Laugh Out Loud High School Drama!

Kelsey Finkelstein is fourteen and FRUSTRATED. Every time she tries to live up to her awesome potential, her plans are foiled – by her impossible parents, her annoying little sister, and life in general. But with her first day of high school coming up, Kelsey is positive that things are going to change. Enlisting the help of her three best friends — sweet and quiet Em, theatrical Cass, and wild JoJo — Kelsey gets ready to rebrand herself and make the kind of mark she knows is her destiny. 

Things start out great - her arch-nemesis has moved across the country, giving Kelsey the perfect opportunity to stand out on the soccer team and finally catch the eye of her long-time crush. But soon enough, an evil junior’s thirst for revenge, a mysterious photographer, and a series of other catastrophes make it clear that just because KELSEY has a plan for greatness… it doesn’t mean the rest of the world is in on it. 

Call # YA ZEITLIN, MEREDITH

A Must-Read Thriller!

When Tanya Barrett takes an internship at MapOut, she expects emotional landmines. Her father cofounded the digital mapping company, and he died for it—on a cartographic expedition he didn’t even need to take. Her father’s business partner and his son, Connor, welcome her to the job with open arms. And being with Connor, an old childhood friend, turns out to be the only thing that makes Tanya feel normal again. 

Soon she’s spending every moment she can with Connor. But when they sneak into her father’s old office late one night, they stumble across a deadly secret. The next day Connor disappears.


Tanya isn’t just bereft; she’s terrified. It’s clear that people at MapOut are willing to kill for what she and Connor discovered. Alone again—and on the run—Tanya must rely on her wits to find out what happened to him and stay a step ahead of MapOut. But in the world they envision, no one stays lost for long.

Call # YA BOMBACK, MARK

Abe Lincoln 2015 is over...

And the winner is...

Half-Korean sophomore Park Sheridan is getting through high school by lying low, never raising his hand in class, and avoiding the kids he grew up with. 

Then new girl Eleanor gets on the bus. Tall, with bright red hair and a dress code all her own, she’s an instant target. Too nice not to let her sit next to him, Park is alternately resentful and guilty for not being kinder to her. When he realizes she’s reading his comics over his shoulder, a silent friendship is born. 

And slowly, tantalizingly, something more. 

Rowell has a gift for showing what Eleanor and Park, who tell the story in alternating segments, like and admire about each other. Their love is believable and thrilling, but it isn’t simple: Eleanor’s family is broke, and her stepfather abuses her mother. When the situation turns dangerous, Rowell keeps things surprising, and the solution—imperfect but believable—maintains the novel’s delicate balance of light and dark.  - -Publishers' Weekly Review

Call # YA ROWELL, RAINBOW 

It's Gonna be a Movie!

Check out one of the Teen new books...

soon to be a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

Tracers 

by J. J. Howard

Call # YA HOWARD, J. J. 

2016 Abe Lincoln Nominee

"Butter" is 16 years old and 423 pounds, He is funny and musically talented but his classmates and parents can't see beyond his weight.  Bullying incidents and being voted "most likely to have a heart attack" spark Butter's plan to commit suicide live...online on New Year's Eve. 

It's the same night that he's agreed to reveal himself to Anna, his chat-room crush; although they know each other from school, he has lied to her about his identity. However, Butter's Web site, where students suggest foods to add to his last meal, brings him instant popularity and reasons to live.

As the days count down, 

Butter has a big decision to make... 

 - Publishers Weekly Review

Call # YA LANGE, ERIN JADE

The Lonely Hearts Club sequel

When Penny Lane started The Lonely Hearts Club, the goal was simple: to show that girls didn't need to define themselves by how guys looked at them, and didn't have to value boyfriends over everything else. 

 Penny thought she'd be an outcast for life...but then the club became far more popular than she ever imagined it would be.

But what happens when the girl who never thought she'd date a good guy suddenly finds herself dating a great one?  

She doesn't need a boyfriend, but she wants it to work out with this particular boyfriend.  And he wants it to work out with her.

Penny needs to figure out how to balance what she wants with what everyone else wants.  She struggles to get to the heart of how hard relationships can be and why they are sometimes worth all the drama and comedy they create.

We Can Work It Out

Call #  YA EULBERG, ELIZABETH

Mystery and Suspense!

Sequel to Jane Casey's How to Fall

Jess Tennant has now been living in a tiny town on the English seaside for 3 months, and is just beginning to relax and think of it as home after a traumatic summer.

 But on Halloween night,  Seb Dawson is left for dead by the side of the road with a serious head injury. 

Jess might not have liked Seb much, but surely he didn't deserve this. The police don't seem to be taking the attack very seriously, but Jess can't just let it go, and she takes matters into her own hands. 

As she investigates, Jess discovers that Seb was involved in some very dangerous games. A secret predator around girls, he would do whatever it took to abuse them...lying,blackmail, and even spiking drinks. 

Could a group of vengeful victims be behind his attack? Or is there someone else with a grudge against Seb, who will stop at nothing to silence him?

Call # YA CASEY, JANE

What If...

...there's a place where the lost go to be found?

Would you go there?

Jam Gallahue is unable to cope with the loss of her boyfriend Reeve. Her grief leads her parents to send her to The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school in Vermont. Here, Jam is selected to attend Mrs. Q.'s Special Topics English class where a journal-writing assignment  transports her to the magical realm of Belzhar.  At first, Jam and the four other classmates, all of whom have endured debilitating losses,  are reluctant to write in the journal, but when they begin to write in their pages, they are transported to their former lives, at least for a while. Call # YA WOLITZER, MEG

What Are You Reading?

Try Top Ten Clues You're Clueless 

by Liz Czukas

The day before Christmas, money goes missing from a donation box at GoodFoods Market and Chloe and her five of her teenage co-workers, held in the break room until the police arrive, try to identify the real thief.

It's Christmas Eve, and high schooler Chloe has to work all day at the local supermarket, along with a quirky assortment of cashiers, stockers, and baggers-especially handsome Tyson, who she has a big crush on.

 Then the store manager discovers that someone has stolen nearly $10,000 from the Christmas charity box, and decides to hold all of the employees in the break room until the police arrive or someone confesses. 

These unusual circumstances lend themselves to weird conversations, supermarket games, romantic encounters, a diabetes scare for Chloe, and speculation on who is behind the theft  (Publishers Weekly review)

What if...

If You're Reading This

by Trent Reedy

Mike was 7 when his father was killed in mysterious circumstances in Afghanistan. 

Then, out of the blue, Mike receives a letter from his father -- the first of a series Dad wrote in Afghanistan, just in case he didn't come home, meant to share some wisdom with his son on the eve of Mike's 16th birthday. 

As the letters come in, Mike revels in spending time with his dad again, and takes his encouragement to try new things --

to go out for the football team, and ask out the beautiful Isma. 

But who's been keeping the letters all these years? 

And how did Dad actually die? 

As the answers to these mysteries are revealed, Mike and his family find a way to heal and move forward at last. 

Call #  YA REEDY, TRENT

A Prank Turned Tragic

On a hot summer night in a Midwestern town, an innocent prank goes horrifically awry: 

alcohol, 

guns,

 a dare. 

 The lives of 8 teens collide in 1 fateful moment.

Call # YA PATTOU, EDITH

One Girl, Twelve Boys...

16-year-old Jackie's entire family dies in a car accident. She moves from New York City to Colorado with her mother's good friend, her new guardian. 

Now, Jackie will be living on a ranch with a family of 11 boys (including two sets of twins), their sole unfriendly sister, and a pet snake. The chaotic household's constant noise, sibling conflicts, and disarmingly laid back environment leave her disoriented, but also distract her from her recent tragedy.

A compulsive organizer by nature, Jackie learns that not everything can be compartmentalized, and a messy romantic entanglement only throws her life into further disarray. - Publishers Weekly Review

Call # YA NOVAK, ALI

Medical Mystery!

100 years ago, a mysterious disease called pellagra spread across the American South - 

"one of the most horrible, pitiful afflictions mankind has ever suffered."  

100 years ago, there were no rules about who could be tested or how the tests should be done.  Today, researchers must have informed consent from anyone who agrees to participate in a medical study.

No one knew what caused pellagra or how to treat it.  Millions of men, women, and children were left weak, disfigured, insane and, in some cases, dead.  

A fascinating non-fiction selection that tracks this devastating disease, including photo and actual cases.  Read about the "detectives" as they tackle this challenging and baffling medical mystery, and how human and animal experimentation using food helped make pellagra and other diseases "curable."

CALL #  YA 616.393 JAR

Secrecy, Jealousy, Courage

Double Exposure

by Bridget Birdsall

Fifteen-year-old Alyx Atlas starts school in a new state with a new identity--as a girl--but a bully on the basketball court threatens to reveal that Alyx is an intersex person, which could disqualify Alyx and the team from playing in the state championship game. Will Alyx find the courage to stand up for the truth of her personhood, or will she do what she's always done - run away? Whatever she decides, she knows there's much more at stake than a championship win Call # YA BIRDSALL, BRIDGET

It's Not a Game Anymore!

                   Re-read the book, watch the trailer, and get ready for the final fight!

Mockingjay

by Suzanne Collins

Call # YA COLLINS, SUZANNE

Happy in Slackerville!

Leon is perfectly satisfied being a slacker,

 in fact, he's embraced it.

But when Anna says she might be moving back from England,k Leon is desperate to get his act together.  Desperate enough to ask his best friend, Stan, for help.

Stan's orders?  Listen to the whole audiobook of Moby Dick.  Find the elusive white grape Slushee.  Join the yearbook committee.  And go out with a popular girl.

As each strange task takes him farther from slackerville,

 Leon has to wonder if maybe Stan really does have unholy powers after all...

Play Me Backwards

by Adam Selzer

Call # YA SELZER, ADAM

Time for DIY Projects!

Everyone can create with duct tape.

See how easy it can be!

So many ideas from wallets to earrings to tablet protectors to backpacks! 

 Don't waste one bit of your purchase...check out the chapter on how to use that last little bit of the tape and even the center cardboard roll!

Sticky Fingers: DYI  Duct Tape Projects

 Easy to pick Up, Hard to Put Down

by Sophie Maletsky

Call #  YA 745.5 MAL

Will a Change Make Everything Better?

Allie is sure that surgery is the answer.

Once she has it, she will be perfect.

Everything will change. Her life would be different. And better.

She'd be more confident, popular, and get invited everywhere by guys who look like Josh Ryan.

People would never laugh behind her back, or in front of it...

She'd be free of her "prison"  once and for all!

Adventure and Magic

Sparkers

by Eleanor Glewwe

Marah Levi is a promising violinist who excels at school and can read more languages than most librarians.  Even so, she has little hope of a bright future: she is a sparker, a member of the oppressed lower class in a society run by magicians.

Then a mysterious disease hits the city of Ashara, turning its victims' eyes dark before ultimately killing them.  As Marah watches those whom she loves most fall ill, she finds an unlikely friend, Azairah, a wealthy magician boy.

Together they pursue a cure in secret, but more people are dying every day, and time is running out!

Then Marah and Azariah make a shocking discovery that changes everything they knew about magic 

and their home, Ashara.

A Dangerous Family Secret

When she was a child, Callie watched her mother drown in the Pacific Ocean. Her father, unwilling to stay in the family's seafront home, moved inland with Callie, where, for nine years, she's experienced inexplicable and debilitating lung problems. That changes when her father takes a job on the Gulf Coast, and Callie finds herself breathing better and finally able to live a normal teenage life; her illness is no longer a barrier between forming friendships and taking part in school activities. 

Her mother's sister Nessa, a free-spirited surf instructor, visits and teaches her to swim, and Callie feels something awaken inside herself. Its voice is at times overpowering, impacting her worldview and decision-making.

 Is she suffering a break with reality or is there really something within her that's calling her into the ocean? Why can't she remember the attack on a classmate that she's accused of? The more answers the teen receives-including about her mother's death-the more questions arise. - Amanda Mastrull, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2014.