Florida Teen’s Read is "a list of fifteen titles that have been chosen by a committee of fourteen school librarians specifically to engage high school students in reading and reflect their interests as well as represent a variety of genres, formats, reading levels, viewpoints, and ethnic and cultural perspectives." Teens spend the year exploring the titles and voting on their favorites. Before it is announced who wins for the 2024-25 school year, here's our take on some of the books from the list. What was YOUR favorite?
Accountable: the True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives it Changed by Dashka Slater
Accountable is a true story about how someone's actions can
affect the rest of their life. She focuses on the emotions of
the individuals affected from the offensive posts on a private
Instagram account. I enjoyed reading this book since it reminded me that
everything posted on the online can be shared. The theme of justice and regret
are prominent in the book. I would recommend to someone looking
to read a true story that showcases important lessons about technology. -read by Brooke
Breathe and Count Back From Ten by Natalia Sylvester
Breathe
and Count Back From Ten had potential written on its
tombstone. I truly wanted to enjoy this novel, as I believe it brought multiple
relevant topics to the table; however, the topics it engages with are never
fully fleshed out and unfortunately did reach a true resolution. In this story,
we encounter Verónica, a Peruvian-American girl who has both a disability (hip
dysplasia) and big dreams. The summer before her senior year, she obtains a job
at the Mermaid Cove, an attraction in her Florida hometown. The novel touched
on cultural differences, familial strife, and life with a disability. All of
these subjects have so much value, especially in our current society. With that
being said, I honestly found Verónica to be very unlikable and ungrateful to her
parents. Obviously, there is a cultural difference and age factor at play in
that relationship, but still, I would’ve enjoyed it more if there had been more
empathy for her parents. Overall, even though it touched on interesting topics,
I definitely think it could’ve been better executed. -read by Anna
The Do-Over by Lynne Painter
The
Do-Over focuses on main character, Emilie, when Valentine’s
Day starts to repeat over and over again. Through her experiences, she starts
to see the world from a new perspective. I absolutely loved reading this book.
It was an adorable story that was very entertaining. - read by Brooke
Midnight at the Houdini by Delilah S. Dawson
Midnight
at the Houdini is about Anna, the daughter of a rich
Las Vegas hotel owner. She goes to one of her father’s hotels after a tornado
makes driving home unsafe. She becomes stuck in the hotel and must figure out
how to escape before it is too late. I liked the unique plot of this book and
would definitely recommend it to readers who like magic. -read by Brooke
Queen Bee by Amalie Howard
Queen
Bee is a book with a very interesting concept. The story follows Ela Dalvi on
her quest for revenge. Ela wants to get revenge on her childhood best friend
Poppy, who killed their relationship over a boy. Ela wants to infiltrate the
elite society of London and get even with Poppy. But when a familiar face from
her past appears, she questions whether revenge is the answer. I really liked
this book. The characters were interesting, and I liked reading about Ela’s
plans. It really felt like I was part of the story. The only problem that I had
with this book was that the constant back-and-forth time switching made it
difficult to keep track of the characters and the current timeline. -ready by Holly
Remember Me Gone by Stacy Stokes
Remember
Me Gone is centered on the life of Lucy who lives in a
small Texan town. Her family has a business that allows people to erase their
bad memories and once she starts to learn more about it, she decides to figure
out what memories she is missing. I enjoyed reading this book but at some
points, it was hard to understand. -read by Brooke
Seven Percent of Ro Devereaux by Ellen O'Clover
I
was massively excited to read Ellen O’Clover’s Seven Percent of Ro Devereux. It
sat perfectly on the gray shelf, playing the part of my next good read
excellently. I genuinely loved the premise of this YA novel. It
was original and believable. Ro Devereux is a fun, intelligent STEM girlie
whose life explodes with the creation of her app MASH (Mansion, Apartment,
Shack, House), which can predict its users’ futures to a 93% accuracy.
Ultimately, I badly wanted to like this book and was greatly disappointed. Ro
(and other characters in the novel) took the app’s predictions way too
seriously, and Ro’s best friend ended up being the only main character who
truly had common sense. Ultimately, I badly wanted to like this book and was
greatly disappointed. -read by Anna
You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
You’re
Not Supposed to Die Tonight is an all right book. This book is set at a summer
camp where guests pay to experience living in a slasher film. Charity, the main
character, plays the role of “Final Girl”. Her life is going great at the camp:
business is rolling in and she’s found a group of friends. But it all changes
when the danger suddenly becomes more real than she could imagine. I liked the
concept and writing of the story (and the queer rep!), but there was one part I
couldn’t get over. I didn’t like how there was a cult featured in the book. I
felt that the story should’ve had a warning that there was a prominent focus on
a cult. -read by Holly
