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The Lightning Circle
By Vikki VanSickle. 2024
An intimate coming-of age novel for teens, told in verse, chronicling the beauty, magic and transformative power of summer camp,…
for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Judy Blume.After having her heart broken, seventeen-year-old Nora Nichols decides to escape her hometown and take a summer job as an arts and crafts counsellor at an all-girls' camp in the mountains of West Virginia. There, she meets girls and women from all walks of life with their own heartaches and triumphs. Immersed in this new camp experience, trying to form bonds with her fellow counselors while learning to be a trusted adviser for her campers, Nora distracts herself from her feelings, even during the intimate conversations around the nightly campfires. But when a letter from home comes bearing unexpected news, Nora finds inner strength in her devastation with the healing power of female friendship. Presented as Nora's camp journal, including scraps of letters and spare poems, The Lightning Circle is an intimate coming-of-age portrait.
You Started It
By Jackie Khalilieh. 2025
Better Than the Movies meets Olivia Rodrigo's Sour in a new YA romance novel from Something More author, Jackie Khalilieh.Seventeen-year-old…
Jamie Taher-Foster has big plans for senior year. She's made a list of things and places in Toronto she and her boyfriend of three years, Ben Cameron, need to check off before graduating. And the biggest plan of all: a very special night for the two of them at the upcoming Winter Formal. But then Ben arrives back home after a summer away with an unthinkable announcement: he wants to break up.And when Jamie discovers him with Olivia Chen the next day, she is determined to get him back. Even if that means fake dating the younger, curly-haired, TikTok dancer Axel Dahini, whose bicycle she accidentally ran over. Though she and Axel have nothing in common aside from their shared Arab heritage — she's a messy, type A with anxiety; he's carefree but meticulous — their forced time together brings them to better understand one another. And for Jamie, it just might mean learning that not all experiences or people need to be crossed off a list."You Started It is honest, wise, and wholeheartedly romantic, starring a cast of endearingly flawed characters who feel like real friends. A total delight." —Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda"A true joy to read. Earnest and effortlessly charming, You Started It embodies everything I adore about YA rom-coms. Jackie Khalilieh has such a talent for writing nuanced characters you can’t help but laugh with, cry with, and root for." —Ann Liang, New York Times bestselling author of I Hope This Doesn’t Find You
Reasons to Look at the Night Sky
By Danielle Daniel. 2024
A sensitive middle grade novel in verse about a space-obsessed girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut — and begins…
to see the world differently when a substitute teacher enters her orbit.Luna has always loved the night sky. She's an eleven-year-old who knows everything there is to know about space, and dreams of one day becoming an astronaut. The first step in her plan to get there is to ace the space unit in her science class and secure a spot in NASA's summer space camp.But when Luna's teacher is unexpectedly replaced with a substitute, Ms. Manitowabi, who is looking to shake up science class by bringing in art, Luna's carefully laid plans are crushed. And that's not all that's shifting in Luna's life — changes at home and in her friendships have her feeling topsy-turvy. What on Planet Earth is happening? Reasons to Look at the Night Sky is an endearing, poetic look at the inner world of a middle schooler grappling with change from acclaimed author and illustrator Danielle Daniel.
A drop in the ocean
By Léa Taranto. 2025
An engaging YA novel about a girl in treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder that combats the dehumanizing stigma around mental…
illness Sixteen-year-old Mira Durand has just been checked into the secure unit of the Residency Adolescent Treatment Centre for obsessive compulsive and comorbid disorders. Four years of being passed around different psych wards like a hot potato have only worsened her OCD and anorexia. Her brutal, religious compulsions, which she believes keep her mom safe, make her less of a clean freak and more of a freak freak. No wonder her only friend is her journal. At the Residency's Ward 2, Mira discovers that her shrink is a fellow fantasy nerd and that her wardmates have enough of their own high-risk behaviours to tolerate hers. The complex friendships she forms with them (including a first love), the slow trust she builds with her treatment team, and the outside and family visits she earns give her things to look forward to beyond the drudgery of her compulsions. But it takes visiting Gung Gung, her dying maternal grandfather, for her to realize that to truly live, she must fight the cognitive distortions at the heart of her compulsions. Based on the author's personal experience, A Drop in the Ocean is a gritty, humanizing portrait of living with mental illness
Everybelly
By Thao Lam. 2025
Maddie and her mom spend a sunny day at the local public pool where she meets and greets friends and…
neighbors. Maddie is waist-high on most of them, and she knows there's an interesting person behind every belly she passes -- like Jackie, the artist with a splatter of ice cream across their belly. Maddie's splatter painting often leaves Mama speechless, too! The poolside belly parade keeps Maddie musing: How bellies can make excellent tables, how hard some people work to keep their bellies flat when Maddie prefers her belly full, and how you should never, ever stick your hands in other people's bellies, no matter how soft and doughy they might look. (Maddie's cat taught her that the hard way.) As Maddie dances, swims and makes the long climb up to the diving board, Thao Lam's celebrated cut-paper collage portrays bellies and bodies of all shapes and sizes -- bellies with scars, tattooed bellies, growing bellies, growling bellies, bellies with six-packs, stretch marks, insulin monitors, freckles and more -- proving that every belly deserves its place in the sun
Song of freedom, song of dreams
By Shari Green. 2025
From award-winning verse novelist Shari Green comes an unforgettable story of friendship, first love, and an impossible choice between integrity…
and duty, family and friends, all while fighting for a dream. Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a historical YA novel in verse that centers around a young pianist in East Germany trying to make sense of love, duty, and the pursuit of dreams during the unsettled months of protest that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s. Written in stunning lyrical verse, Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a story of hope, courage, romance, and the power of music not only to change lives, but to save them
A pond, a poet, and three pests
By Caroline Adderson. 2025
A funny new fable about artistic creation and chasing fame, imagined by award-winning author Caroline Adderson, and inspired by one…
of Japan's most famous haikus, "The Old Pond." Basho, a 17th-century poet on an evening walk, stops to rest next to a murky old pond. Here, readers may expect he will encounter the frog that inspired his renowned poem: Old pond— Frog jumps in Splash! But before the frog came the mosquito, who smells blood: "My life?" she whines, "It could fill a book of poetry!" And before the mosquito came the lily, who perfumes the air, hoping to be immortalized in a poem. And before the lily came the carp, who flutters her tail in the poet's face. In a twist that would have delighted Basho, a Zen Buddhist, the fame-seeking creatures cause only their own suffering. Instead, the inspiration for Basho's poem comes from a frog that only wants a morning swim. Splash! Illustrator Lauren Tamaki, winner of the Sibert Medal, paints a memorable cast of characters with great wit and empathy. Her swirling inks bridge the story's traditional setting and its lightly modern lesson about fame, inspiration, and art. Includes end matter with information about Basho and haiku
Song of freedom, song of dreams: a novel in verse
By Shari Green. 2024
A story of friendship, first love, and an impossible choice between integrity and duty, family and friends, all while fighting…
for a dream. Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a historical YA novel in verse that centers around a young pianist in East Germany trying to make sense of love, duty, and the pursuit of dreams during the unsettled months of protest that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s. Written in stunning lyrical verse, Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a story of hope, courage, romance, and the power of music not only to change lives, but to save them.
Songs for Ghosts
By Clara Kumagai. 2025
A YA coming-of-age novel full of longing, love and ghosts from the past, inspired by both Puccini's Madama Butterfly and…
Japanese history.Seventeen-year-old Adam has just broken up with his boyfriend Evan and is not looking forward to the excruciating awkwardness at school for the rest of term or a whole summer stuck at home with his dad, stepmom and baby brother, Benji.But then Adam discovers a diary in some boxes in the attic and is quickly enthralled by their poignant story. They were written by a young woman living in Nagasaki in 1911. Adam is enraptured by her life and loves, becoming totally absorbed in her story. And then he starts to be haunted by her ghostly presence . . .Equal parts globe-trotting love drama, chilling ghost story and exploration of Japanese history, Songs for Ghosts's poetic prose and memorable characters will leave readers breathless.
The true story of vanilla: How edmond albius made history (Orca Biography #3)
By Ann Richards. 2025
In 1841, a 12-year-old enslaved boy, Edmond Albius, made history when he discovered how to hand-pollinate vanilla plants using a…
bamboo twig. Until that time, only bees in Mexico could pollinate the plant—botanists couldn't figure out another way. With his master, Edmond travelled around Réunion Island to share his technique, le geste d'Edmonde (Edmond's gesture), which is still in use today. Despite his important achievement, as an enslaved person Edmond didn't receive payment or recognition for his contribution to science, eventually dying in poverty after being freed from slavery in 1848. Today it is recognized that Edmond's method of pollination was key to bringing vanilla to the world, helped to create a billion-dollar industry and gave us the flavor we love to use in cooking, baking, medicine, and, of course, ice cream.
Game changers: Stories of hijabi athletes from around the world
By Charlene Smith. 2025
Meet 13 inspiring hijabi athletes who are changing the rules. Many of these women were the first in their sport…
to compete while wearing the hijab. Some were up against cultural traditions that didn't allow girls to play sports. And some fought to have institutional anti-hijab rules changed so that they, and Muslim girls after them, would be able to compete. Discover the stories of Egyptian beach volleyball player Doaa Elghobashy, UAE hockey player Fatima Al Ali, Afghani soccer player Hajar Abulfazl and Syrian-American runner Rahaf Khatib, among many others. Game Changers shows the next generation of Muslim girls that they don't have to choose between following their religion and following their dreams.
Seabird
By Michelle Kadarusman. 2025
Inspired by a true story, Seabird follows the early teen years of Kartini, whose forced isolation ignites her desire for…
freedom and the right to have a say in the decisions that shape her life. Kartini was born in 1879 during Dutch-colonized Indonesia, then known as the Dutch East Indies. Due to her high-born status, Kartini is forced to enter home seclusion just before her twelfth birthday with the intention that she will remain home until she is married. During seclusion, Kartini, who is fluent in the Dutch language, begins a self-directed education and writes letters to a former schoolmate named Lesty. This period of isolation sparks her interest in feminist thinking and ignites her desire to improve education opportunities for all Javanese girls and women. In Seabird, Governor General's Award finalist Michelle Kadarusman shows us that no matter how powerless you feel, your voice can have great impact, and by virtue of writing down your dreams and ideas, you can inspire generations to come
Songs for ghosts
By Clara Kumagai. 2025
A YA coming-of-age novel full of longing, love and ghosts from the past, inspired by both Puccini's Madama Butterfly and…
Japanese history. Seventeen-year-old Adam has just broken up with his boyfriend Evan and is not looking forward to the excruciating awkwardness at school for the rest of term or a whole summer stuck at home with his dad, stepmom and baby brother, Benji. But then Adam discovers a diary in some boxes in the attic and is quickly enthralled by their poignant story. They were written by a young woman living in Nagasaki in 1911. Adam is enraptured by her life and loves, becoming totally absorbed in her story. And then he starts to be haunted by her ghostly presence. Equal parts globe-trotting love drama, chilling ghost story and exploration of Japanese history, Songs for Ghosts 's poetic prose and memorable characters will leave readers breathless
I won't feel this way forever
By Kim Spencer. 2025
It's the summer of 1989, and Mia is on her own—adjusting to life without her ex-best friend, Lara. Summer vacation…
starts off well enough as Mia binges MuchMusic and learns how to jar fish with her aunty and uncle. Then her grandma starts feeling unwell. At first, Mia isn't too worried, but when a call comes in from the clinic to say her grandmother has to go to the hospital in Vancouver, everyone realizes this is serious. Mia and her mom and aunties head to the city to be by her grandmother's side. Mia mostly ping-pongs from the hospital to the motel, but she also gets to see some of the city and eat (too much) takeout. She even joins a basketball camp at the Friendship Centre, where she meets a teen coach who inspires her to get back into the game she loves and delve deeper into what it means to be Indigenous. As time passes, Mia's grandmother's health doesn't improve, and she has to face the fact that her beloved grandma might not get better
Game Changers: Stories of Hijabi Athletes from around the World
By Charlene Smith. 2025
This illustrated nonfiction anthology features the stories of 13 inspiring hijabi athletes from around the world. Production note: The EPUB…
format of this book was created through eBOUND's Accessible Conversion Project.
I won't feel this way forever
By Kim Spencer. 2025
In this follow-up middle-grade novel to Weird Rules to Follow, when Mia's beloved grandmother gets sick and is sent to…
a Vancouver hospital, Mia and her Mom and aunties travel to be by her side. But as she bounces between motel room, visiting hours and city adventures, Mia begins to realize that her grandmother might not get better.
I won't feel this way forever
By Kim Spencer. 2025
In this follow-up middle-grade novel to Weird Rules to Follow, when Mia's beloved grandmother gets sick and is sent to…
a Vancouver hospital, Mia and her Mom and aunties travel to be by her side. But as she bounces between motel room, visiting hours and city adventures, Mia begins to realize that her grandmother might not get better.
I won't feel this way forever
By Kim Spencer. 2025
In this follow-up middle-grade novel to Weird Rules to Follow, when Mia's beloved grandmother gets sick and is sent to…
a Vancouver hospital, Mia and her Mom and aunties travel to be by her side. But as she bounces between motel room, visiting hours and city adventures, Mia begins to realize that her grandmother might not get better.
Joe and the wreck of the Tribune
By Jacqueline Halsey. 2025
When every aspect of your life is ruled by the whims of the sea, the water can be your best…
friend--and your worst enemy. In 1797, an orphan named Joe is determined to set sail and leave his small town of Herring Cove behind. Here, his life isn't his own: he has to do what grouchy Eli and strict Gram say, because (as they like to remind him), they've given him food and shelter. They order him around and keep secrets from him, in the contents of Gram's medicine bag and in the mysterious sea chest hidden at the back of Eli's shed. The Atlantic Ocean is Joe's ticket to freedom. When he's out on the water, he delights in the ocean spray and rolling waves. But a gentle sea can turn choppy and deadly at any moment, which Joe and his neighbours know all too well. When a sailing ship wrecks nearby during a raging storm, the locals don't dare attempt a rescue. Can Joe stand by and listen to the helpless cries of the exhausted sailors, or should he put his life on the line and brave the merciless Atlantic? Inspired by the true story of the shipwreck of the HMS Tribune and the heroism of a boy known as Joe Cracker, this exciting coming-of-age adventure is brimming with rich detail and captivating suspense.
Among ghosts
By Rachel Hartman. 2025
A few things to know about the town of St. Muckle's: It's too out-of-the-way to interest greedy lords, and too…
damp and muddy for marauding dragons to burn. And anyone, from a humble serf to a runaway nun, may earn their freedom by living for a year and a day within the town walls. Seven years ago, Charl and his mother fled to St. Muckle's and made it their safe-haven, building a new life in this so called Peasant's Paradise. But when Charl sees something impossible-a ghost-soon the embers of his past are threatening to engulf his world in flame. A tragic accident is quickly followed by murder, a deadly plague, and a mercenary dragon. Charl manages to escape to an abandoned abbey outside of town, but finds no safety within those ruined walls. A treacherous nun, a chorus of murdered girls, and the fearsome Battle Bishop await, ready to ensnare him in a complex web of history, magic and fate. For some things should never be forgotten, however much they haunt us, and Charl will need all his wisdom and resiliency if he is to fight for the world he knows...and the people he calls home.