| Nine Liars by Maureen JohnsonIn 1995: Nine Cambridge students staying at a country house were playing drunken hide-and-seek. Two ended up dead in a woodshed, and one survivor saw something she can't explain.
Enter: Stevie Bell, sleuth extraordinaire, visiting her boyfriend for a week as he studies abroad in London. Can she solve the cold case before the murderer finds her?
Series alert: This is the 5th entry in author Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious series, though it can be read on its own. |
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| Unraveller by Frances HardingeStarring: Kellen, who can unravel anything, including clothing and curses. He saved Nettle, who was trapped in bird form, and now she's his closest ally.
What happens: When Kellen finds himself cursed, he and Nettle endeavor to find what's really behind all this evil magic. They must remove Kellen's curse before he unravels literally everything.
Author alert: Check this book out if you've enjoyed author Frances Hardinge's other lyrical dark fantasies like The Lie Tree, A Skinful of Shadows, or Deeplight. |
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| We Are All So Good At Smiling by Amber McBrideWhat it is: an intense, hopeful novel in verse following a girl named Whimsy's journey with grief and clinical depression.
What happens: While hospitalized, Whimsy bonds with Faerry, a Fae boy. After she's discharged, the two team up to investigate their inexplicable fear of the forest at the end of their street.
Read it for: a dark adventure exploring trauma, racism, and thoughts of suicide, lightened by Whimsy and Faerry's encounters with characters from classic fairy tales and folk stories. |
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| Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie JouhanneauBonjour! Mia's summer ballet program in Paris is her big chance to be noticed by a professional company. She's even earned one of the top roles in Swan Lake.
Enchanté: Mia meets Louis, a charming French boy who wants to help her find the connection between Mia's grandmother, painter Edgar Degas, and ballet. But he may be distracting her from her true goal.
Read it for: a sparkling romance with immersive, detailed writing about Paris and ballet. |
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| I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuistonThe search: for Shara Wheeler begins shortly before graduation, after she kisses Chloe Green and vanishes. Chloe needs her rival for valedictorian back so she can win fair and square.
The search party: Chloe plus two other students Shara kissed, who collect cryptic notes and untangle the mystery of Shara's disappearance and Shara herself.
Author alert: I Kissed Shara Wheeler is the YA debut from author Casey McQuiston, whose adult romcom Red, White & Royal Blue found a wide audience. |
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| Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya MenonThe Beauty: Jaya Rao, princess of an Indian imperial house. She and her sister are attending an elite boarding school in Colorado to stay out of the public eye.
The Beast: Fellow student Grey Emerson, whose family has been feuding with Jaya's over a cursed ruby. But Grey and Jaya might discover that love is even sweeter than revenge.
Tale as old as time: This delightful romance kicks off a series of fairy tale retellings set at St. Rosetta's Academy. |
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| Kiss Number 8 by Colleen AF VenableKisses 1-7: were with boys, and Amanda found them way less exciting than kissing a girl. This realization, and Amanda's deepening feelings for her best friend Cat, upend her life.
What happens: Amanda shakes things up in a relatable, messy way, confronting her deeply religious family about a long-held secret and making new, accepting friends.
Try these next: For more queer coming-of-age graphic novels, try Maggie Thrash's Honor Girl or Mariko Tamaki's Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me. |
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| Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie WestThe big break: Lacey's role in a zombie film opposite heartthrob Grant James is her chance at stardom. They don't have much chemistry, which makes Lacey notice her growing attraction to her uptight tutor Donavan.
The twist: Weird mishaps on set make Lacey suspect someone is sabotaging her budding career. Who's behind them, and who can she trust?
Crossover alert: This opposites attract romance is a standalone story that shares characters with author Kasie West's Love, Life, and the List. |
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Romeo & Juliet
by William Shakespeare
Before Bella and Edward, Romeo and Juliet were the original star-crossed lovers in this beautiful teen edition of the timeless classic, perfect for fans of the Twilght Saga. Reprint.
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Heartless
by Marissa Meyer
Fantasy. Lady Catherine "Cath" Pinkerton doesn't want to be queen. Though her ambitious parents are thrilled when the King of Hearts takes an interest in her, Cath would prefer opening a bakery over marriage (she does a delectable lemon tart). Cath's choices, however, are narrowed by a tangled knot of politics and fate as she's courted publicly by the king and secretly by the alluring new court joker, Jest. Expanding on the whimsical world of Lewis Carroll's Wonderland, this delicious backstory for the head-chopping Queen of Hearts will captivate readers who relish fractured fairy tales and sympathetic villains.
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To All the Boys I've Loved Before
by Jenny Han
Fiction. The letters were never supposed to be sent. For awkward 16-year-old Lara Jean, writing secret love letters to help herself get over her crushes was just another hobby, like knitting or scrapbooking. So when the letters are accidentally mailed, Lara Jean freaks out. Embarrassed by her letter to her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh, Lara Jean denies her feelings for him by pretending to date Peter, one of her other former crushes. Things only get messier from there. With relatable characters and realistically complicated relationships (especially among Lara Jean's tight-knit Korean-American family) this charming romance is a perfect fit for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Dessen.
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10 Things I Hate About Pinky
by Sandhya Menon
The chaotic one: Pinky, a passionate but impulsive activist. To show her parents she’s capable of making good choices, she approaches her respectable frenemy with a fake dating scheme.
The ordered one: Samir, a driven planner. Pinky secures him an internship with her corporate lawyer mother in exchange for his cooperation. He can handle Pinky’s weirdness for one summer, right?
Shared universe alert: This heartfelt romantic comedy takes place in the same world as author Sandhya Menon’s When Dimple Met Rishi.
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Contact your librarian for more great books for age 14 and up! |
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