Teen Scene
May 2026

Recent Releases
Heartbroken by Serena Valentino
Heartbroken
by Serena Valentino

You may think you know the story of the Queen of Hearts, the bloodthirsty tyrant known for seeing red. Surely you've heard of the young girl Alice, who fell through the rabbit hole to a place called Wonderland, and how she defeated its villainous ruler in order to find her way back home. But have you ever wondered about the Queen's own first day in Wonderland? Did she encounter the same wonders--and horrors--as Alice? Are the laws of the land her royal decree--or a desperate attempt to bring order to a place that refuses to make sense? And why is she so angry?--
Meet Me Under the Lights by Cassie Miller
Meet Me Under the Lights
by Cassie Miller

A Romeo & Juliet-inspired small-town baseball romance where the son and daughter of two rival families must decide if their love is worth the risk. High school junior Eliza Crowley is known as the Princess of Fairfield, a farm town in North Carolina that loves two things--tradition and baseball. Although Eliza loves the game, her life goal is to become a lighting designer on Broadway. Shaking off her reputation as the rich girl and focusing on her town's community theater production are what she's set her sights on this summer, and nothing will stand in her way. That is until Reed Fulton, the grandson of a struggling Fairfield farmer, and ace pitcher of the Fulton Hawks, returns to town. Reed dreams of putting the catastrophe of last season behind him and leading the Hawks to a championship victory against the Crowley Cardinals. But when his childhood friend turned stranger, Eliza, strolls back into his life, she makes his heart accelerate quicker than his fastball, and he's not sure he can stay away from the girl he's supposed to despise. Small-town summers and baseball draw Reed and Eliza together, even though the Crowleys and the Fultons are determined to run each other out of town. When the families make a deal to settle their thirty-year-long dispute once and for all, Eliza and Reed are stuck in the middle during the most important summer of their lives. Heartwarming, captivating, and full of emotion, Meet Me Under the Lights is a pitch-perfect romance that will have readers hooked right off the bat.
Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters: A Graphic Memoir by Yevgenia Nayberg
Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters: A Graphic Memoir
by Yevgenia Nayberg

A graphic memoir of Yevgenia Nayberg's childhood as an aspiring artist in a Jewish family in 1980's Soviet Ukraine, before and after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
The Escape Game
by Marissa Meyer

Despite the fact that a contestant died on the fourth season of reality show The Escape Game, ruthless producers have greenlit a fifth season. Sierra joins the cast to solve high-stakes escape rooms...and find out who murdered her sister. Fans of puzzle-filled mysteries will devour this exhilarating thriller.
 
Soundtrack: A Novel by Jason Reynolds
Soundtrack: A Novel
by Jason Reynolds

Stuy Grey plays the drums, just like his mom, a founding member of the all-black punk band the Bed-Stuy Magic Dusters. He teaches himself by watching videos of tap dancers. Now he's left home, estranged from his mom and her abusive boyfriend. He's camping out with his uncle on the Lower East Side. His landlord, Dunks, has chops: He shreds on only five strings. Add Alexis on bass guitar and Keith on horn: These teens are a band, busking in New York City subway stations to scrape together enough money to record an album. As their popularity grows, so do the pressures, from complicated family dynamics to the glare of unexpected public attention. And when the police start looking for their bassist, Stuy faces his toughest decision yet.


 
Ancient Lives and Hidden Places
What the River Knows
by Isabel Ibañez

With Egyptomania on the rise in the 1880s, Inez travels from Buenos Aires to Cairo, hoping to uncover the truth behind her parents’ deaths. There, she finds her archaeologist uncle, who’s hiding something, and his alluring but aggravating assistant Whitford. This suspenseful historical fantasy blends mystery, romance, and adventure.
 
My dearest darkest by Kayla Cottingham
My dearest darkest
by Kayla Cottingham

When transfer student Finch Chamberlin and popular senior Selena St. Clair accidentally wake something terrifying and ancient in the depths of their school, they must work together to stop the horror they unleashed before it consumes the town.
A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir
A Reaper at the Gates
by Sabaa Tahir

Beyond the Martial Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger. Helene Aquilla, the Blood Shrike, is desperate to protect her sister's life and the lives of everyone in the Empire. But she knows that danger lurks on all sides: Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable and violent, while Keris Veturia, the ruthless Commandant, capitalizes on the Emperor's volatility to grow her own power--regardless of the carnage she leaves in her path. Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows the fate of the world lies not in the machinations of the Martial court, but in stopping the Nightbringer. But in the hunt to bring him down, Laia faces unexpected threats from those she hoped would help her, and is drawn into a battle she never thought she'd have to fight. And in the land between the living and the dead, Elias Veturius has given up his freedom to serve as Soul Catcher. But in doing so, he has vowed himself to an ancient power that demands his complete surrender--even if that means abandoning the woman he loves 
Mystery Royale by Kaitlyn Cavalancia
Mystery Royale
by Kaitlyn Cavalancia

Hoping to support her impoverished family, Mullory competes for a deceased billionaire’s money -- and magic! -- in the Mystery Royale. Will teaming up with the billionaire’s great-nephew Lyric help her win, or cost her everything? This intricately plotted fantasy mystery will draw fans of inventive magic systems and clever puzzles. 
Contact your librarian for more great books for age 14 and up!

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