Book Finder

Wallis’ book is full of political cartoons killed before publication. Each cartoon is accompanied by a brief narrative explaining why it was considered too controversial for publication.

Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy — that he thinks he might be gay. You don’t want anyone to think you’re gay too, do you?

But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King’s friendship with Sandy is reignited, he’s forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother’s death.

Watch as Kacen Callendar discusses their journey in developing King and the Dragonflies at the 2021 National Book Festival.

Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Two Japanese American sisters grow up in post World War II America in this Newbery winning book. Katie is the little sister to Lynn, and Lynn is her mentor and friend. When Lynn develops a terminal illness, Katie must try to keep her spirit alive and “kira-kira.” This is also a wonderful audiobook.

Mads is pretty happy with her life. She goes to church with her family, and minor league baseball games with her dad. She goofs off with her best friend Cat, and has thus far managed to avoid getting kissed by Adam, the boy next door. It’s everything she hoped high school would be…until all of a sudden, it’s not. Her dad is hiding something big — so big it could tear her family apart. And that’s just the beginning of her problems: Mads is starting to figure out that she doesn’t want to kiss Adam… because the only person she wants to kiss is Cat.  Kiss Number 8, a graphic novel from writer Colleen AF Venable and illustrator Ellen T. Crenshaw, is a layered, funny, sharp-edged story of teen sexuality and family secrets. A 2019 New York Public Library Best Books for Kids and Longlist, National Book Awards 2019 for Young People’s Literature.

It takes great skill to be a kite fighter as Kee-sup and Young-sup know well. The brothers have different talents; the older boy makes kites easily while Young-sup flies them with a sure hand. Loyalty, tradition and rivalry between the boys are themes in this riveting novel set in 15th century Korea.

This book about an Oklahoma high school football team is perfect for sports loving guys. The sports scenes are vivid as is the depiction of a small town where the high school sports team is the center of the universe. Fans of the TV show Friday Night Lights will enjoy this title.

The Newbery Medal winning author has vivid recollections of growing up in Norristown, PA, in the 1950s. His recollections are vivid, funny, and episodic and allow fans of Spinelli’s novels to glimpse where stories might begin.

Wim lives in Cape Cod, where she drowns her sorrows in a riding stable. But something keeps drawing her to New Zealand — from visions of a tattooed Maori tribesman, to the New Zealander who comes to research Wim’s ancestors. Ghostly visions, family relations, and a hint of romance are woven through this ethereal novel.

After a supernatural showdown with a serial killer, Evie O’Neill has outed herself as a Diviner. Now that the world knows of her ability to “read” objects, and therefore, read the past, she has become a media darling, earning the title, “America’s Sweetheart Seer.” But not everyone is so accepting of the Diviners’ abilities. Meanwhile, mysterious deaths have been turning up in the city, victims of an unknown sleeping sickness. Can the Diviners descend into the dreamworld and catch a killer?

When Lalani Sarita’s mother falls gravely ill, twelve-year-old Lalani faces an impossible task — she must leave her island of Sanlagita and find the riches of the legendary Mount Isa, which towers on an island to the north. But generations of men and boys have died on the same quest — how can an ordinary girl survive the epic tests of the archipelago? And how will she manage without Veyda, her best friend?

Newbery Medalist and New York Times-bestselling author Erin Entrada Kelly’s debut fantasy novel is inspired by Filipino folklore and is an unforgettable coming-of-age story about friendship, courage, and identity. ALSC Notable Books.

Mary Maloney, a homemaker, is content with her husband and her life until he tells her something terrible and implies that he is leaving her. Upset, she does the unthinkable. What will she do with her unusual murder weapon? Will she get away with her crime?

After a horrific bombing, Tareq must travel with his father and one surviving younger sister, Susan, from war-torn Syria to Turkey to Greece.

When nine-year-old Betita’s beloved father is arrested by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported to Mexico, Betita and her pregnant mother are left behind on their own. Soon they too are detained and must learn to survive in a family detention camp outside of Los Angeles. Even in cruel and inhumane conditions, Betita finds heart in her own poetry and in the community she and her mother find in the camp. The voices of her fellow asylum seekers fly above the hatred keeping them caged, but each day threatens to tear them down lower than they ever thought they could be. Will Betita and her family ever be whole again? Also available in Spanish.

Lyndon B. Johnson was one of the most complex and compelling presidents in US history. Anne Quirk’s biography alternates between chapters that follow LBJ’s childhood in rural Texas learning politics from his parents, his time teaching Mexican American students at a small-town school, and his days in Congress as majority leader and as vice president; and chapters that cover his work alongside civil rights leaders and the passage of the Voting Rights Act. An epilogue discusses the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling that struck down key portions of the act. With engaging storytelling, Quirk paints a rich portrait of Johnson’s presidency, celebrating the accomplishments of his Great Society programs while refusing to shy away from his catastrophic decisions regarding Vietnam and the summer riots of 1967.

In 1954, seventeen-year-old Chinese-American Lily Hu, is secretly excited and intrigued by an ad for a show at the Telegraph Club featuring a male impersonator. Her White friend, Kathleen takes her to the San Francisco lesbian bar, where they begin to explore their sexuality and their relationship.

Educator’s guide available from Malinda Lo’s website.

Discover how 40 influential Latinas became the women we celebrate today! In this collection of short biographies from all over Latin America and across the United States, Juliet Menéndez explores the first small steps that set the Latinitas off on their journeys. With her text and hand-painted illustrations, Menéndez shines a spotlight on the power of childhood dreams. 

Even though they were born in different countries, Akilah and Victoria are true best friends. But Victoria has been acting strange ever since she returned from her summer in Nigeria, where she had a special coming-of-age ceremony. Why does proud Victoria, named for a queen, slouch at her desk and answer the teacher’s questions in a whisper? And why won’t she laugh with Akilah anymore?

Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley’s dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There’s just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend. As their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it’s really Laura Dean that’s the problem. Maybe it’s Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who needs her now more than ever. Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnists like Anna Vice to help her through being a teenager in love. This sweet and spirited graphic novel asks us to consider what happens when we ditch the toxic relationships we crave to embrace the healthy ones we need. Accolades include Booklist 2019 Editor’s Choice.

As in others in the series, lucid text combines with period photographs to present an overview of the life of the woman of Little House on the Prairie fame.

GAME. SET. MAGIC. 

Game: Tennis means life and death for the residents of the magical kingdom of Nova, and for twelve-year-old Legacy, it’s the only thing getting her through the long days taking care of the other kids at the orphanage. That’s all about to change when she hears about Silla’s tournament.

Set: Silla, the ruler of Nova, hosts an annual tournament for the less fortunate of her citizens to come and prove themselves and win entrance to the Academy, where they can train to compete at nationals. The prize is Silla’s favor and enough cash to keep open the orphanage, and Legacy has her heart set on both.

Magic: What Legacy has yet to know is that the other players have something besides better skills and more money than she does. In Nova, tennis can unlock magic. Magic that Silla used to save the kingdom long ago and magic that her competitors have been training in for months already. Now, with the world turned against her and the orphanage at stake, Legacy has to learn to use her passion for the game to rise above those around her and shine. 

With considerable research and extensive interviews, Tim Weiner shows the grave miscalculations that have plagued the Central Intelligence Agency since its inception.

The flooded coast of former Los Angeles. Two warring nations of North America–the Republic and the Colonies. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen–year–old June is a prodigy. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country, she is being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums of the Republic’s Lake Sector, fifteen–year–old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother is murdered. And Day becomes the prime suspect. Now, caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival while June tries desperately to avenge her brother’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together and the sinister lengths their country will go to in order to keep its secrets.

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC-Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape — until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. The incidient reveals Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates. She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets — and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down — or join the fight.