Girls with Sharp Sticks

Girls with Sharp Sticks
Author: Suzanne Young
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2020-02-18
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1534426140

“Enough plot twists to give a reader whiplash.” —Cosmopolitan From New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young comes the start of a thrilling, subversive new series about a girls-only boarding school with a terrifying secret and the friends who will stop at nothing to protect each other. Some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns. The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardian, they receive a well-rounded education that promises to make them better. Obedient girls, free from arrogance or defiance. Free from troublesome opinions or individual interests. But the girls’ carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears. As Mena and her friends uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations Academy will learn to fight back. Bringing the trademark plot twists and high-octane drama that made The Program a bestselling and award-winning series, Suzanne Young launches a new series that confronts some of today’s most pressing ethical questions.

Girls with Razor Hearts

Girls with Razor Hearts
Author: Suzanne Young
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2020-03-17
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1534426167

It’s time to fight back in this second novel in a thrilling, subversive near future series from New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young about a girls-only private high school that is far more than it appears to be. Make me a girl with a razor heart… It’s been weeks since Mena and the other girls of Innovations Academy escaped their elite boarding school. Although traumatized by the violence and experimentations that occurred there, Mena quickly discovers that the outside world can be just as unwelcoming and cruel. With no one else to turn to, the girls only have each other—and the revenge-fueled desire to shut down the corporation that imprisoned them. The girls enroll in Ridgeview Prep, a private school with suspect connections to Innovations, to identify the son of an investor and take down the corporation from the inside. But with pressure from Leandra, who revealed herself to be a double-agent, and Winston Weeks, an academy investor gone rogue, Mena wonders if she and her friends are simply trading one form of control for another. Not to mention the woman who is quite literally invading Mena’s thoughts—a woman with extreme ideas that both frighten and intrigue Mena. And as the girls fight for freedom from their past—and freedom for the girls still at Innovations—they must also face new questions about their existence…and what it means to be girls with razor hearts.

Paper Hearts

Paper Hearts
Author: Meg Wiviott
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2016-09-06
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1481439847

Follows the story of two girls as they forge a powerful friendship that carries them through horrific circumstances at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Fawkes

Fawkes
Author: Nadine Brandes
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2018-07-10
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0785217355

Guy Fawkes’s son must join his father’s plot to kill the king in this magical retelling of the Gunpowder Plot that will sweep you back in time to a divided England where plagues turn victims to stone. In 17th-century London two forces rule the people: the color powers and the Stone Plague. Brown masks can manipulate wood. Black masks control the night. And red masks . . . Well, red is the color of blood. Thomas Fawkes’s Color Test is upon him, and he is sure his father, the infamous Guy Fawkes, will present him with a mask and Thomas will finally bond with a color. He desperately hopes for a gray mask so he can remove the stone that has invaded his body and will ultimately take his life. But when Guy refuses to give Thomas his mask or even his presence, Thomas has no place in school or society. His only hope is to track down his father and demand a mask to regain what he’s lost. But his father has other plans: to kill the king. Thomas must join forces with his father if he wants to save his own life. When his errands for the cause bring him time and again to Emma Areben, a former classmate, Thomas is exposed to a whole new brand of magic. And Emma doesn’t control just one color—she controls them all. Emma wants to show Thomas the full power of color magic, but it goes against everything his father is fighting for. If Thomas sides with his father, he could save his own life—which would destroy Emma and her family. To save one, he must sacrifice the other. No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back. Praise for Fawkes: “An imaginative, colorful tale about choosing for yourself between what's right and what others insist is the truth.” —Cynthia Hand, New York Times bestselling author of My Lady Jane “Hold on to your heart as this slow burning adventure quickly escalates into an explosion of magic, love, and the truth about loyalty.” —Mary Weber, bestselling author of the Storm Siren Trilogy and To Best the Boys Full-length young adult historical fantasy Includes discussion questions for book clubs Also by Nadine Brandes: Romanov and Wishtress, coming September 2022

All in Pieces

All in Pieces
Author: Suzanne Young
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2016-11-08
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1481418831

"A girl struggles to take care of her younger brother with special needs while confronting her own anger issues"--

Heart's Delight

Heart's Delight
Author: Per Nilsson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2005
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0689876777

As a sixteen-year-old looks at and systematically destroys each of his mementos of Ann-Kathrin, he replays scenes from their relationship and realizes that it was not the great romance he believed it to be.

The Adjustment

The Adjustment
Author: Suzanne Young
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2017-04-18
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1481471325

When Tatum's boyfriend, Weston, loses his memories of her in The Program, they decide to undergo The Adjustment, where Tatum's memories of their time together are implanted into Weston's mind, but trouble lies ahead when Weston's emotions do not match the experiences.

Witches of Ash and Ruin

Witches of Ash and Ruin
Author: E. Latimer
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 367
Release: 2020-03-03
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1368054315

Modern witchcraft blends with ancient Celtic mythology in an epic clash of witches and gods, perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab's Shades of Magic trilogy and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Seventeen-year-old Dayna Walsh is struggling to cope with her somatic OCD; the aftermath of being outed as bisexual in her conservative Irish town; and the return of her long-absent mother, who barely seems like a parent. But all that really matters to her is ascending and finally, finally becoming a full witch—plans that are complicated when another coven, rumored to have a sordid history with black magic, arrives in town with premonitions of death. Dayna immediately finds herself at odds with the bewitchingly frustrating Meiner King, the granddaughter of their coven leader. And then a witch turns up murdered at a local sacred site, along with the blood symbol of the Butcher of Manchester—an infamous serial killer whose trail has long gone cold. The killer's motives are enmeshed in a complex web of witches and gods, and Dayna and Meiner soon find themselves at the center of it all. If they don't stop the Butcher, one of them will be next.

Heart of Brass

Heart of Brass
Author: Kate Cross
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2012-05-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101585269

Arden is an undercover agent for one of the most powerful organizations of this steam powered world—the Wardens of the Realm—a group with extraordinary abilities, dedicated to protecting England against evil. Arden Grey enjoys a life most women in 1898 London can’t even dream of: She has the social status, wealth, and independence of a countess. She also has the ability to witness the final moments of a murder victim’s life. But ever since the disappearance of her husband, Lucas, none of this means anything to her. Until one night, when Arden spies a man watching her—a man she recognizes as her missing husband. He’s been ordered to assassinate Arden as retribution for her part in the killing of a Company agent. Luke remembers nothing of his life before the Company, a corrupt agency that has erased his memory. Even so, he can't seem to complete his assignment. There is something familiar about his lovely target, something that attracts him, and fills him with dread. For he knows that if he doesn’t kill her, someone else will—and kill him as well.

September Girls

September Girls
Author: Bennett Madison
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2013-05-21
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0062201298

September Girls is a stunning coming-of-age novel about first loves, oblivious parents, sibling rivalries—and mermaids. This imaginative and painfully honest book garnered five starred reviews, including one from ALA Booklist that proclaimed it "a rare and lovely novel, deserving of attention from discriminating readers." Whisked away by his father to an unusual beach town in the Outer Banks, Sam finds himself having the summer vacation most guys dream of. He's surrounded by beautiful blonde girls, and, better yet, they all seem inexplicably attracted to him. But there's definitely something strange about the Girls. They only wear flats because heels make their feet bleed. They never go swimming in the water. And they all want something from him. Sam falls for one of the Girls, DeeDee, and begins an unexpected summer romance. But as they get closer, she pulls away without explanation. Sam knows that if he is going to win her back, he'll have to learn the Girls' secret. Bennett Madison, critically acclaimed author of The Blonde of the Joke, brings a mix of lyrical writing, psychologically complex characters, and sardonic humor to this young adult novel. September Girls is perfect for fans of the irreverent wit of Ned Vizzini and the seductive magic of fairy tales retold.