A Teen Library

Looking for Alaska by John Green is a classic YA novel about a teen boy, Pudge, who leaves home for a boarding school in Alabama. He meets his best friend, The Colonel, and his first love, an enigmatic girl named Alaska. After a devastating accident, Pudge must learn an important lesson: how to let go. Many teens struggle with identity and mental health. Green’s novel explores these concepts in a relatable and delicate way. Green poses the question: how much of what we present to the world is an act, and do people really see the real us at all? Teens will enjoy this novel for its brutal honesty and gripping story.   Green, J., & Strauss-Gabel, J. (2019). Looking for Alaska. New York: Penguin Books. image:  Looking-for-alaska-756x1148.jpg (756×1148) (getunderlined.com) Michael L. Printz Award Booklist Editor's Choice Pick

  Daybreak is a post-apocolyptic television series on Netflix that is sure to delight teenagers. The main character, Josh Wheeler, finds himself in a new world after adults release biowarfare bombs that kill or zombify anyone over the age of eighteen. Josh must battle "Ghoulies," Daybreak's take on zombies, as well as cliques of jocks, cheerleaders, 4-H club, and gamers, all while attempting to find Sam Dean, his highschool girlfriend and the love of his life. Crude and filled with profane language, Daybreak is sometimes childish in its presentation. But the deep themes it explores, like identity, sexuality, self-acceptance, and feminism make this show enjoyable to both teens and adults. Its frequent reliance on 2019 popular culture may negatively date the show, however, and take away from the longetivity of it. Sometimes Daybreak is too self-indulgent for its own good. 3 out of 4 stars Daybreak  [Television series]. (2019, October 24). Los Angeles, CA: Netflix.          

  Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson is the prequel we never knew we needed to her famous book, Speak. Anderson bares her soul in this bibliographical free verse novel. A young Laurie watches her father tormented by memories of WWII, her mother's inability to speak up about cruelty, and Laurie's own inspiration for Speak, the rape she suffered at the hands of a teenage boy. Shout is brutally honest and is an interesting look into a young mind dealing with adult issues. Teens will be able to relate to Anderson’s difficulty navigating high school life and her crippling doubt about herself. However, the free-verse form is a little tired and confusing, which detracts from the work. 3 out of 4 stars Anderson, L., 2019. Shout. Viking Books for Young Readers. image:  OIP.aTY9SG3lUHtVcOrvRLjL5gAAAA (401×614) (bing.com)

  AJR One Spectacular Night Live [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2021, from https://youtu.be/xg6USkibZ5w image:  Rd4712c1b1bd5236c3e69bfcc7b86fccd (1100×825) (bing.com)

  Goodreads Choice Winner, Best Young Adult Fiction of 2019 A YALSA 2020 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Lippincott, R., Daughtry, M., & Iaconis, T. (2018). Five feet apart. London: Simon & Schuster.                                                       image:  R8ceeaa0a812f6cc96703759f14f94e42 (1705×2550) (bing.com)