Whats New Category: Staff Picks

6 Teens Books to read if you like Sherlock Holmes

Posted January 27, 2016 by LARRY

Death Cloud by Andrew Lane
YA MY LANE, A.
In 1868, with his army officer father suddenly posted to India, and his mother mysteriously “unwell,” fourteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes is sent to stay with his eccentric uncle and aunt in their vast house in Hampshire, where he uncovers his first murder and a diabolical villain.

Young Miss Holmes: Casebook 1-2 by Kaoru Shintani
YA GRAPH SHINTANI, K.
Christie Holmes is a prodigy. At ten years old, she’s as familiar with the sciences and classics as any older student at Cambridge or Oxford. And her facility with logic is reminiscent of her uncle, the eminent Sherlock Holmes himself. So, what’s a brilliant young girl to do when her parents are away in India, leaving her behind in the care of maids and servants? Solve mysteries, of course.

Lock & Mori by Heather W. Petty
YA MY PETTY, H.
In modern-day London, sixteen-year-old Miss James “Mori” Moriarty is looking for an escape from her recent past and spiraling home life when she takes classmate Sherlock Holmes up on his challenge to solve a murder mystery.

Secret Letters by Leah Scheier
YA MY SCHEIER, L.
Sixteen-year-old Dora travels to London to meet Sherlock Holmes, who might be her biological father, and ask his help for her cousin who is being blackmailed over some stolen letters, but although Holmes dies before she arrives, a handsome young detective comes to Dora’s aid.

The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason
YA MY GLEASON, C.
In 1889 London young women are turning up dead, and Evaline Stoker, relative of Bram, and Mina Holmes, niece of Sherlock, are summoned to investigate the clue of the not-so-ancient Egyptian scarabs–but where does a time traveler fit in?

Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams
YA MY ABRAHAMS, P.
Like her idol Sherlock Holmes, eighth grader Ingrid Levin-Hill uses her intellect to solve a murder case in her home town of Echo Falls.

New Teen Reads Perfect for the Beach!

Posted July 1, 2015 by MPPL

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

YA NEW SF LEWIS, R.

A futuristic retelling of Snow White in which seventeen-year-old Essie, a master at repairing robots and drones on the frozen mining planet Thanda, is pulled into a war by handsome and mysterious Dane after his shuttle crash-lands near her home.

Dead to Me by Mary McCoy

YA NEW MY MCCOY, M.

In 1948 Hollywood, a treacherous world of tough-talking private eyes, psychopathic movie stars, and troubled starlets, sixteen-year-old Alice tries to find a young runaway who is the sole witness to a beating that put her sister, Annie, in a coma.

Elana Vanishing: a memoir by Elena and Clare B. Dunkle

NEW YA 362.1968 DUN

Seventeen-year-old Elena is vanishing. Every day means renewed determination, so every day means fewer calories. This is the story of a girl whose armor against anxiety becomes artillery against herself as she battles on both sides of a lose-lose war in a struggle with anorexia.

Rockin’ the Boat: 50 Iconic Rebels and Revolutionaries by Jeff Fleischer

YA NEW YA 920.02 FLE

We love to root for the underdog, and that’s part of why we’re drawn to the stories of revolutionaries. Whether they fail, succeed, or succeed only to become what they once fought against, people who can rally others to their cause and shake up the status quo tend to be inherently interesting. Rockin’ the Boat tells the stories of 50 such legends throughout the world, from people fed up with the Roman Empire, to the revolutionaries who helped create America.

Girl Defective by Simmone Howell

YA NEW HOWELL, S.

Friendship, love, and a mystery fill the life-changing summer of fifteen-year-old Sky, who lives with her unconventional family in a run-down record store in St. Kilda, a seaside suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

redqueen Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

YA NEW AVEYARD, V.

In a world divided by blood–those with common, Red blood serve the Silver-blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities–seventeen-year-old Mare, a Red, discovers she has an ability of her own. To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. But Mare risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard –a growing Red rebellion–even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction.

No Parking at the End Times by Bryan Bliss

YA BLISS, B.

Abigail’s parents, believing the end of the world is near, sell their house, give the money to an end-of-times preacher, and drive from North Carolina to San Francisco where they remain homeless and destitute, as Abigail fights to keep her parents, her twin brother, and herself united against all odds.

Utopia, Iowa by Brian Yansky

YA NEW YANSKY, B.

For the most part, aspiring screenwriter Jack Bell is just your typical Midwestern kid. He’s got a crush on his hot best friend, Ash. He’s coping with a sudden frostiness between his once crazy-in-love parents. He’s debating where to go to college next year – or whether to go at all. But then there’s his gift (or curse): Jack can see dead people, just like the kid in The Sixth Sense. Lately, the ghosts are more distracting than usual, demanding that Jack get to the bottom of their mysterious deaths — all while avoiding the straitlaced Detective Bloodsmith, who doesn’t believe in gifts or curses and can’t help wondering why Jack keeps turning up at crime scenes. Is there a happily-ever-after in Jack’s future, or is that only the stuff of movies?

Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan

YA NEW RYAN, C.

At fourteen, Frances survived a slaughter that claimed the lives of her parents and best friend, Libby, but she took on Libby’s identity and wealth while plotting revenge against the powerful Wells family and now, at age eighteen, is ready to destroy them, including her first love, Grey.

Gotham Academy, Volume 1: Welcome to Gotham Academy written by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher ; art by Karl Kerschl

YA GRAPH CLOONAN, B.

Gotham City’s most prestigious prep school is a very weird place. It’s got a spooky campus, oddball teachers, and rich benefactors always dropping by…like that weirdo Bruce Wayne. But nothing is as strange as the students! Like, what’s up with Olive Silverlock? Is she crazy or what? Where did she go last summer? And what’s the deal with her creepy mom? And how come that Freshman Maps is always following her around? And is she still going out with Kyle? P.S. Did you hear the rumor about the ghost in the North Hall?!

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

YA GRAPH STEVENSON, N.

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are. But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

Realistic Fiction for Teen Readers

Posted June 18, 2015 by MPPL

Looking for a good read that deals with real world problems? Check out this list below for some excellent realistic fiction novels for teen readers!

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

YA ANDERSON, L.

Hayley Kincaid and her father move back to their hometown to try a “normal” life, but the horrors he saw in the war threaten to destroy their lives.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

YA ROWELL, R.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits–smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

YA ASHER, J.

When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah’s voice recounting the events leading up to her death.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

YA GREEN, J.

Sixteen-year-old Hazel, a stage IV thyroid cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at cancer support group forces her to reexamine her perspective on love, loss, and life.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

YA ALEXIE, S.

Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

YA MYERS, W.

While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.

Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt

YA SCHMIDT, G.

As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends, an abusive father, and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him until he finds an ally in Lil Spicer–a fiery young lady. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon’s birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage.

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

YA KING, A.

Imagining that she is sending love to passengers in airplanes flying overhead, Astrid Jones, a teen from a small town torn by gossip and narrow-mindedness, struggles with her family’s dysfunction and hides her love for another girl.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

YA CHBOSKY, S.

A coming of age novel about Charlie, a freshman in high school who is a wallflower, shy and introspective, and very intelligent. He deals with the usual teen problems, but also with the suicide of his best friend.

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

YA BROWN, J.

Sixteen-year-old Valerie, whose boyfriend Nick committed a school shooting at the end of their junior year, struggles to cope with integrating herself back into high school life, unsure herself whether she was a hero or a villain.

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

YA DESSEN, S.

The summer following her father’s death, Macy plans to work at the library and wait for her brainy boyfriend to return from camp, but instead she goes to work at a catering business where she makes new friends and finally faces her grief.

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

YA DELLAIRA, A.

When Laurel starts writing letters to dead people for a school assignment, she begins to spill about her sister’s mysterious death, her mother’s departure from the family, her new friends, and her first love.

What We Saw at Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard

YA MITCHARD, J.

After glimpsing an older man in a room with a dead girl, sixteen-year-old Allie, who has a life-threatening allergy to sunlight, discovers she is the lone key to stopping a serial killer.

Somebody Please Tell Me Who I Am by Harry Mazer

YA MAZER, H.

Wounded in Iraq while his Army unit is on convoy and treated for many months for traumatic brain injury, the first person Ben remembers from his earlier life is his autistic brother.

When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds

YA REYNOLDS, J.

Ali lives in Bed-Stuy, a Brooklyn neighborhood known for guns and drugs, but he and his sister, Jazz, and their neighbors, Needles and Noodles, stay out of trouble until they go to the wrong party, where one gets badly hurt and another leaves with a target on his back.

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick

YA SONNENBLICK, J.

After an injury ends former star pitcher Peter Friedman’s athletic dreams, he concentrates on photography which leads him to a girlfriend, new fame as a high school sports photographer, and a deeper relationship with the beloved grandfather who, when he realizes he’s becoming senile, gives Pete all of his professional camera gear.

Swim the Fly by Don Calame

YA CALAME, D.

Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year’s goal is to see a real-live naked girl for the first time. Given that none of the guys has the nerve to even ask a girl out on a date this is quite a challenge. But catching a girl in the buff starts to look easy compared to Matt’s other summertime aspiration: to swim the 100-yard butterfly as a way to impress Kelly West, the sizzling new star of the swim team.

Winger by Andrew Smith

YA SMITH, A.

Two years younger than his classmates at a prestigious boarding school, fourteen-year-old Ryan Dean West grapples with living in the dorm for troublemakers, falling for his female best friend who thinks of him as just a kid, and playing wing on the Varsity rugby team with some of his frightening new dorm-mates.

Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

YA EULBERG, E.

Emme, Sophie, Ethan, and Carter are seniors at a performing arts high school in New York City, preparing for the senior recital and feeling the pressure to perform well and take the next step in their careers and their lives–whether they want to or not.

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

YA JOHNSON, M.

When seventeen-year-old Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her favorite aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a sort of scavenger hunt that transforms her life.

High Fantasy Reads for Teens

Posted June 10, 2015 by MPPL

High Fantasy fiction is a sub-genre of fantasy fiction and is usually defined as stories that have an epic quality about them, have tons of action and adventure, and are set in a made up world that may also have fantastical creatures. If this sounds like your kind of book, then check out some of our suggestions below!

The Amulet of Samarkand by Brian Stroud

YA STROUD, J.

Nathaniel, a magician’s apprentice, summons up the djinni Bartimaeus and instructs him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the powerful magician Simon Lovelace.

Sabriel by Garth Nix

YA NIX, G.

Sabriel, daughter of the necromancer Abhorsen, must journey into the mysterious and magical Old Kingdom to rescue her father from the Land of the Dead.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

YA CASHORE, K.

In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

YA PAOLINI, C.

In Aagaesia, 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.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

YA CARSON, R.

A fearful sixteen-year-old princess discovers her heroic destiny after being married off to the king of a neighboring country in turmoil and pursued by enemies seething with dark magic.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

YA MAAS, S.

After she has served a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, Crown Prince Dorian offers eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien her freedom on the condition that she act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

YA HARTMAN, R.

In a world of the kingdom of Goredd, 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.

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

YA MARCHETTA, M.

Now on the cusp of manhood, Finnikin, who was a child when the royal family of Lumatere was brutally murdered and replaced by an imposter, reluctantly joins forces with an enigmatic young novice and fellow-exile, who claims that her dark dreams will lead them to a surviving royal child and a way to regain the throne of Lumatere.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

YA BARDUGO, L.

Orphaned by the Border Wars, Alina Starkov is taken from obscurity and her only friend, Mal, to become the protegé of the mysterious Darkling, who trains her to join the magical elite in the belief that she is the Sun Summoner, who can destroy the monsters of the Fold.

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

YA CHIMA, C.

Relates the intertwining fates of former street gang leader Han Alister and headstrong Princess Raisa, as Han takes possession of an amulet that once belonged to an evil wizard and Raisa uncovers a conspiracy in the Grey Wolf Court.

Terrier by Tamora Pierce

YA PIERCE, T.

When sixteen-year-old Beka becomes “Puppy” to a pair of “Dogs,” as the Provost’s Guards are called, she uses her police training, natural abilities, and a touch of magic to help them solve the case of a murdered baby in Tortall’s Lower City.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

YA NIELSEN, J.

In the country of Carthya, a devious nobleman engages four orphans in a brutal competition to be selected to impersonate the king’s long-missing son in an effort to avoid a civil war.

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

YA RHODES, M.

After centuries of peace, the three kingdoms of Mytica stand on the brink of war. As rulers struggle for power, the lives of their subjects are brutally transformed and four key players find their fates forever intertwined amidst betrayal, murder, secret alliances, and even unforseen love.

Grave Mercy by Robin LeFevers

YA LAFEVERS, R.

In the fifteenth-century kingdom of Brittany, seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts–and a violent destiny.

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Allison Goodman

YA GOODMAN, A.

Sixteen-year-old Eon hopes to become an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune and learn to be its main interpreter, but to do so will require much, including keeping secret that she is a girl.

An Ember in Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

YA TAHIR, S.

Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

YA PRATCHETT, T.

A young witch-to-be named Tiffany teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue men, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland.

The Thief by Megan Whelan Turner

YA TURNER, M.

Gen flaunts his ingenuity as a thief and relishes the adventure which takes him to a remote temple of the gods where he will attempt to steal a precious stone.

The Naming by Alison Croggon

YA CROGGON, A.

A manuscript from the lost civilization of Edil-Amarandah chronicles the experiences of sixteen-year-old Maerad, an orphan gifted in the magic and power of the Bards, as she escapes from slavery and begins to learn how to use her Gift to stave off the evil Darkness that threatens to consume her world.

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.

Angelic Teen Novels

Posted May 20, 2015 by MPPL

Enjoy reading novels where angels feature prominently in the story? Check out some of our supernatural suggestions below!

aneglburn Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly

YA WEATHERLY, L.

In a world where angels are fierce stalkers whose irresistible force allows them to feed off humans and drain them of their vitality, a ruthless teenaged assassin of angels falls in love with a half-angel half-human girl, with devastating consequences.

An Angel in My Pocket by Ilene Cooper

YA COOPER, I.

When seventh-grader Bette finds an angel coin she puts it in her pocket and forgets it but soon the mysterious and kind Gabby moves into her building and helps her face her major losses, and then the coin connects her with three classmates who all find new ways to believe in themselves.

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

YA MOULTON, C.

A seventeen-year-old girl discovers she has the reincarnated soul of an ancient warrior destined to battle the reapers–monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell.

Angelfall by Susan Ee

YA Ee, S.

While trying to escape their apartment after the angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world, Penryn meets Raffe, an angel whose wings have been cut off by the angels who kidnapped Penryn’s sister, Paige.

Lailah by Nikki Kelly

YA KELLY, N.

While struggling to understand her own identity, Lailah is torn between an injured vampire and a rogue angel who appears in her dreams.

Immortal City by Scott Speer

YA SPEER, S.

Jackson Godspeed is the hottest Angel in the city, soon he’ll be a full Guardian and people will pay for him to save them. Then he falls for Maddy who likes him for who he is and not for his celebrity, but a serial killer targeting the Guardians is on the loose and Jackson just might be his next target.

Devine Intervention by Martha Brockenbrough

YA BROCKENBROUGH, M.

To graduate from heaven’s soul rehabilitation program for wayward teenagers, guardian angel Jerome Hancock must keep sixteen-year-old Heidi Devine safe, but when he accidentally lets her down, Jerome has only twenty-four hours before Heidi’s soul dissolves forever.

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

YA SHIRVINGTON, J.

Seventeen-year-old Violet Eden’s world is turned upside down when she falls for the sexy and aloof Lincoln and discovers he is part angel and part human. As Violet gets caught up in an ancient battle between dark and light, she must choose her path because the wrong decision could cost not only her life but her eternity.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

YA HAND, C.

Sixteen-year-old Clara Gardner’s purpose as an angel-blood begins to manifest itself, forcing her family to pull up stakes and move to Jackson, Wyoming, where she learns that danger and heartbreak come with her powers.

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

YA APPELHANS, L.

Seventeen-year-old Felicia Ward is dead and spending her time in the hive reliving her happy memories–but when Julian, a dark memory from her past, breaks into the hive and demands that she come with him, she discovers that even the afterlife is more complicated and dangerous then she dreamed.

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

YA ADORNETTO, A.

When three angels are sent to Earth to do good, Bethany, the youngest and least experienced, finds herself attracted to a human boy, and the others fear she will not be strong enough to fight evil unless the power of love can help her.

Kindred by Tammar Stein

YA STEIN, T.

Spiritual warfare breaks out when the Archangel Raphael and the Devil deliver assignments to eighteen-year-old fraternal twins Miriam and Moses.

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

YA DAVIES, J.

When Skye, who lives with her aunt in Boulder, Colorado, turns seventeen and is suddenly pursued by two boys who are polar opposites, secrets of her true identity–and destiny–begin to emerge.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

YA KATE, L.

Suspected in the death of her boyfriend, seventeen-year-old Luce is sent to a Savannah, Georgia, reform school where she meets two intriguing boys and learns the truth about the strange shadows that have always haunted her.

Kissed By An Angel by Elizabeth Chandler

YA CHANDLER, E.

Falling in love with Tristan, Ivy believes that she has met the boy of her dreams, until he tragically dies, destroying her belief in angels and preventing him from helping her as her new celestial guardian.

Meridian by Amber Kizer

YA KIZER, A.

On her sixteenth birthday, Meridian is whisked off to her great-aunt’s home in Revelation, Colorado, where she learns that she is a Fenestra, the half-human, half-angel link between the living and the dead, and must learn to help human souls to the afterlife before the dark forces reach them.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

YA FITZPATRICK, B.

High school sophomore Nora has always been very cautious in her relationships, but when Patch, who has a dark side she can sense, enrolls at her school, she is mysteriously and strongly drawn to him, despite warnings from her best friend, the school counselor, and her own instincts.