Staff Picks

Frankie & Bug

by Gayle Forman

Ten-year-old Bug just wants to go the beach and swim as much as possible over the summer. But there’s a serial killer on the loose and Bug’s mom says she can only go with her older brother. But her older brother, who now wants to be called Daniel instead of Danny, would rather hang out with friends his own age. When the neighbor’s nephew comes for the summer Bug feels stuck with him and he doesn’t even like the beach. Will this summer ever improve? 

Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager

Posted in: Youth Fiction

I Wish You All the Best

by Mason Deaver

When Ben tells their parents that they identify as nonbinary and prefer the pronouns they/them, they are thrown out of the house. In desperation Ben contacts his estranged older sister. She offers him refuge and they begin to start over in a new house and school with no friends. When Nathan takes Ben under his wing, Ben is unsure of how to handle his exuberance and extroversion. As the two forge a friendship their feelings begin to change. Just what is in store for Ben and Nathan?

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

Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

Northwind

by Gary Paulsen

Last book written by Gary Paulsen and continues his forte in writing about young men surviving and thriving in a hostile world… think back to Hatchet. Also think about what we have learned about him through his books… My Life in Dog Years… and interviews about his neglectful upbringing… “The Librarian Who Changed His Life”. Leif, an orphan, was pushed from the fishing camp in a cedar canoe after a brutal sickness killed any and all in the camp. He was told to head North and never look back. His survival depended on luck, ingenuity, and the natural world he finds himself alone in. Beauty and savagery abound throughout.

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

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Youth Fiction

The Space Between Before and After

by Sue Stauffacher

Thomas Moran’s mother has been struggling with depression for years. It seems to Thomas that his mother is physically with him, mentally somewhere else. Thomas says his mother always looks like she has clouds in her eyes. After his mom disappears, Thomas learns how to cope without her. With the help of neighbors and friends, the power of storytelling becomes his savior. It is through storytelling that his family learns to live again. The Space Between Before and After is a serious and very emotionally heavy book. But just like life, not all books are fun and happy.

Recommended by: Malorie Carpenter, Youth Services Assistant

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?

by Leslie Connor

Aurora is talkative, excitable and impulsive. Frenchie is non-verbal, calm and thoughtful. Aurora and Frenchie are best friends. When Frenchie goes missing one day, the entire town bonds together to search for him. Told from different viewpoints this story is realistic and poignant.

Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Eliza and Her Monsters

by Francesca Zappia

In real life Eliza is friendless, shy, and odd. Online though, she is the amazing anonymous creator of the popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. She’s happy for a time with her secret life, until she meet Wallace in real life and things start to change for the better. But good things don’t always last… Her online secret identity is accidently spilled to the world and everything that she has kept hidden about herself is now in the open. Everything starts to fall apart including her sanity. Will her new found real life fame destroy her? Or will she find the help she needs to keep things together?

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

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

How to Hang a Witch

by Adriana Mather

Sam is the decedent of Cotton Mather, one of the people responsible for the Salem witch trials. So when she moves to Salem she becomes public enemy number one, especially among the teen girls who call themselves the Descendants. They are the ancestors of the witches that Cotton Mather hanged during the witch trials. On top of being tormented by the Descendants, Sam’s new home is haunted by an angry Teen ghost. Sam learns that there is a curse affecting the descendants of anyone who was tied to the witch trials, including herself. Will she be able to find a way to work with her ghost and the Descendants to stop the curse’s deadly cycle? Or is she doomed to become the newest ghost in Salem?

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

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares

by Krystal Sutherland

Esther is doomed to suffer one great fear that will lead to her death. It’s a family curse that has been affecting them since her grandfather met Death. Esther does everything in order to avoid things that could scare her, that way she doesn’t have a fear. She keeps a list of her semi-definitive worst nightmares and knows that those things are off limits. Crowds? Nope. Elevators? No way. When Jonah shows back up in her life she is forced to face her list of fears with him. Together they overcome one phobia at a time. But what happens if love starts to appear? Will it be enough to break the curse?

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

The Testing

by Joelle Charbonneau

If you like the Hunger Games, this should be your next read! Every year candidates are chosen to join the Testing to show that they are worthy to be a University student. The test however is not your average pen and pencil quiz and most candidates don’t survive to the end. In a life or death situation, who can you trust to have your back? And can you survive the Testing?

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

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

The Naturals

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

If you like mysteries and thrillers, this book could be for you. There is a program put on by the FBI where they recruit kids who are special. Each participant has a “natural” gift. Cassie can read people and tell you who you are and what you want in detail. When she is put together with other teens who also have special talents things get real fast. Are the teens willing to risk danger and death to help the FBI solve murder cases? Can they come together as a team and survive before the killer picks them off one at a time? Pick up this book to find out.

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction