Recently Published Teen Adventures with a Dash of Romance

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Adventure
• Romance
• Characters who push the boundaries of their societies

Legend
By Marie Lu
YA F LU
In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

Under the Never Sky
By Veronica Rossi
YA F ROSSI
Aria and Perry, two teens from radically different societies--one highly advanced, the other primitive--hate being dependent on one another until they overcome their prejudices and fall in love, knowing they can't stay together.

Incarceron
By Catherine Fisher
YA F FISHER
To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape.

The False Prince
By Jennifer A. Nielsen
YA F NIELSEN Ascenden #1

In the country of Carthya, a devious nobleman engages four orphans in a brutal competition to be selected to impersonate the king's long-missing son in an effort to avoid a civil war.

Great Books for Guys with Interesting Plot Twists

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Books for guys
• Adventure
• Plot twists
• Books published in the past 10 years

The Rule of Four
By Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason
F CALDWELL
Trying to decipher an ancient text that weaves a mathematical labyrinth within a love story, two researchers obtain a diary that may contain the key to the code, but when a fellow researcher is killed, they realize that the book contains a dangerous secret.

The Thief
By Megan Whalen Turner
YA F TURNER Attolia #1
Gen flaunts his ingenuity as a thief and relishes the adventure which takes him to a remote temple of the gods where he will attempt to steal a precious stone. (This one was not published within the past 10 years, but later books in the series were published in the past ten years.)

Spartan Gold
By Clive Cussler
F CUSSLER Fargo Ad #1
Treasure hunters Sam and Remi Fargo are shocked to discover a bottle of a rare wine taken from Napoleon's lost cellar. However, someone else is also searching for this treasure.

Templar Legacy
By Steve Barry
F BARRY Cotton #1
Former secret agent Cotton Malone and Stephanie Nelle, a U.S. Justice Department prosecutor, must solve the mystery of fourteenth-century Templar riches and secrets before Raymond de Roquefort and his murderous allies prevail.

Books with Strong Characterization, Published in 2011

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Fiction
• Strong Characterization
• Books published in 2011

The Language of Flowers
By Vanessa Diffenbaugh
F DIFFENBA
The story of a girl whose gift of flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own past.

These Things Hidden
By Heather Gudenkauf
F GUDENKAU
When golden girl teenager Allison Glenn is released from prison to a halfway house, she is more determined than ever to speak with her estranged sister. Their legacy of secrets is focused on one little boy. And if the truth is revealed, the consequences will be unimaginable for the adoptive mother who loves him, the girl who tried to protect him and the two sisters who hold the key to all that is hidden.

Divergent
Veronica Roth
YA F ROTH
In a future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

Rules of Civility
By Amor Towles
F TOWLES
A chance encounter with a handsome banker in a jazz bar on New Year's Eve 1938 catapults Wall Street secretary Katey Kontent into the upper echelons of New York society, where she befriends a shy multi-millionaire, an Upper East Side ne'er-do-well, and a single-minded widow.

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Recent fiction
• Character-driven stories
• Contemporary fiction

State of Wonder
By Ann Patchett
F PATCHETT
Pharmacologist Marina Singh, researcher at a drug company in Minnesota, is sent to the Amazon to investigate the death of a colleague and to check on the progress of Dr. Annick Swenson, a rogue scientist on the cusp of developing a fertility drug that could rock the medical profession.

The Lake of Dreams
By Kim Edwards
F EDWARDS
At a crossroads in her life, Lucy Jarrett returns home, only to find herself haunted by her father's unresolved death a decade before. She discovers some papers in her house that lead her to a mystery that goes back generations and whose resolution will alter long-established family histories and future plans.

Life Sentences
By Laura Lippman
F LIPPMAN
Writer Cassandra Fallows returns to Baltimore and tries to reconnect with three former classmates in an attempt to investigate the case of a mutual friend who has been accused of murder. In the process, she discovers the gulf that separates her memories of events from theirs.

If I Stay
By Gayle Forman
YA F FORMAN
While in a coma following an automobile accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weighs whether to live with her grief or join her family in death.

Wolves, Boys, and Other Things that Might Kill Me
By Kristen Chandler
YA F CHANDLER
When wolves are reintroduced to the area near her small Montana town, KJ Carson teams up with the new boy in town, Virgil, to write a column about them for the school newspaper. Her life becomes more complicated as her friendship with Virgil deepens and the townspeople argue about the fate of the wolves.

Teen Books with an Element of Romance

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Teen books
• Romance
• Books published in the past 10 years
  

Penelope
By Marilyn Kaye
YA F KAYE
Twenty-five-year-old Penelope's life would be near-perfect had she not been cursed with the face of a pig, and so while her mother struggles to find a blue-blooded bachelor to break the curse and a tabloid reporter plots to expose her secret, Penelope gets fed up and leaves home, in disguise, to find her own happiness.

Confessions of a First Daughter
By Cassidy Calloway
YA F CALLOWAY
High school senior Morgan Abbott pretends to be her mother, the President of the United States, as a decoy, while she also tries to lead the life of a normal teenager. However, it’s difficult having a normal life when she’s always surrounded by Secret Service agents—one of whom happens to be rather distractingly handsome.

Something like Fate
By Susane Colasanti
YA F COLASANTI
Lani and Erin are best friends who fall for the same guy. Erin starts dating Jason but when she leaves for summer camp, Lani discovers that she and Jason might have more in common than Erin and Jason, and soon she’s trying to find a way to get the guy and keep her best friend.

My Invisible Boyfriend
By Susie Day
YA F DAY
In a British alternative high school, fifteen-year-old Heidi stands out in many ways, but when she invents a boyfriend--complete with online profile--her friends turn to him for advice and she must decide how far she is willing to go to find acceptance.

Things I Know about Love
By Kate Le Vann
YA F LE VANN
Seventeen-year-old Livia Stowe travels from England to Princeton, New Jersey, to visit her brother who is studying there and to celebrate her recovery from a year-long struggle with leukemia, and while she is there she writes a blog about her experiences, which include falling in love.

The Nature of Jade
By Deb Caletti
YA F CALETTI
Seattle high school senior Jade's life is defined by her anxiety disorder and dysfunctional family, until she spies a mysterious boy with a baby who seems to share her fascination with the elephants at a nearby zoo.

Hope Was Here
By Joan Bauer
YA F BAUER
When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.

Enchanted Ivy
By Sarah Beth Durst
YA F DURST
To achieve her dream of attending Princeton University, sixteen-year-old Lily Carter accepts the challenge of seeking the Ivy Key to a magical realm, where she finds herself caught in a power struggle between two worlds, with her family at its center.

Recently Published Historical Fiction

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Historical fiction
• Books published in the last ten years

The Help
By Kathryn Stockett
F Stockett
Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women, including an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project.

Sarah’s Key
By Tatiana de Rosnay
F Rosnay
On the sixtieth anniversary of the 1942 roundup of Jews by the French police in the Vel d'Hiv section of Paris, American journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article on this dark episode during World War II and embarks on investigation that leads her to long-hidden family secrets and to the ordeal of Sarah, a young girl caught up in the raid.

Apothecary’s Daughter
By Julie Klassen
F Klassen
Yearning for more adventure in her life and longing to know the truth behind her mother's disappearance, Lillian Haswell, the daughter of the local apothecary, seizes the opportunity when a distant aunt offers to educate her as a lady in London.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
By Mary Ann Shaffer
F Shaffer
In 1946, writer Juliet Ashton finds inspiration for her next book in her correspondence with a native of Guernsey, who tells her about the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a book club born as an alibi during German occupation.

The Whiskey Rebels
By David Liss
F Liss
Hired by his onetime fiancee to find her missing husband, Ethan Saunders, a former spy for Washington during the Revolution, follows a trail that leads him to Alexander Hamilton and to rebellious whiskey-makers fiercely opposed to a tax on their products.

Recent Romantic Stories

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Romance
• Books published in the last 10 years

Daughter of the Forest
By Juliet Marillier
SCIFI MARILLIER
As the only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters, Sorcha grows up protected and pampered by her six older brothers. When a sorceress's evil magic transforms the brothers into swans, only Sorcha's efforts can break the curse.

Secret History of the Pink Carnation
By Lauren Willig
F WILLIG
Leaving Harvard to complete her dissertation on the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian in England, Eloise Kelly discovers information about the most elusive spy of all time, a figure who single-handedly saved England from Napoleon's invasion.

Breath of Snow and Ashes
By Diana Gabaldon
SCIFI GABALDON
In 1772, on the eve of the American Revolution, Jamie Fraser is asked by the governor to help protect the colonies for King and Crown, but, thanks to his time-traveling twentieth-century wife, Claire, Jamie is aware of the ultimate result of the rebellion.

Popular Teen Books

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Teen books
• Clean reads
• Books published in the last 10 years

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
By Jessica Day George
YA F GEORGE
Unnamed and rejected by her mother, a girl (known as the lass) jumps at the chance to leave her meager home after a great white bear offers her a deal: if she accompanies him to his ice palace for a year and a day, he will reward her and her family with wealth.

Enthusiasm
By Polly Shulman
YA F SHULMAN
Julie and Ashleigh, high school sophomores and Jane Austen fans, seem to fall for the same Mr. Darcy-like boy and struggle to hide their true feelings from one another while rehearsing for a school musical.

I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You
By Ally Carter
YA F CARTER
As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from "normal teenage life" until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission.

My Fair Godmother
By Janette Rallison
YA F RALLISON
High school sophomore Savannah wants to find the perfect prom date after her boyfriend breaks up with her to date her older sister, but when a godmother who is only fair becomes involved, Savannah finds herself in trouble in the Middle Ages, along with a boy who would like to be her charming prince.

Countess below Stairs
By Eva Ibbotson
YA F IBBOTSON
After the Russian revolution turns her world topsy-turvy, Anna, a young Russian countess, has no choice but to flee to England. Penniless, Anna hides her aristocratic background and takes a job as servant in the household of the esteemed Westerholme family, armed only with an outdated housekeeping manual and sheer determination.

Recent Nonfiction

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• Nonfiction
• Books published in the last 10 years

The Post-American World
By Fareed Zakaria
303.49 ZAK
The author of the bestselling "The Future of Freedom" describes a world in which the U.S. will no longer dominate the global economy. He sees the "rise of the rest" as the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world.

Outliers: The Story of Success
By Malcolm Gladwell
302 GLA
The best-selling author of Blink identifies the qualities of successful people, posing theories about the cultural, family, and idiosyncratic factors that shape high achievers, in a resource that covers such topics as the secrets of software billionaires, why certain cultures are associated with better academic performance, and why the Beatles earned their fame.

The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008
By Thomas E. Ricks
956.7044 RIC
"The Gamble," the story of Gen. David Petraeus and the American military, reveals that many high-level officials were opposed to the 2003 invasion.

Unholy Business: A True Tale of Faith, Greed & Forgery in the Holy Land
By Nina Burleigh
933 BUR
This tale of faith, greed & forgery revolves around a couple of artifacts that surfaced in 2002: the so-called “James Ossuary” and the “Jehoash Tablet”. The first was touted as the first archaeological evidence of Jesus existence. The other item, the “Jehoash Tablet” purported to be an artifact dating from the time of and relating to the Temple of Solomon.

Agent ZigZag: a True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal
By Ben McIntyre
Bio Chapman
Eddie Chapman was a criminal who talked his way out of a Nazi prison by offering to spy for Germany during World War II. He trained extensively and intensively with his German handler and then parachuted into England on a secret spy mission. He immediately turned himself in to the British Secret Service, and proceeded to dupe the Germans with false radio reports from England. Not content to stay in England, he returned to occupied France and offered to execute another mission for Germany. Cool under extreme pressure, he was interrogated over and over by the Germans to be sure he hadn’t turned on them and managed to retain their trust, training other spies for Germany and returning once again to England on a mission for the Nazis.

Lords of Finance: The Bankers who Broke the World
By Liaquat Ahamed
332.1092 AHA
With penetrating insights for today, this vital history of the world economic collapse of the late 1920s offers unforgettable portraits of four men--Montagu Norman, Amile Moreau, Hjalmar Schacht, and Benjamin Strong--whose personal and professional actions as heads of their respective central banks changed the course of the twentieth century.

Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human
By Richard Wrangham
394.12 WRA
In this stunningly original book, renowned primatologist Richard Wrangham argues that "cooking" created the human race. At the heart of "Catching Fire" lies an explosive new idea: The habit of eating cooked rather than raw food permitted the digestive tract to shrink and the human brain to grow, helped structure human society, and created the male-female division of labor.

The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
By Jennet Conant
940.5486 CON
Conant tells the story of young writer Roald Dahl who is assigned by His Majesty's Government to Washington, D.C., as a diplomat to gather intelligence about America's isolationist circles. In the course of his "spying," he meets or works closely with David Ogilvy, Ian Fleming, and the great spymaster William Stephenson (aka Intrepid).

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
By Michael Pollan
613 POL
Pollan suggests that if we would pay more for better, well-grown food, but buy less of it, we'll benefit ourselves, our communities, and the environment at large. Taking a clear-eyed look at what science does and does not know about the links between diet and health, he proposes a new way to think about the question of what to eat that is informed by ecology and tradition rather than by the prevailing nutrient-by-nutrient approach.

Exciting Adventures for Teen Guys

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Adventure
• Teen books
• Books for guys
• Books published in the last 10 years

SilverFin
By Charles Higson
YA F HIGSON
Prequel to the adventures of James Bond, 007, introduces the young James when he is just starting boarding school in England and is about to become involved in his first adventure. Book one in the Young Bond Series.

Dangerous Days of Daniel X
By James Patterson
YA F PATTERSO
Fifteen-year-old Daniel has followed in his parents' footsteps as the Alien Hunter, exterminating beings on The List of Alien Outlaws on Terra Firma, but when he faces his first of the top ten outlaws, the very existence of Earth and another planet are at stake.

The Recruit
By Robert Muchamore
YA F MUCHAMOR
When James is recently orphaned, he is recruited by a secret agency for his math skills and must undergo one hundred days of grueling training. (Book 1 in the Cherub series.)

Devil’s Breath
By David Gilman
YA F GILMAN
When his father goes missing and he is almost killed at his boarding school in England, Max travels to the wilderness of Namibia to try to find him where he soon learns about his father's work to stop Shaka Chang and his evil plot for ecological destruction.

Ruins of Gorlan
By John Flanagan
YA F FLANAGAN
When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battleschool, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger. (Book one in the Ranger’s Apprentice series.)

Skulduggery Pleasant
By Derek Landy
YA F LANDY
When twelve-year-old Stephanie inherits her weird uncle's estate, she must join forces with Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton mage, to save the world from the Faceless Ones. Be sure to read the next books in this series as well.

Artemis Fowl
By Eoin Colfer
YA F COLFER
When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll. (Book 1 in the Artemis Fowl series.)

Incarceron
By Catherine Fisher
YA F FISHER
To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape. (Book 1 in the Incarceron series.)

The Maze Runner
By James Dashner
YA F DASHNER
Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape. (Book 1 in Maze Runner trilogy.)

The Angel Experiment
By James Patterson
YA F PATTERSO
After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose. (Book 1 in the Maximum Ride series.)