearance of the swans, which hold the rapt attention of Charlie, Sara’s mentally handicapped brother, who she loves far more than herself these days. In fact, it will be the sudden disappearance of Charlie that will compel Sara to abandon her own small, annoying miseries and lose herself in searching for him. In her anguish, Sara turns to Joe Melby, whom she has long despised, and together they search through the dense woods and rough fields to find him. Sara knows that she will never be the same again.

With drug education for children more important than ever, this nonfiction book draws on the experiences of the New York Times best-selling father/son team, and inspiration behind the film Beautiful Boy – David and Nic Scheff – to provide all the information teens need to know about drugs, alcohol and addiction.

In the sequel to the best-selling novel Hope Never Dies, Obama and Biden reprise their roles as BFFs-turned-detectives, as they chase Obama's stolen cell phone through the streets of Chicago – and right into a vast conspiracy. My teenage students can’t get enough of these books. They never stop talking about them!

Nima doesn’t feel understood. By her mother, who grew up far away in a different land. By her suburban town, which makes her feel too much like an outsider to fit in and not enough like an outsider to belong somewhere else. At least she has her childhood friend Haitham, with whom she can let her guard down and be herself. Until she doesn’t. As the ground is pulled out from under her, Nima must grapple with the phantom of a life not chosen in this coming-of-age exploration of family, friendship, truth, identity, love, loss, and belonging.

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.