Over the last two months we have had some fantastic new books make their way into the library. Below you will find a list of ten books I am really excited to see on our shelves as well as a list of the newest books from your favorite series that have just arrived. All of our new books are on display in the teen section of the library.
1. Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes
Summary:
In this Mean Girls meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower tale, narrator Anika Dragomir is the third most popular girl at Pound High School. But inside, she knows she's a freak; she can't stop thinking about former loner Logan McDonough, who showed up on the first day of tenth grade hotter, bolder, and more mysterious than ever. Logan is fascinating, troubled and off-limits. The Pound High queen bee will make Anika's life hell if she's seen with him. So Anika must choose—ignore her feelings and keep her social status? Or follow her heart and risk becoming a pariah. Which will she pick? And what will she think of her choice when an unimaginable tragedy strikes, changing her forever? An absolutely original new voice in YA in a story that will start important conversations—and tear at your heart.
I picked this book because:
Drama. Sometimes you just need to read a book with drama, especially one that helps teach you how to navigate it.
2. Positive: surviving my bullies, finding hope and living to change the world: a memoir by Paige Rawl
Summary:
An astonishing memoir for the untold number of children whose lives have been touched by bullying. Positive is a must-read for teens, their parents, educators, and administrators—a brave, visceral work that will save lives and resonate deeply.
Paige Rawl has been HIV positive since birth, but growing up, she never felt like her illness defined her. On an unremarkable day in middle school, she disclosed to a friend her HIV-positive status—and within hours the bullying began. From that moment forward, every day was like walking through a minefield. Paige was never sure when or from where the next text, taunt, or hateful message would come. Then one night, desperate for escape, fifteen-year-old Paige found herself in her bathroom staring at a bottle of sleeping pills.
That could have been the end of her story. Instead, it was only the beginning. Paige's memoir calls for readers to choose action over complacency, compassion over cruelty—and above all, to be Positive.
I picked this book because:
Life is hard, and sometimes life is made better or worse by how you choose to deal with bad situations. In this book Page's voice is authentic, sincere and POSITIVE! READ THIS BOOK ASAP!
3. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Summary:
"A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell"
Jude and her brother, Noah, are incredibly close twins. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude surfs and cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and divisive ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as an unpredictable new mentor. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they'd have a chance to remake their world.
I picked this book because:
I picked it because the first line says that this book is for fans of John Green, David Levithan and Rainbow Rowell. 'Nuff said.
4. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
Summary:
It’s graduation day for sixteen-year-old Malencia Vale, and the entire Five Lakes Colony (the former Great Lakes) is celebrating. All Cia can think about—hope for—is whether she’ll be chosen for The Testing, a United Commonwealth program that selects the best and brightest new graduates to become possible leaders of the slowly revitalizing post-war civilization. When Cia is chosen, her father finally tells her about his own nightmarish half-memories of The Testing. Armed with his dire warnings (”Cia, trust no one”), she bravely heads off to Tosu City, far away from friends and family, perhaps forever. Danger, romance—and sheer terror—await.
I picked this book because:
I'm still not over the dystopian craze. I am deeply fascinated by authors who create books that take place in the future. My vote is that the world ends in a Zombie apocalypse but I am open to alternatives.
5. Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
Summary:
Darcy Patel has put college on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. With a contract in hand, she arrives in New York City with no apartment, no friends, and all the wrong clothes. But lucky for Darcy, she’s taken under the wings of other seasoned and fledgling writers who help her navigate the city and the world of writing and publishing. Over the course of a year, Darcy finishes her book, faces critique, and falls in love.
Woven into Darcy’s personal story is her novel, Afterworlds, a suspenseful thriller about a teen who slips into the “Afterworld” to survive a terrorist attack. The Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead, and where many unsolved—and terrifying—stories need to be reconciled. Like Darcy, Lizzie too falls in love…until a new threat resurfaces, and her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she cares about most.
Woven into Darcy’s personal story is her novel, Afterworlds, a suspenseful thriller about a teen who slips into the “Afterworld” to survive a terrorist attack. The Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead, and where many unsolved—and terrifying—stories need to be reconciled. Like Darcy, Lizzie too falls in love…until a new threat resurfaces, and her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she cares about most.
I picked this book because:
Scott Westerfeld wrote it. I am a HUGE fan of his Uglies series, so I am willing to give anything he writes a try. That being said, I do find the plot of this book a little confusing.
6. Wildthorn by Jane Eagland
Summary:
Seventeen-year-old Louisa Cosgrove has never enjoyed the life of the pampered, protected life girls of wealth were expected to follow in nineteenth century England. It was too confining. She would have much rather been like her older brother, allowed to play marbles, go to school, become a doctor. But little does she know how far her family would go to kill her dreams and desires. Until one day she finds herself locked away in an insane asylum and everyone--the doctors and nurses--insist on calling her Lucy Childs, not Louisa Cosgrove.
Surely this is a mistake. Surely her family will rescue her from this horrible, disgusting place. But as she unravels the mystery, she discovers those are the very people she can't trust. So who can she? There's one person--Eliza. As their love grows, Louisa realizes treachery locked her away. Love is the key to freedom.
I picked this book because:
I am a sucker for suspense and this book looks like it has a ton of it.
7. Coda by Emma Trevayne
Summary:
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 freewill. But will the girl he loves help or hinder him?
Emma Trevayne's dystopian debut novel is a little punk, a little rock, and plenty page-turning.
I picked this book because:
This summary sounds like nothing I have ever read before! In seeing this book described as being dystopian with a little punk and a little rock, I was hooked. This book is at the top of my "dying to read" list.
8. Rumble by Ellen Hopkins
Summary:
Eighteen-year-old Matt's atheism is tested when, after a horrific accident of his own making that plunges him into a dark, quiet place, he hears a voice that calls everything he has ever disbelieved into question.
I picked this book because:
Anything by Ellen Hopkins is super popular at the library. She also writes about some really tough topics in a serious, realistic way that resonates with a lot of todays teens.
9. It's Our Prom (so deal with it) by Julie Anne Peters
Summary:
When Azure's principal gives her the chance to turn the school's traditional (and boring) senior prom into an event that will appeal to everyone, not just the jocks and cheerleaders, she jumps at the opportunity. Soon Azure manages to convince her best friends, Luke and Radhika, to join the prom committee as well.
Facing heavy opposition and admittedly clueless about prom logistics, the three friends are nonetheless determined to succeed -- if Luke's and Azure's secret crushes on Radhika don't push the committee members, and their friendships, to the breaking point first.
Told in two voices and filled with comical missed connections, It's Our Prom (So Deal With It)explores the ups and downs of planning an alternative prom -- while dealing with an unrequited crush on your best friend -- and shines with National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters's unmistakable wit and insight.
Facing heavy opposition and admittedly clueless about prom logistics, the three friends are nonetheless determined to succeed -- if Luke's and Azure's secret crushes on Radhika don't push the committee members, and their friendships, to the breaking point first.
Told in two voices and filled with comical missed connections, It's Our Prom (So Deal With It)explores the ups and downs of planning an alternative prom -- while dealing with an unrequited crush on your best friend -- and shines with National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters's unmistakable wit and insight.
I picked this book because:
Everyone should be able to go to prom.
10. The Bermudez Triangle: a novel by Maureen Johnson
Summary:
The friendship of three high school girls and their relationships with their friends and families are tested when two of them fall in love with each other.
I picked this book because:
It's about love and friendship. Both of these can be tricky but are integral to our happiness.
And last but not least new books by your favorite authors!
1. No Dawn Without Darkness by Dayna Lorentz
*the conclusion to the No Safety in Numbers trilogy
2. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
* the second book in the Grisha trilogy
3. Ignite me by Tahereh Mafi
* the conclusion of the Shatter Me series
