Reviews and Recommendations from a School Librarian.
Young Adult
Blurb A teenager's longing for family and a place to call home is poignantly portrayed in this heartfelt and ultimately uplifting story of life in the foster-care system. Feeling betrayed when her long-term foster placement breaks down, Amy is sent to live with a new family, the Dawsons. Although initially reluctant to trust them, she … Continue reading Review: Know My Place by Eve Ainsworth
Blurb Fifteen-year-old Penny longs for something better. Better than a small, damp flat. Better than her bullying classmates and uninterested teachers. Better than misery and poverty day in day out. An unlikely friendship and a huge sum of money promise a whole lot of new chances for Penny, and she realises that not only can … Continue reading Review: All the Money in the World by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
Blurb 'We’re alive. So let’s start living.' Two strangers Jack was sporty and outgoing. Alice was bookish and introverted. Their lives were on completely different paths. One life-changing tragedy That is before the day they were in the wrong place at the wrong time: before the day their lives were torn apart in a bombing. … Continue reading Review: After The Rain by Natália Gomes
Blurb Carver Goodman dreams of becoming a photographer; but first he needs to graduate from high school. He spends his junior year worried about the same things that affect his peers—things like taking the ACT, bullying, and falling in love for the first time—but Carver's situation is a bit different, because he's beginning to suspect … Continue reading Review: Getting By by Jaire Sims.
Blurb Freddie has a reputation as a ‘nice guy’ – inoffensive, sweet, kind – and therefore completely un-dateable. As he starts sixth form, Freddie decides that this nice guy isn’t going to finish last any more. No more missing out on parties because he’s got to do his homework. No more saying no when he … Continue reading Review: You’re the One That I Want by Simon James Green.
Blurb Lucy and Tony share nothing except genes. Tony’s the champion diver destined for greatness. Lucy’s biggest concern is getting Cute Guy from the burger joint to ask her out.After an accident kills their parents, the siblings are forced to rely on one another—and decide whether to reveal their secrets.Lucy can’t tell Tony what she … Continue reading Review: Chasing The Taillights by Kate Larkindale.
Blurb Eva has never felt like she belonged . . . not in her own family or with her friends in New York City, and certainly not at a fancy boarding school like Hardwick Preparatory Academy. So, when she is invited to join the Fives, an elite secret society, she jumps at the opportunity to … Continue reading Review: Don’t Breathe a Word by Jordyn Taylor.
Blurb Love, Simon meets Friday Night Lights in this feelgood LGBTQ+ romance about a trans teen torn between standing up for his rights and staying stealth. 'A sharply observant and vividly drawn debut. I loved every minute I spent in this story' - Becky Albertalli Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother and a … Continue reading Review: The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons.
Blurb Seventeen years old. Rich. Hot. Captain of the Drone War team. Head prefect of a surreally elite boarding school. Tremmy is dying.His illness strips everything from him—including the support of his teachers and friends who once nurtured his bright future. Worst of all, his best friend’s meteoric rise has come at the expense of … Continue reading Review: The Momentous Expiration of Tremmy Sinclair by Michael F. Stewart
Blurb A timely, moving debut novel about a teen's efforts to keep his family together as his parents face deportation.Mateo Garcia and his younger sister, Sophie, have been taught to fear one word for as long as they can remember: deportation. Over the past few years, however, the fear that their undocumented immigrant parents could … Continue reading Spotlight: Indivisible by Daniel Aleman
