Special Collections

Things Not Seen

by Andrew Clements

Bobby Phillips is your average fifteen-year-old boy. That is, until he wakes up one morning and can't see himself in the mirror. Not blind, not dreaming-Bobby is just plain invisible. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for Bobby's new condition and even his dad the physicist can't figure it out. For Bobby, that means no school, no friends, no life. He's a missing person.

Then he meets Alicia. She's blind, and Bobby can't resist talking to her, trusting her. But people are starting to wonder where Bobby is, and if he's even still alive. Bobby knows that his invisibility could have dangerous consequences for his family and that time is running out. He has to find out how to be seen again-before it's too late.

Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award

Date Added: 02/21/2018

Things That Are

by Andrew Clements

Alicia may be blind, but that doesn't mean she can't see what's happening right in front of her eyes. Like how her parents try to give her freedom. Or how Bobby, now Robert, has returned to figure out their relationship. Or even the invisible man, William, and just how dangerous he is to Alicia, to Robert, to their whole family, or so the police say. Or is Alicia wrong this time? If her normally sharp instincts are wrong, the results could be disastrous.

From award-winning author Andrew Clements, here is a novel full of adventure, romance, and mystery, which at its heart is about trusting even things we know but cannot see. .

Date Added: 02/21/2018

The Tragedy Paper

by Elizabeth Laban

Perfect for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why and Looking for Alaska, Jennifer Weiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author, calls Elizabeth LaBan's The Tragedy Paper "a beguiling and beautifully written tale of first love and heartbreak." It follows the story of Tim Macbeth, a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is "Enter here to be and find a friend." A friend is the last thing Tim expects or wants--he just hopes to get through his senior year unnoticed. Yet, despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential "It" girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving's most popular boy. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out. Tim and Vanessa begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving's version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school's least forgiving teacher. Jumping between viewpoints of the love-struck Tim and Duncan, a current senior about to uncover the truth of Tim and Vanessa, The Tragedy Paper is a compelling tale of forbidden love and the lengths people will go to keep their secrets.

Date Added: 02/16/2018

The Window

by Jeanette Ingold

A girl, blinded by the auto accident that killed her mother, comes to terms with her disability—and her new life. &“This is a sensitive and well-told story, inhabited by appealing and believable characters, and given a twist by the unexpected element of the supernatural.&” —Kirkus Reviews

Date Added: 02/16/2018

The Young Unicorns

by Madeleine L'Engle

The young unicorns is a novel of suspense set in New York City's Upper West Side near a great cathedral, where much of the action takes place. The large cast of characters includes the Austin family and Canon Tallis (already well known to L'Engle fans), but the most important are Emily Gregory and Josiah (Dave) Davidson.

Emily is a brilliant girl musician of twelve who has been blinded in an accident that occurred in her home under peculiar circumstances. Emily has learned Braille and manages to continue with her music and school studies with the help of seventeen-year-old Dave, who acts as her reader. Dave is a gifted, intelligent boy from a broken family and had at one time been a member of a tough gang known as the Alphabats. These young hoodlums have a bad influence on the life of their section of the city.

When the story opens, Dave has broken with the Alphabats and is finding, through his work with Emily and his acquaintanceship with the Austins, who live upstairs in Emily's house, a new and more satisfactory life. When the Alphabats try to force Dave back into their orbit, he resists them.

But gradually we learn that something more sinister than the mere gang rituals of adolescent goons is taking place: that an evil intelligence is operating on a far more dangerous level and that not only Emily and Dave, but the Austin children too, and even their father, are targets for corruption or destruction. How they are saved is the climax of a highly original story that mirrors much of the violent disturbance of life in our cities today."

Date Added: 02/16/2018