Summer of Sora
Summer of Sora is the DPS summer reading program to encourage students to enjoy our digital library of over 46,000 eBooks and audiobooks all summer long.
June 5th - August 11th
Login and check out eBooks and audiobooks. Starting June 5th, ten winners each week will receive a new book! Four grand prize winners will receive a Kindle e-reader and a Sora hoodie!
Prizes will be delivered to the student in the Fall of 2023.
Questions? Contact the Library Help Desk at libraryhelpdesk@dpsk12.org.
High School Summer BINGO
Tag us @DPSReads on Instagram when you have a bingo!
Project Nought by Chelsey Furedi
The last thing Ren remembers is running away from home in 1996; when he wakes up, he finds himself part of a student-exchange program—in the year 2122. But the program is definitely not what it seems, and it's up to Ren and his friends and allies to uncover the truth and find a way back home in this exciting graphic novel.
One Last Shot: Based on a True Story of Wartime Heroism: The Story of Wartime Photographer Gerda Taro
From critically acclaimed author Kip Wilson comes this gripping coming of age historical fiction novel in verse about Gerda Taro, a vibrant, headstrong photojournalist with a passion for capturing the truth amid political turmoil and the first woman photojournalist killed in combat.
Free Radicals by Lila Riesen
Sixteen-year-old Mafi Shahin moonlights as Ghost, the vigilante who metes out revenge on behalf of students of Santa Margarita North, a secretive affair that depends on her carefully following her guidelines for engagement, two of which include never revealing her identity and not getting emotionally involved. But as the year progresses and Mafi develops new friendships -- including one with Jalen Thomas, her brother's friend and her childhood crush -- she comes to realize that her hidden identity and the secrets she is keeping go far beyond simply being the Ghost.
Heiress Apparently by Diana Ma
Gemma Huang is an aspiring Chinese American actress who lands the lead female role in a modern movie remake of Madam Butterfly. This exciting achievement has some serious drawbacks, however. First, the director knows nothing about Chinese culture, rooting his vision of her character in stereotypes. Second, the movie will be filmed in Beijing, a city Gemma's parents have long warned her against visiting. Nevertheless, Gemma chooses to go, a decision that ends up teaching her valuable lessons in love, family, craft and heritage.
Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee
One does not have to be a Marvel fan to enjoy this action-packed, emotionally resonant origin story of trickster deity and sorcerer Loki. Through a deep dive into the sibling rivalry between Thor and Loki, Lee traces Loki’s sometimes-questionable choices in his attempt to win over their father Odin and be seen as a true contender for the Asgardian throne.
Time Villains by Victor Piñeiro
In this zany romp, underachiever Javier, his younger sister Brady, and his best friend Wiki aren't expecting historical figures to actually appear when they take on their school's "Which three people would you invite to dinner?" assignment. But Javi and Brady's new dining-room table turns out to have magical powers, allowing it to summon both real and fictional people to the meal. Mozart and the Earl of Sandwich are easily sent back to where they came from, but the third guest is the notorious pirate Blackbeard, who has no intention of returning to the past and schemes to take control of the table.
Before Takeoff by Adi Alsaid
audiobook (also in ebook format)
Alsaid’s speculative airport adventure reimagines an ordinary layover in Atlanta. Sparks fly when Latinx-cued James, 16, meets French and Thai Michelle, 18, while passing the time by inspecting a mysterious blinking green button on the terminal wall. Unknown to James, Michelle curiously presses the button and, soon after, a power surge causes flight delays, putting travelers on edge.
Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim by Patricia Park
A high school senior at an affluent prep school, she has her heart set on attending the prestigious but expensive Whyder College while dealing with imposter syndrome as a multiracial young woman (and scholarship student) who asks, "Am I 100 percent Korean, 100 percent Latinx, and 100 percent American...all at the same time?" loneliness.
Take the Mic: Fictional Stories of Everyday Resistance by Various Authors
audiobook (also in ebook format)
You might be the kind of person who stands up to online trolls. Or who marches to protest injustice. Perhaps you are #DisabledAndCute and dancing around your living room, alive and proud. Or perhaps you are the trans mentor that you wish you had when you were younger. This anthology features fictional stories -- in poems, prose, and art -- that reflect a slice of the varied and limitless ways that readers like you resist every day.
In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee
Lee’s powerful graphic memoir explores coming of age as a Korean American teen in New Jersey. After surviving a suicide attempt, Deb begins to work through her trauma in sessions with a therapist, revealing more of her past. Readers see how fraught her relationship is not just to her mother, but to her entire Korean heritage, from which she distanced herself steadily until even her first language was foreign to her.
Con/Artist: The Life and Crimes of the World's Greatest Art Forger by Tony Tetro and Giampiero Ambrosi
Tetro may have been an art forger, but his story is unique. Told with the help of investigative journalist Ambrosi, who followed Tetro's story for 20 years, this account starts with Tetro's 1989 California arrest and takes readers through his life, from his becoming a New York high school dropout with a pregnant girlfriend, to California furniture salesman, and later to master art forger and high roller.
Birdgirl: Looking to the Skies in Search of a Better Future by Mya-Rose Craig
Born into a British Bangladeshi birding family and taken on her first "twitch" (search for rare birds) when she was only nine days old, it was no surprise that Craig became obsessed with birds. That this passion led to environmental and Indigenous rights activism while she was also dealing with her mother's mental illness is what makes this memoir so inspiring.
Crafting Change: Handmade Activism, Past and Present by Jessica Viktus
For young people angry, frustrated, and wanting to take action against national crises, Vitkus offers creative ways to make a difference while having fun that can be summed up in one word: craftivism.
Fantastic Vegan Recipes for the Teen Cook by Elaine Skiadas
Skiadas, creator of the blog “Wondering Chickpeas,” is uniquely qualified to author this title. She started the food blog at 16, featuring recipes she developed and showcasing her original food photography. Skiadas’s journey to a vegan diet started with severe childhood allergies to dairy, eggs, peanuts, and most tree nuts. Despite that intimidating list of allergens, this vegan cookbook contains comfort food recipes -- mac and cheese made with butternut squash, nourishing soups, grain bowls, and best-served-warm desserts like Cornbread Peach Crumble.
Drawing Class: Animals: Learn to Draw with Simple Shapes and Online Tutorials by Heegyum Kim
Artists and doodlers will love this step-by-step method of drawing 60 different animals using simple shapes, such as rectangles, triangles and semicircles. Graphic designer and illustrator Kim makes the process easy with clear directions for creating these cute critters. There are also QR codes that link to videos of the author demonstrating her craft. Fun and easy-to-follow, this book of techniques can be enjoyed by children, teens, and adults.
That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams
In this first book of a new series, Williams weaves an intricate, historically rich tapestry set in an alternate Shakespearean London, where magic exists alongside the Fae and aspects of the belief in Orisha spirits, a tradition that began in West Africa. Joan Sands, 16, has a magical ability to control metal gifted to her by Ogun, her primary Orisha, that serves her well in her position as the craftsperson in charge of stage blades for William Shakespeare’s acting company, The King’s Men.
Pardalita by Joana Estrela and Lyn Miller-Lachmann
16-year-old Raquel lives in a small town in Portugal, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else's business. Her parents are divorced and she's just been suspended for cursing out a school aide asking about her father's new marriage. Then, from afar, she sees Pardalita, a senior and a gifted artist who's moving to Lisbon to study in the fall. And Raquel falls in love.
Our Colors by Gengoroh Tagame
Set in contemporary suburban Japan, Our Colors is the story of Sora Itoda: a sixteen-year-old aspiring painter who experiences his world in synesthetic hues of blues and reds, governed by the emotional turbulence of being a teenager. He wants to live honestly as a young gay man in high school, but that is still not acceptable in Japanese society. Sora's world changes forever, however, when he meets Mr. Amamiya, a middle-aged gentleman who is the owner and proprietor of a local coffee shop, and who is completely, unapologetically out as a gay man. A mentorship and friendship ensues, as Sora comes out to him and agrees to paint a mural in the shop, and Mr. Amamiya counsels him (platonically) about how to deal with who he is.
¡Ay, Mija! by Christine Suggs
Teenager Chrístine travels from Texas to Mexico City after finishing 10th grade to spend the summer at the home of their maternal grandparents. The grandparents and aunt are loving and welcoming, but Chrístine does not speak Spanish well and struggles to connect with their Mexican heritage. This journey will help empower Christine to improve their Spanish while exploring and articulating how it feels to be a queer, fat, and white Mexican teen
Stateless by Elizabeth Wein
Wein's compulsively readable novel takes place in Europe in 1937. An airplane race for young aviators has been arranged as an effort to promote peace under the shadow of Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco. Seventeen-year-old Stella North is the only female participant; a child refugee from Communist Russia, now a British resident, she's eager to prove herself as the "Flying English Rose." On the first day of the race, she witnesses a plane force a fellow contestant to crash fatally into the English Channel; who will be next? As solidarity among the international contestants builds, it becomes clear that one of them is the murderer's real target.
For Lamb by Lesa Cline-Ransome
In this sweeping tale of the Jim Crow South for a Black family, Cline-Ransome weaves the voices of the family and several outsiders toward a climactic end. Protagonist Lamb is a young Black girl living with her seamstress mother and older brother. And while Lamb's dad has been absent much of her life, she discovers his proximity to them. In connecting with her dad, she also befriends a white girl, and both budding relationships position the family for trouble.
The Davenports by Krystal Marquis
This stunningly wrought historical fiction debut follows a group of Black teens navigating classism, familial expectations, gender norms, and racism in 1910 Chicago. William Davenport is the formerly enslaved head of one of the city’s few wealthy Black families. As such, his children -- Olivia, John, and Helen -- and their associates are constantly in the public eye. While Olivia is courted by a proper Black Englishman, she meets a civil rights activist who makes her question her privileged upbringing and encourages her to face ongoing postslavery horrors.
The Immeasurable Depth of You by Maria Ingrande Mora
After 15-year-old Brynn writes a Tumblr post about wanting to die, her mom sends her to stay for the summer with her dad, who lives on a houseboat in the swamps of Florida. But though Brynn's half-hearted Tumblr post wasn't ultimately serious, her mental illnesses are: her intense anxiety and OCD mean she is constantly riddled with intrusive thoughts about death, and while she doesn't truly want to die, she struggles to explain how difficult living can be. And then, on a tentative solo paddleboard outing, she meets Skylar: a girl in a yellow bikini who's a little mean, a lot confident, and seems to actually see Brynn. Bisexual Brynn is drawn to Skylar immediately, but something seems off, and Brynn soon learns that Skylar is the ghost of a girl who drowned several years ago in the bayou. Skylar's family believes she died by suicide, but she insists she was murdered, and Brynn is determined to discover the truth.
In Nightfall by Suzanne Young
Theo's not thrilled to be spending the summer with her depressed dad in Nightfall, Oregon, while her mom sorts out living arrangements with her new boyfriend, but at least Theo's with her brother, Marco, and will finally get to meet their dad's mom. Things seem even less bleak when they meet the group of teens who call Nightfall home: beautiful Minnow is beyond cool, Parrish is handsome and kind, and the upcoming Midnight Dive celebration has the town buzzing. Soon, though, Marco begins acting strangely, and Theo is certain that her father knows more than he's letting on about why Nonna's superstitions about being out after dark (among other things) are getting so much more disturbing -- and Theo's determined to figure out what's going on.
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
In exchange for help with her college tuition, Jade Nguyen is reluctantly staying with her estranged father in Vietnam as he transforms an old French colonial home into a bed and breakfast. Heavy feelings of guilt and anger about her family, her closeted identity, and a recent fight with her best friend have Jade's head spinning when she moves into the house, and it soon becomes clear that the house itself has a dark agenda for its residents. Real hauntings, fake hauntings, infestations, dreams that might be visions, and visions that might be real swirl together in Tran's dreamlike debut about complicated families, generational trauma, the long-fingered effects of colonialism.
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
OMFG, BEES!: Bees Are So Amazing and You're About to Find Out Why by Matt Kracht
Whether readers love or fear bees, this volume will teach most everyone something new about our fuzzy, flitting friends while making readers laugh out loud. Bees are fascinating little creatures, and they are essential to life on our planet, but sometimes they get an undeserved bad rap. Kracht sets the record straight in this hilarious handbook that can easily be read in one sitting.
Semi-Famous: A True Story of Near Celebrity by Josh Sundquist
Le dicen Fregona: Poemas de un chavo de la frontera por David Bowles
El verano se torna más ocupado a medida que aprende a equilibrar su tiempo entre las nuevas prácticas con su antiguo grupo, Los Bobbys, y ser el novio de Joanna Padilla. La llaman "fregona" porque es fuerte, siempre defiende a su familia y mantiene a raya al bully de la escuela. Pero el Güero ve su dulzura interior. Juntos cocinan espaguetis baratos y se toman de la mano en el campo de naranjos, mientras van conociéndose más y más a ellos mismos y también al otro, más de lo que podrían haber imaginado. Pero cuando comienzan el octavo grado, Joanna enfrenta una tragedia que obliga al Güero a reconsiderar lo que significa apoyar y estar presente para la persona a quien amas.
Era como mi sombra por Pilar Lozano
Como muchos niños campesinos en Colombia, el anónimo protagonista de esta historia crece en medio de la guerra la precariedad. Su tío será su mentor y su maestra, su madrina. Pero cuando el tío muere y el joven no ve cómo continuar sus estudios, toma-no sin resquemor- el único camino que le queda: unirse a un grupo guerrillero. Su mejor amigo, Julián, quien vive una situación aún más apremiante, sigue sus pasos y termina haciendo el mayor sacrificio que una amistad en la guerra puede exigir. En Era como mi sombra el lector se internará en un relato poético, contundente y desgarrador sobre las infancias vulneradas por el conflicto armado. Pero, más importante aún, será testigo de una amistad poderosa, capaz de burlar la muerte y vencer a cualquier ejército.
Erik el Rojo: El vikingo que descubrió América por Tulio Fernández Mendoza
Esta es la historia del explorador noruego Erik el Rojo, un hombre marcado por la sangre y el exilio, y destinado por los dioses vikingos a empujar las fronteras y las convenciones sociales de su tiempo. Esta es también la historia del sabio Mimir, hermano adoptivo y amigo incondicional de Erik, quien narra sus aventuras y las de sus descendientes, ilustrándolas con antiguos relatos nórdicos. Pero, sobre todo, esta es la historia del primer encuentro con el Nuevo Mundo, que maravilló a los nórdicos quinientos años antes de Cristóbal Colón, un evento conocido por pocos y narrado aquí con el encanto de las viejas sagas.
The Girl That Can’t Get a Girlfriend by Mieri Hiranishi
This heartfelt autobiographical manga follows Mieri as she tries to find a hot, short-haired girl to become her girlfriend. Mieri initially despairs that such a girl is more likely attracted to a feminine girl than to her less fashion-conscious self, but, after a few years of dating and college classes, she becomes romantically involved with the girl of her dreams. In this deeply personal manga, readers travel with Mieri through her self-discovery and acceptance of her attractions and sense of worth, but also dive deep into despair and heartbreak with her.
Show-ha Shoten!, Volume 1 by Akinari Asakura
Azemichi wants to become funny as a way to prove to his former crush, whose family has resettled somewhere unbeknownst to him, that he's more than just an ordinary, nice guy. Higashikata is looking for a comedy partner in order to create laughter so loud, it reaches his former partner (who passed away) way up in the heavens. When these high school boys join forces, they'll let nothing stand in their way as they pursue their comedy goals at full tilt.
Helck, Volume 1 by Nanaki Nanao
In a faraway land, a powerful demon lord has been slain by a hero-but that doesn't mean the demons are ready to throw in the towel. They hold a tournament in their realm to crown the next demon lord, but it's an indestructible yet merry human entrant named Helck who stands head and shoulders above any other competitor. Helck is a refreshing take on the fantasy-action genre, where a hero-esque human is openly auditioning for...the villain's role?
A Long Stretch of Bad Days by Mindy McGinnis
Lydia Chass is a serious overachiever: volunteering, extracurriculars, extra coursework, even her own podcast, On the Ground in Flyover Country. Bristal Jamison is nothing like Lydia, but she's determined to be the first high school graduate in her family. When a counselor's mistake leaving both seniors a half-credit short of graduation turns into a team effort to revamp Lydia's podcast to focus on local history, the girls begin researching a series of 1994 events known in Henley as the "long stretch of bad days," when a tornado, a flood, and the town's only murder occurred within a three-day period.
The Black Queen by Jumata Emill
Nova Albright is gorgeous, charitable, and a shoo-in for homecoming queen. She's also the target of Tinsley McArthur's vitriol, as the title of queen has been in Tinsley's White family for generations. When Nova ultimately wins, Tinsley unleashes a drunken tirade and threatens to kill her in a rant that one of Tinsley's best friends records on her phone. The next morning, Nova is found dead in the Sacred Hearts Slave Cemetery, a neighborhood site she spent her spare time maintaining. All signs point to Tinsley as the culprit, but the investigation isn't progressing fast enough for Duchess Simmons, a Black girl who is Nova's best friend and the daughter of the town's police chief. As Duchess takes matters into her own hands in an attempt to get to the bottom of Nova's demise, Tinsley believes that the only way she can clear her name is by finding the actual murderer. But both girls quickly realize they're in over their heads as they unearth truths about race, family secrets, and trauma during their investigations.
Live Your Best Lie (Volume 1) by Jessie Weaver
An L.A. Halloween murder mystery party turns into a real murder when 16-year-old social media influencer Summer Cartwright is found dead with #TOXIC written on her face. While Summer’s biggest fan, Cora Pruitt; ex-boyfriend, Adam Mahmoud; former roommate, Laney Miyamoto; rival influencer, Avalon James; and best friend, Grace Godwin, are shocked by her death, they’re also privately relieved, as Summer’s upcoming high-profile, tell-all memoir threatened to reveal each teen’s biggest secret. But when Summer’s five million followers begin turning against the teens, labeling them as potential killers, the group joins forces to solve the crime and clear their names before public opinion alters the course of their lives forever.
Doomed: Sacco, Vanzetti & the End of the American Dream by John Florio and Ouisie Shapiro
With letters, interview transcripts, newspaper headlines, and historic images, Florio and Shapiro here tell the story of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian immigrant men wrongfully convicted for murder in 1921. The authors walk readers through the men’s trials, pointing out bias within the court and the disregard of new exculpatory evidence.
Romaine Wasn't Built in a Day: The Delightful History of Food Language by Judith Tschann
Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults by Robin Wall Kimmerer, adapted by Monique Gray Smith
In this young readers adaptation of the 2013 adult bestseller of the same name by Potawatomi botanist Kimmerer, Smith, who is Cree and Lakota, breaks down myriad Indigenous nations’ relationships with nature. The creators detail how humankind’s reciprocity with the earth is integral to many Native peoples’ mindsets and often stems from a gifting economy, in which plants and animals make a gift of themselves and humans, in turn, care for them.
Dandelion Travels by Angel Barber
High schooler Eric is carrying a lot. At home he feels like he has a "black cord/ wrapped around my throat." He skips school one day and catches his dad, a preacher, cheating on his mom. Gay, he has no patience for slurs and now has a reputation as an "angry black man." When his friend Andrea heads out to her rich uncle's beach house in California for the summer, Eric decides to defy his parents and go along.
Enter the Body by Joy McCullough
Focusing primarily on Cordelia, Juliet, and Ophelia, Enter the Body excavates the inner lives of William Shakespeare’s most famous tragic heroines in this absorbing experimental novel in verse. Beneath the trap door of a theater, the characters -- portrayed as ghosts -- share their secrets and traumas with one another while waiting to be resurrected to embody their assigned roles and die on stage each night.
No Boy Summer by Amy Spalding
Lydia has always trusted her younger sister, Penny, so she has (almost) complete faith in Penny's plan for their summer. After a school year plagued with boy problems, they're both spending the break with their aunt in L.A., throwing themselves into work and forgoing boys entirely. The summer is off to a promising start as Lydia begins working at her aunt's coffee shop and actually makes friends, something that's always been elusive for her. But when she realizes she wants more than friendship from a coffee shop regular, she wonders if she'd technically be keeping her promise of a no-boy summer if she falls for a girl.
There Goes The Neighborhood by Jade Adia
This Is Not a Personal Statement by Tracy Badua
After Perla Perez isn’t accepted into her dream university, Delmont, her carefully curated plan for college and her reputation as “Perfect Perlie Perez” seems doomed to fall apart. But Perla prides herself in always having a plan. After successfully faking her acceptance, she heads off to Delmont anyway, secretly living on campus in an unused dorm room and planning to reapply for Delmont’s spring semester. At Delmont, she experiences a sense of freedom previously unknown, but as her lies begin to snowball, threatening to undo all of Perla’s increasingly intricate double life, she finds that even her unconventional first semester at college is plagued by her family’s constant pressure and her seemingly inescapable feelings of loneliness.
Reggie and Delilah's Year of Falling by Elise Bryant
It's New Year's Eve and Delilah's inability to disappoint her cool friends at her new private school means she's the front woman in a punk band and about to sing in front of people for the very first time. Enter Reggie, a self-conscious Dungeons & Dragons nerd whose anonymous online essays about race in D&D have been gaining traction. Their meet-cute would have gone perfectly if it weren't for Delilah's unresolved crush on a guy in her new band. And thus begins the year of falling.
The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim
All Zahra Khan really wants is to be a writer, but she must first navigate adulthood, love, and the Bengali community of Paterson, New Jersey. She has to put off college to work at local Pakistani tea shop Chai Ho to help her mother support their family, which has struggled financially ever since her father died two years ago. While Zahra focuses on making ends meet, her mother tries desperately to set her up with gorgeous, well-mannered Harun Emon, who is from a wealthy family -- precisely what Zahra's mom is looking for. The two 18-year-olds are not interested in one another, but they pretend to date to keep their parents satisfied. Meanwhile, Zahra is falling for new Chai Ho hire Nayim Aktar, a poor orphan and recent arrival from Bangladesh. As the pressures start building, Zahra finds herself at a crossroads: choose obligation or choose herself.
Promposal by RaeChell Garrett
When high-school senior (and aspiring events planner) Autumn Reeves gets wait-listed at Mercer School of Business, she can't believe it. She'd already been chosen as a Mercer scholarship recipient -- something she thought guaranteed admission to the school, but apparently she was wrong. And then, as if that weren't enough, her boyfriend dumps her. This is not how she pictured her senior year going. When Autumn goes online to accept her place on the wait list, she notices a link for submitting additional materials--and knows this is her chance to add something extra-special to her application. Why not become her high school's official promposal organizer? What follows is a spirited story filled with sparkling banter and relatable ups and downs, including unexpected romance and pressures felt by many high-schoolers.
Star Splitter by Matthew J. Kirby
In a far future with quantum communication and teleportation, something goes terribly wrong. After 6 years apart, it's time for 17-year-old Jessica to be reunited with her parents--but at the cost of her life on Earth, as instead of coming home, her parents are making her join them on their interstellar scientific mission on a distant, post-extinction-event world. The teleportation technology destroys the original body and prints a new one at the other end, but when Jessica wakes up expecting to be in orbit, it's obvious things have gone horribly, violently, lethally awry.
Tasting Light: Ten Science Fiction Stories to Rewire Your Perceptions by Various Authors
The 10 short stories in this luminous collection are set in the future in different locations -- some familiar and some strange, some on Earth and some in outer space, some subtly or overtly dystopian -- but they all have two things in common: all revolve around teens with needs that will resonate with today's readers, and each features a future world grounded in real science.
Danger and Other Unknown Risks: A Graphic Novel by Ryan North and Erica Henderson
A kid and their dog going on an adventure may be one of the most classic setups for stories, yet, in the hands of author North and artist Henderson, this frequently seen premise is the invitation to explore an exciting new world; one Marguerite is determined to save.
The Floraverse by Wab Kinew
In the virtual realm of the Floraverse, Bugz is an unbeatable warrior with seemingly limitless power to create mythical creatures and hardcore weapons. Her only real enemy is Clan:LESS, a group of alt-right gamers who despise women in gaming and who want nothing more than to rule the Floraverse. In real life, Bugz is an Anishinaabe girl living with her family on the rez, where she also feels out of place because of certain gender-based traditions. When she meets Feng, a Uyghur Muslim boy who has fled China, Bugz realizes she isn’t the only one feeling trapped between two worlds. After finding out that Feng is a member of Clan:LESS, though, Bugz has to fight even harder to figure out her place in both the Floraverse and the real world and to sort out her relationship with Feng.
The Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore
In a land of seven kingdoms, people with special talents, called Gracelings, are identified by their eyes -- Katsa's are green and blue, one of each -- although she's eight before her specific Grace is identified as a talent for killing. By 18 she's King Randa's henchwoman, dispatched to knock heads and lop off appendages when subjects disobey, but she hates the job. As an antidote, then, she leads a secret council whose members work against corrupt power, and in this role, while rescuing a kidnapped royal, she meets the silver-and-gold eyed Po, the Graced seventh son of the Lienid king, beginning a relationship that will change both of them.
The Anatomy Duology series by Dana Schwartz
In a quasi-historical version of Georgian-era Edinburgh, wealthy 17-year-old Hazel Sinnett would rather dress in her dead brother George’s clothes to attend anatomy classes than attend balls. Fortunately, her father is on St. Helena with the Royal Navy, and her distracted mother, Lady Sinnett, is in London with her younger brother, Percy, leaving Hazel in Hawthornden Castle with just two servants for supervision. This enables Hazel to pursue her dreams of becoming a surgeon, until a sexist doctor sees through her disguise. Hazel then sets up shop at home in the dungeon and hires a young, attractive resurrection man to bring her bodies for dissection, which in turn allows her to stumble very slowly into the gothic aspect of the story: medical experiments born out of hubris and destined to end badly.
The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality by Mike Sielski
The shocking accidental death of basketball superstar Kobe Bryant in January 2020 remains one of those moments when time seemed to stand still. Hailed as the next Michael Jordan and drafted into the National Basketball Association at age 17, Bryant's unique coming of age was eclipsed by his Hall of Fame career and untimely death. Journalist Sielski tells Bryant's childhood-to-NBA-draft story with exclusive input, meticulous research, and a smooth narrative style. Along the way, he shows how talented young athletes move to the next level, and the impact that success has on their families and communities.
When Women Stood: The Untold History of Females Who Changed Sports and the World by Alexandra Allred
Allred, an athlete activist and professor of sports and exercise science, made sports history when she was named to the first U.S. women's bobsled team and won the U.S. Nationals in 1994, when she was four months pregnant. This well-documented book covers a lot of ground, tracing the traditional roles, challenges, and triumphs of women (not just female athletes) throughout history, from ancient Greece, Asia, and Africa to the modern day.
Wingman by Jean Mills
If you see something, say something. Tensions are running high as the crucial hockey game between the Hawks and the Cougars goes into overtime. Hawks captain Trace calmly lays out the strategy to the team, including narrator Max, who happens to be Trace's best friend. Winning means a playoff berth, but also, it's personal. Every Hawk would like to squelch the nonstop taunts of Cougar Jared and wipe the sneer off his face. In a crucial moment, Trace scores the winning goal...for the other team. The Hawks rush to support their inconsolable captain, but the winning Cougars are gleeful, and Trace's verbally abusive dad doesn't hide his displeasure. Trace's depression lingers, and Max wonders if there's more to the story.
The Monkey Trial: John Scopes and the Battle over Teaching Evolution by Anita Sanchez
Revealing little-known facts about the fight to teach evolution in schools, this riveting account of the dramatic 1925 Scopes Trial (aka "the Monkey Trial") speaks directly to today's tension between science and religion, the influence of the media on public debate, and the power of one individual to change history.
BIG LIES: From Socrates to Social Media by Mark Kurlanzky and Ed Zelz
Kurlansky outlines the history of lying in this informative and compelling introduction to the topic, specifically focusing on the lies of governments, politicians, and corporations with a political agenda.
Getting Started with Sora
Click here to watch a tutorial video and learn all the basics of Sora-- how to log in, browse, and check out books. Also available en Espanol. You can also view our Getting Started with Sora flyers in English, Spanish, and French.
Questions? Contact DPS Library Services at libraryhelpdesk@dpsk12.org.
Denver Public Schools Library Services
Email: libraryhelpdesk@dpsk12.org
Website: https://lion.dpsk12.org
Phone: 7204231842
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DPSLibraries
Twitter: @DPSLibraries