WHAT!? We're Moving? -- Books About Moving

Check out the following teen books featuring stories about moving . . . .

Abandon by Meg Cabot

A near-death experience, a horrible incident at school, and a move from Connecticut to Florida have turned seventeen-year-old Pierce's life upside-down, but when she needs him most John Hayden is always there, helping but reminding her of her visit to the Underworld.

My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak

Devastated when her parents are killed in a car accident, sixteen-year old Jackie moves from New York City to Colorado to live with her mother's best friend, who has twelve children, including two boys who start to show an interest in Jackie that goes beyond brotherly.

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones

Fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken leaves her best friend, her boyfriend, her aunt, and her mother's grave in Boston and reluctantly flies to Los Angeles to live with her father, a famous movie star who divorced her mother before Ruby was born.

Revived by Cat Patrick

Having been brought back from the dead repeatedly by a top-secret government super drug called Revive, and forced to move so the public does not learn the truth, fifteen-year-old Daisy meets people worth living for and begins to question the heavy-handedgovernment controls she has dealt with for eleven years.

More Books --

The Cemetery Boys by Aidan Thomas

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe

The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 

Hello Now by Jenny Valentine

The Missing Season by Gillian French

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen-Fernlund

Missing the Movies? Read One of These Teen Books Made Into a Movie

If you're anything like me, you've missed going to the movies these past months.  To help fill the void, read one of these teen books made into a movie (and check out the movie while you're at it).  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

In the quiet English hamlet of Wall, Tristran Thorn embarks on a remarkable journey through the world of Faerie to recover a fallen star for his lover, the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester.

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Fourteen-year-old Mia, who is trying to lead a normal life as a teenage girl in New York City, is shocked to learn that her father is the Prince of Genovia, a small European principality, and that she is a princess and the heir to the throne.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Sixteen-year-old, not-so-openly-gay Simon Spier is blackmailed into playing wingman for his classmate or else his sexual identity--and that of his pen pal--will be revealed.

Movie Title -- Love, Simon

Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer

When a number of Mara Carlyle's fellow high school students spontaneously combust, the FBI and a swarm of journalists descend upon her suburban New Jersey town in the search for answers.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

While in a coma following an automobile accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weights whether to live with her grief or join her family in death.

More Books Turned Into Movies --

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

The Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
Paper Towns by John Green

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through December 4, 2020.

Avalon High by Meg Cabot

Elaine is not thrilled to be starting her junior year at a new high school just because her professor parents are on a sabbatical. 

That's before she meets Will.  Will is quarterback of the football team, senior class president, and friend to nearly everybody.  When Will becomes her friend, Elaine decides this move might not be so bad.

But something strange is going on at Avalon High.  Will's best friend and girlfriend are hooking up in secret.  His brother hates him.  And the English teacher thinks Will is the reincarnation of King Arthur.

Will Elaine be able to save Will?  And what's her part in this story?



This is a retelling of the King Arthur story set in a modern-day high school.  It was a fun book to read with a little bit of everything for everyone.  There's fantasy, romance, suspense, and mystery.

Classics Retold

This week, I'm sharing teen books that are retellings of classics.  Here's a few of my favorites . . .

Abandon by Meg Cabot
A near-death experience, a horrible incident at school, and a move from Connecticut to Florida have turned seventeen-year-old Pierce's life upside-down, but when she needs him most John Hayden is always there, helping but reminding her of her visit to the Underworld.

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey
As seventeen-year-old Jill Jekel and classmate Tristen Hyde work together on a chemistry project, hoping to win a scholarship for her and a cure for his curse, they also uncover family secrets and a chemistry of their own.

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George
In the midst of maneuverings to create political alliances through marriage, sixteen-year-old Poppy, one of the infamous twelve dancing princesses, becomes the target of a vengeful witch while Prince Christian tries to save her.

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily receives special protections from the spiritual forces of Neverland, but then she meets her tribe's most dangerous enemy--Peter Pan--and falls in love with him.


More Classics --
Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Beast by Donna Jo Napoli
Black Spring by Alison Croggon
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Dark of the Moon by Tracy Barrett
Enter Three Witches by Caroline Cooney
The Fall by Bethany Griffin
Hunted by Megan Spooner
A Little in Love by Susan E. Fletcher
The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepard
Marly's Ghost by David Levithan
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block
Railsea by China Mieville
Ronit & Jamil by Pamela L. Laskin
Rook by Sharon Cameron
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
The Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters
Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis
Still Star-Crossed by Melinda Taub
This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel
This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee
When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through May 11, 2018.

I Want a Story That Goes On and On and On . . . .

Series books are always popular.  Kids love the continuity of reading series.  The characters are familiar and the story just keeps going on.  So this week, I'm sharing some great chapter book series that you might not be as familiar with yet . . . .

The Onts by Dan Greenburg
Secrets of Dripping Fang series
Ten-year-old orphan twins Wally and Cheyenne Shluffmuffin have a had it bad at Cincinnati's Jolly Days Orphanage, but things get much worse when the Mandible sisters offer to share their home in the Dripping Fang Forest.

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham
In the small city of Strattenburg there are many lawyers, and thirteen-year-old Theo Boone thinks he is one of them, but his inside knowledge of the justice system means trouble when a cold-blooded killer is about to go free and only Theo can stop him.

Moving Day by Meg Cabot
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls series
Nine-year-old Allie Finkle has rules for everything and is even writing her own rule book, but her world is turned upside-down when she learns that her family is moving across town, which will mean a new house, school, best friend, and plenty of new rules.

Spaceheadz by Jon Scieszka
On his first day at Brooklyn's P.S. 858, fifth-grader Michael K. is teamed with two very strange students, and while he gradually comes to believe they are aliens who need his help, he has trouble convincing anyone else of the truth.


More Series for Kids --
Alvin Ho series by Lenore Look
Chet Gecko, Private Eye series by Bruce Hale
Clementine series by Sara Pennypacker
The Genius Files series by Dan Gutman
Green Knowe series by L.M. Boston
Heroes in Training series by Joan Holub
Just Grace series by Charise Mericle Harper
Lily Quench series by Natalie Jane Prior
Sammy Keyes series by Wendelin Van Draanen
School Spirit series by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through July 28, 2017.

Have You Read the Series?

Series books are always popular.  We love to read stories that just keep on going.  Here are some of my favorite series for teens . . .

(First book in series is listed.)

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
Eleven-year-old Alanna, who aspires to be a knight even though she is a girl, disguises herself as a boy to become a royal page, a learning many hard lessons along her path to high adventure.

Elemental by Antony John
In a dystopian colony of the United States where everyone is born with powers of the elements, water, wind, earth, and fire, sixteen-year-old Thomas, the first and only child born without an element seems powerless, but is he?

Freakling by Lana Krumwiede
After a traumatic accident removes his telekinetic ability, or psy, twelve-year-old Taemon is exiled to the "dud farm," where he is surprised to find kind, open people who enjoy using their hands but there are also mysteries at the colony and when Taemon unwittingly leaks one of the secrets he must find the courage to repair the damage, even if it means returning to the city from which he was banished.

Legacies by Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Thornhill
Spirit is shocked to discover that she is a Legacy -- a child of a former student at Whitehall Academy.  Even more shocking is that the school is for those who have magical powers.

Abandon by Meg Cabot
A near-death experience, a horrible incident at school, and a move from Connecticut to Florida have turned seventeen-year-old Pierce's life upside-down, but when she needs him most John Hayden is always there, helping but reminding her of her visit to the Underworld.


More Teen Series --
Crash by Lisa McMann
Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
The Enemy by Charlie Higson
Half Bad by Sally Green
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Slathbog's Gold by M.L. Forman
William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher
Wolf Tower by Tanith Lee
Zom-B by Darren Shan

Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through May 20, 2016.

Fierce Females -- They Don't Need a Hero, They Are the Hero

I love stories with a great female lead.  It's wonderful to read of the girl saving the day instead of waiting meekly for a guy to do it.  So here are some of my favorite fierce females in teen stories . . .

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.

Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.

Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore
High school senior and yearbook photographer Maggie thought she would rather die than go to prom, but when a classmate summons a revenge-seeking demon, she has no choice but to buy herself a dress and prepare to face jocks, cheerleaders, and Evil Incarnate.

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
Perry's parents insist that he take Gobi, their quiet, Lithuanian exchange student, to senior prom but after an incident at the dance he learns that Gobi is actually a trained assassin who needs him as a henchman, behind the wheel of his father's precious Jaguar, on a mission in Manhattan.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
When a plane crash strands thirteen teen beauty contestants on a mysterious island, they struggle to survive, to get along with one another, to combat the island's other diabolical occupants, and to learn their dance numbers in case they are rescued in time for the competition.


More Fierce Females --
Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
Dangerous by Shannon Hale
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel
Fallout by Gwenda Bond
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Hunter by Mercedes Lackey
I Become Shadow by Joe Shine
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff
Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin
Seeker by Arwen Dayton
Sorrow's Knot by Erin Bow
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
The Wicked and the Just by Jillian Coats


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through April 8, 2016.

Read These Books with the Lights On!

Horror books are always fun to read!  Even though Halloween is a couple of weeks in the past, we still like to get chills as we read a scary book.  Here are some of my favorite horror books for teens ...

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Sam LaCroix, a Seattle fast-food worker and college dropout, discovers that he is a necromancer, part of a world of harbingers, werewolves, satyrs, and one particular necromancer who sees Sam as a threat to his lucrative business of raising the dead.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
For three years, seventeen-year-old Cas Lowood has carried on his father's work of dispatching the murderous dead, traveling with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat, but everything changes when he meets Anna, a girl unlike any ghost he has faced before.

Prom Dates from  Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore
High school senior and yearbook photographer Maggie thought she would rather die than go to prom, but when a classmate summons a revenge-seeking demon, she has no choice but to buy herself a dress and prepare to face jocks, cheerleaders, and Evil Incarnate.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Sunshine is abducted by a vampire, and as she waits through the night, fearing the worst, she forms an unlikely bond with her captor.

Jinx by  Meg Cabot
Sixteen-year-old Jean "Jinx" Honeychurch, the descendant of a witch, must leave Iowa to live with relatives in Manhattan after the first spell she casts goes awry, but she will have to improve her skills to stop her cousin from practicing black magic that endangers them and the boy they both like.


More Teen Horror --
Ashes by Ilsa Bick
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Tucholke
Bonechiller by Graham McNamee
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein
Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters by Suzanne Weyn
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
In the After by Demetria Lunetta
A Midsummer Night's Scream by R.L. Stine
My Swordhand Is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick
Nightmare City by Andrew Klavan
Pretty Monsters: Stories by Kelly Link
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through November 25, 2015.

A New Twist on an Old Tale

I love retellings of famous stories.  I love seeing how an author can take a familiar story line and make it completely different with just a few changes.  Here are some of my favorite retellings for teens . . . .

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey
As seventeen-year-old Jill Jekel and classmate Tristen Hyde work together on a chemistry project, hoping to win a scholarship for her and a cure for his curse, they also uncover family secrets and a chemistry of their own.
(Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.
(Le Morte de Arthur)

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? by Melissa Cantor
When the father of high school sophomore, Lucy Norton, remarries, Lucy finds herself tormented by two bratty stepsisters and a wicked stepmother.
(Cinderella)

Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block
A young woman, Psyche, searches for her lost love and questions her true self in a modern retelling of Greek myths.
(Greek Myth of Psyche)


More Retellings for Teens --
Black Spring by Alison Croggon (Wuthering Heights)
Cloaked by Alex Flinn (The Princess and the Frog)
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige (The Wizard of Oz)
Enter Three Witches by Caroline Cooney (MacBeth)
The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle (Beauty and the Beast)
The House of Dark Maids by Clare B. Dunkle (Wuthering Heights)
Jake, Reinvented by Gordon Korman (The Great Gatsby)
The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd (The Island of Dr. Moreau)
Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron (Frankenstein)
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin (The Masque of the Red Death)
A Midsummer Night's Scream by R.L. Stine (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Pharoah's Daughter by Julius Lester (Moses)
Quiver by Stephanie Spinner (Myth of Atalanta)
Railsea by China Mieville (Moby Dick)
Roses by G.R. Mannering (Beauty and the Beast)
Shylock's Daughter by Miriam Pressler (The Merchant of Venice)
Something Rotten by Alan Gratz (Hamlet)
Splintered by A.G. Howard (Alice in Wonderland)
Street Love by Walter Dean Myers (Romeo and Juliet)
This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel (Frankenstein)
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (Peter Pan)


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through April 3, 2015.

Dare to Be Scared (Part 4)

This week, I am focusing on horror books for teens that feature witches . . .

Stolen by Vivian Vande Velde
A girl finds herself running through the forest at the edge of a village with no memory of anything, even her own name, and later learns that she might be twelve-year-old Isabelle, believed to be stolen by a witch six years before.

Half Bad by Sally Green
In modern-day England, where witches live alongside humans, Nathan, son of a White witch and the most powerful Black witch, must escape captivity before his seventeenth birthday and receive the gifts that will determine his future.

Jinx by Meg Cabot
Sixteen-year-old Jean "Jinx" Honeychurch, the descendant of a witch, must leave Iowa to live with relatives in Manhattan after the first spell she casts goes awry, but she will have to improve her skills to stop her cousin from practicing black magic that endangers them and the boy they both like.

Witch Child by Celia Rees
In 1659, fourteen-year-old Mary Newbury keeps a journal of her voyage from England to the New World and her experiences living as a witch in a community of Puritans near Salem, Massachusetts.

In Search of King Arthur

The legend of King Arthur is one of the most well-known tales.  Stories of Camelot, King Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table are always popular.  Here are some great takes on the King Arthur tale for teens. . . .

Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.

I Am Mordred: A Tale from Camelot by  Nancy Springer
When Mordred learns the identity of his father, he struggles with feelings of hatred, but also fights the fate which determines that he kill the good and gracious king.

The Squire's Tale by Gerald Morris
In medieval England, fourteen-year-old Terence finds his tranquil existence suddenly changed when he becomes the squire of the young Gawain of Orkney and accompanies him on a long quest, proving Gawain's worth as a knight and revealing an important secret about his own true identity.

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Sandell
In fifth-century Britain, Elaine, who lives with her family in the military encampments of Arthur's army, describes her perceptions of war and the people around her as she becomes involved in the struggle against the Saxons.

Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve
When her village is attacked and burned, Gwyna seeks protection from the bard Myrddin, who uses Gwyna in his plan to transform young Arthur into the heroic King Arthur.