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Mercy Rule
by Tom Leveen
What it's about: Five students and Coach relate their experiences during the first two months of high school, culminating in a mass shooting on Halloween.
About the author: Tom Leveen is the author of six teen novels, including his most recent titles, Hellworld and Shackled; Zero, an ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2013; and Sick, a YALSA Quick Pick 2014. Tom lives and writes full-time in Phoenix, Arizona.
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| Kat and Meg Conquer the World by Anna PriemazaWhat it's about: After moving from Ottawa to Alberta, Kat (quiet and anxiety-prone) bonds with Meg (an extrovert with ADHD) over their love of the game Legends of the Stone and their mutual obsession with LumberLegs, a popular LotS vlogger.
Who it's for: If you've ever felt socially awkward or used the word "fandom," this moving story of friendship is for you.
You might also like: Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson's Gena/Finn or Steve Brezenoff's Guy in Real Life. |
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The Traitor Prince
by C. J. Redwine
What it's about: Thrown into prison by the man who has stolen his identity, Javan is forced to fight his way out during the prison's twice-yearly tournament in the hope of gaining an audience with the king, an effort that is assisted by a slave girl who keeps a dangerous secret.
Series alert: The Traitor Prince is a companion book to the Ravenspire series.
You might also like: A Court of Thorns and Roses series and The Wrath and the Dawn duology
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Kiss Me in New York
by Catherine Rider
What it's about: Charlotte is a British student, waiting for a flight home after the worst semester of her life. Anthony is a native New Yorker, surprising his girlfriend at the airport after three months apart. Charlotte has just been dumped, and Anthony is about to be dumped, right in the middle of the holiday crowd.
Who it's for: Part Before Sunrise, part Sleepless in Seattle, this delightful story will appeal to anyone who sees the romance in a swirl of snowflakes at the top of the Empire State Building, or anyone who's wondered if true love was waiting at the other end of the airport ticket counter.
About the author: Catherine Rider is a pen name for dream team Stephanie Elliott and James Noble, both editors at Working Partners, one based in New York, one based in London.
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The Dangerous Art of Blending in
by Angelo Surmelis
What it's about: Seventeen-year-old Evan Panos doesn’t know where he fits in. His strict immigrant Greek mother refuses to see him as anything but a disappointment. His quiet, workaholic father is a staunch believer in avoiding any kind of conflict. And his best friend, Henry, has somehow become distractingly attractive over the summer.
About the author: Angelo Surmelis was raised in Greece until he immigrated to Illinois at the age of five. This coming-of-age novel is based on the author’s own childhood.
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| This Mortal Coil by Emily SuvadaWhat it's about: Teen hacker Catarina is the only one who can decrypt the cure for Hydra, a devastating virus that causes cannibalism and combustion. But can she do it before the cure is stolen by the scheming Cartaxus organization?
Who it's for: With a gruesome plague, pulse-pounding action, and complicated romance, this dystopian adventure will appeal to a variety of readers.
Series alert: Yep, there's already a sequel in the works. |
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| The Leaving by Tara AltebrandoStarring: Scarlett, Lucas, Kristen, Sarah, and Adam, who've just been dropped off in a park with no memories of how they spent the 11 years since their kidnapping and no idea why Max, who was taken when they were, isn't with them now.
Why you might like it: The voices of multiple narrators, each written with distinctive formatting, combine to create an unsettling, thought-provoking thriller about memory and identity. |
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| Infinite in Between by Carolyn MacklerWhat it's about: Thrown together at freshman orientation, five high school students write letters to their future selves and pledge to read them together at graduation. In the four years that follow, Zoe, Jake, Mia, Gregor, and Whitney change and intersect in surprising ways.
Who it's for: Anyone looking for an insightful, character-driven slice of high school life as experienced by five very different students. |
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| How It Went Down by Kekla MagoonWhat it's about: After African American teen Tariq Johnson is shot and killed by a white gang member, everyone has a different story about what happened. Brief, fast-moving chapters reveal the perspectives not only of witnesses and police, but also Tariq's family, friends, and enemies.
Why you should read it: This complex look at a painfully realistic tragedy is sure to get people talking.
Try this next: All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brandon Kiely. |
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| Salt to the Sea by Ruta SepetysWhat it's about: Before embarking on its doomed final voyage in 1945, the Wilhelm Gustloff offered a last chance of escape for thousands of Eastern European refugees fleeing the brutality of World War Two.
Featuring: Joana, a guilt-ridden Lithuanian nurse; Emilia, a pregnant Polish teen; Florian, a secretive Prussian artist; and Alfred, a young Nazi soldier.
Try this next: Allan Wolf's The Watch That Ends the Night is another gorgeously written tale of a deadly shipwreck. |
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