The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud

F

SciFi/Fantasy

STR

The second adventure in the Bartimaeus trilogy finds our young apprentice magician Nathaniel working his way up the ranks of the government, when crisis hits. A seemingly invulnerable clay golem is making random attacks on London. Nathaniel and the all-powerful, totally irreverent djinni, Bartimaeus, must travel to Prague to discover the source of the golem's power. In the ensuing chaos, readers will chase a dancing skeleton across London's skyline, encounter the horror of the dreaded Night Police, witness a daring kidnapping, and enter the Machiavellian world of the magician's government. Eventually, Nathaniel and Bartimaeus have to go head to head with the fearsome golem before the surprise identity of his master is finally revealed.

 

Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud

 

F

SciFi/Fantasy

STRO

The final volume in the Bartimaeus trilogy reveals more backstory and exposes greater complexity in the characters, even as the plot thunders along toward its colossal climax. The narrative alternates between first-person chapters from the djinni Bartimaeus' point of view to third-person chapters focused on Nathaniel, the magician, and Kitty, the commoner. Although Bartimaeus has lost none of his caustic wit, another side of his character is revealed through scenes in ancient Egypt and in the spirit world. A cabinet minister, Nathaniel sees the traditional power structure crumble around him, feels his own moral compass grow stronger, and takes actions that once would have been impossible for him. Now they seem inevitable. Kitty, after secretly studying magic, takes a challenge that few magicians would have dared: entering the spirit world and returning. Stroud's picture of this alternate world is one of the most remarkable scenes in recent fantasies. It leads readers' imaginations outside the realm of physical reality and offers an awareness of that reality as seen from the outside. For fans of Bartimaeus, Nathaniel, and Kitty, this will be the most satisfying volume of the three, as questions are answered and hidden depths are revealed. For readers who loved the earlier volumes for the sheer adventure, this, with its battles, magic, and great crashing conclusion, will not disappoint. A worthy ending to an exceptional saga.

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Starfish by Lisa Fipps

 

F

FIP

Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this poignant debut novel-in-verse.

 Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she's been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules—like "no making waves," "avoid eating in public," and "don't move so fast that your body jiggles." And she's found her safe space—her swimming pool—where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. It's also where she can get away from her pushy mom, who thinks criticizing Ellie's weight will motivate her to diet. Fortunately, Ellie has allies in her dad, her therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina, who loves Ellie for who she is. With this support buoying her, Ellie might finally be able to cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and starfish in real life--by unapologetically being her own fabulous self.

Me (Moth) by Amber McBride

F

MCB

Moth lost her entire family in a car crash last summer, leaving her feeling invisible and unwanted in her aunt's home. But then she meets Sani, a half Navajo, half white boy with hair like a waterfall, struggling with a broken family, suppressed desires, and his mental health. Though no one else seems to pay Moth any attention, Sani sees her for what she is-beautiful, broken, and yet still so worthy of life's offerings. Together, the two steal away on a summer road trip, sharing the dreams they keep hidden and the spiritual practices they have in common. But when they reach Sani's motherland, the tribal lands of the Navajo Nation, a shocking yet obvious revelation rears its head. Though the traditions are distinct on their own, McBride artfully weaves Black Southern hoodoo traditions with those of the Navajo/Diné people, creating a beautiful and cross-cultural reverence for the earth, its inhabitants, and our ancestors. Readers will be consumed by the weight of McBride's intentionality from road trip stops to the nuance of everything that goes unsaid. Written in verse, this debut novel is hauntingly romantic, refusing to be rushed or put down without deep contemplation of what it means to accept the tragedies of our lives and to reckon with the ways we metamorphosize as a result of them. An excellent choice for lovers of poetry and for those who see the beauty in sadness

Anatomy by Dana Schwartz

F

SciFi/Fantasy

SCH

Dana Schwartz’s Anatomy: A Love Story is a gothic tale full of mystery and romance.

Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry.

Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die.

When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought. Because Hazel has made a deal with Dr. Beecham: if she can pass the medical examination on her own, Beecham will allow her to continue her medical career. Without official lessons, though, Hazel will need more than just her books—she’ll need corpses to study.

Lucky that she’s made the acquaintance of someone who digs them up for a living.

But Jack has his own problems: strange men have been seen skulking around cemeteries, his friends are disappearing off the streets, and the dreaded Roman Fever, which wiped out thousands a few years ago, is back with a vengeance. Nobody important cares—until Hazel.

Now, Hazel and Jack must work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves, but in the very heart of Edinburgh society.

 

Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

 

F

SciFi/Fantasy

KEM

Fall in love, break the curse.

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

F

BOW

Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again.
 
Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.

Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

F

SciFi/Fantasy

KEM

Apothecary apprentice Tessa Cade is tired of seeing her people die. King Harristan and his cruel brother, Prince Corrick, ignore the suffering of their people and react mercilessly to any sign of rebellion, even as a sickness ravages the land. That’s why she and her best friend Wes risk their lives each night to steal the petals of the delicate Moonflower, the only known cure. But it’s not enough to keep everyone she loves safe―or alive.

When Prince Corrick commits an act of unspeakable cruelty, Tessa becomes desperate enough to try the impossible: sneaking into the palace. But what she finds there makes her wonder if it's even possible to fix their world without destroying it first.

Brigid Kemmerer's captivating new series is about those with power and those without . . . and what happens when someone is brave enough to imagine a new future.

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha

 

973.049 HA

Graphic Novels

A teen graphic novel memoir about a Korean-born, non-English-speaking girl who is abruptly transplanted from Seoul to Huntsville, Alabama. 

For as long as she can remember, it's been Robin and her mom against the world.  Growing up in the 1990's as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn't always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together.

So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation--following her mother's announcement that she's getting married--Robin is devastated.  Overnight, her life changes.  She is dropped into a new school where she doesn't understand the language and struggles to keep up.  She is completely cut off from her friends at home and has no access to her beloved comics.  At home, she doesn't fit in with her stepfamily.  Worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to--her mother. 

Then one day Robin's mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined. 

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

 

F

DAV

Mystery/Horror

Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his beloved wife of one year:  Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers:  Owen's sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As Hannah's increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered; as the FBI arrests Owen's boss; as US Marshal and FBI agents arrive to her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn't who he said he was. Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen's true identity--and why he really disappeared.

Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth, together. As they start putting together the pieces of Owen's past, they soon realize they are also building a new future.  One neither Hannah nor Bailey could have anticipated. 

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

 

F

ZAP

Her story is a phenomenon.  Her life is a disaster.

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless.  Online, she's Lady Constellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can't imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.

Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea's biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school.  Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.

When Eliza's secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she's built--her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity--begins to fall apart. 

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

 

F

WEI

SciFi/Fantasy

A lone astronaut.

An impossible mission.

An ally he never imagined.

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission--and if he fails, humanity and Earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn't know that.  He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time.  He's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him.  Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it's up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery--and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

With the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he's got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

 

F

SEP

Historical Fiction

Romania, 1989, Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians are not free to dream; they are bound by rules and force.

Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer.  He's left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves--or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.

Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives, but what is the cost of freedom?

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi

 

F

MAF

SciFi/Fantasy

To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight.

The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king.  He could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can't put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom--and the world.

 

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

 

F

JEA

Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in--it isn't easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it's always been Izumi--or Izzy, because "It's easier this way"--and her mom against the world. Izzy discovers a clue to her previously unknown father's identity...and he's none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princes..

In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn't all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight.

Izzy soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself--back home, she was never "American" enough, and in Japan, she must prove she's "Japanese" enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairytale, happily every after? 

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

 

F

BOU

Mystery/Horror

As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother.

The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi's hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, certain details don't add up and she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into the heart of a criminal investigation.

Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, but secretly pursues her own investigation, tracking down the criminals with her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicine. The deceptions--and the deaths--keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home.

Now, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Objbwe woman) and how far she'll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she's ever know. 

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon

 

F

CLA

YA

A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness.  As the city is thrown into confusion, a different kind of electricity sparks...

 

A first meeting.

Long-time friends.

Bitter exes.

And maybe the possibility of something new.

When the lights go out, people reveal hidden truths. Love blossoms, friendship transforms, and new possibilities take flight. 

Six award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of black teen love to this interlinked novel of charming, hilarious, and heartwarming stores that shine a bright light through the dark.

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

 

F

ZEN

Life in a small Appalachian town is not easy.  Cash lost his mother to an opioid addiction and his Papaw is dying slowly from emphysema. Dodging drug dealers and watching out for his best friend, Delaney, is second nature. He's been spending his summer mowing lawns while she works at Dairy Queen.

When Delany manages to secure both of them full rides to an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash will have to grapple with his need to protect and love Delaney, and his love for the grandparents who saved him and the town he would have to leave behind.

From the award-winning author of The Serpent King comes a beautiful examination of grief, found family, and young love. 

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

 

F

JAC

Mystery/Horror

The case is closed.  Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure.  When she choses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. If they real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth? 

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

 

F

KLU

SciFi/Fantasy

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village.  On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between the mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo.  Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn't ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo's help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.