Summer Reading 2021: Fight them off! Competition, Rebellion, & Royalty

In an alternative 1825 Russia, magic is real, though few recognize it. The czar, needing more help than his human advisors can offer, sets into motion the Crown’s Game, a means of finding and retaining an Imperial Enchanter who can help rule Russia. The two teenage contenders, Vika and Nikolai, engage in a contest of magic that determines who will win the coveted title. The catch … the loser of the game will die.

Relocating with her family to the middle of nowhere to alleviate the symptoms of her brother's baffling, life-threatening illness, Tella receives a mysterious invitation to compete in a brutal survivalist competition, the dangerous Brimstone Bleed race, where she can win a cure to her brother's disease. Tella jumps at the chance--but there is no guarantee that she will win, or even survive.

This exciting story set in a future, dystopian Los Angeles is told from the perspectives of its two main characters, Day, a street-smart criminal, and June, a wealthy military prodigy. The pair are forced into a dangerous alliance by the murder of June's brother Metias and by Day's attempt to save his family from a deadly plague. While hunting for Day, the prime suspect in Metias's murder, June uncovers secrets her government has been hiding and turns to Day for help.

Emmett has been recruited by a mysterious corporation for a mission in outer space, and the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family. Forever. Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, each of whom must earn the right to travel down to a paradise planet where the universe's most valuable mineral has been discovered.

Sixteen-year-old newly graduated Cia Vale is selected to take part in The Testing, a process that offers the only chance at a college education and training to become part of the next generation of leaders. Cia has spent years preparing for this—it’s her chance to help the United Commonwealth recover from the devastating Seven Stages War. She is warned to trust no one, and she faces a government machine that is focused, brutal, and duplicitous.

In post-World War IV New Beijing, teenage Linh Cinder lives with her guardian stepmother and two stepsisters and has no memory of her life before becoming a cyborg. She's treated as subhuman and forced to earn the family's living as a mechanic, but her life changes after an encounter with Prince Kai. A plague is ravaging the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, and soon Cinder is involved in finding a cure.

Fourteen-year-old Michael Vey doesn’t seem special, he’s just the kid who has Tourette's syndrome. But in truth, Michael has electric powers, and he discovers another teen at his school, Taylor, with similar abilities. With the help of Michael's friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up with their powers, and their investigation soon brings them to the attention of a mysterious group who wants to control the electric teens--and through them, the world.

Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold—a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed. Now Alina is taken from obscurity to become the protégé of the mysterious Darkling, who trains her to join the magical elite in the belief that she is the Sun Summoner, who can destroy the monsters of the Fold.

Kaz Brekker runs a tight ship as lieutenant of his street gang, and when a high-class merchant offers him a dangerous job—breaking a scientist out of a notoriously secure prison—he initially balks, but 30 million kruge is tough to turn down. It’s an incredibly risky gambit, but with a highly skilled, if ragtag, team behind him and his own boundless daring driving them headlong toward their goal, Kaz is sure they can pull it off. A thrilling tale of double-crosses, buried secrets, and one fantastic heist.

Emika Chen, an 18-year-old hacker turned bounty hunter, ekes out a life in New York City by tracking down criminals who are turning illegal profits in the virtual world of Warcross, an immersive game accessed by a "brain-computer interface." Facing eviction, Emi recklessly hacks into the game to steal a valuable power-up. When a glitch exposes her identity and Hideo Tanaka, the game's 21-year-old billionaire inventor- summons her to Tokyo. There, Hideo recruits her to find an elusive hacker called Zero, and she enters the high-profile games as a wild-card player. Think The Hunger Games meets World of Warcraft!

Preferring to spend her days in the school library where she reads a fairy tale that feels strangely real to her, loner Delilah is astonished when the story's brave and handsome prince, Oliver, reaches out to her and reveals his discontent with his predetermined, literary existence. Told in their separate voices, the two work together to seek Oliver’s freedom.

After the real Guinevere , a princess preparing for marriage in a convent, dies, Merlin (banished from Camelot along with all magic) replaces her with a 16-year-old forest witch who has magic at her fingertips and no clear memory of her early life. Drawn to King Arthur’s innate goodness and devotion to Camelot, she marries him to protect him from any threats. When a long dormant threat awakens, Guinevere must choose her destiny: embrace the wild magic that beckons her, or fight for the hope and promise of Camelot.

The unusual murder of an Oxford professor brings together three strangers in World War I London. One rainy night they meet a curious man called Bert who tells them that they are the caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica, an atlas of imaginary lands. Forced to flee in Bert's ship, their travels lead them through Arthurian legend, pre-Biblical flood tales, dragon lore and the works of Jules Verne. Their mission to defeat the Winter King is linked to the real-world events of the Great War.

When Ari crash-lands on Old Earth and pulls a magic sword from its ancient resting place, she is revealed to be the newest reincarnation of King Arthur. Then she meets Merlin, who has aged backward over the centuries into a teenager, and together they must break the curse that keeps Arthur coming back. Their quest? Defeat the cruel, oppressive government and bring peace and equality to all humankind. No pressure.

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common--magic. Meanwhile, half dragon, half human Kol is king of Eldr, which is being overrun by ogres. In an attempt to save his country, he makes an alliance with Irina, learning that Eldr’s salvation requires that he bring Lorelai’s heart back to the queen.