Particularly recommended for incoming 9th graders (but great for everyone else too!)
Concrete Rose by When 17-year-old Maverick Carter finds out he's a father, his priorities completely change, Now, instead of following his father into the King Lords, Mav wants a secure future for himself and his boy. Though this is a prequel to The Hate U Give, you don't need to have read that book to enjoy the complex characterization and world building that the author brings to 1998 Garden Heights.
Available through the UHS library and SFPL in print, ebook, and audiobook formats.
Realistic Fiction
The Awkward Black Man by It's a collection of 17 fabulous short stories, in a variety of genres. Each one will open your heart and mind.
Recommended by Ben Jacobs (Math)
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, this is a story of raw courage, fierce strength, and one woman's belief that books can carry us anywhere.
Recommended by Jenny Schneider (College Counseling)
The Cuban Affair by A great read that I couldn't put down!
Recommended by Lili Black (Student)
Everywhere You Don't Belong by A darkly funny and heartfelt debut novel about what it means to grow up young and black on the south side of Chicago when it feels like your choices are slim to none.
Recommended by Scott Laughlin (English)
I'll Be the One by Skye Shin enters a TV show competition to find the next K-Pop star. Though she is a hugely talented singer and dancer, the odds are stacked against her because she is a self-described fat girl. Delightfully fluffy and joyful.
Recommended by Hayley Beale (Library)
Little Fires Everywhere by This is one of my favorite fiction books right now! I think it's so so beautifully written. I love her writing style, her messages, everything.
Recommended by a student.
A Long Petal of the Sea by Based on many historical facts and true accounts, this follows a fictional family of Spanish exiles in Chile after the Spanish Civil War. I learned so much about the daily life of ordinary citizens during the Spanish Civil War, as well as a few new interesting facts such as Pablo Neruda's involvement in getting the refugees safely to Chile. More importantly, this book is a story of love and friendship, solidarity and loyalty that will speak to every reader. During our world immigration crisis, this book, once again shows that all refugees deserve a right to life and happiness. And it only takes one generation for the immigrants to be absorbed in the fabric of their new homeland.
Recommended by Gvantsa Apkhazava (Languages)
My Year Abroad by A brilliant, exuberant and entertaining story of a young American whose life is transformed when a Chinese-American businessman suddenly takes him under his wing on a global adventure
Recommended by Scott Laughlin (English)
The Nickel Boys by Based on the real story of a reform school that operated for 111 years and warped the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative that showcases a great American novelist writing at the height of his powers.
Recommended by Carol Coles (Academic Office)
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam.
Recommended by Joanne Sugiyama and the AAPI affinity group.
Outlawed by It has a great cover (which is why I chose it) and is a gripping feminist Western about outlaws and the church.
Recommended by Lili Black (Student)
The Silent Patient by Theo Faber, a psychotherapist, moves to a new job in London to work with a woman artist who was convicted of killing her husband and has been mute since she was arrested. Plenty of twists and red herrings along the way.
Recommended by Anika Gandhi (Student)
This Is Happiness by A meditation on happiness set in a rural Irish town seen through the eyes of a coming-of-age character through the friendship with a man later in years. Something for everyone in our target audience. And did I mention music? A great antidote to the year that was 2020.
Recommended by Carolyn McNulty (History)
The Vanishing Half by I found this novel un-put-down-able and deeply thought-provoking. Bennett weaves together a number of salient social issues while keeping the characters and the twist-filled plot at the center.
Recommended by Kate Garrett (College Counseling)
When No One Is Watching by A chilling mystery set in a historic Black neighborhood that's being gentrified.
Recommended by Hayley Beale (Library)
When Rap Spoke Straight to God by A book-length poem navigating belief, black lives, the tragedies of Trump, and the boundaries of being a woman.
Recommended by Scott Laughlin (English)
Speculative Fiction
American Royals by In an alternate America, princesses Beatrice and Samantha Washington and the two girls wooing their brother, Prince Jefferson, become embroiled in high drama in the most glorious court in the world.
Recommended by Lauren Williams (Student)
Ancillary Justice by This is my favorite series! Amazing plot, characters, and world, although it does take some time to get into.
Recommended by Annika Peterson (student)
Black Sun by The start of a new fantasy series based on precolonial North American culture and myths. It was fast paced with good characters. I’m looking forward to the next installment.
Recommended by Chrissy Jacobs (Science).
Circe by A retelling of ancient Greek myth gives voice to the witch who turned Odysseus's men into pigs.
Recommended by a student
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by The last in the Wayfarers series. I love her imaginative alien cultures and their interactions, and how these books are about people being accepting and kind to each other even in difficult circumstances.
Recommended by Chrissy Jacobs (Science)
Heroine Complex by Asian American superheroes defending San Francisco -- the author describes her work as "Asian girls having fun". It seems like some AAPI joy is in order this year.
Recommended by Elizabeth Faris (College Counseling)
Interior Chinatown by Winner of the National Book Award, this hilarious and inventive novel explores race, pop culture, immigration, assimilation, and escaping the roles we are forced to play
Recommended by UHS' Alliance for Community Equity.
Klara and the Sun by A beautiful novel about a robot's profound reflections about human beings.
Recommended by Ben Jacobs (Math)
Leave the World Behind by A creepy mix of the everyday and the end of the world.
Recommended by Hayley Beale (Library)
Mistborn by A series of 2 trilogies, this has a great magic system, characters, and the best ending of any series I've read in my opinion.
Recommended by a student
The Murderbot Diaries by 5 novellas and a novel about the self-named Murderbot - a self aware AI security unit who just wants to be left alone to watch The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon but somehow has to keep saving those pesky humans. Diverting and hilarious.
Recommended by Hayley Beale (Library)
Project Hail Mary by Scifi mystery with the same mix of physics and improvisation as The Martian.
Recommended by Hayley Beale (Library)
Skyward by An epic series about a girl who dreams of becoming a pilot in a dangerous world at war with aliens.
Recommended by Elizabeth Gorman.
They Both Die at the End by In the near-future, a service alerts people on the day they will die. Teenagers Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio meet using the Last Friend app and are faced with the challenge of living a lifetime on their End Day.
Recommended by Elizabeth Gorman.
What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by A collection of stories exploring the ties that bind parents and children, husbands and wives, lovers and friends to one another and to the places they call home.
Recommended by a student.
