Our teen book spotlight this week is all about books that have All the Feels. Taking inspiration from our 2023 Winter Reading Challenge theme, we are exploring books which will have you experiencing every emotion as you follow the main characters through their life changing journeys. Many of them are ones we can relate to through our own life experiences but others titles can give insight and empathy to what others may be feeling and going through in the present moment. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #yaallthefeels as well as on Libby and Hoopla. Check back next week for a new teen book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
The Fault in our Stars by John Green--Having been diagnosed as a terminal cancer patient, 16-year-old Hazel Lancaster is living on borrowed time. While attending a group therapy session for teens living with cancer, Hazel spies Augustus “Gus” Waters looking at her from across the room; when he asks her over, the two form an immediate connection that gives new meaning to their ever-shortening lives. From an overseas trip to Amsterdam to learning about the other's favorite type of novel, Hazel and Gus embark on a journey of self-discovery that allows them to come to terms with the nature of their illness and the inevitability of death – together.
Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner--Carver Briggs never imagined the text he sent would lead to a deadly accident. Reeling from the deaths of his three friends and riddled with guilt, Carver finds himself shunned at school and facing a possible criminal investigation. When the grandmother of one of the boys who died invites Carver to spend a “goodbye day” with her and other friends, sharing memories and engaging in an activity the boy loved, Carver finds a measure of peace. When the other families make the same request, Carver is forced to face his pain head-on.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo--In this coming-of-age novel-in-verse, fierce teen Xiomara Batista lives with her twin brother and conservative parents in a Harlem neighborhood. She pours all of her emotions into poems that she writes down in a leather notebook, such as her feelings for a boy at school named Aman. When Xiomara is invited to join her school's slam poetry club, she decides she must perform her poems but must also keep the secret from her family who would not approve.
The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo--When Clara Shin takes a practical joke too far, she's sentenced to working in her dad's food truck, the KoBra, all summer with her uptight classmate, Rose Carver. As the summer progresses and she starts dating a boy named Hamlet and becoming invested in her father's business, Clara starts to examine her relationships and if she can let go of the old, irresponsible Clara.
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera--In a near-future New York City where a service alerts people on the day they will die, teenagers Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio meet using the Last Friend app and are faced with the challenge of living a lifetime on their End Day.
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver--Driving home from a Friday night party, popular Samantha Kingston is involved in a car accident and dies. But then she wakes up the next morning and gets the chance to relive that fateful Friday over and over again, for a total of one week, to change the past. With a new perspective, Sam -- who initially sets out to prolong her own life -- realizes the damage she's caused during her lifetime and struggles each day to right her wrongs before it's too late. Perhaps Sam won't be able to change her future, but just maybe she'll be able to make someone's life better.