Teen Mental Health Survey

We want you to tell us how we can help! Survey will stay open until Feb 10, 2024.

Springfield City Library is trying to expand how we can help teens and young adults between the ages of 14-24 with mental health care!

Would you like to see a peer group once a month to be able to talk about things that might be bothering you? Would you like a free yoga class? A chance to create and display art to express yourself! You are the boss! You tell us!

Book List – 2018 Teens’ Top Ten

The Teens’ Top Ten is a “teen choice” list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year!

TitleAuthor
Turtles All the Way Down John Green
One of Us is LyingKaren M. McManus
WarcrossMarie Lu
Wonder Woman: Warbringer Leigh Bardugo
CaravalStephanie Garber
Long Way Down Jason Reynolds
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican DaughterErika L. Sánchez
Paper HeartsAli Novak
Strange the Dreamer Laini Taylor
Once and For AllSarah Dessen

2018 Teens’ Top Ten list announced!

Nominators are members of teen book groups in fifteen school and public libraries around the country. Nominations are posted on the Thursday of National Library Week, and teens across the country vote on their favorite titles each year. Readers ages twelve to eighteen voted online between August 15 and Teen Read Week™ (October 7-13, 2018) on the Teens’ Top Ten site.

The Teens’ Top Ten is a project of ALA’s Young Adult Library Services Association. For more great reads visit their Teen Book Finder Database.

Download a pdf file of the Teens’ Top Ten list.

Book List – Young Adult Books About Superheroes

Infinity War left you wrecked? Check out some more light-hearted books about superheroes!

Renegades, by Marissa Meyer
The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew. Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to the villains who have the power to end them both.

Wonder Woman: Warbringer,  by Leigh Bardugo
Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world. Alia just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery. Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. If they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.

Not Your Sidekick,  by C. B. Lee
Welcome to Andover, where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, whom Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.

Vicious,  by V. E. Schwab
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates―brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find―aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge―but who will be left alive at the end?

Steelheart, by Brandon Sanderson
How far would you go for revenge if someone killed your father? If someone destroyed your city? If everything you ever loved was taken from you? David Charleston will go to any lengths to stop Steelheart. But to exact revenge in Steelheart’s world, David will need the Reckoners—a shadowy group of rebels bent on maintaining justice. And it turns out that the Reckoners might just need David too.

Miles Morales: Spider-man, by Jason Reynolds
“Everyone gets mad at hustlers, especially if you’re on the victim side of the hustle. And Miles knew hustling was in his veins.” Miles Morales is just your average teenager. Dinner every Sunday with his parents, chilling out playing old-school video games with his best friend, Ganke, crushing on brainy, beautiful poet Alicia. He’s even got a scholarship spot at the prestigious Brooklyn Visions Academy. Oh yeah, and he’s Spider Man. But lately, Miles’s spidey-sense has been on the fritz. When a misunderstanding leads to his suspension from school, Miles begins to question his abilities. After all, his dad and uncle were Brooklyn jack-boys with criminal records. Maybe kids like Miles aren’t meant to be superheroes. Maybe Miles should take his dad’s advice and focus on saving himself. As Miles tries to get his school life back on track, he can’t shake the vivid nightmares that continue to haunt him. Nor can he avoid the relentless buzz of his spidey-sense every day in history class, amidst his teacher’s lectures on the historical “benefits” of slavery and the importance of the modern-day prison system. But after his scholarship is threatened, Miles uncovers a chilling plot, one that puts his friends, his neighborhood, and himself at risk. It’s time for Miles to suit up.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World: Squirrel Meets World, by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
Fourteen-year-old Doreen Green moved from sunny California to the suburbs of New Jersey. She must start at a new school, make new friends, and continue to hide her tail. Yep, Doreen has the powers of…a squirrel! After failing at several attempts to find her new BFF, Doreen feels lonely and trapped, liked a caged animal. Then one day Doreen uses her extraordinary powers to stop a group of troublemakers from causing mischief in the neighborhood, and her whole life changes. Everyone at school is talking about it! Doreen contemplates becoming a full-fledged Super Hero. And thus, Squirrel Girl is born! She saves cats from trees, keeps the sidewalks clean, and dissuades vandalism. All is well until a real-life Super Villain steps out of the shadows and declares Squirrel Girl his archenemy. Can Doreen balance being a teenager and a Super Hero? Or will she go…NUTS?

Black Widow: Forever Red, by Margaret Stohl
Natasha Romanoff is one of the world’s most lethal assassins. Trained from a young age in the arts of death and deception, Natasha was given the title of Black Widow by Ivan Somodorov, her brutal teacher at the Red Room, Moscow’s infamous academy for operatives. Ava Orlova is just trying to fit in as an average Brooklyn teenager, but her life has been anything but average. The daughter of a missing Russian quantum physicist, Ava was once subjected to a series of ruthless military experiments—until she was rescued by Black Widow and placed under S.H.I.E.L.D. protection. Ava has always longed to reconnect with her mysterious savior, but Black Widow isn’t really the big sister type. Until now. When children all over Eastern Europe begin to go missing, and rumors of smuggled Red Room tech light up the dark net, Natasha suspects her old teacher has returned—and that Ava Orlova might be the only one who can stop him. To defeat the madman who threatens their future, Natasha and Ava must unravel their pasts. Only then will they discover the truth about the dark-eyed boy with an hourglass tattoo who haunts Ava’s dreams…

Updated – September 2018

Book List – Young Adult Books About Transgender People

An up-to-date book list of fiction and nonfiction titles.

Fiction

Almost Perfect, by Brian Katcher (2009)
With his mother working long hours and in pain from a romantic break-up, eighteen-year-old Logan feels alone and unloved until a zany new student arrives at his small-town Missouri high school, keeping a big secret.

The Art of Being Normal, by Lisa Williamson (2015)
Two British transgender teens try to come to terms with their lives while facing serious bullying in their school.

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, by Kirstin Cronn-Mills (2012)
Gabe has always identified as a boy, but he was born with a girl’s body. With his new public access radio show gaining in popularity, Gabe struggles with romance, friendships, and parents–all while trying to come out as trans. An audition for a station in Minneapolis looks like his ticket to a better life in the big city. But his entire future is threatened when several violent guys find out Gabe, the popular DJ, is also Elizabeth from school

Being Emily, by Rachel Gold (2012)
They say that whoever you are it’s okay, you were born that way. Those words don’t comfort Emily, because she was born Christopher and her insides know that her outsides are all wrong. They say that it gets better, be who are you and it’ll be fine. For Emily, telling her parents who she really is means a therapist who insists Christopher is normal and Emily is sick. Telling her girlfriend means lectures about how God doesn’t make that kind of mistake. Emily desperately wants high school in her small Minnesota town to get better. She wants to be the woman she knows is inside, but it’s not until a substitute therapist and a girl named Natalie come into her life that she believes she has a chance of actually Being Emily.

Dreadnought, by April Daniels (2017)
Danny is trying to hide that she’s transgender from her friends and family, but when she’s given the powers of a superhero – and a girl’s body – she has to balance both her identity and her role as a hero.

Gracefully Grayson, by Ami Polonsky (2014)
Grayson, a transgender twelve-year-old, learns to accept her true identity and share it with the world.

I Am J, by Cris Beam (2011)
J always felt different. He was certain that eventually everyone would understand who he really was: a boy mistakenly born as a girl. Yet as he grew up, his body began to betray him; eventually J stopped praying to wake up a “real boy” and started covering up his body, keeping himself invisible – from his family, from his friends…from the world. But after being deserted by the best friend he thought would always be by his side, J decides that he’s done hiding – it’s time to be who he really is. And this time he is determined not to give up, no matter the cost.

If I Was Your Girl, by Meredith Russo (2016)
Amanda Hardy is the new girl in town with a big secret: she used to be Andrew Hardy. She vows to stay isolated but falls for one of the boys. Will he accept her for who she is?

Parrotfish, by Ellen Wittlinger (2007)
When Grady comes out to his family that he’s trans, he isn’t prepared for the backlash he receives from his family and friends. He finds support in some of his school’s outcasts and starts to become who he truly is.

Spy Stuff, by Matthew J. Metzger (2016)
Anton never thought anyone would ever want to date him. Everyone knows nobody wants a transgender boyfriend, right? So he’s as shocked as anyone when seemingly-straight Jude Kalinowski asks him out, and doesn’t appear to be joking. The only problem is… well, Jude doesn’t actually know. Anton can see how this will play out: Jude is a nice guy, and nice guys finish last. And Anton is transgender, and transgender people don’t get happy endings. If he tells Jude, it might destroy everything. And if Jude tells anyone else… it will.

Symptoms of Being Human, by Jeff Garvin (2016)
Riley Cavanaugh, whose father is a prominent politician in a conservative Southern California county, navigates being gender fluid, anxiety, and a new school.

Wandering Son, by Takako Shimura (2011)
The fifth grade. The threshold to puberty, and the beginning of the end of childhood innocence. Shuichi Nitori and his new friend Yoshino Takatsuki have happy homes, loving families, and are well-liked by their classmates. But they share a secret that further complicates a time of life that is awkward for anyone: Shuichi is a boy who wants to be a girl, and Yoshino is a girl who wants to be a boy.

When the Moon Was Ours, by Anna-Marie McLemore (2016)
In a tale of magical realism that stings of emotions strongly felt in our world, close friends Miel and Sam are as equally unique as they are mysterious: roses grow and blossom from Miel’s wrists, and Sam hangs moons that he painted in the trees. When the Bonner girls, four sisters rumored to be witches, want Miel’s roses for themselves, Sam and Miel must face hard questions about love, identity, and the secrets we keep.

Nonfiction

Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen, by Jazz Jennings (2016)
Teen activist and trailblazer Jazz Jennings–named one of “The 25 most influential teens” of the year by Time–shares her very public transgender journey, as she inspires people to accept the differences in others while they embrace their own truths.

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin (2014)
In a sorely needed resource for teens and, frankly, many adults, author/photographer Kuklin shares first-person narratives from six transgender teens, drawn from interviews she conducted and shaped with input from her subjects. While Kuklin’s subjects are candid about the difficulties of coming out as transgender to family and friends and the patience that transitioning often requires, their honest, humorous, and painful remarks about their relationships with gender are often downright revelatory.

Coming Out as Transgender, by Corina Brezina (2017)
An accessible guide to coming out to family and friends, this title provides transgender readers with insight about what steps to take when thinking about coming out.

The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Other Identities, by David Levithan and Billy Merrell (2006)
Teens are more aware of sexuality and identity than ever, and they’re looking for answers and insights, as well as a community of others. In order to help create that community, YA authors David Levithan and Billy Merrell have collected original poems, essays, and stories by young adults in their teens and early 20s. The Full Spectrum includes a variety of writers—gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight, transitioning, and questioning—on a variety of subjects: coming out, family, friendship, religion/faith, first kisses, break-ups, and many others.

Health Issues When You’re Transgender, by Susan Meyer (2017)
Readers will learn about mental and emotional health, gender dysphoria, hormone replacement therapy (including puberty-blocking hormones), gender affirmation surgery, and more. They’ll be reminded that, while surgery and hormone treatments can be lifesaving, they are neither right for every transgender person nor a requirement for being transgender. They’ll also read about the barriers to care that transgender people frequently face and get advice on dealing with a health care system marked by cissexism.

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love, and So Much More, by Janet Mock (2014)
This powerful memoir follows Mock’s quest for identity, from an early, unwavering conviction about her gender to a turbulent adolescence in Honolulu that saw her transitioning during the tender years of high school, self-medicating with hormones at fifteen, and flying across the world alone for sex reassignment surgery at just eighteen. With unflinching honesty, Mock uses her own experience to impart vital insight about the unique challenges and vulnerabilities of trans youth and brave girls like herself.

Rethinking Normal: A Memoir in Transition, by Katie Rain Hill (2014)
In this first-person account, Katie reflects on her pain-filled childhood and the events leading up to the life-changing decision to undergo gender reassignment as a teenager. She reveals the unique challenges she faced while unlearning how to be a boy and shares what it was like to navigate the dating world and experience heartbreak for the first time in a body that matched her gender identity. Told in an unwaveringly honest voice, Rethinking Normal is a coming-of-age story about transcending physical appearances and redefining the parameters of “normalcy” to embody one’s true self.

Some Assembly Required: the Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen, by Arin Andrews (2014)
Seventeen-year-old Arin Andrews shares all the hilarious, painful, and poignant details of undergoing gender reassignment as a high school student in this winning teen memoir.

Transgender Rights and Protections, by Rebecca T. Klein (2014)
This title examines the rights of the transgender community and the areas in which further action is still needed for their protection. Readers are presented with useful information on how to become trans allies and how to fight against trans discrimination in their day-to-day lives.

Download a pdf file of the Young Adult Books About Transgender People booklist

Updated – September 2018

Volunteer and Lead – Teens

Teens have the opportunity to get involved with the Springfield City Library by volunteering or serving on one of our Teen Advisory Boards.

If you would like to volunteer the first step is to speak to the young adult librarian, manager, or supervisor of your local branch library.

Following that, an application form and a Criminal Offense Record Investigation (CORI) form must be completed. Volunteers must be 14 years of age or older. Prospective volunteers under the age of 18 must also have signed permission from their parent or legal guardian. To access the forms or for more information please visit our Volunteer page.