Fiction
Adrian, Susan. Tunnel Vision (2015)
Possessing a supernatural ability to experience the senses and feelings of others when holding their personal possessions, Jake reluctantly agrees to secretly help the government in order to secure his family’s safety. YA Fic Adrian
Alpert, Mark. The Six (2015)
Adam, crippled by muscular dystrophy, and five other terminally ill teenagers sacrifice their bodies and upload their minds into weaponized robots to battle a dangerously advanced artificial intelligence program bent on destroying humanity. YA Fic Alpert, eBook
Alward, Amy. Madly (2015)
Samantha’s ability to mix potions is needed when her family is summoned to take part in an ancient quest to save Princess Evelyn from a potion gone awry, but will curing the princess doom Samantha’s chance at love? YA Fic Alward, eBook
Arntson, Steven. The Trap (2015)
In 1963, when twins Henry and Helen and their best friends, Alan and Nicki, try to find Alan’s missing brother, Carl, they stumble into the knowledge of their “subtle forms” that can separate from their physical bodies, and into a criminal’s plot to make himself immortal – at any expense. YA Fic Arntson
Baldwin, Kathleen. A School for Unusual Girls (2015)
Scientific-minded Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to a school for unusual high society girls for the ostensible purpose of being reformed into a respectable lady, but is instead secretly enlisted into the war effort alongside Lord Sebastian Wyatt. YA Fic Baldwin, eBook
Benwell, Sarah. The Last Leaves Falling (2015)
Abe Sora is going to die, and he’s only 17 years old. Diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), he’s already lost the use of his legs, which means he can no longer attend school. Seeking a sense of normality, Sora visits teen chat rooms online and finally finds what he’s been longing for: friendship without pity. As much as he loves his new friends, he can’t ignore what’s ahead. He’s beginning to lose the function of his hands, and soon he’ll become even more of a burden to his mother. Inspired by the death poems of the legendary Japanese warriors known as samurai, Sora makes the decision to leave life on his own terms. And he needs his friends to help him. YA Fic Benwell, eBook
Black, Holly. The Darkest Part of the Forest (2015)
In the town of Fairfold, where humans and fae exist side by side, a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives awakes after generations of sleep in a glass coffin in the woods, causing Hazel to be swept up in new love, shift her loyalties, feel the fresh sting of betrayal, and to make a secret sacrifice to the faerie king. YA Fic Black
Bodger, Holly. 5 to 1 (2015)
In a dystopian future where gender selection has led to girls outnumbering boys 5-to-1, marriage is arranged based on a series of tests. It’s Sudasa’s turn to pick a husband through this “fair” method, but she’s not sure she wants to be a part of it. YA Fic Bodger
Bond, Gwenda. Fallout (2015)
Lois Lane is the new girl at East Metropolis High, and her instinct to ask questions brings her and her online friend, Smallville Guy, into conflict with some bullying video gamers called the Warheads, who are being used in a dangerous virtual reality experiment. YA Fic Bond
Bruchac, Joseph. Brothers of the Buffalo (2016)
When the U.S. sent troops to battle the Native Americans in 1874, the war was brutal. This book is told from the viewpoints of teens on opposite sides of the war and shows a different side of the Wild West than many are familiar with. YA Fic Bruchac
Chmakova, Svetlana. Awkward (2015)
After shunning Jaime, the school nerd, on her first day at a new middle school, Penelope Torres tries to blend in with her new friends in the art club, until the art club goes to war with the science club, of which Jaime is a member. YA GN Chmakova
Chibbaro, Julie. Into the Dangerous World (2015)
After 17-year-old Ror’s father commits suicide and burns down their house, she’s forced to move from the commune in which she grew up to a homeless shelter in Manhattan. After she meets Trey, the leader of a graffiti crew, she’s forced to decide what kind of artist she is, and what she wants. YA Fic Chibbaro, eBook
Curtis, Marci Lyn. The One Thing (2015)
After losing her sight – and the future she dreamed of – 17-year-old Maggie meets the one person with the ability to help her see all the possibilities life still holds. YA Fic Curtis, eBook
Dimopoulos, Elaine. Material Girls (2015)
In Marla Klein and Ivy Wilde’s world, teens are the gatekeepers of culture. A top fashion label employs 16-year-old Marla to dictate hot new clothing trends, while Ivy, a teen pop star, popularizes the garments that Marla approves. Both girls are pawns in a calculated but seductive system of corporate control, and both begin to question their world’s aggressive levels of consumption. Will their new “eco-chic” trend subversively resist and overturn the industry that controls every part of their lives? YA Fic Dimopoulos, eBook
Donnelly, Jennifer. These Shallow Graves (2015)
Jo Montfort is beautiful and rich, and soon — like all the girls in her class — she’ll graduate from finishing school and be married off to a wealthy bachelor. Which is the last thing she wants. Jo dreams of becoming a writer — a newspaper reporter like the trailblazing Nellie Bly. Wild aspirations aside, Jo’s life seems perfect until tragedy strikes: Her father is found dead. The more Jo hears about her father’s death, the more something feels wrong. The past never stays buried forever. Life is dirtier than Jo Montfort could ever have imagined, and this time the truth is the dirtiest part of all. YA Fic Donnelly, eBook, eAudiobook
Elliott, Kate. Court of Fives (2015)
When a scheming lord tears Jess’s family apart, she must rely on her unlikely friendship with Kal, a high-ranking Patron boy, and her skill at Fives, an intricate, multi-level athletic competition that offers a chance for glory, to protect her commoner mother and mixed-race sisters and save her father’s reputation. YA Fic Elliott, eBook, eAudiobook
Gangsei, Jan. Zero Day (2016)
Eight years ago, Addie Webster was the victim of the most notorious kidnapping of the decade. Addie vanished, and her high-profile parents were forced to move on. Mark Webster is now president of the United States, fighting to keep the oval office after a tumultuous first term. Then the unthinkable happens: The president’s daughter resurfaces. Addie is brought back into her family’s fold, but who is this 16-year-old girl with a quiet, burning intelligence now living in the White House? YA Fic Gangsei, eBook, eAudiobook
Klass, David. Losers Take All (2015)
The new rule at Jack Logan’s sports-crazy New Jersey high school is that all kids must play on a team. So Jack and a ragtag group of anti-athletic friends decide to get even. They are going to start a rebel JV soccer team whose mission is to avoid victory at any cost, setting out to secretly undermine the jock culture of the school. But as the team’s losing formula becomes increasingly successful at attracting fans and attention, Jack and his teammates are winning in ways they never expected and don’t know how to handle. YA Fic Klass
Klein, Jen. Jillian Cade: (Fake) Paranormal Investigator (2015)
Jillian Cade doesn’t believe in the paranormal, unlike her famous father, a professor and expert on the occult. Ever since he abandoned her to travel the world for “research,” she’s milked his reputation — and all the suckers who believe in the stuff — by taking over his private investigation firm. After all, a high school junior has to take care of herself, especially when she’s on her own. Ironically, it’s when she takes on a case that might involve a totally non-paranormal missing person that things get strange. Particularly when Sky Ramsey — a new boy at school who insists on becoming her partner — won’t shut up about succubi, of all things. As they investigate, Jillian is surprised by her feelings for Sky, which threaten to derail the investigation. But that is no match for the shock of learning that there may be something to Sky’s succubi obsession. YA Fic Klein, eBook
Lowitz, Leza. Up From the Sea (2016)
A powerful novel-in-verse about how one teen boy survives the March 2011 tsunami that devastates his coastal Japanese village. On that fateful day, Kai loses nearly everyone and everything he cares about. When he’s offered a trip to New York to meet kids whose lives were changed by 9/11, Kai realizes he also has a chance to look for his estranged American father. Visiting Ground Zero on its 10th anniversary, Kai learns that the only way to make something good come out of the disaster back home is to return there and help rebuild his town. YA Fic Lowitz
McCoy, Chris. The Prom Goer’s Interstellar Excursion (2015)
Minutes after 18-year-old Bennett Bardo of Gordo, New Mexico, asks Sophie Gilkey, his dream girl, to prom and she says yes, she’s abducted by aliens and Bennett catches a ride across the galaxy with a band of misfit musicians to find her. YA Fic McCoy, eBook
McGuire, Sarah. Valiant (2015)
Saville hates sewing. How can she not when her father, the Tailor, loves his bolts of velvet and silk far more than he’s ever loved her? Yet, when he is struck ill shortly after they arrive in the city of Reggen, Saville must don boy’s clothes in the hopes of gaining a commission from the king to keep them fed. The kingdom is soon on edge when stories spread of an army of giants led by a man who cannot be killed. And then the giants do come to the city gates, two larger-than-life scouts whom Saville cunningly tricks into leaving. The Tailor of Reggen is the hero of the kingdom, the king promises his sister’s hand in marriage. When her secret is discovered, Saville’s swept into the twists and turns of court politics. Now, only a tailor girl with courage and cunning can see beyond the tales to discover the truth and save the kingdom again. YA Fic McGuire, eBook
McKenzie, Paige. The Haunting of Sunshine Girl (2015)
Shortly after her 16th birthday, Sunshine Griffith and her mother, Kat, move from sunny Austin, Texas, to the rain-drenched town of Ridgemont, Washington. Though Sunshine is adopted, she and her mother have always been close, sharing a special bond filled with laughter and inside jokes. But from the moment they arrive, Sunshine feels her world darken with an eeriness she cannot place. And even if Kat doesn’t recognize it, Sunshine knows that something about their new house is just … creepy. YA Fic McKenzie, eBook
Moulton, Erin E. Keepers of the Labyrinth (2015)
Lil Bennett goes to Crete to find answers about the circumstances of her mother’s death, and there finds herself entangled in an adventure of mythical proportions that leads her and her friends through the very labyrinth in which the Minotaur was imprisoned. YA Fic Moulton, eBook
Ness, Patrick. The Rest of Us Just Live Here (2015)
What if you aren’t the Chosen One? The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions. YA Fic Ness, YA Playaway Ness, eBook, eAudiobook
Nielsen, Jennifer. A Night Divided (2015)
When the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz are trapped on the eastern side where they were living, while her father, and her other brother, Dominic, are in the West – four years later, now 12, Gerta sees her father on a viewing platform on the western side and realizes she wants her to risk her life trying to tunnel to freedom. YA Fic Nielsen, eBook, eAudiobook
Nielsen, Susin. We Are All Made of Molecules (2015)
Thirteen-year-old brilliant but socially-challenged Stewart and mean-girl Ashley must find common ground when, two years after Stewart’s mother died, his father moves in with his new girlfriend – Ashley’s mother, whose gay ex-husband lives in their guest house. YA Fic Nielsen, eBook, eAudiobook
Neumeier, Rachel. The Keeper of the Mist (2016)
Keri has been struggling to run her family bakery since her mother passed away. Now the father she barely knew — the Lord of Nimmira — has died, and ancient magic has decreed that she will take his place as the new Lady. The position has never been so dangerous: The mists that hide Nimmira from its vicious, land-hungry neighbors have failed, and Keri’s people are visible to strangers for the first time since the mists were put in place generations ago. At the same time, three half-brothers with their own eyes on the crown make life within the House just as dangerous as the world outside. But Keri has three people to guide her: her mysterious Timekeeper, clever Bookkeeper, and steadfast Doorkeeper. Together they must find a way to repair the boundary before her neighbors realize just how vulnerable Nimmira is. YA Fic Neumeier, eBook
Oppel, Kenneth. The Nest (2015)
When wasps come to Steve in a dream offering to fix his sick baby brother, he thinks all he has to do is say yes. But yes may not mean what Steve thinks it means. YA Fic Oppel, eAudiobook
Pérez, Ashley Hope. Out of Darkness (2015)
Loosely based on a school explosion that took place in New London, Texas in 1937, this is the story of two teenagers: Naomi, who is Mexican, and Wash, who is black, and their dealings with race, segregation, love, and the forces that destroy people. YA Fic Pérez, eBook *2016 Printz Honor Book
Preus, Margi. Enchantment Lake (2015)
Francie, 17, leaves summer school and auditions in New York City for Enchantment Lake in the woods of northern Minnesota when her great-aunts call and ask for her help investigating a mystery that centers on a road no one wants built, and on the legendary treasure said to be under enchantment. YA Fic Preus, eBook
Reynolds, Jason, and Brendan Kiely. All American Boys (2015)
A bag of chips. That’s all 16-year-old Rashad is looking for at the corner bodega. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul Galluzzo, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad’s pleadings that he’s stolen nothing for belligerence, mistakes Rashad’s resistance to leave the bodega as resisting arrest, mistakes Rashad’s every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to stay still as ordered. But there were witnesses: Quinn Collins — a varsity basketball player and Rashad’s classmate who has been raised by Paul since his own father died in Afghanistan — and a video camera. Soon the beating is all over the news and Paul is getting threatened with accusations of prejudice and racial brutality. Quinn refuses to believe that the man who has basically been his savior could possibly be guilty. And the basketball team—half of whom are Rashad’s best friends—start to take sides. As does the school. And the town. Simmering tensions threaten to explode as Rashad and Quinn are forced to face decisions and consequences they had never considered before. YA Fic Reynolds, eBook, eAudiobook
Ruby, Laura. Bone Gap (2015)
Eighteen-year-old Finn, an outsider in his quiet Midwestern town, is the only witness to the abduction of town favorite Roza, but his inability to distinguish between faces makes it difficult for him to help with the investigation. Told from alternating viewpoints, Bone Gap perfectly melds elements of fairy tales, myths, gothic romance, and magic realism into the story of Finn and Bone Gap, a town with gaps in the very fabric of time and place. YA Fic Ruby, eBook, eAudiobook *2016 Printz Award Winner
Schlitz, Laura Amy. The Hired Girl (2015)
Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs, just like the heroines in her beloved novels, yearns for real life and true love. But what hope is there for adventure, beauty, or art on a hardscrabble farm in Pennsylvania where the work never ends? Over the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart out into her diary as she seeks a new, better life for herself – because maybe, just maybe, a hired girl cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week can become what a farm girl could only dream of – a woman with a future. YA Fic Schlitz, eBook
Shusterman, Neal. Challenger Deep (2015)
Caden Bosch is on a ship that’s headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench. Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior. Caden Bosch is designated the ship’s artist in residence to document the journey with images. Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head. Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny. Caden Bosch is torn. This is a captivating novel about one teen’s struggle with mental illness. YA Fic Shusterman, eBook, eAudiobook
Smith, Greg. Junior Braves of the Apocalypse, Book 1: A Brave is Brave (2015)
The Junior Braves of Tribe 65 return from a camping trip to find swarms of bloodthirsty mutants have overrun their town, bringing death and destruction everywhere they go! With their families missing and their homes destroyed, these plucky kids must use all their scouting talents, combined smarts, and teamwork to survive the end of the world. YA GN Smith
Smith, Roland. Beneath (2015)
Pat O’Toole has always idolized his older brother, Coop, right up until the day Coop ran away from their home just outside Washington, D.C. Now a year later he has received a package containing a digital voice recorder and a cryptic message from his brother, which will lead Pat on a strange and dangerous journey to the mysterious Community living beneath the streets of New York.
YA Fic Smith
Stead, Rebecca. Goodbye Stranger (2015)
As Bridge makes her way through seventh grade on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with her best friends, curvaceous Em, crusader Tab, and a curious new friend – or more than friend –Sherm, she finds the answer she has been seeking since she barely survived an accident at age 8: “What is my purpose?” YA Fic Stead, eBook, eAudiobook
Stevenson, Noelle. Nimona (2015)
Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are. But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit. YA GN Stevenson
Stevenson, Noelle, and Grace Ellis. Lumberjanes, Volume 1: Beware the Kitten Holy (2015)
Friendship to the max! At Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s camp for hardcore lady-types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together – and they’re not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! YA GN Stevenson, eBook
Sullivan, Derek E. Biggie (2015)
Henry “Biggie” Abbott has hidden behind his weight for years, and although he is the son and stepson of two of Finch, Minnesota’s most famous athletes, he prefers academic success, until the girl of his dreams suggests he join the baseball team, and, with his stepbrother’s help, he discovers he is a great pitcher. YA Fic Sullivan, eBook
Sullivan, Tara. The Bitter Side of Sweet (2016)
Kept as forced labor on a chocolate plantation in the Ivory Coast, Amadou and his younger brother Seydou had given up hope, until a young girl arrives at the camp who rekindles the urge to escape. YA Fic Sullivan, eBook, eAudiobook
Swendson, Shanna. Rebel Mechanics: All is Fair in Love and Revolution (2015)
In 1888 New York City, 16-year-old governess Verity Newton agrees to become a spy, whatever the risk, after learning that the man for whom she has feelings sympathizes with rebels developing non-magical sources of power, via steam engines, in hopes of gaining freedom from British rule. YA Fic Swendson, eBook
Tromly, Stephanie. Trouble is a Friend of Mine (2015)
After her parents’ divorce, Zoe Webster moves from Brooklyn to upstate New York where she meets the weirdly compelling misfit, Philip Digby, and soon finds herself in a series of hilarious and dangerous situations as he pulls her into his investigation into the kidnapping of a local teenage girl which may be related to the disappearance of his kid sister eight years ago. YA Fic Tromly, eBook, eAudiobook
Watson, Andi. Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula (2015)
Princess Decomposia, overworked and underappreciated, runs the underworld for her layabout father, but when she hires Count Spatula, a vampire with a sweet tooth, as the new chef, he not only helps straighten out her life, he may become more than a friend.
YA GN Watson
Wynne-Jones, Tim. The Emperor of Any Place (2015)
When Evan’s father dies suddenly, Evan finds a hand-bound yellow book on his desk — a book his dad had been reading when he passed away. The book is the diary of a Japanese soldier stranded on a small Pacific island in WWII. Why was his father reading it? What is in this account that Evan’s grandfather, whom Evan has never met before, fears so much that he will do anything to prevent its being seen? And what could this possibly mean for Evan? In a pulse-quickening mystery evoking the elusiveness of truth and the endurance of wars passed from father to son, this engrossing novel is a suspenseful, at times terrifying, read. YA Fic Wynne-Jones, eBook
Non-fiction
Albee, Sarah. Why’d They Wear That? Fashion as the Mirror of History (2015)
Learn about outrageous, politically perilous, funky, disgusting, regrettable, and life-threatening creations people have worn throughout the course of human history, all the way up to the present day. From spats and togas to hoop skirts and hair shirts, why people wore what they did is an illuminating way to look at the social, economic, political, and moral climates throughout history.
J 391 Albee
Anderson, M. T. Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad (2015)
In September 1941, Adolf Hitler’s Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in Western history. More than a million citizens perished. Trapped between the Nazi invading force and the Soviet government itself was composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who would write a symphony that roused, rallied, eulogized, and commemorated his fellow citizens — the Leningrad Symphony, which came to occupy a surprising place of prominence in the eventual Allied victory. This is the true story of a city under siege: the triumph of bravery and defiance in the face of terrifying odds. It is also a look at the power — and layered meaning — of music in beleaguered lives. YA 940.5425 Anderson, eBook *2016 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist
Blumenthal, Karen. Tommy: The Gun that Changed America (2015)
John Taliaferro Thompson had a mission: to develop a lightweight, fast-firing weapon that would help Americans win on the battlefield. His Thompson submachine gun could deliver a hundred bullets in a matter of seconds ― but didn’t find a market in the U.S. military. Instead, the Tommy gun became the weapon of choice for a generation of bootleggers and bank-robbing outlaws, and became a deadly American icon. Following a bloody decade ― and 80 years before the mass shootings of our own time ― Congress moved to take this weapon off the streets, igniting a national debate about gun control. This is the fascinating story of this famous and deadly weapon ― of the lives it changed, the debate it sparked, and the unprecedented response it inspired. YA 683.422 Blumenthal, eBook
Brimner, Larry Dane. The Rain Wizard: The Amazing, Mysterious, True Life of Charles Mallory Hatfield (2015)
In December 1915, San Diego’s leaders claimed the town’s reservoirs were nearly dry. Knowing the city would not survive and grow unless it had water, they hired Charles Mallory Hatfield, whose skills at making rain were legendary. But when torrents and torrents of rain came, disaster struck. Roads were closed, people drowned, and dams burst. The town elders blamed Hatfield and refused to pay him. Was Hatfield really a rain wizard, or simply a fraud? YA BIO Hatfield
Deem, James M. The Prisoners of Breendonk: Personal Histories from a World War II Concentration Camp (2015)
This absorbing and captivating nonfiction account (with never-before-published photographs) offers readers an in-depth anthropological and historical look into the lives of those who suffered and survived Breendonk concentration camp during the Holocaust of World War II. YA 940.5318 Deem, eBook
Farley, Terri. Wild at Heart: Mustangs and the Young People Fighting to Save Them (2015)
Wild horses thrived for thousands of generations in the mountains, forests, and deserts of the American West. Their family herds existed in environmental harmony until man chose to “manage” them. Since then, every day more of America’s wild horses disappear. But courageous people are trying very hard to reverse this, most notably, young people who feel a kinship with these often misunderstood creatures. YA 599.6655 Farley, eBook
Frydenborg, Kay. Chocolate: Sweet Science and Dark Secrets of the World’s Favorite Treat (2015)
A fascinating account for teen readers that captures the history, science, and economic and cultural implications of the harvesting of cacao and creation of chocolate. Readers of Chew On This and The Omnivore’s Dilemma will savor this rich exposé. YA 338.7663 Frydenborg, eBook
Huey, Lois Miner. Forgotten Bones: Uncovering a Slave Cemetery (2016)
When a skeleton’s head rolled off a dirt pile, all work came to a halt at a construction project in Albany. Archaeologists began excavating and found 13 skeletons. Further investigation revealed that the bones were those of 18th-century African American slaves who had worked at the nearby Schuyler farm. Find out what these skeletons tell us about slavery and daily life long ago. YA 306.362 Huey, eBook
January, Brendan. Information Insecurity: Privacy Under Siege (2016)
The Internet gives us information, communication options, shopping opportunities, entertainment, and much more – all at the touch of a fingertip and much of it for free. But in exchange for these benefits, we may be losing a basic right: the right to privacy. Privacy laws and the U.S. Constitution are supposed to protect privacy in the United States, as are laws and conventions in other parts of the world. But judicial and legal systems have not kept pace with technology. What rights do you have when it comes to privacy online? How can you be a smart cyber citizen and protect your personal digital data? YA 323.448 January
Jarrow, Gail. Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary (2015)
This book tells the true story of the woman who unwittingly spread deadly bacteria, the epidemiologist who discovered her trail of infection, and the health department that decided her fate. This gripping story follows this tragic disease as it shatters lives from the early twentieth century to today. It will keep readers on the edges of the seats wondering what happened to Mary and the innocent typhoid victims. (192 pages)
YA 614.5112 JARROW
Johnson, Rebecca L. Chernobyl’s Wild Kingdom: Life in the Dead Zone (2015)
After the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear explosion in Ukraine, scientists believed radiation had created a vast and barren wasteland in which life could never resurface. But the Dead Zone, as the contaminated area is known, doesn’t look dead at all. In fact, wildlife seems to be thriving there. The Zone is home to beetles, swallows, catfish, mice, voles, otters, beavers, wild boar, foxes, lynx, deer, moose – even brown bears and wolves. Yet the animals in the Zone are not quite what you’d expect. Every single one of them is radioactive. In Chernobyl’s Wild Kingdom, you’ll meet the international scientists investigating the Zone’s wildlife and trying to answer difficult questions: Have some animals adapted to living with radiation? Or is the radioactive environment harming them in ways we can’t see or that will only show up in future generations? Learn more about the fascinating ongoing research – and the debates that surround the findings – in one of the most dangerous places on Earth. YA 590.9 Johnson
Khan, Ramla. Fairy Tale Baking: More Than 50 Enchanting Cakes, Bakes, and Decorations (2016)
This recipe book with a twist features step-by-step instructions to creating enchanting treats, including cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and tarts, for all ages to enjoy. There are recipes for popular fairy tales such as Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, and Cinderella, with three projects for each tale – one main showstopper bake and two smaller, easy-to-make creations. The recipes cater to cooks of all skill levels – from budding bakers to master chefs. YA 641.86 Khan
Nardo, Don. Massacre in Munich: How Terrorists Changed the Olympics and the World (2016)
An attack at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games would produce one of the defining images of international terrorism. The chilling photo of a hooded man peering from a balcony in the Olympic Village would be viewed worldwide as a horrific symbol of global terrorism. The man wearing a mask with cutout slits for his eyes was a member of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. He and his fellow terrorists had seized 11 members of the Israeli Olympic delegation and were holding them hostage. They would kill them all as the tragedy unfolded. What had been dubbed the “happy Olympics” would be forever remembered as the Munich massacre. The Olympics would never the same. See how this photograph changed history. YA 796.48 Nardo
O’Hanlon, Martin, and David Whale. Adventures in Minecraft (2015)
Learn how to create some awesome projects using Minecraft programming, including vanishing bridges, mazes and pyramids. Expand your virtual world with data files and 3D block printer. (296 pages) J 793.932 O’Hanlon
Schutten, Jan Paul. The Mystery of Life: How Nothing Became Everything (2015)
Explore some of the most complicated scientific issues that exist. Why does the paramecium deserve a standing ovation? How do you build a planet? Does a tree want to be tall? How does a bacterium turn into a blue whale? How can you survive without a rear end? How can you yourself see evolution at work? Why would aliens most likely be meat-eaters? Are scientists not telling us everything? YA 576 Schuttten, eBook
Seiple, Samantha. Lincoln’s Spymaster: Allan Pinkerton, America’s First Private Eye (2015)
Lincoln’s Spymaster tells the dangerous and action-packed adventures of Allan Pinkerton, America’s first private eye and Lincoln’s most trusted spymaster. The team even uncovered and stopped an assassination plot against president-elect Abraham Lincoln! Seeing firsthand the value of Pinkerton’s service, Lincoln funded Pinkerton’s spy network, a precursor to the Secret Service. Read the story of the father of modern day espionage. YA 363.289 Seiple
Sheinkin, Steve. Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the
Vietnam War (2015)
On June 13, 1971, the front page of the New York Times announced the existence of a 7,000-page collection of documents containing a secret history of the Vietnam War. Known as The Pentagon Papers, these files had been commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Chronicling every action the government had taken in the Vietnam War, they revealed a pattern of deception spanning over 20 years, and forever changed the relationship between American citizens and the politicians claiming to represent their interests. Find out how whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg transformed from obscure government analyst into “the most dangerous man in America.” YA 959.7043 Sheinkin, eBook *2016 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Winner
Woollett, Laura A. Big Top Burning: The Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and the Greatest Show on Earth (2015)
On July 6, 1944, thousands of fans made their way to Barbour Street in Hartford, Connecticut, to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performance. Not long after the show’s start, a fire broke out and within 10 minutes the entire big top had burned to the ground, and 167 people never went home. Follow the tragic stories of the Cook family — including children Donald, Eleanor, and Edward, who were in the audience that day — and 15-year-old Robert Segee, a circus employee with an incendiary past. Was the unidentified body of a little girl nicknamed “Little Miss 1565” Eleanor Cook? Was the fire an act of arson — and did Robert Segee set it? YA 974.6 Woollett, eBook
Zimmer, Marc. Bioluminescence: Nature and Science at Work (2016)
What do giant squids, mantis shrimp, and fireflies have in common? These animals, along with a wide range of creatures, are able to give off light; this is called bioluminescence. Different species use different chemistries to bioluminesce, and they produce their light for a variety of reasons, including communication, hunting, and self-defense. Bioluminescence is a unique and fascinating adaptation found in the animal kingdom. Scientists don’t yet understand all facets of bioluminescence, but they have managed to harness the glow and use it in a myriad of ways. In fact, bioluminescent proteins are so useful to 21st century medicine that two groups of scientists, one in 2008 and the other in 2014, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work with these proteins and related technologies. YA 572.4358 Zimmer, eBook