Now that school is coming to an end, you’ve finally time to pick up a fun read and head to the beach/park/airport. We’ve got a few suggestions for good YA reads recommended by some of our teen members.
Cinder, by Marissa MeyerReviewed and recommended by teen volunteer Gabriela Griffith
Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a futuristic book loosely based on Cinderella. It’s a classic fairy tale even though the ending is left open (unlike in Cinderella), for the next book of the Lunar Chronicles which will probably be released in 2013.
You can say that the genre is mainly sci-fi, and the futurism in this book is amazing. We’re transported into an imaginative and ultramodern New Beijing, and at the same time, we’re introduced to the life of a very mechanical girl, and the best mechanic in the city, Cinder. She is an outcast in her family because she’s an android and one of her step-sisters, Peony, is her only real human friend. Her world is drastically changed when the deadly plague that has been spreading around the world affects Peony.
She then meets Prince Kai. He’s a very handsome prince which every girl on Earth, and even Lunars themselves, dream about. If you read the book, you’ll start dreaming about him too!
Then everything starts changing and Cinder’s life is put in danger. I’m not going to say more because that would just be spoiling the ending! You’ll have to read the book for yourselves. This book is perfect for lovers of future, technology, romance and fantasy. So if this calls to you, I recommend you to go pick up Cinder NOW!
You can find Cinder on the Teen Mezzanine with the Young Adult Non-fiction under YA MEY (YA).
Pretty Little Liars, by Sara Shepard
Reviewed and recommended by teen volunteer Charlotte Bia
Pretty Little Liars is the first book in a series of novels for teenagers written by Sara Shepard.
After the mysterious disappearance of Alison, her four best friends slowly lose contact with one another. Three yearslater, Hannah, Aria, Emily and Spencer begin to receive strange messages from a certain ”A”. The girls renew their friendship and try to discover who is behind these messages or if, in fact she is still alive.
This is a great book full of suspense, and it is perfect for young adults who love mysteries and thrillers.
You can find Pretty Little Liars on the Teen Mezzanine with the Young Adult Fiction under YA SHE (YA).
Smile, by Raina Telgemeier
Reviewed and recommended by Children’s Library volunteer Robert Preston
This is a great graphic novel about a likeable girl in her early teens named Raina. As well as the usual stresses an adolescent has to deal with (boys, friends, her appearance), she also has to cope with a series of dental procedures. Her broken two front teeth make Raina feel self-conscious, and the book deals with the ways she struggles to fit in with the other sportier, more mature, toothier kids. The greater task she faces is learning to feel comfortable in her own skin and to feel proud about the things she’s good at and enjoys. The novel explores this message very well and the reader feels uplifted and entertained. The cartoons are very cute and help the reader visualize the situations and feelings Raina experiences.
New @ the Library! You can find Smile on the Teen Mezzanine with the Young Adult Non-fiction under YA 617.6 T237s.
Backwater by Joan Bauer Reviewed and recommended by Teen Volunteer Saskia Cohen
Ivy Breedlove is as committed to being a historian as her family is committed to being lawyers; a long-line of loud, strong-willed and pushy individuals, individuals whom she wonders how she could be related to. Upon researching her family history, she goes on a life-changing adventure to find her missing and mysterious aunt Josephine Breedlove. As any sixteen year old, Ivy is both naive and mature. She tries to reason with her family to no avail but she herself has the guts to leave her suburban comfort zone to seek a family member living on a rocky mountain top —literally. This book is full of witty quotes within a simple writing style. It’s a silent gem.
You can find Backwater on the Teen Mezzanine with the You Adult Fiction under YA BAU (YA).
