Young Adult
Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Bardugo Leigh
Young Adult, Fantasy
"Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction--if they don't kill each other first"--
Elatsoe
Darcie Little Badger
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Littleba Darcie
Young Adult, Paranormal
"Imagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream. There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day. Seventeen-year-old Elatsoe ("Ellie" for short) lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect façade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family" --
Fast-paced suspense with magic, intrigue and murder-mystery. -Victoria
They Called Us Enemy
George Takei
940.547273 /Takei
Young Adult, Biographies
"A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon -- and America itself -- in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love. George Takei has captured hearts and minds worldwide with his captivating stage presence and outspoken commitment to equal rights. But long before he braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father's -- and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future. In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten 'relocation centers', hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard. They Called Us Enemy is Takei's firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother's hard choices, his father's faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future. What is American? Who gets to decide? When the world is against you, what can one person do?"--Provided by publisher.
The story of the aftermath of Pearl Harbor for Japanese Americans. What does it mean to be a US immigrant from Japan during World War 2? A fascinating read about the former helmsman of the Starship Enterprise, author and activist. Ages 14+ -Victoria
The Marrow Thieves
Cherie Dimaline
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Dimaline Cherie
Young Adult, Dystopian
"In a future world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America's indigenous population - and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow - and dreams - means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a 15-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones, and take refuge from the "recruiters" who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing 'factories.'"--
Gripping dystopian climate change fiction where the mass populous is unable to dream making them mad. The only ones capable of dreaming is a group of Indigenous Americans and the only method? Harvesting their marrow. A slow read in parts but so worthwhile. Ages 14+ -Victoria
Grown : a novel
Tiffany D. Jackson
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Jackson Tiffany
Black Lives Matter, Young Adult
"When legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots Enchanted Jones at an audition, her dreams of being a famous singer take flight. Until Enchanted wakes up with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night. Who killed Korey Fields? Before there was a dead body, Enchanted's dreams had turned into a nightmare. Because behind Korey's charm and star power was a controlling dark side. Now he's dead, the police are at the door, and all signs point to Enchanted"--
Based very loosely on R.Kelly's allegations and conviction, this is a page-turning story of something author Tiffany D. Jackson experienced. Warning: this book describes sexual assault and kidnapping. Ages 14+ -Victoria
One of Us is Next
Karen M. McManus
YOUNG ADULT FICTION McManus, Karen
Mystery, Suspense, Young Adult
A year after the Bayview four were cleared of Simon Kelleher's death a ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up, but no one's been able to fill the gossip void quite like he could. Now a game with dangerous consequences is targeting students at Bayview-- and if the creator isn't found soon, dangerous could prove deadly. If you choose not to play, it's a truth. And Phoebe is the first target. Maeve is next. By the time Knox is tagged, the dares have become deadly. -- adapted from jacket
If you enjoyed One of us is Lying, you won't be disappointed with the sequel. 14+ -Victoria
Punching the Air
Ibi Aanu Zoboi
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Zoboi Ibi
Black Lives Matter, Young Adult
From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated. The story that I thought was my life didn't start on the day I was born. Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, he's seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. Then one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. "Boys just being boys" turns out to be true only when those boys are white. The story that I think will be my life starts today. Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal's bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it' With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both. Ages 12+
This book, written in verse is a masterpiece very loosely based on the exonerated 5 member Yusef Salaam, who co-authors the book. This book touched me to my core and brought the inhumanity of the school-to-prison pipeline blatantly into view. -Victoria
With the Fire on High
Elizabeth Acevedo
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Acevedo Elizabet
Young Adult, Fiction
"Teen mother Emoni Santiago struggles with the challenges of finishing high school and her dream of working as a chef." --
Elizabeth Acevedo's writing transcends the YA mold she has been put into and rather her writing cracks that mold wide open creating a whole new world of authentic stories, characters and lessons that identify life's priorities; highlighting the fact that we can make mistakes but we are not the sum of them and that while we might not fit prescribed notions of what is expected of us from family or society, we can find ourselves and still thrive. Check out Poet X and Clap When you Land, also by Acevedo. Ages 14+ -Victoria
#NotYourPrincess : voices of Native American women
970.1 /Not
Young Adult, Nonfiction
"Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of Indigenous women across North America resound in this book. In the same style as the best-selling Dreaming in Indian, #Not Your Princess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. Stories of abuse, humiliation, and stereotyping are countered by the voices of passionate women making themselves heard and demanding change. Sometimes angry, often reflective, but always strong, the women in this book will give teen readers insight into the lives of women who, for so long, have been virtually invisible."--
Added by Anne W
A girl called Echo
Katherena Vermette
GRAPHIC NOVEL Vermette Girl
Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Diverse Characters
Added by Anne W
Action-packed fantasy story of a genius leader and his fallible but identifiable crew. 14+ -Victoria