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| Legendborn by Tracy DeonnWhat it's about: While grieving the loss of her mother, 16-year-old Bree has her world shaken once again when she witnesses a demon attack and discovers the Legendborn, a magical secret society descended from King Arthur's knights.
Series alert: This series opener introduces a fascinating system of magic and an intriguing mash-up of Round Table lore with contemporary American cultures.
Further reading: For another inclusive reimagining of King Arthur's legend, pick up Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy's Once & Future series. |
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| Even If We Break by Marieke NijkampWhat it's about: After years of playing a murder-mystery fantasy RPG, five formerly close friends gather at a remote cabin for one last game. Their final round soon grows intense as secrets are exposed, eerie events occur, and one of their number disappears, leaving bloody runes behind.
Read it for: the diverse cast of characters and the twisty blend of suspense and horror.
Try this next: Brent Hartinger's Three Truths and A Lie, another thriller in which a cabin getaway turns deadly. |
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| The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth NixWelcome to: 1983 London, where art student Susan is searching for the father she's never met.
What happens: A frightening supernatural encounter introduces Susan to Merlin, one of the left-handed booksellers who defend the modern world from the invading Old World of myth and magic. (When they're not running bookstores, that is.)
Why you might like it: 80's punk style and pop cultural humor add an edge to the familiar fantasy tropes in this offbeat read. |
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When they call you a terrorist : a story of Black Lives Matter and the power to change the world
by Patrisse Khan-Cullors
"This is the story of how the movement that started with a hashtag--#BlackLivesMatter--spread across the nation and then across the world and the journey that led one of its co-founders, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, to this moment. Patrisse Khan-Cullors grew up in an over-policed United States where incarceration of Black people runs rampant. Surrounded by police brutality, she gathered the tools and lessons that would lead her on to found one of the most powerful movements in the world. This is her story. Necessary and timely, 'When They Call You a Terrorist' reminds us that protest in the interest of the most vulnerable comes from love: that love is the push to search for justice for those victimized by the powerful. With journal entries, photos and notes that show the formation of an activist from a very young age, this meaningful, empowering account of survival, strength, and resilience seeks to change the culture that declares innocent Black life expendable."
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Poisoned
by Jennifer Donnelly
When her heart is stolen by a huntsman amid whispers that she is too kind and naïve to rule, a princess with beautiful red lips, white skin and black hair survives with the help of seven mysterious strangers before finding the courage to reclaim her destiny.
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Geese are never swans
by Eva Clark
Recruiting the tough coach who trained his suicide-victim older brother, an Olympics hopeful navigates the punishing and healing nature of sports while struggling with overwhelming feelings of rage.
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| With the Fire on High by Elizabeth AcevedoStarring: high school senior Emoni Santiago, who has "magic hands" in the kitchen, but who worries that becoming a chef won't help her build a future for herself and her two-year-old daughter.
Read it for: clear, vivid writing; mouth-watering food; and characters so realistic that you'll miss them when you close the book.
Book buzz: If you loved The Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo's multi-award-winning debut, don't miss With the Fire On High. |
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| The Black Flamingo by Dean AttaWhat it is: the story of how London teen Michael finds his voice, both as a poet and a drag performer, in a society eager to label him for how he expresses his gender, his sexuality, and his multiracial identity.
Why you might like it: the intimate, conversational style of Michael's first-person narration.
Book buzz: This own voices novel from spoken word poet Dean Atta (check him out on YouTube) won the 2020 Stonewall Award for Young Adult Literature. |
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Blood water paint
by Joy McCullough
In Renaissance Italy, Artemisia Gentileschi endures the subjugation of women that allows her father to take credit for her extraordinary paintings, rape and the ensuing trial, and torture, buoyed by her deceased mother's stories of strong women of the Bible.
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Jazz owls : a novel of the Zoot Suit Riots
by Margarita Engle
A novel in verse by the Young People's Poet Laureate introduces teens to the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, describing how vibrant period music helped breach cultural barriers during World War II before a surge in racial violence prompted attacks by white sailors on black Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles. By the Newbery Honor-winning author of The Surrender Tree.
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Contact your librarian for more great books for ages 14 and up!
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