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| Not If I Save You First by Ally CarterStarring: Maddie, who's spent the last six years in a remote Alaskan cabin with no company except for her dad, a former Secret Service agent – until Logan, Maddie's childhood friend and the President's son, brings trouble to her door.
What happens: As Maddie uses her survival skills to protect Logan, their rekindled friendship evolves into romance.
For fans of: author Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series who are looking for similar stories with a darker edge. |
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| Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay ColesWhat it's about: After his twin brother Tyler is killed by a police officer, high-achieving high-schooler Marvin Johnson is overwhelmed by grief, anger, and the public's response to his personal loss.
Why you might like it: Similar to Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give or Nic Stone's Dear Martin, Tyler Johnson Was Here takes a knowing, heart-wrenching look at the effects of injustice, oppression, and violence in one black teen's life. |
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| The Summer of Broken Things by Margaret Peterson HaddixWhat it's about: Pretty, privileged Avery is annoyed after her dad invites Kayla, Avery's misfit former friend, to join them on a summer trip to Spain, and both girls are thrown when the journey reveals a long-hidden secret about their families.
Try this next: Robin Benway's Far from the Tree, for another multiple-perspective story featuring sympathetic characters in a complicated family situation. |
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| Dread Nation by Justina IrelandWhat it is: a disturbing alternate version of post-Civil War America in which the undead prey on the living, and black kids are forced into combat schools where they're trained as the first line of defense.
Starring: Jane McKeene, who's just about to graduate from combat school when she's caught up in a terrifying conspiracy.
Who it's for: anyone who loves zombie horror, sharp social commentary, or scythe-wielding heroines. |
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| The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. PanWhat it's about: Following her mother's suicide, 15-year-old American Leigh travels to Taiwan to meet her grandparents, learn about her mother's past, and follow her mother's spirit, which has transformed into a brilliant red bird.
Why you might like it: Blending magic with painful reality, The Astonishing Color of After offers a portrait of grief and resilience that you won't soon forget. |
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| Naked '76 by Kevin BrooksStarring: 16-year-old Lili Garcia, who's never played a bass guitar until the moment she accepts a gig as the bassist for Naked, a rising punk band.
What happens: Lili throws herself recklessly into the 1976 London punk scene, as well as into thorny relationships with bandmates Curtis and William.
Why you might like it: With cameos by the Clash and Siouxsie Sioux, Naked '76 is an exhilarating, messy snapshot of a moment in music. |
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The Disenchantments
by Nina LaCour
Fiction. With high school finally over, Colby joins his best friend (and long-time crush) Bev and her all-girl band, The Disenchantments, for one last tour. Then Bev and Colby will finally set off on the European adventure that they've been planning for years. Once they hit the road with the band, however, Bev reveals that she's abandoning the Europe trip -- and Colby -- in favor of going to art school. Stung and confused, Colby spends the rest of the tour learning to let go of old dreams and embrace unexpected possibilities. Quirky characters and musical references (both popular and obscure) round out this this vibrant, exciting coming-of-age story.
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| Grace and the Fever by Zan RomanoffStarring: college-bound Grace, who secretly blogs about the boy band Fever Dream...until an unexpected relationship with Fever Dream heartthrob Jes forces her to reconsider her ideas about fame, fandom, and public identity.
Who it's for: anyone who's ever obsessed about a band or spent waaaaay too much time on Tumblr.
Read it for: an insider's view of fandom paired with a moving coming-of-age story. |
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The Haters
by Jesse Andrews
A road trip adventure about a trio of jazz-camp escapees who, against every realistic expectation, become a band
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Girl
by Blake Nelson
Presents an account of three years in a teenage girl's life as she forges an identity between two contrasting worlds--her straight-laced school and Portland's underground music scene
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Contact your librarian for more great books for ages 14 and up!
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