Formidable Females in Teen Fiction

In 1836 Wisconsin, Catalina's determination to keep her family alive is tested when a bark-covered man abducts her brother, prompting her to delve into a world of strange beasts and tormented spirits as she uncovers the deep-rooted connection between her fate and the Man of Sap.

1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings. Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom's turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king's latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative...

"In the old tales, it is written that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds within it the power to undo a person's greatest sorrow. But as with all things that offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning. Every wish demands a price. Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that...

2003: the US has officially declared war on Iraq, and the American political world has evolved. Hate crimes are on the rise, FBI agents are infiltrating local mosques, and the Muslim community is harassed and targeted more than ever. Shadi, who wears hijab, keeps her head down. Her brother is dead, her father is dying, her mother is falling apart, and her best friend has dropped out of her life. And her heart is broken. Shadi devours her own pain,...

Soraya is a princess who has been cursed to be poisonous to the touch, and she is forced to live a life in isolation. Her twin brother is getting married, and she must decide if she will step out of the shadows and into the light. Locked in a dungeon below the castle, lurks a demon with the answers she seeks, but Soraya soon learns that the price of her freedom may be more than she is willing to pay.

"Magic is forbidden throughout the Morning Realms. Magicians are called abomination, and blamed for the plague of monsters that razed the land twenty years before. Jin Zhara already had enough to worry about--appease her stepmother's cruel whims, looking after her blind younger sister, and keeping her own magical gifts under control--without having to deal with rumors of monsters re-emerging in the marsh. But when a chance encounter with an easily...

Seventeen-year-old Blaze, a Rain Singer, endeavors to master her powers as she competes in a series of deadly trials that decide the future rulers of the four elemental kingdoms.

"In Thanopolis, those precious few gifted with magic are assigned undead spirits who guard them--and closely control them. Ever since Rovan's father died trying to keep her from this fate, Rovan has hidden her magic. But when she accidentally reveals her powers to save a life, she's bound to one of the undead and thrust into a world of palace intrigue and deception."--From front jacket flap.

"To get what they want most, Zara and Jude search for Emer, an orphaned witch with dark and deadly powers, but when a serial killer targets Emer's clients, the three girls form an uneasy alliance to hunt the killer before they meet the same fate"--Provided by publisher.

A FINALIST FOR THE 2025 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

SIX STARRED REVIEWS

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her groundbreaking contemporary fantasy debut—a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore—about the power of inherited magic and the price we must pay to live the life we yearn

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