News from Teen Central
Library Board Votes to Go Fines Free
On Tuesday, July 16, HPL’s Executive Board approved the motion for the library to go FINES FREE!
Catch the Olympic Spirit at HPL
Have you caught the Olympic spirit? Wondering the history of the games? Curious about the torch? Dreaming of traveling to Paris? Feeling motivated to push your physical limits?
Recommended Reads
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Courage to Soar
In this official autobiography from four-time Olympic gold-winning and record-setting American gymnast Simone Biles, Simone shares how her faith, family, passion, and perseverance against tremendous odds helped make her one of the top athletes and record-breaking gymnasts in the world--now with 25 world championship medals.
Simone Biles' entrance into the world of gymnastics may have started on a daycare field trip in her hometown of Spring, Texas, but her God-given talent, along with drive to succeed no matter the obstacle, are what brought her to the national spotlight during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and have catapulted her ever since--including becoming the first gymnast in competition to land a double-twisting somersault on beam and the first woman to land a triple double on floor.
But there is more to Simone than the medals--nineteen of them world championship gold. Through years of hard work and determination, she has relied on her faith and family to stay focused and positive, while having fun competing at the highest level and doing what she loves. Here, in her own words, Simone takes you through the events, challenges, and trials that carried her from an early childhood in foster care to a coveted spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
Along the way, Simone shares the details of her inspiring personal story--one filled with the kinds of daily acts of courage that led her, and can lead you, to even the most unlikely of dreams.
Courage to Soar
- is the only book that presents Simone Biles' true story from her perspective
- contains an eight-page, full-color photo insert, as well as a full-color poster of Simone in action on the back of the book jacket
- is an inspirational story for fans of gymnastics and anyone pushing to overcome the odds
- presents a positive role model for young girls
- is perfect for school assignments and reports
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WOLFPACK
Based on her inspiring, viral 2018 commencement speech to Barnard College’s graduates in New York City, New York Times bestselling author, two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA World Cup champion Abby Wambach delivers her empowering rally cry for women to unleash their individual power, unite with their pack, and emerge victorious together.
Abby Wambach became a champion because of her incredible talent as a soccer player. She became an icon because of her remarkable wisdom as a leader. As the co-captain of the 2015 Women’s World Cup Champion Team, she created a culture not just of excellence, but of honor, commitment, resilience, and sisterhood. She helped transform a group of individual women into one of the most successful, powerful and united Wolfpacks of all time.
In her retirement, Abby’s ready to do the same for her new team: All Women Everywhere.
In Wolfpack, Abby’s message to women is:
We have never been Little Red Riding Hood. We Are the Wolves.
We must wander off the path and blaze a new one: together.
She insists that women must let go of old rules of leadership that neither include or serve them. She’s created a new set of Wolfpack rules to help women unleash their individual power, unite with their Wolfpack, and change the landscape of their lives and world: from the family room to the board room to the White House.
· Make failure your fuel: Transform failure to wisdom and power.
· Lead from the bench: Lead from wherever you are.
· Champion each other: Claim each woman’s victory as your own.
· Demand the effing ball: Don’t ask permission: take what you’ve earned.
In Abby’s vision, we are not Little Red Riding Hoods, staying on the path because we’re told to. We are the wolves, fighting for a better tomorrow for ourselves, our pack, and all the future wolves who will come after us. -
Olympic Gold 1936
Jesse OwensÕ gold-medal winning feats at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin struck a mighty propaganda blow against Adolf Hitler. The Nazi leader had planned to use the German games as a showcase of supposed Aryan superiority. Instead, there was American black athlete Owens on the podium being photographed by HitlerÕs personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann. In addition, Owens would figure prominently in the groundbreaking film Olympia by HitlerÕs favorite director Leni Riefenstahl. Photo and film captured OwensÕ stunning success and revealed how wrong Hitler was in his beliefs.
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Grace, Gold & Glory
In the 2012 London Olympics, US gymnast Gabrielle Douglas stole hearts and flew high as the All-Around Gold Medal winner, as well as acting as a critical member of the US gold-medal-winning women gymnastics team. In this personal autobiography, Gabrielle tells her story of faith, perseverance, and determination, demonstrating you can reach your dreams if you let yourself soar.
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Gravity
A. S. King meets Chris Crutcher in boxing journalist Sarah Deming's YA novel about a young female boxer who learns to fight for what she wants.
Gravity "Doomsday" Delgado is good at breaking things. Maybe she learned it from her broken home.
But since she started boxing with a legendary coach at a gym in Brooklyn, Gravity is finding her talent for breaking things has an upside. Lately, she's been breaking records, breaking her competitors, and breaking down the walls inside her. Boxing is taking her places, and if she just stays focused, she knows she'll have a shot at the Olympics.
Life outside the ring is heating up, too. Suddenly she's flirting (and more) with a cute boxer at her gym--much to her coach's disapproval. Meanwhile, things at home with Gravity's mom are reaching a tipping point, and Gravity has to look out for her little brother, Ty. With Olympic dreams, Gravity will have to decide what is worth fighting for. -
Furia (Spanish Edition)
Ganadora de la medalla Pura Belpré 2021 para autores jóvenes.
Yo era la Furia, después de todo. Sería la elegida para romper el círculo.
En Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan tiene una doble vida. En casa es una hija atenta y en la cancha es la imparable Furia. Cuando su equipo califica para el torneo Sudamericano, sabrá cuán lejos puede llegar. El camino es difícil. Camila deberá enfrentarse a un mundo que no está preparado para chicas como ella, pero La Furia no puede ser negada.
Furia es una conmovedora historia sobre la familia, la identidad, el primer amor y, por supuesto, el fútbol. Resonará en cualquier muchacha a quien alguna vez le han dicho que no puede y no haya parado hasta conseguirlo.
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
A powerful contemporary YA for fans of The Poet X and I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter set in Argentina, about a rising soccer star whomust put everything on the line —even her blooming love story— to follow her dreams.
In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan lives a double life.
At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother’s narrow expectations, in herrising-soccer-star brother’s shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-temperedfather.
On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies forthe South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talentscan take her. In her wildest dreams, she’d get an athletic scholarship to a North Americanuniversity.
But the path ahead isn’t easy. Her parents don’t know about her passion. They wouldn’t allow a girl to play fútbol—and she needs their permission to go any farther. And the boy she once loved is back in town. Since he left, Diego has become an international star, playing in Italy for the renowned team Juventus. Camila doesn’t have time to be distracted by her feelings for him. Things aren’t the same as when he left: she has herown passions and ambitions now, and La Furia cannot be denied. As her life becomesmore complicated, Camila is forced to face her secrets and make her way in a world with no place for the dreams and ambition of a girl like her.
Filled with authentic details and the textures of day-to-day life in Argentina, heart-soaringromance, and breathless action on the pitch, Furia is the story of a girl’s journey to make her life her own. -
Out of Left Field
A nerdy gay teenager jumps headfirst into the bro-y world of high school baseball in this semi-autobiographical LGBTQ+ graphic novel.
Ninth-grader Jonah is not a jock. On the contrary, he loves history class and nerdy movies, and his athletic ineptitude verges on tragic. So, what's he doing signing up for the baseball team? Could it have something to do with the cute shortstop, Elliot?
For the rest of high school, Jonah faces challenges on and off the baseball field, from heteronormative social pressure to thrilling romance. Realizing who his real friends are, he figures out what really matters and finally recognizes and embraces his gay identity.
Based on debut author-illustrator Jonah Newman's coming-of-age experiences, Out of Left Field is a big-hearted and funny YA graphic novel about learning to be yourself.
"Brilliantly written and illustrated high school story that deftly showcases the triumphs and regrets of friendship and finding oneself. A remarkable debut!" --Dav Pilkey, #1 bestselling graphic novelist
"First base, first boyfriends, and believing in yourself--Out of Left Field is a charming tour of the mistakes and triumphs of coming out in high school." --Ngozi Ukazu, award-winning creator of Check, Please!
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Daughter of the Bone Forest
Two girls reluctantly bound by fate must weather a dangerous courtship as a prophesied war grows ever closer in Jasmine Skye's high-stakes, queernormative dark fantasy debut, Daughter of the Bone Forest.
Rosy is a bone familiar, gifted with the power to shift into animals marked with exposed bone. She spends most of her days in the magical Bone Forest, caring for her feral grandmother and hiding her powers to avoid conscription by the Witch King’s army. Until the day that Princess Shaw, a witch known as Death’s Heir, visits the Forest. When Rosy saves Shaw’s life, the princess offers her the chance to attend the prestigious school, Witch Hall, as payment. Though Rosy is wary of Shaw’s intentions, she cannot pass up the opportunity to find the cure for her grandmother’s affliction.
But at Witch Hall, Rosy finds herself embroiled in political games she doesn't understand. Shaw wants Rosy for her entourage, a partner to help lead the coming war. All Rosy wants is to stay out of trouble until she can graduate and save her grandmother, but she can't deny her attraction to Shaw or the comfort Shaw’s magic gives her. Will Rosy give in to her destiny, or will the Bone Forest call her home once and for all? -
Songs of Irie
"A devastating and nuanced look at two teens’ battle for freedom, hope, independence, and love." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Perfect for fans of The Black Kids, Songs of Irie is a sweeping coming-of-age novel from Asha Bromfield about a budding romance struggling to survive amidst the Jamaican civil unrest of the 1970s.
It's 1976 and Jamaica is on fire. The country is on the eve of important elections and the warring political parties have made the divisions between the poor and the wealthy even wider. And Irie and Jilly come from very different backgrounds: Irie is from the heart of Kingston, where fighting in the streets is common. Jilly is from the hills, where mansions nestled within lush gardens remain safe behind gates. But the two bond through a shared love of Reggae music, spending time together at Irie's father's record store, listening to so-called rebel music that opens Jilly's mind to a sound and a way of thinking she's never heard before.
As tensions build in the streets, so do tensions between the two girls. A budding romance between them complicates things further as the push and pull between their two lives becomes impossible to bear. For Irie, fighting—with her words and her voice—is her only option. Blood is shed on the streets in front of her every day. She has no choice. But Jilly can always choose to escape.
Can their bond survive this impossible divide?
Asha Bromfield has written a compelling, emotional and heart-rending story of a friendship during wartime and what it means to fight for your words, your life, and the love of your life. -
The Marble Queen
A sapphic YA graphic novel with sword fighting, political intrigue and magic where the princess needs a marriage alliance for the welfare of her kingdom, but she unknowingly accepts a proposal from a mysterious country, having come not from the prince, but his sister.
The Marble Queen is a YA fantasy graphic novel that's the political drama of Nimona meets the heartfelt romance of The Prince and the Dressmaker, but this time in a sapphic romance surrounded by a mist of magic.
Princess Amelia's kingdom, Marion, is in shambles after months of their trade routes being ravaged by pirates, and now, it seems the only option left is for her to save it through a marriage alliance. When she gets an exorbitant offer from the royalty of Iliad—a country shrouded in mystery—Amelia accepts without question and leaves her home to begin a new life.
But she lands on Iliad's shores to find that her betrothed isn't the country's prince but the recently coronated Queen Salira.
Shocked, Amelia tries to make sense of her situation and her confused heart: Salira has awakened strange new feelings inside her, but something dark hides behind the queen's sorrowful eyes. Amelia must fight the demons of her own anxiety disorder before she can tackle her wife's, all while war looms on the horizon. -
Escaping Mr. Rochester
In this fresh reimagining of Charlotte Brontë's classic novel by acclaimed author L. L. McKinney, Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason must save each other from the horrifying machinations of Mr. Rochester in this intrigue-filled, empowering young adult romance.
Jane Eyre has no interest in a husband. Eager to make her own way in the world, she accepts the governess position at Thornfield Hall.
Though her new employer, Edward Rochester, has a charming air--not to mention a handsome face--Jane discovers that his smile can sharpen in an instant. Plagued by Edward's mercurial mood and the strange wails that echo through the corridors, Jane grows suspicious of the secrets hidden within Thornfield Hall--unaware of the true horrors lurking above her very head.
On the topmost floor, Bertha Mason is trapped in more ways than one. After her whirlwind marriage to Edward turned into a nightmare, he locked her away as revenge for withholding her inheritance. Now his patience grows thin in the face of Bertha's resilience and Jane's persistent questions, and both young women are in more danger than they realize.
When their only chance at safety--and perhaps something more--is in each other's arms, can they find and keep one another safe before Edward's dark machinations close in around them?
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Finally Fitz
A bisexual teen girl tries to make her ex jealous by faking an Instagram romance that leads to surprisingly real feelings in this hijinks-filled rom-com perfect for fans of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and She Gets the Girl.
Ava “Fitz” Fitzgerald has worked hard to create the picture-perfect life she’s always wanted. She spent her junior year transforming her passion for sustainable fashion and upcycling into a viral online platform, maintaining a 4.0 GPA, and spending every free second with her soon-to-graduate girlfriend, Danica. And this summer she plans to take it all to the next level by attending a prestigious summer fashion program in New York City and convincing Dani that they can survive a year of long distance.
But when Dani dumps her before classes even start, accusing Fitz of being more invested in growing her online persona than deepening their relationship, she’s left not only heartbroken, but also creatively blocked.
Fitz will do anything to win Dani back, even if that means taking a break from the platform that she’s worked so hard to build. But just as she decides to go all-in on a hiatus, a chance encounter reunites her with Levi Berkowitz, her childhood best friend that she hasn’t seen since elementary school. Levi is struggling with heartbreak of his own, and this cosmic coincidence sparks a new use for her social media savvy. Fitz offers to help Levi craft a fake relationship online to make his person jealous…if in return he can pretend to be her boyfriend in front of Dani to make her jealous. If all goes according to plan, by the end of the summer they’ll both be reunited with their perfect partners and get to rekindle their friendship in the process.
Sometimes even the most carefully designed plans can come apart at the seams, though. And when real history leads to not-so-fake feelings, Fitz will have to decide if she’s finally willing to let go of what she thought was picture-perfect and choose what might actually be right for her. -
The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky
Perfect for fans of Mark Oshiro and Adam Silvera comes a fiercely funny and hopeful story of one boy's attempts to keep everything under control while life has other plans.
Ever since cancer invaded his adoptive mother’s life, Brett feels like he’s losing everything, most of all control. To cope, Brett fuels all of his anxieties into epic fantasies, including his intergalactic Kid Condor comic book series, which features food constellations and characters not unlike those in his own life.
But lately Brett’s grip on reality has started to lose its hold. The fictions he’s been telling himself – about his unattractive body, the feeling that he’s a burden to his best friend, that he’s too messed up to be loved – have consumed him completely, and Brett will do anything to forget about the cosmic-sized hole in his chest, even if it's unhealthy.
But when Brett’s journal and deepest insecurities are posted online for the whole school to see, Brett realizes he can no longer avoid the painful truths of his real-life narrative. As his eating disorder escalates, Brett must be honest with the people closest to him, including his new and fierce friend Mallory who seems to know more about Brett’s issues than he does. With their support, he just might find the courage to face the toughest reality of all. -
Off with Their Heads
Fans of Chloe Gong and Judy I. Lin will devour this Korean-inspired Alice in Wonderland retelling about two very wicked girls, forever bonded by blood and betrayal . . .
In a world where Saints are monsters and Wonderland is the dark forest where they lurk, it's been five years since young witches and lovers Caro Rabbit and Iccadora Alice Sickle were both sentenced to that forest for a crime they didn't commit--and four years since they shattered one another's hearts, each willing to sacrifice the other for a chance at freedom.
Now, Caro is a successful royal Saint-harvester, living the high life in the glittering capital and pretending not to know of the twisted monster experiments that her beloved Red Queen hides deep in the bowels of the palace. But for Icca, the memory of Caro's betrayal has hardened her from timid girl to ruthless hunter. A hunter who will stop at nothing to exact her vengeance: On Caro. On the queen. On the throne itself.
But there's a secret about the Saints the Queen's been guarding, and a volatile magic at play even more dangerous to Icca and Caro than they are to each other...
Lush, terrifying, and uncanny, Zoe Hana Mikuta--author of Gearbreakers and Godslayers--takes a delicate knife straight through the heart of this beloved surrealist fairytale.
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Otherworldly
A sceptic and a supernatural creature get more than they bargain for when they make crossroads deal to save themselves. A perfect LGBT+ romantic fantasy for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Margaret Rogerson and Adam Silvera!
Ellery doesn't believe in magic. Sure, they've been stuck in a five-year winter, but there's got to be a scientific explanation for that. They're more concerned with working hard to send money back to the family farm than with whether there's a goddess out there who could put a stop to it.
Knox has been trapped in the human realm for years. In service to a powerful witch for a decade, Knox is finally freed when her crossroads deal meets its terms. But Knox isn't sure he wants to return to the Other World, especially since his queen seems to have abandoned him.
When a chance encounter finds Ellery coming to Knox's rescue, they're suddenly face to face with a (annoyingly attractive) guy who claims to be a supernatural familiar - something they definitely don't believe. But Ellery needs a way to stop the endless winter and save their family farm, and Knox needs a human who can tether him to their realm. A crossroads deal can't go wrong, can it?
Funny, subversive, romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author F. T. Lukens. Look out for So This is Ever After, In Deeper Waters and Spell Bound.
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Enciclopedia español para los estudiantes y educadores. Spanish encyclopedia for students and educators. Available through the Wisconsin BadgerLink project.
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