November is Native American Heritage Month
Happy Native American Heritage Month! Below are five novels with Native American or Indigenous main characters, and five non-fiction titles to help you learn more about Native American and Indigenous cultures. FICTION1. Rez Ball by Byron Graves: When the varsity basketball team members take him under their wing, Tre Brun, representing his Ojibwe reservation, steps into his late brother’s shoes as star player but soon learns he can’t mess up?—?not on the court, not in school and not in love.2. The Rez Doctor by Gitz Crazyboy: Ryan Fox dreams of becoming a doctor. But when university takes…
Ten Memoirs to Read in November
November is National Memoir Writing Month. Try reading any (or all!) of these memoirs and maybe even sit down and write about your own life!All Boys Aren't Blue : a memoir-manifesto by George M Johnson: In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs…
An Election Day 2024 Booklist
Today is Election Day! Many people of voting age (18 years old and older) are visiting their local polling location to cast their ballot. If you're interested in learning more about voting and elections, check out the books below.If you're eligible to vote, visit NYC Votes to find out how and where to vote, and what's on the ballot. Your vote matters!FICTIONRunning by Natalia Sylvester: When fifteen-year-old Cuban American Mariana Ruiz's father runs for president, Mari starts to see him with new eyes. A novel about waking up and standing up, and what happens when you stop seeing your dad as…
Spooky Teen Reads for Halloween
Are you excited for Halloween? Do you love to read horror and/or thrillers? Have I got recommendations for you!Flawless Girls by Anna-Marie McLemore: When her sister Renata returns from prominent finishing school Alarie House, seemingly pleasant, unnervingly polite and possibly murderous, younger sister Isla is determined to find out want happened to Renata by going back to the school and is drawn into the opulent, unsettling place that won’t give up its secrets—or her—without a fight.Killer House Party by Lily Anderson: Red Solo cups? Check. Snacks? Check. Abandoned mansion full of countless…
Ten Books on Bullying for National Bullying Prevention Month
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. The ten books below raise awareness on how bullying affects teens and might help readers become better allies to those who are being bullied.All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir: Lahore, Pakistan. Then. Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Clouds' Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start. Juniper, California. Now. Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town…
New Teen Non-Fiction to Check Out
Want to learn something new? Need advice? Check out these new(er) non-fiction releases.Civic Minded : what everyone should know about the US government by Jeff Fleischer; How do student loans work? What do sanctions do? Where does federal spending go, and who decides on the budget? Author and established journalist Jeff Fleischer digs into these and other relevant civics topics to explain the history behind different processes and programs, what they look like today, and why it’s important to understand them.How to Survive Your Parents : a teen's guide to thriving in a difficult family by…
October is LGBTQ+ History Month
Happy LGBTQ+ History Month! Below are ten novels to check out in honor of this momentous observance. A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar: United in one goal—stealing the Rubaiyat, a jewel-encrusted book aboard the RMS Titanic—four girls find careless mistakes, old grudges and new romance putting them, and their mission, in grave danger when tragedy strikes.Charming Young Man by Eliot Schrefer: They say Lâeon Delafosse will be France's next great pianist. But despite his being the youngest student ever accepted into the prestigious Paris Conservatory, there's no way an impoverished…
October 2024 Teen Book Releases
Halfway There: a graphic memoir of self-discovery by Christine Mari: Christine has always felt she is just half: Half American, half Japanese. As a biracial Japanese American who was born in Tokyo but raised in the US, she knows all too well what it’s like to be a part of two different worlds but never feeling as though you belong to either. Now on the brink of adulthood, Christine decides it’s time to return to the place she once called home. So she sets forth on a year abroad in Tokyo, believing that this is where she truly belongs. After years of feeling like an outsider, now she will…
It's Banned Books Week! (9/22-9/28)
Hey y'all, it's Banned Books Week (9/22-9/28). This year's theme is Freed Between the Lines. Since 1982, Banned Books Week has served as an event to highlight the importance of free and open access to information, including the right to read whatever you want.Below are the top ten books that have been banned or challenged in school and public libraries in 2023. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson: In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From…
It's Latine & Hispanic American Heritage Month! (9/15-10/15)
Every year, Latine & Hispanic American Heritage Month is celebrated in the U.S. from September 15th-October 15th. Below are ten books with Latine or Hispanic main characters. Ander and Santi Were Here: A Novel by Jonny Garza Villa: Nonbinary teen Ander is ready to leave their family's taquería and focus on their art, but when Santi, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, begins to work at the restaurant, the two teens spark a romance made complicated by immigration police.Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester: Verónica, a Peruvian‑American teen with hip dysplasia,…
September is Bisexual Visibility Month!
Did you know September is Bisexual Visibility Month? It is a celebration of bisexual identity, community, and relationships. September 23rd is officially Bisexual Visibility Day. In honor of this special observance, check out these teen novels with bi main characters. Alondra by Gina Femia: Seventeen-year-old Alonda finds friendship, fame, and love on the streets of Coney Island when she befriends a group of teen wrestlers. Forever is Now by Mariama Lockington: When sixteen-year-old Sadie, a Black bisexual recluse, develops agoraphobia the summer before her junior year, she relies…
September 2024 Teen Book Releases
A Second Chance on Earth by Juan Vidal: When sixteen-year-old Marcos travels to Cartagena, Colombia to scatter his late father's ashes, he strikes up a friendship with Camilo, a boy his age who works as a local taxi driver and shares Marcos' love for the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude." Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas: Transgender demigod Teo and his friends must battle the Obsidian gods and steal back the sun stone in order to free their fellow semidioses and return Sol to the sky.Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White: After being nearly beaten to death for evidence he holds…
Back-to-School Teen Book List
Are you excited for the upcoming school year? Below are ten books set in high school or college.American Panda by Gloria Chao: A freshman at MIT, seventeen-year-old Mei Lu tries to live up to her Taiwanese parents' expectations, but no amount of tradition, obligation, or guilt prevent her from hiding several truths--that she is a germaphobe who cannot become a doctor, she prefers dancing to biology, she decides to reconnect with her estranged older brother, and she is dating a Japanese boy. Can she find a way to be herself, before her web of lies unravels.Bunt! : striking out on financial aid…
Happy Fat Liberation Month!
Did you know August is Fat Liberation Month? Started by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, it is a month-long celebration of fat positivity, and to address the history of discrimination and stigma against fat people. Here are ten books that feature fat main characters and / or real fat people's stories. Across a Field of Starlight: a graphic novel by Blue Delliquanti: Lu and Fassen are from different worlds and separate solar systems, so when the war of Fassen's world invades Lu's peaceful home, they find themselves at the forefront of a battle they hoped would never…
August 2024: YA Manga Releases
Akane-Banashi, Vol. 7 by Suenaga Yuki / Moue Takamasa: Shinta Arakawa wants nothing more than to pass his shin’uchi exam—the test that would make him a top-rank headliner and master storyteller in the traditional Japanese art of rakugo. Akane Osaki, his daughter and biggest fan, spies on him while he practices and learns his routines for herself. When rakugo master Issho Arakawa expels everyone after the exam with no explanation, a fire is lit inside Akane. From that day forth, she has had one goal—to avenge her father and prove his art was worthy of the title of shin’uchi. In order to secure…
Teen Reads with "Summer" in the Title
Are you all about summer? Be sure to check out these novels that have the word "Summer" in the title!Hot Boy Summer by Joe Jimenez: Four gay teens in Texas have the summer of their lives while discovering important truths about realness, belonging, and friendship in this joyful young adult contemporary novel for fans of Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli.Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield: While visiting her father who lives in Jamaica, eighteen-year-old Tilla faces a storm of dark secrets that threaten to unravel her own life, while an actual storm, Hurricane Gustav, threatens the lives of…
August 2024 Teen Book Releases
Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber: After losing her parents in a mysterious attack, seventeen-year-old Estela suffers from survivor's guilt and is sent to live with her Aunt in their ancestral Spanish castle, where she uncovers family secrets and meets a supernatural, silver-eyed boy who claims he is trapped in the castle.Eighteen Roses by Shannon C F Rogers: Filipina American Lucia grapples with teenage angst, family expectations, and friendship woes as she reluctantly prepares for her debutante ball.Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay: Set in the 1930s to today, four generations of…
My Summer Reading List
Below are five books I hope to read this summer!1. Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar: The town of New Crosshaven has it all—even its own infamous love story. These days, Said Hossain spends most of his time away at boarding school. But when his favorite hometown librarian, Ms. Barnes, dies, he must return to New Crosshaven for her funeral and for the summer. Too bad being home makes it a lot harder to avoid facing his ex–best friend, Tiwa Olatunji, or facing the daunting task of telling his Bangladeshi parents that he would rather be an artist than a doctor…
Teen Graphic Novel Releases in 2024
If you enjoy reading graphic novels and non-fiction, check out some of this year's releases! Call Me Iggy by Jorge Augusto Aguirre: Crushing on a girl at school who doesn't know he exists, Ohio-born Colombian American teen Iggy finds his life unraveling when his grandfather's ghost decides to meddle in his love life, setting him off on a journey of self-discovery.City Boy by Greg Pak: Meet a new Korean hero named...City Boy! Or at least, that's the best translation of what the cities call him. City Boy, a.k.a. Cameron Kim, is just trying to make a living by using his powers of being able…
My Top Five Reads of 2024 (So Far!)
I can't believe it's already July! I've read twenty-five books so far, and these are my top five:Brownstone by Samuel Teer and Mar Julia (graphic novel): Almudena has always wondered about the dad she never met. Now, with her white mother headed on a once-in-a-lifetime trip without her, she’s left alone with her Guatemalan father for an entire summer. Xavier seems happy to see her, but he expects her to live in (and help fix up) his old, broken-down brownstone. And all along, she must navigate the language barrier of his rapid-fire Spanish—which she doesn’t speak. As Almudena tries to adjust…