Staff Picks for Teens
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Marisol Acts the Part
A teen actress lands a role on the same high-profile show as her ex-boyfriend—only for things to get messy when she falls for his cute scene partner—in a dazzling sapphic rom-com from the author of Caught in a Bad Fauxmance.
“A swoony celebrity romance sure to steal your heart.” —Jennifer Dugan, author of Some Girls Do
Actress Marisol Polly-Rodriguez might be entering her flop era. After wrapping up a hit show, she’s neither booked nor busy. Not to mention, her former costar turned boyfriend, Miles, recently dumped her for being an “unserious” performer. Can you imagine?
To prove to Miles—and online trolls—that she takes her craft very seriously, Marisol lands a role on the same upcoming drama series he does. But with the eccentric director constantly rewriting her lines and a snobby castmate trying to upstage her, Marisol quickly realizes that her hope of nabbing an award nomination might be a pipe dream.
The only person she doesn’t have to put on a performance for is the show’s leading lady, Jamila. Marisol hasn’t been able to look away from her since their first audition. Falling for Jamila wasn’t part of Marisol’s plan, but even the most dedicated actors go off script sometimes, right? -
After We Burned
**This limited edition includes designed edges**
She deserved more. They all did. A gripping and emotional new suspense novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This is Where it Ends.
A terrible accident. A horrible loss. A regrettable tragedy. That's all anyone in Fenix can talk about when a fire consumes the local high school, taking the life of a student. The town mourns, except who really knew--let alone cared about--Eden when she was alive? And why was she in the building that night?
Five teens each hold a piece of the truth about what happened. They also have their own secrets, secrets they will fight to protect with the same fury as the blaze that killed Eden. But silence is meant to be broken, and this story can't be extinguished...
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Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe
"Endlessly fun" —Washington Post
A geeky overachiever determined to save the world through science and a troublemaking chosen one lashing out against her destiny meet and fall in love in a magical coffeeshop as their two very different universes begin to collide in Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe, C.B. Lee's fun, sapphic, cozy fantasy YA romance.
When Brenda’s internet goes out right before an important scholarship deadline, she stumbles right into Kat’s family’s coffeeshop. Brenda is swept away by cool, confident Kat, who actually cares about Brenda’s 19-step plan to save the world through science. Meanwhile, Kat can’t stop thinking about Brenda, who is smart, passionate, and doesn’t seem to care that Kat is the prophesized Chosen One.
The only problem? Kat and Brenda are from different universes. Like need-to-find-a-portal-to-go-on-a-second-date different universes.
As their universes collide and things spiral out of control, can a girl who is determined to save the world find love with a girl determined to outrun her destiny? -
Steel & Spellfire
Divine Rivals meets The Witch Haven in this romantic young adult fantasy in which a powerful mage posing as a debutante during the court social season must work with a member of the royal guard to catch a killer with powers much like her own.
In the city of Valora, where mages are feared and closely governed by the law, Pandora Small spends her life pretending to be someone she is not. Raised in seclusion by a shrouded guardian, Pandora learned to wield her magic in a way the world has never seen, making her more weapon than girl.
Pandora may have escaped her guardian, but powerful forces keep them bound together and she’ll do anything to find them again to break their bond for good. Posing as an Ingenue, a well-off young woman with limited magic, Pandora hopes to gain access to the royal court’s social season and the wealthy elite who make it their playing ground. Pandora’s arrival at court becomes more complicated when Ellis Beacon, a promising young member of the royal guard, discovers the true scope of Pandora’s deadly magic. Secretly sympathetic towards mages and convinced that Pandora is no harm to the public, Beacon agrees to keep her secret.
But when someone or something with powers terribly like Pandora’s own begins killing her fellow Ingenues, Beacon must decide whether Pandora is truly innocent or if there’s ruthless killer lying under her masterfully crafted facade. And Pandora will have to open up to gain Beacon’s trust because joining forces may be the only way for Pandora to find her freedom and catch the real killer plaguing the city. -
Perfect Girl
AN EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT THRILLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF GRACE AND FURY
" A riveting thriller packed with so many chills and swoon-worthy moments, readers will be tearing through the pages." ―Natalie C. Parker, award winning author of the Seafire Series
"A chilling cat-and-mouse game." ―April Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Girl, Stolen and Stay Dead
Jessa has been raised to be the “perfect girl.” She is unfailingly polite, never rocks the boat, and always follows the rules—no matter what. Her friends love to give her a hard time for being such a goody two-shoes, but Jessa likes it this way. She knows what's expected of her, and she's happy to be the person her parents (and society) want.
When a freak storm takes out the power during a sleepover at Jessa’s creepy, old house, things go south before the pizza gets cold. Her friends are at each other’s throats, unexpected guests keep showing up (some more welcome than others), and it’s not just her brother serving up jump scares. A killer looking for the perfect girl has targeted Jessa, and she’ll have to reject everything she’s been taught if she wants to keep herself—and her friends—alive until sunrise.
Who knew perfection could be so dangerous?
“Banghart mischievously upends all the sleepover-and-pizza conventions to create a twisty tale of love and desire gone foul. A darkly jubilant, unbound, addictive read.” ―Derek Milman, author of A Darker Mischief and Swipe Right for Murder
"Deliciously smart, suspenseful, and chilling. Perfect Girl is almost too good." ―Anica Mrose Rissi, author of Nobody Knows But You
"Perfect for a stormy night!” Diana Rodriguez Wallach, author of Small Town Monsters and Hatchet Girls -
Love, Canter, Action
Saddle up for this swoony enemies-to-lovers romance, full of giggles, snark, and heart, perfect for fans of Kasie West and Emma Lord.
Nora Green wants out. Out of rural Georgia--and, more importantly, out of the house she's been resentfully occupying with her father and his wife. It's been five months since her mama died and the state dumped her on her father's doorstep, and Nora's been counting every second.
With the sudden closure of the Shep horse ranch, Nora's last home-away-from-home, comes two surprises: news of her admission to a prestigious equine training program in Montana, and a job wrangling horses on a movie set to cover the costs.
To her eternal nightmare, she discovers that the movie stars teen heartthrob Alexander Mathis, hot off the heels of a very public scandal. Not that Nora cares who he is--to her, he's just the obnoxious stranger who interrupted her dinner the night before.
When photos of their argument are misread as a passionate affair, the Internet falls head-over-hooves for Hollywood's newest couple. Eager to capitalize on the press, Alec offers Nora a deal: go on three fake dates with him, and he'll cover her ticket to Montana.
But the lines between script and reality have a way of blurring, and when the truth about Alec's scandal catches up to him, Nora has a choice: continue shutting everyone out, or open her heart to the love that's always been around her. -
Codebreaker
This original, interactive thriller from debut author Jay Martel follows a brilliant teenage girl as she races across D.C. to decode the clues her father left behind, which may just be the key to saving the country from a devastating tragedy.
Mia Hayes has peaceful plans for the summer—find a part-time job at a coffee shop and work on her college applications. Those plans are shattered one night when government agents arrive unannounced at her home seeking something they believe her father has taken. When the dust settles, her mother is dead and her father is gone, a fugitive on the run.
Three weeks later, and still reeling from her father’s betrayal, Mia spends her seventeenth birthday at a protest in the heart of D.C., where she meets Logan, a rebellious and charming hacker. Just as she’s enjoying her first happy moment since the night her world exploded, a voicemail from her father arrives to upend everything she believed about her family, her past, and what really happened that night three weeks ago. Even more, the voicemail hides another encoded message inside which, once Mia solves it, sets her and Logan off on a mission from her sleepy suburb straight into the heart of the federal government.
With the same agents now hot on their trail, Mia and Logan must navigate their way through American history’s most iconic sites and uncover its most well-hidden secrets to reveal the truth about her family and stop a deadly attack.
In this non-stop thrill ride, the reader has the chance to test their own codebreaking skills alongside Mia, lending an exciting interactive element to this page-turning thriller packed with action, romance, and life-changing revelations. -
Lovesick Falls
Sometimes growing up means growing apart in this queer take on As You Like It featuring first loves and friend breakups, perfect for fans of The Gravity of Us and We Are Okay, from award-winning author Julia Drake.
Celia Gilbert is the perfect friend-loyal, trustworthy, and committed to mending her best friends' broken hearts.
She's the reason the trio is spending the summer in Lovesick Falls, the idyllic little town where Touchstone's sort-of-uncle's cabin was waiting to be house-sat by three unsupervised (but totally responsible) teenagers.
After all, Celia, Ros, and Touchstone have been best friends since childhood. Sure, Celia is in love with Ros, and Touchstone was once in love with Celia - but that's the beauty of a place like Lovesick Falls. If you fell in love, you could fall out.
Unless you can change the other person's mind.
They started the summer closer than ever. Will living together tear them apart? -
Rewind To Us
Again, But Better meets Maybe in Another Life in this love story with a magical twist!
Dixie Mulligan only has one plan for her annual California vacation this summer – to tell her best friend Sawyer that she’s in love with him.
It doesn’t matter that things between them technically fell apart over spring break, and they haven’t spoken since – until Dixie arrives and realizes Sawyer has moved on (a fact made very apparent when she sees him kissing, um, someone else).
Luckily, Dixie and her family have each been gifted with a Rewind. All Dixie has to do is go back and redo the moment she thinks doomed hers and Sawyer’s relationship before it even began.
But when family secrets start pouring out, Dixie’s not so sure even her Rewind will be enough to save what she and Sawyer had. Is the damage already done, or can she turn back the clock and give them one more chance? -
Come As You Are
In this opposites attract romance for fans of Begin Again and Better Than the Movies, a fresh start doesn't have to mean changing yourself.
Hot on the heels of a broken heart, Everett “Evie” Riley arrives at Camden Academy ready for a new beginning - one far away from her cheating ex-boyfriend, the sister who stole him, and the best friend who let it happen. But her fresh start is stopped in its tracks when she's accidentally placed in an all-boys dorm, with no choice but to stay.
When rumors and gossip about Evie's housing predicament spread like wildfire, she decides the only way to survive is to lean into her questionable new reputation... but she's definitely going to require help. Her grumpy emo dorm mate Salem Grayson isn't exactly her first choice, but he does need her help to repair his relationship with his parents every bit as much as she needs his to learn how to be cool. And so they make a pact: he'll teach her how to be bad, if she teaches him how to be good.
It's a flawless plan, except while Salem thrives academically, romantically, and–annoyingly enough– even physically, Evie's quest feels like one dead end after another. But when Evie realizes what she wants more than anything, she'll have to contend with her thrice-broken heart and figure out how to become someone capable of chasing happiness.
Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are is about refusing to accept less than you deserve, and realizing that the best relationships are forged with people who know exactly who you are.
"Heartfelt and hopeful. In Come As You Are, Dahlia Adler deftly combines the witty dialogue of a grumpy-sunshine romance with the emotional turmoil of searching for self-acceptance. This is the royal flush of YA romances!" - Kristy Boyce, bestselling author of Dungeons and Drama
"Dahlia Adler’s uplifting Come As You Are is full of snappy banter, personality-plus characters, and the chaos and complications that come with being sixteen. Plus, a giggle-inducing grumpy-sunshine romance. This fresh take on the boarding school story is a delightful way to spend the afternoon!" - K.L. Walther, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules -
The Whisperwood Legacy
"Read this one with the lights on!"--Beth Revis, New York Times bestselling author of The Night of the Witch
Knives Out meets The Hazel Wood in this twisty contemporary fantasy about an amusement park shrouded in dark secrets--and the family desperate to inherit it at any cost.
Welcome to Whisperwood, a sprawling theme park nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, where thrilling rides and picture-perfect scenery bring cult-classic fairy tales to life. Or at least they did until eighteen months ago, when the family matriarch, Virginia Strauss, suddenly shut Whisperwood's gates and the beloved park was left to wither away along with the family's dwindling fortune.
For seventeen-year-old Frankie Strauss, Whisperwood's closure has been a blessing in disguise. After seeing three generations of wealth's corrupting influence, she is more than ready to shed the Strauss-family's gilded handcuffs.
But when Virginia goes missing, Frankie realizes that her family might be guilty of something much worse than mere dysfunction. With the help of the mysterious and handsome groundskeeper, Jem, Frankie sifts through a web of near truths and outright lies, uncovering a reality where nothing is as it seems and fairy tales aren't just real--they're deadly. -
The Nightblood Prince: A Good Morning America YA Book Club Pick
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Two kingdoms on the brink of battle. One prophesied empress to unite them, who finds herself caught between two princes, and the fact that love alone may not stop the coming war. A thrilling young adult romantasy from the bestselling author of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods.
"Beautifully written and brimming with defiance."
—Xiran Jay Zhao, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Iron Widow
*The first edition hardcover of The Nightblood Prince will feature stunning decorative sprayed edges!*
Two princes. One prophecy. A fate she cannot outrun.
The night Fei was born, a prophecy was made: she would one day become the Empress of All Empresses.
Torn from her family as a child and raised in the palace to one day marry the Crown Prince of the most powerful empire in the land, Fei has only ever known loneliness. When the opportunity arises to seize her own destiny for the first time in her life, Fei sets out to hunt a legendary tiger, knowing it might cost her everything. What she doesn’t expect is to fall under the mercy of Yexue, the beautiful runaway prince from a rival kingdom. Blessed by the night, harboring a dangerous magic, and capable of commanding an army of deadly vampires, Yexue could be the key to Fei gaining more than just her freedom.
But to outrun destiny, Fei must spark a wave of events that will change the world as she knows it. Torn between two princes and plagued by nightmares of bloodshed, she finds that the stars might be more inescapable—and more irresistible—than she ever considered before. . . . -
Hearts Overboard
Set sail with this banter-filled rivals-to-lovers romance between a STEM-loving girl and a jock guy that will fill you with wanderlust...and have you rooting for love in the great outdoors!
Love is on the horizon...
After a very public breakup during which her ex, Caleb, tells her she is both (a) boring and (b) stuck in her ways, Savannah Moore decides that going with her mom on her company cruise to Alaska presents the perfect opportunity to show people how fun she is.
It won’t be easy, though. Her longtime nemesis, Tanner Woods, is also on the ship. His family and Savannah's are friends, and Tanner knows her better than she’d like to admit. When he learns of her plan, Tanner wants to help, and he encourages her to try everything: zip-lining and dogsledding, hiking the bear-infested Alaskan wilderness, singing late night karaoke, and taking a polar plunge. That’ll show Caleb just what he’s missing.
Except after spending so much time with Tanner, Savannah’s not sure Caleb is the one she wants anymore... -
Soulmatch
In a world where past lives determine your future, a sharp-witted girl confronts a major twist of destiny, embroiling her in a high-stakes game of danger, corruption, and heartbreak in this young adult speculative romance perfect for fans of Scythe and Matched.
Two hundred years after World War III, the world is at peace, all thanks to the soul-identification system. Every eighteen-year-old must report to the government to learn about their past lives, a terrifying process known as kirling. Good souls leave the institute with their inheritance, a career path, and if they’re lucky, a soulmate. Bad souls leave in handcuffs.
It’s a nerve-wracking ordeal for Sivon, who, given her uncanny ability to win every chess match, already suspects her soul isn’t normal. Turns out, she was right to worry. Sivon’s results stun not only her, but the entire world, making her the object of public scrutiny and anonymous threats.
Saddled with an infuriating and off-limits bodyguard, Sivon is thrust into a high-stakes game where souls are pawns and rules don’t exist. As deaths mount, Sivon must decipher friend from foe while protecting her heart against impossible odds. One wrong move could destroy the future lives of everyone Sivon loves, and she can’t let that happen, even if they’ll never love her back. -
A Spell to Wake the Dead
Two teen girls must uncover the dark, occult secrets lurking in their Cape Cod town to solve a series of murders—and save themselves from the same fate—in this twisty, witchy thriller.
“Steeped in uniquely New England coastal magic, A Spell to Wake the Dead kept me on the edge of my seat as the bodies and mysteries kept washing ashore. Lesperance weaves an enthralling, atmospheric thriller that pulls you in from the first page. Tense, twisty, and deliciously witchy, it was just about impossible to put down.” —Louangie Bou-Montes, author of Till the Last Beat of My Heart
When Mazzy and her best friend Nora sneak down to the beach one moonlit night to cast a spell, they don’t expect to find a dead body. But as the tide rolls in, it carries the remains of a woman who is missing her hands and teeth.
The girls know they should leave the investigation to the police, but they can’t shake the weird, supernatural connection they feel with the dead woman. Using spellwork and divination, they set out to find answers of their own. But after they uncover a rash of local disappearances stretching back years—and both girls start having occult visions and hearing ghostly, whispering voices—Mazzy worries that she and Nora are in danger.
Then, Nora finds a second body. And the whispering voice is telling her where to find more. With everything spiraling, Mazzy needs to figure out who to trust and how to sever this supernatural connection—or she and Nora might be the next bodies to wash up on the beach.
Library of Teen Things
Build and create with a 3D printer pen, an easy-to-use high tech toy for teens and adults. This simple device heats and extrudes plastic with the push of a button. Reservation required. Learn more about using Idea Box equipment.
Age Requirement: 14+
24" Apple iMacs running the newest OS & loaded with professional graphic design, sound, and video editing software. Reservation required. Learn more about using Idea Box equipment.
Age Requirement: 13+
Turn your concepts into tangible objects with this amazing device. Reservation required. Learn more about using Idea Box equipment.
Age Requirement: 14+
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