Young Adult Newsletter July 2025

comic books with a graphic that says june

All County buildings, including the Library, will be closed on Friday, July 4, in honor of Independence Day.

Beat the heat with the Library!


Maybe you're looking to get ahead on your summer homework. Maybe you're searching for your next book for summer reading. Maybe you're attending a teen event. Maybe you're bored out of your mind with summer already and you're looking for something to do.


Whatever the reason, come see us!

Upcoming Events

librarian writing in spanish on whiteboard

Let's Chat in Spanish!

Tuesday, July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29  | 1:00pm-2:00pm
Hotpick Meeting Room


Join us for a weekly program designed to bring together speakers of all levels to practice conversational Spanish in a relaxed, friendly environment.


Learn more.

Teen Game Night

Wednesday, July 2 | 4:30pm-6:30pm
Library Lab


Whether you prefer to play online or IRL, gamers of all skill levels are invited to join us for snacks, board & video games, and good company! We'll have a wide array of board games and Nintendo Switch titles available to choose from.


Learn more.

board and video game icons
watercolor image of mountains and field

Crafting at the Library: Plein Air Watercolor

Saturday, July 5 | 3:00pm-5:00pm

Reading Deck


Join us for a rotating monthly craft program on the first Saturday of the month. In July, we will be painting with watercolors outdoors.


Learn more.


Book Thieves Book Club

Wednesday, July 9 | 4:30pm-5:30pm
Hotpick Meeting Room


The Book Thieves are a group of enthusiastic readers who meet monthly to discuss exciting young adult literature. This month's book is Spirit Sleuths: How Magicians and Detectives Exposed the Ghost Hoaxes by Gail Jarrow.


Learn more.

book image cover of spirit sleuths by gail jarrow
image of woven friendship bracelets

Friendship Bracelets

Thursday, July 10 | 3:00pm-5:00pm

Library Lab


Let’s make friendship bracelets! The Library will provide all the supplies you need, plus ideas for all kinds of bracelet styles.


Learn more.

Gaming at the Library: Board Games

Saturday, July 12 | 3:00pm-5:00pm
Library Lab


Get ready for an exciting day of board games, where laughter, strategy, and connection come together! With an impressive selection of board games available from the Library's collection, there will be something for everyone to play.


Learn more.

image of various board games pawns and dice
movie cover for black panther

Book to Film

Wednesday, July 16 | 4:30pm-6:30pm
Teen Area


Watch words come to life on the screen as we watch a movie based on a book and snack on popcorn. This month's showing is Black Panther, based on the Marvel comics series.


Learn more.

Teen Craft Night: Paint and Pen

Wednesday, July 23 | 4:30pm-6:30pm

Library Lab


Teen Craft Night is a relaxed, welcoming, self-directed studio night where you can come in and enjoy making something with your hands without pressure or expectation.


For this session, we'll provide supplies to draw, paint, and color.


Learn more.

doodle of a dog looking at a butterfly
drawing of three people on a trivia game show

Gaming at the Library: Trivia Night

Saturday, July 26 | 3:00pm-5:00pm
Dunaway Community Room


Join us for an exciting night of trivia! Gather your friends and family for an evening filled with fun questions that will test your knowledge on a variety of topics, including a special focus on the Summer Reading Color Our World theme.


Learn more.

Young Adult Recommended Reads

Every month, we highlight stories with a different genre or theme in the Teen Area. Set off on a nautical adventure with these books about pirates!

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea

Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Aboard the pirate ship Dove, Flora the girl takes on the identity of Florian the man to earn the respect and protection of the crew. For Flora, former starving urchin, the brutal life of a pirate is about survival: don’t trust, don’t stick out, and don’t feel. But on this voyage, as the pirates prepare to sell their unsuspecting passengers into slavery, Flora is drawn to the Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, who is en route to a dreaded arranged marriage with her own casket in tow. Flora doesn’t expect to be taken under Evelyn’s wing, and Evelyn doesn’t expect to find such a deep bond with the pirate Florian.

Soon the unlikely pair set in motion a wild escape that will free a captured mermaid (coveted for her blood, which causes men to have visions and lose memories) and involve the mysterious Pirate Supreme, an opportunistic witch, and the all-encompassing Sea itself.

The Sea Knows My Name

Laura Brooke Robson

If there’s one thing Thea Fowler has learned from her mother, it’s that the only way for a woman to survive in a man’s world is to make herself strong—invulnerable, even. Strength, after all, is how Clementine Fowler survived after her world was washed away by ash and lava and became one of the most notorious pirates the world has ever known. Unfortunately, Thea has inherited none of her mother’s ruthlessness and grit.


After a lifetime of being told she is a disappointment, Thea longs to escape life under her mother’s thumb. And when she falls for a handsome sailor named Bauer, she thinks she’s found her chance at a new life. But it’s not long before first love leads to first betrayal, and Thea learns that there’s more than one way to be strong.

Oathbound

Victoria McCombs

Emme has spent her life avoiding anything to do with pirates. But the fates are cruel, and now a hidden sickness leads her to partner with pirates for the one thing that can save her—a cure on an island none are certain exists.

The pirate captain’s secrets are darker than the deep and threaten to kill them all. His obligations are tinged with betrayal, for his oathbind must be fulfilled. To ignore it is to invite peril of unimaginable destruction.

In Deeper Waters

F.T. Lukens

Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family’s kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a burning derelict vessel.

Tasked with watching over the prisoner, Tal is surprised to feel an intense connection with the roguish Athlen. So when Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal feels responsible and heartbroken, knowing Athlen could not have survived in the open ocean.

That is, until Tal runs into Athlen days later on dry land, very much alive, and as charming—and secretive—as ever. But before they can pursue anything further, Tal is kidnapped by pirates and held ransom in a plot to reveal his rumored powers and instigate a war. Tal must escape if he hopes to save his family and the kingdom. And Athlen might just be his only hope…

A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix

C.B. Lee

1826. The sun is setting on the golden age of piracy, and the legendary Dragon Fleet, the scourge of the South China Sea, is no more. Its ruthless leader, a woman known only as the Head of the Dragon, is now only a story, like the ones Xiang has grown up with all her life. She desperately wants to prove her worth, especially to her mother, a shrewd businesswoman who never seems to have enough time for Xiang. Her father is also only a story, dead at sea before Xiang was born. Her single memento of him is a pendant she always wears, a simple but plain piece of gold jewelry.

But the pendant's true nature is revealed when a mysterious girl named Anh steals it, only to return it to Xiang in exchange for her help in decoding the tiny map scroll hidden inside. The revelation that Xiang's father sailed with the Dragon Fleet and tucked away this secret changes everything. Rumor has it that the legendary Head of the Dragon had one last treasure—the plunder of a thousand ports—that for decades has only been a myth, a fool's journey.

Xiang is convinced this map could lead to the fabled treasure. Captivated with the thrill of adventure, she joins Anh and her motley crew off in pursuit of the island. But the girls soon find that the sea—and especially those who sail it—are far more dangerous than the legends led them to believe.

The Wicked Bargain

Gabe Cole Novoa

On Mar León-de la Rosa's 16th birthday, el Diablo comes calling. Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn't enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar's father and the entire crew of their ship.

When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up your soul to save your father by the Harvest Moon or never see him again. The task is impossible--Mar refuses to make a bargain and there's no way their magic is any match for el Diablo. Then, Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate -- and the captain's son; and Dami, a genderfluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear. For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption -- or it could mean certain death.

BROWSE THE YOUNG ADULT COLLECTION

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Pitkin County Library
120 North Mill Street, Aspen, Colorado 81611
970-429-1900 | pitcolib.org