Staff Picks
Exciting Adventures & Romantic Reads for Teens
- Kendal T.
- Wednesday, May 24
Collection
Summer is a time for adventure. Whether it's a search for love, or a battle for survival, summer is an opportunity to travel to rich landscapes and meet extraordinary people. These books have been selected for their diverse characters, thrilling settings, and plots that will have you swiftly turning the pages.
Looking for more great teen books? Check out our personalized recommendations form or give us a call at 803.929.3470.

Fresh Ink
Published in 2018
"An anthology featuring award-winning diverse authors about diverse characters. Short stories, a graphic novel, and a one-act play explore such topics as gentrification, acceptance, untimely death, coming out, and poverty, and range in genre from contemporary realistic fiction to adventure and romance"-- Provided by publisher.

Joe Quinn's Poltergeist
Published in 2019
A dark, powerful and moving short story from the internationally acclaimed author of Skellig. Joe Quinn tells everyone about the poltergeist in his house, but no one believes him. No one that is, except for Davey. He's felt the inexplicable presence in the rooms, he's seen random objects fly through the air. And there's something else ... a memory of his beloved sister, and a feeling deep down that somehow it might be possible for ghosts to exist.

The Language of Thorns
Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic
Published in 2017
Presents a collection of six short stories that transports readers to familiar and strange magical lands with haunted towns, hungry woods, talking beasts, and gingerbread golems.

Tithe
A Modern Faerie Tale
Published in 2002
Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms -- a struggle that could very well mean her death.

The Circus Rose
Published in 2020
A retelling of Snow White and Rose Red in which teenage twins Ivory and Rosie battle evil religious extremists to save their loves and their circus family.

Song of the Crimson Flower
Published in 2019
Bao, a poor physician's apprentice, and Lan, the wealthy nobleman's daughter he loves, work together to break a curse and save the kingdom of Feng Lu.

Somebody That I Used to Know
A Novel
Published in 2022
"When her ex-best friend, who is now the biggest R&B artist in the world, comes to stay with her family, Dylan discovers he hasn't changed as much as she thought as they revisit the past--and their relationship"-- Provided by publisher.

Legendborn
Published in 2020
"To discover the truth behind her mother's mysterious death, a teen girl infiltrates a magical secret society claiming to be the descendants of King Arthur and his knights"-- Provided by publisher.

Wake the Bones
Published in 2022
After dropping out of college, nineteen-year-old Laurel Early returns to her uncle's tobacco farm, where she encounters a monster as well as her mother's ghost, and soon Laureal realizes that she must tap into her own innate magic to save everyone she loves.

A Line in the Dark
Published in 2017
"When Chinese American teenager Jess Wong's best friend Angie falls in love with a girl from the nearby boarding school, Jess expects heartbreak. But when everybody's secrets start to be revealed, the stakes quickly elevate from love or loneliness to life or death"-- Provided by publisher.

And the Ocean Was Our Sky
Published in 2018
Presents a twist on themes from Moby Dick in the story of a proud warrior whale pod that attacks a ship before pursuing a near-mythical adversary on a vengeful hunt that risks the worlds of both whales and humans.

Miles Morales
Spider-man
Published in 2017
"As a student at Brooklyn Visions Academy, Miles Morales knows he's lucky. Not all kids get this opportunity, especially not kids from his neighborhood. With his quirky best friend Ganke, this school year is gonna be a blast. Right? Wrong. Miles has a secret. He's actually Spider-Man. Well not THE Spider-Man but A Spider-Man. Pretty much the only Spider-Man in town now that Peter Parker is gone. Miles is doing his best to save every little old lady but it's getting to be too much. He's got more important stuff to worry about like homework, girls, family, the perfect Halloween costume, and girls. Did we mention girls? Ok well maybe just one girl. But when Miles accidentally discovers a villainous teacher's plan to turn good kids bad, he will need to come to terms with his own destiny as the new SPIDER-MAN" -- provided by publisher.

Jagged Little Pill
The Novel
Published in 2022
Told from multiple points of view, the lives of Frankie, Jo, Phoenix, Nick, and Bella are changed forever after one of them is sexually assulted at a party--and it looks like the perpetrator might get away with it.

The Cherished
Published in 2023
When sixteen-year-old Jo Lavoie arrives at the house she inherited from her grandmother, she begins unraveling dark family secrets and learns that the stories her late father told her are more real and dangerous than she ever imagined.

Lux
The New Girl
Published in 2020
"Meet the Flyy Girls. The group of girls who seem like they can get away with anything. Veteran author Ashley Woodfolk pens a gorgeous and dynamic series of four Harlem highschoolers, each facing a crossroads of friendship, family, and love. Lux Lawson is on a spree. Ever since her dad left, she's been kicked out of every school that would take her, and this is her last chance: Harlem's Augusta Savage School of the Arts. If this doesn't work, Lux is off to military school, no questions asked. That means no more acting out, no more fights, and definitely no boyfriends. Focus on her photography, and make nice friends. That's the deal. Enter the Flyy Girls, three students who have it all together. The type of girls Lux needs to be friends with to stay out of trouble. And after charming her way into the group, Lux feels she's on the right track. But every group has their secrets, including Lux. And when the past starts catching up with her, can she keep her place as a Flyy Girl? In this searing series opener, Lux takes center stage as she figures out just how hard it can be to start over. With simply stated text and compelling characters, Flyy Girls is a series that's perfect for readers of any level"-- Provided by publisher.