"Funny how you notice how beautiful things are just when you're about to leave them."
~ from Laura Ruby's Bone Gap |
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New and Recently Released!
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| Breaking Sky by Cori McCarthyScience Fiction. Chase Harcourt has a reputation. Not only is she known for her recklessness and swagger, she's also regarded as one of the best cadet pilots in the United Star Academy. Chase (call sign "Nyx") is one of two American pilots training to fly the experimental Streaker jets which might give the U.S. an edge in the looming war against global superpower Ri Xiong Di. But after she uncovers a military secret, Chase's career (not to mention her personal life) is thrown into jeopardy. Set in the year 2048, this near-future thriller will take flight among readers who love captivating characters and breathless, high-speed action. |
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| Bone Gap by Laura RubyFiction. Roza, a stunning, strong-willed Polish girl with a gift for gardening, arrives in Bone Gap, Illinois, covered in injuries which she refuses to explain. Not long afterwards, she disappears under equally mysterious circumstances. Though Roza's friend Finn insists that he witnessed her being kidnapped, he's unable to describe her abductor. Alternating between Finn's struggle to understand Roza's fate and Roza's struggle to escape her unearthly captor, Bone Gap offers a modern (and sometimes disturbing) take on an ancient myth. Older readers who enjoy the sophisticated magical realism of A.S. King and Alice Hoffman will be mesmerized by this lyrical tale that challenges the meanings of beauty, power, and love. |
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| The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren SumaSuspense. In the Aurora Hills juvenile detention center, convicted murderer Amber reminisces about the night when a power surge unlocked all the cells. On her way to Julliard, ambitious ballerina Violet is dogged by a guilty secret from her past. Connecting these two girls is Orianna, Violet's former friend and Amber's new cellmate. As Amber and Violet tell their own versions of Ori's tragic story, their overlapping accounts become increasingly tangled until they finally unravel in an "eerie, painful and beautifully spine-chilling" climax (Kirkus Reviews). If you like the psychological suspense and non-linear plot of E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, you should definitely pick up The Walls Around Us. |
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| Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth WeinHistorical Fiction. From the celebrated author of Code Name Verity comes another story of war, aviation, and devoted friendship. This time, the setting is 1930s Ethiopia. Teo is black and Emilia is white, and they were raised together by their mothers, who were stunt pilots and best friends. After Teo's mother died, the small family moved from the U.S. to Ethiopia, where Teo faced less prejudice. Now, however, war looms between Ethiopia and Italy, threatening Teo's future and prompting Emilia to take a wild risk. Flight logs, letters, and school essays help round out this unusual and vividly detailed historical novel. |
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Whether you're about to graduate or you've still got years to go, you can enjoy these realistic, moving books about the uncertainty and exhilaration of the last year of high school.
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| Winter Town by Stephen EmondFiction. High school senior and Ivy League hopeful Evan is looking forward to the annual winter visit of his best friend, Lucy, who moved away after her parents divorced. Usually, the two of them pick up right where they left off, but this year, Evan is shocked when Lucy shows up with goth hair, a nose ring, and a surly attitude. Unfolding from both characters' perspectives (and including Evan's comic-book style illustrations), this will-they, won't-they story of friendship and romance is filled with believable tension, emotion, and angst and is a good pick for fans of Mariko Tamaki's Skim or Natalie Standiford's How to Say Goodbye in Robot. |
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| Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel QuinteroFiction. During her tumultuous senior year, Gabi Hernandez's journal becomes her lifeline. In it, she can experiment with her blossoming poetry skills, as well as spill the details of her complicated home (where her mom nags her about her weight and her dad can't kick meth), her best friends Cindy and Sebastian (who are each dealing with their own challenges), and her confusion about love and dating. Filled with "vulgar humor and raw honesty" (Kirkus Reviews), Gabi's insights into family, culture, sexuality, and identity are messy yet utterly authentic and hopeful. For another memorable Latina character weathering a tough year, try Meg Medina's Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. |
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| Divided We Fall by Trent ReedyThriller. Instead of focusing on football and auto tech classes, 17-year-old Daniel Wright is spending his senior year trying to prevent a second American Civil War. As a member of the Idaho National Guard, Danny is sent with his unit to keep the peace at a protest of a controversial Federal ID card law. There, a single accident on Danny's part causes fatal and far-reaching consequences, forcing a stand-off between the state and the Federal government, and forcing Danny to choose where his loyalty truly lies. Deep political intrigue and bursts of military action will keep you turning pages throughout this trilogy opener, which is followed by Burning Nation. |
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| This Full House by Virginia Euwer WolffNovel in Verse. In this conclusion to the trilogy that started with Make Lemonade, smart, hardworking LaVaughn is still determined to make it to college and out of the projects. While continuing to babysit her friend Jolly's two children, LaVaughn also attended summer science classes for two years running and, as a result, lands a spot in the WIMS (Women in Medical Science) after-school program. A bright future looks more certain for LaVaughn than ever, but when a shocking secret that touches the lives of people close to her is revealed, she struggles to decide -- and do -- what's right. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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