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Young Adult, Tween, and Children's Books: 

Each month, library staff, volunteers or trustees will highlight a book in the collection. This might be a newly published book or an older book made relevant by current events or local interests. If you'd like to suggest a book, please feel free to contact us! 

Young Adult Book

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In the spring of 2018, Guatemalan American high school senior Milagros "Millie" Vargas knows her life is about to change. She has lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, ever since her parents sought asylum there when she was a baby. Now a citizen, Millie devotes herself to school and caring for her younger siblings while her mom works as a housekeeper for the wealthy Wheeler family. With college on the horizon, Millie is torn between attending her dream school and staying close to home, where she knows she's needed. She is disturbed by what's happening to asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, but she doesn't see herself as an activist or a change-maker. She's just trying to take care of her own family.

Then Mr. Wheeler, a U.S. Senate candidate, mentions Millie's achievements in a campaign speech about "deserving" immigrants. It doesn't take long for people to identify Millie's family and place them at the center of a statewide immigration debate. Faced with journalists, trolls, anonymous threats, and the Wheelers' good intentions―especially those of Mr. Wheeler's son, Charlie―Millie must confront the complexity of her past, the uncertainty of her future, and her place in the country that she believed was home.

Tween Book 

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Sometimes it’s good to be wild. Sometimes, you have to be.

When the Russian Army marches into East Prussia at the end of World War II, the Wolf family must flee. Being caught by the Russians or the Americans would be the end for them. Liesl, Otto, and baby Mia’s father has already been captured, and they get separated from their mother in a blizzard after only a few days on the run.

Liesl had promised Mama that she’d keep her brother and sister safe, no matter what. They’ll forage in the forests if they have to. Little do they know that there are hundreds of other parentless children doing the very same thing. And they far too quickly learn that, sometimes, to survive, you have to do bad things.

Dangerous things. Wild things. Sometimes you must become a wolf.

Children's Book 

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When two curious kids embark on a "wonder walk," they let their imaginations soar as they look at the world in a whole new light. They have thought-provoking questions for everything they see: Is the sun the world's light bulb? Is dirt the world's skin? Are rivers the earth's veins? Is the wind the world breathing? I wonder . . . Young readers will wonder too, as they ponder these gorgeous pages and make all kinds of new connections. What a wonderful world indeed!

Book of the month: November

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A flying masked bandit (code name: Chickadee) discovers he isn’t quite who he thinks he is in this fresh and delightful tale about discovering one’s true nature.

Meet Chickadee. Criminal. Rapscallion. All-around bad seed. Sure, he started out obeying the rules, following his parents’ advice about finding things to eat and staying away from houses. But then . . . winter arrives. And it’s so much harder to find food in winter! So when Chickadee spies a “vault” full of “gold” near a house by the park (Wait, wasn’t there something to remember about houses?), he cleverly devises a plan to snatch the “vault full of treasure” without getting caught! He is the King of Thieves! Only, hmm, the humans near the vault seem to want him to visit. Maybe Chickadee’s not a criminal after all?

Maine State Book Award Winners 2022-2023: 

Willodeen by Katherine Applegate                                Leonard (My Life as a Cat) by Carlie Sorosiak

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Oxtertag             The Magical Imperfect by Chris Baron

Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston               Nightfall: Shadow of the Bird by Tim Probert   

Down to Earth by Betty Culley                                       The Shadow Prince by David Anthony Durham

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera                Imaginary by Lee Bacon

Starfish by Lisa Fipps                                                       Carry Me Home by Janet S. Fox

Alone by Megan Freeman                                              All You Knead is Love by Tanya Guerrero

Way of the Hive by Jay Hosler                                       Stella by McCall Hoyle

Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame by Supriya Kelkar       Deadman's Castle by Iain Lawrence

School of Phantoms by Kory Merritt                             Garlic & the Vampire by Bree Paulson

Erik Vs Everything by Christine Uss                               Katie the Catsitter by Colleen Venable

Ash House by Angharad Walker

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