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Teen SRC – Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is about two boys that meet each other one night in a place you would never expect. They are both named Will Grayson and they have completely opposite lives. Their lives begin to intertwine as time goes on. This book is about friendship, love, and finding out who you are. Each chapter alternated between the perspectives of the Will Grayson.

This book was hard to get into since it was often confusing as to which Will Grayson was talking but as the book went by I began to enjoy it very much. The characters and stories in the book were very good and I as a reader felt captured in the story.

Teen SRC 2018- Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

This book has been on my to-read list for the longest time, but I never managed to find it Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Creekwood, #1)in the library-until TODAY! I was browsing the award winner shelves for teens and I found this blessed book! Honestly the whole time I was reading this book I felt like I was floating in a marshmallow-ey rainbow cloud of happiness. Seriously. 🙂 It left me with the hugest and most awesome-est smile plastered on my face. I couldn’t stop my fingers from flipping the crisp pages of this book. So, without further ado……let’s get on topic and actually talk about the book. So, a guy named Simon. That’s the main character, in case you hadn’t realized yet. 😛 Simon is gay. But not openly-yet. He’s been talking with a guy named Blue by email. He has no idea who Blue really is, but as their email get more flirtatious by the second, he’s getting desperate. But when his emails fall into wrong hands, Martin, the class clown, is blackmailing Simon into being his wingman-or else Simon’s sexuality and his emails to Blue will be revealed to the whole school. Things have gone even more complicated than they were before he found out he was gay. And obviously, we all know that’s a big no-no.Read More

Teen SRC 2018 – Meet Cute by (Multiple authors of teen books)

Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet

You’re probably wondering: So, who’s the real author? Well….I don’t really have an answer to that. This novel (or, not really) consists of multiple short stories written by: Julie Murphy, Katie Cotugno, Emery Lord, Nicola Yoon, Ibi Zoboi, Nina LaCour, and so many more fabulous authors! Honestly, I couldn’t find an accurate rating for this, so I used my calculator, and found the average. Literally. So: 4 out of 5. I guess I can’t really summarize this because it contains, like, 50 stories. But all of them are based on two people somehow meeting and falling in love. The End. But it shows a lot of LGBT+ stuff, so yeah. I would say it shows a great variety of……subjects?

Meet Cute

I actually loved them despite the shortness of them. Really. You would probably love it too! 🙂

Teen SRC 2018 – The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis

Image result for the art of blending inThe Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis

I knew it was going to be an emotional one but  the ending basically had me feeling at least 1000000000 things all at once which is RIDICULOUS, because we only have 5 senses. I spent the entire afternoon reading this and it really broke my heart. This book is brutal and devastating. If you can’t handle abuse and hard beatings, well, this book will not do well with you. Books like this hit me right in the heart, because the stuff that happens in this book happens every day in real life. It might be happening in your classmate’s, or your neighbours home, or your best friends home. It is a book about a boy named Evan who is gay. Like, straight-out. But his mother doesn’t take this information really well. In fact, she despises him for it. So the abuse continues.

This book slammed itself right into my arms. I’m not even kidding. When I was browsing the teen sections of the library, I found this book and decided not to read it. But after, however well I placed it, the book would continue falling off the shelves, so I was exasperated, and checked it out.

Teen SRC 2018 – The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Image result for the hate u give by angie thomas

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This book is a MUST-READ for anyone. I recommended it to my friend, and she said that she bought a copy from Indigo. The last time I saw her book, it was all worn out. I really loved Starr, the protagonist of the novel, because she seemed so resilient, authentic, and everything I want to be. I can (almost) assure you that you’ll end up falling head over heels for this magnificent binder of pages in which we call a book. Angie Thomas writes in such a powerful voice- a voice that will be heard and listened to through Canada to the US, from Japan to Africa.

I really recommend this book to everyone who wants to make a difference in the world. I know I haven’t told you much about the book, but I really don’t know how without spoiling it!

 

Teen SRC 2018 – Before We Go Extinct by Karen Rivers

Image result for before we go extinctJ.C. was nicknamed Sharky by his best friend in highschool due to the extent of his obsession with sharks (he suddenly burst into tears of passion during his presentation on sharks). After Sharky’s best friend suddenly died from an accident that may have been his fault, he has been locking himself up in his room. Depressed, he spends his days watching documentaries on sharks and global warming… as well as texting his dead friend.

Hoping that a change of scenery will help, Sharky’s mom send him to live with his dad on a remote island in Canada, where he meets a girl that can show him how to get over his loss, and eventually fall in love again.

This novel has very touching content for those of us who’ve never experienced the loss of a friend or loved one like Sharky has. Throughtout the book, we get to see how Sharky changes from the impact of just this one girl. However, very little actually happens in the plot, as most of the story takes place in Sharky’s mind. If you prefer faster paced novels, I don’t think this would satisfy you.

 

RPL is Celebrating PRIDE with some awesome books!

To celebrate Pride this summer, we have put together a list of some truly awesome LGBTQ teen books. For the complete list, go here. But, here are some of our favourites:

Image result for simon vs the homo sapiens book cover

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Simon, who has not come out yet, has been emailing all summer with his pen-pal, but they have never met in real life. When a classmate discovers their emails, Simon is blackmailed into playing wing-man for him or else his sexual identity will be broadcast to everyone in the school.

 

 

 

Image result for georgia peaches and other forbidden fruit book cover

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown

Joanna lives in Atlanta and is a proud queer teen. But, when her father gets remarried and moves them to a small rural town in Georgia, Jo is asked to keep her sexuality a secret. Jo agrees and things are going great. That is, until she meets Mary. Jo has to choose between keeping her promise to her father and following her heart.

 

 

 

Image result for Beyond magenta book cover

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin

This book takes an honest look at the life, love and struggles of transgender teens. Author, Susan Kuklin, interviews six transgender or gender-neutral teens and asks them about their lives.

Teen SRC 2017 – The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Image result for the inexplicable logic of my life

Set in El Paso, Texas, this contemporary novel follows 17-year-old Salvador as life-changing events make him question everything he’s ever known. Haunted by his history, Sal is caught between his loving, adoptive gay Mexican-American father and the parents he never met, and he discovers he no longer knows who he really is. Along with his best friend, Samantha, Sal must confront issues of grief, loss, and faith.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life is engaging from start to finish, and a hard book to put down. Sáenz excels in creating characters that are both dynamic and believable. I became attached to these characters and their stories, and even days after I finished this book I could not help but think of them. This is a stunning novel by an outstanding author, and a truly heartwarming read.

Teen SRC 2017 – George by Alex Gino

Image result for george by alex ginoGeorge is a boy but inside of George, he knows that he is a GIRL. George wanted to keep his secret to himself but when his teacher, Mrs. Udell, announced that their class would be doing a play for Charlotte’s Web, George really wanted to play the part of Charlotte. George finds a bit of difficulty when his teacher said that he wasn’t allowed to play the part of Charlotte because he is a boy. Now George has to show Mrs. Udell and his classmate that George is a girl.

I rate this book a 5/5 because it shows that George really wanted to play the part of Charlotte and he kept trying and persuading. At the end, George didn’t really get his part. But his best friend Kelly was chosen to play Charlotte and she was nice enough to give the part to George.