Teen Scene
February 2021
We love our library members,
so in February we're offering
BOGO - Borrow One Get One!
 
For each book you request, the staff will pick out a second one for you to take home.  Sort of like a 'blind date' with a book!  Everyone can participate.  We will match children with new children's books, teens with YA titles, and adults with popular adult authors.  So pick one title and try another!
 
New Titles Available Now for Request
All the Days Past, All the Days to Come
by Mildred D. Taylor

In her tenth book, Mildred Taylor completes her sweeping saga about the Logan family of Mississippi, which is also the story of the civil rights movement in America of the 20th century. Cassie Logan, first met in Song of the Trees and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, is a young woman now, searching for her place in the world, a journey that takes her from Toledo to California, to law school in Boston, and, ultimately, in the 60s, home to Mississippi to participate in voter registration. She is witness to the now-historic events of the century: the Great Migration north, the rise of the civil rights movement, preceded and precipitated by the racist society of America, and the often violent confrontations that brought about change. Rich, compelling storytelling is Ms. Taylor's hallmark, and she fulfills expectations as she brings to a close the stirring family story that has absorbed her for over forty years. It is a story she was born to tell.
Elatsoe
by Darcie Little Badger; illustrated by Rovina Cai

Imagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream. There are some differences. This America been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day. Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.
Black Girl Unlimited : The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard
by Echo Brown

Heavily autobiographical and infused with magical realism, Black Girl Unlimited fearlessly explores the intersections of poverty, sexual violence, depression, racism, and sexism--all through the arc of a transcendent coming-of-age story. Echo Brown is a wizard from the East Side, where apartments are small and parents suffer addictions to the white rocks. Yet there is magic . . . everywhere. New portals begin to open when Echo transfers to the rich school on the West Side, and an insightful teacher becomes a pivotal mentor. Each day, Echo travels between two worlds, leaving her brothers, her friends, and a piece of herself behind on the East Side. There are dangers to leaving behind the place that made you. Echo soon realizes there is pain flowing through everyone around her, and a black veil of depression threatens to undo everything she's worked for.
Bent Heavens
by Daniel Kraus

Liv Fleming is done with childhood fantasies. Done pretending she believes her missing father's absurd theories about alien abduction. Done going through the motions of checking the traps he set just for her friend Doug's sake. But on the very day she chooses to destroy the traps, she discovers in one of them a creature so inhuman it can only be one thing. In that moment, she's faced with a painful realization: Her dad was telling the truth. And no one believed him. Now she and Doug have a choice to make. They can turn the alien over to the authorities . . . or they can take matters into their own hands. Daniel Kraus returns with a horrifying and heartbreaking thriller about the lengths people go to find justice
Sometimes You Have to Laugh
The Way You Make Me Feel
by Maurene Goo

Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the Honeycut, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara imagined. But maybe Rose isn't so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) on the truck next door is pretty cute. Maybe Clara's estranged mom deserves a second chance. What if taking these relationships seriously means leaving her old self behind? From the author of I Believe in a Thing Called Love comes another funny story of friendship, romance, and discovering that even when life gets serious, it can still be seriously fun.
Heretics Anonymous
by Katie Henry
 
When Michael walks through the doors of Catholic school, things can't get much worse. His dad has just made the family move again, and Michael needs a friend. When a girl challenges their teacher in class, Michael thinks he might have found one, and a fellow atheist at that. Only this girl, Lucy, isn't just Catholic . . . she wants to be a priest. Lucy introduces Michael to other St. Clare's outcasts, and he officially joins Heretics Anonymous, where he can be an atheist, Lucy can be an outspoken feminist, Avi can be Jewish and gay, Max can wear whatever he wants, and Eden can practice paganism. Michael encourages the Heretics to go from secret society to rebels intent on exposing the school's hypocrisies one stunt at a time. But when Michael takes one mission too far--putting the other Heretics at risk--he must decide whether to fight for his own freedom or rely on faith, whatever that means, in God, his friends, or himself.
Layoverland
by Gabby Noone

Beatrice Fox deserves to go straight to hell. At least, that's what she believes. Her last day on Earth, she ruined the life of the person she loves most--her little sister, Emmy. So when Bea awakens from a fatal car accident to find herself on an airplane headed who knows where, she's confused, to say the least. Once on the ground, Bea receives some truly harrowing news- she's in purgatory. If she ever wants to catch a flight to heaven, she'll have to help 5,000 souls figure out what's keeping them from moving on. But one of Bea's first assignments is Caleb, the boy who caused her accident, and the last person Bea would ever want to send to the pearly gates. And as much as Bea would love to see Caleb suffer for dooming her to a seemingly endless future of eating bad airport food and listening to other people's problems, she can't help but notice that he's kind of cute, and sort of sweet, and that maybe, despite her best efforts, she's totally falling for him. Now, determined to make the most of her time in purgatory, Bea must decide what is truly worth dying for--romance or revenge.
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
by Ben Philippe
 
Norris Kaplan is clever, cynical, and quite possibly too smart for his own good. A Black French Canadian, he knows from watching American sitcoms that those three things don't bode well when you are moving to Austin, Texas. Plunked into a new high school and sweating a ridiculous amount from the oppressive Texas heat, Norris finds himself cataloging everyone he meets: the Cheerleaders, the Jocks, the Loners, and even the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Making a ton of friends has never been a priority for him, and this way he can at least amuse himself until it's time to go back to Canada, where he belongs. Yet against all odds, those labels soon become actual people to Norris...like loner Liam, who makes it his mission to befriend Norris, or Madison the beta cheerleader, who is so nice that it has to be a trap. Not to mention Aarti the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, who might, in fact, be a real love interest in the making. But the night of the prom, Norris screws everything up royally. As he tries to pick up the pieces, he realizes it might be time to stop hiding behind his snarky opinions and start living his life--along with the people who have found their way into his heart.
Upcoming @ Your Library!
Tuesday, February 9
Great Decisions Discussion Group
7:00 p.m.
Great Decisions is America's largest discussion program on world affairs.  This month's topic is Global Supply Chains and U.S National Security. Briefing books are available at the library and on eLibraryNJ. (Hint:  Be sure to sign in.)  The video can be streamed via Vimeo for a fee.  Register online.
 
Monday, February 15
Evening Book Discussion
7:00 p.m.
We are reading American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins.  Send and email to mullen@cranburypubliclibrary.org to join the discussion group via Zoom. The book is available to read  at eLibraryNJ.
 
Wednesday, February 17
Afternoon Book Discussion
1:30 p.m.
We are reading The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Send an email to mullen@cranburypubliclibrary.org to join the discussion group via Zoom. The book is available to read  at eLibraryNJ. 
 
Friday, February 19
The Commanding Presence of George Washington
6:30 p.m.
Throughout history, an Army's ability to fight and win a war is not solely dependent on weapons and training, it also rests on the attitude of its commander. As befitting a military hero, George Washington cut a formidable presence. Join historical reenactor and speaker Michael Jesberger for a lecture on George Washington. Register to receive the Zoom link.
 
Library Curbside Service Hours and Closings
Monday & Wednesday  - 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tuesday & Thursday - 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
 
Library Closed February 15, 2021
 
Cranbury Public Library
30 North Main Street
Cranbury, New Jersey 08512
609-722-6992

www.cranburypubliclibrary.org/