Book Lists for Teens and Young Adults

The Greek goddess Aphrodite recounts two tales of tragic love during WWI to her husband, Hephaestus, and her lover, Ares, in a luxe Manhattan hotel room at the height of World War II. She seeks to answer the age-old question: "Why are Love and War eternally drawn to one another?" but her quest for a conclusion that will satisfy her jealous husband uncovers a multi-threaded tale of prejudice, trauma, and music revealing that War is no match for the power of Love.

A Vietnam War refugee in Texas partners with a city boy with rodeo dreams to track down the younger brother she was separated from six years before when he was evacuated by American troops during the waning days of the Vietnam War.

A young woman in nineteenth-century New York City must struggle against gender and class boundaries when her father is found dead of a supposed suicide. But she believes there is more than meets the eye. In order to uncover the truth she will have to decide how much she is willing to risk and lose.

Spanning two centuries and two continents, Dream Country is the story of five generations of young people caught in a spiral of death and exile between Liberia and the United States.

When families go missing in Baltimore County, Jane McKeene, who is studying to become an Attendant, finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy that has her fighting for her life against powerful enemies.

Biggie Smalls was right. Things done changed. But that doesn't mean Quadir and Jarrell are cool letting their best friend Steph's music lie forgotten under his bed after he is murdered—not when his rhymes could turn any Bed-Stuy corner into a party, not after years of having each other's backs. With the help of Steph's younger sister, Jasmine, who is eager to see justice for her brother, Quadir and Jarrell come up with a plan to promote Steph's music under a new rap name: the Architect. Soon, everyone wants a piece of him. But when his demo catches the attention of a hotheaded music label rep, the trio must race to prove Steph's talent from beyond the grave. As the pressure and danger of keeping their secret grows, Quadir, Jarrell, and Jasmine are forced to confront the truth about what happened to Steph. Only each has something to hide. And with everything riding on Steph's fame, they must decide what they stand for or lose all they've worked so hard to hold onto, including each other.

"1890, Atlanta. By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid for the cruel Caroline Payne, the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for 'the genteel Southern lady.'"

Vowing to make his yearlong escapade across Europe his last hurrah before taking over the family estate, Henry "Monty" Montague and his best friend Percy find themselves in the middle of a dangerous manhunt involving pirates and highwaymen.

It's 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing. Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He's terrified someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he's gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media's images of men dying of AIDS. Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance, until she falls for Reza and they start dating. Art is Judy's best friend, their school's only out-and-proud teen. He'll never be who is conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs. As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception which won't break Judy's heart and destroy the most meaningful friendship he's ever known.

Told in two voices, seventeen-year-old kamikaze pilot Taro and fifteen-year-old war worker Hana meet in 1945 Japan, he with no future and she, haunted by the past. Includes historical notes and glossary.