Our teen book spotlight this week is all about Tales From Time Past!!! Our titles this week are all historical fiction stories; this is one of my favorite genres because it provides an opportunity to read about times and events in history that many times we do not know much, if anything, about because they are not taught in typical school classes. Historical fiction books are filled with true facts (authors need to do a ton of research) and many times the characters are inspired by real people. We have books that take place in the United States and others on other continents; some take place in more recent times and others further in the past. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #yahistoricalfiction as well as on Libby and Hoopla.
The 2021 Summer Reading Program takes place from June 5th-August 11th with a new theme and badge activities every week. Make sure to watch the Teen Book Spotlight book talk video for this week as it counts towards your badge activities for the week; if you read one of the titles featured or on the tagged list, that counts as another activity as well!!! Earn the weekly themed badges to get your virtual tickets which can be turned into opportunities to win prizes! For more information--such as to sign up or to sign in to your account in order to track your books and activities--visit our Summer Reading page and click “LOG IN NOW”.
Check back next week for a new teen book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
Kent State by Deborah Wiles--Presents an account of the 1970 killings of four Kent State University students by Ohio National Guard soldiers who were called in to control student protests against military operations in Cambodia. Provides viewpoints from various individuals who were there, including a protestor, a National Guard soldier, a local resident, and a student bystander.
Scar by J. Albert Mann--During the Revolutionary War, a young wounded Colonial boy and a young wounded Indian boy meet in the woods of New York after a bloody battle and try to survive the night.
A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen--When the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz are trapped on the eastern side where they were living, while her father, and her other brother Dominic are in the West--four years later, now twelve, Gerta sees her father on a viewing platform on the western side and realizes he wants her to risk her life trying to tunnel to freedom.
The Black Kids by Christina Hammond--With the Rodney King riots closing in on high school senior Ashley and her family, the privileged bubble she has enjoyed, protecting her from the difficult realities most black people face, begins to crumble.
Flygirl by Sherri Smith--During World War II, a light-skinned African American girl "passes" for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.
Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina--It is the summer of 1977 and the infamous Son of Sam is killing couples on the streets of New York City. Seventeen-year-old Nora Lopez is risking a lot when she falls for a new guy who just started working with her at the deli. But then again, she has a lot more to worry about than just a killer. Her brother Hector is growing more violent and threatening each day, her mother is helpless, they are behind on the rent, her father hardly ever calls, and the city is reeling from arsonists and a massive blackout. All she wants is to make it to 18 and get out on her own.