Wally B.

  • Teen Fiction for Women’s History Month

    Teen Fiction for Women’s History Month

    It’s officially March, which means Women’s History Month is here! Check out some teen titles highlighting women in historical fiction. In The Davenports by Krystal Marquis, set in 1910 Chicago, the titular Davenports are one of a few wealthy Black families, and teen sisters Olivia and Helen want to chart their own paths.  Olivia wants to… Continue reading

  • Teen Novels for Black History Month 2024

    Teen Novels for Black History Month 2024

    Here are some brand new titles featuring Black teens and at least a bit of Black history. (Created January 2024) When the super strict principal of a tough charter school is found murdered, J.B., Ramón, and Trey are immediately under suspicion, and must find the killer before they are caught in Nick Brooks’ Promise Boys.… Continue reading

  • New Teen Fiction for 2024

    New Teen Fiction for 2024

    Looking for the newest stories? Here are some brand new teen titles to start the New Year, with annotations adapted from the catalog. (Created December 2023.) In Arushi Avachat’s novel, Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment, high school senior Arya must navigate fraught family dynamics, the fallout of her two best friends breaking up, and a tense… Continue reading

  • Staff Faves 2023: Teen Books

    Every year we ask our staff across the library system for their favorite books published in a given year. Here is a selection of teen titles that staff thought were the best for 2023. Summaries adapted from catalog. Thien Pham’s graphic novel memoir, Family Style, tells how Thien’s first memory isn’t a sight or a… Continue reading

  • Indigenous Fiction and Nonfiction for Teens

    To honor Native American Heritage Month, here are some of the newest titles by Indigenous authors of North America. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley Working at a summer job that brings her to the local tribal heritage museum, Perry learns of the Warrior Girl, an ancestor of her people whose bones and knives are… Continue reading

  • Horror Tales for Teens

    Horror Tales for Teens

    Halloween is around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than to read these terrifying tales? In Katie Alender’s The Companion, orphaned Margot learns that she is being brought to live with a wealthy family to be a companion to their daughter Agatha, who is completely silent. After a series of strange events, it appears… Continue reading

  • Banned Books for Teens

    Banned Books for Teens

    Unfortunately for us all, more and more books for teens are being challenged in schools and libraries all across the nation. Here are some of the most popular banned and challenged titles, taken from our Books Unbanned project list. In The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta, it seems Mike doesn’t fit in anywhere, or with anyone,… Continue reading

  • Teen Summer Reads 2023, Part Two

    Teen Summer Reads 2023, Part Two

    Our teen librarians had a lot of suggestions for casual summer reading, so we made another list! Teen Summer Reads, Part Two. In Becky Albertalli’s romance Imogen, Obviously, Imogen has always been the token straight girl, the best ally ever. When she visits her childhood best friend Lili at college, Lili reveals that she told… Continue reading

  • Teen Summer Reads, Part One

    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… Continue reading

  • Teen Pride, June 2023

    Teen Pride, June 2023

    Every June is a month for LGBTQIA+ Pride, and this year is no different. Enjoy these newer teen titles with pride! In How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow, Shani finds herself stuck over winter break with May, a girl she almost ran over. Can the two girls spend the holidays together and… Continue reading

  • Fiction Medley for Teens

    May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, and Mental Health Awareness month. Here are some great teen novels celebrating and exploring these identities and experiences. In The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum, Hoodie’s somewhat limited life in the Orthodox Jewish quarter isn’t so bad until he meets and… Continue reading

  • Poetry for Teens

    For National Poetry Month, here are fifteen books of teen-centered poetry, all as novels in verse. See these titles in our catalog. In Kwame Alexander’s The Door of No Return, Kofi’s peaceful life in Upper Kwanta is changed forever when his older brother wrestles – and accidentally kills – a boy from Lower Kwanta. As… Continue reading

  • Teens in Sports

    If you love sports, whether it’s watching or playing, you’ll love these fantastic new novels involving teens playing their favorite games. Check these out also for a dose of romance and social justice. In Kneel by Candace Buford, Marion and Rus are hassled by their white adversaries at the football game, insults and fists fly,… Continue reading

  • Teens in Love

    February is a great time to find new love, and new books to love.  Here are some fantastic new teen titles focusing on teen romance. In Blackout, six fabulous Black authors weave a romance in six different parts, all beginning with a citywide blackout. In the free-verse novel Only on the Weekends by Dean Atta,… Continue reading

  • Teen Staff Faves 2022

    Each year, we ask library staff around the system for their favorite books published that year.  Here are this year’s teen titles. In The Charmed List by Julie Abe, Ellie and Jack, two teens with magical abilities, are forced to go on a road trip as punishment for a prank gone wrong. Along the way,… Continue reading

  • Native American Books for Teens and Young Adults

    In celebration of Native American Heritage month, we’re featuring titles written for teens by Native American and First Nations authors. Some of these are realistic, some are fantasy, and some take the form of memoirs. In Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, science-oriented Daunis uses her Ojibwe knowledge of plants, medicine, and chemistry to help her… Continue reading

  • Teen Thrillers, Horror, and Mysteries: October 2022

    October is the month for costumes and candy and scary stories.  While the little children jump at the word “Boo,” older teens are looking for something a little more, shall we say, visceral? Here are some new books for teen readers hungry for the real thing. In Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare, Quinn… Continue reading

  • 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