New Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction

A Chorus Rises by Bethany C. Morrow 

Song Below Water; BookTwo

“Once Portland-famous and now infamous, seventeen-year-old Naema Bradshaw is an Eloko--a charismatic person gifted with a melody that people adore--who navigates a personal and public reckoning, confronts the limits of her privilege, and discovers the nature of her Black girl magic.” -WorldCat

A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson

“Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get a summer internship studying dragon languages, be smart, be sweet, and make sure her little sister never, ever has to risk growing up Third Class. She just has to free one dragon. By midnight, Viv has started a civil war. With her parents and cousin arrested and her sister missing, Viv is brought to Bletchley Park as a codebreaker—if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die. As Viv begins to discover the secrets of a hidden dragon language, she realizes that the fragile peace treaty that holds human and dragon societies together is corrupt, and the dangerous work Viv is doing could be the thread that unravels it.” -Amazon

Nightweaver by R.M. Gray

“Seventeen-year-old pirate Violet Oberon, seeking revenge for her brother's murder, becomes entangled in a plot to overthrow the royal family while working as a kitchen maid at Bludgrave Manor, where she wrestles with her complex feelings for her captor, Will.” -WorldCat

(S)kin by Ibi Zoboi

"Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors. While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past--her mother. Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies' constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn't even thought to ask.” -Publisher

The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna

The Gilded Ones: Book Three

"Mere weeks after confronting the Gilded Ones--the false beings she once believed to be her family--Deka is on the hunt. In order to kill the gods, whose ravenous competition for power is bleeding Otera dry, she must uncover the source of her divinity. But with her mortal body on the verge of ruin, Deka is running out of time--to save herself and an empire that's tearing itself apart at its seams.When Deka's search leads her and her friends to the edge of the world as they know it, they discover an astonishing new realm, one which holds the key to Deka's past. Yet it also illuminates a devastating decision she must soon make...Choose to be reborn as a god, losing everyone she loves in the process. Or bring about the end of the world." -WorldCat

New Romance Fiction

It Only Happens In The Movies by Holly Bourne

“Audrey is over romance. While dealing with her parents’ contentious divorce, a breakup of her own, and shifting friendship dynamics, she has every reason to feel cynical. But then she meets Harry, her fellow coworker at the local cinema. He’s brash, impulsive, and a major flirt. And even though Audrey tries to resist, she finds herself falling for his charms. But in this funny, insightful, and ultimately empowering novel, love—and life—isn’t what it’s like in the movies.” -Amazon

Streetlight People by Charlene Thomas

“When have-not teen Kady uses her newfound abilities to replicate a blissful summer with her have-lot boyfriend Nik, she unwittingly reveals her small town of Streetlight's biggest secret.” -WorldCat

The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos

"Secretly hooking up with popular cheerleader Karla Ortega, who repeatedly snubs him in public, multicultural geek and nerd club member Cameron Carson meets Mackenzie Briggs, who isn't afraid to be herself, and unexpectedly bonds with this girl who accepts him for who he is."-- Provided by publisher

When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao

Liya and Kai had been best friends since they were little kids, but all that changed when a humiliating incident sparked The Biggest Misunderstanding of All Time—and they haven’t spoken since. Then Liya discovers her family's wishing lantern store is struggling, and she decides to resume a tradition she had with her beloved late grandmother: secretly fulfilling the wishes people write on the lanterns they send into the sky. It may boost sales and save the store, but she can't do it alone . . . and Kai is the only one who cares enough to help. While working on their covert missions, Liya and Kai rekindle their friendship—and maybe more. But when their feuding families and changing futures threaten to tear them apart again, can they find a way to make their own wishes come true?” -Amazon

While We’re Young by K.L. Walther

“Grace, Isa, and Everett used to be an inseparable trio before their love lives became a tangled mess. For starters, Grace is secretly in love with Everett, who used to go out with Isa before breaking her heart in the infamous Freshman Year Fracture. And, oh yeah, no one knows that Isa has been hanging out with James, Grace's brother--and if Grace finds out, it could ruin their friendship. With graduation fast approaching, Grace decides an unsanctioned senior skip day in Philadelphia might be just what they need to fix things. All she has to do is convince Isa to help her kidnap Everett and outmaneuver James, who's certain his sister is up to something.In an epic day that includes racing up the famous Rocky steps, taste-testing Philly's finest cheesesteaks, and even crashing a wedding, their secrets are bound to collide. But can their hearts withstand the wreckage?” -WorldCat

New Nonfiction

How to Be a (Young) Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

"The #1 New York Times bestseller that sparked international dialogue is now a book for young adults! Based on the adult bestseller by Ibram X. Kendi, and co-authored by bestselling author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist will serve as a guide for teens seeking a way forward in acknowledging, identifying, and dismantling racism and injustice." -Publisher

Jane Against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights by Karen Blumenthal

“From award-winning author Karen Blumenthal, comes a deep and passionate look at the riveting history of the fight for reproductive rights in the United States. Tracing the path to the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade and the continuing battle for women's rights, Blumenthal examines, in a straightforward tone, the root causes of the current debate around abortion and repercussions that have affected generations of American women.” -WorldCat

Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for America by Brian Stelter

“Featuring unbelievable behind-the-scenes details, the author, using his signature investigative prowess, exposes Fox News' blatant attempts to manipulate the truth, mislead the public and influence elections, showing the insidious ways the media is damaging democracy.” -WorldCat

War and Punishment: Putin, Zelensky, and the Path to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine by Mikhail Zygar

“As soon as the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, prominent independent Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar circulated a Facebook petition signed first by hundreds of his cultural and journalistic contacts and then by thousands of others. That act led to a new law in Russia criminalizing criticism of the war, and Zygar fled Russia. In his time as a journalist, Zygar has interviewed President Zelensky and had access to many of the major players—from politicians to oligarchs. As an expert on Putin’s moods and behavior, he has spent years studying the Kremlin’s plan regarding Ukraine, and here, in clear, chronological order he explains how we got here.” -Amazon

You Don’t Know What War Is: The Diary of a Young Girl From Ukraine by Yeva Skalietska

“Yeva Skalietska’s story begins on her twelfth birthday in Kharkiv, where she has been living with her grandmother since she was a baby. Ten days later, the only life she’d ever known was shattered. On February 24, 2022, her city was suddenly under attack as Russia launched its horrifying invasion of Ukraine. Yeva and her grandmother took shelter in a basement bunker, where she began writing this diary. She describes the bombings she endured while sheltering underground and her desperate journey west to escape the conflict raging around them. After many endless train rides and a prolonged stay in an overcrowded refugee center in Western Ukraine, Yeva and her beloved grandmother eventually find refuge in Ireland. There, she bravely begins to forge a new life, hoping she’ll be able to return home one day.” -Amazon

New Thriller Fiction

Frendo Lives by Adam Cesare

Clown in a Cornfield; Book Two

“After barely making it out of the Kettle Springs cornfields alive, Quinn’s first year away at college should be safe and easy. All she wants is to be normal again. But instead, Quinn finds that her past won’t leave her alone when she becomes the focus of online conspiracy theories that claim the Kettle Springs Massacre never happened.  

So when a murderous clown attacks Quinn at a frat party while another goes after her father in Kettle Springs at the same time, Quinn realizes that the facts alone are never going to save her. Her only option is to go back into the cornfields, back where the nightmare began, to set the record straight the only way she knows how. Because when the truth gets lost in the lies, that’s when people start to die.” -Amazon

Heiress Takes All by Emily Wibberley

Heriss Heists; Book One

“Seventeen-year-old Olivia Owens isn't thrilled that her dad's getting remarried...again. She's especially not thrilled that he cheated on her mom, kicked them out of their Rhode Island home, and cut Olivia out of her rightful inheritance. But this former heiress has a plan for revenge. While hundreds of guests gather on the grounds of the gorgeous estate where she grew up, everyone will be thinking romance--not robbery. She'll play the part of dutiful daughter, but in reality she'll be redistributing millions from her father's online accounts. She only needs the handwritten pass code he keeps in the estate's safe. With the help of an eclectic crew of high school students and one former teacher, Olivia has plotted her mid-nuptial heist down to the second. But she didn't plan for an obnoxiously nosy wedding guest, an interfering ex-boyfriend intent on winning her back, greedy European cousins with their own agenda, or a vengeful second wife.” -WorldCat

How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine 

“Alice Lawrence is the sole witness in her sister's murder trial. And in the year since Claire's death, Alice's life has completely fallen apart. Her parents have gotten divorced, she's moved into an apartment that smells like bologna, and she is being forced to face her sister's killer and a courtroom full of people who doubt what she saw in the corn maze a year prior. Claire was an all-American girl, beautiful and bubbly, and a theater star. Alice was a nerd who dreamed of becoming a forensic pathologist and would rather stay at home to watch her favorite horror movies than party. Despite their differences, they were bonded by sisterhood and were each other's best friends. Until Claire was taken away from her. On the first day of the murder trial, as Alice prepares to give her testimony, she is knocked out by a Sidney Prescott look-alike in the courthouse bathroom. When she wakes up, it is Halloween night a year earlier, the same day Claire was murdered. Alice has until midnight to save her sister and find the real killer before he claims another victim.” -WorldCat

Never Flinch by Stephen King 

“From master storyteller Stephen King comes an extraordinary new novel with intertwining storylines—one about a killer on a diabolical revenge mission, and another about a vigilante targeting a feminist celebrity speaker—featuring the beloved Holly Gibney and a dynamic new cast of characters.” -Amazon

Up in Smoke by Nick Brooks

"After Cooper King is pressured by big brother figure Jason to go on a looting spree during a local march, the unthinkable happens: gunshots ring in the air and someone ends up dead. After Cooper flees, the news shows four teens in ski masks near the scene of the murder--Cooper and his friends. Cooper fears the cops will come knocking at his door, and the pressure only mounts when a suspect is taken into custody: Jason. Monique, Jason's sister and Cooper's longtime crush, is willing to go any length to clear her brother's name. Even if she needs to go into the belly of the beast and confront the killer herself. When she teams up with Cooper, they fall down the investigation rabbit hole and start to fall for each other. But little does Monique know that within this web of deception, Cooper is shrouding the truth that he was there when the shots went off. If the pair fail to uncover the real murderer, Jason will get locked up for a crime he didn't commit--and drag down Cooper with him." -Publisher

New Romance Fiction

Audre & Bash Are Just Friends by Tia Williams

“In need of inspiration for her self-help book, sixteen-year-old straightlaced Audre hires seventeen-year-old easygoing Bash to be her fun consultant for a summer full of daring experiences and undeniable romance.” -WorldCat

Begin Again by Emma Lord

“College freshman Andie is used to fixing other people's problems, but when her seemingly perfect plan for her future starts to crumble, Andie struggles to fix them and learns that the best-laid plans are not necessarily the right one.” -WorldCat

Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce

“After a disastrous debacle with her former best friend and their Dungeons & Dragons group, 16-year-old Quinn finally has a chance to start over in a new town close to her beloved grandmother. On her first day of school, she meets Kashvi, who invites Quinn to join her D&D group’s latest livestreamed campaign. Quinn falls in easily with Kashvi and her friends, including Dungeon Master Sloane, Kashvi’s twin brother, Sanjiv, and classmate Logan, whom Quinn instantly falls for. The only problem? The group has a hard and fast policy against its members dating each other. Making matters more complicated, Quinn’s grandmother has decided that Quinn and Logan are meant to be—and she’ll do whatever it takes to bring them together. As the D&D campaign ramps up, Quinn is faced with a conundrum: Can she suppress her feelings for Logan while battling imaginary dragons and real-life trolls by his side?” -Kirkus

Every Borrowed Beat by Erin Stewart

“Sydney Wells should have died. She was supposed to die. She never expected, after years of waiting, to receive a heart transplant. Now, seventeen-year-old Sydney doesn't know what to do with her life. Her daily routine consisted of staying indoors, eating heart-healthy foods, and posting about her transplant list experiences on TheWaitingList with her long-distance BFF (and heart failure buddy) Chloe. Now, Sydney latches onto the one thing that gives her meaning: learning as much as she can about the person whose heart she inherited. After finding the family of her likely-donor, Mia, Sydney falls deep into her world--and may also be falling for Mia's best friend, Clayton. But Sydney isn't the only one hiding something. Mia's brother Tanner won't talk to Clayton, and Clayton won't tell Sydney why. And hundreds of miles away, Chloe's health has taken a turn for the worse. Sydney needs to face what's in her heart--the truth, the guilt, and the future--before it's too late.” -WorldCat

Seoulmates by Susan Lee

“Hannah Cho had the next year all planned out with her boyfriend, Nate, and a fun senior year with all of their friends. But then Nate does what everyone else in Hannah’s life seems to do. He leaves her, claiming they have nothing in common. He and all her friends are newly obsessed with K-pop and K-dramas, and Hannah is not. After years of trying to embrace the American part and shunning the Korean side of her Korean American identity to fit in, Hannah finds that's exactly what now has her on the outs. But someone who does know K-dramas, so well that he’s actually starring in one, is Jacob Kim, Hannah’s former best friend, whom she hasn₂t seen in years. He’s desperate for a break from the fame and someone to trust, so a family trip back to San Diego might be just what he needs, that is, if he and Hannah can figure out what went wrong when they last parted and navigate the new feelings developing between them.” -WorldCat

New Mystery Fiction

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

“A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past--the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the murder of her former roommate, Thalia Keith, in the spring of their senior year. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia's death and the conviction of the school's athletic trainer, Omar Evans, are hotly debated online, Bodie prefers--needs--to let sleeping dogs lie. But when the Granby School invites her back to teach a course, Bodie is inexorably drawn to the case and its increasingly apparent flaws.” -WorldCat

Such Charming Liars by Karen McManus

“For all of Kat's life, it's just been her and her mother, Jamie--except for the forty-eight hours when Jamie was married and Kat had a stepbrother, Liam. That all ended in an epic divorce, and Kat and Liam haven't spoken since. Now Jamie is a jewel thief trying to go straight, but she has one last job--at billionaire Ross Sutherland's birthday party. And Kat has figured out a way to tag along. What Kat doesn't know, though, is that there are two surprise guests at the dazzling Sutherland compound that weekend. The last two people she wants to run into. Liam and his father--a serial scammer who has his sights set on Ross Sutherland's youngest daughter. Kat and Liam are on a collision course to disaster, and when a Sutherland dies, they realize they might actually be in the killer's crosshairs themselves.” -WorldCat

This Is Why We Lie by Gabriella Lepore

“When Jenna Dallas and Adam Cole find Colleen O'Dell's body floating off the shore of their coastal town, the community of Gardiners Bay is shaken. But even more shocking is the fact that her drowning was no accident. Once Jenna's best friend becomes a key suspect, Jenna starts to look for answers on her own. As she uncovers scandals inside Preston Prep School leading back to Rookwood reform school, she knows she needs Adam on her side. As a student at Rookwood, Adam is used to getting judgmental looks, but now his friends are being investigated by the police. Adam will do whatever he can to keep them safe, even if that means trusting Jenna. As lies unravel, the truth starts to blur. Only one thing is certain: somebody must take the fall.” -WorldCat

Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray

“It was said that if you write to the Bridegroom's Oak, the love of your life will answer back. Now, the tree is giving up its secrets at last. In 1940s Germany, Sophie is excited to discover a message waiting for her in the Bridegroom's Oak from a mysterious suitor. Meanwhile, her best friend, Hanna, is sending messages too--but not to find love. As World War II unfolds in their small town of Kleinwald, the oak may hold the key to resistance against the Nazis. In 1980s West Germany, American teen transplant Jenny feels suffocated by her strict parents and is struggling to fit in. Until she finds herself falling for Lena, a punk-rock girl hell-bent on tearing down the wall separating West Germany from East Germany, and meeting Frau Hermann, a kind old lady with secrets of her own. In Spring 2020, New York City, best friends Miles and Chloe are in the first weeks of COVID lockdown and hating Zoom school, when an unexpected package from Chloe's grandmother leads them to investigate a cold case about two unidentified teenagers who went missing under the Bridegroom's Oak eighty years ago.” -WorldCat

You Were Never Here by Kathleen Peacock

“Cat hasn't been to Montgomery Falls, the town her family founded, since she was twelve years old. Since the summer she discovered she could do things that no normal twelve-year-old could do. Since she had her first kiss with Riley Fraser. Since she destroyed their friendship. Now, five years later, she's back and Riley has disappeared. When Noah, Riley's brother, asks for help in discovering what happened, Cat is torn between wanting to learn the truth and protecting the secret that she's been guarding ever since that summer she and Riley stopped speaking. Only one choice will put her in a killer's sights.” -WorldCat

Remembrance Day 2025

In Flanders Fields is a war poem written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. 

Explore the iconic Canadian war poem, In Flanders Fields, in some of the many languages spoken in Canada today. 

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Here are a few ARHS World War II historical fiction titles. Written for a high school audience, these books provide a meaningful context for Remembrance Day reflection.

Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys

“Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life--until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she imbeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their way to her father's prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be enough for Lina and her family to survive?” -Publisher 

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

"Two young women from totally different backgrounds are thrown together during World War II: one a working-class girl from Manchester, the other a Scottish aristocrat, one a pilot, the other a wireless operator. Yet whenever their paths cross, they complement each other perfectly and before long become devoted friends. But then a vital mission goes wrong, and one of the friends has to bail out of a faulty plane over France. She is captured by the Gestapo and becomes a prisoner of war. The story begins in 'Verity's' own words, as she writes her account for her captors." -Publisher

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

“When Death has a story to tell, you listen. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.” -Publisher

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

“Set in Poland during World War II. Innocent and naive 8-year-old Bruno is bored and restless in his new home. Ignoring his mother, he sets off on an adventure in the woods. He comes across a high fence which separates him from the people he can see through it. Soon he meets a young boy in striped pajamas, and a surprising friendship develops.” -WorldCat

The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron

“Sixteen-year-old Catholic Stefania Podgórska has worked in the Diamant family's grocery  store for four years, even falling in love with one of their sons, Izio. When the Nazis came to Przemsyl, Poland, the Jewish Diamants were forced into the ghetto (and worse) and only Izio's brother Max managed to escape. Stefania embarks on a dangerous course: protecting thirteen Jews in her attic, caring for her younger sister, Helena, and keeping everything secret from the two Nazi officers who are living in her house.” -WorldCat

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Check out this video regarding Canada’s No. 2 Construction Battalion from the First World War. This group of men served our country with pride, despite the prejudice they faced on the battlefield.

Check out Charles “Checker” Tomkins’ story. As a code talker in the Canadian military, he used his knowledge of the native Cree language to help develop a top-secret communication system to defeat the Germans.

14 Facts You May Not Know About Contributions of Indigenous Veterans

Canadian women share stories of their secret efforts to help win World War II