Cambridge High School Library 2025

  By: Danielle Jawando Location: FIC JAW Genre: Suicide, Mental Health, Realistic Fiction #burnbright "Such a beautiful and powerful story about mental health, grief, and bullying. The characters felt so real. Gonna be thinking about this one for a long time." Alice Oseman An emotionally rich and current story of suicide, mental health, bullying, grief and growing up around social media. When fifteen-year-old Nathan discovers that his older brother Al has taken his own life, his whole world is torn apart. Al was special. Al was talented. Al was full of passion and light…so why did he do it? Convinced that his brother was in trouble, Nathan begins to retrace his footsteps. And along the way, he meets Megan. Al’s former classmate, who burns with the same fire and hope, who is determined to keep Al’s memory alive. But when Nathan learns the horrifying truth behind his brother’s suicide, one question remains – how do you survive, when you’re growing up in the age of social media?...

 By: Kody Keplinger Location: FIC KEP Genre: Young Adult, Disablity “It had been creeping up on me for a while, this feeling of being caged. But you don’t always know something is choking you until it’s already too tight and you can’t breathe real well.” What risks would you take to save your friends? Bo Dickinson is a girl with a wild reputation, a deadbeat dad, and an alcoholic mom. Everyone in town knows the Dickinsons are a bad lot, but Bo doesn't care what anyone thinks. Agnes Atwood has never stayed out past ten p.m., never gone on a date and never broken any of her parents' overbearing rules. Rules that are meant to protect their legally-blind daughter, but Agnes isn't quite sure what they are protecting her from. Despite everything, Bo and Agnes become best friends. And it's the sort of friendship that runs more deeply than anything else. But when Bo shows up in the middle of the night, police sirens wailing in the distance, Agnes is faced with the biggest choic...

 By: Jennifer Donaldson Location: FIC DON Genre: Young Adult, mystery, Thriller “Darkness is like that. It can make you tired and sad, or it can make the bright spots stick out even more.”   Jennifer Donaldson is back with another twisted thriller perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying and Gone Girl. Zahra Gaines is missing. After three long years away, Ruthie Hayden arrives in her hometown of Anchorage, Alaska to this devastating news. Zahra was Ruthie's best friend--the only person who ever really understood her--and she vows to do whatever it takes to find her. Zahra vanished from a party just days before Ruthie's return, but the more people she talks to, the more she realizes that the Zahra she knew disappeared long before that fateful night. Gone is the whimsical, artistic girl who loved books and knew Ruthie's every secret. In her place is an athlete, a partier, a girl with secrets of her own. Darker still are the rumors that something happened to Zahra while Ruthie w...

 By: Roseanne A Brown Location: FIC BRO Genre: Fantasy “Slaves deserve to be remembered just as much as queens.”   “First, a story ends when it ends, and not a moment before. If you are unhappy with this ending, make a new one.” The first in a gripping fantasy duology inspired by West African folklore in which a grieving crown princess and a desperate refugee find themselves on a collision course to murder each other despite their growing attraction—from debut author Roseanne A. Brown. This  New York Times  bestseller is perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi, Renée Ahdieh, and Sabaa Tahir. For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts his younger sister, Nadia, as payment to enter the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal—kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom. But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mothe...

 By: M.A.Carrick Location: FIC Car Genre: Fantasy, LGBGT, Sci Fi Fantasy Series: Rook and Rose #1 "Ooh, Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms writing an awesome-sounding epic fantasy under a pen name re:  'It has fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, and miracles, and we’re only sorry we didn’t manage to get a giant in there; maybe we can make somebody really tall during editorial revisions? Also the kind of worldbuilding that happens when you let two anthropologists off their leashes. It has a con artist, a vigilante, and capers as flirtation. It has normalized queerness and weird dream shit because we love that stuff, yo. It has noble politics and street gangs and deception...'"  review Sana Tarot readings, magical makeup, sleepless hallucinations, revelations, deception & consequences. The Mask of Mirrors felt like a combination of The Goblin Emperor & Locke Lamora, while staying wholly original. There were also some delightful “...

BY: Marie Lu Location: FIC LU Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction Something very different from Marie Lu Truly a beautifully and elegantly woven tale, about Nannerl Mozart, the brilliant sister that time almost left forgotten, & her brother Wolfgang, their secret kingdom, music, faeries, magic, & most of all, love. Mozart had a sister and a very talented ona at that...  We have just never heard about her, because she was a girl... I am going to tell you a story you already know. But listen carefully, because within it is one you have never heard before. What legacy could Nannerl have left if she’d been given the kind of attention and access that her brother enjoyed? What beautiful creations were lost to us forever because Nannerl was a woman? How many other countless talents have been silenced by history, whether for their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic circumstances? Without a doubt, this is Marie Lu's most fascinating book to date. Two sibling...

  By: Sheryl Jordan Location: FIC JOR Genre: Epic Fantasy An epic fantasy set in a land of sultans and kings, sumptuous palaces... and slave markets. When Elowen and her brother are seized by pirates and sold, separately, in the slave market of a distant land, Elowens enduring resolve is to escape, rescue her brother and return home. Sold to a desert ruler who admires her sublime voice, Elowen is given the title of the Kings Nightingale. Honoured by the king, and loved by his scribe, Elowen lives a life of luxury, until she makes a fateful mistake and finds herself sold to a less charitable master.   Review from Barnaby Hazard This is a novel about a white woman sold into slavery in a nation modelled on Islamic northern Africa, so finishing it on the anniversary of the Christchurch mosque attacks was a trip. I'm pleased to report that however awkward and out-of-step with the times that setup may be, Jordan, a favourite of my childhood, spares no culture or religion the rod, no...

 By: Alix E. Harrow  Location: FIC HAR Genre; Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Paranormal “That’s all magic is, really: the space between what you have and what you need." “One witch you can laugh at. Three you can burn. But what do you do with a hundred?” In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box. But when the Eastwood sisters--James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna--join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want t...

By: C.J.Tudor Location: FIC TUD Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Hor ror The Burning Girls  is a creepy, atmospheric psychological thriller about an insular village with a dark past comprised of religious martyrs, missing girls, and exorcisms. Vicar Jack Brooks and her 15-year-old daughter Flo move from urban Nottingham to a small village in the countryside. As the new Vicar of Chapel Croft, Jack does not find a warm welcome, to say the least. The village is filled with eccentric residents who are covering up scandals from the past, many leading directly back to Chapel Croft. As Flo and Jack make their way in this strange town, their lives are put in imminent danger. So many amazing quotes...... "The greatest gift the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."  “You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but you can certainly judge a person by their books.” “That’s the problem with social media. It’s not designed for negatives. It’s all about people show...

 By: Cynthia Murray Location: FIC MUR Genre:  Mystery, thriller, supernatural A brilliant mix of YA and the supernatural, seamlessly weaved together to create a fast paced story that will have you thinking OMG more than once. One of Us is Lying  meets  This Lie Will Kill You  but with a chilling supernatural twist that will keep you guessing until the very end . . . Young, brunette women are being attacked in the city of London. 16-year-old, Irish-born Niamh has just arrived for the summer, and quickly discovers that the girls being attacked look frighteningly similar to her. Determined to make it through her Drama Course, Niamh is placed at the Victorian Museum to put her drama skills to the test, and there she meets Tommy: he’s kind, fun, attentive, and really hot! . . . Nonetheless, there's something eerie about the museum. As the two strands of present-day serial attacker and sinister Victorian history start to collide, Niamh realises that things are not as ...

 By: Sabaa Tahir Location: FIC TAH Genre: High Fantasy, dystopia Prepare for the jaw-dropping finale of Sabaa Tahir's beloved New York Times bestselling An Ember in the Ashes fantasy series, and discover: Who will survive the storm? Picking up just a few months after  A Reaper at the Gates  left off... The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning. At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike and her remaining family. Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory--or to an u...

 By: Rosaria Munda Location: FIC MUN Genre: Fantasy- Dragons, Romance "Game of Thrones meets Red Rising in a debut young adult fantasy that's full of rivalry, romance... and dragons." "Inspired by Plato’s Republic" "the story is pitched as Aegon Targaryen and Hermione Granger with dragons, set in the aftermath of a bloody revolution." Annie and Lee were just children when a brutal revolution changed their world, giving everyone--even the lowborn--a chance to test into the governing class of dragonriders. Now they are both rising stars in the new regime, despite backgrounds that couldn't be more different. Annie's lowborn family was executed by dragonfire, while Lee's aristocratic family was murdered by revolutionaries. Growing up in the same orphanage forged their friendship, and seven years of training have made them rivals for the top position in the dragonriding fleet. But everything changes when survivors from the old regime surface, be...

 By: Zoe Sugg and Amy McCullough Location: FIC SUG Genre: Mystery, Thriller The brand-new fiction book from Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella)! Co-written with the acclaimed writer Amy McCulloch Seven for a secret, never to be told . . . Illumen Hall is a boarding school of tradition and achievement. But tragedy strikes when the body of a girl, a student, is discovered - on her back is an elaborate tattoo of a magpie. For new student Audrey, it is just another unsettling thing about her new surroundings. And for her roommate Ivy, well, she's just annoyed she has to share with the new girl from America. As an unlikely friendship develops, the two are drawn deeper into the mystery of this strange and terrible murder. They will discover that something dangerous is at the heart of their school. Welcome to The Magpie Society. Told from two alternating view-points, this is the  first book in a modern gothic thriller series that will have you gripped like no other book this year. Get ready for yo...

  By: Kathryn Barker Location: FIC BAR Genre: REtell- Sci Fi- Dystopia A highly original mashup that delights as it disorients ... and asks what would have happened if two great literary love stories were somehow intertwined. 'Original, ambitious, powerful ... Barker's ability to challenge the boundaries of genre and find light in the darkness is a gift.' Melina Marchetta, author of Looking for Alibrandi and Saving Francesca 'A genre-bending masterpiece that effortlessly juggles classic literature, existentialism, time travel and dystopia - with action and feels. I freaking loved every minute.' Lili Wilkinson, author of After The Lights Go Out, Green Valentine and Pink 'The most beautiful, moving and rigorously plotted time travel novel I have ever read.' Justine Larbalestier, author of Liar, My Sister Rosa and Razorhurst What if Juliet Capulet met someone who made her doubt true love? What if Wuthering Heights was a message to a time traveller? A cosmic rei...

By:  Namina Forna Location: FIC FOR Genre: Fantasy, Sci Fi, Feminism Series: Deathless #1 “No matter my origins, there is worth in what I am.” Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in Otera, a deeply patriarchal ancient kingdom, where a woman's worth is tied to her purity, and she must bleed to prove it. But when Deka bleeds gold - the colour of impurity, of a demon - she faces a consequence worse than death. She is saved by a mysterious woman who tells Deka of her true nature: she is an Alaki, a near-immortal with exceptional gifts. The stranger offers her a choice: fight for the Emperor, with others just like her, or be destroyed..  " Such a good fantasy debut!!! This was brutal, blood was shed at every turn! I don't think I've read a character with as much power as Deka. Very creative history, cannot wait for more!" katie "YA fantasy has burned me in the past, but this one has lit my fire, watered my crops and made me dinner. If you're feeling a little jaded by ...

 By: Alexandra Bracken Location: FIC BRA Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, Retellings Greek mythology meets the Hunger Games in this stunning fantasy standalone from author Alexandra Bracken. Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality. Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths. Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods. The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a w...

 By: Abigail Dean  Location: FIC DEA Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery,  Psychological Thriller "I LOVED IT " Paula Hawkins For readers of  Room  and  Sharp Objects , a propulsive and psychologically immersive novel about a young girl who escapes captivity--but not the secrets that shadow the rest of her life. "'Girl A, ' she said. 'The girl who escaped. If anyone was going to make it, it was going to be you.'" Lex Gracie doesn't want to think about her family. She doesn't want to think about growing up in her parents' House of Horrors. And she doesn't want to think about her identity as Girl A: the girl who escaped, the eldest sister who freed her older brother and four younger siblings. It's been easy enough to avoid her parents--her father never made it out of the House of Horrors he created, and her mother spent the rest of her life behind bars. But when her mother dies in prison and leaves Lex and her siblings the family home...

 By: Emily St. John Mandel Location: FIC MAN Genre: Fcition, Mystery “Memories are always bent retrospectively to fit individual narratives” FROM THE STATION ELEVEN AUTHOR COMES.... Vincent is a bartender at the Hotel Caiette, a five-star hotel on the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island. On the night she meets Jonathan Alkaitis, a hooded figure scrawls a message on the lobby's glass wall: "Why don't you swallow broken glass." Leon Prevant, a shipping executive for Neptune-Avradimis, reads the words and orders a drink to calm down. Alkaitis, the owner of the hotel and a wealthy investment manager, arrives too late to read the threat, never knowing it was intended for him. He leaves Vincent a hundred dollar tip along with his business card, and a year later they are living together as husband and wife. High above Manhattan, a greater crime is committed: Alkaitis is running an international Ponzi scheme, moving imaginary sums of money through clients' accounts. He ...

 By: David Arnold  Location: FIC ARN Genre: Dystopia, Sci Fi, Fiction, Fantasy, apocolyptic A genre-smashing story of survival, hope and love amid a ravaged earth. A deadly flu has swept the globe, leaving a shell of the world that once was. Among the survivors are eighteen-year-old Nico and her dog, who are on a journey devised by Nico’s father to find a mythical portal; a young artist named Kit, who knows almost nothing of the world outside the old abandoned cinema he was raised in; and and the enigmatic Deliverer, who lives Life after Life in an attempt to put the world back together. Justin Reynolds:  LEMME BE REAL: this book MADE ME FEEL THE THINGS I love most in stories: afraid, seen, devastated, buoyed, & tbh wholly envious I didn't write it 1st, haha. This story is about connectedness and the resilience of even the most broken of people. This story is humanity at its most earnest, at its most vulnerable, at its most hopeful. I loved it "I’m pretty sure that th...

 By: Lynne Kelly Location: FIC KEL Genre: Disability, Realistic Fiction A stirring and heart-warming tale of a young deaf girl who is determined to make a difference, the perfect read for fans of  Wonder . Iris was born deaf, but she's never let that define her; after all, it's the only life she's ever known. And until recently she wasn't even very lonely, because her grandparents are both deaf, too. But Grandpa has just died and Grandma's not the same without him. The only place Iris really feels at home anymore is in her electronics workshop where she loves taking apart antique radios. Then, during a science lesson about sound waves, Iris finds out about a whale who is unable to communicate with other whales. The lonely whale awakens something in Iris. She's determined to show him that someone in the world knows he's there. Iris works on a foolproof plan to help the whale but she soon realises that that is not enough: Iris wants to find the whale herself. ...