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Recommended for Teens

Strange the Dreamer

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In this beautifully written book, Laini Taylor introduces us to Lazlo Strange, a war orphan with an enormous imagination. Cared for as a child by abbots, Lazlo has become captivated by the stories of the Lost city of Weep. His love of reading only grows as he does and he becomes a junior librarian but he fears his dreams of discovering the Lost City will never come true.

When an unexpected opportunity presents itself, Lazlo surprises everyone and even himself by seizing the chance to follow his dream. Along his journey, he makes friends and enemies both as he unravels the mysteries of Weep and even encounters a blue skinned goddess.

There are stories within stories, brimming with lore and myth that make the world of Lazlo Strange full, rich and one you’ll want to stay in after you’ve finished reading the book.

Find it on the catalog

Furyborn

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Furyborn by Claire Legrand
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Adults and Teens

A queen screams in the throes of childbirth.

A little boy travels to another place and time with a power that is a mystery to even himself.

An angel comes to the door with an evil intent.

A young woman decides to barter her soul for her family’s safety.

Claire Legrand’s Furyborn is bursting with tales of magic, love lost, heroic deeds, and tantalizing mysteries.  It is fantasy at its absolute best, but what makes Furyborn so compelling, and unique among its peers, is how Legrand sets up her narrative.  It follows two young women, Rielle, an aristocrat who is discovered to have a magical power that could either doom or save the world, and Eliana, a young bounty hunter that will do anything to protect the ones she loves.  The twist is that Rielle’s story takes place roughly 1000 years before Eliana’s.  The chapters alternate between each character’s point of view, as well as their place in time, which results in an amazing case where one story would seem to foreshadow the next, only to surprise you in how events actually play out.

Furyborn features a world that is as deep as it is complex, with an implicit history that helps the world to feel as real as any created by J.R.R. Tolkien or Christopher Paolini.  Each chapter starts with a quote from a historical figure of its world, each adding a satisfying tidbit of lore for readers to ponder.  For readers that love to figure out the timeline of a story and how events all fit together, this is an absolute paradise.

The first book in the Empirium trilogy, Furyborn introduces and resolves enough plot points to feel satisfying, but still leaves enough mysteries for readers to theorize about in the wait before its sequel, Kingsbane, is released next year.

Recommended for: fans of young adult fantasy, strong female protagonists, magic, time travel, rich fictional histories, and action.

Find it in the catalog.

Bloodsworth: The True Story of the First Death Row Inmate Exonerated by DNA Evidence

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Bloodsworth: The True Story of the First Death Row Inmate Exonerated by DNA Evidence by Tim Junkin
Format: Book, eBook, Audiobook
Who it’s for: Adults and Teens

This year’s One Maryland One Book selection tells the unsettling, but ultimately inspiring, tale of an innocent man wrongly convicted of a capital crime. Sentenced to death for the grisly rape and murder of a young girl, Kirk Bloodsworth endured years of a hellish existence. He ultimately gained his freedom thanks to his own tenacity in researching legal options, which led him to the brand-new field of DNA testing.

In telling Kirk Bloodsworth’s story, the author shines a glaring spotlight on some of the flaws in our justice system. He invites you to join Kirk as he journeys through hope, despair, determination, and ultimately vindication. As horrifying as some aspects of the story were, I found that I couldn’t put it down.

Find it in the catalog. Then join us at one or all of the library’s One Maryland One Book events, all centered around the riveting tale of disgrace and redemption told in Bloodsworth.

Norse Mythology

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Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Format: Book or Audiobook
Who it’s for: Adults, teens, and children (parents should read it first – there is violence, drinking, and other mature content)

Neil Gaiman’s works often reference mythologies (see American Gods, Anansi Boys, Sandman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and really almost anything else he’s written). In Norse Mythology, he turns his interest in mythology toward the Norse gods, but instead of creating a fictionalized world based on them, he retells the stories of Odin, Thor, Loki, and other gods and characters as we know them from the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda. Gaiman uses his witty and engaging prose to tell the story of how the gods received their treasures (including Mjollnir – Thor’s hammer), Thor’s journey to the land of the giants, the death of Balder, and more. In his capable hands, the stories — which span from the creation of everything through Ragnorak, the end of the world — are accessible and engaging, often funny and sometimes sad.

Anyone with even a passing interest in Norse mythology will enjoy this, and it’s even better in audio. Gaiman narrates the audiobook (as he does for so many of his other works) and brings an added passion and wit to the stories (and you get to hear the names pronounced, which is useful if you go back and read the printed book).

Check it out today!

Ten dead comedians

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Ten dead comedians by Fred Van Lente
Format: Book
Who it’s for:  Adults

“Fred Van Lente’s brilliant debut is both an homage to the Golden Age of Mystery and a contemporary show-business satire. It is a darkly clever take on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (aka Ten Little Indians) and other classics of the genre. As the story opens, nine comedians of various acclaim are summoned to the island retreat of legendary Hollywood funnyman Dustin Walker.  These fictional comedians all will remind you of real life comedians in many ways. All nine arrive via boat to find that every building on the island is completely deserted. Marooned without cell phone service or wifi signals, they soon find themselves being murdered one by one. But who is doing the killing, and why?” -Publisher’s blurb

I picked this up because of the publisher – Quirk books. They have many fun, different books for all ages.

If you have read or seen the movies based on And Then There Were None, you know it’s a locked room mystery with a crazy, unbelievable, twisty ending.  I love Agatha Christie mysteries but I always tell people she cheats. The murder is always rather complicated. The murderer is a very fast MacGyver with the best luck. The timing is always just right. The murderer always figures out some hack to accomplish their goals. And the murderer is lucky that nobody sees them, except 1 person. Of course, that one person is eventually murdered. That is a Christie style mystery. I enjoy them but they cheat.

This parody is no exception. The murders are elaborate and take MacGyver type skills to pull off.  The murderer times things VERY well as they move from room to room. The ending is so fantastical you know nobody in real life could pull it off. But the story is an enjoyable mystery. The fact it is funny and satirizes showbiz is an added bonus.

I would recommend this book to mystery lovers, parody enthusiasts, folks in need of a laugh and those interested in the life of a comedian.

Find it in the catalog

Pacifica

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Title: Pacifica by Kristen Simmons
Format: Book
Who’s It For: Teens and Adults

Perhaps Ross Torres started it.  Tall, athletic, good-looking, the son of the President of the United States, Ross wanted for nothing.  And yet he was curious about the Shorelings rioting down at the docks.  Ross persuaded Adam, his best friend and the vice-president’s son, to slip out of the Torres’ political party. They’d ditch Ross’ bodyguard and see the riots firsthand.

Marin Carey was transporting jars of tar in her backpack through the crowds of the riot.  Her friends and the children they’d taken in depended on Marin.  She had to sell the addictive substance to afford food and water.  Surely she would find a buyer among the crowds at the docks?

The Shorelings rioted because their land was being confiscated.  What else did they have left?  Many hoped to win the lottery and to be transported to Pacifica, a land somewhere out among the rising waters.  However, Marin had been raised at sea.  She’d never seen unoccupied land or an ocean unmired by floating trash.  Was Pacifica real?

The Limpieza, the police, pushed against the growing masses at the docks.  “Curfew! Go home!”

In the confusion, Marin’s bag of contraband was jostled and the jars broke on the ground.  Phew!  She had to get away from its dizzying smell.

“Adam!  Let’s go!” shouted Ross as blood dripped from his black hair.  Marin stumbled into Ross and Adam.  As the police raised their billy clubs, the three fled from the growing threat.

Would Ross, Marin, and Adam solve the mystery of Pacifica and stop the riots?

I was intrigued by this tale of teen friendship, loyalties, and love.  Also, I found the issues of trash, recycling, and resources very real.

Would you like to read it?