It’s back-to-school time, which means it’s the perfect time for a new book! We’ve got just the place to start. Our Teen Advisory Board have provided brief reviews on Post-It notes of some titles from our library collection. Descriptions of the books are from our catalog, and transcriptions of the Post-It notes are below each description. Happy reading!
What is the Teen Advisory Board?
HEPL’s Teen Advisory Board (TAB) is a great way to serve your local community, help plan teen programming, earn volunteer hours, develop leadership skills, and make new friends. Teens in grades 6-12 are encouraged to join by filling out and submitting the online application available on the TAB page.
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry – General Collection
An African-American family is united in love and pride as they struggle to overcome poverty and harsh living conditions in Chicago.
Post-It says: “A heart-felt drama about an African-American family living in south-side Chicago. Mixed with the conflicting issue is a family with so much love and hopefulness in a world where there is only hate.”
Prisoners of the Castle by Ben Macintyre – General Collection
During World War II, the German army used the towering Colditz Castle to hold the most defiant Allied prisoners. For four years, these prisoners of the castle tested its walls and its guards with ingenious escape attempts that would become legend. But as Macintyre shows, the story of Colditz was about much more than escape. Its population represented a society in miniature, full of heroes and traitors, class conflicts and secret alliances, and the full range of human joy and despair.
Post-It says: “Prisoners of the Castle is an exciting, engaging book. This well-written historical novel talking about WW2 prisoners is a must read for history lovers.”
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen – General Collection
When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive and the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking…and what she’s hiding.
Post-It says: “I give it a 5 out of 10. It was good but bad dialogue.”
Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka – General Collection
Lady Bird, an unlucky assassin, is tasked with grabbing a suitcase from a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka and exiting at the next stop, but doesn’t realize other dangerous passengers are trying to do the same.
Post-It says: “If you’re looking for an exciting book that’s also challenging, I would recommend this! All the characters have deep backgrounds, and the book is so suspenseful. I loved this, and everyone I know who read this loved it. 4 stars.”
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – General Collection
For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. She’s barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark. But Kya is not what they say. Abandoned at age ten, she has survived on her own in the marsh that she calls home. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life lessons from the land, learning from the false signals of fireflies the real way of this world. But while she could have lived in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world — until the unthinkable happens.
Post-It says: “You know how once in a while, you find a book that keeps you up for hours on end? I’ve found that. This book perfectly executes the arts of adventure and suspense.”
The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – High School Collection
Players compete for millions in a game of riddles orchestrated by Avery and the Hawthorne brothers, but not everyone is playing by the rules.
Post-It says: “This is one of the best books I have ever read! I didn’t think The Inheritance Games series could get any better, but it did. This book would not leave my hands. 5 stars.”
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – High School Collection
When a Connecticut teenager inherits vast wealth and an eccentric estate from the richest man in Texas, she must also live with his surviving family and solve a series of puzzles to discover how she earned her inheritance.
Post-It says: “It was good but got repetitive at times. 3 stars.”
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – High School Collection
Jude, seventeen and mortal, gets tangled in palace intrigues while trying to win a place in the treacherous High Court of Faerie, where she and her sisters have lived for a decade.
Post-It says: “All my friends wanted me to read this, and I regret the time and $13 I spent on this. The romance was cheesy and made no sense. The character development was basic and mid. 2 stars.”
500 Words or Less by Juleah Del Rosario – High School Collection
High school senior Nic, seventeen, tries to salvage her tattered reputation by helping her Ivy League-obsessed classmates with college admission essays and finds herself in the process.
Post-It says: “I never read poetry, but this one went by so fast! The plot was basic, though, and I hated the main character. However, if you’re looking for a fast read, I recommend this. 3 stars.”
Defy by Sara B. Larson – High School Collection
Seventeen-year-old Alexa’s parents were killed by a sorcerer during a raid, so she has disguised herself as a boy, joined Antion’s army, and earned a place on Prince Damian’s guard — but Antion is ruled by an evil king, and “Alex” must find a way to defeat him and protect her prince.
Post-It says: “The first book in a trilogy that is packed with action, adventure, and a conflicting love triangle. There is so much mystery and not enough pages that you have to read the next 2 books.”
I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang – High School Collection
Channeling her frustrations into email drafts — ones that she’d never send — seemingly perfect Sadie Wen finds her carefully crafted, conflict-free life turned upside down when the email is sent out accidentally, and the only person growing to appreciate the ‘real’ Sadie is the only boy she’s sworn to hate.
Post-It says: “I had really high expectations from this book, and it still impressed me! This book might be a bit cliche for some, but it’s so well written that you barely noticed. There is so much character development! 5 stars.”
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid – High School Collection
Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. Haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood, she’s had no choice. Her tattered copy of Angharad, Emrys Myrddin’s epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him, is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to redesign the late author’s estate, Effy feels certain it’s her destiny. But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Heloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin’s legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them and the truth may bring them both to ruin.
Post-It says: “I thought I was going to hate this book, but this is one of my favorites. It’s a dark academia, but it’s not intimidating. I love the characters, and I think about them too much! 5 stars.”
Snap by Carol Snow – High School Collection
When fifteen-year-old Madison’s parents, who are having problems, bring her to a seedy beachside town, she relies on some quirky new friends for help figuring out how her camera is taking pictures of people who are not there, and who later suffer tragedies.
Post-It says: “Very riveting, and a mixture of exciting and mysterious.”
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba – Youth Collection
When 14-year-old William Kamkwamba’s Malawi village was hit by a drought in 2001, everyone’s crops began to fail. His family didn’t have enough money for food, let alone school, so William spent his days in the library. He came across a book on windmills and figured out how to build a windmill that could bring electricity to his village. Everyone thought he was crazy but William persevered and managed to create a functioning windmill out of junkyard scraps. Several years later he figured out how to use the windmill for irrigation purposes.
Post-It says: “A really emotional book with heart-wrenching chapters and moments, but also with its hopeful and wonderful moments of family and achievements.”
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer – Youth Collection
Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, twins Alex and Conner leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic, where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about. But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought.
Post-It says: “Really interesting and reread it many times. Would highly recommend to everyone. 5 stars.”
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling – Youth Collection
During his fifth year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter must confront the unreliability of both the magical world and the authorities at Hogwarts, but finds strengths and depths in his friends beyond what he knew.
Post-It says: “An emotional and thrilling tale from start to finish, with many funny parts in between. You’ll never be able to get bored of this. 5 stars.”