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If you are fan of The Outsiders, read Bad Girls Never Say Die. It’s Evie’s story. She’s one of the “bad girls”. She and her small band of friends are the kind of girls who laugh too loud, wear too much makeup, and run around with bad boys. The story starts with them at the drive in theater. Evie and her friends share some rude comments with the “popular boys” and Evie overhears some gossip about a girl who they can’t believe came back after what happened to her, leaving Evie curious about this girl and her mysterious past. She soon finds out. Later in the evening, one of the “popular” boys corners Evie, wrestles her to the ground, and is about to rape her when he is stabbed by the mystery “good girl”. When they realize he’s dead, they run. They are an unlikely pair, but committing a crime together gives them a shared secret. Each tries to go on with life as usual, but once the dead boy is discovered, everyone who was there that night is a suspect. Ultimately, the murder weapon leads them to a boy the girls are friends with. In fact, Diane reveals to Evie, they had been dating before she left town, and it was his knife she had that night. They were in love, and she refuses to let him go to jail for her crime. So she decides to write a letter to her former best friend, the police chief’s daughter, to confess. But then she must hide or go to jail herself, right? Evie agrees to hide out with her in an act of solidarity, and because of her own guilty feelings, but how long can two girls stay in hiding?
Ebook
It’s Maddy Washington’s senior year. She doubts it will change anything about her life. But one day she is outside in PE when a rainstorm rolls in- one she didn’t know about. Her smoothed locks kink up and now her classmates know her most closely guarded secret- she isn’t white. Her mother died after she was born- she has only ever known her strict white father. He insists on straightening her hair and making sure she avoids rain so the town won’t discover who her mother was. When the mean kids at Maddy’s school all figure out her secret, a bullying video goes viral and the town is called out for still having separate proms for their black and white students. One girl- the student class president- suggests an integrated prom as a way of pacifying all the critics. Partly this is so she can attend prom with her boyfriend- the quarterback who is black. But at some point she comes up with another idea- her boyfriend should take Maddy to prom, not her. It isn’t Maddy’s presence at prom that puts a racist couple over the edge- it’s when she is nominated for prom queen. They plan a prank that ends up causing the death of almost every single student that attended prom that night.
Isa is one of those good news/bad news situations. The bad news is her parents got divorced, she has to go live with her dad and new stepmom, and her abuela just died. The good news is her dad lives in Lyon, France, very close to the kitchen where she was accepted into a summer program with a world famous chef. The day she arrives, she runs into an obnoxious boy at the market who appears to think he is God’s gift to women. When she finally makes her way to her stepmom’s cherry orchard, she learns who he really is: her new stepbrother. And he comes with a dog! If he can just stay out of her way because this summer program is a make or break thing for her future as a chef, which is, as it so happens, completely mapped out. 3 students get chosen to become an apprentice to this Michelin- starred chef, and it needs to be Isa. It’s the best way for her to get started on her own inevitably great career. Things do NOT start off well. She completely bombs the first day’s assignment, earning herself a spot at the bottom of the class. She learns her new stepbrother, and his dog, are going to be constantly underfoot when she needs the kitchen to practice, she breaks down in tears from missing her abuela all the time, she gets off on the wrong foot with her stepmom, and her chef’s uniform doesn’t even fit. And everyone seems to have an opinion about her life. Is there to hope to keep her future on track?
Ebook
One magical night, Jenny meets a boy at her uncle’s karaoke bar and accompanies him around LA until he is mysteriously whisked away in a fancy car with tinted windows. There was definitely something strange about him, but she doesn’t spend much time thinking about it because her mom dumps some news on her: they are going to have to fly to Seoul for several months to take care of her sick grandmother. Jenny’s excited to see South Korea, but not to leave her friends or school. Luckily, as a talented cellist, she is accepted into an elite arts academy so that she’ll be able to continue on track to a successful career in music. What she does not count on, however, is being at the same school as the newest up and coming Kpop band. There she meets Jaewoo, again, finally realizing why the evening she spent with him ended under such strange circumstances. As a member of this K-pop sensation, who he is seen with, much less dating, is strictly regulated for publicity purposes. When they can no longer deny an attraction to each other, they must steal kisses in secret so that Jaewoo’s position in the band isn’t compromised by dating an American girl. And Jenny really needs to focus more on cello playing and adapting to this new school if she wants to be able master her music school auditions. Love could not have come at a worse time for these two.
Audiobook
A little over a year before, Hannah lost her grandmother to cancer. She started making some bad decisions and hanging out with the wrong crowd. Then a bad ankle injury ended her hopes at a career in soccer. That’s when Hannah fully abandoned all of her decision making skills and was outed by her best friend to her parents for drinking and doing drugs. She went to a different school last year to help her kick these bad habits. Now she has returned home to confront the mess she’d made of her life and finish school. Her younger brother managed to get her a summer job at the only place in town that has them: Bonanza, an entertainment multiplex that has been a mainstay of the town for decades. Unfortunately, her former best friend is also working there. Luckily the place is big enough they manage to avoid each other for weeks. She makes some new friends, and hangs out with her brother Joey’s. Almost immediately, she is wooed by Patrick, a guy with a reputation for dating and dumping. He’s a great distraction for Hannah, who doesn’t want to think, especially about her past. But eventually she is going to have to face how she hurt her family, her best friend and her team. She will also need to figure out which relationships in her life are positive and which are negative if she wants to fully heal from the harm she did to herself. While this novel is a pretty good romance, it’s also a great story about family and friendships.
Mena and her friends live at Innovations Academy, an all-girls boarding school, where they are prepared to be the best. Not academically, but socially. They learn about gardening, cooking and art, but don’t bother with literature, math or history. Most important is etiquette- they must be well- behaved and obedient. If not, there’s a special therapy to help them remember why their parents selected them for Innovations Academy. On a rare field trip Mena meets a boy who’s curious about her school. Just for talking to him, Mena is reprimanded. But the boy sneaks on to the property and is able to meet with her while she is supposed to be running with the other girls. She learns his interest stems from his mother working there at one time, before it was a school. It used to be a research lab and manufacturing plant. His questions and concern lead Mena down a path of discovery and negative consequences. One of her classmates notices Mena’s change in demeanor and loans her a special book. It’s poetry that opens her eyes to the realities of their situation. The girls there are basically prisoners being prepped for men who have the wealth to afford an Innovations girl and want a wife who will always be compliant. It will shock you the lengths the school will go to to fulfill this demand. But Mena and her friends are on to them and determined to fight back and escape.
Ebook and Audiobook
Red Rising is the story a 16 year old named Darrow. He’s a Red, which means he is one of the working class, although Darrow is practically a hero to the miners of Mars due to his skill and daring with their drill rig. But just pages into the story, Darrow and his wife are arrested for violating a minor law and resisting. When things get out of hand, his wife is publicly executed. Darrow believes he is next, but upon waking up, learns he was saved and consequently kidnapped by the rebel group the Sons of Ares. Their goal: make him over into a member of the ruling class- the Golds- so he can be accepted into the Institute, the elite military school for the Golds. It’s a grueling test, but he is accepted. The hardest part is pretending to be a Gold and hiding his hatred of them. When he thinks he is in the clear and must just complete their schooling to be able to attain the goal of infiltrating the society of Golds to ultimately bring it down, he learns the testing was the easy part. Now he and the other Golds smart enough to get into the rigorous school must compete in a cutthroat game of survival against the others, divided into 12 teams.
If you know the story of The Hate U Give, this story might be familiar to you. The main character, Maverick, is Starr’s father. But in this book, he’s just a high school senior hanging out with his girlfriend Lisa and the other members of his gang- the one his dad was a legend in. Until the day he goes to the clinic for a paternity test. This girl, Iesha, was a one night stand during a break up with his girlfriend Lisa. Now she has a 3 month old and he’s the father. Even worse, when he goes to change the baby’s diaper, she takes off and leaves him to care for his new son with only the help of his mom. For sure his girlfriend dumps him. And his dad is in jail. Then school starts up and he’s trying to juggle his classwork, a baby, and part-time job and no sleep. And babies cost money, which he doesn’t have enough of. His mom already works two jobs and can’t pay all of the bills. So, he gets in on some side dealing that the gang leaders don’t know about. He’s managing all right until a shooting takes away the one person he looked up to. Concrete Rose is a look at the choices Black men have in a difficult world.
Audiobook
At Heller High School, the Red Court rules everything. It is a secret organization based on favors. Anyone can request a favor of the court, but not all are granted. However, if it is, that person could then be called on to return the favor at any time. This is the system that enables favors to be granted. Ember Williams has just been invited to join the court. But she has a secret- she’s not joining because she wants to be a part of it. She wants revenge for her sister, who was paralyzed when she fell from a catwalk in the auditorium because of the Red Court. Ember’s goal is to identify the member, especially the Queen of Hearts who is their leader, and take the whole organization down. But once she gets in, she finds out it’s not going to be that simple. Members only know one other member- and that’s who they do all their jobs with. She is asked to do jobs that hurt her friends or people she respects. Most importantly, she learns that her sister was not a victim of the court, but a member of it. Is she willing to sacrifice her integrity for misguided revenge?
Avery is at school when they come for her. It's one of billionaire Tobias Hawthorne's grandsons, come to take her to the reading of his will. She soon learns that she inherited the bulk of his money and possessions, not one of his two daughters, his mother, or any of the four grandsons. But there's a catch- she must live in the mansion with his family for at least one year to inherit. Besides the obvious awkwardness, it is soon evident that someone is trying to kill her. By the time she discovers this, she is already neck deep in solving the puzzle Tobias left for her to solve, with the help of his grandsons.
Jude is a human girl with one twin sister and an older sister who is half faerie. She is kidnapped at age 7 and taken with her sisters to Faerie to live with Madoc after he kills parents. This is pretty typical of the bloodthirsty nature of these immortals. She's planning to enter in a warrior competition to prove her worth when their world turns upside down. One of the princes murders his own father. Jude ends up inextricably tangled in the cruel Prince Cardan's plot to seize the throne.
Agnes lives in a cult compound, although she doesn't quite understand how extreme the rules are to others. Outside of its walls, a disease rages across the country that is incapacitating the majority of the populous. Agnes' main concern, however, is her younger brother and the medicine he needs to survive diabetes. It is forbidden, so she meets with a doctor from the Outside to get it in secret. But one day, it's her teenage son who comes. For some reason, he makes Agnes wonder what she's missing out on and why so much is considered sinful in her community. On the day of her wedding to an older man already married, and with a son her own age, the prophet announces it's time for them all to go into the bunker for the end of the world. Knowing her brother won't survive without his medicine, the two of them escape and venture out into the outside world with the help of the doctor's son.
Sky is tired of her mom’s criticism of her. She wants to sing, dance, and she wants to be in the spotlight. Here chance to become a K-Pop star is here. She has entered the televised competition to become the next K-Pop sensation. She will prove to them all that fat girls cannot only sing, they can dance. But Korean culture is much more critical about weight than Americans, especially in the world of K-Pop, as she encounters during her audition. The female judge who predicts she could never make it is given a quick-witted rebuttal by Skye, which launches her into social media notoriety. I’m sure you can imagine the comments- they are all over the spectrum. But the fan following she develops gives Skye the courage to keep going- along with two new friends- a couple of her female fellow competitors who must keep their relationship a secret to avoid scrutiny by the show’s Korean fanbase. Then Skye meets Henry Cho, the uber popular model who apparently is also a great dancer. Can she compete with his fans, popularity, and charm for the one winning spot? When they start hanging out together outside of competition practice, social media followers go nuts with their criticism of Skye and her body. Does she have what it takes to overcome all the negativity and achieve her dreams? Not to mention win her dream guy?
No one speaks of the grace year. It's forbidden. In Garner County, girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, to drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That's why they're banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive. Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life--a society that doesn't pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it's not just the brutal elements they must fear. It's not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for a chance to grab one of the girls in order to make a fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other. With sharp prose and gritty realism, The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between.
Pepper and Jack are at war. She's the daughter of creators of the Big League Burger Franchise. He's the grandson of a mom and pop deli. And her parents have copied his grandmother's grilled cheese sandwich recipe. They both run the Twitter account for their family's restaurant, so the war is waged on social media. To top it off, she's the swim team captain, and Jack does all the work for his brother, the dive team captain. So they have to work out a pool sharing schedule, which requires they work together. Then there is the anonymous chat app Jack built, where they share things with each other unknowingly since they don't have anyone else to confide in. You know what they say- all's fair in love and war. Even if it's all taking place on social media.
Ebook
Pumpkin is the Waylon’s nickname from his grandmother because of his red hair. He has a twin sister, Clementine, that he loves dearly and plans to attend UT with after graduation. In Austin, he will become phase three Waylon, who is not only out, but dresses the way that makes him feel fabulous, not in the understated clothes he wears to not attract too much attention. He also hopes he will find a boyfriend once he’s in college. For now there’s Lucas, who is great, but not out. He won’t date Waylon in public. One night Waylon’s world goes south: he is told by Lucas that’s he’s planning to come out because he met someone – else. And then Waylon finds a welcome letter for Clem from another college. Is she planning to leave him too? Depressed and desperate, Waylon finds solace dressing up and trying on makeup. He records himself and introduces “Pumpkin”, his new, secret, drag queen identity. He only shows this video to his sister. But she shares it with someone at school, who shares with online. Soon, everyone has seen it. When prom queen and king nominations start, Waylon is nominated for prom queen. Clementine’s girlfriend, who has been nominated for prom king, convinces Waylon to just embrace it. That’s when he gets paired with Tuck as his prom king nominee, a guy who has embarrassed Waylon that he just can’t get away from. And he just can’t stop thinking about.
Audiobook
This novel has been taking readers by storm for the past year. 18 year old Daunis is getting ready for her new life in college when her best friend is murdered by an ex boyfriend in front of her. It’s another meth related death, something her community of Ojibewe Native Americans has been dealing with for the past couple of years. Daunis wants justice for her friend, but she is also still healing from the death of her uncle- a man who stood in for her father. When she is approached by one of the new hockey players and his “uncle” to join the FBI in an investigation into meth dealing on the reservation, she agrees to help so that she can help her community heal and prevent more deaths. Right away she learns she would be continuing the work of her beloved uncle, whose secret was never discovered, but died helping the FBI. They decide the best way to get Jamie accepted by the tribe is to pose as Daunis’ boyfriend. This is awkward- the two have a spark they cannot deny for long. But being involved puts them in vulnerable positions. It is a nonetheless a bright spot in Daunis’ life. Heading to college is depressing because she was supposed to be there with her best friend, whose death she still mourns. More people are hurt or die because of the drugs during her investigation. And Daunis doesn’t know who she can trust anymore. Who is involved? It seems like everyone she knows- even family- are all suspects. Can she figure out the source of the meth or will she be another casualty in the drug war?
It's the tenth Hunger Games, and Coriolanus Snow is a senior who has been selected to mentor one of the 24 tributes. Success in this endeavor will mean a scholarship- the only way he can afford college since the war obliterated his family's fortune. But he is paired with the girl from District 12, a drifter musician whose only hope to win is Snow changing the way the game is played. It's up to Snow to make sure Lucy Gray wins so he can save his own family from poverty.
Audiobook
Do you know what a trifecta is? Lila’s trifecta was this: her grandmother died, her best friend told her she was going to be a missionary instead of being her college roommate, and then her boyfriend dumped her on prom night. It’s too much for one girl to handle. She goes for a run and doesn’t stop until she collapses. Her family is so worried about the effect of these events on her that they decide she needs the summer after graduation away from everything in Florida. They send her to stay with family in England. She’s going through culture shock, but also withdrawal from being able to cook. She tries helping the cook at the bed and breakfast her relatives own, but this woman is not interested in sharing her kitchen with a girl that only know Cuban recipes. Then she meets Orion and his sister and their friends who take her in. She starts exploring the area where she’s staying by going on morning jogs. But that’s also when she finds out the identity of the neighborhood graffiti artist- Orion’s sister. Orion has taken it upon himself to be her personal guide to the city of Winchester, so she knows how upset the graffiti makes him. But their family is dealing with his mom’s illness, so how could she add this burden to it? Because of course, she is falling for Orion. At the same time, she is still sorting out the mess from home: stalking her ex on social media, trying to get the courage to text her best friend, and talking to her family about plans for the bakery that was her grandmother’s. Sometimes though, a great way to work through your own problems is to help someone else with theirs. Can a British boy mend this Cuban girl’s heart?
Margot lives at a home for girls who have no families. She just arrived after a car accident killed all of her family. And already the other girls all hate her because she wakes up every night screaming from the nightmares. But she’s lucky- she gets to leave to go live with the Sutton family. They were friends of her father’s who agreed to take her in so she could be a companion for their daughter Agatha. Their home is mansion on a vast estate far from anyone. And Agatha, well, she’s a mystery. She’s about the same age as Margot, but she lives in a trance like state. She never speaks. The family says she just woke up like that one day. Margot sleeps in a little room near Agatha’s to keep an eye on her, but now her nightmares have stopped. They’ve been replaced with dire warnings to run that show up written around the house and her things being ransacked. One night Agatha wanders into the forbidden wing of the house and finds Agatha’s old room, from before her “accident”, as well as a mysterious journal from Mrs. Sutton’s sister, who apparently died as a teenager. Reading through it has Margot scared of this family, especially when she encounters a cemetery in the garden. But there’s no way to escape- they are so far from anyone that there is no cellphone signal and Mrs. Sutton has refused to give her the wifi password. When the cup of tea that Mrs. Sutton gives Margot nightly knocks her out completely one night, Margot thinks she may end of being Agatha’s companion for the rest of her life.
The Agon is a battle that takes place on earth every seven years to punish the gods of Greek mythology.. As mortals, they are hunted by the descendants of the ancient bloodlines, who inherit immortality and power if they kill one of the gods. Lore is one of these descendants who has hidden from the Agon since it was the reason for her family's murders. When she comes home to find an injured Athena on her doorstep, she is drug into it. She binds her fate to Athena in the hopes of avenging her family and seeks out Castor, a fellow descendant and childhood friend to help them. They soon find out that one of the Greek bloodlines does not plan to play fair this time.
Petra is lucky to be among the few who are getting aboard spaceships that will take them to a new planet as a comet continues on its trajectory to destroy Earth. Her family was chosen because her parents are scientists, but they must leave behind her abuelita. She is put into a sleep that will preserve her body for the hundreds of years the journey is expected to take, tended bycaregivers and machines. When she wakes, she learns something went wrong during her sleep, causing her to be the only person aboard her ship who wakes up with memories of her past. What she discovers is that things are not running the way they were set up. A group called the Collective have taken charge and made some shocking changes. She must pretend to be unaware like the others to avoid being purged like the rest of her family. Will she along carry knowledge of the past into the future or can she find awaken the hidden memories of the other youth on board the ship?
One of the most incredible things about this book is that one of the two authors is actually Malcolm X’s daughter- Ilyasah Shabazz. Because of that, research was used that no other writer has ever had access to- like his letters to his family. Looking back at his early years, both of his parents were very active in furthering their black community. Perhaps this is why the KKK killed his father when Malcolm was only 6. Shortly after that, his mother was put in a mental hospital. Coincidence? Not likely. He and his siblings were shuffled between foster homes and relatives. That may have been a factor in Malcolm’s landing in prison. He was sentenced to 10 years for theft, of which he served 6. The first prison he was in was very old, populated predominantly by black men in Malcolm’s time, and was run by exceedingly cruel white men. It was also getting more crowded by the month. After two years, following the advice of a fellow prisoner, and with his sister’s help, Malcolm was transferred to Norfolk Prison Colony. Compared to Charlestown, this place was more like a vacation home. The food was better, and the cells were bigger. There was a library, which was how Malcolm X was able to educate himself. Malcolm was able to join the debate team, which was pretty famous, mind you, and competed against college teams. This is also the time when Malcolm X became a more devout Muslim, joining the Nation of Islam at his brother’s urging. He wrote regularly to its leader, Muhammad and changed his habits drastically. More importantly, he began his own lifelong journey as an activist during this time because of his religious beliefs.
Audiobook
Oscar is a senior and ready to be done with school. His plan is to run his grandfather’s Swedish food truck, so he’s in 2 culinary classes this year. That’s how he gets roped into a Girl Scout project that changes his life. Lou is a major overachiever whose grades have her at the top of her class. It’s her project that Oscar is recruited for by their culinary teacher. She is upset about the number of uneaten apples that get thrown away from the cafeteria on a daily basis, especially because of the toxic gases they release into the air. Between her, the teacher, and Oscar, they begin rescuing bushel of apples on a weekly basis and turning them into apple pie, apple cider, apple crisp and other delicious foods that can are eagerly awaited by the football concession stands, food programs for the homeless or on the food truck. But this is all just how Oscar and Lou meet. The story is really about how they go from enemies to lovers, about Lou’s complicated past, and Oscar’s life. His grandfather has raised him since he was 4, when his father died. His mother had already left by then. But a tragedy during one of the food truck’s outings shows Oscar just how fragile his grandfather is and shakes up his world. If you’re looking for an unexpected tearjerker, this is the book for you.
Kiera is a really smart girl that attends a private school and, in her free time, plays a game called Slay. Well, she doesn’t just play it, she moderates it. Well, actually she isn’t just one of two moderators, she actually created the game. Pretty impressive. But this isn’t a game to everyone can play. The code to join the game is protected by a question only players know. And the code is only to be shared with people of African descent. Kiera did this because she has been a gamer, and she has had to deal with discrimination in video games. She wanted a game where she would never face that again, so she created it. In fact, it’s a game that celebrates Black culture by having cards that give powers in a fight be things like Afro, Jordan’s and Mambo sauce. But a teen player was just killed in real life for the money he’d accumulated in the game, and now Slay is all over the news. So of course, once everyone knows that the game is only open to Black players, people are claiming it’s anti-white discrimination. Kiera’s identity as creator and moderator is protected by the secrecy of the game and hidden behind an avatar named Emerald. But that doesn’t help her when a player publicly attacks her from within the game. He threatens to harass everyone playing unless she will fight him for control of the game. And she has no choice but to play along.
Tracy’s father is on Death row. He is, however, innocent. She has been writing letters weekly to an organization known as Innocence X hoping they will take on his case. He only has 267 days left. Her older brother, Jamal, has an interview on TV about his full ride to college on an athletic scholarship as the son of a felon. Warned by her mother to keep quiet about the pending execution of their father during the interview, Tracy has a secret plan to do just the opposite. It’s a last ditch effort to save her father. And it works- Innocence x writes her back days later. But this story is also about what happens to Jamal the night of the interview. He wakes Tracy up when he comes home late that night disheveled and distressed. He is washing blood off his hands. Tracy finally gets the story out of him- the girl he’d been seeing in secret has just died. And she was white. Not wanting to see history repeat itself, they both agree he needs to go on the run. Now it’s on Tracy to prove two members of her family are innocent.