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| Beth Is Dead by Katie BernetOn New Year’s Day, Jo and Amy find their gifted musician sister Beth murdered. If anyone can figure out whether their neighbor Laurie was involved, it’s Jo. This contemporary spin on Little Women will draw fans of the classic, though it stands on its own as a propulsive whodunit.
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Better the Devil
by Erik J. Brown
A harrowing, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller about a queer homeless teen who, in a bid for safety, assumes the identity of a boy who went missing ten years ago...only to find that his new home is anything but a safe haven--from All That's Left in the World author Erik J. Brown! Perfect for fans of Karen McManus, Holly Jackson, and Ryan La Sala.When a runaway teen is arrested for shoplifting, he's desperate not to be sent back to the hyper-religious parents he knows will never accept him. While at the police station, he notices a resemblance to the aged-up photos of Nate Beaumont, a child who went missing ten years ago--and, in a moment of desperation, he takes Nate's identity in hopes that it will help him make a quick getaway. Before he can run again, Nate's family arrives and welcomes him home to a life he never had. As Nate watches and waits for his chance to escape, he finds that the Beaumonts are nurturing and loving, very different from his own parents.But soon unsettling things start to happen--vandalism, alarms going off in the middle of the night--and it becomes clear that someone knows Nate isn't who he says he is...and that the real Nate wasn't kidnapped, but murdered.As he starts to unravel the mystery, he gets ever closer to the devil he may know--and learns he might be their next victim.
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| The Swan's Daughter by Roshani ChokshiAlthough Demelza was born without wings, she is part veritas swan and thus can discern people’s true intentions. Using her gift to help the cursed prince who needs to find true love could mean sacrificing her power forever. Read-alikes: Jessica Khoury’s The Forbidden Wish; Elizabeth Lim’s A Forgery of Fate. |
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A Practical Guide to Dating a Demon
by Hannah Reynolds
Naomi, a studious scholarship girl at a magical academy, accidentally summons a charming demon fiancâe and must team up with him to uncover the source of mysterious magical disruptions in her city.
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Steam
by Shaenon K. Garrity
A genius humanoid escapes the university lab where she was made and gets a job at a local coffee shop in this hilarious...excellent (School Library Journal, starred review) young adult graphic novel perfect for fans of Giant Days and Heartstopper. Ruby is a genius humanoid who was grown in a secret lab at the local university, created to solve science's greatest problems. But Ruby suspects she can't fulfill her function while trapped inside, so she breaks out. Now living among humans, Ruby attempts to lie low and fit in as a barista at the university coffeehouse, Inkcap. Working there gives her plenty of opportunity to figure out what problems people need solving. And as far as she can tell, most humans' biggest problem is struggling to find happiness. And what makes them happy? Love So, Ruby uses her superpowered brain to play cupid. As Ruby sets to work pairing up the staff and regulars at Inkcap, she feels more and more human herself: she's got a community now, maybe even a crush. But the lab believes she's dangerous, and it wants her back. When pursuing her own happiness leads Ruby straight into a trap, she'll need her new motley crew of coffeehouse friends to save her from the scientist who only want to use her.
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Queen Kodiak
by Christopher Greenslate
After the death of her mother, an embattled 17 year old moves in with her father on Alaska's Kodiak island where she befriends a legendary 3000 lb. bear. Unfortunately, the bear's inevitable capture upsets a millenia-old kaiju grizzly named Queen Kodiak, who will destroy everything in her path to collect her cub. Following in the massive footsteps of legends like Godzilla and King Kong, comes QUEEN KODIAK, a colossal, super-charged Kodiak grizzly bear... one who survived from the ice-age and who's been irreversibly enhanced by a mysterious geo-thermal energy pulsing in the unknown depths of an Alaskan ice cave. And although QUEEN KODIAK's been asleep for thousands of years, melting ice and subsequent tectonic activity has disturbed her hibernation. And in her debut graphic novel, she wakes up to find her only cub missing. But as much as we want to meet her and watch her wreck shop on the pacific northwest (sorry Seattle), our story actually centers on JOEY FOX, an embattled 17-year-old girl, and natural empath, who befriends Queen Kodiak's cub after a tectonic shift in her own life -- the recent passing of her mother. As a result, Joey's been sent to Alaska's Kodiak island to live with the man who left them ten years ago, her state trooper father. In many ways it's a story about how families survive overwhelming odds.
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| Fledgling: The Keeper's Records of Revolution by S.K. AliIn a post-apocalyptic future, the marriage between privileged Raisa of Upper Earth and Lein, the Crown Prince of Lower Earth, should usher in peace. Instead, Raisa goes missing and Lein’s cousins Nada and Nayf are plotting revolution. Read-alikes: Kiera Cass’ A Thousand Heartbeats; Tehlor Kay Mejia’s We Set the Dark on Fire.
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| Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza VillaIf Rafie has to move to San Antonio, he’d better win the lead vocalist role in his new school’s mariachi band. Alas, the band already has a lead vocalist in Rey, an old flame from last year’s Mariachi Extravaganza Nacional. Their earnest, joyful story will please fans of rivals-to-lovers romances.
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| The Glass Girl by Kathleen GlasgowBella, dealing with compounding hardships, took her first drink of alcohol at age 11. Now 15, she lands in the hospital with alcohol poisoning, and a forced stint in a recovery facility may finally be the path to a hopeful future. Read-alikes: Jyoti Chand’s Fitting Indian; Jas Hammonds’ Thirsty.
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| Pick the Lock by A.S. KingSince the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jane has been confined to her family’s rambling Victorian house and restricted from interacting with her punk musician mother. Her father -- and his decades of security camera footage -- stand between her and freedom. Award-winning author A.S. King delivers another complex and character-driven page-turner.
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| The Ballad of Darcy and Russell by Morgan MatsonBoth stranded at a bus station after a music festival, strangers Darcy and Russell strike out on an adventure before the next bus leaves in the morning. Their fateful whirlwind romance promises to alter the course of their lives forever. Read-alikes: Ronni Davis’ This Night Is Ours; Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera’s What If It’s Us.
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Contact your librarian for more great books for age 14 and up!
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Central Arkansas Library System
100 Rock St.
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
501-918-3000www.cals.org/ |
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