Carnegie Library’s Teen Book List feeds the appetite of book-loving kids

With the new school year in full gear, it’s exciting to know that textbooks aren’t the only reading material in teens’ backpacks.

Carnegie Library teen specialists share their book list of most popular titles for teens during outreach visits to Pittsburgh schools throughout the year. The school visits are coordinated in conjunction with Teen Read Week, a nationwide literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Services Association designed to encourage teens to be regular readers and library users.

“As Teen Read Week marks the beginning of our school year outreach, we wanted to continue to encourage teens to read for fun during the school year,” says Kelly Rottmund, teen services coordinator in Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Office of Programs and Partnerships.

Leah Durand, library services manager for teens at the Oakland location and co-chair of the Teen Read Week committee, works with the teen specialists to create the annual list. The make sure to include a diversity of authors and subject matter, books that reflect current events, and issues affecting Pittsburgh teens. The funny, fantastic, and dramatic stories will likely appeal to Mom and Dad, too.

The 2017 books:

“Crack in the Sea,” by H.M. Bouwman. Pip, a young boy who can speak to fish, and his sister Kinchen, set off on a great adventure. Twins with magical powers, refugees fleeing post-war Vietnam, and some helpful sea monsters, join them.

“Flying Lessons & Other Stories,” edited by Ellen Oh. From basketball dreams and family fiascoes to first crushes and new neighborhoods, this anthology celebrates the uniqueness and universality in all of us. Read stories from award-winning authors such as Walter Dean Myers, Meg Medina, Grace Lin, Soman Chainani, Kwame Alexander and Jacqueline Woodson.

“Guts & Glory: The Vikings,” by Ben Thompson. From battle-ax-wielding tribes plundering the greatest cities of Europe to powerful kings and queens ruling their dominions with iron fists, the Vikings were some of the most feared and fearless figures in European history. Find the bravest heroes, the most menacing villains, and unbelievably awesome facts and myths inside this action-packed overview.

“How I Became a Ghost: a Choctaw Trail of Tears Story,” by Tim Tingle. A Choctaw boy tells the story of his tribe’s removal from the only land its people had ever known, and how their journey to Oklahoma led him to become a ghost–one with the ability to help those he left behind.

“It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel,” by Firoozeh Dumas. Zomorod (Cindy) Yousefzadeh is the new kid on the block . . . for the fourth time. She is determined to shuck her brainy loner persona and start afresh with a new Brady Bunch name–Cindy. It is the late 1970s, and fitting in becomes more difficult as Iran makes U.S. headlines with protests, revolution, and finally the taking of American hostages. Even mood rings and puka shell necklaces cannot distract Cindy from the anti-Iran sentiments that creep too close to home.

“Lost in the Sun,” by Lisa Graff. As Trent Zimmerman struggles to move past a traumatic event that took place several months earlier, he befriends class outcast Fallon Little, who helps him understand that he can move on.

“Mighty Jack,” by Ben Hatke. Jack dreads summer because his single mother has to work and leaves him at home with his boring little sister, who is autistic. She does not talk at all. Ever. But one day while they are at a flea market, she does talk. She tells Jack to trade their mother’s car for a box of mysterious seeds. It is the best mistake Jack has ever made!

“The Nameless City.” by Faith Erin Hicks. Every time it is invaded the City gets a new name, but to the natives, it is the Nameless City, and they survive by not letting themselves get involved. Now the fate of the City rests in the hands of Rat, a native, and Kaidu, one of the Dao, the latest occupiers. The two must work together if the City is to survive.

“The Pants Project,” by Cat Clarke. Technically, Olivia is not a girl, even though he was born as a girl. He is transgender. Liv knows he is meant to be a boy. However, at Bankridge Middle School, the dress code forbids pants, allowing only skirts. So Operation: Pants Project begins! To Liv, this isn’t just a mission to change the policy. It’s a mission to change his life.

“Posted,” by John David Anderson. When cell phones are banned at their school, the students start communicating through sticky notes. The notes, left all over the school, trigger a wave of bullying in the wake of a new girl’s arrival.

“Scythe,” by Neal Shusterman. In a world where disease has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed (‘gleaned’) by professional reapers (‘scythes’). Two teens must compete with each other to become a scythe–a position neither of them wants. The one who becomes a scythe must kill the one who doesn’t.

“Sword Art Online: Aincrad, vol. 1,” by Reki Kawahara. Players are excited to try out the new VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) that completely immerses the player into its fantasy world.  One problem: the game is released without a logout button.  Once you enter the game there is no escape unless you beat it, and death in the game means death in real life.

“Volcanoes: Fire and Life,” by Jon Chad. In a not-so-distant future, our world is as cold as a frozen burrito. Can humanity save itself by harnessing a power that dwells inside the Earth? Explode into the world of geology in Volcanoes: Fire and Life!

Throughout the year, Carnegie Library offers a variety of reading-related programming, including Battle of the Books for 6th-12th graders, Alternative Homecoming, which is themed around a young adults’ book, Teen Winter Reading Raffle which runs from December-January, and Teen Summer Reading.

Some of the library’s neighborhood locations also host teen book discussions throughout the year, such as Pizza & Pages at Squirrel Hill and Teen Reads for Everyone at Beechview.

Despite the popularity of e-books, Rottmund says, “teens are definitely still reading hardcover and paperback books. We often have teens tell us they love the smell and feel of the books and, also, of wandering through the stacks and finding something serendipitously. While it can be convenient to read a book on your phone, it’s not always comfortable.”