Staff Picks
Toil & Trouble - Teen Witches
- Alison B.
- Friday, September 25, 2020
Collection
There's a chill in the air which means spooky season is upon us. It's time to grab a warm beverage, curl up with a blanket, and enjoy a great book as the nights grow longer and the leaves begin to fall. Check out the list below to bewitch yourself with paranormal tales of magic, spells, covens, and more.
Looking for more? Check out our Personalized Recommendations form to find your next great read!
Undead Girl Gang
Published in 2018
"A fun, fast read...it will resonate with readers who dabble in any sort of arts, dark or otherwise." ?NPR.org "With a singular and hilariously cutting teen voice, UNDEAD GIRL GANG is sure to be one of the most talked-about YA novels of the year." ?BookPage Veronica Mars meets The Craft when a teen girl investigates the suspicious deaths of three classmates and accidentally ends up bringing them back to life to form a hilariously unlikely?and unwilling?vigilante girl gang. Meet teenage Wiccan Mila Flores, who truly could not care less what you think about her Doc Martens, her attitude, or her weight because she knows that, no matter what, her BFF Riley is right by her side. So when Riley and Fairmont Academy mean girls June Phelan-Park and Dayton Nesseth die under suspicious circumstances, Mila refuses to believe everyone's explanation that her BFF was involved in a suicide pact. Instead, armed with a tube of lip gloss and an ancient grimoire, Mila does the unthinkable to uncover the truth: she brings the girls back to life. Unfortunately, Riley, June, and Dayton have no recollection of their murders. But they do have unfinished business to attend to. Now, with only seven days until the spell wears off and the girls return to their graves, Mila must wrangle the distracted group of undead teens and work fast to discover their murderer...before the killer strikes again.
Undead Girl Gang
Published in 2018
While investigating the supposed suicides of her best friend, Riley, and mean girls June and Dayton, sixteen-year-old Wiccan Mila Flores accidentally brings them back to life.
Trial by Fire
Published in 2014
In her hometown of Salem Lily Proctor endures not only life-threatening allergies but humiliation at her first high school party with her best friend and longtime crush, Tristan. But in a different Salem -- one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles, she is Lillian, the strongest and cruelest Crucible ... Lily's other self in an alternate universe that Lily suddenly finds herself where she is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone and a love she never expected.
Witchborn
Published in 2018
It is 1577 and one month ago Alyce's mother was burnt at the stake as a witch, and Alyce escaped from the witchfinders using her own poorly understood powers, only to be locked up in Bedlam; now another pair has come for her, only they seem different (and a lot easier to escape), and with the help of an innkeeper and a boy, Alyce sets out to find out about her mother's mysterious past--and finds herself in the middle of both a political war between rival queens, and a supernatural war, and not really sure which side she is on.
Season of the Witch
Published in 2019
The summer before her sixteenth birthday, Sabrina Spellman prepares to leave the mortal world behind when a mysterious wood spirit's spell forces her to make a difficult choice.
Labyrinth Lost
Published in 2016
Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives. Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation...and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can't trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange marks on his skin. The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland...
The Lost Coast
Published in 2019
Summoned by a spell to the Lost Coast, Danny finds herself among the Grays, a coven of witches who challenge her perspectives and ask for help finding a missing member.
The Bone Witch
Published in 2017
Tea's gift for death magic means that she is a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community, but when an older bone witch trains her to become an asha--one who can wield elemental magic--Tea will have to overcome her obstacles and make a powerful choice in the face of danger as dark forces approach.
Labyrinth Lost
Published in 2016
"Alex is a bruja and the most powerful witch in her family. But she's hated magic ever since it made her father disappear into thin air. When a curse she performs to rid herself of magic backfires and her family vanishes, she must travel to Los Lagos, a land in-between as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland, to get her family back"-- Provided by publisher.
Triple Moon
A Summer on East End Novel
Published in 2015
Twin witches (and Norse goddesses) Molly and Mardi Overbrook are sent to North Hampton for the summer where they must learn to control their powers before the White Council exiles them to Limbo.
Truthwitch
Published in 2016
"On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a 'witchery,' a magical skill that sets them apart from others. In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble--as two desperate young women know all too well"--Front jacket flap.
The Wicked Deep
Published in 2018
A New York Times bestseller Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic meets the Salem Witch trials in this haunting story about three sisters on a quest for revenge?and how love may be the only thing powerful enough to stop them. Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow... Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town. Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under. Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters' return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into. Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters. But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.
Winterwood
Published in 2019
Deluxe edition with special embellishments on first printing only. From New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep comes a haunting romance perfect for fans of Practical Magic , where dark fairy tales and enchanted folklore collide after a boy, believed to be missing, emerges from the magical woods?and falls in love with the witch determined to unravel his secrets. Be careful of the dark, dark wood... Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even. Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it's this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman?the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago?and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he'd been missing. But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver's presence. And it's not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn't know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own?secrets he'll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn't the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago. For as long as there have been fairy tales, we have been warned to fear what lies within the dark, dark woods and in Winterwood, New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw, shows us why.
The Wicked Deep
Published in 2018
Three sisters, drowned as witches in Sparrow, Oregon, in the 1800s, return each summer for revenge but Penny, seventeen, is determined to stop them to save the boy she loves.
Winterwood
Published in 2019
"Rumored to be a witch, Nora Walker attempts to uncover the truth about a boy she discovers in the woods who went missing weeks ago during a brutal winter storm, only to learn that he wasn't the only one to go missing all those weeks ago"-- Provided by publisher.
The Graces
Published in 2016
"A secretive loner discovers her own hidden powers when she's taken under the wings of three glamorous witches"-- Provided by publisher.
Beheld
Published in 2017
Kendra, a witch, meets James, another witch, in Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials, and he rescues her. This is the story of the three hundred years Kendra spends looking for James, while helping those around her find love.
When We Were Magic
Published in 2020
When Alexis accidentally kills a classmate on prom night using magic, her best friends Roya, Iris, Paulie, Marcelina, and Maryam join in using their powers to try to set things right.
Beautiful Creatures
Published in 2009
In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.
Beautiful Creatures
Published in 2009
In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.
Strange Grace
Published in 2018
"Every seven years, the people of Three Graces send a sacrifice to the woods. The death of their 'best boy' ensures seven years free from disease, blight, and pain. But this year, the Slaughter Moon has risen early, and three, not one, will run into the forest as a sacrifice"-- Provided by publisher.
Wicked Girls
A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials
Published in 2010
A fictionalized account, told in verse, of the Salem witch trials, told from the perspective of three young women living in Salem in 1692--Mercy Lewis, Margaret Walcott, and Ann Putnam, Jr.
Wicked Girls
A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials
Published in 2010
From the acclaimed Printz Honor winner author Stephanie Hemphill comes this powerful fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials from the point of view of three of the real young women living in Salem in 1692. Ann Putnam Jr. is the queen bee. When her father suggests a spate of illnesses in the village is the result of witchcraft, she puts in motion a chain of events that will change Salem forever. Mercy Lewis is the beautiful servant in Ann's house who inspires adulation in some and envy in others. With her troubled past, she seizes her only chance at safety. Margaret Walcott, Ann's cousin, is desperately in love. She is torn between staying loyal to her friends and pursuing a life with her betrothed. With new accusations mounting against the men and women of the community, the girls will have to decide: Is it too late to tell the truth?
The Lantern's Ember
Published in 2018
When seventeen-year-old Ember, a young witch living in the quiet New England town of Hallowell, crosses into the Otherworld, Jack the gatekeeper sets out to find her before the supernatural and mortal worlds descend into chaos.
Hocus Pocus & the All-new Sequel
Published in 2018
"Hocus Pocus is beloved by Halloween enthusiasts all over the world. Diving once more into the world of witches, this electrifying two-part young adult novel, released on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1993 film, marks a new era of Hocus Pocus. Fans will be spellbound by a fresh retelling of the original film, followed by the all-new sequel that continues the story with the next generation of Salem teens. Shortly after moving from California to Salem, Massachusetts, Max Dennison finds himself in hot water when he accidentally releases a coven of witches, the Sanderson sisters, from the afterlife. Max, his sister, and his new friends (human and otherwise) must find a way to stop the witches from carrying out their evil plan and remaining on earth to torment Salem for all eternity. Twenty-five years later, Max and Allison's seventeen-year-old daughter, Poppy, finds herself face-to-face with the Sanderson sisters in all their sinister glory. When Halloween celebrations don't quite go as planned, it's a race against time as Poppy and her friends fight to save her family and all of Salem from the witches' latest death-defying scheme." -- Amazon.
Hocus Pocus & the All-new Sequel.
Published in 2018
Hocus Pocus is beloved by Halloween enthusiasts all over the world. Diving once more into the world of witches, this electrifying two-part young adult novel, released on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1993 film, marks a new era of Hocus Pocus. Fans will be spellbound by a fresh retelling of the original film, followed by the all-new sequel that continues the story with the next generation of Salem teens. Shortly after moving from California to Salem, Max Dennison finds himself in hot water when he accidentally releases a coven of witches from the afterlife. Max, his sister, and his new friends (human and otherwise) must find a way to stop the witches from carrying out their evil plan and remaining on Earth to torment Salem for all eternity. Twenty-five years later, Max and Allison's seventeen-year-old daughter, Poppy, finds herself face-to-face with the Sanderson sisters in all their sinister glory. When Halloween celebrations don't quite go as planned, it's a race against time as Poppy and her friends fight to save her family and all of Salem from the witches' latest death-defying scheme.
Salt & Storm
Published in 2014
"Sixteen-year-old Avery Roe wants to take her rightful place as the sea witch of Prince Island. When she foresees her own murder, a harpoon boy named Tane promises to help her change her fate and keep her island safe and prosperous, but salvation will require an unexpected sacrifice"-- Provided by publisher.
Kingdom of the Wicked
Published in 2020
"Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe - witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family's renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin...desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister's killer and to seek vengeance at any cost-even if it means using dark magic that's been long forbidden. Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked-princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia's side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women's murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems..."-- Provided by publisher.
How to Hang a Witch
Published in 2016
The #1 New York Times bestseller! It's the Salem Witch Trials meets Mean Girls in this riveting novel from one of the descendants of Cotton Mather, where high school starts to feel like a modern day witch hunt for a teen with all the wrong connections to Salem's past. Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials and almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were? If dealing with that weren't enough, Sam also comes face to face with a real live (well technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff. But soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries old curse affecting anyone with ties to the trials. Sam must come to terms with the ghost and find a way to work with the Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first accused witch was hanged. If any town should have learned its lesson, it's Salem. But history may be about to repeat itself. "I am utterly addicted to Adriana Mather's electric debut . It keeps you on the edge of your seat, twisting and turning with ghosts, witches, an ancient curse, and? sigh? romance. It's beautiful. Haunting. The characters are vivid and real. I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down." ?Jennifer Niven, bestselling author of Holding up the Universe and All the Bright Places "It's like Mean Girls meets history class in the best possible way." ? Seventeen Magazine "Mather shines a light on the lessons the Salem Witch Trials can teach us about modern-day bullying ? and what we can do about it."?Bustle.com "Strikes a careful balance of creepy, fun, and thoughtful." ?NPR
How to Hang a Witch
Published in 2016
Follows fifteen-year-old Samantha Mather, who has moved to Salem with her stepmother 300 years after her family hanged witches there, to find she is ostracized by the witch descendants at school, as she unravels the lost secrets of the hangings and her family.
When the Moon Was Ours
Published in 2016
Longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Young People's Literature "McLemore's second novel is such a lush surprising fable, you half expect birds to fly out of the pages... McLemore uses the supernatural to remind us that the body's need to speak its truth is primal and profound, and that the connection between two people is no more anyone's business than why the dish ran away with the spoon." ?Jeff Giles, New York Times Book Review Anna-Marie McLemore's debut novel The Weight of Feathers was greeted with rave reviews, a YALSA Morris Award nomination, and spots on multiple "Best YA Novels" lists. Now, McLemore delivers a second stunning and utterly romantic novel, again tinged with magic. To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel's wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel's skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they're willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up. Atmospheric, dynamic, and packed with gorgeous prose, When the Moon was Ours is another winner from this talented author.
When the Moon Was Ours
Published in 2016
"To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel's wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel's skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they're willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up." -- From dust jacket.
Witchtown
Published in 2017
When they arrive in Witchtown, everything changes for a teenager and her mother, who travel to witch-only communities, lying, cheating, and stealing everything they can--leaving behind only a powerful spell that erases them from the memories of everyone they have ever met.
Akata Witch
Published in 2011
Affectionately dubbed "the Nigerian Harry Potter," Akata Witch weaves together a heart-pounding tale of magic, mystery, and finding one's place in the world. Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Her features are African, but she's albino. She's a terrific athlete, but can't go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits in. And then she discovers something amazing?she is a "free agent" with latent magical power. Soon she's part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But will it be enough to help them when they are asked to catch a career criminal who knows magic too? Ursula K. Le Guin and John Green are Nnedi Okorafor fans. As soon as you start reading Akata Witch , you will be, too! From the Hardcover edition.
Akata Witch
Published in 2017
Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial killer.
Born Wicked
Published in 2012
A gorgeous, witchy, romantic fantasy by a debut author! Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and the Beautiful Creatures series! Everybody thinks Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship?or an early grave. Then Cate finds her mother's diary, and uncovers a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra. But if what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe?not even from each other.
These Witches Don't Burn
Published in 2019
When evidence of dark magic begins to appear all over Salem, Massachusetts, Elemental Witch Hannah and her ex-girlfriend Veronica are forced to team up to stop the deadly attacks.
Price Guide to the Occult
Published in 2018
When Rona Blackburn landed on Anathema Island more than a century ago, her otherworldly skills might have benefited friendlier neighbors. Guilt and fear instead led the islands original eight settlers to burn "the witch" out of her home.
House of Ivy & Sorrow
Published in 2014
"Seventeen-year-old Josephine Hemlock has spent her life hiding the fact that she's a witch--but when the mysterious Curse that killed her mother returns, she might not be able to keep her magical and normal lives separate"-- Provided by publisher.
House of Ivy and Sorrow
Published in 2014
"Seventeen-year-old Josephine Hemlock has spent her life hiding the fact that she's a witch--but when the mysterious Curse that killed her mother returns, she might not be able to keep her magical and normal lives separate"-- Provided by publisher.