Carry On

Carry On
By Rainbow Rowell

Simon Snow and Baz Pitch are pretty much opposites; Simon is the Chosen One, Baz is a vampire. Simon is full of magic but not a very controlled magician, Baz is super capable with a wand. Simon is an orphan, Baz is from a wealthy, old-school family of Mages. These two teens are sworn enemies, as well as long-time roommates Watford School of Magicks. They are also secretly in love with each other.
In Rainbow Rowell's silly, fun spin-off from Harry Potter, good and evil are not as black and white as they first appear. There are mysteries to be solved and secrets to be revealed! If you enjoyed Harry Potter, and like the genre of magic boarding school stories, you're in for a treat with this one.

Flying Lessons

Flying Lessons and Other Stories
Edited by Ellen Oh
(Cofounder of We Need Diverse Books)

This is a fabulous book of short stories, by a group of very diverse authors. One of the great things about reading short stories is that they can introduce you to a new author, someone who may have other books you'd want to check out; another thing about short story collections is that you don't have to read them all, or even read them in any particular order...and they may be different styles and genres. Some you may like more than others.

I love the variety of the stories in this collection. Basketball, crushes, dreams, new neighborhoods, family craziness, school stuff...a little something for everyone!

Far from the Tree

Far from the Tree
By Robin Benway

Oh, this book is so good!
There are three main teenage characters in this wonderful novel, and the chapters alternate between each of their stories: Grace, Maya and Joaquin are siblings who have just discovered each other because each was given up for adoption as a baby or small child. Now they are learning what it means to be reconnected, to be family. And each is stronger because of the connection.

• Grace has already had a baby of her own--at age 16--and chosen to give her baby to loving, adoptive parents. Her own adoptive parents have given her the love and support necessary to make such a hard decision.

• Maya, also adopted into a loving and supportive family, struggles to understand her mother's alcoholism. Her little sister and her supportive girlfriend provide help and support, especially when a bad accident happens at home.

• Joaquin was never adopted. He spent his whole childhood in foster homes, some better than others...But finally he lives with foster parents who want to adopt him--he just needs to figure out if he is brave enough to accept their love.  

*This novel just won the 2017 National Book Award!

The 57 Bus

The 57 Bus 

By Dashka Slater

What an incredible, incredible book. Everyone should read this true story of two teens and a horrible incident on a bus in Oakland.

Here's the summary from the publisher:

One teenager in a skirt.
One teenager with a lighter.
One moment that changes both of their lives forever.
If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight.

Lily and Dunkin

Lily and Dunkin
By Donna Gephart

Told through alternating characters/voices, Lily and Dunkin relates the story of two eighth graders dealing with some difficult stuff:
Lily Jo, known to most of her family and school as Timothy, is transgender and weighing her desire to come out as a girl with the consequences of serious bullying at school. And her Dad is having difficulty in coming to terms with his child's true identity.
Dunkin, known to his family and school as Norbert (a name he hates) has just moved to town after a family tragedy. He's struggling with bipolar disorder, and experimenting with being on and off of his prescription medication.
Each of the characters longs to connect with the other but circumstances dictate otherwise, for a while...Ultimately, Lily and Dunkin find the strength each needs to be brave enough to be friends, and to be who they really are.
Make sure you have some tissues handy as you near the end of this heartbreaking and heartwarming book!

Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel

Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel
by Sara Farizan

From the publisher:
Leila has made it most of the way through Armstead Academy without having a crush on anyone, which is a relief. As an Iranian-American, she's different enough; if word got out that Leila liked girls, life would be twice as hard. But when beautiful new girl Saskia shows up, Leila starts to take risks she never thought she would. As she carefully confides in trusted friends about Saskia's confusing signals, Leila begins to figure out that all her classmates are more complicated than they first appear to be, and some are keeping surprising secrets of their own.

Gracefully Grayson

Gracefully Grayson
By Ami Polonsky

Grayson appears to be a regular 6th grade boy--but inside, for as long as she can remember, Grayson has felt much more like a girl.
And she is dying to dress and act and be who she really is, and to let everyone else know too...but major obstacles stand in her way--misunderstanding, teasing, bullying.
A compassionate teacher boldly gives Grayson the lead role of Persephone in the school play, and this causes upheaval in the school community and within Grayson's own family. An understanding uncle also helps pave the way for Grayson to gain the courage and confidence to finally show the world who she really is: a girl.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
By Benjamin Alire Sáenz
 

This is the story of two teenage Mexican-American boys growing up in El Paso, Texas.
One of the boys, Ari, is angry at his parents for never talking about his older brother who is in prison. He has few friends until the summer day he meets Dante at the swimming pool, and everything changes.
Dante--full of life and happiness--gives Ari the opportunity to experience real friendship for the first time.
Over the course of the novel, there are some misunderstandings, dangerous accidents, and ultimately the discovery that it is OK to fall in love, even if it's with another boy.

So Hard to Say

So Hard to Say
By Alex Sanchez

Like in Wendelin Van Draanen's book Flipped (see post from April 2011), this novel is told by alternating voices in each chapter:
Xio (short for María Xiomara Iris Juárez Hidalgo) is funny and super social, and has a major crush on a new boy in 8th grade...
Blue-eyed Frederick has just moved to southern California from Minnesota with his parents, and really likes Xio--as a friend...
They each tell their side of the story chapter by chapter. Xio confers with her group of friends, Las Sexy Seis, as Frederick begins to make friends with some of the soccer-players, especially Victor.
Things are going along fine until Frederick begins to wonder why he's not as attracted to Xio as she is to him--and he wonders why it feels like his crush is on Victor, instead.
Frederick finally realizes he is gay, and he secretly seeks out the school bully-victim, Iggy (who is thought to be gay) to talk to.
Alex Sanchez has written a very believable story of middle school, crushes, friends, and one boy's first awareness of being gay.

The Harvey Milk Story

The Harvey Milk Story
By Kari Krakow
Illustrated by David Gardner

The inspiring story of our country's first openly gay elected city official, right here in San Francisco.  Everyone should know this story.  Every kid and adult should read this book.
(ISBN: 0-9674468-3-x-51795)

Necessary Noise

Necessary Noise;  Stories About Our Families As They Really Are
Edited by Michael Cart

A collection of short stories by Nikki Grimes, Lois Lowry, Walter Dean Myers, Joyce Carol Thomas, and many other excellent young adult authors.  Sometimes troubled, sometimes in serious situations, all of the characters in these stories explore their relationship to family.  One young man visits his dad on death row, a pair of teen sisters take their little brother to the hospital after a drug overdose, and a teenage son tries to make sense of his two moms' relationship...many different kinds of families are described in stories and poetry.  Five stars.      
(ISBN: 0-06-027-500-6)

Athletic Shorts

Athletic Shorts;  Six Short Stories
By Chris Crutcher

It's fun to read short stories sometimes.  Especially good ones.  You don't have to read them in order, you don't even have to finish the book (though you'll want to with this one), and it's just not as big of a commitment as picking up a novel.  Almost all of the stories in this book feature characters from other novels by Chris Crutcher--so if you're familiar with his books, you'll probably recognize some names.  But you don't need to read the other books to enjoy this one.
The teenage boys in these six short stories are all dealing with different issues;  one boy lost his parents and little brother in a drunk boating accident, another puts up with teasing about his gay parents, yet another is afraid of humiliation when he has to wrestle a girl during a tournament.  There are loving fathers and abusive fathers and absent fathers and racist fathers within these beautifully written stories.  What all the teenagers have in common is a love of sports--wrestling and swimming, especially.  For them, being athletes is the way they release anger, sadness, joy, and playing sports allows them to feel like part of a team.
Chris Crutcher tackles real-life problems.  I kept thinking about the characters even after I finished reading--because they seemed real.  I wondered how they were going to overcome certain things, and felt sort of proud of the way they got through hard situations.  Mostly I admire how the author is not afraid to write about serious, hard-to-hear-about subjects like racism (one story is told from the point of view of a white boy who has always been racist, but starts to question his own perspective).  For those readers who enjoy(ed) Matt Christopher's books but want something more challenging and complex, try reading Chris Crutcher.
(ISBN: 978-0-06-050-783-1)

Kidshealth.org

Kidshealth.org

This is such an excellent resource for everybody!  I learned about this website from my colleague Wendy, another school librarian.  There are distinct places here for teens, kids, and parents--and accurate answers to any and all questions about puberty, bodies, food & fitness, emotional well-being and lots of other health-related things.  It is easy to navigate around the site and find what you are looking for.  What is particularly great about using a website like Kidshealth.org is that if you are the kind of person who might feel shy or embarrassed about asking puberty-related questions or checking out health books at the library, you can find answers without talking to anyone.  Of course, most teachers and parents and other adults want to help answer those questions, but if you don't feel like asking it's nice to have a good website to go to.
In the section for teens, you'll find information about everything from gum disease, to dealing with feelings about being overweight, to food allergies, to smoking, to handling stress about going to school dances.  The site is current--I just found information about the disaster in Japan and tips on what to do to help--and the information is also non-judgmental.  For example, a tab on body piercing explains what it is, what to expect if you have it done, and health problems that sometimes result from piercings.  If you prefer to listen instead of reading the information, there is an audio feature available.  It's easy to get the information in Spanish, too.
In the part for kids, you can read about braces, feeling too short or tall, and find easy, healthy recipes to prepare.  The "Kids Dictionary of Medical Words" looks really helpful, as well as a section that explains (in kid language) some common health problems adults often suffer from.
Kidshealth.org is a very impressive, accessible collection of articles, videos, games and other resources all related to physical and mental health.  Check it out!