Imagine Teen Readers
This recommended reading list provides a broad list of books related to this summer’s theme of fairy tales, fantasy and mythology. This list includes audio, braille, and large print titles and is recommended for those reading at a junior high, senior high or older reading levels.
To order any of these titles, contact the library by email, mail or phone. You may also request these titles online through WolfPAC. Identification numbers for braille books begin with BR, large print books begin with LP, and audiobooks begin with DB or DBC. All audiobooks and available braille books listed are linked to the Braille and Audio Reading Download site (BARD) for downloading.
Junior and Senior High
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
DB58011
Read by Erin Jones. Reading time: 12 hours, 10 minutes.
Seeking revenge, twelve-year-old apprentice magician Nathaniel calls up the djinni Bartimaeus, a demon, to steal an amulet from a powerful minister. The theft has unforeseen consequences, and the sarcastic djinni has his own agenda. For junior and senior high readers. 2003.
Crewel by Gennifer Albin
DB76072
Read by Kristin Allison. Reading time: 9 hours, 20 minutes.
Gifted with the unusual ability to manipulate reality, sixteen-year-old Adelice is summoned by the government to join the Spinsters, a group that weaves the planet Arras's food, weather, and lives. Separated from her beloved family, Adelice must decide her fate. Crewel World series, book 1. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2012.
Dreamhunter by Elizabeth Knox
DB66693
Read by Mary Kane. Reading time: 10 hours, 23 minutes.
LP001772; 538 pages.
1906. Fifteen-year-old Laura Hame and her cousin Rose come from a family of dreamhunters—people who enter the place of dreams and relay them to others. After Laura's father disappears, Laura searches the magical world for him, experiences nightmares, and encounters a monster. Dreamhunter Duet series, book 1. For junior and senior high readers. 2005.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
DB44343
Read by Suzanne Toren. Reading time: 12 hours, 3 minutes.
LP000778; 574 pages.
BR13276; 3 volumes of braille. Volume 1. Volume 2. Volume 3.
Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North. His Dark Materials series, book 1. Some violence. For junior and senior high readers. 2002.
The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien
DB48978
Read by Carole Jordan Stewart. Reading time: 9 hours, 25 minutes.
DB61051 *Spanish Edition
Read by Maria Pino. Reading time: 10 hours, 48 minutes.
LP000982; 320 pages.
LP001255; 483 pages.
BR07827; 2 volumes of braille. Volume 1. Volume 2.
A fantasy concerning a mythical kingdom and its inhabitants. A hobbit, a magician, and some dwarfs, while searching for hidden treasure, become involved in numerous adventures. For junior and senior high readers. 1937.
I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest
DB82008
Read by Mary Robinette Kowal. Reading time: 7 hours,1 minute.
Years after writing stories about a character she created with a best friend who supposedly died in a tragic car accident, sixteen-year-old May is shocked to see images of the superheroine they made up appearing around Seattle. Truman Award Nominee, 2017-2018. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2015.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds
DB88694
Read by Guy Lockard. Reading time: 6 hours, 55 minutes.
Brooklyn Visions Academy student Miles Morales may not always want to be a superhero, but he must come to terms with his identity—and deal with a villainous teacher—as the new Spider Man. Unrated. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2017.
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
DB83151
Read by Anika Noni Rose. Reading time: 7 hours, 22 minutes.
BR21320; 3 volumes of braille. Volume 1. Volume 2. Volume 3. *UEB
When the murals painted on the walls of her Brooklyn neighborhood start to change and fade in front of her, Sierra Santiago discovers the members of her Puerto Rican family are powerful shadowshapers that must prepare to battle evil. Shadowshaper Cypher series, book 1. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2015.
Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce
DB59928
Read by Anne Flosnik. Reading time: 14 hours, 28 minutes.
LP001463; 591 pages.
Alianne must call forth her mother's courage and her father's wit in order to survive on the Copper Isles in a royal court rife with political intrigue and murderous conspiracy. For junior and senior high readers. 2003.
Senior High and Older
Black Widow Series by Margaret Stohl
DB88649
Read by Emily Ellet. Reading time: 21 hours, 10 minutes.
Working with S. H. I. E. L. D., Natasha works to stop the Moscow spy school that created her in Forever Red. Also includes Red Vengeance. Black Widow series, books 1-2. Some violence. For senior high and older readers. 2016.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
DB90928
Read by Bahni Turpin. Reading time: 17 hours, 47 minutes.
BR22258; 6 volumes of braille. Volume 1. Volume 2. Volume 3. Volume 4. Volume 5. Volume 6.*UEB
Seventeen-year-old Zélie, her older brother Tzain, and rogue princess Amari fight to restore magic and maji to the land, but they are ruthlessly pursued by the crown prince, who believes the return of magic will mean the end of the monarchy. Legacy of Orisha series, book 1. Violence and some strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2018.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
DB75631
Read by Mare Trevathan. Reading time: 9 hours, 20 minutes.
LP002231; 495 pages.
BR21348; 4 volumes of braille. Volume 1. Volume 2. Volume 3. Volume 4.*UEB
Cinder, a teen cyborg and the best mechanic in New Beijing, labors to support her stepmother—and owner—Adri and Adri's two daughters. After Cinder's only human friend, her stepsister Peony, is infected with the plague letumosis, Adri volunteers Cinder's body for plague research. The Lunar Chronicles series, book 1. Truman Award nominee, 2014-2015. For senior high and older readers. 2012.
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
DB81519
Read by Steve West. Reading time: 15 hours, 24 minutes.
LP003193; 647 pages.
BR20825; 5 volumes of braille. Volume 1. Volume 2. Volume 3. Volume 4. Volume 5.
Laia is a scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire's greatest military academy to find a way to save him. Ember in the Ashes series, book 1. Some violence and some strong language. Gateway Award Nominee, 2017-2018. For senior high and older readers. 2015.
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao
DB89540
Read by Kim Mai Guest. Reading time: 13 hours, 25 minutes.
Destined to become the Empress of Feng Lu, eighteen-year-old Xifeng doesn't know if the price for greatness is too high and worth leaving her peasant life behind. To succeed, Xifeng would need to embrace the darkness within. Rise of the Empress Series, book 1. Some explicit descriptions of sex. For senior high and older readers. 2017.
The Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwell
DB92031
Read by Teresa Willis. Reading time: 6 hours, 39 minutes.
A retelling of Robin Hood in which Lady Silvie of Loughsley joins Bird, Little Jane, Mae Tuck, and others to become an outlaw fighting for social justice against her brother John, the sheriff. Violence. For senior high and older readers. 2018.
Freya by Matthew Laurence
DB89212
Read by Teresa Willis. Reading time: 10 hours, 24 minutes.
Sara Vanadi is secretly Freya, the Norse goddess of love, beauty, war, and death. She lives peacefully at a mental hospital, but when a representative from an evil corporation arrives and threatens her, Sara decides to fight back. Freya series, book 1. Violence and some strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2017.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
DB75853
Read by Joe Peck. Reading time: 9 hours, 50 minutes.
DB85967 *Spanish Edition
Read by Aurelio Dominguez. Reading time: 12 hours, 32 minutes.
LP002274; 483 pages.
A family tragedy sends sixteen-year-old American Jacob on a journey to a remote island off the coast of Wales. There he discovers the ruins of an old orphanage that was home to peculiar—and possibly dangerous—children. Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series, book 1. Some violence and some strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2011.
Moon Chosen by P. C. Cast
DB86266
Read by Caitlin Davies. Reading time: 19 hours, 53 minutes.
LP003358; 895 pages.
When her clan is torn apart by a deadly attack, Mari, an Earth Walker with unique healing powers, reveals her forbidden dual nature and forges a tumultuous alliance with a rival clan to save her people. Tales of a New World Series, book 1. Unrated. For senior high and older readers. 2016.
Slayer by Kiersten White
DB93779
Read by Madeleine Maby. Reading time: 12 hours, 1 minute.
Nina and her twin sister, Artemis, grew up training to be Watchers for the Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of darkness. Now Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she's also the last Slayer. Slayer series, book 1. Unrated. For senior high and older readers. 2019.
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
DB77602
Read by Graham Halstead. Reading time: 13 hours, 17 minutes.
BR20664; 5 volumes of braille. Volume 1. Volume 2. Volume 3. Volume 4. Volume 5.
When David was eight, his father was killed by Steelheart, a human turned supervillain, otherwise known as an Epic. Ten years later, David joins the Reckoners, ordinary humans determined to kill the Epics and end their tyranny. Reckoners series, book 1. Violence. Gateway Book Award nominee, 2015-2016. For senior high and older readers. 2013.
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
DB88697
Read by Mozhan Marno. Reading time: 11 hours, 58 minutes.
BR22099; 5 volumes of braille. Volume 1. Volume 2. Volume 3. Volume 4. Volume 5.*UEB
Diana, princess of the Amazons, breaks Amazon law when she rescues Alia Keralis, a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy. Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies both mortal and divine. DC Icons series, book 1. Some violence. For senior high and older readers. 2017.