Tis the Season: Wintry Reads for Teens

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America's Test Kitchen Kids

Are you ready to level up your kitchen game? Learn how to make the perfect egg and cheese breakfast sandwich before school and fluffy stick buns on the weekend. Impress your friends and family with hearty grain bowls or amped-up ramen for lunch and hand-pulled noodles or sliders and french fries for dinner.

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Bashardoust, Melissa

Sixteen-year-old Mina is motherless, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone—has never beat at all, in fact, but she’d always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king’s heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she’ll have to become a stepmother.

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Brody, Jessica

Ryn, eighteen, trapped by a massive blizzard in the Denver airport, meets some unique characters who help her cope with survivor's guilt on the first anniversary of her best friend's death.

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Cab

Nothing's rougher than a Canadian winter . . . except maybe one that never ends! It's been nine years since an accident at a nuclear power plant plunged Montreal into an eternal winter; the city is now blanketed 365 days a year in radioactive snow. But life goes on for folks like Flavie Beaumont, a mail courier on snowmobile who's carved out a pretty normal life for herself, despite mutant crushes, eclectic urban fauna, and unrelenting meteorological events of unprecedented force. It turns out surviving nuclear winter is hard . . . but it's possible surviving your twenties is even harder! Cartoonist Caroline Breault delivers a comedic slice-of-life adventure series in Nuclear Winter.

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Cashore, Kristin

Queen Bitterblue of Monsea must head to the nation of Winterkeep after her envoys drown in suspicious circumstances, and somewhere there, Lovisa Cavenda waits and watches while tragedy with devastating political and personal ramification strikes.

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Chupeco, Rin

Generations of twin goddesses ruled Aeon-- until one sister's betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun. While one sister rules Aranth, a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea, her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister's betrayal. Now shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking. The two-- along with a healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger-- set out on separate journeys, desperate to heal their broken world.

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Del Rosario, Juleah

After her mother died a few years ago, Rowena and her sister, Ariana, drifted into their own corners of the world, each figuring out in their own separate ways how to exist in a world in which their mother is no longer alive. When Ariana disappears-- at night, in the middle of a snowstorm-- Row is left to piece together the mystery behind where Ariana went and why. And she comes to realize that she might be part of the reason Ariana is gone.

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Emond, Stephen

Evan and Lucy, childhood best friends who grew apart after years of seeing one another only during Christmas break, begin a romance at age seventeen but his choice to mindlessly follow his father's plans for an Ivy League education rather than becoming the cartoonist he longs to be, and her more destructive choices in the wake of family problems, pull them apart.

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Fawcett, Heather

Kamzin has always dreamed of becoming one of the Emperor's royal explorers, the elite climbers tasked with mapping the wintry, mountainous Empire and spying on its enemies. She knows she could be the best in the world, if only someone would give her a chance.

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Forest, Kristina

The story of how a cynic and a hopeless romantic become friends, fall in love, and break up unfolds from their different perspectives.

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Gladwin, Laura (editor)

This joyful collection of recipes, crafts, and activities celebrates holidays around the world.

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Green, John, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

In three intertwining short stories, several high school couples experience the trials and tribulations along with the joys of romance during a Christmas Eve snowstorm in a small town.

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Kiely, Brendan

Managing the challenges of his fractured family by taking Adderall, sneaking drinks, and confiding in an abusive priest, Aidan finds support from new friends including a crush, a wild girl, and a swim-team captain with his own secrets.

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Lanning, Andy

Spanning across time, continents, and DC comics titles, a cold new threat arises at the former site of the Fortress of Solitude! 1000 years ago, a disparate group of heroes - Hippolyta, Black Adam, Swamp Thing and the Viking Prince - banded together to prevent the world from freezing at the hands of the Frost King, an exiled Norse god with the ability to control entire ecosystems. The heroes triumphed, but victory came at a terrible price, one that has been kept secret until now. When the Justice League discovers an extinction-level storm at the former site of Superman's Fortress of Solitude, their search for answers will put them in direct conflict with the Frost King, an ancient entity who wields great power and an army of loyal soldiers. What does he want? And what's his tie to some of the oldest heroes in the DC Universe?

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Latta, Amy

Have a blast while you learn to draw tons of sweet and whimsical objects with this all-in-one guide. Meet your doodle coach, Amy Latta--a bestselling lettering author and workshop instructor who is beloved for her practical, encouraging, "anyone can do it" approach to teaching art. With this workbook, learn how to personalize handmade cards, amp up your favorite notebook or simply unwind with some mindful drawing, either on your own paper or right onto the book's sketch-friendly pages. Blank practice spaces are provided throughout so you can doodle as you go! The best part of these charming designs is that they are within reach of beginner artists, including kids. Amy's friendly encouragement and straightforward instructions break down each drawing into simple shapes, so doodlers of all ages and talents can let their creativity flow! Ink and color hundreds of everyday objects, covering a wide range of popular topics.

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Lim, Annalees

Presents craft projects for winter, including a pine tree diorama, a pine cone bird feeder, and a mobile made from ice.

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Lo, Malinda

Seventeen-year-olds Kaede and Taisin are called to go on a dangerous and unprecedented journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen, in an effort to restore the balance of nature in the human world.

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McDowell, Kara

Seventeen-year-old Paige suffers from a paralyzing fear of making the wrong decision, so when presented with the choice between two life-long dreams Paige is forced to face the truth about her struggle with anxiety.

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Paige, D. M.

Seventeen-year-old Snow escapes a mental hospital by racing into the woods where she finds herself in icy Algid--her true home--with witches, thieves, an alluring boy named Kai, and she discovers her royal lineage.

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Pullman, Philip

Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North.

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Rufener, Brenda

When Aggi Frank and Max Granger finally admitted their feelings for each other last December, it felt like love was beautiful and endless . . . until it wasn't. A fatal car accident involving their older siblings throws their lives into sudden chaos. And with a restraining order now in place between the two bitter households, Aggi and Max's love runs cold. Being together again seems like a distant fantasy, even though they share the same driveway. Still, Plum Lake is a small town, and staying apart can't last forever. Aggi and Max eventually reunite at a lake-house party and break the ice after a year of silence. But just as they begin to rebuild their relationship, the unthinkable happens, leading them to confront each other and their families in the hope of mending the broken pieces.

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Silverman, Laura

Shoshanna Greenburg loves her job at the bookstore, Once Upon, until Jake Kaplan joins the staff, a handsome non-reader who challenges her for a bonus she needs.

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Thompson, Craig

Loosely based on the author's life, chronicling his journey from childhood to adulthood, exploring the people, experiences, and beliefs that he encountered along the way.

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Ukazu, Ngozi

Eric Bittle may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It is nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all? There's checking (anything that hinders the player with possession of the puck, ranging from a stick check all the way to a physical sweep). And then, there is Jack-- his very attractive but moody captain.

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Vitkus, Jessica

An energetic, informative, and inspiring exploration of craftivism --the intersection of art and activism--throughout American history, with particular focus on the present day.

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Walden, Tillie

Ignatz Award winner Tillie Walden's powerful graphic memoir captures what it's like to come of age, come out, and come to terms with leaving behind everything you used to know. It was the same every morning. Wake up, grab the ice skates, and head to the rink while the world was still dark. Weekends were spent in glitter and tights at competitions. Perform. Smile. And do it again. She was good. She won. And she hated it. For ten years, figure skating was Tillie Walden's life. She woke before dawn for morning lessons, went straight to group practice after school, and spent weekends competing at ice rinks across the state. Skating was a central piece of her identity, her safe haven from the stress of school, bullies, and family. But as she switched schools, got into art, and fell in love with her first girlfriend, she began to question how the close-minded world of figure skating fit in with the rest of her life, and whether all the work was worth it given the reality: that she, and her friends on the team, were nowhere close to Olympic hopefuls. The more Tillie thought about it, the more Tillie realized she'd outgrown her passion--and she finally needed to find her own voice.

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Whalen, Dan

While contemplating a traditional s’more, mad genius Dan Whalen, the recipe creator behind Tots!, asked a tasty question: What would happen if you kept the essential s’mores architecture—three layers of gooey, melty, and crunchy—but changed it up? The result? More than 50 playful, irresistible recipes that completely challenge the definition of a s’more. Riffs range from classic—Salted Caramel S’mores, Nutella S’mores, and Lemon Meringue S’mores—to crazy. Think Avocado S’mores, S’moresburgers, and the Elvis—bacon, banana, and peanut butter nirvana.

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Whalen, Lauren Emily

The winter of 1997 is a tragedy waiting to happen. Small-town life isn't easy for seventeen-year-old, bisexual and closeted Paulina, especially when her best friend Mia becomes pregnant and doesn't want to tell the baby's father, Paulina's other best friend, Tesla. Meanwhile, Paulina's secret relationship with volleyball star Ani is about to go public. One fateful night, everything changes forever. In the winter of 2014, Perdita, bi and proud in Chicago, is weeks away from turning seventeen. She loves her two moms, but why won't they talk about her adoption? When Perdita meets improv performer Fenton, she discovers both a kindred soul and a willing accomplice in her search for the truth. Will Perdita find what she's looking for?

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World Video Game Hall of Fame

Drawing on the World Video Game Hall of Fame's unmatched collection of video game artifacts, this fascinating history offers an expansive look at the development of one of the most popular and influential activities of the modern world: video gaming.

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Zarr, Sara

Told from their own viewpoints, seventeen-year-old Jill, in grief over the loss of her father, and Mandy, nearly nineteen, are thrown together when Jill's mother agrees to adopt Mandy's unborn child but nothing turns out as they had anticipated.

Summaries provided by DPL's catalog unless otherwise noted. Click on each title to view more information.