Biblio File, NYPL Recommends: New & Noteworthy

NYPL Recommends: New YA for July

No such thing as summer vacation for great new YA fiction, nonfiction, comics, and graphic novels! Here are the titles for teens that we're most excited about putting on our shelves. (And check out more New & Noteworthy picks for readers of all ages.)

sun

How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

A powerful autobiography about growing up in the Congo, surviving a horrific massacre, losing family members, and immigrating to the United States.

This book is: compelling, haunting, moving, a true story.

 

 

 

 

names

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

After Lucy's mom is diagnosed with cancer for a second time, she asks her daughter to forgo her usual summer at their family's Christian retreat and become a counselor at a camp for kids who've experienced trauma. A perfectly paced novel about life before and after losing someone you love.

This book is: character-driven, emotionally intense, seriously well written.

 

 

 

pirate

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Pirates, princesses, and sirens star in this swashbuckling fantasy about the adventures of a girl pirate captain. 

This book is: fast-paced, funny, a love story, plot-driven, world-building.

 

 

 

 

takedown

The Takedown by Corrie Wang

A debut sci-fi page-turner about cyberbullying, technology, and revenge. Critics are calling it a mashup of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and M.T. Anderson's Feed.

This book is: atmospheric, a mystery, on the dark side, psychological, science fiction. 

 

 

 

 

two skies

Between Two Skies by Joanne O'Sullivan

This before-and-after story of Hurricane Katrina begins in a small Louisiana fishing town but shifts to Atlanta after the storm.  An evocative novel with a strong sense of place.

This book is: character-driven, moving, seriously well written, thoughtful.

 

 

 

 

dreadnought

Dreadnought by April Daniels

When a trans teen picks up the mantle of a fallen superhero, her new superpowers place her into the female body she's always felt should belong to her. 

This book is: action-packed, character-driven, a comic, world-building.

 

 

 

 

spill zone

Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld

Poughkeepsie turned deadly after some sort of lethal event turned the whole city into a toxic spill zone. Now,  Addison relies on photographing the ruins and whatever's left among them.

This book is: atmospheric, dystopian, gritty, on the dark side.

 

 


 

Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!