RIYL Twitter

Twitterature: the world's greatest books in twenty tweets or less by Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin

Hunger Games- A dangerous "game" that ends in death for all but one person. A harsh Capitol, and little help where you live. Could you survive?

Twilight- A love story of someone not quite living and someone definitely dead. Plus some conflict with the locals and some rainy moods.

Perks of Being a Wallflower- Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends.

Divergent- In dystopian Chicago all16 year olds must select the faction to which they will devote their lives. A book filled with romance and secrets.

Beautiful Creatures- A girl struggling to conceal her power & a curse that has haunted her family. A guy haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met.

Matched- Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life but she can't stop thinking about her match

Speak-A lonely teen becomes an utterly believable heroine with an ironic voice that delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school.

Wicked Lovely- Don't stare at invisible faeries. Don't speak to invisible faeries. Don't ever attract their attention.

The Uglies- a future world in which a operation wipes out physical differences to make everyone "beautiful". It's a fast moving story about society.

Maze Runner- Trapped in a new place he's never seen, yet, seems familiar. Filled with only boys, & 1 girl. A maze with creatures. Who is watching them?

Shatter Me- Her touch can kill, but his love could save her. However, someone else could also benefit from her power and may break her. Can she survive?

Not Tweets but a link to titles that were humorously "rewritten"

http://www.themillions.com/2014/01/read-me-please-book-titles-rewritten-to-get-more-clicks.html

Twitter Length Booktalks

TWITTER-LENGTH GENRE BOOKTALKS (140-280 chars)

Iris Eichenlaub,

Camden Hills Regional High School

iris.eichenlaub@fivetowns.net

https://www.lettercount.com/

(tool for counting characters!)

THRILLER/SUSPENSE

Harvest (Gerritsen)

Could organ harvesting actually be a thing, not just an urban legend? This medical thriller will have you twisting in ethical dilemmas.

Bloodstream (Gerritsen)

Smalltown Maine is hit with an appalling act of violence. The perpetrator has stopped taking a new drug trial. Who will be infected next?

The Lock Artist (Hamilton)

When the wrong crowd learns you can pick any lock, you get into some sticky situations. Why is our main character mute? Where’s his family?

The Perfect Nanny (Slimani)

“The baby is dead. It only took a few seconds. The little girl was still alive when the ambulance arrived.” The nanny was perfect, except…

I am Princess X (Priest)

Your best friend is dead. But 5 years later her artwork begins to appear around your city, and you start to wonder: could she be alive?

The Andromeda Strain (Crichton)

“The swiftest acting, deadliest virus ever know to humankind” can be spread by the tiniest gust of wind. Will humans go extinct?

17 & Gone (Suma)

Lauren starts to see visions of missing girls: 17 and gone without a trace. Is she next? Or crazy? Mystery/suspense/thriller genrebender!

The Silence (Lebbon) - NOT the book A Quiet Place was based on!

“The world is being taken over by blind creatures who hunt by sound. To scream even to whisper is to summon death.” Protagonist Ali is deaf.

Genuine Fraud (Lockhart)

Unreliable narrator: what can we believe since we know she’s a liar? Two best friends. One turns up dead. Case of stolen identity?

Point Blank (Horowitz)

Alex Rider reluctant teen spy, must investigate a killer who's preying on students at an elite private school for troubled kids. Evil plot!

Killing Mr. Griffin (Duncan)

It was supposed to just be a cruel prank on the toughest English teacher at school, but when it ends with murder, will they get caught?

The Summer of Fear (Duncan)

Cousin Julia isn’t the sweet girl everyone thinks she is, especially after she turns all of Rachel’s friends against her and steals her boyfriend.

The Walls Around Us (Suma)

”We couldn’t see how close we were to the end.” These chilling words foreshadow a terrible secret, the one she can’t even admit to herself.

Vertical Run (Garber)

A day at the office goes terribly wrong when the company president walks in with a gun in hand. Why are mercenaries after Dave? Fast-paced action!

Revolver (Sedgwick)

Trapped with your dead dad and someone who says your dad owes him some gold. You don’t know where the gold is hidden, but will you get the gun in time?

Haunting the Deep (Mather)

“It’s like Mean Girls meets history class in the best possible way.” Sam’s being haunted by the Titanic — in dreams and in her waking life too.

What Ever Happened To Cass McBride (Giles)

David digs a hole, kidnaps the most popular girl in school, and puts her in a box in the hole. He has buried her alive. Will she get out in time?

Hostage Three (Lake)

Amy’s summer will be amazing: sailing around the world on her dad’s yacht and relaxing. Until real, actual pirates come and hold them for ransom.

The Girl Before (Delaney)

“Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.” Psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns, if you liked Gone Girl.

Edge of Nowhere (Smelcer)

When boy and dog go overboard from Dad's fishing boat, surviving the Alaskan waters is the first test. Will they find their way home? Fast-paced!

SCI-FI

The Eye of Minds (Dashner)

The better your hacking skills, the better your total mind/body immersion in the VirtNet will go. But someone’s not playing by the rules.

The Handmaid’s Tale (Atwood)

Classic dystopia scifi and now a Hulu series, Offred’s life is only valued as long as she can produce babies. The book is so much better!

Lexicon (Barry)

Specific words can kill. Emily comes from the streets, but she gets recruited for an elite school where she’ll become a trained operative.

Life as We Knew It (Pfeffer)

Nonstop nailbiter: a meteor knocks the moon off its orbit and that means arctic winter is coming, plus more changes! Told in journal entries.

Every Day (Levithan)

What if every day you woke up in a different body? Male, female, or other? What do you know about your real self? Or the body you’re in?

Code of Honor (Gratz)

Iranian-American Kamran is a star athlete who’s ready to enlist in the army, until his brother is accused of being a terrorist. Suspenseful!

The Carbon Diaries 2015 (Lloyd)

Perfect for GreenWeek, this Sci-Fi is set in a post-carbon world, riddled with environmental catastrophes and big storms. Journal entries.

Placebo Junkies (Carleson)

Professional lab rat for drug trials means fast, easy cash. Some nasty side effects, like losing your mind/body, don’t deter Audie.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Adams)

Chronicles the off-beat, occasionally extraterrestrial journeys and acquaintances of galactic traveler Arthur Dent. Funny, nerdy, classic.

Lockdown: Escape from Furnace (Smith)

No one has ever checked this book out and not come back asking for the second in the series. Dystopia action thriller reminiscent of the Maze Runner.

Felix YZ (Bunker)

Being 13 is bad enough - school, bullies, annoying sister, weird family. But Felix also has an alien living inside of him. Zyx is an intelligent lifeform who loves chess and who Felix has learned to coexist with. What will happen when they are separated for good?

Stung (Wiggins)

“When a vaccine to save endangered bees causes their sting to turn children into ferocious killer beasts, the uninfected build a wall to keep the beasts out, but Fiona wakes up on the wrong side of the wall.” (NoveList summary)

Marrow Thieves (Dimaline)

In a post-environmental apocalypse world, young Frenchie (Metis) is on his own and on the run. Indigenous peoples have something special in their bone marrow that white people want -- and they are kidnapping them to government-run institutions. But they never return.

Noggin (Whaley)

His head was severed, stored in a freezer, then reattached to a different body. New family, girlfriend, house, BFF. Hilarious, award-winning book.

Historical Fiction

Out of the Dust (Hesse)

The Dust Bowl years and the Great Depression as told through the eyes of Billie Jo. Short chapters are poetic, beautifully captured.

The Outsiders (Hinton)

Set in the late 60s, this is a story of two rival gangs: the popular and rich Sosh group and the greasers like Ponyboy. Bros being bros.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Schaffer)

A book told in letters between characters, set in WWII on the island of Guernsey in the English channel. A little bit romantic and humorous.

Between Shades of Gray (Sepetys)

1941 in Lithuania: Russian soldiers barge in and send a family to the work camps in Siberia. This fast-paced tale is told by 15 y.o. Lina.

Nobody’s Secret (MacColl)

Emily Dickinson, famous poet, as a 15 y.o. in 1846. She starts to fall for a handsome stranger who ends up dead in a pond. True story?

Refugee (Gratz)

Refugees from three time periods: WWII, Cuba in the 90s, and Syria in 2015. Alternating, suspenseful chapters keep you hoping for their safety.

Among the Red Stars (Katz)

Based on a true story, this is WWII Russia and an all-female bomber unit called Night Witches. Valka must defend the skies she’s always loved.

The Secret Life of Bees (Kidd)

South Carolina, 1964: Lily’s a white girl who’s being raised by a black “mother.” They have to flee from Lily’s abusive dad. What is family?

Realistic Fiction

The Poet X (Acevedo)

Poetgirl lives in Harlem, questions her faith and family, has a twin, and is struggling to face her sexuality and physical appearance.

Good and Gone (Blakemore)

Road trip: brother and sister on a quest to find missing teen rockstar. Along the way Lexi tries to get over her rage over a recent breakup.

The Lines We Cross (Abdel-Fatteh)

Modern twist on Romeo and Juliet, but it’s Michael and Mina in Australia. His parents are anti-immigrant; she’s a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan.

Looks (George)

Alone, they are invisible, unseen in their high school. Together they have a chance to get back at the meanest, most hurtful girl in school.

Bucking the Sarge (Curtis)

Luther’s mom runs a shady empire - professionally working the system - and he’s forced to work for her scams. He wants to get away from her.

Keesha’s House (Frost)

6 teens, all different tell this story. Pregnant one. Athletic one. DUI. Abuse survivor. Learn their stories through brief poetic chapters.

My Most Excellent Year (Kluger)

A novel of love, Mary Poppins and Fenway Park. Funny but real story of 3 teens in Boston, two best friends like brothers, and one girl.

Inexcusable (Lynch)

In the era of #metoo it can be scary to be a guy. Did Keir, star soccer player good student, really do the terrible thing Gigi says he did?

The Great American Whatever (Federle)

Quinn hasn’t left his house since his sister died. Now his bff Geoff is ready to drag him out, and Quinn’s ready to come out of the closet.

Inside Out (Trueman)

A sixteen-year-old with schizophrenia is a bystander in an attempted robbery by two other teens who eventually hold him hostage.

Untwine (Danticat)

Identical twins Giselle and Isabelle have always been inseparable forever until they are in a car crash, and their world is shattered.

The Storied Life of AJ Fikry (Zevin)

Uptight, island bookstore owner experiences declining book sales, has his most prized book stolen, and finds a baby on his doorstep.

The Rosie Project (Simison)

He has a solution to “the Wife Problem,” and it’s a compatibility questionnaire. Successful lab scientist with Aspergers finds his way to love.

Calvin (Leavitt)

He grew up thinking he was Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. Now Calvin’s hearing Hobbes’ voice again and realizes he’s letting reality slip.

Gutless (Deuker)

It’s hard to stand up for your best friend when his bully is the star quarterback and you’re the wide receiver. How far will you let it go?

Piecing Me Together (Watson)

Jade is tired of people who want to fix her. She attends a private school outside of her neighborhood, her ticket into a better life. Award-winner for 2017.

All American Boys (Reynolds and Kiely)

When #blacklivesmatter is more than a hashtag. A tale told in 2 voices from 1 community: one is the victim and one is a bystander. Gripping. Current. Important.

I’ll Give You the Sun (Nelson)

Twins, each with half of this story. Noah and Jude were inseparable opposites, but now aren't speaking. Will they find their way back to each other?

Fantasy

A Wizard of Earthsea (LeGuin)

Classic fantasy by one of the greats, this is a dark world of sorcery, Ged is no cute 11 y.o. like Harry Potter but is hungry for power.

Bloodsucking Fiends (Moore)

Jodi wakes up one day under a dumpster with superhuman strength and a thirst for human blood; her normal life is over in this hilarious tale.

Steelheart (Sanderson)

How far would you go for revenge if someone killed your father? David needs the help of the Reckoners, the rebels fighting Steelheart.

Berserker (Laybourne)

Historical-fantasy-paranormal-romance, Hanne carries an ancient Viking killing curse and flees Norway to the American West with her brother.

Six of Crows (Bardugo)

Kaz is a criminal prodigy who’s planning the perfect heist, but he needs the perfect crew to pull it off. Fast-paced, unputdownable action.

The Cruel Prince (Black)

Classic fantasy: a human raised by the faery who killed her parents, Jude wants to be accepted in FaeryWorld. Plot twists and manipulation!

The Rest of Us Just Live Here (Ness)

Mikey is a regular teenager with the usual problems — except his world has the occasional zombie or ghost that must be dealt with.

Munmun (Andrews)

“Being littlepoor is notsogood.” In world where your wealth determines your size munmun is what you borrow, steal or earn to scale up/down.

SELECT FICTION

The Storied Life of AJ Fikry (Zevin)

Uptight, island bookstore owner experiences declining book sales, has his most prized book stolen, and finds a baby on his doorstep.

The Rosie Project (Simison)

He has a solution to “the Wife Problem,” and it’s a compatibility questionnaire. Successful lab scientist with Aspergers finds his way to love.

Vertical Run (Garber)

A day at the office goes terribly wrong when the company president walks in with a gun in hand. Why are mercenaries after Dave? Fast-paced action!

The Lines We Cross (Abdel-Fatteh)

Modern twist on Romeo and Juliet, but it’s Michael and Mina in Australia. His parents are anti-immigrant; she’s a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan.

Revolver (Sedgwick)

Trapped with your dead dad and someone who says your dad owes him some gold. You don’t know where the gold is hidden, but will you get the gun in time?

The Art of Racing in the Rain (Stein)

How would your dog tell the story of your life together? What does a dog know or think about you? Our furry narrator has a story to tell.

Haunting the Deep (Mather)

“It’s like Mean Girls meets history class in the best possible way.” Sam’s being haunted by the Titanic — in dreams and in her waking life too.

Lockdown: Escape from Furnace (Smith)

No one has ever checked this book out and not come back asking for the second in the series. Dystopia action thriller reminiscent of the Maze Runner.

The Poacher’s Son (Doiron)

Local Maine author and midcoast setting for this mystery: a young Maine game warden is on the hunt for a notorious poacher who has murdered a cop.

Calvin (Leavitt)

He grew up thinking he was Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. Now Calvin’s hearing Hobbes’ voice again and realizes he’s letting reality slip.

What Ever Happened To Cass McBride (Giles)

David digs a hole, kidnaps the most popular girl in school, and puts her in a box in the hole. He has buried her alive. Will she get out in time?

The Girl Before (Delaney)

“Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.” Psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns, if you liked Gone Girl.

Harvest (Gerritsen)

Could organ harvesting actually be a thing, not just an urban legend? This medical thriller will have you twisting in ethical dilemmas.

The Summer of Fear (Duncan)

Cousin Julia isn’t the sweet girl everyone thinks she is, especially after she turns all of Rachel’s friends against her and steals her boyfriend.

Gutless (Deuker)

It’s hard to stand up for your best friend when his bully is the star quarterback and you’re the wide receiver. How far will you let it go?

Hostage Three (Lake)

Amy’s summer will be amazing: sailing around the world on her dad’s yacht and relaxing. Until real, actual pirates come and hold them for ransom.

Piecing Me Together (Watson)

Jade is tired of people who want to fix her. She attends a private school outside of her neighborhood, her ticket into a better life. Award-winner for 2017.

NONFICTION

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen (Knisley)

Food memoir told in graphic novel format - food, family, and the quest for a perfect croissant. Some recipes included! With pictures!

Hyperbole and a Half (Brosh)

A mentally challenged dog, being depressed, held under house arrest by an aggressive goose, and other unfortunate situations. LOLs guaranteed.

The Boiling River (Ruzo)

Could there really be a river that is so hot that you can make tea from it? Adventure, mixed with scientific, social, cultural and political issues.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (Beah)

“The first time that I was touched by war, I was twelve.” This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s.

Undocumented (Peralta)

They came legally but then their visas lapsed, and soon they were on the streets. How does an undocumented Dominican boy get to the Ivy League?

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, ant the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (McDougall)

Barefoot running for hundreds of miles without rest or injury through the rocky canyons of Mexico! How do the Tarahumara Indians do it? Hint: chia seeds.

Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics (Brown)

If you were abandoned by your family during the Great Depression, how would you survive? What is the sport of Crew? Why was this team such magic?

The Edge of Never: A Skier’s Story of Life, Death, and Dreams in the World’s Most Dangerous Mountains (Kerig)

This is the story of legend Trevor Petersen who died in an avalanche, and his son who attempts the same mountain years later. Heart-stopping adventure!

Her: A Memoir (Parravani)

Being a twin means you don’t know life without her. When she survives an assault, she is never the same. Will she survive her addiction and mental illness? Will you?

Modern Romance (Ansari)

Aziz Ansari gives us do’s/don’ts of dating in the modern age based on his actual research with a team of social scientists. But it’s funny because: Ansari.

Thirteen Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi (Zuckoff)

Aziz Ansari gives us do’s/don’ts of dating in the modern age based on his actual research with a team of social scientists. But it’s funny because: Ansari.

The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life (Partanen)

Oh those socialist countries and their free healthcare and college! Who really has more freedom, us or them? Nordic values inform their policies.

The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way (Ripley)

Spoiler: it’s not us. This book profiles teachers and students from Germany, the US, South Korea, Poland, and Finland. Find out who’s at the top and why.

Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit (Finkel)

He dropped out of modern life for almost 30 years, survived brutal Maine winters by stealing food from abandoned camps. But why did he make this choice?

Educated: A Memoir (Westover)

She was raised in a strict Mormon family, non-schooled; they didn’t believe in modern medicine or the government. How does she end up at Cambridge?

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Carmon and Knizhnik)

Subject of a recent movie, find out more about one of our Supreme Court Justices, and her quiet fight for gender equality and civil rights, the Hon. RBG.

I Am A Seal Team Six Warrior (Wasdin)

First-hand account of what it’s actually like to be a Navy SEAL - from the intensive training to becoming part of an elite branch as a skilled sniper.

A Good Man with a Dog: A Game Warden’s 25 Year’s in the Maine Woods (Guay)

Find out what it’s like to be a Maine game warden - hunting down poachers, search/ rescue missions in the wilderness with a trained canine by your side.

For Ms. Forster’s Classes:

Communities Booktalks

2019

All American Boys (Reynolds and Kiely)

When #blacklivesmatter is more than a hashtag, a tale told in 2 voices from 1 community: one is the victim and one is a bystander. Gripping.

Piecing Me Together (Watson)

Jade is tired of people who want to fix her. She attends a private school outside of her neighborhood, her ticket into a better life. Award-winner for 2017.

Looks (George)

Alone, they are invisible, unseen in their high school. Together they have a chance to get back at the meanest, most hurtful girl in school.

The Lines We Cross (Abdel-Fatteh)

Modern twist on Romeo and Juliet, but it’s Michael and Mina in Australia. His parents are anti-immigrant; she’s a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan.

The Marrow Thieves (Cherie Dimaline)

I pretty much stopped reading the review as soon as I read the words… “Canada Reads 2018 Selection… First Nations author… dystopian…” -- and just added it to my book cart. In a post-environmental apocalypse world, young Frenchie (from the Metis tribe) is on his own and on the run. Indigenous peoples have something special in their bone marrow that white people want -- and they are kidnapping them to bring them to government-run institutions to “protect” these Indigenous people. But they never return. In this richly layered story that references the systemic racism of indigenous peoples, we are exposed to non-Western narrative techniques, and an intense story of both personal and cultural survival.

Munmun (Andrews)

“Being littlepoor is notsogood.” In world where your wealth determines your size munmun is what you borrow, steal or earn to scale up/down.

The Outsiders (Hinton)

Set in the late 60s, this is a story of two rival gangs: the popular and rich Sosh group and the greasers like Ponyboy. Bros being bros.

New ones follow:

Children of Blood and Bone (Adeyemi)

Coming of age in a land where her magi mother was killed by the zealous king's guards along with other former wielders of magic, Zelie embarks on a journey alongside her brother and a fugitive princess to restore her people's magical abilities.

LONGER VERSION:

Magic is gone in Zélie’s kingdom; it was violently eradicated by power-hungry King Saran, and anyone with the capacity for magic abilities—the maji, who all have snow-white hair—is now a second-class citizen. But Zélie holds tight to the old stories, and she’s secretly learning to fight, unwilling to take the unjust treatment of her people lying down. Meanwhile, Saran’s daughter, Amari, has escaped her cruel father’s palace with a relic containing the power to reignite magic among maji, and after a chance run-in with Zélie and her brother, Tzain, the trio traverses the kingdom, hoping to use the relic to restore magic to every maji. But Amari’s own brother, Inan, who’s convinced magic is too dangerous to permit, is hot on their trail. Adeyemi’s expansive debut plunges readers into a dense, vivid world full of intriguing politics, evocative magic, and brutal violence. Cinematic pacing, alternating viewpoints, and well-choreographed action make the pages fly toward the cliff-hanger ending, which will surely leave readers eager for the next installment. Though she often uses tried-and -true fantasy tropes, Adeyemi keeps it fresh with an all-black cast of characters, a meaningful emphasis on fighting for justice, a complex heroine saving her own people, and a brand of magic made more powerful by the strength of heritage and ancestry.

Once and Future (Capetta and McCarthy)

Reboots the King Arthur legend in outer space, with Arthur reincarnated as seventeen-year-old Ari, a female king whose quest is to stop a tyrannical corporate government, aided by a teenaged Merlin.

Asking For It (Louise O’Neill)

In a small Irish seaside town, Emma is popular, beautiful and fearless - she pushes the rules of what’s acceptable. But does she deserve a brutal sexual assault and ensuing public humiliation?

The Book of Unknown Americans (Henriquez)

How and why do immigrants want to come to the US? How does it feel to be feared and hated? Big dreams, crushing reality, courage, love, humor and heartbreak - several interwoven stories from Latin and Central American immigrants.

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun (Woodson)

Melanin Sun is nearly 14 and lives with a single mom in Brooklyn. He’s got the usual teenage problems- and then his mom reveals her secret.

The Help (Kathryn Stockett)

Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women, including an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a secret project.

Symptoms of Being Human (Jeff Garvin)

Riley is into punk rock, has pressure to be perfect from dad, and is gender fluid. When Riley’s identity is discovered as an anonymous blog author, what will happen at school?

The House on Mango Street (Cisneros)

Esperanza is a Latina growing up in Chicago, facing the joys and heartbreaks of being a teenager. Accessible, short chapters give a full picture of how she finds herself within and outside of her community.

Do Not Pass Go (Hill)

When his Dad’s arrested for drug possession, Deet has to step up and help contribute to the family. His mom’s not too organized and his sisters are little. Mostly he’s worried about what everyone in his small, rural town will think.

Dress Codes for Small Towns (Stevens)

Gender-nonconformist Billie and her group of quirky friends in rural Kentucky experiment with an old microwave and almost burn down the church youth room, but mostly this book is about friendship, intimacy, and finding out who you are.

Longer version:

A gender-nonconforming 17-year-old, the only daughter of a minister and an artist, "Billie" McCaffrey doesn’t fit into a neat little box. She is warmly loved by her friends, members of the Hexagon, a tightknit group of four boys and one other girl that Billie hangs out with in her very white, rural, town in Kentucky. Ever the instigator, Billie encourages the Hexagon to experiment with an aging microwave that results in nearly setting a fire in the youth room of her father's church. As the Hexagon has to perform some community service to make up for this bad idea, Billie is brought even closer to the boys in the Hexagon, boys she's been collecting "like baseball cards since third grade." But she’s also feeling a new closeness to her beloved friend, Janie Lee, and she soon realizes their shenanigans are leading them to explore new dimensions of their relationships with each other. Billie doesn’t want to lose the emotional closeness that she shares with these close friends, even as she questions her sexual orientation and physical attractions. With beautiful prose and a rollicking, sometimes funny plot, this is a spirited, timeless tale of figuring out who you are as a teen.

Something in Between (de la Cruz)

When Jasmine’s parents reveal they are illegal immigrants, that means no scholarships, no financial aid, no college, and maybe deportation. Is this the American dream? How could her life change so drastically?

The Parker Inheritance (Johnson)

Candice and Brandon are picking up the cold trail of a mystery that has to do with their town and something from the past that was covered up related to a race-related injustice. There’s a prize for solving this puzzle... will they get it AND clear Candice’s grandma’s name?

Longer version:

Candice Miller is spending the summer in Lambert, South Carolina, in the old house that belonged to her grandmother. Candice’s grandma died after being dismissed as city manager for having the city tennis courts dug up looking for buried treasure--but when Candice finds the letter that sent her grandmother on the treasure hunt, she finds herself caught up in the mystery and, with the help of her new friend and fellow book-worm, Brandon, she sets out to find the inheritance, exonerate her grandmother, and expose an injustice once committed against an African American family in Lambert.

Where the Crawdads Sing (Owens)

Abandoned child, “the Marsh Girl,” manages to survive in a haunted cove in the North Carolina coast. Kya is a smart survivor - what will happen when she is discovered by a couple guys from town? Stunning, beautiful language.