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Recommended for Teens

Blackout

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Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon
Format: Audiobook
Who it’s for: Teens

*Sighs* New York City in the summer. The birds are chirping, music is playing, kids running around and all is well in the world, then a blackout happens. “Blackout” is a book that proves the city of New York is smaller than we think. Each character in the series of short stories within the book interconnect throughout and it exudes the story of young Black teens in love. I saw this book last year in an article and was SO excited about its release. It gives the book world something it desperately needs – Black teens in love and living life. The inclusiveness of the characters is something that makes this book a great read. All six authors are powerhouses and I hope to see more collaborative stories from them in the future.

Find Blackout in the catalog.

The Darkwater Saga

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Recommended Series
Series Title: Darkwater Saga by Patrick W. Carr
First Book: The Shock of Night
Who it’s for: Teens & Adults

Brief Synopsis: A clean (no sex, gore, or swearing) medieval fantasy mystery with twists & turns, warring religions, gifted peoples, secret societies, battles between forces of good & evil, and complex characters that make one feel all the emotions set in one epic story told in 4 parts.

Review: The Darkwater Saga takes place in the fictional kingdom of Collum. Our hero is Willet Dura, a reeve, aka the King’s investigator. He fell in love with a Lady of the realm; so as a favor the King has made Willet a Lord; now they may marry. Willet is not a well-respected Lord or noble since he was not born to it and works a regular job. Willet is also looked down on and basically thought to be a little crazy because he survived a night in the Darkwater Woods. Everybody knows folks die or come out insane after a night in the Darkwater. 😬😨😱 Willet is even more suspect because he cannot remember his time in the Darkwater. Despite these difficulties, Lord Willet Dura is content as a typical working man.

Now the fantasy aspect comes in to play because in Collum there are people who are gifted. After Willet’s time in the Darkwater, he sometimes wakes up with blood on his clothes and no memory of how it got there. All Willet knows is that there is sure to have been a murder. A great thing for an investigator but is it a gift or a curse?

If one starts with book 1, The Shock of Night, many aspects of this world are not fully explained until almost the end of the book. I believe the author, Patrick W. Carr, wrote the free prequel, By Divine Right because some readers wanted more world building before they jumped right into the adventure. I learned about the prequel after reading book 1. The prequel is available on most major ebook platforms for free!😁👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

In Collum, there are folks that are gifted. They are the upper class in society. Gifts of uncanny physical strength, music, mental ability, and other talents can be passed down in families. A relative typically inherits gifts but sometimes they go to an apprentice. The gifted can give it to them before they die. Most gifted train their successors so they know how to use their gift properly. Sometimes gifts can “go rogue” when the gifted person is unable to pass it on their appointed successor. That is what happens to our hero, Lord Willet Dura in The Shock of Night.  Willet wakes up with mystery blood on his clothes and knows he will be investigating a murder. For the first time, Willet finds the victim still alive. The stranger lives just long enough to pass his gift to Willet.  A gift that comes with additional responsibilities which Willet soon discovers he would rather not have. The dying man belonged to a group called the Vigil. The Vigil is a group of gifted individuals who seek to vanquish the evil in their world. They are like magical Navy Seals or very limited in power X-men.  Willet does not like this whatsoever but he has a mystery to solve. 🕵️‍♂️

Thus begins the epic adventure of Lord Willet Dura saving the kingdom of Collum from evil. There are many heartaches. At times, it seems like all hope is lost but good does triumph…eventually. Many battles against evil forces will ensue. Some characters will die or be seriously injured. All of them will have injuries to their soul. Miracles will happen. Revelations will be brought to light. Many (unlikely) lifelong friendships will be formed as Willet is joined/joins others to fight the evil that is trying to engulf the kingdom of Collum. They do win in the end. But every win was hard won with blood, sweat, and tears aplenty.😫😭

If you read Sharon Kay Penman’s 4 book series of medieval mysteries featuring Justin de Quincey as the investigator, you will like Lord Willet Dura and his investigative style. If you enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies, you will enjoy the medieval adventure, magical happenings, and teamwork found in this series.  I read this series because I liked his Sword and the Staff series. While looking for something similar to Stephen R. Lawhead, I discovered Patrick W.Carr under the tag of Christian fantasy. A Christian publisher, Baker, publishes Carr’s books but neither of his series are what I think of as Christian fiction. Carr’s books are clean and have few things in them that might offend a Christian but are definitely not what I would classify as a Christian fantasy novel like say C.S. Lewis. I recommend the series to teens and adults that can handle violence, character deaths, and hard emotions. None of the books are standalones.  All the novels pickup right where one book ends. Luckily, the series is finished and no need to wait a year or more for the rest of the story.🎉😀

Patrick W. Carr’s Darkwater Saga is available on Hoopla!

Giant Days

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Giant Days by John Allison
Art by: Max Sarin, Lissa Treiman, Liz Flemming, Jim Campbell, and Julia Madrigal
Format: eBook, Graphic Novel
Who’s it for?: Teens and Young Adults

This is a super fun slice-of-life graphic novel series about the shenanigans of UK college students. It’s funny, charming, and features strong female relationships between wildly dissimilar, but believable characters. In the first volume: Esther, gorgeous and goth, is a chaos magnet who is dealing with the heartache of a recent breakup. Daisy, homeschooled, wicked smart, and incredibly kind, does a bit of self-discovery. Susan, fiercely independent and kind of cranky, comes face-to-face with her hometown nemesis on campus. Throughout the 14-volume series, readers experience the wins and woes of university, from sickness to housing drama, from part-time jobs to exams. The art is adorable and the plot stays relatable, but light-hearted at the same time. I definitely recommend. Find it on Hoopla!

Uglies

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Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Format: book
Who it’s for: teens

In a future civilization, the government offers its citizens on their sixteenth birthday dramatic plastic surgery to turn them into ‘pretties,’ who will then live a carefree life of relaxation and parties.  Tally Youngblood is eager for her modifications, but Shay, another ugly, talks to Tally about the opportunity of rebelling against the social standards of physical beauty.  On the day of Tally’s operation, she is given a proposition: assist the authorities in tracking the rebel Shay down, or never undergo the “pretty” surgery.  Tally ultimately chooses to help the authorities in pursuing the rebels.  Through some twists and turns in the story, the rebels soon reveal to Tally that the operation also contains surgery that makes them easier to control–ultimately altering their brains.  Tally and the other uglies join together to resist their transformation and to discover a remedy for those already turned ‘pretty’.

Series order:

  1. Uglies
  2. Pretties
  3. Extras
  4. Specials

Find Uglies in the catalog!

Chaos Walking Series

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Series: Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness
First Book: The Knife of Never Letting Go
Who’s it For: Teens and Adults

“My name is Todd Hewitt. My name is Todd Hewitt.”

Perhaps if Todd repeated his name, he could control his mind. He hated that his thoughts were broadcast, like every other male in Prentisstown. And animal. Todd’s dog, Manchee, frequently reported to him, “Poo, Todd. Gotta poo.”

Todd kept busy working on the farm for his two fathers, Cillian and Ben. He wasn’t really related to them. They had promised to take care of Todd years ago when his mother died of the disease. In fact, there were no females at all in Prentisstown. He vaguely recalled that his mom sang to him. He had no memory of his deceased father. Ben had a small leather diary that his mom left for Todd. Yet Todd didn’t know how to read.

One day Todd came across an injured girl who seemed to be about his age, 13.  Had she crash-landed? Strangest of all, she had no noise!  Her thoughts were completely private.  Her name was Violet.  Back at the farm, Ben shoved a sack of food, emergency supplies, a map, and the diary to Todd. “Go!”  Mayor Prentiss and a posse were galloping their way.  Todd heard gunshots.  Cillian!  “We lied. Your mother was killed by Mayor Prentiss.  Go!” What would Mayor Prentiss do if he caught them?  Todd, Violet, and Manchee, fled into the forest.  Where would they go? Why was Todd’s mother murdered?

I actually saw the movie Chaos Walking before I read the series.  The movie intrigued me.  I was thoroughly engrossed in the plight of Todd Hewitt and Violet.  I loved the humor of the talking animals, from Manchee, my favorite, to talking sheep, horses, and more.  And I appreciated Todd’s sense of honor and the bond that he and Violet developed.  Yet, life is complicated and sometimes hard choices have to be made…

Discover the first book in this trilogy here!

Cosmoknights

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Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer
Format: Book, ebook, Graphic Novel
Who’s it for: Teens

Prepare for the greatest games in the galaxy! Known as cosmoknights, these cyberpunk gladiators travel the stars to compete for the hand of a planet’s princess. However, there are those who find no pleasure in the games, such as Pan—a young girl from the planet Viridian. When she meets two charismatic cosmoknights with ulterior motives for participating in these deadly games, Pan stows away on their ship in hopes of taking a stand against these planetary kingdoms. But space is vast and dangerous place – she’ll have to pick up a few new tricks if she wants to survive.

Cosmoknights is vibrant, fun, and inspiring. Perfect for anyone trying to find their place in the universe.

Find Cosmoknights in the catalog, or read it on hoopla!