In celebration of Teen Read Week we have a fantastic selection of new books that need to be added to your to-read pile!
It’s time to make some room on your bookshelf for these brand new, must-read stories that you won’t be able to put down! From inspiring debut authors to critically acclaimed writers whose series have already inspired millions, you’re bound to find something as memorable as the classics in your living room.
We chose these books because they are new and interesting selections from authors you may not recognize. Put aside the dystopians for a moment and enjoy these picks!
Whisper if You Need Me by Dina Silver
Maybe you’ve been to camp before, but it probably wasn’t under these circumstances. Ever since 16-year-old Julia Pearl’s mother disappeared five years ago, she hasn’t been herself. So when Julia’s father and stepmother send her away to summer camp in the hopes that time spent away from home will help restore her old confidence, strong-willed Julia is reluctantly thrown into the dramatic, free-spirited world of sleep away camp. When she meets a charismatic, 19-year-old counselor named Jack Dempsey who saves her in more ways than one, Julia learns to open herself up again to the power of friendships, the unwavering devotion of her family and the strength of young love.
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
Most of our favorite books are about a person who was predestined to stand out from the crowd. This one is a little different. From the critically acclaimed author of the Chaos Walking trilogy comes this bold and powerful story about what it means to be remarkable. Mikey isn’t the Chosen One — he’s not the guy you’re supposed to call to ward off soul-eating ghosts, fight zombies or deal with whatever it is that’s threatening the survival of humanity this week. Mikey just wants to get through high school, have a nice prom and try to work up the nerve to ask Henna on a date before someone tries to blow up their high school again. Because not everyone can be the one who saves the world this week, but that doesn’t make you any less important or remarkable.
Never Said by Carol Lynch Williams
Sarah, with her debilitating shyness, is the complete opposite of her twin sister Annie, who’s the social girl, the pretty girl and the star of the family. That is, until it becomes apparent that Annie is harboring a painful secret. In an instant she quits beauty pageants, cuts her hair and gains weight, all the while Sarah is caught in her own downward spiral after her boyfriend breaks it off to start hanging around Annie’s old friends. Now Annie is the center of their family’s attention for different reasons, and as the sisters begin to rekindle their relationship after years of spending time apart, the secrets that are revealed and the words that have never been said will change everything.
Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett
Make room next to your stash of Stephen King books for this eerie story with a touch of tragic romance. Ash Larkin’s mother has just returned to Quivira, Kansas, and to the sinister spiritual commune Ash escaped years before. But when Ash follows her back and is then haunted by the memories of a woman named Katia, the town’s history of love, murder, and immortality result in a number of horrific deaths. There’s also Dane, a boy forbidden to her who is hiding secrets of his own, and with the town preparing for a ceremony that’s been looming for 500 years, Ash fights for herself and her mother before the truth behind Quivira swallows them whole.
Huskers by Strat Warden
Expand your horizons — and the genres on your bookshelf — with this coming of age story in the world of youth sports. What happens when six youngsters band together to create a football team? Set in 1960s rural Nebraska, Huskers follows a rag-tag band of boys as they grow as individuals and as a team, conquer their demons and take on what is possibly the scariest struggle of all: girls. As the boys grow together and build character in a simpler place and time, they learn important values while finding a home and lasting friendships in their teammates.
If Only by Richard Paul Evans
If you’ve been looking for a touching, realistic story of teenage love, then be sure to add this to your ‘to-read’ list. Eric isn’t adjusting well to Utah after moving from California with his family, until he discovers his runaway classmate, Grace dumpster diving behind a fast food place where Eric now works. As the adults in Eric’s life become wrapped up in the Cuban Missile Crisis and with Eric’s dad slowly recovering from an immune disorder, no one notices that Eric is doing the only thing he could think of — hiding Grace in the backyard clubhouse. But as young love flourishes and Grace and Eric grow closer, their relationship is also threatened by the tough and unforgiving realities of life and the world outside the backyard.
Blonde Eskimo by Kristen Hunt
Get ready to dive into a world of mysticism and tradition like you’ve never experienced before. Neiva Ellis knows that the citizens in her family’s ancestral home of Spirit, Alaska, are hiding something, and on the night of her 17th birthday, Neiva is thrown into a magical and mysterious world during an Eskimo rite of passage ceremony. With the help of three close friends and a masked stranger who stirs new and exciting feelings in her heart, Neiva will have to defeat an ancient and evil force that threatens all she holds dear as ancient Eskimo legends and the modern world meld together in this epic, one-of-a-kind journey.
Zeroes by Scott Westerfield, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti
The kids in this book will really add some diversity to the characters on your bookshelf. The beloved author of the Uglies series has teamed up with two more award-winning authors for this exciting, action-packed first installment of a new series you won’t be able to put down. These six teens from California are no heroes, despite their unique powers that set them apart from the rest of the population. Ethan, or “Scam,” has voices in his head, and when they start gabbing at extraordinarily inconvenient times, Scam sends out an SOS to the only people that can help him — the other Zeroes — even though they aren’t exactly on good terms these days. The Zeroes are pulled back together by a fearless leader, but they must face increasingly dangerous criminals. You won’t want to miss the high-stakes, thrilling adventures of this peculiar band of teens.
The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
When it comes to ‘firsts’, grief can be really difficult to understand. After her best and only friend Franny drowns while on vacation, 12-year-old Suzy is convinced that Franny, who was a strong swimmer, was actually stung and killed by a deadly Irukandji jellyfish. Unable to deal with her grief and determined to prove her theory correct at all costs, Suzy retreats into her own imaginary world in this inspiring debut novel about the harshness and beauty in life, death and love.
Need by Joelle Charbonneau
How many times have you checked your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social media accounts today? In a scary alternative reality, a social networking site has the power to grant your every wish and need, and the students at Nottawa High School are getting sucked deeper and deeper into this new networking technology. The only catch is that the site will make them want for nothing… regardless of the effects and consequences. Soon, silly pranks escalate to heinous crimes. People start to die. This unnerving thriller from the author of the Testing trilogy questions the dark side of social media, human nature, and what happens when free will and extreme consequences collide with technology.