Young Adults Fiction Books

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12–“Cupid Day”–should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a terrible accident that night. However, she still wakes up the next morning. In fact, Sam lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she ever imagined.

The novel was also recognized as a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Daily Beast, NPR, and Publishers Weekly.

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll

Brett and Kelly have always toed the line between supportive sisters and bitter rivals. Growing up, Brett was the problem child, living in the shadow of the brilliant and beautiful Kelly. In adulthood, all that has changed. Kelly is a struggling single mother and Brett has skyrocketed to meteoric success that has been chronicled on a reality TV show called Goal Diggers. When Kelly manipulates her way onto the show and into Brett’s world, Brett is wildly threatened. Kelly, and only Kelly, knows her younger sister’s appalling secret, one that could ruin her. Still, when the truth comes out in the explosive final weekend of filming, neither of them ever expected that the season would end in murder.

Pretty Things: A Novel by Janelle Brown

Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet. Vanessa is a privileged young heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead she becomes an Instagram influencer–traveling the globe, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. But behind the covetable façade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family’s sprawling mountain estate, Stonehaven: A mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa’s past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina. Nina, Vanessa, and Lachlan’s paths collide here, on the cold shores of Lake Tahoe, where their intertwined lives give way to a winter of aspiration and desire, duplicity and revenge. This dazzling, twisty, mesmerizing novel showcases acclaimed author Janelle Brown at her best, as two brilliant, damaged women try to survive the greatest game of deceit and destruction they will ever play.

How Not To Be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler

Maggie Dempsey is tired of moving all over the country. Her parents are second-generation hippies who uproot her every year or so to move to a new city. When Maggie was younger, she thought it was fun and adventurous. Now that she’s a teenager, she hates it. When she moved after her freshman year, she left behind good friends, a great school, and a real feeling of belonging. When she moved her sophomore year, she left behind a boyfriend, too. Now that they’ve moved to Austin, she knows better. She’s not going to make friends. She’s not going to fit in. Anything to prevent her from liking this new place and them from liking her. Only . . . things don’t go exactly as planned.

Getting Revenger On Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook

In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls–and now, at the start of her senior year, she’s the cheerleading captain, the quarterback’s girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she’s ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend. But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she’s moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn’t dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that’s ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend.

Schooled by Gordon Korman 

Capricorn Anderson had never watched a television show before. He’d never tasted a pizza. He had never even heard of a wedgie. And he had never, in his wildest dreams, thought of living anywhere but Garland Farm commune with his hippie caretaker, Rain.

Capricorn (Cap for short) lived every day of his life on Garland Farm growing fruits and vegetables. He was homeschooled by Rain, the only person he knew in the world. Life was simple for Cap. But when Rain falls out of a tree while picking plums and is hospital-ridden, he has to attend the local middle school and live with his new guidance counselor and her irritable daughter. While Cap knew a lot about Zen Buddhism, no amount of formal education could ready him for the trials and tribulations of public middle school.

Cap doesn’t exactly fit in at Claverage Middle School (dubbed C Average by the kids). He has long, ungroomed hair, wears hemp clothes, and practices Tai Chi out on the lawn. His weirdness basically makes him the biggest nerd in school. This is great news for Zach Powers, big man on campus. He can’t wait to instate the age-old tradition in C-Average School: The biggest nerd is nominated for class president — and wins. So when Cap becomes president, he is more puzzled than ever. But as Cap begins to take on his duties, the joke starts to turn on Zach.

Will Cap turn out to be the greatest President in the history of C-Average School, or the biggest punchline?

The List by Siobhan Vivian

An intense look at the rules of high school attraction – and the price that’s paid for them. It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn’t matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up. This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, “pretty” and “ugly.” And it’s also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two.

Queen Bees, Wannabees: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence by Rosalind Windman

This book explains how parents can help their teenage daughters deal with cliques, gossip, substance abuse, boys and sex, and other challenges of adolescence, in a guide designed to help girls empower themselves during a tumultuous time of life.

To get your hands on copies of these books, use the PINES app or website to place them on hold, borrow the books from the Libby, or visit any of our six locations to check the books out today! And remember, in the words of Cady Heron, “The limit does not exist.”

A library card opens a world of infinite possibilities through resources and services that give students the tools to succeed in school and beyond. From STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) programs, family story times, to makerspaces and in-person or virtual homework help, libraries transform lives through education. A library card gives you the ability to access family fun activities at the Atlanta Zoo, State Museums, or State Parks to name a few.

Libraries play an important role in the education and development of children. Studies show that children who are read to in the home and who use the library perform better in school and are more likely to continue to use the library as a source of lifetime learning.

Since 1987, Library Card Sign-up Month has been held each September to mark the beginning of the school year. During the month, the ALA and libraries unite in a national effort to ensure every child signs up for their library card. For more information about how to sign up for a library card, call 706-821-2600, or please visit the Augusta-Richmond County Public Library or any of its branches in person or online at https://gapines.org/eg/opac/register. Below is a list of Special programming we have happening throughout the month:

Paint Party: Saturday, September 25 at 11:30 am (Wallace Branch)
National Wilderness Month Presentation: Tuesday September 14 at 3 pm: (Young Adults Facebook/Instagram)
Grandparents Day Storytime with the Children’s Department: Tuesdays at 11 am all month: (Headquarters Branch)
Scholarship Essay Writing Workshop: Thursday, September 30 at 3 pm (Maxwell Branch Library)
What’s the Fic? Podcast- Banned Books Edition (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube)

# # # MEDIA CONTACT: Leah Holloway, Public Relations Assistant, 706-821-2605, hollowayl@arcpls.org.

Headquarters- Monday-Thursday 9:00am-8:00pm Friday 9:00am-5:30pm, Saturday 11:00am-4:00pm, Sunday 2:00pm-5:00pm

Appleby- Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:30pm, Saturday 11:00am-4:00pm, Sunday-Closed

Diamond Lakes and Friedman- Monday & Wednesday 9:00am-7:00pm, Tuesday and Thursday-Friday 9:00am-5:30pm, Saturday 11:00am-4:00pm, Sunday-Closed

Maxwell Branch Tuesday and Thursday 9 am-7 pm, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 9 am-5:30 pm, Saturday, 11 am-4 pm, Sunday-Closed

Wallace- Monday-Thursday 9:00am-5:30pm, Friday 12:00 noon-5:30pm, Saturday 11:00am-4:00pm, Sunday-Closed

Effective September 1, 2021, the auditorium and meeting rooms will be available for reservations. This includes all open branch locations. Patrons will be able to browse all areas of the open branches and check out materials. There will be a one-hour time limit for patrons using computers. We have fewer computers and limited seating in our branches. In-person programming is taking place in all open branch locations. If you are a patron entering any of our ARCPLS locations, we strongly encourage you to wear a mask.

All library branches will still be offering curbside pickup services during phase four. Patrons may place holds on materials for pickup online through their PINES account or by calling the library branch of their choice. Library staff will call you to let you know when your items are available and schedule a curbside pickup time. We ask that you give our library staff 24 to 48 hours to get your materials prepared. Pickup times will be Monday through Friday between 9:30 am and 4:30 pm. All of our book drops are currently open if you want to return materials. We ask that you be patient with our staff during this time as there will be a 3-day delay when checking in materials.

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Tell us, what is “What’s the FIC?” about, and what can we expect from this podcast?

What’s the FIC? is an upcoming library and library related podcast from Augusta Richmond County Public Library for all ages hosted by Georgina Lewis and Megan Williams. The podcast will cover a multitude of topics such as literature that influenced media, gaming, education, anime & manga discussion, library worker interviews and so much more!

What inspired you to create this for the Augusta Library System?

As someone who worked with those individuals with visual and physical impairments, I wanted something that would be inclusive in regards to content that they could enjoy in its entirety. The other thought was that we would love to engage more with our community, especially teens and young adults. Meg and I are huge nerds when it comes to libraries, anime, manga, and the like so we wanted a place to exercise our creativity and invite the community to join in.

Who came up with the name? What does it mean?

We brainstormed the name together! We went through a long list of names and Megan proposed What the Fic? and I merely added an apostrophe and viola our name was born. We wanted a name to keep us questioning hey what is the fic today? In regards to what is going on in our system, libraries, and media that allow us to ponder how fiction influences social media, games, tv/movies, and anime.

Why do you think it’s important to use digital avenues to connect with our audience, or even a new audience?

I love the traditional library experience of going into a library, grabbing a book, and getting comfy. That being said, the past events of 2019-2020, showed us that we can still be very creative through digital avenues. As technology and users are growing it’s important to communicate with audiences who find comfort in the online experience. We want to make sure that we are reaching out to our younger patrons by tapping into the way they communicate. Which happens to be through technology. By having a digital avenue readily available we are making sure that our library system has its doors open to everyone seeking lifelong learning.

Is there anything you would like to say to your potential fans and followers out there?

We hope you will join us on our podcast adventures! We would love to hear from you as we cover our topics like if the book was better than the tv show or movie, share laughs over memorable library moments, discuss how gaming and libraries definitely go together, and all the wonderful things going on here at ARCPLS. We got the “fic”, so stick with us!

The podcast is set to start on Wednesday, August 25 at 2:00 pm. Viewers will be able to listen through the Apple Music and Spotify Apps. “What’s the FIC?” episodes will include three programs in August and September to kick off the series:

Aug. 25th – First Episode: Fruits Basket – Anime and Manga Comparison

Sept. 15th – Game ON! Gaming in the library

Sept. 29th – Banned Books Week/Back to School Advisory episode

“I love the traditional library experience of going into a library, grabbing a book, and getting comfy. That being said, the past events of 2019-2020, showed us that we can still be very creative through digital avenues”, says Library Assistant Georgina Lewis.

The podcast is set to start on Wednesday, August 25 at 2:00 pm. Viewers will be able to listen through the Apple Music and Spotify Apps. “What’s the FIC?” episodes will include three programs in August and September to kick off the series:

Aug. 25th – First Episode: Fruits Basket – Anime and Manga Comparison

Sept. 15th – Game ON! Gaming in the library

Sept. 29th – Banned Books Week/Back to School Advisory

“As technology and users are growing it’s important to communicate with audiences who find comfort in the online experience”, says Lewis. We also want to make sure that we are reaching out to our younger patrons by tapping into the way they communicate.”

For more information on “What’s the FIC?” call 706-821-2600.

# # # MEDIA CONTACT: Leah Holloway, Public Relations Assistant, 706-821-2605, hollowayl@arcpls.org. For more information about library resources, programming, meeting room reservations, and events call 706-821-2600.

About ARCPLS:  The mission of the Augusta-Richmond County Public Library System is connecting the community to knowledge by providing information to people. The six libraries in Richmond County serve a population of almost 300,000, containing within them over half a million items. All libraries are equipped with computer access to the state-wide PINES catalog of materials, and have public-use computers for Internet access and office applications. Friendly staff make customer service a priority.