Best Books: Tweens and Teens
Tweens and Teens
Atlanta Parent asked Little Shop of Stories in Decatur to choose books
that tweens and teens are excited to read and recommend to their friends.
Ghosts
by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic)
This graphic novel is about Catrina, a teen whose family has moved to Northern California for her little sister Maya, who has cystic fibrosis. Cat is even more unhappy about the move when she learns her new town is inhabited by ghosts, and Maya is determined to meet one!
Girl in the Blue Coat
by Monica Hesse (Little, Brown)
In 1943 Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, teenage Hanneke – a finder of black market goods – is asked by a customer to find the Jewish girl the woman had been hiding before the Nazis do. The mystery of what happened to the vanished girl leads Hanneke down a dark path involving secrets, the resistance, and Nazi lies as she struggles to stay afloat in a world gone mad.
Kids of Appetite
by David Arnold (Viking)
Teens Victor and Madeline sit in separate police interrogation rooms telling about the misfits who brought them together and their journey to decode a secret message, hidden in an urn. These strange elements come together to tell a wonderful, magical story.
Lock and Key Book 1: The Initiation
by Ridley Pearson (HarperCollins)
In the first book in a new series, a best-selling author has reinvented Sherlock Holmes for the tween reader. In it, Holmes and his adversary Moriarty are young teens, forced to be roommates at the elite, mysterious Baskerville Academy, working together to solve a crime before time runs out.
Moo
by Sharon Creech (Harper Collins)
This part prose, part poetry chapter book is enchanting, endearing and so well-written that anyone who has ever taken a leap of faith will find it enjoyable. A family leaves their hectic life in the city and moves to rural Maine. Twelve-year-old Reena and her little brother Luke learn all about life on the farm, and what it means to love and respect animals and people. – SC
The Best Man
by Richard Peck (Dial)
This book reminds us of the best of middle-grade fiction. Legendary author, Richard Peck (A Long Way from Chicago), tells the story of Archer, a young man with four important role models in his life – his dad, his grandfather, his uncle, and his favorite teacher, Mr. McLeod. When Uncle Paul and Mr. McLeod get married, Archer’s sixth-grade year becomes one he’ll never forget. One of our staff members says, “This book makes me so happy! It’s got smart, quirky kids, real and honest adult role models, and a quick paced, engaging story. I giggled a lot!”
The Inquisitor’s Tale
by Adam Gidwitz (Dutton Books for Young Readers)
Three magical children evade evil monks, cruel knights, demons, dragons, and the plots of a king as they strike out on a quest with nothing but their friendship and their greyhound to help them survive. This is the perfect tween fantasy, bubbling with historical details and Gidwitz’s trademark humor to carry the reader through a morally complex adventure.
The Trouble with Destiny
by Lauren Morrill (Delacourt)
This fun young-adult novel by a Macon author is about a high school drum major who must save her school band and navigate romantic disasters when their cruise ship gets stranded at sea.
