Staff Picks Youth Fiction
October 2021
Stargazing
by Jen Wang
Christine makes a new friend when Moon moves in next door. Moon is so different from Christine; she’s a vegetarian, a Buddhist and she says she belongs in the sky. Can this friendship last?
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
September 2021
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez
by Adrianna Cuevas
Nestor misses his father, who’s serving in the military, something awful. He’s very discouraged from moving every year to a new school. When he immediately makes new friends after he and his mother move in with their grandmother, he’s encouraged. When pet animals begin disappearing, Nestor, who has a secret super power, and his friends attempt to solve the mystery.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Thirteenth Cat
by Mary Downing Hahn
Don’t let the cover with a fluffy white cat fool you. This is a spell binding story about black cats…especially numbers Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen. Hahn has once again written a spooky middle grade book that will keep the reader guessing to the very end.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Pax
by Sara Pennypacker
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Paletero Man
by Lucky Diaz
Summer has come to an end, but this is a great pick for these last warm days. Latin Grammy Winner Lucky Diaz and illustrator Micah Player team up for this heartwarming and vibrant story that takes place in Los Angeles, but may as well happen in any other urban beautifully diverse kind of town. With a splash of Spanish and a musical narrative in rhyme, a young boy is soon to embark on a quest to find the beloved neighborhood paletero man to enjoy the most delicious ice pops in town. We get a glimpse of city life that pulsates not only with lively hustle and bustle, but also with kindness and a true sense of community. By the end of the story, you may crave an icy treat and find paletero José to meet. A good read for Hispanic Heritage month. To celebrate, pair-up with the song by the same title.
Recommended by: Fanny Camargo, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The List of Unspeakable Fears
by J. Kasper Kramer
A timely historical novel where an anxious young girl, Essie, must learn to face her fears of the unknown, isolation, and unseen viruses that can kill you. After her mother remarries a doctor who oversees a quarantine hospital where typhoid patients are housed, including Typhoid Mary, Essie’s anxiety disorder escalates until reality and her nightmares feed on each other. She is sure the island is haunted and that her stepfather is another Dr. Frankenstein. Plus there is even an evil cat and a ghost terrifying her days and nights.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Four Faces of the Moon
by Amanda Strong
A powerful graphic novel adapted from a short stop-motion animation film created by the author. In four chapters, which follow the phases of the moon, the story follows the journey of an Indigenous photographer, Spotted Fawn, as she travels through time meeting past ancestors and witnessing the destruction of their way of life by building railroads and the killing of the buffalo.
An Afterword by Dr. Sherry Farrell-Racette an associate professor of Native Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Manitoba, provides vital information on Michif culture and history.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Millionaires for the Month
by Stacy McAnulty
When seventh graders Benjy and Felix find a billionaire’s lost wallet, they figure she will not mind it they ‘borrow’ $20. Not only does she not mind but she gives them 5 million dollars with one of the stipulations being that they spend it all in 1 month. Great fun, right? Well, not so much considering the other restrictions.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Greystone Secrets #1: The Strangers
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Three siblings, Chess, Emma and Finn, find an alternate universe when trying to discover what happened to their mother after she leaves them suddenly on a questionable work assignment. The more they uncover, the weirder everything becomes until they are truly mystified.
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: Youth Fiction
When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead
Sixth grade Miranda has been best friends with Sal for as long as she can remember. That is until Sal randomly gets punched in the stomach on the walk home from school. Sal creates distance in their friendship. Miranda starts hanging out with new friends in their New York City neighborhood, and things start to get weird. Really weird.
Miranda begins receiving strange notes, in strange places, from an unknown author. An author who seems to know about things in Miranda’s life that have not happened yet. An author who is asking Miranda for help saving a life. Who is sending the notes and how? Will Miranda figure it out in time to prevent a tragedy?
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.
Recommended by: Malorie Carpenter, Youth Services Assistant
Posted in: Youth Fiction