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Book-Buzz for Teens recommendations

The Future of Us
By Jay Asher
& Carolyn Mackler

With a title like “The Future of Us”, readers may assume that they are about to read a love story filled with teen-angst and high school drama. However, within the first two chapters, you quickly get pulled into the cyber journey the two main characters embark on throughout the book. Filled with witty dialogue and soap-opera like plot twist, the story of “The Future of Us” will keep you guessing. Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler tell a relevant story where the future meets the present, asking both the characters and the reader alike one important question: Would you change your future if you could?

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The Future of Us is recommended by
Joshua Rodriguez BAPL SS Branch staff member

Wintergirls
By Laurie Halse Anderson

An eating disorder is all consuming, eventually taking over all aspects of your life. Anderson gets inside the head of the anorexic. Through her words you experience the pain, loathing, and irrational thought patterns so common with the disease. Lia, a senior in high school, has struggled with her fears about weight since middle school. The death of her former best friend Cassie from bulimia has driven Lia to further starve herself and to cut. Was she somehow responsible for the death, could she have prevented it? Does she herself deserve to die or can she lose enough weight and just disappear?

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Wintergirls recommended by
Edana Hoy BAPL Head of Youth Services

The Cruisers
By Walter Dean Myers

Keeping the peace isn't easy when you want to take a side. Eighth grader Zander and his friends – The Cruisers – find that out when they're assigned to be peacekeepers for DaVinci Academy's Civil War unit. What starts as a history exercise turns into a school-wide debate over race and freedom of speech, with Zander and the Cruisers right in the middle of it.

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The Cruisers recommended by
Catherine McCafferty BAPL staff member

Beastly
By Alex Flinn

Beastly is a modern-day retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Despite the fact that everyone knows the plot, Alex Flinn's version is definitely worth reading. Not to mention, the novel is soon going to be a movie, so be sure to read it before you see it.

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Monstrous Regiment
By Terry Pratchett

Monstrous Regiment is yet another amazing installment in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. It is a witty and well-written tale, following a girl who joins the army, and is Better Than It Sounds.

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Beastly and Monstrous Regiment recommended by
Emily Marchese

Leviathan
By Scott Westerfeld
Illustrated by Keith Thompson

It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. The Leviathan is a living airship, the most formidable airbeast in the skies of Europe. Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men. Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered. With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way, taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.

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Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
By Jane Austen
and Ben Winters

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters expands the original text of the beloved Jane Austen novel with all-new scenes of giant lobsters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, and other biological monstrosities.

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The House of the Scorpion
By Nancy Farmer

This book is a science fiction novel that draws you in with great characters and an even more unique story line. Dealing with cloning and a boy’s struggle to free himself against great odds, you might be hesitant to read this book, but it's sure to keep you reading late into the evening.

Ten Cents a Dance
By Christine Fletcher

Chicago 1941. Bone-tired of working in a meat packing plant to support her family, fifteen year old Ruby takes a job as a taxi-dancer. Leading lonely men around dance hall floors is easy money, and Ruby soon becomes smitten with the glitz and glam of her secret profession. But while swingin’ to jazz, Ruby unwittingly dances with danger in a city infamous for crime, corruption, and racism.

Named one of this year’s 10 best books for teens!

The President’s Daughter
By Ellen Emerson White

The first in a series of four books that are incredibly addicting. Follow the life of Meg Powers, a teenager, who deals with the difficulty of being the daughter of the President. From dating to shooting to kidnapping and then college, this series will pull you in. Other titles include: White House Autumn, Long Live the Queen and Long May She Reign.

Zach’s Lie
By Roland Smith

Zach’s Lie and Jack’s Run by Roland Smith are written by one of our new favorite authors. These two action packed books are about a family that is put into the witness protection program after the father is arrested for drug trafficking. Both are wonderful books, but might seem a little unbelievable at times.

Chanda’s Wars
By Allan Stratton

Chanda’s Secret and the sequel Chanda’s Wars by Allan Stratton - two powerful books that tell the story of a teenager struggling in southern Africa with the realities of AIDS. Two excellent books which we couldn’t put down. Be warned: they do deal with very mature and sensitive topics.

Boy at War
By Harry Mazer

A Boy at War and the sequel A Boy No More by Harry Mazer are books about a teenage boy who lives in Hawaii with his family during the Pearl Harbor attacks. They deal with the complexities of his friendships with the Japanese-Americans and their struggles after the attacks. Two excellent books.