SBPL Teen Services Staff Picks

 If you haven't downloaded Hoopla and Libby, you are missing out on some great ebooks & audiobooks. This is a quick list of a few of my favs (because the narration is amazing) Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix:  Narrated by Allan Corduner Corduner has an amazing voice and adds a ton of nuance (and creepiness) to a tightly written adventure fantasy.   Lirael by Garth Nix:  Narrated by Tim Curry Tim Curry has quite a long career as an actor, but not everyone realizes that he has also done some amazing audiobooks.  This series shows off Curry's ability to be serious, funny, sarcastic and scary......sometimes within the same paragraph.  Nix's story is intricately woven and Curry adds to the fabric of the story with his nuanced voices. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman  Narrated by Neil Gaiman Most are familiar with Gaiman's skill as an author (as evidenced by this Newbery award winning novel); however not everyone realizes that he is an equally tal...

 Here is a mixed bag, a few new titles and a couple nonfiction that I found interesting. Sometimes it is nice to try something different, so I borrowed this on Libby and listened to it.  It is truly fascinating.  Very scientific which is so not me, but the "what if" of the thing (as well as some of the weirdness of the questions) kept it interesting even if I didn't understand the answers. Life Inside My Mind brings together 31 authors of YA books to talk about mental health issues they have faced for themselves or with family members.  This is an important work because so many stigmas still exist for mental illness struggles, and these authors have tackled some difficult subjects in their books and hearing that their real lives have had issues makes it feel a little less isolating for those also struggling. Fighting words is a tough story to read but really well done.  It is told from the viewpoint of Della, who is 10 but who has been essentially raised by her ...

 I decided to make a list of "regular" books (as I read MUCH more SF & Fantasy but I do read the other stuff too); and so for those who are looking for some books with strong female characters (in honor of women's history month); here is a list for you of books I have enjoyed. Code Name Verity is an amazing historical fiction story set in England & France during WWII.  Verity is a spy, or at least she is arrested as one in France and is writing a diary of her life as a spy while a prisoner of the Nazis (it's actually a mandatory part of her incarceration).  Maddie is a pilot and Verity's friend; who dropped Verity off but then lost control of the plane and crashed.  Maddie is hoping to be able to get out of Nazi controlled France without dying and is struggling to figure out friend from enemy while in the countryside of France all alone. This is a blindingly fast read with two smart and savvy girls trying to handle terrible things while caught in a war. ...

  I really enjoy Alice Oseman's writing style and this story sounded like fun; and it was.  I was Born for This starts with a fangirl who calls herself Angel (real name Fereshteh) who has just graduated high school and is in London finally meeting her BFF, Juliet with whom she has been friends for years but hasn't actually met in person.  The running off to London isn't something Angel's parents are happy about, but they just don't understand Angel's obsession with the boy band The Ark or how important going to a meet & greet and a concert is to her.  The story alternates POV with Jimmy, who is one of the members of The Ark.  Jimmy is struggling with anxiety, pressure from social media & publicity people to conform to a particular way of being (which adds to the anxiety) as well as his early outing as transgender via an Instagram pic (accidentally showing the testosterone meds) by a bandmate.   I thought that this would be a silly story, but in...

This biographical graphic novel tells the story of what led up to the iconic moment Tommie Smith made at the 1968 Olympics, as well as what happened after that.  This true story is heart-warming and tragic in equal doses, but if you don't learn what happened in history, it will be repeated....and in these challenging times of racism, classism and violence, this is important story and very well told. Do you love a good twisted fairy tale?  Then don't miss Cinderella is Dead.  This takes the idea of the classic fairy tale and turns it into a fantastical dystopic horror story.  In Bayron's story, girls are now required to essentially reenact Cinderella's story, showing up to a ball in a gown and hoping to be selected for marriage by virtue of their beauty (they get no choice in attending or in their marriage options).  Sophia hates the lack of choices as well as the way everyone just follows along, too afraid to dissent.  She is determined to make her own way ...

 It's always fun to share the hot, new titles and chat about them, but it's also nice to revisit old favorites.  This month, I wanted to share some of my old favs, maybe encourage you to try something that is awesome but fell off the radar of "hot reads" in recent times. The Keys to the Kingdom series is REALLY cool, and one of my favorites.  It mixes action/adventure with fantasy fiction with a bit of creepy for flavor.  In the first book, Mister Monday, we meet Arthur who is having a bad day.  He forgot to bring a doctor's note and has to participate in a run for P.E.; however, his asthma quickly acts up & he collapses.  While he is struggling for breath, a strange old man appears out of nowhere and hands him a clock hand, and magically he can breathe again.  The old man seems very startled when Arthur isn't dying but is healed and disappears....and now Arthur can see strange things that he never noticed before.  When a strange sleeping sick...

 I started and stopped a lot of books this month, then decided the best way to handle my lack of focus was to read some collections of short stories and a book of poetry/memoir.  Here's what I found.   FYI, we have a short story list for teens on our website  https://sbpl.info/book-lists/teen-short-stories/ Feel free to read & explore! 10 teen authors pick some well known romantic tropes and write their own version.  The cover indicates the stories are "transformed" but not everyone did that....some changed them, some inverted them, some just changed the narrative from the traditional "white, anglo-saxon heterosexual couple" viewpoint which altered the trope into a different story or just a different side of the story to view it from. I quite enjoyed this collection, you should try it. I am always down for a retold or twisted fairy tale.  This one has a creepier vibe (which is awesome!).  If you aren't sure if you enjoy scary stories, short st...