Teen Summer Reads, Part One

We asked our Teen Librarians what they’re reading, loving, and promoting this spring as excellent summer reads for teens, and they gave us these titles: Teen Summer Reads, Part One

In Alex Aster’s Lightlark, the island of Lightlark appears every hundred years to host the Centennial, a battle between the rulers of the six realms to release their homes from ancient curses. But the price of winning is that one of them must die, and no one wants to sacrifice themselves. Enter Isla, a ruler with no magical powers who must rely solely on her wits and training to survive and end the power of the curses.

In The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Barnes, Avery is due to inherit vast wealth from a Texas billionaire she doesn’t even know, and learns she must live in his mansion with his other family members (who are immediately suspicious of her) and solve a number of tricky puzzles if she is to truly become rich.

Liar’s Beach by Katie Cotugno follows Michael as he spends the summer at his rich roommate’s mansion.  Nervous that the other teens will learn he is not wealthy, Michael plays it cool, but when a fight breaks out at a party and one of the fighters is found unconscious in the pool the next morning, Michael turns to an old friend to help him figure out what’s really going on.

In Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa, artist Ander has only known their small Texas neighborhood, so when they meet Santi, they believe their dreams can take wings and they can see the world, but their budding relationship is threatened when ICE agents come for Santi.

Lamar Giles’s novel The Getaway follows Jay and his parents, who live and work at the world-famous Karloff resort, where the fabulously wealthy come to forget the world’s problems and to insulate themselves from the fall of civilization. Can Jay and his crew survive the machinations of the people who view them as little more than expendable servants?

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds follows Avery and her parents, who move to Georgia to care for her dying grandmother.  Avery quickly sees how family tensions and secrets reveal as much about their historically racist small town as about them.

Sofiya Pasternack’s fantasy novel Black Bird, Blue Road, tells how Leah, desperate to keep her brother Pesah from dying of leprosy, kidnaps him when she hears of a legendary city where no one ever gets sick or dies.  Their journey is hard enough at first, but then the Spirit of Death joins them.  Will they make it?

In The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes, Yami’s plan to keep her brother out of trouble and her own appearance as a straight girl at their new Catholic school faces a big challenge when she meets Bo, her cute, out classmate.

Christine Sugg’s autobiographical graphic novel ¡Ay, Mija! My Bilingual Summer in Mexico, follows Christine’s first summer spent with her grandparents in Mexico.  Her time with them and apart from her mother is full of struggles and love, but can she feel comfortable enough to come out to the people she loves?

Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester tells how Veronica’s hip dysplasia limits her mobility on land, but in water, she’s free to be herself. Of course, she wants nothing more than to join the local aquatic attraction, Mermaid Cove, but her immigrant parents fear the worst for her and for themselves if anything goes wrong.

~ posted by Wally B.