Color Our World - Teens

Summer Reading Program 2025 picks for Teens! Some titles will be in the Juvenile Collection and others in the Young Adult Collection. The Young Adult Collection is made up of books for a wide age range (12-18 years old) and includes a variety of different topics and interests. Not all titles will be appropriate for all readers.

Showing 1 - 18 of 18  There are a total of 60 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "When it all syncs up"
Star rating for When it all syncs up
Author:
Series:
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"A Black teen dancer with dreams of landing a spot in a prestigious ballet company must learn to dance on her own terms in this explosive debut about the healing power of art and friendship, perfect for fans of Heartbreaker and Tiny Pretty Things. Ballet is Aisha's life. So when she's denied yet another lead at her elite academy because she doesn't "look" the part, she knows something has to change-the constant discrimination is harming her mental...
Book cover for "Wolfwood"
Star rating for Wolfwood
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
Indigo finds a series of paintings made by her mother that could be the solution to their financial insecurities; however, her mother refuses to revive the series, so Indigo secretly takes up the brush herself and falls into the paintings' dangerous world which blurs fantasy and reality.
Book cover for "Dream, Annie, dream"
Star rating for Dream, Annie, dream
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"In this empowering deconstruction of the so-called American Dream, a twelve-year-old Japanese American girl grapples with, and ultimately rises above, the racism and trials of middle school she experiences while chasing her dreams. As the daughter of immigrants who came to America for a better life, Annie Inoue was raised to dream big. And at the start of seventh grade, she's channeling that irrepressible hope into becoming the lead in her school...
Book cover for "Me, Frida, and the secret of the peacock ring"
Star rating for Me, Frida, and the secret of the peacock ring
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:
Paloma Marquez is traveling to Mexico City, birthplace of her deceased father, for the very first time. She's hoping that spending time in Mexico will help her unlock memories of the too-brief time they spent together. While in Mexico, Paloma meets Lizzie and Gael, who present her with an irresistible challenge: the siblings want her to help them find a valuable ring that once belonged to beloved Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
Book cover for "How to draw a secret"
Star rating for How to draw a secret
Author:
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:
An autobiographical story of a young Taiwanese American artist struggling to find her voice to save what matters most.
Book cover for "Tilly in technicolor"
Star rating for Tilly in technicolor
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
When eighteen-year-old Tilly goes to London to intern for her sister's company, she begins to unmask her ADHD and connects with Oliver, another neurodivergent intern.

7. Spin

Book cover for "Spin"
Star rating for Spin
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
When DJ ParSec (Paris Secord), rising star of the local music scene, is found dead over her turntables, the two girls who found her, Kya (her pre-fame best friend) and Fuse (her current chief groupie) are torn between grief for Paris and hatred for each other--but when the lack of obvious suspects stalls the investigation, and the police seem to lose interest, despite pressure from social media and ParSec's loyal fans, the two girls unite, determined...
Book cover for "Vincent and Theo"
Star rating for Vincent and Theo
Average Rating:
4.7 stars
Description:
The true story of the relationship between brothers Theo and Vincent van Gogh.
Book cover for "The breakup lists"
Star rating for The breakup lists
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"A high school stage manager has to face his complicated feelings about love when he catches himself falling for the same guy as his sister"--
Book cover for "Stand up, Yumi Chung!"
Star rating for Stand up, Yumi Chung!
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
When eleven-year-old Yumi Chung stumbles into a kids' comedy camp she is mistaken for another student, so she decides to play the part.

11. Primer

Book cover for "Primer"
Star rating for Primer
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:
While living with her latest set of foster parents, Ashley Rayburn mistakenly applies some found body paints which give her a wide range of special powers, but soon the military discovers what happened to their secret weapon and this puts Ashley and her newfound family and friends in danger.
Book cover for "Seen and unseen"
Star rating for Seen and unseen
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"Legendary photographers Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams all photographed the Japanese American incarceration, but with different approaches-and different results. This nonfiction picture book for middle grade readers examines the Japanese-American incarceration-and the complexity of documenting it-through the work of these three photographers"--
Book cover for "Doodles from the Boogie Down"
Star rating for Doodles from the Boogie Down
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"A young Dominican girl navigates middle school, her strict mother, shifting friendships, and her dream of being an artist"--
Book cover for "Picture day"
Star rating for Picture day
Author:
Series:
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"Everyone knows the most stressful day of middle school is picture day! And that's exactly where this yearbook-worthy graphic novel series opener begins: with reinventing yourself, drama, popularity, and the friends who see you through."--
Book cover for "Folktales for fearless girls"
Star rating for Folktales for fearless girls
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
A collection of folktales from around the world in which girls and women save the day.
Book cover for "Mend!"
Star rating for Mend!
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"A guide to the art, history, and politics of visible mending--at once a practical instruction guide for techniques, a statement on the beauty of repairing and reimagining clothes, and a manifesto against fast fashion. Part manifesto, part how-to, this book persuasively calls for a new way of thinking and handling clothes, flying in the face of the supposedly life-changing magic of throwing them away. Kate Sekules's message is simple: If your sweater...
Book cover for "The Cartoonists Club"
Star rating for The Cartoonists Club
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"Makayla is bursting with ideas but doesn't know how to make them into a story. Howard loves to draw, but he struggles to come up with ideas and his dad thinks comics are a waste of time. Lynda constantly draws in her sketchbook but keeps focusing on what she feels are mistakes, and Art simply loves being creative and is excited to try something new. They come together to form The Cartoonists Club, where kids can learn about making comics and use...
Book cover for "Lunar New Year love story"
Star rating for Lunar New Year love story
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"Val is ready to give up on love. It's led to nothing but secrets and heartbreak, and she's pretty sure she's cursed--no one in her family, for generations, has ever had any luck with love. But then a chance encounter with a pair of cute lion dancers sparks something in Val. Is it real love? Could this be her chance to break the family curse? Or is she destined to live with a broken heart forever?"--