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| Take Me With You When You Go by David Levithan and Jennifer NivenWithout warning: sixteen-year-old Ezra Ahern's older sister, Bea, runs away, leaving Ezra at the mercy of their abusive parents, with little support beyond his caring boyfriend.
What happens: Email becomes a lifeline between the separated siblings as Ezra hangs on to survival and Bea goes on a quest to uncover hidden truths about their family and find a worthwhile future.
Read it for: a heartwrenching look at family dysfunction and the relationships that sustain us. |
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| Bad Witch Burning by Jessica LewisIt's a living: With a tough family situation, no money for rent, and not enough hours at her low-paying job, Katrell uses her shaky necromancy skills to support a more profitable gig: raising the dead.
Why you might like it: The emotional stress of poverty merges with the paranormal horror of revenants in this gruesome, riveting read.
Try this next: Aiden Thomas' Cemetery Boys or Zoraida Córdova’s Bruja Born, two further stories about the risks of meddling with death. |
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| Living Beyond Borders: Growing Up Mexican in America by Margarita Longoria, editorWhat it is: a wide-ranging anthology by and about Mexican Americans, showcasing the diverse talents and experiences of 20 different creators.
Featuring: short stories, poems, comics, and nonfiction by authors such as Guadalupe García McCall, Anna Meriano, David Bowles, and Francisco X. Stork.
Don't miss: bittersweet emotions in "La Princesa Mileidy Dominguez"; historical exploration in “Filiberto’s Final Visit”; contemporary LGBTQIA connection in "CoCo Chamoy y Chango"; and bicultural longing in "I Want to Go Home." |
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| So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. MorrowWhat it is: a multilayered remix of the classic Little Women, focused on four Black sisters living in the Freedpeople's Colony of Roanoke Island during the American Civil War.
Starring: Jo, determined to protect her community; Meg, unsure of the future family she hopes for; Amy, pushing the boundaries of dance; and Beth, whose self-expression is challenged by illness.
Who it's for: historical fiction readers and fans of Louisa May Alcott's original book (or the movies based on it). |
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| Clown in a Cornfield by Adam CesareWelcome to: Kettle Springs, Missouri, a run-down factory town surrounded by cornfields and stalked by a clown-faced killer who channels the atmosphere of distrust between the generations into a blood-splattered murder spree.
Why you might like it: There's no better time than spooky season for an old-school, adrenaline-fueled slasher story packed with sharp modern humor.
Series alert: Think it'll be safe to return to the cornfields? Think again -- Clown in a Cornfield 2 arrives in fall 2022. |
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| A Peculiar Peril by Jeff VanderMeerWhat it's about: After inheriting his grandfather's bizarre mansion, 16-year-old Jonathan discovers that it contains a door to a parallel world -- a place where animals and vegetables talk, and warlock Aleister Crowley (along with Napoleon's disembodied head) wages a war that could overtake our world...unless Jonathan and his friends stop it.
Series alert: This outrageous alt-history portal fantasy (the YA debut of Annihilation author Jeff VanderMeer) kicks off the Misadventures of Jonathan Lambshead series. |
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| The Enigma Game by Elizabeth WeinWhat it's about: Orphaned during the 1940 Blitz, 15-year-old Jamaican British Louisa takes a job near a Scottish Royal Air Force base where she meets military driver Ellen, Flight Lieutenant Jamie, and a pilot from the German Resistance who has intel crucial to the British war effort.
Read it for: compelling characters, intriguing espionage, and a wealth of historical insight.
For fans of: Elizabeth's Wein's previous World War II fiction, such as Code Name Verity and The Pearl Thief, which share characters with The Enigma Game. |
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
by Erika L. Sánchez
After the sister who delighted their parents by her faithful embrace of Mexican culture dies in a tragic accident, Julia discovers from mutual friends that her sister may not have been as perfect as believed.
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The Wild Lands
by Paul Greci
When their family makes the fateful decision not to evacuate when a collapsing U.S. government abandons an Alaska ravaged by earthquakes and wildfires, Travis, his younger sister and their friends are forced to trek hundreds of miles south over life-threatening terrain in search of what remains of civilization.
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Rebel Girl Revolution
by e. E. Charlton-Trujillo
Separated from her friends and targeted by a bully at the start of her sophomore year, Angie dreads a community event honoring her late soldier sister before receiving a posthumous letter identifying the places her sister wanted them to visit together.
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Contact your librarian for more great books for ages 14 and up!
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