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by Meagan, Sweet Branch  Whether you’re reading the classics on your own or as an assignment for an English class, the classics can be a challenge. Luckily, there is a plethora of retellings, so whether you just want to understand the book from class a little better or if you loved the story and would like to read more, we highly recommend these retold classics. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Pride - Ibi Zoboi       
   Frankenstein by Mary Shelley This Dark Endeavor - Kenneth Oppel The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein - Kiersten White
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green Legendborn - Tracy Deonn Cursed - Thomas Wheeler
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by Lexi, Day-Riverside Branch  Summer is already over?! We wish we could tell you otherwise, but we can’t. If you’re looking for ways to try to jumpstart your scholastic enthusiasm, (or ways to drag your Kingdoms of Wonder summer spirit to school with you), check out some of these back to school reads!
by Bea, Chapman Branch Teen Squad  Summer is the perfect time to lose yourself in a great book! We checked in with Beatrice, one of our Teen Squad members from the Chapman Branch, to see what books she is reading this summer:  Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian Stay Sweet is your classic summer book. Seventeen-year-old Amelia takes over as the “head girl” of Meade Ice Cream, a popular historic ice cream shop in Sand Lake. On Amelia’s first day, she finds her new boss, Molly, dead, and her boss’s grandson, Grady, has to come in to try and sell the place. Meade had existed since World War 2, always run by young local girls, and the shop was an important feature of Sand Lake, with it’s ice cream’s secret, special recipe. It’s up to Amelia to try and convince Grady to keep the store running, and also try to figure out the ice cream recipe that Molly, the former owner, has hidden somewhere in her cluttered house. Stay Sweet is a perfect summer read for lovers of ice cream and romance.  A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is well- crafted murder mystery about Pippa, a senior in high school, who decides to do her senior capstone project on a 5-year-old closed murder case that happened in her town. Supposedly, Andie Bell, a pretty and popular senior, was killed by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, before killing himself out of regret. That’s the story, and everyone in the town believes this is the truth. But Pippa believes that the town was so consumed with grief that everyone chose to think that it was Sal, based on messy evidence and prejudice about Sal’s race. Pip investigates the case with everything she’s got and finds romance and new friendships along the way. I would highly recommend this book to lovers of true crime and a little bit of suspense. by Morgan, Sweet Branch Teen Squad  My Teen Squad Project during the school year was Teen-to-Teen Book Recommendations, a service where teens could request a book recommendation from me and I would find something new for them to read. Here's a look at the requests I got and what I recommended. Hopefully you can find something you might enjoy from this list. Happy Reading! What genres, authors, and books they like: Fantasy, Land of Stories, and they don’t like violence. What book I recommended and why: I recommended Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George because it is one of my favorite fantasy books. The reading level is about the same as Land of Stories and I like that they both have a storyline with lots of plot twists. Both Land of Stories and Dragon Slippers have mythical creatures, and the writing has a fairy tale vibe to it. They were both adventurous books that had lots of cliffhangers.  What genres, authors, and books they like: Rick Riordan, J.K. Rowling, and fantasy. What book I recommended and why: I recommended The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag. Like Harry Potter, The Witch Boy is about a boy learning to use his powerful magic with his various magical and non-magical friends. Also like Harry Potter, the friendships and mentor relationships are as interesting as the magic.  What genres, authors, and books they like: Fablehaven, C.R Grey, J.K Rowling, and fantasy. What book I recommended and why: I recommended The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman because the storyline and complexity of the characters is so great. The story is dark, similar to how some Harry Potter books are, and there is lots of magic and mystery in both.  What genres, authors, and books they like: Salt to the Sea, Rick Riordan and Historical Fiction. What book I recommended and why: I recommended The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley because I think the style of the writing is similar to Rick Riordan’s books. I also chose Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys because it is a great historical fiction book that combines mystery. This book reminds me of Salt to the Sea because they are by the same author and the books have similar writing styles.
What genres, authors, and books they like: Maze runner, Utopia, and no sappy endings. What book I requested and why: I recommended The Children of Exile by Margaret Peterson Haddix because it is my favorite sci-fi book. I also recommended Unwind by Neal Shusterman because it is a good dystopia-type book. I also recommended House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer because it is a great sci-fi book. All of these books are my favorite science fiction books because I love how the authors have made up the dystopian environment, and all these books made it feel like you were right there in the story.
What genres, authors, and books they like: Ready Player One, Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan, Earnest Cline and Fantasy/Sci Fi. What book I requested and why: I recommended Under Their Skin by Margaret Peterson Haddix because it is one of my favorite sci-fi books. Both books, like most sci-fi novels have a futuristic setting, and I loved how the authors portrayed the future. I also recommended The Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee because it is a Rick Riordan presents book and is super interesting to read. It combines sci-fi, magic, fantasy, and Korean mythology really well.
What genres, authors, and books they like: Truly Devious, Mystery, Love and Gelato, Teen Drama, fantasy, Maureen Johnson, and Jenna Evans Welsh. What book I requested and why: I recommended Listen to your Heart by Kasie West because it is similar to Love and Gelato and has similar reading levels. I loved that they both had unexpected plot twists, and in both books no one could predict what happened in the end. I recommended One of Us is Lying by Karen M McManus because I think it is like Truly Devious; they were in fact on the same mystery book list. I also recommended The Iron King by Julie Kagawa because it is a good fantasy/mystery book.
by Saia, Glendale Branch  Growing up I did not see many characters in books or graphic novels that looked like me or had experiences like me. I never thought anything about why that was because it was normal to read the same narrative. The same narrative that I read was not representative of the world that I was a part of. My world contained many different faces, skin colors, abilities, sexualities, genders, styles, beliefs, religions, perspectives, classes, languages, and traditions. Due to what I was feeling and experiencing in my own life, I craved to see these things in the literature and media that I consumed. Now that I am older I strive to find books, movies, and graphic novels that give an honest representation of human stories and experiences. Representation matters because it centers the stories that are not heard or pushed to the wayside. When all voices and all stories do not get a chance to be heard and felt by other people it creates false assumptions and stereotypes. This in turn creates fear and divides us. This is why representation is so important. It is an act of re-centering humanity, ultimately leading to compassion and understanding. It is an act of empowerment by validating the experiences of those who are oppressed. For me personally, seeing characters who look like me and have similar experiences as me, helps me to remember that I am not alone in this world-that has made all the difference. I have created a list of graphic novels that center individuals and stories that represent people of differing abilities, color, queerness, religions, as well as refugee experiences. All titles center those who are Teens or Young Adults. There are only 10 titles that I could fit into this blog post and each of the summaries I have taken from the publisher. If you like the title given on this list, go ahead and click directly on it. This will take you to our catalog and you can check it out using your library card. The list given is in no way a total representation of how people see and identify themselves. I encourage you, the reader, to create your own list. What would you include? Remember, representation is important but take the time to ask yourself, Why does it matter to you?
by Amrita, Anderson-Foothill Teen Squad  We've put together a booklist of books for activism! These book categories contain various topics that aren't very popular in young adult book sections, so we're giving them a spotlight. Each category has two sub sections, one for non-fiction and one for fiction, so there should be something for everyone. Hope you like it!      Many of these titles are available to check out from The City Library. Search our catalog here. And click here for a printable version of the booklist. |
