Tag: Teen Books

Teen Book Club Reads The Summer of Broken Things

Posted on by Olivia

Meet up with book lovers just like you for a discussion of The Summer of Broken Things by Margaret Peterson Haddix on Tuesday, March 21st @ 4 pm. We’ll be reading this book to get ready for Margaret’s author visit to the Dillsboro Public Library on April 4th @ 6 pm! Free snacks and drinks will be provided. Stop by the Aurora or Dillsboro Library to pick up your copy today!

Fourteen-year-old Avery Armisted is athletic, rich, and pretty. Sixteen-year-old Kayla Butts is known as “butt-girl” at school. The two girls were friends as little kids, but that’s ancient history now. So it’s a huge surprise when Avery’s father offers to bring Kayla along on a summer trip to Spain. Avery is horrified that her father thinks he can choose her friends—and make her miss soccer camp. Kayla struggles just to imagine leaving the confines of her small town.

But in Spain, the two uncover a secret their families had hidden from both of them their entire lives. Maybe the girls can put aside their differences and work through it together. Or maybe the lies and betrayal will only push them—and their families—farther apart.

Everyone ages 13-19 are welcome to attend! We can’t wait to see you there!

Teen Book Club – Fangirl

Posted on by Olivia

Do you end up saying “just one more chapter” every night? Or maybe you haven’t read a book in forever. Either way, our new Teen Book Club is perfect for all young adult readers!

This month, we will be reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. This coming-of-age story introduces Cath, the quintessential, modern-day fanatic, and her journey through college, growing up, and worst of all, real-life boys who aren’t Simon Snow.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life–and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Our next book will be selected by YOU, the reader! Our meeting will be at the Aurora Public Library on February 28th at 4 pm. Everyone ages 13 to 19 is welcome to attend. Registration is recommended but not required.

Books will be available for pickup at the library soon! We hope to see you there.

Fresh Finds with Jessica: June

Posted on by Jamie

Check out our YouTube channel every last Friday of the month for Fresh Finds! Join Jessica on June 25th as she discusses 5 of APLD’s newest books! Subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any of our videos! Subscribe here.

Check out the five books below! Click on a cover to place a hold or learn more!

Fresh Finds with Jessica: May

Posted on by Jamie

Check out our YouTube channel every last Friday of the month for Fresh Finds! Join Jessica on May 28th as she discusses 5 of APLD’s newest books! Subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any of our videos! Subscribe here.

Check out the five books below! Click on a cover to place a hold or learn more!

           

Fresh Finds with Jessica: April

Posted on by Jamie

Check out our YouTube channel every last Friday of the month for Fresh Finds! Join Jessica on April 30th as she discusses 5 of APLD’s newest books for April! Subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any of our videos! Subscribe here.

Check out the five books below! Click on a cover to place a hold or learn more!

It’s National Best Friends Day!

Posted on by Jamie

June 8th is National Best Friends Day! This lighthearted holiday began in 1935 when the US Congress decided to devote a day to close friends. National Best Friends Day has given rise to other national holidays such as Friendship Day, Women’s Friendship Day, and an entire week called Old Friends, New Friends Week. The holiday has gained popularity over the last 5 years due to the rise of social media, and even has its own hashtag to go with it. Don’t forget to show your friends some love on social media today with the hashtag #nationalbestfriendsday

 

Check out some of our books on friendship!

#NoMoreFantasy

Posted on by Peggy

I love Young Adult Fantasy – I really do! But, sometimes it seems that those are the only Teen books we hear about. This blog is dedicated to all our YA readers who are longing for something different, maybe even something realistic.  The good news is that John Green is not the only YA author who is writing excellent contemporary fiction. Whether you like survival stories, mysteries, romances, or issue-driven novels, we have something for you! At the bottom of this post, you’ll also find some great historical fiction written for the Young Adult market. So dive in, and let us know what you enjoy.

Survival stories are a great choice for teens who are adventurous or love the outdoors! Bad Call and When I am Through With You are both books about camping trips gone bad and have been described as part survival story and part psychological thriller. Feral Youth was inspired by the format of Canterbury Tales and is written by multiple YA authors.

Bad Call by Stephen Wallenfels When I am Through with You by Staphanie Kuehn   Feral Youth by multiple authors

The Amateurs is the beginning of a new mystery series by teen favorite Sara Shepard. The Amateurs and Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson both feature teenage detectives attempting to solve cold cases.  Corruption, a hunting accident and lots of teenage secrets turn This is Our Story into a suspenseful story with a “ripped from the headlines” feel.

The Amateurs by Sara Shepard   Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson   This is Our Story by Ashley Elston

How could we look at Teen books without adding a little romance? Sarah Dessen has a very loyal fan base and her newest, Once and For All, will not disappoint! Ronit & Jamil is a clever retelling of Romeo and Juliet that has been transported to modern day Israel. If you’re a fan of romantic comedies, you’re sure to love Alex, Approximately!

Once and For All by Sarah Dessen   Ronit & Jamil by Pamela Laskin   Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Life is complicated for teenagers, and books can be a safe haven where problems are acknowledged and feelings are validated. If you’re not sure if the content of a book is appropriate for your teen, try clicking on the Review link on the catalog page for the book. Professional reviews will typically give information about difficult content along with a suggested age range.

Release: a novel by Patrick Ness   The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner   Everything All At Once by Katrina Leno

Finally, for all our lovers of historical fiction, we have a great selection! Crossing Ebenezer Creek is by Tonya Bolden, better known for her non-fiction and is described as perfect for fans of Ruth Septys. If you love Hamilton the musical, you will certainly enjoy Melissa de la Cruz’s book about Alexander Hamilton and his wife Eliza. The final two books take widely different looks at World War II history.

Crossing Ebenezer Creek by Tonya Bolden   Alex & Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz

Night Witches by Kathryn Lasky   Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott

For more suggestions, just ask at the circulation desk! We have several staff members who love to read from our Teen collections.

 

 

A Fresh Look at Arabian Nights

Posted on by Peggy

Although using traditional fairy tales as the basis for teen books has been popular for a while, most of these books have used European tales as a starting point. For example, Alex Flinn has written lots of fairy tale versions, including Beastly (Beauty and the Beast), A Kiss in Time (Sleeping Beauty), and Towering (Rapunzel). That’s why I was delighted to find these two books based on the stories of One Thousand and One Nights.

The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh   The Rose & the Dagger b y Renn Ahdieh

One Thousand and One Nights (often known in English as The Arabian Nights) is a collection of stories by many authors and can be traced back to ancient and medieval Arabic, Persian, Indian and Jewish folklore.  Although collections of these stories can vary in content, the tales are told within the framework of Scheherazade who soothes her evil husband with her storytelling skills.

Marie Lu, author of Legend, described The Wrath & the Dawn as “an intoxicating gem of a story,” and added, “Don’t be surprised if the pages melt away and you find yourself racing through warm, golden sands or drinking spiced wine in cool marble courtyards,”  so buckle up for an exciting journey through Middle Eastern culture.

If your only connection to Arabian Nights comes from Disney’s Aladdin and the Prince of Persia movie or video game, you may want to brush up on some of the original stories. The Thousand Nights and One Night by Jan Pienkowski is a beautiful introduction to the most well-known stories. You might be surprised to learn that the stories of Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad the Sailor were not initially included in collections of One Thousand and One Nights. Although they are from the same geographical area, these were added later by European translators.

The Thousand Nights and One Night by Jan Pienkowski

Why not begin a reading Grand Tour, traveling the globe in search of stories from other cultures? The Wrath & the Dawn can be your first stop along the way.