There is always something new and engaging to read on PWPL’s
New Teen book shelf. Here are a few recent arrivals that come highly recommended
for adults, as well as teens.
Philip Pullman fans are celebrating the long-awaited release
of
The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, a
companion to Pullman’s
His Dark Materials
trilogy, in which we first met the magnetic heroine Lyra.
La Belle Sauvage, set
both before and after
His Dark Materials, offers a thrilling return to
Lyra’s parallel Oxford, where eleven-year-old Malcolm’s father runs an inn on the
banks of the Thames, and the relentless rain has become a deluge. A secret
message about a dangerous substance called Dust propels Malcolm into an adventure
that will test him in ways he has never imagined.
The Librarian of
Auschwitz, by Antonio Iturbe, is based on the real life experiences of Dita
Kraus, a fourteen-year-old girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books
alive during the Holocaust. Dita and her parents are taken from Prague’s
Terezin ghetto to the concentration camp at Auschwitz, where a Jewish leader
asks Dita to take charge of the eight books prisoners have managed to sneak
past the guards for their “school.” Because knowledge is power, the Nazis
forbid school or any other learning activities, but the prisoners choose not to
abide by that rule. The eight precious books Dita fiercely protects, along with
the “living books” - teachers who retell stories from past books they have read
and reread – keep hope alive in a very frightening and uncertain world.
You Bring the Distant
Near, by Mitali Perkins, gives readers a fresh perspective on the
challenges of immigration in our modern world. Five Bengali-American women,
across three generations, struggle to find their identities as cultures blend
and often collide – a funny, slice-of-life story that feels both personal and
universal at the same time.
You Bring the
Distant Near has earned a place on multiple “Best of 2017” lists, including
my own.
Check it out and become
intimately acquainted with the remarkable Das women, in just 320 pages.
Turtles All the Way
Down, by rock star author John Green, will likely fly off the library
shelf. Go ahead and place that hold, because this book is worth the wait. Aza
and her best friend Daisy set out to solve the mystery of a missing
billionaire, motivated by the promise of a $100,000 reward. Along the way Aza
collects a charming love interest. Davis Pickett, who happens to be the son of
the missing man. This isn’t a simple mystery/romance; Aza is afflicted with
severe anxiety and OCD, which sends her thoughts spiraling out of control. In a press release, John Green said, “This is
my first attempt to write directly about the kind of mental illness that has
affected my life since childhood, so while the story is fictional, it is also
quite personal.”
Sharon Huss Roat’s
How
to Disappear offers a somewhat lighter look at social anxiety, and the
power of social media for good or ill. Vicky Decker has become a champ at
remaining invisible as she navigates her high school hallways. After her
lifelong best friend moves away, Vicky’s social anxiety is impossible to hide –
so she applies her prodigious Photoshop talent to creating a secret alter-ego
for herself on Instagram, #Vicurious. As Vicurious gains a following, and even
inspires an anti-bullying movement at her school, Vicky realizes she is not the
only person feeling all alone in the world. Vicky’s story is heart-wrenching,
witty, and thoroughly engrossing. Plan to read this book in one sitting.
--Mary
Schneeberger, Teen
Services Coordinator
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