Our teen book spotlight this week is on YA books featuring a variety of friendships, because let’s be honest--when you have a friend, life just seems to be that much better. The titles featured in this week’s book talk (and listed below) are books that can be found in our YA collections at the various branches of the Handley Regional Library System. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #yafriendship 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!!
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram--Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He's a Fractional Persian--half, his mom's side--and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life. Darius has never really fit in at home, and he's sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn't exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they're spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city's skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush--the original Persian version of his name--and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he's Darioush to Sohrab.
Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson--After their friend Steph is murdered, Quadir, Jarrell, and Steph's sister Jasmine promote his music under a new rap name, the Architect, but when his demo catches a music label rep's attention, the trio must prove his talent from beyond the grave.
Wilder Girls by Rory Power--Friends Hetty, Byatt, and Reece go to extremes trying to uncover the dark truth about the mysterious disease that has had them quarantined at their boarding school on a Maine island.
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner--Dill, Lydia, and Travis are three outcast friends who are just trying to make it through their senior year. With a Pentecostal minister father imprisoned for child porn, Dill finds a certain peace in music. Travis escapes the realities of his abusive father and the pain he feels over his brother's death in a fantasy book series. And Lydia, a successful fashion blogger with plans to attend NYU, is the joyful glue that holds the three together. But when an act of violence shatters the peace they've managed to find, they'll need each other more than ever.
Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson--Quiet Emily's sociable and daring best friend, Sloane, has disappeared, leaving nothing but a random list of bizarre tasks for her to complete, but with unexpected help from popular classmate Frank Porter, Emily gives them a try.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein--Trapped inside a cell in Nazi-occupied France, a British spy agrees to reveal war-related secrets in order to avoid torture. Rather than simply describe technical details, however, she writes about her friendship with Maddie, the pilot who flew her to France, and the daily struggles of those involved in the British war effort. In between these moving accounts, she also describes her experiences with the SS officer who has complete control over whether she lives or dies.