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The List
Great Reads for Youth

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TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY

 FANTASY
Myth, adventure, strange lands and mortal danger come
together in tales that take you places you can only imagine.

Looking for your next great read?
You found it! Toronto Public Library’s
youth literature experts are here
to help. Whether you’re looking
for fearless females, nailbiters,
true stories, escape, or anything in
between, we’ve got you covered.
We’ve selected these 50 fantastic
books to make you laugh, cry, reflect,
“very rich”
I chose this book because I thought it
would be interesting to read a fantasy
book with a background of Asian history.
People who like things like Game of
Thrones, with strong world-building, will
love this book. The lore is very rich, the
rules of the world are clear, you aren’t
left with questions about how things
work.
Tyrell
Tyrell, on Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
SUGGESTED READS

#
debate, celebrate and grow.
Visit the TPL website for the full 100
books on The List, and remember,
you can always drop by your local
branch for help finding the perfect
book for you.
Beasts Made The Last Namsara
Happy reading! of Night KRISTIN CICCARELLI
TOCHI ONYEBUCHI

Forest of a Thousand
Lisa Heggum Lanterns
Manager, Youth Services JULIE C. DAO
1 In a small village, a
young girl’s destiny may
lead her to the throne
of the Empress – if she
FOLLOW US! embraces the dark and
brutal power bestowed
Wonder Woman: The Epic Crush
on her by an ambitious
@tpl.teens god.
Warbringer of Genie Lo
LEIGH BARDUGO F.C. YEE
@tplteens

your faves! 1
 HEADSPACE NAILBITERS
What happens in your head can colour everything around you. Suspense and nonstop action keep you turning pages in
these edge-of-your-seat reads.

“I found it inspiring” “like really cool”

Mental health is something that I struggle
with personally. The stories in this book
that I found inspiring were the ones
by students who, when they started at
a post-secondary institution, realized
that their mental health was not in the
condition that they wanted it to be. And
they were able to cope with their mental
health problems, and graduate, and make
Priya
a career, and make a living.
Priya, on Project Semicolon
There’s a lot of suspense… the characters
are really nice, like really cool, really
fantastical, and all the little obstacles
that they went through were really
imaginative and each twist and turn left
me wanting more.
Ken, on The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue
Ken

SUGGESTED READS SUGGESTED READS

Optimists Die First Goodbye Days City of Saints Dreadnought

SUSIN NIELSEN JEFF ZENTNER and Thieves APRIL DANIELS
NATALIE C. ANDERSON

Project Semicolon The Gentleman’s

AMY BLEUEL Guide to Vice and
Virtue
This movement uses
MACKENZI LEE
the semicolon to
denote the choice to A young British lord
continue on despite embarks on an
difficult times, collecting unforgettable tour of
inspirational and Europe with his best
wrenching personal friend/secret crush. He
stories with photos of Project You What I Lost is seeking pleasure and One of Us Is Lying Thornhill
semicolon tattoos. AUBRE ANDRUS ALEXANDRA BALLARD vice, when a reckless
KAREN M. MCMANUS PAM SMY
decision throws them
into more adventure than
he knows how to handle.

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 INTO IT INDIGENOUS VOICES
What makes your eyes light up? These young people are Traditional, modern, and futuristic, these comics and novels
following their passions. by Indigenous authors tell exciting, important stories.

“a book for anyone” “to remind us”

This book is great for people who haven’t
done coding before. It talks about coding
in general and why it’s so amazing and
interesting and why you should try it
out if you haven’t already. You don’t
really need to like code, or know what
code is about to read this book. It’s great
because it brings in so many different
elements: art, robots, creativity… I think
Ravicha
it’s a book for anyone.
Ravicha, on Girls Who Code
SUGGESTED READS
Even though I don’t have a lot of things
in common with the main character,
there were many instances where I
felt like I could relate, even though our
experiences are very different. I feel
like a lot of people don’t want to talk
about the dark past of Canada with
the residential schools, but it is very
important to be spoken of openly, so
Wameeya
I think this is a very important book to
remind us of our past and make us learn
from our mistakes.
Wameeya, on The Marrow Thieves
SUGGESTED READS

Kat and Meg Sneakers #NotYourPrincess Fire Starters

Conquer the World RODRIGO CORRAL, LISA CHARLEYBOY, JEN STORM
ANNA PRIEMAZA ALEX FRENCH, MARY BETH LEATHERDALE
HOWIE KAHN

Girls Who Code The Marrow Thieves

RESHMA SAUJANI CHERIE DIMALINE
From why coding is
relevant to your interests,
In a future Canada where
to stories of women who
global warming has
code, to a little basic
destroyed the world as
how-to, this book is a fun
we know it, Indigenous
and inspiring way to get
people are hunted for
started.
their bone marrow, and
(H)afrocentric The Date to Save one young person may The Gnawer of Rocks Moonshot, Vol. 2
Comics, Vols. 1-4 STEPHANIE KATE STROHM be the one who can save LOUISE FLAHERTY HOPE NICHOLSON
JULIANA “JEWELS” SMITH them.

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 SCIENCE FICTION FEARLESS FEMALES
Travel into uncharted territory and imagine strange and In poetry, protest, speeches and stories, young women
jarring new worlds. are finding their voices and pushing for change.

“feels so real” “lots of stories”

My favourite character was Kamel, This book has lots of different stories
because we all have that person in our from around 45 different people.
lives who is annoying, but we are their There’s one section about confidence
friend and we kind of trust them, but and ambition and I thought that part
they are still annoying. Every single page was really good because it builds you
of the book makes you want to read up. I would recommend it to teens who
more. It all just feels so real – but it’s not! maybe struggle with stuff like gender
Max, on The Winnowing
and sexuality!

Max Kushi
Kushi, on Here We Are

SUGGESTED READS SUGGESTED READS

Everyone’s a Aliebn Monster The Nowhere Girls Saints and Misfits

When Ur a Aliebn MICHAEL GRANT AMY REED S.K. ALI
Too
JOMNY SUN

The Winnowing Here We Are

VIKKI VANSICKLE KELLY JENSEN

There’s something
Surviving the winnowing for everyone here!
process meant losing Essays, lists, poems,
her best friend, gaining comics and drawings
powers, and learning cover everything
about conspiracies and from body positivity,
revolutions that might romance and gender,
be the answer to righting Invictus Warcross to intersectionality, The Fold Why We March
a decade of wrongs. RYAN GRAUDIN MARIE LU friendships and AN NA ARTISAN PRESS
fandoms.

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 COMICS & MANGA TURNING POINTS
Epic or everyday. Adventure or comedy. Or all of it! Tragedy. Frustration. Anger. First loves. All part of life –
Come for the story. Stay for the amazing art. and they will all leave their mark on you.

“just too good”  “I would recommend this”

I love comic books myself and I love
superheroes and my favourite superhero
is Batman. This book is amazing
because we always see how guys are
superheroes, so it’s good to see a girl as
a superhero trying to save others. You
should read this book because it’s just
too good and it’s awesome and if you’re
not reading it, like, what are you doing?
Abishek
Abishek, on Batgirl Vol.1: Beyond Burnside
Anybody who feels like their voice really
isn’t heard or that they’ve been pushed
to the side… anybody who feels that
people aren’t listening to them or people
don’t really care about what they’re
going through, I would recommend this
book to them.
Terese, on The Hate U Give
Terese

SUGGESTED READS SUGGESTED READS

Toronto Comics: Snotgirl, Vol. 1 36 Questions That When Dimple

Yonge at Heart BRYAN LEE O’MALLEY Changed My Mind Met Rishi
STEVEN ANDREWS About You SANDHYA MENON
VICKI GRANT

Batgirl, Vol. 1: The Hate U Give

Beyond Burnside ANGIE THOMAS
HOPE LARSON Starr’s everyday life
As much as Batgirl loves includes hiding a lot of
Burnside, she needs it at her fancy school,
to get away – but she but when a shooting
close to home upends
doesn’t realize that
everything, her priorities
there is no rest for
shift, and things get very
heroes when new foes
I Am Alfonso Jones Your Name. 01 real, very quickly. History Is All I Am Not Your
are waiting out there.
TONY MEDINA MAKOTO SHINKAI You Left Me Perfect Mexican
ADAM SILVERA Daughter
ERIKA L. SÁNCHEZ

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 TRUE STORY
FREE with your library card
From little moments, to living history, these life-changing
experiences make for compelling reading.

“revolutionized my view”
This book basically revolutionized my
view of Toronto. Now, walking down
the streets of Toronto, I am humbled
by the fact that I don’t know as much as
I thought, and I know now that history
is so much more than just facts. I’d
recommend it to anyone who would
enjoy reading something that will
change their perspective on the world.
(Wudi) Bessa
Bessa, on The Toronto Book of the Dead

SUGGESTED READS

This Is Really The Dead Inside

Happening CYNDY ETLER

download
ERIN CHACK

The Toronto Book

of the Dead ebooks
ADAM BUNCH
emagazines
Toronto’s past is filled
with fascinating stories
of war and plague, duels
music
and executions, suicides
and séances, as it grew
from an Indigenous The Best We The 57 Bus
videos
settlement, to trading Could Do DASHKA SLATER
post, to the city we know
today.
THI BUI
tpl.ca/downloads
10 tpl.ca/thelist
 The library has you covered.
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writing festivals and the chance to get
published.
Workshops on 3D printing, coding,
VR, Photoshop, robotics and more.
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After School
All libraries have space to study, read
and hang out.
Youth Hubs also offer tutoring, fun
activities, workshops, recording
equipment and laptops after school.
tpl.ca/teens
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Get online homework help with Give back to your community.
Brainfuse.
Get your 40 hours of community
Improve your skills using video tutorials service at the library.
and online courses, search for research
articles, study tips, career info and
more.
Get online

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