Teen Staff Picks (September 2023)

America Redux

Visual Stories From Our Dynamic History

by Aberg-Riger, Ariel

Book - 2023

Filled with full-color mixed media artwork, this nontraditional history book tells stories about America that you probably haven’t heard before. Instead o...Show more Filled with full-color mixed media artwork, this nontraditional history book tells stories about America that you probably haven’t heard before. Instead of a linear timeline, the author uses visual storytelling to point out the causes and effects of different topics such as the Samual Adams’ pamphlets, Sam Colt’s gun company, the Indian Removal Act, the grape pickers’ strike in California, the Japanese Internment Camps and more that might not seem to be connected but have all shaped our country’s current problems. Show less

Available in some locations

Place hold

Add to My For Later Shelf On my shelf

Daughters of Oduma

by Utomi, Moses Ose

Book - 2023

Just when Dirt thought she had retired from Bowing to train younger members of her Mud Fam to fight, their best Bower, her best friend Webba, gets injured...Show more Just when Dirt thought she had retired from Bowing to train younger members of her Mud Fam to fight, their best Bower, her best friend Webba, gets injured. Now Dirt must compete in the Good Bow tournament against Carre Carre, the top Bower from the Vine Fam. The battle scenes in this Nigerian-inspired fantasy feel movie-worthy because the author is a martial artist, and the story emphasizes the power of sisterhood. Show less

Available in some locations

Place hold

Add to My For Later Shelf On my shelf

Dear Medusa

by Cole, Olivia A.

Book - 2023

After she’s sexually assaulted by her school’s most beloved teacher, Alicia quits the track team, ends up in detention almost every day and engages in a l...Show more After she’s sexually assaulted by her school’s most beloved teacher, Alicia quits the track team, ends up in detention almost every day and engages in a lot of self-destructive behavior with guys that are way too old for her. She finds hope as she opens up to her new friends Deja and Geneva as well as a group of girls in an after-school program who turn out to be less perfect than Alicia one assumed. This lyrical novel-in-verse challenges the double standards that young women face every day. Show less

Available in some locations

Place hold

Add to My For Later Shelf On my shelf

The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be

A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption

by Gibney, Shannon

Book - 2023

In this unique mix of memoir and speculative fiction, the author tells her story of getting adopted by white parents in Michigan and struggling to fit in ...Show more In this unique mix of memoir and speculative fiction, the author tells her story of getting adopted by white parents in Michigan and struggling to fit in as a biracial girl in a mostly white community. She also imagines living with her white birth mother and meeting her Black father by time-traveling through a portal. She includes letters and photos that help the reader piece together which aspects of Shannon Gibney and Erin Powers (her birth name) are real or fictional. The narrative dispels the oversimplified idea that adoption is a noble process where rich white people rescue a child in need. Show less

Available in some locations

Place hold

Add to My For Later Shelf On my shelf

Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl

by Shrum, Brianna R.

Book - 2023

In this laugh-out-loud romance, autistic and perfectionist Margo realizes that OMG, she’s really gay after kissing a pretty girl at a party. When her clas...Show more In this laugh-out-loud romance, autistic and perfectionist Margo realizes that OMG, she’s really gay after kissing a pretty girl at a party. When her classmate Abby, who’s bi, asks Margo to tutor her in AP History so she doesn’t lose her college acceptance, Margo asks Abby to teach her how to be gay in exchange. Determined to earn an A+ in being a lesbian, Margo hilariously follows Abby’s instructions to the letter and of course falls for Abby at the same time. Show less

Available in some locations

Place hold

Add to My For Later Shelf On my shelf

Monstrous

A Transracial Adoption Story

by Myer, Sarah

Paperback - 2023

After her German American parents adopt her from Korea, Sara grows up in Maryland and hates school because her classmates bully her relentlessly about her...Show more After her German American parents adopt her from Korea, Sara grows up in Maryland and hates school because her classmates bully her relentlessly about her race. To cope with her anger, Sarah constantly draws pictures and becomes obsessed with animation. This story sheds light on the complexities of transracial adoption and redemptive power of art. Show less

Available in some locations

Place hold

Add to My For Later Shelf On my shelf

Only This Beautiful Moment

by Nazemian, Abdi

Paperback - 2023

Told from the perspectives of men in three different generations of an Iranian-American family, this moving story starts in 2019 with out-and-proud gay te...Show more Told from the perspectives of men in three different generations of an Iranian-American family, this moving story starts in 2019 with out-and-proud gay teen Moud going to visit his dying grandfather in Tehran. Later we learn more about Moud's dad Saeed attending protests and falling in love in Tehran in 1978 and his grandfather Bobby working as an actor at MGM in 1939 and getting blacklisted for being gay. Each character’s section is so compelling that this could have been three separate books, and they all add up to a tear-jerking multigenerational tale about the power of family bonds and staying true to yourself. Show less

Available in some locations

Place hold

Add to My For Later Shelf On my shelf

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich

by Muniz, Deya

Paperback - 2023

In this adorable graphic novel, Lady Camembert’s father wants her to marry a guy so she can inherit his fortune after he dies, but she’s made it clear tha...Show more In this adorable graphic novel, Lady Camembert’s father wants her to marry a guy so she can inherit his fortune after he dies, but she’s made it clear that she’s not into guys at all. So her dad suggests that she disguise herself as Count Camembert and move to the big city of Fromage to start a new life. Instead of keeping a low profile to keep up folks from realizing she’s a girl, Cam causes a fashion sensation with faux fur, falls for Princess Brie and eats and insane amount of grilled cheese sandwiches in this charming love story perfect for fans of Prince and the Dressmaker. Show less

Available in some locations

Place hold

Add to My For Later Shelf On my shelf

Star Splitter

by Kirby, Matthew J.

Book - 2023

If you’ve ever thought that you wanted to clone yourself, this intense space opera might make you reconsider. In 2199, Jess Mathers leaves Earth to meet h...Show more If you’ve ever thought that you wanted to clone yourself, this intense space opera might make you reconsider. In 2199, Jess Mathers leaves Earth to meet her scientist parents on a planet fourteen lights years away called Carver 1061c after not seeing them for six years. To travel there, she leaves her body behind and a new version of her gets printed when she lands on Carver 1061c. At first the trip goes as planned, but soon she finds herself alone with another printed version of herself after someone murders the rest of the ship’s crew. Full of twists and turns, this suspenseful story will keep you guessing what might happen and questioning the ethics of future technology. Show less

Available in some locations

Place hold

Add to My For Later Shelf On my shelf

Where You See Yourself

by Forrest, Claire (Young adult author)

Book - 2023

Effie, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, sees herself studying Mass Media and Society at Prospect University in Brooklyn next year. For now, s...Show more Effie, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, sees herself studying Mass Media and Society at Prospect University in Brooklyn next year. For now, she’s stuck in her senior year at a high school in Minneapolis that barely acknowledges her need for accessible doors and lockers. Is Prospect the right college for her, or would Berkley offer her better accommodations? And when will her cute friend Will finally ask her to prom? Find out in his upbeat yet brutally honest story of navigating high school and college life with a disability. Show less

Available in some locations

Place hold

Add to My For Later Shelf On my shelf

Search

Services

FAQs

About the Library

I Speak...

Resources for