Murder, Mayhem & Mystery

This week, I am focusing on books for teens that include murder, mayhem and mystery . . . .

The Golden Day by Ursula Durbosarsky
Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, follows the chilling stories of eleven school girls who struggle to identify a mysterious poet in the aftermath of a teacher's innocence-shattering disappearance.

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig
Flynn's girlfriend is missing, and people are suspecting him of knowing something, so he struggles to uncover her secrets as he must also face the truth about himself.

Fake I.D. by L.R. Riles
An African-American teen in the Witness Protection Program moves to a new town and finds himself trying to solve a murder mystery when his first friend is found dead.

The Invisible by Mats Wahl
A Swedish teenager is assaulted and killed, but returns as a ghost to find his killer.

The Caged Graves by Dianne K. Salerni
Returning to her hometown of Catawissa, Pennsylvania, in 1867 to marry a man she has never met, seventeen-year-old Verity Boone gets caught up in the a mystery surrounding the graves of her mother and aunt and a dangerous hunt for Revolutionary-era gold.


More Books --
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Deadly Design by Debra Doktor
Extremities: Stories of Death, Murder, and Revenge by David Lubar
Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner
The Girl I Used to Be by April Henry
The Madman's Daughter by Megan Sheperd
The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude
Mister Death's Blue-Eyed Girls by Mary Downing Hahn
The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
Playing in Traffic by Gail Giles
Project Cain by Geoffrey Girard
Seraphina by Rachel Harman
A Taste for Monsters by Matthew Kirby
Three Truths and a Lie by Brent Hartinger
Unlovely by Celeste Conway
Vango: Between Sky and Earth by Timothee de Fombelle

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through March 24, 2017.

Stories in Black and White

One of the big stories with last night's Oscars ceremony was the lack of African-American nominees.  This was upsetting considering how many great acting performances were given by African Americans this past year.  So, I want to draw attention to some great teen books featuring African American characters . . . .

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon
When sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson is shot to death, his community is thrown into an uproar because Tariq was black and the shooter, Jack Franklin, is white, and in the aftermath everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events agree.

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
In 1845, Sammy, a Chinese American girl, and Annamae, an African American slave girl, disguise themselves as boys and travel on the Oregon Trail to California from Missouri.

Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein
Having moved to Ethiopia to avoid the prejudices of 1930s America, Emilia Menotti, her black adoptive brother Teo, and their mother Rhoda, a stunt pilot, are devoted to their new country even after war with Italy looms, drawing the teens into the conflict.

Fake ID by Lamar Giles
An African-American teen in the Witness Protection Program moves to a new town and finds himself trying to solve a murder mystery when his first friend is found dead.

Jimi & Me by Jaime Adoff
After his father's tragic death, twelve-year-old Keith James moves from Brooklyn to a small midwestern town where his mixed race heritage is not accepted, but he finds comfort in the music of Jimi Hendrix and the friendship of a white classmate.


More Books --
Black and White by Paul Volponi
Boy21 by Matthew Quick
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
Dancer by Lorri Hewett
Fabulous by Simone Bryant
Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
If I Grow Up by Todd Strasser
Invasion! by Walter Dean  Myers
Kendra by Coe Booth
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers
Money Hungry by Sharon Flake
My Name Is Not Friday by Jon Walter
New Boy by Julian Houston
The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson
X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz


Check out these books on display through March, 18, 2015.