Teens

  • School Tales for Teens: September 2022

    School is back in session!  If you need some time away from your homework, here are some great teen novels about school life. In Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, an anonymous student known only as Aces spreads secrets about two Black students to try and keep them from succeeding in the predominantly white school. Dahlia… Continue reading

  • Black History Month 2022: Black Teens in Love

    Black History month meets Valentine’s Day, and they make a sweet couple! Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender follows seventeen-year-old Felix, who feels he is one marginalization more than people can handle: Black, queer, trans. When someone posts his deadname and pre-transition pictures, Felix seeks revenge, but his search for his tormentor reveals some surprises… Continue reading

  • Staff Faves 2021: Teen Books

    Here are ten books for teens that our staff loved in 2021! Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley “Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.” — NoveList Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi “Ji-young Baek,… Continue reading

  • Watch and Read: Stranger Things

    While I can honestly watch Stranger Things over and over and over again we have so much material that adds on to the Stranger Things universe to quench your nerdy hearts. As well as a few reads to give you the same feeling the show did – for all ages! The Stranger Things Field Guild… Continue reading

  • Three on a Theme: Seattle Writers

    Every fall, as the rains return, we are reacquainted with the knowledge of where exactly on Earth we are. Autumn in Seattle can be gloomy and hard to survive emotionally, but it is also an experience that can be enhanced by delving into the cultural history and storytelling of the specific place we are in.… Continue reading

  • Witchy Reads for a Witchy Autumn

    We are approaching one of the most magical times of the year: when the leaves begin to turn, the days get windier, and the spiders come out to leave their shimmery artwork in the gardens for us to admire. Every autumn, it can feel amazing to lean into the spookier side of things and appreciate… Continue reading

  • Magical Tales by Women of Color

    I went on a search for stories with a magical theme to them by authors who are women of color. On my search I managed to procure these six stories for your enjoyment. They are all a little different, so hopefully you’ll find one to strike your fancy. The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2020: Neuro-diverse protagonist or author

    In this year’s Book Bingo, the neuro-diverse protagonist or author square invites us to journey into the world of a person whose modes of thinking and ways of processing the world differ from those of the mainstream population. Neurodiversity, often associated with disabilities like autism or ADHD, can sometimes lead to deep connections, groundbreaking insights,… Continue reading

  • Bus Reads for January

    Commuting to Seattle by bus five days a week gives me a lot of reading time. Here’s what I read on the bus in January: The Wall by John Lanchester. Due to climate change an island nation has built a wall to keep out the Others – those adrift. Each citizen is assigned wall duty for… Continue reading

  • Bus Reads for July

    Commuting to Seattle by bus five days a week gives me a lot of reading time. Here’s what I read on the bus in July: Early Riser by Jasper Fforde. I really enjoyed this book, I think the only issue I sometimes have with Jasper is that it sometimes feels like in his books there… Continue reading

  • 2019 Lambda Literary Awards: LGBTQ Titles for Children and Young Adults

    The 2019 Lammy Award finalists were announced earlier this month, and there are eight contenders in the LGBTQ Children’s/Young Adult category.  Among them are some of our favorite recent titles, including last year’s National Book Award Winner The Poet X and both(!) of Kheryn Callender’s novels.  We were especially pleased at the diversity of both… Continue reading

  • New African American Fiction for Teens

    2019 is already shaping up to be an excellent year in African American fiction for youth.  Here are a few recent and upcoming titles that are on our radar: Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi Seventeen different authors explore what it means to be a Black American teenager… Continue reading

  • Social Justice and Activism for Young Adults

    From #MeToo to Black Lives Matter to March for Our Lives, the voices of activists are ringing loud and clear across this country right now.  Many of these voices are those of young people, and teens today are more empowered than ever before to create change and make their voices heard.  As a result, there… Continue reading

  • Food Comics and Manga

    I’ve been reading a lot of food-focused manga and comics recently. Maybe I’m just a hungry person? I do like food, but really, while these manga and comics share the culinary theme they span some wildly different story-telling territory; from D&D-esque dungeon crawlers, to queer slice-of-life stories, to cooking competitions. Some of these stories even… Continue reading

  • Ten Young Adult Books We Loved 2018

    There are so many truly outstanding books for young people published these days that it gets more and more difficult to chose our favorites at the end of the year.   These ten, selected by the Teen Services Librarians at Seattle Public Library, stood out for their strength of writing, quality of characters, and stories that… Continue reading

  • Celebrating Transgender Awareness Month

    Back by popular demand! The University Branch will be hosting the third annual Trans Shorts and Speed Friending event on November 12th from 6 – 7:30 p.m. to coincide with Transgender Awareness Month and Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20th. We’re partnering with Three Dollar Bill Cinema and TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival to… Continue reading

  • New Voices in Teen Fiction

    It’s always exciting to discover new books and authors and, as usual, some of the freshest voices can be found in young adult publishing.   Here are three recent debut novels you should know about: Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles Twins Tyler and Marvin have always been close, but lately Tyler has been increasingly… Continue reading

  • Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Books for Children and Teens by Latinx Authors

    Hispanic Heritage month, running from September 15 to October 15, is an annual celebration of the rich cultures and traditions of people living in the United States who trace their ancestry to Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America.  There has been a very welcome increase in books written by and for the Latinx… Continue reading