02 Jul Unearthing an Adventure: Books that Take You on a Journey
Looking for a new tale to lead you on an adventure? Journey through time and across worlds with these Teen Central picks.
The Vanished Kingdom: The War of the Maps
by Johnathan Auxier
Since before recorded time, magic and reason have been locked in a conflict that will determine reality itself. Peter Nimble and Sophie Quire have spent four years defending a disappearing world of wonder against the relentless forces of “progress” tied to a mysterious group called The League of Maps. As they investigate, the pair are pulled into opposite sides of a vast war that spans from humanity’s origins to the present.
Afia in the Land of Wonders
by Mia Araujo
Afia, restless in her secluded cliffside home of Dafra, longs for life beyond her family’s expectations while her twin sister Aya stays content. Lured by a charming shape-shifter named Bakame, Afia leaves everything familiar to enter the forbidden forests and discover the magical land of Ijabu. At first enchanted by Ijabu’s wonders, Afia soon learns the world demands a terrible price and faces hunters and lost dreamers who try to trap her. She must find the courage to survive on her own or risk losing herself entirely to Ijabu.
Where Shadows Meet
by Patrice Caldwell
A millennium after giving up her wings for love and watching that love corrupt into a thirst for power, Favre waits to resurrect the goddess who made her into a monster. Crown princess Leyla of the malichora must journey to the Island of the Dead with the seer Najja to rescue her captured friend, but their quest risks awakening an ancient evil. Set after a war between vampires, humans, and gods, Where Shadows Meet explores loss, self-discovery, and whether we shape our fates or are shaped by them.
A Curious Kind of Magic
by Mara Rutherford
Everyone in Ardmuir, including Willow Stokes, thinks her shop of fake magical trinkets is a sham, until outlander Brianna arrives and turns Willow’s fakes into real magic. Desperate to save her father’s failing shop, Willow strikes a risky bargain with Brianna, and together with a stubbornly handsome printer’s assistant they uncover a deeper conspiracy. When Willow is drawn into a deadly collector’s quest for the rarest magical object, she discovers that true magic and what’s worth fighting for may be closer than she ever expected.
Of Jade and Dragons
by Amber Chen
Eighteen-year-old Aihui Ying seeks to become a world-class engineer like her father, but his sudden murder shatters her life and leaves her with only his journal and a jade pendant taken from the assassin. Disguised as her brother, she infiltrates the male-only Engineers Guild to uncover her father’s hidden past and why he was targeted. Facing deadly secrets and difficult choices, she must decide whether to avenge her father even if it means betraying his quiet principles.
Long Live the Pumpkin Queen
by Shea Ernshaw
Sally Skellington becomes the new Pumpkin Queen after marrying Jack but doubts whether the role is any freer than her past life under Dr. Finkelstein. While exploring the forest Hinterlands with Zero, she accidentally opens a hidden doorway to Dream Town, triggering sinister events that threaten her reign and Halloween Town. Sally must learn what it means to be true to herself and stop the unfolding danger before her future becomes a nightmare.
The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry
The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry
by Ransom Riggs
Seventeen-year-old Leopold Berry starts seeing bizarre visions from a cheesy 1990s fantasy show, Max’s Adventures in Sunderworld, after finding its VHS tapes while grieving his mother. He becomes obsessed with the series, until the show’s strange elements begin appearing in real life across Los Angeles. Leopold discovers that Sunderworld is real and in danger, and he risks everything to claim a heroic destiny and save it. When his plans disastrously fail, Leopold must face the possibility that his deepest disappointments might be the source of unexpected strength.
Griffin Speaker
by Jan M. Flynn
Twelve-year-old Rain, an orphan destined for the mines, bonds with a wild griffin and, under an old law, earns the right to attend the elite Griffin Riders Academy. Her rise threatens Griffin Land’s rigid hierarchy, so powerful forces force her to prove herself by climbing the highest peak and defeating the monster at its summit, accompanied only by her best friend and an unlikely ally.
– written by Alex B, Teen Central Library Assistant
