The Soaring Eagle Nominee list is a list of 10 books picked by teens, 7th-12th grade, in the state of Wyoming. These are titles that other teens have said are amazing and should be read. This year’s list includes nonfiction, novels in verse, realistic fiction, fantasy, and mystery.
Our next three books are books in series. Ash Princess, Truly Devious and Wizard for Hire are all part of trilogies; Verify is the first part of its duology.
Ash Princess
By Laura Sebastian
After ten years of Theo being held captive in her own country and palace, she thinks the Kaiser has taken everything from her. He’s taken her family, people and even her name, replacing Theo with Thora. Thora thinks that all she can do now is simply survive; she only has one hope at escaping, and they haven’t come for 10 years. The Kaiser also thinks she has nothing left to lose, until he makes her kill the person she thinks is her only hope at escaping. This breaks Thora in a way the Kaiser doesn’t think of and Theo makes the decision that surviving is not enough. Now, she is determined to take the insult of Ash Princess and turn it into something to be feared. What the Kaiser doesn’t understand is that from the ashes, a queen will rise.
Truly Devious
By Maureen Johnson
Ellingham Academy is a private high school in Vermont, where the best and brightest students go. They didn’t even have an application to get in. The only information to get in was, “If you would like to be considered for Ellingham Academy, please get in touch.”
Stevie Bell is a true-crime aficionado, and her favorite unsolved crime is the “Truly Devious” kidnapping/murder that took place at the Ellingham Academy in 1936. When she got in touch with Ellingham Academy, she told them she wanted to go there so she could solve the “case of the century,” as some had called it. Shortly after arriving at Ellingham, strange things start happening and a student is murdered. Has “Truly Devious” returned? Stevie and her friends must dig into the past and the present to uncover the clues and try to solve this murder mystery.
Wizard for Hire
By Obert Skye
When Ozzy was 7, life was close to perfect: he lived with his parents in a secluded cabin in the forest, filling his stomach with food from their large garden and his mind with stories from their large library.
Life changed in an instant when, as Ozzy was down by the creek, his parents were kidnapped by large, angry men. Ozzy had to learn to survive on his own.
Fast forward 7 years. Ozzy discovers two things that will change his life: a mechanical raven, Clark, that was invented by his father; and a newspaper ad that reads, “Wizard for hire,” and leads him to meet Labyrinth, or Rin for short.
Although Rin is nothing like the wizards that Ozzy has read about in his books, he hopes that whatever magic Rin controls will help him find out what happened to his parents, and hopefully bring them home.
What follows is an adventure that Ozzy never could have anticipated. Was he wrong to trust Rin? Is there enough magic in the world to bring his parents home?
Verify
By Joelle Charbonneau
Meri’s life was changed when her mom suddenly died. Her father started drinking constantly, leaving Meri to fend for herself. Then on the last day of school she sees something she can’t believe; someone being arrested for having paper. Paper isn’t illegal, just very bad for the environment. Everything is digital now, but if you want to own paper, you can, as long as you pay the environmental tax that goes with it. The government has even set up recycling centers where you can take paper and get paid for it. Meri can’t stop thinking about the young man she saw arrested, so when she sees him again, she decides to follow him. When they meet, he shares secrets with her and tells her he was a hidden part of her mother’s life before she died. Meri soon realizes that “Just because you believe something, doesn’t make it true.”
To find these titles, stop by the Teen Room or your school library. Haven’t heard of one you might like? That’s okay; next time we’ll be talking about standalone titles. If you don’t want to wait, stop by the library for other recommendations!