Today’s holiday gift guide features books for teens. Our teen librarian, Elisabeth, pulled books that are constantly in demand by Baldwin’s teens, span a wide spectrum of interests, and come with great reviews.
You can find these books at local bookstores (we recommend Book Beat in Oak Park or Books-A-Million in Beverly Hills) or you can place the books on hold using the links below. Don’t forget to inscribe the book with a special message to the recipient!
Alexander Hamilton: the graphic history of an American founding father by Jonathan Hennessey
This complete graphic novel-style biography presents the life and legacy of one of the most influential figures in United States history. Alexander Hamilton was on hand for the Revolutionary War, the development of the Constitution, and the establishment of the Treasury and banking as we have come to know them today.
American Royals by Katharine McGee
In an alternate America, princesses Beatrice and Samantha Washington and the two girls wooing their brother, Prince Jefferson, become embroiled in high drama in the most glorious court in the world.
Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha #1) by Tomi Adeyemi
Seventeen-year-old Ze?lie, her older brother Tzain, and rogue princess Amari fight to restore magic to the land and activate a new generation of magi, but they are ruthlessly pursued by the crown prince, who believes the return of magic will mean the end of the monarchy.
Dry by Neal Shusterman
A lengthy California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, turning Alyssa’s quiet suburban street into a warzone, and she is forced to make impossible choices if she and her brother are to survive.
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
At the Castellana Hilton in 1957 Madrid, eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson connects with Ana Moreno through photography and fate as Daniel discovers the incredibly dark side of the city under Generalissimo Franco’s rule.
I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones
Told from two viewpoints, Atlanta high school seniors Lena and Campbell, one black, one white, must rely on each other to survive after a football rivalry escalates into a riot.
Internment by Samira Ahmed
Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
Juliet, a self-identified queer, Bronx-born Puerto Rican-American, comes out to her family to disastrous results the night before flying to Portland to intern with her feminist author icon–whom Juliet soon realizes has a problematic definition of feminism that excludes women of color.
The Lost by Natasha Preston
While investigating the disappearance of one of their classmates, Piper and Hazel are kidnapped and taken to a building designed to keep them locked away, where every room is a method of torture and a test of survival.
One Of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus
When the creator of a high school gossip app mysteriously dies in front of four high-profile students all four become suspects. It’s up to them to solve the case.
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
Unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her late mother’s estranged relatives at scenic North Lake, a teen finds herself torn between her mother’s working-class relatives and her father’s wealthier associates.
The Secret Commonwealth (The Book of Dust Series #2) by Philip Pullman
Twenty-year-old college undergraduate Lyra is once again thrown together with Malcolm Polstead, now a professor, after Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon, receive secrets from a dying man about a daemon-haunted city and the origins of Dust.
Shout: the true story of a survivor who refused to be silenced by Laurie Halse Anderson
When she was thirteen years old, Anderson was a shy, bookish girl who was raped by a boy she trusted. She has since become known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed in the years since, she has written a poetry memoir that shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she’s never written about before.
Wayward Son (Simon Snow Series #2) by Rainbow Rowell
Simon Snow is back and he’s coming to America! The story is supposed to be over. Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Nowcomes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after… So why can’t Simon Snow get off the couch? What he needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. He just needs to see himself in a new light… That’s how Simon and Penny andBaz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West.
Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Friends Hetty, Byatt, and Reece go to extremes trying to uncover the dark truth about the mysterious disease that has had them quarantined at their boarding school on a Maine island.
With the Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo
Teen mother Emoni Santiago struggles with the challenges of finishing high school and her dream of working as a chef.
Interested in other book selections? View our full guides:
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