New month, new books! Click those titles to find these books in our catalog, put them on hold for yourself, and order them if they’re already checked out. Let’s dive right in.
Fiction
Between the Blade and the Heart, by Amanda Hocking.
Wednesday Books, 2017.
“When the fate of the world is at stake, loyalties will be tested.
“As one of Odin’s Valkyries, Malin Krigare’s greatest responsibility is to slay immortals and return them to the underworld. But when she unearths a secret that could unravel the balance of all she knows, Malin, along with her best friend and ex-girlfriend, must decide where their loyalties lie. And if helping the blue-eyed boy Asher enact his revenge is worth the risk—to the world and her heart.” From the publisher.
That Thing We Call a Heart, by Sheba Karim.
Harper Teen, 2017.
“High school has ended, and Shabnam Qureshi is facing a summer of loneliness and boredom. She’s felt alienated from her gutsy best friend, Farah, ever since Farah started wearing the Muslim head scarf—without even bothering to discuss it with Shabnam first. But no one else comes close to understanding her, especially not her parents.
“All Shabnam wants to do is get through the summer. Get to Penn. Begin anew. Not look back.
“That is, until she meets Jamie, who scores her a job at his aunt’s pie shack and meets her there every afternoon.
“Shabnam sees Jamie and herself like the rose and the nightingale of classic Urdu poetry, which, according to her father, is the ultimate language of desire. Jamie finds Shabnam fascinating—her curls, her culture, even her awkwardness. Shabnam quickly finds herself in love, while Farah, who Shabnam has begun to reconnect with, finds Jamie worrying.
“In her quest to figure out who she really is and what she really wants, Shabnam looks for help in an unexpected place—her family.” From the publisher.
Blood and Sand, by C. V. Wyk.
Tor Teen, 2017.
“Roma victrix. The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to create an empire—an empire built on the backs of the conquered, brought back to Rome as slaves.
“Attia was once destined to rule as the queen and swordmaiden of Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world had seen since Sparta. Now she is a slave, given to the gladiator Xanthus, as a sign of his master’s favor. Enslaved as a child, Xanthus is now the Champion of Rome, the preeminent gladiator of his generation.
“Against all odds, Attia and Xanthus form a tentative bond. A bond that will spark a rebellion. A rebellion that threatens to bring the Roman Republic to its end—and gives rise to the legend of Spartacus…” From the publisher.
Nonfiction
White American Youth: My Descent into America’s Most Violent Hate Movement—and How I Got Out, by Christian Picciolini.
Hachette Books, 2018.
“As he stumbled through high school, struggling to find a community among other fans of punk rock music, Christian Picciolini was recruited by a now notorious white-power skinhead leader and encouraged to fight with the movement to ‘protect the white race from extinction.’ Soon, he had become an expert in racist philosophies, a terror who roamed the neighborhood, quick to throw fists. When his mentor was arrested and sentenced to eleven years in prison, sixteen-year-old Picciolini took over the man’s role as the leader of an infamous neo-Nazi skinhead group.
“Seduced by the power he accrued through intimidation, and swept up in the rhetoric he had adopted, Picciolini worked to grow an army of extremists. He used music as a recruitment tool, launching his own propaganda band that performed at white-power rallies around the world. But slowly, as he started a family of his own and a job that for the first time brought him face to face with people from all walks of life, he began to recognize the cracks in his hateful ideology. Then a shocking loss at the hands of racial violence changed his life forever, and Picciolini realized too late the full extend of the harm he’d caused.
“Raw, inspiring, and heartbreakingly candid, White American Youth tells the fascinating story of how so many young people lose themselves in a culture of hatred and violence and how the criminal networks they forge terrorize and divide our nation.” From the publisher.
Graphic Novels
To Your Eternity, vol. 1 & 2, by Yoshitoki Oima.
Kodansha Comics, 2017.
“An orb was cast unto the earth. After metamorphosing into a wolf, It joins a boy on his bleak journey to find his tribe. It learns and evolves, transcending death, even when those around It cannot…
“March, the girl who was chosen as a gift for the Oniguma gave It the name ‘Fushi.’ Parona, who once escaped a similar fate, plans to save March yet again. Fushi witnesses their struggles and begins to learn, taking Its first step toward agency…” From the publisher.
RML Teens 