Teen Picks!
-
Bottom of the Pyramid
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"Sioux's harrowing reality TV ordeal cuts deep, and her subsequent self-assurance is endearing and infectious. It adds up to an inspiring account of reclaiming artistic agency." - Publisher's Weekly
When you've been told over and over that you belong at the bottom, how do you come out on top Dance Moms star and triple threat Nia Sioux shows the way via her story of resilience, triumph, and defining success for herself.
Young dancer Nia Sioux was only nine years old when she stepped into stardom as one of the original cast members of Lifetime's reality TV show Dance Moms. Nia learned new choreography week after week and competed against dancers from across the country as well as at her own studio. Perhaps her greatest obstacle was suffering through her dance teacher's ranking of the girls against each other in her infamous pyramid, where Nia spent the majority of her time on the bottom--all in front of an audience of millions.
But there was much that viewers didn't see. How her experiences in the studio went far beyond what made it into the show. How she was ostracized for not fitting into an aesthetic that wasn't designed for girls like her. How her friendships and her mental health crumbled under the strain of the show. How she lost control of her story and her voice.
But don't be fooled--this is a story about resilience. Nia is not looking for pity, sympathy, or validation as she reflects on her experiences. Instead, she is choosing to use her story as a celebration of triumph. Nia finally gets to tell her story in her own way and in her own words. In this captivating memoir, Nia reclaims both the spotlight and her narrative.
In addition to going behind the scenes of the seven seasons of Dance Moms, she shows how she fought against the negative perceptions that dominated her tween and teen years and emerged as a confident young woman secure in her talents and her direction. Anyone who has ever felt misunderstood, overlooked, or stuck at the bottom of the pyramid will be inspired by Nia's story of overcoming. "Despite barriers and constant naysayers, assumptions and criticisms, only you know who you are inside and out," Nia says. "And you have the power to create your own narrative, your own level of success."
-
How to Survive a Horror Movie
Horror movie buff Charley Ryan isn't expecting much when she's enrolled at a girls' boarding school on a remote island. That is, until someone starts killing off the senior class. From elaborate scare tactics to severed heads in fridges, these gruesome murders are straight out of Charley's favorite films. To top it off, she's also seeing the ghosts of her former classmates.
No one's surprised when Charley's taste in movies makes her the prime suspect. Determined to clear her name, she sets out to find the killer before her campus becomes more graveyard than school. She's equipped only with her encyclopedic knowledge of horror cinema and the help of her trusty cinephile best friend, Olive--oh, and those pesky ghosts, if they can shut up long enough to lend a helping hand.
With a plot twist sure to make you SCREAM, this is an addictive love letter of a slasher that will keep you guessing until the very last page. -
Tinker Bell: An Enchanters Tale
Fable meets The Magicians in New York Times bestselling author Jen Calonita’s second Enchanters novel with the untold story of fan favorite fairy, Tinker Bell.
Before the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell ran with a different crowd—an anxious pirate, an apathetic mermaid, an enthusiastic shapeshifter, and the adventurous Tiger Lily. The one thing they all have in common? They’ve noticed strange and disturbing occurrences around the island. Wildlife is disappearing. The weather is volatile. Pockets of land are scorched. Could Never Land be dying?
Tink ventures off to London in search of answers. While stranded there by the rain, she spends time with the most curious humans—James, a young inventor whose passion rivals her own; and Peter, a charismatic storyteller. And she grows attached to the orphans James and Peter look after at the boys’ hospital.
Wondering if they can help each other, Tink takes the boys back to Never Land—where a perfect storm awaits. Power-hungry pirates, betrayal, heartbreak, and an unforgiving ticking clock. Soon Tink must forge a new path and imagine a new future for Never Land . . . or lose everything she’s grown to love.
Filled with adventure, intrigue, and romance, Tinker Bell explores what happened before once upon a time…. -
Lemons and Lies
A sweet meet-cute or a scheme destined to turn sour? Fake dating, family drama, and foodie fun combine in this YA paperback original, perfect for fans of Lynn Painter and Emma Lord.
Valeria Morales' senior year is not off to a great start. Her twin brother Adrian isn't talking to her, she's realizing all of her friends were actually his friends, and now she's failing math. Enter Gage Magnussen. Gage isn't looking to take on any tutoring gigs now that his standing as valedictorian is at risk after letting a catastrophic breakup distract him--not to mention his demanding parents expect Gage to coordinate their yearly charity auction alongside his cheating ex. So Valeria offers him a deal: If he helps her pass, she'll take over event planning AND pretend to be his girlfriend. A win-win-win!
But as their study sessions move to deep conversations and their fake dates begin feeling realer and realer, is it possible the lemons they've been dealt will turn to lemonade? Or will this arrangement only sting? -
The Last Resort
The next evolution in storytelling from New York Times bestselling, Newbery Medal Winning author Erin Entrada Kelly!
Twelve-year-old Lila has two goals for the summer:
1. Win back the friends who ditched her for being "too dramatic"
2. Stop being so dramatic
But then Lila's estranged Grandpa Clem dies, throwing a wrench in her plans. Now she'll have to spend the summer in Ohio while her parents decide what to do with Grandpa Clem's creepy Victorian Inn. It's supremely unfair. How can she show off the "new and improved" Lila from so far away?
Even worse, strange things keep happening. En route to Ohio, the family gets into a scary car accident. No one's hurt, but the remainder of the trip is... odd. At every rest stop, Lila sees people in weird old-fashioned clothes. People no one else can see or hear...
Lila convinces herself it's just her overactive imagination until the day of the funeral when she spots an old man sitting in her grandfather's favorite chair. She does a double take -- it's him, Grandpa Clem. He tells Lila that he didn't die of a heart attack: he was murdered. Possibly by someone who wants to control the inn. Because it's not a normal bed & breakfast: it's a portal between the land of the living and the realm of the dead. A hotel for ghosts passing onto the afterlife.
With the help of her skeptical brother, Caleb, and their new ghost-obsessed neighbor, Teddy, Lila -- the girl who's vowed to be less dramatic -- must uncover her grandfather's killer AND stop the evil spirits desperate to make their way back into the human world.
Enter the world of The Last Resort! Ghosts from the story will emerge from the pages of the book, allowing readers to talk to spirits from the past and help solve the mystery!
-
The Obsession
AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • What if being famous was the most dangerous thing you ever did? #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Natasha Preston is back with a twisted tale of social media, secrets, and survival.
SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING.
Connie never asked to be famous—but thanks to her mother’s relentless vlogging, she and her sister Isla have spent their lives under a virtual microscope. Every smile, every moment curated for clicks. Every stranger online thinking they know them.
Then local girls—girls who look just like Connie—start dying. One by one. As the bodies pile up and the spotlight turns sinister, Connie is forced to confront the terrifying truth: someone isn’t just watching. They’re planning. -
Float Vol. 1
Dive into summer fun in this graphic novel romance from Webtoon. It's perfect for fans of True Beauty and Pumpkinheads!
Amidst the chaos of her parents' bitter divorce, Alaskan teenager Waverly Lyons trades in her textbooks and parka for a summer of suntans and short-shorts with her aunt in Florida. A fish out of water even back in the snow, Waverly is determined to be everything she isn't back home: cool, fun, dare she even say part of a group? There's just one problem. She doesn't know how to swim.
Enter Blake -- the super-tan, super-hot, super-arrogant boy next door who seems to hate her guts. When he discovers her secret, Waverly is positive that her perfect summer is perfectly over. But then Blake does the unthinkable. He offers to teach her.
This slice-of-life YA romance is illustrated in an anime-inspired style that readers will love. What are you waiting for? Dive in!
-
Sea Change
An original and timely new YA novel from acclaimed author Susan Fletcher, set in a near-future where rogue gene editing has changed humanity--loosely based on The Little Mermaid
A girl torn between two worlds . . .
Turtle is scavenging a drowned town when she saves a stranger's life. There's something special about Kai--an attraction she's never felt before. She would do anything to see him again.
But Turtle can never truly be with Kai, because Kai is Normal, and Turtle is one of the Mer, kids whose genes were illegally hacked before birth and who now have working gills as well as lungs. Turtle lives on an old cruise ship with the other Mer in order to be close to the water she needs to survive.
Yet she sneaks away and lies to her friends to spend more time on land with Kai. And the pull of the shore grows even stronger when Turtle reconnects with her sisters and learns that her father, who has been in prison for having her genes modified, has escaped and may be hiding out nearby.
When scientists come up with a way for the Mer to surrender their gills and live as Normals, Turtle faces a terrible choice. Turtle loves her life with her Mer friends, but she desperately misses her family. And then there's Kai . . .
Should she give up her Mer community and their way of life, along with the joy of living freely under the sea? Or give up the guy she's falling for . . . and any hope of reconnecting with her family?
School Resources for Parents and Students
Lively reviews and recommendations make book selection fun.
Inside the Library: click here.
Outside the Library: click here.
Access to live tutors in math, science, reading/writing, social studies, PSAT/SAT, ACT, AP and state standardized tests. Also includes a 24-hour online writing lab and Homework Question Center.
View a Brainfuse HelpNow Tutorial: click here.
Download the App
Children's Literature Comprehensive Database is an ever growing online database with over 400,000 reviews, MARC records and related information about children’s literature.
Inside the Library: click here. Outside the Library: click here.
Concise, reliable, and up-to-date country reports on 200 cultures of the world. A trusted perspective on our changing world.
Inside the Library: click here. Outside the Library: click here.
ERIC, the Education Resource Information Center, provides access to education literature and research; provides access to information from journals included in the Current Index of Journals in Education and Resources in Education Index.
Inside the Library: click here. Outside the Library: click here.
Gale in Context: Elementary (formerly Kids Infobits) contains age-appropriate magazines for grades K-5. Also includes Merriam-Webster's Elementary Dictionary, maps, flags, seals, charts, graphs, and videos to support STEM topics.
Inside the Library: click here.
Resource for students in grades 6 to 8. Offers magazines, newspapers, primary sources, and videos on a variety of topics. Supports national and state curriculum standards in language arts, social studies and science.
Inside the Library: click here. Outside the Library: click here.
Information on high school research topics plus pop culture, sports, and more.
Inside the Library: click here.
Outside the Library: click here.
JSTOR provides full-text access to more than 12 million journal articles, books, images, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.
Inside the Library: click here. Outside the Library: click here.
Novelist Plus provides access to reading recommendations for both fiction and nonfiction. A readers' advisory resource.
View a NoveList Plus Tutorial: click here.
Inside the Library: click here. Outside the Library: click here.
Provides biographies of children and young adults authors and illustrators.
Inside the Library: click here.
Outside the Library: click here.