Staff Picks Young Adult

My Life with the Walter Boys

by Ali Novak

When Jackie’s family dies in a car accident, she is forced to move from New York City halfway across the country to a farm in the middle of nowhere with her mom’s old best friend. Worst of all, the friend has 12 kids of her own already and most of them are boys. How will Jackie figure out how to navigate the world of the Walters, especially without falling for one (or more) of the boys? Read the book, then watch the Netfix show to compare the two.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

All That’s Left in the World

by Erik J. Brown

After a virus has killed off most of the population of the world, Andrew accidently stumbles upon Jamie’s house. Somehow they come to trust each other enough to live together and share their resources. When their shelter is attacked, they flee south, hoping to find safety. Both boys have secrets, but will those secrets save them, or get them killed? The only certain thing is their feelings for each other in a destroyed world.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

The Deep Dark

by Molly Knox Ostertag

Magdalena’s life weighs heavy with all the responsibilities and secrets she carries. She was left behind by her mother and father after an accident that ended up getting Emil killed leaving her to be to sole caretaker of her Abuelita. But the secrets she carries weigh more on her than her responsibilities. She reconnects with Nessa, a friend from long ago, but will they be able to trust each other? Or will they be consumed by their secrets?

Recommended by: Ayla Franco, Youth Services Assistant

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

Accountable: the true story of a racist social media account and the teenagers whose lives it changed

by Dashka Slater

Posted in: Young Adult Nonfiction

The Book of Denial

by RICARDO CHÀVEZ CASTAÑEDA

Impactful images accompany a powerful horror ghost story of a son reading a story his father is writing. Some stories are so terrible to tell but his father insists that they must be told for the justice of children who are the most vulnerable in the world. For they should know the truth of the horrors they’ve endured throughout history. To deny the past is to deny the truth.

Recommended by: Ayla Franco, Youth Services Assistant

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

Be Not Far from Me

by Mindy McGinnis

Seventeen-year-old cross-country star Ashley Hawkins and her friends are looking forward to a night of camping and drinking with classmates along the Appalachian Trail. Ashley also wants to spend time with her boyfriend, Duke, When Ashley punches Duke in the face after finding him with another girl, she drunkenly runs away. She falls into a ravine where her foot is crushed. She realizes she is lost and seriously injured and must take drastic steps to save herself. A boy who went missing in the same area two years before, Davey Beet, has taught her everything about survival in the wilderness. She begins to channel him as she struggles to survive with only the clothes on her back.

This book is available at the library, on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook, and on Hoopla as an e audiobook.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

Hollow Fires

by Samira Ahmed

After discovering the body of fourteen-year-old Jawad Ali in Jackson Park, seventeen-year-old journalism student Safiya Mirza begins investigating his murder believing it is connected to white supremacists. Jawad first received media attention after his teacher believed the jet pack he created for a school project was a bomb. After Jawad disappears, his case isn’t a police priority. As Safiya investigates what happened, she begins hearing messages from Jawad’s ghost. Then, in an amazing twist, Safiya realizes that Jawad’s killer is closer than anyone imagined. Ahmed’s gripping story details how many forms of extremism are normalized in the media.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

#Murdertrending

by Gretchen McNeil

Much like The Hunger Games or The Testing, seventeen-year-old Dee fights to survive on a reality show using paid killers taking place on Alcatraz 2.0, an island near San Francisco. After a wrongful conviction of murdering her stepsister, Dee discovers that she is not the only innocent person on the island and alliances are formed. With fast paced action and cringe worthy violence this story is one of non-stop action.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

The Stranded

by Sarah Daniels

The Arcadia is a cruise ship that has been turned into a refugee camp for those that fled Europe after a disease ridden war broke out. It has been floating off the coast of America for years. No one gets off unless they have special permission. Esther has been working extremely hard to become a medic and earn her passage to the main land. Nik has been working on plans of his own. Plans that will maybe get everyone off the ship, even if they have to force their way off. When America has decided that they have had enough of the ships floating in the ocean, and decides to start getting rid of them, both Esther’s and Nik’s worlds will collide. Will they be able to work together and save everyone on the ship and each other?

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

A Door in the Dark

by Scott Reintgen

Ren has spent her whole life trying to prove that she is something more than a poor girl from the wrong side of town. She has perfected her magic and is one of the top students at school. The last thing she needs is for one of the “big” families to offer her a job. Yet, despite all of her efforts, she has no takers. Then a portal spell malfunctions, sending her and some of her classmates into the deadly wilderness. Upon arrival, one student is dead, and one of the other students is the cause. Will Ren be able to get herself and the other students to safety? Will they figure out which one of them is a killer before it’s too late? Everyone has secrets, but some of them are more deadly than others.

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction