Our teen book spotlight this week is on more new YA books, because let’s be honest--there is just something awesome about being the first one to read a new book! The titles featured in this week’s book talk (and listed below) are titles that are new to us at the Handley Regional Library System over the past couple of months. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #2020yanewbooks 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!!
Cracking the Bell by Geoff Herbach--High school senior Isaiah faces tough choices after a concussion sidelines him from playing football, a sport that gave him the focus and discipline he needed after his sister Hannah died four years prior. A football scholarship, his father's admiration, and worry that he'll return to his previous destructive behavior hang in the balance as Isaiah contemplates leaving the sport he loves.
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu--Nannerl Mozart, sister of the famous Wolfgang, has a gift for music and wishes to be remembered forever--but for a woman in eighteenth-century Europe, that is never going to happen. She is allowed to perform only until she is of marriageable age--on order of her tyrannical father--but when her younger brother begins to eclipse her skills, she begins to despair of her life. Then, a mysterious stranger from a magical world arrives with an irresistible offer, but one that comes with a terrible cost.
We Used to Be Friends by Amy Spaulding--Having been best friends since kindergarten graduation, James and Kat thought they would be BFFs forever--but by the end of their senior year in high school, they are no longer even talking to each other. The reason could have something to do with James learning her parents, who were high school sweethearts, are getting divorced, while Kat has gotten her first girlfriend. Kat still wants James to be her grounding, but James becomes more and more distant. Kat is trying to move forward, while James has to dig into her past to figure out her life.
Now Entering Addamsville by Francesca Zappia--When Zora Novak is framed for a crime she didn't commit, she must track down the true culprit and clear her name before it's too late. But in a small town obsessed with ghosts, getting people to believe the truth might prove to be impossible.
Mirror, Mirror by Jen Calonita--When Snow White's evil step-mother takes over the kingdom, she sets out to stop her with the help of her dwarf friends and a kind prince she's come to care for very much. But the Evil Queen won't let go of her power that easily and she sets her sights on hurting those Snow White loves.
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Louise Simonson--Diana risks exile from her land of warrior sisters to save Alia Keralis, a Warbringer--a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy--as both face an army of enemies determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer.