Young Adult
The miseducation of Cameron Post
Emily M Danforth
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Danforth Emily
Young Adult, LGBTQ+
In the early 1990s, when gay teenager Cameron Post rebels against her conservative Montana ranch town and her family decides she needs to change her ways, she is sent to a gay conversion therapy center.
More happy than not
Adam Silvera
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Silvera Adam
Young Adult, LGBTQ+
After enduring his father's suicide, his own suicide attempt, broken friendships, and more in the Bronx projects, Aaron Soto, sixteen, is already considering the Leteo Institute's memory-alteration procedure when his new friendship with Thomas turns to unrequited love.
Added by Brian
The poet X
Elizabeth Acevedo
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Acevedo, Elizabeth
Fiction, Young Adult
Harlem. Ever since her body grew into curves, Xiomara Batista has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. She pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers-- especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. Mami is determined to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, and Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. When she is invited to join her school's slam poetry club, she can't stop thinking about performing her poems.
Winner in the Young People's Literature category -Jason
Hey, kiddo
Jarrett Krosoczka
362.2913 /Krosoczka
Graphic Novels, Memoir, Young Adult
"In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka's teacher asks him to draw his family, with a mommy and a daddy. But Jarrett's family is much more complicated than that. His mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett's life. His father is a mystery -- Jarrett doesn't know where to find him, or even what his name is. Jarrett lives with his grandparents -- two very loud, very loving, very opinionated people who had thought they were through with raising children until Jarrett came along"--
This book is getting rave reviews and was easy to see why. Hey, Kiddo is the graphic memoir of author-illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Raised by his colorful grandparents, who adopted him because his mother was an incarcerated heroin addict, Krosoczka didn't know his father's name until he saw his birth certificate when registering for a school ski trip. Hey, Kiddo traces Krosoczka's search for his father, his difficult interactions with his mother, his day-to-day life with his grandparents, and his path to becoming an artist. The artwork does, as intended, look like a memory or dream sequence and adds to the intensity of the book. It is a very honest description of his life growing up and at times can be very dark. Knowing the books he now writes and illustrates for children, it is amazing to see him overcome his upbringing to be the success he is today, it proves to be a very powerful message for everyone to take away. -Angie
The hate u give
Angie Thomas
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Thomas Angie
Young Adult
After witnessing her friend's death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter's life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died.
A lot of other staff have already added this to Staff Picks, and there's a good reason for that: It's essential reading. -Brian
We all looked up
Tommy Wallach
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Wallach Tommy
Young Adult
The lives of four high school seniors intersect weeks before a meteor is set to pass through Earth's orbit, with a 66.6% chance of striking and destroying all life on the planet.
This compelling and well-written YA novel explores what would happen if everyone knew the world was ending. -Brian
I'll give you the sun
Jandy Nelson
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Nelson Jandy
Young Adult, LGBTQ+
"A story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal told from different points in time, and in separate voices, by artists Jude and her twin brother Noah"--
This achingly beautiful novel follows twin siblings as they experience loss and love. -Brian
Shooter
Walter Dean Myers
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Myers, Walter Dean
Young Adult
Written in the form of interviews, reports, and journal entries, the story of three troubled teenagers ends in a tragic school shooting.
Added by Melody
This is where it ends
Marieke Nijkamp
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Nijkamp Marieke
Young Adult
Minutes after the principal of Opportunity High School in Alabama finishes her speech welcoming the student body to a new semester, they discover that the auditorium doors will not open and someone starts shooting as four teens, each with a personal reason to fear the shooter, tell the tale from separate perspectives.
Added by Melody
Hate list
Jennifer Brown
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Brown, Jennifer
Young Adult
Sixteen-year-old Valerie, whose boyfriend Nick committed a school shooting at the end of their junior year, struggles to cope with integrating herself back into high school life, unsure herself whether she was a hero or a villain.
Added by Melody
Added by Brian