Staff Picks
Back to School Titles for Teen Readers
- Ashley S.
- Friday, August 04, 2023
Collection
Starting a new school year is filled with so many new adventures and feelings. Check out these titles for teen readers to help prepare for the upcoming academic year!
Imogen, Obviously
Published in 2023
"Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but shes got the Worlds Greatest Ally title locked down. She's never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There's Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen's biases in check. And then there's Lili--newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends. Imogen's thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she's finally visiting Lili on campus, she's bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen's all in. Even if that means bending the truth, just a little. Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she's told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero--not even Lilis best friend, Tessa. Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with..." -- Publisher marketing.
The Making of Yolanda La Bruja
Published in 2023
"Yolanda Alvarez is having a good year. She's starting to feel at home at Julia De Burgos High, her school in the Bronx. She has her best friend Victory, and maybe something with José, a senior boy she's getting to know. She's confident her initiation into her family's bruja tradition will happen soon. But then a white boy, the son of a politician, appears at Julia De Burgos High, and his vibes are off. And Yolanda's initiation begins with a series of troubling visions of the violence this boy threatens. How can Yolanda protect her community, in a world that doesn't listen? Only with the wisdom and love of her family, friends, and community--and the Brujas Diosas, her ancestors and guides"-- Provided by publisher.
The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom
Published in 2023
Sixteen-year-old Bridget Bloom has to find a new way to shine when she is challenged not to sing for an entire year by her prestigious Broadway-pipeline boarding school's dean.
Every Variable of Us
Published in 2022
After she is injured in a gang shooting, seventeen-year-old Alexis Duncan's dreams of a college scholarship and pro basketball career vanish, but, encouraged by new student Aamani Chakrabarti, Alexis shifts her focus to the school's STEM quiz bowl team, a group of self-professed nerds seeking their own futures outside of West Philly.
The Headmaster's List
Published in 2023
Eighteen-year-old Spencer Sandoval goes to dangerous lengths to uncover the truth about a fatal car crash and its relation to her school's honor roll.
The Passing Playbook
Published in 2021
"Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother, and a David Beckham in training. He's also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of isolation and bullying, Spencer gets a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio. At Oakley, Spencer seems to have it all: more accepting classmates, a decent shot at a starting position on the boy's soccer team, great new friends, and maybe even something more than friendship with one of his teammates. The problem is, no one at Oakley knows Spencer is trans--he's passing. So when a discriminatory law forces Spencer's coach to bench him after he discovers the "F" on Spencer's birth certificate, Spencer has to make a choice: cheer his team on from the sidelines or publicly fight for his right to play, even though it would mean coming out to everyone-- including the guy he's falling for"-- Provided by publisher.
Very Bad People
Published in 2022
Sixteen-year-old Calliope Bolan joins a powerful secret society at her new boarding school, hoping to find answers about her mother's death, but she becomes involved in a dangerous campaign for revenge that threatens her new friendships.
The First Thing About You
Published in 2022
"When fifteen-year-old Harris moves with his family from California (home of beautiful-but-inaccessible beaches) to New Jersey (home of some much-hyped pizza and bagels), he's determined to be known as more than just the kid in the powered wheelchair. Armed with his favorite getting-to-know-you question ("What's your favorite color?"), he'll weed out the incompatible people--the greens and the purples, people who are too close to his own blue to make for good friends--and surround himself with outgoing yellows, adventurous oranges, and even thrilling reds. But first things first: he needs to find a new nurse, stat, so that his mom doesn't have to keep accompanying him to school. Enter Miranda, a young nursing student who graduated from Harris's new high school. Beautiful, confident, and the perfect blend of orange and red, Miranda sees Harris for who he really is--funny, smart, and totally worthy of the affections of Nory Fischer, the cute girl who's in most of his classes. With Miranda at his side, Harris soon befriends geeky Zander (yellow) and even makes headway with Nory (who stubbornly refuses to reveal her favorite color). But Miranda is fighting her own demons, and Harris starts to wonder if she truly has his best interests at heart." -- Provided by publisher
True True
Published in 2023
When Gil, a Black teen from Brooklyn, struggles to fit in at his primarily white Manhattan prep school, he wages a clandestine war against the racist administration, parents, and students, while working with other Black students to ensure their voices are finally heard.
All the Yellow Suns
Published in 2023
Sixteen-year-old queer Indian American, Maya, who falls for her white, wealthy, and complicated female classmate, Juneau, is asked to join a secret society of artists, vandals, and mischief-makers who fight for justice at their school.
If You Could See the Sun
Published in 2022
"Alice Sun has always felt invisible at her elite Beijing international boarding school...When her parents drop the news that they can no longer afford her tuition, even with the scholarship, Alice hatches a plan to monetize her strange new power--she'll discover the scandalous secrets her classmates want to know, for a price. But as the tasks escalate from petty scandals to actual crimes, Alice must decide if it's worth losing her conscience--or even her life"-- Provided by publisher.
This Time It's Real
Published in 2023
When seventeen-year-old Eliza Lin's entirely fictional essay about meeting her perfect boyfriend goes viral at her international school in Beijing, she has to make a deal with the handsome and charming Caz Song to play the part--but when the relationship starts to feel real all her career plans are suddenly threatened.
The Many Half-lived Lives of Sam Sylvester
Published in 2022
An autistic nonbinary eighteen-year-old moves to a new town and school with the support of their loving father and finds friends in an LGBTQ-plus club, but they all must come together to solve the decades-old murder of a teenage boy and confront the demons lurking in Sam's past.
Anything but Fine
Published in 2022
Luca's entire identity and future are entwined around dance until he loses his performing arts scholarship after a debilitating injury. Gutted and demoted to public school attendee, the only bright spots in his new future are two friends he quickly makes, but knowing that one is gorgeous, popular, and avowed heterosexual, Luca can't help feeling he is setting himself up for another heartbreak.
It Sounds Like This
Published in 2022
"Yasmín Treviño didn't have much of a freshman year thanks to Hurricane Humphrey, but she's ready to take sophomore year by storm. That means mastering the marching side of marching band--fast!--so she can outshine her BFF Sofia as top of the flute section, earn first chair, and impress both her future college admission boards and her comfortably unattainable drum major crush Gilberto Reyes. But Yasmín steps off on the wrong foot when she reports an anonymous gossip Instagram account harassing new band members and accidentally gets the entire low brass section suspended from extracurriculars. With no low brass section, the band is doomed, so Yasmín decides to take things into her own hands, learn to play the tuba, and lead a gaggle of rowdy freshman boys who are just as green to marching and playing as she is. She'll happily wrestle an ancient school tuba if it means fixing the mess she might have caused. But when the secret gossip Instagram escalates their campaign of harassment and Yasmín's friendship with Sofia deteriorates, things at school might be too hard to bear. Luckily, the support of Yasmín's new section--especially introverted section leader Bloom, a sweet ace and aro-spectrum boy--might just turn things around"-- Provided by publisher.
The Chandler Legacies
Published in 2022
"Beth Kramer is a "townie" who returns to her sophomore year after having endured a year of tension with her roommate, Sarah. But Sarah Brunson knows there's more to that story. Amanda Priya "Spence" Spencer is the privileged daughter of NYC elites, who is reeling from the realization that her family name shielded her from the same fate as Sarah. Ramin Golafshar arrives at Chandler as a transfer student to escape the dangers of being gay in Iran, only to suffer brutal hazing under the guise of tradition in the boys' dorms. And Freddy Bello is the senior who's no longer sure of his future but knows he has to stand up to his friends after what happened to Ramin. At Chandler, the elite boarding school, these five teens are brought together in the Circle, a coveted writing group where life-changing friendships are born--and secrets are revealed. Their professor tells them to write their truths. But is the truth enough to change the long-standing culture of abuse at Chandler? And can their friendship survive the fallout?"--Provided by publisher
The Changing Man
Published in 2023
As a scholarship student at the prestigious Nithercott School, seventeen-year-old Ife feels like an outcast, but when a missing classmate reappears and acts strange, Ife teams up with two other students to investigate the school's decades-old legend of the Changing Man.
Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim
Published in 2023
"Alejandra Kim doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere. At her wealthy Manhattan high school, her super Spanish name and super Korean face do not compute to her mostly white "woke" classmates and teachers. In her Jackson Heights neighborhood, she's not Latinx enough. Even at home, Ale feels unwelcome. And things at home have only gotten worse since Papi's body was discovered on the subway tracks. Ale wants nothing more than to escape the city for the wide-open spaces of the prestigious Wyder University. But when a microaggression at school thrusts Ale into the spotlight--and into a discussion she didn't ask for--Ale must discover what is means to carve out a space for yourself to belong."-- Provided by publisher.
Briarcliff Prep
Published in 2022
"Avi LeBeau juggles navigating her first year at a Historically Black Boarding School with the revelation that her older sister Belle is in an abusive romantic relationship"-- Provided by publisher.
Mercury Boys
Published in 2021
Sixteen-year-old Saskia Brown, an outsider at her new school, discovers that she can use liquid mercury to visit boys in daguerreotypes in her dreams, and soon classmates are doing the same, with terrible consequences.
Accomplished
A Georgie Darcy Novel
Published in 2022
Sixteen-year-old Georgiana Darcy returns to Pemberley Academy for her junior year, hoping to atone for last year's incident with Wickham by rebuilding her reputation, rejoining the marching band, and setting up her older brother Fitz with his college classmate Lizzie Bennet.
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School
Published in 2022
Sixteen-year-old Mexican American Yami Flores starts Catholic school, determined to keep her brother out of trouble and keep herself closeted, but her priorities shift when Yami discovers that her openly gay classmate Bo is also annoyingly cute.
Miles Morales
Suspended
Published in 2023
During Mile's in-school suspension, he finds himself in a fierce battle with a classmate turned insidious termite who is determined to destroy books and the Black and Brown history they contain, and only Miles can stop him.
Radha & Jai's Recipe for Romance
Published in 2021
Told in two voices, teens Radha and Jai, seniors at a New Jersey performing arts high school, reignite their passion for dance and find strength in one another to pursue their dreams.
All Kinds of Other
Published in 2021
"Two boys are starting over at a new high school. Jules is still figuring out what it means to be gay and just how out he wants to be. Jack is reeling from a fall-out with his best friend and isn't ready to let anyone else in just yet. When Jules and Jack meet, the sparks are undeniable. But when a video linking Jack to a pair of popular trans vloggers is leaked to the school, the revelations thrust both boys into the spotlight they'd tried to avoid"-- Provided by publisher
Chaos Theory
Published in 2023
"Since Shelbi enrolled at Windward Academy as a senior and won't be there very long, she hasn't bothered making friends. What her classmates don't know about her can't be used to hurt her--you know, like it did at her last school. Andy Criddle is not okay. At all. He's had far too much to drink. Again. Which is bad. And things are about to get worse. When Shelbi sees Andy at his lowest, she can relate. So she doesn't resist reaching out. And there's no doubt their connection has them both seeing stars ... but the closer they get, the more the past threatens to pull their universes apart. #1 New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone delivers a tour de force about living with grief, prioritizing mental health, and finding love amid the chaos."--Provided by publisher
The New Girl
Published in 2022
A transfer student and scholarship recipient, sophomore Lia Setiawan is angered when she discovers a cheating ring, but by the time she finds a dead body and shuts down the campus drug dealer, she fears she might be the biggest snake in the Draycott Academy nest of vipers.
And Other Mistakes
Published in 2023
Seventeen-year-old Aaliyah is trying to survive her last years of high school, but things become much more complicated after she is outed by a church elder and Aaliyah must navigate new friends, old flames, and nosy school counselors during her senior year.
Spin Me Right Round
Published in 2021
"Luis just wants to go to prom with his boyfriend, but when a hit on the head knocks him back to 1985, he meets his parents' closeted classmate"-- Provided by publisher.
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth
Published in 2023
Set in an alternate Victorian England where mediums control the dead, sixteen-year-old autistic transgender boy Silas must expose a power-hungry secret society while confined to a cruel finishing school designed to turn him into the perfect wife.