On Shelves Now: EVERY FALLING STAR by Sungju Lee

336 p.
Ages: 13 and up

Every Falling Star, the first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, is the intense memoir of a North Korean boy named Sungju who is forced at age twelve to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains.

Sungju richly re-creates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, his “brothers”; to be hungry and to fear arrest, imprisonment, and even execution. This riveting memoir allows young readers to learn about other cultures where freedoms they take for granted do not exist.

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On Shelves Now: THE CAT KING OF HAVANA by Tom Crosshill

368 p.
Ages: 13 and up

When Rick Gutierrez—known as “That Cat Guy” at school—gets dumped on his sixteenth birthday for uploading cat videos from his bedroom instead of experiencing the real world, he realizes it’s time for a change. So Rick joins a salsa class...because of a girl, of course. Ana Cabrera is smart, friendly, and smooth on the dance floor. He might be half Cuban, but Rick dances like a drunk hippo. Desperate to impress Ana, he invites her to spend the summer in Havana. The official reason: learning to dance. The hidden agenda: romance under the palm trees.

Except Cuba isn’t all sun, salsa, and music. As Rick and Ana meet his family and investigate the reason why his mother left Cuba decades ago, they learn that politics isn’t just something that happens to other people. And when they find romance, it’s got sharp edges.

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On Shelves Now: THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN by Roshani Chokshi

352 p.
Ages: 13 and up

Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds friendship and warmth.

But Akaran has its own secrets - thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran's magic, Maya begins to suspect her life is in danger. When she ignores Amar's plea for patience, her discoveries put more than new love at risk - threatening the balance of all realms, human and Otherworldly.

Now, Maya must confront a secret that spans reincarnated lives and fight her way through the dangerous underbelly of the Otherworld if she wants to protect the people she loves.

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On Shelves Now: NAT TURNER by Kyle Baker

208 p.
Ages: 13 and up

The story of Nat Turner and his slave rebellion—which began on August 21, 1831, in Southampton County, Virginia—is known among school children and adults. To some he is a hero, a symbol of Black resistance and a precursor to the civil rights movement; to others he is monster—a murderer whose name is never uttered. In Nat Turner, acclaimed author and illustrator Kyle Baker depicts the evils of slavery in this moving and historically accurate story of Nat Turner’s slave rebellion. Told nearly wordlessly, every image resonates with the reader as the brutal story unfolds.

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On Shelves Now: THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY by Cat Winters

352 p.
Publisher: Amulet Books
Ages: 13 and up

1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather.

The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night.

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On Shelves Now: CINNAMON GIRL: letters found inside a cereal box by Juan Felipe Herrera

176 p.
Publisher: HarperTeen
Ages:13 and up

When the Twin Towers fell, New York City was blanketed by dust. On the Lower East Side, Yolanda, the cinnamon girl, makes her manda, her promise. She vows to gather as much of the dust as she can. Maybe if she can return it to Ground Zero, she can comfort all the voices. Maybe that will help Uncle DJ open his eyes again. As tragedies from her past mix in the air of an unthinkable present, Yolanda searches for hope. Maybe it’s buried somewhere in the silvery dust of Alphabet City.

Amazon | B & N | Book Depository | Harpercollins | IndieBound

On Shelves Now: KING by Ellen Oh

288 p.
Publisher: Harper Teen
Ages: 13 and up

Girl warrior, demon slayer, Tiger spirit of the Yellow Eyes—Kira is ready for her final quest. In this thrilling finale to the Prophecy trilogy, fans will get even more of the fierce Kira and her quest to save her kingdom!

All eyes are on her. Kira, once an outcast in her home village of Hansong, is now the only one with the power to save her kingdom. She must save her cousin, the boy fated to be the future king, uncover the third lost treasure, and face innumerable enemies in order to fulfill the famed prophecy.

Kira braves a sea of tigers and battles armies of demons as she musters her inner strength and learns to trust herself, the romantic feelings for Jaewon that are growing within her, and the destiny that must be hers.

On Shelves Now: THIS SIDE OF HOME by Renee Watson

336 p.
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Ages: 13 and up

Identical twins Nikki and Maya have been on the same page for everything--friends, school, boys and wanting to attend a historically African-American college. But as their neighborhood goes from rough-and-tumble to up-and-coming, suddenly filled with pretty coffee shops and boutiques, Nikki is thrilled while Maya feels like their home is slipping away. Suddenly, the sisters who had always shared everything must confront their different feelings on class, race, and their evolving neighborhood as they try to figure out whether growing up must mean growing apart.

In her timely YA debut, Renee Watson brings to life the issues teens face every day as they try to reconcile their personal expectations and traditions with those of their culture and community.

On Shelves Now: HOLLOWGIRL by Sean Williams

512 p.
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Ages: 13 and up

Clair’s world has been destroyed—again. The only remaining hope of saving her friends is for her and Q to enter the Yard, a digital world of Ant Wallace’s creation, where Lawmaker Kingdon reigns supreme. The rules there are the same as those of the real world: water is real; fire is real; death is real. It all looks exactly the same as the world she used to know. But in the Yard there are two Clair Hills, and their very existence causes cracks that steadily widen.

Getting inside is the easy part. Once there, she has to earn the trust of her friends, including the girl who started it all—her best friend, Libby. But they don’t know what’s happened to the real world, and the other Clair is headstrong, impulsive, suspicious—just like Clair herself used to be. And that makes her dangerous.

As Clair struggles to find Jesse and make peace with herself, a surprising new ally emerges from the ashes of the world. Together they fight their way through the digital and political minefield in the hope of saving the world once and for all. This time Clair has to get it right...or lose everything.

On Shelves Now: MONSTER: A GRAPHIC NOVEL by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile

160 p.
Publisher: Amistad
Ages: 13 and up

Monster is a multi-award-winning, provocative coming-of-age story about Steve Harmon, a teenager awaiting trial for a murder and robbery. As Steve acclimates to juvenile detention and goes to trial, he envisions the ordeal as a movie. Monster was the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award recipient, an ALA Best Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor selection, and a National Book Award finalist.

Now Monster has been adapted into a graphic novel by Guy A. Sims, with stunning black-and-white art from Dawud Anyabwile, Guy’s brother.

Fans of Monster—and even kids who think they don’t like to read-—and of Walter alike will devour this graphic adaptation, which is being published simultaneously in hardcover and paperback.

On Shelves Now: JUBA! by Walter Dean Myers

208 p.
Publisher: Amistad
Ages: 13 and up

My name is William Henry Lane, but when I dance, I call myself Master Juba, and people I know just call me Juba. Juba is a dance that black people do in the South. They say it comes from Africa. I don’t know about that, but most dancers in Five Points give themselves a stage name, so I settled on Juba. It has a nice ring to it.

This engaging historical novel is based on the true story of the meteoric rise of an immensely talented young black dancer who influenced today’s tap, jazz dance, and step. With meticulous and intensive research, Walter Dean Myers has brought to life Juba’s story.

On Shelves Now: LOCKDOWN by Walter Dean Myers

272 p.
Publisher: Amistad
Ages: 13 and up

I could do detention. Sitting there in the dark, trembling as the minutes slip by. It didn't make any difference how slow it went. I was locked in and the rest of the world was locked out. I couldn't touch them, but they couldn't touch me, either.

I was all right.

Lockdown explores an unlikely friendship between fourteen-year-old Progress inmate Reese and a man he meets through his work program at a local senior citizens' home. When Mr. Hooft is finally able to open up about his harrowing past, he gives Reese a way to reenvision his own future. Imbued with the realism and authenticity that have marked Myers's prolific writing career, this story questions how complicated it can be to separate right from wrong while struggling for survival.

On Shelves Now: SWEET WHISPERS, BROTHER RUSH by Virginia Hamilton

224 p.
Publisher: Amistad
Ages: 13 and up

Why had he come to her, with his dark secrets from a long-ago past? What was the purpose of their strange, haunting journeys back into her own childhood? Was it to help Dab, her retarded older brother, wracked with mysterious pain who sometimes took more care and love than Tree had to give? Was it for her mother, Vy, who loved them the best she knew how, but wasn't home enough to ease the terrible longing?

Whatever secrets his whispered message held, Tree knew she must follow. She must follow Brother Rush through the magic mirror, and find out the truth. About all of them.

On Shelves Now: ALL THE RIGHT STUFF by Walter Dean Myers

240 p.
Publisher: Amistad
Ages: 13 and up

How will Paul DuPree know who's on top of the social food chain? Or how people get ahead? Who makes the rules? Who needs to follow them?

Paul DuPree is working at a soup kitchen in Harlem the summer his father dies, just trying to get by. But Elijah, the soup man, won't stop talking about the social contract and asking Paul questions about heavy-duty things. As the talk of what-ifs turns into reality, Paul realizes the talk is about more than getting by-it's about taking charge of your life.

In one of his most thought-provoking novels to date, Myers weaves together political philosophy, basketball, and making soup in Harlem with the depth that continues to define his writing career.

On Shelves Now: DARIUS & TWIG by Walter Dean Myers

224 p.
Publisher: Amistad
Ages: 13 and up

Darius is a writer, struggling to find his own way with only his alter ego, Fury, a peregrine falcon, and Twig, his best friend, in his corner. Twig, a middle-distance runner, has the skills to make it but wants to dictate his own terms for success. He may be a winner on the track, but that doesn’t stop him from getting picked on. For these friends, money is tight, there are bullies and absent adults and, most disturbing, the notion that their Harlem life doesn’t have much to offer. They need to navigate their world: the thugs, the seamy side of sports, the uncertainty of their prospects. And they need to figure out how to grow up together, but apart.

This stellar, thought-provoking teen novel is the latest from highly acclaimed, award-winning author Walter Dean Myers.