As the end of the year approaches, I like to share the books in our YA fiction collection that have been most popular during the year. I've gathered the top ten most popular books in our collection that were published in 2022. After that, you'll see a few older titles that were also very popular among White Plains readers this year. YA Fiction's most popular titles published in 2022: Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber Grades 9 and up Library Catalog / Libby “Wren Greenrock's parents were the king and queen of Eana before they were murdered. While
Read More
Archives for YA literature
New in the Edge
One of the best parts of my job is ordering new books for the Edge–reading the reviews, seeing what popular authors come up with next, or finding out about an upcoming sequel to an old favorite. Read on to find out about some of the new YA fiction titles coming to our shelves this month. How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow Grades 9 and up Library Catalog “Queer Jewish love stubbornly blooms despite the cold of a Washington, D.C., winter. Fresh off a cataclysmic first semester of college, Shani is determined to pass her winter break internship
Read More
New in The Edge: October 2022
Nothing beats waking up to a crisp autumn breeze and the aroma of cider filling your room. There isn’t a more perfect time to curl up with a great book. Fall is officially here, and with it, a bounty of new books for you to browse! When you visit the Edge where you’ll find something for every kind of reader.–Alain Laforest Big Lies: From Socrates to Social Media by Mark Kurlansky Grades 7 and up Library Catalog “In this noteworthy guide to media literacy, Kurlansky (Bugs in Danger) details events occurring over the past 300 years to break down the
Read More
New Books in the Edge: September 2022
Fall weather is reading weather! Whether you're searching for avant-garde science-fiction, true stories of perseverance, or spooky tales, here are a few of titles coming to the Edge shelves this month.–Alain Laforest Three Kisses, One Midnight by Roshani Chokshi, Sandhya Menon, Evelyn Skye Grades 7 and up Library Catalog “The book is set during the Halloween season in Moon Ridge, a town with a mysterious legend tied to the holiday. This legend tells of a young lady who, once a century, haunts the area on Halloween night, granting romantic wishes. Familiar with the local lore, teens Onny, Ash, and True
Read More
New in the Edge: August 2022
From great new books to favorite classic reads, the Edge is here to share the exciting world of young adult literature. It is with great pleasure that I get to shed light on some of the latest titles in the Edge. Come discover some of the latest and greatest YA fiction titles coming to our shelves this month.–Alain Laforest Baby Teeth by Meg Grehan Grades 10 and up Library Catalog “Immy has been in love before, but her relationships always end—because she's a vampire. She's had many lovers, and she remembers them all. Sometimes these memories are a curse: every
Read More
New in the Edge: June 2022
One of the best parts of my job is ordering new books for the Edge–reading the reviews, seeing what popular authors come up with next, or finding out about an upcoming sequel to an old favorite. Read on to find out about some of the new YA fiction titles coming to our shelves this month. Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho Grades 8 and up Library Catalog “When they were 10, Elena Soo and Robbie Choi promised to go to prom together; seven years later, Robbie, now a member of world-famous K-pop group WDB, shows up on Elena’s doorstep.
Read More
New in the Edge: May 2022
One of the best parts of my job is ordering new books for the Edge–reading the reviews, seeing what popular authors come up with next, or finding out about an upcoming sequel to an old favorite. Read on to find out about some of the new YA fiction titles coming to our shelves this month. Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer Grades 9 and up Library Catalog “After a year away, Ellis returns home to confront her past. Graduating from high school far from everything familiar was not part of Ellis Truman’s original plans, but she nevertheless ended up
Read More
New in the Edge: April 2022
One of the best parts of my job is ordering new books for the Edge–reading the reviews, seeing what popular authors come up with next, or finding out about an upcoming sequel to an old favorite. Read on to find out about some of the new YA fiction titles coming to our shelves this month. Gallant by V. E. Schwab Grades 8 and up Library Catalog / Libby “The Merilance School for Girls isn't the worst of places to grow up, but for orphaned Olivia Prior, who has always felt like an outsider, it is an isolating one. For Olivia,
Read More
New in the Edge: March 2022
One of the best parts of my job is ordering new books for the Edge–reading the reviews, seeing what popular authors come up with next, or finding out about an upcoming sequel to an old favorite. Read on to find out about some of the new YA fiction titles coming to our shelves this month. Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions by Navdeep Singh Dhillon Grades 9 and up Library Catalog / Libby “Dhillon’s debut centers on high-schooler and Sikh Sunny G, who is determined to make the most of his life after his brother, who battled alcoholism, passes away.
Read More
Dive into Diversity: Most Popular YA of 2021
In 2021, my Dive into Diversity posts about young adult books will focus on a different genre each month. I’ll highlight books with characters that represent a range of experiences and identities. I’ll also feature authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity as much as possible. For the last post of 2021, I looked at the circulation data for the YA fiction collection to see which books checked out the most. I came up with this list of the top ten most popular YA fiction books published in 2021, written by authors with diverse perspectives. When You Look
Read More
Dive into Diversity: YA Fantasy
In 2021, my Dive into Diversity posts about young adult books will focus on a different genre each month. I’ll highlight books with characters that represent a range of experiences and identities. I’ll also feature authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity as much as possible. This month we have the last genre theme for the year: my favorite, YA fantasy. This month I read Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko, which had been on my list for quite a while–so long, in fact, that its sequel was recently published. I had high hopes, and Raybearer exceeded them. The story
Read More
Dive into Diversity: Witches!
In 2021, my Dive into Diversity posts about young adult books will focus on a different genre each month. I’ll highlight books with characters that represent a range of experiences and identities. I’ll also feature authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity as much as possible. In honor of Halloween, this month's post is a roundup of YA fiction starring… witches! This month I read a popular graphic novel, The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner. It's about 13-year-old Moth Hush, who lives in Founder's Bluff, Massachusetts, and loves all things witchy. While working on a school play about
Read More
What You Need to Know About… Monster
Gone are the days when every middle school and high school summer reading list was full of titles by Walter Dean Myers. While at one time, Myers was the go-to author for diverse characters, because he was one of the only authors of diverse characters, we are now fortunate that the publishing industry has begun embracing diverse authors. WIth this shift in the publishing industry, and public desire for diverse works, there is an increasing body of wonderful and important works by newer writers such as Jason Reynolds and Angie Thomas. But this doesn’t mean that Myers' books are no longer poignant
Read More
Dive into Diversity: YA Historical Fiction
In 2021, my Dive into Diversity posts about young adult books will focus on a different genre each month. I’ll highlight books with characters that represent a range of experiences and identities. I’ll also feature books written by authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity, as much as possible. This month, with the Fourth of July approaching, I'm highlighting some great YA books in the historical fiction genre. Not all of them are set in the United States, but many of the titles below examine events in U. S. history from a perspective that's different from the dominant
Read More
Dive into Diversity: YA Graphic Novels
In 2021, my Dive into Diversity posts about young adult books will focus on a different genre each month. I’ll highlight books with characters that represent a range of experiences and identities. I’ll also feature #ownvoices authors, or authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity, as much as possible. In honor of Free Comic Book Day on May 1, this month’s column is all graphic novels. If you love graphic novels, stay tuned for more information about our upcoming summer graphic novel book club for grades 4-8. This month, I read a new Project LIT pick, Flamer by
Read More
ALA Youth Media Awards
Each winter at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting, ALA honors outstanding books and authors with a variety of awards for excellence. You’ve probably heard of the Newbery and the Caldecott, but did you know that there’s also an award for debut authors writing for teens? Or an award for a children’s book written in a foreign language and published in a foreign country, and later translated into English for publication in the US? Each January, we look forward to seeing which authors and books are honored in these ALA awards. It’s so exciting to see a favorite book
Read More
Antiracism YA Fiction
Typically, when choosing books for my Dive into Diversity posts, I mostly try to avoid titles that focus on racism, police or gun violence, or other trauma. Instead, I prefer to highlight books that show a diverse range of teens dealing with everyday life. In this moment, though, it's time to feature books that demonstrate the impact of violence and oppression on teens. These stories are heavy, but they are important. Especially if you don’t identify with the protagonist, I challenge you to read and consider the character’s situation with an open mind. Let these stories be windows into another
Read More
Pride Month: YA
The last couple years have seen an avalanche of excellent YA fiction featuring a broad range of LGBTQIA+ characters. This made it difficult to pick one to review for Pride Month, which is a very good problem to have. I ultimately chose We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra, and absolutely loved it. The story is told entirely through the letters of two high school students randomly paired up for an English assignment. At first, dedicated Walt Whitman cosplayer Jonathan Hopkins and football star Adam Kurlansky seem totally incompatible. But as the weeks pass, their lives slowly intertwine. Jo and Kurl
Read More
Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month: YA Fiction
Having missed out on Star Trek as a child, I first heard of George Takei about ten years ago when he began posting hilarious memes on Facebook. More recently, he’s been known for his political activism and for sharing his childhood experience in an internment camp during WWII. This is the topic of his 2019 graphic novel They Called Us Enemy. Takei relates the circumstances of his family’s forced removal from their Los Angeles home and the four years they spent behind bars. He tells the story as he experienced it as a child, layered with facts he learned from
Read More
Graphic Novels and Chapter Books in Spanish
Practice your Spanish with these fun Graphic Novels and Chapter Books from our digital resources. Have fun! ¡Bravo!: Poemas Sobre Hispanos Extraordinarios, by Margarita Engle (OverDrive) El Diario de Anne Frank, by Anne Frank (OverDrive) Ciudades de Papel, by John Green (OverDrive) Diario de Greg 2: La Ley de Rodrick, by Jeff Kinney (OverDrive) Diario de Greg 3: Esto es el Colmo, by Jeff Kinney (OverDrive) Diario de Greg 4: Días de Perros, by Jeff Kinney (OverDrive) Diario de Greg 5: La Horrible Realidad, by Jeff Kinney (OverDrive) Diario de Greg 6: ¡Sin Salida!, by Jeff Kinney (OverDrive) Diario de
Read More