Teen Books With Adult-Appeal

Ever wonder why adults love to read teen books?  There are so many to choose from, and often there are many interesting crossover titles that bring us back to our youth.  Subjects vary, and characters are often richly drawn and interesting to an older audience.  All listed are located in the Teen Scene.

Here are some that you might like:

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas



After witnessing her friend's death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter's life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died.




Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein



Rose Justice is an American pilot with Britain's Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War. On her way back from a routine flight she is captured by the Germans and sent to Ravensbrück, a notorious concentration camp, where she meets an unforgettable group of women, and vows to tell her fellow prisoners' stories to the world.



Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein



After crash-landing in France in 1943 and being captured by Nazis, a female wireless operator for the British (who goes by Queenie, Eva, Verity, and various other aliases) reveals bits of code in exchange for reprieve from torture...and to postpone her execution. 



Wise Young Fool by Sean Beaudoin



A teenaged guitarist in a rock band deals with loss and anger as he relates the events that landed him in a juvenile detention center.



Dear Evan Hansen:  The Novel by Val Emmich




Evan goes from being a nobody to everyone's hero and a social media superstar after a chance encounter with Connor just before his suicide leads others to believe Evan was his only friend.



The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater



Blue Sargent's gift seems to be that she makes other people's talents stronger, and when she meets Gansey, one of the Raven Boys from the Aglionby Academy, she discovers that together their talents are a dangerous mix.  First in Raven Cycle series.



History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera


Secrets are revealed as OCD-afflicted Griffin grieves for his first love, Theo, who died in a drowning accident.

Love Is In the Air...Or Maybe Not...

Looking for a great teen book with either low or no romance?  Romance for teen readers is often a great part of the story, but there is an an equal amount of teens who don't want to read romance.  Here is a short list of go-to reading recommendations for both types of readers:


Books with no romance, focused on a variety of topics:

Contagion by Erin Bowman



Responding to a distress call on the distant planet of Achlys, Thea Sadik and her search-and-rescue crew are confronted by a zombie-like outbreak that forces them to uncover a monstrous enemy.

The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco



Okiku has wandered the world for centuries, freeing the innocent ghosts of the murdered-dead and taking the lives of killers with the vengeance they are due, but when she meets Tark she knows the moody teen with the series of intricate tattoos is not a monster and needs to be freed from the demonic malevolence that clings to him.

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas




The surviving sister of a cheerleader who was one of five girls who died violently years earlier realizes during a memory-laden memorial that the tragedies may have been more sinister.

Books with low romance, minor sub-plots, and brief scenes of romance:  

You Don't Know Me But I Know You by Rebecca Barrow




Ignoring a letter written years earlier by her biological mother, Audrey attempts to fill in the missing pieces of her life until an unexpected pregnancy compels her to learn the truth about the history and choices that led to her own existence.

500 Words or Less by Juleah del Rosario





High school senior Nic, seventeen, tries to salvage her tattered reputation by helping her Ivy League-obsessed classmates with college admission essays and finds herself in the process.

 On the Edge of Gone by Corrine Duyvis




In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 2034, a comet is due to hit the Earth within the hour and Denise, who is autistic, must try to find her missing sister and help her neglectful, undependable mother safely aboard a spaceship.

All books mentioned are located in the Teen Scene.

To All the Boys I've Ever Loved Before...Some books to Soothe

Looking for something similar to read to Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before? Looking to quench your thirst after watching the movie? Check these titles out, all in our Teen Scene!


The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You
by Lily Anderson

After years of competing against each other, Trixie and Ben form a fandom-based tentative friendship when their best friends start dating each other, but after Trixie's friend gets expelled for cheating they have to choose which side they are on.


When Dimple Met Rishi
by Sandyha Menon

When Dimple Shah and Rishi Patel meet at a Stanford University summer program, Dimple is avoiding her parents' obsession with "marriage prospects" but Rishi hopes to woo her into accepting arranged marriage with him.

Everything Leads to You
by Nina LaCour

While working as a film production designer in Los Angeles, Emi finds a mysterious letter from a silver screen legend which leads Emi to Ava who is about to expand Emi's understanding of family, acceptance, and true romance.

Emergency Contact
by Mary H.K. Choi

After a chance encounter, Penny and Sam become each other's emergency contacts and find themselves falling in love digitally, without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other.

Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History: Women's History Month

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's quote has always been one of my favorites. Who were these women that we did not learn about in a standard history class? Were they really so wild?

Or were they just trailblazers for their time in society? 

Take a look at a few of these titles and make your own decisions.

Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon--and the journey of a generation by Shelia Weller

Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Carly Simon remain among the most enduring and important women in popular music. Each woman is distinct: King is the product of outer-borough, middle-class New York City; Mitchell is a granddaughter of Canadian farmers; and Simon is a child of the Manhattan intellectual upper crust. They collectively represent, in their lives and their songs, a great swath of American girls who came of age in the late 1960s.

Flappers: six women of a dangerous generation by Judith Mackrell

A biography of six women who declared their independence during the Jazz Age. British heiresses Diana Cooper and Nancy Cunard, Russian artist Tamara de Lempicka, African-American entertainer Josephine Baker, actress Tallulah Bankhead and aspiring writer Zelda Fitzgerald were daring women who defied expectations about what a woman's life should be.

The Scarlet Sisters: sex, suffrage, and scandal in the Gilded Age by Myra MacPherson

Describes the adventures of  Victoria Claflin Woodhull and her sister, Tennessee (Tennie) Claflin who tried to overcome the male-dominated social norms of the late nineteenth century and achieved a remarkable list of firsts, including the first woman-run brokerage house and the first woman to run for president.

Wonder Women: 25 innovators, inventors, and trailblazers whochanged history by Sam Maggs

The title is a fun and feminist look at the brilliant, brainy and totally rad women in history who broke barriers as scientists, engineers, mathematicians, adventurers and inventors, along with interviews with real-life women in STEM careers.

Hidden Figures: the American dream and the untold story of the Black women mathematicians who helped win the space race by Margot Lee Shetterly

An account of the previously unheralded but pivotal contributions of NASA's African-American women mathematicians to America's space program describes how they were segregated from their white counterparts by Jim Crow laws in spite of their groundbreaking successes. ( Our Book It book discussion group is talking about this title on March 22nd.)

And don't forget Vicki Leon's 'Uppity women' series of titles for short bios of fascinating women of their times. There is the Uppity women of the New World, Uppity women of the Renaissance, Uppity women of medieval times , and the Uppity women of ancient times. 
                

So try one of these titles and take a look at her story. You might find a side of history that you have never explored before!

Girl Power!

Coming off the heels of the Women's March a couple weeks back, check out these strong female

characters and be inspired by what they stand for. Fiction and non-fiction titles.

For more options, check out the display in the Teen Scene and add in your own favorite female-driven titles to the mix!

I Am Malala: the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
By Malala Yousafzai

Describes the life of a young Pakistani student who advocated for women's rights and education in the Taliban-controlled Swat Valley who survived an assassination attempt and became the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Hard Choices: A Memoir
By Hillary Rodham Clinton
The former secretary of state, senator, and first lady shares candid reflections about the key moments of her service in the Obama Administration as well as her thoughts about how to navigate the challenges of the 21st century.

Positive: Surviving My Bullies, Finding Hope, and Living to Change the World: A Memoir
By Paige Rawl

A teenager's memoir of the experiences of bullying, being HIV positive and surviving the experiences to become a force for positive change in this world.

Salt to the Sea

By Ruta Sepetys

Titanic. Lusitania. Wilhelm Gustloff. All major maritime disasters, yet the last is virtually unknown. Salt to the Sea rotates between four narrators attempting to escape various tragedies in 1945 Europe. Powerful and haunting, heartbreaking and hopeful–a must read.

The Book Thief

By Markus Zusak

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

A Court of Thorns and Roses

By Sarah J. Maas

The human world is in peril. Feyre, a semi-literate girl, hunts for her family’s survival. After she kills an enormous wolf, a fierce fey shows up at her doorstep seeking retribution. Feyre is led to beautiful eternal springs, but the journey is not without danger. Maas masterfully pulls the reader into this new dark fantasy series which feels like a mix of fairy tales, from Beauty and the Beast to Tam Lin

Quick Reads For Teens Who Don't Like To Read

Hate to read but have to because your mom, dad, or teachers tell you that you must? It's okay...you can admit it.  We won't judge.  In fact, we're here to make it easier on you because we can give a list of books that will entertain you, keep turning the pages, and best of all -- tell you a really good story.  So keep calm and read a QUICK READ book!

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman -- Imagine being unable to move any part of your body and not being able to communicate in any way because you have severe cerebral palsy.  Imagine that you are brilliant, but attend special education classes at school because no one knows how smart you are.  Your family is living their lives around you but all you can do is watch.  You laugh and cry with them, but they don't know that.  Then one day your dad starts apologizing for how miserable your life must be and how much he wants to put you out of your misery.  You want to tell him -- scream to him -- that you're perfectly happy and love your life, but he can't know.  Suddenly, he's coming at you....


Shattering Glass by Gail Giles -- When Simon Glass, a high school student who is bullied by the popular kids, is suddenly befriended by them, he begins a friendship journey that transforms him into the school Prince Charming.  Simon becomes the most popular guy in school, one with his own agenda and plans to get back at the "friends" who changed him.  This is a suspenseful and fast-paced book that will keep you hooked.


Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt -- As a teen who just moved to a new town, with no friends, an abusive father, and a loser older brother, Doug Swieteck has everything stacked against him.  That is,  until he meets Lil Spicer--a sassy and smart girl. Together, they find themselves at the local library intrigued with a local mystery and somehow involved in a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage.


Twilight by Stephanie Meyer -- Sink your teeth into this vampire-loves-mortal-girl story.  Bella is new to her Forks, Washington high school, when she meets her lab partner, Edward.  He's a strange, dark, guy who appears to hate her but they are drawn to each other.  Edward wants to suck her blood, she just wants to kiss him.  Can these two survive their love for one another?  After you read this, you'll want to read the sequels: New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.  Like graphic novels?  We have Twilight in that version, too!

National Book Awards Announced November 16, 2016

Colson Whitehead has won the National Book Award for fiction for his novel The Underground Railroad.  A New York Times bestseller and an Oprah Book Club pick, the book chronicles the daring survival story of a young plantation slave in Georgia who makes a desperate bid for freedom as she races through the Underground Railroad with a relentless slave-catcher close behind.

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibrim X. Kendi won the nonfiction award.  A comprehensive history of anti-black racism, this book focuses on the lives of five major players in American history, including Cotton Mather and Thomas Jefferson, and highlights the debates that took place between assimilationists and segregationists and between racists and antiracists.

The award for poetry went to Daniel Borzutzky for The Performance of Becoming Human.

Borzutzky's work draws connections between the U.S. and Latin America, specifically touching upon issues relating to border and immigration policies, economic disparity, political violence, and the disturbing rhetoric of capitalism and bureaucracies.

The award for Young People’s Literature went to Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell for the graphic memoir March: Book Three.

March: Book Three is the final book in Lewis's graphic memoir trilogy. The trilogy gives a first-hand account of the author's lifelong struggle for civil and human rights. It begins with Lewis's life as a child in rural Alabama and continues to his involvement in the Freedom Vote and Mississippi Freedom Summer campaigns, and the Selma to Montgomery march. While March: Book Three won the Award for Young People's Literature, the whole trilogy will be of interest to a broad audience, including adults.

The National Book Awards, which were established in 1950 and are presented by annually by the National Book Foundation. This year’s awards were open to American authors who published books between Dec. 1, 2015, and Nov. 30, 2016. 

31 Days of Horror!

Well, it's October again, and that means Halloween, and with that comes horror! Check out the books and movies below to get in that Halloween spirit.

Books

• The Ritual by Adam Nevill: A group of friends going on a hike quickly takes a sinister turn in this singular scary story. 
• The Ruins by Scott Smith: Also adapted into a movie, The Ruins follows a group of friends vacationing in Mexico, but their peaceful getaway becomes anything but when they find some abandoned ruins. 
• The Caretaker of Lorne Field by Dave Zeltserman: Jack Durkin's job is to weed Lorne Field. If he doesn't, he claims that vicious creatures will grow from the soil and destroy all life as we know it. Is Jack crazy? Or are the creatures there, lurking just beneath the surface? 

There's plenty of horror in our YA collection as well. 

• Scowler by Daniel Kraus: Often compared to Stephen King's The Shining, Scowler is the tale of Ry as he summons three imaginary friends from his childhood back to protect his family from his terrifying father. 
• The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey: From acclaimed author of The 5th Wave series comes this gothic horror series. All four books are terrifically gruesome - if you enjoy this one, try book two, The Curse of the Wendigo. 

After something more visual? Graphic novels aren't all superheroes - try one of these scary stories! 

• Black Hole by Charles Burns: A strange plague has come to 1970's Seattle and it seems to only affect teenagers. This is a strange but beautifully rendered graphic novel - there's nothing quite like it! 
• The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman: You may have seen the TV show, but that doesn't mean you know the story! This zombie epic has been a graphic novel hit from the beginning. 
• From Hell by Alan Moore: From the author of Watchmen and V for Vendetta, this is a meticulously researched fictional take on Jack the Ripper. Also adapted for the big screen starring Johnny Depp and Ian Holm. 

Movies

If you're a true fan of horror, you might think you've seen just about every scary movie under the sun. Here are a few you might have missed from our collection.

• Candyman (1992): This scary flick focuses on a twisted urban legend and takes place in Chicago. 
• Eyes Without a Face (1959): After his daughter's face is disfigured in a car accident, a medical genius attempts to give her face new life - only, he needs some tissue donors. This French film is a classic not to be missed. 
• Session 9 (2002): A cleaning crew tasked with refurbishing an abandoned mental hospital start to unravel in the chaotic confines of their workplace. 
• Sinister (2013): A true crime writer moves his family into a house where an entire family was murdered, and finds a mysterious box of video reels in the attic. A shocking, scary, and well told story. 
• The Witch (2015): In puritan New England, a family's youngest child goes missing mysteriously. The family slowly descends into paranoia and insanity. This recent film is an instant horror classic. 

Also join us on Twitter with the hashtag #31DaysOfHorror to get a different horror movie suggestion every day of the month of October. And, as always, for more suggestions just ask a librarian.

Celebrate the Right to Read: Banned Books Week September 25 to October 1, 2016

Welcome to Banned Books Week 2016. What?  People are still banning books? Yes, they are.

All the books on our display have been challenged within the past year or previous years. And we have a whole book  (Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read by Robert P. Doyle) that just talks about the hundreds of other titles that we cannot fit on our small display. New books to the banned list this year are the title  The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri and the children's book The Librarian of Basra: A True Story of Iraq by Jeanette Winter.


Why are people banning books? There can be various reasons that titles are challenged in schools and libraries (and sometimes bookstores) and they can change as society changes.  TIME magazine has a great article entitled What the List of Most Banned Books Says About Our Society’s Fears,  that talks about this topic. What we think is shocking now - may not be so shocking in later years.

But eliminating ones' access to materials and information is what banning is all about - taking one person's opinion and enforcing it on others' choices. It may have worked for awhile in the past - but with today's technology and media - it is hard to keep anything undercover. (And it raises sales on the banned author's titles!)

Everyone is different. What one reader enjoys, the other reader may not. The right book, with the right reader, for the right time is what librarians like to say.

So stand up for your right to read and read the banned book of your choice. I'm going to take The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks of off my TBR shelf and start it this week.

What about you?

Are You There, Judy Blume? It’s Me, Karrie

When I was in sixth grade Judy Blume’s book, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret was all the rage amongst my friends. That was the first time I remember any of us talking about a book. Of course I had to read it. My public library was five blocks away from our house so I jumped on my bike, parked my bike in the bike rack, and ventured into the children’s section to get a copy. The kind librarian (because in my world all librarians are kind) told me that it was checked out and that she could put a hold on it for me. Having never done that before –there had been no other book at the time that was so popular – I put my name on the list and waited. And waited. And waited. Weeks later a notification came through the U.S. mail – you remember mail, right? Back in the day, and I truly hate to tell you how long ago this was but it was in the neighborhood of 43 years ago, hold notices came in through a mail slot in our front door. I got home from school and my hold notice announced that my copy of Are You There, God? It’s me, Margaret ready for me.

My bike seemed to lift off the ground I was riding so fast to the library. As soon as the librarian handed Margaret to me, I found a quiet and comfortable corner of the library, and began reading. A couple hours later I was finishing Margaret’s story and my mom was wondering why I wasn’t home for dinner. It was a transformative book for me; I was 12-years-old and Margaret was experiencing adolescence at the same age as I was; her experiences were my experiences. I was convinced that Judy Blume knew me and had written my story.

When I was sixteen, her book Forever was published. Forever was very edgy for its time because it was about a 16-year-old girl named Katherine who was experiencing boyfriend love for the first time. She lived in Westfield, New Jersey, and her story was simple, very realistic, and quite romantic. Once again, I was convinced that Judy Blume wrote Forever about me because at the time I lived in Westfield, New Jersey, and I was in love for the first time. Places Katherine went, I had been. She went to Westfield High School and so did I. This could not be a coincidence, right?

Throughout her life as an author, Judy Blume has boldly written authentic books for adolescents about topics that were true to them. She understands kids. She’s been a voice for young adults and as a result she is one of the most widely banned authors in our time. Her ideas and discussion of authentic teen experiences was – and still is – very threatening to many adults. For me, I was lucky enough to grow up with her, and she is one of my heroes. Now I am a librarian and I am happy when I recommend her books to kids and they read them.

Now I’m in my 50s, and Judy Blume writes books for adults, thankfully. She’s been the one author I truly have been reading all my life and I thank her for that. The books she writes for adults are just as engaging and wonderful as the young adult books I grew up reading. In many ways she still gets me.

Her most recently published book In the Unlikely Event is a wonderful read, as are her other novels for adults, Summer Sisters and Wifey. As I eagerly await her next book, I’ll take note that times have changed since I was 12. When I get the email telling me that my hold for Judy’s newest book is available, I’ll jump into my car and drive immediately to the library. I begin the ritual of finding a comfy corner of the library to sit and dive head-first into whatever story she is telling me…and I’ll feel like a 12-year-old girl all over again. The anticipation is almost too much to bear!

Need Help with That Square? Read a Young Adult Book

Summer Reading Program 2016 Read for the Win! 

Need help with your adult bingo card for summer reading? Try these titles for the square "Read a Young Adult Book".

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Symphony for the City of the Dead by M.T. Anderson
An account of the Siege of Leningrad reveals the role played by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich and his Leningrad Symphony in rallying and commemorating their fellow citizens.

We Were Liars by E Lockhart
This modern, sophisticated suspense tale follows the revolutionary activities of four friends who turn against each other in the wake of trauma, differing political views and a devastating secret.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits--smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. 

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina , her mother and her brother are pulled from their Lithuanian home by Soviet guards and sent to a work camp in Siberia. Unsure of her father's whereabouts and her own fate, Lina vows to honor her family and the thousands like hers by burying her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil.  

B.C. -- Before Caitlyn

Before Caitlyn Jenner brought the subject of transgender people to the forefront of social media, the news, and every gossip magazine published, there were books and stories already written about what is like to be a transgendered person.  Here are just a few of the amazing fiction books we have at Glenview Public Library that will warm your heart about the struggles and triumphs transgender people go through every day.  For real-life memoirs, please look at our non-fiction books.

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

With his mother working long hours and in pain from a romantic break-up, eighteen-year-old Logan feels alone and unloved until a zany new student arrives at his small-town Missouri high school, keeping a big secret.

Freakboy by Kristen Clark

Told from three viewpoints, seventeen-year-old Brendan, a wrestler, struggles to come to terms with his place on the transgender spectrum while Vanessa, the girl he loves, and Angel, a transgender acquaintance, try to help.

Happy Families by Tanita S. Davis

In alternating chapters, sixteen-year-old twins Ysabel and Justin share their conflicted feelings as they struggle to come to terms with their father's decision to dress as a woman. 

Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Sixteen-year-old Elle falls in love with Frank, the neighbor who helps her adjust to being on her own in a big city, but learning that he is transgendered turns her world upside-down.

FREE Audiobooks for Teens from SYNC!

SYNC is a free summer audiobook program for teens. Starting May 5th 2016, SYNC will give away two complete audiobook downloads per week--pairs of high interest titles, based on weekly themes.

The program runs for 15 weeks, from May 5th to August 17th and the audiobooks will change each week. The first week's free downloads are Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle and The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial by Peter Goodchild.

The schedule for the entire summer is here. Each pair of titles will be available for download for 1 week only, but after you have downloaded the titles, they will remain on your device until you delete them.

Sign up for email or text alerts and be first to know when new titles are available to download at www.audiobooksync.com. You will need to have the OverDrive app installed on your device or computer to download and listen to titles, but that's all there is to it!

Happy Listening!

Not Just for Teens: Horror

Check out these spine-chilling novels that are not only great for teens, but for adults as well.



Mortal Danger
by Ann Aguirre

Agreeing to join the mysterious Kian's magical faction to exact revenge on a group of bullies who have tormented her, Edie transforms into a beautiful girl and begins to sabotage the bullies' inner circle only to discover dark truths about Kian's world.  First in Immortal Games series.





The Girl From the Well
by Rin Chupeco

Okiku has wandered the world for centuries, freeing the innocent ghosts of the murdered-dead and taking the lives of killers with the vengeance they are due, but when she meets Tark she knows the moody teen with the series of intricate tattoos is not a monster and needs to be freed from the demonic malevolence that clings to him.  First in the Girl from the Well series.





The Accident Season
by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Every October Cara and her family become mysteriously and dangerously accident-prone, but this year, the year Cara, her ex-stepbrother, and her best friend are 17, is when Cara will begin to unravel the accident season's dark origins."  




The Fall
by Bethany Griffin

A retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Fall of the House of Usher' in which Madeline and her twin brother, Roderick, suffer from the Usher family illness but she hears the House talking to her, filling her dreams, controlling her actions, and ensuring she never leaves the property.  



The Madman's Daughter
by Megan Shepherd

Dr. Moreau's daughter, Juliet, travels to her estranged father's island, only to encounter murder, medical horrors, and a love triangle.