|
|
| 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. |
|
| 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). |
|
| 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. |
|
| 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. |
|
| 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. |
|
| 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. |
|
|
The Memory of Light
by Francisco X. Stork
Fiction. Following a suicide attempt, Vicky Cruz wakes up in a hospital psych ward feeling empty, and not just because her stomach was pumped. Her family is broken, she's lost the people she's cares about the most, and she just can't pretend to be okay anymore. At least in her therapy group, she doesn't have to pretend: Mona, E.M., and Gabriel may all have different backgrounds, and diagnoses, but they all offer the support (and the challenges) that Vicky needs to face the hard work of living. Readers who relish this intense, emotional exploration of mental illness may also want to try Benjamin Saenz Alire's Last Night I Sang to the Monster.
|
|
|
Mars One
by Jonathan Maberry
"A teenage boy leaves for Mars as a colonist with the Mars One space program and grapples with what he's leaving behind to do so"
|
|
|
The Hate U Give
by Angie Thomas
Fiction. 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.
|
|
|
Calvin
by Martine Leavitt
Fiction. Seventeen-year-old Calvin's connection to Calvin and Hobbes is obvious: he was born on the day the last comic strip was published, his best friend is named Susie, and he can sense the presence of Hobbes, his 8-foot-tall tiger companion. This last fact lands Calvin in the psych ward, but rather than receive treatment for schizophrenia, Calvin sets out across frozen Lake Erie to find Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson and convince him to draw one final, crucial comic strip. Calvin's funny, philosophical narration draws readers into his uneasy relationship with reality, resulting in a bittersweet experience that's perfect for fans of Neal Shusterman's award-winning Challenger Deep.
|
|
|
Does My Head Look Big in This?
by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Fiction. Amal, a smart, funny 11th grader at a ritzy prep school in Melbourne, Australia has made a big (and, in her own words, possibly "psychotic") decision: she is going to start wearing the Muslim hijab, or head covering, all the time. Even though she wants to publicly affirm her Muslim faith, Amal isn't sure how to cope with her classmates' negative reactions...or how to deal with falling for a non-Muslim boy. Luckily, Amal has some very good friends who know what it's like to be different.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|