Author: csempowich

2015 Rainbow List

The Rainbow List is a bibliography of books with significant gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender content, aimed at people from birth to age 18. These books were all published between July 2013 and December 2014. More information about this project, including summaries of titles, can be found here. For our purposes, books aimed at teenagers will be highlighted.

Teen Fiction

Teen Nonfiction

Graphic Novel Non-fiction

 

 

February Book Discussion: Blood & Chocolate

Come to our book discussion on Wednesday, February 18th at 3pm!

Sixteen-year-old Vivian Gandillon is trying to fit in to her new home in the suburbs. But trying to act ‘normal’ isn’t always easy, since Vivian and her family are werewolves. It’s glorious to have the power to change, and Vivian is a beautiful loup-garou with all the young wolves howling for her. But she wants no part of her squabbling pack, left leaderless by her father’s recent death.

Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy. If she reveals herself, will he relish the magic of her dual nature? When a brutal murder threatens the pack’s survival, Vivian’s divided loyalties are further divided. What is she really? Human or beast?

For Teens in grades 7-12.
Pick up a copy of the book one month prior at the Circulation desk! Also available as a book on CD.

January Book Discussion: The Maze Runner

Come to our book discussion on Thursday, January 22nd at 7pm!

Sixteen year old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.

For Teens in grades 7-12. Open to all teens who have *read* the book.
Pick up a copy at the Circulation desk one month prior! Also available as an e-book, and sound recording download.

Best Adult Books 4 Teens 2014

This list is published annually by School Library Journal.

fiction

Abbott, Megan E. The Fever. A small town comes unraveled after a young teen has a frightening, unexplained seizure in her high school class and rumors of a hazardous illness quickly move through the school and the community, spreading hysteria and destroying friendships and families.

Bertino, Marie-Helene. 2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas: a novel. Traces the unlikely bond between a precocious nine-year-old jazz singer, a divorced teacher hoping to reunite with her high-school sweetheart, and a club owner facing the imminent loss of his Philadelphia business.

Brown, Pierce. Red Rising. A tale set in a bleak future society torn by class divisions follows the experiences of secret revolutionary Darrow, who after witnessing his wife’s execution by an oppressive government joins a revolutionary cell and attempts to infiltrate an elite military academy.

Cantero, Edgar. The Supernatural Enhancements: a novel. Inheriting an eerie estate in the Virginia woods, a skeptical man wonders about his family member’s suicide and realizes that the house harbors both ghosts and terrible secrets, in a story told through journal entries, scrawled notes, and security footage.

Doerr, Anthony. All the Light We Cannot See. A blind French girl on the run from the German occupation and a German orphan-turned-Resistance tracker struggle with respective beliefs after meeting on the Brittany coast.

Francis, Patry. The Orphans of Race Point. When priest Gus Silva, the man she has never stopped loving, is charged with murder, Hallie Costa, who has known Gus since childhood, must not only free him from prison, but from the curse of his past.

Grossman, Lev. The Magician’s Land. Visiting his magical college after being cast out of the secret land of Fillory, Quentin Coldwater, accompanied by brilliant undergraduate Plum, encounters desperate practitioners of gray magic before discovering a sorcery masterwork that could dissolve the boundaries between Fillory and Earth.

Henríquez, Cristina. The Book of Unknown Americans. Moving from Mexico to the United States when their daughter suffers a near-fatal accident, the Riveras confront cultural barriers, their daughter’s difficult recovery, and her developing relationship with a Panamanian boy.

Landis, Dylan. Rainey Royal. Living in a decaying 1970s brownstone with her cultish jazz musician father, 14-year-old Rainey endures unwanted advances from her father’s friend while pursuing her own creative ambitions and struggling to build a substitute family.

Ng, Celeste. Everything I Never Told You. A story of the divisions between cultures and the rifts within a family explores the fallout of the drowning death of Lydia Lee, the favorite daughter of a Chinese-American family in 1970s Ohio.

Racculia, Kate. Bellweather Rhapsody. A high school music festival goes awry when a young prodigy disappears from a hotel room that was the site of a famous murder/suicide fifteen years earlier, in a whip-smart novel sparkling with the dark and giddy pop culture pleasures of The Shining, Agatha Christie, and Glee.

Scalzi, John. Lock In. When a new virus causes one percent of the population to become completely paralyzed in body but not in mind, the United States pursues a scientific initiative to develop a virtual-reality world for victims, with unexpected consequences.

Schroeder, Karl. Lockstep. Awakening after thousands of years to discover that the decimated planet he was orbiting has become a thriving empire, seventeen-year-old Toby McGonigal reconnects with his family, including a tyrannical and power-crazed brother.

Schrag, Ariel. Adam. When Adam Freedman — a skinny, awkward, inexperienced teenager from Piedmont, California — goes to stay with his older sister Casey in New York City, he is hopeful that his life is about to change. And it sure does.

Vandermeer, Jeff. Annihilation.  Describes the twelfth expedition to Area X, a region cut off from the continent for decades, by a group of intrepid women scientists who try to ignore the high mortality rates of those on the previous eleven missions.

Weir, Andy. The Martian. Stranded on Mars by a dust storm that compromised his space suit and forced his crew to leave him behind, astronaut Watney struggles to survive in spite of minimal supplies and harsh environmental challenges that test his ingenuity in unique ways.

nonfiction

 Aptowicz, Cristin O’Keefe. Dr. Mütter’s Marvels: a true tale of intrigue and innovation at the dawn of modern medicine. A portrait of the brilliant and eccentric medical innovator who revolutionized American surgery and founded America’s most famous medical oddities museum describes his advocacy for clean and compassionate patient care in spite of his numerous detractors.

Bernstein, Nell. Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison. Presents a look at the juvenile justice system, describing the violence and physical abuses that pervade detention centers and advocating the need for reform so that juveniles can receive the rehabilitation they need to change their lives.

Brockmeier, Kevin. A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip: a Memoir of Seventh Grade. Traces the author’s experiences in the most difficult year of his life in 1980s Little Rock, describing how he endeavored to grow beyond his sensitive nature to gain new friends, have a first kiss, and explore early literary ambitions.

Duffy, Chris. Above the Dreamless Dead: World War I in Poetry and Comics. Presents graphic novel adaptations of twenty works of trench poetry from World War I, including pieces from such poets as Thomas Hardy, Wilfred Owen, Rudyard Kipling, and Isaac Rosenberg.

Rakoff, Joanna Smith. My Salinger Year.  A memoir about literary New York in the late nineties, a pre-digital world on the cusp of vanishing, where a young woman finds herself entangled with one of the last great figures of the century.

Zusman, Angela. The Griots of Oakland: Voices from the African American Oral History Project. A project of the Center for Healthy Schools and Communities and the Oakland Unified School District’s Office of African American Achievement and Story for All.

Best Teen Books of 2014

Our friends over at Kirkus Reviews have published their list of the Best Teen Books of 2014. We are more than delighted to share this list with you! All quotes are from Kirkus Reviews.

The Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan. “A suspenseful and engaging series opener made all the more distinctive through its careful realization of setting. (Science fiction. 12 & up)”

Never Ending by Martyn Bedford. “Beautiful and illuminating but as hard as therapy. (Fiction. 14-18)”

Shackleton: Antarctic Odyssey by Nick Bertozzi. “A top-shelf rendition of one of the greatest survival stories to come out of the Age of Exploration. (source list) (Graphic historical fiction. 10-16)”

Heap House by Edward Carey. “Magnificently creepy. (Horror. 10-16)”

The Tyrant’s Daughter by J.C. Carleson. “Smart, relevant, required reading. (author’s note, commentary, further reading) (Fiction. 13 & up)”

Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices, edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale. “Original and accessible, both an exuberant work of art and a uniquely valuable resource. (Anthology. 12-18)”

A Hero at the End of the World by Erin Claiborne. “A smart, funny and emotionally engaging tale perfect for any reader who longs for another train ride to Hogwarts. (Fantasy. 12 & up)”

Death Sworn by Leah Cypess. “A thoughtful exploration of identity and responsibility wrapped in a twisty, suspenseful mystery and set in a gorgeously realized fantasy world. (Fantasy/mystery. 12 & up)”

Jesus Jackson by James Ryan Daley. “Smart and sweet, comforting and moving. (Fiction. 12-16)”

Vango: Between Sky and Earth by Timothée de Fombelle, translated by Sarah Ardizzone. “Beautiful writing, intricate plotting, and breathless reveals—plus several plucky female leads—make this a must-read. (Historical fiction. 12 & up)”

Exquisite Captive: Book One of the Dark Caravan Cycle by Heather Demetrios. “Readers will wish they had a jinni to grant them the next book in the series. (Fantasy. 15 & up)”

Earth Star by Janet Edwards. “Amaz—simply amaz. (Science fiction. 11-16)”

Eyes Wide Open: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines by Paul Fleischman. “For high schools that assign one book for all students to read and discuss: This is the one. (source notes, bibliography, suggested resources, glossary, acknowledgements, image credits, index, website) (Nonfiction. 14-18)”

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming. “A remarkable human story, told with clarity and confidence. (bibliography, Web resources, source notes, picture credits, index) (Nonfiction. 12 & up)”

The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley. “Powerfully evocative. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)”

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling by Lucy Frank. “Riveting, humanizing and real. (Verse fiction. 13-17)”

A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn. “Deliberate at first, Hahn’s debut is cumulatively stunning. (Fantasy. 12 & up)”

The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer. “A sparkling, timely tour of the complicated intersection where life meets art. (Fiction. 12 & up)”

Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Heppermann. “Full of razors that cut—and razors to cut off shackles: a must. (author’s note, index of first lines, index of photographs) (Poetry. 13-17)”

Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herndorf, translated by Tim Mohr. “In his first novel translated into English, Herrndorf sits squarely and triumphantly at the intersection of literary tall tale and coming-of-age picaresque. (Fiction. 14-17)”

The Devil’s Intern by Donna Hosie. “Just outstanding fun for those who enjoy snarky comedy and suspense. (Paranormal suspense. 12-18)”

Girl Defective by Simmone Howell. “Funny, observant, a relentless critic of the world’s (and her own) flaws, Sky is original, thoroughly authentic and great company, decorating her astute, irreverent commentary with vivid Aussie references; chasing these down should provide foreign readers with hours of online fun. (Fiction. 14 & up)”

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard. “As graceful as a feather drifting down, this lyrical story delivers a deep journey of healing on a tragic theme. (Fiction. 14-18)”

Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson. “Utterly absorbing. (Suspense. 13 & up)”

The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim by E.K. Johnston. “It may ‘[take] a village to train a dragon slayer,’ but it takes an exceptional dragon slayer to deserve a village—and a storyteller—like this one. (Fantasy. 12-18)”

The Gospel of Winter by Brendan Kiely. “Often bleak, eventually hopeful and beautifully told. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)”

Into the Grey by Celine Kiernan. “A gripping, highly original ghost story. (Fantasy. 12 & up)”

Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A.S. King. “With any luck, Glory’s notebook will inspire a new wave of activists. (Fiction. 14 & up)”

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin. “Informative, revealing, powerful and necessary. (author’s note, glossary, resource list) (Nonfiction. 12 & up)”

Spinoza: the Outcast Thinker by Devra Lehmann. “Clarity, accessibility and spot-on relevance to issues facing modern society make this a must-read. (sources, notes, index) (Nonfiction. 13 & up)”

we were liars by e. lockhart. “Riveting, brutal and beautifully told. (Fiction. 14 & up)”

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon. “This sobering yet satisfying novel leaves readers to ponder the complex questions it raises. (Fiction. 14 & up)”

Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire. “An ambitious, Scheherazade-ian novel, rather like a nesting-doll set of stories, that succeeds in capturing some of the complexities of both Russia and life itself. (Historical fantasy. 12 & up)”

Dirty Wings by Sarah McCarry. “A breathtaking companion volume, fully readable on its own and devastating in the context of its predecessor. (Urban fantasy. 14-18)”

The Freedom Summer Murders by Don Mitchell. “Essential. (Nonfiction. 12-16)”

Althea & Oliver by Cristina Moracho. “Mesmerizing. (Fiction. 14 & up)”

A Matter of Souls by Denise Lewis Patrick. “Shocking, informative and powerful, this volume offers spectacular literary snapshots of black history and culture. (Short stories. 12-18)”

Tomboy: a graphic memoir by Liz Prince. “Spectacular; a book to make anyone think seriously about society’s preordained gender roles (Graphic memoir. 14 & up)”

Hidden Like Anne Frank: Fourteen True Stories of Survival by Marcel Prins and Peter Henk Steenhuis; translated by Laura Watkinson. “Terrifying, haunting and powerful. (foreword, glossary) (Collective memoir. 12 & up)”

Gabi, a girl in pieces by Isabel Quintero. “A fresh, authentic and honest exploration of contemporary Latina identity. (Fiction. 14 & up)”

Frida & Diego: Art, Love, Life by Catherine Reef. “Compelling reading for art lovers. (timeline, source notes, bibliography; index, not seen) (Nonfiction. 12-16)”

Jackaby by William Ritter. “A magical mystery tour de force with a high body count and a list of unusual suspects. (Paranormal mystery. 12-18)”

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski. “Breathtaking, tragic and true. (Fantasy. 12-18)”

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick. “It’s no coincidence that Sedgwick has crafted yet another gripping tale of wonder. (Thriller. 13 & up)”

Far From You by Tess Sharpe. “An absorbing story full of depth and emotion. (Mystery. 14-18)”

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith. “By that measure, then, this is a mighty good book. It is about everything that really matters. Plus voracious giant praying mantises. (Science fiction. 14 & up)”

Blue Lily, Lily Blue: Book III of the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. “Expect this truly one-of-a-kind series to come to a thundering close. (Fantasy. 14 & up)”

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki. “Keenly observed and gorgeously illustrated—a triumph. (Graphic novel. 13 & up)”

A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman. “A beautiful integration of art, religion, compassion and connection. (author’s note) (Verse fiction. 13-17)”

Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly by Conrad Wesselhoeft. “As complex as life itself, this novel addresses serious topics without taking itself too seriously. (Fiction. 14-18)”

 

Witchy Reads!

A selection of fiction titles for your reading pleasure. Happy Halloween!

Cabot, Meg. Jinx. 2009. Sixteen-year-old Jean “Jinx” Honeychurch, the descendant of a witch, must leave Iowa to live with relatives in Manhattan after the first spell she casts goes awry, but she will have to improve her skills to stop her cousin from practicing black magic that endangers them and the boy they both like.

Coakley, Lena. Witchlanders. 2011. After the prediction of Ryder’s mother, once a great prophet and powerful witch, comes true and their village is destroyed by a deadly assassin, Ryder embarks on a quest that takes him into the mountains in search of the destroyer.

Duncan, Lois. Gallows Hill. 1997. Role playing takes on a terrifying cast when 17-year-old Sarah, who is posing as a fortune-teller for a school fair, begins to see actual visions.

Gray, Claudia. Spellcaster. 2013. Descended from witches, high school senior Nadia can tell as soon as her family moves to Captive’s Sound that the town is under a dark and powerful spell. Then she meets Mateo, the teenage local whose cursed dreams predict the future, and they must worktogether to prevent an impending disaster that threatens the entire town.

Green, Sally. Half Bad. 2014. In modern-day England, where witches live alongside humans, Nathan, son of a White witch and the most powerful Black witch, must escape captivity before his seventeenth birthday and receive the gifts that will determine his future.

Hearn, Julie. The Minister’s Daughter. 2005. In 1645 in England, the daughters of the town minister successfully accuse a local healer and her granddaughter of witchcraft to conceal an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, but years later during the 1692 Salem trials their lie has unexpected repercussions.

Hemphill, Stephanie. Wicked Girls: a novel of the Salem Witch Trials. 2010. Wicked Girls is a fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials told from the perspective of three of the real young women living in Salem in 1692. Ann Putnam Jr. plays the queen bee. When her father suggests that a spate of illnesses within the village is the result of witchcraft, Ann grasps her opportunity. She puts in motion a chain of events that will change the lives of the people around her forever.

Horowitz, Anthony. Raven’s Gate. 2005. Sent to live in a foster home in a remote Yorkshire village, Matt, a troubled fourteen-year-old English boy, uncovers an evil plot involving witchcraft and the site of an ancient stone circle.

Kontis, Alethea. Hero. 2013. Saturday Woodcutter accidentally conjures an ocean in the backyard and, with sword in tow, sets sail on a pirate ship, only to find herself kidnapped and held captive by a mountain witch with the power to destroy the world.

Lamb, Victoria. Witchstruck. 2013. Meg Lytton has always known she is different — that she bears a dark and powerful gift. But in 1554 England, in service at Woodstock Palace to the banished Tudor princess Elizabeth, it has never been more dangerous to practise witchcraft. Meg knows she must guard her secret carefully from the many suspicious eyes watching over the princess and her companions. One wrong move could mean her life, and the life of Elizabeth, rightful heir to the English throne. With witchfinder Marcus Dent determined to have Meg’s hand in marriage, and Meg’s own family conspiring against the English queen, there isn’t a single person Meg can trust.

MacCullough, Carolyn. Once a Witch. 2011. Born into a family of witches, seventeen-year-old Tamsin is raised believing that she alone lacks a magical “Talent,” but when her beautiful and powerful sister is taken by an age-old rival of the family in an attempt to change the balance of power, Tamsin discovers her true destiny.

Powell, Laura. Burn Mark. 2012. In an alternate London, England, the lives of a fifteen-year-old girl eagerly awaiting the development of her “fae,” or witch abilities, and the son of a man who sentences witches to death by burning, intersect when the son makes a startling discovery.

Pratchett, Terry. The Wee Free Men: the Beginning. 2011. Young witch-to-be Tiffany Aching teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue men, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland.

Rees, Celia. Witch Child. 2000. In 1659, 14 year old Mary Newbury keeps a journal of her voyage from England to the New World and her experiences living as a witch in a community of Puritans near Salem, Massachusetts.

Rinaldi, Ann. A Break with Charity: a story about the Salem Witch Trials. 1992. While waiting for a church meeting in 1706, Susanna English, daughter of a wealthy Salem merchant, recalls the malice, fear, and accusations of witchcraft that tore her village apart in 1692.

Schwab, Victoria. The Near Witch. 2011. 16 year old Lexi, who lives on an enchanted moor at the edge of the village of Near, must solve the mystery when, the day after a mysterious boy appears in town, children start disappearing.

Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron. 2012. Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Diana Peterfreund, and Garth Nix are just a few of the authors who have toiled over their cauldrons and conjured up bewitching new creations inspired by and celebrating the might and mystery of the witch.