The Five Faces of Grief: A Teen Fiction Booklist

Everybody reacts to grief in a different way.  This week, I'm sharing fiction stories for teens about the grieving process.  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
The summer following her father's death, Macy plans to work at the library and wait for her brainy boyfriend to return from camp, but instead she goes to work at a catering business where she makes new friends and finally faces her grief.

Goodbye Days: A Novel by Jeff Zentner
Looks at a teen's life after the death of his best friend and how he navigates through the guilt and pain by celebrating their lives--and ultimately learning to forgive himself.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

After the death of her father, Amy, a high school student and Roger, a college freshman, set out on a carefully planned road trip from California to Connecticut, but wind up taking many detours, forcing Amy to face her worst fears and come to terms with her grief and guilt.

More Books --

All That Was by Karen Rivers

Bang: A Novel by Barry Lyga

Breakaway by Katarina M. Spears

The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody

The Color of the Sun by David Almond

Fadeaway by Maura Ellen Stokes

The Half-Orphan's Handbook by Joan F. Smith

The History of Jane Doe by Michael Belander

I Felt a Funeral, In My Brain by Will Walton

The Last Forever by Deb Caletti

The Last Wish of Sasha Cade by Cheyanne Young

Legacy by Jessica Blank

Maybe by Brent Runyon

Pretend She's Here by Luanne Rice

Ready to Fall by Marcella Fleischman Pixley

Road Tripped by Pete Hautman

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Sorry for Your Loss by Jessie Ann Foley

Start Here by Trish Doller

The Stepping Off Place by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum
Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch September 3, 2021.

Road Trip!

This week, I'm sharing books for teens about road trips.  Here are a few of my favorites . . .

Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Cameron Smith, a disaffected sixteen year-old who, after being diagnosed with Creutzfeld Jakob's (aka mad cow) disease, sets off on a road trip with a death-obsessed video gaming dwarf he meets in the hospital in an attempt to find a cure.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
A young British lord embarks on an unforgettable grand tour of Europe with his best friend/secret crush in this eighteenth-century romantic adventure for the modern age.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith
Sixteen-year-old Emma Healy has never felt that she fit in with the rest of her family, so when she discovers that she had a twin brother who died shortly after they were born, she takes off on an impulsive road trip to try to discover who she really is.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
After the death of her father, Amy, a high school student and Roger, a college freshman, set out on a carefully planned road trip from California to Connecticut, but wind up taking many detours, forcing Amy to face her worst fears and come to terms with her grief and guilt.


More Books --
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
American Road Trip by Patrick Flores-Scott
Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi
Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith
First Love by James Patterson
Four Three Two One by Courtney C. Stevens
The Geography of Lost Things by Jessica Brody
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Nowhere Near You by Leah Thomas
Paper Hearts by Ali Novak
The Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown
Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles
Road Tripped by Pete Hautman
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
When Elephants Fly by Nancy Richardson Fischer
Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through August 2, 2019.

Get Away @ the Library

This week is Teen Read Week -- a time to celebrate reading for fun and pleasure.  This year's theme is Get Away @ Your Library which highlights how reading a book can take you anywhere you would like to go.  So here are some great teen books that will transport you to new lands, worlds, and adventures . . .

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
After the death of her father, Amy, a high school student and Roger, a college freshman, set out on a carefully planned road trip from California to Connecticut, but wind up taking many detours, forcing Amy to face her worst fears and come to terms with her grief and guilt.

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
A young woman who has endured unspeakable cruelties is magically granted a safe haven apart from the real world and allowed to raise her two daughters in this alternate reality, until the barrier between her world and the real one begins to break down.

Nil by Lynne Matson
Transported through a "gate" to the mysterious island of Nil, seventeen-year-old Charley has 365 days to escape--or she will die.

Gateway by Sharon Shinn
While passing through the Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, a Chinese American teenager is transported to a parallel world where she is given a dangerous assignment.

Trash by Andy Mulligan
Fourteen-year-olds Raphael and Gardo team up with a younger boy, Rat, to figure out the mysteries surrounding a bag Raphael finds during their daily life of sorting through trash in a third-world country's dump.


More Books --
The Faerie Path by Frewin Jones
Game Changer by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Lawson
The Jumbee by Pamela Keyes
Love by the Morning Star by Laura L. Sullivan
The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith
A Meeting of Minds by Carol Matas
More Than This by Patrick Ness
Now That You're Here by Amy Nichols
Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis
A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin
Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey
The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim by E.K. Johnston
Stravaganza: City of Stars by Mary Hoffman
Summerland by Michael Chabon


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through November 13, 2015.

Road Trip! Stories of the Journey

I love a good road trip.  Whether I have a destination in mind or if I'm just making it up as I go, a road trip is always fun.  Here are some great teen books featuring road trips . . .

The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson
Seventeen-year-old Destiny keeps a painful childhood secret all to herself until she and three classmates from her exclusive boarding school take off on an unauthorized road trip in search of "one fair day."

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
After the death of her father, Amy, a high school student and Roger, a college freshman, set out on a carefully planned road trip from California to Connecticut, but wind up taking many detours, forcing Amy to face her worst fears and come to terms with her grief and guilt.

Going Bovine by Libby Bray
Cameron Smith, a disaffected sixteen year-old who, after being diagnosed with Creutzfeld Jakob's (aka mad cow) disease, sets off on a road trip with a death-obsessed video gaming dwarf he meets in the hospital in an attempt to find a cure.

Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray
After their best friend Ross dies, English teenagers Blake, Kenny, and Sim plan a proper memorial by taking his ashes to Ross, Scotland, an adventure-filled journey that tests their loyalty to each other and forces them to question what friendship means.

You Are Here: A Novel by Jennifer E. Smith
Sixteen-year-old Emma Healy has never felt that she fit in with the rest of her family, so when she discovers that she had a twin brother who died shortly after they were born, she takes off on an impulsive road trip to try to discover who she really is.


More Books Featuring Road Trips --
100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
Being Henry David by Cal Armistead
Defining Dulcie by Paul Acampora
Kissing in America by Margo Rabb
Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron
Num8ers by Rachel Ward
Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown
The Porcupine of Truth by Bill Konigsberg
Rainbow Road by Alex Sanchez
The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti
There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf
Witch World by Christopher Pike


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through August 28, 2015.