Get your library card handy and reserve your place in line for these new August releases! If you place a hold now, they can be in your hands before they even hit the shelf.

Please note: all summaries are taken from the Boston Public Library catalog unless otherwise noted. They may have been edited for length and clarity.

Miles Morales by Jason Reynolds

Summary: Brooklyn Visions Academy student Miles Morales may not always want to be a super hero, but he must come to terms with his identity–and deal with a villainous teacher–as the new Spider Man.

Why We’re Excited: Jason Reynolds. Miles Morales, aka the version of Spider-Man (alongside Spider-Gwen) that I most hope to someday seen on a big screen. Did anyone else catch the quick hint in the most recent Spider-Man movie that Miles Morales may be coming to the Avengers universe soon? Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for a film with a writer as good as this book’s!

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Summary: Diana, Princess of the Amazons, journeys to the World of Man in this coming-of-age young adult story.

Why We’re Excited: While we’re on the subject of movie tie-ins with amazing authors — LEIGH BARDUGO (author of the wildly popular Grisha trilogy and the Six of Crows duology) is writing Wonder Woman. The quality of authors writing media tie-ins has increased exponentially since I was a kid reading Star Trek books…

Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney Stevens

Summary: As the tomboy daughter of the town’s preacher, Billie McCaffrey has always struggled with fitting the mold of what everyone says she should be. She’d rather wear sweats, build furniture, and get into trouble with her solid group of friends: Woods, Mash, Davey, Fifty, and Janie Lee. But when Janie Lee confesses to Billie that she’s in love with Woods, Billie’s filled with a nagging sadness as she realizes that she is also in love with Woods… and maybe with Janie Lee, too. Always considered “one of the guys,” Billie doesn’t want anyone slapping a label on her sexuality before she can understand it herself. So she keeps her conflicting feelings to herself, for fear of ruining the group dynamic. Except it’s not just about keeping the peace, it’s about understanding love on her terms–this thing that has always been defined as a boy and a girl falling in love and living happily ever after. For Billie–a box-defying dynamo–it’s not that simple.

Why We’re Excited: A book about sexual (and maybe gender?) fluidity, set in a small town, that acknowledges the powerful and positive role that religion can have in teens’ lives? Featuring a group of friends who love and support each other even if they don’t always get it right? Yes please, sign me up.

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

Summary: Suzette returns home to Los Angeles from boarding school and grapples with her bisexual identity when she and her brother Lionel fall in love with the same girl, pushing Lionel’s bipolar disorder to spin out of control and forcing Suzette to confront her own demons.

Why We’re Excited: This book has been on my radar for a while now — there’s a shortage of books with a nuanced depiction of bipolar disorder, and Pointe, Brandy Colbert’s previous book, makes me think that she’ll get it right. I haven’t read Little & Lion yet myself, but I’ve seen it recommended as good representation by reviewers I trust.

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee

Summary: The struggle to get into a top-tier college consumes sixteen-year-old Genie’s every waking thought. But when she discovers she’s a celestial spirit who’s powerful enough to bash through the gates of heaven with her fists, her perfectionist existence is shattered. Enter Quentin, a transfer student from China whose tone-deaf assertiveness beguiles Genie to the brink of madness. Quentin nurtures Genie’s outrageous transformation–sometimes gently, sometimes aggressively–as her sleepy suburb in the Bay Area comes under siege from hell-spawn.

Why We’re Excited: Uhhhh, so many reasons. I’ve been low-key obsessed with the Monkey King ever since I read the Dragon of the Lost Sea books (I’m gonna keep recommending them until you all read them, just FYI) back in the ’90s. The struggle to get into a top-tier college also consumed my every waking thought when I was sixteen, so I can definitely relate to Genie. And defending the Bay Area from demons??? Every aspect of this book sounds amazing.

Did I get you interested in reading one of these books? Just click the title of the one you want and the link will take you to the relevant page in the catalog. From there you can click the green “Place a Hold” button and you’re all set!

Need a library card? Wondering how long you can borrow a book? Borrowing and Circulation information can be found here.

*”On the Radar” features book previews by Veronica, the Teen Librarian at the Dudley Branch, on the last Tuesday or Friday of every month.

**Written by Teen Central’s Teen Tech Mentors, Khalid M & Khalid I**

So, in the beginning of January, our boss Ally and Children’s Librarian Maggie told us that we would be co-leading a Tween Time project. Tween Time is a joint program between the Children’s department and Teen department for older kids, between the ages of 9-12. They get to participate in various Lab activities. The premise of this project was to make a 90 second book trailer modeled after the 90-Second Newbery Award trailers about a book of the tweens’ choosing. We had narrowed down options to Frog and Toad, The Lion and the Mouse, and Finding Winnie. The tweens chose Finding Winnie as their new movie project.

The entire team was – Ally (Youth Technology Librarian), Maggie (Children’s Librarian), Khalid I. and Khalid M. (Teen Tech Mentors), tweens Julia, Lyla, Bella, Owen, Abel, Bethel, and Gus. To first start this project, we (mentors and tweens) had to get familiar with the picture book. Khalid and I read the book independently and then to the group. Afterwards, Maggie showed the tweens different Newbury trailers, and we discussed how each have a different theme. The next tween time, we asked the tweens to settle on a theme for the trailer, and the vote was split between an epic drama or an adventure. The tie was broken by Abel who changed his vote of fairy tale to epic drama. After settling on a trailer theme, we made a general outline of the story – plot points, characters, actions, etc. We wrote this on a white board and had tweens explain why one is important or not. The tweens then put plot points on sheets of paper, and we organized our  storyboard on the wall. We then had our scenes in their order, and our outline of characters on the board. We also assigned roles to everybody, such as Owen making the boat, Lyla making finger puppets, Bethel making Harry and the Hunter, etc. It was time to craft our sets, puppets, and pieces.

We printed pictures of the sets needed for each scene and got our supplies ready.  We taped the characters on to wooden sticks and used them for our scenes. We then also used string and marionettes to build other characters, such as a bear made through the ingenuity of Abel. We filmed all of the scenes we needed through Ally’s phone and we then put them into iMovie.  We recorded each scene and finished the filming process. We completed final edits to all of our film, added to the storyboards and presented our film to all of those involved in the making of this film.  After playing the complete video for the first time, we ran into issues with the audio and had to go back and embed the music into the scenes within iMovie.  We then began saving our final movie outside of iMovie.  

Khalid I: At the end of our first long-term program, we came out with a deeper understanding of iMovie and what it took to make and see a film through from beginning to end.  We learned how to complete a program through sequences, having to meet certain deadlines. And it was a lot of fun.

Khalid M: All in all, I found this venture to be a very enjoyable and challenging one. The main issue of this project was that it was supposed to be a six week one, ending in mid February. However, due to winter storm cancellations and gaps in attendance, the project was not done until mid-May. Other than that, it was a nice exercise in leadership and group management skills. The ingenuity of tweens making a storyboard, crafting puppets, and acting was very pleasant to work with. As a consequence, the final edition of the trailer was very enjoyable to watch.

After months of hard work, we are proud to finally reveal, Finding Winnie: The Movie by Khalid Films!

Yo yo yo it’s ya friend Ananda here back at you with some new info about the professional panel y’all missed. So today April 24th, a lovely woman by the name of Velma came to tell us about how we can be the next team of City Year members. Did you know that about eight hundred thousand students drop out of high school a year? City Year members aren’t mean and discriminating like we might have assumed in like 5th grade. They are actually committed members who are passionate about filling in that extra help for those students,who struggle in school, have behavioral issues, etc.  They are even starting to recruit members starting at 18 years old. The position is a 10 month commitment and opens up a world to networking. How exciting is that!  They coach you through how to be a leader as well as prepare you for the college experiences and the aftermath. This sounds like the best opportunity if I haven’t seen one already.

Hello my fellow teens, gamers, geeks, um… whoever you may be, it’s Jorge coming back to you with another program review! This time, we had a member from City Year come in and speak to us about her job and the experiences she and her peers had. During this presentation, we were given an overview of the job, including the story behind their uniform, the founder of City Year, and the activities they participate in as a group. The Teen Gaming Specialists along with the Teen Tech Mentors sat in a semi-circle with staff member, Velma, and watched a short film on the long-term goal of City Year, followed by our questions and her insight. City Year’s goal is to help foster academic achievement along with captivating activities such as field trips, group projects, and cooling time between classes. The deeds the staff members take part in include giving students help on school or personal matters, giving off an energetic vibe to anyone in the vicinity, and being an overall support system to students. When asked about pull factors of this organization, her reply was along the lines of knowing that unfortunate students need a helping hand, and that she wants to assist in making their road to adulthood as easy as possible. This is a perfect example of how City Year’s main focus is the achievement of young students and their well being.