"I no longer feel allegiance to these monsters called human beings, despise being one myself... Because something is significantly wrong with a creature that sacrifices its children's lives to settle its differences."
~ from Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay |
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New and Recently Released!
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| Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn JohnsonSuspense. After being drugged at a party, Emily Bird, a privileged teen in Washington D.C., wakes up with no memory of what happened. The Homeland Security agent on her tail, however, believes that Bird has information about her parents' classified scientific work. Was Bird's memory wiped to conceal their connection to the outbreak of a highly lethal flu virus? Unsure if the authorities can be trusted, Bird turns to Coffee, the drug-dealing son of a diplomat, to help her cut through the conspiracy. Told in lyrical, attention-grabbing present tense, this "utterly absorbing" (Kirkus Reviews) story will appeal to readers who enjoy diverse characters, sophisticated plots, and complex relationships. |
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| Evil Librarian by Michelle KnudsenHorror/Humor. At first, smart, sassy high school theater tech Cyn can't fault her best friend Annie for crushing on the hot new school librarian, Gabriel. But then Cyn discovers the diabolical source of Annie's infatuation: Gabriel is actually a soul-sucking demon who's trying to brainwash Annie and make her his bride. Immune to Gabriel's power, Cyn will have to do bloody battle with the forces of darkness in order to save her friend…and maybe take a chance with her own crush in the process. If you've Netflixed every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and you still crave snarky supernatural action, Evil Librarian is for you. |
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| I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy NelsonFiction. When they were 13, dreamy Noah and his daring twin sister Jude were inseparable. By the time they're 16, they can hardly stand each other. What happened in between? Alternating perspectives (between brother and sister, past and present) reveal each sibling's experiences of artistic exploration, heartrending loss, and exhilarating first love, illuminating how Noah and Jude's strong relationship was shattered…and how it might be rebuilt. Author Jandy Nelson's lush, stylized language overflows with vivid images and "brims with emotion" (Publishers Weekly), making I'll Give You the Sun an unforgettable experience. |
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| Jackaby by William RitterHistorical Paranormal Mystery. In 1892, adventurous Abigail Rook runs away from a life of boring respectability and winds up in the New England town of New Fiddleham. In need of a steady paycheck, she finds work assisting R.F. Jackaby, an eccentric detective specializing in the supernatural, and the pair quickly become tangled up in the investigation of a vicious (and possibly paranormal) serial killer. This clever, fast-paced, historical mystery starring a well-matched duo is perfect for Sherlock Holmes fans; readers who relish Jackaby's fantasy elements may also appreciate Colleen Gleason's steampunk Stoker & Holmes series.
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| Afterworlds by Scott WesterfeldFiction. Afterworlds contains two parallel stories: half of the chapters focus on Lizzie, who survives a terrorist attack only to discover that she's become a psychopomp who can see departed souls. The other chapters focus on Darcy, the 18-year-old author of Lizzie's story, which she's just sold to a major publisher. As Darcy edits her book and fumbles through life after high school, her experiences -- including falling for fellow YA author Imogen -- impact Lizzie's life and love in fascinating ways. Combining paranormal romance and coming-of-age drama, this novel-within-a-novel holds special appeal for die-hard YA readers, who will enjoy guessing which of Darcy's writer friends represent their favorite real-life authors. |
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This November marks the opening of Mockingjay Part 1, the first of two movies based on the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. If you're intrigued by the war in Panem, check out these stories about the complications of real-life warfare.
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| Torn by David MasseyFiction. British medic Ellie is only 19 when she arrives in Afghanistan for her first tour of duty. Before she can even get her bearings, her squad is assigned to a group of American Navy SEALS and sent into Taliban territory to find a hidden arms cache. Loaded with intense atmosphere and explosive active, their mission (as well as the attraction between Ellie and young SEAL Ben) unfolds at a furious pace, exposing several mysteries -- many of which relate to the Young Matryrs, an army of orphaned children. Authentic and deeply descriptive, Torn offers a gripping, suspenseful glimpse of modern politics and warfare. |
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| Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean MyersFiction. Instead of going to college like his parents want him to, 18-year-old Robin Perry from Harlem (nephew of Richie Perry, the main character in author Walter Dean Myers' Fallen Angels) enlists in the army after 9/11 because he wants "to do something, to stand up for [his] country." Soon he is in Iraq as part of the Civil Affairs Battalion, a supposedly low-risk unit of men and women tasked with building trust between U.S. troops and the Iraqi people. But as they are increasingly involved in violence, Robin ("Birdy") and his fellow soldiers soon find their definition of "winning" ever more elusive and the war more random, confusing, and horrifying. This powerful book "takes readers behind the headlines to the everyday life of a soldier" (Horn Book). |
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| The Things a Brother Knows by Dana ReinhardtFiction. Levi Katznelson’s older brother, Boaz, has finally returned home to Boston after a three-year tour of duty in "some desert country half a world away." While it's been tough being golden-boy-Boaz's kid brother, Levi is glad to have him home...except he can tell immediately that Boaz isn't quite right. In this moving, thoughtful story, Levi does everything he can to help his big brother recover from his combat experiences -- including following Boaz when he takes off on foot, supposedly to hike the Appalachian Trail. Touches of humor and romance lighten the mood of this powerful tale about the very personal aftereffects of war. |
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| Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI by Ryan SmithsonNonfiction. Ryan Smithson, who describes sitting in his high school history class and watching the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11 as the "atypical, unpredictable kind of real that you never see coming," enlisted in the Army as soon as he graduated. In this harrowing and powerful memoir, Smithson brings readers inside his tour of duty in Iraq, from basic training through combat and his return home. If you want to know what life is really like on the battlefield, Smithson's story provides a soldier's unflinching viewpoint; for an Iraqi civilian's account of the early days of the war, check out Thura's Diary by Thura Al-Windawi. |
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| Chanda's Wars by Allan StrattonFiction. As this sequel to Chanda's Secrets begins, African teenager Chanda Kabelo, who is still mourning her mother's death from AIDS, lovingly accepts the responsibility of raising her younger brother and sister. When a warlord from a neighboring country raids Chanda's village, her siblings, Soly and Iris, are stolen and forced to serve as soldiers -- and Chanda must risk her own life in order to rescue them. The horrors of war and devastating poverty are described with painful precision in this moving and, ultimately, hopeful story. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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