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Research Guides

On Display in the Library

Slanted and centered title reads “QUICK READS” in large text. Underneath it, text reads, “Jumpstart your year in books!” Across the top is a banner repeating the phrase “Let’s Read.” At the bottom of the page is a graphic of a racetrack, and there are smiley faces around the page as well.
Text reads, “Reading tip #1: Don’t finish a book you hate (Unless it’s an assigned reading, of course!). Give yourself 20-50 pages to get into a book. If you’re still not digging it, don’t waste your time! Life is too short for crappy books!” There is a racetrack graphic at the bottom of the image and smiley faces on the left.
Text reads, “Reading tip #2: Set modest reading goals. Rather than comparing yourself to BookTokers who read hundreds of books a year, set for yourself an achievable goal. Try adding 10 minutes of reading before bed or starting with one of our Quick Read recommendations!” There is a racetrack graphic at the bottom of the image and smiley faces on the left.
Text reads, “Reading tip #3: Avoid distractions. Find a quiet place to read, set your phone out of reach, and let yourself focus on your book!” There is a racetrack graphic at the bottom of the image and smiley faces on the left.
Text reads, “Reading tip #4: Audiobooks count as reading. Audiobooks allow you immerse yourself in a book while doing something else you love. And a great narrator can make a story come alive! Check out our audiobook collections on Sora.” There is a racetrack graphic at the bottom of the image and smiley faces on the left.
Text reads, “Reading tip #5: Get recommendations. Ask your friends, family, teachers, and librarians for recommendations! And remember Tip #1, if you hate it, you can quit. Just remember to be tactful when you tell your friend you hated their favorite book :)” There is a racetrack graphic at the bottom of the image and smiley faces on the left.
Text reads, “Vinyl moon by Mahogany Browne (176 pages). A teen girl reeling from the scars of a past relationship finds healing and hope in the words of strong Black writers and the new community she builds in Brooklyn, New York. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals. The logo for the Sora app notes that the book is available on Sora.
Text reads, “Several people are typing by Calvine Kasulke (246 pages). When his consciousness is uploaded into his company's internal Slack channels, boosting his productivity, Gerald, who works for a PR firm, enlists the help of a co-worker to help him escape—and to find out what happened to his body. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “Every heart a doorway by Seanan McGuire (169 pages). Nancy arrives at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children after disappearing into a fantasy world. There's a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of things. No matter the cost. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “I love this part by Tillie Walden (68 pages). Two girls in a small town in the USA kill time together as they try to get through their days at school. They watch videos, share earbuds as they play each other songs and exchange their stories. In the process they form a deep connection and an unexpected relationship begins to develop. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “The many deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V (128 pages). Humanity is about to discover immortality. As a result, the avatar of Death is cast down to Earth to live a mortal life in Mumbai as twenty-something Laila Starr. Laila has found a way to be placed in the time and place where the creator of immortality will be born. Will she take her chance to stop mankind from permanently altering the cycle of life, or will death really become a thing of the past? (Source: library catalog.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “Tales from the Hinterland by Melissa Albert (240 pages. Journey into the Hinterland, a brutal and beautiful world where a young woman spends a night with Death, brides are wed to a mysterious house in the trees, and an enchantress is killed twice—and still lives. This gorgeously illustrated collection of twelve fairy tales was described as “lush and deliciously sinister.” (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “Sisters by Daisy Johnson (224 pages). Born just ten months apart, July and September are thick as thieves, never needing anyone but each other. Now, following a case of school bullying, the teens have moved away with their single mother to a long-abandoned family home near the shore. This is the haunting story of two sisters caught in a powerful emotional web, wrestling to understand where one ends and the other begins. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “Respect the MIC, Edited by Hanif Abdurraqib, Franny Choi, Dan Sullivan, and Peter Kahn (165 pages). Curated by award-winning and best-selling poets, this wide-ranging poetry anthology represents twenty years of poetry from the students and alumni of Chicago's Oak Park River Forest High School Spoken Word Club. (Source: library catalog.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “You and I are polar opposites by Kocha Agasawa (192 pages). Suzuki's a high school student girl in love, but the guy she's fallen for is nothing like her! While she's cheerful, outgoing, and always trying to fit in, her classmate Yusuke Tani is stoic, quiet, and doesn't seem to care what people think of him. Will Suzuki be able to overcome her anxieties and ask him out, or will she discover that opposites really don't attract? Source: back cover.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals. The logo for the Sora app notes that the book is available on Sora.
Text reads, “Riot baby by Tochi Onyebuchi (173 pages). Ella and Kev are brother and sister, both gifted with extraordinary power. Their childhoods are defined and destroyed by structural racism and brutality. Their futures might alter the world. When Kev is incarcerated for the crime of being a young black man in America, Ella—through visits both mundane and supernatural—tries to show him the way to a revolution that could burn it all down. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals. The logo for the Sora app notes that the book is available on Sora.
Text reads, “When among crows by Veronica Roth (166 pages). Dymitr has a mission: pick the mythical fern flower and offer it to a cursed creature in exchange for help finding the legendary witch Baba Jaga. Ala is a zmora afflicted with a bloodline curse that’s slowly killing her—and she's just desperate enough to say yes to Dymitr. Together they must fight against time and the wrath of the Chicago underworld. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “The year I stopped trying by Katie Heaney (243 pages). Mary is having an existential crisis. She's a good student, she never gets in trouble, and she is searching for the meaning of life. She always thought she'd find it in a perfect score on the SATs. But by junior year, Mary isn't so sure anymore. What follows is a story of overachieving, growing up, and coming out, delivered with wit and heaps of dark humor. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals. The logo for the Sora app notes that the book is available on Sora.
Text reads, “How art can make you happy by Bridget Watson Payne (107 pages). This easy, breezy handbook is full of insight that will help regular people begin a more inspiring and less stressful relationship with art. With tips on how to visit museums, how to talk about art at cocktail parties, and how to let art wake you up to the world around you, this little guide makes it possible for anyone to fall in love with art, whether for the first time or all over again. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “Things to look forward to by Sophie Blackall (119 pages) In these pages, author and illustrator Sophie Blackall has gathered a collection of joyful things for all of us: things that are always there if we look for them, like the sun coming up; things we can do if the sun is behind a cloud, like baking for other people or drawing a face on an egg; and things that can happen when we least expect them, like falling in love. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “A pirate’s life for she: swashbuckling women through the ages by Laura Sook Duncombe (216 pages). This book presents short biographies of sixteen pirate women who, through the ages, sailed alongside—and sometimes in command of—their male counterparts. These women came from all walks of life but had one thing in common: a desire for freedom. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “Safe passage by G. Neri and David Brame (219 pages). This graphic novel tells the story of an epic journey across the South Side of Chicago for Darius, his little sister Cissy, and his best friend Booger as they set out to find an armored truck that has lost a payload of cash. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals. The logo for the Sora app notes that the book is available on Sora.
Text reads, “Superman: the harvests of youth by Sina Grace (193 pages). As teenager Clark Kent and his friends grieve the death of a classmate, Smallville's latest threat pushes Clark to grapple with life's biggest questions in order to become the hero his town needs.” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “Missing Clarissa by Ripley Jones (244 pages). In August of 1999, dazzlingly popular cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappears from a party in the woods outside the rural town of Oreville, Washington and is never seen again. Over twenty years later, two Oreville high-school juniors and best friends start a true crime podcast to unravel the story of what—or who—happened to this rural urban legend. (Source: library catalog.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “How to make herself agreeable to everyone by Cameron Russell (207 pages). Cameron Russell was scouted by a modeling agent at sixteen, but she discovered the work of modeling to be deeply isolating and frustrating. So she began organizing with her peers, and together they began finding their place in movements for labor rights, climate and racial justice, and brought MeToo to the fashion industry. (Source: publisher.) An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals.
Text reads, “If you come softly by Jacqueline Woodson (181 pages.) This young adult classic tells the star-crossed love story of two teens from different worlds. Jeremiah meets Ellie during the first week at his new, fancy private school in Manhattan. In one frozen moment their eyes lock, and after that they know they fit together–even though she’s Jewish and he’s black. Too bad the rest of the world has to get in their way. (Source: publisher.)” An image of the cover is next to the text. The background includes a racetrack graphic and other imagery including smily faces and cartoon animals. The logo for the Sora app notes that the book is available on Sora.