Books have been around for hundreds of years. The first books were heavy wood covered in leather and had stitched spines. Some of these books were works of art themselves, with gold edging on the pages and beautifully drawn pages. While these were great, they were hard to haul around and were expensive. Enter the paperback book. Created in the 1930s by Penguin Books Publishers, paperback books were cheaper and easier to carry. Paperbacks were offered to the public on July 30, 1935; making every July 30th National Paperback Book Day. Here are some popular paperbacks the CCPL Teen Room has to offer.
Dead is the New Black- Marlene Perez
Dead is the New Black is the first book in the Dead Is… series. The book follows Daisy Giordano as she attempts to help her mother investigate a string of attacks on teenage girls in their small town of Nightshade, California.
Jay’s Journal- Edited by Beatrice Sparks
Jay’s Journal is presented as a first-person journal-style entry. Jay is a bright high school student who is depressed. He falls in with the wrong crowd that dabbles in drugs and the occult. Jay finds himself in a life he no longer recognizes until he no longer sees a way out.
The Babysitter – R L Stine
The Babysitter is the first in the series of the same name. Sixteen-year-old Jenny should have known that taking the babysitting job was a bad idea. First there was the creepy Hagen house; then the prank phone calls she keeps receiving. Finally, she receives a threatening note in her backpack, and she realizes this isn’t just a harmless game to scare her.
Midnighters; The Secret Hour – Scott Westerfeld
The first book in a trilogy, The Secret Hour follows Jessica Day as she learns that she is part of a group of people who have special abilities that help them fight ancient creatures. These creatures live in an hour hidden at midnight, and they are determined to destroy her.
The Mediator – Meg Cabot
Susannah, or Suze, is a mediator between the living and the dead. That’s right, she sees the dead and they won’t leave her alone until she helps them with their unfinished business. After moving to California for a fresh start the last thing Suze wants is a ghost with revenge on its mind. That’s what she gets though, and it seems that Suze is in the way. The Mediator: Shadowland is the first book in this nine-book series by Meg Cabot.
Golden- Cameron Dokey
“Once upon a time is timeless.” In this retelling, Rapunzel’s mother made a deal with a sorceress before she was born, giving up Rapunzel. After living with the sorceress Melisande for sixteen years, Rapunzel learns Melisande has a daughter named Rue. Rue was cursed by a wizard long ago and now needs Rapunzel’s help. They only have two nights and the day in between to break the enchantment and save Rue or she will be cursed forever.
A Matter of Trust – Ann Schraff
A Matter of Trust in the second book in the Bluford High series. These books are stand-alone novels so you don’t have to read them in order, but they share the same characters and take place at Bluford High School. Darcy and Brisana were friends when they were younger, but that all changed when they started at Bluford High. Darcy hangs out with “the zeroes,” a group that Brisana can’t stand. The girls become rivals and when Brisana goes after Darcy’s boyfriend, Darcy knows she must do something to stop it all.
The Invisible Man – H.G. Wells
An English Inn has a strange new guest with bandages covering his entire body except for a small area over his obvious fake pink nose. The guest demands his solitude with his chemicals and beakers and activities. Soon the guest starts to run out of money at the same time mysterious burglaries happen around the town.
The Princess Bride – William Goldman
Are you in the mood for an adventure, pirates, a love story, and rodents of unusual size? Well, then The Princess Bride is just what you need. In this classic tale, Westly must save the beautiful Buttercup from the bad guys. On his way, he meets some quirky characters and encounters some detours that delay his rescue.
Everworld: Search for Senna – K.A. Applegate
David had a normal life for a teenager. He went to school, had friends, and a girlfriend Senna. There was something strange about her though. Before David knows it, Senna is swallowed up by the earth. Now David must go after her and enter a world he never could have imagined. This is the first book in the twelve-part series.
Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: The Crucible by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Kiss Number 8 by Colleen A.F. Venable
Sabrina the Teenage Witch by Kelly Thompson
For those of you looking for some spooky reads, here are a couple new books that add a modern twist to classic horror– and just in time for Halloween!
Mary’s Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein 
Poet X
Seven Deadly Sins (Manga)
Now it’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Jeff Lemire. He’s written some great stuff (Essex County, The Descender and Sweet Tooth series, and a lot more) and Plutona is one of the great Young Adult graphic novels that he has published recently. Not only is the artwork super cool, but the story is just spot on. Speaking of the story, let’s get into that. Imagine you have a favorite superhero (mine’s Batman) and you and some friends uh, you find him or her…dead. In a forest. You are seemingly the only ones who know this secret. What do you do in this situation? That’s the dilemma that Teddy, Dianne, Mie, Mike, and Ray find themselves in. This is a superhero tale with a twist, and I’m betting you’ll enjoy this graphic novel. It’s one of those that are really hard to put down. Good luck with that!