Staff Picks
#Stranded
- Diamond T.
- Monday, June 06, 2022
Collection
Isolated? Cut off” Left behind? Let one of these books come to your rescue.
Himawari House
Published in 2021
"When Nao returns to Tokyo to reconnect with her Japanese heritage, she books a yearlong stay at the Himawari sharehouse. There she meets Hyejung and Tina, two other girls who came to Japan to freely forge their own paths. The trio live together, share meals, and even attend the same Japanese-language school, which results in them becoming fast friends. But will they be able to hold one another up as life tests them with new loves, old heart breaks, and the everyday challenges of being fish out of water?"--Provided by publisher
Lifetime Passes
Published in 2021
In this darkly comedic YA graphic novel, a group of teens starts a program to bring senior citizens to a local theme park to take advantage of the unofficial park policy: If someone dies on the property, the rest of their party is given lifetime passes! Sixteen-year-old Jackie Chavez loves her local amusement park, Kingdom Adventure, maybe more than anything else in the world. The park is all she and her friends Nikki, Daniel, and Berke-although they aren't always the greatest friends-talk about. Kingdom Adventure is where all Jackie's best memories are, and it's where she feels safe and happy. This carries even more weight now that Jackie's parents have been deported and forced to go back to Mexico, leaving Jackie in the United States with her Tía Gina, who she works with at the Valley Care Living seniors' home. When Gina tells Jackie that they can't afford a season pass for next summer, Jackie is crushed. But on her next trip to Kingdom Adventure, she discovers a strictly protectedsecret: If a member of their party dies at the park, the rest of their group gets free lifetime passes. Jackie and her friends hatch a plot to bring seniors from Valley Care Living to the park using a fake volunteer program, with the hopes that one of the residents will croak during their visit. The ruse quickly gets its first volunteer-a feisty resident named Phyllis. What starts off as a macabre plan turns into a revelation for Jackie as Phyllis and the other seniors reveal their own complex histories and connections to Kingdom Adventure, as well as some tough-to-swallow truths about Jackie, her friends, and their future. With artist Claudia Aguirre, Terry Blas has crafted a graphic novel that is dark and deeply moving. This book is Cocoon meets Heathers-a twisted satire about a magical land and the people who love it, even to the point of obsession. Jackie's summer is about to turn into a wild ride filled with gallows humor, friendship, and fun-or is it?
Into the Real
Published in 2020
"In this gripping, genre-defying YA novel from New York Times bestselling author Z Brewer, three teens--one who presents as genderqueer, one who presents as female, and one who presents as male--are caught up in three very different stories of survival. But those stories intersect as the teens start to realize that they might in fact be a single, singular "they," alternating among worlds--and that accepting themself might be the key to defeating the monsters that plague them in all three."--Publisher's description.
Across a Field of Starlight
Published in 2022
"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 happen."
Summer in the City of Roses
Published in 2021
In 1990s Portland, Oregon, seventeen-year-old Iph, aided by George, a modern-day Robin Hood, seeks her sensitive fifteen-year-old brother, Orr, while Orr has escaped wilderness boot camp and is residing with The Furies, an all-girl punk band.
A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow
Published in 2020
Seventeen-year-old Lila Reyes, furious when her parents send her to the English countryside to recover from grief and heartbreak, unexpectedly falls in love with a teashop clerk--and England, itself.
Calling My Name
Published in 2017
"Taja Brown, growing up in a conservative and tightly knit African American family, battles family expectations to discover a sense of self and find her unique voice and purpose"-- Provided by publisher.
How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe
Published in 2021
When seventeen-year-old Star Fuentez reaches social media stardom, her polar-opposite twin, Moon, becomes "merch girl" on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers and the grumpy but attractive Santiago Philips.
Loveboat, Taipei
Published in 2020
When Ever Wong's parents sent her away fro the summer, she's expecting Chien Tan: a strict, educational immersion program in Taiwan. Instead, she finds the infamous "Loveboat." There, Ever is surrounded by prodigies, like Rick Woo, Chinese American wonder boy and longtime bane of her existence; Ever's roommate, the confident and clever Sophia Ha, as glamorous as she is sharp; and the intimidatingly cool Xavier Yeh, heir to an international tech empire. But her classmates are more interested in the nonstop Taipei nightlife than anything to do with the curriculum. Hookups abound, snake-blood sake flows, and adult supervision is nonexistent. For the first time ever, Ever is discovering what freedom tastes like and it's exhilerating. But summer will end and Ever will be back to her parents and the future they've planned for her. Will she let this glimpse of freedom go - or will Loveboat give her the courage to pursue fhe future she dreams of, and the Ever Wong she wants to be?