Our teen book spotlight this week is traveling around the world as we are featuring books that are set in other countries!!! Books provide us with a way of visiting other places without having to leave our couches and comfy clothes and when it is done right, you feel as though you are right there with the characters; these books do just that! You will find yourself immersed in other places all over the world and you may even learn a thing or two. We have a great mix of realistic, historical, and even some dystopian and steampunk so there is something for every preference. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #yaaroundtheworld 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!!
City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson--After fleeing the Congo, Tina and her mother arrive in Sangui City, Kenya, hoping to build a new life. Her mother finds work as a maid for the family of Roland Greyhill, a respected business leader. When Tina learns that the Greyhill fortune was made through corruption and crime, and then finds her mother shot dead in Mr. Greyhill's personal study, she plots to get revenge. She spends the next four years becoming a master thief for the Goondas, Sangui City's local gang, and when a job takes her back to the Greyhill residence, Tina sees her chance.
Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick--This is based on the true story of Arn Chorn Pond, who at nine-years-old saw his family brutally murdered by the Khmer Rouge and was forced to flee Cambodia. Drawing from this child's history and various other resources, author McCormick depicts the horrors that Pond experienced. Always on the brink of death, Pond toiled endlessly in the rice fields; witnessed countless individuals viciously murdered and was forced to participate in their so-called burial; armed himself with a gun as part of the Khmer Rouge; and finally mustered the strength to escape.
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay--When seventeen-year-old Jay Reguero learns his Filipino cousin and former best friend, Jun, was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, he flies to the Philippines to learn more.
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld--In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated, and their young son -- Prince Aleksander -- is left to deal with nations hostile to his father as well as the conflicts that arise between the Clankers, believers of mechanical engineering, and the Darwinists, believers of biotechnology. Meanwhile, Deryn Sharp conceals her gender to serve in the British Air Service and eventually finds herself on one of the Darwinist ships, the "Leviathan." Aleksander, a Clanker, flees Austria and encounters Deryn in the Swiss Alps. They soon realize that friends and foes will have to team up if they are to see another day.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor-- In Prague, Karou, an art student, is struggling with her identity (she grows bright blue hair and her family consists of inhuman creatures) when she realizes that black handprints are appearing on doorways around the world and a war between devils and angels is about to break out. Karou may soon learn who she really is after she encounters the beautiful, haunted Akiva.
The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson--In Palmares Tres, a futuristic, vertically-landscaped Brazil, wealthy citizens live at the top and the poor reside at the bottom tier. The government has its grip on technology and pharmaceutics. Living on Tier Eight, rebellious 18-year-old June Costa, a gifted artist, and her best friend, Gil, befriend a lower tier resident, Enki, who is destined to die because he is a Summer King. Enki is also an artist, and he and June begin to stage politically-driven artwork to fuel the growing rebellion against the government. As their relationship grows deeper, the teens find themselves on a dangerous quest, opening the city's eyes to the brutal injustices.