List: 2023 Teen Reading Challenge: Action or Adventure
Saint
After years of escaping deadly storms and gaining the reputation of being the luckiest to sail the Narrows, Elias's luck may have run out when he crosses paths with a young dredger from the Unnamed Sea, who tests his faith like never before.
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The Athena Protocol
Jessie Archer is a member of the Athena Protocol, an elite organization of female spies who enact vigilante justice around the world. Athena operatives are never supposed to shoot to kill--so when Jessie can't stop herself from pulling the trigger, she gets kicked out of the organization, right before a huge mission to take down a human trafficker in Belgrade. Jessie needs to right her wrong and prove herself, so she starts her own investigation into the trafficking. But going rogue means she has no one to watch her back as she delves into the horrors she uncovers. Meanwhile, her former teammates have been ordered to bring her down. Jessie must face danger from all sides if she's to complete her mission--and survive.
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Descent
After surviving an avalanche on the remote and isolated mountain of Hkakabo Razi, Peak and his team will have to take a different route, and descend into Tibet. The only catch is that Peak's mountaineering father, Josh, and climbing guide, Zopa, are both wanted by the Chinese government. Making it off the mountain won't be the end of this team's struggles, only the beginning. --
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New masters. Vol. 1
"A motley crew of outcasts finds themselves caught up in a deadly power struggle for control of an ancient artifact of immense power. This striking sci-fi love letter to the African continent whisks you from the neon-drenched megalopolis of Eko City, Nigeria, to the sun-kissed estuaries of the Niger Delta." --
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Thrive
After the aliens begin their invasion of Earth, a rebel faction contacts Anaya and proposes a plan that would allow humans, hybrids, and cryptogens to coexist peacefully, though it is unclear if all hybrids will agree.
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Chasing Lincoln's Killer
Tells the story of the pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth and gives a day-by-day account of the wild chase to find this killer and his accomplices.
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Ashfall
After the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano destroys his city and its surroundings, fifteen-year-old Alex must journey from Cedar Falls, Iowa, to Illinois to find his parents and sister, trying to survive in a transformed landscape and a new society in which all the old rules of living have vanished.
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We Are Not From Here
Pulga has his dreams. Chico has his grief. Pequeña has her pride. And these three teens have one another. But, none of them have illusions about the town they've grown up in and the dangers that surround them. Even with the love of family, threats lurk around every corner. And when those threats become all too real, the trio knows they have no choice but to run: from their country, from their families, from their beloved home. Crossing from Guatemala through Mexico, they follow the route of La Bestia, the perilous train system that might deliver them to a better life -- if they are lucky enough to survive the journey. With nothing but the bags on their backs and desperation drumming through their hearts, Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña know there is no turning back, despite the unknown that awaits them. And the darkness that seems to follow wherever they go.
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Jumper
"Blair Scott is in her second season as a wildland firefighter when the Forest Service puts out a call for an additional class of smokejumpers. She and her best friend Jason both apply, though neither expects to get in since they're only nineteen. But it's been a devastating fire season, and they are both accepted. But going to training camp is only the first step--everyone expects the teenage rookies will wash out in the first week. Blair has always been touchy about people telling her she isn't good enough, so she begins taking unnecessary risks to prove herself. It doesn't take long before everything spins out of control, leaving Blair struggling to cope."--Front jacket flap.
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The Secret of the Wings
"Wynd, Oakley, Thorn, and Yorik take the next step in their dangerous quest across Esseriel, but are soon attacked by a mysterious enemy. Can Wynd rise to the moment and if so, at what cost? And when Wynd is captured and taken to the Faeries' hidden capital deep in the Weird Woods, his friends must rescue him before he's put on trial ... and Basil, Titus, and Ash unknowingly lead an even greater threat to the Faerie City--Vampyres!"--
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The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
Henry "Monty" Montague was bred to be a gentleman. His passions for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men, have earned the disapproval of his father. His quest for pleasures and vices have led to one last hedonistic hurrah as Monty, his best friend and crush Percy, and Monty's sister Felicity begin a Grand Tour of Europe. When a reckless decision turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt, it calls into question everything Monty knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.
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Foul Lady Fortune
It's 1931 in Shanghai, and the stage is set for a new decade of intrigue. Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also stopped her from sleeping and aging--and allows her to heal from any wound. In short, Rosalind cannot die. Now, desperate for redemption from her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country. Code name: Fortune. But when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march, Rosalind's mission pivots. A series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, and the Japanese are under suspicion. Rosalind's new orders are to infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot before more of her people are killed. To reduce suspicion, however, she must pose as the wife of another Nationalist spy, Orion Hong, and though Rosalind finds Orion's cavalier attitude and playboy demeanor infuriating, she is willing to work with him for the greater good. But Orion has an agenda of his own, and Rosalind has secrets that she wants to keep buried. As they both attempt to unravel the conspiracy, the two spies soon find that there are deeper and more horrifying layers to this mystery than they ever imagined.
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The Wind Rises
It is 1786. Isolated from the rest of the world, thirteen-year-old Alma lives with her family in a lush African valley. She spends her days exploring their blissful homeland. But everything changes when her little brother finds a secret way out of the valley. Alma sets out to find him, but she soon must face terrible dangers in a continent ravaged by the slave trade. The journey to bring her brother home becomes a harrowing adventure to save herself, her family, and the memory of her people. Meanwhile, in Lisbon, Joseph Mars, an orphan turned petty thief devises a great plan to land himself aboard a slave ship, The Sweet Amelie, on the ultimate quest: to find a pirate's treasure in the far reaches of the Caribbean. But as time passes, he learns he's not alone in his hunger for the treasure, which forces him to rethink the true purpose of his presence aboard The Sweet Amelie.
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Six of Crows
"Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction--if they don't kill each other first"--
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Realm Breaker
"A strange darkness grows in Allward. Even Corayne an-Amarat can feel it, tucked away in her small town at the edge of the sea. She soon discovers the truth. She is the last of an ancient lineage--and the last hope to save the world from destruction. But she won't be alone. Even as darkness falls, she is joined by a band of unlikely companions: a squire, forced to choose between home and honor, an immortal, avenging a broken promise, an assassin, exiled and bloodthirsty, an ancient sorceress, whose riddles hide an eerie foresight, a forger with a secret past, a bounty hunter with a score to settle. Together they stand against a vicious opponent, invincible and determined to burn all kingdoms to ash, and an army unlike anything the realm has ever witnessed"--
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Surrender Your Sons
"Connor Major and other queer teens trapped at a conversion therapy camp work together to escape--and expose the camp's horrible truths"--
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Nightshade
Alex Rider is sent by MI6 Special Operations to infiltrate a new and sinister organisation known only as Nightshade. He is sent to a maximum security facility in Gibraltar to impersonate Julius Grief, who may know something about the organization and their plans to attack London. In protecting his home city Alex is on his own, with the fate of thousands of people resting in his hands. --
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Bonnie and Clyde : The Making of a Legend
Bonnie and Clyde: we've been on a first name basis with them for almost a hundred years. Immortalized in movies, songs, and pop culture references, they are remembered mostly for their storied romance and tragic deaths. But what was life really like for Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker in the early 1930s? How did two dirt-poor teens from west Texas morph from vicious outlaws to legendary couple? And why? Award-winning author Karen Blumenthal devoted months to tracing the footsteps of Bonnie and Clyde, unearthing new information and debunking many persistent myths. The result is an impeccably researched, breathtaking nonfiction tale of love, car chases, kidnappings, and murder set against the backdrop of the Great Depression.
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Beasts of Ruin
Koffi has saved her city and the boy she loves-- but now, as a servant to Fedu, the god of death, she must use her newfound power to further his continental conquest, or risk the safety of her home and loved ones. Reluctantly learning to survive amidst unexpected friends and foes, she will also have to choose between the life and love she once had, or the one she could have, if she truly embraces her dangerous gifts. Ekon, now a castout, is forced to strike new and unconventional alliances to find and rescue Koffi before it is too late. But the longer they're kept apart, the more each of their loyalties are tested. Soon, both may have to reckon with changing hearts-- and maybe, changing destinies. -- adapted from jacket.
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Midnight Horizon
After a series of losses, the Republic seems to have the villainous Nihil marauders on the run. Jedi Masters Cohmac Vitus and Kantam Sy are sent to the world of Corellia, in the Galactic Core, to investigate a suspected Nihil attack. There, Padawans Reath Silas and Ram Jomaram encounter security specialist Crash, whose friend was one of the victims of the attack. What they uncover on Corellia turns out to be part of a great plan-- one that could lead the Jedi to their most stunning defeat yet. -- adapted from jacket
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Oculta
A sequel to Nocturna finds a newly emancipated Finn unexpectedly installed as the new leader of a powerful crime syndicate at the same time Alfie is confronted by the mysterious organization behind his brother's assassination.
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Illusionary
Reeling from betrayal, with few options and fewer allies, Renata Convida has reluctantly joined forces with none other than Prince Castian, her most infuriating and intriguing enemy. Their goals: find the fabled Knife of Memory, kill the ruthless King Fernando, and bring peace to the nation. Together, Ren and Castian have a chance to save everything, if only they can set aside their complex and intense feelings for each other. With the king's forces on their heels, their quest leaves little room for mistakes. But the greatest danger is within Ren. The Gray, her fortress of stolen memories, has begun to crumble, threatening her grip on reality. --/cAdapted from jacket.
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The Darkening
"Vesper Vale is the daughter of revolutionaries. Failed revolutionaries. When her mother was caught by the queen's soldiers, they gave her a choice: death by the hangman's axe, or death by the Storm that surrounds the city and curses anyone it touches. She chose the Storm. And when the queen's soldiers--led by a paranoid prince--catch up to Vesper's father after twelve years on the run, Vesper will do whatever it takes to save him from sharing that fate"--
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The Loop
"Luka Kane has spent 736 days wrongfully imprisoned inside the Loop awaiting his execution. Each day is the same. Each day is torturous. But things are starting to change. Whispers of war are circulating. Strange things are happening to the prisoners. And the warden delivers a message: Luka, you have to get out ... Now Luka must decide whether breaking out of the Loop is his only way to survive, especially if there's any chance of saving the ones he loves. But the population on the outside may be far more terrifying than anything he could have imaged. And in order to save his family, he'll have to discover who is responsible for the chaos that has been inflicted upon the world."--
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Beasts of Prey
Indentured to the notorious Night Zoo, Koffi cares for its fearsome and magical creatures to pay off her family's debts and secure their eventual freedom. When her family's safety is threatened by the Zoo's cruel master, Koffi unleashes a power she doesn't fully understand-- and the consequences are dire. As the second son of a decorated hero, Ekon is all but destined to become a Son of the Six-- an elite warrior-- and uphold a family legacy. On the night of his final rite of passage, a fire upends his plans. In its midst, Ekon encounters the Shetani, a vicious monster that has plagued the city for nearly a century-- and Koffi, who seems to have the power to ward off the beast. Koffi and Ekon form a tentative alliance to capture the Shetani-- but it quickly becomes unclear whether they are the hunters or the hunted. --
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The Faithful Spy : Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler: A True Story!
"Adolf Hitler's Nazi party is gaining strength and becoming more menacing every day. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor upset by the complacency of the German church toward the suffering around it, forms a breakaway church to speak out against the established political and religious authorities. When the Nazis outlaw the church, he escapes as a fugitive. Struggling to reconcile his faith and the teachings of the Bible with the Nazi Party's evil agenda, Bonhoeffer decides that Hitler must be stopped by any means possible! In his signature style of interwoven handwritten text and art, John Hendrix tells the true story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor who makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to free the German people from oppression during World War II"--
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