Lists and Suggestions for Teens

"As World War II comes to a close, the United States and the Soviet Union emerge as the two greatest world powers on extreme opposites of the political spectrum. After the United States showed its hand with the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the Soviets refuse to be left behind. With communism sweeping the globe, the two nations begin a neck-and-neck competition to build even more destructive bombs and conquer the Space Race. In their battle for dominance, spy planes fly above, armed submarines swim deep below, and undercover agents meet in the dead of night. The Cold War game grows more precarious as weapons are pointed towards each other, with fingers literally on the trigger. The decades-long showdown culminates in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the world's close call with the third-and final-world war"--

"Nancy Drew is seventeen and good at everything, especially solving crimes. But her totally-in-control-and-obviously-running-perfectly-smoth-(but-not-really ) life hits a snag when a mysterious message drags her back to the hometown she left behind. There she'll have to find out which of her friends are still her friends, which are enemies, and who exactly is trying to kill her...and (hopefully) stop them before they succeed."--

In August of 1999, dazzlingly popular cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappears from a party in the woods outside the rural town of Oreville, Washington and is never seen again. The police question her friends, teachers, and the adults who knew her--who all have something to hide. And thanks to Clarissa's beauty, the mystery captures the attention of the nation. But with no leads and no body, the case soon grows cold. Despite the efforts of internet sleuths and true-crime aficionados, Clarissa is never found--dead or alive. Over twenty years later, Oreville high-school juniors and best friends Blair and Cameron start a true crime podcast, determined to unravel the story of what--or who--happened to this rural urban legend. In the process they uncover a nest of dirty small-town secrets, the sordid truth of Clarissa's relationship with her charismatic boyfriend, and a high school art teacher turned small-town figurehead who had a very good reason for wanting Clarissa dead. Such a good reason, in fact, that they might have to make him the highlight of their next episode... But does an ugly history with a missing girl make him guilty of murder? Or are two teenage girls about to destroy the life of an innocent man--and help the true killer walk free?

"Everyone thinks they know Jewel Van Hanen. Heiress turned actress turned social media darling who created the massively popular video-sharing app, Golden Rule. After mysteriously disappearing for a year, Jewel makes her dramatic return with an announcement: she has chosen a few lucky Golden Rule users to spend an unforgettable weekend at her private estate. But once they arrive, Jewel ingeniously flips the script: the guests are now players in an elaborate estate-wide game. And she's tailored every challenge and obstacle to test whether they have what it takes to win--at any cost. Told from the perspective of three dazzling players--Nicole: the new queen of Golden Rule; Luna: Jewel's biggest fan; and Stella: a brilliant outsider--this novel will charm its way into your heart and keep you guessing how it all ends because money isn't the only thing at stake."--

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born - three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is an elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions. But becoming the Queen Crowned isn't solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it's not just a game of win or lose ... it's life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown. --

At Niveus Private Academy, Devon and Chiamaka are the only students chosen to be Senior Prefects who are also black, which makes them targets for a series of anonymous texts revealing their secrets to the entire student body. Both students were on track toward valedictorian and bright college futures, but this prank quickly turns into a very dangerous game and they are at more than one disadvantage as it looks like things could turn deadly.

When Peter Smith's classmate snaps and posts a picture of him during a late night run at the track, the next day hostiles drop through the ceiling of the 6th period Chem Class. Because he's not really Peter Smith: he's Jake Morrow, former foster-kid turned CIA operative. Now Jake is on a pity assignment, a dozen hit lists-- and on social media as #Prettyboy. With his cover blown, he might become #Deadboy. And he'll need all his training and then some to save his job, his school and, oh yeah, his life.

The Reign of Terror against the Osage people was one of history's most ruthless and shocking crimes. As the Wild West was dying, someone was killing members of the Osage nation who had gotten rich off the oil under their land. Investigators who tried to uncover the truth were disappearing, but still J. Edgar Hoover asked a former Texas Ranger to work with the Osage to unravel the mystery.

Last summer Alice Ogilvie's basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her... then she disappeared for five days. Where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove, because she's not talking. Now, another one of Steve's girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice's ex-best friend. And it doesn't look like Brooke will be coming back. Iris Adams, Alice's tutor, has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, but doesn't have the money or the means. The reward Brooke's grandmother is offering could change that. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice and Iris set out to prove his innocence-- using the complete works of Agatha Christie as their guide. -- adapted from jacket

"Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker because his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather salvaged shipwrecks for a living. So is it destiny, irony, or just bad luck when Wrecker comes across a speedboat that has run hard aground on a sand flat? The men in the boat don't want Wrecker to call for help--in fact, they'll pay him to forget he ever saw them. Wrecker would be happy to forget, but he keeps seeing these men all over Key West--at the marina, in the cemetery, even right outside his own door. And now they want more than his silence--they want a lookout. He'll have to dive deep into their shady dealings to figure out a way to escape this tangled net. . . ." --

Social media influencer Summer Cartwright has millions of followers, a newly minted book deal, the coolest friends. And until recently, the hottest boyfriend at her über-elite prep school. Then she goes missing during a Halloween party-- and a post appears on her feed claiming she'll be dead within the next five minutes. Those closest to Summer-- friends and enemies alike-- know it isn't a media stunt. And no filter is strong enough to mask the lies they tell themselves when Summer's body is found. -- adapted from jacket

In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. Camellia Beauregard wants to be the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orléans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But she soon finds that behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets. When the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia faces an impossible decision.

"At the most elite private school in Washington, DC., whenever anyone has a problem that they need to go away, they hire Hana Yang Lerner. Hana is a fixer. She knows who to call, what to say, and how to make sure secrets stay where they belong--buried. She can fix anything. Except her own life, which was destroyed when her father, senator Skip Lerner, was arrested for an accident that left one woman nearly dead. Now Hana's reputation is ruined and her friends are gone. So when she gets a job from an anonymous client called 'Three' to follow her former best friend, Luce Herrera, Hana realizes this might be her way of getting back her old life. But the dangerous thing about digging is that you never know what you'll unearth. As Hana uncovers a dark truth about her supposedly flawless classmates, she's forced to face a secret of her own"--

It's kill or be killed where dragons are concerned. That's the only thing sisters Dani and Eden Rivera agree on. For Dani, dragon slaying takes a back seat to normal high school life, while Eden prioritizes training above everything else. Until Dani comes forges a rare and magical bond with Nox. Now she realizes that everything she thought she knew about dragons is wrong. With Dani lost to the dragons, Eden turns to the sorcerers to help save her sister. Now on opposite sides of the conflict, the sisters are playing with magic that is more dangerous than they know. And there is another, more powerful enemy waiting for them both in the shadows.... --

Jess Morgan is growing tired of living her life to please everyone else. When she discovers her late aunt's diaries, Jess learns she's not the only one struggling to hide who she really is. But was her aunt Anna truly the Romanov princess Anastasia? Or is this some elaborate hoax? As Jess digs into the century-old mystery she discovers another, bigger truth: only you can write your own story. --

What do the queen bee, star athlete, valedictorian, stoner, loner, and music geek all have in common? The invitation to a scholarship dinner was a trap, and now they're locked into a room with a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note saying they have an hour to pick someone to kill... or everyone dies. No one knows how they're all connected-- or who would want them dead. As the clock ticks down confusion turns into fear, and fear morphs into panic. Who will they choose to die? --

James is the latest CHERUB recruit. He's a bit of a troublemaker, but he's also brilliant. And CHERUB needs him. James has no idea what to expect, but he's out of options. Before he can start in the field he must first survive one hundred grueling days of basic training, where even the toughest recruits don't make it to the end.

"Set in a darkly glamorous world The Gilded Wolves is full of mystery, decadence and dangerous but thrilling adventure. Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance. To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can't yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much. Together, they'll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive." --

"Eva has never felt like she belonged ... not in her own family or with her friends in New York City, and certainly not at a fancy boarding school like Hardwick Preparatory Academy. So, when she is invited to join the Fives, an elite secret society, she jumps at the opportunity to finally be a part of something. But what if the Fives are about more than just having the best parties and receiving special privileges from the school? What if they are also responsible for keeping some of Hardwick's biggest secrets buried? 1962: There is only one reason why Connie would volunteer to be one of the six students to participate in testing Hardwick's nuclear fallout shelter: Craig Allenby. While the thought of nuclear war sends her into a panic, she can't pass up the opportunity to spend four days locked in with the school's golden boy. However, Connie and the other students quickly discover that there is more to this 'test' than they previously thought. As they are forced to follow an escalating series of commands, Connie realizes that one wrong move could have dangerous consequences. Separated by sixty years, Eva and Connie's stories become inextricably intertwined as Eva unravels the mystery of how six students went into the fallout shelter all those years ago ... but only five came out"--

"Master spy Twilight is the best at what he does when it comes to going undercover on dangerous missions in the name of a better world. But when he receives the ultimate impossible assignment--get married and have a kid--he may finally be in over his head! Not one to depend on others, Twilight has his work cut out for him procuring both a wife and a child for his mission to infiltrate an elite private school. What he doesn't know is that the wife he's chosen is an assassin and the child he's adopted is a telepath!"--Page 4 of cover.

"When a storm strikes at Blackbrook Academy, an elite prep school nestled in the woods of Maine, a motley crew of students--including Beth 'Peacock' Picach, Orchid McKee, Vaughn Green, Sam 'Mustard' Maestor, Finn Plum, and Scarlet Mistry--are left stranded on campus with their headmaster. Hours later, her body is found hanging in the conservatory and it's very clear her death was no suicide. With this group of students who are all hiding something, nothing is as it seems, and everyone has a motive for murder"--

"The story of Athanasia, forsaken princess of the Obelian Empire, ends with her execution at the hands of her own father--or does it? Her tragic tale is the plot of the novel The Lovely Princess. But now, a modern woman who read the book has just woken up as baby Athanasia herself, filled with her own memories and knowledge of the story she's stuck in! Determined to survive her doomed fate, infant Athanasia embarks on this new life with a plan: avoid attention and hoard valuables to fund her escape. When her plan goes awry, she suddenly needs to charm her way into the good graces of her father, the beautiful tyrant emperor, so he doesn't kill her again!"--

"The Cloudkiss Killer is dead. Now a true-crime podcast is hosting a contest to find his bones. Lucy was almost the serial killer's final victim. Carolina is a true-crime fan who fears her own rage. Maggie is a psychology student with a little too much to hide. But there are more than bones hiding in the shadows...sometimes the darkness inside is more frightening than anything the dead leave behind"--

Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City juvenile justice system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, she finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI6 agency. Operating out of a centuries-old manor house on the coast of Scotland, the City Spies are five kids from around the world. When they're not attending an elite boarding school, they're training for their roles as the biggest secret in British Secret Intelligence Service.