New Books Buzz

Kiki Strike: The Empress’s Tomb by Kirsten Miller

The follow up to the fabulous Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City, Ananka Fishbein and her gang of girl detectives sleuth out a new mystery beneath the streets of New York. This offering is every bit as clever and fun as the first.

The Unspoken by Thomas Fahy

In this chilling story of a cult’s aftermath, a group of kids who escaped years earlier now fear that horrible predictions made by the cult’s leader are coming true.

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Described to me by readers as a Gossip Girl novel set in the late 1800’s, I haven’t heard from anyone yet who hasn’t loved it!

For a complete list of what is new in the Teen section from the last month, click here.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Seventeen year old Aislinn has always been able to see the faerie realm and has carefully followed the rules that her grandmother has told her must accompany her sight. The most important of these is that she must never, ever let the faeries know that she can see them.

So, she is angry and scared when she finds herself being stalked by the Summer King, a powerful member of the court fey. She enlists the help of her (maybe more than) friend Seth, whose boxcar house provides a needed metal barrier unable to be breached by faeries. Together, they must find out what the Summer King wants, and how Aislinn can escape him.

This urban fantasy is fast moving and suspenseful, with a healthy dose of romance and plenty of action. Fans of Holly Black may like this one, and I’ve heard from several fans of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series who have also given it their stamps of approval.

Slam! by Nick Hornby

Sam is the sixteen year old son of a mom who had him when she was still in her teens. He’s a nice guy, a good artist, and is a skater. Lately, he has taken to confessing his secrets to a poster of Tony Hawk that hangs in his bedroom. Unexpectedly, he meets Alicia and falls hard for her. They hang out incessantly for a short time, but then their interest in each other wanes. When Alicia contacts him after they’ve broken up to tell him that she is pregnant, he is terrified and hasn’t the first idea of what to do. Not even Tony Hawk seems to have any good advice for him. Then, in a twist, Sam wakes up one day and finds that everything has changed and that the future has arrived — he has decisions he has to make.

 Hornby has written several books for adults, including High Fidelity (which was made into a movie with John Cusack and Jack Black) and About a Boy. This is his first for teens, and with Sam, he’s created a funny, thoughtful, and smart character.