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| At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David HutchinsonFantasy. Ozzie's boyfriend, Tommy, has been erased from existence and memory, and only Ozzie knows it. Though no else remembers Tommy, Ozzie is convinced that his disappearance is due to the universe shrinking. The problem of how to get him back, however, is just the most urgent of the many problems Ozzie faces: he's also dealing with his parents' divorce, his brother's decision to join the military, the small-town struggles of his friends, and his own confusing feelings for his physics partner, Calvin. Similar to Adam Silvera's inclusive speculative stories, At the Edge of the Universe asks painful yet intriguing questions about the nature of relationships and reality. |
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| We Are Okay by Nina LaCourFiction. At the end of last summer, Marin left her home in San Francisco and boarded a plane with nothing but what she had in her pockets. Now, after her first semester of college in New York, she's facing a lonely winter break in an empty dorm. Holed up against the icy weather, Marin allows herself to remember the devastating events that led to her abrupt departure from California, and finally confronts their consequences during a visit with her estranged friend, Mabel. Written with pensive intensity, We Are Okay is a "poignant and affecting exploration of grief and betrayal" (Booklist). |
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| Optimists Die First by Susin NielsenFiction. If you're curious about the stats for death via earthquakes, rare diseases, or other unusual causes, Petula de Wilde can tell you. Ever since her baby sister's accidental death, Petula can't stop preparing for the unexpected. To help her manage this anxiety, she attends an art therapy group filled with eccentric students, each grappling with their own issues. When Jacob -- an outgoing filmmaker with a prosthetic arm, a hidden past, and eyes for Petula -- joins the group, she begins opening up to unpredictability. If you like this sensitive, moving story of friendship and romance among misfit artists, you might also enjoy Tamara Ireland's Every Last Word. |
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| The Hate U Give by Angie ThomasFiction. Sixteen-year-old Starr walks an uneasy line, with one foot in her poor, mostly-black neighborhood and the other in her rich, mostly-white school. After Starr sees her friend Khalil gunned down by a white cop, however, that line is obliterated. Amid the uproar, Starr knows she should speak out, but the pressure she's under from all sides makes it difficult -- and dangerous -- to raise her voice. With a movie already in the works, this "powerful, in-your-face novel" (Horn Book Magazine) is one of the year's most talked-about books. For further fiction about the personal cost of racial injustice, try All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. |
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| American Street by Ibi ZoboiFiction. In a crowded house on the corner of Joy Road and American Street, Fabiola Toussaint begins her life in the U.S. Since her mom was detained by U.S. Immigration when they arrived from Haiti, Fabiola has to live with her aunt and cousins in Detroit, a cold, rough city that's nothing like Fabiola's dreams of America. Fined for speaking Creole and sent to Catholic school despite her Vodou beliefs, Fabiola has a hard time adjusting, and just when she begins to forge new relationships, she's tempted to risk them to earn her mother's freedom. This gritty, lyrical debut offers richly drawn characters and a story you won't soon forget. |
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| Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher BarzakParanormal Suspense. Jarrod's return to Temperance, Ohio, causes 17-year-old farm boy Aidan to re-evaluate everything he thought he knew. Jarrod claims that he and Aidan used to be best friends, and though Aidan can't remember at first, the memories soon resurface -- along with repressed psychic visions and dreams. Has Aidan's mother, who also has strange abilities, deliberately been keeping him in the dark? As his relationship with Jarrod deepens, Aidan digs into his cursed family history to uncover the truth. A moody, atmospheric tone -- carefully balanced by a heartfelt love story -- infuses this paranormal page-turner. |
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Spindle
by E.K. Johnston
Fantasy. After years of imprisonment, a powerful demon escapes to claim her revenge by cursing the youngest member of the royal family who banished her. Princess Zahrah, known as the Little Rose, is only five when she's cursed to become the demon's pawn. There's time before the curse takes effect, however, and with some unexpected help from exiled spinner Yashaa and his friends, Zahrah sets out to break the curse and take back her life. Set in the same Arabian Nights-inspired fantasy world as author E.K. Johnston's earlier book, A Thousand Nights, this feminist retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" is sure to enchant fairy tale fans.
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| Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. KingFiction. After a bizarre incident involving a mummified bat (don't ask), high school senior Glory O'Brien and her best frenemy Ellie suddenly develop the ability to see into a person's past and future. The shadow of her mother's suicide has always made Glory doubt her own fate, and as she's flooded with visions of an upcoming war in which women's rights are annihilated, Glory struggles to decide whether or not the future is worth fighting for. Smart, edgy, and darkly funny, Glory O'Brien's History of the Future is a great pick for older readers who enjoy exploring provocative ideas. |
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Calamity
by Brandon Sanderson
Science Fiction. From the bestselling author of the Mistborn series and Words of Radiance comes Calamity, the final book in the New York Times bestselling Reckoners series. When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born. David's fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night. Steelheart killed his father. Firefight stole his heart. And now Regalia has turned his closest ally into a dangerous enemy. David knew Prof's secret, and kept it even when Prof struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers. But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much. Once the Reckoners' leader, Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny. He's disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there's no turning back... But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics--Megan proved it. They're not lost. Not completely. And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back. Or die trying.
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A torch against the night
by Sabaa Tahir
Fantasy. Set in a rich, high-fantasy world inspired by ancient Rome, Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes told the story of Laia, a slave fighting for her family, and Elias, a young soldier fighting for his freedom. Now, in A Torch against the Night, Elias and Laia are running for their lives. After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire. Laia is determined to break into Kauf--the Empire's most secure and dangerous prison--to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars' survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom. But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene--Elias's former friend and the Empire's newest Blood Shrike. Bound to Marcus's will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own--one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape...and kill them both.
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