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Meet the Lead: Taylor Barzelay has a perfect life. Good looks, good grades, a starting position on the basketball team, a loving family, and even an adorable corgi. Except they are an alien princess from the planet Cyandii. The twist: Taylor is one of the last few survivors from an intergalactic war and has been hiding on planet Earth for the last 6 long, painful years. But everything changes when they meet the Metropolis girl Katherine Silverberg, whose confidence is electrifying. Suddenly Taylor doesn't want to hide who they are anymore even if it means exposing their true identity which could attract her greatest enemies. Read it for: Following the journey of a girl in hiding who must face her fears to see herself as others see her: the prettiest star.
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| A lush, enchanting standalone fantasy inspired by medieval Spain, filled with romance, adventure and just the right amount of danger.
Starring: Zarela Zalvidar, a flamenco dancer who takes up fighting dragons for sport to save her family's legacy.
What happens: Zarela asks brooding dragon hunter Arturo Díaz de Montserra to train her to become a Dragonadora. Meanwhile, she unravels the conspiracy behind a tragic event in her family's arena that left her father injured.
Why you might like it: This fast-paced fantasy features world-building inspired by medieval Spain and a passionate but slow-burning romance between Zarela and Arturo.
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In this gorgeous queer fantasy novel, a young musician sets out to expose her rival for illegal use of magic only to discover the deception goes deeper than she could have imagined. A thing to note: Music runs in Sofi's bones. Daughter of a Musik, one of five musicians who are allowed to compose and perform original songs in the kingdom of Aell where magic is accessible to all but there are strict anti-magic laws ensuring that music remains the last untouched art. What's the beat: Sofi has spent her whole life training to take her father's title but on the day of the competition, an unexpected competitor named Laura shows up and enchants the judges with her exceptional lute performance and wins the title of Musik. Except, Laura has never played the lute before. Sofi believes that Laura used magic to win and sets out to expose Lara for using illegal magic. Final Score: As Sofi begins to spend time with Lara, to reclaim her rightful place as a Musik she begins to doubt everything she knows about her family, her music, the magic she was trained to avoid, and the girl she thought was her enemy all while trying not to fall for the girl who stole her future.
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| A furious, queer debut novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors.
On Judgment Day: the Angels, an ecofascist cult, released a plague that killed billions. Their final weapon? Benji, a 16-year-old trans boy, injected with a mutation of the plague, which is slowly transforming him into a humanity-extinguishing monster.
What happens: Benji joins forces with a ragtag group of queer rebels fighting ferociously for survival. But can he control his monster enough to defend his newfound community?
Read it for: a hopeful, visceral, and unapologetically queer take on the apocalypse. |
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This heartfelt and humorous YA contemporary follows Dua, who spends the month of Ramadan making unexpected discoveries about family, faith, and first love. Starring: Dua is on a month-long trip to New York crammed into a house in Queens with her cousins and extended family whom she hasn't seen in years. Not how she envisioned spending the month of Ramadan. Let the festivities begin: Dua struggles to find her place in the conservative household and connect with her aloof, engaged-to-be-married cousin. And as if fasting the whole day wasn’t tiring enough, she must also battle her hormones whenever she sees Hassan, the cute drummer in a Muslim band who has a habit of showing up at her most awkward moments. Follow the journey: as Dua finds herself learning more about her faith, relationships, her place in the world with the bonus of cute drummers in this perfect feel-good novel.
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An unforgettable dark romantic YA fantasy about the siren with a taste for royal blood and the prince who has sworn to destroy her. Meet our Heroine: Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of all. She has collected hearts of seventeen princes and has respect across the sea. Until one day when she is forced to kill one of her own. Meet out Hero: Prince Elian, despite being the heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world, finds comfort in the ocean which he considers his home and hunting Sirens is not just a hobby to him but a calling. The meet cute?: the sea Queen punishes her daughter, Lira by transforming her into the one thing they loathe most - a human. Elain rescues a drowning Lira in the ocean, who promises to help him find the key to destroy all of sirenkind for good. But Lira is on a mission of her own. She has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elians heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever. Read it for: a twisted reimagining of The Little Mermaid, perfect for readers who like the idea of sirens and piratelike princes.
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House of salt and sorrows by Erin A. CraigIn a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed. The House: Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her 12 sisters, their father, and stepmother. One by the sisters starts to die, each death is more tragic than the last with whispers in surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods. The Sorrow: Annaleigh is disturbed by a series of ghostly visions and begins to suspect that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, and dance until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers before they start dying in tragic accidents. Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. And soon it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next. The Salt: Perfect for fans looking for a dark and haunting story to escape into.
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Two intrepid girls hunt for a legendary treasure on the deadly high seas in this YA remix of the classic adventure novel Treasure Island. A golden pendant: holds a map to pirate treasure. Quick-fingered sailor Anh returns the stolen item to Xiang, its original owner. Xiang then realizes her deceased father must have sailed with the Dragon Fleet.
Setting sail: to locate the treasure and fabled female pirate Zheng Yi Sao, the two young women also find romance blossoming between them.
What’s inside: vivid descriptions of Qing Dynasty China, found family, and a swashbuckling story inspired by historical pirate Zheng Yi Sao.
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Witty, dazzling, and intriguing at every turn, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is an irresistible read that explores the undeniably fine lines between friendship and love.
Starring: Henry 'Monty" Montague and his best friend Percy on a 18th century year long grand tour across Europe.
The Twist: Discovery of magical artifact that takes them from Paris to Venice in a dangerous manhunt shaped by pirates, highwaymen and their growing attraction to one another. Read it for: This fast paced story ad the characters journey of self discovery and good wit.
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The voices that shaped LGBTQ Young Adult literature, author Alex Sanchez and illustrator Julie Maroh present a new coming-out romance and origin story for Aqualad. Meet: Jake Hyde lives in the middle of Mexica, and not knowing how to swim was never a problem, except he yearns for the ocean and is determined to leave his hometown for a college on the coast. His mother encourages him to always play it safe. Swimming in danger: Nothing about Jake's future is safe. Not his is attracted to Kenny Liu, swim team captain, or his secret application to the University of Miami. Jake's life begins to outdo his small town's namesake, which doesn't make it any easier to come out to his mom or the world. Brimming: with secrets, Jakes begins to notice strange blue markings on his skin that glow when in contact with water. What power will he find when he searches for his identity, and will he turn his back to the current or dive headfirst into the waves?
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Contact your librarian for more great books for ages 14 and up!
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