Books with category 🌱 Coming of Age
Displaying books 1-48 of 452 in total

Slow Dance

2024

by Rainbow Rowell

A bright, beaming power ballad of a novel from Rainbow Rowell—the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Landline, Fangirl, and Eleanor & Park—Slow Dance tells the humorous and heartbreaking love story of best friends Shiloh and Cary from their inseparable teen years to their far-flung adulthoods as they try to figure out what their relationship is, where it went wrong, and how to finally make it right.

Growing up on the wrong side of Omaha, all Shiloh could think about was getting away. At least she had Cary in the meantime. Cary to put up with her, Cary to make her laugh. Cary at sixteen, built like a stick of gum and driving his mom’s beat-up station wagon. He had it worse than Shiloh did. Only their friendship got Cary through high school and when Shiloh went off to college, he joined the Navy.

That was fourteen years ago. Now Shiloh’s thirty-three and feeling like she never did get away. She’s back living in the same house she grew up in. She’s working in a theater, but not onstage like she’d planned. And she’s divorced, a single mom just like her own mother (minus the revolving door of boyfriends).

When a high school friend invites Shiloh to his wedding, the last thing she wants is to catch up with the old gang. But she buys a new dress, puts on some makeup, and pins a silk flower over her heart, hoping—and also worrying— that she might see Cary, the boy she never realized she loved until he was lost.

Carrie Carolyn Coco

2024

by Sarah Gerard

Carrie Carolyn Coco is an upcoming novel by Sarah Gerard. Details about the plot and characters are not yet disclosed, but readers can anticipate a compelling narrative that often characterizes Gerard's work. As the release date approaches, more information will become available to those eagerly awaiting this title.

The Liquid Eye Of A Moon

2024

by Uchenna Awoke

The Liquid Eye of a Moon is a masterful debut that has been likened to A Nigerian Catcher in the Rye. It delves into the silence surrounding a hidden and dangerous contemporary caste system in Nigeria.

Fifteen-year-old Dimkpa dreams of the day his father will be made village head, ushering in a new era for his family. With this change, he aspires to return to school, perhaps even attend university. He imagines a life where his mother won't have to toil endlessly, selling foraged wild food at the market, and where the construction of a fine tomb for his late aunt Okike can be a reality. Most importantly, their family’s status as ohu ma, belonging to the lowest Igbo caste, will no longer be a barrier.

However, when his father is unexpectedly overlooked for a younger man, defying tradition, Dimkpa realizes that his destiny is in his own hands. His journey takes him from his small village in rural Nigeria to Lagos, Awka, and back again. Along the way, Dimkpa discovers the harsh truth that wealth does not come easily, that superstitions are deeply ingrained, and that knowledge truly is power. He learns the value of living in the moment rather than constantly pursuing an elusive future.

The Liquid Eye of a Moon is at once hilarious and poignant, capturing the tumultuous nature of adolescence and the challenge of forging one's path in a world that seems intent on holding you back.

Ask Me Again

Ask Me Again is a debut novel by Clare Sestanovich, a finalist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, that delves into the coming-of-age story of a young woman named Eva and her unique friendship with Jamie. At sixteen, Eva, an observant and often insecure girl from south Brooklyn, meets the curious and bold Jamie from upper Manhattan's wealthy enclave. Their profound friendship is a journey of self-discovery and an exploration of values, beliefs, and life paths.

Eva embarks on a path of conventional success, achieving a prestigious degree, engaging in a classic romance, and starting an ambitious career. Jamie, on the other hand, takes radical steps in his quest for identity: he renounces his family, joins a political movement, and seeks conversations with the divine. Clare Sestanovich's exquisite prose weaves these two lives together, as they separately navigate the quest for personal values and purpose, the creation of self-identity, and the understanding of their roles in society and the pursuit of justice.

This narrative of intimacy spans time, posing questions about the alchemy of identity, the enigma of destiny, and the challenging journey to find faith—in oneself and in the wider world.

Housemates

Two young housemates embark on a road trip to discover themselves in a fractured America in this sparkling novel of love, friendship, and chosen family, by the award-winning author of The Third Rainbow Girl. What does it feel like, standing in the moments that will mark your life?

When Bernie replies to Leah's ad for a new housemate in Philadelphia, the two begin an intense and defiantly uncategorizable friendship based on a mutual belief in their art, and one another. Both aspire to capture the world around them: Leah through her writing; Bernie through her photography.

After Bernie's former photography professor, the renowned yet tarnished Daniel Dunn, dies and leaves her a complicated inheritance, Leah volunteers to accompany Bernie to his home in rural Pennsylvania, turning the jaunt into a road trip with an ambitious mission: to document America through words and photographs.

What ensues is a three-week journey into the heart of the nation, bringing the artists into conversation with people from all walks of life—as they try to make sense of the times they are living in. Along the way, Leah and Bernie discover what it means to pursue their own ideas and dreams, and to embrace what they are capable of both romantically and artistically.

Housemates is a warm and insightful coming-of-age story of youth and freedom, a glorious celebration of queer life, and how art and love might save us all.

Shae

2024

by Mesha Maren

Shae is a poignant coming-of-age story by Mesha Maren, one of the most exciting young queer writers on the literary landscape. This novel invites readers into the life of Shae, a teenager living in a rural small town in West Virginia. Shae's world is turned upside down when she falls in love with Cam, who is on the cusp of an important personal transformation.

When Shae, at the tender age of sixteen, meets Cam, the slightly older new kid in town, she believes she has discovered the ideal companion she's always desired. Their bond quickly escalates from friendship to something more. However, their relationship takes an unexpected turn when Shae becomes pregnant and Cam begins to transition, embracing female pronouns and experimenting with clothes that no longer fit Shae.

Amidst this personal upheaval, Shae faces another challenge - a struggle with opioid addiction following a traumatic C-section and the birth of their daughter, Eva. The story provides a stark look at the opioid crisis, particularly how it affects rural communities like theirs in West Virginia. As Shae grapples with her dependence, Cam continues her journey of self-discovery, confronting the harsh realities of being a trans woman in rural America.

Shae is a deeply emotional exploration of two young women's lives and the place they cherish, despite its flaws. This novel is a testament to Mesha Maren's storytelling prowess, following her acclaimed works Sugar Run and Perpetual West.

My First Book

2024

by Honor Levy

My First Book, by debut author Honor Levy, presents a collection of stories that both delight and ensnare. Levy's prose navigates the delicate balance between imagination and confession, capturing the essence of our cultural moment and the experience of growing up in a post-internet world.

Laden with digital interfaces, Levy's characters confront the formative political, existential, and romantic experiences of a reality that is at once hyper-real, hyper-performative, and teetering on the edge of collapse. In a world where a sense of impending disaster looms, a fragile self strives to take shape.

The stories in My First Book are wildly inventive, ambitious, and often surreal, reflecting the world as it stands. Levy's writing shines a light on what it means to be adorable, special, heavily medicated, consistently panicked, and utterly sincere. Through the eyes of various protagonists, readers encounter musings on modern life, the infinite nature of love, and even God in a downtown video game arcade.

As the characters seek to find and maintain faith, Levy offers a key to understanding Generation Z from the inside. My First Book not only captures the experience of an entire generation but also heralds the arrival of an electrifying new talent.

Lucky

2024

by Jane Smiley

Lucky is a soaring, soulful novel about a folk musician's rise to fame, penned by the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jane Smiley. Jodie Rattler, a girl growing up in St. Louis, discovers her love for music at a young age. A lucky day in 1955 at the racetrack with her Uncle Drew sets her on a path of chance and grit.

With a roll of two-dollar bills as her talisman, Jodie's hard work and serendipity spark a singing career that takes her from the heartland of America to the bustling streets of New York City, from the quaint English countryside to the sun-soaked beaches of St. Thomas, and from the cultural hubs of Cleveland and Los Angeles and back again.

As she matures in recording studios, backstage, and on tour, Jodie seeks to carve her own identity amidst the legends of her time—Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and Joni Mitchell. Yet, as her fame grows, she grapples with a longing for something more. Is it true love she seeks, or is there another quest at the heart of her journey?

Rich with atmosphere and brimming with longing, exuberance, romance, and rock'n'roll, Lucky paints a colorful portrait of one woman's journey to find herself. It is a narrative woven with the threads of chance, the sparkle of true talent, and the enduring question of what it means to be truly 'lucky'.

The Limits

The Limits is a stunning new novel by the best-selling and prize-winning author Nell Freudenberger. Set across the vibrant landscapes of French Polynesia and the bustling intensity of New York City, this novel explores the lives of three characters who experience profound transformations over the span of a single year.

From the tiny volcanic island of Mo'orea, off the coast of Tahiti, a French biologist dedicated to preserving the endangered coral reefs sends her teenage daughter Pia to live with her ex-husband in New York. Upon arrival at her father Stephen's luxurious Manhattan apartment, Pia, who is fluent in French and intellectually advanced, meets his new, younger wife, Kate. Pia's life has been a constant shuttle between her parents' contrasting worlds: her father's demanding role as a surgeon in a New York hospital and her mother's urgent efforts against ecological destruction.

As COVID-19 imposes near total isolation, Pia is set on a path of rebellion, while Kate, a New York City schoolteacher, struggles to forge a connection with a teenager whose potential for havoc rivals her privilege. Meanwhile, Kate's sixteen-year-old student Athyna grapples with the weight of caring for her toddler nephew, Marcus, as she tries to complete her senior year online.

As Athyna's fears of the outside world grow, a crisis at home drives her to the brink of desperation. The lives of Pia and Athyna converge, leading them down parallel yet fundamentally different paths of tragedy.

The Limits is an emotionally charged narrative that delves into themes of nation, race, class, and family. It is a heart-wrenching and humane portrait of contemporary life, reflecting the stark inequalities of the 21st century and the enduring impact of colonial history.

The Women

2024

by Kristin Hannah

From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds, Kristin Hannah's The Women is an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances \

Broughtupsy

2024

by Christina Cooke

Broughtupsy is an enthralling debut novel that captures the cinematic yet intimate journey of a young Jamaican woman, AkĂşa, as she grapples with grief and the elusive concept of home.

Tired of feeling unmoored, twenty-year-old Akúa travels from Canada to Jamaica to seek a connection with her estranged sister Tamika following the death of their younger brother Bryson from sickle cell anemia—the same disease that claimed their mother ten years earlier. Akúa's mission is to spread Bryson's ashes and rekindle familial bonds.

During two pivotal weeks, the sisters revisit childhood haunts, revealing the chasm between them and the cultural distance Akúa has traversed. Struggling with her identity, she repeatedly questions, "Am I Jamaican?" Beneath these doubts simmer anger and abandonment issues, manifesting in the unasked question, "Why didn’t you stay with me?"

As AkĂşa disperses her brother's ashes around Kingston, she encounters Jayda, a bold stripper who introduces her to an alternate side of the city. Their growing closeness forces AkĂşa to face the harsh realities of being gay in a devoutly religious family and the broader implications of being a gay woman in Jamaica.

Broughtupsy weaves a narrative that is part family saga, part coming-of-age story, and part exploration of sexual identity. It is a profound narrative that delves into the complexities of family obligations and the lengths one will go to experience the essence of home.

Come & Get It

2024

by Kiley Reid

From the celebrated New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age comes a fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a professor and three unruly students.

It's 2017 at the University of Arkansas. Millie Cousins, a senior resident assistant, wants to graduate, get a job, and buy a house. So when Agatha Paul, a visiting professor and writer, offers Millie an easy yet unusual opportunity, she jumps at the chance. But Millie's starry-eyed hustle becomes jeopardized by odd new friends, vengeful dorm pranks, and illicit intrigue. A fresh and intimate portrait of desire, consumption, and reckless abandon, Come & Get It is a tension-filled story about money, indiscretion, and bad behavior.

Poor Deer

2024

by Claire Oshetsky

A wondrous, tender novel about a young girl grappling with her role in a tragic loss—and attempting to reshape the narrative of her life—from PEN/Faulkner Award nominee Claire Oshetsky.

Margaret Murphy is a weaver of fantastic tales, growing up in a world where the truth is too much for one little girl to endure. Her first memory is of the day her friend Agnes died.

No one blames Margaret. Not in so many words. Her mother insists to everyone who will listen that her daughter never even left the house that day. Left alone to make sense of tragedy, Margaret wills herself to forget these unbearable memories, replacing them with imagined stories full of faith and magic—that always end happily.

Enter Poor Deer: a strange and formidable creature who winds her way uninvited into Margaret’s made-up tales. Poor Deer will not rest until Margaret faces the truth about her past and atones for her role in Agnes’s death.

Heartrending, hopeful, and boldly imagined, Poor Deer explores the journey toward understanding the children we once were and the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of life’s most difficult moments.

Mercury

2024

by Amy Jo Burns

It's 1990 and seventeen-year-old Marley West is blazing into the river valley town of Mercury, Pennsylvania. A perpetual loner, she seeks a place at someone's table and a family of her own. The first thing she sees when she arrives in town is three men standing on a rooftop. Their silhouettes blot out the sun.

The Joseph brothers become Marley's whole world before she can blink. Soon, she is young wife to one, The One Who Got Away to another, and adopted mother to them all. As their own mother fades away and their roofing business crumbles under the weight of their unwieldy father’s inflated ego, Marley steps in to shepherd these unruly men.

Years later, an eerie discovery in the church attic causes old wounds to resurface and suddenly the family's survival hangs in the balance. With Marley as their light, the Joseph brothers must decide whether they can save the family they've always known—or whether together they can build something stronger in its place.

West with Giraffes

2023

by Lynda Rutledge

An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America.

“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…”

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.

It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.

Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.

The Reformatory

2023

by Tananarive Due

A gripping, page-turning novel set in Jim Crow Florida that follows Robert Stephens Jr. as he's sent to a segregated reform school that is a chamber of terrors where he sees the horrors of racism and injustice, for the living, and the dead.

Gracetown, Florida
June 1950

Twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr., is sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys, a reformatory, for kicking the son of the largest landowner in town in defense of his older sister, Gloria. So begins Robbie's journey further into the terrors of the Jim Crow South and the very real horror of the school they call The Reformatory.

Robbie has a talent for seeing ghosts, or haints. But what was once a comfort to him after the loss of his mother has become a window to the truth of what happens at the reformatory. Boys forced to work to remediate their so-called crimes have gone missing, but the haints Robbie sees hint at worse things. Through his friends Redbone and Blue, Robbie is learning not just the rules but how to survive. Meanwhile, Gloria is rallying every family member and connection in Florida to find a way to get Robbie out before it's too late.

The Reformatory is a haunting work of historical fiction written as only American Book Award–winning author Tananarive Due could, by piecing together the life of the relative her family never spoke of and bringing his tragedy and those of so many others at the infamous Dozier School for Boys to the light in this riveting novel.

End Times

In the late 1980s, two teenage girls found refuge from a world of cosy conformity, sexism and the nuclear arms race in protest and punk. Then, drawn in by a promise of meaning and purpose, they cast off their punk outfits and became born-again Christians. Unsure which fate would come first - nuclear annihilation or the Second Coming of Jesus - they sought answers from end-times evangelists, scrutinising friends and family for signs of demon possession and identifying EFTPOS and barcodes as signs of a looming apocalypse.

Fast forward to 2021, and Rebecca and Maz - now a science historian and an engineer - are on a road trip to the West Coast. Their journey, though full of laughter and conversation and hot pies, is haunted by the threats of climate change, conspiracy theories, and a massive overdue earthquake.

End Times interweaves the stories of these two periods in Rebecca's life, both of which have at heart a sleepless fear of the end of the world. Along the way she asks: Why do people hold on to some ideas but reject others? How do you engage with someone whose beliefs are wildly different from your own? And where can we find hope when it sometimes feels as if we all live on a fault line that could rupture at any moment?

Mobility

2023

by Lydia Kiesling

Mobility is a propulsive novel about class, power, politics, and desire by the celebrated author of The Golden State. The year is 1998, the End of History. The Soviet Union is dissolved, the Cold War is over, and Bunny Glenn is an American teenager in Azerbaijan with her Foreign Service family.

Through Bunny's eyes we watch global interests flock to the former Soviet Union during the rush for Caspian oil and pipeline access, hear rumbles of the expansion of the American security state and the buildup to the War on Terror. We follow Bunny from adolescence to middle age--from Azerbaijan to America--as the entwined idols of capitalism and ambition lead her to a career in the oil industry, and eventually back to the scene of her youth, where familiar figures reappear in an era of political and climate breakdown.

Both geopolitical exploration and domestic coming-of-age novel, Mobility is a propulsive and challenging story about class, power, politics, and desire told through the life of one woman--her social milieu, her romances, her unarticulated wants. Mobility deftly explores American forms of complicity and inertia, moving between the local and the global, the personal and the political, and using fiction's power to illuminate the way a life is shaped by its context.

Banyan Moon

2023

by Thao Thai

Banyan Moon is a sweeping, evocative debut novel following three generations of Vietnamese American women reeling from the death of their matriarch, revealing the family's inherited burdens and buried secrets.

When Ann Tran gets the call that her beloved grandmother, Minh, has passed away, her life is already at a crossroads. Ann has built a seemingly perfect life. She lives in a beautiful lake house and has a charming professor boyfriend, but it all crumbles away with one positive pregnancy test. With both her relationship and carefully planned future now in question, Ann returns home to Florida to face her estranged mother, Hu'o'ng. Under the same roof for the first time in years, mother and daughter must face the simmering questions of their past, while trying to rebuild their relationship without the one person who's always held them together.

Running parallel to this is Minh's story, as she goes from a lovestruck teenager living in the shadow of the Vietnam War to a determined young mother immigrating to America in search of a better life. And when Ann makes a shocking discovery in the Banyan House's attic, long-buried secrets come to light as it becomes clear how decisions Minh made in her youth affected the rest of her life and her family.

Spanning decades and continents, from 1960s Vietnam to the wild swamplands of the Florida coast, Banyan Moon is a stunning and deeply moving story of mothers and daughters, the things we inherit, and the lives we choose to make out of that inheritance.

The Rachel Incident

The Rachel Incident, brilliantly funny novel about friends, lovers, Ireland in chaos, and a young woman desperately trying to manage all three.

Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James, and it’s love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork city, trying to maintain a bohemian existence while the threat of the financial crash looms before them.

When Rachel falls in love with her married professor, Dr. Fred Byrne, James helps her devise a reading at their local bookstore, with the goal that she might seduce him afterwards. But Fred has other desires. So begins a series of secrets and compromises that intertwine the fates of James, Rachel, Fred, and Fred’s glamorous, well-connected, bourgeois wife. Aching with unrequited love, shot through with delicious, sparkling humor, The Rachel Incident is a triumph.

Same Time Next Summer

The ultimate summer nostalgia read, about an engaged woman who comes face to face with her first love who she hasn't seen in fourteen years, but who she spent every summer with from age five to seventeen when he broke her heart, calling into question everything she thought she knew about their love story, and herself.

Beach Rules: Do take long walks on the sand. Do put an umbrella in every cocktail. Do NOT run into your first love.

Sam’s life is on track. She has the perfect doctor fiancé, Jack (his strict routines are a good thing, really), a great job in Manhattan (unless they fire her), and is about to tour a wedding venue near her family’s Long Island beach house. Everything should go to plan, yet the minute she arrives, Sam senses something is off. Wyatt is here. Her Wyatt. But there’s no reason for a thirty-year-old engaged woman to feel panicked around the guy who broke her heart when she was seventeen. Right?

Promises Stronger Than Darkness

Promises Stronger Than Darkness marks the final installment of the international bestselling author Charlie Jane Anders's absolutely heart-stopping YA series, Unstoppable. They're the galaxy's most wanted—and our only hope.

When Elza became a space princess, she thought she'd be spending her time at the palace, wearing gorgeous couture and soaking up everything there is to know—but instead, she's on the run, with everyone hunting for her and her friends.

Rachael followed her best friend Tina on the adventure of a lifetime—but now Tina's gone, and Rachael's the only one keeping her friends together, as they go on a desperate quest to save everyone from an ancient curse.

Rachael, Elza, and their friends have found one clue, one shining mysterious chance to stop the end of the world. And that takes them back to the second-to-last place they'd want to be: enlisting the aid of Captain Thaoh Argentian, the woman who stole Tina's body (and who now seems to be relishing a second chance at teenage chaos and drama, instead of living up to her legacy as an intrepid heroic commander).

With only a ragtag band of misfits, crewmates, earthlings, friends, lovers (and one annoying frenemy), the Unstoppable Crew are up against the universe—and they soon find that in order to survive, they may have to cross a line they vowed never to cross.

Chlorine

2023

by Jade Song

In the vein of The Pisces and The Vegetarian, Chlorine is a debut novel that blurs the line between a literary coming-of-age narrative and a dark unsettling horror tale, told from an adult perspective on the trials and tribulations of growing up in a society that puts pressure on young women and their bodies. It is a powerful, relevant novel of immigration, sapphic longing, and fierce, defiant becoming.

Ren Yu is a swimmer. Her daily life starts and ends with the pool. Her teammates are her only friends. Her coach, her guiding light. If she swims well enough, she will be scouted, get a scholarship, go to a good school. Her parents will love her. Her coach will be kind to her. She will have a good life. But these are human concerns. These are the concerns of those confined to land, those with legs.

Ren grew up on stories of creatures of the deep, of the oceans and the rivers. Ones that called sailors to their doom. Ones that dragged them down and drowned them. Ones that feasted on their flesh. Ones of the creature that she's always longed to become: mermaid.

Ren aches to be in the water. She dreams of the scent of chlorine—the feel of it on her skin. And she will do anything she can to make a life for herself where she can be free. No matter the pain. No matter what anyone else thinks. No matter how much blood she has to spill.

The Great Reclamation

2023

by Rachel Heng

The Great Reclamation is a sweeping novel set against the backdrop of a changing Singapore, exploring the life of a boy named Ah Boon with unique gifts that impact the fate of his community and country.

Ah Boon is born in a fishing village during the last years of British rule in twentieth-century coastal Singapore. He is more interested in playing with his neighbor, Siok Mei, than in fishing. His discovery of the ability to locate bountiful, movable islands that no one else can see brings a sense of duty and potential—especially to impress Siok Mei, whom he loves.

Their teenage years are overshadowed by historical turmoil as the Japanese army invades, resistance grows, and their fishing village's future is at stake. With their nation on the brink of transformation, Ah Boon and Siok Mei face tough choices about their identities and what they must sacrifice.

At its core, The Great Reclamation is an aching love story and a powerful coming-of-age tale. It delves into the legacy of British colonialism, the World War II Japanese occupation, and the drive for modernity, highlighting the pain of progress, the cost of love, and the struggle to define home amidst the literal shifting of land.

In Memoriam

2023

by Alice Winn

In Memoriam is the story of a great tragedy, but it is also a moving portrait of young love, with often a lightness to the book. The year is 1914, and World War I is ceaselessly churning through thousands of young men on both sides of the fight. The violence of the front feels far away to Henry Gaunt, Sidney Ellwood, and the rest of their classmates, safely ensconced in their idyllic boarding school in the English countryside. News of the heroic deaths of their friends only makes the war more exciting.

Gaunt, half German, is busy fighting his own private battle—an all-consuming infatuation with his best friend, the glamorous, charming Ellwood—without a clue that Ellwood is pining for him in return. When Gaunt's family asks him to enlist to forestall the anti-German sentiment they face, he does so immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings for Ellwood. To Gaunt's horror, Ellwood rushes to join him at the front, and the rest of their classmates soon follow. Now, death surrounds them in all its grim reality, often inches away, and no one knows who will be next.

An epic tale of both the devastating tragedies of war and the forbidden romance that blooms in its grip, In Memoriam is a breathtaking debut from Alice Winn.

Not Here to Be Liked

2022

by Michelle Quach

Emergency Contact meets Moxie in this cheeky and searing novel that unpacks just how complicated new love can get…when you fall for your enemy.

Eliza Quan is the perfect candidate for editor in chief of her school paper. That is, until ex-jock Len DiMartile decides on a whim to run against her. Suddenly her vast qualifications mean squat because inexperienced Len—who is tall, handsome, and male—just seems more like a leader.

When Eliza's frustration spills out in a viral essay, she finds herself inspiring a feminist movement she never meant to start, caught between those who believe she's a gender equality champion and others who think she's simply crying misogyny.

Amid this growing tension, the school asks Eliza and Len to work side by side to demonstrate civility. But as they get to know one another, Eliza feels increasingly trapped by a horrifying realization—she just might be falling for the face of the patriarchy himself.

Demon Copperhead

Demon Copperhead is set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, unraveling the life of a boy born to a teenage single mother in a single-wide trailer. He possesses no material wealth, save for his dead father's good looks, copper-colored hair, a sharp wit, and an innate ability to survive. Told through his candid perspective, Demon navigates the treacherous landscape of foster care, child labor, failing schools, athletic achievement, addiction, disastrous romances, and profound losses.

As he confronts the harsh reality of his own invisibility within a society that has relegated rural people to the shadows, even in popular culture where superheroes favor cities over the countryside, Demon's journey is a testament to resilience.

Inspired by Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, which itself was a product of Dickens' experiences with institutional poverty and its detrimental effects on children, Demon Copperhead carries forward Dickens' legacy of indignation and empathy. Barbara Kingsolver employs these sentiments to weave a narrative that is both a nod to a classic and a voice for the modern generation of 'lost boys' and all those rooted to places of cursed beauty they cannot fathom leaving.

Stay True

2022

by Hua Hsu

Stay True is a gripping memoir on friendship, grief, the search for self, and the solace that can be found through art, by New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu. In the eyes of eighteen-year-old Hua Hsu, the problem with Ken—with his passion for Dave Matthews, Abercrombie & Fitch, and his fraternity—is that he is exactly like everyone else. Ken, whose Japanese American family has been in the United States for generations, is mainstream; for Hua, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, who makes 'zines and haunts Bay Area record shops, Ken represents all that he defines himself in opposition to.

The only thing Hua and Ken have in common is that, however they engage with it, American culture doesn't seem to have a place for either of them. But despite his first impressions, Hua and Ken become friends, a friendship built on late-night conversations over cigarettes, long drives along the California coast, and the successes and humiliations of everyday college life. And then violently, senselessly, Ken is gone, killed in a carjacking, not even three years after the day they first meet.

Determined to hold on to all that was left off one of his closest friends—his memories—Hua turned to writing. Stay True is the book he's been working on ever since. A coming-of-age story that details both the ordinary and extraordinary, Stay True is a bracing memoir about growing up, and about moving through the world in search of meaning and belonging.

The Golden Enclaves

2022

by Naomi Novik

Saving the world is a test no school of magic can prepare you for in the triumphant conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate. The one thing you never talk about while you're in the Scholomance is what you'll do when you get out. Not even the richest enclaver would tempt fate that way. But it's all we dream about: the hideously slim chance we'll survive to make it out the gates and improbably find ourselves with a life ahead of us, a life outside the Scholomance halls.

And now the impossible dream has come true. I'm out, we're all out—and I didn't even have to turn into a monstrous dark witch to make it happen. So much for my great-grandmother's prophecy of doom and destruction. I didn't kill enclavers, I saved them. Me, and Orion, and our allies. Our graduation plan worked to perfection: we saved everyone and made the world safe for all wizards and brought peace and harmony to all the enclaves everywhere. Ha, only joking! Actually, it's gone all wrong. Someone else has picked up the project of destroying enclaves in my stead, and probably everyone we saved is about to get killed in the brewing enclave war.

And the first thing I've got to do now, having miraculously gotten out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in.

Fairy Tale

2022

by Stephen King

Legendary storyteller Stephen King dives deep into the well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for their world or ours.

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.

Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.” And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.

Fairy Tale is a story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King's work, about an ordinary guy forced into the hero's role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

2022

by Jenny Han

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer—they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between.

But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Squire

From two incredible rising talents comes the fantasy graphic novel Molly Knox Ostertag calls “instantly compelling.” Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It’s the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the subjugated Ornu people, Knighthood is her only path to full citizenship. Ravaged by famine and mounting tensions, Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war once again, so Aiza can finally enlist in the competitive Squire training program. It’s not how she imagined it, though.

Aiza must navigate new friendships, rivalries, and rigorous training under the unyielding General Hende, all while hiding her Ornu background. As the pressure mounts, Aiza realizes that the “greater good” that Bayt-Sajji’s military promises might not include her, and that the recruits might be in greater danger than she ever imagined. In this breathtaking and timely story, Aiza will have to choose, once and for all: loyalty to her heart and heritage, or loyalty to the Empire.

How Do You Live?

How Do You Live? is a profound literary work that explores the intricacies of life, morality, and human connection. Through the story of a young boy and his uncle, the book delves into philosophical discussions that are as relevant today as they were when the book was first published in Japan. It is a coming-of-age tale that invites readers to reflect on their own lives and the choices they make. The narrative is complemented by thoughtful commentary that encourages a deeper understanding of one's purpose and the impact of one's actions on the world.

The Last Graduate

2021

by Naomi Novik

A budding dark sorceress determined not to use her formidable powers uncovers yet more secrets about the workings of her world in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education, the start of Naomi Novik's groundbreaking crossover series. At the Scholomance, El, Orion, and the other students are faced with their final year—and the looming specter of graduation, a deadly ritual that leaves few students alive in its wake. El is determined that her chosen group will survive, but it is a prospect that is looking harder by the day as the savagery of the school ramps up. Until El realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules.

With keen insight and mordant humor, Novik reminds us that sometimes it is not enough to rewrite the rules—sometimes, you need to toss out the entire rulebook.

The Girl from the Sea

From the author of The Witch Boy trilogy comes a graphic novel about family, romance, and first love. Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can't wait to escape the perfect little island where she lives. She's desperate to finish high school and escape her sad divorced mom, her volatile little brother, and worst of all, her great group of friends—who don't understand Morgan at all. Because really, Morgan's biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl.

Then one night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. The two become friends and suddenly life on the island doesn't seem so stifling anymore. But Keltie has some secrets of her own. And as the girls start to fall in love, everything they're each trying to hide will find its way to the surface...whether Morgan is ready or not.

Black Water Sister

2021

by Zen Cho

A reluctant medium discovers the ties that bind can unleash a dangerous power in this compelling Malaysian-set contemporary fantasy.

Jessamyn Teoh is closeted, broke, and moving back to Malaysia, a country she left when she was a toddler. So when Jess starts hearing voices, she chalks it up to stress. But there's only one voice in her head, and it claims to be the ghost of her estranged grandmother, Ah Ma. In life, Ah Ma was a spirit medium, the avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she's determined to settle a score against a gang boss who has offended the god—and she's decided Jess is going to help her do it.

Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business. As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma, she'll also need to regain control of her body and destiny. If she fails, the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good.

Negative Space

2021

by Lilly Dancyger

Despite her parents’ struggles with addiction, Lilly Dancyger always thought of her childhood as a happy one. But what happens when a journalist interrogates her own rosy memories to reveal the instability around the edges? 

Dancyger’s father, Joe Schactman, was part of the iconic 1980s East Village art scene. He created provocative sculptures out of found materials like animal bones, human hair, and broken glass, and brought his young daughter into his gritty, iconoclastic world. She idolized him—despite the escalating heroin addiction that sometimes overshadowed his creative passion. When Schactman died suddenly, just as Dancyger was entering adolescence, she went into her own self-destructive spiral, raging against a world that had taken her father away. As an adult, Dancyger began to question the mythology she’d created about her father—the brilliant artist, struck down in his prime. Using his sculptures, paintings, and prints as a guide, Dancyger sought out the characters from his world who could help her decode the language of her father’s work to find the truth of who he really was.

Crying in H Mart

2021

by Michelle Zauner

Crying in H Mart is an exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance. Michelle Zauner, known as the indie rock sensation Japanese Breakfast, proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up as one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother’s particular, high expectations of her; and of a painful adolescence.

Zauner shares treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band—and meeting the man who would become her husband—her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live.

It was her mother’s diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her. Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner’s voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

Victories Greater Than Death

Outsmart Your Enemies. Outrun the Galaxy.

Tina never worries about being 'ordinary'—she doesn't have to, since she's known practically forever that she's not just Tina Mains, average teenager and beloved daughter. She's also the keeper of an interplanetary rescue beacon, and one day soon, it's going to activate, and then her dreams of saving all the worlds and adventuring among the stars will finally be possible. Tina's legacy, after all, is intergalactic—she is the hidden clone of a famed alien hero, left on Earth disguised as a human to give the universe another chance to defeat a terrible evil.

But when the beacon activates, it turns out that Tina's destiny isn't quite what she expected. Things are far more dangerous than she ever assumed. Luckily, Tina is surrounded by a crew she can trust, and her best friend Rachel, and she is still determined to save all the worlds. But first she'll have to save herself.

The Dictionary of Lost Words

2021

by Pip Williams

In 1901, the word 'Bondmaid' was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it.

Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the 'Scriptorium', a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme's place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word 'bondmaid' flutters to the floor. Esme rescues the slip and stashes it in an old wooden case that belongs to her friend, Lizzie, a young servant in the big house. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men. They help her make sense of the world.

Over time, Esme realizes that some words are considered more important than others, and that words and meanings relating to women's experiences often go unrecorded. While she dedicates her life to the Oxford English Dictionary, secretly, she begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.

Set when the women's suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It's a delightful, lyrical and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words, and the power of language to shape the world and our experience of it.

Klara and the Sun

2021

by Kazuo Ishiguro

From the best-selling author of Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, a stunning new novel—his first since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature—about the wondrous, mysterious nature of the human heart.

Klara and the Sun, the first novel by Kazuo Ishiguro since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, tells the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

In its award citation in 2017, the Nobel committee described Ishiguro's books as "novels of great emotional force" and said he has "uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world".

Páradais

Páradais, escrita por Fernanda Melchor, una de las escritoras mexicanas más destacadas de la actualidad, explora la facilidad con la que el deseo puede convertirse en obsesión y, más aún, en violencia. En un conjunto residencial de lujo, dos adolescentes inadaptados se reúnen por las noches para embriagarse a escondidas y compartir sus descabelladas fantasías.

Franco Andrade, obeso y solitario, adicto a la pornografía, sueña con seducir a la vecina de al lado -una atractiva mujer casada, madre de familia-, por quien ha desarrollado una obsesión malsana; mientras que Polo, su reacio compañero, fantasea con renunciar a su agobiante empleo como jardinero del exclusivo fraccionamiento y huir de su casa, de su pueblo infestado de narcos, y del yugo de su dominante madre.

Ante la imposibilidad de conseguir lo que cada uno cree merecer, Franco y Polo maquinarán un plan tan pueril como macabro.

We Free the Stars

2021

by Hafsah Faizal

The battle on Sharr is over. The dark forest has fallen. Altair may be captive, but Zafira, Nasir, and Kifah are bound for Sultan's Keep, determined to finish the plan he set in motion: restoring the hearts of the Sisters of Old to the minarets of each caliphate, and finally returning magic to all of Arawiya. But they are low on resources and allies alike, and the kingdom teems with fear of the Lion of the Night's return.

As the zumra plots to overthrow the kingdom's darkest threat, Nasir fights to command the magic in his blood. He must learn to hone his power into a weapon, to wield not only against the Lion but against his father, trapped under the Lion's control. Zafira battles a very different darkness festering in her through her bond with the Jawarat—a darkness that hums with voices, pushing her to the brink of her sanity and to the edge of a chaos she dare not unleash. In spite of the darkness enclosing ever faster, Nasir and Zafira find themselves falling into a love they can't stand to lose…but time is running out to achieve their ends, and if order is to be restored, drastic sacrifices will have to be made.

Lush and striking, hopeful and devastating, We Free the Stars is the masterful conclusion to the Sands of Arawiya duology by New York Times–bestselling author Hafsah Faizal.

Anne of Green Gables

As soon as Anne Shirley arrives at the snug white farmhouse called Green Gables, she is sure she wants to stay forever. But will the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected—a skinny girl with fiery red hair and a temper to match. If only she can convince them to let her stay, she'll try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes and blurting out the first thing that comes to her mind.

Anne is not like anyone else, the Cuthberts agree; she is special—a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreams of the day when she can call herself Anne of Green Gables.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

2020

by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer revolves around the youthful adventures of the novel's schoolboy protagonist, Thomas Sawyer, whose reputation precedes him for causing mischief and strife. Tom lives with his Aunt Polly, half-brother Sid, and cousin Mary in the quaint town of St. Petersburg, just off the shore of the Mississippi River. St. Petersburg is described as a typical small-town atmosphere where the Christian faith is predominant, the social network is close-knit, and familiarity resides.

Unlike his brother Sid, Tom receives "lickings" from his Aunt Polly; ever the mischief-maker, would rather play hooky than attend school and often sneaks out his bedroom window at night to adventure with his friend, Huckleberry Finn — the town's social outcast. Tom, despite his dread of schooling, is extremely clever and would normally get away with his pranks if Sid were not such a "tattle-tale."

As punishment for skipping school to go swimming, Aunt Polly assigns Tom the chore of whitewashing the fence surrounding the house. In a brilliant scheme, Tom is able to con the neighborhood boys into completing the chore for him, managing to convince them of the joys of whitewashing. At school, Tom is equally as flamboyant, and attracts attention by chasing other boys, yelling, and running around.

With his usual antics, Tom attempts to catch the eye of Becky Thatcher, a new girl in town, and persuades her to get "engaged" by kissing him. But their romance collapses when she learns Tom has been "engaged" previously to Amy Lawrence. Shortly after Becky shuns him, he accompanies Huckleberry Finn to the graveyard at night, where they witness the murder of Dr. Robinson.

A Deadly Education

2020

by Naomi Novik

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets. There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won't allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don't walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school's dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass

2020

by Meg Medina

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass is a compelling novel by Meg Medina that delves into the life of Latina teen Piddy Sanchez, who finds herself the target of a school bully. The story begins when Piddy is told that Yaqui Delgado hates her and is out to get her, despite Piddy having no idea who Yaqui is or what she might have done to provoke such animosity.

Yaqui's gripe seems to be that Piddy comes across as stuck-up, flaunts her figure, and doesn't fit the stereotypical Latin image due to her white skin, academic achievements, and lack of an accent. Facing an increasingly threatening situation, Piddy's initial concerns about understanding her absent father and managing her studies and weekend job become secondary as she tries to evade Yaqui and her gang.

The escalation of harassment forces Piddy to navigate the challenges of her life while being pushed to the brink. The novel is a poignant exploration of identity and resilience, as Piddy must ultimately confront the question of who she wants to be, in the face of adversity.

Hamnet

A luminous portrait of a marriage, a shattering evocation of a family ravaged by grief and loss, and a tender and unforgettable re-imagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, and whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays of all time, Hamnet is mesmerizing, seductive, impossible to put down—a magnificent leap forward from one of our most gifted novelists.

In 1580’s England, during the Black Plague a young Latin tutor falls in love with an extraordinary, eccentric young woman in this best-selling winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction. 

Agnes is a wild creature who walks her family’s land with a falcon on her glove and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer, understanding plants and potions better than she does people. Once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband, whose career on the London stage is taking off when his beloved young son succumbs to sudden fever. 

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