Farmingdale Library Teens

 by  Tirzah Price   Oct 26, 2022 I’m a huge fan of YA, but one thing I’ve come to realize as I’ve grown older is that older generations are often portrayed in overly simplistic or pretty cliche ways in YA novels. Many grandparents are so elderly that they aren’t an active part of their grandkids’ lives, or they die of natural causes at the ripe age of…70? While it’s true that many teens lose grandparents or don’t get a chance to know older generations, just as many have great relationships with their parents’ parents, or other members of the senior community and those relationships aren’t often highlighted or represented. I really appreciate when YA novels also go beyond a teen’s grandparents to show meaningful relationships with other seniors in a teen’s life, and these three books showcase those relationships wonderfully! LUCY CLARK WILL NOT APOLOGIZE  BY MARGO RABB Lucy Clark has never been close with her parents. Raised by her grandmother and then dumped in board...

 by  Rey Rowland   Oct 21, 2022 I love big, sprawling, fantasy series as much as anyone. But for the past few years, I’ve also been craving more self-contained stories that don’t demand as much time and attention from me. Which is why I began reading standalones — and let me say that they are more than capable of telling complete and detailed stories with well-developed characters despite the shorter format. In fact, that’s exactly what makes them great reads for both fantasy newbies and genre veterans. We covered  adult fantasy standalones  recently here at Book Riot. So today I’m going to focus on standalone YA fantasy books. A few things before we get to these amazing books. For today’s list, I chose eight great books with different kinds of fantasy elements. From mythology retellings, to mermaids, golems, witches, and even exorcists. There’s a book for everyone on this list! Plus, I chose to focus on more recent releases — the oldest one being from mid 2020....

 by  Tirzah Price   Oct 31, 2022 Welcome to November, YA readers! It feels hard to believe that we are in the home stretch of the year, but here we are! The nights are getting longer, the days are getting cooler, and it’s the perfect time of the year to stay home and curl up with a great book. After the amazing avalanche of new fall releases we’re starting to see the pace slow down a little bit, and as usual Thanksgiving week is a light one for new releases, but we still have some incredible books to look forward to. From new books from some of the biggest names in YA (hello, Angie Thomas, Dhonielle Clayton, Holly Jackson, and Marissa Meyer!) to highly anticipated reads from fan favorites, from long-awaited sequels to exciting new debuts, we have tons of amazing books to look forward to! These books are perfect for your cozy winter reading, and a couple are even holiday themed, so make sure you get them on your library reserve lists and holiday wish lists! Then grab a hot...

 by  Ann-Marie Cahill   Oct 17, 2022 Dazzling creatures, fortified pyramids, and a fierce understanding of gratitude. The Aztecs ( who would have called themselves the Mexica) , both past and present, have some of the most brilliant stories in their history. It is so easy to lose yourself in Aztec mythology books, filled with characters who never take life and its many gifts for granted. There are some who may think Aztec Mythology is about war and blood sacrifice thanks to depictions of the Aztecs we most commonly see, but they would miss the true strength of the Aztecs/Mexica: their resilience. Their survival. Their very passion for life.  The Aztecs were vibrant people, native to Mesoamerica and the last of the Nahuatl-speaking tribes to travel south from Aztlan (their spiritual home). Much of the violent imagery associated with the Aztecs is fueled by racism and fear from the Spanish, who were not satisfied with a simple victory and sought to annihilate the defea...