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Teen & Tween Scene June 2026 |
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Mighty Macy
by Kwame Alexander
A young girl finds her voice--and discovers the power of speaking up for herself and her community--in this sweet and humorous chapter book by award-winning and #1 bestselling author Kwame Alexander, perfect for fans of Ivy + Bean and Ruby and the Booker Boys. When Macy gets book one of The Mighty Zora series for her birthday, she stays up until 11:34pm finishing the book. But the next day, when Macy gets to her school library, eager to check out book two, she finds the door locked with a sign explaining that the library will now only be open a few days a week due to budget cuts. Even worse, she finds out her father won't be home to help her figure out what to do, as he will be traveling to a museum in Montgomery, Alabama to read a poem about civil rights. With help from her fellow third graders, support from her mom, and encouragement from poems written and hidden for her by her father, Macy must find her voice and learn the power of advocating for herself and her community. Can Macy learn to be Mighty?
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Unicorn Secrets: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure Volume 23
by Dana Simpson
With imaginative storytelling and a heartwarming portrayal of friendship, this collection of Phoebe and Her Unicorn comics reveals how a bold and enchanting unicorn and a sweet, inquisitive 10-year-old girl craft the most magical of friendships. Ten-year-old Phoebe Howell and her best friend, the enchanting unicorn Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, have a truly magical friendship, filled with spells, ancient unicorn lore, and everyday adventure. In this new collection of Phoebe and Her Unicorn comics by the award-winning, bestselling author Dana Simpson, the pair of best friends play games, make new friends, and pack each day with exploration, fun, and laughter.
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All the Blues in the Sky: Winner of the Newbery Medal
by Renée Watson
New York Times bestselling author Renée Watson explores grief, loss, and friendship in this poignant middle grade standalone. A worthy literary offering and compelling story, this sits in the same place as the award-winning Piecing Me Together.
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Goodbye and Everything After
by Mae Coyiuto
A teen girl comes face to face with her dad's spirit when she ignores a strict Filipino superstition in this contemporary young adult novel that tackles grief, family tension, and first love.
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Burn the Water
by Billy Ray
Set in the year 2425, The Hunger Games screenwriter Billy Ray’s novel takes place in a submerged London, where rising seas have left the city a drowned landscape of ruined skyscrapers and flooded streets. For three centuries, two rival factions—the Crowns and the Rogues—have fought a brutal, ongoing war over the remnants of civilization. Rafe is a feared captain in the Rogue army, while Jule is one of the Crown army’s most lethal soldiers. Both are celebrated within their respective sides and raised to see each other as enemies. When they unexpectedly fall in love, their relationship becomes forbidden and potentially fatal in a world defined by endless violence. As their bond deepens, Rafe and Jule struggle to survive escalating conflict and protect those they care about. The arrival of mysterious outsiders further destabilizes the fragile balance between the factions, forcing both sides toward possible collapse or escalation. Caught between loyalty and love, the two soldiers become pivotal figures in the possibility of peace. Their relationship challenges centuries of hatred and raises the question of whether unity is possible in a world shaped by perpetual war.
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Heart's Gambit
by J. D. Myall
Destined to duel to the death to uphold a centuries-old curse, Emma and Malcolm, two teens from rival magical families, defy fate when they fall in love and scheme to end the witch's hold over their families.
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Paradise Coast
by Suzanne Young
In the Everglades town of Paradise Coast, where the rich, the tourists, and the locals have always been at odds, a hurricane uncovers a hundred-year-old hotel marked by tragedy and brings local Noa and Jamie, the rebellious son of a businessman, together to uncover the truth of what happened that night.
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Break to You
by Neal Shusterman
Adriana knows that if she can manage to keep her head down for the next seven months, she might be able to get through her sentence in the Compass juvenile detention center. Thankfully, she's allowed to keep her journal, where she writes down her most private thoughts when her feelings get too big. Until the day she opens her journal and discovers that her thoughts are no longer so private. Someone has read her writings--and has written back. A boy who lives on the other side of the gender-divided detention center. A boy who sparks a fire in her to write back. Jon's story is different than Adriana's; he's already been at Compass for years and will be in the system for years to come. Still, when he reads the words Adriana writes to him, it makes him feel like the walls that hold them in have melted away.
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The Darkness Greeted Her
by Christina Ferko
Yellowjackets meets Smile in this sapphic horror debut about a group of troubled girls at a remote wilderness therapy camp who are stalked by a monster that feeds on their deepest fears. Penny is struggling with OCD and intrusive violent thoughts after the death of her abusive father, whose voice still lingers in her mind. Unable to function at home, she agrees to spend the summer at Camp Whitewood, an exclusive therapy retreat in the Appalachian woods. At first, she feels hopeful, comforted by other girls who each carry their own trauma. But Penny soon begins seeing impossible things: her father’s belongings appearing in the cabin and a shadowy figure she calls the Shadow Man lurking nearby. She fears she is losing her grip on reality until one of the girls goes missing and is later found dead. As disturbing visions intensify and more deaths occur, Penny realizes something real and deadly may be at work in the camp. She must team up with the remaining girls to survive and uncover the truth before the entity exploiting their fears destroys them all.
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How to Draw a Secret
by Cindy Chang
For fans of Raina Telgemeier's Sisters and Jen Wang's Stargazing comes the empowering autobiographical story of a young Taiwanese American artist struggling to find her voice to save what matters most.Twelve-year-old Cindy relishes drawing flawless images, but she is stumped by an art contest prompt: What family means to me. No one at school can know that Cindy's dad moved back to Taiwan four years ago, so Cindy sketches out the perfect plan to draw the perfect picture while keeping her parents' separation secret.Then an unexpected trip to Taipei reveals devastating new secrets. Suddenly everything from Cindy's art to her family is falling apart. With her dream of perfection in tatters, Cindy must figure out how to draw from her heart and share her secrets. But can she really reveal the truth, messy lines and all?
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Miss Camper: A Graphic Novel
by Kat Fajardo
Sue is heading to Camp Willow this summer. She's looking forward to hiking, archery, and making comics in the fresh air. She's especially excited about LARPing (live-action role-playing) and can't wait for the freedom of being away from home. But she won't be far from family because her big sister Carmen is a camp counselor and her little sister Ester is a fellow camper and won't give her any space. All Sue wants is to make memories with her friends, but they're assigned to only a few of the same activities. To make matters even worse, her best friend Sam has a best camp friend named Marisol? And Sue's good friend Izzy has a crush on Sue? This summer isn't at all going as planned!
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I Witnessed: The Great Train Robbery of 1963: A Graphic Novel
by Andrea Debbink
Aspiring investigative reporter Marilyn witnesses one of the greatest money heists in history...but will she be able to collect enough evidence for anyone to believe what she saw? For fans of I Survived and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales but with a true crime twist, read about the Great Train Robbery of 1963 in this I Witnessed graphic novel.Marilyn is in for an unforgettable trip when she sneaks aboard a Royal Mail train from Glasgow to London on the night of August 7, 1963. While Marilyn's focused on her writing portfolio and convincing Dad not to ship her to boarding school, the night takes a turn when she witnesses more than a dozen masked men board the train. What Marilyn didn't know when she snuck aboard was that this Mail Train was transporting over 2 million in cash. The robbers detain the crewmen, seize control of the train, and then abscond into the night with their bounty...but thanks to Marilyn, they won't make it out scot-free. Inspired the true events, Marilyn's story offers a fictional kid POV rooted in historical facts about the heist and the subsequent trial. Case fact sidebars offer additional nonfiction elements to the story.
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The New Girl: First Crush: A Graphic Novel (the New Girl #2)
by Cassandra Calin
Cassandra Calin returns with this charming and comical follow-up to The New Girl, her long-form graphic novel debut that became a New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Indie bestseller! This middle-grade graphic novel about crushing and being crushed is the perfect next read for fans of Guts by Raina Telgemeier, Fruitcake by Rex Ogle and Dave Valeza, and Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang.Lia is finally feeling settled into her new life. Her friends are amazing, her French is improving, and her periods... ugh, those are still terrible. But Lia's crush, Julien, is noticing her. Lia thinks he likes her, but she can't tell for sure. And while she's obsessing over him, Lia's not noticing another person's growing crush on HER. With so many big feelings and even bigger changes, could things get any worse?In this follow-up to the breakout hit The New Girl, Lia's relationships -- with her friends, her crush, her mom, and even herself -- are all tested like never before.
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Fustuk: A Graphic Novel
by Robert Mgrdich Apelian
The odd one out in a family of talented chefs, seventeen-year-old Katah and his siblings strike a deal with a powerful div to save their mother's life in exchange for a dish that rivals their late father's.
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Lovely Recipe: (A Graphic Novel)
by Myra Rose Nino
Two girls in their senior year of high school, who are opposites in personality, start to develop romantic feelings for each other as one teaches the other how to cook.
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Everything Amplified
by Sarah Lippett
Sometimes everything feels heavy and uncomfortable. My body, my family, my life . . . And the only thing that releases that weight is music. Nel is fifteen years old, and life is a grind. School is exhausting, social pressures are relentless, and adults are oblivious. Somehow Ludo, Nel's handsome twin brother, seems untouched by it all, gliding effortlessly through life's complications. Her playlist and her best friend, Kit, are pretty much the only things Nel's got going for her right now. When Ludo joins a band and Kit starts going out with the guitarist, it feels like even the tiny space Nel has carved out for herself is in peril. But nothing is forever, and teenage life can turn on a dime. When Nel finds herself taking Ludo's place in the band, she has to work out whether life outside the shadows is all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes you need to follow the music to find your way back to yourself.
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Want to request any of these titles? Place a hold through the online catalog, or call the library 831-768-3404 for assistance. |
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Watsonville Public Library
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