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| I Wish You All the Best by Mason DeaverWhat it’s about: After coming out to their parents as nonbinary, Ben De Backer is kicked out of the house, forcing them to move in with their older sister and finish senior year at a new school.
Why you might like it: Although Ben’s situation is tough, there’s plenty of hope to be found as they work through anxiety, rebuild their family, and grow closer to classmate Nathan.
About the author: This own voices book is author Mason Deaver’s debut. |
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| The Missing Season by Gillian FrenchWelcome to: Pender, Maine, where legend has it that a monster known as the Mumbler steals kids on Halloween.
What happens: Newcomer Clara doesn’t believe in the Mumbler, but the missing kids are real enough, and as Halloween approaches and her new friends’ prank war intensifies, Clara can’t ignore the creeping suspicion that she’s in danger.
Reviewers say: “A spare, spectral thriller that catches like a hook and doesn’t let go” (Booklist). |
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| Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. JacksonWhat it’s about: After up-and-coming rapper Stephon is murdered, his sister, Jasmine, and his best friends, Quadir and Jarrell, keep his talent alive by promoting his music under a different name. Yet the closer they get to success -- and to finding Steph’s killer -- the harder it is to keep their secret.
Read it for: convincing characters, emotional depth, and a vivid 1990s Brooklyn setting.
You might also like: Lamar Giles’ Spin or Angie Thomas’ On the Come Up. |
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| If It Makes You Happy by Claire KannStarring: Winnie, who’s fat, proud, and excited to spend the summer working at her granny’s diner and hanging out with her family and her queerplatonic ungirlfriend, Kara.
What happens: Winnie is appointed Summer Queen of her small town, a role that comes with obligations as well as complications -- such as her feelings for the Summer King, Dallas.
Is it for you? If you prefer inclusive stories that focus on characters and relationships, you don’t want to miss this warmhearted read. |
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| This Time Will Be Different by Misa SugiuraWhat it’s about: Despite years of pressure from her high-achieving mother, C.J. Katsuyama’s only ambition is to hone her flower-arranging skills at the family flower shop. Yet when her mom threatens to sell the shop to a family that once took advantage of C.J.’s grandparents, C.J. finally finds her own determination.
Read it for: realistically complicated characters, family secrets, a slice of Japanese American history, and a touch of romance. |
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For Fans of Karen M. McManus
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| Time Bomb by Joelle CharbonneauWhat it's about: A bombing at their high school leaves students Frankie, Rashid, Tad, Z, Diana, and Cas trapped together, dependent on each other to survive but all too aware that any of them could be the bomber.
Read it for: multiple perspectives, shifting alliances, and steadily building suspense.
Reviewers say: "a powerful page-turner that doesn’t let up until its explosive finale" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Spin by L. R. GilesWhen the murder of a popular young DJ, Paris Secord, upends the local music scene, her shunned pre-fame best friend, Kya, and her chief groupie, Fuse, are forced to set aside their differences during a crusade for justice on social media and the streets. By the Edgar Award finalist author of Fake ID.
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| Truly Devious by Maureen JohnsonWhat it's about: Sixteen-year-old true crime enthusiast Stevie Bell arrives at Ellingham Academy (an unusual school for exceptional students) with one goal: to solve a kidnapping that took place there in 1936. Cracking the cold case proves complicated, however, when a present-day murderer begins targeting Ellingham students.
Series alert: Hold on tight and prepare for some cliffhangers in this atmospheric, multilayered mystery: Truly Devious is just the 1st in a trilogy. |
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Shelter : a Mickey Bolitar novel by Harlan CobenMickey Bolitar is forced to live with his Uncle Myron and switch high schools, where he finds both friends and enemies, but when his girlfriend vanishes, he follows her trail into an underworld that reveals she is not what she seems to be.
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The body in the woods by April HenryWhile helping the Portland County Sheriff's Search and Rescue team search for a missing autistic man, teens Alexis, Nick and Ruby find the dead body of a girl and join forces to find the girl's murderer, forging an unlikely friendship in the process.
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Contact your librarian for more great books for ages 14 and up!
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