Summer Reading 2020: Fiction

When Tina’s mother is murdered in Mr. Grayhill’s study in Kenya, Tina believes she knows who did it. She disappears into the streets of Sangui City and begins to train with the Goonda gang, perfecting her thieving skills in order to extract revenge for her mother’s death. After four years on the streets, she puts her plan of revenge into action, only to discover that everything may not be what it seems. Genre: Fiction (Also: Thrillers & Suspense)

Ryn, eighteen, trapped by a massive blizzard in the Denver airport, meets some unique characters who help her cope with survivor's guilt on the first anniversary of her best friend's death. Genre: Fiction (Also: Realistic fiction; Romantic comedies)

As Jersey copes with her tornado tragedies, the deaths of both mom and sister, as well as the loss of her home, she is further challenged when she is forced to live with her long-estranged father. Genre: Fiction (Also: Realistic fiction)

Rachel and her brother always loved the ocean, but after he drowns, she cannot bear to be around it. She moves back to the city and finds a job working in a bookstore whose part- owner is a young man she had a crush on years before. The job, school, friends and emotional ups and downs lead Rachel to healing. Genre: Fiction (Also: Australian fiction; Love stories; Multiple perspectives)

Rachel Walker loves her family and is devoted to God, but when she begins to question both her reclusive and sheltered life and her relationship with God, she must decide if she will stay or flee, leaving her family and community behind. Genre: Fiction (Also: First-person narratives; Realistic fiction)

An exciting glimpse into a speculative future where the heirs of George Washington reign in a court filled with intrigue, drama, and romance. Genre: Fiction (Also: Alternative histories; Multiple perspectives)

To the delight of audiences worldwide, members of the Paloma family perform underwater as mermaids while the Corbeau family gives feathered performances in the tallest of trees . . . but their families have been enemies for generations. When disaster strikes, will Lace Paloma and Cluck Corbeau be able to overcome their prejudices and help each other? Genre: Fiction (Also: Magical realism)

In alternating voices, Fiona "Fi" Doyle experiences her teen years in two ways, with and without a disfiguring accident that occurred at age six, dealing with its effects on her brother and parents, her friendships, her dating life, her involvement in sports and hobbies, her future plans, and especially her self-image. Genre: Fiction (Also: Parallel narratives; Realistic fiction)

When Dimple Shah and Rishi Patel meet at a Stanford University summer program, Dimple is avoiding her parents' obsession with "marriage prospects," but Rishi hopes to woo her into accepting an arranged marriage with him. Genre: Fiction (Also: Contemporary romances; Multicultural romances; Multiple perspectives; Romantic comedies)

Daria, an Iranian-American teenager, is tired of the sameness of the school cliques, so she and her friends form the Authentics because they are unique and real. When a school project forces her to trace her family roots, unexpected secrets emerge. Genre: Fiction (Also: Realistic fiction)

Set in Australia, Lucy tries to balance her life at home surrounded by her Chinese immigrant family with her life at a pretentious private school. Genre: Fiction (Also: Australian fiction; Coming-of-age stories; Realistic fiction)

Seventeen-year-old Bo knows that he can time travel. His parents send him to a special school where he meets and falls in love with Sofia, a tragic, quiet girl. Is this school for troubled teens - or for those with superpowers? Genre: Fiction (Also: Multiple perspectives; Realistic fiction)

. When Vicki’s best friend moves away, she is consumed by loneliness and anxiety until, on a whim, she invents an Instagram account that forces her out of the shadows. Genre: Fiction (Also: Realistic fiction)

Naila's vacation to visit relatives in Pakistan turns into a nightmare when she discovers her parents want to force her to marry a man she's never met. Genre: Fiction (Also: First person narratives; Realistic fiction)

Kevin spends the summer with his grandfather and tries to help the townspeople save the woods in Appalachia from the devastation of strip mining. Genre: Fiction (Also: Coming-of-age stories; Literary fiction)

Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seventeen-year-old college-bound Justyce McAllister struggles to face the reality of race relations today and how they are shaping him. William C. Morris Award Finalist. Genre: Fiction (Also: African American fiction; Realistic fiction)

When her behavior escalates out of control, fourteen-year-old Wren is taken away in the middle of the night to a wilderness therapy camp where she is forced to develop new skills, including the courage to ask for help. Genre: Fiction (Also: First-person narratives; Realistic fiction)

Eliza has found great success through her webcomic Monstrous Sea. However, in real life she is voluntarily isolated, until she meets a new student, Wallace, who is one of the series’ greatest fans. Her journey to being part of the real world is rocky and terrifying at times; however, navigating her way through the relationships in her life helps her to find her way. Genre: Fiction (Also: First-person narratives; Realistic fiction)

Small towns can be hard places to grow up when you don’t fit the mold, but for three high school seniors, it is nearly impossible. Dill, whose father is incarcerated, Lydia, who is a fashion blogger longing for New York, and Travis, who is living in an abusive home, find an unlikely friendship that bonds them together and helps them find hope for the future. William C. Morris Award 2017. Genre: Fiction (Also: Multiple perspectives; Realistic fiction)