Our teen book spotlight this week is all about books that have been nominated for the Virginia Reader’s Choice (VRC) High School award for the 2021-2022 school year!! The VRC award was started back in the 1980s with the goal being that students across the state choosing what they thought the best book of the year is instead of adults. Every year, there are 10 YA books nominated for the award by a committee; readers then have a few months to read as many of the 10 as they can and then they will cast their vote for which one they think is the best. The book with the most votes wins the award!! Every teen, as long as you live in Virginia, qualifies to participate in this amazing experience and you can vote right here at your local Handley Regional Library System library (if you are interested just stop by and see someone in Youth Services!). These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #vrchigh2021 as well as on Libby and Hoopla. Check back next week for a new teen book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming--Presents a biography of the life and career of aviator, Charles Lindbergh, focusing on his solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, the kidnapping of his infant son, his medical research, and his controversial political and racial views during World War II.
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram--Presents a coming-of-age story following outcast Darius Kellner who suffers from clinical depression, a sense of social awkwardness, and a fractured Persian heritage. He travels to Iran with his family and is convinced he will not feel comfortable there any more than his own home. But then he meets his new neighbor, Sohrab; and through this charismatic boy, Darius learns it's OK to be himself.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi--A ruthless king orders all maji killed in Orïsha, leaving seventeen-year-old Zélie Adebola motherless and alone. But as Zélie begins to discover her own power, she has the chance to free those descendants of maji called diviners—dark-skinned people with white hair—from oppression. But to do so, she must outrun the crown prince who is determined to finish what his father the king began.
With the Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo--Bi-racial high school senior Emoni Santiago balances school with her job and raising her two-year-old daughter in Philadelphia. Her supportive abuela helps develop Emoni’s love of cooking, but Emoni also knows that to pursue culinary school is impossible. But in the end, Emoni, despite the challenges, has no choice but to follow her passion.
Frankly In Love by David Yoon--As the son of Korean immigrants in Southern California, Frank Li is expected to relish in the American dream but also find a nice Korean girl to marry. But instead, Frank falls for a white classmate who his parents will never approve of. He meets another Korean American, Joy Song, who is in a similar situation. They agree to be a couple in front of the parents in order for Frank and Joy to be with who they really want, but as their fake relationship takes a turn into the serious, they both must adjust to what their knowledge of love really is.
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee--Seventeen-year-old Chinese American Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid for the bad-tempered daughter of a wealthy man in 1890s Atlanta. Secretly, however, Jo writes a column for a local newspaper under a pseudonym where she extrapolates on some of high society's lesser qualities. Her column becomes both a hit and a controversy, and people begin to clamor to know the column's true identity, even the city's most notorious criminal. While she questions revealing herself, Jo receives a mysterious letter that sets her on a path of discovery to learn more about the parents who abandoned her.