In the mood for something uplifting? Check out these teen books that will leave you feeling all the warm & fuzzies!
TEEN FICTION GOO
The way you make me feel / Maurene Goo
Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn’t so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind? A relatable story of falling in love and finding yourself in the places you’d never thought to look.
Available as eaudiobook on Hoopla.
TEEN FICTION ACEVEDO
With the fire on high / Elizabeth Acevedo
Ever since she got pregnant freshman year, Emoni Santiago’s life has been about making the tough decisions, doing what has to be done for her daughter and her abuela. The one place she can let all that go is in the kitchen. There, she lets her hands tell her what to cook, listening to her intuition and adding a little something magical every time, turning her food into straight-up goodness. Even though she’s always dreamed of working in a kitchen after she graduates, Emoni knows it’s not worth her time to pursue the impossible. Yet despite the rules she’s made for her life—and everyone else’s rules, which she refuses to play by—once Emoni starts cooking, her only choice is to let her talent break free.
Available as ebook & eaudiobook on Hoopla.
TEEN FICTION JACKSON
You should see me in a crown / Leah Johnson
Liz Lighty has always done her best to avoid the spotlight in her small, wealthy, and prom-obsessed midwestern high school, after all, her family is black and rather poor, especially since her mother died; instead she has concentrated on her grades and her musical ability in the hopes that it will win her a scholarship to elite Pennington College and their famous orchestra where she plans to study medicine–but when that scholarship falls through she is forced to turn to her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen, which plunges her into the gauntlet of social media which she hates and leads her to discoveries about her own identity and the value of true friendships. But “running from ghosts” is just a metaphor, right?
As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn’t limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks.
Available as ebook & eaudiobook on Hoopla.
TEEN FICTION BRYANT
Lenore Bennett has always been a force. A star artist and style icon at her high school, she’s a master in the subtle art of not giving a . . . well, you know what. But now that graduation is here, she’s a little less sure. She’s heading to NYU in the fall with a scarlet U (for “undeclared”) written across her chest. Her parents always remind her that Black kids don’t have the luxury of figuring it out as they go—they have to be 110 percent prepared. But it’s a lot of pressure to be her ancestors’ wildest dreams when Lenore’s not even sure what her dreams are yet.
When her family embarks on a post-graduation Mediterranean cruise, her friend Tessa is sure Lenore’s in for a whirlwind romance. But Lenore knows that doesn’t happen to girls like her.
Then she meets Alex Lee. After their parents bond over the Cupid Shuffle, she ends up stuck with him for the remainder of the cruise. He’s a hopeless romantic and a golden boy with a ten-year plan. In short, he’s irritating as hell.
But as they get to know each other during the picturesque stops across Europe, Alex may be able to help Lenore find something else she’s been looking for, even if she doesn’t want to admit it to herself: love.
Available as ebook & eaudiobook on Hoopla.
BOOK CLUB PHILIPPE
The field guide to the North American teenager / ben Philippe
Norris hides his true self behind a wall of snarky opinions and clever insights into everything. When he moves from Canada to Texas, he finds that he needs to build this wall even higher. However, just when things seem to be easing up for him, he screws everything up during prom night. It’s then that he starts to realize that he might need to be himself and let his guard down if he’s going to let people see the real person.
Available as ebook on Hoopla.
TEEN FICTION COHEN
My Fine Fellow / Jennieke Cohen
It’s 1830s England, and Culinarians–doyens who consult with society’s elite to create gorgeous food and confections–are the crème de la crème of high society. Helena Higgins, top of her class at the Royal Academy, has a sharp demeanor and an even sharper palate–and knows stardom awaits her if she can produce greatness in her final year. Penelope Pickering is going to prove the value of non-European cuisine to all of England. Her contemporaries may scorn her Filipina heritage and her dishes, but with her flawless social graces and culinary talents, Penelope is set to prove them wrong. Elijah Little has nothing to his name but a truly excellent instinct for flavors. London merchants won’t allow a Jewish boy to own a shop, so he hawks his pasties for a shilling a piece to passersby–but he knows with training he can break into the highest echelon of society. When Penelope and Helena meet Elijah, a golden opportunity arises: to pull off a project never seen before and turn Elijah from a street vendor to a gentleman chef. But Elijah’s transformation will have a greater impact on this trio than they originally realize–and mayhem, unseemly faux pas, and a little romance will all be a part of the delicious recipe.
Available as ebook & eaudiobook on Hoopla.
