Our teen book spotlight this week is focused on books that have recently been added to our collection meaning they are new!!!! New books are the best; they have a new book smell and there is just something about being one of the first people to read it. We are featuring some amazing fiction this time including fantasy, novels in verse, and nonfiction as well as some of my personal favorites from the past few months! These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #2023yanewbooks 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!!
Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt--Autistic twelve-year-old Selah Godfrey has just started seventh grade at a new private school, where she's learned the rules of being a "normal person." During the day, she holds in her feelings until they get to be too much and then she escapes to a bathroom stall to calm down. One day, when a girl begins braiding her hair without permission, Selah lashes out and gets in trouble at school. Taking advice from her grandfather, she begins to write about her thoughts and feelings in a notebook. Feeling empowered by her words, she begins using them to explain her differences to her teachers and peers helping them to understand and celebrate who she is.
Threads that Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou--In the half-sunken city of Alante, orphaned Io and her two sisters live as descendants of the Fates with abilities to alter the threads that connect people to their futures. She hasn't seen her oldest sister Thais, who can weave people's threads, for several years, but maintains contact with Ava, a nightclub singer who can alter people's threads. Io works as a private investigator, and can sever threads if necessary. When she discovers a series of murders that unleash wraiths upon the city, she is forced to team up with a gang leader's right hand man Edei to uncover who's responsible. The case becomes tricky to handle though, after she learns Edei is her soul mate and her sister is dating the prime suspect.
Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey--Having grown up hanging out in her aunt Astrid's bookstore, eighteen-year-old Madeline Moore is determined to take it over after she graduates college. When a bookstore chain opens down the street, Madeline is more determined than ever to keep her store running and crush the competition. The only snag in her plan is the audaciously handsome Jasper Hamada, the supervisor of the competing store who becomes her rival in an escalating competition of wits and pranks.
Harboring Hope by Susan Hood--Chronicles the work of Henny Sinding and other resistance fighters to save the lives of Jewish Danes during Germany's occupation of Denmark in World War II, and explores Denmark's transformation from neutrality to becoming what Hitler described as "a model protectorate" to fighting back against German forces in August 1943. Includes black-and-white photographs, maps, and additional resources.
The Bones of Birka by C.M. Surrisi--Explores the fallout in the archeology community after a 2009 discovery by a team of female archaeologists that the skeleton in Birka warrior grave Bj 581--a famous Viking archeological burial tomb--was not male, but female. Explores how the archeology community reacted to the news, how definitive evidence changed views of Viking history and the role of gender in their society, and how bias affects investigation. Includes a glossary and discussion questions.
Promise Boys by Nick Brooks--Black friends J.B., Ramón, and Trey attend Washington D.C.'s Urban Promise Prep school, led by Principal Moore. The school follows his strict program of discipline, which he says will keep the boys out of trouble and college bound. During a mandatory detention, in which the boys are serving time for infractions, Principal Moore is murdered and the three boys are primary suspects because they were in the building at the same time. In addition, incriminating evidence places them at the scene of the crime. The boys claim innocence, and band together to investigate the case and clear their names.