Whats New Category: Graphic Novel

Last Days of Summer… Check Out These Teen Novels Set In Summer

Posted August 10, 2016 by LARRY

YA BRODY, J.

Welcome to Winlock Harbor. Where the weather is always sunny, the water is the perfect temperature, and the boardwalk boasts the best food around. Where best friends Grayson, Mike, and Ian first met as kids, building a sand castle on a cloudless beach day. And where this summer, the loyalties of a lifelong friendship will begin to unravel.

The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood

YA REUTER HAPGOOD, H.

Gottie Oppenheimer, a seventeen-year-old physics prodigy, navigates grief, love, and disruptions in the space-time continuum in one very eventful summer.

Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina

YA MEDINA, M.

Nora Lopez is seventeen during the summer of 1977, when New York is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam. Meg Medina transports us to a time when tempers and temperatures ran high to share the story of a young woman who discovers that the greatest dangers are often closer than we like to admit.

This is the Part Where You Laugh by Peter Brown Hoffmeister

YA HOFFMEISTER, P.

Rising sophomore Travis and his best friend, Creature, spend a summer in a Eugene, Oregon, trailer park dealing with cancer, basketball, first love, addiction, gang violence, and a reptilian infestation.

Look Both Ways by Alison Cherry

YA CHERRY, A.

The story of a girl who apprentices at a summer theater festival hoping she’s finally found a place to belong only to learn that neither talent nor love is as straightforward as she thinks.

Lumberjanes. Volume 1, Beware the Kitten Holy written by Noelle Stevenson & Grace Ellis; illustrated by Brooke Allen; colors by Maarta Laiho; letters by Aubrey Aiese

YA GRAPH STEVENSON, N.

Best friends Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley spend a fun summer at Lumberjane scout camp where they encounter yetis, three-eyed wolves, and giant falcons while solving a mystery that holds the fate of the world in the balance.

The Many Lives of John Stone by Linda Buckley-Archer

YA BUCKLEY-ARCHER, L.

When seventeen-year-old Spark takes a summer job working at a secluded house in England, organizing journals that span centuries and all written in the same hand, she discovers her true connection to the people who live there and the trait that makes them unique.

Summer State of Mind by Jen Calonita

YA CALONITA, J.

Spoiled, yet lovable fifteen-year-old Harper McCallister is sent to sleepaway camp where she is an outcast at first but eventually finds a way to make her mark, gaining new perspectives on friendship and life in general.

Summer Games Fever?! Checkout these teen books!

Posted August 3, 2016 by LARRY

Gearing up for the 2016 Summer Games?! Check out these teen books:

Fiction

Rush for the Gold: Mystery at the Olympics by John Feinstein
YA FEINSTEIN, J.
Two teenaged aspiring journalists who are dating solve a mystery at the 2012 Olympic Games, while one simultaneously competes for a gold medal in swimming.

Tumbling by Caela Carter
YA CARTER, C.
They sacrificed their childhoods to compete in the two days of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials. Grace lives and breathes gymnastics– but can never be perfect enough. Leigh has a gymnastics career, a normal high-school life… and a secret that could ruin everything. Camille wants to please her mom and her boyfriend… but most of all she wants to walk away. Wilhelmina was denied her Olympic dream four years ago, and she wont let anything stop her this time… anything. Monica is terrified: nobody believes in her– and why should they? Some will be stars. Some will be going home with nothing. And all will have their lives changed forever….

Goldfish by Nat Luurtsema
YA Luurtsema, N.
Lou Brown is a fast individual medley swimmer, training for the Olympics. But when she tanks the time trials, she starts over and goes back to school. It’s hard to fit in with the existing social groups. But then, she begins to coach boys in a different type of swimming activity, for a different type of competition.

Signed, Skye Harper by Carol Lynch Williams
YA WILLIAMS, C.
In 1972, while her idol, Mark Spitz, is in Germany competing in the Olympics, fifteen-year-old Winston, her Nanny, and her crush, Steve, head to Las Vegas in Steve’s parents’ motorhome to reconnect with Winston’s mother, who left ten years before to become a star.

Graphic Novel

An Olympic Dream: the story of Samia Yusuf Omar by Reinhard Kleist; translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger
YA GRAPH 796.4209 OMAR, S.
The image of Samia Yusuf Omar running for last place at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will forever be imprinted in the minds of all who saw it: The lean Somalian, wearing knee-length leggings and a baggy T-shirt, came in seconds behind her competitors. What the cheering crowd couldn’t know then was what it took to get there. An Olympic Dream follows Omar’s second attempt to represent her country at the Olympics, this time in London. Reinhard Kleist pictures the athlete training in one of the most dangerous cities in the world; her passage through Sudan and into Libya; and her fateful attempt to reach Europe. By telling the story of one remarkable woman, Kleist gives voice to the thousands of migrants who risk their lives daily for a better future.

Nonfiction

The Matchless Six: the story of Canada’s first women’s Olympic team by Ron Hotchkiss
YA 796.4808 HOT
It is July 1928, and Canada’s first women’s Olympic team — “The Matchless Six” — is heading to Amsterdam, the site of the ninth Olympiad of the modern era. Canada’s finest female track-and-field athletes, having survived rigorous training and the grueling selection process at the Olympic Trials, were determined to take their big talent and big dreams to the top. Meet Jane Bell, Myrtle Cook, Bobbie Rosenfeld, and Ethel Smith, the “Flying Four” who comprised Canada’s first relay team; Ethel Catherwood, the “Saskatoon Lily,” who became the champion high-jumper and the most photographed female athlete at the Olympic Games; and Jean Thompson, the youngest member of the team at seventeen, who became one of the world’s most outstanding middle-distance runners.

The Boys of Winter: the untold story of a coach, a dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team by Wayne Coffey
YA 796.962 COF
Explores the victory of the U.S. hockey team at the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980 and the paths of the players and coaches since 1980.

Teen Novels for Gamers

Posted July 21, 2016 by LARRY

Cure for the Common Universe by Christian McKay Heidicker
YA HEIDICKER, C.
Jaxon meets the girl of his dreams on the same day that his father ships him off to video game rehab. Now he must earn 1 million therapy points in a week, if he wants to be released from rehab in time for his date.

The Leveller by Julia Durango
YA SF DURANGO, J.
Nixy Bauer, a sixteen-year-old self-made video-game bounty hunter, gets in over her head when she attempts to rescue a game developer’s son from a virtual trap.

Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff
YA BREZENOFF, S.
The lives of two Minnesota teenagers are intertwined through the world of role-playing games.

Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly by Conrad Wesselhoeft
YA WEWWELHOEFT, C.
Seventeen year-old dirt-bike-riding daredevil Arlo Santiago catches the eye of the U.S. military with his first-place ranking on a video game featuring drone warfare, and must reconcile the work they want him to do with the emotional scars he has suffered following a violent death in his family.

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner
YA SF DASHNER, J.
Michael is a skilled internet gamer in a world of advanced technology. When a cyber-terrorist begins to threaten players, Michael is called upon to seek him and his secret’s out.

Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon
YA GAGNON, M.
After waking up on an operating table with no memory of how she got there, Noa must team up with computer hacker Peter to stop a corrupt corporation with a deadly secret.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
YA CLINE, E.
In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the Oasis. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines – puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win – and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

Insignia by S.J. Kincaid
YA SF KINCAID, S.
Tom, a fourteen-year-old genius at virtual reality games, is recruited by the United States Military to begin training at the Pentagon Spire as a Combatant in World War III, controlling the mechanized drones that do the actual fighting off-planet.

Free to Fall by Lauren Miller
YA SF MILLER, L.
In a near-future world where everyone is controlled by their smartphones, sixteen-year-old Rory Vaughn suddenly begins listening to the voice within–which kids are taught to ignore–and discovers a terrible plot at the heart of the corporation that makes the devices.

Rush by Eve Silver
YA SF SILVER, E.
Rochester, New York, high schooler Miki Jones is pulled into a sort of a game in which she and other teens battle real-life aliens and the consequences of each battle could be deadly.

Coda by Emma Trevayne
YA SF TREVAYNE, E.
Ever since he was a young boy, music has coursed through the veins of eighteen-year-old Anthem — the Corp has certainly seen to that. By encoding music with addictive and mind-altering elements, the Corp holds control over all citizens, particularly conduits like Anthem, whose life energy feeds the main power in the Grid. Anthem finds hope and comfort in the twin siblings he cares for, even as he watches the life drain slowly and painfully from his father. Escape is found in his underground rock band, where music sounds free, clear, and unencoded deep in an abandoned basement. But when a band member dies suspiciously from a tracking overdose, Anthem knows that his time has suddenly become limited. Revolution all but sings in the air, and Anthem cannot help but answer the call with the chords of choice and free will. But will the girl he loves help or hinder him?

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang
YA GRAPH DOCTOROW
Immersing herself in an online role-playing game where she enjoys fantasy heroics, Anda confronts a difficult choice when she befriends a disadvantaged Chinese kid who works illegally to collect valuable objects and sell them to other players for real money.

Sword Art Online: Progressive: 001 original story, Reki Kawahara; art, Kiseki Himura; character design, abec; translation, Stephen Paul
YA GRAPH KAWAHARA, R. V.1
An astute teen, Yuuki Asuna spends most of her time studying for her high school entrance exams. One day, she borrows her brother’s virtual reality game, ‘Sword Art Online,’ and finds herself trapped in its fantasy world. Soon, though, she learns the mechanics of the game, develops her swordplay technique and impresses a pro gamer who invites her to join the best players on the front lines. Is Asuna ready to swap her hard-earned education ethics for high-rank play in a virtual realm?

6 Teen Books to Read If You Like to Play Tennis

Posted June 22, 2016 by LARRY

The Prince of Tennis, Vol. 1 story & art by Takeshi Konom
YA GRAPH KONOMI, T.
There is a rumor going around that a twelve-year-old boy is going to enter the sixteen-year-old and under tennis group. How can someone so young ever hope to compete with kids much older and more experienced than him? This is no ordinary kid: he is none other than Ryoma Echizen, the Prince of Tennis! Can the prince gain the respect of his fellow team-mates despite his small size and young age?

Game On by Monica Seles and James La Rosa
YA SELES, M.
Sixteen-year-old tennis star Maya’s dreams come true when she earns a scholarship to the Academy, a sports training facility/boarding school for teenaged athletes, but can she survive the constant drama of her talented classmates?

Jersey Tomatoes are the Best by Maria Padian
YA PADIAN, M.
When fifteen-year-old best friends Henry and Eve leave New Jersey, one for tennis camp in Florida and one for ballet camp in New York, each faces challenges that put her long-cherished dreams of the future to the test.

Vanishing Act: Mystery at the U.S. Open by John Feinstein
YA MY FEINSTEIN, J.
Eighth-grade sports reporters Susan Carol and Stevie reunite at the U.S. Open tennis championships where they investigate the mysterious disappearance of a top Russian player.

Amazing Grace by Megan Shull
YA SHULL, M.
Tennis has a new “it” girl and her name is Grace Kincaid. The only problem is — Grace has suddenly realized that being a teen sensation isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. With fame and fortune just a backswing away, all she really wants is to be …NORMAL!

Mixed-Up Doubles by Elena Yates Eulo
YA EULO, E.
With the help of an unlikely new friend, ninth grader Hank tries to adjust to his parents’ recent divorce and works toward his dream of being a successful tennis player.

Teen Novels Featuring Dragons for the Game of Thrones Fans!

Posted May 3, 2016 by LARRY

Bloodsong by Melvin Burgess
YA BURGESS, M.
Forced into the clutches of a bloodthirsty dragon, Sigurd–the new hope of the Volson clan–fights not only for his life, but for the survival of an apocalyptic Britain.

Returner’s Wealth by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
YA STEWART, P.
Young pioneer, Micah, enters Wrymeweald full of hope to return home having made his fortune. But this is a land where wyrmes, fabulous dragon-like beasts, roam wild and reign supreme. After a near-brush with death on the edge of a canyon, Micah soon finds a chance to prove his worth when he meets with Eli, a veteran tracker of Wrymeweald.

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
YA FFORDE, J.
Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Strange runs an agency for underemployed magicians in a world where magic is fading away, but when visions of the death of the world’s last dragon begin, all signs point to Jennifer–and Big Magic.

Talon by Julie Kagawa
YA KAGAWA, J.
Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they’re positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser. Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught.

Talker 25 by Joshua McCune
YA SF MCCUNE, J.
The fifteen-year-long war between man and dragons seems nearly over until Melissa becomes an unwilling pawn of the government after she–and those driving the beasts to extinction–discovers that she can communicate with dragons.

Scorched by Mari Mancusi
YA MANCUSI, M.
Sixteen-year-old Trinity Foxx does not believe her grandfather’s latest treasure is a real dragon’s egg until soldiers invade trying to steal it, a strange boy tells her she must work with him to stop an impending dragon war, and the dragon inside the egg begins telling her what to do.

The Story of Owen, Dragon Slayer of Trondheim by E. K. Johnston
YA JOHNSTON, E.
In an alternate world where industrialization has caused many species of carbon-eating dragons to thrive, Owen, a slayer being trained by his famous father and aunt, and Siobahn, his bard, face a dragon infestation near their small town in Canada.

Slayers by C. J. Hill
YA HILL, C.
At a rustic summer camp, sixteen-year-old Tori, a senator’s daughter, learns that she is descended from medieval dragon slayers, that dragons still exist, and that she is expected to hone her special abilities to join her fellow campers in battling the beasts and the man who controls them.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
YA HARTMAN, R.
In a world where dragons and humans coexist in an uneasy truce and dragons can assume human form, Seraphina, whose mother died giving birth to her, grapples with her own identity amid magical secrets and royal scandals, while she struggles to accept and develop her extraordinary musical talents.

Firelight by Sophie Jordan
YA JORDAN, S.
When sixteen-year-old Jacinda, who can change into a dragon, is forced to move away from her community of shapeshifters and start a more normal life, she falls in love with a boy who proves to be her most dangerous enemy.

Eon by Alison Goodman
YA GOODMAN, A.
Eon has disguised herself as a boy in order to study Dragon Magic and become a Dragoneye, one of a select group that forms a conduit to the power of energy dragons, but if the secret of her sex comes out, she will be killed.

Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen
YA OWEN, J.
Three young men are entrusted with the Imaginarium Geographica, an atlas of fantastical places to which they travel in hopes of defeating the Winter King whose bid for power is related to the First World War raging in the Real World.

Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley
YA MCKINLEY, R.
When Jake Mendoza, who lives in the Smokehill National Park where his father runs the Makepeace Institute of Integrated Dragon Studies, goes on his first solo overnight in the park, he finds an infant dragon whose mother has been killed by a poacher.

Dragon’s Keep by Janet Lee Carey
YA CAREY, J.
In 1145 A.D., as foretold by Merlin, fourteen-year-old Rosalind, who will be the twenty-first Pendragon Queen of Wilde Island, has much to accomplish to fulfill her destiny, while hiding from her people the dragon’s claw she was born with that reflects only one of her mother’s dark secrets.

The Dragons of Darkness by Antonia Michaelis
YA MICHAELIS, A.
Two boys from very different backgrounds are thrown together by magic, mayhem, and a common foe as they battle deadly dragons in the wilderness of Nepal.

Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey
YA MCCAFFREY, A.
Menolly flees her home, because she is not permitted to make music there, and is taken by the Masterharper himself to Harpershall, where she learns that only her own self-doubt stands in her way

Eragon by Christopher Paolini
YA PAOLINI, C.
In Alagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters.

Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn
YA VAUGHN, C.
In a parallel world where humans and dragons live in a state of cold war, seventeen-year-old Kay and her dragon friend, Artegal, struggle to find a way to show that dragons and humans can co-exist.

Four Eyes: Forged in Flames Vol. 1 by Joe Kelly
YA GRAPH KELLY, J.
When Enrico’s father is killed by a dragon in Great Depression-era New York, Enrico takes a job with his father’s employer, Christoforo Boccioni, to help train dragons to fight for money and glory.

13 Teen Books for Jane Austen Fans

Posted February 23, 2016 by LARRY

Prom & Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg
YA EULBERG, E.
For Lizzie Bennett, a music scholarship student at Connecticut’s exclusive, girls-only Longbourn Academy, the furor over prom is senseless, but even more puzzling is her attraction to the pompous Will Darcy, best friend of her roommate’s boyfriend.

Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman
YA SHULMAN, P.
Julie and Ashleigh, high school sophomores and Jane Austen fans, seem to fall for the same Mr. Darcy-like boy and struggle to hide their true feelings from one another while rehearsing for a school musical.

Jane Austen: a life revealed by Catherine Reef
YA 823.7 AUS REE
A biography of Jane Austen for students that provides an overview of her personal life, writings, and influence on world literature.

Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood by Abby McDonald
YA MCDONALD, A.
Hallie and Grace Weston have never exactly seen life eye to eye. So when their father dies and leaves everything to his new wife, forcing the girls to pack up and leave San Francisco for a relative’s house in shiny Beverly Hills, the two sisters take to their changing lot in typically different styles. Shy, responsible Grace manages to make friends with an upbeat, enterprising girl named Palmer but still yearns for her old life — and the maybe-almost-crush she left behind. Meanwhile, drama queen Hallie is throwing herself headlong into life — and love — in L.A., spending every second with gorgeous musician Dakota and warding off the attention of brooding vet Brandon. But is Hallie blinded by the stars in her eyes? And is Grace doomed to forever hug the sidelines?

The List Lover’s Guide to Jane Austen by Joan Strasbaugh
YA 823.7 AUS STR
Her life, her work, her legacy-step into the world of the incredible Jane Austen. It’s Jane like you’ve never seen! Through fun and breezy lists, discover everything there is to know about Jane Austen, the sassy literary genius we know and love. Learn her likes and dislikes, her haves and have-nots, where she traveled, how she lived, and who she knew. With a wealth of little-known and fascinating information, find out: – Her friends and her beaux- Every place she lived or visited – Books in her library – Her quirks – The last lines of everything she wrote – and much more!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
YA GRAHAME-SMITH, S.
A mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton–and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy.

Emma by Kaori Mori; translation, Sheldon Drzka; lettering, Abigail Blackman
YA GRAPH MORI, K. V.1
Calling upon his former governess, William Jones, gentleman, is startled when his knock is answered by an uncommonly beautiful servant, the soft-spoken Emma. Throughout his visit, William’s eyes drift to the maid whenever she enters the room, and he contrives to meet Emma socially as she goes about her errands. But London society is a web of strict codes and divisions. For the son of a wealthy merchant, seeking out a working-class girl is simply not done! William’s father plans for his son to marry into the peerage and elevate the Jones family to greater heights, but although William says and does what is expected of him, he longs only for Emma’s company…

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
YA PETERFREUND, D.
Elliot North fights to save her family’s land and her own heart in this post-apocalyptic reimaging of Jane Austen’s Persuasion.

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik
YA LAZEBNIK, C.
In this modern take on “Pride and Prejudice,” Elise Benton, who has just moved to California, is a junior at an exclusive prep school where, in spite of her initial bad impression, she finds herself attracted to the moody and handsome son of Hollywood’s most famous celebrity couple.

The Dashwood Sisters’ Secrets of Love by Rosie Rushton
YA RUSHTON, R.
A celebration of friendship, sisterhood, and true love follows the Dashwood sisters–practical Ellie, drama queen Abby, and tomboy Georgie–as they share their romantic woes and mishaps.

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer
YA SPRINGER, K.
While working part-time as a barista in a Chicago coffee bar, high school senior Jane dabbles in matchmaking after observing the coffee preferences of her customers.

Pride and Prejudice adapted from the original novel by Jane Austen; text adapted by Ian Edington; illustrated by Robert Deas
YA GRAPH EDGINTON, I.
In this graphic-novel adaptation, writer Ian Edginton and artist Robert Deas introduce one of the best-loved works of English literature to a new generation of readers.

Emma story adaptation by Crystal S. Chan; English dialogue adapted by Stacy King; art by Po Tse; lettering, Morpheus Studios; lettering assist, Long Vo; original story by Jane Austen
YA GRAPH SILVERMOON, C.
The impulsive match-making of Emma Woodhouse delivers both humor and heartache through the gorgeous artwork of manga-ka Po Tse (Manga Classics: Pride and Prejudice).

Youth Media Awards–Teen Titles

Posted January 11, 2016 by LARRY

The Youth Media Awards were announced this morning! The awards are presented by the American Library Association and they highlight all the best things that happened in 2015 in Children’s and Young Adult literature. Read below for the highlights of the Teen related awards!

Michael L. Printz Award, for excellence in literature written for young adults

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby, is the 2016 Printz Award winner.

Two Printz Honor Books were also named:

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez

The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick

William C. Morris Award, for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli is the 2016 Morris Award winner.

Four other books were finalists for the award:

Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes

The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War by Steve Sheinkin, is the 2016 Excellence winner.

Four other books were finalists for the award:

Symphony for the City of the dead book cover

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Margarita Engle

First Flight Around the World: The Adventures of the American Fliers Who Won the Race by Tim Grove

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson

This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon by Nancy Plain

Margaret A. Edwards Award, for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults

David Levithan is the 2016 Edwards Award winner. His books include: The Realm of Possibility; Boy Meets Boy; Love is the Higher Law; How They Met, and Other Stories; Wide Awake; and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Alex Awards, for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences

Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits Book Cover

All Involved by Ryan Gattis

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Bones & All by Camille DeAngelis

Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong

Girl at War by Sara Nović

Half the World by Joe Abercrombie

Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton

Sacred Heart by Liz Suburbia

Undocumented: A Dominican Boy’s Odyssey from a Homeless Shelter to the Ivy League by Dan-el Padilla Peralta

The Unraveling of Mercy Louis by Keija Parssinen

Schneider Family Book Award, for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience

the Unlikely Hero of Room 13 B book cover

The teen (ages 13-18) award winner is The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award

Three King Author Honor Books were selected and all three were teen titles:

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds

X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon

Pura Belpré (Author) Award

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Margarita Engle, is the Belpré Author Award winner

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, for most distinguished informational book for children

Two teen titles were named Sibert Honor Books:

the boys who challenged hitler book cover

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans written and illustrated by Don Brown

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club by Phillip Hoose

Stonewall Book Award – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience

A teen novel was selected as an honor book: Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher Barzak

Book Trailer of the Week– Battling Boy by Paul Pope

Posted August 28, 2015 by LARRY

Click here to find Battling Boy in the Library!

Coming of Age Graphic Novels for Teens

Posted August 25, 2015 by LARRY

Chiggers by Hope Larson
YA GRAPH LARSON, H.
When Abby returns to the same summer camp she always goes to, she is dismayed to find that her old friends have changed, and the only person who wants to be her friend is the strange new girl, Shasta.

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol
YA GRAPH BROSGOL, V.
Anya, embarrassed by her Russian immigrant family and self-conscious about her body, has given up on fitting in at school but falling down a well and making friends with the ghost there just may be worse.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
YA GRAPH YANG, G.
Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in comic book format.

Foiled by Jane Yolen
YA GRAPH YOLEN, J.
Aliera is a star at fencing, but at school no one notices her–until her new lab partner Avery begins flirting with her. Aliera’s mother just bought her a foil from a garage sale, and it has a strange jewel attached to the hilt. Will Aliera’s first date be ruined when magical creatures try to steal her foil?

Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks
YA GRAPH HICKS, F.
After an idyllic childhood of homeschooling with her mother and three older brothers, Maggie enrolls in public high school, where interacting with her peers is complicated by the melancholy ghost that has followed her throughout her entire life.

Freshman: Tales of 9th Grade Obsessions, Revelations, and Other Nonsense by Corrine Mucha
YA GRAPH MUCHA, C.
Follows Annie’s first year of high school, chronicling her crushes, failures, and successes.

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks
YA GRAPH SHEN, P.
Charlie is the laid-back captain of the basketball team. Nate is the neurotic, scheming president of the robotics club. Their unlikely friendship nearly bites the dust when Nate declares war on the cheerleaders and they retaliate by making Charlie their figurehead in the ugliest class election campaign the school has ever seen. At stake is funding that will either cover a robotics competition or new cheerleading uniforms– but not both. Bad sportsmanship? Sure. Chainsaws? Why not. Running away from home on Thanksgiving? Nothing can possibly go wrong.

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge
YA GRAPH GULLEDGE, L.
When Paige Turner and her family move to New York City from rural Virginia, she tries to make sense of her new life through her sketchbook, and it helps bring her true personality into the open, a process that is equal parts terrifying and rewarding.

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
YA GRAPH TAMAKI, M.
Rose and her parents have been going to Awago Beach since she was a little girl. It’s her summer getaway, her refuge. Her friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had, completing her summer family. But this summer is different. Rose’s mom and dad won’t stop fighting, and Rose and Windy have gotten tangled up in a tragedy-in-the-making in the small town of Awago Beach. It’s a summer of secrets and heartache, and it’s a good thing Rose and Windy have each other.

Lumberjanes. Volume 1, Beware the Kitten by Noelle Stevenson & Grace Ellis
YA GRAPH STEVENSON, N.
Best friends Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley spend a fun summer at Lumberjane scout camp where they encounter yetis, three-eyed wolves, and giant falcons while solving a mystery that holds the fate of the world in the balance.

Wolverine: Worst Day Ever by Barry Lyga
YA GRAPH LYGA, B.
He’s Marvel’s most popular mutant … and the best there is at what he does. Now, for the first time ever, experience the storied saga of everybody’s favorite feral X-Man in his own words–fully illustrated with archival images from more than 30 years’ worth of comic-book appearances!

Book Playlist for Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Posted July 20, 2015 by MPPL

Maximum Ride by James Patterson
YA PATTERSON, J.

1. “Just Give Me A Reason” by P!nk
2. “The Way” by Ariana Grande feat. Mac Miller
3. “I Love It” by Icona Pop
4. “Titanium” by David Guetta feat. Sia
5. “Cups” by Anna Kendrick
6. “Die Young” by Ke$ha
7. “Timber” by Pitbull feat. Ke$ha
8. “22” by Taylor Swift
9. “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift
10. “Symphony No. 46” by Mozart

Listen to the Playlist:

Playlist submitted by Panagiotis.