Special Collections
United States of YA
Description: Go on a vacation this summer without ever leaving your couch. Whether you choose to visit the Alaskan wilderness, the beaches of Hawaii, or the cornfields in Kansas, adventure awaits in this collection of young adult novels. Ages 13 and up. #teens
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47
by Walter MosleyIn his first book for young adults, bestselling author Walter Mosley weaves historical and speculative fiction into a powerful narrative about the nature of freedom.
47 is a young slave boy living under the watchful eye of a brutal slave master. His life seems doomed until he meets a mysterious runaway slave, Tall John.
47 soon finds himself swept up in an otherworldly battle and a personal struggle for his own liberation.
All American Girl
by Meg CabotTop Ten Reasons Samantha Madison is in Deep Trouble --
10. Her big sister is the most popular girl in school.
9. Her little sister is a certified genius.
8. She's in love with her big sister's boyfriend.
7. She got caught selling celebrity portraits in school.
6. And now she's being forced to take art classes.
5. She's just saved the president of the United States from an assassination attempt.
4. So the whole world thinks she is a hero.
3. Even though Sam knows she is far, far from being a hero.
2. And now she's been appointed teen ambassador to the UN.
And the number-one reason Sam's life is over?
1. The president's son just might be in love with her.
Alligator Bayou
by Donna Jo NapoliTalullah, Louisiana. 1899.
Calogero, his uncles, and cousins are six Sicilian men living in the small town of Tallulah, Louisiana. They work hard, growing vegetables and selling them at their stand and in their grocery store.
To 14-year-old Calogero, newly arrived from Sicily, Tallulah is a lush world full of contradictions, hidden rules, and tension between the Negro and white communities.
He’s startled and thrilled by the danger of a ’gator hunt in the midnight bayou, and by his powerful feelings for Patricia, a sharpwitted, sweet-natured Negro girl.
Some people welcome the Sicilians. Most do not.
Calogero’s family is caught in the middle: the whites don’t see them as equal, but befriending Negroes is dangerous.
Every day brings Calogero and his family closer to a a terrifying, violent confrontation.
All the Bright Places
by Jennifer NivenTheodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
Annie, Between the States
by L. M. ElliottAnnie's home and heart are divided by the Civil War.Annie Sinclair's Virginia home is in the battle path of the Civil War.
Her brothers, Laurence and Jamie, fight to defend the South, while Annie and her mother tend to wounded soldiers.
When she develops a romantic connection with a Union Army lieutenant, Annie's view of the war broadens.
Then an accusation calls her loyalty into question. A nation and a heart divided force Annie to choose her own course.
Arise
by Tara HudsonNew Orleans
Saint Louis
Number One Cemetery
A night there can change a life . . . or a death.
Increasingly worried that dark spirits will carry out their threats and hurt the people she cares for most, Amelia is ready to try anything to protect them. And for his own very different reasons, Joshua has come to this cemetery at midnight to join her in a powerful ritual.
Both know that once Amelia steps inside the Voodoo circle and the beautiful girl from the Conjure Cafe begins the ceremony, everything will change.
Tara Hudson's enthralling sequel to Hereafter escalates the danger and excitement, bringing a new dimension to her already mesmerizing story of a haunted love.
Ashfall
by Mike MullinMany visitors to Yellowstone National Park don't realize that the boiling hot springs and spraying geysers are caused by an underlying supervolcano, so large that the caldera can only be seen by plane or satellite. And by some scientific measurements, it could be overdue for an eruption.
For Alex, being alone for the weekend means freedom from his parents and the chance to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother.
Then the supervolcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek, searching for his family and finding help in Darla, his travel partner. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster.
Beauty of the Broken
by Tawni WatersIn this lyrical, heartwrenching story about a forbidden first love, a teen seeks the courage to care for another girl despite her small town's bigotry and her father's violent threats.
Growing up in conservative small-town New Mexico, fifteen-year-old Mara was never given the choice to be different. Her parents--an abusive, close-minded father and a detached alcoholic mother--raised Mara to be like all the other girls in Barnaby: God-fearing, churchgoing, and straight.
Mara wants nothing to do with any of it. She feels most at home with her best friend and older brother, Iggy, but Iggy hasn't been the same since their father beat him and put him in the hospital with a concussion.
As Mara's mother feeds her denial with bourbon and Iggy struggles with his own demons, Mara finds an escape with her classmate Xylia. A San Francisco transplant, Xylia is everything Mara dreams of being: free-spirited, open, wild.
The closer Mara and Xylia become, the more Mara feels for her--even though their growing relationship is very much forbidden in Barnaby. Just as Mara begins to live a life she's only imagined, the girls' secret is threatened with exposure and Mara's world is thrown into chaos.
Mara knows she can't live without Xylia, but can she live with an entire town who believes she is an abomination worse than the gravest sin?
The Beet Fields
by Gary PaulsenFor a 16-year-old boy out in the world alone for the first time, every day's an education in the hard work and boredom of migrant labor; every day teaches him something more about friendship, or hunger, or profanity, or lust--always lust.
He learns how a poker game, or hitching a ride, can turn deadly.
He discovers the secret sadness and generosity to be found on a lonely farm in the middle of nowhere.
Then he joins up with a carnival and becomes a grunt, running a ride and shilling for the geek show.
He's living the hard carny life and beginning to see the world through carny eyes.
He's tough. Cynical. By the end of the summer he's pretty sure he knows it all.
Until he meets Ruby.
Bird
by Angela JohnsonBird, a thirteen-year-old girl with a mission, has run away in pursuit of her stepfather.
She's sure she'll be able to convince him to return home -- to fill the hole he left in their family.
And while she hides near his sister's farmhouse, she becomes entwined in the lives of three people who also have holes to fill: Ethan, whose heart troubles have kept him too sheltered from kids his own age; Jay, whose brother has died unexpectedly; and Mrs. Pritchard, whose house has been too empty since her husband was moved to a nursing home.
Through the unique voices of the three kids, an eloquent, affecting story unfolds -- the story of how one individual's warmth and kindness can heal so many hurts.
Bird will leave you thoroughly uplifted.
Blindsided
by Priscilla CummingsIn many ways, Natalie O'Reilly is a typical fourteen year- old girl. But a routine visit to the eye doctor produces devastating news: Natalie will lose her sight within a few short months. Suddenly her world is turned upside down.
Natalie is sent to a school for the blind to learn skills such as Braille and how to use a cane. Outwardly, she does as she's told; inwardly, she hopes for a miracle that will free her from a dreaded life of blindness.
But the miracle does not come, and Natalie ultimately must confront every blind person's dilemma. Will she go home to live scared? Or will she embrace the skills she needs to make it in a world without sight? .
Blizzard's Wake
by Phyllis Reynolds NaylorEver since fifteen-year-old Kate Sterling's mother died four years ago, nothing has been the same.
Filled with resentment and sadness, and trying to fill the void left by her mother, Kate has shut herself off from the world and her family.
Zeke Dexter is heading home to begin a new life after completing his prison term, but he is filled with anxiety.
Will anyone in his small town be able to forget his shameful past -- or the crime he committed -- and let him start anew?
And if he's not welcomed at home, where else could he go?
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor weaves a taut, gripping story about grief, determination, and healing as the lives of the Sterling family and Zeke Dexter bind together.
Set against the actual events of the March 1941 blizzard, Naylor's touching new period novel will be welcomed by her many fans.
Blood Magic
by Tessa GrattonThis page-turning debut novel will entice fans who like their paranormal romances dark and disturbing. It's a natural next-read for fans of Stephanie Meyer, Carrie Jones, and Becca Fitzpatrick.
But instead of mythical creatures, blood magic has everything to do with primal human desires like power, wealth, and immortality.
Everywhere Silla Kennicott turns she sees blood. She can't stop thinking about her parents alleged murder-suicide.
She is consumed by a book filled with spells that arrives mysteriously in the mail. The spells share one common ingredient: blood, and Silla is more than willing to cast a few.
What's a little spilled blood if she can uncover the truth? And then there's Nick--the new guy at school who makes her pulse race.
He has a few secrets of his own and is all too familiar with the lure of blood magic.
Drawn together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick must find out who else in their small Missouri town knows their secret and will do anything to take the book and magic from Silla.
From the Hardcover edition.
The Book of Unknown Americans
by Cristina HenríquezA boy and a girl who fall in love. Two families whose hopes collide with destiny.
An extraordinary novel that offers a resonant new definition of what it means to be American.
Arturo and Alma Rivera have lived their whole lives in Mexico.
One day, their beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter, Maribel, sustains a terrible injury, one that casts doubt on whether she'll ever be the same.
And so, leaving all they have behind, the Riveras come to America with a single dream: that in this country of great opportunity and resources, Maribel can get better.
When Mayor Toro, whose family is from Panama, sees Maribel in a Dollar Tree store, it is love at first sight.
It's also the beginning of a friendship between the Rivera and Toro families, whose web of guilt and love and responsibility is at this novel's core.
Woven into their stories are the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America.
Their journeys and their voices will inspire you, surprise you, and break your heart.
Suspenseful, wry and immediate, rich in spirit and humanity, The Book of Unknown Americans is a work of rare force and originality.
Born Confused
by Tanuja Desai HidierTanuja Desai Hidier's fantastically acclaimed cross-cultural debut comes to PUSH!
Dimple Lala doesn't know what to think.
Her parents are from India, and she's spent her whole life resisting their traditions.
Then suddenly she gets to high school and everything Indian is trendy.
To make matters worse, her parents arrange for her to meet a "suitable boy."
Of course it doesn't go well -- until Dimple goes to a club and finds him spinning a magical web .
Suddenly the suitable boy is suitable because of his sheer unsuitability.
Complications ensue.
This is a funny, thoughtful story about finding your heart, finding your culture, and finding your place in America.
Boy Meets Boy
by David LevithanThis is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance.
When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he's found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it.
The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul's not giving up without playing his love really loud.
His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.
This is a happy-meaningful romantic comedy about finding love, losing love, and doing what it takes to get love back in a crazy-wonderful world.
Breakfast Served Anytime
by Sarah CombsA coming-of-age debut evokes the bittersweet joys and pangs of finding independence in one unforgettable summer away at "geek camp. "
When Gloria sets out to spend the summer before her senior year at a camp for gifted and talented students, she doesn’t know quite what to expect.
Fresh from the heartache of losing her grandmother and missing her best friend, Gloria resolves to make the best of her new circumstances.
But some things are proving to be more challenging than she expected.
Like the series of mysterious clues left by a certain Professor X before he even shows up to teach his class, Secrets of the Written Word.
Or the very sweet, but very conservative, roommate whose coal-industry family champions mountaintop removal.
Not to mention the obnoxious Mason, who dresses like the Mad Hatter and immediately gets on Gloria’s nerves — but somehow won’t escape her thoughts.
Beautifully told by debut author Sarah Combs, this honest and touching story of growing up is imbued with the serene atmosphere of Kentucky’s natural landscape.
Burn Baby Burn
by Meg MedinaWhile violence runs rampant throughout New York, a teenage girl faces danger within her own home in Meg Medina's riveting coming-of-age novel.
Nora Lopez is seventeen during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets.
Nora's family life isn't going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays.
All Nora wants is to turn eighteen and be on her own.
And while there is a cute new guy who started working with her at the deli, is dating even worth the risk when the killer likes picking off couples who stay out too late?
Award-winning author Meg Medina transports us to a time when New York seemed balanced on a knife-edge, with tempers and temperatures running high, to share the story of a young woman who discovers that the greatest dangers are often closer than we like to admit -- and the hardest to accept.
The Caged Graves
by Dianne K. SalerniThe year is 1867, and seventeen-year-old Verity Boone is excited to return from Worcester, Massachusetts, to Catawissa, Pennsylvania, the hometown she left when she was just a baby.
Now she will finally meet the fiancé she knows only through letters!
Soon, however, she discovers two strangely caged graves . . . and learns that one of them is her own mother's.
Verity swears she'll get to the bottom of why her mother was buried in "unhallowed ground" in this suspenseful teen mystery that swirls with rumors of witchcraft, buried gold from the days of the War of Independence, and even more shocking family secrets.
Caged Warrior
by Alan Lawrence SitomerMcCutcheon Daniels' life is full of bone-cracking violence.
As a star fighter in the gritty underground Mixed Martial Arts circuit in the poorest section of Detroit, McCutcheon fights under the tutelage of his volatile and violent father, not so much for himself but to survive as protector of his beloved five-year old sister, Gemma.
We get to know McCutcheon as he battles opponents who are literally trying to kill him.
Mr. Freedman, his science teacher, spots his intellectual potential, befriends him, and encourages him to enter the lottery for a scholarship to an elite charter school so he can obtain a first-class education. He is at first dead-set against the idea, and of course his tyrannical father forbids it. But the school's headmaster, Kaitlyn, a student assigned to be his guide, and Mr. Freedman continue to encourage him to consider it.
His father and the Priests, the local Mafia-like crew that run Detroit's organized crime, have other plans for McCutcheon. For them, he is simply a tool to make them money. And when that cash flow is threatened, his father hits McCutcheon where it hurts most-he hides Gemma and threatens his own son that he'll never see his beloved sister again if he doesn't play by the Priests' rules.
For the first time in his life, McCutcheon reaches out for help. Mr. Freedman turns out to have a very mysterious past and not only helps McCutcheon find his sister but also his mother who had simply disappeared on McCutcheon's 13th birthday. All seems well, but happy endings aren't really something McCutcheon feels he can rely on. And he may be right.
A ferocious novel, Caged Warrior is like a great fight movie, a tour-de-force of relentless conflict, but one that is leavened with rich characters and meaningful and loving relationships.
Conversion
by Katherine HoweFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane comes a chilling mystery—Prep meets The Crucible.
It’s senior year at St. Joan’s Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys’ texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together.
Until they can’t.
First it’s the school’s queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan’s buzzes with rumors that blossoms into full-blown panic.
Soon the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone, to blame. Pollution? Stress? Or are the girls faking?
Only Colleen—who’s been reading The Crucible for extra credit—comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago . . .
Inspired by true events—from seventeenth-century colonial life to the halls of a modern-day high school—Conversion casts a spell.
With her signature wit and passion, New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe delivers an exciting and suspenseful novel, a chilling mystery that raises the question, what’s really happening to the girls at St. Joan’s?
Crank
by Ellen HopkinsKristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble.
But on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree is the exact opposite of Kristina -- she's fearless.
Through a boy, Bree meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul -- her life.
Dairy Queen
by Catherine Gilbert MurdockWhen you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D. J. can't help admitting, maybe he's right.When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn't so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers won't even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league.When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D. J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say.
Dangerous Lies
by Becca FitzpatrickAnother thrilling read from the queen of YA smoulder, Becca Fitzpatrick. If you enjoyed Hush, Hush, you'll love Dangerous Lies. . .
Stella Gordon's life is a lie. She does not belong in Thunder Basin, Nebraska.
As the key witness in a murder trial, Stella is under witness protection, living a life she doesn't want. No one can know who she really is. Not even Chet Falconer, her hot, enigmatic neighbour. But against her better judgement, Stella finds herself falling under Chet's spell . . .
A storm is brewing. Is Stella really safe in Thunder Basin? And will Chet be her shelter, or her downfall . . . ?
A Death-Struck Year
by Makiia LucierFor Cleo Berry, the people dying of the Spanish Influenza in cities like New York and Philadelphia may as well be in another country--that's how far away they feel from the safety of Portland, Oregon. And then cases start being reported in the Pacific Northwest.
Schools, churches, and theaters shut down. The entire city is thrust into survival mode--and into a panic. Headstrong and foolish, seventeen-year-old Cleo is determined to ride out the pandemic in the comfort of her own home, rather than in her quarantined boarding school dorms.
But when the Red Cross pleads for volunteers, she can't ignore the call. As Cleo struggles to navigate the world around her, she is surprised by how much she finds herself caring about near-strangers.
Strangers like Edmund, a handsome medical student and war vet. Strangers who could be gone tomorrow. And as the bodies begin to pile up, Cleo can't help but wonder: when will her own luck run out?
Riveting and well-researched, A Death-Struck Year is based on the real-life pandemic considered the most devastating in recorded world history.
Readers will be captured by the suspenseful storytelling and the lingering questions of: what would I do for a neighbor? At what risk to myself?
An afterword explains the Spanish flu phenomenon, placing it within the historical context of the early 20th century. Source notes are extensive and interesting.
A Spring 2014 Indies Introduce New Voices selection