Normal Public Library provides many enriching events and resources for teens. Find items from our teen collections and helpful online resources.
Activities
We have lots of activities going on every month for teens to enjoy. Whether you are into technology, poetry, crafts, anime, or more, there is something for you at NPL!
Learn more about current activities here.
Teen Spaces
The library is a great place to meet up with friends or spend some time studying.
We hope you will check out our Teen Department next time you are at the library.
Teen Mobile Maker Space
Our Teen Mobile Makerspace is an area that encourages participation in hands-on collaborative learning, sharing, and creating through the use of technology and do-it-yourself materials. Teens, take a look at the makerspace during your next visit.
Thanks to our Giving Tuesday campaign in 2015, we are pleased to offer our Teen Mobile Makerspace.
Collection
The library has a fantastic collection of the latest books for teens and we work hard to maintain a great selection of graphic novels.
You will also find tons of music and movies to check out and a huge selection of media to download & stream.
Top Titles for Teens
-
Cinder
Book 1 in the Lunar Chronicles Series
As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story.
-
Turtles All the Way Down
Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there's a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her best and most fearless friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett's son, Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. In his long-awaited return, John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, shares Aza's story with shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.
-
All the Bright Places
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief and guilt in the wake of her sister's recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the "natural wonders" of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It's only with Violet that Finch can be himself -- a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who's not such a freak after all. And it's only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink.
-
Kingdom of Ash
Book 7 in the Throne of Glass series
Aelin Galathynius has vowed to save her people--but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. The knowledge that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, but her resolve is unraveling with each passing day... With Aelin captured, friends and allies are scattered to different fates. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever. As destinies weave together at last, all must fight if Erilea is to have any hope of salvation.
-
Scythe
Book 1 in Arc of the Scythe series
In a world where disease has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed ('gleaned') by professional reapers ('scythes'). Two teens must compete with each other to become a scythe--a position neither of them wants. The one who becomes a scythe must kill the one who doesn't
-
The Kings of Clonmel
Book 8 in the Ranger's Apprentice series
Halt, Will, and Horace set out for Hibernia, where a quasi-religious group, the Outsiders, is sowing confusion and sedition, and they find that secrets from Halt's past may hold the key to restoring order before the last kingdom is undermined.
-
The Weight of Blood
An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she's dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington. After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High's racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to change their image: host the school's first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her Black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it's possible to have a normal life. But some of her classmates aren't done with her just yet. And what they don't know is that Maddy still has another secret... one that will cost them all their lives
-
Thunderhead
Book 2 in the Arc of the Scythe series
Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, and the Thunderhead is not pleased.
-
UnSouled
Book 3 in the Unwind Dystology
After the destruction of the Graveyard, Connor and Lev are on the run, seeking a woman who may be the key to bringing down unwinding forever, while Cam, the rewound boy, tries to prove his love for Risa by bringing Proactive Citizenry to its knees.
-
All My Rage
A family extending from Pakistan to California, deals with generations of young love, old regrets, and forgiveness.
-
Better Than the Movies
Michael, to whom Liz Buxbaum gave her heart long ago, has returned but to get his attention and, perhaps, a prom date she must scheme with her nemesis Wes, her next-door neighbor.
-
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
In medieval England, the bickering, betrothed duo, Arthur and Gwen, find common ground in their secret romantic interests, leading them to form an unexpected alliance while navigating Camelot's summer festivities.
-
The House on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn't want to belong - not to her run-down neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Esperanza's story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and inventing for herself what she will become.
-
The Light in Hidden Places
Sixteen-year-old Catholic Stefania Podgórska has worked in the Diamant family's grocery store for four years, even falling in love with one of their sons, Izio; but when the Nazis came to Przemsyl, Poland, the Jewish Diamants are forced into the ghetto (and worse). Stefania embarks on a dangerous course--protecting thirteen Jews in her attic, caring for her younger sister, Helena, and keeping everything secret from the two Nazi officers who are living in her house.
-
Time Bomb
Six students are trapped in their school after a bomb. They couldn't be more different, but now they have something in common: survival. When they hear that the bomber is trapped inside the school, the question is: is it one of them?
Outreach
Our Teen Librarian regularly visits McLean County's Juvenile Detention Center to introduce teens there to books that they might enjoy. She also visits schools in Normal during the students' lunch breaks to introduce them to great books through our Books & Bites program.
Explore & Learn
America's News
Black Freedom Struggle Website
Brainfuse HelpNow
Creativebug
Creativebug.com offers award-winning art & craft video classes taught by recognized design experts and artists.