Books for Teachers

The Alice network

Quinn, Kate,


"1947. Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her proper American family. Banished to Europe, Charlie heads to London, determined to find out what happened to her cousin Rose, who disappeared in France during the war. 1915. Eve Gardiner gets her chance to fight against the Germans when she's recruited as a spy in France. She's trained by Lili, code name Alice, who manages a network of secret agents. Thirty years later she is haunted by the betrayal that tore apart the Alice Network. When a young American barges into her life uttering a name Eve hasn't geard in decades, they are launched on a mission to find the truth."--Back cover.
Date Published:2017

"1947. Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her proper American family. Banished to Europe, Charlie heads to London, determined to find out what happened to her cousin Rose, who disappeared in France during the war. 1915. Eve Gardiner gets her chance to fight against the Germans when she's recruited as a spy in France. She's trained by Lili, code name Alice, who manages a network of secret agents. Thirty years later she is haunted by the betrayal that tore apart the Alice Network. When a young American barges into her life uttering a name Eve hasn't geard in decades, they are launched on a mission to find the truth."--Back cover.

Date Published:2017

All the colors of the dark : a novel /

Whitaker, Chris,


Kirkus Starred, July 2024. Publishers Weekly Annex, June 2024. "1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges - Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.
Date Published:2024

Kirkus Starred, July 2024. Publishers Weekly Annex, June 2024. "1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges - Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.

Date Published:2024

Americanah

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, 1977-,


Translated from the English. "A young woman from Nigeria leaves behind her home and her first love to start a new life in America, only to find her dreams are not all she expected"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2023

Anita de Monte laughs last

Gonzalez, Xochitl, 1977-,


Booklist starred, March 2024. Pub Weekly, November 2023. Kirkus Starred, December 2023. Library Journal web only, March 2024. "1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town--until it isn't. By 1998 Anita's name has been all but forgotten, and certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student, is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret. But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita's story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2024

Booklist starred, March 2024. Pub Weekly, November 2023. Kirkus Starred, December 2023. Library Journal web only, March 2024. "1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town--until it isn't. By 1998 Anita's name has been all but forgotten, and certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student, is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret. But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita's story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2024

The anxious generation : how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness /

Haidt, Jonathan,


The surge of suffering -- What children need to do in childhood -- Discover mode and the need for risky play -- Puberty and the blocked transition to adulthood -- The four foundational harms: social deprivation, sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, and addiction -- Why social media harms girls more than boys -- What is happening to boys? -- Spiritual elevation and degradation -- Preparing for collective action -- What governments and tech companies can do now -- What schools can do now -- What parents can do now -- Bring childhood back to Earth. Booklist, March 2024. New York Times, April 2024. An investigation into the collapse of youth mental health, and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood. Social psychologist Jonathon Haidt explores how the rise of the "phone-based childhood" has coincided with the rise in rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide in children. He explains how the increase in technology use by children interferes with social and neurlogical development, and proposes four simple rules that might help to stop the epidemic of mental illness in children and restore a more humane childhood.
Date Published:2024

The surge of suffering -- What children need to do in childhood -- Discover mode and the need for risky play -- Puberty and the blocked transition to adulthood -- The four foundational harms: social deprivation, sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, and addiction -- Why social media harms girls more than boys -- What is happening to boys? -- Spiritual elevation and degradation -- Preparing for collective action -- What governments and tech companies can do now -- What schools can do now -- What parents can do now -- Bring childhood back to Earth. Booklist, March 2024. New York Times, April 2024. An investigation into the collapse of youth mental health, and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood. Social psychologist Jonathon Haidt explores how the rise of the "phone-based childhood" has coincided with the rise in rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide in children. He explains how the increase in technology use by children interferes with social and neurlogical development, and proposes four simple rules that might help to stop the epidemic of mental illness in children and restore a more humane childhood.

Date Published:2024

Apples never fall : a novel /

Moriarty, Liane,


"A novel that looks at marriage, sibling rivalry, and the lies we tell others and ourselves"--
Date Published:2021

Assassin's masque : being a true and accurate account of the further adventures of Margaret Preston Fitzroy, maid of honor, cardsharper, housebreaker, forger, thief of private correspondence, sometime conspirator, and confidential agent at the Court of His Majesty, King George I /

Zettel, Sarah,


Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.), December 2015. Kirkus Review, October 2015. "In 1716 England, with the Jacobite uprising stalking ever closer to the throne, it's imperative that seventeen-year-old Peggy discover whom she can really trust. Can she save herself and the royal family, or is she doomed as a pawn in this most deadly game?"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2016

Babel : or, the necessity of violence : an arcane history of the Oxford translators' revolution /

Kuang, R. F., (Rebecca F.),


Library Journal, July 2022. Booklist starred, July 2022. Kirkus Starred, August 2022. New York Times, October 2022. A Chinese boy orphaned by cholera and raised in Britain is trained to work at Oxford's prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, the world's center for translation and magic through silver-working, where he must choose between competing loyalties.
Date Published:2022

The bad-ass librarians of Timbuktu : and their race to save the world's most precious manuscripts /

Hammer, Joshua, 1957-,


Map on endpapers. Library Journal, February 2016. Publisher's Weekly, January 2016. New York Times, May 2016. Kirkus Review, February 2016. "Describes how a group of Timbuktu librarians enacted a daring plan to smuggle the city's great collection of rare Islamic manuscripts away from the threat of destruction at the hands of Al Quaeda militants to the safety of southern Mali"--OCLC.
Date Published:2016

Black cake : a novel /

Wilkerson, Charmaine,


Library Journal Starred, February 2022. Booklist starred, January 2022. Pub Weekly, December 2021. Kirkus Review, February 2022. "In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett's death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The . . . journey Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child, challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their family, and themselves"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2022

Library Journal Starred, February 2022. Booklist starred, January 2022. Pub Weekly, December 2021. Kirkus Review, February 2022. "In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett's death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The . . . journey Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child, challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their family, and themselves"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2022

Bone of the bone : essays on America by a daughter of the working class, 2013-2024 /

Smarsh, Sarah,


Kirkus Starred, July 2024. Booklist, August 2024. Library Journal web only, October 2024. The author of Heartland returns with a collection of ... essays on class division, political fissures, gender inequality and more, reflecting on one of the most tumultuous decades in civic life, with a new introduction and previously unpublished work.
Date Published:2024

The city we became

Jemisin, N. K.,


Library Journal Starred, January 2020. Booklist starred, December 2019. Pub Weekly, January 2020. Kirkus Starred, December 2019. "Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York? She's got six. When a young man crosses the bridge into New York City, something changes. He doesn't remember who he is, where he's from, or even his own name. But he can feel the pulse of the city, can see its history, can access its magic. And he's not the only one. All across the boroughs, strange things are happening. Something is threatening to destroy the city and her six newborn avatars unless they cancome together and stop it once and for all"--Publisher provided.
Date Published:2020

Library Journal Starred, January 2020. Booklist starred, December 2019. Pub Weekly, January 2020. Kirkus Starred, December 2019. "Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York? She's got six. When a young man crosses the bridge into New York City, something changes. He doesn't remember who he is, where he's from, or even his own name. But he can feel the pulse of the city, can see its history, can access its magic. And he's not the only one. All across the boroughs, strange things are happening. Something is threatening to destroy the city and her six newborn avatars unless they cancome together and stop it once and for all"--Publisher provided.

Date Published:2020

Crying in H Mart : a memoir /

Zauner, Michelle,


Publishers Weekly, January 2021. Kirkus Starred, March 2021. Booklist, March 2021. New York Times, July 2021. "From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, . . . a . . . memoir about growing up Korean-American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity. In this . . . story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner . . . tells of growing up the only Asian-American kid at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her"--
Date Published:2021

Publishers Weekly, January 2021. Kirkus Starred, March 2021. Booklist, March 2021. New York Times, July 2021. "From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, . . . a . . . memoir about growing up Korean-American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity. In this . . . story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner . . . tells of growing up the only Asian-American kid at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her"--

Date Published:2021

Dear Edward : a novel /

Napolitano, Ann,


Library Journal, October 2019. Booklist starred, November 2019. Kirkus Review, November 2019. "One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them are a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured veteran returning from Afghanistan, a business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor. Edward's story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a part of himself has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery--one that will lead him to the answers of some of life's most profound questions: When you've lost everything, how do you find the strength to put one foot in front of the other? How do you learn to feel safe again? How do you find meaning in your life?"--Amazon.
Date Published:2020

Library Journal, October 2019. Booklist starred, November 2019. Kirkus Review, November 2019. "One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them are a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured veteran returning from Afghanistan, a business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor. Edward's story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a part of himself has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery--one that will lead him to the answers of some of life's most profound questions: When you've lost everything, how do you find the strength to put one foot in front of the other? How do you learn to feel safe again? How do you find meaning in your life?"--Amazon.

Date Published:2020

Eve : how the female body shaped human evolution /

Bohannon, Cat,


Booklist, January 2025. "Why do women live longer than men? Why do girls score better in every academic subject than boys until puberty, when suddenly their scores plummet? Is the female brain "wired differently?" These questions and common debates around scientific claims are thoughtfully examined in this adaptation perfect for young people. This brand-new adaptation is a friendly, funny, and engaging read. It explores teen-related topics such as mental health and the biology behind it, including insights on how adolescent brains are going through all kinds of changes, and shifting hormones"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2025

Booklist, January 2025. "Why do women live longer than men? Why do girls score better in every academic subject than boys until puberty, when suddenly their scores plummet? Is the female brain "wired differently?" These questions and common debates around scientific claims are thoughtfully examined in this adaptation perfect for young people. This brand-new adaptation is a friendly, funny, and engaging read. It explores teen-related topics such as mental health and the biology behind it, including insights on how adolescent brains are going through all kinds of changes, and shifting hormones"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2025

Family lore : a novel /

Acevedo, Elizabeth,


Publishers Weekly, June 2023. Booklist, June 2023. New York Times, October 2023. "Sisters Matilde, Pastora, Camila, and Flor thought they knew each other well, until Flor--inspired by a documentary her daughter Ona made her watch--decides she wants a living wake, a party to bring her family and community together and celebrate the long life she's led, while she's still around to enjoy it. She's not ill, as far as anybody knows, but Flor does have a gift: she can predict, to the day, when someone will die. Has she foreseen her own death, or someone else's, or does she have other motives? She refuses to say. But Flor isn't the only person with secrets. Matilde has tried for decades to cover the extent of her husband's infidelity, but she now must confront the true state of her marriage. Pastora is typically the most reserved sister, but Flor's wake motivates this driven woman to attempt to solve her sibling's problems. And the next generation, cousins Ona and Yadi, face tumult of their own: Yadi, reuniting with her first love, who was imprisoned when they were both still kids; and Ona, married for years and attempting to conceive. Ona must decide whether it's worth it to keep trying--in having a child, and in the anthropology research that's begun to feel lackluster. Spanning the three days prior to the wake, Family Lore traces the lives of each of the Marte women, weaving together past and present, the Dominican Republic and New York City"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2023

Publishers Weekly, June 2023. Booklist, June 2023. New York Times, October 2023. "Sisters Matilde, Pastora, Camila, and Flor thought they knew each other well, until Flor--inspired by a documentary her daughter Ona made her watch--decides she wants a living wake, a party to bring her family and community together and celebrate the long life she's led, while she's still around to enjoy it. She's not ill, as far as anybody knows, but Flor does have a gift: she can predict, to the day, when someone will die. Has she foreseen her own death, or someone else's, or does she have other motives? She refuses to say. But Flor isn't the only person with secrets. Matilde has tried for decades to cover the extent of her husband's infidelity, but she now must confront the true state of her marriage. Pastora is typically the most reserved sister, but Flor's wake motivates this driven woman to attempt to solve her sibling's problems. And the next generation, cousins Ona and Yadi, face tumult of their own: Yadi, reuniting with her first love, who was imprisoned when they were both still kids; and Ona, married for years and attempting to conceive. Ona must decide whether it's worth it to keep trying--in having a child, and in the anthropology research that's begun to feel lackluster. Spanning the three days prior to the wake, Family Lore traces the lives of each of the Marte women, weaving together past and present, the Dominican Republic and New York City"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2023

Ghostroots : stories /

Aguda, 'Pemi,


Library Journal, April 2024. New York Times, June 2024. Publishers Weekly Annex, August 2024. A debut collection of stories set in a hauntingly reimagined Lagos where characters vie for freedom from ances.
Date Published:2024

The great alone

Hannah, Kristin,


Pub Weekly, October 2017. Booklist, November 2017. Kirkus Starred, November 2017. "Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America's last true frontier. At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt's fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night ... there is no one to save them but themselves."--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2018

Pub Weekly, October 2017. Booklist, November 2017. Kirkus Starred, November 2017. "Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America's last true frontier. At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt's fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night ... there is no one to save them but themselves."--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2018

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

McBride, James, 1957-,


Library Journal Starred, July 2023. Booklist starred, May 2023. Pub Weekly, June 2023. Kirkus Starred, June 2023. New York Times, August 2023. "In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe's theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2023

Library Journal Starred, July 2023. Booklist starred, May 2023. Pub Weekly, June 2023. Kirkus Starred, June 2023. New York Times, August 2023. "In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe's theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2023

Hick : the trailblazing journalist who captured Eleanor Roosevelt's heart /

Miller, Sarah, 1979-,


School Library Journal starred, April 2025. Horn Book Starred, July 2025. Booklist, April 2025. Kirkus Review, April 2025. Publishers Weekly Annex, May 2025. "Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, this riveting YA traces Lorena Hickok--or Hick's--rise from devastating childhood to renowned journalist, and follows the most significant friendship and romantic relationship of her life with first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2025

School Library Journal starred, April 2025. Horn Book Starred, July 2025. Booklist, April 2025. Kirkus Review, April 2025. Publishers Weekly Annex, May 2025. "Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, this riveting YA traces Lorena Hickok--or Hick's--rise from devastating childhood to renowned journalist, and follows the most significant friendship and romantic relationship of her life with first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2025