Staff Picks Youth Fiction
January 2021
Just Like That
by Gary D. Schmidt
Set in the 1960s just as earlier books such as The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now, Schmidt has written another gem of a book with compassion and humor. Meryl Lee Kowalski and Matt Coffin meet at a Maine boarding school run by Mrs. Nora MacKnockater. Both are working through life events that have caused them unhappiness. As they work their way to growth and change, they find that they need help from each other and others to overcome the past.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
To Night Owl From Dogfish
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Avery and Bet are being sent to camp together by their fathers who want to take a motorcycle trip to China. They agree NOT to become friends or see each other at all in person. As the plot moves forward they, of course, become friends and that dynamic creates quite a bit of drama. Written entirely through email and letter exchanges, this book is highly entertaining. 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
Ahimsa
by Supriya Kelkar
Based on the author’s great grandmother’s experiences in India, this historical fiction book deals with prejudice and the fight for independence. The main character, Anjali, is unhappy when her mother tells her she is joining Gandhi’s peaceful rebellion. As her mother makes adjustments to help improve her country, Anjali slowly comes around to her mother’s way of thinking.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Canyon’s Edge
by Dusty Bowling
A novel in verse by the author of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. Nora and her father go hiking in a slot canyon on the anniversary of Nora’ mother’s death in a restaurant shooting. A flash flood separates them and leaves Nora with no supplies. As she struggles to survive the desert, Nora must also survive the Beast who has haunted her dreams for the past year. This is a page turning book full of action and emotion as Nora struggles to survive her inner and outer demons. This book is available in the library and on Overdrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
They Threw Us Away (The Teddies Saga #1)
by Daniel Kraus
First in a trilogy for middle grades, this is the story of Buddy, a teddy bear, who finds himself in a garbage dump and releases other bears that he finds still in their boxes. How did they get there? Why were they dumped? The teddies only want to be hugged by a child so they can have their Forever Sleep.
To do so, the teddies must band together to try and survive the many perils awaiting them as they try to find a home. This book reads like a cross between a fairy tale and Toy Story. It is a great read and leaves the reader anxious for the sequel.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
December 2020
Words on Fire
by Jennifer Nielsen
Audra, a young Lithuanian girl, escapes her farm house when both of her parents are arrested. Her mother gives her a package, tells her the recipient’s name and town and tells her to give it only to that person. Although Audra is frightened and confused, she does her best amidst many difficulties to fulfill her mother’s wish. This title is also available on Hoopla.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
King and the Dragonflies
by Kacen Callender
This book opens with the recent death of King’s older brother, Khalid. As the family is learning to live with this loss, King’s former best friend goes missing. Add King’s emerging sexual identity and friend issues for a page turning real life drama.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Curiosity: the Story of a Mars Rover
by Markus Motum
A beautifully illustrated and written story told from the point of view of Curiosity, the Mars rover launched in 2011 and arriving on Mars in 2012 after traveling 350,000,000 miles. Full of interesting facts and details about the process to get there, the ongoing mission, and the rover itself, this is a book not to miss reading.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Forget Me Nat (Nat Enough #2), Volume 2
by Maria Scrivan
This graphic novel is #2 in the series Nat Enough. Nat has a crush on Derek! The world is wonderful until he tells her that he just wants to be friends, right before the Valentine’s Day dance Now she is crushed. With humor and insight into the junior high mind, Scrivan has Nat work her way through her problems to become true to her real friends and especially to herself.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Goodbye, Mr. Terupt
by Rob Buyea
Book 4 in this popular series sees Mr. Terupt announcing that he will be moving away at the end of the school year. Jeffrey, Alexia, Anna, Danielle, Luke, Peter, and Jessica, who have known him since 5th grade are now 8th graders and have him as their advisor. This group needs advising with their many different issues—physical, emotional, or relational. The students come up with a bucket-list of projects to make the last year memorable for them all and beyond.
Submitted by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction