Staff Picks Young Adult Fiction

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry

by Joya Goffney

High School is hard enough, but it becomes a nightmare when Quinn’s personal journal comes up missing. This journal contains detailed lists of all the things she hopes to accomplish, the boys she likes and dislikes, and the deep secrets she’s never shared with anyone.  The only way to get her beloved journal back will require her to put her trust in an unlikely set of new friends.  On this journey back to her journal Quinn realizes that she is much stronger than she ever expected she could be. There are laugh out loud moments and tear-jerking moments in this YA novel that you are sure to love.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive as an ebook.

Recommended by: Darnetta Bolton, Youth Services Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

Flamer

by Mike Curato

I keep seeing the quote “This book will save lives” associated with this book, and it’s true. This graphic novel set in 1995 tells the story of Aiden during one summer at Scout camp and how it changes his life. It is a shout out to queer kids struggling with their identity in systems like a church, scout troops or school that leaves them alone and confused and full of unwarranted shame. It is a shout out to say, you are loved just keep your flame burning. You are enough.  This book is beautiful, devastating, and hopeful. It’s a great read for Teens and Adults alike.

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

Call Down the Hawk

by Maggie Stiefvater

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

Today Tonight Tomorrow

by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Rowan Roth and Neil McNair are both high school seniors vying for valedictorian. In fact, they have vied for every single thing for their entire high school careers. To say they are each other’s archnemesis is an understatement. During Howl, a senior specific game, they find out most of the senior class is ganging up on them. Rowan and Neil decide to team up with very interesting results.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audio book. 

Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

The Dark Matter of Mona Starr

by Laura Lee Gulledge

When Mona’s best friend moves, her depression and social anxiety go into overdrive. She feels alone and insecure, and her mental illnesses (her Dark Matter) are crushing her. She internalizes the shame and fear, worrying deeply when she befriends a new girl at her school. Will that friend be able to handle all of her? Will Mona be able to come up with a solution to help with her dark matter? Or will it swallow her up? This graphic novel is beautiful and heart-wrenching and will especially resonate with artsy kids struggling with their mental health.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

A Crash of Fate (Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, #1)

by Zoraida Córdova

Heading to Disney anytime soon? Pick this book up before you go and learn a bit about the planet that inspired Galaxy’s Edge.

Izzy and Jules were childhood friends, living amongst the spires of Batuu. Then, Izzy’s family left abruptly. Izzy’s life became one of constant motion, traveling from one world to the next, until her parents were killed and she became a low-level smuggler to make ends meet. Jules remained on Batuu, eventually becoming a farmer like his father, but always yearning for something more. Thirteen years later, Izzy returns to Batuu. She’s been hired to deliver a dangerous package, and she just wants to finish the job and leave. But upon arrival at Black Spire Outpost she runs smack into the one person who still means something to her after all this time: Jules. Will they fall in love and find a place where they both belong? But how could that happen when one lives the outlaw life of adventure, and the other has never left the safety of home?

This book is available at the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

The Curie Society

by Heather Einhorn

An action packed Young Adult graphic novel revolving around new recruits Simone, Maja, and Taj. When they become roommates at Edmond University, they think they are there as regular students. Almost immediately they are caught up in puzzles that lead them to become members of a secret society, the Curie Society. Their abilities at being brilliant with science have them on a mission to save the world! Scientific terms used in the book are explained in a glossary at the end of the book. An adventuresome way to learn STEM.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

If I Was Your Girl

by Meredith Russo

Amanda Hardy is starting over in a new town at a new school. Amanda has a secret that she’s reluctant to share with anyone least of all her new friends. As her life accelerates and she not only meets great new girlfriends but has a boyfriend as well, she decides to trust a certain someone with her secret.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.

Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

The Mary Shelley Club

by Goldy Moldavsky

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

Concrete Rose

by Angie Thomas

If you enjoyed reading about Starr Carter in The Hate U Give, you need to pick up Concrete Rose. In this prequel, we follow the life of Maverick Carter, Starr’s dad. Maverick’s got a lot on his plate. He’s trying to graduate high school while being a member of the King Lords gang and help out his mom since his dad has been in jail since Maverick was a kid. Maverick’s world is completely changed when he finds out that his one-night stand resulted in a son and the mother wants nothing else to do with the baby. Now he’s a single dad and providing for his son Seven is the most important thing in the world. But how can he graduate school, get a job, and stay involved in the gang? Thomas explores what it means to be there for family and what sacrifices should and shouldn’t be made. Set in the late 90s, Thomas references the style and music of the time for a short jump to the past.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.

Recommended by: Brandi Smits, Youth Services Manager

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction