| Be dazzled by Ryan La SalaWhat it's about: Geeky perfectionist crafter Raffy has his sights set on winning this year's Controverse cosplay championship. Not only because it could offer a way into art school, but also because it might help him get over his ex-turned-competitor, Luca.
Reviewers say: "a sequin-filled romance that’s also a love letter to the craft and creativity of cosplay" (Publishers Weekly).
You might also like: Cecil Castelluci's Don't Cosplay with My Heart, another pop culture savvy story about relationships, fandom, and creation. |
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Flash forward
by Scott Lobdell
"When the border between the Multiverse and the Dark Multiverse starts to buckle, Wally West must answer the call and journey to these worlds and purge them of this darkness, but the greater darkness is that from within. His name is Wally West--and he was the Fastest Man Alive. That is, until the Multiverse was rewritten without him or his family in it. Wally returned and tried to make it work, but the damage was done. Spinning out of the events of Heroes in Crisis, follow the man who called himself Flash on an adventure to find redemption in a cosmos that has fought so hard to destroy him"
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| One of the good ones by Maika Moulite and Maritza MouliteWhat it's about: After activist and up-and-coming YouTuber Kezi dies as a result of police violence, her shattered sisters join her best friend and her secret girlfriend on a road trip that Kezi planned using a vintage copy of The Negro Motorist Green Book.
Read it for: multiple perspectives on family, loss, connection, and so-called respectability.
Try this next: For another own voices journey through grief and sisterhood, try Elizabeth Acevedo's Clap When You Land. |
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| Hold back the tide by Melinda SalisburyWhat it's about: Ever since her Da murdered her Ma, Alva Douglas has longed to escape her small Scottish village. Her plans shift abruptly, however, when vicious monsters called òlanfhuil emerge from the loch, forcing Ada to step into her inherited role as the Naomhfhuil, the village's protector.
Who it's for: Featuring an atmospheric setting rife with dread and bloody mayhem, Hold Back the Tide is perfect for horror fans who want an immersive escape from the here and now. |
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| Influence by Sara Shepard and Lilia BuckinghamFeaturing: viral video star Delilah, ambitious YouTuber Fiona, former child actress Jasmine, and Instagram celebrity Scarlet.
What happens: A murder only complicates the swirling rumours, fierce competition, and shocking betrayals the girls face online and in person.
About the authors: In this gossipy mystery, Pretty Little Liars author Sara Shepard teams up with 17-year-old internet personality Lilia Buckingham to take readers inside the merciless world of influencers. |
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| Concrete Rose by Angie ThomasWhat it's about: As the son of one of Garden Heights' most notorious King Lords, Maverick Carter has a legacy to uphold. But when he's hit by fresh tragedy and unexpected fatherhood, Maverick has to decide what kind of man he wants to be.
Book buzz: Set in the 1990s, this prequel to the mega-popular The Hate U Give is bound to make a splash. |
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The unleashed by Danielle Vega"Hendricks discovers that even though Steele House is gone, the hauntings in Drearfield are far from over -- and it's up to her to stop them"
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Sometimes You Have to Laugh
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| The way you make me feel by Maurene GooStarring: troublemaker Clara Shin, who thinks everything's a joke.
What happens: Forced to spend the summer working in her dad's Korean Brazilian food truck alongside her overachieving nemesis, Rose, Clara finds unexpected friendship, as well as hesitant romance with a super-sincere guy named Hamlet. Maybe some things are worth taking seriously? |
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| Heretics anonymous by Katie HenryWhat it's about: After mouthing off to a nun on his first day at Catholic school, new student (and avowed atheist) Michael is welcomed into Heretics Anonymous, a group for misfits such as Eden (pagan), Avi (Jewish, gay), Max (fashion outlaw), and Lucy (feminist, aspiring priest).
What happens: As Michael and Lucy grow closer, the Heretics decide to quit complaining about their school and take action.
Why you might like it: Believers and nonbelievers of all kinds can appreciate the witty dialogue and non-judgmental tone of this debut novel. |
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Puddin'
by Julie Murphy
Featuring: optimistic Millie Michalchuk, who's decided to ditch fat camp for a journalism programme; and popular Callie Reyes, who's planning a revenge prank with her dance team frenemies.
What happens: When the aftermath of the prank brings the two Texas teens together, they discover that they inspire each other in unexpected ways.
Series alert: You don't need to have read Dumplin' to appreciate this feisty follow-up, but fans will be excited to revisit familiar characters.
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| The field guide to the North American teenager by Ben PhilippeStarring: smart, sarcastic, hockey-loving Montreal transplant Norris Kaplan, who's sweating through eleventh grade in Austin, Texas, as the only Haitian French Canadian person in his class.
Read it for: Norris' fish-out-of-water observations and sitcom-based stereotypes about Americans (which might just make you question your own assumptions about the people around you).
Book buzz: This 1st book by Canadian author Ben Phillipe won the 2020 William C. Morris Award for a debut novel; if you like this one, don't miss Philippe's equally funny follow-up, Charming As a Verb. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books for ages 14 and up!
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