What Seattle Read in 2022: Teen Edition

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What are the teenagers checking out these days? We were curious, so as a follow-up to our post on The Seattle Public Library’s most popular books for adults in 2022, we’ve compiled the top-circulated 10 fiction and nonfiction books for teen audiences. It’s a diverse, fascinating list, ranging from award-winning graphic novels to an Ojibwe coming-of-age story to a youth edition of Trevor Noah’s memoir. Maybe you’ll find a new book for your young adult reader — or for yourself.

Top teen fiction: Print books

1. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, by Art Spiegelman
2. Firekeeper’s Daughter, by Angeline Boulley
3. Last Night at the Telegraph Club, by Malinda Lo
4. We Hereby Refuse: Japanese-American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration, by Frank Abe, Tamiko Nimura, with art by Ross Ishikawa, Matt Sasaki
5. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins
6. The Girl from the Sea, by Molly Knox Ostertag
7. Maus, I, A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History, by Art Spiegelman
8. A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
9. Heartstopper, Volume 1, by Alice Oseman
10. The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

Top teen fiction: E-books

1. Shadow and Bone: The Grisha Trilogy, Book 1, by Leigh Bardugo
2. A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah M. Maas
3. Siege and Storm: The Grisha Trilogy, Book 2, by Leigh Bardugo
4. A Snake Falls to Earth, by Darcie Little Badger
5. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
6. Ruin and Rising: The Grisha Trilogy, Book 3, by Leigh Bardugo
7. The Summer I Turned Pretty, Book 1, by Jenny Han
8. Firekeeper’s Daughter, by Angeline Boulley
9. Heartstopper, Volume 1, by Alice Oseman
10. We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart

Something You Haven’t Read: Best Fiction Debuts of 2022

Do you seem to be reading the same authors, and the same books, over and over and over? We’ve got the antidote: check out our list of stellar debut novels from 2022. Get in on the ground floor of these authors’ promising careers. Here’s a small sample of what you’ll find there:

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• The Ghetto Within by Santiago H. Amigorena, translated by Frank Wynne
  In the haunting and resonant English language debut of this  French Argentine writer, a Jewish emigrant to Buenos Aires confronts inescapable walls of guilt when he learns of the fates of those he left behind in Warsaw, an emotional legacy he passes down to his own offspring.
• Stories No One Hopes Are About Them by A.J. Bermudez
  Playfully subversive, darkly humorous stories reveal the myriad subtle ways we are marginalized by the entitlemens of others, and sidelined by our own internalized powerlessness.

Seattle Staff Faves 2022: Fiction

A New Year approaches which can only mean that it is once again time for us to share our Staff Favorites for another year. Here is some of our favorite recent fiction for grown ups – you’ll find the whole list here.

Small Game, by Blair Braverman. “A wild chase up to and beyond the end! A survival game show – like Alone but fictionalized – in the very far northwoods where participants are filmed daily by a crew along with cameras in the trees. No alone time here! And no escape. The unthinkable happens! I read it in one day.” – Christine

A Prayer for the Crown Shy, by Becky Chambers. “Chambers continues her Monk & Robot novellas with another deeply philosophical tale. Sibling Dex is still unsure about their future, and Mosscap has many questions that may not have answers.” – Cassandra

Let’s Read! The 8 Great Books of the 2023 Global Reading Challenge

The eight great books of Global Reading Challenge 2023

Hey fourth and fifth graders, are you ready to read, learn and win? The 2023 Global Reading Challenge launches today, with the unveiling of this year’s books.

Now in its 28^th year, the Global Reading Challenge is a reading incentive program between the Library and Seattle Public Schools (SPS). Fourth and fifth graders enrolled in SPS of all reading abilities read the books together and team up for trivia competitions. The semi-finals and City Final competitions, which happen in March 2023, will be in person this year! Find out more at spl.org/GRC.

But let’s get to the books! This year’s Global Reading Challenge lineup includes eight wonderful titles that represent a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. As usual, we chose books where the author has a cultural connection to the story they are telling. You can learn about the books from our children’s librarians in this video, or read about them below.

We’ve included links to the books in our catalog, so you can easily put a hold on a copy with your Library card. You can also check out digital copies with your Library Link account. Global Reading Challenge books will also be distributed at participating Seattle Public Schools, so check with your school librarian. And three of the books are available in Spanish.

Find out more about the Global Reading Challenge at spl.org/GRC.

#BookBingoNW2022: Health or Healthcare Workers

Summer Book Bingo 2022 deadline is looming! As Sept. 6 draws near, here are some suggestions for folks trying to fill their Health or healthcare workers square – two novels that imagine the lives of nurses, plus nonfiction about building healthcare infrastructure, reflections on medical advancements, and two books for common health concerns.

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
Over three days in Dublin, Ireland during the 1918 flu epidemic, nurse Julia Power works the quarantined maternity ward in an understaffed city hospital where pregnant women with influenza prepare to give birth. (historical fiction)

Lazaretto by Diane McKinney-Whetstone
In Civil War-era Philadelphia, Sylvia works as a nurse-in-training to a local midwife at Lazaretto Hospital, which is an anchor to an African American community. On the night of President Lincoln’s assassination, Sylvia helps deliver the baby of a Black maid, Meda, an event that ties together Sylvia and Meda’s lives. (historical fiction)

Sisters of Mokama by Jyoti Thottam
The true story of six Kentucky nuns who in 1947 traveled to Bihar in northern India to build a hospital, provide necessary medical care, and open a nursing school to train local women. Thottam, of The New York Times, pulls from 20 years of research, 60+ interviews, and the story of her mother, who was one of the young Indian women taken in as a nursing student.

The Hospital: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town by Brian Alexander
A portrait of a small nonprofit hospital in Bryan, OH that sheds light on health care in America. From fall 2018 through summer 2020, journalist Alexander interviewed hospital personnel, patients, and others to get a full picture of how hospitals survive – or don’t.