Teen Picks

3.5/5 stars

Butterflies. Delicate, beautiful, innocent...lethal. Convicted criminal Yelena knows all too well the fatal effects of Butterfly's Dust, a poison so calculatedly potent that its victim dies in convulsive seizures on the second day after ingestion – all without feeling a thing until the death hour. But this seems like a small price to pay for her life spared from the noose – the position of official food taster for the Commander of Ixia. Now bound to the kingdom by her daily dose of antidote, she soon becomes involved in a network of spies for Ixia's Chief of Security – a deadly assassin by the name of Valek – and an underground community of magic – a practice punishable by death in Ixia – in order to save the kingdom and return to her homeland. As a young adult novel with themes of trust, loyalty, and perseverance, this adventure–fantasy story is a wonderful read for both teenagers and adults. Check Our Catalog

If your name is Katherine, then there’s a good chance that Colin will find you attractive. If your name is Katherine and you’ve dated Colin Singleton, then you’ve probably dumped him. Colin--a prodigy, but not a genius--has just been dumped by his nineteenth Katherine, so he and his best friend Hassan go on a road trip, but find themselves stuck in a small town in Tennessee. It is there that Colin begins working on a mathematical formula that will predict the outcome of any relationship. If you like math, read this book. If you don’t like math, skip over those parts because the rest of the story is great. Check Our Catalog



Hazel and Augustus share a sense of humor, sarcasm, wit, love, and cancer. And once Hazel shares her favorite book, Augustus shares that too. Both read the novel multiple times, finding it comforting and frustrating—it ends mid-sentence. They love it most because the main character has cancer, but it’s not a cancer book, just like Green’s novel isn’t a cancer book. While Hazel and Augustus are technically sick—Hazel needs an oxygen tank and Augustus has a prosthetic leg—they are still just teenagers who have crushes, have their hearts broken, fear fitting in, and are frustrated with adults. Together they decide on a plan to meet their favorite author and along the way they fall in love. This book is a sob fest. You will probably laugh out loud and will most certainly cry, but it’s worth it. The writing is wonderful and you will adore the characters. Warning: Don’t read the end of this book in public. Check Our Catalog

Clay Jensen mysteriously receives a package of cassette tapes that contain recordings by Hannah Baker—a girl who recently committed suicide. The tapes outline the thirteen reasons, or people, who drove her to kill herself.  Clay is baffled to be on this “list” because he had a crush on Hannah and thought he was always nice to her. As Clay listens to the cassette tapes, he slowly learns how big events and even small events had lead to Hannah’s final act and how a seemingly perfect and beautiful girl was struggling underneath her smile.  This is a page turner—you want to know how one story leads to another and you certainly want to know how Clay, who seems perfectly nice and innocent, comes into the picture. Check Our Catalog

Delaney Maxwell fell into a semi-frozen lake and was dead for eleven minutes before her best friend Dexter could save her. In those eleven minutes her life was changed forever.  She wakes up from a coma six days later with seemingly nothing wrong—but she has a strange new “ability.”  And this new ability has attracted a new friend, Troy Varga, who knows a thing or two about death. Now her parents think she could be a murderer, her doctors think she’s gone crazy, and Dexter, well, he’s finally seeing that their friendship could be something more. This suspenseful, supernatural romance will keep you on the edge of your seat. Check our Catalog



Bev and Colby have been working on a post-high school plan since they were thirteen—they will travel around Europe for a year before considering college. Colby hopes that during this time he and Bev will become more than friends. But first, Colby and Bev’s all-girl, not-so-great-sounding rock band are going on a West Coast summer tour that ends up altering plans and relationships. Along the way, Colby and the girls try to document all of the trip’s memorable moments in an attempt to delay the inevitable: growing up and saying goodbye. Check our Catalog



This is the first book in the Immortals series that follows Ever, a girl who can hear people’s thoughts and see dead people after surviving a horrific crash. Ever moves in with her aunt in fancy Laguna Beach and meets super good-looking and mysterious Damen, who silences her powers and seems to have abilities of his own. Is he a vampire? Maybe, maybe not! If you're a fan of Twilight, this might be a new series to try. Check Our Catalog

A funny and frothy Jane Austen satire complete with feisty heroine (Althea Crawley) on the hunt for a wealthy husband amidst dimwitted stepsisters and boring suitors (Lord Boring among them). It's a mash-up of Austen characters and plotlines, complete with faux 19th century prose. An especially fun read if you've read any of Austen's novels or even seen some of the movies. Check Our Catalog

Min Green is writing Ed Slaterton a l-o-n-g breakup letter. Going through each love token she saved in a box in her closet (including a movie ticket, a protractor and a box of matches) , Min describes how the mismatched couple (he’s a popular jock and she’s “arty”) met, fell in love and fell apart. The way their story unfolds, and the illustrations of each item, is charming. Check Our Catalog