New Teen Non-Fiction Picks!

Today’s recommended reads are digital e-books that will hopefully inspire you to improve your life and lead you towards personal growth. Learning from others who gone through similar tough times in life can help make you realize that you're not the only person who is going through something by reading about how that person overcame what life can throw at you. Also, sometimes you need a self-help book if you do not know how to begin to make certain small changes that can improve your well-being, whether it is trying to calm your wired mind to get a goodnight sleep, or embracing and gaining confidence in yourself. These books can help with all of that.

Positive: A Memoir by Paige Rawl
Paige Rawl’s memoir is for anyone who has been bullied. The book details her personal experience being bullied in middle school, when her HIV positive secret came out. Rawls opens up about the fact that she wanted to end her life, but decided against it. She chose to live her life with purpose  and to tell her story. Paige is an HIV and life advocate speaker, her story has inspired and touched millions of people.

The IF in Life: How to Get Off Life’s Sidelines and Become Your Best Self by Rashad Jennings
Former NFL running back Rashad Jennings shares his inspiring personal story and experiences in his debut book that will encourage readers to follow their dreams. Rashad discusses his childhood and the challenges he faced growing up. He never gave up his dream to be an NFL player. Through hard work and determination, he became a record-setting running back for many teams. This book is a great inspirational read for any football fans who would like know more about Rashad’s childhood, college years, and professional career.

Goodnight Mind for Teens: Skills to Help You Quiet Noisy Thoughts and Get Sleep the You Need by Colleen E. Carney
Teens who are having trouble sleeping, this is for you! In this cognitive behavioral therapy tip book, will help you can learn to quiet anxious thoughts and turn off screen time on their phone. This book will also help pinpoint sleep problems through a sleep tracker, and teach you to identify and listen to your internal “body clock” when it is time for sleep, develop a morning and bedtime routine, and suggests on how to unwind at bedtime.

Embracing the Awkward by Joshua Rodriguez
If you would like come out of your shell, be more social and gain confidence you will find this book helpful. Author Joshua Rodriguez uses his own personal experience when he was teen as an example to make the book relatable to readers. This book is written to help you succeed by taking the small steps detailed in each chapter at your own pace. It includes step-by-step checklists of activities to try out like approaching new people, and how to how start a conversation.  The chapters are short but informative. Some of the topics discussed are: understanding yourself and your purpose, mindfulness,
success and failures, identifying your strengths and weakness, making friendships, maintaining family relationships and approaching your crush and asking them out on a date.

All these books are currently available on Hoopla, along with other great books on mental health, mindfulness and self-improvement for teens. And don't forget that we offer Curbside Pickup for items in our collection at all our libraries (except the Heritage Library).

What's New on Overdrive

We've got some great new titles on our Overdrive platform this month for you to check out from home on any device! Head over to our website to borrow these and any of our other great books!

Camp So-and-So by Mary McCoy: When 25 young women get letters inviting them to apply for a brand-new summer camp in the Appalachian mountains it sounds too good to be true...because it is. The 25 girls jump at the chance and send in their applications, only to discover the camp they registered for doesn't actually exist. So what in the world have they actually signed themselves up for? If you're looking for something totally different or even a little bit weird, this book, told from multiple points of view with elements from a bunch of different genres will definitely keep you interested.

90 Days of Different by Eric Walters: 90 days. That is how long Sophie has between the time she graduates from High School and the time she starts college. And she's determined to use those 90 days to prove that her ex boyfriend was totally wrong when he dumped her for being too safe and boring. Luckily for Sophie her best friend Ella has a plan: for the next 90 days, Sophie has to agree to try any new thing Ella tells her to, no questions asked, and she has to document every new experience on social media. Will the 90 days really make a difference? And if it does, will that difference be a good thing, or a huge mistake?

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown: Would you take a life to save someone you love? That is the choice Malik is faced with when his beloved sister is kidnapped by an angry spirit. The spirit is willing to give Malik's sister back, but only if he agrees to assassinate the Crown Princess. This one is a thrilling ride packed with elements of African folklore and fantasy that will keep you reading late into the night!

Plank's Law by Leslie Choyce: Trevor has spent the last 6 years of his life knowing he has an incurable terminal illness. But now, at only 16 years old, Doctors are telling  him his Huntington's Disease has gotten much worse, and he only has about a year left to live. It's when he's at his lowest that he makes an unlikely new friend: an elderly man named Plank who makes it his mission in life to help Trevor complete as much of his bucket list as possible before his time is up.

New Manga for July!

Hello Teens, this is Nikki taking over today’s blog post!
Today I'll discuss some of the new Manga series that have been added to our physical collection recently. Since we are doing curbside pickup  now, you can place these on hold through our library’s catalog or by giving us a call at your closest branch. Want more manga recommendations that are digital? Check out Overdrive for some digital manga, like Cells at Work! (This is a favorite of
mine).

Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru Story by Masashi Kishimoto with Art by Akira Okubo.
Rated "Teen" for some fantasy violence and mild language.
Kishimoto, author of Naruto, is back with this brand new samurai science fiction series! Hachimaru is a sickly and frail teen that has lived his entire life being hooked up to a life support machine. He lives his days inside, playing samurai video games, wishing for freedom and to see what the world is really like. One day, he gets a visit from a real samurai telling him he has the soul of a legendary samurai living within him. Thus begins his samurai training to save the world from doom.
Note: This series is only going to be five volumes long, so it's perfect if you don't want to commit to a super long series.

Beyond the Clouds by Nicke.
Rated "Teen" for mild violence and freighting scenes.
Fans of Studio Ghibli will enjoy this series! Theo, a young mechanic has a knack for tinkering and creating new inventions. He spends his days reading adventure stories and rummaging through the town’s trash heap for abandoned treasures. One day, looking around in the trash heap, he finds
an injured, winged, amnesic girl named Mia. Theo helps rebuild her wings and promises to help her find her home again. Join them on their adventure!

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts by Yu Tomofuji.
Rated "Teen" for mild fantasy violence and language:
Fans of Beauty and the Beast: this one is for you! The King of the Beasts rules over his subjects, both animal and man with an iron paw and many are afraid of him. To display his dominance, he demands regular human sacrifices from the humans…but there is something different about the girl destined to be his ninety-ninth sacrifice, Sariphi. She is not afraid of the King of Beasts, which the King finds amusing and makes her his bride instead! Find out how their relationship evolves over time, and see how Sariphi has to prove herself a worthy bride to the beast's court in this inspired Beauty and the Beast manga tale.

Animeta by Yaso Hanamura.
Rated "Teen" for mild language.
If you enjoyed Bakuman, you will enjoy this one! Miyuki Sanada, is a young adult who trying to find her passion in life to turn into a job she will enjoy. One night she watches a late-night anime that fills her with passion
and joy for the first time in her life. She gets inspired to be an animator and applies for an entry-level animator position, barely passing the application test. Then comes the real challenge: harsh lessons and the reality of financial struggles. Join Miyuki as she learns to become a top animator and make her dream come true…if she doesn’t starve first!

A page from Animeta.

Art from Beyond the Clouds.

A panel from Samurai 8.