HPL Recommends

Book CoversIn honor of Women's History Month, we're sharing book recommendations for all ages! Be sure to check out these books, and to read women authors all year long, not just in March. 
List curated by Ari
 
You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria  
Rendered the subject of tabloid gossip by a messy public breakup, soap star Jasmine takes a part in a new bilingual comedy at the side of a telenovela costar who would revitalize his career. 
 
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade  
When her viral fan-fiction leads to a disastrous publicity-stunt date with her celebrity crush, a talented plus-sized writer discovers that the actor secretly writes his own popular fan-fiction against studio rules. 
 
The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon  
Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can't imagine working anywhere else. But lately it's been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who's fresh off a journalism master's program and convinced he knows everything about public radio. When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it's this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it's not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts. As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers 
 
Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon 
The sparkling and heartfelt romantic comedy debut from Lily Menon, Make Up Break Up.... Love, romance, second chances, fairy-tale endings...these are the things Annika Dev believes in. Her app, Make Up, has been called the "Google Translate for failing relationships." High efficiency break-ups, flashy start-ups, penthouses, fast cars...these are the things Hudson Craft believes in. His app, Break Up, is known as the "Uber for break-ups." It's wildly successful-and anathema to Annika's life philosophy. Which wouldn't be a problem if they'd gone their separate ways after that summer fling in Las Vegas, never to see each other again. 
 
Something To Talk About by Meryl Wilsner  
A showrunner and her assistant give the world something to talk about when they accidentally fuel a ridiculous rumor in this debut romance. 
 
The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams  
Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott's marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him. Welcome to the Bromance Book Club. Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife. 
 
Faker by Sarah Smith  
Emmie Echavarre is a professional faker. She has to be to survive as one of the few female employees at Nuts & Bolts, a power tool company staffed predominantly by gruff, burly men. From nine to five, Monday through Friday, she's tough as nails—the complete opposite of her easy-going real self. 
One thing she doesn't have to fake? Her disdain for coworker Tate Rasmussen. Tate has been hostile to her since the day they met. Emmie's friendly greetings and repeated attempts to get to know him failed to garner anything more than scowls and terse one-word answers. Too bad she can't stop staring at his Thor-like biceps... 
 
The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert 
Prince Ruben of Helgmøre is his family's greatest scandal, but the defiant royal won't change for anyone. He always takes what he wants, and his current obsession is Cherry Neita. The feisty beauty has no idea she's being seduced by royalty-until they're caught together in a compromising position. Oops. 
 
All Cherry wanted was a night or two with the hottest man she'd ever seen. Turns out, that man is actually a prince, and now he needs her to play princess. Well, princess-to-be. The deal seems straightforward enough: one year as Ruben's fake fiancée, and he'll make all her problems disappear. 
 
But the passion between Cherry and Ruben feels anything but fake, and their connection unearths devastating secrets. Can true love bloom from false beginnings? Or will this fairytale end in a happy-never-after? 
 
Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin  
A modern Muslim adaptation of Pride and Prejudice finds a reluctant teacher who would avoid an arranged marriage setting aside her literary ambitions before falling in love with her perpetually single cousin's infuriatingly conservative fiancé. 
 
The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai  
Two rival dating app creators find themselves at odds in the boardroom but in sync in the bedroom. Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career--and the occasional hookup. The cynical dating app creator controls her love life with a few key rules: - Nude pics are by invitation only - If someone stands you up, block them with extreme prejudice - Protect your heart. Only there aren't any rules to govern her attraction to her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima. The sexy and seemingly sweet hunk woos her one magical night... and disappears. Rhi thought she'd buried her hurt over Samson ghosting her, until he suddenly surfaces months later, still big, still beautiful--and in league with a business rival. He says he won't fumble their second chance, but she's wary. A temporary physical partnership is one thing, but a merger of hearts? Surely that's too high a risk… 
 
Intercepted by Alexa Martin  
Marlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She's definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last ten years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There's just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights. Gavin fights to show Marlee he's nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past. The team's wives, who never led the welcome wagon, are not happy with Marlee's return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. But when the gossip makes Marlee public enemy number one, she worries about more than just her reputation. Between their own fumbles and the wicked wives, it will take a Hail Mary for Marlee and Gavin's relationship to survive the season. 
 
Rebel by Beverly Jenkins  
Architect Drake LeVeq and New Yorker Valinda Lacy are drawn together as they work to help former slaves in post-Civil War New Orleans, where he rescues her from an attack by racists, but she is engaged to someone else. 
 
My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh  
Lady Grace Wyatt is content as a wallflower, focusing on scientific pursuits rather than the complications of society matches. But when a handsome, celebrated naturalist returns from abroad, Grace wishes, for once, to be noticed. Her solution: to build the perfect man, who will court her publicly and help her catch his eye. Grace's colleague, anthropologist Sebastian Holloway, is just the blank slate she requires. To further his own research on English society, Sebastian agrees to let Grace transform him from a bespectacled, bookish academic into a dashing albeit fake rake. Between secret lessons on how to be a rogue and exaggerated public flirtations, Grace's feelings for Sebastian grow from friendship into undeniable, inconvenient, real attraction. If only she hadn't asked him to help her marry someone else... Sebastian is in love with brilliant, beautiful Grace, but their bargain is complete, and she desires another. Yet when he's faced with losing her forever, Sebastian will do whatever it takes to tell her the truth, even if it means risking his own future and his heart. 
 
American Love Story by Adriana Herrera  
Haitian-born professor and activist Patrice Denis is not here for anything that will veer him off the path he's worked so hard for. One particularly dangerous distraction: Easton Archer, the assistant district attorney who last summer gave Patrice some of the most intense nights of his life, and still makes him all but forget they're from two completely different worlds. 
All-around golden boy Easton forged his own path to success, choosing public service over the comforts of his family's wealth. With local law enforcement unfairly targeting young men of color, and his career-and conscience-on the line, now is hardly the time to be thirsting after Patrice again. Even if their nights together have turned into so much more. 
For the first time, Patrice is tempted to open up and embrace the happiness he's always denied himself. But as tensions between the community and the sheriff's office grow by the day, Easton's personal and professional lives collide. And when the issue at hand hits closer to home than either could imagine, they'll have to work to forge a path forward...together. 
 
As Lucy Muchelney watches her ex-lovers sham of a wedding, she wishes herself anywhere else. It isn’t until she finds a letter from the Countess of Moth, looking for someone to translate a groundbreaking French astronomy text that she knows where to go. Showing up at the Countess London home, she hoped to find a challenge, not a woman who takes her breath away. Catherine St Day looks forward to a quiet widowhood once her late husband’s scientific legacy is fulfilled. She expected to hand off the translation and wash her hands of the project instead, she is intrigued by the young woman who turns up at her door, begging to be allowed to do the work, and she agrees to let Lucy stay. But as Catherine finds herself longing for Lucy, everything she believes about herself and her life is tested. While Lucy spends her days interpreting the complicated French text, she spends her nights falling in love with the alluring Catherine. But sabotage and old wounds threaten to sever the threads that bind them. Can Lucy and Catherine find the strength to stay together or are they doomed to be star-crossed lovers? 
 
Visit the library's online catalog to request a book for HPL to Go (curbside pick-up), or check out our online resources to learn more about ebooks or audiobooks!
 
 
Book CoversIn honor of Women's History Month, we're sharing book recommendations for all ages! Be sure to check out these books, and to read women authors all year long, not just in March. 
List curated by Ari
 
An Ember in Ashes by Sabaa Tahir 
Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire's greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution. 
 
Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron 
Queer black girls team up to overthrow the patriarchy in the former kingdom of Cinderella. 
 
Ignite the Stars by Mara Milan 
When the notorious I.A. Ccha is captured by the Olympus Commonwealth and revealed to be a sixteen-year-old girl, she is sentenced to correctional rehabilitation at a training ground for the elite Star Force where she forms unlikely alliances. 
 
Mirage by Somaiya Daud 
In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon. But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place. As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection...because one wrong move could lead to her death. 
 
Lobizona by Romina Garber 
Garber's gorgeous novel combines the wonder of a Hogwarts-style magic school with the Twilight-esque dynamics of a hidden magical species that has strict rules about interacting with the human world. Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented immigrant who's on the run from her father's Argentine crime-family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida. As Manu uncovers her own story and traces her real heritage all the way back to a cursed city in Argentina, she learns it's not just her U.S. residency that's illegal. . . it's her entire existence. 
 
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova 
Alex is the most powerful witch in her family, even though she's hated magic ever since it made her father disappear, but when an attempt to rid herself of magic makes her family vanish, she must travel to a strange, dark land called Los Lagos to get them. 
 
The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow 
Planet Earth is occupied by aliens called the Ilori, because human emotional expression is grounds for execution, books, music, and art have all been outlawed, but when an alien finds seventeen-year-old Ellie's secret library it changes things for both of them. 
 
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson 
When apprentice librarian Elisabeth is implicated in sabotage that released the library's most dangerous grimoire, she becomes entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy that could mean the end of everything. 
 
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal 
In a world inspired by ancient Arabia, seventeen-year-old huntress Zafira must disguise herself as a man to seek a lost artifact that could return magic to her cursed world. 
 
The Young Elites by Marie Lu 
Adelina Amouteru survived the blood fever, a deadly illness that killed many, but left others with strange markings and supernatural powers. Cast out by her family, Adelina joins the secret society of the Young Elites and discovers her own dangerous abilities. 
 
Witchy by Ariel Ries 
In the witch kingdom Hyalin, the strength of your magic is determined by the length of your hair. Those that are strong enough are conscripted by the Witch Guard, who enforce the law in peacetime and protect the land during war. However, those with hair judged too long are pronounced enemies of the kingdom, and annihilated. This is called a witch burning. Witchy is a comic about the young witch Nyneve, who is haunted by the death of her father and the threat the Witch Guard poses to her own life. When conscription rolls around, Nyneve has a choice to make; join the institution complicit in her father's death, or stand up for her ideals? 
 
After escaping an unconventional kidnapping, Princess Basil finds herself far from her castle and must take fate into her own hands. She tracks down the fairy godmother who "blessed" her, and learns the solution to her ordinariness might be as simple as finding a magic ring. With an unlikely ally in tow, she takes on gnomes, a badger, and a couple of snarky foxes in her quest for a less ordinary life. 
 
Misfit City, Volume 1 by Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith & Kurt Lustgarten 
Nothing's happened in Wilder's hometown since they filmed that cult kids' adventure movie there in the 80s...Until one day, she and her friends come upon a centuries-old pirate map! 
 
Visit the library's online catalog to request a book for HPL to Go (curbside pick-up), or check out our online resources to learn more about ebooks or audiobooks!
 
In honor of Women's History Month, we're sharing book recommendations for all ages! Be sure to check out these books, and to read women authors all year long, not just in March. 
 
List curated by Heidi
 
Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, recuperating from a broken leg, becomes fascinated with a contemporary portrait of Richard III that bears no resemblance to the Wicked Uncle of history. Could such a sensitive, noble face actually belong to one of the world's most heinous villains--a venomous hunchback who may have killed his brother's children to make his crown secure? Or could Richard have been the victim, turned into a monster by the usurpers of England's throne? Grant determines to find out once and for all, with the help of the British Museum and an American scholar, what kind of man Richard Plantagenet really was and who killed the Little Princes in the Tower. 
 
Hercule Poirot retires to a country village to raise vegetable marrows, but the world of crime isn't finished with him yet. When Chief Inspector Japp is sent to investigate the murder of a wealthy industrialist, he needs all of Poirot's 'little grey cells' to sort out which of the man's household actually committed the murder, since they all seem to have something to hide. The golden age mystery is known for its highly controversial and ground- breaking twist at the end.
 
Amelia Peabody, that indomitable product of the Victorian age, embarks on her first Egyptian adventure armed with unshakable self-confidence, a journal to record her thoughts, and, of course, a sturdy umbrella. On her way, Amelia rescues young Evelyn Barton-Forbes, who has been "ruined" and abandoned on the streets of Rome by her rascally lover. With a typical disregard for convention, Amelia promptly hires her fellow countrywoman as a companion and takes her to Cairo. Eluding Evelyn's former lover, who wants her back, and Evelyn's cousin Lord Ellesmere, who wishes to marry her, the two women sail up the Nile to an archaeological site that is home to a rather lively mummy. Soon strange visitations, suspicious accidents, and a botched kidnapping convince Amelia that there is a plot afoot to harm Evelyn.
 
While trying to manage being the maid of honor in three weddings, Meg Langslow finds herself in the midst of a mystery when her former sister-in-law's soon-to-be stepfather is found dead.  One of the funniest mysteries ever written with a truly bizarre cast of characters and a delightful romance between Meg and a newcomer to the town.
 
Isabel "Izzy" Spellman, a San Francisco private eye with a checkered past, has been working for her family's firm, Spellman Investigations, since age 12. Now 28, Izzy thinks she wants out of the family business, but elects to take on a cold case while dealing with her 14-year-old sister Rae, a nightmarish Nancy Drew, and parents who have no qualms about bugging their children's bedrooms. When Rae suddenly disappears, Izzy and her family must learn some serious lessons in order to find her.
 
Chance meeting with a Sussex beekeeper turns into a pivotal, personal transformation when fifteen-year-old Mary Russell discovers that the beekeeper is the reclusive, retired detective Sherlock Holmes, who soon takes on the role of mentor and teacher. First in a superb and long running series.
 
One fine day, A.D. 70, Sosia Camillina quite literally runs into Marcus Didius Falco on the steps of the Forum. It seems Sosia is on the run from a couple of street toughs, and after a quick and dirty rescue, P.I. Falco wants to know why. Falco finds out that Sosia, the niece of a highly placed senator, holds the secret to a stockpile of silver pigs, ingots intended for no good use. Hoping for future favors from Sosia's powerful uncle, Falco embarks on an intricate case of smuggling, murder, and treason that reaches into the palace itself. And if he does not tread lightly, the treacherous puzzle of the silver pigs could buy him a one-way ticket to his own funeral pyre.
 
Visit the library's online catalog to request a book for HPL to Go (curbside pick-up), or check out our online resources to learn more about ebooks or audiobooks!

 

Lista seleccionada por Héctor
 
Películas:
“La Negrada” es la primera película mexicana sobre la comunidad afro-mexicana, filmada íntegramente con personas de diferentes pueblos de la Costa Chica en Oaxaca. En México, las comunidades afro representan solo el 1% de la población total.
 
Descubra a la verdadera Harriet Tubman en este convincente documental narrado por Alfrelynn Roberts y con entrevistas de expertos con destacados académicos, incluido el Dr. Eric Lewis Williams del Smithsonian Institute y Carl Westmoreland del National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.  También presenta notables grabaciones de audio de principios del siglo XX de espirituales afroamericanos cantados por antiguos esclavos.
 
3.  Cocote
Cocote, una apasionante fábula de crímenes ambientada en la República Dominicana, sigue a Alberto, un jardinero de buen corazón que regresa a casa para asistir al funeral de su padre.  Cuando descubre que una poderosa figura local es responsable de la muerte de su padre, Alberto se da cuenta de que ha sido convocado por su familia para vengar el asesinato. Es un acto impensable, especialmente para él, un cristiano evangélico. Pero a medida que aumenta la presión, ve pocas salidas. Cuestiones de fe, tradición y honor recorren esta película electrizante que, aparentemente a la velocidad del pensamiento mismo, salta entre formatos cinematográficos, colores y proporciones, visualizando radicalmente una comunidad desgarrada por una violencia sin sentido.
 
4.  Hermano
Criados como hermanos, intensos compañeros de equipo y competidores en el campo de fútbol, el sociable y fanfarrón Julio y el enjuto y centrado Daniel han permanecido prácticamente inseparables desde que el recién nacido Daniel fue encontrado abandonado en un basurero en su barrio pobre de La Ceniza. La oportunidad de su vida llega cuando un cazatalentos de fútbol los invita a participar en el mejor equipo profesional de la ciudad, justo cuando un trágico acto de violencia amenaza con destrozarlos y evitar que logren sus sueños. 
 
5.  Black in Latin America/Negro en latinoamerica
Negro en latinoamerica es el tercero de una trilogía que comenzó en 1999 con la transmisión de la primera serie del profesor Gates para la televisión pública, Maravillas del mundo africano, una exploración de la relación entre África y el Nuevo Mundo, una historia que continuó en 2004 con América más allá de la línea de color, un informe sobre la vida de los afroamericanos de hoy en día. Negro en latinoamerica, examina cómo África y Europa se unieron para crear las ricas culturas de América Latina y el Caribe.
 
6.  Jamaica and Tamarindo: Afro Tradition in the Heart of Mexico/Jamaica y Tamarindo: tradición afro en el corazón de México
La flor de jamaica y el tamarindo son ingredientes icónicos en México, pero su historia proviene de un lugar mucho más lejano. En JAMAICA Y TAMARINDO: TRADICIÓN AFRO EN EL CORAZÓN DE MÉXICO, conocemos a cinco personas para explorar la herencia africana en la Ciudad de México, una identidad que va más allá del color de la piel.
 
Música:
1.  En Mi Piel - Buika
2.  Compay Segundo - 100th Birthday Celebration (Edicion Especial) - 2007
4. Agua - El Kamel
 
Visite el catálogo en línea de la biblioteca para solicitar un artículo para HPL to Go (recogida en la acera), o consulte nuestros recursos en línea para obtener más información sobre Hoopla o OverDrive.

List curated by Michelle N.
 
In honor of Black History Month, we're sharing book recommendations for all ages! A couple weeks ago, we shared some graphic novels by Black authors or that celebrate Black stories, and now we're back with even more graphic novel recommendations. Be sure to check out these books, and to read Black authors all year long, not just in February. 
 
 
Visit the library's online catalog to request a book for HPL to Go (curbside pick-up), or check out our online resources to learn more about ebooks or audiobooks!

 

List curated by Kavita & Ari
 
In honor of Black History Month, we're sharing book recommendations for all ages! This list highlights some of our favorite middle grade fiction by Black authors. Middle grade fiction is geared towards children ages 8 to 12, but can also be enjoyed by teens and adults! Be sure to check out these books, and to read Black authors all year long, not just in February. 
 
From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks: Avid baker Zoe Washington receives a letter on her twelfth birthday from her biological father, who is in prison for a terrible crime.
 
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia: Seventh-grader Tristan Strong tumbles into the MidPass and, with allies John Henry and Brer Rabbit, must entice the god Anansi to come out of hiding and seal the hole Tristan accidentally ripped in the sky.
 
The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown: When eleven-year-old Iris sneaks out at night to make snow angels, she was not expecting to raise the ghost of Avery Moore, a girl her own age; but bringing to light the segregated and abandoned black cemetery seems like the perfect way to help Avery getthe recognition she craves, and it will also be a good idea for the school project about the history of her small North Carolina town, where racial tensions are never far from the surface--only it seems that if Avery gets everything she wants Iris will join her as a ghost, best friends forever.
 
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée: After attending a powerful protest, Shayla starts wearing an armband to school to support the Black Lives Matter movement, but when the school gives her an ultimatum, she is forced to choose between her education and her identity.
 
Something to Say by Lisa Moore Ramée: A friendless girl who has developed a knack for keeping her head down at school resists a red-headed newcomer who wants to make friends, before the two are paired for a class assignment that she hopes will secure her position on the debate team
 
Blended by Sharon M. Draper: Piano-prodigy Isabella, eleven, whose black father and white mother struggle to share custody, never feels whole, especially as racial tensions affect her school, her parents both become engaged, and she and her stepbrother are stopped by police.
 
For Black Girls Like Me by Mariama J. Lockington: Eleven-year-old Makeda dreams of meeting her African American mother, while coping with serious problems in her white adopted family, a cross-country move, and being homeschooled.
 
My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwhich by Ibi Zoboi: In the summer of 1984, twelve-year-old Ebony-Grace of Huntsville, Alabama, visits her father in Harlem, where her fascination with outer space and science fiction interfere with her finding acceptance.
 
As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds: When two brothers decide to prove how brave they are, everything backfires--literally. 
 
Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds: A collection of ten short stories that all take place in the same day about kids walking home from school.
 
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander: Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.
 
Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz & Renée Watson: Raised by her aunt until she is six, Betty, who will later marry Malcolm X, joins her mother and stepfamily in 1940s Detroit, where she learns about the civil rights movement.
 
Some Places More than Others by Renée Watson: Amara visits her father's family in Harlem for her twelfth birthday, hoping to better understand her family and herself, but New York City is not what she expected.
 
Clean Getaway by Nic Stone: William Lamar, known as "Scoob," goes on a road trip thorugh the South with his grandmother in her recreational vehicle, visiting some of the major sites in the Civil Rights movement and learning about how people like him have been treated.
 
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes: When an incident with "King" Alan leads to Donte's arrest and suspension, he knows the only way to get even is to beat the king of the school at his own game: fencing. 
 
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson: The author shares her childhood memories and reveals the first sparks that ignited her writing career in free-verse poems about growing up in the North and South.
 
So Done by Paula Chase: When best friends Metai and Jamila are reunited after a summer apart, their friendship threatens to combust from the pressure of secrets, middle school, and looming auditions for a potentially life-changing new talented-and-gifted program.
 
The Usual Suspects by Maurice Broaddus: Thelonius Mitchell, a special education student known for his pranks and tired of being labeled, is falsely accused of hiding a gun at a neighborhood hangout and tries to clear his name with the help of his best friend. 
 
Love Like Sky by Leslie C. Youngblood: Eleven-year-old Georgie is still adjusting to leaving Atlanta for a small town, having a stepfather, and being unable to get close to her stepsister when her six-year-old sister, Peaches, suddenly becomes very ill. 
 
Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. Baptist: Referring to his late father's journal for advice on how to be the man of the house, young Isaiah taps the support and ideas of two school friends who help him navigate rules and manage without superpowers. 
 
Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams: Thirteen-year-old Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin, thinking it is the root of her family's troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is. 
 
Hurricane Child by Kacen Callendar: Born on Water Island in the Virgin Islands during a hurricane, which is considered bad luck, twelve-year-old Caroline falls in love with another girl--and together they set out in a hurricane to find Caroline's missing mother.
 
Visit the library's online catalog to request a book for HPL to Go (curbside pick-up), or check out our online resources to learn more about ebooks or audiobooks!