Teen Reading
New Teen Titles
Browse the new arrivals of Teen novels, books, and titles below.
Teens Top Ten Teen Choice voting is now open. If you are a teen, and want to vote, you can vote for your top 3 favorite here. Teens ONLY! Wellesley Free Library has all the nominees! Voting is open until October 15th.
Teen Book Awards
YALSA (the Young Adult Library Service Association) is a professional organization that puts together many book award lists.
Printz Award
The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a Topeka, Kansas school librarian who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association. The award is sponsored by Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association.
2019 Winner:
The Poet X – By Elizabeth Acevedo
Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.
Harlem. Ever since her body grew into curves, Xiomara Batista has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. She pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers– especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. Mami is determined to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, and Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. When she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.
2019 Printz Award Honor Books:
Damsel – Elana K. Arnold
The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: When the king dies, his son the prince must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been. When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon or what horrors she faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome young man, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny of sitting on a throne beside him. It’s all like a dream, like something from a fairy tale. As Ama follows Emory to the kingdom of Harding, however, she discovers that not all is as it seems. There is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows, and the greatest threats may not be behind her, but around her, now, and closing in…
A Heart in a Body in the World – Deb Caletti
Followed by Grandpa Ed in his RV and backed by her brother and friends, Annabelle, eighteen, runs from Seattle to Washington, D.C., becoming a reluctant activist as people connect her journey to her recent trauma.
Annabelle is running. From Seattle to Washington, DC, through mountain passes and suburban landscapes, from long lonely roads to college towns. She’s not ready to think about the tragedy from the past year, or The Taker that haunts her. But Annabelle can’t outrun it, and becomes a reluctant activist as people connect her journey to the trauma from her past. Followed by Grandpa Ed in his RV and backed by her brother and two friends, she just keeps running. Will she finally face what lies behind her– and what is to come?
I, Claudia – Mary McCoy
Disaffected teen historian Claudia McCarthy never expected to be in charge of Imperial Day Academy, but by accident, design, or scheme, she is pulled into the tumultuous and high-profile world of the Senate and Honor Council. Suddenly, Claudia is wielding power over her fellow students that she never expected to have and isn’t sure she wants.
Claudia vows to use her power to help the school. But there are forces aligned against her: shocking scandals, tyrants waiting in the wings, and political dilemmas with no easy answers. As Claudia struggles to be a force for good in the universe, she wrestles with the question: does power inevitably corrupt?
Edwards Award
The Margaret A. Edwards Award, sponsored by School Library Journal, honors an author and specific works by that author for significant and lasting contribution for writing to teens.
2019 Winner: M. T. Anderson – “M.T. Anderson is a powerful force in the field of literature for teens. His creativity, wit and intelligence distinguish him and inform the body of his work, which is further notable for its artful variety, whether it be his fiercely satirical “Feed” or his monumental two volume “The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation.”
“M.T. Anderson is a true nonpareil, demonstrating an extraordinary facility for writing in a variety of forms and genres, standing virtually alone in his creative venturesomeness and bold innovation,” said Edwards Committee Member Michael Cart.”
YALSA Non-Fiction Award
The YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award honors the best nonfiction written for teens each year. The Nonfiction committee also publishes its official nomination list after the awards announcement.
2019 Winner: The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees, written and illustrated by Don Brown
“This non-fiction title presents a graphic account of the events of Syrian refugees’ attempt to escape the horrors of their country’s civil war in search of a better tomorrow.
Unwanted by their own country, unwanted by other countries, Syria’s refugees are between a rock and a hard place. Staying in Syria is far too dangerous – violence is constant and pervasive. Leaving Syria is fraught with peril – crossing the desert, falling victim to con artist smugglers, and fatal journeys by boat.”
Great Graphic Novels for Teens
A book list created by the ALA (American Library Association). The books, recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens.
In addition, the Great Graphic Novels for Teens Committee created a Top Ten list of titles that exemplify the quality and range of graphic novels appropriate for teen audiences, denoted by an asterisk.
Odyssey Award
The Odyssey Award honors the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States. The award is co-administered with the Association for Library Service to Children
2019 Winner: Sadie – Courtney Summers, narrated by Dan Bittner and produced by Macmillan Young Listeners
Part true crime podcast part revenge road trip, “Sadie” is the story of a young girl as she seeks vengeance for her sister’s murder. The full ensemble cast brings together more than thirty voices, with Rebecca Soler authentically capturing Sadie’s stutter and angry, tortured emotions while Dan Bittner gives voice to radio journalist West McCray as he tries to piece together what has happened to Sadie.
OverDrive (Digital Media Catalog) 
Hoopla